Letters for September 13, 2012
Tithe me up
Re “Reid’s attack on Romney” (Feature story, Sept. 6):
It is unlikely that Mitt Romney didn’t pay any taxes; it seems more likely that he shortchanged the Mormon church tithing minimum requirement by under reporting his income (times 10 percent). I wonder if Harry Reid might be more interested in exposing Mitt Romney as a fraud and cheater to their common church, the Latter-Day Saints?
John Whaley
Carson City
Hurts Reno worse
Re “Two more tribal casinos planned for California” (Upfront, Sept. 6):
With two more casinos in California, they will have more foreclosures and more people filing bankruptcy or going out of business. I know this because I lost business when the lottery started. California will lose a lot of tax money. You have Custer’s Last Stand, now you will have California’s Last Stand without Sitting Bull causing it. Now you will have a lot of bull doing it. I was born and raised in San Francisco and lived there over 5o years till they put me out of business. Good luck, California businesses.
Robert L. Cordero Sr.
Reno
In hot water
Re “Eco-event” (Green Space, Aug. 30):
The GEA Energy Expo is part of a larger meeting of the global geothermal community. The Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) will be hosting its 36th Annual Meeting Sept. 30-Oct. 3 at the Peppermill Resort Spa. More information at www.geothermal.org/meet-new.html
Ian Crawford
Davis, Calif.
Politics for the rich
Re “Word games” (News, Aug. 30):
I consider Mayor Cashell a friend, and I applaud the many good things he’s accomplished for the city we both love. But he’s wrong on ward voting. He’s worked to thwart the will of the people and the Legislature at every turn. Most recently, this came in the form of adopting ballot language that the Reno Gazette-Journal editorialized as “confusing, a U-turn from the way questions normally are worded on a ballot, and the shift could well affect the vote by giving the edge to the status quo.” (8/24/12) The council adopted language designed to guarantee the outcome it wanted: to prevent voting by ward, which continues the dominance of developers and other special interests in elections. Our only recourse is to go back to the Legislature and, for the third session in a row, pass a bill to mandate voting by ward. Hopefully, the mayor won’t be able to convince the governor to veto it again.
Bob Fulkerson
Reno
He said, ‘pho dac biet’
Re “Pho-nuts” (Foodfinds, Aug. 23):
I couldn’t agree more! I’ve never tried the doughnuts, but the pho dac biet was just plain disgusting. Won’t be going back.
Todd South
Reno
The old standards
Re “And Jesus rose from the dead” (Letters to the Editor, Sept. 6):
My comments aren’t about tax returns in particular. It is about his [Mitt Romney’s] political party and those who want/wanted Obama to release his birth certificate, his college application and any other record that has a box for place of birth or religious affiliation. It is about Romney criticizing Obama for his lack of transparency at the same time he says his tax records are between the church and him. That is why I brought up the Mormon church. Romney didn’t just say tax returns are between the I.R.S. and him. He included the church. You spent a lot of words on the Mormon church. I have nothing for or against Mormons or any other religion. I do not mock or praise any religious belief. I do admire people who can accept their religion with such devotion; something that I do not/cannot do. Not sure if that is a deficit on my part. Sat in on many church services, and none of them did anything for me. Again, my letter was about Romney saying his tax records are personal, and that is the end of the subject and not telling other members of his party to stop asking for Obama’s records, and if Obama says the records are personal that should be the end of the subject. I am objecting to the double standard by the Republicans calling for Obama’s private life to be open for unconditional inspection while defending Romney for wanting to keep his private life private. If tens of thousands of Republicans can speculate and write about Obama—millions of hits on Google—with outlandish (and some valid) theories of why he is not releasing his records, why am I being silly with my delusions speculating about Romney and his tax returns?
Dewey Quong
Reno
The wind’s blowing
Re “A coalition of the competent” (Editorial, Sept. 6):
I'm here in Thailand, and it's the rainy season. I realize my homeland is embroiled in politics, but I see the forces of nature as so much more interesting than politics. We know they will happen no matter what supplications we make to whomever. They can't be persuaded or shamed into change. They spare no one: the rich, the poor, the lame or the inconsistent. They are not subject to monetary contributions. The climate change debate doesn't affect their actions one bit. In an ideological debate with them, we lose.
Dan Porath
Chiang Mai, Thailand
So vote, already
There are some who will consider sitting out this election because “there’s really no difference between the two parties, and if you think any of them won’t lie or do whatever it takes to get elected or keep their power, you’re naïve” or something like that.
While I might grant the latter, the former is demonstrably false. Even if you believe it’s all a conspiracy theory, and that the new world order has complete control of everything, you cannot argue there is not a difference in the “flavor” of the control that’s being offered. Read the platforms of the two parties. Therein lie the heart and soul of two competing philosophies. The platforms are the written testimonials of what the two sides believe in, what they would do if they had complete control, and the fundamental flavor of each side’s vision for America and the world.
Even if you buy into the “it ultimately doesn’t matter” argument, in the non-ultimate reality of everyday life, the flavor of the background noise makes a huge difference. Think wars, taxes, environment, work-place rules, etc. and think about those two platforms. There are, in fact, fundamental and significant differences in the direction the two sides want to take this country and the world.
Either Obama or Romney will win this election. (Sorry third-partiers. Our time has not yet arrived.) Justices at all levels, including the supreme court, will be appointed or rejected, laws and regulations will be passed or not, the “flavor” of America and the world will be affected based on who controls the pursestrings, the veto pen, and the gavels. If your primary argument for not voting this November is that there is no difference between the two parties, read the two platforms. You’ll find plenty of differences that will become reality depending on who gets elected and who doesn’t. And those differences eventually will affect everyone directly and indirectly.
Michel Rottmann
Virginia City Highlands