LETTERS: UNLV mascot now morally indefensible
To the editor:
For years, I have had issues with state university sponsorship of football and basketball programs. The NHL and Major League Baseball have their respective minor and development leagues; I can’t understand why the NFL and NBA rely on state or privately supported institutions to maintain their de facto minor leagues, also known as NCAA sports.
I’m not wholly unsympathetic to the now passé notion of student athletics; 50 years ago, Mike Krzyzewski and I received our diplomas on the stage of Weber High School in Chicago.
But that’s not why I am writing. I’m writing as a UNLV graduate and local professional. In light of the tragedy in Charleston, S.C., the continued use of “Runnin’ Rebels” as the UNLV mascot — sanitized though it may be — is morally indefensible.
MICHAEL MAS
LAS VEGAS
Church of Climate Change
To the editor:
Finally. For all these years, I thought those touting global warming and all the supposedly bad things it does to the planet were acting like an organized religion. Now, the most recognizable religious leader on the planet is confirming those thoughts (“Pope demands ‘decisive action’ on climate,” June 19 Review-Journal).
Climate change alarmists want us believe something that has no basis in fact or evidence. Predictions about the future are not facts. They’re speculation. Religions also ask us to believe in something. And Pope Francis has just endorsed the Church of Climate Change.
CURTIS WILLIAMS
HENDERSON
Social Security
To the editor:
Judith Smith’s commentary proposes to save Social Security by establishing an Early Retirement Account (“Social Security needs a serious solvency solution”). How does that differ from an individual retirement account or 401(k) plan? IRAs can be accessed at age 59½.
What would work better would be to discontinue pensions and retirement health plans at all levels of government. Put all those workers on Social Security and Medicare, and you will see some real changes.
ROBERT RAIDER
HENDERSON
Honest workers pay price
To the editor:
Consumers purchase homes they can’t afford and walk away from their loans. Hard-working, responsible people have to pay higher interest rates because of those consumers’ mistakes. People who have more children than they can afford to support seek financial support from the government. Hard-working, responsible people have their income reduced via taxes to support those who are not responsible.
People enter the country illegally with minimal skills and non-English-speaking children to enjoy a better life. Honest, hard-working people have to pay higher taxes for increased health care and educational costs to support those who come here. Politicians, beholden to special interests that financed their campaigns, vote for higher taxes to fund lavish public-sector wages and benefits. Private-sector workers pay higher taxes to provide that lifestyle for public-sector workers.
Voters who have little interest or time to understand the political issues are prey to amoral politicians who continually lie to hide their true intent. Laws are passed that are not in the best interest of the voters. The public is naive, befuddled and believes that the government generates money, not American citizens. The travesty continues, and hard-working, honest citizens are fleeced of their earnings, only some of which is given to those deemed in need.
BRIAN AIKEN
LAS VEGAS
