ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140007
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A12 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
IN RESPONSE to Harry Wiesen's July 20 letter to the editor, ``Public bus service isn't practical'':
He asked the question: Is publicly subsidized bus service practical?
I can't say with certainty whether this service is practical or impractical. What I can say with certainty is that it's a necessary mode of transportation to and from work for many people with disabilities, and for others who are unable to acquire a driving permit. This is a population that generally wouldn't have the funds for taxis or private-car services.
Many of these people are those who have freed themselves from government subsidies by going to work and earning a paycheck rather than accepting the financial assistance available to them. If they were no longer able to get to and from these jobs they have fought for, many would be back receiving public assistance.
So, which is the better solution: people leading productive lives, using, perhaps, an impractical system of transportation - or nonproductive citizens sitting at home collecting disability, welfare or whatever other assistance is available to them? It seems to me it would be kind of like ``robbing Peter to pay Paul.''
GAEL DIXON
ROANOKE
Declare war on the tobacco industry
IT IS possible that a terrorist bomb killed the 260 passengers of TWA Flight 800. As horrible as that is, a much more nefarious plot has been revealed whereby the equivalent of four or more Flight 800s per day will be shot down in flames until these fiends are stopped.
The toll of innocent Americans murdered before their time? How about 415,000 each year? If this number is hard to comprehend, consider that it's like the space invaders of the movie ``Independence Day'' torching a population equal to every man, woman and child who lives in the Roanoke Valley every five or six months.
On an average day, tobacco terrorists will kill about 1,137 people. During an average week, they'll kill almost 8,000 Americans. And we haven't begun to count the giant piles of bodies beyond our borders.
The 415,000 figure isn't just a statistic - it's 415,000 American souls with precious lives ruined by an industry just as evil as Colombia's cocaine cartels. In Colombia, the cartels control the executive branch and most of the legislature. In America, the cancer lobby has bought the silence of hundreds of greedy politicians. Boot-licking words have even been heard from one prominent presidential candidate.
What should President Clinton do? Declare war!
The Japanese killed far fewer people when they hit Pearl Harbor just once. Clinton should declare war on the corporate mass-murderers who manufacture their highly addictive cigarettes. And while he's at it, he can seize the $50 billion they take from us every year. That money could be used as restitution to help families of their victims, with a nice fund set aside for the families of TWA Flight 800.
CLARK M. THOMAS
ROANOKE
Bogaczyk's insight on the Olympics
MY COMPLIMENTS to Jack Bogaczyk on his columns about the Summer Olympics games from Atlanta.
His columns were a pleasure to read, as they were informative and gave insight as to how things were in Atlanta. I looked forward to them each day.
MALVINE P. GRAHAM
PULASKI
Pentagon budget should be next
NOW THAT we have cut all welfare aid to the poor people and children, I think we should now cut all corporate welfare, waste and abuse in Pentagon spending.
WILLIAM R. VEST
ROANOKE
LENGTH: Medium: 77 linesby CNB