Don’t come back from Richmond without viable transportation plan

Today is a critical date for Northern Virginians — the first day of the special session to address the transportation crisis we face daily.

State legislators distracted by soaring gas/food prices, foreclosures and illegal immigration have allowed road and transit improvements in a $102 million bond to be postponed because they have not enacted a legally sustainable financial mechanism. However, something is truly wrong if we have to accept three-hour commutes as a way of life. 

The Northern Virginia economy pays for the public needs in much of the state, but some legislators engage in provincialism when it comes to transportation funding. Roads and buses do not stop at county lines.

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General allegations of waste or mythical budget surpluses won’t build a new road, buy a bus or move a train. A “no new taxes” mantra actually raises our ultimate tax burden because deferred maintenance and construction always cost more.

We should urge our representatives not to return home until they have enacted a viable, equitable, long-term transportation solution. They were elected to do a job.  If they don’t, we can find others who will.

Sharon Pandak

Northern Virginia

Transportation Authority

There’s no right to privacy if you’re using public airwaves

Re: “Agree? Disagree? Americans’ privacy rights extend to all international phone call and e-mails,” June 19

I’ve always had a problem with the U.S. Supreme Court finding a right of privacy in the Constitution. I don’t think our Founding Fathers had the slightest intention of establishing an umbrella of privacy rights. They were community-oriented people, as most societies have been since the beginning of time, and were not preoccupied with personal privacy rights or they would have spelled them out.

Instead of making reasonable inferences from the words of the Constitution, the court engaged in creative literary exegesis in the early 1960s to fashion a privacy right in order to combat a Connecticut law banning the use of contraception by married couples. (The state believed it had a legitimate interest in encouraging procreation of new citizens).

If our country has a need for national security, none of our communications using the public airwaves should be fully protected.

Francis Clifford

Arlington

If you’re pro-immigration, don’t complain about burden

Re: “Inept immigration policies demonstrate lack of leadership,” From Readers, June 19

In his letter, Russ Gardiner admits that he supported amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, but then complains about the burden of those immigrants on local taxes and education systems. 

I hope Mr. Gardiner’s reasoning in the voting booth he claims he will use to express his dissatisfaction with immigration policies will be better than it appears to be in The Washington Examiner.

Ronald F. Balazik

Alexandria

Examiner throws its readers puffballs

Re: “The difference between Barack and Barry” and ‘The View’ women throw Michelle Obama puffballs,” June 19

What a waste of four columns. Who cares what Barack Obama’s name is? Will any one actually vote on that basis? If so, what are you going to change “Hussein” to?

Further, his wife should not be a part of the election process.

You should not vote for the spouse of a candidate. If you think otherwise, look at what they discussed on “The View” — and her answers.

Why won’t the media devote space to a dissection of the candidates’ experience and qualifications, their positions on important issues, and how they will fix what’s broken? Why won’t the media do their job and provide useful information to readers so we are more knowledgeable when we enter the booth in November?

Joe Schramm

Alexandria