Letters: No Term Limits—Just Vote Them Out
No Term Limits -- Just Vote Them Out
Editor, Times-Dispatch: In response to the letter from Jeffery Bolea, "Term Limits Would End Congressional Insanity": Bolea is an advocate of term limits for members of Congress and wishes for legislation to be enacted that would prevent them from unending terms. He cites many valid reasons for such action, most importantly "to ensure the sanity of discussions made."
Unfortunately, the voters of the commonwealth and the nation are the very ones who need to check their sanity. Term limits are already in place that we fail to utilize. Elected officials are elected for only one term. We are the ones who fail to vote sanely as we continue to elect these politicians over and over. Have we not yet learned that our forefathers set up our system to give power to the people? It is our own fault that we don't seize the power and throw out those who don't vote responsibly.
I agree that we need to take action to get our politicians to actually have someone to answer to, someone to hold them accountable for wrong decisions. Unfortunately, that means personal responsibility and personal accountability and America is heading in a direction that is polar opposite to that. Pray for our country, our leaders, and also for ourselves as voters. Good decisions by all could change the course of our nation for the best.
Jim Herring.
Richmond.
State Would Profit Privatizing ABC Sales
Editor, Times-Dispatch: The editorial "Privatize," regarding Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell's comment on privatizing the ABC stores, could not be more to the point. Virginia's antiquated ABC laws allow the state to initiate severe tax increases without legislative or taxpayer approval. The current differential between the costs of ABC products in Virginia and Maryland is exorbitant.
Maryland has privately owned, for-profit businesses selling all alcoholic products -- and the prices are worth the trip to Maryland.
Several months ago, I purchased a 1.75 liter bottle of White Horse scotch for $26 and Bombay Sapphire Gin for $38.50. This represents a 27 percent and 35 percent respective savings to me. The seller made a good profit, and pays income tax as well as sales tax.
Past studies on the privatization of ABC sales indicate that the state would gain revenue because it would not have to pay for salaries, benefits, and handling of the product. The reduction of billions of product cost alone will reduce the size of the state's budget.
Conway B. Moncure.
Richmond.
Who's Being Sensible About Judicial Activism?
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Kenneth Olshansky's letter, "It's Activisim If I Say It's Activism," might have made him feel better, but it doesn't appear to have much common sense behind it.
Why is it "important for all of us to have a reality check"? Maybe he can start with himself. A person with an ability to listen and understand knows what Sonia Sotomayor said on videotape and in her hedged answers in front of Congress. I don't need Olshansky to show me the obvious.
Why does Olshansky repeat himself three times ("If we're honest with ourselves . . . ," "If we are honest with each other . . . ," "If we are totally honest with ourselves . . . ") about honesty? In East Tennessee, there is a saying that "if a man looks behind the door, you can expect he has been there." I believe Olshansky should have kept his opinions to himself and not attributed them to others.
He concludes, attributing his own feelings to "most of us," that "most of us, as well as most of Congress, want our choice of a Supreme Court justice to be a judicial activist for our side."
That is a lot of mosts. Those who want Supreme Court justices to adhere to the letter and spirit of the Constitution can speak out against judicial activism at all levels, and stop voting for liberal Democrats.
There is a reason judicial activism is a pejorative term.
Doug Henninger.
Richmond.
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Reader Reactions
Not so much an opinion as an observation: IF they change the law and privatize liquor sales, the architectural landscape will change drastically, based on what I see when I visit “up north”. No more quaint subdued store fronts. They’ll all be replaced with huge signs proclaiming “Joe’s Hardware and LIQUOR STORE”, or “Bob’s Funeral Parlor and LIQUOR STORE”. Ah, the good ol’ days:-))
Regarding ‘privatizing’ the ABC stores, I say “RIGHT ON!“
The state government indeed has a legitimate role in collecting taxes on the alcohol (sales, excise, etc.) and some regulation of the product (preventing underage sales, reducing bootlegging, etc.); but should absolutely not be in the business of distributing and selling the stuff. No way - no how!
Other states, such as MD FL, have private liquor stores & certainly are not suffering for lack of tax revenue because of it. Private businesses will offer better product selection, lower prices, superior customer service and longer hours of operation than anything contrived by some bureaucratic government-controlled monopoly.
This is not a slam against the nice folks who work at ABC stores, but merely a reality of economics. A private businessman/businesswoman who has his/her blood, sweat and tears on the line is going to be more highly-motivated than a state employee. He or she is also going to be on his toes to stay ahead of the ‘store down the block’ - whereas a state-owned entity has neither a need or a desire to compete with others in the market.
~ So sayeth The Dutchman ~
P.S. I bet Bob McDonnell can give a kiss goodbye to any support he might have gotten from state employees and their unions!
Old Grump, and I finally agree on something…
If you have the incumbent machine behind you, and your district is gerrymandered correctly, it’s a fiefdom for those in Congress.
You have to make some HUGE error, or go to jail, to be removed. I think 12 years for Congressman is about enough time.
How do you vote bums out of Congress (Democrat or Republican) when their amoeba-shaped gerrymandered districts are designed by other bums in the state legislature to insure that the status quo is maintained?
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