Reid’s the crazy one on Social Security
To the editor:
So crazy Sharon Angle wants to end Social Security. What a radical crazy. I bet she wants to kill all senior citizens -- and babies, too.
Oh, but wait. I'm 28 years old, and by the time I'm eligible for Social Security, all the money I will have paid into it will have gone to support previous generations. And with the job-killing cap-and-trade bill, there won't be many workers to support me and the rest of my generation when we get to that point.
I ask you, who really is the crazy one? Is it Sen. Harry Reid, who seems to think that closing our eyes to the problem will make it go away, or is it Sharron Angle, who is at least aware of the problem and is talking about a solution?
John Walls
Henderson
Blame game
To the editor:
Lest we forget:
In one of Harry Reid's latest TV commercials, he indicates that Democrats "inherited" the recession and the housing collapse from the Republicans.
If I'm not mistaken, the Democrats have had total control of the Senate and the House for the past 3½ years.
Also, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, both Democrats, have been in charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the federal loan insurance programs during the past 3½ years, pressuring banks to give subprime loans to people who couldn't make the payments.
It sounds to me like the Democrats inherited the recession and housing collapse from themselves and are trying to blame it on someone else.
DANIEL CULBERT
LAS VEGAS
Union label
To the editor:
Let's call this country by the name it has become: the Union States of America. Tell me where anything can be found that isn't under control of some union or union leader.
Farewell, free enterprise.
NOLA GLIMALDI
Las Vegas
Food lawsuit
To the editor:
Your Wednesday editorial about the fast-food lawsuit was very succinct and to the point. The liberal bleeding hearts and their cohorts at the Center for Science in the Public Interest are so out in left field as to not even be players.
Did they forget the toys that we as kids used to fight over in the Cracker Jack and cereal boxes?
Singling out McDonald's is arbitrary and capricious. I support your position that McDonald's should take off the kid gloves and fight them. Make an example of this organization.
Warren Pawliuk
Las Vegas
Line of fire
To the editor:
Let's beat up on the Clark County Fire Department. After all, firefighters make too much money. Just ask County Commission Chairman Rory Reid and Commissioner Steve Sisolak, each making $74,000 a year plus public employee retirement and medical insurance benefits in their "part-time" jobs.
Let's punish firefighters for wanting to work overtime, since working conditions are so good. Have Mr. Reid and Mr. Sisolak ever worked a regular hour battling an inferno in 115-degree weather with backpacks and gear weighing upward of 100 pounds? The job itself is punishing, and volunteering for overtime is commendable. It's satisfying to know there are those working to keep us safe even under extreme conditions.
This is not Iowa, New Jersey or New York. This is the dry, hot desert, and firefighters in Southern Nevada face unique dangerous situations, from threatening brush fires to high-rise flames and emergency medical services.
Let's blame the firefighters for the country's financial woes. It's easier than ignoring the shortcomings of the county's management team.
Mr. Reid and Mr. Sisolak should spend more time examining management to find out why there was no foresight regarding the oncoming recession. Instead, they hammer firefighters and the firefighters union.
SAM BOWLER
LAS VEGAS
Who needs help?
To the editor:
It's difficult to watch our federal government's actions in the Gulf without conjuring up images of the Marx Brothers or the Keystone Kops.
On June 14, The Washington Post -- hardly a bastion of reactionary thought -- reported that the Obama administration was beginning to consider offers of help from 17 other nations with experience in controlling oil spills. Those offers -- from Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands and England -- were for money, manpower and such things as skimmer ships and oil booms.
These offers began coming in April 21, the day after Deepwater Horizon exploded. Yet on May 19, according to the Post, the administration was still rejecting them. Why?
On June 17, Coast Guard Rear Adm. James Watson asked for 55 additional skimmers to be sent to the Gulf. One can only assume that they are domestic (because otherwise they might be -- gasp -- foreign and nonunion). But the Coast Guard has been "reluctant to divert skimmers from elsewhere in the country to the Gulf, for fear of leaving their home ports vulnerable to oil spills." That's kind of like Henderson firefighters rejecting an emergency Strip call because a wildfire might break out near Sam Boyd Stadium.
Are we joking, here? Is this a Monty Python skit?
Bob Ashman
Las Vegas
