No offense meant to patriotic tourists

To the editor:

Much has been made of my comments at the opening of the Capitol Visitors Center. Anyone who took the time to watch my statement or read it in full knows the point I was making: I'm always pleased when the Capitol is filled with citizens eager to learn about our country's great history and the work we do in that historic building.

It is a symbol of freedom to people around the world. That's one reason why Nevada Sen. John Ensign and I host a weekly breakfast in the Capitol itself for Nevadans visiting Washington.

It is no secret that Washington gets terribly hot and humid during the summer, the peak season for tourists. Before the opening of this center, visitors to the Capitol were forced to wait out in the heat (or the bitter cold during the winter) for long periods of time before going through security and entering the building. The days of freezing in the cold and sweating in Washington's humidity while waiting to enter the Capitol are over.

Thanks to this wonderful new visitors center, security is stronger and visitors are more comfortable. The center offers a relaxed, temperature-controlled environment where visitors can learn more about the legislative branch and our nation's history.

A trip to Washington is a special one for so many Nevadans, and they deserve a world-class facility like this one. I hope your readers will come and see it for themselves.

SEN. HARRY REID

WASHINGTON, D.C.

THE WRITER, A NEVADA DEMOCRAT, IS MAJORITY LEADER OF THE U.S. SENATE.

Genuine justice

To the editor:

This country needs more no-nonsense judges like Jackie Glass to put the O.J. Simpsons of this world where they belong: behind bars ("O.J. goes to prison," Saturday Review-Journal).

Judge Glass hit the judicial jackpot with her pre-sentencing comment that Simpson was ignorant and arrogant. I would have gone a step further and stated that Simpson personifies the typical sociopath who can, in his own mind, justify whatever heinous act he commits.

Thank goodness that judicial clown Lance Ito (who turned the 1995 Simpson murder trial into a circus, resulting in Simpson's release) and an equally questionable jury were replaced by common-sense Nevada justice.

Thanks to Judge Glass, Nevada can bask in the glow of justice done.

John J. Erlanger

LAS VEGAS

Serious inconvenience

To the editor:

Are Las Vegas Valley leaders so in love with the city's marathon that they have forgotten about the tourists and employees along Las Vegas Boulevard and Industrial Road?

On Sunday morning, just like last year, they closed off access to both streets, even prohibiting people from walking across the street. It forced tourists out of the casinos and hotels extra early to catch late-morning flights. It forced hotel employees to park in places far from work and to find a new route to work.

Maybe it is about time to tell marathon supporters to take a hike out of town forever.

Dennis Allan

SANDY VALLEY

Save the Big Three

To the editor:

Not many citizens in our capitalist economy support federal bailouts. However, the failure of domestic automakers would put people out of work and hurt many towns across the country that rely on retail auto sales.

A bankruptcy of one of the Big Three automakers would have a substantial impact on the viability of local economies. Nevada's franchised new-car dealers are not Wall Street or Detroit. They are Main Street. Saving American automakers is about investing in the future of small towns and businesses, in the budgets of our governments and ultimately in the welfare of our country.

With auto sales accounting for 20 percent of the retail economy, any further reduction in sales will leave states, cities and towns with a significant loss of state and local tax revenues. During last week's congressional hearings, the CEOs from the Big Three urged lawmakers to help stabilize the auto industry. Dealers nationwide play in the success or failure of an automaker.

Detroit automakers are hemorrhaging cash to stay in business, and their survival is in America's best interest. A bridge loan to the Big Three is critical. The domestic auto industry hangs in the balance, and so do dealers and their local communities. A government cash infusion, a government-run restructuring, labor givebacks and massive downsizing for the immediate future are better than any pre-negotiated bankruptcy.

If lawmakers fail to act in these tough times, make no mistake, there will be bleeding throughout the land. A bridge loan would provide the least detrimental effect on human capital and the stimulus necessary to prevent further economic decline, if not outright economic depression.

Wayne A. Frediani

RENO

THE WRITER IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NEVADA FRANCHISED AUTO DEALERS ASSOCIATION.