Friday, March 28, 2008
Tech shootings involved more than simple negligence by the state
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Tech shootings involved more than simple negligence by the state
In an attempt to head off a looming, big-figure lawsuit, the state of Virginia has again shown its lack of compassion as well as responsibility. A review of the Virginia Tech massacre report shows that the events leading up to the massacre, as well as those during and after, were far from an act of "simple negligence," as Virginia would like to claim.
At the very least, the state should be offering no less than $1 million to the victims and their families, along with a long list of apologies, instead of a $100,000 token. If we allow gun laws to run amok, mental health programs to provide inadequate services, while inadequately responding to a crisis situation, simple this is not.
It isn't so, 'Doonesbury' fans
Please say it isn't so. Please tell me that The Roanoke Times is not bending under pressure to local conservative groups to remove one of the most enduring, politically unbiased cartoon strips of all times.
I've been a fan of "Doonesbury" since 1972. I have followed the humor and sometimes rancorous approach to the issues of our day since high school. There were never any prisoners taken on any political side, no matter if they were liberals, conservatives or Ralph Nader.
The purpose that cartoon served was to make people think -- think about what issues our country has to face, what issues we may have to face at home in the light of present-day White House administrations. Clinton was jabbed, Bush was jabbed and a host of others before them.
Please let me believe that The Roanoke Times has just momentarily misplaced a piece of history, yet to come, and future generations will have the opportunity to judge for themselves the value of political insight, good or bad.
Editor's note: "Doonesbury" artist Garry Trudeau is taking a three-month sabbatical that started March 23. "Pearls Before Swine" will fill its spot on the comics page until "Doonesbury" returns.
Holding the line against fanaticism
Those who accuse President Bush and white America for the mess our country is in should have to go teach school in Nigeria.
On March 21, 2007, in the Nigerian state of Gombe, a 32-year-old schoolteacher named Christiana Oluwasesin collected books and school bags from her high school class and placed them in the front of the room so she could administer a test. A Muslim girl accused the teacher of desecrating her copy of the Quran, and all the students began to shout "Allahu Akbar" (God is great). They soon started a riot.
Some teachers came to Oluwasesin's aid and rushed her to the principal's office for safety, but by that time more students had joined the ruckus. The mob demanded that Oluwasesin be released to them.
When she was, the teenagers hit her with an iron club, stripped her naked and beat her until a 12-year-old boy slit her throat with a knife. The students then soaked her body with gasoline and set her on fire.
Go ahead and blame the president for a war that was launched by bipartisan vote. Go ahead and elect Obama or Hillary, and suffer the consequence of deception.
There's more to a church than its clergy
Thank you for your excellent March 20 editorial ("Obama's race and racism") regarding the Obama/Wright conflict. The cartoon was superb. Agnes Heller's letter ("To stay in the race, Obama should quit his church," March 20) was also well done.
I have another view that your readers might enjoy. My church went through a long call process a few years ago. More than 100 clergy applied. If we have a problem with our clergy, it is up to the congregation to decide if dismissal is appropriate.
Obama has been saved this option because Wright has retired. I have a lot of investment in my church and would not leave, but would talk to my pastor or propose his dismissal to my congregation.
Coal advocate failed to mention a few costs
Among many of W. Douglas Blackburn Jr.'s debatable phrases in "Coal will feed Virginia's power needs" (March 20 commentary), one in particular agitated me the most: "The great advantage of coal is its ... relatively low cost."
Low cost to whom? The coal companies for which he works. How about the high cost to the people who live in the communities where coal companies expose families to smog, sludge, unsafe drinking water and disease, not to mention the horrible sight of a coal plant thrust upon the background of surrounding mountains? Or the more economic approach to coal mining by blowing up the mountaintop and destroying the home of much needed and underappreciated wildlife.
Instead of building new "clean coal" plants to meet the 2,000 megawatts shortage, why not reduce the demand? It's not difficult to reduce the amount of power that we all waste. Turn off that extra light in the house when it's not in use. Unplug that useless contraption in your kitchen. And maybe take a nice walk to the grocery store when you need to pick up a few things. "Economic advance" is not the same thing as "human progress."
ADAM LeROY
The skewed view from the board room
The world according to editorial writers:
Write anonymously. Democratic candidates get automatic endorsements. Bush is a moronic war monger who cheated his way into the presidency -- twice. Only straight white male conservatives are capable of discrimination. All others are victims unless they work in the Bush administration. Dick Cheney is actually the devil. Bill Clinton is a saint.
Exxon Mobil is evil because it makes a profit. Taxes on the "rich" can never be high enough. All companies and all middle- to upper-income individuals are "rich." The government should provide all Americans with cradle-to-grave housing, jobs and health care.
Good economic conditions are always produced by Democrats. The Constitution is only a list of suggestions, not the framework for a nation of laws. God has no place in public schools, but Islam must be discussed -- for the sake of diversity. Illegal immigration isn't a big deal. English is not our official language.
Despite the volumes of scientific evidence to the contrary, the Earth is warming and is headed for certain destruction. Blame America first and often for all the ills of the world. Ignore our role as the protector of freedom and as the most charitable nation on the planet.
Golly, little old Glen Lyn has its needs, too
Your concern for the taxpayers' money that Floyd and Glen Lyn is receiving really touches my heart ("Terrorism in Glen Lyn?" March 22 editorial).
I had no idea -- what with all the incompetence and corruption in state and federal government and corporations and all these other big-time crooks we hear so much about, but nothing is ever done about -- that we could raise such a level of concern up here in these hills.
Tell you what: You start with President Bush and go right on down the line to the rest of these crooks in the United States -- and that includes all of Congress as well as state officials -- and when you clean them up, I feel sure I can get Floyd and Glen Lyn to repay the taxpayers the $5,000 we received from the guvment. But until then, we are going to enjoy our bounty.
Now if I have to, this banjo-pickin' good old country boy will go door to door taking donations to get this issue resolved, and only then will I be able to get a good night's sleep, knowing I have eased your mind about this matter.
Ain't sarcasm wunderful?
