Letters for September 26, 2013

Other states interfering

Re “We’re for law abiding!” (Letters to the Editor, Sept. 19):

I am wondering what the writer, Erik Holland, had in mind when he linked India to Abu Ghraib. Abu Ghraib is in a Muslim country, Iraq, and to my knowledge has no connection to India and their Hindi government. Was it a typo? Or hopefully it was just a comment to illustrate a senseless situation.

Jon Harrison

Reno

Hunters are killers

Re “Nevada’s killing fields” (Guest comment, Sept. 19):

Mr. Voltz’s opinion about Nevada’s sportsmen and women is revolting and insulting. Hunting and fishing as done by the vast majority of Nevada’s sportsmen are a valuable and respected part of the eco-system and food chain Voltz refers to. He is a hypocrite to the nth degree every time he sits down to enjoy a steak dinner. The reality is Nevada’s sportsmen and women contribute far more to the preservation of wildlife and restoration of desirable habitat.

As a fourth-generation Nevada who spends a significant amount of time in the field fishing and hunting I don’t believe I have ever encountered an eco-tourist, especially one spending money and time traveling to our great state to view the relatively modest numbers of easily viewed wildlife in the state. I believe a close look at the total expenditure of wildlife enthusiasts whether it be hunters or fishermen spend far more pursuing their interests than eco-tourists. From hunting and fishing licensing fees, boating and sporting goods expenditures, hotel, food, volunteer groups, sportsmen’s groups contributing significant dollars to the overall wildlife programs, his statements are absolutely false and ludicrous. Voltz needs to get a life and quit insulting the people of this state who have every right to exercise their desire to hunt, fish, and any other lawful activity they desire. Who is he to call me a killer?

Bill Young

State Wildlife Commission

That’s what he said

Sam Dehne warned about these (and myriad other) government boondoggle disasters more than all the other citizens added together. But the Scientology cult zealots who sign “their” checks and steal my votes shamelessly ordered the media (BURP!) to continue with its jealous rage and fear of anything “Sam Dehne.”

How’s that been working for the career politicians and their “bosses” after all these years? And the citizens of Reno. Reno is as bankrupt as Detroit and all those other bankrupt cities and counties. And it all could have been prevented if “they” had just listened to Reno’s philanthropically humble Sam. Sam has more spunk and gumption in his baby finger than all of these lowest common denominator career politicians that the vote-stealing traitors can steal votes for.

Sam Dehne

Reno

Broken business model

I got ripped! I purchased the RG-J ($3) for one reason: TV guide. No luck. The cheapskates want to save money at my expense? I’ll fix ’em. I’ll buy a real paper. The RN&R. What? It’s free? Well, I’ll be damned!

Scott Reese

Reno

Weapons of mass destruction

President Obama’s policy of creating a world free of nuclear weapons is possible. However, it is impossible if the Obama administration keeps its first strike nuclear weapons policy. The first strike nuclear weapons policy only encourages North Korea and Iran to escalate their nuclear programs because they need something that will deter regime change and counter the first strike nuclear policy.

Earl Ammerman IV

Reno

Pay a living wage

When I was in high school, it was time to seek my first job opportunity and so I decided to apply at McDonald’s. The first time I applied the store manager asked me, “Why should I hire you?” My response: “I need the money.” Wrong answer. The following year I applied to the same place and this time when asked the same question answered “because I can get the job done.” Result: hired. I only worked for this particular franchise for one summer because another store closer to home was opening, and it was owned by the franchise owners who had employed my siblings.

With the small amount of experience I had attained, I was actually able to take charge of the rookie grill team and pull order out of chaos. This eventually resulted in my promotion to “swing” manager when I transitioned from high school to college in 1981. Exploitation of my services was the furthest thing from my mind as the goal was to earn enough money to pay for college. My coworkers were all my age with the exception of the “day ladies” who worked the morning shift. The commonly accepted idea was that this was a temporary stepping stone to better career opportunities once you graduated from college. I would certainly agree however that my experience at McDonald’s allowed me to utilize some of the talents and abilities I possessed by exercising various skills in particular situations. In other words, it wasn’t all just about flipping hamburgers. One time the owner of the franchise put his hands on my shoulders and stated, “I want this man paid $4 per hour.” It never happened, and I spent the remainder of my time there earning just a smidgen above what the crew earned.

Today we recognize the dramatic demographic changes that have occurred in the fast-food industry over the last 30 years with most positions being filled by adults rather than teenagers. Consequently the industry has transformed from being a “temporary stepping stone” to a full-time career opportunity that still pays very little relative to the profits posted by McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s. One could argue that there is very little opportunity in our economy for someone with a high school diploma. It could be further argued that economic opportunity has been so slimmed down that these types of retail jobs are the only ones available and it will be that way for a long time to come. In the meantime people employed by these companies still qualify for public assistance because of the low pay and lack of medical benefits.

We also read daily of the failure to teach people to read and write upon graduating college not to mention high school. If this whole situation doesn’t smack of a deliberate and carefully planned booby-trap then I don’t know what does. Accordingly I am in favor of increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour at restaurants such as McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s as well as the provision of medical benefits. There is no evidence that doing so will cripple these major chains in any form whatsoever.

Joe Bialek

Cleveland, Ohio