Letters to the editor

New Bush policy more of the same

President Bush is intent upon an escalation of violence in Iraq. He refers to it as a "surge" of troops to secure Baghdad.

This position is at odds with the majority of the country, the military, the Congress and, indeed, the entire world. This fact does not seem to bother him in the least.

He is committed to this unmitigated disaster he created in Iraq and, it increasingly appears, to spreading it to Iran with a potential attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, either by the two carrier groups now prowling the Gulf or Israeli forces, before he leaves office.

If you think Iraq is a nightmare, just wait until he gets his psychopathic paws on Iran. As Ronnie was fond of saying, "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

We have a bunch of lunatics in charge of our country, who have entered us into a sociopathic murder-suicide pact in the Middle East.

We don't need a "surge." We need a "purge" of these maniacs from government.

Otherwise, they will stay the corpse until they turn the coroner and we all end up at the blight at the end of the tunnel.

Vince Coyle

Carson City

Elderly need to care for themselves before giving to charity

Recently. I have found myself caring for my elderly mother, which has brought me to this point.

Daily. my mother receives phone calls from various charitable organizations. These calls come in many forms; some are straightforward, and they state who they are and the organization they represent. These are the ones who understand our recent loss of my father and decrease in income and remove the number from their phone lists.

Then there are those who call and act as if they're old friends. "Hi, is M*** there?" I ask, "May I ask who's calling, please?" Their response is, "This is Bill, is M*** available?" I usually respond with "What organization do you represent?" etc. ... and they state their business. Once I explain the situation they turn rude, trying to prey on my sympathy.

I am not heartless by any means. I appreciate what the veterans of this world have done for our freedom. My heart bleeds for little Timmy who's in need of diabetic help, or whatever the ailment of the moment is. Truly, I do wish I could help everyone.

These organizations prey on the elderly. They do not care if the woman who answers the phone will go without prescriptions or food. All they want is the money.

So, fellow readers, I implore you to help your elderly family members and neighbors by informing them that the people who receive charity from you should come from reputable mailings.

Most major charitable organizations serve through trickle down to other not-for-profits. Do not give money that would normally feed or pay for medications for yourself.

For even my very Christian mother always said charity begins at home.

Sheryl Fox

Minden

'Crystal Darkness' was good, what's next?

'Crystal Darkness' was a good first step in our city's fight against meth. Hopefully, now there will be another program that is more graphic.

The people shown looked fine, were getting their lives together, and were alive. Kids tend to think that's what would happen to them, too - they would go through a terrible experience and then afterward everything will turn out just fine. What about those photos of how people look when they're on meth? What about those video clips of people when they're on meth, and how incomprehensible they are? What about interviews with family and friends of people who have died using meth?

Now, what EXACTLY can we as the community do after trying TV as prevention? What are the specifics?

How can we get meth out of town?

What is it we can do to prevent becoming victims of the crimes those meth users commit?

Nancy Scott

Carson City