Letters to the Editor
November, 2006
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Illegal immigration
By Earl W. Chaffee
With all the concern about illegals and others who are not registered to vote, doing so, I submit the following: Every registered voter should be sent a ballot, with postage paid both ways. In doing so, we eliminate the polling places, and a large number of poll workers. We also eliminate all the machines used today. No photo ID needed. Absentee ballots could be counted the same as any test taken in college. By [the Elections office] paying the postage, we don't get the crying that poor folks can't afford the system to be changed.
Just think: No more standing in line. No more taking time off work. No more energy used (gasoline), to vote. No extra printing charges, as ballots have to be printed anyway. No more effort to keep people [a specified distance] away from polling places, who are trying to solicit votes.
I don't have the bully pulpit, however you do!
Earl W. Chaffee
West Melbourne, Florida
A Property Rights Betrayal
By John Cotton
As a Virginian, I found "U.S. Senator George Allen: A Property Rights Betrayal" at your website by L.M. Schwartz dated October 06, 2006, compelling and persuasive.
To no avail, I have contacted Senator Allen's staff on several occasions asking for his intervention in a number of property rights issues.
What's your assessment of this proposed Amendment to the Virginia Consitution?
"Ballot Question #3: Delegate Riley Ingram and Senators John Edwards and Charles Hawkins have proposed a Property Tax Law amendment to the Constitution of Virginia.
Shall Section 6 of Article X of the Constitution of Virginia be amended to authorize legislation to permit localities to provide a partial exemption from real property taxes for real estate with new structures and improvements in conservation, redevelopment, or rehabilitation areas?
Registered voters will simply be able to vote yes or no on each proposed amendment."
I find it interesting that the proposed amendment would offer compensation only to NEW construction while those of us with vested property rights who are affected adversely by onerous new regulatory takings are offered no compensation or assurance of our rights of due process at all.
Like Senator Harry Reid, who bought land encumbered by onerous environmental restrictions - and then profited handsomely once the land was "rezoned" - these kinds of amendments only offer incentives to deep-pocket mega-developers (or powerful politicians) to buy restricted land, and then to be compensated by the taxpayers for new "Smart Growth" developments.
The poor citizen who has owned the land for decades is left out in the cold.
This proposal is outrageous, in my view.
John Cotton, Virginia
Border crossing
By Peter Carminati
Letter to the Editor
This came to my attention the other day, and I feel that this subject requires the immediate attention of all citizens around the country. This has been ignored by the mainstream TV and Radio media. I have not seen any mention of this in the local papers here in Maine, a border state with Canada.
One prime example is my neighbor who has family relatives in New Brunswick. Why should he have to get permission from the DHS to leave the country to visit them, and possibly run the risk of being barred from entry upon his return?
Nothing here makes any sense. The USA/Mexico border is still wide open. Nothing is being done about stemming the flow of illegal immigrants or the employers who illegally hire them - at least at the federal level.
Arizona and Texas are taking matters into their hands to control the border.
If illegals have the freedom to break the border, why must legal citizens face such draconian measures? Please get the word out. Please encourage your readers to contact the state delegations to Washington and protest this, now.
January 14, 2007 is just a little less than ten weeks away.
Peter Carminati, Editor
Stonington, Maine
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