Friday, February 05, 2010
It's time that
Letters to the Editor
Recent letters to the editor
- Letters: A home-school mom pays taxes, too
- Pick of the day: Home-schoolers reject public schools
- Pick of the day: Passing the buck won't stop abuse
- Letters archive
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
It's time that
we support
each other
It time to stand behind this president. To all the Republicans in Virginia, stop being Republicans and start being Americans. I have voted both Republican and Democratic over the last 40 years, and the issues are what is important. If we don't stop letting the news influence our thinking and start looking at the actual issues, we will never make good decisions.
Last week, our president stood in front of the Republican Party and answered questions. It was a wonderful and enlightening meeting, yet one news channel stopped showing it because it didn't comply with the bash-the-president agenda. This particular news network repeatedly states how honest and trustworthy it is. Look at all channels.
Our president supports tax cuts for middle-class families and small businesses, yet you won't hear that on Fox News. America, act American and start supporting each other and this country. Stop the "me" attitude, and look at your neighbor. Conservatives, what kind of Christian values do you really hold? What happened to love your neighbors, no matter what faith they hold?
Good idea to show ID at polls
In your recent editorial "No poll tax by any name" (Jan. 31), you claim "voter fraud is not a big problem in modern-day Virginia," hence there is no need for a voter to show a picture ID in order to vote.
You are missing the point. In everything there must be a balance of rights and responsibilities. And yes, we must take reasonable measures to protect against potential voter fraud.
Every state (and commonwealth) in the Union requires a license with a photo ID in order to drive a car. Is not the responsibility inherent in casting a ballot as important to the future of our nation as driving a car?
I do not feel showing a photo ID when voting is akin to a poll tax, nor do I feel it is an unreasonable measure to safeguard voting. I am more than happy to show a photo ID when I vote and do not find it offensive. If anything, it makes me feel better that the poll workers are taking measures to ensure that when I vote, it is really me who is voting and not someone else in my place. I hope the measure passes.
Oaks neighbors worry too much
The front-page story "Oaks' neighbors worry about buys" on Jan. 30 left me puzzled. What are the neighbors on Loblolly Lane objecting to?
Do the residents of Brandon Oaks litter their campus with beer cans and used condoms? Do they disturb the neighbors with loud parties? Have they turned those larger apartments with higher ceilings into crack houses?
Or maybe those "completely ruthless business people" (probably the most positive press Lutherans have gotten lately) are planning to install an asphalt plant or an intermodal train terminal?
Brandon Oaks is apparently offering fair prices for neighboring properties, and some homeowners are accepting the deal. Isn't that free enterprise?
Fill the potholes in the parkway
Re: "Blue Ridge Parkway may add 50,000 acres," Jan. 28 news story:
I read, with interest, about the legislation introduced to acquire 50,000 acres of additional land surrounding the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have also read about plans to build more hiking and biking trails.
Since I live close to the parkway and travel it often, except in the winter, I am hoping that the first act will be to repave and fill up the potholes. That would be great for the 75th anniversary.
Some don't want to solve issues
Health care costs in the U.S. have nearly tripled since 1990; we now pay nearly twice as much per capita as any other developed nation. This inflates the deficit, burdens American businesses, suppresses wages and increases the uninsured.
So it's frustrating that Republicans obstruct reform while pushing solutions like allowing purchase of insurance across state lines, further gutting insurance regulations and tort reform, which would have virtually no impact on health care costs.
Contrary to claims of the GOP and Tea Party, the Senate health bill is not a government takeover. In fact, it won't expand the government's role in providing insurance at all. It simply gives the sick and poor better access to affordable private insurance.
It is similar to what Bob Dole proposed last year, Republicans proposed in 1994 and the Massachusetts system, which even a majority of Scott Brown voters support. It is, in short, the bare minimum reform needed to expand access to care and trim entitlement growth, while maintaining our private health insurance system.
Republican opposition is just more evidence that the Party of No is not interested in solving this nation's biggest problems.
Some ideas to cut our debt
I am not happy about the amount of accumulated national debt that would result if the proposed federal health plan takes effect.
It took us from 1781 until 2000 to accumulate $5 trillion in national debt. The George W. Bush administration doubled this to $10 trillion in eight years. Yet, not one peep was heard from the folks who blame President Obama for the major portion of this debt. The Republicans used to be fiscally conservative, but now should be called the "cut and spend" party.
Both parties have been running us in debt since the days of the New Deal, so both are at fault for the mess we are in.
We need to immediately balance the federal budget and build in a $100 billion yearly surplus. This $100 billion applied each year would pay off the national debt in 100 years. To do this, we need to chop off whole departments at the federal level. Cutting or freezing entitlements is another step in the right direction. The alternative is astronomical inflation and possible national bankruptcy. If you believe we will solve our budget problems, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell you.
