Yes, give McCain more media attention
To the editor:
I join the supporters of Sen. John McCain in expressing disappointment that the Republican candidate for president isn't getting more media attention.
I wish the media would give more than cursory coverage when Sen. McCain demonstrates that he doesn't know the difference between a Shiite Muslim and a Sunni Muslim. I wish the media would point out when Sen. McCain demonstrates that he doesn't understand the relationship between Iran and al-Qaida (none).
I wish the media would show that Sen. McCain's energy policy consists solely in letting oil and coal companies plunder more land and offshore areas, instead of committing to alternatives that would free us from our dependence on oil and the petro-terrorists who have us hooked on it. I wish the media would explore Sen. McCain's desire to have workers' health insurance benefits taxed as income.
Maybe now Sen. McCain's supporters aren't so keen to have the media spotlight turned on him?
Gregory Grant
LAS VEGAS
Housing greed
To the editor:
In response to the Thomas Sowell commentary, "How come 'predatory' banks went broke?" published in Thursday's Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Mr. Sowell paints a picture of the government forcing banks to make loans they otherwise wouldn't consider, helping to bring down the mortgage industry and create the country's foreclosure maelstrom. This is absurd, to put it lightly. Mr. Sowell should spend more time in the real world before making comments about something he obviously knows nothing about.
The overwhelming reason for this fiasco is greed, on the part of both the bankers and home buyers. Home buyers were financing up to 120 percent of the cost of the homes because they could, with the thought of selling the home in a few years for a huge profit. Bankers bent over backward to accommodate these gamblers because of the lucrative loan fees raked in from the repeat business. A large portion of the home buyers were not looking for a house to live in and raise their families -- they were looking to get rich quick, financed by the banks, who were looking to get rich, too.
Now that the pyramid scheme has started to crumble (they all do), innocent people are being destroyed along with some of the perpetrators. The banks have dispersed their bootie over the years to the loan officers, CEOs and stockholders. The home gamblers have socked away their loot into cars, vacations and unabated high-life living.
Apparently, it is now time for the responsible citizens of this country to step up to the plate and bail out all of the rascals who have created this mess. Woo hoo!
John Aarness
LAS VEGAS
Dingy Harry
To the editor:
Am I the only one who thinks Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is acting strangely?
I saw him on the news while he was speaking about the banking and mortgage mess. Watching his gestures while he was speaking, I couldn't tell whether it looked more like he was batting away insects, sending semaphore signals or guiding an aircraft aboard a carrier. Whatever they were, they had no connection with what he was saying.
Some speakers gesture to emphasize a point, but they try to synchronize it with their words. Not Sen. Reid. He just flails.
There seems to be a permanent sadness etched into his features. It's beyond morose. Is there no happiness in him? Was the switch from discussing FLDS polygamy one day and banking failures the next too much? Perhaps someone should tell him the weight of the entire world is not on his shoulders; there are 99 other senators to help him, and some Republicans may even take pity in his hour of need.
I can imagine old Robert Byrd saying, "There, there, Harry, it will all work out. It has for over 200 years, and we will muddle through this somehow."
Vernon Clayson
LAS VEGAS
Voters win
To the editor:
Hypocrite Regent Thalia Dondero sates that "the best term limits you can have is the voters" ("State high court rules 21 ineligible," Saturday Review-Journal). I think Ms. Dondero missed the point of the state's voter-approved term-limit amendment -- voters did throw her out of office.
Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury states that he "would have preferred a little more of a graceful exit." Guess what, Mr. Woodbury? You could have been a really classy guy and went along with the mandate in the first place instead of resisting the voters' mandate just to keep your job.
And isn't it funny how Clark County School Board member Ruth Johnson, another politician unable to run, says "the constituents are the losers" in the Supreme Court decision. No, Ms. Johnson, the voters won. You lost!
Ron Moers
HENDERSON
