Moderator bias gets in way of presidential debates

I believe moderators should not decide what questions to ask in a political debate. It should be the candidates themselves.

In the first presidential debate, I’m sure Hillary Clinton hoped Lester Holt would ask Donald Trump questions that were never asked. Likewise, Mr. Trump surely wanted questions posed to Mrs. Clinton that were never asked.

Moderators, being human, cannot resist trying to help whoever they favor. Perhaps the best example of that was Candy Crowley in 2012. It was very obvious that she dearly wanted Barack Obama to win.

If it is too far out to let the candidates ask the questions, at least permit them to decide the subjects. Let each candidate choose two subjects and then muzzle the moderator.

Verlon Berkemeyer

North Las Vegas

Cold read

Much has been reported regarding Donald Trump’s past business failings and the harm he has done to others. One should wonder how he can retain any popularity given his personal and temperamental shortcomings. Mr. Trump boasts onstage that he has the “best temperament” despite numerous videotapes and tweets that prove this false.

Watch any conversation in which Mr. Trump engages. He is a master of the cold-reading techniques used by mediums and psychics to convince people of claims for which there is no evidence. He has brought cold-reading into politics, along with the inane hand gestures used by spiritualists to impress suckers. The key is to milk any successes for all they are worth, and ignore or blame others for any mistakes you make. Partly because these techniques are so effective, millions of Americans believe that certain people can communicate with the dead.

Donald Trump has made it this far, largely because we live in an age in which critical and evidence-based thinking have taken a back seat to sensationalism. It also helps that, nowadays, anyone can feel justified by finding others online who share their views, no matter how ridiculous they may be.

William R. Fouts

Las Vegas

Oh, rats

Another comment about coyotes in urban areas. When we moved to Sun City Anthem in 2000, the coyotes had essentially disappeared from the area because of the construction of houses and the golf course. In 2002, residents filled the auditorium here to insist that Del Webb do something about the rats that had overrun the area. I personally killed more than 30 rodents.

They tried poison and traps, but had minimal success. Then rabbits proliferated as they bred like — well, rabbits. It wasn’t until the coyotes returned that the problem was solved, because rats and rabbits are the natural prey of the carnivores.

So enjoy the plaintive howl as you consider the alternative.

Unless, of course, you are fond of rats.

John McCarthy

Henderson

Where’s Evita?

I keep hearing Hillary Clinton talking about Donald Trump’s “inexperience.” Obviously, she has not looked at who is currently in the Oval Office.

As probably the worst eight years of “leadership” in our country’s history comes to an end, all we have to do is look at the record. We’ve seen the slowest economic recovery in history; an unconscionable increase in our national debt with nothing to show for it; a disastrous foreign policy that has alienated some of our strongest allies and helped fuel the rise of ISIS; a health plan that is a financial disaster as premiums continue to skyrocket; an even a bigger wedge in our society; the gutting of our military — and the list goes on.

Now we have a candidate who wants to continue these failed policies and continue to grow the government? When will this country wake up and see where we are headed?

Does Argentina ring a bell?

William W. Clark

Las Vegas