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Nash should consider resigning from Roanoke city council

Roanoke City Councilman Alvin Nash gave up government grants (which help people in need) to join council and will now get another paycheck ("Nash nips dilemma in the bud," May 8 news story). Isn't that a conflict of interest?

I, too, call for him to resign from one of the positions he holds in order to continue obtaining the government grants to aid people in our area. Surely someone out there who is interested in the welfare of his or her fellow man can do the job and continue helping those who are in need.

It is hard to believe that Roanoke would let this happen. It is disgraceful and should not be condoned. Do we really need someone like this on council? I don't think so. I do not live in the city, but I am alarmed that this could and did happen in our area.

Faith fits comfortably with science

Some scientists, not all -- like some truck drivers, engineers and housewives, etc. -- are atheists. Some scientists -- including, a century and a half ago, Charles Darwin -- believe in a creator ("A search for the meaning of science," May 13 letter).

I happen to follow a reasoning similar to that of Einstein (yes, I know he was supposed to be an atheist) who replied to a student who couldn't imagine an infinite universe, "Then try to imagine a finite universe." As for whether there is the order atheists can't find to prove a creator, consider the laws of physics and thermodynamics, including that law which they think proves a march to ultimate chaos.

I have no doubt those laws that have produced our current state were chosen by our creator. If he chooses a different set for another universe in another few thousand or billion years, that's his business.

In search of point of greatest alarm

As a longtime reader of The Roanoke Times, I know that it is one of the functions of op-ed articles to "view with alarm." That is the reason for this letter. I view with alarm the failure of the paper's editorial board to protect me from alarm overload. (Perhaps a media plot?)

I read with alarm the article by Donald Stadler, "Smiley-faced neofascism" (May 13 commentary), but could not determine who or what was most alarming.

Now, I am as willing to be as alarmed as the next guy, but I couldn't figure out if I should be more frightened of the ghost of Saul Alinski, Hillary Clinton, the Catholic Church, Sens. McCain and Feingold, "smiley-faces" Barak Obama or the Midas Muffler Corp.

In the absence of any guidance from the paper's editorial board, I have decided to continue to be mostly alarmed by the Bush administration that has made a hash of two wars, American foreign policy in general, the American economy, the rule of law and our constitutional separation and balance of governmental power.

DUI fatalities are nothing short of murder

What is the worst crime someone can commit? Murder. What is the worst murder someone can commit? Manslaughter, while under the influence of alcohol. Manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol is premeditated murder.

There is no reason to drive a car and kill someone with a car while you are drunk. Twelve months in jail and a $2,500 fine is a joke, and so is the law that allows this to happen.

With the right lawyer and the liberal judges in Roanoke Valley, you can get off with a slap on the wrist. After all, judges were once lawyers.

Yes, the city does need an amphitheater

Re: "For amphitheater, it's not about location," May 13 editorial:

Does Roanoke need an amphitheater? Yes.

Three cheers for those members of Roanoke's city council who decided to award a contract to Red Light management team. It's about time a professionally designed amphitheater is built to accommodate music lovers everywhere.

I have been waiting for something like this. Now maybe Roanoke will get the quality music acts that go elsewhere. I'm originally from Charleston, W.Va. When I heard George Strait was going there for a concert, I almost fainted. Why not Roanoke?

We also have two other sites that would be perfect for this: the Orange Avenue project and the old Johnson & Johnson site on Interstate 581. What we don't need, however, is a concert site at Elmwood Park. It's perfect for small, eclectic, intimate events, but not for the "American Idol" tour or the Dave Matthews band.

I'll keep my fingers crossed, though, because most of the good ideas are shot down before they come to the fruition. And the next time Strait heads to Charleston, I'll be there spending my money instead of waiting for him to appear somewhere in the Roanoke Valley.

'Brights' lack Darwin's humility

The column of May 8 by Linda Whitlock ("God, science not exclusive") has really stirred readers. One professor labels her words as "intellectual cowardice." I have a few questions for the "brights" (Richard Dawkins' term) who criticize her.

Have you read Charles Darwin's book of 1859, "On The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life"? Darwin and others of his age held some 19th century notions about human equality. Could Darwin have been wrong in other assumptions?

A "Darwinism" was embraced by 20th century dictators bent on genocide. Should students be warned of this conclusion?

Darwin did not invent genocide. He did not maintain that there could be no creator, and once mentioned God. In "The Origin of Species," he wrote: "Our ignorance of the laws of variation is profound." No evolutionary scientist today would admit this.

Those who seek more knowledge of Darwin can read his book of his voyage published in 1839, "Journal of Researches." This describes his five-year expedition aboard HMS Beagle. There are reasons to admire the man despite his flaws.

Put the mountain on the fall ballot

J.B. Fishburn's wonderful gift of Mill Mountain was given to the people -- all of us.

All of us should have an opportunity to express ourselves in a meaningful way on whether and how Mill Mountain should be used. Once the people have spoken, our decision should be honored and respected by all.

One possibility would be putting the issue on the ballot as a referendum in the upcoming November election.

What would the view be from below?

It is interesting to note that in both of the projects Valley Forward has advanced, all of the illustrations they have released are from on site. Nowhere have I seen anything about what their proposals would look like from the valley. I wonder why that is?

Perhaps it is because if people saw what a drastic change it would be, more people would be opposed to it.

Use Social Security funds as intended

I am getting so sick and tired of hearing that the Social Security account is going broke. If the funds were used only in the manner they are meant to be used (retirement) instead of being used by the politician, the account would not be in trouble.

There is only one way to fix the problem: Take the funds and put them in a lock box. Everything that comes in as Social Security funds should be used for the American people eligible for retirement benefits and nothing else.

The funds that have been used for other purposes that are not related to retirement should be paid back to the Social Security account in full, which would amount to trillions of dollars.