Desalination the answer to water woes

To the editor:

Your article last week on what we can expect in the near future as drought conditions worsen made me think about it. As I also live in the desert, I have an idea how we can get all the water we need on an unlimited basis without touching the ground water.

What we need are large water storage areas -- and we already have those. Think Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Lake Havasu and Lake Mohave. The beauty of it is I haven't even touched on other lakes across the United States.

Where is this unlimited resource of water going to come from? It's already here. It's called the ocean. We could set up desalinization plants either at the ocean and then pump it to our lakes or build the plants at the lake and just pump the water from the ocean for processing.

These plants could be built by the states where the lakes are located or co-opted by the states surrounding the lake. That way they would have control of their resource and share the expenses to build these plants.

I would hope that by now our technology could take on this undertaking and not treat it as a pipe dream. If we were able to send men to the moon in the '60s I would think that we could build a pipe to get the water to the lakes and build the plants necessary to convert the water.

We owe this to our generation and our future generations. Water affects our way of life when it comes to farming, livestock, fishing, sports, drinking water and our parks to name a few.

Jerry Miller

KINGMAN, ARIZ.

Equal power

To the editor:

Wednesday's editorial, "In the dust," was critical of the Democrats, as it should have been.They have been mostly talk, lately.

One thing overlooked, though, was the fact that Democrats have restored congressional oversight, somewhat. The president has been trying to avoid oversight. But the Democrats have seen to it with hearings that the administration has to be just as answerable as everyone else. That was missing when the Republicans ran Congress.

Power has been restored to the three branches equally, not weighted in favor of the White House. There is not many things I would thank Democrats for, but this is one of them.

ROBERT HARRISON

LAS VEGAS

Feeding the fire

To the editor:

"It is our feeling that this is only the beginning. We must have a broad discussion on what is permitted and not permitted in terms of the airwaves." This is a quote by Al Sharpton about Don Imus' comment on the Rutgers women's basketball team. Mr. Sharpton and Jesse Jackson said the Imus statement was a racist slur.

All the "so-called" reverends need to do is take a trip to any school in America and see that the people who use these racist slurs are often African-Americans.

Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Jackson want more regulations of the airwaves to stop racist slurs. If that were to happen, how many African-American rap singers would that put out of work? Or is it OK for them -- but nobody else -- to talk that way? Now that sounds a lot like prejudice and favoritism to me.

But all one has to ask himself is: If there were no racism or hatred, who would be out of a job?

Kind of makes you wonder if the two "so-called" reverends are really all that motivated to stop racism. Or maybe they just need to keep feeding the fire.

Jim Blockey

LAS VEGAS

Illegal benefits

To the editor:

I read with amused amazement the Tuesday report from the Legislature where state Sen. Steven Horsford proposed an amendment to Senate Bill 415 that would continue college benefits for illegal aliens after they promise to become U.S. citizens. If they fail to seek citizenship, they would be required to pay the benefits money back.

Did Sen. Horsford really mean we should take IOU's from illegal aliens?

I've got a better idea. If we are going to give them benefits, why not give them refunds after they meet the requirements?

DICK LAIRD

LAS VEGAS

Dirty trick

To the editor:

On April 11, reporter Molly Ball wrote that the willingness of Gov. Jim Gibbons to put any stock in the idea that a national publication would take a payoff from the Democratic National Committee is bizarre.

We will never forget the forged documents provided to Dan Rather at CBS and reported on "60 Minutes" just before the 2004 presidential elections.

Those lie-filled "official" records were probably the work of the DNC or John Kerry. so do not put it past Dina Titus or her campaign to pull this kind of dirty trick for which the Democrats are becoming known.

Roman Lesniak

HENDERSON