Reid caves to bigots and idiots on mosque

To the editor:

I've always been a very staunch supporter of Sen. Harry Reid, but his absolute cowardice with respect to the proposed Manhattan Muslim community center -- four blocks away and not even visible from the 9/11 Ground Zero -- is both surprising and disappointing.

When is Sen. Reid going to start leading the Democrats instead of following the lead of the lunatic right? This is no better than the internment camps of World War II.

Someone needs to have the moral and intestinal fortitude to stand up to these bigots and idiots and point out that Muslims were not only among the victims of 9/11, but among the first responders, emergency personnel and hospital workers involved -- and are, in fact, a very large part of the fabric of this country.

To extend this theory, Catholic churches near Ground Zero should be torn down because they condone and tolerate the sexual abuse (for many years) of young boys. You might answer that this is a poor argument because regular people who happen to be Catholics don't accept this type of behavior.

A majority of Muslims don't agree with or celebrate the death of Americans because many are Americans.

This is a poor and dangerous precedent to set, and I could not be more strongly against Sen. Reid's stand on it.

Deb Lander

Sparks

Broken promise

To the editor:

Can it be that President Barack Obama sincerely believes he is not imposing progressive socialism on America? Why then are liberal Democrats voting as a bloc, with the aid of two "independent" senators and two or three Republicans, to forward progressive socialism?

Why are student loans nationalized?

Why is AIG nationalized?

Why are GM and Chrysler government-controlled? Why were the bondholders sold out in bankruptcy to benefit the unions?

Why were Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae not included in the financial reform legislation, still free to guarantee risky loans?

We were promised hope and change from an honest, transparent government. Did we get what we were promised?

FRANK PERNA

LAS VEGAS

Bloated salaries

To the editor:

While reading the newspaper Saturday morning, I broke into laughter upon seeing this headline inside the Nevada section: "Firm: Superintendent pay should be higher." Really? What a surprise.

The firm doing the search for the next Clark County School District superintendent suggests pay has to be in the range of $325,000 to $340,000 per year in order to attract the "best" candidates.

So let me get this straight: The president of the United States is paid $400,000, meaning we have to offer the Clark County school superintendent 85 percent of what the president gets in order to attract the right person? Nonsense.

With national unemployment at 10 percent, and local unemployment at 14 percent, surely there is someone who is not only competent but also willing to take the job for a more realistic salary.

My husband says he'd do it for $180,000 (he's a Ph.D. scientist with 30 years of working experience), although he's one of the lucky ones who is still gainfully employed in these desperate times.

Instead of doing research into what other school districts across the country pay for this position, just set the salary at a reasonable level and interview the people who apply for the job. I have never understood the relevance of comparing salary levels in New York City or Modesto when setting pay in Las Vegas.

Obviously, the cost of living varies greatly across the country, but that never seems to be considered when making these comparisons.

Why not take the lead set by the residents of Bell, Calif., and use this current economic downturn to reset the bloated salaries of our public employees, starting with the Clark County superintendent?

Lori Jo Klemptner

Henderson

No failures

To the editor:

After reading Jim Blockey's Monday letter, "Liberal achievements will come crashing down," I feel compelled to take issue with his conclusions.

He says that "every institution they (liberals) ... created has failed miserably," citing the U.S. Postal Service, Medicare and Social Security as examples.

Let's look at the facts.

The U.S. Postal Service was created in 1775 by the Continental Congress, appointing Benjamin Franklin as our first postmaster and adopted into the U.S. Constitution under Article 1, Section 8. A "liberal institution," indeed.

Social Security is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and has never missed a payment to a recipient. Millions of Americans have been able to live out their retirements with dignity, thanks to the Social Security system.

Medicare? Since 1965, many of those millions who receive Social Security also benefit from Medicare. Thanks to this system, people who worked their entire lives, now retired, do not have to choose between buying essentials and getting medical care.

By the way, I wonder if FedEx or UPS would deliver a letter 3,000 miles away, in three days or so, for 44 cents?

"Failed institutions"? I think not.

Joel Rector

North Las Vegas