Government Technology - October 2007 - (Page 16)

letters j OCT_07 Second Life Newbie I really enjoyed reading the July issue [and the] Get a (Real) Life and Reality Check articles about Second Life. I have heard of Second Life from an academic point of view but never visited the site myself. It does give me some idea about the virtual life. Thanks for sharing. CECILIA HUI, PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LAB a political opinion magazine. I thought that technology information distribution was the goal. Your private political opinions [are] of little interest to me — and perhaps to other readers?? PAT HOEPNER, EAU CLAIRE, WIS. Politics Wanted I wasn’t aware that this was No Local Action Your August editorial [The Sacriﬁce at Home] raises some interesting questions. It suggests ﬁrst that your real target is the Bush administration’s prosecution of the war effort in Iraq — rather than federal funding and crime rates. I would suggest that misses the real issue, which is that the level of federal spending may or may not have affected the crime rates. I seriously question that relationship. I’ve been engaged in transportation issues for nearly 40 years, and there are some strong parallels — including those technology related. So, a few questions: How does handing the states and municipalities back their own money, after taking a 10 percent to 20 percent cut and creating another layer of systems are constructed, with the single exception of the interstate, or the general levels of safety of those facilities. That said, like crime issues, there are many variables. For example, I believe that in both issues federal guidance on standards has helped, but not the “redistribution of wealth.” One could make the same argument for streets, roads and highways as you suggest for crime, and I believe the same questions are important to resolving what we are trying to accomplish, and the best way to do so. It would seem to me that the best solutions have come from local resolve and action. AL KING, P .E. Raise Your Voice Your opinions matter to us. Send comments about this issue to the editors . Please list your telephone number for confirmation. Publication is solely at the discretion of the editors. Government Technology reserves the right to edit submissions for length. bureaucratic oversight and control, help crime local rates? Is the lost ﬂexibility to respond to local issues that may differ from federal perspectives worth the typically small change in distribution of the funds? Is the issue really one of willingness of state and local government to directly address their own needs? In my view, more than 40 years of federal oversight has not signiﬁcantly changed how transportation 49 C O N T I N U E D O N PAG E 16 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - October 2007

Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile GT Spectrum Letters How It Works Cerf on the Net Way Back Machine Separation Anxiety Let's Roll Rising to the Challenge Wednesday Afternoon Fever Parking Possibilities Products Signal: Noise

Government Technology - October 2007

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