Letters to the editor for Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020

Honor the land: Leave it be
If only we could leave some land undeveloped and not build on every empty lot or field.
Vacant lots and fields are great emergency landing areas for pilots experiencing density
altitude challenges due to mechanical failure.
Undeveloped areas also make for great fire breaks during fire season.
Once the land and soil are altered, they never return to their natural state. Wildlife and nature are negatively affected too, and we have less area to feast our eyes on to reduce our stress.
Less plant life, less trees equal less oxygen for our survival. Respect the land. It is a sacred
gift.

Ann Burke

Carson City

American tradition ruined this election year

Since 1619, with the establishment of the Virginia General Assembly, conscious individuals have gone to their polling place to vote on various matters. Regardless of the weather, wars, or diseases, these conscious individuals, in order to do what they consider to be their patriotic duty, have made the trip to their polling place.

Through the past 400 years this practice of going to your polling place on election day has become a tradition. Exceptions were first made during the Civil War when the Northern States allowed absentee voting for those in the military. This practice was also allowed during following wars and extended to those that could give proof of the need to be absent.

In the 2020 Presidential Election, many Democratic controlled states sent out ballots allowing, for the first time, mail in voting. Many states used voter rolls that were not current. Many states allowed ballots to be counted that were received days after Election Day. This vast number of ballots caused problems with processing of ballots and the determination of the outcome of the election.

The mass number of new voters may allow the winner to claim getting the most votes of any other President, but the loser may also be able to claim they received more votes than any other President.

While the sending out of the election ballots is legal, I feel it has been done for political reasons and has destroyed the long time American tradition of going to the polls on Election Day.

Sanford Deyo

Minden

Trump lost, Biden won move on

Response to “The Ugly Truth” by Guy Farmer, November 7, 2020
I’m not sure who I am more dismayed with: the Nevada Appeal for publishing such an erroneous misleading commentary or Guy Farmer. But, Mr. Farmer is entitled to his opinion. He

was correct in calling the election ugly. Biden did not make it ugly. Trump did. Months ago Trump questioned Mail-In voting. (even though that is the way he votes). It was a safe way to vote due to COVID19. Then… his hire of DeJoy to disrupt the postal system. Farmer also spoke the truth by referring to Trump as a rude, crude/bully egomaniac. Truth is showing there was no Mail-In fraud. States were methodical and transparent (to the law of the state) assuring a clean count of all eligible ballots. Biden won. Count again if need be. It will again show that Biden won. A cherished democracy demands a smooth transition. Trump seems determined to make that ugly too. Trump, get over it. You lost. Let’s get on with it.

Mary Martin

Gardnerville

Nothing to fear

If the Left were confident in the results, they would welcome an investigation to validate the results and restore confidence in the system. If voting machine irregularities and illegalities are fantasies they have noting to fear. Their resistance to transparency convinces me that fraud is real and extensive. I’m confident that a thorough investigation will reveal the truth. Only truth can restore faith in the system.

If men were angels

If men were angels there would be no need for oversight. Those denying the existence of voter fraud have nothing to fear from investigations. If illegalities and voting machine irregularities did not sway the election, nothing will change. Insuring the integrity of the election is crucial to democracy. Only an open and honest investigation can restore faith in our elections.

Poll watcher access and issues with late, duplicate and dead voters must be thoroughly investigated. These are not partisan issues. Transparent, fair and honest elections are cherished American values. If we are to have faith in the electoral process, a forensic audit must be done. The consequences of rigged elections are too terrible to imagine.

Mike Rodgick

Carson City

Reason to celebrate

Hallelujah, ‘Sleepy Joe’ pulled it off! Here are a few of the things that have been dancing around in my head after four days of nail-biting suspense: Old Faithful will no longer have to worry about being surrounded by oil rigs and Alaskan polar bears won’t have to scrape crude oil from their morning salmon; people who are actually qualified will be appointed to important government positions and allowed to do their job; injections of liquid bleach will no longer be touted as a treatment for the Coronavirus; Twitter can deactivate its prevarication detector; the ‘putting green’ will be removed from Air Force One; immigrant children will no longer be snatched from their parents and put in cages and Americans abroad can stop pretending to be Canadians!

Finally if I may, a post script: our staunchest allies, who were alternately ignored, scorned and insulted by Donald Trump are now celebrating the end of America’s long nightmare with congratulatory messages of hope and cooperation to our newly elected President- and Vice President-Elect. I think this is worth one more ‘Hallelujah’!

John O’Neill

Minden

We should all work together

I agree with Guy Farmer that the recent election was ugly. But not for the same reasons. The ugliness I see is the insistence on repeating false claims about who Biden is and what his record shows. In the last debate, Biden asserted that Trump didn't know who he was running against, given the ridiculous attempt to paint him as a radical socialist.

So, once more for the record, President-Elect Biden does NOT support defunding the police, he does NOT support the Green New Deal, and he certainly does NOT support teaching anyone that America is a horrible country.

Meanwhile, Trump's direction to the Proud Boys to stand by has borne fruit in the streets of Carson City, where they spew their hatred and threaten our citizens. This brand of ugliness has a violent history that none of us should forget.

We should all be working together to reject this brand of ugliness instead of fanning the flames by promoting false narratives. Local news outlets have an important role in providing factual information and correcting false information. If you can't make a reasoned argument based on the facts, it ain't worth the paper it's printed on.

Laura Hale

Carson City