The Fourth of July
Why do we celebrate the Fourth of July?
It’s not for the fireworks, parades or picnics
For these are all fun things to do
We should be celebrating our forefathers
Who drafted the documents that gave
Freedom and liberty for me and you
To thank all of those who fought and died
To keep our country free and warning us
To be on guard and always aware
Of those who try to take them away
Never giving up or giving in
By falling into that snare
We are “one nation under God”
And we should never forget to see
That our independence and freedom
Came with a price for that liberty
We are the greatest nation on this earth
With many blessings to enjoy
But, they too can be taken away
If our firm resolve we do not employ
Pat Rikalo
Carson City
Show pride and make Carson flag capital
As I drove around our city over the Memorial Day holiday, I was impressed by the number of residents and businesses who displayed the American flag. Going into this coming July 4 weekend, I encourage even more people to do so, because ours is a grand nation of which you can and should be proud, whatever our flaws as a people have been in the past and still are today.
But there are those who don’t agree.
The “ruling elite class” deride the goodness of our country, espouse a world government, embrace political correctness, promote open borders and force social policies on citizens without due regard for local customs and culture. Just last week citizens of the UK voted to leave the EU for many of the same reasons. Their “elite ruling class” proclaimed that it was a “peasant revolt.” Had it occurred here, we’d appropriately call it patriotism.
Hopefully and with your help, Carson City will become known as the flag capital. Allow me to end this letter with the following refrain:
“Oh, say does that star spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.”
Dan O’Donnell
Carson City
Happy Fourth of July
A little boy
A little man
Holding the American flag
In his hand.
When he grows up
What will he be?
Will he fight for this flag
And our liberty?
How little do we understand
The brave men and women
Who died for this land.
Go somewhere else
Check it all out
You’ll be proud to be an American
There is no doubt.
Let this 4th of July
The flag
That we see
In all the little children
They hold the future
That will be.
God Bless America and our children!
Jenny Schnabel
Carson City
Trump for president
If you want another Obama in office, then vote for Hillary. I for one want a change, so put in a good man who will give us a big change — Trump.
Patricia Kelley
Carson City
Retirement system is unsustainable
To all active and retired PERS (Public Employees Retirement System) members. I must on an ongoing basis remind all of its members the lack of funding for the future solvency of the PERS system of Nevada.
There is no mathematical way PERS will pay the so called “guaranteed promises” they have made to you under its existing structure. This won’t happen today, but some time in the future the money won’t be available. Not a scare tactic, but the math is inevitable and undeniable.
Experts far more knowledgeable than I know that PERS is unsustainable. I would encourage anyone to contact Ron Knecht, economist and Nevada’s State Controller, to verify my concerns.
The leadership of the retirement system can try to continue to bury their head in the sand. But eventually the “gig” is up. We still have time to correct the future funding of the retirement system. But difficult and necessary changes need to be made soon!
Timothy Jude Bauer
Reno
No wrongdoing done at state Democratic convention
In his recent letter, Bruce Comer complains that the rules for the state Democratic convention were “non-parliamentary, non-democratic, and dictatorial.” He specifically cites a rule that “all votes were to be by voice, with the chair ruling on the outcome with no recourse.” He then recounts instances of motions passing when “it was not clearly apparent that the ayes prevailed.”
Well, I was there too, and can state unequivocally that Mr. Comer’s complaints reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the process. The point was not to see which side could yell the loudest. As everyone there well understood, the state convention was the culmination of a three-stage competition in political organizing.
To review, Hillary’s campaign won the precinct caucuses on February 20. Then Bernie’s campaign won the county conventions on April 2. Finally, Hillary’s campaign won the state convention on May 14 when more of her delegates showed up at the Paris in Las Vegas. As a consequence, the two pledged national delegates still up for grabs went to Hillary Clinton, and the pro forma voice votes on the floor went her campaign’s way too. Had Bernie Sanders turned out more state delegates, the national delegates and floor votes would’ve gone his way. Party leaders conducting the proceedings maintained their strict neutrality, notwithstanding the disruptive and threatening behavior coming from the Sanders’ forces.
Anyone still interested in the various conspiracy theories surrounding the Nevada state Democratic convention should read Riley Snyder’s excellent and accurate account at Politifact.com.
Rich Dunn
Carson City