Friday, November 13, 2009
Child hunters don't grow up to be brutes
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Child hunters don't grow up to be brutes
The writer of the letter "Hunting does more harm than good" (Nov. 5) informs us that children who hunt will become "brute adults." Apparently articles regarding music, theater and awards in many categories geared to young people have eluded the writer, who has focused her anger only toward a group of people, both old and young, who enjoy hunting.
Hunting is not about brutal killing. It teaches gun safety, patience and a love of the outdoors, and it thins out the overpopulation of some species. If time is taken to look into statistics of humans killed and injured by deer and the dollar amount of damage compiled by insurance companies, the art of hunting takes on a new meaning.
Most hunters have children who are well-rounded, mostly college-educated and bright enough to make their own decisions regarding which sports appeal to them. They grow up more caring and certainly do not "shoot anything that moves."
What a shame the writer feels that hunters are less intelligent than the average adult and must be raising inferior children. My bet is that most families who have hunters in their midst also enjoy theater, museums, music and a good book now and then.
Waste would appall ancestors
Re: "Hunting helped humans to survive," Nov. 9 letter:
The tradition of hunting does go back hundreds of years, but not in the form it exists today.
Many treat it as a sport and find it fun to kill almost anything that moves. Last year, we started building a house near a wooded area in Christiansburg and were able to enjoy watching deer. During last year's hunting season, 13 deer were shot and killed. Twelve were discarded along the road with no more than the tenderloin gone. Three of those 13 were no bigger than a 50pound dog. One was hung from a tree and left for my children to see with only the tenderloin missing.
This year, with our house complete, we have not had the pleasure of watching the deer. Do you think this is what our ancestors had in mind? Our ancestors hunted out of necessity and very few parts went unused. I would say our ancestors are rolling over in their graves.
Respect for all life should still be taught to our youngsters. I am not anti-hunting, but I agree we are sending the wrong message.
Cap campaign contributions
Original intent is shown not only by what was put into the Constitution by the Founding Fathers -- and why -- but by what was not put in, and why.
One of the proposals discussed but not adopted at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was that elected officials should serve without pay. The reasoning for rejecting this was that it would favor wealth, for only people of independent means would be able to serve.
Hitherto, the Supreme Court has ruled that personal funds may be expended without limit under the free-speech clause in the First Amendment. And so New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg bought his re-election for $100 million. This is in direct conflict with the reason for not specifying non-remunerated service. Obviously this is an extreme case, focusing a brilliant light on the contradiction.
Congress should enact a campaign finance law putting a uniform cap on campaign contributions by all individuals -- including candidates. Under the equal protection rule, this should be made to apply to states as well, or else the states will have to be encouraged to enact their own campaign finance laws in the same spirit.
Repeal the
Patriot Act
Tuesday's story "Suspect e-mailed radical cleric often," regarding the government's successful intrusion into the private e-mails of Maj. Nidal Hasan, demonstrates the total and predictable failure of the Patriot Act.
The powers that be, given all this additional authority, came no closer to stopping Hasan than they did to stopping the 9/11 hijackers. This is not to say that any individual or group of individuals did anything negligent, just that the Patriot Act did not do anything to add to their efforts.
Before someone suggests that the answer is to grant the government still more authority, I suggest we look at how that worked for Israel, China and Russia. We might also want to see what experience they have in the wall-building business. They might have some useful suggestions on how we might save money.
We need to repeal the Patriot Act and go back to living our lives free from government surveillance -- if for no other reason than the satisfaction of ticking off the very terrorists who want us to live in fear.
My condolences go out to all those who lost loved ones in the attack and all those who risk their lives daily to prevent these attacks from happening.
Perriello votes again to sell out
Well, Rep. Tom Perriello has done it again. First, it's cap and trade, now the health care bill. He somehow can't keep himself from selling us out. I guess he has to do what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells him to do, not the people of Virginia.
Virgil Goode tried to warn the voters about him. Looks like Goode was right. Thankfully, come next year we will have the chance to rid ourselves of Perriello. Maybe then he and his Washington buddies will get the message. Somehow I doubt it.
Kaine did nothing for transportation
Re: Dan Radmacher's column on Nov. 8, "Virginia voted for gridlock on Tuesday":
I wonder why our current governor didn't address this issue. Radmacher wrote, "In July, the Greater Manassas, Prince William County and Prince William Regional chambers of commerce and other business groups signed a resolution practically begging the General Assembly to raise taxes to pay for transportation improvements." These are his words.
As I sit in traffic or sandwiched between two speeding 18-wheelers on Interstate 81, I will remember that our current governor did nothing to improve the transportation infrastructure in Virginia.
