Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509150021
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Bess Truman was a nice Midwestern housewife who would have fainted if called upon to make a speech. Mamie Eisenhower's claim to fame was her status as a Denver debutante.
Jackie Kennedy reached her peak as an assistant editor of a fashion magazine. Pat Nixon was working in a five-and-dime store when she met Tricky Dick, and Betty Ford was a dancer.
Rosalynn Carter cracked the mold, but was by no means an intellectual. Barbara Bush was the nation's grandma. As for Nancy Reagan, leave her to heaven.
All of them were nice and delightful, but no threat to the good-old-boy male ego.
On the other hand, Clinton is a Yale law-school graduate and helped run a law firm. She's the premier woman in the world today, and can hold her own with heads of state anywhere. And for this, she's vilified by Republicans. Go figure.
JOHN W. SLAYTON
ROANOKE
Labor ills need deeper analysis
REGARDING your Sept. 4 editorial, ``Labor's value isn't lost'':
Did the editorial writer bother to read Jeremy Rifkin's commentary (``As work disappears, what will become of workers?'') of the same day? The editorial starts off with the statement, `` ... he implies that Americans must resist progress to protect jobs.'' Nowhere in the commentary does Rifkin say, or imply, that we must halt progress.
In fact, his commentary assumes that technological progress will continue, and asks the critical question: ``What are we going to do with the mass of American workers when it does?'' Half of the editorial argues that we cannot keep outmoded manufacturing methods, yet nothing of the kind is mentioned in the commentary.
It's interesting to note that a large part of the editorial is an acknowledgment that Rifkin is correct, but only that his answer to labor is wrong. Yet no alternative answer is offered. The only advice given is a general statement about the need to protect families and communities, and a need for public policies for better education and transition to ``higher-skilled, higher-wage work.'' This brings us to another major point in Rifkin's commentary. There are no discussions about, much less actual implementations of, any such policies. Indeed, Walter Wise's letter to the editor (``America's workers are under attack'') of the same day points out that policies currently in place are in danger of being dismantled.
At the beginning of the editorial, the writer performs a classic hamstring act by acknowledging that Rifkin seems credible, but only because he's one of the few people to broach the subject. The real reason he sounds credible is because of a well-reasoned, well-researched commentary that thoroughly examines the issue, unlike your editorial that offers the typical 30-second sound bite designed to soothe American's fears without providing any real information or answers.
JEROME GUYNN
CHRISTIANSBURG
No applause likely at this show's end
AS THE final curtain begins to come down on the Los Angeles Superior Court debacle, the focus of the rule of evidence has become totally blurred.
Relative to the mountain of circumstantial acts, my anthill of guilt rests with the initial motorized flight with a large bundle of cash and a passport? Why flee if innocent?
I suspect advance planning, and the reported jovial manner of the accused on the day and eve of this grisly encounter was merely a ploy to allay suspicion. Ron Goldman's untimely arrival was so startling that a double murder became necessary.
The total apathy and arrogance regarding the victims' families have been revolting to the extreme.
One thing made abundantly clear is that money talks, and the resulting crescendo will continue to reverberate for sometime. Yet actions lend credence (in my opinion) to the feeling of the general public that equality of justice has become passe.
Any lesser-known individual would have long since been tried, fried and forgotten. I expect O.J. to walk, but I assume he has a conscience. (Detective Fuhrman isn't on trial.)
GENE EVANS
ROANOKE
Bulldozing away Botetourt's values
I AM concerned about the proposed Greenfield development. As a lifelong resident of Botetourt County, it will always be home to me. Unfortunately, some of the plans the current Board of Supervisors is proposing are threatening to make my home unrecognizable.
I read with interest the comment in your newspaper (Aug. 6 article, ``History could remain buried'') that ``99 percent'' of the people consider this proposed development one of the best things to happen to our county. It was also stated that people would rather have the park next to them than ``1,600 houses.'' I find both statements extremely disturbing. In the countywide comprehensive plan, this land is zoned for agriculture, not for new homes or industry, light or otherwise.
Are you telling us that the plan, approved by the Board of Supervisors, isn't worth the paper it's written on? The plan, while not having the force of law, is a contract between the county and residents as to what's planned for the land around them.
If I move into an area zoned for light industry and a Coca-Cola plant moves in, I have nothing to argue about. If I move to an area zoned agricultural and the valley's largest industrial park is developed, I think I do have an argument. Someone has lied to me. What's more, I've had nothing to say about it, and it has cost me $4.5 million!
I feel the Board of Supervisors has done a great disservice to hundreds of people who have lived in Botetourt County all our lives enjoying the county's rural nature.
If you leapfrog this industrial development into the heart of the agricultural heartland rather than confining it to appropriate areas of the county, you are in effect condemning all the land in between. Roadside development will spring up from Interstate 81 to Fincastle. We don't want U.S. 220 to become Williamson Road. That's why we live in Botetourt, not Roanoke.
The Board of Supervisors has promised to place heavy restrictions on this industrial development, and will ``guarantee'' that buffers will be provided. Why should we believe this? This is the same group that promised us the land would be used for agricultural purposes!
I'm an architectural historian and work for a cultural-resources management consulting firm. I know the value of this land being condemned to development, and it isn't a monetary value. It's an aesthetic value that recognizes the land's history. That value is greatly diminished when you pave and grade it. You don't have to be a historian to know this. You simply need to love the land.
DEBRA ALDERSON McCLANE
RICHMOND
Signs of Roanoke's abiding intolerance
``DIVERSITY Enriches.'' Not a new idea, but suddenly it's something Roanoke fears to admit in public. Does this mean the city will cancel its annual multicultural festival?
Lamar Advertising's decision not to lease billboards to the Committee for Gay and Lesbian Concerns (Sept. 8 article, ``Company rejects ad from gay-rights panel'') makes an appalling statement about this community.
In almost 20 years here, I've known many people who practice tolerance of personal differences. On their behalf and mine, I encourage Lamar to rethink the impact of its action on economic development, individual freedoms and the quality of life in the Star (``We like it white, five-pointed, and electric'') City.
TERRY T. SMITH
ROANOKE
by CNB