Letters for January 25, 2007

Bring on fiscal responsibility
When Congress adjourned on Dec. 9, the nation should have breathed a great sigh of relief. The old saw telling us that “no man’s property is safe while the legislature is in session,” comes to mind whenever the government officials decide to take a break. One of the last moves of our leaders involved continuing some tax cuts. But spending also needs to be cut! The accumulated national debt now tops $8 trillion; the current fiscal year will have a red ink total close to $300 billion; the dollar’s value is sinking badly versus the Euro and other currencies; and our nation’s trade deficit continues to soar. Every economic indicator practically screams that the nation should cease excessive spending, cut back or cancel many government programs, and cease passing along huge indebtedness to future generations.

Meanwhile, I read in the financial journals that foreign holders of U.S. debt, such as Communist China, have been given power to dictate U.S. policy. Should China and these other countries decide to sell their U.S. bonds, a worldwide depression felt most intensely right here in the United States would result.

Fiscal sanity hasn’t been practiced for decades. And the Bush administration, along with a compliant Congress, shows no signs whatsoever of restoring fiscal responsibility.

Matt K. Davis
Henderson

Add a real conservative
Re “Lafferty is swift” (Letters, Jan. 18):

I must say I agree with David Ghiringhelli’s assertion that Mike Lafferty’s column is a satire. When Right Hook first appeared on your pages, I was dumbfounded by his words of contradiction, hypocrisy, malice and ignorance. Is this the face of conservative America? Certainly they can’t be that stupid and shortsighted.

Now I realize Lafferty is making fun of Republicans by acting like the stereotypical fascist conservative without a clue. I’m not sure whether to thank him or ask him to come clean. Nonetheless, your paper should consider the addition of a real conservative column in order to add balance to your publication’s political views. Perhaps you could find someone to make fun of liberals in the same way that Lafferty makes fun of conservatives.

Dennis Fecko
Reno

Can vegetarians eat their blue jeans?
Re “You might be a liberal No. 3,” (Right Hook, Jan. 18):

I suppose I’m not as eager as your talented columnist, Mr. Lafferty, seems to be when it comes to placing labels on my fellow citizens. His exercise in self-reflection, designed solely so one may pigeonhole oneself, is rather time consuming in my opinion.

I’ve created no label for myself. However, I have at disparate times by disparate souls been labeled a “progressive,” a “free thinker,” a “Hillary lover,” a “wit,” a “dimwit” and a “drunk.” None have elevated or degraded my status as a human being, but perhaps they have given the responsible labelers a bit of a rush.

And while I don’t agree that believing George W. Bush is a moron makes me or anyone a “liberal” (after all, his own staff has nicknamed the president “Einstein"), I must take issue with the hypothesis that vegetarians who wear leather clothing are hypocrites. However, were any of the aforementioned vegetarians to eat their clothing, I’d be happy to concede that in this singular instance, Mr. Lafferty’s case could, at long last, be made.

Brad Small
Reno

Burghart is fat, boring and stupid
Mr. Burghart: You suck. It’s just that you don’t really say anything. Maybe you do Zen, maybe you’re in the gym, and maybe you’re stuffing doughnuts and burritos down at the same time. Who cares? Now, the other writers have something to say and say it well. Pike, Lafferty, Myers—they say something, anyway.

As far as your comment about homelessness: I don’t think you have a clue. Anyone can rip off Pink Floydian statistics. Why don’t you get off your fat butt and walk down to the Food Bank, St. Vincent Dining Hall or the homeless shelter.

It’s depressing. You can get a mat on the floor for three days with 33 others in a room until you qualify for a bunk, which might last another 30 days and nights, if you qualify. You can also get a meal from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. every day, as long as you’re nice. Just check the yogurt and dairy products—if it smells bad, date’s expired, just toss it, but don’t bitch about it. And if you sign up at the Food Bank, you must get there when it’s open. You can get a “big box” once a month, but also “daily survival kits” every day Monday through Friday.

Our government is inept at emergency situations for working men and women. If I got fired from my job Nov. 25, and it’s now Jan. 19, and I still haven’t received $1 from the Food Stamp Program of America, there’s something wrong. If I got fired from my job on Nov. 25, and it took me four weeks to get my unemployment checks, there is something wrong.

I could write on forever about the injustice in this country, and that’s the difference between me and you. I have everything to say, whereas you need to get a Starbucks.

Arthur T. Volpe
Reno