Letters for January 29, 2015

Lenny’s testicles?

Editor Brian Burghart astounded me in that he was standing at his computer, not sitting like most editors do, which has been judged as one step better to prevent sitting all day as far as health is concerned. In regard to Martin Luther King Jr., he was supposedly with a woman other than his wife right before he gave his “I have a dream” speech. Probably because if he had waited until the day after, it would have contained the word “wet” somewhere in title. The concerning issue is regarding LK [Lenny Kravitz], as opposed to MLK, which will be entertaining during the halftime of the next XLVTVI game. He has stated that he remained celibate for four years, that he inherited a diamond from his mother, and it now sits near his other family jewels. I think verification would be in order, and I will personally volunteer part of my time to see if Kravitz is being honest about this very touchy matter.

Jeannie Jackson

Reno

You don’t know how lucky you are

Re “Back in the USSR” (Musicbeat, Jan. 15):

For anyone who does not personally know Brion Hill, he is one of the most respectable, selfless, and caring physicians that I know. I have known Brion for over 15 years, both personally and professionally. He would break his own back to help someone in need, be it a friend, member of his own family, a patient or a stranger. Brion is an ethical and good-hearted man. If anyone I know is interested in always “doing the right thing” it is Brion Hill. Thanks, News & Review, for supporting and reporting on Rubles Plunge. They are an awesome band!

Brian Opitz

Reno

Cowardly commenters

Re “Back in the USSR” (Musicbeat, Jan. 15):

I usually don’t comment in public forums but I just read the story and the disparaging remarks [in the comment section on the RN&R website] made against Dr. Brion Hill. What a classless use of a public forum to make personal remarks and attacks about a person. Learn some etiquette and keep personal trash and opinions where it belongs. To yourself. There are always two sides to every situation and you have been judge, jury and executioner on this happening. I have had the privilege of knowing Dr. Hill on a personal and a professional basis. He is one of the kindest, most caring, upstanding, respectful persons I have ever met. To bash him on a public forum shows just how little dignity you have. Grow up and leave the “high school” drama out of this. I agree with Jeff that a mature approach would have been to contact him and work out the differences privately. Obviously, you felt compelled to hurt the credibility of a person by hiding behind the keyboard. You just showed how pathetic and immature you are. Maybe you should look in the mirror and see what kind of person looks back. Might be worth working on yourself before you judge someone else.

Stephen Giossi

Sparks

Yeah, let’s hear it

To the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees: I’m writing to ask for your assistance. You recently made a determination that Pedro Martinez was not an appropriate leader for our school district. While that generated much controversy, in the end I appreciate your commitment to our school district and children. From that position of respect, I ask you to come to the aid of the people of our state. It concerns me that Gov. Brian Sandoval has proposed that Martinez head a newly formed statewide school district. How can someone, not capable of leading an established and well-performing school system, be expected to stand up and run an achievement school district? The people of Nevada need to understand why Martinez was asked to leave his position to be able to influence the governor’s decision in order to bring this man back into our education bureaucracy. The people of Nevada need your insight to make informed decisions and properly engage with our elected representatives. I implore you to inform the public on the substantive issues that you considered in asking Martinez to step down from his position. Nevada cannot afford another misadventure in the leadership of our schools.

Troy Ross

Reno

That’s just crazy

Re “We’re all Charlie. Now what?” (Editorial, Jan. 15):

I just don’t get why there is so much willful ignorance in regards to Overly Enthusiastic Islam. (We’re not supposed to say Radical Islam, right?) Seriously though, to say what happened in Paris was a result of insanity is absurd. Yes, it may seem insane when someone kills someone else for drawing a cartoon, but if you are a religious fanatic, much of your behavior will seem insane to non-religious fanatics.

People who are actually insane don’t act methodically, and many Muslim extremists are very methodical and patient in their efforts to terrorize the civilized world. The only way that radical Muslims can impose their blasphemy laws on people in territories that they don’t control is through terrorizing those people to self-censor. It’s a tactic that works, but Charlie Hebdo refused and paid the ultimate price for it. The importance of Charlie Hebdo putting a picture of Mohammed on their cover a week after the attack is probably lost on many people. They have paid and may continue to pay a heavy toll for the rest of us. I am not Charlie Hebdo, I haven’t put my life on the line for freedom of speech like they have, but I do have a great amount of love for those French cartoonists who have made a brave and lonely stand against fanatical intolerance in this world.

Finally, I would say that to continue to summarize Radical Islam as just a few crazy people, when there are numerous organizations—and in ISIS and Boko Haram’s case, armies—who by their very nature will always be probing the path of least resistance to chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, is in itself insane. Every good person in this world should want peace, but the more noble, courageous and difficult goal to achieve is peace for future generations, for your children and grandchildren, and you simply can’t achieve that if you’re incapable of identifying and confronting evil in your time. I don’t mind when newspaper editors get it wrong, but when our president, the leader of the free world, is unwilling to identify that which most threatens our freedom, that is deeply disturbing.

David Flynt

Reno

Editor’s note: Saying insane behavior isn’t insane just because the person professes to follow a particular religion is not logical. And insane people often act methodically, that’s frequently the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath. Sociopathic behavior is often associated with belief systems.

Agree to agree you’re wrong

Re “Thoughts on Charlie Hebdo” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, Jan. 27):

You are wrong, sir. Using the logic presented, Hitler and the Kim family, Stalin, Mubarak and countless other despots should have been given free rein. Might makes right? And your analogy is just baseless. Holding the act of property damage in the same light as these murders … pretty unthinking.

Mark McPhail

Reno

Correction

In our feature story, “Almost Famous,” Jan. 22, we incorrectly spelled Chris Hubbell’s name. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion our error caused.