Letters to the editor

May write in GW

Think about this. Council representatives running for re-election who approved giving a portion of Millwood Avenue to Shenandoah University are unopposed. Mayor Elizabeth Minor, who voted against this action, has opposition.

Council President Jeff Buettner said in The Star that the city charter does not permit the Millwood issue to be put on the ballot for a vote. Perhaps it is time to find a way to put important public issues, such as this, on the ballot and begin electing City Council members who listen to their constituents and taxpayers.

I will vote for Elizabeth Minor for mayor and, since there is no choice in my ward, I will write in a candidate (George Washington or Thomas Jefferson come to mind) as a way to protest what is happening in our city. We need to have choices in the next election.

Melanie Henry

Winchester

When you lead from behind

President Obama seems to like the approach of “leading from behind” whereas in Benghazi his administration seemed to prefer leading “up front.” I say this because even after having our ally Great Britain close its consulate, and the Red Cross close its facility (both due to attacks), our brave leadership decided not only to stay but also to stay “unprotected” — even after two prior attacks against the U.S. consulate.

It is further ridiculous because Tripoli was the birthplace of the U.S. Marine Corps — recall the Marine anthem, “to the shores of Tripoli.” Yes, the United States sent sailing ships of the Navy to the shores of Tripoli to fight the Tripolitan pirates, and thus the birth of the Marines. Yet, we were unable to get enough Marines to protect our consulate with two modern warships offshore.

I am not as interested in the “cause of the uprising” as I am about the “failure to protect our Americans.” President Obama and his secretary of State, Mrs. Clinton, as well as the military leadership (once generals and admirals, now politicians) must come forward to explain why the USA could leave our Americans to die in Benghazi. After two previous attacks on our consulate, I fail to see why the compound was not either reinforced with a proper security force, or closed.

One sorry result: Terrorists murdered Americans who were refused American help.

L.H. Milotte Jr.

Stephens City

Two words: try ‘term limits’

The reality is, if you plan on voting for a long-term politico because he or she has made a career of politics, or is nice, or you have known that person for a long time, you are voting for the wrong reasons.

No matter how nice someone is, they lose the drive, desire, and passion found in new candidates. They get comfortable, get to know those who are lobbying for something, and stop going door-to-door or having Town Hall meetings. I get the sense that I must find them to make my voice heard and even then I wonder if they could repeat our conversation.

From local boards to local, state, and federal offices, if we keep putting in the same people, how can we expect to see the status quo stop and a stronger, improved government come about?

Theda Clark

Winchester

Bull hockey!

On Oct. 27, our commander in chief declined to answer whether or not requests for military support from the CIA annex in Benghazi, under attack, were denied.

The director of the CIA, Gen. David Petraeus (through a spokesperson) denied that such requests were denied by his agency. Madame Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mumbled something virtually inaudible about some movie in California.

In the interim, our ambassador and an aide, and two gallant former SEALS, were murdered. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta pontificated that you don’t send troops into combat without a clearer picture of the situation. This is bull hockey!

Making matters worse, our commander in chief added, “The election has nothing to do with the four brave Americans getting killed . . .” Wrong, Mr. President, abysmally wrong. Elections are about leadership, and your failure to show leadership in this particular circumstance and generally throughout your tenure clearly demonstrate you are totally inadequate for your position.

Moreover, the failure of your subordinates to act in dire circumstances, clearly shown by two drones overhead and message traffic from the “mission” and the CIA annex, demonstrates you have passed on this characteristic to personnel not previously known to have been indecisive.

Mrs. Clinton maunders on about the “fog of war.” When was this a deterrent to brave men taking necessary action? Go home, Mr. President, wherever home is.

George T. Bedway

Frederick County

‘But they have no hope’

Elizabeth Green’s letter reminded me of a comment by a socialist relative to the effect that we should be happy to have less if it meant that everyone was provided with food, clothes, and shelter, as they are in communist or socialist states.

My immediate thought was, “But they have no hope.” Then it occurred to me, she had described the life of slavery in the 19th-century South. The slaves were very valuable possessions. They had food, clothes, shelter, and medical care, but lacked hope and freedom.

Freedom, of course, can mean freedom to prosper or freedom to starve, depending on available opportunities, the preparation to take advantage of them, and the amount of work put in, mental and physical. In a free society there should be laws to protect people from rapacious powerful interests (such as bank conglomerates and public-sector unions).

There should be good, affordable medical care available. There should be good schools in a free society, in order to keep the society free. There should be help available when needed, and people should help each other, too.

Basically, however, freedom means that to prosper one must take care of oneself. A free man makes his own decisions, for better or for worse. Some do better than others. Envy, jealousy, resentment, hatred, and trying to think with emotions do not help. Observing successful people and trying to learn how to do better would be more appropriate, perhaps.

Historically, in a socialist or communist state, there seems to be an underlying ideology of the correct goal being that no one should be much better or worse off than anyone else, except of course, the people running the country. That is where the power and wealth have seemed to lie. Who regulates the governing? And, if ideology trumps competence — good sense, being informed, and understanding how things work — what prevents the ensuing disaster?

Sallie Robinson

Winchester

Gruesome, isn’t it?

Every day thousands of human babies are sacrificed in the name of “pro-choice.” These babies are murdered by severe suction crushing their tiny bodies. Larger babies are forcibly pulled from their mother’s bodies and then killed by blunt force to their brains.

Gruesome, isn’t it! But that is what pro-choice is all about, having the right to kill an unborn baby. And if we vote for Barack Obama that is what we are choosing.

Planned Parenthood gets $484 million of our tax dollars each year, with other revenue making it a billion-dollar corporation! It performed more than 329,000 abortions in 2010! And yet Obama mocked Mitt Romney for wanting to defund Planned Parenthood.

I believe we are personally responsible for the choices we make when we meet God at the end of our lives. My vote is one choice that is very clear to me.

Debra Boyce

Yellow Spring, W.Va.