Letters for March 29, 2007

Focus on the food
Re “Tso-tso” (Foodfinds, March 15):

I’ve been tempted to write this on numerous occasions, but this week’s dining review finally did it. This reviewer (Dave Kidder) continually bases his reviews of Reno restaurants on a single meal, usually just as a party of two. Thus his “reviews” are based on two entrees and maybe an appetizer and dessert. This week’s review of Fusion China was his worst. He based his review on ordering only a single take-out order of General Tso’s chicken. He spent the rest of his review panning the condition of the dining room, observing delivery woes and claiming to be an expert on Chinese cuisine just because he used to eat in San Francisco’s Chinatown as a youngster.

I thought real restaurant reviewers tested a restaurant a couple of times, at different times of day (to test service) and on several occasions to try a variety of dishes. I know you’re not the New York Times, and maybe you have budget constraints, but this is getting ridiculous. The RN&R’s dining reviews consistently spend two-thirds of the article on décor and the reviewer’s personal history and only one-third on trying out the food.

Maybe Fusion China does have service problems, but calling the food “average” based on one dish is certainly unfair to a new restaurant in Reno.

Dave Kidder’s review for me will have the opposite effect. I will purposely go to try this place out. I, too, have been raised on Chinese food from Chinatowns in Philadelphia, New York City and San Francisco. Frankly, I don’t believe that any of the Chinese restaurants in Reno are exceptional and will keep trying new ones to hopefully find a good meal one day. (And by the way Dave, the best San Francisco Chinese restaurants are not even in Chinatown.)

Janice Ono
Reno

Numbers can be deceiving
Re “The dead” (Cover story, March 15):

As someone with family in Iraq, I appreciated your sobering recitation of the facts that constitute the human and financial costs of the war in Iraq. I only wish that you had mentioned the extent to which the estimates—and we only have estimates—of the Iraqi civilian dead are disputed. Of course, many of those engaged in estimation are not disinterested. In the only scientific studies that I know of, which were studies based on cluster sampling techniques, statisticians went to Iraq at extraordinary risk to themselves and concluded that the total Iraqi dead had most likely reached 100,000 in 2004, and that the civilian component of that was likely already around 39,000 in 2004. I know of no critique of these scientists’ findings based on their methodology. These estimations may be wrong, or they may be right, but the public, it seems to me, is at the very least entitled to know about this dispute and the basis or lack thereof for the various estimations that have been made.

Verne Ball
Reno

Speak up, America
The citizens of this country need to amp up their discontent with the Bush administration. Letting others do the letter writing, the calling and the demonstrating isn’t going to take care of each of our individual responsibilities to make ourselves heard. I find a lot of people are very unhappy with the course of events involving the Iraq War, separation of powers and the abuse of the Constitution’s checks and balances. There are still many people who are not writing letters, calling their congressional representatives or demonstrating personally their discontent. It does take time and thought to be more engaged, but our country is in need of everyone’s voice who is outraged by the conduct of the Bush administration. Please take the time to contact your state and federal representatives and express the topics of your discontent. It matters, it has always mattered, and your actions can inform your representatives of what the people of this country believe is the right thing to do.

Beth Brookfield
Reno

Save our troops
The Iraq war has staggered on for four years now, in defiance of America’s disapproval, and there is no end in sight to the bloodshed. Now the minority who insist that our troops should keep dying there are pandering to a childish machismo by claiming that leaving Iraq would be “surrender.”

But look at what Bush has needlessly surrendered—over 3,200 American lives, our security, our world leadership, our honor and almost $2 billion of our tax dollars every week that are spent on his war. And think of the families who are devastated every day that the war continues.

Now is the time to stop surrendering those things that make America great. America should no longer be sacrificed to Bush’s failure. It is time to get out of Iraq’s civil war and Bush’s deadly mess. Our only chance to make that happen is to keep telling our members of Congress to get us out of Iraq.

Please contact your members of Congress. If we want to support the troops, we should help save their lives.

Doug Long
Rio Rancho, N.M.

Correction
Re “Prayer leader” (15 Minutes, March 22):

India has 18 official languages, not 14. Also, the India Association of Northern Nevada serves the affairs of East Indians, while the Hindu Temple of Northern Nevada takes care of the religious affairs of Hindus in the area. The RN&R regrets the errors.