Friday, July 03, 2009
Vote for energy bill was a betrayal of Virginia's workers
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Vote for energy bill was a betrayal of Virginia's workers
Rep. Rick Boucher has stabbed the working people of Southwest Virginia in the back by his vote for the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The act provides for a cap-and-trade program that is no more than a huge tax on all forms of energy that will be eventually paid by the public.
Boucher supported the bill that will cost Virginia thousands of jobs in coal and related industries in exchange for green jobs that may never materialize.
The cost of electricity, heating, gasoline and virtually all necessities will skyrocket for working people because of the taxes in the bill.
Why would Boucher betray the people in his district? The only logical answer is that he has bought into the debated issues of global warming or climate change that the bill purports to solve. He is willing to risk the economic well-being of working folks in his district on a risky solution to an unproven problem.
Boucher has apparently become a Washington insider and forgotten the working people. Maybe it's time we were represented by someone who remembers who elected him.
Reduced bill is part of the equation
I agree with Dick Culbertson ("Those military benefits are earned," June 24 letter) and John Givens ("An employee benefit -- for employees only," June 25 commentary) that Christopher Walter's "socialized insurance" is more accurately described as an employee benefit ("Socialized insurance saved my life," June 21 commentary).
What these three gentlemen did not dwell upon was that Walter's insurance provider negotiated a final payment of $4,800, only 11.4 percent of the original $42,000. Perhaps if every individual had the same clout as Walter's insurance provider, everyone could negotiate similar cost reductions.
Such a steep reduction raises the question of the true cost of Walter's care. Did only one, some or all of his medical-care providers take a loss or just less of a profit? If the true cost is significantly lower than the $42,000 list price, we should be asking providers, "Why are you charging so much?"
It would be interesting to know what fraction of his active service income Walter forwent to pre-pay this benefit. This information might help taxpayers determine if and/or how much we should expect to pay for comparable health care services.
Biblical roots are in the Declaration
Re: "Pastor urges return to biblical values," June 26 news story:
In the article on Let Freedom Ring's preaching that America was founded on Christian principles, you go to the Rev. Barry Lynn for an opposing view. Lynn is a reverend in name only, having been ordained but never having been a pastor of a church.
Lynn is an attorney who has been fighting to remove any public acknowledgement of God, first as a lawyer with the ACLU and more recently as the director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. His claim that there is no evidence that America was founded on biblical principles is baseless and shows a total disregard for American history.
Space prohibits me from listing entire books that illustrate proof that America was founded by religious men who believed in the Bible, so I offer only this.
The Declaration of Independence clearly states, "they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ... life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Where do you think they got the idea that there was a Creator? In the Bible, Genesis 1:1 states, "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth."
Vick is vilified, Jackson worshiped
The world is a strange place; two talented men, both African American and both with questionable habits.
Michael Jackson, the world-proclaimed King of Pop, who thrilled us with his singing and dancing, died. He did on several occasions admit he shared his bed with young boys -- no sex, he stated, just slept with them. The world still worshiped him.
The other Michael, Michael Vick, a talented local football player, was convicted for dogfighting. He went to jail and now is being ridiculed, his possible return to football being protested. What kind of world do we live in where a man who killed animals is worse for wear than a man who shared his bed with young boys?
I admit Jackson was never convicted; he bought his way out of it. If Vick could have paid the dogs' families off, I believe he would still be playing football.
