LETTERS:
Vegas Monorail failure isn't very surprising
To the editor:
As a regular visitor to Las Vegas from the Los Angeles area, I can understand the monorail ridership problem (Review-Journal, Oct 18). Before it opened, I looked forward to riding it to get around. My first and only trip occurred when I was staying at Paris Las Vegas and made the long walk to the back of Bally's to try it out. I was very disappointed.
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The route was too far east behind the hotels and the Strip, unless you were going to the Las Vegas Convention Center. It was just as easy to walk on Las Vegas Boulevard to reach your destination.
As a comparison, the buses along the Strip are jammed. The monorail might make a lot of sense if it connected to McCarran International Airport.
Pricing means nothing as an incentive. Regardless of whether it costs $1 or its current $5, for me it does not go anywhere convenient. So I do not ride it. But remember: the portion between the MGM Grand and Bally's was gratis.
HARRY SALEVURAKIS
SAN PEDRO, CALIF.
No outrage
To the editor:
Review-Journal columnist Erin Neff has beaten up Republican candidates for supposedly living at the wrong address, siding too many times with President Bush and being a "Jack" Mormon.
But where are her complaints about Harry Reid?
As a "good Mormon," he has taken money from Jack Abramoff clients and not given it back, disguised his interest in property he has owned or not owned and improperly given Christmas bonuses to the staff at his Ritz-Carlton condominium out of campaign funds.
Where is Ms. Neff's political outrage? Is it because Sen. Reid is not running for office this year? Or is it because he is a high-ranking Democrat who is not running this year?
DOLLY GALYEAN
HENDERSON
Negative ads
To the editor:
I am sick of back-stabbing ads by Nevada political candidates. Why can't they talk about what they will do if elected instead of bad-mouthing their opponents? No wonder half the people in this state don't vote. It's like watching the Three Stooges throwing pies at each other.
I'm Barney Vinson, and I approve this message.
BARNEY VINSON
LAS VEGAS
Immigration debate
To the editor:
Geoff Schumacher's Oct. 1 commentary, "Anti-immigrant kookery demands rebuke," did quite a job at obfuscation and misinformation. Mr. Schumacher knows very well that the problem is not with immigration, but with illegal alien immigration.
He totally ignores the fact that the federal government refuses to enforce existing immigration laws. It is of necessity that local governments are attempting to fill that void. Individuals such as Mr. Schumacher are the ones who are clouding the issue. There is no extreme anti-immigration movement in our country; however there is an anti-illegal alien invasion effort. He knows that we are the most liberal country in the world providing for the greatest number of legal immigrants.
Mr. Schumacher's ridicule of Pahrump Town Board member Michael Miraglia -- he refers to the man as a bigot and a goof -- clearly illustrates his bias. He further applauds the remarks of others who consider Mr. Miraglia's ideas as racist dribble. Is it racist to encourage people who are in our country to learn the English language and to assimilate and become a part of our fine country?
It appears that Mr. Schumacher wishes to encourage the illegal alien invasion of our country. While he admits that immigration is a serious issue in the 21st century -- that the large number of illegal immigrants creates social and educational challenges and national security issues -- he still insists that other branches of government should not try to solve any part of the problem.
Common sense dictates that if a dam gives way you employ sand bags and begin repairs at once. Our borders are broken and the first thing to do is to fix them -- build walls, fences etc. If employers break the laws and hire illegal aliens, stop them and enforce the law. If we urge the use of Neighborhood Watch groups, what is wrong with utilizing national watch groups such as the Minutemen?
Yes, Mr. Schumacher, we are a nation of laws, and all we ask is that our government at all levels -- federal, state and local -- enforce our laws.
Is this too difficult for the intellectuals and those with the superior brain power to understand?
frank l. martano
HENDERSON
Phone etiquette
To the editor:
I am a "first-time volunteer" for one of our political candidates. I am respectful and courteous on the phone with a very brief message.
Yet, I am appalled and greatly disappointed by some of the reactions I have received from other citizens in our community.
I never imagined my polite, concise message would be reciprocated with an angry voice on the other end. I have been yelled at, hung up on, even cussed at for no other reason then saying, "Hello, I am a volunteer wondering if you would support my candidate." I even found myself apologizing repeatedly for inconveniencing the caller with my one-minute phone call.
I understand that telemarketers can be infuriating at times, but I am writing this letter to ask members of our community to think before they speak. I encourage you to think twice before you speak angrily to the next solicitor who calls. Contrary to popular belief, there is a difference between a volunteer taking a minute of your time in hopes that you will make an educated vote on Nov. 7 and a telemarketer harassing you.
Please think before you yell, cuss or hang up that phone next time. Think about the person on the other end who is more than likely an unpaid assistant who is passionate about politics, our community and our future in this state, and who also just got home from his or her full-time job just like you.
More importantly, think about what message you are sending to your children on how to treat other people. In my profession, I constantly remind young people every day to be kind and understanding of others. How incredibly disappointing that their parents cannot do the same. How disheartening that their aunts, uncles and other family members cannot model positive, accepting behavior in the home.
No wonder I continually have to teach proper etiquette and tolerance in my classroom in addition to my academic curriculum.
Shelby Walker
HENDERSON
Gibbons story
To the editor:
Why are people not talking about the more important issue in the Jim Gibbons story? The fact that he would walk an intoxicated person to her car so she could drive home is appalling.
I am not interested in the conversations they had -- or even if it was anything sexual. I don't care.
What I do care about is the lack of judgment by Mr. Gibbons -- or anyone in that group, for that matter -- in assisting a person to her car so she could drive through our city while intoxicated. By his own account, Mr. Gibbons says that Chrissy Mazzeo, the woman in question, "didn't walk in a straight line."
Shame on you, Jim Gibbons. Shame on you, Sig Rogich. I will certainly take your lack of judgment, and lack of empathy -- Gibbons is quoted as saying, "Gosh I learned an important lesson: never to offer a helping hand to anybody ever again" -- into account when I vote in a few weeks.
