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Holier-than-Vick attitude found disconcerting

I'm surprised that some of the columnists for The Roanoke Times and some of the local TV station commentators haven't been nominated for sainthood, as they're apparently perfect human beings.

At least one would think they are because in their continued castigation of Marcus Vick, they seem to be operating from a position that they have never, ever done something in a fit of anger, frustration or revenge that they have immediately regretted and wished to undo.

I'm not defending what the young man apparently did, but has anyone come up with what happened immediately before the incident? Was there insulting trash talk, race-baiting or perhaps some other factor to elicit instinctive reaction?

I don't know, and neither do they. But as they're apparently perfect, we must take their word that it classifies as a major crime.

Unfortunately, this rush to judgment is typical of today's Fourth Estate members. Ease off, people. Get all the facts before pronouncing sentence.

Before anyone jumps to a conclusion, I'm Caucasian, a senior citizen and did not attend Virginia Tech.

Jeanne Pedigo

Roanoke

Beamer Ball loses its luster

What a disgusting exhibition of football and good sportsmanship.

Is this what Virginia Tech football players are learning with "Beamer Ball"? Louisville had more class losing than Tech had winning.

Is this something to be proud of: Jimmy Williams was ejected from the game (and then claimed that no one liked him), the many cheap shots done by many on the Tech team, and Marcus Vick intentionally trying to do damage to an opposing player by stepping on Elvis Dumervil's knee?

And what did Coach Frank Beamer do? Nothing.

He should have yanked Vick out of the rest of the game and tried to teach him some character instead of letting Vick play and going for the win at all cost.

Can Beamer and the Hokie nation really be proud of this win?

Chas Ruvolis

Salem

Plenty of reasons for fervent cheers

I'm confused about a few things Johnny Howlett said regarding Virginia Tech football (Dec. 30 letter to the editor, "Game day roar drowns out reason").

What does anything have to do with any of the boys being from inner-city areas?

Tech is proud to be a team that fills its roster with players from Virginia. That is such a great compliment to the kind of talent here in Virginia and in the country.

What sacrifice to education is occurring? Game days generate so much revenue for Tech. Most of the home games are on Saturdays when classes aren't in session, so the majority of students are right in the middle of all the hoopla, adding flavor to their college experiences.

I agree that more needs to be done to improve facilities on campus, but the money used on the stadium comes from the football program, and it will offer great returns on the dollar.

We're proud to have a Top 10 team here in our midst. If Howlett went to other places where the top teams hail, the newspapers would look the same as far as coverage goes, and the fans would be just as enthusiastic.

America loves its football, and we love our Hokies.

Pamela Gunter

Blue Ridge

Tiny chip to take giant bite from freedom

RFID is radio frequency identification. It's a technology that uses tiny computer chips to track items at a distance.

Log onto spychips.com (use library computers if you don't have a PC).

Read the book "Spychips" by Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre. It's an eye-opener.

This goes way beyond the UPC (Universal Product Code) and the anti-theft code tags.

Three groups have a big interest in secretly using spychip data from the things you own: marketers, government agents and criminals.

For all people who love their country and want to keep their freedoms, check the Web site and read the book. They can also request the book from the library.

If we do not fight now, generations to come will acquiesce, accept and have no freedoms.

georgette lasorso

roanoke

Fair Tax shifts burden to the middle class

An interesting argument for implementing the Fair Tax was made in Jay Lewis' letter to the editor (Dec. 29, "Undo complexity with the Fair Tax") without explaining what it is and how it works.

The so-called Fair Tax is a national sales tax being promoted to replace the current federal income tax by right-wing talk radio hosts.

Some proponents suggest that a 23 percent sales tax on all goods and services will generate an amount of revenue equal to that which the federal income tax provides.

Currently, a married couple filing jointly, with $30,000 in taxable income, will pay an average tax rate of 10.77 percent.

A married couple filing jointly, with $500,000 in taxable income, will pay an average rate of 29.81 percent.

If this Fair Tax is implemented, middle-income taxpayers will face a massive tax hike, while high-income taxpayers get substantial tax cuts.

Wealthy taxpayers can avoid paying the tax by saving a portion of their incomes.

Therefore, lower- and middle-income taxpayers will pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than will wealthy taxpayers.

The federal income tax may not be popular, but it's the best tool that our government has to tax citizens in accordance with their ability to pay.

john t. cummings

boones mill

Not all celebrants wish to imbibe

The New Year's Eve festivities in Roanoke were a big disappointment.

I rode all over downtown Roanoke with my family, including two children ages 6 and 10, and there was nothing but a bunch of people who drink alcohol.

Whatever happened to the times when the whole family was involved?

I remember when I was a kid, the fun spot was on the City Market. Now, it seems to be only for those who like to consume alcohol.

There are some of us who still like to watch the ball drop at midnight with our families. Instead, we stay home and watch Dick Clark on WSET (Channel 13). Great fun that is.

Roanoke is nothing like it used to be. Maybe in the near future it can include the sober families.

A.M. Lang

roanoke

Story reiterates conspiracy theory

Writing in the Chicago Tribune and printed in The Roanoke Times on Dec. 27, Page A3, Howard Witt's article was headlined "Plot reveals racial allegations."

The sober headline suggests a plot to blow up levees and "transform this majority-black city into a whiter, richer place."

In a speech in Charlotte on Sept. 14, Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, proclaimed that "very reliable sources" had told him that a crater was found under the breached levees.

He later revealed that his reliable source was New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

This is called a conspiracy theory. Such theories have been promoted since Nero blamed the burning of Rome on the Christians in 64 A.D.

More recent leaps of logic have been hatched and propagated regarding the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

Such theories are born of paranoia and invariably can't be proved. They're the result of inductive, rather than deductive, reasoning (working backwards to a convenient theoretical cause of an event).

Conspiracy theories thrive on sensational occurrences, are based on limited evidence, and are an effort to shift the blame for a disaster to some dark, secret group or sinister individuals.

Dick Baynton

Cloverdale