Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508110081
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Our calendar has no year 0. 1 BC is followed immediately by 1 AD. Therefore, the first century ran from the year 1 to 100, the second from the year 101 to 200, the 19th from the year 1801 to 1900, and the 20th from 1901 to 2000. Note that the year 2000 is 20 times 100 - hence, 20th century.
It's the same with millennia: The first millennium (one thousand years) ended with the year 1000, and the second will end with the year 2000. The year 2001 is the first year of the third millennium, which will end with the year 3000, should there be anyone around to keep a calendar 1,000 years from now.
Someone recently researched old newspapers and found that there wasn't much notice taken of Jan. 1, 1900, but a great deal of attention was paid to the beginning of the 20th century on Jan. 1, 1901. As recently as the '70s, everyone understood that the book and film ``2001: A Space Odyseey'' referred to the first year of the 21st century. Why do we seem to be getting dumber all the time?
GAEL M. CHANEY MARTINSVILLE
The Allen era: dumb and dumber
OUR CURRENT governor never ceases to amaze me. Each week, it seems that he comes up with the dumbest move possible. But, no, the next week brings something more outrageous.
Recently, Allen handed out samples of Virginia cigarettes - an interesting action for one charged with the health of Virginia's citizens. But on reflection, it's in keeping with his policy of allowing almost any citizen to carry concealed weapons at all times and into all places. If a concealed weapon doesn't do the job quickly, the slower but just as effective cigarette smoke will! How does this connect with pro-life?
It's surprising that a graduate of Mr. Jefferson's university seems hellbent to reduce the quality of Virginia's education. Even members of his own party have said enough to cuts in the budgets of colleges and universities. They realize two obvious facts:
Institutions have cut much of their fat over the the past four years.
An investment in higher education is an investment in the future economic health of Virginia.
Thoughtless cuts in the education budget may get the attention of House Speaker Newt Gingrich, but he doesn't live in Virginia.
Take courage; all isn't lost. A Virginia that survived the ravages of the Civil War can also overcome the effects of the Allen administration.
FRANK SETTLE LEXINGTON
Virginia's own flag-burning police
CONGRESSMAN Robert Goodlatte and Sen. John Warner want a constitutional amendment to ban burning of the flag? What a huge problem this is, and it overwhelms the national debt, crime, welfare and education as an important issue.
Did they ever hear of Prohibition? Do they not realize that stupid, unenforceable laws belittle our great Constitution, and cause a loss of respect for the important laws?
Do they think for one fleeting second that if I see some nut case burning a flag, I'm going to rush out and call the Federal Bureau of Investigation? In a pig's eye that will happen!
No wonder we're fed up with Washington!
FRANK F. ELLIS III ROANOKE
Flag's symbolism: some don't get it
I TRUST Wayne Finch, (Aug. 5 letter to the editor, ``Too much ado for a piece of cloth'') who criticized Congressman Bob Goodlatte's stand on the proposed flag amendment to the Constitution, also lost four boyhood friends living within three blocks of his home, sloshed through snow and mud of the Ardennes, cracked the Siegfried line, ducked those 88s swishing overhead, and one day laughed with two of his comrades who were killed by enemy fire the next day.
If not, to me, he has no real comprehension of Chief Justice William Rehnquist's statement, Goodlatte's position, the First Amendment or the true purpose of the flag amendment, which doesn't take away one's rights but only adds strength and meaning to the Constitution.
GEORGE T. BLUME BLACKSBURG
The many benefits of mother's milk
WE ALL know that a mother's milk is the perfect food for her child. It contains all the necessary nutrients in the right proportions, and it provides antibodies and other substances to help a baby fight infection. Breast-feeding also benefits the mother's health by reducing the risk of breast cancer.
But have many people thought about how breast-feeding benefits the whole planet? Baby formula, made from cow milk or soya beans, must be processed, packaged and delivered by truck, train or ship. Bottles, nipples and liners must be made. At home, the formula must be rehydrated and heated, and bottles and nipples cleaned.
Think about all the material and energy used to make and deliver formula, the energy that goes into preparing it and cleaning up, the empty packages and used-up items that must be disposed of. Think about pesticides and herbicides used on cows and plants.
Breast milk is available when needed, at the right temperature, and with no mess, no fuss. It's the ultimate renewable resource.
CARROLL WILLIAMS BLACKSBURG
Trigon wins from patient-care losses
WITH increasing frequency, we're seeing articles in the Business section of your newspaper concerning the mounting legal and ethical problems that Trigon is facing with the state's attorney general's office.
Unfortunately, we all pay so that third-party payers like Trigon can continue to post record quarterly profits, as reimbursement by insurance companies to physicians continues to drop, and the general public has less and less control over which physician they can see and when. It's unfortunate that the doctor-patient relationship is being eroded by those whose only care is the bottom line, regardless what their slick advertisements say.
DAN M. PODESCHI
Anesthesiologist Lewis-Gale Clinic
SALEM
Evil empires had to be stopped
I AM aghast at Cody Lowe's Aug. 6 column (``A lot of Japanese reunions were canceled in advance 50 years ago'') and his reminiscence of 50 years and how many Japanese family reunions were canceled by the dropping of the atomic bomb. He's all wrong. Their reunions were canceled on Dec. 7, 1941, and they were unknowingly living on borrowed time until the bombs were dropped.
How many lives were lost in the bombing of Pearl Harbor, in the sinking of the Indianapolis, and on islands in the Pacific that were the stepping stones to Japan? These men never lived to have families of their own, and their immediate families had to forever live with their loss.
After being sunk in the North Sea, I was aboard ship in the Pacific heading toward the Philippines where troops and supplies were being amassed for the invasion of Japan. We were elated. We never thought that down the road Americans would remark that they felt sorry for these poor people who would never have a family reunion. War is hell. Self-survival is the ultimate goal.
Obviously, Lowe is one of these need-to-feel-good people. The question I have for him is: Where would we (he) be today if the evil empires of the World War II era had conquered the world?
This was their goal; the atomic bomb was our answer. The war was ended and many servicemen, including myself, came home eventually. Thank God!
EARL V. GILLESPIE JR. ROANOKE
by CNB