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    <title>Letters to the Editor for Richmond Times-Dispatch</title>
    <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/</link>
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        <title>Letters to the Editor for Richmond Times-Dispatch</title>
        <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/</link>
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    <dc:language>en</dc:language>
    <dc:creator>Richmond Times-Dispatch</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights>Copyright 2009</dc:rights>
    <dc:date>2009-11-20T16:40:17-05:00</dc:date>

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          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-TUCKER20_20091119-183402/306772/</link>
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Florida Story Slighted Jamestown Editor, Times-Dispatch: The Associated Press has now joined the chorus of the historically challenged by heralding Plymouth Rock and ignoring Jamestown. The interesting story about St. Augustine, Fla., stated that 1594, the year of the St. Augustine documents featured in the story, was 26 years before that publicized landing of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts. The idea prevailing in too much of America that 1620 came before 1607 is absurd and misleading.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-MALO20_20091119-183204/306767/</link>
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Election Did Not Repudiate Obama Editor, Times-Dispatch: Letter-writer Everett Gentry&#8217;s references to the 2009 governors&#8217; races as referendums on the president are absurd! Exit polls clearly indicated that state politics were the main focus of voters, and the elections had nothing to do with President Obama, whose approval rating is still a healthy 54 percent.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Hamilton Opposed to Unlimited Power</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-STEG19_20091118-181805/306509/</link>
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Hamilton Opposed Unlimited Power Editor, Times-Dispatch: I commend Correspondent of the Day Edward Blackwell for advocating that both sides of the health care debate reflect seriously on the Constitution. He is also correct that we could learn a lot by understanding the relationship of the current constitutional debate with those of previous generations. He chooses a wonderful historical example as well: the clash between Jefferson and Hamilton over the powers granted to Congress by Article I, Section 8.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor: Are We Paying Faculty for Nothing?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-CLARK19_20091118-181805/306506/</link>
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Are We Paying Faculty for Nothing? Editor, Times-Dispatch Regarding the news of VCU&#8217;s decision to eliminate 91 jobs to offset state budget cuts: I applaud it for continuing to look within for waste and cost savings. I urge VCU and all Virginia universities and colleges to work even harder to identify waste within their budgets before increasing tuition. For years, tuition rates nationally have risen well above the inflation averages and these increases are not sustainable if the dream of a college education is to remain within reach of average Americans.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Growing Smarter Means Growing Safer</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-KOONTZ18_20091117-181203/306318/</link>
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Growing Smarter Means Growing Safer Editor, Times-Dispatch: Michael Paul Williams is to be commended for his keen insight in bringing the need for smarter growth to the attention of readers. In his recent column, &#8220;Remnants of Malls Point to Need for Smarter Growth,&#8220; he relays the Partnership for Smarter Growth&#8217;s effort to highlight how regional development patterns have caused inner suburbs to decay while sprawl continues to devour the Richmond region&#8217;s outer suburbs.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor: AARP Serves Members, Not Ideology</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-KALLI18_20091117-181203/306317/</link>
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AARP Serves Members, Not Ideology Editor, Times-Dispatch: It&#8217;s clear from your Nov. 9 editorial that AARP and The Times-Dispatch have very different views on health care reform and how best to protect America&#8217;s seniors, but that&#8217;s what democracy is all about. Well-intentioned people will vigorously debate complex social problems and work through the legislative and political process until the majority reaches a consensus by voting on the issue.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor, Cont&#8217;d: Ask About Pricing on Medical Tests</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BECKER18_20091117-180607/306303/</link>
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Ask About Pricing On Medical Tests Editor, Times-Dispatch: Are physicians concerned about the cost of tests or lab work they prescribe? A cardiologist recently recommended that I have an echocardiogram. Although I do have some insurance, I try to hold the expenses down to a minimum, so I asked him what the cost was for an echocardiogram. I was surprised about his reaction: at first, indignation that I would ask such a question, then he answered that he did not know. When I discussed setting up an appointment with his assistant, I also inquired about the cost and was told I should contact another hospital other than the one currently used&#8212;one where the cost would be much lower. I proceeded to check with several local hospitals and found the cost for an echocardiogram varied from $665 for a self-payer to a high of $3,230.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Senators&#8217; Staffs Are Kept in the Dark</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/WOOLRIDGEB_20091116-174403/306109/</link>
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We went to Washington for the Emergency House Call on Congress initiated by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann. We went to express our opposition to the health care reform legislation being pushed by President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party leadership.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:01:26 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: Who Determines the Common Good?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-LONG17_20091116-174403/306105/</link>
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I read Walter Williams&#8217; Op/Ed column, &#8220;Constitution? What Constitution?&#8220; that described Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s refusal to answer a reporter&#8217;s query asking where the Constitution gives Congress the right to force people to buy health insurance.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:01:26 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Fix Medicare Before Adding a New Patient</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BARKERJ17_20091116-174403/306101/</link>
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One might have expected to hear more outcries from workers and senior citizens as health care reform endangers the Medicare benefits they have earned. President Barack Obama and Congress do not know at this time how many Medicare dollars are misspent, nor do they know how to find them.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:01:20 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SCARD16_20091115-173001/305880/</link>
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Fort Hood Deaths Are Indeed a Threat Editor, Times-Dispatch: I was shocked by the recent front page news story, &#8220;Muslims Say Islam No Threat to Military.&#8220; A Muslim, who believed strongly in Islam, was indeed a threat to the military&#8212;he allegedly killed 13 people at Fort Hood. It has been said that political correctness will be the death of our country. It certainly appears to have been at least one of the causes in the deaths of those 13. Maj. Nidal Hasan stated, among other troubling comments and e-mails, that the war on terror was a war against Islam. Yet, because he was Muslim, no one had the fortitude to question those statements for fear of being called a bigot, or worse.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:01:44 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor, Cont&#8217;d: Is Virginia Too Purple to Accept Funds?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-HOLLANDR16_20091115-173209/305888/</link>
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Is Virginia Too Purple To Accept Funds? Editor, Times-Dispatch: In the 1995 General Assembly session, Sen. Richard Saslaw (D-Fairfax) co-sponsored a resolution calling on Republican Gov. George Allen to apply for Virginia&#8217;s $6.7 million share of federal Goals 2000 funding. Allen balked at accepting the aid (amounting to less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the 1996-98 state budget) until Congress amended the education program to make it less intrusive.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:01:26 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-YOUNG16_20091115-173209/305890/</link>
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Beware Big Business And Big Government Editor, Times-Dispatch: I am amazed that you would select for Correspondent of the Day someone who states, &#8220;It is big government that the little guy needs protection from&#8212;not big business.&#8220; Need I remind Hank Pezzella and The Times-Dispatch that it was big business&#8217;s decision to engage in the shady practice of derivatives trading and granting subprime loans that led to the destabilization of the &#8220;too big to fail&#8221; banks? That, in turn, led to the economic crisis being felt by a great many little guys.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:01:14 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: Constitutional Views Vary Widely</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BLACK15_20091113-203407/305532/</link>
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Recent legislative activity regarding health care has presented a teachable moment on the U.S. Constitution. Health care has traditionally been a state domain&#8212;it has more often than not fallen under the heading of &#8220;powers reserved to the states&#8221; (Amendment 10). Doctors and nurses&#8217; licenses, hospital and nursing home inspections, public health clinics, etc. are controlled by state and local governments.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:01:31 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Election Returns Repudiate Nothing</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-INLOW15_20091113-203407/305534/</link>
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Republicans such as Eric Cantor who claim that the election of Robert McDonnell somehow represents a national repudiation of the policies of President Barack Obama are either deluded or dishonest in their thinking. The Virginia gubernatorial race was nothing but a local referendum on the relative merits of McDonnell and Creigh Deeds.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:01:04 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>More Letters to the Editor: Court Decisions Often Break What Was Fixed</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SHEAJ14_20091113-191803/305522/</link>
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Court Decisions Often Break What Was Fixed Editor, Times-Dispatch: In response to the news story, &#8220;Humans Make a New Home for Salamanders,&#8220; by Liz Barry about efforts in Piney River to create a breeding habitat for mole salamanders, people should know that these are not the only creatures picky about where they will breed.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor: Election Results Repudiate Democrats</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-LIPSCOM14_20091113-184601/305516/</link>
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Election Results Repudiate Democrats Editor, Times-Dispatch: The Virginia and New Jersey governor&#8217;s races ended in failure and disgrace for the Democratic Party and the president. These were not ordinary political contests, as the Democratic Party would have you believe. These defeats were mandates from the people to step aside and get out of the way.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the day: Benefits Come at the Cost of Freedom</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GOODE14_20091113-184601/305515/</link>
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Benefits Come At the Cost of Freedom Editor, Times-Dispatch: I don&#8217;t know how many readers noticed the coincidence of a recent headline announcing the passage of the health care bill by the House of Representatives and another news article from The Washington Post: &#8220;In Germany&#8217;s East, Some Look Back in Fondness.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GENTRY13_20091112-180811/305314/</link>
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States Sent Loud And Clear Messages Editor, Times-Dispatch: Gov.elect Bob McDonnell, 59 percent; President Barack Obama, 41 percent. These are the cold, hard figures, and no amount of White House spin about &#8220;just state issues&#8221; is going to alter them. As chief of staff David Axelrod and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi explained, our president was watching basketball, not really concentrating on Virginia and New Jersey election returns. According to Pelosi, Nov. 3 was a Democratic victory because the most meaningful race was the New York 23rd District, where Democrat Bill Owens prevailed.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-COURT13_20091112-180811/305313/</link>
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Will UAW Repeat 1979 Mistakes? Editor, Times-Dispatch: The time was November 1979. I and 35,000 United Auto Workers walked out of the International Harvester plants. When a new contract was signed six months later, International Harvester&#8217;s 1979 record earnings of $369 million were replaced by a 1980 loss of $400 million. By the end of the year IH folded and we all lost our jobs.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor: America&#8217;s Future? Is Ze for Real?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-ELLIOTT12_20091111-174806/305045/</link>
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America&#8217;s Future? Is Ze for Real? Editor, Times-Dispatch: Regarding Michael Paul Williams&#8217; recent column, &#8220;Homecoming Queen at W&amp;M: Diversity Reigns,&#8220; a taste for the bizarre&#8212;as in the election of transgender Jesse Vasold as homecoming queen&#8212;apparently has become top menu choice for a majority of the College of William and Mary student population.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:01:39 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Leave Handicapped Spaces for Disabled</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-NIAMTU12_20091111-174806/305047/</link>
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Leave Handicapped Spaces for Disabled Editor, Times-Dispatch: In a lazy society where patrons will drive around the mall for 15 minutes to find a convenient parking space, some able-bodied drivers illegally take handicapped spaces. Although that is morally and legally wrong, a much more serious picture exists. I am the father of two young handicapped sons with severe disabilities (and I am a spokesperson for Greater Richmond ARC). Our family has too often gone to local malls and Maymont Park only to find a vehicle without handicapped identification occupying the only space where we can unload wheelchairs with a ramp from a handicapped van.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-HARRUP11_20091110-181003/304853/</link>
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Ole Virginny Still Lives Editor, Times-Dispatch: A post2009 gubernatorial note to Gov. Tim Kaine could accurately read: &#8220;Ole Virginny is alive and well.&#8220; It appears that Kaine&#8217;s exuberance in declaring old Virginny dead after last fall&#8217;s election was not only mean-spirited, it was premature and very wrong.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BROWN11_20091110-181003/304850/</link>
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Are Pro-Reform Docs Ready for More Work? Editor, Times-Dispatch: Mark Ryan&#8217;s Op/Ed column, &#8220;Only the Public Option Can Resuscitate Reform,&#8220; urges passage of the health care reform bill. He states, &#8220;Misrepresentations and outright untruths will continue to be trumpeted by those attempting to block reform.&#8220; I, too, am concerned about misrepresentations&#8212;those made by Ryan and certain Democratic politicians. Perhaps Ryan could answer the following questions:           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Need Job, Money? Join the Military</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-NOLTE10_20091109-181203/304674/</link>
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Need Job, Money? Join the Military Editor, Times-Dispatch: I read with interest Maya Enista&#8217;s Op/Ed column, &#8220;It&#8217;s Time to Invest in Millennials,&#8220; about the challenges faced by that generation. As I understood her column, she believes that the government should do something about this generation&#8217;s education-related debt and lack of health care. Further, she feels that something should be done to especially empower this generation to make itself (and its needs) heard in the corridors of power. I assume that her Mobilize.org organization is to be the answer to that unmet need.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:01:55 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor: Mercury in Flu Shot Worries a Mother</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SYKES10_20091109-181203/304675/</link>
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Mercury in Flu Shot Worries a Mother Editor, Times-Dispatch: While many people worry that scarcity is denying them the opportunity of a flu shot, I worry that a lack of informed consent is denying individuals the opportunity to protect themselves and their children from exposure to a known poison in excess of EPA safety guidelines.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:01:32 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SMITH09_20091108-165605/304469/</link>
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Political Phone Calls Lost This Reader&#8217;s Vote Editor, Times-Dispatch: Now that the election season is over, I would like to take the various campaigns to task. I do not want phone calls from you. I know who you are and calling me does not positively influence my opinion of a candidate. I pay for my telephone and a fee to the service provider for my use and convenience; I do not pay for phone service so that every person in the world with a cause has access to me. You are invading my personal space and my privacy.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:01:52 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GRITZ09_20091108-165605/304465/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Flu Fiasco Warns: No Federal Health Care Editor, Times-Dispatch: If President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid want me to believe that the federal government can take on the task of managing national health care, can they tell me why, after a two-year warning about the swine flu, this administration has bungled the regulation and availability of the H1N1 vaccine, resulting in a shortage when it is most needed?           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:01:46 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: Wounded Warriors Continue to Inspire</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-KATZ08_20091106-202008/304129/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
I went to the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda to visit a friend who was wounded in Afghanistan via a gunshot to his face and ended up having a major stroke. He is a member of the Special Forces of the Marines Corps. While visiting this sergeant in Bethesda, we were amazed by the stories from parents visiting their loved ones. Each story was sadder than the other, and seeing parents who have been there months while their loved ones have had 15-20 surgeries just breaks your heart. Aaron has been here at our VA hospital now for two weeks.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:37 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Anthem Employees Work to Ensure Access</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GOLDEN08_20091106-202008/304125/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
After reading Dr. Mark Ryan&#8217;s Oct. 30 Op/Ed column [&#8220;Health Care: Only the Public Option Can Resuscitate Reform&#8221;], I felt compelled on behalf of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield to address a few glaring inaccuracies that need to be corrected. First, Ryan incorrectly stated that WellPoint, the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia, made $61 billion in profit in 2008. The number Ryan used as profit was actually the revenue figure of a company with 40,000 employees and 34 million members. WellPoint&#8217;s actual profit in 2008 was $2.5 billion, which yielded a 4 percent profit margin. The net profit margin for the health insurance industry as a whole is generally 3 percent to 6 percent, ranking it 35th among 53 industries ranked by Fortune magazine.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:03 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Who Will Win Next Recognition?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-TALLEY07_20091106-192404/304108/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The news article, &#8220;Virginia Tribes Closer to U.S. Recognition,&#8220; claims Congress is getting ready to recognize six Indian tribes in Virginia plus the Lumbees in North Carolina. I do not know how many Lumbees there are but your article states that there are 3,000 members of the six Virginia tribes. You report that the group will divide $800 million.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:44 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Letters: Readers Depend on Wise Editorial Opinions</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-LIND07_20091106-192404/304105/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Sometimes we don&#8217;t know our own strengths and we speak as though no one is listening&#8212;and so we are careless with our expressions of fact versus opinion. &#8220;Be careful what you wish for [politically] for you may get it,&#8220; and &#8220;To him who hath much [exposure to the public], much will be expected.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:14 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: Nation Building Is Going Nowhere</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SCZUREK07_20091106-192404/304107/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Congratulations to President Obama for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. The president has the opportunity to show himself as a peacemaker to the eyes of the world and reap the blessings thereof by bringing the troops home now. Afghanistan is an uncauterized wound bleeding the best of America&#8212;young men and women of the military who volunteered for a cause in which they believed, but is not attainable. Afghanistan is a country divided into tribal, ethnic, and sectarian spheres of influence. Contrary to the widely held misconception, Afghanistan has been conquered several times in the course of its history. However, in modern times the closest it has come to being one functioning political entity was while under the control of the Taliban.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:06 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Congress Should Heed Designated Rulebook</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-PEZZ06_20091105-183403/303891/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Congress Should Heed Designated Rulebook Editor, Times-Dispatch: The Founders designed the Constitution as a fair guide and set of rules for civil behavior and protection&#8212;not as a moving target at the whim of those in power. This rulebook authorizes Congress to do certain specific things. Nowhere on that list does it authorize big government to bail out banks or manage car companies. It is big government that the little guy needs protection from&#8212;not big business. The only protections available are the Constitution and the ballot box. We can blame politicians for the trampling of our liberty, but the bulk of the blame lies with us voters. Principled politicians seldom depart or cave to pressure.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor: Lincoln and Obama Have A Lot in Common</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GRAY06_20091105-183403/303888/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Lincoln and Obama Have a Lot in Common Editor, Times-Dispatch: Many comparisons have been made between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama. Now we can add one more: In May 1864, Lincoln ordered Union Gen. John Dix to &#8220;take possession by military force of the printing establishments of the New York World and Journal of Commerce and prohibit any further publication thereof. You are therefore commanded forthwith to arrest and imprison the editors, proprietors, and publishers of the aforementioned newspapers.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-PUL05_20091104-175608/303627/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Acknowledge Both Slavery and Civil War Editor, Times-Dispatch: I endorse the comments of staff writer Michael Paul Williams, &#8220;Richmond Is Right Place for Slavery Complex,&#8220; that supported the development of the slave museum on the site of Lumpkins&#8217; Jail near the Main Street Station. We should follow this by moving the White House of the Confederacy and its collection to the Second and Canal Streets property&#8212;the current site of the folk festival. This can be done without materially affecting future folk festivals.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-OCON05_20091104-175403/303625/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
White House Actions Cause Antennas to Rise Editor, Times-Dispatch: I&#8217;m a firm believer in volunteerism. I&#8217;ve been involved in voluntary activities since my early teens. So while I am generally very cautious of government involvement in our private lives, I have no issue with its gentle support and promotion of volunteerism. (See President George H. W. Bush&#8217;s 1,000 Points of Light et al.) But if the government were to force it down my throat, well, that might be just a tad worrisome.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-COOK05_20091104-175403/303622/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Don&#8217;t Reward CEOs Receiving Bailouts Editor, Times-Dispatch: I am writing regarding Scott Bleicher&#8217;s Correspondent of the Day Letter on Oct. 28 (&#8220;Cutting Salaries Cuts Taxes, Too&#8221;). Surely, if Bleicher is an accountant&#8212;as he proclaimed&#8212;then he must realize that cutting executive compensation at firms receiving government assistance also would result in those firms having reduced salary and benefit expenses. This in turn would create higher levels of income resulting in higher income tax receipts for federal, state, and, in some cases, local governments.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Has This Editorial Page Sipped Fox&#8217;s Kool Aid?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BARAN04_20091103-215004/303477/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Has This Editorial Page Sipped Fox&#8217;s Kool Aid? Editor, Times-Dispatch: I am baffled by your recent choice of Paul Knapik [&#8220;This Isn&#8217;t About Health Care At All&#8221;] for Correspondent of the Day. In an attempt to &#8220;prove&#8221; that health care is really about increased government control, and not about health care at all, Knapik wonders why we aren&#8217;t hearing about a health care system like the one that the Swiss have. He then mentions some of the features of the Swiss program: All citizens are required to have health insurance that they select and purchase themselves; the government subsidizes premiums for those who can&#8217;t afford them; and costs are kept down by competition among insurance companies. He is obviously unaware that all of these features are also in the health care plans that are being discussed in Congress. If he isn&#8217;t hearing about them, then he isn&#8217;t paying attention to what is really going on.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:01:48 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor, Cont&#8217;d: Increasing Awareness Will Conquer Cancer</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-RUPPE04_20091103-210203/303450/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Increasing Awareness Will Conquer Cancer Editor, Times-Dispatch: November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and I am writing because, so far, I am one of the 5 percent of pancreatic cancer patients who have survived. Ninety-five percent of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within five years of their diagnosis and 76 percent die within the first year of their diagnosis. I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer early in 2009 and after surgery and treatment am now fortunate to be cancer-free.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:01:37 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor: Car&#45;Title Lenders Exploit Working Poor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GILMORE04_20091103-215004/303479/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Car-Title Lenders Exploit Working Poor Editor, Times-Dispatch: The major premise of Phil Kent&#8217;s guest Op/Ed column, that a car-title loan is an &#8220;honest transaction entered into between two willing parties,&#8220; one of whom &#8220;alters his budget in order to pay back the money in a timely fashion,&#8220; is either disingenuous or wishful thinking. As he points out, the majority of those who borrow against their car titles do so precisely because they have no other options and are desperate for funds to carry them over until their next paycheck.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:01:21 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor: Gis Are Winning Afghani Trust</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-REID03_20091102-181203/303210/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
GIs Are Winning Afghani Trust Editor, Times-Dispatch: Americans must not turn a blind eye to the importance of the battle for freedom in Afghanistan. Many people are voicing their opposition to continuing the war. My feelings on the war are mixed. I find the brutality of war distasteful but I hesitate to withdraw my support.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Bad Roads Are Worse Than Taxes</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-COAKLEY03_20091102-181203/303208/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Bad Roads Are Worse Than Taxes Editor, Times-Dispatch: Some things are worse than taxes&#8212;bad roads for one, and weak schools for another. The thing is though, fixing roads and improving schools can pay for themselves over time&#8212;just like replacing your old water heater with a high efficiency model will soon pay for itself.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-COAKLEY03_20091102-181203/303208/#When:05:01:00Z</guid>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-HASSELL02_20091101-170402/303021/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Test for H1N1 Before Diagnosing IT Editor, Times-Dispatch: I would like someone in the health community to explain something to me: Being a health care professional myself, I am bothered by what I am hearing from those experiencing flu-like symptoms this year. I am not denying that the H1N1 virus is running rampant in our nation but I have to wonder about the statistics.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:01:52 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-PATTEN02_20091101-170402/303022/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Biomass Conversion Could Help the Bay Editor, Times-Dispatch: The story of the Chesapeake Bay is a story of stormwater. When it rains, everything washes into the watershed. In the rural areas, we have over-fertilized farmlands dumping manure and nitrates into the rivers and estuaries. In the cities, we have toxins running off from impervious surfaces&#8212;such as asphalt, cement, and masonry&#8212;and ending up in the Bay. In both instances, we denude the land near the water, clearing the trees, plants, and native grasses that hold the soil in place&#8212;causing stream bank erosion and sediment to fill in the rivers and creeks. Old Dominion Electrical Cooperative&#8217;s Cypress Creek plan is just another contributor. It all, always, comes down to stormwater.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:01:16 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-PATTEN02_20091101-170402/303022/#When:05:01:16Z</guid>
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          <title>Correspondent: Congress Should be Fiscally Punished, Too</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SKIN01_20091030-203609/302664/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
President Barack Obama&#8217;s pay czar has declared that bonuses paid to ranking executives of companies receiving federal bailout money should be returned and that these executives should have their pay slashed. Fair enough, I suppose. But if fairness and logic are to rule inside the beltway, should not House and Senate members be forced to take a similar haircut?           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:01:39 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Guest Columnist Worked Several Angles</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-RASMU01_20091030-203609/302661/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The Op/Ed column by Phil Kent entitled, &#8220;Where&#8217;s Compassion for Virginians Without Credit?&#8220; would make me laugh if it didn&#8217;t infuriate me so much. I could take him to bat, point by point, on the necessity of reining in Virginia&#8217;s predatory car-title lending industry, but the most important fact that readers need to know is that Phil Kent heads his own Atlanta-based media communications firm, Phil Kent Consulting Inc. Presumably hired by Fast Auto Loans as their communications director, Kent is paid to masquerade as someone genuinely concerned about the plight of struggling Virginians.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:01:25 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor: Wilder Should Be Occupying White House</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-HEVENER31_20091030-194403/302633/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Wilder Should Be Occupying White House Editor, Times-Dispatch: Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder once again showed his independence, statesmanship, and good judgment when he refused to endorse Creigh Deeds for governor of Virginia. In an interview with NBC&#8217;s Mark Murray, Wilder said that he will not support Deeds because of his position on guns and because of the possibility that Deeds will raise taxes in a time when Virginia is experiencing a deep economic slump.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>More Letters to the Editor: Paper Should Endorse Creigh Deeds</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-LEVI31_20091030-194204/302629/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Paper Should Endorse Creigh Deeds Editor, Times-Dispatch: Your endorsement of Bob McDonnell is way off base. His economic platform is grossly inferior to Creigh Deeds. McDonnell&#8217;s is a &#8220;me too&#8221; deception that would apply only to businesses with more than 24 employees. No others could possibly qualify; more than a 5 percent increase in the number of employees in a business is extremely unlikely during the term of a governor.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-VACCA30_20091029-194811/302406/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
McDonnell Promotes Virginia Jobs Editor, Times-Dispatch: Bob McDonnell, the future governor of Virginia, will execute plans to create new jobs in the commonwealth. In the past four years, the Virginia unemployment rate has increased by more than 120 percent&#8212;from 3 percent to about 7.1 percent (the highest rate of unemployment in 20 years). Also, there are 165,000 more Virginians unemployed in 2009 than in 2005. McDonnell plans to provide a $1,000 tax credit per job to businesses that create 50 new jobs, or even 25 new jobs in the economically depressed areas of the state.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the editor, cont&#8217;d: Bad Timing Hurts Deeds&#8217; Run for Office</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-ANDERSONN30_20091029-194811/302401/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Bad Timing Hurts Deeds&#8217; Run for Office Editor, Times-Dispatch: A recent poll produced by the folks at Gallup has shown that Americans identify themselves as 40 percent conservative, 36 percent moderate, and 20 percent liberal. Until 2008, the conservatives and moderates were within one point of each other; however, conservatives have slowly been gaining since the election of President Obama.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-ALLEN30_20091029-194811/302400/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Why Are We The World Police? Editor, Times-Dispatch: Does anyone feel like we are going through d&#233;j&#224; vu? We went into Afghanistan to get Osama bin Laden. Although he is still out there giving us problems, he seems to have been put on the back burner. I am still waiting for clarification from Washington as to how President George W. Bush managed to segue from going after bin Laden to freeing Iraq.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-ALLEN30_20091029-194811/302400/#When:05:01:00Z</guid>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor, Cont&#8217;d: Idea Is Good; Where Is Money?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-MCCOYB29_20091028-191006/302125/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Idea Is Good; Where Is Money? Editor, Times-Dispatch: Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds has the right mindset on his Virginia Forward scholarship program: rewarding students who have received good grades throughout high school. This would be a great thing to implement if we were not in such a huge state deficit and federal recession.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-MCCOYB29_20091028-191006/302125/#When:05:01:00Z</guid>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-MAYFIELD29_20091028-191006/302124/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Small Businesses Have Concerns Editor, Times-Dispatch: As the owner of a small business with approximately 25 employees, I do my best (especially in these difficult times) to provide good benefits while watching my bottom line. I have been watching the health care debate very carefully. Make no mistake, I support many of the reforms presented in the Senate bill. However, I am concerned that while there are many good benefits, this bill would be bad for many small businesses&#8217; bottom line.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-MAYFIELD29_20091028-191006/302124/#When:05:01:00Z</guid>
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         <item>
          <title>Letters To The Editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-CRUMP29_20091028-191006/302122/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Cuccinelli&#8217;s Views Are Archaic and Misplaced Editor, Times-Dispatch: While Bob McDonnell&#8217;s thesis has gotten plenty of news coverage, I&#8217;m surprised that almost nothing has been written about Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican nominee for attorney general. As a state senator, Cuccinelli declared, &#8220;you can&#8217;t have safe homosexual sex,&#8220; and he once called a George Mason sexual education event an example of &#8220;moral depravity.&#8220; These archaic views have no place in a Virginia statewide office.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-CRUMP29_20091028-191006/302122/#When:05:01:00Z</guid>
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         <item>
          <title>Letters, Cont&#8217;d: Deeds Has Logical Transportation Solution</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-YOUNJ28_20091027-180804/301909/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Deeds Has Logical Transportation Solution Editor, Times-Dispatch: With a need for solutions for Virginia&#8217;s infrastructure system, Creigh Deeds and Bob McDonnell have proposed two different resolutions for Virginia&#8217;s traffic jam. McDonnell&#8217;s proposition seemed superior to Deeds&#8217; at first, but having taken time to look over both of their transportation solution proposals, I&#8217;ve come to acknowledge Deeds as having a plan that will work.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-YOUNJ28_20091027-180804/301909/#When:05:01:00Z</guid>
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         <item>
          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Cutting Salaries Cuts Taxes, Too</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BLEICHER28_20091027-180804/301907/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Cutting Salaries Cuts Taxes, Too Editor, Times-Dispatch: Please forgive me for speaking intuitively, but I&#8217;m an accountant. The Obama administration&#8217;s decision to cut executive compensation at firms receiving government assistance is the biggest hit to the economy since Jan. 20, 2009. The bonuses, salaries, and even non-cash perks these executives receive are taxed. To put that in terms President Obama might understand: He behaved stupidly. At a time when federal, state, and local governments are running at record fiscal deficits, he just elected to take money out of the coffers in order to satiate a mythical populist outrage.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Letters to the Editor: Use Actual Data to Verify Results</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BICKER28_20091027-180804/301906/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Use Actual Data To Verify Results Editor, Times-Dispatch: The editorial, &#8220;Tort Retort,&#8220; depends for its validity on a Congressional Budget Office estimate that $54 billion would be saved by restricting legal responsibility for medical error through tort reform. One factor is an assumed monetary savings by &#8220;lowering insurance premiums&#8221; although no explanation is given of how insurance companies would be persuaded to lower premiums&#8212;unless malpractice insurance was rendered unnecessary by completely eliminating legal responsibility.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BICKER28_20091027-180804/301906/#When:05:01:00Z</guid>
        </item>
    
         <item>
          <title>Letters To The Editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-DICKINS27_20091026-183603/301721/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Professor Obama Has Hoodwinked Us All Editor, Times-Dispatch: Maxine Fitzgerald&#8217;s letter to the editor, &#8220;Obama University Gets Failing Grades,&#8220; cited the role the academic community has played and the background responsible for the emergence of two very controversial subjects:   The constant and over-the-top exposure of the president by the media;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:01:57 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-RAGS27_20091026-183603/301725/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
World Supports Ending Nuclear Proliferation Editor, Times-Dispatch: I was happy to see Commentary columnist Robin Beres discussing nuclear missiles [&#8220;Defending the Need for Robust American Missile Defense&#8221;]. The existence of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems is the planet&#8217;s most serious and immediate problem.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:01:18 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-RAGS27_20091026-183603/301725/#When:05:01:18Z</guid>
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         <item>
          <title>Letters to the Editor, Cont&#8217;d: McDonnell&#8217;s Education Views Cause Concern</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-OWENST27_20091026-183603/301724/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
McDonnell&#8217;s Education Views Cause Concern Editor, Times-Dispatch: As true gubernatorial candidates would, Creigh Deeds, a Democrat, and Bob McDonnell, a Republican, disagree on issues such as taxes, ways to stimulate the Virginia economy, social issues such as abortion and birth control, and the significance of government regulation.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:01:02 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-OWENST27_20091026-183603/301724/#When:05:01:02Z</guid>
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         <item>
          <title>Letters To The Editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BERN26_20091025-171003/301545/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Virginia Must Reduce Fossil Fuel Use Editor, Times-Dispatch: Of two recent Op/Ed columns urging expanded extraction of oil, it is noteworthy that neither column mentioned conservation, efficiency, or the United States&#8217; position as the world&#8217;s largest per-capita user of fossil fuels. Del. Chris Saxman states: &#8220;Renewables . . . cannot offer the promise of oil.&#8220; He then asserts oil extraction is safe and clean, ignoring numerous spills great and small as well as the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. The new discoveries Saxman cites cover only two-thirds of the oil burned in that period.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:01:39 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-KNAPIK26_20091025-171003/301548/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
This Isn&#8217;t About Health Care at All Editor, Times-Dispatch: People are clamoring for health care reform, and they expect the government to provide it. How can any logical, clear-thinking individual believe the government can fix the problems in our health care system? The government created it, managed it, and got it where it is. Government hasn&#8217;t fixed it because health care is not the real issue.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:01:03 EST</pubDate>
<guid>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-KNAPIK26_20091025-171003/301548/#When:05:01:03Z</guid>
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         <item>
          <title>Letters: Keillor&#8217;s Cup Runneth Over&#8212;With Bile</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-HARDY25_20091023-210409/301247/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Garrison Keillor&#8217;s Op/Ed column, &#8220;Even GOP Deserves Good Care,&#8220; is another of his witty, cynical rants. The big guy with the nice baritone has lost all sense of reality. He is consumed by his hate and contempt for those whose political and social opinions differ from his own.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:01:57 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: Here&#8217;s Another Name Suggestion</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GAMMON25_20091023-210409/301246/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Perhaps the best name for our new baseball team would have been the Richmond Hissy Fits, since every time something different, new, or controversial happens in our city, someone throws one. Karen Gammon.Moseley.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:01:31 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Deadline for election letters</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-DEAD25_20091023-210409/301244/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
To be considered for publication, letters regarding the election must be received by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:01:30 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Correspondent of the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SMALL24_20091023-180804/301218/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Marshall Needs Praise, Not Hagiography Editor, Times-Dispatch: I found Brian Shaw&#8217;s Commentary article about George C. Marshall quite interesting. Marshall is a fascinating character, and one for which a proper study has yet to be developed. He became an iconic character early in WWII and, to date, the only studies devoted to him have been paeans such as Pogue&#8217;s biography.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:01:57 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor: Did Report Skew Coal&#45;Plant Facts?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SOLARI24_20091023-180804/301219/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Did Report Skew Coal-Plant Facts? Editor, Times-Dispatch: The article, &#8220;Report: Coal Plant Would Pollute Bay,&#8220; reports that a $20,000 study by a California based private air-pollution specialist projects large amounts of mercury would be added to the Chesapeake Bay by a proposed Old Dominion Electric Cooperative coal-burning power plant.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Wind Offers Higher Return on Investment</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SAENZ23_20091022-181806/301020/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Wind Offers Higher Return on Investment Editor, Times-Dispatch: Vince Haley exaggerated the economic benefits and downplayed the risks of offshore drilling for Virginians in his recent Commentary column, &#8220;Offshore Drilling Will Create Jobs in Va.&#8220; Offshore oil drilling threatens economic activity tied directly to Virginia&#8217;s coastline, including an estimated $3.5-billion tourism industry. A cautionary example is a huge oil spill this past August off the northern coast of Australia. The West Atlas rig blowout has dumped an estimated 400 barrels of oil into the ocean each day over the past six weeks. Can you imagine the effects of a comparable spill on Virginia&#8217;s coastline?           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor: Don&#8217;t Forget To Thank a Vet</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BART23_20091022-181806/301015/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Don&#8217;t Forget To Thank a Vet Editor, Times-Dispatch: My husband, a Vietnam veteran, hosted his second military reunion recently. The extended weekend affair was a huge success. During a visit to D.C., the men placed a wreath at the Vietnam wall and visited the WWII memorial. Our Vietnam veterans warmly greeted each member of a visiting WWII group (many of whom were in wheelchairs), shook their hands, and thanked them for their service to our country. The tears present in both sets of eyes reflected memories of the proud and patriotic service performed by these veterans. With many of their descendants currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, that selfless tradition of service has been projected forward.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Discuss Legislation a Little at a Time</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-MCREAA21_20091020-195606/300499/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
A 28th Amendment should read: Congress shall enact no law having more words than the main body of the Constitution. That comes to about 4,400 words, or about six printed pages. Imagine a law, written elegantly enough that not only could the average citizen understand it&#8212;every congressman would even have time to read it.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:01:58 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Kudos to City On Restored Lake</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-PERRY21_20091020-195606/300501/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
In a time when municipal governments find it difficult to fund special projects, I write to offer my thanks and congratulations to the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities for the wonderful surprise I received this morning as I took my daily walk.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:01:52 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: Drilling Offshore Makes Sense</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-RANDOL21_20091020-195606/300502/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Marirose Pratt [&#8220;Offshore Drilling Is No Silver Bullet&#8221;] is either sadly misinformed or unwilling to acknowledge the inconvenient facts about our energy reality. Drilling off our coast is not a silver bullet, but it is silver buckshot. Virginia does have a chance to become energy independent if we put all of our resources in play.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:01:05 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Letters To The Editor</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SHIREY20_20091019-171405/300291/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Deeds, McDonnell Cover State in Mud Editor, Times-Dispatch: Is there any way we could have a third category on this year&#8217;s ballot&#8212;&#8220;None of the above&#8221;? I fully intend to vote in the gubernatorial election, but am not sure I am physically able to slog out of the disgusting mire both men have dumped all over the state.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:01:36 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor Continued: Alternative Energy Is a Long Way Off</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-TURNER19_20091018-165603/300121/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Alternative Energy Is a Long Way Off Editor, Times-Dispatch: In response to Marirose Pratt&#8217;s Op/Ed column, &#8220;Offshore Drilling No Silver Bullet&#8221;: I am all for developing all forms of energy, but alternative energy will take decades to have any significant impact on our energy needs. It accounts for only 7 percent of our energy needs and if developed will be able to increase to only 12 percent over the next decade, according to the experts. Green energy efforts in other countries show that it actually costs jobs and doesn&#8217;t create new ones.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:01:37 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Why Isn&#8217;t Israel Supporting U.S. Policy</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-DUSS19_20091018-165603/300114/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Why Isn&#8217;t Israel Supporting U.S. Policy? Editor, Times-Dispatch: Rep. Eric Cantor recently declared to Politico.com that he did not think President Barack Obama was a true friend of Israel. He cited the administration&#8217;s &#8220;disproportionate focus&#8221; on halting the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor: Three Very Defining Names for a Team</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-ARMS19_20091018-165603/300113/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Three Very Defining Names for a Team Editor, Times-Dispatch: If I had known how lame the finalist names for our new baseball team would be, I would have submitted my own three favorites:   Potholes. Nothing is more indigenous to Richmond than the pothole! Besides, just imagine: It&#8217;s the bottom of the 9th, the score is tied, the bases are loaded and the batter is a scrappy young man who will do anything to get on base&#8212;including, letting himself be hit by a pitcher! As one, the crowd leaps to its feet and screams, &#8220;Hit the Pothole! Hit the Pothole!&#8220; In fact, that could be our summer-long rallying cry.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: Health Care Reform Shouldn&#8217;t Cut Benefits</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-LANE18_20091016-203809/299803/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
It is plain to see that a reform in health care is necessary. More and more people are losing their jobs and, in turn, losing their health benefits. Having to decide if something is serious enough to go to the doctor should not have to be an issue.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:01:16 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Small Mojave Cross Could Change All</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-KESS18_20091016-203809/299802/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
With all the life-threatening problems and financial woes facing our country today I take issue with the ACLU for arguing over a small cross&#8212;built out in the middle of the Mojave Dessert to recognize our World War I dead&#8212;as unconstitutional or a government endorsement of religion.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:01:03 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: The Choice Is Clear: Oppose Intolerance</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SIEGEL17_20091016-190204/299775/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
During his bid for his party&#8217;s nomination in 2000, one of the Republicans&#8217; own, John McCain, referred to the religious right (specifically Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell) as &#8220;agents of intolerance.&#8220; McCain was absolutely correct. Eight years later, however, Republican nominee McCain pandered to those same agents of intolerance to court their vote.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:01:58 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: VITA Initiative Is Ongoing Process</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-SEN17_20091016-190204/299774/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Bill Leighty&#8217;s Op/Ed column, &#8220;Initiatives Still Make Good Sense,&#8220; regarding the VITA initiative was right on point. As someone with vast experience in information technology issues and someone who has worked directly on this issue, there is nothing as challenging as IT integration.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:01:39 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Correction</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-CORR17_20091016-190204/299771/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Yesterday&#8217;s Correspondent of the Day Edward H. Peeples is a Ph.D., not an M.D.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:01:26 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: Closure Will Come When Truth Emerges</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-ELMORE17_20091016-190204/299772/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
It is now more than two years and some months since the massacre at Virginia Tech. Many observers still look for closure and are fatigued reading about this tragedy in the papers. Some parents and friends still do not understand how a maniac could have been allowed to progress to mass murder, and they await better explanations of how this happened.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:01:24 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Variables Make Savings Unlikely</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-PEEB16_20091015-180409/299546/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Variables Make Savings Unlikely Editor, Times-Dispatch: One of the most regrettable assumptions made in the squabble over health care arises out of the apparent naIvet&#233; about the full spectrum of ill health causation in our world. Far too many critics of our present health care reform proposals presume that if people would change their life style, illness and premature death would mostly disappear.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Cuccinelli&#8217;s Record On DUIs Is Appalling</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-HARDY16_20091015-180409/299544/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Cuccinelli&#8217;s Record On DUIs Is Appalling Editor, Times-Dispatch: In the recent editorial, &#8220;Attorney General&#8217;s Race: Down Ticket,&#8220; you called Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican candidate for attorney general, &#8220;perspicacious&#8221; in his call for a special legislative session on DUI prosecutions last year. What you neglected to include was Cuccinelli&#8217;s appalling legislative record on drunk driving.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Schools Program Benefited Communities</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-ORELOVE15_20091014-173804/299313/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Schools Program Benefited Communities Editor, Times-Dispatch: I was pleased to see mention of the Julius Rosenwald Schools in the recent obituary for Christine Waller. The Rosenwald Rural School Building Program, as it was officially known, was truly remarkable in its scope and impact. By 1928, one in every five rural schools for black students in the South was a Rosenwald school.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor: Coal Remains Our Major Energy Source</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-CLEMENS15_20091014-173804/299309/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Coal Remains Our Major Energy Source Editor, Times-Dispatch: Coal continues to get kicked around even though more than half of the electricity we use is generated from this valuable resource. It would be interesting to see how many people know that fact. While renewable energy is worth continuing to pursue, we need to focus on what remains the backbone of our country&#8217;s energy supply. New technologies are being developed, fine-tuned, and implemented throughout the U.S. on an ongoing basis. We need to redirect the attention and public and private funds to perfect clean-coal technologies to ensure this affordable, home-grown resource stays in the energy mix.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor: Banned Books or Not, Reading Has Benefits</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GAPPERS14_20091013-174202/299109/</link>
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Banned Books or Not, Reading Has Benefits Editor, Times-Dispatch: I am writing to thank Correspondent of the Day Brian Regrut [&#8220;Why Are So Many Books Banned?&#8220;] for his timely warning (coming at the end of Banned Books Week) about why so many works of literature are removed or kept from library shelves. I will be certain to chastise the ideologue librarians to whom Regrut refers (and, of course, the secretive book-selection cabals they head) whenever I next have contact with them, as I regularly do in my role as an educator.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Can a Businessman Know Earth Systems?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-CUTHRIELL14_20091013-174202/299107/</link>
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Can a Businessman Know Earth Systems? Editor, Times-Dispatch: Regarding the news story, &#8220;Electric Co-op Leader &#8216;Sees Through the Glass Clearly&#8217;&#8221;: Jack Reasor doesn&#8217;t see through the glass clearly about the overstressed Earth systems that support his many activities. Note his education: bachelor of arts, law degree. And his experience: law firms, banking, electric supplier.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor, Cont&#8217;d: Not All Negativity Constitutes Racism</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-WHEEL13_20091012-180004/298956/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Not All Negativity Constitutes Racism Editor, Times-Dispatch: A sentence in Michael Paul Williams&#8217; recent column, &#8220;Obama Banner a Bad Joke,&#8220; caught my eye made me shake my head in amazement. He wrote that he couldn&#8217;t &#8220;recall a president being treated with such disrespect by U.S. citizens.&#8220; I don&#8217;t know Williams&#8217; age, but I recall during President Lyndon Johnson&#8217;s administration and later, during President Richard Nixon&#8217;s term, signs, protests, and marches were much more disrespectful than any of the current ones. Those two presidents were castigated daily for the Vietnam War and Watergate. This was done in the press and outside the White House. In fact, the signs were so vindictive that Johnson decided not to seek another term.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters to the Editor: Protests Are Good; Civility Is Required</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-HILL13_20091012-180004/298951/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Protests Are Good; Civility Is Required Editor, Times-Dispatch: Although I don&#8217;t support many of the plans for change that President Barack Obama is trying to have us believe are necessary, I&#8217;m disappointed to see that a club in Shockoe Bottom would demean the president of the United States by displaying a banner featuring him as the Joker. I&#8217;m thankful for the freedoms we have in America but we must act responsibly as we exercise those rights, many of which are denied to citizens of other countries.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent of the Day: Afghan People Need Coalition Support</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-HARTE13_20091012-180004/298950/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Afghan People Need Coalition Support Editor, Times-Dispatch: I am in total agreement with Howard Bartholf [&#8220;Win This War or Get Out Now&#8221;]. As the father of two sons overseas, one on a combat outpost on the Afghan-Pakistani border, and the other helping to keep the peace in Iraq, I am very concerned that they and their fellow soldiers are not being supported in their mission by this country&#8217;s leadership.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters To The Editor Continued: Hoover Tried Same Tactics Obama Uses</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-CLATTER12_20091011-170804/298776/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Hoover Tried Same Tactics Obama Uses Editor, Times-Dispatch: Why is it that (presumed) intelligent people cannot read history and recognize the lessons it offers? It is said that small business is the engine that drives job creation&#8212;so why would any small business want to expand when facing unquantified costs as is now the case?           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:01:04 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: Was Religious Education Necessary?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-NAGELS11_20091009-213206/298470/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Chesterfield County pulled every fifth-grade teacher out of the classroom over a three-day period to attend all-day sensitivity training on the Islamic religion. As a teacher, I am concerned about this intrusion of religion (any religion) into our schools and, more important, the waste of teaching time and money in a county supposedly in financial straits. The county used Title II funds to do this, which is money given to it by the federal government. The county bought every fifth-grade teacher a $21.95 book on Islam and a journal notebook. Also, the county paid substitutes for all these teachers. In many schools there was no grade level person in the school to help the substitutes. What were they thinking?           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:01:46 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Let&#8217;s Get Lawyers Out of Health Care</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-DOM11_20091009-213206/298466/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Let&#8217;s Get Lawyers Out of Health Care Editor, Times-Dispatch: Was Rep. Eric Cantor the only participant at the recent Public Square who recognized the &#8220;big elephant in the room&#8221;&#8212;money-draining tort litigation? Cantor was right on target about tort reform: &#8220;It is time for us&#8212;and this is coming as a lawyer&#8212;to get the lawyers out of the business of frivolous litigation and allow for health care costs to stabilize.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:01:07 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: It&#8217;s not as easy as it looks</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-BAKER10_20091009-181812/298421/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
It&#8217;s Not as Easy As It Looks Editor, Times-Dispatch Regarding Correspondent of the Day Brad Barrett&#8217;s letter, &#8220;We Can All Pay for One Another&#8221;: Would that it were as simple as Barrett seems to think. He did not explain how many of the 300 million people in this country could pay their share of $100 billion once the unemployed, the old, the young, the marginally employed, the homeless, and the poverty-stricken are subtracted.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:01:11 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Pay for Highways Through User Fees</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-ELLIS10_20091009-181812/298424/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Both candidates for governor are failing to deal squarely with the critical issue of transportation funding. The public wants better roads and should be willing to pay for them. There are no more savings to be made in the VDOT budget. Various state laws and other priorities are restricting the use of limited available highway funds.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:01:06 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Keep &#8216;Under God&#8217; Out of School</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-DAVIS10_20091009-181812/298423/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Although I am a devoted Christian and attend church regularly, those citizens who still say church should be a part of a child&#8217;s education are inconsiderate and selfish. Personally, I would love to learn more about my religion while at school, but I would not want to force my religious beliefs upon someone who doesn&#8217;t share the same thoughts as me. While my job as a Christian is to expand my religion and teach it to others, I cannot force another being into believing my views.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:01:06 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Letters: Chesterfield Must Increase Revenue</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GIAN09_20091008-181608/298201/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Regarding the news article &#8220;Budget Cuts Expected&#8221;: As new home construction and assessed values spiked from 2001 to 2008, Chesterfield reduced its real estate tax rate from $1.08 to $0.95 and still managed to grow revenue. With the benefit of hindsight, these tax rate cuts during good times laid the foundation for the current budget crisis. Other Virginia localities offset the drop in home values by increasing the tax rate to preserve funding for essential government services including police, schools, fire and EMS, and mental health.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:01:47 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Correspondent: Try Teaching Once Before Judging Pay</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-HARRIS09_20091008-181608/298203/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
I would like to take a quick moment to address the article, &#8220;Chesterfield to Monitor Teacher Development.&#8220; As a one-time substitute teacher in inner-city, Title I and non-Title I schools in Missouri and Virginia, I have had the wonderful opportunity to proudly stand in the front lines with our educators.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:01:46 EST</pubDate>
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