Letters to the editor for Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015

Dump Obamacare and start over

The failure of the Nevada Health Co-Op does not surprise me. Given that its success depended on the government’s false assumptions that private insurers were ripping off their customers and existing government regulations were not part of the problem.

These false assumptions apply in equal measure to the rest of Obamacare, only it will not be left to fail. It will just fail to deliver as promised. (What else is new?) Healthcare will be rationed, and it will be rationed systematically, capriciously, ignorantly, and impersonally. The only cure I see for this is to dump the whole plan and start over.

Michael Goldeen

Carson City

Kudos to ACLU for fighting school vouchers

And that, folks, is why I donate to the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Best news I’ve heard since the right-wing Republicans passed that bill that is definitely unconstitutional. And where were the governor’s lawyers on this one? Why didn’t they advise him not to sign it? Don’t they know their own state Constitution? My only guess (not an accusation) was a quid pro quo on his revenue bill.

And where were the naysayers and no-taxers on this issue? If someone proposes a half-penny tax increase to maybe finish a six mile highway in less than 15 years, or to build a 21st century library, or build a homeless shelter, you guys go all apoplectic. You were eerily silent on this matter. I guess it didn’t bother anyone to hand more than $5,000 in public taxpayer funds to a family so their kid could attend My Lady of Intolerance and Discrimination.

Well, it bothered me big time. You want your kid to go to private school? Pay for it. And in case you want to bring it to the voters, here’s something you should know. Just because 80 percent of the people approve or disapprove of an issue via the ballot box, that doesn’t make it right, lawful, or constitutional. It just means that 80 percent of them are ignorant, stupid, or both. I’m always amazed at how the right-wing mind works, or doesn’t work. Kudos to the ACLU!

Rick Van Alfen

Carson City

Need some actual reporting on Common Core ills

The Associated Press article about Common Core testing falling short made me wonder if any actual reporting would ever be done on what’s going on regarding the SBAC and PARCC tests administered under Common Core.

“Initial goals unfulfilled?” Not exactly. You see, those “initial goals” included a 70 percent fail rate. Initially, the architects of Common Core tests deliberately set up the tests expecting more than 70 percent of student test-takers to crash and burn. That would spur those laggards into better, more intense study. But then when test results came in for the states that implemented Common Core the earliest, instead of a positive, “Whoa, we need to try harder,” the reaction was instead, “What? This is terrible. These tests need to go. They are ridiculous and unfair.”

Keep in mind that teachers’ careers, under Common Core, depend on those test scores as well. Riots (literally) ensued, and at present, Common Core testing has been disconnected in a dozen states. The test and Common Core promoters had to do something to stave off further erosion of support. That something (raising the levels of achievement awarded for right answers) has resulted in a 35 out of 100 score being “interpreted” as a passing mark. Will students under Common Core show progress? You bet! The test administrators are going to guarantee it through manipulation. Are articles like the one printed in the Nevada Appeal helping parents understand what their children are facing in schools? If that was the newspaper’s intention, then, sadly, that goal, too, has been unfulfilled.

Virginia Starrett

Director of Nevadans Against Common Core

Should have recognized band, cheerleaders

After attending the Carson City High opener at UNR against Reed High, I was appalled that no mention was given to the cheerleading squad or the marching band. These kids worked long and hard to represent their school and our city. I think a mention of their dedication and hard work, along with a picture would have been nice. Shame on you!

Larry Abbott

Carson City

God will hold those accountable

Presidential candidate and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal made a decision for the state to defund taxpayer monies for Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against Louisiana.

The Obama’s U.S. Justice Department supports Planned Parenthood, claiming this action aimed at ousting Planned Parenthood from Louisiana’s Medicaid program violates federal law for lack of sufficient reason.

Louisiana’s de-funding of Planned Parenthood is not only clearly reasonable, but is morally reasonable considering what Planned Parenthood is doing, whether legal or illegal. It is a perfect example of diabolic activity to support their obvious disgusting greed ... like hoping to own a Lamborghini!

This insane activity has been going on voraciously since the initiation of Roe v. Wade, and now America is paying the price for allowing the obvious rejection of the Fifth Commandment of God — thou shalt not kill — to become law.

This is not our only problem. Now that the asinine Supreme Court legalized homosexual marriage, America will be subject to more punishment.

As for the members of the Supreme Court who committed this atrocity, my question is: How did you come up with the decision that you are God, rather than the creator, who owns and governs all creation, including you idiots?

Ever hear of the Natural Law? God, the author of same, not only created each of you, via a man and a woman, but will hold you accountable for tampering with his law when he decides to take your lives. Ever heard of hell?

Mary Santomauro

Stagecoach