No rich Democrats?

Re 'Campaigns awash in cash,' Michelle Washington column, Feb. 7: Did John Kerry's money keep Michelle Washington awake at night in 2004? That's a fair question, considering it is how she opened her column.

She mentioned Mitt Romney's name negatively no fewer than five times. I would even give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she is not making a partisan hit, if only she would mention the wealth of a Democrat. Any Democrat. We wouldn't have to look far. How about our own Sen. Mark Warner, one of the richest in Congress?

Washington could certainly argue that Super PAC dollars are distorting the democratic process in America, but she confused campaign finance and personal wealth throughout the piece. Perhaps she chose this as a subject because a rich president is a new thing. No, wait, our richest president (adjusting for inflation) was George Washington.

The people's information

Re 'Open government, in black and white,' letters, Jan. 19: The author cites the necessity for greater openness in city government (issues were cited with the town of Onancock) and speaks to the importance of not imposing further restrictions on the Freedom of Information Act. I, too, had similar problems with the city of Chesapeake and the Virginia Retirement System when I requested documents relevant to my retirement.Government agencies such as city and town councils as well as the VRS are well aware of the difficulties they impose on citizens requesting information. Imposing obstacles and redacting information discourage citizens from making inquiries.

I requested information on two separate occasions; however, I did not receive it until after more than 90 days, not within the time constraints established by the FOIA. Not until the information was subpoenaed by my attorney did the extent of redacted and omitted information become apparent.

Additionally, there was collaboration between the city of Chesapeake and the VRS regarding what information would be released.

As a citizen and a member of the VRS, I have a right to request and receive information relevant to my benefits without having to submit multiple requests or incur the expenses of an attorney. There is a huge need for openness in government and a further restructuring of the rules and enforcement of the law. Our citizens deserve to have greater transparency in government.

Government overreach

Re 'Pre-abortion ultrasound: Too invasive?' front page, Feb. 3: SB484 makes it mandatory for a woman seeking an abortion to be subjected to an invasive 'transvaginal' ultrasound and a waiting period before the procedure can be performed. What right does Virginia have to force a woman to submit to any invasive medical procedure? No matter which side of the abortion issue one may be on, it is incomprehensible that the government should dictate when or how any medical procedure is performed. It should be the woman and her doctor, not the state, making the decision as to whatever medical procedures are deemed necessary.

Many candidates running for political office these days are continually saying we have 'too much government' in our lives. How can anyone justify his or her vote to approve SB484?

Wind energy pipe dream

RE 'DOMINION'S BAIT AND SWITCH,' Mike Tidwell guest column, Jan. 25: Once again Dominion gets bashed with little or no fact-checking. A New York Times report of Nov. 9 ('Cost of Green Power Makes Projects Tougher Sell') stated that deals to buy renewable power have been scuttled or slowed in states including Florida, Idaho, Rhode Island and Kentucky, as well as Virginia.

It said that through the first nine months of 2010, installations of new wind power dropped 72 percent from 2009 levels, according to the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group.

Not only Virginia has cut wind programs but other states as well. Why? Tidwell would have us believe there is some 'evil cabal' out to thwart environmental progress and job creation by buying off every politician in sight. No, it simply costs too much, and there are other proven technologies that can reduce emissions significantly right now, especially natural gas.

The president also recently stated that natural gas is now the way to go with regard to environmental bang for the buck, so why spend money on a technology that is a pipe dream?

Abusive budget cuts

Outrage over Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's alleged acts has typically prompted calls for more legislation. While intentions may be in the right place, this is a hollow gesture without calls for and funding for more child protective workers to handle the increase in reporting that will result.

Whenever a child protective case falls through the cracks, the system is vilified. You don't hear much about the fact that agencies are understaffed and caseloads are beyond recommended numbers.

Years ago I worked in child protective services. Caseloads were too big to cover adequately then and are much worse now. We need more funding and more workers, along with more legislation.

Rape by proxy

Re 'Pre-abortion ultrasound: Too invasive?' front page, Feb. 3: Some lawmakers think it's a good idea for a doctor to be forced to perform a transvaginal ultrasound on a woman who seeks an abortion in the early part of pregnancy.

They have apparently not considered Virginia state law, which states that an attempt to commit rape, forcible sodomy, or inanimate or animate object sexual penetration shall be punishable as a Class 4 felony.

Doctors who abide by the intrusive mandate of this ill-conceived law would essentially be committing rape by sexual penetration with an object.

Those who think this law is a good idea would be rapists by proxy. And so would any governor so ill-advised as to sign it.

It's a bad law, poorly conceived, with little understanding of its actual consequences.

Painful truth

Re 'Pre-abortion ultrasound: Too invasive?' front page, Feb. 3: It took many decades for Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and other heroes to shine enough light on the unimaginable horrors of the slave ships, the Civil War, the indignities of the KKK and the Jim Crow South to finally let a nation and the world see the truth.Likewise, shining light and constant reminders were necessary because people who were aware of what was happening inside the barbed wire of Auschwitz and the gulags often chose to ignore the reality they would rather not have faced the torture and murder committed against innocent human beings.

Today, only one side of the abortion argument sees much light of day. The other is shrouded in darkness and intentionally hidden by many, so the horrors of it can be ignored. Why is it acceptable to describe in detail and witness the tragedies surrounding troubled pregnancies, but unacceptable to describe and witness the tortuous horrors of what happens when an innocent, unborn child is brutally killed inside his or her mother's womb and thrown as offal into the medical waste bin?

This is political correctness taken to a barbaric extreme, and it may be time for the law to shine more light on the child when deciding how to deal with an unwanted pregnancy. As uncomfortable as it is to acknowledge, two lives are involved, not just one, and at least one of them is perfectly innocent.

Choking Portsmouth

Is it too late to stop the VDOT boondoggle labeled the Midtown-Downtown Tunnel improvement project? Has the check for $2.1 billion already been signed, on the backs of local commuters?

I am a longtime resident of Port Norfolk and have commuted to Norfolk for more than 30 years through the Midtown Tunnel. I read with interest the report on Del. Kenny Alexander's bill to limit tolls on new projects.

I have been against this proposed tunnel expansion project from the start, but at all the project hearings and civic league meetings that I've attended, it seemed like it was a done deal, ready to be rammed down locals' throats.

I do not feel that spending $2.1 billion on this project will provide the traffic relief promised. The region's traffic problems would be better served and money better spent by providing a 'third crossing,' namely a connection from I-564 to the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, via Craney Island. A third crossing would also do more to relieve rush-hour congestion at the Midtown Tunnel than adding another parallel tube.

The Midtown Tunnel is congested only at rush hour. At other times it is unused.

Its tolls will not only add to commuters' cost of living in the form of a hidden tax but also will build a wall between Portsmouth and Norfolk. Instead, give us commuter parking lots and express buses to light rail, ODU and the naval station. VDOT would be much more successful if it will focus its energy on the third crossing.

Government giveaway

ONE OF THIS NATION'S most insidious little secrets is that, for self-serving reasons, our politicians are slowly ceding control of the country to corporate America. To witness this firsthand, one has only to look here in Virginia.

First, Gov. Bob McDonnell places our local tunnels in hock to a private entity for a generation, leaving local citizens to foot the bill. And if that is not enough, it is only fitting, in a perverse way, that he has now proposed the final insult inviting corporate America to place its names on our infrastructure for a price as well.

To the electorate, both state and national, I say: Wake up before it is too late. Our politicians' wanton collusion with corporate America borders on treason. And it could result in not just class warfare, but outright civil conflict, the likes of which we have not seen since the civil rights movement if not the Civil War.

To McDonnell and all the misguided politicians who are supporting these dangerous actions, I say: Gentlemen, have you no decency? Have you no shame? Is nothing sacred? How much is the soul of the nation and this commonwealth worth?

Indeed, the chickens of this state's ineffective government are coming home to roost in Hampton Roads. And the sad part is, they have been given an EZ Pass.

Cable clearance sale

It amazes me how well-crafted Cox's new TV Economy Tier lineup is. We can opt for this and still get Jewelry TV and three channels of C-SPAN, but not ESPN or TNT. It is perfectly designed for most not to want it. Changes are coming with Roku, Hulu, Netflix and a lot of upcoming Internet services. But I should be loyal to Cox. After all, it only raised my rate 66 percent in 10 years.