Letters to the Editor Sept. 30

I'm having a real problem sorting through the Shelley Berkley situation. It appears Congresswoman Berkley worked hard on a kidney health care issue involving federal reimbursement for dialysis providers. That's laudable. But she forgot to mention that her husband is one of the providers who will benefit from her efforts.

Now Republicans have lodged an ethics complaint that Congresswoman Berkley failed to disclose the conflict of interest and used her office to enrich herself. That sounds like a pretty serious charge of corruption. I'd rather not think Shelly Berkley is corrupt.

On the other hand, Congresswoman Berkley claims she was working on behalf of patients and didn't think it necessary to disclose the apparent conflict. I guess that sounds plausible, but isn't that a rookie mistake? Congresswoman Berkley has been in Congress for 12 years and should know better by now. I'd hate to think she's a slow learner.

Boy, this one is tough.

Robert R. Kessler

Las Vegas

During 60 years, a well-bought Congress lowered the tax base of the rich and big corporate America. They did little for the average American or our poor. But then, those people did almost nothing for the senators and congressmen in return - quid pro quo.

That's it - the class warfare is long over. Tax the rich? Good luck getting anything back from the 17,000 Americans who make almost half of all money made in America and control more than 50 percent of American wealth. Luck won't have anything to do with it.

Taxing the rich is all that we have left. If they paid the same rate they did 40 years ago, almost $350 billion per year, it would be a big, big help with our budget.

Jim Ijams

Fallon

While I appreciate the high level of service the residents of Carson City receive from the Carson City Sheriff's Department, I am writing to express my concerns regarding the Vigilant Video License Plate Reader.

My first concern is, is this a form of invasion of privacy? This system can read an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 plates per car, per shift, so now is every car that drives in Carson City guilty until proven innocent? What happened to probable cause?

I know many people will think this will make us safer, but at what cost to our personal freedom? Will the sheriff's department place deputies at intersections just to run plate numbers and reduce the number of patrols? What's wrong with the system we have in place now? Is it so antiquated that crime is rampant in our fine city?

This new system will bring in extra revenue into the city's coffers, but it also seems easy to abuse. Even though this technology will have its proponents, we need to stay ever vigilant about how deep into our personal lives our government reaches.

Brian Brabazon

Carson City