Green spaces
In the fall I worked with the Newport News Green Foundation as part of a partnership with Christopher Newport University and the local community. I learned about the importance of green space within the community and how little is known about the green spaces that are taken care of by NNGF.
This summer I am working with Virginia Organizing, which has reinforced the idea of community bonds and helped me visualize the difficulty in accessing those spaces. Green spaces can be utilized as places for children to play, for bus riders to take cover in shade and for homeowners to use as buffers from road noise. The NNGF addresses the need for more community spaces within the community. Their Chatham Trail property is a space for all in a location that is mainly commercial.
There are opportunities to volunteer at the local green space in your area. For up-to-date information go to nngreen.com.
Iris Denner, Newport News
Fight poverty
When roughly 700 million people worldwide are living in extreme poverty, it is hard to believe that we, small-town residents of Virginia, can make any difference in addressing this crisis. It feels so immense and out of our hands. But, what if I told you all Virginians, no matter what small and seemingly insignificant district you come from, can make a difference in reducing global poverty with a largely impactful vote this November?
The Borgen Project, a nonprofit organization fighting to bring global poverty reduction to the forefront of U.S. foreign policy, explains that as one of the most influential nations in the world, the U.S. has the potential to greatly reduce global poverty. However, with only 1% of our federal budget spent of foreign aid, our impact is undercut.
Our leaders have the power to change this. As a 1st District resident, I urge Rep. Rob Wittman and Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine to protect and support the International Affairs Budget. You, too, should call on your representatives to do the same.
Your leaders hold the power to advance policies and programs that will improve living conditions for the world’s poor. You know what they say — “Virginia is For Lovers.” Share that Virginian love with those across the globe living on less than $1 per day. I’ll be using my vote to fight poverty this fall, and I hope you will, too.
Beatrice Ehrhardt, Williamsburg
Proof
I have said that people were impressed by President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address likely written by someone else and read in a loud voice from a teleprompter. It demonstrated an ability to read loudly, nothing more.
His confused speaking at the debate revealed a person with a serious cognitive deficit. He was unable to turn thoughts into intelligible sentences and was clearly weak. He was a weak leader when competent and now is weak and showing mental decline.
The point is not that it was a poor debate, it is that this weak leader is now not capable of serious thought. So the question now is who will lead if he were elected?
The presidency of Woodrow Wilson after his stroke is an example of what might be. His wife shielded him and a small group of advisors supposedly helped him. But who really decided things remains somewhat a mystery.
Biden can’t put thoughts together consistently and express them now. He will deteriorate over time. A small, unelected and unaccountable elite could govern through him. Their dream policies could be said to be his policies. There would be no way to penetrate the decision-making or have reasoned discussions with him about policies and decisions as they would not be his decisions. And, most importantly, there would be no leadership for this nation. Our enemies watch.
Our choices are not good, but Biden is not mentally capable of reason and leadership.
Daniel R. Warman, Norfolk
Presidential track
There’s an old bromide about journalists who pray for a train wreck to give them a big story to report. Well, now we have the train wreck of President Joe Biden’s debate performance to fuel endless coverage. Sensation-loving commentators who continue to rummage through the wreckage of the shattered debate train are expanding the story for their own love of a train wreck.
Never mind that the former President Donald Trump train, the real disaster, revs up nearby, eager to twist the rails toward the ruin of our democracy. But then at least commentators will have plenty to pontificate about. And so will the anti-Biden, give-it-up Democrats filling the airwaves with the steam of their own folly. Get back on track.
Patricia L. Hopkins, Chesapeake
Disagree
Re “Ten Commandments” (Your Views, July 7): The letter writer thinks, “The Ten Commandments are a code of ethics for people of all faiths, races, creeds, political persuasions and nationalities to live by.” He states that any person who disagrees with this needs to read them again.
I think the letter writer needs to read the Ten Commandments again and explain how the first three could possibly apply to all “faiths, races, creeds, political persuasions and nationalities.”
Roxanne Wisniewski, Newport News
