Letters to the Editor June 25

Angle's a contender against Sen. Reid's history

Sen. Reid's approval numbers are in friends-and-family territory because, among other offenses, he backstabbed American soldiers when he publicly surrendered the Iraq war in April 2007, and bought votes with our tax money to pass socialized medicine. Manipulating the Democratic primary process to get his Chucky Doll son the nomination for governor also hurt him.

We're supposed to re-elect Sen. Reid because of his power as majority leader. But he's only bringing home 68 cents for every dollar Nevadans pay out in federal taxes. Sen. Paul Laxalt managed 98 cents. Reid credits himself with a handful of green jobs, but Nevada's unemployment is the highest in the country. Reid's latest accomplishment is to kill seniors' Medicare Advantage in exchange for a few doughnut hole dollars.

I disagree with Chuck Muth's June 18 column that Sharron Angle is at a disadvantage in this Senate race. Reid's ostentatious lies, bribery and treason are recent and direct offenses against Nevada voters of any political party.

Lying about Sharron Angle's policy positions won't save Reid from his record. Only mass amnesia among Nevada voters will do that, and Angle shouldn't let that happen.

Lynn Muzzy

Minden

Protectionism hinders oil cleanup efforts

Regarding the BP oil spill, it is important to consider not only what our government can do but also what our government can stop doing in order to assist with the cleanup effort. Specifically, the Jones Act - a law from the 1920s requiring that ships carrying goods from state to state be built in the U.S. and owned and operated by Americans - should be promptly repealed or at least temporarily suspended. This arcane law forces many of the best-equipped foreign vessels and crews, including those from Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway, to sit on the sidelines while up to 60,000 barrels of oil stream into the Gulf of Mexico daily.

Like most anti-competitive regulations, the Jones Act spares a small interest group - labor unions - from competition at the expense of the most efficient outcome for the general public. The State Department concedes that it has 21 offers of assistance from 17 countries. Protectionism is no reason to spurn our allies and risk further environmental devastation. Global help was vital to cleaning up the Persian Gulf oil spill in 1991. By summoning every resource available, Saudi Aramco was able to recover an impressive 900,000 barrels of oil in three months.

Allison McCarty

Carson City

Washington, D.C., intern