Sunday, June 06, 2010
Subsidy in the park?
Letters to the Editor
Recent letters to the editor
- Pick of the day: Passing the buck won't stop abuse
- Letters: Illegal traditions should not be tolerated
- Pick of the day: Teacher's conviction should scare parents
- Letters archive
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
Fighting poverty is not a means to fighting crime
The headline for Katherine Hochella's May 25 commentary says that we will "Find safety in a healthy society." The commentary is mostly about lax gun control and poverty as major causes of an unhealthy (and therefore less safe) society.
Poverty is relative, and very few murders in the U.S. are committed to obtain food or shelter. The records from the 1930s show that poverty does not cause crime, and Japan's low murder rate with guns is not a good indicator of a healthy society.
Japan's suicide rate is one of the world's highest and the absolute number exceeds all U.S. murders by guns, including children. A favored assisted-suicide method in Japan is to lie on railroad tracks. Hochella could learn from her parents about Nanking, Pearl Harbor, Bataan and kamikazes. Even with the cultural attitude adjustment Japan received in 1945, it is still a different and more homogenous culture than the U.S.
Many Americans strongly promote diversity, but expect social and political agreement. Go figure.
German advances can't be acknowledged
The Roanoke Times' editorial "Stalin's place in history" (May 18) stated, "History is complicated and sometimes dirty, but that does not justify suppressing it." Perhaps that holds true only for those who were on the "right side."
The German National Socialist government sought to eradicate heart disease and cancer. Public health education stressed organic farming, regular exercise and consumption of whole-grain breads, alcohol-free ciders and raw vegetables. Soft drinks were labeled as unsuitable for children.
In the late 1930s, the National Socialists began a scientific effort against the hazards of tobacco. Smoking was banned in public places, party offices and doctors' waiting rooms. Robert Proctor noted in his book "The Nazi War On Cancer" that the link between smoking and lung cancer was first established in 1943 at the Jena University Institute for Tobacco Hazards Research.
Over the period 1950-90, some cancer rates declined dramatically in Germany. Was this because of the National Socialist war on the disease? Did the National Socialists do good work, motivated by party ideals? If yes, why can't we unapologetically talk about it? Could it be that Adolf Hitler, and by extension, National Socialist Germany, weren't on the right side?
Obama handles issues concerning our soldiers
Re: "Obama has no respect for fallen soldiers," May 30 letter:
Well, here we go again. This is the way we've always done it: Put a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The phrase "This is the way we've always done it" has caused more trouble in churches and other organizations than just about any one I can think of.
Please, let's give the president a break and pray for him instead of criticizing him. Remember, he handles many situations concerning our soldiers.
Train story includes a great irony
Your article "Rising from the rust" (May 30 Extra story) identifies Willard Moody, president of the Railroad Museum of Virginia, as a "Portsmouth attorney who has made his living representing railroad workers." Far too modest, this description.
In fact, Moody is a plaintiff's attorney whose firm specializes in suing railroads and has made millions over past decades suing the Norfolk and Western Railway in particular.
What a delicious irony it is and how satisfying it must be to Moody to now have his very own N&W train, in the city where his law firm is located and with which N&W has never had the slightest connection. Or is the museum perhaps his apology?
We are encouraging illegals to enter U.S.
Re: "Immigration demands a fix," May 6 editorial:
Illegal aliens invaded our country and have shown their contempt for our laws by entering the U.S. illegally. Therefore, they are criminals. You apparently favor a path to legal status for illegals, which would only encourage more illegals. We should not allow this nor do we have to.
I agree that they cannot be rounded up and deported -- too expensive. The simple way to solve this is to secure our borders and deport all illegals whenever it is determined they are illegal, such as when they commit criminal acts and traffic violations, submit job applications, etc.
If our laws had been enforced, we would not have to spend billions of our tax dollars for free education, interpreters, medical treatments and to publish documents in all languages.
Arizona has done exactly what should have been done years ago by all states after the 1986 Amnesty Bill because our government refuses to enforce our laws. If the current Senate Bill 9 and H.R. 4321 become law, it will destroy America as we know it, along with our English language. A nation that cannot control its borders will not survive.
Sue Collins
Collins is a Mill Mountain supporter who lives in Roanoke.
We could argue forever about the use of Mill Mountain, and I will see it as recreation and others will see it as a private business. But no one has asked Roanoke taxpayers what they want to subsidize.
In either case, nothing up there can operate every day. In recent days, no one would go up for the view, and there have been times when people were snowbound. To make a profit, any business must be open as often as possible. When it cannot open, are city residents ready to pay for spoiled food and missed tips?
The animals in the zoo have to eat, too, but people who love them have voluntarily made up for the drop in admissions every winter. Over the years, there has been very little support from the city for the people's park and it managed to survive as a natural area.
I do not have children, but who wants to live in a place where the local children are not educated? I want my taxes to go to basic services like the schools.
People who walk the mountain, bike, love flowers, entertain visitors and love animals will continue to support these activities.
However, they need to know that they are safe from secret plots and plans, over and over.
If this is so, they will support Mill Mountain Park and ask very little of the city. But all citizens need to ask themselves if they want to support businesses that will be constantly asking for help from a slender budget.
