Latest attack on Harry Reid ignored the facts

To the editor:

The Review-Journal is entitled to its opinion, but not to its own set of facts. Your Friday editorial claiming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is blocking an investigation of ACORN relied on false information in an effort to misrepresent Sen. Reid's position. That's a disservice to Nevadans.

Sen. Reid has previously and consistently denounced the actions of the ACORN employees in question. He strongly supports the investigations that are already under way by the Department of Justice and other federal and state entities. Contrary to Texas Sen. John Cornyn's misleading statement, which the Review-Journal decided to print without asking Sen. Reid for comment, Sen. Reid is not blocking Senate committees from investigating ACORN if they deem such inquiries appropriate.

Sen. Reid is fighting every day to bring jobs back to Nevada, fix our nation's broken health care system and diversify our state's economy.

The Review-Journal is the largest and most-read newspaper in the state of Nevada, and with that power comes the responsibility to not run misleading editorial headlines when they know better.

Jon Summers

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The writer is Nevada communications director for U.S. Sen. Harry Reid.

Be afraid

To the editor:

Two articles in Monday's Review-Journal caught my eye. The first was headlined, "Half in poll favor taxing richest Americans more." I will bet anyone a dollar to a doughnut that the 50 percent who are in favor are the same 50 percent who pay no federal income taxes in the first place. It reminds me of a Benjamin Franklin quote: "When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."

The second article was headlined, "Job losses hit program." In the 15-paragraph article about Social Security, the Associated Press writer addresses a "surplus." It isn't until the last two sentences that the writer acknowledges the "surplus" is a farce. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have spent all of the money we have paid into Social Security on other government programs and replaced the funds with IOUs.

And just think, about 40 percent of the people actually believe the government will be able to run our health care system.

Be afraid -- be very afraid!

Robert Gardner

HENDERSON