Taxpayers only have the right to pay
To the editor:
Sometimes the curtain is lifted and the true nature of our government is displayed. On "tax filing day," as the Review-Journal correctly called it in a Tuesday editorial, there was a gem in another article, "Costly court decision rehearing urged."
The article was on the state government's attempt to get the Nevada Supreme Court to revisit its recent decision that meals comped by casinos to their patrons are not subject to sales tax.
In the petition to the court for a rehearing of its decision, the government attorney wrote that the Supreme Court "should return to the canon of strict construction of tax exemptions, under which any reasonable doubt about the applicability of an exemption must be construed against the taxpayer."
Wow! Doesn't this show how government truly views the citizens? I daresay that most of us believe that "reasonable doubt" places the burden of proof in any legal proceeding on the government. But not when it comes to taxes. Government must always be correct, and we taxpayers only have the "right" to pay and pay and pay.
This nation has come a long way from the Boston Tea Party of 1773, and it sure seems that our government has forgotten why this nation was founded.
David R. Durling
LAS VEGAS
Take a ride-along
To the editor:
In response to Norman Petz's Tuesday letter to the editor regarding last week's coroner's inquest: As a police officer, I am saddened by the lack of knowledge that the citizens of Clark County have regarding our job.
There are few people who can say that they go to work every day knowing that there are people who want nothing more than to do them harm.
Our job is not an easy one, and we are forced to make split-second decisions each and every day. The public may not agree with the way things play out, but I challenge anyone who questions why we do things to go down to his local substation and request a ride-along.
I guarantee that after only 10 hours of seeing what we do, you will have a different perspective of not only the police, but of the people you live around.
Lastly, I would like to let Mr. Petz know that had Deshira Selimaj stabbed Henderson officer Luke Morrison, or one of his partners, the knife would have done more than ruin a uniform -- it probably would have killed one of them.
You see, Kevlar is bullet-resistant, not blade-resistant. Kevlar vests will not stop knifes. They may, however, cause the knife not to plunge so deep into the heart of the ones who would, without a moment's hesitation, give their life to save yours.
Andrew McAlister
NORTH LAS VEGAS
Police escalation
To the editor:
A Henderson police officer was found justified in the fatal shooting of the ice cream lady (Saturday Review-Journal), but the police certainly are not innocent. They created the environment for this incident to take place.
Having watched the first day of the coroner's inquest last week, I considered it obvious that Henderson police had been targeting the Selimajes' ice cream trucks. And on that fateful day, when they insisted on sending Zyber Selimaj for a psychiatric evaluation, they escalated a routine traffic violation into a standoff situation with a lady who was tired of being a target of their abuse.
The shooting was ruled justifiable by a process that is designed to give no other result. But police aren't innocent.
Gene Lowe
HENDERSON
What a freak
To the editor:
My wife and I used to love watching Criss Angel's "Mindfreak" series. That is, until he started making a negative impact on Las Vegas ("So, that's why it's titled 'Mindfreak," Sunday Norm Clarke column).
He runs around like he's God's gift to all, and without impunity, which reminds us of so many others gone wild. Just because you're talented doesn't mean you're going to be accepted when you act like an idiot and threaten people.
Like so many parents, we want our children to grow up in this town as normal as possible, but it's hard to do so when we're bombarded by the Criss Angels and other demigod-wanna-bes running around acting like their you-know-what doesn't stink.
It does, Mr. Angel, and really bad.
Matt Dorman
NORTH LAS VEGAS
Credit card abuse
To the editor:
If the recent disclosure that federal employees were using their government-issued credit cards for personal expenses is true, they should be fired and legal charges should be filed.
It is no different than a bank employee caught embezzling cash. Congress should be really upset about their public servants stealing from us, and take appropriate action.
Rob Osur
HENDERSON
