Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994 TAG: 9406090028
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The report stated, ``It is obvious that this law has a positive impact on a good number of establishments in Virginia. More seasonal jobs were created for the extended period.''
According to the United States Travel Data Center, Virginia's travel expenditures increased from less than $6.1 billion in 1986 to almost $6.9 billion in 1987, the first year after the passage of the school-opening statute. This increase of almost $800 million in one year impacted all segments of the tourism industry. For the hotel-motel segment, total sales for those two weeks increased by 7.7 percent as compared to the same period in 1985.
Labor Day weekend is probably the busiest one of the summer season, and employers need students as summer employees then. If schools open before Labor Day, some student employees may be unable to work that weekend, and some employers might decide not to hire them. Summer jobs help prepare students for employment after their education, and allow many to finance their college education. If students are unable to work in the busiest period of the summer, these important work experiences will be denied them.
Potomac Survey Research, Inc., recently conducted an extensive statewide poll that revealed a nearly 3-to-1 ratio of Virginians in favor of opening schools after Labor Day. The strong preference for that opening was consistent throughout every region of Virginia.
G. FRANK CLEMENT
ROANOKE
Sen. Robb deserves re-election
U.S. SEN. Charles Robb is fighting to win his party's nomination for a second term. His record is overshadowed by a temporary, but acknowledged, lack of judgment in his private life. Now we stand in judgment, applying a test of conduct that many wouldn't pass.
We forget that Robb volunteered for service in Vietnam when others chose an easier path. He was decorated for valor while serving his country. We disregard his exemplary stewardship of Virginia while governor and forget he has served us as senator for six years. Robb is a statesman, not just a politician, and is willing to take a stand while others bend to pressure of political winds.
While governor, Robb helped allocate more than $1 billion in additional money to public education, without raising taxes. He oversaw the creation of more than 400,000 new jobs while reducing government's size. He led the fight for children's health care.
In the Senate, he has supported a balanced-budget amendment and line-item veto, tougher sentences for criminals, the Brady Bill, support for education and full funding for Head Start.
This isn't a record of a man described as a puppet to special-interest groups, but of one who is dedicated to Virginia's citizens, regardless of the consequences, and one who makes hard, sometimes politically unpopular choices. Democrats should look at Robb's record when deciding who is best able to represent Virginia. It's this record that strongly recommends him for another term.
Health-care reform, welfare reforms and conversion to a post-Cold War world are daunting challenges indeed. It will take a man of vision to make the right decisions and help lead us to a better tomorrow. Robb has done that in the past, and with the support of Virginians, will do so in the future.
HENRY SCHOLZ
ROANOKE
A famous mother's questionable image
DOES anybody really wonder about the downward spiral of moral values in American society? Just read the May 16 Extra section article by New York columnist Caryn James (``Virginia Kelley's book, like herself, is simply refreshing'') where she reviews the autobiography of President Clinton's mother.
James begins by saying that while Lillian Carter worked in the Peace Corps and Rose Kennedy had religious devotion, Kelley spent her time gambling, drinking, carousing, smoking and entertaining herself. She unbelievably adds, ``This is why she is so much more endearing to us than the others. It's easier to identify with her.''
Not to those with moral values. What kind of sons did she raise? Are they men with values that make our world a better place? James also points out, ``The book is a shrewd exercise in image making.'' Bill Clinton spends every waking moment ``image making.'' Mother taught him well.
When a leading newspaper writer identifies with a person who personifies selfishness instead of a life of service, we no longer need to question what's happened to put our country in turmoil.
MRS. DAN J. BECKNER
CHRISTIANSBURG
Police know guns are effective tools
A LETTER in the May 19 Ann Landers column said, ``The delusion persists that a gun is an effective method of self-defense.'' The argument was good; the logic faulty.
The argument: Since guns make such good weapons, criminals with guns always have the advantage, to the point of being unstoppable. Therefore, guns have no legitimate use in self-defense. Rubbish!
A gun's no magical device. It requires practice to use it well - an advantage to law-abiding citizens. Criminals are often short-cut artists who think they shouldn't work for things they want. Those working for what they want have the advantage over those who don't.
Why do police carry guns if they're ineffective? Obviously, police believe handguns are useful for saving lives. These tools aren't available only to criminals (not yet anyway). Law-abiding citizens can use them to protect themselves, their families and others.
The letter writer wasn't trained in using a handgun, and should be careful when talking about those who are. (Talking about easy access to ``not just ordinary guns ... [but] the most deadly handguns and automatics'' lacks understanding. It's illegal to sell automatic firearms to the public, and has been for years.)
A gun is a tool, and the morality or immorality of its use is decided by its user. If an attacker must be stopped to prevent innocent deaths, it's immoral to arm police or the head of a household with anything less than the most effective tools available. A gun is a useful tool - necessary, unfortunately, for the protection of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
MONTA ELKINS
BLACKSBURG
Advertising your taste for smoke
REGARDING the May 24 Extra section article by staff writer Kevin Kittredge, ``Cigars all around'':
How times change. When I was a kid back in the '30s, only a redneck or uneducated clod would smoke a cigar with the advertising band still on it. Leaving it on was about the same as wearing clothing with price tags attached.
THOMAS M. MARTIN
BEDFORD
Politics wearing a religious mask
REGARDING the May 14 article in this newspaper about the Rev. Jerry Falwell selling the anti-Clinton video (``Falwell markets anti-Clinton video'' from the Los Angeles Times):
Those catching the ``Old Time Gospel Hour'' while flipping through channels on Sunday mornings may think they've found the Home Shopping Network. `` For $40 on your Visa or Mastercard, this can be yours,'' Falwell says with a ``gotcha'' smirk. Although many think his motivation is merely a continuing effort to get out of financial hot water, it's obvious his let's-get-Bill campaign is part of a larger political plan.
If you watch his hawking of these conspiracy-minded video tapes, a pattern becomes obvious. He says that as Christians we have to pray Clinton will change or ``remove'' him. This remark comes right after he speaks of Clinton's ``liberal, radical, socialist'' policies, meaning anything with which Republicans don't agree. I'm reminded of ``The Godfather'' movie, when Marlon Brando threatens to squeeze out (``remove'') the opposition if they don't cooperate.
After the Moral Majority helped elect Reagan, the religious right was determined, at any cost, not to let anyone into the White House who didn't agree with its agenda. Now, religious-right leaders refuse to work with a Democratic president. Instead, they've become godfathers of rhetoric and conspiracy theories in an effort to ``remove'' him.
Falwell's inflammatory rhetoric and political name-calling seem inappropriate on a program that's supposed to be about Jesus Christ's grace. When politics masquerade as religion, we have a problem. And when that masquerade patronizingly attempts to control policy, we no longer live in a free nation. I don't think our founding fathers had this in mind.
B.J. BOWMAN
HILLSVILLE
Keywords:
LETTERS
by CNB