Letters to the Editor for Friday, January 8, 2009

By: | Lynchburg News and Advance
Published: January 08, 2010

‘Prayer’ editorial ill-informed, off-base
The News & Advance’s Jan. 7 editorial, “A delegate’s wrong turn on prayer,” contained the following regarding the establishment clause of the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion … .”

Three tiny dots to indicate that there was more to the clause. What more is there, represented by those dots?

Well, the entire clause (in regard to religion) states: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Interesting that you should have chosen to delete the part about the “prohibiting the free exercise thereof” when that is exactly what Del. Charles W. Carrico, R-Grayson County, is attempting to allow.

At the end of your editorial, you state “There is no reason for the 2010 General Assembly to be wasting its time on legislation that has no chance of passing constitutional muster at the federal level.”

Wow … now I’m impressed. Not only have you decided that you have the capacity to be an Opinion Page editor, but you also can fulfill the duties of a federal court.

How would this issue play out in the courts? I’m not sure. Certainly not as sure as you seem to be.
STEVEN SHOCKLEY
Lynchburg

A fair user tax
With the 2010 General Assembly ready to start, the state is facing some hard decisions.

One of those decisions is how to fund transportation.

A group of our representatives have signed a pledge of no increase in taxes.

That shows a lack of leadership in that they refuse to make the hard decisons.

I submit that raising the gasoline and diesel taxes would increase jobs and not create any more hardship on our residents.

In Lynchburg, we have a major East Coast road-building construction company as well as concrete and asphalt producers, bridge builders and stone quarries. All these companies have lost personnel to layoffs, because of a lack of road-building contracts.

Increasing the gasoline tax will allow proper maintenance of our roads and put more people to work. Increased fuel taxes wouldn’t even be noticed by the average citizen due to the constant ebb and flow of the price of gasoline and diesel.

Fuel taxes are also the closest we can come to a true user tax: Those who drive on the roads pay for the roads.

What’s more fair than that?
GEORGE WISE
Madison Heights