Letters

Just call me lucky

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

I don’t know what got me thinking along this tangent recently, but I’ve been thinking how lucky I am. It might have had something to do with the bombing at the Boston Marathon. I always feel appreciative of the things we have as Americans when I see the exception that proves the rule. I mean, we’ve got a population of 314 million. As awful as that act of terrorism was, there are places in the world where an act like that happens almost every day. I don’t feel safe, don’t get me wrong, because safety in this country is primarily illusion. I mean, we live in houses where glass windows are supposed to keep bad people out. But I’m not afraid to be in crowds, and I hardly ever hesitate to write what I’m thinking, particularly when there’s a national debate about gun-violence control.

I’ll also admit, I’ve got it pretty good. I live in a great house. A couple of years ago, I managed to keep it from foreclosure by never getting behind on my payments while I spent tens of hours every week for about four months trying to make the government’s bailout of the banking and mortgage industry work for me as an American citizen. But if you looked at that house—OK, admittedly, I still haven’t done my spring cleanup—you’d be jealous.

I guess I do have a little fear of the future, since those same people who fraudulently caused the banking and mortgage crisis also got my retirement. People who had a lot of money in the markets or a more diversified portfolio, though, made out all right. I was lucky. If you count all of my retirement and the bubblicious equity in my home, they only got me for about $300,000. Maybe $340,000 if you include the fact that I’m still a bit underwater.

So when I see those representatives in Washington, D.C., calling for a terrorist to be tried under laws that deprive an accused murderer but for-sure American citizen of constitutional rights, I know we’ll see justice. Those electeds have my back, just like they had yours over the past few years. We’re just lucky that way. —D. Brian Burghart brianb@newsreview.com

Teen sex glorified

Re “Nevada vs. teen pregnancy” (Upfront, March 7):

Although Nevada’s teen pregnancy rate may have gone down, it has also become more socially acceptable for teens to become parents. We see teen parents all over the media with shows like 16 and Pregnant, which are glorifying teen pregnancy. Our Family World, a family statistic website, in 2011 stated, “Although teenage pregnancy reached an all-time high in 1991 and declined steadily for several years after, as of 2006, the overall number of pregnant girls age 13-19 is climbing once again. Basically, for every 1,000 born each year, 42 of them are to very young mothers.”

Nevada may have gone down on ratings, but teen pregnancy is rising. Sierra McGee Sparks

Welcome to Reno

Re “Like riding a bike” (Green, March 2):

Good read. I love what Reno Bike Project is doing in Reno. My wife and I who currently live and commute via bike in Portland, Ore., are moving to Reno for schooling. I’m just concerned that its not going to be as safe for us to ride. Portland is a great example of how cyclist commuters and vehicle commuters can coexist. If everyone drove a car in Portland, the streets would be jammed with traffic every day. However, they are not, and that is pretty amazing considering the size of Portland. If Reno wants to continue to strive to be a great healthy and safe community bike lanes are a must. I’m excited to move back to the Reno area and to join the cyclist community. Anthony Johnson Portland, Ore.

Needs education

Re “Let’s have sex education” (Left Foot Forward, April 11):

There is one thing that is not being brought up. Nevada also ranks 50th in the country for its statewide education system. I know this to be true because recently I was talking with someone at a bar and stated this fact, and someone from behind me said, “At least we aren’t last.”

So the solution to teen pregnancies being proposed is for the worst teachers in the country to tackle this issue? And we expect to have a positive outcome? This doesn’t seem likely. Also, has anyone conjectured that the reason Nevada has such a high teen pregnancy rate is because in most of Nevada, there is nothing to do but offroad four-by-fouring, doing meth, and screwing? The reasons could also be cultural. We live in a state whose name is a Spanish word that also has a tremendous percentage of people whose culture comes from south of the border. In those cultures, having children at an early (by our standards) age is encouraged. By framing this debate in our own cultural terms, could this not be a bigoted stance?

Matt Stern Fallon

Free market? Right.

Re “Mining pays more” (Guest Comment, April 11):

Richard Bedell may be a great geologist, but as a capitalist he is not so great. What happened to supply and demand? If it is so much more expensive to mine minerals than everything else, mineral buyers should pay the cost—not taxpayers. That’s socialism. That’s government giving support to an unprofitable, failed industry. Even Republicans don’t like that (Solyndra). If they can’t find buyers for the true cost of their product, they should leave it in the ground and go exploit the cheaper minerals elsewhere until those are used up, and American minerals are suddenly worth the cost to produce them. That would be best for national security too. Tell the mining industry, “We’re Taxed Enough Already!”

Richard Cooper Washoe Valley

Nobody wins

Six missile types are usually cited as being in North Korea’s ballistic arsenal: the Scud D; the Nodong; the Taepodong 1, 2 and X; and the UNHA-3. Of these six, only two-the Scud D and the Nodong--are confirmed to exist (their nuclear capability is not); the rest, imitating North Korea’s own fantastic propaganda, are conjecture ad nauseam. Again with the lions, and tigers, and bears? Oh, my! Say! You know who is a nuclear-weapons state? China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA (cue flag). Throw in undeclared Israel for good measure and then wonder why Iran apparently wants some of that Los Alamos action, too. Yet, despite the mischaracterization by such “media” train wrecks as CNN and Fox News, India, North Korea and Pakistan are nuclear powers --and barely at that--not nuclear-weapons states. Indeed, as Adair and Daphne are dropped off at pre-school, there are today 4,100 operational strategic nuclear warheads and 17,300 total nuclear warheads in the world, according to the American Federation of Scientists: Russia and the USA have the lion’s share, the tiger’s and bear’s portions being instantaneously suicidal. In a flash, as it were.

Craig Ayres-Sevier Reno

Makes sense to us

Gun control: In a nutshell, I just thought I’d clear a few things up for some of you folks. The criminal justice system--like the educational system and anything else that starts with “Department of”—is a bureaucracy. Now, the way a bureaucracy works is, the only way you move up is to have people under you. So, you start saying you need help to do the job (since you have such a large pileup of back-work). When you get two or three people helping you, then you quit doing the job because now you are “managing” the help. Now the help needs help, and when they get a few people helping, then they manage and you supervise. See how easy it is? Now, why do we want guns off the street? To prevent crime? Then we would need less police, less courts, less jailers. Now ... is the light coming on? C.L. Dickinson Sparks

Not us

Re “Good on you” (Editorial, March 28):

Would someone please tell the Reno Gazette-Journal this is not California or Mexico? Our local newspaper in Reno, Nevada, USA, should be in English--only all of it. Cecelia Soper Reno Editor’s note: We applaud that newspaper’s efforts to include Spanish-language speakers. Also, we consider choice of language a First Amendment right for all since language is the underpinning of all speech.

Stop spending

Recent events involving North Korea demonstrate the need for a strong defense. If we let the national debt get to the point where all revenue is consumed by interest payments and entitlements, we will be at the mercy of such nations as North Korea, Iran and China. We will be more vulnerable to terrorists with WMDs, as we would no longer be able to trace WMDs to their country of origin. We must write to our elected officials and urge them to stop deficit spending, and to adopt budgets that will pay down the national debt and looming entitlement shortages.

Alex Sokolow Santa Monica, Calif.

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