Letters

Thanks given

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Thanksgiving has never been an especially important holiday in my family—more of a brief interlude between Halloween and Christmas, or a moment of respite before the big push at the end of any given fall semester. This year, we had a small crew—just me, my mom, my girlfriend, Margot, and our three kids, Clifford, Josephine and Viktoria. We’re all busy, and no one felt like cooking a big meal—well, maybe Josephine did, but she’s 10, and the rest of us didn’t feel like eating quesadillas and peanut butter sandwiches.

We decided we’d try one of the big casino buffets. That’s a quintessential Reno experience that—despite living here for the majority of my life—I had never done before. I mean, sure, I’ve eaten at casino buffets a few times over the years, but never on a popular holiday like Thanksgiving.

We decided to hit up Toucan Charlie’s in the Atlantis. We arrived around 4 p.m. and discovered perhaps the longest line of people I’ve ever seen. It started outside the restaurant and curled, wound and weaved all around the casino floor. Following the line back to the end was like a never-ending journey. I kept thinking we were getting close to the end, but then there would be a bend and more glum faces, resigned to their fate—a purgatory of faint cigar smoke, rattling slot machines and hunger. After a while, as disorienting as a casino floor can be, I began to suspect that we we were walking in an infinite loop. I started scrutinizing the faces, wondering if perhaps I’d seen them earlier.

When Margot joined us at the back of this eternal queue, she asked, “Is this the line for Space Mountain?”

We were told it would take about four hours. So we said, screw this, and headed over to the Sky Terrace Oyster Bar, the Atlantis’ seafood restaurant. We only had to wait about 10 minutes, and then had an excellent dinner, however seasonally anachronistic it might have been. —Brad Bynum bradb@newsreview.com

‘President’ Trump

I did not vote for Donald Trump, but like many people I have a partial explanation as to why he won: 1) Hillary made a big mistake in calling half his supporters “deplorables” and “irredeemable.” It was that elitist, arrogant, “I’m better than you” attitude that rallied his base and guaranteed their voting. That same attitude is evident with the RN&R’s Bruce Van Dyke and Brad Bynum when they refer to those voters as “pissy white rednecks” and “gullible, ignorant, and hateful.” Sorry, Hillary and others, but your superior attitude worked against you. 2) Many times there is simply no substitute for “hard work.” The truth is Trump simply outworked Hillary. He really looked and worked like someone who wanted to win. She disappeared by comparison. Not visiting Wisconsin during the last six months of the campaign revealed a lack of work ethic and/or an entitlement attitude that took certain states for granted. Either way, Trump won because he simply wanted it more. Originally, Trump said she didn’t have the strength or stamina to be president. Perhaps she didn’t have the strength or stamina to campaign. She certainly did not match his.

Thom Waters Reno

One woman’s view

Nevada November gray wool clouds blanket the sky, draining color from the land leaving only the muted tones of Autumn.

Cheryl Chaudron Reno

Hartman on Myers

From beginning to end of the Question 2 debate, I could count on Dennis Myers at the RN&R to not just twist and distort what I wrote on the issue—but knowingly lie about facts. Your publication even failed to run my letter detailing your factual lies—spiked the truth. The lies continue right down to the end, Dennis—on Denver schools and marijuana money. Google it. Man, it doesn’t take much of a reporter—and you are not one. A weak, little guy working for an underground newspaper depending on marijuana advertisers to pay him a tiny little income—pretty pathetic.

Jim Hartman Genoa

Unguilty

Re “Competing protests” (Let Freedom Ring, Nov. 10):

Brendan Trainor states in a November 10 article that, “In what appears to be jury nullification, the jurors felt the federal government had simply not proven [its] charges of conspiracy to intimidate federal workers to prevent them from performing their duties with weapons brought onto federal property.” This is not jury nullification.

When jurors are not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the prosecution has proved a charge, they have a duty to vote not guilty. This is a standard part of jury instructions and is how most not-guilty verdicts are delivered. Jury nullification occurs when jurors are convinced by the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused has violated the law which they are charged with violating, but decides to vote not guilty anyway. Jurors may do this when they believe the law is unjust or unjustly applied, that the punishment for violating the law is unjustly harsh, or that there are other mitigating circumstances that would make strictly enforcing the law unjust in the case at hand.

The law is meant to uphold justice. Justice is not meant to bend or break so that unjust dictates of the law may be maintained. When law and justice are in conflict, jurors have a moral duty to uphold justice above the law. Jury nullification is the mechanism by which they can do this. Jurors may vote not guilty for any reason they believe is just, and they cannot be punished for their verdicts.

Kirsten Tynan Corvallis, Mont.

ERIK HOLLAND

Our Mission: To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Editor Brad Bynum News Editor Dennis Myers Special Projects Editor Jeri Chadwell-Singley Arts Editor Kris Vagner Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Contributors Amy Alkon, Matt Bieker, Bob Grimm, Anna Hart, Ashley Hennefer, Shelia Leslie, Eric Marks, Jose Olivares, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Luka Starmer, Marc Tiar, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young Design Manager Lindsay Trop Art Directors Brian Breneman, Margaret Larkin Marketing/Publications Manager Serene Lusano Marketing/Publications Designer Sarah Hansel Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Designer Kyle Shine Senior Advertising Consultants Gina Odegard, Bev Savage Advertising Consultant Emily Litt Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager/Operations Coordinator Kelly Miller Distribution Assistant and Driver Jennifer Cronin Distribution Drivers Alex Barskyy, Bob Christensen, Debbie Frenzi, Denise Cairns, Gary White, Jennifer Gangestad, Lori Ashley, Lori DeAndreis, Marty Lane, Marty Troye, Patrick L’Angelle, Tracy Breeden, Vicki Jewell President/CEO Jeff VonKaenel Director of Nuts & Bolts Deborah Redmond Executive Coordinator Carlyn Asuncion Project Coordinator Natasha VonKaenel Director of People & Culture David Stogner Director of Dollars & Sense Nicole Jackson Payroll/AP Wizard Miranda Dargitz Sweetdeals Coordinator Courtney DeShields Nuts & Bolts Ninja Christina Wukmir Developer John Bisignano, Jonathan Schultz System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins N&R Publications Editor Michelle Carl N&R Publications Associate Editor Kate Gonzales N&R Publications Writer Anne Stokes

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