Library district doesn’t stock Huck Finn

To the editor:

I recently had to buy a copy of "Huckleberry Finn" at a bookstore because the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District does not have an adult edition of the classic. (That means one that is neither illustrated nor censored.)

Now that I have finished the paperback, I would be happy to donate it to the district, if that is possible. Since I am not on the waiting list for a pornographic trilogy, I also would like Jeanne Goodrich, the district's executive director, to tell me how to become one of her "diverse community of library users."

Brad Kersey

Las Vegas

Yucca foe

To the editor:

Regarding the May 13 letter from Nye County Commissioner Gary Hollis: I found it offensive that he again speaks as though he is representing all of Nevada, and especially Nye County, when he advocates for the Yucca Mountain Project.

He cites a poll in Reno which found 80 percent of respondents are for the Yucca Mountain Project. But that doesn't prove how the rest of us feel about the poison pit. And Mr. Hollis' comments about safety have never taken into consideration the potential for train wrecks while shipping nuclear waste from all over the country. All you have to do is pull up train wrecks to see that we have about 200 accidents a year - transporting the deadliest substance known to man is one more disaster waiting to happen.

Mr. Hollis claims the Yucca Mountain Project is supported by sound science, but these are words that George W. Bush tried to foist on us, and I think we have had enough of that.

Ever since the politicians in Washington passed the "Screw Nevada" bill, the Midwestern and East Coast states have been licking their chops to send the waste here so they can quit worrying about it. I don't think we should be responsible for their waste when these nuclear plants don't send us any electricity to lighten our load.

Richard A. Brown

Pahrump

Union raises

To the editor:

I keep hearing from the public-sector union officials that there is plenty of money for pay raises. Where this money is, I don't know. I do know, however, that the public-sector unions have plenty of money to spend on advertisements against the taxpayer and to support their politicians for re-election.

If the unions have so much money that they can waste it on advertisements for politicians, why don't they cut their union dues in half? That would give their members a pay raise.

Joseph Cassel

Las Vegas

Pressing matters

To the editor:

The lead story in the May 10 Review-Journal was President Obama's sanctioning of gay marriage.

I suppose for those gay couples wishing to tie the knot, this was of monumental importance, and I wish them well. For the rest of the citizenry in a divided country with a fragile economy, massive domestic and foreign problems and a very uncertain future, I say: Who cares? What's the difference? Fine with me. Congratulations!

If this issue is the linchpin on which a presidential election is to be decided, then both sides - liberal and conservative, Republican and Democrat - have truly missed the boat.

Whether gay marriage is a social, political, religious or moral issue, it is dwarfed by the much more immediate and certainly more important issues of economic recovery, international terrorism, ecological concerns, energy and, indeed, the future structure and philosophy of this once great nation.

President Obama and Mitt Romney, please focus on those issues that are germane to the recovery and growth of our country. If you gentlemen can solve these other problems, I'm sure the issue of gay marriage will be resolved as well.

George Evashwick

Bullhead City, Ariz.

Picking losers

To the editor:

While CEO of Bain Capital, Mitt Romney used private capital to try to make struggling private companies competitive. Sometimes it worked, and people got jobs. Other times it didn't and people lost jobs. Taxpayers weren't forced into investing in any of those businesses.

On the other hand, President Obama used taxpayer money to invest in Solyndra and numerous other companies that went bankrupt. Solyndra laid off 1,100 people, and taxpayers are on the hook for more than $500 million.

In fact the Obama administration has spent billions of taxpayer dollars on renewable energy programs that private investors want no part of. To add insult to injury, private investors (mainly Obama donors) were put ahead of taxpayers in the bankruptcy proceedings. Anyone remember how GM bondholders fared in the company's "bankruptcy" proceedings?

Government officials should not pick winners and losers. They are having a rough enough time trying to govern our country.

Robert Gardner

Henderson

Lay them off

To the editor:

Why don't members of the North Las Vegas City Council carry through on their continual threats? Go ahead and lay off people, especially the police and firefighters.

For years now, the council and Mayor Shari Buck threaten, threaten and threaten. Not unlike the school district. My suggestion: Do it. Quit the "I'm gonna" dog-and-pony show.

A lot of the blame should also go to Mayor Buck. She's been pandering to the police and firefighter unions for years to hold her job. She and the council have given away the store to these public employee unions with lavish, outrageous salaries and benefits that no one in the private sector can ever hope to see. She and the council should be decisive and lay off those greedy bums.

Better yet, the city should file for bankruptcy and trash all the current union contracts, and start over with salaries on par with the private sector - minus all of those goodies they enjoy now. There will be thousands of applicants standing in line to be a cop or firefighter, willing to work for a reasonable wage. And if current public employees find themselves out of work, they will get a small taste of what real life is all about. Perhaps then they'll stop being so greedy.

Brad Evans

Las Vegas