One of the little hobbies is trying to get letters to the editor, over my own name, into the Washington Post. I’ve been pretty successful. Here’s the one the Post published on Dec. 31, 2011, under the headline “‘Old’ Matters to Virginia:”
Virginia’s nickname is “The Old Dominion,” not the “Dominion State,” as Michael Leahy wrote in reporting on Newt Gingrich’s failure to get on the state’s Republican primary ballot [“Gingrich faces long odds to compete in Va. primary,” Dec. 26, news story]. Since Virginia is not actually a “dominion” (it is confusing enough that the state is, in fact, a “commonwealth”), the key is the adjective “old,” because the name is rooted in the 17th century. So is much of the state’s political culture.
It reminds me of the joke: How many Virginians does it take to change a light bulb? Three – one to change the bulb and two to talk about how good the old bulb was.
Richard L. Lobb, Fairfax
Richard Lobb 
Re Boy Scouts and gays: Your recent column showed profound ignorance.
Homosexual feelings (transgender ones, too) are part of psychological disorders, ones that are parent-caused, preventable, and treatable. All such feelings are part of compulsions and are not normal. The Left has been exploiting sick people for decades. The humane response to sickness is to help the person get treatment.
http://www.narth.com
http://www.gaytostraight.org
http://www.peoplecanchangecom
http://www.pfox.org
http://www.janellehallman.com
http://www.josephnicolosi.com
http://www.jonahweb.org
The truth will prevail–even at this late date. Thank you.
Some people believe that homosexuality is so awful that gay people could not possibly be created that way but are rather “recruited” into it and can be changed. I think it is safe to say this is not the mainstream view in psychology or psychiatry. BSA has conducted its own research and does not take this point of view. Adopting these views as BSA policy will only drive the organization further from the mainstream of American society. We are the Boy Scouts of America, not the Boy Scouts of Fundamentalism.