Secret ballot elections are still endangered, despite bill’s defeat

The death of the Employee Free Choice Act has been greatly exaggerated. The action in the Senate was simply a dress rehearsal for the real battle in 2009, when union leaders hope to have elected a new (and more compliant) president.

The truly frightening part is that a bill that would virtually eliminate secret ballot elections in the workplace made it to a floor vote in the U.S. Senate. Community and business leaders should spend time now educating the public on this anti-democratic bill, rather than waiting for union leaders to pick the time and place of the next fight.

Richard Berman

Executive director, Center for Union Facts

McLean

Liberal policies are based on feelings, not facts

Re: “Liberalism should not be a derogatory term in America,” Letters, June 29

Francine Last seems to view “liberal,” via Webster’s, as “tolerance, open-mindedness, moderation, freethinking.” The word may have evoked such images in the distant past, but since the 1930s, such political synonyms have more strongly matched “libertarian.”

A better definition of contemporary liberalism is policy views that can be preceded by the phrase “my feeling is …”, but not “the facts show.” An example is the liberal infatuation with price controls, the latest manifestation being those for gasoline. Centuries of economic experience have shown that such regulations produce shortages, a cause and effect that economists recognize as a fact. But liberals embrace gasoline price controls because, well, their feeling is that oil profits are excessive, consumers are being gouged, etc.

Contempt for facts suffices for some to make “liberal” a derogatory term. But the failure of liberal policies is what has popularly transformed the label into a stigma. Space won’t allow me to list all the left-wing ideas that have failed in their implementation, but here are some facts: Worldwide, there is a net migration from left-leaning regimes (such as North Korea or Western Europe) to comparable countries that are more conservative.

Even within the United States, there is a net migration from blue to red states as people reject liberalism with their feet.

Nat Kidder

Ashburn

Fuel-efficient cars good for environment and economy

For the first time in 30 years, a majority of senators said “enough” to the auto companies — enough excuses and enough stalling. We know automakers have the technology to make our cars go farther on a gallon of gas since other countries already are doing it.

We also know that increasing the fuel economy of our domestic fleet is good for the environment and for the economy. We need to make cars that can compete in a competitive global market as well as here at home. We also need to boost renewable energy production and technology.

I hope Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., will help lead the House to strengthen the legislation passed in the Senate and take meaningful action to reduce our oil dependence and global warming pollution, as well as save consumers money here in Virginia.

Dick Ball

Annandale

Bush judicial appointments impacting the environment

Re: “Roberts era has begun,” Editorial, June 29

The Examiner claims that Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts is striking “mighty blows … joined vigorously by Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, and more reservedly by Justice John Paul Stevens.”

For a source of information on the court that does not mistake Justice Stevens for Justice Anthony Kennedy, may I suggest Earthjustice’s Web site (judgingtheenvironment.org), which focuses on President Bush’s judicial nominees to lifetime positions on the Supreme Court and other federal courts, and their impact on laws that protect the environment.

Glenn Sugameli

Senior judicial counsel, Earthjustice

Washington

Responsible driving best way to avoid new penalties

Re: “New driving penalties in Virginia cause hardship, are an unfair tax,” Letters, June 29

I am really puzzled by David Ashby’s letter regarding the new driving penalties. It seems that there is an easy way to avoid them: Drive responsibly!

I don’t think he grasps the toll made by reckless, speeding drivers, but as a member of a family who suffered a horrible loss due to a jerk driving too fast on a suburban street, I say thank heavens for anything that may make people think before they kill.

Lois Steinberg

Washington