Letters to the editor Jan. 22

Health care: Don't throw baby out with bath water

Regarding Ms. Swirczek's letter of Jan. 13, I'm not sure what her point was about armchair quarterbacks collecting unemployment, kids to public school, driving on government-maintained highways, signing up for Medicare, and growing old on Social Security. It sounds like she thinks the government pays for this - not! The American public, employers, employees and all citizens pay for it. Taxes, fees - we don't need more taxes from the government.

Sure, the health insurance system in this country needs to be fixed, but rather than a huge, sweeping overhaul - why fix those parts that aren't broken - that affects every American, why not focus on the issues that are in need of fixing?

Gay McCleary

Carson City

Sen. Reid, who's going

to pay for health care?

In the Jan. 7 issue, Royce Tuckness of Carson City asked nine questions about who's going to pay for this health care reform. The letter was directed to Sen. Harry Reid. I could repeat them, but the point is, they are all related to who pays.

I wrote Sen. Reid only one question a while back. Are Congress members subjected to the same health care as the American public? I received an answer but it was about another matter. He needs to take lessons from Judge Judy. A simple yes or no would have worked well.

Maybe the real question is - are Congress members also members of the American public? Or is there another party called the U.S. Congress who make up and follow their own rules?

Mr. Tuckness is right on with his questions. But we all know who is going to pay for this - if it passes.

I hope Mr. Tuckness received a reply better than the one I got.

Barbara Griffiths

Gardnerville

Gibbons leads fight

for smaller government

Gov. Jim Gibbons deserves thanks and praise from most Nevada citizens for his proposals to shrink government and, at long last, reform the politicized education system.

Democrat legislators blatantly rig government expansion and local government unionization to buy votes. Few in government service dare support more effective government if they like their jobs. Thank heavens secret ballots enable some to vote their ideals.

One Gibbons initiative eliminates collective bargaining in local government. Government employees having collective power to bite taxpayer hands that feed them is outright Marxism. Douglas County taxpayers are barred from secret negotiations by unions with county management and commissioners. County managers who must lead and work with county union members day to day are at a huge disadvantage, having little incentive to contain union gains for taxpayers' sakes. County commissioners have displayed little heart for opposing union collective demands.

Conservative legislators Settlemeyer, Goicoechea and Gustavson declared removing collective bargaining mandates will be "difficult to get through the legislature." They might better have unconditionally praised the governor's proposal and vowed everything in their power to back him.

Come on, conservative leaders, show backbone for the fight. As Nevada's chief executive, Gov. Gibbons has fulfilled just about every Republican principle sacred to political conservatives. His opponents are simply not in the same league, seemingly interested in leading the state back to Republican-in-name-only government.

Jack Van Dien

Minden

Obama gives Interpol outrageous rights

Don't look now, but Obama just gave Interpol complete freedom to operate within the territorial limits of the United States subject to no Constitutional restraints. They are exempted from search and seizure by U.S. authorities, disclosure of current and archived documents, and the Freedom of Information Act.

The new supreme law enforcement agency in America can do anything it wants with no accountability. Thanks to Obama, the Democrats finally have an organization that can break down your door, whisk you to a plane, have you in a foreign prison in a matter of hours, and there isn't a single thing we can do about it.

Can you just imagine the outcry from the left if Bush would have given these same rights to the FBI? But I guess the left is fine giving this power to a foreign police agency that is accountable to no national agency and has close ties to many Middle Eastern countries.

Two questions: Why? And where is the most powerful senator in the country?

Stephen Yeater

Dayton