ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 27, 1995 TAG: 9512270121
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
A LIBRARIAN friend tells of helping a fundamentalist Christian woman determine the pagan origins and significance of some holiday ritual or symbol through the library's reference works. My friend was unable to resist pointing out as the woman was leaving that had Christian Coalition efforts to censor the library's holdings been successful, they would have been unable to find the information sought.
Thus it's with horror that I view Rep. Bob Goodlatte's efforts to censor the information superhighway we've been hearing so much about. He seems to feel it's the federal government's responsibility to control the after-school activities of every child in the land, rather than allowing parents to do what most consider their job. Evidently, making every virtual inch of cyberspace safe for toddlers to wander unsupervised is more important than ensuring adults access to information they need to run their businesses or while away their free time.
Somewhere I'm sure there's somebody already starting to howl about ``smut on the Internet coming into my home ... ''
Grow up, folks! The only way anything off the Internet comes into your home is if you go out and search diligently for it. And if you do that, no amount of attempted government censorship will prevent your finding it. All that will happen, if the censors have their way, is that life will become that much harder for honest citizens attempting to go about their business.
Somebody should tell Goodlatte that censorship is always bad business. And mention that any parent who leaves their kids alone with operating electronic or mechanical devices deserves whatever happens. MICHAEL CORBIN LYNCHBURG
Costly new bridge should be razed
DAN Casey's Dec. 9 article, ``What to call walkway on council's mind,'' interested me.
If the bridge from Hotel Roanoke is to be named at all, it should be called ``Blunder Bridge'' or ``The Scar Walk'' (not ``Star Walk'') because it blocks the view of the main entrance to our famous and beautiful Hotel Roanoke.
What needs to be done eventually is to remove the costly bridge and rebuild the Hunter Viaduct, or build a combination automobile bridge and walkway across the railroad tracks at Jefferson Street. Only then can the best view of our hotel be seen again by the motoring public. HOSKINS M. SCLATER ROANOKE
The death penalty shouldn't be iffy
I DON'T know why it is, but The Roanoke Times' staff writers and television reporters in this area have the habit of making statements that claim some criminals could be facing the death penalty.
We have been given details of child murderers and mass murderers, random murders, multiple murders, jealousy murders, family murders, murders for hire, stalking murders and every other kind of senseless brutality one or more persons can inflict on others.
Who would someone have to kill for juries or judges in this area to give the death penalty? Aren't these people aware that by letting these heinous pieces of human garbage live, they are putting us in jeopardy? The rest of the trash that have the same mindless ideas figure, even if they get caught, that prison will be better than the life they now have.
We don't need to build more jails. We need to start executing criminals who deserve to be put to death. We need judges and juries who realize that prison isn't some tender-hearted privilege to bestow, but that death is an obligation to rid society of a danger. DOUGLAS CHANDLER GRAHAM SALEM
Don't count on a GOP rescue
I MUST respond to R. Keith Whitley's Dec. 11 letter, ``GOP attempts to rescue the nation'':
If the GOP plan is a rescue, I'm afraid we're doomed.
Whitley stated that anyone with an IQ of 75 could understand that the Republicans' plan will save this country. But simple mathematics shows that when a nation is operating at a deficit, this cannot be corrected with a tax cut.
I've heard all my life that Republicans favor the rich at the expense of the poor. The plan Congress submitted for a budget certainly proves this.
I'm one senior citizen who appreciates President Clinton's effort to protect Medicare and senior citizens. I hope all Medicare recipients will remember this at election time in 1996, even if he fails on Medicare. It makes me shudder to think what would happen to the budget if we had a Republican president now. RALPH W. FOSTER ROANOKE
LENGTH: Medium: 86 linesby CNB