Letters for September 28, 2006

Suck it up and deal
Re “Democrats are soft on terror” (Right Hook, Sept. 7):

In case you’ve forgotten, Tim McVeigh—white male, Roman Catholic, decorated soldier, Republican, NRA member, Oklahoma City Bomber—is probably one reason they don’t only target Muslim males for inspection. Sure, he didn’t hijack a plane, but he was a terrorist, and he wasn’t Muslim. The fact is that being safe, which seems to be the core value of the Republican Party, might come at the expense of some things like comfortable air travel and civil liberties. In other words, you might have to be inconvenienced once in a while in the interest of escaping otherwise certain death. Stop being such a wimp! Suck it up and deal! 9-11 changed everything, remember; did you think flying on airplanes was somehow excluded?

Scott Herbst
Reno

A greener Reno
It was an exciting summer of continuous events in Reno-Sparks. But no recyling at them. All those millions of plastic bottles, metal cans, glass bottles, paper and leftovers could have been recyled for a cash and environmental profit if recycling bins were out for them at the events. Sure would be nice to see the events Be Green.

J. Morgan Alexandra
Reno

Best recovery program?
Re “Best of Northern Nevada” (Sample ballot, Sept. 14):

I was going to fill in my opinions on the Best of Northern Nevada reader survey, but you seemed to have omitted a few very popular categories, based on what I see going on in Reno and Sparks.

Among them, there is no category for:

Best casino to buy meth.

Best neighborhood to get shot.

Best park to observe drunk and abusive teens.

Best thoroughfare to watch people toss trash from their car windows.

Best park to watch child abuse take place.

Best patch of grass to step on a bloody syringe.

Best street to find 13-year-old hookers.

Oh, so many choices, so many options, and no mention of any of them. I’m so disappointed you don’t seem to have a grasp on the real Reno.

What do they say Back East? Ah, yes … Reno, there’s a Meth-O.D. to our Madness.

Brian Jay
Reno

Highton is off-base
Re “Burghart makes me puke” (Letters to the editor, Aug. 31):

It is not difficult to refute Jake Highton’s letter to the editor. He himself states: “editorials in the RN&R are consistently good, pinpointing local, state and national problems.” It is not the job of the editor to be a party hack. It is the job of the editor to ensure that the reporting is pertinent and accurate and the level of writing expressing that reporting is superior.

Muckrackers can be Democrats or Republicans. But who remembers the details? Statespeople can be Republicans or Democrats. But who remembers the details?

Jake Highton states that the RN&R is dull. But boring is not always bad: No hits, no runs, no errors, and no one left on base!

John Daniels
Reno

Peoples’ will undermined
The gap between the ruling class and those who are forced to pay for them has widened once again. The rejection of TASC by the Nevada Supreme Court is a dark day for Freedom. The wishes of tens of thousands of Nevada’s citizens has been circumvented by a handful of black-robed overseers.

Government growth at all levels is staggering; with over 25 million officials and employees nationwide, the average person doesn’t stand a chance. Everywhere you look, some bureaucrat is collecting our money to better themselves, and then they have the nerve tell the rest of us how we must live.

I have a question for these so called justices, when there is nothing left to tax, when you and your ilk have finally broken the backs of the hardworking, middle class, where will you get your blood money from then?

Bruce Feher
Las Vegas

Don’t be fooled again
The casinos have more video poker machines than any other form of gambling for a reason: They make the casinos money. As players, we always desire an advantage and think we can get one by properly playing our hands. But like any other machine in the house, your playing style doesn’t really matter. This is the truth the casino doesn’t want you to know.

Gaming law in Nevada makes each machine in a casino pay out a minimum percentage. To attract customers, some casinos will raise that percentage slightly. With this in mind, how you play your hands in video poker really doesn’t matter outside of increasing your playing time. Remember, every time you bet five quarters and get back five quarters, the machine is paying out 100 percent. Therefore, playing “smart” is really helping the machine keep within its set-by-law standards.

So the next time you’re sitting by one of those nosy players who always shows you how to play your hands, feel free to assume you’re listening to a compulsive video poker player who has no idea how the machine operates.

Michael Lee Scott
Reno