Letters to the editor

Letters to the editor / News Virginian
Published: August 4, 2007

Lack of leadership

Are forming committees, attending meetings and writing letters in an attempt to overturn, prevent or reverse stupid, outrageous, illogical decisions or laws made by elected officials wastes of time-

Obviously, the answer is no.

However, if elected officials were educated in Christian principles, moral values, real economics, common sense and logic, and if they had their focus on local communities and country as their first priority instead of themselves, just think how much time and money citizens would save.

This time and money could be more wisely spent with families and helping the less fortunate.

Let's examine a few examples: President Bush wanted to pass the stupid immigration bill against the will of over 80 percent of the American people (I think his logic was: This is what I want, and I don't care about the desires of the American people).

Likewise, Waynesboro City Council, with the exception of Tim Williams and Frank Lucente, did the same thing with the Waynesboro Theatre Alliance project (in our face - we will approve the WTA project even though the majority of Waynesboro citizens oppose it).

Will the voters re-elect Nancy Dowdy, Lorie Smith and Tom Reynolds- Probably not.

Is Doug Walker the driving force behind the chaotic mess and out-of-control spending in Waynesboro- He will likely move on to better things, leaving Waynesboro and its citizens with huge problems.

Another example is renaming Kate Collins Middle School. No need for the NRA, if elected officials comply with the U.S. Constitution.

Also, no need for the Family Foundation and many other organizations if God, country and community were the prime focus of corrupt politicians.

Taxpayers are like abused adults - they keep re-electing corrupt government officials who continue to raise their taxes, give taxpayer money to private organizations, etc.
Leadership in America - where-

John Wingfield
Waynesboro

The planet is dying

Are we now experiencing the ongoing suicide of planet Earth- Climatologists will hypothesize, rationalize, summarize and fail to recognize the facts of life. It's happening now; when will we all face reality- Relating to published facts, not emotionalism, globally, we are experiencing:

Melting of ice in the polar caps

Reducing snow lines in the Alps (Europe) and the mountains of the North American continent

Diminishing coral reefs in the North Atlantic and off Australia due to the warming of oceans

An arid Australia

Globally, around 100 million tons of pollutants are discharged into the atmosphere annually

Due to warm Atlantic Ocean waters, the crab population along the East Coast is diminishing

An area off the coast of Louisiana recently was declared the "dead zone"

Brazil's Amazon forests are being diminished by man, adversely affecting the ecosystem

According to newspaper pundits, the fossil fuel producers and consumers who are prime contributors to atmospheric conditions will not be pressured to improve conditions since they are prime contributors to our two major political parties, i.e., politicians don't bite the hand that feeds them.

There's more, but you get the idea. So you say I'm an alarmist- Get real.

Byrd L. Rawlings II
Waynesboro