Letters

Nice not hearing from you

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

I’ve complained about this before: Email, which in the ’90s was the most efficient method of communication ever, has become the least efficient form of communication. I am not exaggerating when I say I receive hundreds of emails every day and not 10 out of 100 are actually intended as communications to me.

That means 90 out of 100 are communications where it’s efficient for the individual sending the information, but I’m supposed to waste my time winnowing all those emails to get to the 10 percent that are actually relevant to me and my affairs. Here’s a visual in which 10 percent of the information is useful:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, I consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed nec libero hate ligula. Ut a velit sed libero cursus laoreet. Duis viverra purus id tellus rutrum viverra. Maecenas vel nisl tellus, cursus all ultricies erat. Proin at nibh facilisis spam nulla volutpat emails bibendum eget a diam.

Last week, I started a zero tolerance policy for irrelevant emails. Our company has a filter that weeds out most of the Viagra ads and such, but lately I’ve been using two additional filters to block irrelevant messages before I receive them.

It works like this. I open Chrome, and then I open three tabs. One has my inbox, the other two have these two spam filters. I go through every single email. If it is even potentially relevant to me, like from a Nevada government agency, I let it though. If it’s an advertisement for an event in an area code that isn’t 775, I put the domain name @wespam. com into one spam blocker, but if I can identify a word or phrase that is always spam, it goes into another. (For example “Brand new Govt program.”) One filters out “legitimate” spammers, like New York PR agencies, and the other filters out “illegitimate” spammers who constantly change email and domain names to evade guys like me who are tired of noise.

I’m not there yet, but it’s already more manageable. And I feel better every time I push the button that says, “Add Sender.” —D. Brian Burghart brianb@newsreview.com

O-bomb-a

Erik Holland, Reno

And did you see Little Big Man?

Re “Check out time” (Art of the State, April 25):

In Mark Dunagan’s review of The Hot L Baltimore presented by the Department of Theatre and Dance he states, “Beyond high school theater, though, a young man probably shouldn’t be playing an old man.”

While we welcome informed critique of the work we present—that comment reveals an unfortunate misunderstanding of our mission. We offer theatre training to students—many aged 18-25. Providing students with an opportunity to stretch their abilities in multiple directions is why we exist.

As a 25 year old graduate student attending the Yale School of Drama, Meryl Streep played an eighty-year-old wheelchairbound character. So far it has not hampered her career nor tarnished Yale’s reputation for actor training. Rob Gander Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance University of Nevada, Reno

Much obliged

Re “Keep calm and marry on” (Feature story, April 25):

Best cover image ever. I’m neither gay nor a cannabis user, but loudly, proudly and unequivocally support all who are. Darlynne Vrechek Reno Editor’s note: Yep, gotta love our designers Hayley and Priscilla.

A wing and a prayer

Re “Friendly skies” (Foodfinds, March 21):

After reading the review of the Spitfire Pub and Grill, my wife and I were anxious to check it out. We were not disappointed. As soon as we walked through the door we were greeted by a pleasant voice from behind the bar. Stevie, our server, was on the scene with menus and a friendly smile within seconds. I ordered the shepherd’s pie and my wife had the fish and chips. Both were perfectly prepared, well seasoned and served piping hot. I also had a bottle of Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout and my wife had a pint of Bass Ale. The food was great and the service was prompt and friendly. Our check came to $38 and change. Co-owner Brian came over to our table after we had finished our meal, and we chatted for several minutes. There is no possible way that lunch/ dinner for two, with two glasses of wine totaled $60 [as one of your letter-writers wrote]. We have been back to the Spitfire twice since our first visit. Same great food, same awesome service and same reasonable prices. I have, and will continue to, recommend the Spitfire to my family, friends and co-workers. And by the way, the airplane wing is about 15 feet long and hangs directly above the front door. Gregory Scott Crawford Washoe City

Mixed messages

Re “Be Americans” (Editorial, April 19):

I suppose that an editorial is often stream of consciousness—an inside look at the working thoughts of the editor. I appreciate that. But I’m still concerned with the mixed message of your recent editorial titled: “Be Americans” given the subject and its current nature. I had hoped from the title that your article would press for courage and calm but your first paragraph reinforces the fear that is used to push through the very draconian laws you warn against at the end of your article. “We are under siege from within and without” is both a massive exaggeration of our current state of national security and exactly the kind of reaction that terrorists hope to accomplish.

We were attacked—yes. We are not under anything even close to a siege. You rightly chastise other news agencies for jumping too quickly with “rumors” and “inaccurate reports.” I’m often left with the uncomfortable impression that news channels are less thorough and less accurate than the front page of Reddit. But rather than caution against trying to produce news too quickly, you want the FBI and the police to announce play by play of what they’re doing. Did you want a name of a suspect in the home search or a confirmation that this was a suspect? I ask because you mention the Atlanta Olympic bombing so it would appear you’re familiar with the damage done to Richard Jewell by the kinds of early announcements you’re clamoring for. I think I understand the statement that you’re making. If saying that America isn’t safe but we should remain strong and brave then I’d agree with you. But your media consumption pushes for the kinds of knee-jerk hunger for information that makes you neither safer nor better informed. In fact, the desire to hear the president use the word terrorism; the need for up-to-the-minute confirmations of Boston police actions; and definitive announcements of current intelligence from the FBI isn’t only unlikely, it’s probably poor judgment.

I believe the president was trying to avoid panicking the rest of the country and that doesn’t seem unreasonable. He didn’t sit there and not react. He didn’t pretend there wasn’t an explosion. When Americans hear “terrorist attack,” they can sometimes jump to the conclusion that we’re really “under siege.” Those panicky leaps in logic come from somewhere. Panic, not a more informed 24-hour cable news, is what leads to the erosion of liberties and privacy.

Felix Polanski Reno

Those darned critics, being all critical

Re “Check out time” (Art of the State, April 25):

Did we see the same show? I thought it was very good. They say if you go looking for fault, you usually find it.

Mary Lannom Reno

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.

ThiS ModeRn WoRld by tom tomorrow

Should genetically modified foods be labeled?

Asked at Safeway on Mae Anne Avenue

Dawne Rice

Retiree Yes. I hope that my food would be safe. The closer to being homegrown, the better. I don’t want it to be genetically modified. I want to know if it is so that I could avoid it.

Linda Kennedy

Social worker Yes, I think they should be labeled so that we know what we’re taking into our bodies, so that we’re aware of what we are eating. I just want to know. I’m not sure if they’re safe or unsafe, but I think we should just be able to use our own judgment as to whether we want to eat them or not.

A disgusting bill

We second what our esteemed columnist Sheila Leslie wrote this week in Left Foot Forward. A bill, Nevada Senate Bill 192, also called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, is a heinous attack on women and women’s right to be free from constraints put on them by superstitious religious thinking from the Iron Age. Ostensibly, it is supposed to give doctors and pharmacists the right to refuse to dispense medical care if they claim to have religious objections to it. What it really does is allow strangers to stand in judgment of how other people live their lives and to prevent emergency health care for women.

The bill’s summary is frankly hilarious in its misdirecting hypocrisy: “Enacts the Nevada Preservation of Religious Freedom Act to prohibit governmental entities from substantially burdening the exercise of religion.”

Nevada somehow managed to fly under the radar in last election’s war on women, the election where such terms as “legitimate rape,” “transvaginal ultrasounds” and “personhood,” became political wedge issues. Fortunately, women make up 53 percent of the electorate, and the misogynists got their hats handed to them.

So here we are in 2013, and the liars and rhetorical magicians have come up with a new way to camouflage their attacks. They say they’re trying to support religious rights, not diminish them.

As Leslie points out, even if the bill was written and voted out of the Senate with the smokescreen of a somewhat reasonable rationale, it’s a disgusting attack on women’s rights to health care and people’s rights to determine their own religious choices.

In the United States, we have this thing called the Constitution. In it, we allow changes to be made— amendments. Here at the Reno News & Review, one of our favorite amendments is the First: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

It is unquestionable that the proposed Nevada law holds one religious view as superior to another, and it codifies bigotry against women and the gay community. It’s also based on a law that the Supreme Court has already found unconstitutional, the federal Religion Freedom Restoration Act, which was overturned in 1997.

While Sheila Leslie and others have focused on the medical aspects of this law, it in no way limits its use to doctors, nurses and pharmacists, as a quick read will show (http://tinyurl.com/cu3vsy6)—“The provisions ... of this act apply to any claim or defense regarding the employment, education or volunteer service of a person who performs or will be tasked with performing any religious duties for a religious organization, including, without limitation: (a) Spreading or teaching faith; (b) Performing devotional services; or (c) Participating in internal governance.”

We defy readers to find a spot in this bill that maintains the separation of church and state in places like schools or that would prevent teachers from preaching to our children any religion to which they subscribe. This bill must be stopped. Please, write your representative. Ω Mike Meador

U.S. Army veteran I would. Yeah, they probably should be labeled just so that we can identify what we’re eating and what’s in our food. I haven’t done much research, to be honest, but I guess if it’s healthy enough for us to digest and eat, and it doesn’t give us any problems, then I’m OK with it. But I definitely think they should be labeled regardless.

Braedon Franey

Courtesy clerk Yes. I think that would be helpful just to know and give us some clarification about what’s in there. I don’t really have much opinion on them in general. I don’t pay much attention to that, but I think it would help for them to be labeled.

Jenica Barker

Stay-at-home mom Yes. I think that everyone should be aware of what they’re eating because there are so many new diseases that are popping up or are coming back, and they might have something to do with it. And I just think that everything should be tracked very well and be wellinformed, so that everyone knows what we are putting into our bodies.