Letters

You’ll think what you’re told

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

It’s funny how real life and real-life art sometimes collide.

We live in a world where literally everything that human beings know, all of science, all of spirituality, all of ... everything, could be available to all of humanity on the internet. There’s already a lot out there, far more than any single human could comprehend.

But isn’t it weird how much is not available, and the way the information that’s on there is presented in a way that prevents regular users like you and me from accessing it? For example, I want to know who was arrested in the United States on April 8, 2002, and every person arrested in the United States every day since. (And by the way, this is a purely hypothetical situation, I don’t care about arrests.)

Arrests are public information, right? They are public information because Americans don’t want to live in a country where the government can take people and disappear them.

So, if everything can be put on the internet, and if I accept the assumption that public information should be available, but that some things—schematics for Little Boy, or the genome and construction instructions for Ebola—should not be available, how would it be decided what should not be on the internet?

What wouldn’t be available to the public would be information that some power-that-be decides is dangerous—information that would have bad repercussions for the entity that controls the information.

That suggests that the information available is not the most powerful information. But the data that is available is so vast that determining what is missing is beyond anyone’s ability.

This concept isn’t that profound. The marketplace theory of democracy is that if presented with all the information, Americans will make the right decisions. These days, though, we’re only told what powerful entities want us to factor into our thinking. If it’s not available, it’s because somebody doesn’t want us to make informed decisions. —D. Brian Burghart brianb@newsreview.com

In defense of Fox

Re “Carrey it on” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, April 4):

No one, least of all Fox News commentator Greg Gutfeld, is denying Jim Carrey’s right to make a sarcastic and insulting video spouting a bunch of nonsense, but Gutfeld clearly felt that the vulgar insulting commentary about Charlton Heston was uncalled for. Cheap, insulting and vulgar jokes about a deceased and revered individual and respected actor—when as an actor, Carrey could definitely not fill Heston’s shoes—will bring out criticism. The fact that Bruce Van Dyke tries to defend Carrey and tries to set him up as some kind of intellectual is sad indeed. He seems to forget that Carrey’s threats against Gutfeld and Fox News are a bunch of hot air. Carrey threatens lawsuits, while knowing very well that he has nothing to sue about. Carrey’s intellect is clearly displayed in his use of the name “Fux” News as a “clever” substitute for Fox. It’s even sadder that Van Dyke tries to demean Fox News as the “fourth network.” I’d like to remind him that Fox News is number one in the ratings, with double to triple the number of viewers as numbers two and three. I understand that Van Dyke has every right as a liberal writer to express his opinion, but believers in the Second Amendment seldom would use the types of names that he claims liberals are being called. Of course the only truth he states in his column is the statement at the end of his “Carrey it on” column when he wrote, “At least, not anytime soon.” As usual, liberals can dish it out, but seldom can take it.

Fred Speckmann Reno

What he said

Re “Krolicki backs pipeline” (Upfront, April 4):

If Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki wants the tar-sands oil from the Keystone XL pipeline so badly, why not build the refineries in the same location where we get the oil? That way, we will be able to use our resources, and the impact on the environment will be at a minimum. Our politicians need to think outside of their circle. Harvey Salinger Reno

Half in jest, wholly in earnest

Re “Legalize everything” (Editorial, April 4):

My favorite Abe Lincoln quote is, “A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” I agree with him in that and agree with you that in the matters of personal liberty these laws are perversions.

In addition, the repeal of 18th Amendment ended a great majority of gang violence—the ’20s is when drive-bys were first invented. By using this same approach to other drugs—since alcohol is a drug—a similar cessation of gang violence should happen.

What I disagree with is the misuse of the words “logical” and “reason.” As for “logical,” you didn’t make any case whatsoever, you just changed some words and said it was logical. If one would like to have a logical conversation about this very emotional topic I would first address the parameters. This would mean defining that a marriage is among humans. Going along anthropological lines, a marriage is a union of one man and one woman for the purpose of producing and caring for children and forming a cohesive bond in society. Then next step in a logical conversation, since there are people that disagree with my assertion, is to square the concept of marriage against very intimate friendship. Then, once those parameters are in place, you can start to test the theory. For instance, you said that “people should be able to marry who they want.” Perhaps, but would you support the idea of incest? What if an 18-year-old daughter and her 50-yearold father wanted to marry? What if it could be proven that a goat had true affection for someone, should they be able to marry? Why not? Are not same-sex arrangements not the same abandonment of human culture that could also not expect offspring from?

As far as “reason,” you’re overlooking some obvious issues. Firstly, if someone drove faster the maximum posted allowable speed limit seven years ago, that was an event that began and ended seven years ago. An illegal alien does not break the law by simply crossing a border between two states and then that act has ended—each day the illegal alien is still breaking the law because he is within the state illegally. To put your “statute of limitations (SOL)” argument to a logical test would be something like this: If someone has stolen an item once, then the SOL will begin the countdown the day after the item was stolen. If someone steals an item every day for seven straight years and is apprehended one day past the SOL for the first item stolen seven years ago, one cannot reasonably say that the SOL has passed ... perhaps it passed for the first instance, but not any of the rest. I would enjoy going into this in much more detail, but this comment is getting fairly large. Let me know if you’d like to have a five-pint discussion out in town, as I really enjoy talking to people with different thought processes. Matt Stern Fallon Editor’s note: To continue the argument in the spirit with which the editorial was written, this letter would be considered a logical fallacy of relevance, as the editorial stipulated marriage “among people,” acknowledged the immigration law was broken, and suggested the writer was stoned when the editorial was written. Specifically, though, the editorial would suffer from the logical fallacy of ambiguity, a straw man argument, because the meaning of the words was plain (if inelegant) when the Nevada Constitution excluded same-sex marriage, etc. On a meta-level, we were just saying we think these various prohibitions are stupid, so the editorial was written in an ironic way. Sure, a couple pints after the semester would be great.

Two men for every woman

Re “Legalize everything” (Editorial, April 4):

The practice of polygamy, the popular name for one man with many wives, comes down to us from the dark ages when women had no rights and were considered chattel. There is no equality in such a relationship, where one man is served by many women, each of whom is rival for his attention to them and their children. In present-day polygamous groups, only the first, therefore legal, wife and her children are entitled to share in the man’s health and dental insurance, life insurance, medical benefits, tax benefits and pensions, etc. The remaining women and their children are on their own and face poverty. As well, while the man can enjoy a sex fest every night with many different sexual partners, the women have to line up and wait their turn in his bedroom, much like cows waiting to be serviced by a bull. At least in same-sex marriage, the relationship is between two equals who have equal rights and equal responsibilities, and who equally share each other’s property. Polygamy reduces women to second-class citizenship, which is why the organization “Women Living Under Muslim Law” is petitioning their governments to end this ancient misogynistic practice ... and who would know better than they? Time to kick this ancient practice into the garbage can of history, along with the thumbscrew and the rack. The year is 2013 AD, not 2013 BC, and women—in the First World but sadly not in the Third World—are now legally considered men’s equals. Jancis M. Andrews Sechelt, BC, Canada

Our Mission To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages people to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Editorial Intern Sage Leehey Contributors Amy Alkon, Chanelle Bessette, Megan Berner, Matthew Craggs, Mark Dunagan, Marvin Gonzalez, Bob Grimm, Michael Grimm, Sheila Leslie, Dave Preston, Jessica Santina, K.J. Sullivan, Kris Vagner, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young Design Manager Kate Murphy Art Director Priscilla Garcia Associate Art Director Hayley Doshay Design Melissa Arendt, Brian Breneman, Vivian Liu, Marianne Mancina, Skyler Smith Advertising Consultants Meg Brown, Gina Odegard, Matt Odegard, Bev Savage Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay Office/Distribution Manager/ Ad Coordinator Karen Brooke Executive Assistant/Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker Assistant Distribution Manager Ron Neill Distribution Drivers Sandra Chhina, Sean Karp, John Miller, Jesse Pike, David Richards, Martin Troye, Warren Tucker, Matthew Veach, Sam White General Manager/Publisher John D. Murphy President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resource Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Ronsenquist Business Mary Anderson, Tami Sandoval Systems Manager Jonathan Schultz Systems Support Specialist Joe Kakacek Web Developer/Support Specialist John Bisignano 708 North Center Street Reno, NV 89501 Phone (775) 324-4440 Fax (775) 324-4572 Classified Fax (916) 498-7940 Mail Classifieds & Talking Personals to N&R Classifieds, Reno Edition, 1015 20th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 or e-mail classifieds@ newsreview.com Web site www.newsreview.com Printed by Paradise Post The RN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available. Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in the RN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. The RN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form.

It’ s happening in

EVENTS

CALL FOR ARTISTS – WESTERN HERITAGE FESTIVAL The Sparks Museum and Cultural Center is seeking artists and crafters whose works portray elements of western heritage and folklife for a Western Heritage Festival on May 11, 2013, at Victorian Square in Sparks, Nevada. Wanted: Western furniture and home accessories, handcrafted works in leather, metal and wood, jewelry and fashion, Western-themed art, antiques, saddles and tack, textile arts and baskets. Exhibit Space (10 x 10 outdoor booth): $65 before April 15; $75 after April 15. Deadline: April 29, 2013. Sparks Heritage Museum, 814 Victorian Ave.(775) 355-1144

CALL FOR ARTISTS – ARTS IN BLOOM The 11th Annual Arts in Bloom Art & Wine Festival is seeking 35 local and regional Fine Artists for our event on Saturday, July 20, 2013 at Victorian Square in Sparks. Exhibit and sell your art, receive an Artist Profile in the RN&R and be a part of a long-running, popular community event. Cost is $150, including space and canopy. For an application and more info: johnm@newsreview.com or (775) 324-4440, ext. 3515.

ACTIVITIES

TIMELESS TREASURES: A CELEBRATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE This colorful exhibit captures the vibrant spirit of Native American culture and includes paintings, pottery, arrowheads, cradle boards, baskets, musical instruments and more. Tu-Su through 5/26, $5/adults; under age 12 free. Sparks Heritage Museum, 814 Victorian Ave. (775) 355-1144 GRAFTING FRUIT TREES Presented by Michel Janik, expert apple grower. Learn simple techniques of grafting apple trees. Each participant will do six (6) trees to take home. Sa, 4/13, 9AM & 1PM, $40. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way (775) 355-1551 ROSE PRUNING Presented by Reno Rose Society. Learn pruning and general care of all types of roses for beautiful blooms for years to come. Please RSVP. Sa, 4/13, 11AM & 1PM, free with canned food donation. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way (775) 355-1551 ART ADVENTURES FOR KIDS It’s painting, collage, clay and more! Explore different media and techniques weekly. Give your child a sound base for a lifelong appreciation of the arts. Th, 4/18, 4-5PM, $45 for six classes. Alf Sorensen Community Center, 1400 Baring Blvd. (775) 353-2385 FUN WITH DRAWING Give your child a lifelong gift learning the fundamentals of drawing. Your child will learn value, shading and an introduction to perspective while developing techniques. Th, 4/18, 5:15-6:15PM, $45 for six classes. Alf Sorensen Community Center, 1400 Baring Blvd. (775) 353-2385 AMERICAN YOUTH SOCCER Annual registration for the local American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) Region 166 Fall 2013 season. Everyone Plays philosophy. Sa, 4/20, 9AM-1PM, Tu, 4/30, 5:30-8:30PM, Sa, 5/4, 9AM-1PM, W, 5/15, 5:30-8:30PM and Sa, 6/1, 9AM-1PM. $100 per child until May 31; $135 per child after May 31. Mendive Middle School, 1900 Whitewood Dr. (775) 353-5780 SPRING FLING Come see what’s new and visit with product representatives while enjoying hot dogs and refreshments. Specials throughout. Sa, 4/20, 9AM-4PM and Su, 4/21, 9AM-4PM, free. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way (775) 355-1551 EVERYTHING TOMATO Presented by Brad-Wild Boar Nursery. Learn from one of the top producer of unique tomato varieties and how to grow and produce delicious tomatoes. Sa, 4/20, 11AM & 1PM, free with canned food donation. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way (775) 355-1551

PERFORMANCE AND MUSIC

LIVE MONDAYS WITH TANY JANE Open Mic Night every Mon night at 8PM, hosted by Tany Jane. M, 8PM through 9/30, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030 BLACK AND BLUES JAM Tu, 8:30PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 3551030

SNOW WHITE Brüka Theatre for Children presents its touring children’s theater production based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. W, 4/10, 10am, free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200 and Tu, 4/23, 6PM, free. Spanish Springs Library, 7100A Pyramid Lake Highway, Spanish Springs (775) 424-1800 COUNTRY AT THE CABARET The Casino Cabaret will come alive with the best in country music and dancing for “Country at the Cabaret” fearuring DJ Jamie G. W, 7PM and Sa, 9PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave.(775) 356-3300 MICHAEL POWERS Th, 4/11, 5:30PM, F, 4/12, 6PM and Sa, 4/13, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave.(775) 356-3300 MIDNIGHT RIDERS Th, 4/11, 7PM, F, 4/12, 8PM, Sa, 4/13, 8PM and Su, 4/14, 7PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 LIVE JAZZ Vocal and instrumental jazz from “The Great American Songbook”, performed by First Take featuring Rick (SAX) Metz. Fridays, 6PM through 12/27, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr., Sparks, NV 89441 (775) 657-8659 SHAKA F, 4/12, 6PM, Sa, 4/13, 6PM and Su, 4/14, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 RENO UKEFEST: LEO KOTTKE AND VICTORIA VOX Leo Kottke is one of the most iconic guitar players of all time, and Victoria Vox is rapidly becoming iconic for her ukulele skills. F, 4/12, 8PM, $32. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 ALIAS SMITH Hard, fast and fun! F, 4/12, 9PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd.(775) 355-1030 LIL REV UKELELE ALL-STARS Part of Reno Ukulele Festival’s Accoustic Weekend Sa, 4/13, 8PM, $26. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave.(775) 356-3300 ALEX MILLER W, 4/17, 5:30PM, Th, 4/18, 6PM and F, 4/19, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 STEPPEN STONZ Th, 4/18, 7PM, F, 4/19, 8PM, Sa, 4/20, 8PM and Su, 4/21, 7PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 TYLER STAFFORD F, 4/19, 6PM, Sa, 4/20, 6PM and Su, 4/21, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 ZERO JONES F, 4/19, 9PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030

LADIES 80S WITH DJ LARRY WILLIAMS Ladies ’ with DJ Larry Williams, every Thursday! Th, 7PM through 10/4, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 BILL DAVIS Sa, 6PM, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr. (775) 657-8659 KARAOKE

ASPEN GLEN bAR

Every Sat night. Hosted by Mike Millard of Cycorockstar Entertainment. Sa, 9PM-2AM through 9/14. Aspen Glen Bar, 5215 Vista Blvd. 89436 / (775) 354-2400 SPIRO’S F, 9PM, no cover. 1475 E. Prater Way (775) 356-6000 THE ROPER DANCEHALL & SALOON Country music dance lessons and karaoke, Th, 7:30PM, no cover. 670 Greenbrae Dr. (775) 742-0861

OPEN MIC GREAT bASIN bREWING Open mic comedy. Th, 9PM, no cover, 846 Victorian Ave. (775) 355-7711

Follow me to Sparks - where it’s happening now!

GET INVOLVED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY!

CITY OF SPARKS

Mayor: Geno Martini. Council members: Julia Ratti, Ed Lawson, Ron Smith, Mike Carrigan, Ron Schmitt. City Manager: Shaun Carey. Parks & Recreation Director: Tracy Domingues. Mayor and Council members can be reached at 3532311 or through the City of Sparks website.

WEb RESOURCES:

www.sparksitshappeninghere.com www.cityofsparks.com www.sparksrec.com

THis secTion is pRoViDeD as a pUBlic seRVice BY THe Reno neWs & ReVieW anD is noT FUnDeD oR aFFiliaTeD WiTH THe ciTY oF spaRKs

This ModeRn WoRLd by tom tomorrow

Mining pays more

by As an exploration geologist knowledgeable about the equivalent industries. The government is trying mining industry, I argue that your March 14 to extract more money out of mining and to do article, “A special case,” uses inappropriate so wishes to remove tax protections from the analogies and misinformation. In summary, state constitution in order to manipulate it. This mining pays more tax than equivalent industries. is both unnecessary and harmful. In metals exploration, you typically need First, Nevada has control of the deductions 1,000 projects to obtain one success (discovery). and just started to control these. Why remove Then, engineering, metallurgical and environ- this from the constitution if the government has mental studies costing tens of millions of dollars not applied the tools it has? Second, mining must determine if mining is economically and requires a long and stable tax environment to put environmentally feasible. up high risk capital. Removing

Richard Bedell If this stage is passed, mining from the constitution Richard Bedell is an exploration geologist. mine permitting and construction begins, at a cost of a hundred million dollars (at the low end) to The government is trying to extract more money out of and allowing government to manipulate the tax would create an immediate decrease in capital investment in Nevada. I can several billions of dollars. The minimum time mining. speak directly to the estimated $577 million invested in Nevada from discovery to mining exploration in 2012. is 12 years, with a chance Your article refers to of failure at each stage. Compare this to the Wyoming’s higher tax for oil, gas and coal. analogy used in the article of a sandwich shop The risk in metals would be greatly diminished where you buy your bread in the morning and if we could drill one good hole and then pump sell it for profit a few hours later. The sandwich it out like they do for petroleum. Coal beds shop employs a few people at minimum wage are sedimentary units with large tonnages and while a mine can create hundreds of jobs that are continuity. Metals, and particularly gold, are far the highest paid in the state. The sandwich shop smaller deposits and less predictable. is retail, and mining is wholesale. There are no At the end of the day, we want a strong other wholesalers in the state who pay additional tax base in Nevada. A yes vote on SJR 15 will taxes, but mining does. Therefore, mining pays provide fewer taxes, not just from direct investmore than its share. The 5 percent net proceeds ment but from the loss of high paying jobs. Ω tax that is special to mining is additional to

How would you change Reno’s image?

Asked at Barnes & Noble

Robert Cummins

Retiree I think it needs more green. The old mall [Park Lane] is just all pavement. It should be made into a park. We need more parks and green. It would be good for our air, too.

Ruth Cummins

Librarian I think they should get rid of a lot of the derelict buildings. Tear them down. It would make Reno look a lot nicer. They could replace it with more green spaces or housing to make the city look cleaner.

Brett Goodman

X-ray Technologist I would like to see the schools improve. Once the schools improve, the future generations improve, and then Reno will improve. Something really needs to happen on the education level.

Carol Merjil

Retiree Maybe advertise the open, green spaces more. I’ve had to search for them in the past. When people think of Reno, they think of gambling. They think of shows. I don’t think they think of the green spaces.

Amy Young

Teacher I like that it’s small. I’m from Southern California. The more things that come here, the more it reminds me of there. I would rather it remain small. I’ve seen a lot of growth in the 16 years that I’ve been here, and I liked it better before. I wouldn’t want anything to come here to attract more people, honestly.