Like thief in the night, he comes for education funds
There are many types of thieves in today's world: Burglars, corrupt hedge fund managers, petty thieves, etc. And then there is our governor, Jim Gibbons, who seems bent on robbing the state's children and young people of their future.
Instead of exploring other forms of revenue to help solve the budget shortfall, Mr. Gibbons seems to regard the education system as a "Get out of jail free" card. What he does not seem to realize or care about are the terrible effects his proposed cuts will have on education.
Gibbons called for abolishing all-day kindergarten for underprivileged children and possibly doubling first- through third-grade class sizes. He also proposed cutting a further 8 percent from the already struggling university system.
These cuts balance the budget without taking money from the pockets of today's adults. Instead, they steal the money and opportunities of the youth in school today.
If these changes go through, the quality of education will decrease dramatically, leaving students unable to compete in the job market upon graduation, and eliminating college as an option for many, since the universities will probably have to increase tuition to deal with the further cuts.
Gibbons' proposal shows a complete lack of regard for Nevada's future generations. The time has come to stop mindlessly stealing from education, start looking for other sources of income, and oust this sorry excuse for a governor from office.
Jenny Mital
Carson City
Gas bill skyrockets in a month; what happened?
Yipes! Southwest Gas says, "Partnering with our customers ... has long been important to Southwest Gas." This was part of a News to Use enclosure with their bill. November's bill of $69.76 went up to a staggering December bill of $167.33.
At this rate, they'll own my senior, one-person house shortly. Did they sneak through a rate increase that we didn't notice?
Don Knott
Dayton
Why should fake drug sale result in real felony?
I read in the sheriff's log of a young man charged with attempting to sell counterfeit drugs. This is a felony. A felony is a negative and permanent consequence, where an individual loses whatever rights of citizenship they may have had. It remains a part of the person's permanent record and can severely diminish or restrict opportunities for employment, housing and other significant quality-of-life elements.
Think about this. The man charged in this offense did not possess a controlled substance, but a legitimate dietary aid. He pandered it to a person supposedly willing to make themselves a criminal by purchasing illegal drugs. Who gets hurt in this?
I might look at this fellow as a hero of sorts. You would think being taken advantage of would discourage any further attempts to buy illegal drugs.
Do we need to ruin the lives of men so badly in this country that we invent felonies?
William Kelly Jones
Carson City
Newspapers paying for forcing Obama on us
Hello. I just found out today you don't run the paper on Monday and Tuesday. I had to laugh. See, I stopped getting the paper when you were drilling Obama down everyone's throat in the last election. I guess you got change.
This is why newspapers should keep their views to themselves. All these liberal papers went crazy with this guy and the whole world is paying the price for it.
Greg Delarge
Carson City
Opinions about Carson landscape sought
Remember when:
1997: NDOT said no to landscaping the freeway and GROW - Gardeners Reclaiming Our Waysides - was formed?
2002: Carson City supervisors approved a landscape plan for the freeway which would be built if and when money was available?
2005: GROW and NDOT were awarded a grant in the Transportation Equity Act - H.R.3 for the Enhancement of the Carson City Bypass?
Now, a dream is becoming a reality. You, the residents of Carson City, have supported this effort through the years. Now, you are needed to give your opinions on the landscape, hardscape, visual and aesthetic treatments being proposed for Phase I of the Carson City Freeway. The implementation of final design will be funded by the 2005 Transportation grant and a NDOT community match grant.
On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the design proposals for the gateways and interchanges of Phase I will be presented at an information meeting at the Carson City Community Center from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
At 6:30 p.m. a presentation by Winston & Associates (the design consultants) will be given. Open discussion, questions, and comments are encouraged throughout the evening.
Come and spend as little or as much time as you wish. Everyone's comments will be considered and appreciated. The designs are exciting and have a historical transportation theme. Your input is needed. The finished project will be an asset and a source of pride for Carson City in the years to come.
Mary Fischer
President GROW
Carson City
Do not skimp on the cost of educating our children
The subject of extending school hours is being bandied about by folks who are woefully ignorant themselves on the subject. I've traveled all over the world. In no place have I ever seen the children go to school less than eight hours, and often, more.
I don't want to hear about cost and waste and dumb subjects. I grew up in Los Angeles and I went to school at 8:30 a.m. and was let out at 3:30 p.m., unless I was not behaving or did not do well in class, then I went to detention room for makeup work.
After school, the school had playground activity - baseball, volleyball, basketball, tennis. The boys could go to the auto shop or wood shop and work on their projects there.
We learned trades and skills for homemaking - cooking, sewing, costume design. This was in first through eighth grade, before high school.
The reason our children are not able to compete today is because the people who are raising them have no idea what it takes to really and truly provide good education. It takes money, lots of it - taxes from everyone, rich and poor, according to their ability to pay.
It only got this way today because those who have the most are able to influence those in office via their dollars at election time. Greed breeds greed. For shame!
Nikki Campbell
Carson City
Lean too far left, and we'll end up in Sweden
In recent articles written by Dr. Paslov, he indicates we letter writers do not understand Socialism.
In 1949, at age seven, my wife and her parents immigrated to the U.S. from Sweden. The reason - her father did not like where Sweden was headed. Her dad was way ahead of his time. For years, Swedish citizens have had government care from cradle to grave. There is little incentive for younger generations to work when others will work and contribute to their welfare. Sound familiar? Take from the haves and give to the have nots.
Sweden's government-run fiasco can't begin to compare to our health care system. This information comes to my wife via e-mails from relatives still living in Sweden.
How else would you describe the Swedish government than socialistic? Is this what the people of this country want?
Dr. Paslov stated the Republicans tried to prevent Democrats from passing health care. He doesn't mention how much of our money Sen. Reid used to buy, bribe, his own members to reach the 60 votes needed.
He also commented that the Republicans made no contributions to the bill. Could it be that the Republicans were not allowed behind Reid's closed-door meetings?
In my opinion, Dr. Paslov leans so far to the left he should have trouble standing. To be fair, I am also not a fan of Chuck Muth's writings. I believe he leans too far right.
Gary Metz
Carson City
Green energy part of solution for Nevada
Nevada's economy is bad and will not get better until we come up with a commodity to sell.
I have to give Sen. Reid credit on one thing. We have lots of solar and geo-thermal energy in this state, and it is free for us to harness and use it.
Yes, this country became a great country during the industrial revolution because we invented and made things. Then the greedy companies pushed through NAFTA and we sent all our manufacturing to other countries for cheap labor. Now we have no jobs, we manufacture nothing except war products and we are running out of young boys to fight illegal wars.
We cannot support our U.S. lifestyle on China's wages and we will not be able to buy their products much longer if we keep going downhill. The people in this country have to get involved and take our country back. The money people won't do it for us.
Thom Hartman on Freespeech TV has it right. Get involved and we can do it.
Samuel H. Dupuis
Wellington
Parents responsible
for educating kids
I do not like (the Nevada Appeal's) opinion about Gov. Gibbons' plan to balance the budget. It's the same old socialist opinion your newspaper has been spitting out for the 10 years I have lived here. It's also the same propaganda that the socialist-communist unions have been perpetuating as long as they have existed.
The reason the kids in Nevada don't do as well as other areas of the nation is not because of some plot against education. It's because the parents of those students do not require their children to study hard and make something of themselves. It's up to parents to meet with the teachers to monitor their children and to make sure their children attend school and do their homework.
The states have been stealing from the property owners for 100 years in this country, pouring billions into the schools. And the whining from the socialist-communist unions never abates. "If only we had more money, if we only had smaller classes ... blah, blah, blah," and still in my lifetime it's the same old results. Lousy students still don't graduate, and many of the socialist politicians even want to lower the standards so more of the unprepared students will graduate.
So take your statistics and put them where they belong, in the garbage can, and start writing some editorials about the parents' obligations instead of beating the taxpayers to death.
Jim Joseph
Gardnerville