Letters to the Editor: Private Rest Stops Benefit Weary Drivers
Private Rest Stops Benefit Weary Drivers
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Last weekend, as I traveled north through Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey, it was brought home to me once again what all the rest stops in these states have in common: They are all privately run, and are extremely successful. Every rest stop is equipped with two gas stations, designated spaces for truckers to stop and catch up on their sleep, enormous restrooms, and lots of food choices.
These states long ago realized that rest stops, which are necessary to all travelers, rightly belong in the hands of private companies. The resulting rents paid by these companies enrich each state. A minus has been turned into a plus, and everyone wins -- especially the weary, hungry driver who desperately needs a bathroom.
Virginia lawmakers, please don't just throw up your hands and declare failure. Contact these other states, see how it's been successfully done, and keep our rest stops open.
Penelope Shaw Farace.
Glen Allen.
Voter Apathy Is Expensive
Editor, Times-Dispatch: I and nine others were poll workers at a Henrico precinct for the June 9 Democratic primary. We arrived at 4:45 a.m.. and stayed until 8:30 p.m., working a 15-and-a-half-hour day. We were compensated for a total of $1,500.
The kicker is that a total of 178 people cared enough to vote that day. Henrico tax dollars were hard at work on primary day, but the taxpayers were barely visible. One thousand, five hundred dollars were paid to the workers and a mere 178 votes were cast. Voter apathy is expensive.
Miles F. Johnson.
Richmond.
Au Pair Story Was Heartfelt and Uplifting
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Thank you for the uplifting and heartfelt news story, "Perfect Pair: Brazilian Au Pair Cares for Henrico Teen, Wins International Recognition," regarding au pair Ricardo Araujo. I sat and drank my Sunday morning coffee with tears streaming down my face. This young man certainly deserved the recognition bestowed on him. The relationship he formed with Taylor Boyer is a true testament to human compassion in a world filled with chaos.
Bill Lohmann did an outstanding job on this article.
Jane Atkisson.
Glen Allen.
Bill Does More Harm Than Warming Would
Editor, Times-Dispatch: I am really upset that the House passed the cap-and-trade climate bill. I strongly hope that it will not pass through the Senate. I refuse to pay more for my electricity and other products because of the misguided politicians who supposedly represent us.
I firmly believe that there is no proof of any man-made global warming, and this whole movement amounts to nothing but a scam. Even if the planet is warming, whether because of man or because of the natural cycles of the Earth, the important thing to realize is that this will not hurt the Earth! The Earth can adapt to changes in the climate, as it always has. Warming or cooling may hurt or inconvenience the people on the planet, but it won't hurt the Earth.
And for those who say it will hurt the polar bears, there is such a warped attitude that animals are more important than people, and it needs to be changed.
In the 1970s they were predicting an ice age; what happened to that? You can't reason with the global-warming extremists: If it is hot, they say it is because of man-made global warming, and if it is cold, they say it is because of man-made global warming. Plus, how much of a difference can the U.S. make when other countries won't be doing the same things to "save the planet" that we might be doing?
I am not for waste, and I support wind, solar, and nuclear power options, but passing this bill will result in higher prices for everyone, and the loss of millions of jobs in the U.S. Let us work on developing energy options -- but in the meantime we should be drilling for our own oil, and expanding our nuclear energy program.
Michael Paley.
Richmond.
Congress Deserves Its Low Approval
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Among the small group of people in government who had the authority to prevent the current worldwide financial calamity were Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
Dodd chose to obtain a mortgage at a highly favorable rate from a company in California rather than a mortgage from a bank in his own state. That the mortgage company fell under the jurisdiction of the Banking Committee immediately raises a question of impropriety.
Both the congressman and the senator repeatedly assured us all was well in the subprime mortgage business, a blunder of unimagineable proportions. The Managed Funds Association, whose members are the very loosely controlled hedge-fund managers and whose members helped bring on the current crisis, are concerned that the they may lose their very favorable tax rate of 17 percent, as compared to most workers who are taxed at 35 percent.
These same people, some of whom made hundreds of millions of dollars, are holding fundraisers for both Frank and Dodd to curry their favor in an attempt to retain favored status. They may very well succeed. No member of Congress has raised the issue of impropriety, because it is standard practice.
Is anyone surprised that a recent poll found the public has a 79 percent disapproval rating of Congress?
Walter Zadan.
Williamsburg.
Reader Reactions
Blackbird-I hope that I didn’t give you the impression that I was annoyed.
On the contrary you gave my family and I a good laugh.
I know that I tend to get carried away
on that particular subject.
It was a good debate all around. New information every day keeps the discussion going.
That is the most important thing. To always question. Like you do.
OK, then we are mostly in agreement! I enjoy the give and take on these things. Here’s to hoping we can effectively address these issues soon!
Later, JC
Greta
I am only jesting with you! I know
you have some great insight into the problem, but I just don’t agree with the way you pidgeon hole the “other” problems of fossil fuel and don’t take a holistic view of our addiction to fossil fuel. It’s not only you, it’s the whole debate. And John Carter, thanks for the note. And as far as “one day soon”...I heard a Saudi Oil minister speaking the other day..they are predicting they will be out of oil in about 90 years. That is NOT that far away. Especially when you look at when these cap and trade regulations are supposed to start taking effect.
Thanks for the note John, I too think a carbon tax would be a more efficient way, but you hit it right on the head with your “tax” analysis.
Greta, James Hansen would be the first one to tell you of the dangers of man made CO2. I agree, Cap and Trade is a bloated mess, but it’s the only thing big industry will allow to get through Congress, because it’s full of all kinds of goodies for them. A simple carbon tax would be much more effective in addressing this problem and much easier to administer. But it’s too transparent and much harder to manipulate than Cap and Trade. Plus, the word “tax” has been so maligned by the Republican Party, this option would never make it out of Congress. This current bill may not fly but it’s the only thing we have right now and something’s better than nothing.
Additionally, as Blackbird says, the industrial world’s addiction to fossil fuels is the root cause of so much instability in the world as well as untold environmental degredation. AND, one day soon, fossil fuels will be gone. We better start perfecting the alternative solutions.
Whether we call it global warming or climate change doesn’t really matter nor does your opinion about Al Gore and his mostly accurate documentary.
I’m glad you know what a Keeling Curve is, good for you. You kind of lost me on matching a problem to a solution. The curve reflects a self reinforcing cycle. The hotter it gets, the more algae blooms and red tides occur, causing further spikes in CO2. It is a well known phenomenon.
I guess we could keep kicking this can down the road until calamities like raging hurricanes, floods, and droughts start occurring even more frequently than they already do.
I’d prefer we figure out a better plan of action for this World right now. It’s called being proactive as opposed to reactive, the former being cheaper than the later.
James Hansen agrees with most everything I just said.
Blackbird-You and I have debated this subject enough so that you should know that I believe that it is crucial to contain global pollution.
I simply do not agree with the theory that CO2 is changing the climate or causing dangerous warming.
I was involved with the global/cooling
science and the acid rain problem and loads of other industrial water pollution problems. I am no expert but I am no rank amateur either.
I was involved because I do care about the planet. I simply believe that this current science as religion approach is dead wrong and if not handled carefully will have dire unintended consequences for the environment.
My reference to the $400,000 was in reply to another poster who quoted that figure in reference to Exxon Mobil. I am well aware that they have
contributed many millions to various funds who research this subject. That is how most studies get their funding.
I get my information from many sources. From scientific journals and magazines and newspapers and of course the internet. And I read articles and papers that reflect both the warmist and skeptic science.
David Keeling is the scientist that first researched the rise in temp. after the industrial revolution and matched it to a rise in CO2. He matched a problem to a solution and the Keeling Curve was born.
Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth has been debunked in so many areas that it is not even relevant anymore. The term Global Warming has been all but removed from the public lexicon. Or had you not noticed?
The man had become the message.
Those “hacks” in England and Australia are beginning to make a big noise because they both dove head first into the environmental, cap-and-cash schemes that have cost jobs and economic crashes and have been abject failures in what they were designed to accomplish. In some instances they have not only NOT decreased emissions they have raised them.
They carbon sinks are currently absorbing 60% of all CO2 and oddly enough there is a large percentage that scientists addmittedly have no idea where it is going. Read up on the case of the missing carbon.
And lastly and pretty telling.
James Hansen the GISS/NASA guru of global warming/climate crisis James Hansen calls the current Waxman-Markey Bill a “Monstrous Absurdity” and “Less than worthless.“
I think heis right on.
ohh no, don’t get Greta going about CO2…and global warming!
Why can’t we link more then one issue to the reason why we should reduce our use of fossil fuels. Why do we always divide the issue.
Use of fossil fuels has many problems, not just global warming.
Maybe global warming is a “wedge” issue ...yeah that’s it, it’s a communist plot designed to keep the US from getting it’s energy policy in shape. It’s designed to keep our economy under constant stress based on the daily price of Oil.
It’s designed to keep our defense spending raging out of control as we try to defend Oil pipelines and keep rogue dictators from cutting off our supplies. It’s designed to keep us from cutting CO2 and pollution so we
all die from some unexpected global calamity. It’s designed to keep the have and have not’s separate and always unequal….those who have Oil and those who don’t.
We need one word….ALTERATIVES….
Greta, Exxon/Mobile has funneled a lot more than $400,000 to organizations and think tanks whose main purpose is to sew confusion about man made global warming. There is a well financed smoke screen going on as this bill works it’s way through Congress. Steven Milloy of Fox News and Junk Science fame, is an industry hack from way back. He received thousands upon thousands of dollars from Phillip Morris to sew confusion about second hand smoke.
I wonder what multiple sources you are getting your info. from?????
The fact of the matter is, as the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere started shooting up in the late 1800’s along with the world’s industrial output, the world’s average temperature started to rise correspondingly. “An Inconvenient Truth” is based on sound science, and not simply what Al Gore “believes.“ The whole right wing of this country is trying to tie this science to Al Gore. I say DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER!!!! The rest of the world moved beyond this debate 10 years ago. Sure, there are still a few hacks in England and Australia saying otherwise because Shell Oil and others are still very powerful in these countries. These hacks ply their trade on the internet!!! They bury the facts under red herrings like “temperature anomoly” articles, all sufficiently confusing enough to make gullible people believe there’s still a debate going on.
Look at it this way, it took the world hundreds of millions of years to naturally and safely bury Carbon in the ground via fossil fuel deposits. In a little over 150 years, humans have managed to release over half of this Carbon right back into the air. Talk about shocking the system. How could this not have negative affects on our atmosphere?????
“The Securities and Exchange Commission can blame itself for the current crisis. That is the allegation being made by a former SEC official, Lee Pickard, who says a rule change in 2004 led to the failure of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and Merrill Lynch.“
You can read more about this here:
http://www.nysun.com/business/ex-sec-official-blames-agency-for-blow-up/86130/
Thanks,I haven’t heard about that before, about CRA loans, interesting.
I did find this about the CRA.
I am sure banks are pressured to make “some” of these loans.
“The law, however, emphasizes that an institution’s CRA activities should be undertaken in a safe and sound manner, and does not require institutions to make high-risk loans that may bring losses to the institution.[3][4] An institution’s CRA compliance record is taken into account by the banking regulatory agencies when the institution seeks to expand through merger, acquisition or branching. The law does not mandate any other penalties for non-compliance with the CRA”
I am not excussing Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, and the pressure they might have exerted on Fannie Mae, but I still don’t think they have much control over other banks, such as Countrywide. I think you are overstating their responsibilty here.
That is my point. YES, YES you can blame Dodd for Fannie Mae…but for the other banks…no ,I think that was greed on the banks part.
Especially when it wasn’t Dodd who allowed 30 to 1 leverage. Which was the real lever that allowed banks to go crazy. But still no one FORCED the banks to take on 30 to 1 leverage..they only “allowed” it. Some banks were more leveraged then others.
It’s those that were leveraged 30 to 1 that have created major problems and the crisis…this was not Dodd’s responsibility from all I have read about. It happened in 2005/6. I had a real good link and article that explained how the regulation was relaxed to allow 30 to 1, but I can’t find it right now, but from what I remember it wasn’t Chris Dodd.
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