When you don’t have time to call the police

To the editor:

On Dec. 21 two dogs viciously attacked me as I came out of my house. Kicking and shouting at the dogs did no good. They continued to attempt to bite my feet and legs.

A well-placed hollow-point 9mm round from my CCW Glock 17 and the result was one dead dog, the other running away with his tail between his legs. (The event was duly reported to Las Vegas police - Event No. 121221-2354.)

I've resisted writing to you about gun control since the tragic event in Newtown, Conn., last month. This is because I feel so very badly for the families there, and, like many others, I cried for the senseless loss of those children. Furthermore, I have no rational reason why an AR-15 should be allowed for use by civilians, let alone mental nut cases.

But this I do know: I absolutely have a right to defend myself, and the evidence of the dog attack on me is all the proof anyone should need. You never know what will happen when you walk out of the door. You may need to defend yourself in an instant. Keep that in mind when you contact your senator or representative about sensible gun control.

J. DAN CONNELL

LAS VEGAS

Who led the mob

To the editor:

The passing of Judge Robert H. Bork is indeed sad, not only for our judicial system, but for all Americans, especially those of us who respected an individual who possessed a genuinely brilliant mind with an equal amount of rare common sense. His exceptional respect and defense of the greatest document ever devised by man - the United States Constitution - was beyond reproach.

But what is disgusting and sadder is what this great man was subjected to by a mob of un-American liberals, who denied him a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court through lies, smears and propaganda. And who do you think was the ringleader of this unholy gang?

It may surprise many to learn that it was our esteemed vice president, Joe Biden. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time, Smiling Joe convinced his fellow Democrats by a large majority to deny Mr. Bork a well-deserved promotion.

This is a reminder of what another great American, Clarence Thomas, underwent in defending himself from the same tactics and profusion of attacks against his character - lies, lies and more damned lies hurled by phony demagogue liberals.

In what may seem to have been somewhat of a miracle, Justice Thomas survived a prolonged inquisition and today is, without question, the best of the Supremes. May God continue his common-sense ethics and simple but important interrogatories: Is it true, and does it conform with constitutional principles?

VINCE BOGDAN

PAHRUMP

Justice for the goose

To the editor:

The young woman who purchased the guns for the convicted felon (I will not use his name) in the Webster, N.Y., shootings of his sister, the firemen and the police officer, was taken away in handcuffs and is being charged with crimes that could put her in prison for 10 years and result in $250,000 in fines. That is as it should be.

However, we have the U.S. Department of Justice, under Attorney General Eric Holder, not only purchasing guns (according to recent reports), but aiding and abetting in the transfer (called gun-walking, as in Fast and Furious) of approximately 2,000 high-powered weapons to the Mexican drug cartels, also known killers.

These guns were used to kill U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and hundreds of Mexican nationals, including Mexican teenagers at a graduation party, and more recently a young model.

Has anyone at the Justice Department or higher been arrested, been prosecuted, or in any way been held accountable - other than a few transfers and resignations? We only get stonewalling and incomplete investigation reports. Will this be swept away with the election, or will these people finally be held accountable and charged with the crimes that they have committed, as the young woman in New York has been charged? Or is it acceptable when carried out by a government agency?

It is interesting that the Congress wants to take away the right of individuals to own what they call "assault" rifles, but at the same time our government has armed drug gangs that spill their violence into our country with even more powerful assault weapons.

JEANNETTE WILEY

LAS VEGAS

Destroying employment

To the editor:

Nevada voters' economic ignorance prevails again. Their enactment of the minimum wage law has already helped push the minimum wage to $8.25, not including possible additional yearly increases. Now some are proposing an increase to $10 per hour!

Along with these increases come higher prices for goods and services with little or no benefit to wage earners, more inexperienced laborers in the unemployment line, and layoffs due to the impossibility of worker productivity increasing more than 20 percent to match the wage increase.

What good does it do to raise an individual's pay and then take it away due to an increase in the cost of goods? Decades of economic research show that artificially raising the cost to hire and train employees may force employers to replace their jobs with automated, self-service alternatives.

A mere 2 percent of workers over age 25 have minimum-wage jobs. These earners have declined from 7.8 million to 2 million during the past quarter-century, while the population grew. Out of 73 million American hourly workers, 520,000 earn the minimum wage - less than 1 percent!

And 90 percent of those with minimum wage jobs are high school and college students and seniors supplementing their incomes. Higher skilled workers now accept unskilled labor, making it more difficult for the unskilled and teens to find work. The unemployment rate for Nevadans from ages 16 to 24 is now a whopping 21.8 percent.

Any head of a household making minimum wage qualifies for government-funded food, housing and health care subsidies that drive wages up to almost $15 an hour, depending on the state. To claim there are household heads who are raising three kids on $5.15 per hour is slightly more than disingenuous. The whole point of entry-level jobs is to provide opportunity to learn and grow, not a career.

Minimum wage laws create unemployment. But apparently that's a small price to pay so American progressives can feel good about themselves.

TOM LUSCHER

HENDERSON