Letters to the editor

Presentation an emotional journey

What an honor it was to attend Rick Gunn's presentation of his 26,000- mile bicycle journey at the Brewery Arts Center on Nov. 20.

The evening was emotionally filled with stories and photographs of his three-year journey that simply took your breath away.

Images of love, hate, poverty and oppression left one feeling like there was so much more to life than we even know. Gunn is truly a remarkable human being, full of passion for what he believes in. I can only hope we could all share this passion for life.

I left feeling the desire to care more, do more, and yet at the same time, need and want so much less.

Thank you Rick for a whole new insight.

TANJA MUSSELMAN

Carson City

Impoverishing rich doesn't help poor

I thought people would like a refresher course on legislating the wealthy out of freedom with this quote by the late Dr. Adrian Rogers:

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that, my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.

You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

ZONA NEIGHBORS

Gardnerville

Color me proud of red, white and blue

Due to an editing error, a portion of this letter was omitted. It appears here in its entirety:

Abigail Johnson's "Fresh Ideas Column" was the most disrespectful piece of writing I have ever read. I couldn't even consider referring to it as journalism. But one thing that her article did do was make clear to me the immense difference between liberals and conservatives. I am proud to be a conservative and I am more than proud of the American flag and what it represents.

Maybe Ms. Johnson missed years of American history classes or was instructed by teachers uninformed of the greatness of America and the flag that represents it. Perhaps this woman should recite out loud the "Star Spangled Banner" and "The Pledge of Allegiance" unless, of course; her shame of the flag would also prevent her from reciting the words that give honor and respect to our enduring symbol of freedom - a freedom that has come through profoundly greater events than a Republican administration or a personal contempt for it.

Maybe if she did repeat the words she would be reminded of the perseverance of a group of men who assembled over a hot summer in Philadelphia to craft the will and testament of a fledgling nation.

Maybe she would be reminded of the thousands of lives that have been sacrificed, willingly and bravely in defense of that beautiful waving symbol.

Maybe she would be reminded of the thousands of immigrants who found safety and freedom under its unfurled fabric.

Maybe she would remember that this precious reminder of our history, heritage and legacy represents the purity of our desire for freedom, the red blood of those who died for it and those it guards. I greatly respect it for all it has sacrificed and survived.

This flag Ms. Johnson trivializes and insults has waved proudly over 200 years of our nation's existence and deserves more honor than she has given it.

On second thought, perhaps it is better that she was reluctant to display the flag because just maybe, the American flag would have been too embarrassed to be displayed from her front porch.

LYNDA SHOEMAKER

Carson City

Reforming pot laws would aid economy

We can sit back and make cut after cut into our quality of life and meld into the next great depression like the rest of the U.S. and world economy, or we can overlook the bigotry plaguing us all for the time being and approve the following measures.

Rescind recently passed tobacco laws that inform over 20 percent of the world's tourist trade that we no longer wish to cater to them, but in the process pass laws that insure all smoking establishments have quality air circulation systems. Most establishments already do. Projected increase in revenue, about $400-$600 million a year.

Next, legalize marijuana and have it sold in smoke shops, liquor stores and casinos with a starting price of $50 for a one-ounce pack of quality marijuana cigarettes. In regards to Nevada law, treat it as if it were alcohol. Profit to state, about $40 per pack. Savings for marijuana smokers, about $200 a pack, all of which equals a major jump in fast food delivery businesses, at least a six-month waiting list to get into any major Nevada hotel and well over $2 billion a year in new sources of taxable revenue in just the first year from the record increase in tourist trade.

Oh, there will also be a huge escalation of Nevada property values from the demand that marijuana smokers from around the world will place upon it. And let us not forget about the billions from investors wanting to take advantage of Nevada's free, unbigoted outlook on life.

Once we do this, you can bet the house that many a state will be quick to follow suit. And that will open the door for hundreds of thousands of jobs from the commercial hemp industry and the 25,000-plus useful products that can be made from it.

Such a move (legalizing marijuana) would get international media exposure. Free publicity! It would give Nevada's economy back the edge that gambling once did and act as a major incentive for investors from around the world to invest billions into Nevada. In other words, Nevada would be blessed with far more revenue then it needs.

JAMES PARKER

Carson City

Recall Gov. Gibbons before it's too late

This letter concerns the recent budget cuts that Nevada has been facing ever since Gov. Gibbons took office in January 2007. As our economy continues to worsen into an even greater depression, our governor has chosen to cut back various state agencies, most notably the Department of Education and Health and Human Services.

If that isn't enough, he now wants state agencies to cut back even more, at 34 percent, as well as possible layoffs and state salary cuts! (Unfortunately, our governor is not so noble in stating that he is willing to cut even his own salary.) Does Gov. Gibbons realize that his decision of draconian budget cuts is actually impeding certain departments (i.e. Corrections, Health and Human Services) from receiving much needed federal money?

This will cause most state workers to leave their state jobs and go elsewhere. They have already been pushed over the edges as it is. Is this what our governor wants?

The above facts clearly state that not only is our governor unfit to even be governor, but out of touch with Nevada citizens and state workers! Has he even bothered to look into the reasons why our sales and gaming revenues continue to fall? Could it possibly be stemming from the fact that nobody even wants to come to Nevada and gamble? Duh!

It is apparent that our governor has faced criticism from the media, left and right, concerning his unsavory past. Yet he is unwilling to admit to those same mistakes. It is imperative that our state needs to get some federal "watchdogs" to oversee the governor's administrative staff to make sure they are doing their jobs properly!

In summary, our governor is an absolute disgrace to the state of Nevada. He seems to get a kick out of "playing God" with people's lives. In other words, he has absolutely no appreciation for state workers whatsoever! Therefore, there is only one solution to this mess. Gov. Gibbons needs to immediately be recalled before our state's economy bottoms out...now!

JOSHUA DEALY

Carson City

Ron Paul was on the right path

In response to Bill Raggio's comments about the need to reform the Republican party: I want to make something very clear. There was a national movement to do just that before the campaign season even started. What was the problem? It wasn't that the party has moved one way or another, in fact the message of the Republican party, limited government and personal liberty, was not the problem at all. The problem was, and still is, that elected Republicans don't follow those principles, and people know it. They knew it two years ago when they purged the Republican majority, and they knew it this year when Obama won Nevada of all places. Republican leadership, though, refused to accept this reality. They tried the same old tactics, and people are sick of it.

The Democrats are busy patting themselves on the back for a great campaign, when in reality, the only thing they needed to point out was the fact that they are not Bush. No one cares about anything else.

Ron Paul recognized this, and tried to bring the party back to its roots, but no one was listening. In fact, they did more than just ignore him, they sabotaged him at every turn, which, as it turned out, was like a sinking ship shooting torpedoes at the rescue boat.

Where do we go from here? Republicans better start by getting pissed off. We need to recognize that our leadership has been pulling us down the wrong path, and replace them at every level with people of integrity, who believe and will act on our stated principles. Start by electing Ron Paul as minority leader in the House, and show people that the Republican party is ready for real reform, and not just more rhetoric and lies.

PAT KERBY

Pahrump

Lies have often led us into war

How many government lies can an ignorant and gullible American public swallow? They lied us into the Spanish American War by sailing the Maine into Havana harbor and blowing it apart in an internal explosion and claimed it was a Spanish mine. This is confirmed by divers who have inspected the Maine.

WWI started with the sinking of the Lusitania which was deliberately loaded with munitions and put unprotected in the path of German submarine activity. The German government tried to warn the American public with newspapers notices that the Lusitania was carrying contraband and subject to attack which the American newspapers refused to print. First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill called it, "45 thousands of live bait."

WWII started with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lt. Cmdr. Arthur McCollum of the Office of Naval Intelligence drew up a plan for FDR which would force the Japanese to attack. Our obsolete battleships were set up as bait while our aircraft carriers were safely at sea at the time of the attack because FDR knew when it was coming.

We were sucked into the Korean War by the United Nations. It was called a "police action" negating the necessity of Congress declaring war. It was the first war fought without a declaration of war called for by our Constitution.

The Vietnam War stared with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution based on the attack by the North Vietnamese on our naval vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin. There was no attack and the story was a complete lie, but we were at war once again.

We went to war with Afghanistan and Iraq based on lies. The WTC and anthrax attacks were clearly inside jobs to anyone willing to critically examine the facts with an open mind.

ALAN C. EDWARDS

Carson City

Far-right ideology is bad for society

The Republican Party has been hijacked by right wing ideologues. I hate to resort to name calling, but it's difficult to identify these anti-government, anti-public school, anti-tax radicals as anything other than ideologues. Their views are "the only correct views," their beliefs are immutable, self righteous and not subject to debate or compromise. Enter stage "right," Chuck Muth.

Muth ("Republicans reach a political fork in the road," November 14, 2008) tells us that his brand of conservatism is just what the Republican Party needs. I have been a student of the two-party system in this country for 50 years and have observed that our government works best when policy makers tack toward the center.

The political debate should be over "center liberal" or "center conservative" policies; the greatest benefit accrues to people when the political system provides needed government services to the greatest number of citizens, especially during difficult times. This calculus is best computed by thoughtful and cautious political policy makers who can analyze, debate and compromise to get the best result.

Chuck Muth criticizes Sen. Raggio for believing that the "Republican Party has gone too far to the right and that the far right message does not sell." Raggio is right. Muth cites the aberrant election of Dean Heller and the badly misinformed Washoe voters who defeated the WCSD-1 bond initiative as examples of what they were told were "conservative" principles. Muth's actions were neither principled nor thoughtful, which is part of his delusion. He does not believe in a world where people support their government. How sad.

Muth helped defeat WCSD-1 (both in public and behind the scenes). When the Washoe voters discover the deception that he and his anti-tax supporters perpetrated on the parents and their children, I hope they will hold him personally accountable. As for Dean Heller, he has done little to help Nevada. His vote against children's health benefits, as an example, borders on criminal. I suspect if he is to be effective in the future, he will have to change his ways. Time will tell if Nevada voters will hold him accountable.

Muth would do well to remember that in our democracy the government is, "We the people." It works best when it is securing national security, health, welfare and the civil rights of the people, not just filling potholes and catching criminals! Muth should read and understand the Constitution and Constitutional history, move to the center of the political stage, or exit the stage entirely.

EUGENE PASLOV

Carson City