Getting U.S. aid, but buying Russian
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. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
4. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
7. WOYM: Fewer stinkbugs? You may have wasps to thank
8. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. CB Manning opts to transfer from Virginia Tech
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Getting U.S. aid, but buying Russian
Do you remember the promises that this administration made about transparency in government? We have heard about and seen more opaque statements and policies than ever before. Here is a low information episode.
President Obama said the war we needed to fight was in Afghanistan, and we are now in the process of leaving after spending many harrowing years there. In order to bolster the Afghan military, we have provided $1.1 billion for Mi-17 helicopters since 2010. We are now preparing to spend another $345 million for 15 more helicopters at $23 million each.
In 2010, these choppers were purchased for about $13 million each. More recently the price went to $18 million and then to $19 million and now to $23 million.
The funding request from the Pentagon calls for the purchase of generic helicopters. The order doesn’t mention that the order is for Mi-17 helicopters made in Russia. And, yes, all the other Mi-17 helicopters were purchased from Russia for a total of about $1.5 billion to add to the struggling Russian economy. Do you feel betrayed, or was it just an honest mistake? How gullible are we?
DICK BAYNTON
CLOVERDALE
McAuliffe is just another D.C. insider
As President Clinton’s fund raiser and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe has been the Democratic poster boy for crony capitalism. As an insider, he took advantage of investment opportunities offered by wealthy liberals who wanted access to the White House.
McAuliffe did very well, even for a Clinton acolyte. One example, he invested $100,000 in Global Crossing, later netting him $18 million. He was able to sell his stock before the company disclosed accounting irregularities dealing with valuation.
There were other investments, but since McAuliffe refuses to follow Ken Cuccinelli’s full disclosure of tax returns, we may never know his real net worth.
McAuliffe promises to bring jobs to Virginia, but no real business acumen is evident. He received government subsidies, promising thousands of jobs, for two start up businesses, GreenTech Automotive and Franklin Pellets, but, with no success, he resigned.
He selected Mississippi over Virginia for the failed GreenTech plant. And he hates coal as much as Michael “Hockey Stick” Mann, who campaigns for him.
Cuccinelli has no hidden fortune, as eight years of tax returns will attest. It’s time to skip the Washington insider and elect a real public servant for governor of Virginia.
PHILLIP W. UNGER
BLACKSBURG
Vote for McAuliffe for governor
I could not pass by without an answer to Elizabeth Ashbrook’s letter in praise of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for our next governor (“Back Cuccinelli for governor,” Aug. 1).
Throughout his tenure, Cuccinelli has put his ideology ahead of the interests of Virginians.
One example is his browbeating of the Virginia Board of Health to prevent it from supporting health centers for women — in spite of the urgent need for these facilities. He threatened board members that he would not support them legally if they did not follow his edict.
In fact, Cuccinelli has joined Gov. Bob McDonnell as a recipient of monetary and personal favors from the CEO of Star Scientific, a company in a protracted tax dispute with the state.
Even if our laws are too weak to prohibit such acts, surely the attorney general should know that this is venal behavior — on both the governor’s part and his own.
Virginians need a governor who is concerned with their welfare — jobs, health, education — rather than placing his own interests first. I have found that Democrats care what happens to people. Vote for Terry McAuliffe.
LENORE BASSETT
DALEVILLE
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. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
4. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
7. WOYM: Fewer stinkbugs? You may have wasps to thank
8. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. CB Manning opts to transfer from Virginia Tech
THE ROANOKE TIMES
