LETTERS: Downtown arena supporters delusional
To the editor:
So, the mayors Goodman — former Mayor Oscar Goodman and current Mayor Carolyn Goodman — along with some Las Vegas City Council members, all joined at the hip with The Cordish Company, want our help to build a grand arena that will attract millions. Who are these millions that Cordish, in its “if you build it, they will come” delusion, expects to walk through the turnstiles? (“Pro-arena faction wins bloody victory,” Thursday Review-Journal.)
Perhaps they are the monorail riders who were projected. Or maybe they’re the out-of-town throngs we were promised would pay exorbitant fees to visit the Springs Preserve. Could they be the fanatical sports fans who fill Sam Boyd Stadium for UNLV football games? Or maybe they are the money people whom the city of Henderson guaranteed would build the Nevada State Boondoggle — er, College — and not burden taxpayers.
Cordish claims it can attract 140 events annually to this grand edifice. If that declaration proves true, the Thomas &Mack Center, the MGM arena in the works and the stadium/arena under study for UNLV could end up taking on the ghostly appearance of something in Rhyolite.
I’ve passed up many opportunities to buy the Brooklyn Bridge. I just hope the Las Vegas City Council will do the same.
DENNIS HETHERINGTON
LAS VEGAS
Right to life
To the editor:
I have to respond to the tired, old, false argument put forth once again by a pro-abortion advocate, David Adams (“Abortion debate,” Saturday Review-Journal letters). Mr. Adams doesn’t know “why some people believe that a woman has absolutely no right to control her own health and her own body.” As a woman and mother of four, I don’t know anyone who believes that.
I do know many, though, who understand that our personal rights end where another’s begin. I can extend my fist as much as I want, unless your nose happens to be in the way. Ironically, laws banning smoking are all over, because many don’t believe smokers have the right to compromise the health of others with second-hand smoke. I want every woman to control her health and her family planning. I don’t want a say in when, how, or the number of children another woman has, and I don’t want anyone else to have to pay for her decisions.
However, once a woman’s decisions have led to another life being created, that life has rights, too. And make no mistake, current technology shows a beating human heart before many women even discover that they’re pregnant. What kind of person believes that snuffing out a beating, functional human heart is OK? Infants, toddlers and children of all ages are highly dependent on others for their survival, as are many elderly and disabled people. At what stage of development is it OK to toss them out like garbage because it’s not a convenient time in our life to care for them?
Society dictates our actions all the time — with laws and regulations. Many of us believe we should all have the freedom to live our lives any way we see fit, as long as that freedom involves acting responsibly toward others. And that responsibility should absolutely involve acknowledging another human being’s most basic right — the right to live — no matter how vulnerable that person is.
CARON PARRISH
HENDERSON
Moapa zoo
To the editor:
It is unfortunate that the small zoo in Moapa has become the target of county officials (“County shuts down Moapa zoo,” Friday Review-Journal). This zoo is open only on a very limited basis. Portable toilets are used when these events are held. During special events at our Clark County Fairgrounds in Logandale, what will you find? Portable toilets. How can the county use them for special events and deny their use for private events?
It sounds as if there is some other agenda at work in this case. Perhaps, since there was an alleged complaint, someone needs to investigate the origin and motives of this complaint.
KATHERINE J. PEEK
MOAPA
Christie vs. Hillary
To the editor:
In his letter to the editor in Saturday’s Review-Journal, Richard Simms defends New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the Bridgegate scandal. Mr. Simms says “I know of no agencies or companies that are aware of all that happens among their underlings.”
It’s true that it would be impossible for a large organization to be aware of all that happens with employees. However, Gov. Christie had been asked about the lane closures after they happened, and in the months to follow. He chose to ignore or belittle those who complained, until the day he couldn’t deny it anymore because there was proof of misdeeds. Then and only then did he take action. If he was truly innocent, why didn’t he ask questions before this?
On the same page as Mr. Simms’ letter, there was a cartoon about Benghazi and how it could be a permanent stain, but former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been investigated over and over. The latest probe shows Ambassador Chris Stevens to be partly responsible.
I would assume Mr. Simms’ thoughts on monitoring underlings also applies to Mrs. Clinton, because the State Department is a very large organization.
The right continues to hammer Mrs. Clinton about Benghazi, without any facts to prove its point, although not for a lack of trying. Her “what difference does it make” comment has been continually taken out of context. She said it doesn’t matter if the cause was from a hated film, or from terrorists, but what is important is that four Americans died and that steps had to be taken to be sure it doesn’t happen again.
JANICE HERR
LAS VEGAS
