UNLV missed the boat on Augmon

One relatively simple question regarding the coaching revolving door at UNLV: Why would members of the selection committee — whoever they are — not tap Stacey Augmon as the new coach? Needless hand-wringing over an astronomical salary need not be a factor.

What would be a factor, however, is the right fit. Mr. Augmon has the right credentials to coach and win games. He is loyal to UNLV and has coaching experience going back as far as playing for and working with Jerry Tarkanian. And he has no interest in playing musical chairs with big-name basketball coaches from around the country who couldn’t care less about Rebel basketball so long as the price is right.

John Esperian

Las Vegas

Presidential meddling

Once again we see how President Obama has attempted to influence the Department of Justice’s FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton and her handling of email during her time as secretary of state by commenting about the matter on national television.

During an April 10 interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News, President Obama stated that he guaranteed there would be no political influence in the investigation and that he does not talk to the attorney general or the FBI about pending investigations. In other words President Obama says he knows nothing about the evidence that the FBI has collected nor any of the details of FBI witness interviews. He comes off like Sgt. Schultz in “Hogan’s Heroes,” who often stated, “I know nothing.”

During the same interview, however, the president stated that Hillary Clinton did not jeopardize America’s national security, although he acknowledged she was careless in managing her emails. He went on to praise her, calling her an “outstanding secretary of state who would never put America in any kind of jeopardy.”

President Obama’s track record shows this is how he interferes and influences high-level political investigations. This is exactly what he did when, prior to the completion of the probe into whether the IRS targeted conservative political groups, he stated on national television that there was “not one smidgen of evidence of wrongdoing” at the IRS.

If the president truly wanted to remain neutral in the investigation of Ms. Clinton, he should have declined comment and let the whole matter play out.

Believe me, his comments about the innocence or guilt of someone will have a big influence on the outcome of the Department of Justice’s decision in this case. But then I think you already knew that.

Michael O. Kreps

Las Vegas

Eye in the sky

Much has been said regarding Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and their proposals to conduct surveillance to identify radical elements of the poisonous strains of jihad that lurk within the Muslim communities in this country.

Well, unless America wakes up, it will find itself in the same position as Europe. For these reasons, FBI and police surveillance should be implemented without hesitation.

Thanks to liberalism in the United States, there is a strong reluctance to undertake surveillance in high-density Muslim areas even though it makes eminently good sense.

Bob Jack

Las Vegas