I know things change because they have to. It's the way of the world, Yankee ingenuity, competition, progress and the March of Time.

While Virginia families grapple with job losses and education cuts, their state legislature has been busy presenting bills requiring citizens who receive public assistance to submit to drug tests, and requiring women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound image of their fetus. After the ultrasound, women would have to wait at least 24 hours before having the abortion.

You don't have to be a teacher, student, parent or even an alum of the public schools in Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro to be a stakeholder in local education. The quality of public schools impacts you and your family.

Tax breaks mean free money for those who get the credits, and higher bills for those who don't. So the state should be absolutely sure those breaks are worth the price. It doesn't. Virginia granted $12.5 billion in various corporate tax breaks in 2008, nearly as much as the $14.3 billion it took in from the taxes studied. That's an eye-popping revelation in itself.

Peter G. Decker Jr. came from a Lebanese family, but the dream he built in Norfolk grew from American ideals. He started out poor, but hard work brought him business and financial success. He amassed wealth and property that amounted to a Decker empire. He also cultivated a boundless generosity, sharing what he had with others less fortunate. He died Friday morning at age 76.

Jonathan Turley's Opinion piece (Jan. 29, "Why it's no longer the Land of the Free") focused on several nefarious features of 2001's Patriot Act and the most recent National Defense Authorization Act. Assassination of U.S. citizens, warrantless wiretapping, indefinite detention of U.S. citizens, extraordinary rendition, etc., are certainly great examples of our loss of freedom as Americans. Does anyone seriously believe these will be only temporary features to deal with a temporary threat posed by Al Qaeda, and that once that threat has been neutralized, these Acts will be revoked? No, these suspensions of our liberty are here to stay, permanent fixtures of a land once free. Supporters of the Acts point to the apparent success they have had in defeating further attacks. OK, but at what cost to the Constitution?

Richmond needs some laughs
A meeting with Morgan Griffith
The religious right in US has lost its political influence
New school lunch rules welcome