Good job
This space has seen several letters criticizing the Supreme Court’s recent rulings, usually because the court did not apply current flavors of the month to the cases. I would point out that the court’s function is to interpret the cases according to whether the cases conflict with our Constitution. The court is not supposed to, and should not, apply current political or social mores to its rulings. When something conflicts with the Constitution, there is a remedy for that, and it is not to have the court create a precedent that is nowhere in the Constitution.
Regarding the Roe v. Wade decision, the court got it right. There is nothing in the Constitution that can be twisted to support the claim that abortion is a covered right at the federal level. One writer suggested that abortion was covered because other things we take for granted today are not in the Constitution. That’s analogous to saying it’s OK to rob a bank because others have done it. A federal right to abortion was the case before the court, and it ruled correctly. I don’t have the exact wording, but the Constitution says that powers not specifically granted to the federal government devolve to the states.
The recent affirmative action ruling also was correct. Placing the interests of one race or class of people above another violates the 14th Amendment and the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In closing, I would note that most of the letters criticizing this court refer to it as “far right.” I assume that these same folks, were the court to be 6-3 liberal, would refer to it as “far left.”
Bill Wallace, Gloucester
Electric vehicles
The Washington Post article “Rich lode of EV metals could boost Taliban and its new Chinese partners” exposes the absurdity and danger in the Democrats’ plan to transition our automobile industry and economy from fuel-efficient oil-burning cars to electric vehicles. It is clear from this article that much lithium, a component of electric vehicle batteries, is found in Afghanistan. Afghanistan, however, is now controlled by the evil Taliban, which is working with China to exploit these rich lithium deposits.
The United States cannot allow its economy or its military to be dependent upon its adversaries for fuel supplies. Such would greatly affect our national security. The United States has large supplies of oil and gas here at home. Unleashing these resources would not only create untold job opportunities but would remove us from the yoke of any dependency on China, the Taliban, OPEC or other foreign countries.
Many Americans do not want electric cars. These cars are far too expensive for the average person. Many EVs do not even have AM radios because of battery-caused interference. It is on the AM radio that many emergency broadcasts are found. Let Americans decide the type of car they wish to drive. That is the American way.
R.A. Jett, Norfolk
Cut pollution
I have researched a lot about pollution around the world, especially in Virginia. There are a lot of problems that have come from pollution such as decreasing air quality, the ozone layer’s destruction and climate change. Most of the greenhouse gas pollution comes from humans, like fossil-fuel burning.
We need to put an end to pollution or at least decrease it. Some ways we can do this is by moving toward electric vehicles instead of gas or diesel vehicles. We can move away from single-use plastics and start using recyclable materials. If more people install solar panels on their homes, we would be making clean energy and making money off of them.
Max Warburton, Virginia Beach
