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Gov. Mark Sanford, Sens. John Ensign, David Vitter, and Larry Craig -- please remind me again why the GOP can claim to be the party of family values?

-- Greg Wilmoth, Chesterfield

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I'll provide the Windex if that will solve the "transparency" problems.

-- Jim Petty, Midlothian

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The headline proclaiming that "Overhaul of Diamond is Last Plan Standing" just as well could have read "the Best Plan Standing." It always has been the best plan! Several years ago an excellent renovation plan was on the table and ready to go. Had it been accepted and implemented then rather than being pushed to the back burner by a former city politician and special interest groups, area fans very likely would still be watching the Braves play triple-A baseball. Now at least, there is real hope that The Diamond at last will be renovated and become home to another team (although one playing at a lower level).

-- Roscoe Puckett, Richmond

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The recent stories about the harmful effects of methane emission from cows make me wonder how millions of buffalo in our West flatulated happily for thousands of years and made the prairies bloom. They co-existed successfully with Native Americans until the white man decided to get rid of both. Today the most noxious gas harmful to U.S. citizens emanates from Washington, D.C.

-- Arthur Muroff , Port Haywood

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The president kills a fly and PETA and the news media make a big deal about it. Michael Vick gets more time for killing a dog than another football player gets for killing a human being. There is low regard for the sanctity of human life and that is a major problem with the world today. The bottom line is, until we get our priorities straight this world will continue to get worse.

-- Steve Burton, Glen Allen

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Doesn't anyone see that the timid, passive handling of the Iran crisis by this administration as reminiscent of the failed handling of Nazi Germany by Britain's late Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain prior to World War II? One thing is for sure, if this administration doesn't develop some intestinal fortitude, our staunch ally Israel will take care of business.

-- Charles Elam, Chesterfield

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The only way government can control health care costs is to control how much health care you can receive.

-- James Howard Humphrey, Richmond

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Isn't it nice that the House and Senate have just passed a $106 billion emergency spending bill to continue to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? The bill goes to the president for his signature with hardly a blip of opposition from the Democrats who so harshly blasted the Bush administration when it tried to pass similar bills. Where are Nancy Pelosi's, Harry Reid's, and John Murtha's boisterous cries now? How things change when the shoe is on the other foot.

-- Howard E. Bartholf, Henrico

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This administration needs a semanticist czar. Perhaps he or she could come up with a word more appropriate than czar.

-- Noreen Brown, Richmond

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With regard to the health care dilemma: We have heard about HMO, pharmaceutical, and medical insurance costs. It appears the physicians and medical support people have been left out of the equation. They should be the primary source of input. Would you trust your life to your physician or a politician?

-- Henry Manger, Midlothian

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PETA notwithstanding, President Obama should squash Kim Jong Il just like the fly during his White House interview.

-- Tom Earles, Culpeper