Letters for September 12, 2013

The bird is sleeping

Re “We’re doing it again?” (Editorial, Sept. 5):

A bit better known is your lies about Pahlavi king. Who are you calling fascist? Reza Pahlavi? You are obviously an ignorant bastard who has slept with his mother!

Terry Kenward

London, England

Damned if they don’t

Re “We’re doing it again?” (Editorial, Sept. 5):

First, I want to say that I am opposed to the U.S. going into Syria at this time. I want to address the resistance of attacking Syria I am seeing from many Republicans. Many of them are opposed to President Obama launching a limited strike to deter the Syrian army from another chemical attack on the Syrian people. I am wondering if this goes against the Republicans’ own self-interest? Syria has a weapon of mass destruction. They have the ability to deploy the weapon. They have proven their willingness to use the weapon. They have the means to strike Israel but not the U.S.

Yet the Republicans say we shouldn’t intervene because we are not the policeman to the world. For years the Republicans have been asking the U.S. and the rest of the world to take out the ability of Iran to develop nuclear weapons. They say if Iran has nukes they could threaten their neighbors, Israel and the U.S. By intervening in Iran this makes the U.S. the policeman to the world. Where is the consistency in the decision making process? Are the Republicans voting against President Obama just to vote against him? And if they succeed in efforts to keep the president from a limited strike against Syria, what will be their argument for a limited strike against Iran? Two countries in the Middle East. Neither are truly an ally nor are they truly an enemy. One is known to have WMDs, the other is in the process of acquiring WMDs. Attack one country for what they might have and could do and not the other country for what they do have and have already done.

Dewey Quong

Reno

Murder, we wrote

Re “Lost & Found” (Feature story, Sept. 5):

Bill Germino did not murder Daniel Yuhasz. He beat him severely and left him for dead, but Yuhasz survived and lived, crippled, for several years.

Robert Elston

Silver City

Editor’s note: Thank you, Robert, you are absolutely correct. He was convicted of second degree attempted murder. The online version of the story has been changed to reflect this.

Will work for school

Re “Gotta get that CD” (Upfront, Sept. 5):

I attended the University of Nevada (No “R”) on a Dick Graves (now John Ascuaga) “Scholarship.” He gave me a job working 48 hours a week with time to study during the slack time on the graveyard shift. He paid pretty well, too. I was married. My wife and I had a child. I was buying a house and going to school 20 hours a week. That is a commitment even greater than a 178-word oath. And I graduated without any student debt. (The “Yew young whippersnappers” though not stated may be inferred.)

Larry L. Wissbeck

Paonia, Colo.

CATO lies

Re “Dueling Statistics” (Upfront, Sept. 5):

The CATO analysis is basically a fraud. It factors in every single benefit on the books, including some which most poor people will never have access to such as housing vouchers for which there is usually a four- to five-year waiting list. According to their own data only 14 percent of Nevada families receive housing assistance. WIC is a program that offers around $70 in vouchers for milk, cheese and baby formula. WIC eligibility is limited to pregnant mothers or those with children under 5.

Utility assistance is not really relevant to a family who lives in a weekly hotel or in their car, which is probably the only option with the maximum cash grant in Nevada for a family of three of $383. CATO also includes federal emergency food assistance which is not direct assistance, but rather a program that provides limited USDA foods to food banks and charities for distribution to the poor and homeless.

If you are curious as to why CATO would intentionally manipulate statistics, you need to look at a few of their white papers. Their solution for the “welfare problem” is: “The ultimate reform goal, however, should be to eliminate the entire system of low-income welfare for individuals … (they) would have to rely on the support of family, church, community, or private charity.” And their solution to finding jobs for these welfare slackers is to eliminate minimum wage: “Minimum wages particularly stifle job opportunities for low-skill workers, youth, and minorities, which are the groups that policymakers are often trying to help with these policies.” If you are really mean spirited and agree with CATO, then I suggest you consider the implications of the decreases in the wages of all workers which would occur if you eliminated welfare and minimum wage and had millions of people fighting over jobs that might end up paying a fraction of minimum wage.

Lynne Black

Reno

Genes aren’t fate

Re “What are you made of?” (Feature story, Aug. 22):

I am a retired mother of three. Forty years ago, after ongoing bouts of tonsillitis (it’s in my genes), my doctor wanted to remove my tonsils. I did not have it done. Thirty-three years ago, my OB/GYN wanted me to have a hysterectomy (it’s in my genes). I did not have it done. Twenty years ago, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in my lower back (it’s in my genes), and the doctor wanted me to take prescription drugs. I did not do so. Six years ago, my OB/GYN wanted to admit me to a local hospital for a breast biopsy and possible mastectomy (it’s in my genes). I did not have it done, and I now breast check with thermograms rather than mammograms.

My mother died from high blood pressure, so it’s in my genes, but mine is healthy. I researched each condition, addressed each one with behavior changes, healthier food choices, distilled water, natural herbal supplements and exercise. My annual health checks and blood work are proof positive that I no longer suffer these conditions. I have taken an extra step in research and studies and am now a certified master herbalist pushing 70. If I can do it, anybody can do it, including Angelina Jolie. I am not world famous, so it may not matter much, but it’s the truth. Oh, and my father had heart trouble, and I was diagnosed with a heart murmur at age 19, so it’s in my genes, but my doc is amazed at how healthy my heart is. I love Angelina, but her decisions are sure not going to make me do anything radical to my body. I pray her decision does not promote a new trend.

Anne Huber

Reno

If you build it

Re “Nevada should accept nuclear waste” (The Liberty Belle, Aug. 29):

Thank you for a well-stated endorsement for responsible management of spent nuclear fuels. Yucca Mountain has been studied and over-studied to serve this purpose for many decades, and many millions (billions, probably) of dollars have been spent to demonstrate that long-term (permanent, basically) storage of such waste at Yucca Mountain is a reasonable and safe proposition. As you say, nuke waste disposal is a necessary component for our nuclear energy policy. Nuclear power—both uranium-based as it is now, plus thorium-based liquid fluoride thorium reactors, which are very promising—offers an economically-viable alternative to power generation from carbon fuels.

Bob Roe

Oklahoma City