Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511160009
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
You can imagine my surprise when I read your Oct. 11 editorial (``The PAC men are peeved'') in which I'm quoted. The quotation was taken from a news article published in The Virginian Pilot. The reporter had asked for my help with his story on the increase in the number of unopposed incumbents and aspiring candidates with political-action committees.
In essence, the question posed was: ``How is your PAC deciding to give money during this election year, and does the presence of PACs controlled by unopposed incumbents affect the way your PAC is making contributions?'' I wasn't asked a question about the need for campaign-finance reform. Furthermore, when your newspaper chose to write an editorial on the need for campaign reform, no one called me to ask about our position on such reform. Instead, a quotation provided to a Virginian-Pilot reporter in direct response to his question was taken out of context and utilized to chastise lobbyists.
Let me close with the following: Do I as a member of the lobbying community support campaign-finance reform in Virginia? Absolutely! Positively! We have been promoting the need for such reform for some time. If a substantive campaign-finance reform bill were introduced in the Virginia General Assembly, I would stand to support it faster than you can write an unresearched and unsubstantiated editorial.
KATHARINE M. WEBB
Senior Vice President
Virginia Hospital Association
RICHMOND
Two-party system had to stop Powell
IF ANY person living today embodies the qualities that we as one nation, undivided, might respect, admire and be willing to follow, that person is Colin Powell.
Here's a man viewed by all as just a plain American (not a ``hyphenated American''), capable of leading - by the sheer force of his life's own example and his calm, confident ability to express his thoughts clearly - the greatest nation on Earth, made up of mixed breeds and mutts on two legs, having a variety of skin colors.
The fact that he has decided not to run for the presidency speaks doubtfully of our two-party system. In this case, the extreme right of the Republican Party is chiefly responsible for blithely tossing away the party's best opportunity in the past 40 years to consolidate virtually all of middle America (defined as moderates in both parties, and increasingly counting many minorities within its ranks) under the Republican banner.
Alas, had Powell decided to declare as a Democratic candidate, the extreme left would also probably have torpedoed his candidacy. Imagine a Democrat espousing personal responsibility, discipline and self-restraint! Worse, imagine that he would ask and admonish Congress to do the same.
If he had won the presidency under either party banner, Congress would have had to face a leader of such high moral caliber, one who speaks so clearly and stands by such old-fashioned values, that it would have weakened special-interest groups' grip on Congress, and therefore our nation's collective throat. No-nonsense criminal laws, effective education methods that hold educators and parents to task for children's shortcomings, and deficit reduction on a serious scale might be the jawbone used on Congress. Howls of anguish would ring out on the House and Senate floors, knees would wobble and bladders would weaken in terror of business-not-as-usual. Therefore, the two-party system couldn't let Powell succeed.
JOHN E. LANE III
ROANOKE
Views aren't in sync with populace
I HAVE read your election editorials, and just for fun was watching to see if you would endorse a Republican. If you did, I missed it!
It certainly would be nice to have a local newspaper that wasn't totally biased and reflected the views of the population a bit better. I swear, if I didn't know better, I would think I was reading a Massachusetts newspaper.
WILLIAM LAWSON
MONETA
Police must leave judgment to judges
REGARDING the Oct. 27 article (``Attacker's sentence protested'') on Major Donald Shields of the Roanoke City Police Department:
I read that article several times because I couldn't believe that he would have the audacity to write something that inflammatory to a judge. What a knuckleheaded thing to do - write a letter with the threat of ``street justice'' to be meted out if things aren't done his way. Then, when asked about it, he said it wasn't a threat, just an attitude - which doesn't presently exist but might come about as a result of the judge being too soft on crime. Well, the attitude does exist in Shields' mind. And since he's the department's commander of the uniform division, then I'm sure the attitude permeates the rank and file.
Shields seems to have lost touch with reality. Apparently, he has forgotten that in our justice system an impartial judge hears the evidence and then rules based on facts - and not based on threatening letters received from police officers.
When I was in the police academy, we were told that our job was to arrest criminals and take them to court. Whatever happened in court wasn't any of our business.
The only thing his letter has accomplished is to put more pressure on the street officers who already face public scrutiny and have to be second-guessed. Now, whenever they use force to effect an arrest, people will wonder if it was really necessary or was some of the ``street justice'' Shields was talking about.
TED ALLEN
ROANOKE
Many tried to help Justice House
THANK YOU for your many articles concerning the Justice House community. As one who was directly involved with the recent events, I found your articles to be informative and fair.
During December 1994, the Council of Community Services and David Hayden approached the Roanoke Area Ministries and the Rev. Julie Hollingsworth, RAM executive director at the time. Hayden was considering leaving his ministry at Justice House and wanted to know if RAM would assume responsibility for the operation.
The buildings were in need of rehabilitation, and tenants needed assistance in the area of fiscal management. After a great deal of investigation on the part of the RAM Board of Directors, and discovering that ownership of the buildings was in question, RAM decided it couldn't assume responsibility for the daily operation of the Justice House community. However, efforts were made by the RAM directors to ``partner'' with the tenants. Through this process, it was hoped the tenants would learn to become self-sufficient. Board members offered to assist by working one-on-one with tenants to help them acquire skills that would lead to fiscal responsibility and independence.
Unfortunately, after three meetings, the RAM advocates were told their services were no longer needed, but tenants would be in contact in the future if they saw any other needs. However, we did continue to render emergency financial assistance to individual tenants residing at Justice House. The next official contact was in September when Justice House's acting coordinator called to request assistance with approximately $5,000 in unpaid bills.
RAM acted as a facilitator and called together local social-service agencies and some tenants of Justice House to discuss solutions to problems. It was decided the buildings were in such a sad state of disrepair that we would be doing a disservice to the tenants by keeping them there.
I commend the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the Roanoke City Department of Social Services, St. John's Episcopal Church, Total Action Against Poverty, the Rescue Mission and the Virginia Mennonite Board of Missions that worked in cooperation with us to provide the resources necessary for safe, affordable housing for tenants of Justice House.
WENDY W. MOORE
Executive Director
Roanoke Area Ministries
ROANOKE
by CNB