Letters to the editor for Sunday, July 12, 2015

Liberalism a mental disorder

Regarding Bo Statham’s commentary on July 2 and Rick Van Alfen’s letter on July 5, I was amused as well as disgusted with Statham’s irresponsible trashing of the conservative justices of SCOTUS, and Van Allen’s snide and sarcastic remarks about Republicans. It would be nice if liberals and conservatives could have courteous, respectful and factual discussions. But that seems to be impossible given liberals’ inability to be civil and responsible.

Statham mentioned in his commentary that homosexuality was once considered a mental disorder. I think it is painfully obvious that Liberalism is a mental disorder. When you consider that liberals are expert liars (Obama/Reid/Pelosi/Clinton) and they scoff at goodness, decency, morality, religion, sovereignty, sound economic principles, traditional values and portions of the Constitution such as the First and Second amendments, it has to be a mental disorder or just plain evil.

Liberals have been very successful in dumbing down and demoralizing our country via the entertainment industry, an incredibly biased and corrupt media, a continually degenerating education system, and merciless character assignations of people with whom they disagree. But to what end? Do they want a society where anything goes, and we all sit around in togas eating grapes, dates and nuts, having group sex and smoking pot while the lower classes do all the work and the Supreme Government calls all the shots? That didn’t work out too well for the Roman Empire or anywhere else it was tried.

Vern Payette

Silver Springs

Shame on driver for not stopping

I like the animals in my life, although I admit the urban deer that nibble my rose bushes and are giving birth in my yard right now are a challenge. I saw a cat hit by a car that braked but did not stop. I write to remind us of our responsibility to offer care.

You know who you are. Dark red minivan soccer mom, family dad type of car owner. You hit a cat on July 7 at the intersection of Roop and Beverly streets. I saw you brake for the grey-striped cat that had the bad judgment to try to cross the street, probably on its way home. You did not stop. I saw the cat tangled in your front wheels. I saw the cat hobble away with a destroyed hip and leg to the limited safety of a shrub off the street. I saw you drive off, no doubt rationalizing to yourself or to your children safely tucked into their car seats and seat belts that the cat ran away.

I stopped and found the cat that was barely alive. I said a kind word as its eyes clouded over. The nice people at United Latino Community found me a box. I took the cat to my vet, Lone Mountain Veterinary Hospital. It was dead when I arrived, which was no surprise. My intention was to have it euthanized so it would not die in pain.

The staff of Lone Mountain scanned it to determine if it had a chip to notify its owners. It did not. They then notified the Nevada Humane Society in the event someone looks for it. They disposed of its body at no charge. Thank you, Lone Mountain Veterinary.

And you, you know who you are, too busy to care for an injured living creature; no time to stop and take responsibility. Shame on you.

Patricia Cooper-Smith

Carson City

Suggestion for Treasury Department

The Treasury Department is seeking a female head for the $10 bill. I suggest Edith.

Russ Law

Carson City

Car damaged, driver leaves

To the woman in the white car that hit my right rear bumper in the parking lot of Save Mart in Carson on Saturday, June 27, may the bird of paradise fly up your nose.

Carol Vandyke

Carson City

Facts versus political myths

Undocumented immigrants are draining the Medicare trust fund, right? Medicaid provides poor quality health care, right?

Both commonly held beliefs are wrong. Sometimes it is instructive to look at facts rather than accepting political myths.

A study by the Harvard Medical School and published in the June edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine concluded that from 2000 to 2011, undocumented immigrants contributed $2.2 to $3.8 billion more to Medicare than they withdrew annually (a total surplus of $35.1 billion over their Medicare costs). See http://tinyurl.com/oo87cg6.

A second study by the Commonwealth Fund reported on June 24 that compared to those with private insurance coverage, Medicaid enrollees have nearly equivalent levels of access to care and that Medicaid coverage also appears to offer better financial protection than private insurance against the cost of illness. See: http://tinyurl.com/p5dhcqs.

Both results were reported in MedPage Today’s daily headlines: http://tinyurl.com/paykeyq.

So, why does the media continually repeat the myths that undocumented immigrants are burdening Medicare and that Medicaid provides poor health care? Is it because fewer journalists in the modern media do any homework? Or, is it because too much of today’s media blather is really political propaganda rather then honest reporting?

Jon Nowlin

Carson City

Misconceptions about flag

There are many misconceptions about the flag over Columbia, S.C. It is not the Stars and Bars, but the Confederate battle flag, or Southern cross. It was never officially adopted by the Confederate government.

In the war, many units were recruited on both sides, especially early on, from local communities and were issued arms and often homemade uniforms, resulting in a great disparity.

The Stars and Bars had three wide red and white stripes (bars) and blue canton on the top inner corner with a circle of white stars, each representing a seceding state. In the heat of battle, it was sometimes confused with the Stars and Stripes.

The battle flag was designed after First Manassas (Bull Run, July 19-21, 1861) by Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, who at the time probably didn’t give a hoot about slavery. What with the variety of uniforms and flag similarities he just wanted his men to quit shooting at each other.

John Stopp

Carson City