LETTERS: Democrats deserved voters’ support

To the editor:

The media uproar over Jonathan Gruber’s remarks about stupid voters is laughable. Let us examine the facts supporting the MIT professor’s assertions.

Since President Barack Obama came to power, the unemployment rate has steadily gone down, millions of uninsured people have medical insurance, and the auto industry is healthy again. The stock market has hit an all-time high, which in turn has improved 401(k) holdings of the working middle class, and gas prices have come down.

We continue to support the military industrial complex by not reducing one penny from the defense/Homeland Security budget, we continue to encourage weapons production by using up the existing Tomahawk missiles on a hyper-exaggerated threat from the Muslim world, and Ebola is under control.

With all these accomplishments, voters should have wholeheartedly supported President Obama and his party in the last election. But what happened was a classic case of misinformed and stupid voter reaction, to defeat most of the Democrats and bring in the clowns. If you still think Mr. Gruber is out of line, stop reading the newspaper and watch the Kardashians.

GOPAL RAO

LAS VEGAS

Undocumented immigrants

To the editor:

Right now, undocumented immigrants are probably celebrating. President Barack Obama issued an executive order that “temporarily” gives many of them freedom from deportation, as well as the ability to obtain jobs in the open economy.

When discussing this order, its advocates all indicate that it is justified by the fact that Congress has failed to act to improve undocumented immigrants’ status, so the president had to act. I am trying to understand why. Crossing a country’s border without permission is illegal. Undocumented immigrants are aware of this.

Nevertheless, undocumented immigrants have chosen to violate this country’s laws by crossing our borders without permission. In the time they have been here, they may have obtained employment, working off the books for a cash payment from which no taxes are withheld. Alternatively, they may have used a forged or stolen Social Security card to obtain more remunerative employment at a job that would otherwise have gone to an unemployed American.

These immigrants send their children to our schools, where they are fed and educated at the taxpayers’ expense. If they become sick or get injured, they go to one of our hospitals and receive treatment at the taxpayers’ expense. Some of them manage to obtain welfare payments through falsified applications, and receive food, clothing and shelter at the expense of the taxpayers.

Although Obama’s executive order applies “only” to those undocumented immigrants who have resided in this country for at least five years, I understand that there is already a brisk market to provide falsified documents to establish their presence here for that period of time.

After crossing our borders without permission, working here without paying taxes or through the use of falsified or stolen identification, these immigrants seem to believe that they have some right to have their status improved. How can they justify this? From the circumstances of their behavior — flouting our laws and avoiding any of the duties and responsibilities of citizenship — how can they say they should qualify for a path to earning citizenship?

MICHAEL BERNSTEIN

LAS VEGAS

Sports page shortcomings

To the editor:

Kudos to Ken Catron for writing a letter to voice what many of us have felt about the Review-Journal’s lack of sports coverage (“Lacking sports coverage,” Nov. 23 Review-Journal). A few years back, I complained to the sports editor about the removal of information about local baseball players in the minor leagues, and the lack of NCAA individual football statistics.

Also, the Review-Journal went to publishing just a paragraph about each major league baseball game. One paragraph! The reason given was the paper was “trying to save ink.”

If the Review-Journal wants to become a metropolitan newspaper, it’s going about it the wrong way. I’m all for covering the home teams, but those teams are not sports fans’ only interest. And please don’t tell me to go online to get the information. If I go online, I don’t need a newspaper.

DAVE KLIMEK

LAS VEGAS

Advice after Ferguson

To the editor:

So after what’s happened in Ferguson, Mo., where do we go from here? I think I figured it out.

My teenage granddaughter and I watched the news roll out on the grand jury decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson. I then offered her the following advice: If you are walking in the middle of the street and a police officer pulls up to you, and tells you to walk on the sidewalk because it is against the law to walk in the street, do not reach into the police car and start hitting the officer in the face — because he may shoot you.

I hope she heeds my advice.

JERRY STEFFES

LAS VEGAS