Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

LETTERS: Let public employees sit in the Legislature

To the editor:

In a recent column, Vin Suprynowicz suggested that Nevada exclude public employees from serving in the Legislature. This would eliminate 12.5 percent of the workers in this state from serving in their Legislature. It is vital that the citizens of this state realize there are people who are using their positions to "modestly propose" and spearhead initiatives to undermine democracy in Nevada.

How does a part-time elementary school janitor assemblyman "exercise any functions, appertaining to either of the others?" This section of the state constitution appears to refer to the separation of powers between the branches, so that no branch would have influence over either of the others. Is it possible for an attorney general or a state Supreme Court justice to misinterpret the constitution, or only if they disagree with Mr. Suprynowicz?

Conflict of interest applies to everyone who lives in the state of Nevada. Perhaps businesspeople should not be allowed to serve since those businesspeople in the Legislature showed their conflict of interest when they defeated all attempts to get them to pay their fair share. Should we elect only people from out of state to serve on our Legislature? A journalist serving in the Legislature could "literally propose and vote for a bill one week, go home" and write an article about how "We don't write the laws, ma'am, we just criticize 'em."

JEREMY M. CHRISTENSEN

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Great value

To the editor:

In response to the Aug. 19 letter by C.H. and Gloria Muchmore:

First they ask for taxes that "would cause tourists to pay for the privilege of visiting Las Vegas." Let me make something perfectly clear: It is not the tourists who have the privilege of visiting Las Vegas. It is our privilege to host them. They could go anywhere they want on vacation, but we want them to visit us. Especially after 9/11.

The letter goes on to say, "Tourists wouldn't mind paying an extra $10 or $15 per night when they are already shelling out upwards of $150 per day for a place to stay." Who appointed this couple spokespeople for tourists? Our visitors already pay a tax on their plane ticket to fly here, a tax on their rental car when they get here, and a tax on their hotel room. Higher taxes will cause the tourists to cry, "Enough, already!" and vacation somewhere else.

Las Vegas must remain a great value to compete against all the other casinos and attractions nationwide and around the world.

ARI STOTLAND

LAS VEGAS

Pledge rule

To the editor:

In his recent letter, George A. Ritter condemns the Colorado court decision to block mandatory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. In defense of his opinion, he makes statements that I believe go against everything that this great nation stands for.

First, he seems utterly appalled that a 14-year-old girl actually expressed her opinion and then he goes on to say that her parents didn't give her the right kind of guidance and mentoring. Well, I couldn't disagree with Mr. Ritter more. The Constitution is there to protect all citizens, including children. This young woman felt, and rightly so, that her rights were being violated by the recent "forced" pledge recitation rule in Colorado. She stood up for those rights, brought them before a court of law, and won. I applaud this brave young woman and I applaud her parents for teaching her that if her rights are being violated, she doesn't have to sit back and accept it just because it makes people like Mr. Ritter feel better.

Every American should be concerned when government agencies, including our public schools, try to mandate that citizens recite pledges of any kind, especially ones with religious overtones. Where is the liberty and justice for all when citizens are forced into saying things that they don't agree with or believe in?

According to Mr. Ritter's logic, we should all just bag the Constitution and mindlessly chant oaths just because people in government tell us to. This country was not founded on the flag, and it was not founded on the Pledge of Allegiance. It was founded on the Constitution. And those people who think it's OK to force their fellow citizens into pledges that they don't agree with, obviously do not value what I believe most of us in this country hold dear -- freedom.

TERESA HARRIS

LAS VEGAS

Deceptive deeds

To the editor:

Clark County Manager Thom Reilly is obviously suspect himself when

discounting the corruption of ex-County Commissioner Erin Kenny -- and, possibly, numerous others -- by saying he "doubted that any effort would be made to revisit commission votes, particularly zoning votes where financial investments have been made" (Review-Journal, Aug. 15).

Say what, Mr. Reilly? Why not, Mr. Reilly?

All of Ms. Kenny's questionable mechanizations throughout her troublesome

eight-year commission tenure must be investigated by the FBI and the Clark County district attorney. Among Ms. Kenny's many suspicious moves was her blatant collusion in 1997-1998 with developer Lewis Homes-Carlisle Venture in trashing Spring Valley by forcing through a massive, 320-acre "Monaco" over-development on Buffalo Drive. (The property was originally proposed to be a golf course in the Clark County master plan).

Hundreds of Spring Valley homeowners -- Ms. Kenny's own constituents -- were intensely outraged by her strange and strident anti-community/pro-Lewis stance, loudly demanding at one meeting that she "shut up and get the hell out."

County residents rightly deserve aggressive and extensive investigations into Ms. Kenny's persistent political prostitution. Spring Valley homeowners are still suffering from her deceptive deeds.

LEE THOMAS

LAS VEGAS

Gassed up

To the editor:

When is someone going to start questioning the price of gasoline? Crude oil prices have fluctuated between $29 and $31 per barrel for at least the past two months. In the past two weeks, the price of unleaded regular gasoline has jumped approximately 30 cents per gallon.

The Tuesday "Final Word" on the editorial page quotes a spokesperson from the Arizona AAA saying that there is plenty of gasoline. Given this statement, and the lack of a sharp increase in the price of oil, who is raising the price -- and why?

ROBERT COAD

LAUGHLIN