Unlike the protesters, I have work to do As I watch the continued coverage of the “protests” on Wall Street, Freedom Plaza, etc., I cannot help by think of the irony of these demonstrations and the passing of Steve Jobs.
I wonder how many of these protesters have stopped to wonder about what Steve Jobs made in salary, was worth as the head of and a lead stockholder in Apple, and how he played the game making Apple the second most valuable company in the U.S. behind Exxon Mobil while they all tap away on their i-devices.
Perhaps, when I get my lunch break from my middle-class job I will wander over and ask. Oh, but I have a job I have to get back to so I can pay my bills, support my family and contribute to society. By the way, I have been laid off twice this year already.
Bob Gawler
Silver Spring
Tolls should not pay for Dulles Metro
Re: “Airports authority head lied, and transparency died,” Examiner Local Editorial, Oct. 5
When I consider Phase II of the Metro to Dulles project I’m reminded of the children’s story the Little Red Hen. All the barnyard animals wanted the cake, but none were willing to contribute to the project. Likewise, most people in favor of Metro to Dulles are supportive of the project, as long as someone else is paying for it.
As it currently stands, a very small portion of Northern Virginia’s population will be burdened with paying the exorbitant costs of Metro to Dulles. In order to pay for the Silver Line, the ever-increasing tolls are now projected to exceed $10 one way.
I will stand up for the toll road users and what is right. It is wrong to have such a small group shoulder the costs of such a large capital project. One argument for Metro to Dulles is the need for a “world-class” Metrorail system to connect the capital of the free world to Washington Dulles International Airport.
That’s quite a responsibility for the toll road users, who are just trying to save a little time getting to work each day. No other branch of Metro has been so isolated in its funding source, why should the Silver Line?
We need a cost-benefit review of Phase II to insure the desire for a “world-class” Metro does not lead to yet another financially insolvent Metro line. If the costs can be contained and justified, we still need to replace the current dependence on the toll road for funding with a fair funding plan. Only then should we move forward with Phase II.
Patricia Phillips
Lansdowne
DEA beat the FBI
One significant issue that the pundits and the media in general have overlooked in the attempted attack on the Saudi ambassador is the fact that it was not discovered by the FBI but rather by the Drug Enforcement Agency and its confidential sources.
This terrorist conspiracy is yet one more that is added to the list of those not detected by the FBI prior to the terrorist plots manifesting themselves, Richard Reid (shoe bomber), Nigerian underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Fort Hood shooter Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, Times Square car bomber Faisal Shahzad and others.
The FBI, with about 12,000 special agents and an estimated 36,000 confidential sources (estimated three sources per agent) has an estimated 20,000 more sources than that of the DEA (approximately 5,000 agents, estimated three sources each, or 15,000).
How is it that the FBI with these tremendous resources failed to collect the intelligence required to prevent the planned attack on the Saudi and Israeli ambassador?
Dr. Joseph Molyneux
Metairie, La.
