Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 4, 1994 TAG: 9410040039
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
I, too, am concerned about the possible lack of competition. Our government's record of subsidizing emerging national infrastructure is checkered, from the railroad robber barons to the unqualified success of the interstate highway system.
The significance of this issue can hardly be overstated, involving the most explosively growing sector of our economy and the structure around which our future will surely be woven. It's important for people to become aware of what's being done in their name, and in their pocket.
The justification for government involvement has been based on the assumption that the ``highway'' will not be built unless risks are passed off to consumers through subsidies and resultant taxes.
Do you know Internet was conceived as a communications network that couldn't be killed by all-out nuclear war, that it's growing 10 percent a month, that no one owns it, no one can bill for it, and no one can kill it?
You can connect with this free, if you're a university student, or you can join Infinet in the Roanoke area to get 50 hours of time a month for 50 cents an hour. Competition is bringing this gateway charge down, and some cities have free local access as an infrastructure incentive. Many more will soon.
I would imagine this scares the devil out of corporate CEOs who see a revenue resource escaping. Regulated and allocated information highways? I don't think it makes sense.
JACK PRICE MONETA
The whitewashing of Robb's character
YOUR BIAS is plain to see. At every opportunity, this newspaper takes gratuitous shots at Oliver North, but treats Sen. Chuck Robb's character problems in a very low-key manner.
You act like you forgot what you published about Robb earlier. An April 1, 1992, column by Ray Garland stated: ``First, there was NBC News featuring Tai Collins; then there was Billy Franklin's well-documented book; finally came the Wilder tape that touched off a formal investigation by the U.S. attorney.''
The column included the information: ``In addition to Collins, NBC presented a credible witness in Gary Pope, a respectable Virginia Beach businessman with no apparent motive to lie, who said he was near Robb at a party where cocaine was being openly snorted in the governor's presence.'' The most shocking information was: ``Franklin, a lawyer, private investigator and former member of the state's advisory board of polygraph examiners, revealed the names of those he says signed sworn affidavits, not only placing Robb at events where cocaine was openly used but describing his personal use.''
You don't inform us that Franklin alleged that Robb had sexual relations with prostitutes. Rarely, if ever, do you remind us that ``Honest Robb'' still insists he went to a motel room with a beauty queen and undressed for her to give him a ``back massage.''
While you continually publish any uncorroborated accusations against North, you're silent about documented, extremely damaging information about Robb. You strive to make character the primary issue in the campaign, print questionable charges against North, and ignore derogatory information about Robb. It's obvious you're very biased for Robb and against North.
CHARLIE L. LINKOUS RADFORD
Immunity isn't exoneration
WARREN FISKE'S front-page article (Sept. 2, ``Did North lie? The answer isn't black-and white'') left some doubt as to whether Oliver North is a liar. Fiske's review of the record came up with one instance when North told the truth, i.e., ``during six days of nationally televised testimony before the Senate and House Intelligence Committees in 1987.''
But your staff writer failed to point out that North did so only after being granted immunity from criminal prosecution based on that testimony. His high-priced lawyer advised him to go ahead and tell the truth, saying that no one would ever be able to use it against him. As we've seen, Brendan Sullivan was right. North's convictions of three felonies were later overturned on a technicality based on that grant of immunity.
Now, North is running around the commonwealth claiming that he was exonerated of the three felony convictions. This too, of course, is a lie.
JAMES T. MICKLEWRIGHT HUDDLESTON
Government has take-away attitude
CORRECT ME if I'm wrong. I'm a middle-class average person who has a say in the way this country operates. My past education stated that the president and Congress worked for me.
They're paid by taxpayers, not political-action committees, lobbyists and special-interest groups that bribe. The president and Congress are to work for this country's betterment, not ruin it for personal gain. They're elected to assist our people, not everyone else in the world. They're elected to put the American citizen first, not on the back burner behind wealthy corporations and big business.
Let's do this: Enact the line-item veto, and have term limits (two terms per congressman). Have a truth amendment to the Constitution - government has to be honest with the public in its dealings. Ban PACs and lobbying. If anyone is caught accepting a bribe, they're expelled and convicted. Quit playing politics on serious issues, as do both Republicans and Democrats. Make and develop jobs for welfare recipients to give pride in getting the taxpayers' money. Let the elderly, who have paid into Social Security, retire with benefits. Take benefits away from drug addicts, alcoholics, and those who have never worked. Don't take away from taxpayers, or make them pay more to give to those who never pay taxes. Give veterans care and benefits they deserve and have earned. Give an honest answer to the POW/MIA issue.
If the government's take-away attitude continues, the working person will have nothing, and others and Congress will have it all. If you earn it, you should have it. If not, then you shouldn't get a free ride. Maybe this attitude will start to flourish among those who pay the bills our elected officials develop.
STEVE HARR SHAWSVILLE
Don't celebrate celebrities' exploits
GRANTED, ``The People Column'' (from wire reports) represents a gossip column, features mostly oddball incidents, quotes, etc., and very probably isn't taken seriously by too many of your readers. However, the Aug. 27 column reached a new low.
Your younger readers may or may not be influenced by celebrities' accounts of first-time sexual encounters, but certainly a newspaper editor should think twice before printing that garbage. Yes, it happens: Many young people have sex at a too-young age. But why publicize and thereby glorify and encourage more of the same by printing such an article?
Cher, Madonna, Phil Donahue and Don Johnson never were among my favorite entertainers, but the inclusion of Dustin Hoffman, an obviously great actor, surprised me. Not because he ``rolled in the hay'' at age 12 with his 17-year-old ``baby'' sitter, but I was surprised that a person with his following would permit such an encounter to be publicized and very possibly have an influence on some of his fans.
In any event, editor, thanks for nothing.
PHILIP R. TOALE LEXINGTON
The hazards of eating animals
YOUR Sept. 21 Associated Press article (``Saturated fat raises risk to women''), which was about a Yale University study of the relationship between diet and incidence of ovarian cancer, confirms the health hazards of a diet high in animal fat.
The study concludes that women who consume 10 grams of animal fat increase their risk of ovarian cancer by 20 percent, while women who eat a low-fat, high-fiber diet reduce their risk by the same amount.
This recent study joins an endless stream of reports about the health hazards of cholesterol and saturated fats. Animal fats and proteins have been linked conclusively to various cancers. Cholesterol (found only in animal foods) and excessive protein consumption associated with an animal product-based diet are responsible for a number of other debilitating conditions.
It's tragic so many women and men continue to suffer from a multitude of diseases that we can control simply by eating a balanced plant-based diet. Rather than enslaving ourselves to pharmaceutical companies, we could make the choice to have healthy bodies and live longer, more productive lives.
MELISSA M. SNIDER BLACKSBURG
by CNB