Letters fo the Editor Continued

Madison Warned Against Congress

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

"Bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, and laws impairing the obligations of contracts, are contrary to the first principles of the social compact, and to every principle of sound legislation . . . .The sober people of America are weary of the fluctuating policy which has directed the public councils. They have seen with regret and indignation that sudden changes and legislative interferences, in cases affecting personal rights, become jobs in the hands of enterprising and influential speculators, and snares to the more-industrious and less-informed part of the community."

Richard Hale. Midlothian.

Dodd's Leadership Exacts High Price

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Don't real leaders stand up and do the right thing in the face of pressure, no matter where that pressure comes from (in this case from President Obama's Treasury Department)?

This is the same Dodd who, while head of the Senate Banking Committee, received below-market rates for mortgages from Countrywide Finance and now faces a Senate ethics investigation. Don't real leaders take the moral high road, particularly when no one is looking?

This is the same Christopher Dodd who, while head of the Senate Banking Committee, jointly owned real estate with a former director at Bear Stearns -- the same director who was convicted of insider trading. Don't real leaders pick their friends carefully?

This is the same Christopher Dodd who, while chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, stood by, despite obvious signs, while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suffered meltdowns costing taxpayers billions of dollars. Now Dodd tells the American people that "we are where we are . . . .I'm going to do my job." My question now is how much more of his job can America afford?

Charlie Flocco. Richmond.

Secularism Threatens Freedom in America

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

In theory, modernization means secularization. Had it not been for the surge of immigrants from the Middle East, Western Europe's transition would have been complete. Conflict there is surfacing.

Here, however, the Founding Fathers recognized the potential for conflict from religious and cultural diversity, and made no mistake in placing religious liberty at the front of the First Amendment. No faith is preferred or prohibited. Where there is no state-defined orthodoxy, there can be no state-punishable heresy.

Think of how tolerance and political correctness can be used as tools to punish those who stray. Today's most menacing threat to liberty may well be the expanding power of government control over personal behavior and religious conscience. The secularists' motivation for walling off religious argument might be the perceived greater good of concerns like health care, global warming, and intolerance, but it is more about gaining control.

When the religion domino falls, other freedoms are at risk.

James E. Stansbury. Waverly.

College's Antics May Incite Sexual Violence

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

And then there is the annual strip show, funded by the same college that has lost it ethical center. In past years it has included such enlightening acts as simulated fellatio on a sex toy and, of course, several strip acts, including one where a woman disrobed down to a g-string and nothing else.

The great irony is that research shows that as men's frequency of viewing photos like those in the exhibit increases, as they watch more strip shows, and as they experience other forms of pornography, they are more likely to commit sexual violence. So, while William and Mary cuts budgets for sexual assault prevention, it pays for things that make rape more likely.

The college that produced such great minds of the past seems to know no bounds for how low it can sink in the future. Perhaps now is the time that the state legislature and alumni need to teach the College of William and Mary a lesson, by any means necessary.

John D. Foubert, Ph.D., W&M '90,

Can It Be Proven Blastocycsts Have Souls?

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Since the DNA of a human embryo is human, it is true that the embryo is the beginning of a human life. However, the stem cells are harvested from the blastocyst stage of the embryo. The blastocyst consists of 70-100 cells, many of which are in the outer layer (trophoblast), which will later form the placenta. The stem cells come from the inner layer (embroyblast) consisting of a few undifferentiated cells. There is not yet any development of anything like a central nervous system; the blastocyst has no consciousness in the human sense. Presumably some will argue that a human blastocyst must have a human soul and must not be destroyed. I would suggest that before we put restrictions on research that has the potential to treat terrible diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, the burden of proof of a human soul's existence in a blastocyst should be put on those who claim it exists.

Regarding the second assertion: It is certainly true that scientists can be as flawed as people in any other profession. However, it is also true that religious spokespersons have shown themselves to be as flawed and as capable of moral misjudgment as anyone else. Scientists have intimate knowledge of the scientific issues involved. Those charged with making ethical decisions as to whether or not a particular area of science should be pursued should have the requisite scientific knowledge.

David J. Cohen. Henrico.