Porn show coverage too cliched

To the editor:

I was extremely disappointed to read Benjamin Spillman's one-dimensional and cliched coverage of the Adult Entertainment Expo (Jan. 12). If Mr. Spillman had done his homework he would have known -- and perhaps chosen to write about -- facets of the expo that are about much more than "porn peddlers," raunch and randy fans.

Perhaps Mr. Spillman could have written about one of the many business seminars offered for people in the trade, seminars that focused on topics such as selling and marketing adult novelties, appealing to female consumers, and developments in obscenity law.

But no, Mr. Spillman opted to go for the sensational; he also chose to reproduce -- once again in the pages of the Review-Journal -- independent researcher Melissa Farley's analysis about how women in Las Vegas are victimized by pimps and smut peddlers. What a different story Mr. Spillman could have written if he chose to interview some of the female -- and feminist identified -- proprietors and porn producers in attendance who make porn from a woman's perspective and sell products aimed at empowering women and their partners.

The sex industry is not a monolith, and neither is the AEE. It is a shame that Mr. Spillman's article chose to downplay this fact.

LYNN COMELLA

LAS VEGAS

THE WRITER IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN UNLV'S WOMEN'S STUDIES DEPARTMENT.

Global warming

To the editor:

Is anyone besides me fed up with this whole global warming debate? The left argues that global warming is caused by man. Liberals refuse to consider that global warming may be a natural phenomenon occurring every 50 years.

But that's not the point of my letter. Allow me an allegory I've observed. As I see it, the "Chicken Little liberals" are at it again. In the 1960s, the Chicken Little cry was "over-population and mass starvation." In the 1970s the Chicken Little mantra was "fuel crisis, we will deplete our energy sources." Next, the 1980s and '90s, behold the "holes in the ozone layer," we will die from skin cancer.

Today it's "global warming." I, for one, have grown weary of "Chicken Little liberals" attempting to micromanage our lives by keeping us in a constant state of fear and loathing.

ROBERT SLABY

LAS VEGAS

Big project

To the editor:

Regarding the Review-Journal's outstanding editorial of Jan. 10 on state taxes:

Mayor Oscar Goodman is a great offensive player and excels in diverting attention away from the real issues of governing.

It is easy to blame the tax system as the culprit for budget deficits rather than the actions and inactions of our elected officials.

He and others know the average person is limited in their understanding of how the tax system works, and together they use this as an instrument to further their own agenda.

If Mayor Goodman is interested in leaving a legacy, maybe he should follow his own advice: "We have to have the courage to declare what kind of a society we want." I would suggest he abandon the unofficial plan of most elected and appointed officials to expand government and exhibit the same courage he had in his other life, and lead the charge to challenge the public-sector unions.

Now there's a project that requires heavy lifting. But who wants to bother when taxes can be raised?

edward r. duffy

LAS VEGAS

Real issues

To the editor:

In his Monday letter, "Candidates don't look all that appealing," Brad Burns said he "fears for the future of his country" because of the selection of candidates running for president. Perhaps Mr. Burns has inadvertently deterred all the better candidates by referring to them in such a derogatory manner.

After all, he referred to several current and former U.S. senators as an ambulance chaser, a sinister woman, an empty suit, a good ol' boy and a firebrand. Where is the respect these people deserve?

And even more important, what purpose does this inane rhetoric serve when we should all be talking objectively about the serious issues (war, economy, health care, etc.) that really do threaten our country and our way of life?

DAVID CROWELL

HENDERSON

Bad date

To the editor:

Publisher Sherman Frederick was on target when he took note of the fact that Jewish Sabbath observers will not be able to participate in this year's presidential caucuses (Sunday column). We do not attribute any malicious intent to the party leaders who set the date and time, but we endorse Mr. Frederick's exhortation that they should "fix it next time around."

Because caucuses do not allow participation by absentee ballot, we hope every effort will be made to avoid a similar conflict in the future.

PHYLLIS FRIEDMAN

LAS VEGAS

THE WRITER IS NEVADA DIRECTOR OF THE ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE.