LETTERS:
Reid has never met a tax cut he didn't hate
To the editor:
I've been paying federal income taxes and FICA fees since age 11. Each summer, from age 11 through 17, I worked as a cabin boy on foreign flag vessels and sailed on these trips with my father. When I was 18, I left the world of tenements in Brooklyn and went into the Navy. Over the next 25 years, I continued to pay taxes while working my way up to my retired rank of lieutenant commander.
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For the next 21 years, I worked in the private sector. During those 21 years, I had to kick in an additional $2,400 a year out of my Navy retirement pay to try to stay ahead of the tax man. It didn't work. Each year I had an additional amount of several thousand dollars to pay.
Upon retiring from the civilian work force and beginning to draw an old-age pension under Social Security, I felt I might get ahead of the tax man. I was wrong. It appeared that Democrats had ambushed President Bush the elder at a tax summit in 1991 and eliminated a portion of the tax code that favored military retirees. Because of that change, 85 percent of my Social Security check is considered taxable income.
Along comes Sen. Harry Reid, vowing to fight any spending cuts to pay for relief and reconstruction in the Gulf after Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans flooding unless the president agrees to end the tax cuts (Tuesday Review-Journal). Even though revenues to the federal government have increased because the first round of tax cuts increased investment and business activity, Sen. Reid is against them.
So I wait on Sen. Reid and the others to let me know my fair share of taxes. I suspect the good senator has never met a tax cut he didn't hate.
John E. Kraft
LAS VEGAS
Lap dog
To the editor:
Sen. Harry Reid's comments concerning the nomination of Judge John Roberts for the position of chief justice of the United States didn't surprise me at all (Wednesday Review-Journal).
He has to say no to Judge Roberts in order to support the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee. The poor man can't even vote his conscience. His lame excuses for his position on this important matter are contrived and won't convince most reasonable people that Judge Roberts is not qualified for the position.
The people of Nevada might think that they gain something by having our senior senator as the minority leader, but more likely we have a senator who is nothing more than Ted Kennedy's lap dog.
Bill Dirkse
LAS VEGAS
No vote
To the editor:
Obstructionist Sen. Harry Reid is at it again. He wouldn't vote for anyone President Bush nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court, even if it were Joseph Smith.
Stan Sobczak
LAS VEGAS
Not rational
To the editor:
So rags-to-riches Sen. Harry Reid will not vote for Judge John Roberts to become chief justice of the United States. So what? He is only one vote, so let him cast it. No one expects Sen. Reid to do anything rational or sensible.
I predict Judge Roberts moves to the Supreme Court on an 80-20 vote.
William Heller
LAS VEGAS
Lost it?
To the editor:
The latest utterance from Harry Reid is that he will not vote for the confirmation of Judge John Roberts. Before that he said that the administration should roll back the tax cuts. Before that, in front of a group of high school students, he called President Bush a loser.
Does Sen. Reid represent the Democratic Party or has he just lost it?
Lou Garner
LAS VEGAS
Out of line
To the editor:
Being a senior citizen and having lived in Las Vegas all of my life, I have seen a lot of regents for the University of Nevada system come and go. I have been good friends with a number of them over the years.
Mark Alden has been friendly toward me since he has been on the board. But that is part of Mr. Alden's persona. He plays up to the press. Mr. Alden always has a comment when other regents won't make one. Therefore, Mr. Alden is quoted often. Anybody who follows the regents knows he's a publicity hound.
But he is also a meddler in the day-to-day affairs of both UNLV and UNR. University regents should make policy, not try to run the day-to-day administration.
In fact, Mr. Alden is the biggest meddler in university administration affairs since John "Jack" McBride, who was chairman of the Board of Regents in the early 1980s and constantly tried to micromanage UNLV affairs, particularly in the athletics department.
Mr. Alden went too far when he threatened UNR President John Lilley with his job if there was a major incident at the UNLV-UNR football game Saturday in Reno. Certainly, it is the UNR administration's responsibility to provide a safe environment for the teams and spectators, but Mr. Lilley couldn't be faulted if a fight broke out between opposing players during or after the game. The host administration can only do so much.
While Mr. Alden has been a good watchdog of university administrations to a point, he was a bully toward Mr. Lilley this time. I am not a defender of Mr. Lilley in any way, but Mr. Alden's threatening letter was way out of line.
Mr. Alden should be concerned with making policy and let the respective administrations make the security arrangements for a football game.
ROYCE FEOUR
LAS VEGAS
THE WRITER IS A RETIRED REVIEW-JOURNAL SPORTSWRITER.
Open records
To the editor:
I, along with thousands of other readers, am appalled that District Judge Stewart Bell would not to release information about Adacelli Snyder (Review-Journal, Sept. 15). This agency does not need to be protected when it comes to investigating the well-being of our community's most vulnerable children.
I am outraged at him and workers at Clark County's Child Protective Services. This is not the first failure from this agency, and it won't be the last if nothing is done. We have lost another child. Let's not lose another.
Get Judge Bell off the bench, and let's get those records open and hold this agency accountable.
