Letters

Street wise

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

A quick word about the artwork for this week’s feature story: Most of these photos were shot by freelance photographer Eric Marks for his Reno Street Photography project. If you live in the Reno area, there’s a good chance that you’ve met Eric or at least seen him around. He’s that fearless, enthusiastic, talkative bald guy with a camera. He shoots stuff for us just about every week, but he also maintains the Reno Street Photography Facebook page, where he uploads amazing photos of various people out and about in Reno.

Sometimes the photos are sad and poignant, and sometimes they’re hilarious—like our cover image this week. He presents a great noholds-barred, warts-and-all perspective on our community, and it’s light years better than most of the photography on social media. And it’s all the better when a candid shot of someone you know pops up.

Anyway, while I was working on this week’s feature story, I asked him if he had any good shots of the Knitting Factory, and he said he had a lot of great images of the exterior that he shot for Reno Street Photography—a nice chance for us to show off that aspect of Eric’s work, even if the photos don’t connect all that directly to the story.

And I’d encourage you to check out more of his stuff at www.facebook.com/RenoStreetPhotography.

Also, don’t forget to suggest your favorite local bands and musicians for our 21st birthday party Rollin’ on the River concert series this summer. There are going to be multiple components at multiple venues, so it’s really open to all genres. We want to know what readers want to hear. Send an email with your recommendations to contest@newsreview. com with “Party Music” in the subject line.

—Brad Bynum bradb@newsreview.com

Darned press

It’s interesting that the press never looks at the meaning and message Trump is offering and never reports on the fact that his support is coming from grassroots America. Just as Pearl Harbor woke up a sleeping giant, the Trump run has struck a nerve with America’s sleeping silent majority.

Over the last several decades, the trend has been to provide entitlement and publicly funded political correctness to nations lazy and weak at the cost of our nation’s financial viability. Abraham Lincoln once said “I’m smarter today than I was yesterday.” We are smarter today than yesterday because we learn from our mistakes. The establishment Republicans and Democrats haven’t learned anything. They simply want to stay on the same course because they are all on the take from corporate America. As painful as it will be in the short term, if you want a future for your children and grandchildren, do not vote for a career politician! Mike Arp Reno

Look it up

Re “Bernie Sanders, fascist” (Let Freedom Ring, March 10):

“Fascism” is a hard definition for Google but most would agree that it mandates “authoritarianism” and “right-wing.” If that is the takeaway of the Sanders campaign for Brendan Trainor, then I can only slowly step away from that conversation.

Personally, I would love to see the very wealthy have their access to the political process restricted. The manifestation of violence as recreation, without any alternative, reveals itself more and more in the Republican primaries. Bernie Sanders has turned the national Democratic platform well to the left of that. Whether U.S. citizens will finally use the political tools available to them has yet to be determined but antiquated opinions such as Mr. Trainor’s simply do not play as well as they used to. There for a minute I thought we were in a time capsule— “honeymoon in Soviet Union”?

From the outset, Sanders has said that now it is time for a “fundamental decision.” The Republicans have certainly embraced that idea. When you are forced to play see-saw with a 500-lb canary, it doesn’t help a lot if he promises to lose 50 lbs. (or more! much more!—here’s looking at you, Ms. C). You need a new game. Diane Campbell Reno

Re “Bernie Sanders, fascist” (Let Freedom Ring, March 10):

It is regretful that the RN&R editors didn’t check Wikipedia before publishing Brendan Trainor’s screed. Wikipedia states that “Fascism is usually placed on the far-right within the traditional left–right spectrum.” No one with a functioning brain cell places Bernie on the far-right. Trainor clearly doesn’t know what he is talking about, or what the words he uses mean. I urge the RN&R editors to fact check everything he submits at least with Wikipedia.

Donald Schreiber

Incline Village

Erik Holland

Voice of experience

Once in a while I’ll see someone on the street who was on the Washoe County Grand Jury with me. We’ll just look at each other and not say a word, and then turn around and walk away— like two former concentration camp guards hiding a disgusting secret.

Much of the superficial rhetoric we’re being fed in this election year reminds me of the dark side of our community which very few people know anything about. The child murder rate, the suicides, drug overdoses, and political and corporate corruption are conveniently glossed over by the local news sources.

Unless a story has enormous sensational value and doesn’t seriously disturb the status quo, the media seem to feel that the public doesn’t need to know about these unpleasantries.

The last I heard, Nevada was 35th in terms of population, but 5th in terms of prison population in the U.S.

It’s time to wake up. Mike Beesley Reno

The rats must be fed

For years I have received letters from Washington, D.C. and vicinity asking for contributions. I’ve sent them nothing, but the letters keep coming. But this year, I’ve noticed a change. Along with their request for money, they are now asking for my opinion. I don’t know if they really want it, but they got it anyway:

We, the people of the United States, are fed up with the fiasco in Washington! Politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, talk and talk and promise and promise, but if things change at all, they don’t get better, they get worse. We pay our taxes, but where does that money go? It looks to me like too much of it goes down a rathole.

Brad MacKenzie Reno

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