Government bailouts not the proper solution
To the editor:
In regard to the Obama administration's plan to own one half of General Motors stock:
If shaking Hugo Chavez's hand wasn't bad enough, apparently now the president wants to adopt his economic policies. What will we nationalize after the auto industry? The airlines? Oil and gas? Lumber? The government can't even run the government right. Do we really want them running private industry?
GM needs to go bankrupt and be reorganized -- or, better yet, get bought out. That is what happens to bad companies that produce products no one wants.
The Obama administration argues that GM is too important to be allowed to fail. That is interesting, but nonsensical. It's a company like any other; it's not special just because it has a lot of employees in the Midwest. Have we time warped back to the '80s, when we refused to give kids an F on their report card because we were afraid of hurting their self-esteem?
Stop coddling GM. Every time we bail out a bad company, we punish good companies by denying them market share they rightfully earned. Bail out United, and we punish Southwest. Bail out GM, and we punish Ford and Toyota.
As long as the government owns one single share of GM stock, I will never buy one of their vehicles.
Jeremy Robins
LAS VEGAS
Vital care
To the editor:
Many Nevadans are already having difficulty finding a physician to care for them. There is a shortage of physicians nationwide, and Nevada has the fewest doctors per population in the nation for multiple reasons.
There is a shortage of training positions in many specialty areas of medicine, and physicians who complete their training have their choice of many job offers. It is already difficult to attract quality physicians to Nevada; a state with declining funding for education, arid topography, limited cultural resources, and one of the largest uninsured populations in the nation.
Although Nevada has its own training programs for medical residents, we offer among the fewest training positions in the Western states.
There are not enough new doctors being trained and there is a "graying" of those of us in practice. The average age of a cardiologist, for instance, is 51 years old. More alarmingly, the average age of a primary care physician in Nevada is about the same. Physicians too are human, and subject to all the same aging issues that limit the number of years any person can work hard. Thus, replacement of our aging ranks is a growing issue.
The passage of AB495, which would overturn the medical liability reform initiative passed by Nevada voters, would critically impair our ability to recruit new physicians. With multiple practice opportunities to choose from, why would a young physician want to expose himself to an unpredictable and toxic malpractice climate?
If you are having difficulty finding a primary care physician or specialist now, imaging how the passage of this bill is going to impact your future health care.
Please tell your state senator to oppose AB495.
RICHARD SEHER
LAS VEGAS
THE WRITER IS PRESIDENT OF THE NEVADA STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.
Matter of freedom
To the editor:
I just read the April 17 letter, "Hurting our health." Second- and third-hand smoke kills more people than AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined? Really? If anybody believes that, I have a used car for sale.
In the 1950s, when I was a teenybopper, I smoked, my parents smoked, my doctor smoked, everybody smoked. Women smoked during pregnancies.
Let's face reality. Smoking stinks, and is unpopular. So? Do we want gaming revenues up or gaming revenues down? Las Vegas is a smoker-friendly place for a reason. Smokers are gamblers. Ask Herbst. The smoking ban cost them a fortune. Ask the governor how much less tax money the state has because of it.
People don't have a right to put someone out of business. It's incredibly simple. When a smoker bothers me, I move. If the casino is too smoky, I go elsewhere. It's called freedom. They have a right to make money, and I have a right to gamble where I choose.
You can bet, as soon as it will be profitable, someone will open a totally non-smoking casino.
RICHARD SANTA MARIA
LAS VEGAS
Flu panic
To the editor:
What a big joke the swine flu, bird flu and mad cow disease are. Every three years these diseases are recycled and no more than 200 people out of 7 billion die on the planet.
I'll bet every day at least 200 people die who ate at McDonald's the day before.
Print some real news.
Kipp Altemara
LAS VEGAS
Registration, please
To the editor:
I have been a resident of Las Vegas for eight years and I am very angry. Why? Because so many new residents come to live here and never register their vehicles.
If the proper authorities would address this issue, Clark County and the rest of the state would generate a large amount of revenue.
WILLIAM DOMINGUEZ
LAS VEGAS
Tortured reasoning
To the editor:
Jane M. Donahoe's Wednesday rant regarding Jay S. Bybee signing the torture memo leaves me a little confused. She's obviously dead set against torture, but on the other hand, she would tar Mr. Bybee.
I guess tarring someone (doesn't that fit into a category such as torture?) for writing an opinion as part of his professional function is OK, but trying to get information from those that would behead people and attack our country is just plain wrong.
Paul Harper
HENDERSON
Fighting words
To the editor:
Two bills passed by the Legislature this session are receiving distinctly different attention from the media and vocal citizenry.
One is the "softening" of the voter-approved no-smoking law. Some local news organizations and opinioned voters see it as a circumvention of the voters' desires.
The second is the approval of the bill to legitimize and protect same-sex and domestic partnership relationships. It has received nary a peep of criticism and is instead praised -- even though Nevada voters have approved a ban on gay marriage.
It would seem that it depends on which side of the agenda wall you stand as to how you feel about the will of the people.
There doesn't seem to be much room for concession, diplomacy and discussion about some issues. So it comes down to, "Gentlemen, to your corners and come out fighting."
KENT RISCHLING
LAS VEGAS
