Throw out the bums and their bills

To the editor:

A little scrutiny of the photo on Sunday's Viewpoints cover, showing the Nevada Assembly, reveals why our lawmakers cannot get anything of note done. This also applies to the U.S. Congress. Look closely and you will see about 15 bills on every Assembly member's desk. Each bill appears to be well over 1,000 pages.

Someone had to write all that nonsense, and to do it probably cost us taxpayers more than a small chunk of change. Further, I would bet a dollar to a penny that none of the legislators read any of them. They are most likely written by bureaucratic staff, which brings to mind Rep. Nancy Pelosi's famous quote, "We must pass the bill so you can see what's in it."

Even further, none of those bills are likely to have anything but gobbledygook, which can be interpreted by the sponsor in any way he chooses.

My answer is this: Throw the bums out, along with their bills, then pass bills that are no more than a few pages long, which are written in plain English with a statement of the law to be enacted and a page on how to pay for the thing. It's our money they are spending here. Time to get real.

DON HARTEN

LAS VEGAS

Debates and the media

To the editor:

Political debates are not the property of the Fourth Estate. Today, these "debates" are too often just theater presented by the media, who have interjected themselves into the process to the extent of impacting the results.

Although the pundits of the media might disagree, these debates should be limited to the serious issues the candidates wish to explore, and not the plethora of less important social issues and "gotcha" agendas of the cunning inquisitors. Current debates interject an unnecessary participant into the procedure, almost always with a partisan flavor.

Perhaps the best example of media moderator abuse in these debates was the recent Obama-Romney debacle overseen by Candy Crowley of CNN. Her partisanship became apparent in her selection of questions and her control of the discussion. She was to be a non-participating moderator, but she interrupted Mitt Romney 28 times, and even interfered in an argued point between the candidates to erroneously volunteer that Mr. Romney was wrong in his assertion. She repeatedly tended to cut off Mr. Romney's argument on a pretense of time fairness, yet she afforded the president almost 10 percent more of the allocated time.

We should demand a new debate format without media moderators, and with the participants allowed to address any issue they desire, after agreeing on time factors. We don't need the contamination of the media icons. Let the candidates speak for themselves!

JOHN TOBIN

LAS VEGAS

Drunken drivers

To the editor:

Drunken drivers have a free pass in Nevada.

Recently, four innocent people were slaughtered at a bus stop by a drunken driving suspect. Last year, a drunken driver kills a 12-year-old girl, yet he is allowed to go free and last month is caught driving drunk again. Where the hell is the outrage?

It is no secret that many of these drunken slobs on the road have a rap sheet showing prior offenses for DUI. The government has zero tolerance for drugs, but it does not want to admit that alcohol, a drug, is in fact a gateway drug. Marijuana is not the gateway drug. Booze is.

My thought is that courts should not be lenient on drunken drivers. First offense, the drunk should lose his license for six months, or do six months in jail. Second offense, a year without a license or a year in jail. Third offense is strike three. They lose their license, period, and if a drunken driver causes a death, whether it is the first or third offense, they go to prison for at least seven years.

I predict that if these drunks have their license taken away for six months or spend six months in jail away from society and family on the first offense, it will make a believer out of them. No employment and loss of income for those six months will also be a teaching moment for these inconsiderate sleaze balls. The consequences of getting behind a wheel while under the influence should bring them to their senses.

It is unacceptable to see these judges release the drunks back onto the street with prior records of five to 10 DUI offenses. However, I should mention that many officials have an alcohol problem themselves. The media across the country report daily on people in government, from district attorneys to councilmen and lawmakers, being caught driving drunk or shooting up the neighborhood wile drunk. As long as the booze-loving lawmakers are running the asylum, not too much will change.

BRADLEY KUHNS

LAS VEGAS

Won't vote

To the editor:

Why won't I vote? I am tired of all the garbage that comes our way every four years. Voters are just numbers. The candidates don't care what we need and want. The lies just pour out of their mouths. We are tired of carrying the financial weight of the garbage.

The lobbyists are the only winners. Get rid of the pork. Maybe all the officials and their aides should take a pay cut. Let them drive their own cars and, God forbid, pay for their gas, especially when it's $4 a gallon and going up.

Things are more expensive, and the product is smaller. The common people are stuck with higher taxes and don't get a chance to build a better life. The answer? We do without, and life gets harder.

CAROLE BAGGETT

HENDERSON