Don’t allow McCain to water down GI Bill

The GI Bill has become a shadow of its former self, failing to keep up with the cost of college. These days, the average benefit doesn’t even cover half the cost of a public college for an in-state student.

Unfortunately, John McCain has shamelessly introduced legislation that would undercut the Hagel/Webb effort to update the GI Bill. McCain’s bill would reduce the college benefit veterans would get, leaving far too many without a path to a college education.

It is important that every member of Congress rejects the watered-down McCain bill, and supports bipartisan legislation that would restore the promise of a full college education to those who fought for our great country.

Paul Rihani

Columbia, Md.

Property values decline, but real estate taxes still go up

Re: Fairfax approves bevy of tax increases designed to counter economic decline,” April 29

In the five years I have lived in Fairfax County, my property tax assessment has increased 199 percent. Due to the decreased tax rate, my actual property tax has increased by only 147 percent. 

The supervisors tell us that even with the three-cent rate increase, most will not see an increased tax due to the decline in property values.

My property has decreased in market value, but the tax-assessed value has not decreased a penny.  So a three-cent increase in the tax rate will increase my property tax significantly. 

I wonder what Fairfax County has done with the revenue windfall of the past several years. Please tell President Bush that I will use my economic stimulus rebate to pay my taxes.

Jim Hall

Vienna

Democrats don’t need any more campaign debates

Re: Agree? Disagree? “Barack Obama is right to refuse to participate in any more debates with Hillary Clinton,” April 25

With already more than 20 so-called debates between these candidates, Barack Obama is right in refusing to participate in more debates with Hillary Clinton. At this point, more debates do not serve any useful purpose and are likely to devolve into the silliness that was the Pennsylvania debate.

Craig Taylor

Alexandria

Raid on Texas polygamists was a mass kidnapping

Re: “Leftist activists unsympathetic to polygamist women in Texas,” April 28

Melanie Scarborough clearly points out the lack of compassion of some fashionable leftists for the men, women and children at the community in Texas who were raided by robots sent out by state officials.  She is quite right about the personal social disasters in urban housing projects, which state officials seem to accept as a norm.  

The kidnapping of a child is considered a shocking offense; why isn’t it considered so when officials do it en masse?

Robert J. Jones

Washington

President Pelosi would not be an improvement

Re: “Bush and Cheney should answer for their crimes,” from readers, April 28

Allen Hatch calls for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. I certainly agree with his sentiments. Bush and Cheney deserve to be impeached and thrown out of office for their flagrant disregard of the U.S. Constitution. Without doubt, they are the worst executives in our nation’s history.

Still, it needs to be pointed out that were such an impeachment movement to succeed, it would result in having House Speaker Nancy Pelosi become our next president. I have read and heard some pretty horrible things about her as well. Do we want to replace Bush and Cheney with Pelosi? I, for one, vote no.

Lawrence K. Marsh

Gaithersburg