Vegas will miss gourmet restaurant
To the editor:
It was with much disappointment that my wife and I read that Michael and Wendy Jordan had closed their restaurant, Rosemary's ("Gourmet restaurant closes," Thursday Review-Journal). This is huge loss for those of us who really appreciate gourmet dining in a very warm and friendly atmosphere.
Over the years since Rosemary's was opened, we have enjoyed wonderful meals, mainly while sitting at the food bar chatting with owners Wendy and Michael Jordan and their team. The food and wine never disappointed.
We already miss you, Rosemary's.
Ted McAdam
Diana McAdam
Las Vegas
By the lines
To the editor:
In a Thursday editorial, you criticize Reno District Court Judge James Russell's plan to redraw Nevada's congressional districts: "Try as he might, Judge Russell simply can't take the politics out of an inherently political process."
I disagree; nothing could be simpler. Don't take input for party lawyers, just think like an engineer. It took me two minutes.
There is a principal of geometry that tells us that the more compact a shape the shorter its perimeter or boundaries in comparison to the area enclosed. A circle is the most compact and a long, skinny rectangle one of the least. This means the more gerrymandered a district, the greater its boundary length. So:
1. Draw an east-west line sufficiently far south that in encloses 25 percent of the state population. I guess this will be about Ann Road: everything north is the 2nd Congressional District.
2. Draw another east-west line further south such that everything south of the line encloses another 25 percent of the state population. I guess this will be about Russell Road. Everything south is the 3rd Congressional District.
3. Half of Nevada's population is now located between these two east-west lines, so draw a north-south line to split this area with 25 percent of the population on each side. Interstate 15 would probably work well. The east half is the 1st Congressional District and the west half is the 4th Congressional District.
No politics, short boundaries, balanced populations with reasonably similar interests. What's so hard?
John M McGrail
Las Vegas
Harry Lying
To the editor:
I am confused. On March 28, Sen. Harry Reid speaking to a meeting of "retiree activists" declared that Social Security was fiscally in fine shape and that, "Two decades from now, I'm willing to revisit it."
Fast forward a little over three months. Now he states that without a debt ceiling deal Social Security payments "would stop."
Question: Was he lying then or is he lying now?
We deserve the type of leadership we elect.
Larry Marske
Las Vegas
Stop spending
To the editor:
There is an old saying about the "truth shall set you free." I believe that today the real truth has finally come out of our politicians' mouths -- and it's time to hear it and believe it.
President Obama announced this week -- and his White House adviser has made the same comment -- that he cannot guarantee all of us seniors who are on Social Security will get our checks after Aug. 3. He went on to state that there wouldn't be sufficient funds to pay us.
Wow, whatever happened to that famous "lock box" we have been told about forever? What happened to the "Trust Fund" for Social Security? Could it possibly be that we have been lied to for years?
As a matter of fact, all of my fellow senior citizens need to wake up and see that we were lied to by the presidents, Congress and most of the news media. The United States is drowning in debt and we Americans have to set this straight. Now is the time to cut back on the excessive spending that has gone on for years.
Americans have a choice to make. Either reduce federal spending or go broke. If the United States cuts out the deficit spending now, we won't have to raise the arbitrary debt ceiling, we won't have to continue to borrow money from foreign nations and we will not default on any debt.
No one seems to want to talk about the trillions of dollars that flow into the U.S. Treasury on a regular basis. This is money that can pay our debt, pay Social Security and pay most of our bills. We just have to stop over, spending just as you or I would if we found ourselves in the same position. This is common sense, but no one in Washington seems to have any, so I guess the scare tactics, the rumor mongering and the political lies will go on until we are finally broke and our future generations can't earn enough money to pay the outrageous debt that we have put on them.
Bob Dubin
Las Vegas
Obama compromise
To the editor:
It appears our president has a different stance now that he is trying to get GOP support for his deficit reduction ideas by coercing them to renege on campaign promises not to raise taxes. Now you hear terms such as "negotiate" and "compromise" coming from his lips.
Where were these words when his party had control of both houses of Congress and he was railroading all kind of excessive measures through such as bailouts, earmarks and his "Holy Grail" -- the health care bill, which includes more tax hikes than medical verbiage?
Mr. Obama now expresses a desire to get control of the deficit and says we owe it to our children and grandchildren. Yet in the same breathe, he states he expects to take significant heat from his party. I wonder to whom he feels more loyalty.
Robert Latchford
Henderson
Spaced out
To the editor:
We were in awe of America's space ventures. Now we're putting NASA down? No layoffs, please. Keep the astronauts. Plan trips to Mars and beyond.
We were inspired by the genius of it all. Now without a dream, where are we? Ship jobs skyward. C'mon, space is for us to dream forward on.
Gil Stern
Las Vegas
