ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603190004
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
I READ your Feb. 26 commentary (``Seeking child-custody parity - for women''). Not only did I find this commentary irritating, but I wonder where some of the statistics came from. Certainly not from anywhere near Montgomery County. Check area statistics to see how many men gain custody of their children. I bet there aren't many.
Has it occurred to anyone that there may be other reasons than financial ones for some men getting custody? In the current custody system, there's no justice for the children. Parents routinely bribe their children to have them stay with them or to persuade them not to speak to the other parent. David Levy was right - the courts pick winners and losers.
I was raised by two loving parents. Both were equally important in my life. When women, judges and, yes, men, too, finally see that it takes two to make these little people, and it takes two people to successfully raise them, maybe things will change. Until then, however, don't try to tell me that poor women don't get fair treatment in court.
My father has been one of the most influential and important men in my life. Give men the chance to be important in their children's lives. They need it, and so do the kids.
MELISSA ROBINSON
BLACKSBURG
`Friends' sets a bad example for kids
I WAS disgusted by the Feb. 8 episode of ``Friends.'' I felt that the characters Ross and Rachel, who were supposedly in love, were portrayed completely out of character with what would have happened on their first two dates in real life.
I'm appalled that, with the teen-age pregnancy rate what it is and sexually transmitted diseases so prevalent in our society, these two characters were portrayed so irresponsibly.
I'm 36 years old and know that this isn't accepted, expected or real-life. But what about children and teen-agers who watched this show? This episode portrayed love as a cheap experience, and gave our young people wrong impressions, immoral and unsafe ideas, and disappointment. What kind of role models are these people? If they weren't intended to be role models, then why is this show aired at 8 p.m. when young children are eager to watch television?
My family and I have decided to stop watching ``Friends'' for good. As they say, ``With friends like these, who needs enemies?''
TAMMY CEDERGREN
ROANOKE
Tennessee is still monkeying around
I GUESS Tennessee schoolteachers should be cautious about teaching evolution in the face of overwhelming evidence that their state legislature hasn't evolved at all since the Scopes trial (March 5 article, ``Tennessee re-debates evolution'').
GENE GARDNER
CHRISTIANSBURG
Gingrich looks after only the rich
I AGREE with Vandora Raines (Feb. 12 letter to the editor, ``Gingrich is out to destroy America''). The way House Speaker Newt Gingrich got that job was that rich people put him there. I'm sure no working person wants him there.
If he and his supporters had to live for one month on what a retired person or a $30,000-a-year working man have to live on, they would find a different way to try to balance the budget. They would try to work with the president and those who are trying to do a job for the middle class and the retired as well as for the rich.
Gingrich forgets that there are poor people in America.
MARIE FOLEY
CATAWBA
Power companies have money to burn
THE NEXT time our local power monopoly seeks to raise rates or mar our countryside, I hope regulators will remember the millions of dollars wasted on pointless advertising. Anyone wishing to know the name of the electric company need only look at the monthly bill.
And instead of that pricey newspaper ad on Feb. 14, couldn't Duke Power have said its "thanks" to the few it was really trying to impress with a few 32-cent postage stamps?
These exclusive corporations must have money to burn. Of course, if they did burn the money, at least it would be producing energy!
BRIAN HUNT
ROANOKE
Base assessments on selling price
AS A resident of Roanoke city, I protest its method of assessing property. My wife and I are over 70 years of age. I served in combat in World War II in Europe, doing my duty to preserve our country and our way of life, only to come home and be taxed unfairly.
The only fair way to assess property is to assess it on the amount of last sale. You'll say it's worth more than that, but it isn't worth a penny more until it's sold, so the city's method is unfair taxation.
City officials want more money so they can spend it uselessly. The city can indefinitely raise taxes on property until a five-room house is worth $10 million. Does that make sense? No.
The governing body is supposed to abide by the wishes of the people. I don't believe there's one person in the city who wishes their taxes be raised.
WILLIAM L. CARTER
ROANOKE
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