Elitist behavior
now the norm
A recent article in a Reno paper titled "Workers' cuts not matched" made me laugh at the arrogance of our elected officials.
The governor reduced state worker salaries 4.5 percent via mandated furloughs but our state congressmen did not follow suit. Once again, our representatives seem to think that what applies to the masses does not apply to them. Sen. Barbara Cegavske's reason was that our congressmen didn't take a pay cut because it's hard to cut nothing from "nothing."
Congressmen get an average $45,000 per 120-day legislative session. That translates to an $97,600 annual salary because there are 260 work days in a year. The average state worker is hard pressed to make $45K a full year. Yet they are asked to bear the burden of balancing the budget. God forbid that our congressmen should reduce their pay to lower the deficit that they created through legislation. That would be unfair wouldn't it?
Sen. Cegavske's statement is absurd when one realizes the amount of money candidates spend campaigning for a position that pays "nothing." She infers that elected officials serve out of patriotism because they get paid "nothing." I beg to differ. Most elected officials serve because they want to stroke their egos, get perks and parlay their efforts into in their private wealth.
The elitist behavior of our elected officials at the city, state and federal levels has been going on for many years and seems to be the norm. Why should any of us expect that to change?
STEVE ISAACSON
Carson City
President's omission
a great disservice
Mr. President, I listened intently and with great interest to the speech that you gave at the memorial for the fallen and wounded at Fort Hood. Never once did you mention Korea - every other war and police action that our country has been in, but not Korea.
Mr. President, you did a great disservice to those who served their country by volunteering to go to Korea for a police action, when a formal state of war with that country did not exist.
You owe each and every Korean War veteran, living and dead, an immediate and public apology. We are offended by your failure to speak of a life-changing event by those who served, were wounded in action, or gave their lives for the people of South Korea.
I am the widow of two men who served in Korea. One was in the Navy, in intelligence, tracking Russian subs from Japan and Korea. He died in 1982.
In July 2008, my husband, a former Army Ranger, passed away. He was wounded in Korea and received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. For 57 years after his service in Korea, he relived his experience almost daily with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Every war veteran will tell you the same thing - it never goes away, the things that they lived through. This is why I am so offended that you omitted Korea from your speech at Fort Hood. American citizens served and many died there - they deserve to be remembered, especially by their president and commander in chief.
Gayle Fees
Gardnerville
Unraveling socialist
values of Democrats
The recent commentary of Dr. Eugene T. Paslov in which he heaps accolades on Sen. Reid for managing a difficult political coup does not go far enough. Conspicuous by its absence was any mention of Sen. Reid's buying the vote of a Louisiana senator for $300 million taxpayer dollars.
Further along, the doctor criticizes the congressional conservatives who are unraveling our democratic values. No, doctor, they are unraveling President Obama's and Sen. Reid's socialist values.
Guy Wooley
Dayton