‘Unfinished task’ should stay that way

I was shocked out of my shoes to see another comedy on the Feb. 13 front page of The Roanoke Times (“President calls economic woes an ‘unfinished task’,” news story).

Jeez, Mr. President, what a faux pas.

President Obama needs to pay attention to what we American people want.

Sen. Marco Rubio is right on target.

The president is wrong.

The state of the union is not strong, and his call for more spending is asinine.

Taxpayers are already paying for all the freebies and false promises issued to those vulnerable people who appear to be mesmerized by someone who appears to be their savior.

God help us.

JANE HARMON
ROANOKE

America is a nation without a leader

Have you ever thought about absentee leadership?

Look no further than the White House.

That’s where President Obama’s glib solutions to problems of the day are announced with fanfare, but seldom pursued.

If he glued himself to the Oval Office, we might see more stick-to-itiveness.

But his style is to cut and run — dodge responsibility while ensuring his position as the media’s darling.

When was the last (or first) time our president brought congressional leaders together and demanded a solution to the problems by close of business? Never.

Surely, senior politicos have joined him in the Oval Office for grandstanding and yet another photo op.

But the president is a shallow figure, less interested in substance than memorable prose.

As our government spends its way into fiscal chaos, it would seem prudent for our commander-in-chief to cut back on his travel. The support and security costs for presidential junkets are enormous, but a mere drop in the bucket compared to the national debt.

Yet, Obama sends us a poignant message with his wanderlust: National direction is best left to leaders capable of finding solutions.

Regrettably, one of those leaders is not currently a resident of the White House.

PETER M. HAIN
MONETA

Use Mill Mountain to better advantage

Recently, there was a letter that we all should think about (“Don’t waste more money on Explore,” Feb. 8).

I see J. Granger Macfarlane’s point, not to waste more money on a zoo on Mill Mountain but to move the zoo to Explore Park, where the animals could have room to move.

It is sad to visit the zoo if you care about these animals.

At Explore, the Roanoke River is close by, and the beautiful land and buildings already there are a plus.

I feel sure more people would visit the zoo there than on Mill Mountain.

At the same time, this lifelong resident of the Roanoke Valley can see a nice hotel and a good restaurant on Mill Mountain bringing in visitors. Locals drive to Catawba and Peaks of Otter to dine — why would they not drive up Mill Mountain along with tourists drawn simply for the view and the star?

I have trouble with the land on the mountaintop being untouchable.

It is nice this wasn’t the feeling when the Roanoke Merchants Association wanted to construct the star. Come on, people, be proactive rather than complaining years from now about the loss of visitors to our beautiful area.

ANN HAWLEY
ROANOKE

Gun control is no solution

Re: the Sandy Hook shootings and subsequent gun control uproar:

Parents involved in Sandy Hook — and other shootings, for that matter — have my heartfelt sympathy, but I don’t think gun control is the answer. Many people have been killed when no gun of any sort was involved.

Look at 9/11: Simple box cutters were the weapon of choice. Timothy McVeigh used a vehicle loaded with explosives.

Guns won the freedom this country enjoys.

If settlers who came to this country before the Revolutionary War had not had guns, we might still be under British rule.

Most of the mass shooters have been or were still on mental health medications and suffered from hallucinations and an inability to differentiate between reality and fantasy. The movie and game industries don’t seem to be able to produce anything but violence.

People with mental health problems see this garbage and it becomes real to them; they think it’s OK to go out and do this stuff.

The way to improve this problem is to stop the violence in the movie and video gaming industries, force drug companies to come up with better mental health drugs and provide more help for mentally ill people.

CARL HAZELWOOD
RICH CREEK

Weather Journal

15 hours ago