Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1994 TAG: 9407200002
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The state is like Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's ``Through the Looking Glass '':
``When I use a word,'' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ``it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.''
``The question is,'' said Alice, ``whether you can make words mean so many different things.'' ``The question is,'' said Humpty Dumpty, ``which is to be master - that's all.''
Organized crime is efficient and brutal, with enormous financial resources. It's in business to make money and is quite ruthless in attaining and maintaining that objective. Organized crime deals in illegal activities such as selling hard drugs, prostitution, gambling and so on. As long as the law prohibits certain personal activities and makes those actions illegal, organized crime will use its financial resources to see that the activities stay illegal. Otherwise, it would go out of business.
If gambling stays illegal in Virginia, organized crime will continue to flourish, seen and unseen. It's the beast's nature.
The Virginia lottery organization spends thousands of dollars advertising the lottery. In other words, the state is trying to persuade Virginians to spend their hard-earned dollars by gambling on the lottery with its 7 million-to-1 odds. Even professional gamblers give their suckers better odds than that. And pray tell me, what benefits have accrued to the state from the lottery?
LOUIS P. GLENN ROANOKE
Virginia GOP has deserted its values
WITH OLIVER North's nomination for the U.S. Senate, we see the beginning of the end of Virginia's Republican Party - at least as I've known it.
To see those steely blue eyes over the podium seriously declare that he - nurtured at the government's breast since his teen years as a Naval Academy student, a member of the National Security Council's White House staff, Ronald Reagan's self-proclaimed confidant, a former lieutenant colonel retired on a substantial government pension, who's suddenly accumulated millions of dollars - is an ``outsider'' is nauseating.
The GOP once represented true conservative values - freedom from slavery, equal opportunity for all, and defense of our republican form of government. Gradually, it became the tool of big business and forgot the plight of the ordinary citizen. It has worked on the national scene to regain the regard in which it once was held. Its balanced labor policies, maintenance of control over large corporate enterprises, and growing social conscience have gained it the voters' regard, particularly in view of the swing of the Democratic Party to corruption, venality and economic policies based on ever-higher taxes and greater spending.
Unfortunately, the Republican answer now seems to be a veer to the extreme right - the adoption of religious fanaticism in response to the ``do as thou wilt'' philosophy of the left. America's answer lies, as always, in the center.
As a Republican, I thank God for men of principle, like John Warner, who refuse to support a confessed scoundrel, probably to their own cost. They represent the only hope our party has to continue as a viable force in Virginia, and I'm happy to join them in refusing to hold my nose and support a party that's long since left men who believe there's no room here for extremism. We don't need a new McCarthy.
CABELL F. COBBS ROANOKE
Almighty buck put before education
REGARDING the June 5 letter to the editor by G. Frank Clement favoring the post-Labor Day school-opening statute (``Public favors post-Labor Day law''):
As a mother of young children, I cannot believe Virginia's misplaced priorities in enacting such a law. Children are Virginia's future, and education is the key to their success. It's incomprehensible that the quest for the almighty (tourism) buck can be a priority over our children's intellectual pursuits. This legislation affects all children, not just those seeking gainful summer employment.
Furthermore, the greatest impacts on tourism dollars over a Labor Day weekend are the state of the economy and the weather forecast, not employed high-school and college students.
The issue isn't the few days of school that our students will not experience before Labor Day. The issue is that Virginia is legislating for dollars at our children's expense.
TAMI COLELLA ROANOKE
Sen. Bell has built a solid record
ONE OF the most unified and strongest committees in the Republican Party of Virginia is in Roanoke County. I know this because, as vice chairman of the Roanoke County Republican Committee, I speak with voters every day. We were unified for Gov. Allen, Congressman Goodlatte, supporting Col. Oliver North, and we'll be unified next year for state Sen. Brandon Bell!
Regarding William Stump's June 9 letter (``Anti-gun vote will haunt Bell''), I oppose any gun control, yet I support Bell's vote for the Republican compromise on the one-gun-a-month legislation. In fact, 16 of the 18 Republican senators supported the compromise. Bell is also pro-gun. But this isn't the only reason he's doing such a great job. He's fought hard to keep taxes down, worked to allow local schools to open before Labor Day if they choose, and strived to give disadvantaged kids the choice of which school they could attend. He even secured funding for local projects that Democrats (who control the Statehouse) couldn't accomplish. He doesn't allow government to dictate what his constituents can and cannot do, and he works hard so that his constituents have a choice in government.
In staff writer Dwayne Yancey's May 23 news article, ``1995 contest forming,'' he didn't interview one Republican (except Bell) or even one independent voter on this situation. The reason he only asked disgruntled Democrats was because he knew there's strong support for Bell from Republicans, independents and many Democrats.
RONKEITH ADKINS Vice-chairman, Roanoke County Republican Committee ROANOKE
Spread the gospel, not the gossip
I THOUGHT Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson were supposed to be evangelists and God's messengers, preaching the gospel all over the world to people like me. God's messengers shouldn't be burdened with spreading gossip that other people get paid to do.
For the past year, I've listened and watched Falwell and Robertson, and they've had nothing but Bill Clinton and sex on their minds. I can't find Clinton's name in the Bible. I did find ``Love thy neighbor as thyself'' and ``Judge ye not.'' They're trying to break up Clinton and his family for a little bit of money and politics. I hope Hillary has what it takes to hang in there with her husband. Anyone listening to them can tell which political party they belong to.
I turned on the TV recently, and thank God Falwell has started selling gospel tapes. I've been praying for him!
VIRGINIA E. BLEVINS MARION
Correction
IN MARY A. Simmons' June 17 letter to the editor, the sentence should have read: After all, we've worked and paid our way through the years.
Achievements by blacks overlooked
WHY IS it that news media do not cover more positive achievements of young black men and women in this community? I read, see and hear numerous news reports on teen pregnancy, teen drug usage and teen crime in the black community, but see very little coverage of positive things that are happening.
On June 3, the Alliance for Excellence, which is a partnership developed by black churches with community colleges for the purpose of increasing opportunities for minorities in higher education, held its eighth annual awards program here.
During this program, more than 75 black 11th- and 12th-grade high-school students from Roanoke Valley area high schools, including Franklin County and Lord Botetourt, were honored for academic achievements this year. Also honored for academic achievements were 22 black students attending Virginia Western Community College. Especially noteworthy were the academic memorial plaques given to selected black students attending Virginia Western in memory of seven outstanding black community leaders who lived in the Roanoke Valley.
The news media should present positive role models for our young people. They need to tell success stories within our community and offer a sense of hope. Lord knows we need it! This valley's news media need to pursue and promote programs of achievement in the black community, as they do in the white community, if we ever plan to have unity here.
MYLES W. JACKSON ROANOKE
by CNB