Not the first time U.S. has armed killers Re: “Few warning bells in Operation Fast and Furious probe,” editorial, Aug. 31
The disbursement of weaponry to dealers for sale to the Mexican drug cartels by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a government agency, was no different than the United States giving arms to the gun-toting Libyan rebels.
Both actions had the same effect: killing people.
Bernard Helinski
Baltimore
Virginia shirks its duty to fund Dulles Rail
Re: “Dulles Rail Phase II headed for death spiral,” Aug. 24
The Examiner, if nothing else, is consistent.It seems they’ve never met a rail transit project they liked — or a road project they didn’t like.
While the cost of the Dulles Metro Phase II is estimated to cost $3.5 billion, recent cost-cutting efforts could shave $1 billion from this cost. Recently,Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton appeared insulted by aMetropolitan Washington Airports Authority request that the state consider increasingthe minuscule state contribution ($200 million, or 3.2 percent of Phase I and Phase II) to the project.
But the state apparently has no problem putting $400 million into the Washington Beltway HOT lanes project,offering $400 million to build a dubious bypass around Charlottesville,or attempting to resurrect the multimillion-dollar Western Bypass around Northern Virginia.
By contrast, MWAA is contributing $256.5 million of its own funds to the Dulles project.The disparityin funding for highway and transit projects in this country force transit projects to over-rely on local or regional resources. We strongly believe in a level playing field for funding highway and transit projects. But sadly, that just doesn’t exist yet with the Dulles project,and toll road users will be paying the price.
Glen Bottoms
Executive director,
The American Conservative Center for Public Transportation
Editor’s note: The Center for Public Transportation is associated with the American Conservative magazine and was founded by the late Paul Weyrich with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation for the purpose of advocating on behalf of public mass transit.
No justification for banning clergy on 9/11 anniversary
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he will not allow clergy to be present at the ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I take strong exception to this decision and hope most Americans do likewise.
Bloomberg cannot refer to the Constitution to support his no-clergy decision, since the First Amendment allows religious participation in the civil government’s affairs. For example, both houses of Congress and all branches of the military have chaplains, and world-famous evangelist Billy Graham served as a spiritual adviser to several U.S. presidents in the White House.
Lest we also forget, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was an ordained Baptist minister who exercised considerable influence upon the secular government to get new civil rights legislation on the books.
If we count ground zero as sacred ground, who if not God, the Author of Life, has hallowed it? The American people should compel Bloomberg to publicly answer that question if he continues to forbid clergy participation in the anniversary of this major American tragedy.
Lawrence K. Marsh
Gaithersburg
