George,

If Virgil Goode has been fighting for us, he has strange ideas of how to do that.

He fought to give my tax money to private schools, secular and sectarian. Even worse, was the false promise of the DC Voucher proposal to low income families that here were good private schools which would accept the voucher money as tuition to that achool of the parent's choosing.

He fought to take away my right to make my own medical decisions and even fancied himself capable of making highly personal medical decisions that only a doctor and the patient should be making.

He has given the current occupant of the White House unlimited power to take the youth of Virginia's 5th Congressional District into a war that seems to have no concrete evidence of needing to be fought.

He fought for a tax break for the wealthiest sector of the community but says Prescription Drugs Benefits for Medicare Persons would cost too much.

He fought to turn a healthy surplus in the Federal Budget into a huge deficit but tells us in his vote for the Republican version of the budget that we can't afford money to meet the promised 40% federal funding of HB 94142 (Special Ed).

He fought to make it possible for an individual to come into any public school and dictate how a subject will be taught and what will be taught, regardless of the needs of the other children.

Virgil Goode's fight for us has done nothing for me and I'm as much a constituent of the 5th Congressional District, as those from whom he seems to take his marching orders. Thanks Mr. Goode, but, no thanks. I'll pass on having you fight any more for me.

Martha Wood (electronic mail, October 22, 2002)

P.S. If Mr. Goode played such a major role in the grant to UVA from NIH, the Nelson County funding and other things for Central Virginia, why are we just now hearing about this major role? Could it be that he was just one of many who signed onto the bill that was a sure thing?

Is this the same Lucy Goode who stood in from of Buford School some years ago when Mr.Goode was looking for Democrats of this area to support his candidacy for Congress and assured me that Virgil Goode would ALWAYS be a Democrat? If so, where's the veracity?