
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 14, 1995                   TAG: 9510170007
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

BRIEFLY PUT . . .

AS SLINGS and barbs fly in all directions in Virginia's legislative races, Gov. George Allen has recommended that the politicians try to preserve a sense of humor. This is an excellent recommendation, especially at a time when civility is so hard to find. So far at least, Democrat Dick Cranwell of Vinton, the House majority leader personally targeted for defeat by Republican Allen, seems to be keeping his.

In an Oct. 3 story on the Virginia races, The Wall Street Journal quoted Cranwell as saying that Allen ``called me a monarchical elitist. I said I thought he was talking about some kind of rare butterfly in Tazewell County.'' Now don't let that bug you, governor. It's not a bad line. Smile.

IF YOU earned $1,000 every day, it would take you 2,740 years to earn $1 billion, according to The Defense Monitor, a Washington newsletter.

Congress can spend it a whole lot faster: After debating military spending for 22 minutes, the House of Representatives voted for a $240 billion defense budget. At $11 billion a minute, that's some fast talking.

by CNB