A very narrow view of the world

To the editor:

I find it interesting that, in his Sunday response to your editorial, Gary Peck and the ACLU have decided the definition of torture, and no one else can possibly have a viable dissenting opinion. I didn't know the ACLU had the final word on U.S. law.

Nothing we did in our interrogations put the lives of these people in jeopardy. Worse things have been done to pledges at college fraternity initiations. It may have made them uncomfortable for a time, but there was nothing done that created irreparable physical harm. Any aftereffects that may leave them to desire professional help are more in the realm of "Dr. Phil" than an orthopedist.

Mr. Peck's comments about international outrage against the Bush administration and the lawyers who presented their opinions on interrogation techniques reflect a very narrow view of the world. If the words "Abu Ghraib" and "Gitmo" invoke anger around the world, where is the ACLU's anger against those who beheaded Daniel Pearl? What about the Americans who were captured by some of the Islamist extremists we have either captured or killed in battle? Where is the rest of the world's outrage? How many captured Americans were released?

With the exception of Jessica Lynch, who our forces went after and rescued, Americans in both operations who were captured have been brutally executed. Where is your outrage there, Mr. Peck? You're not screaming for those individuals to be hauled into court. In fact, the ACLU is actually advocating for some of them to be released.

I agree the United States should set the example for how to treat POWs, and it does. No other nation on Earth has gone through or would ever go through the amount of angst we have.

David Gibbs

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Slow on the draw

To the editor:

Jim Day's editorial cartoon of May 22 was awful. He has maligned the character of Dick Cheney, a good and patriotic man. I challenge him to come up with any proof to back up his accusation.

I'm sure the increasingly far-left staff at the Review-Journal was amused. But real people won't accept such unwarranted denigration.

A qualified editorial cartoonist is both insightful and humorous. Mr. Day is neither.

David Carter

LAS VEGAS

Harry fan

To the editor:

I saw the new TV hate campaign from the Grand Old Party. We see a bumbling old man back in 1986 mumbling about fiercely independent Nevadans not wanting Sen. Harry Reid. This is 2009, and Mr. Reid is the leader of the Senate, having been elected over and over again by ... guess who? Right, us fiercely independent Nevadans.

They just don't get it.

P.C. Rustigian

LAS VEGAS

Thanks a lot

To the editor:

President Obama says we should thank Harry Reid for his help implementing his agenda. Let me be among the first to do so.

Thanks, Sen. Reid. Because of your senatorial skills, you helped the president pass spending bills that not one Democrat needed to read before voting yes. What a time saver. What a remarkable achievement.

Thanks, Sen. Reid, for helping our president enact a budget that triples down on our debt. No senator has even tried such a phenomenal task. Only Sen. Reid could help our president to expand our government like this.

Thank you, Sen. Reid, for helping our president get us out of that lost war in Iraq. Oh wait ... never mind that one.

And thanks for your anticipated help in shutting down those idiots on talk radio. Who do they think they are? Free speech is obstructing our president from cramming down, er ... passing important reforms.

There is so much more I want to thank Sen. Reid for, but the list is simply too long, so let me just say thank you for your devotion to our president's plan to convert this country to the biggest welfare state on the planet. I can't wait to quit working so I can enjoy the benefits of someone else's labor.

Thanks, Sen. Reid.

Anthony Nix

BOULDER CITY

F grade

To the editor:

Seventy million dollars is required to reopen F Street to downtown? (Review-Journal, Wednesday) Really? Even though I live in the northwest part of the city, there are many north/south streets that dead end, leaving me, all of us here, without direct access to downtown, the Strip and Summerlin. Hey, we could use a little access help, too.

Here is a solution to the F Street dilemma. Put the $70 million into a trust fund for 10 years. Draw down only the tax-free interest, about $2.1 million annually. Use this money to pay for free bus transportation for anyone who needs to travel to and from the affected community to downtown. That's 600,000 round-trip bus rides every year. The 10-year subsidy should give everyone living there ample notice about F Street being cut off.

Richard Rychtarik

LAS VEGAS