Church was welcome in the public sphere
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
7. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Church was welcome in the public sphere
Once again, we find another citizen with a narrow scope of our founding (“On religion, founders’ meaning is clear,” Steven Kranowski, July 16 letter). Unfortunately, many view our founders as a small group of half a dozen godless, deist figures.
This may be true for some of them, but the reality is our Founding Fathers consisted of dozens of men across the 13 states that planted this great nation and continued in the self-governance that was denied by the crown in many ways.
No, our country isn’t a Christian nation in terms of an established church. Nevertheless, the quote from the Treaty of Tripoli is minuscule compared to the hundreds, maybe thousands, of letters and writings from these many men expressing their faith and belief in biblical values.
Many were believers in Christ, seminary-educated, and all were shaped by a Judeo-Christian world view that, in turn, shaped our founding documents.
Therefore, we find the spirit of “separation of church and state” not making each mutually exclusive, or establishing one church.
Rather, they intended to keep government, specifically federal, from meddling in the affairs of the church, all the while welcoming the church’s influence in the public sphere.
JOHNNY SINK
ROANOKE
ABC agents deserve respect due police
Re: “Virginia’s big ABC beer bust,” July 10 Pick of the day:
The writer asks, “Why does this agency exist?” It regulates state-controlled ABC stores and issues and monitors establishments licensed to sell or dispense alcoholic beverages.
The law enforcement division investigates ABC violations such as untaxed whiskey, resale of legal beverages and enforcement of laws against sales to minors, intoxicated individuals, etc.
The letter questions why six agents were at the scene. These are trained law enforcement officers, so if six were there, there was a reason. They’re armed because they are vested with the same power of arrest as any policeman.
Psychological evaluation? They had one before they were hired. Temperament? Officers act on instincts learned in the field. A car getting ready to advance on you is as deadly as a gun pulled. The average law officer would draw his weapon.
I have worked with at least three Virginia ABC agents, and found them all to be beyond reproach.
Mistakes will always be made. If a peace officer makes one, it is blown out of proportion.
The officers that night acted on what they believed, which turned out to be a mistake, quickly rectified when the truth was known.
JIM PHILLIPS
ROANOKE
With no accountability, look for another crash
As Americans struggle with the greatest financial disaster in world history, the catalyst for this lethargic recovery seems to be the endless pouring of billions, and possibly trillions, of dollars into an economy so fragile that it hinges on the slightest indication that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s mother’s milk of greed may be withdrawn, sending the stock market spiraling downward again.
The deregulation of Wall Street, made possible by political puppets, may have been the dumbest thing ever done by Congress.
And the most amazing thing about the near destruction of America is that not one of those Wall Street CEOs, boards of directors or their mortgage-broker minions has been brought to justice, even though their subprime mortgage garbage ripped off millions of unsuspecting home buyers in search of an American Dream.
So be very careful, keeping a constant vigil for any sign that the Federal Reserve bailout of America may be slowing.
Enjoy this temporary ride to prosperity, remembering it could end in another, and even bigger, flash crash moment.
JACK TEBO
MEADOWS OF DAN
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
7. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
THE ROANOKE TIMES
