Letters for February 8, 2007

The short list
Re “The List of Lists” (Feature story, Feb. 1):

Things in my House I Don’t Understand
Zone bicycle pump
15 Blues Masters CDs
Marantz tuner
Verizon cell phone
Molecular biology books
Remotes (Directv, Marantz, Sony TV & Video & DVD)
My cancer
iMac + 2 HP printers
George Bush
Toko ski wax
KitchenAid stove and microwave
Dick Cheney’s moral universe
Panasonic phone system
Subaru heating system
The cat’s brain

Valerie Cohen
Reno

Can androids wear electric shoes?
Re “Can vegetarians eat their blue jeans?” (Letters, Jan. 25):

Brad Small needs to be informed that leather clothing comes from the same place as meat: an animal, most commonly, a cow. Vegetarians who wear leather clothing are hypocrites. How can they claim eating meat is unethical, then turn around and wear the animal’s hide? The animal still ends up being killed regardless of what we do with its carcass. From a vegetarian’s standpoint, using an animal for its skin should be just as wrong as using an animal for its meat.

April Pedersen
Reno

Not black and white
Re “Divorce with Love” (Feature story, Jan. 25):

The “Divorce with Love” article by D. Brian Burghart was interesting and informative. Your readers, however, are dangerously misled by the statement that half the assets and half the debts generally are each person’s responsibility. While generally true, the exceptions to this are big enough to drive a train through. Inheritances, personal injury settlements and separate assets that were not commingled, for example, are not divided. As for debts, whoever signed for the debt is on the hook to the original lender, no matter what the divorce papers say. If both parties helped pay for a house that one had before marriage, it can get real complicated. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Your readers contemplating divorce who have any assets, debts or children are well-advised to at least consult with a family lawyer.

Henry Egghart
Reno

Pals with benefits
Re “Divorce with Love” (Feature story, Jan. 25):

Your “Divorce with Love” article is another great RN&R article. You might read some articles Mary Anne Decaria wrote in the Washoe County Bar Association publication The Writ. Although Nevada is not a common-law state like California, according to Decaria, it is a palimony state and does recognize Putative Spouse built on Michoff and Western cases, reasoning that in the 1984 Hay v. Hay, the Nevada Supreme Court adopted the 1976 Marvin v. Marvin, “the progenitor of palimony” then culminating in the Nevada Supreme Court case of 2004 Williams v. Williams, followed by the 2006 McClintock v. McClintock. Even a layperson like me can follow her articles. Keep up the good work.

J. Morgan Alexandra
Reno

Short sense of irony
Re “Unquestionable qualifications?” (Letters, Feb. 1):

It is no secret that the presidential elections are nothing more than glorified popularity contests. However, Richard Siegel decides to take it one step further and determine that the Democratic candidates’ physical appearance makes them unqualified to run, based on statistics.

Really, Mr. Siegel, how high school.

Never mind that the country might not be ready to elect a woman president. Never mind that Barak Obama doesn’t sound like an America-born name. As long as you’re the right height and weight, those are just circumstantial factors, right?

Maybe I’m wearing rose-colored glasses, but I feel that the American people should elect the one with the best job qualifications, regardless of appearance, just as any other employer would.

Can you imagine if anyone else set height and weight limits for their employees? It would be a lawsuit frenzy!

Shayne Cowell
via e-mail

Keep the faith
Re “Equality for women starts here” (View from the Fray, Feb. 1):

To the tired feminist, AKA freedom fighter:

Please do not give up your battle to ensure reproductive rights. The unaware cohorts of my generation will someday understand what is at stake when it comes to their sexual liberties, I hope—sooner rather than later. Regrettably, it may take the crumbling of Roe v. Wade triggering restrictive laws that deny the sexually responsible woman her birth control or a rape victim the right to decide her fate, but someday they’ll get it. Keep reaching for us younger women, tediously informing us one at a time. As more and more women hear that they soon may not be able to access the contraceptives they currently take for granted, they will speak up. Besides, your words don’t always fall on deaf ears—you got to me didn’t you?

Amee Christian
Reno