Letters

Have you seen Neal?

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

OK, so quick story. A couple of years ago, Dec. 9, 2010, we had this homeless guy living on our back porch, here at the world headquarters of the Reno News & Review. His name was Neal C. Kirk, and I interviewed him for our 15 Minutes feature, www.newsreview.com/ reno/home-on-the-street/ content?oid=1887330.

Anyway, fast forward to a week or two ago. I got a call from Neal’s sister-in-law. Through the miracle of the internet, some member of his family looked up his name, and there he was in all his glory, all bearded and toothless, but undeniably himself. His family hasn’t seen him in about 56 years, and they’d like to get in touch with him. His family includes his son, whom he has never met. Even his brother is still kicking. They all are, and since Neal was born on Dec. 21, 1931, that’s sort of surprising NEAL C. KIRK because Neal hasn’t lived the easiest life.

I haven’t seen the guy in a year and a half or so. I know he had a visit up to Parr Boulevard on May 19, 2011, but that’s where the trail gets cold for me. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he headed somewhere else, like Las Vegas, Portland or maybe Sacramento. I’ve got my feelers out, but hey, I’m the editor of a freaking newspaper—let’s do some broadcast journalism.

And I know Neal would have my hide for this, but I also called the police, and they’re looking, too. Anyway, if you’ve seen Neal since May 19, 2011, please give me a call at 324-4440 ext. 3525. You can call anytime, but I’d really like to hear from you on this one. Putting Neal and his family back together might bring a winter thaw, if you know what I mean.

—D. Brian Burghart brianb@newsreview.com

Everybody’s heard about the bird

Re “Grouse decision” (Green, Nov. 14):

I was glad to see your coverage of the sage-grouse listing determination in the green section last week. Nevada has had a conservation plan for sage-grouse, in one form or another, for more than a decade. The bi-state population was listed because the area conservation plan was never implemented. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that nobody was willing to pay for sage-grouse conservation because they didn’t think it mattered. Now that the bird is listed, everyone pays in a different way, and people are starting to see that it matters. This could have been prevented if we’d spent less time talking and more time doing. We still have time to create a conservation solution for the rest of Nevada, but it will take a concerted effort of all affected parties to sit down and make some hard choices. We will need support from our congressional delegation to help figure out how to fund sage-grouse conservation in Nevada. We won’t be able to do it alone, and we cannot afford to wait. Martin T. Nelson Reno

To tell the tooth

My wife and I took our daughter, Heather, to get free dental work at Sala Family Dentistry because we have no insurance for her at this time, and while we stood in line before the sun came up, we decided that my wife, Kimberly, should get one of her two fillings done at the same time to ease pain that could not wait and because it was free. This was perfect timing, since times are tough for most people, it made sense to save money.

Everything was perfect at Sala, and the whole experience surpassed all expectations: The staff was secondto-none, and the support from other organizations was nice. So when we went to our scheduled appointment at Apple Family Dentistry Sparks on Sparks Boulevard to see Dr. Sophia Dang to get the other filling done, the hygienist had my wife in the chair and after looking in her mouth, went to talk to the dentist, then pulled her into the meeting room to tell her they’re not comfortable with continuing treatment due to having dental work done elsewhere. They said she’s no longer welcome as a patient.

Even after explaining the situation, they wanted nothing to do with her, even though the filling that was in was a temporary fix to a tooth that would need attention soon anyway. My wife has never felt so humiliated, and we can’t believe the way she was treated. There are lots of dentists to choose from, and we picked Apple Dental because it was the closest one to us on our preferred provider list. We wish Sala was on our list too because Sala is certainly worth the drive. At least the people at Sala Family Dentistry are compassionate to people’s needs. Drew Martin Fernley

Memorable fight

Re “Biggest Little Movie” (Film, Nov. 21):

Just a quick nit to pick with Bob Grimm’s review of The Motel Life. The Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas fight mentioned in the review was actually not available to bet on anywhere in Northern Nevada. The only casino that carried odds on this fight was the Mirage in Las Vegas! (The odds opened at 50-1.) I lived in Northern California at the time and drove to Reno three times trying to find a sports book that would take my action, but to no avail. (I was trying to bet on Douglas.) Other than that small complaint, the review was solid, like most of Grimm’s work. George Tepovich Reno

Health care for all

Re “State of Health” (Feature story, Oct. 10):

Why are so many Medicare beneficiaries afraid of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? The ACA has had a rough start largely because of hype and few facts. The Health Care Act in Massachusetts had a similar rough start and that was on a much smaller scale. Only 123 people enrolled with the Massachusetts Health Care in the first month. Medicare also had a similar start, and I am sure that all of you 65 and older feel blessed that you can count on medical help when you need it. Most of the “horror stories” are blown out of proportion or downright fictitious. In one state, the initial report said 250,000 people had been canceled, which proved to be false. In fact, most of these people were offered continuation of their insurance at the same rate; thousands more were grandfathered in to their insurance coverage. The ACA provides that: People cannot be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions; dependent coverage until age 26; prohibits the use of lifetime dollar limits on coverage for essential benefits; significant cost savings.

Come on you medicare recipients; let’s give the same chance at health care to those under 65! Wanda Dingwall Sparks

Now that you mention it

Re “People don’t think before they speak” (Left Foot Forward, Nov. 7):

In a recent RN&R column (Nov. 7, 2013), Sheila Leslie discussed the politically flawed comments of Northern Nevada Assembly member Jim Wheeler. Among those “offensive remarks,” Ms. Leslie mentioned a Wheeler suggestion that “Nevada trade Las Vegas to California for the rest of Lake Tahoe,” which for some reason triggered even further calls for his resignation.

As a 46-year resident of northern Nevada, and with my tongue firmly in cheek, I wonder whether Mr. Wheeler’s proposal should have been even more ambitious. For well over a decade, I’ve fantasized (mostly to myself) that an irresistible offer could be made to California: All Nevada lands south of latitude 38 degrees (just beyond Tonopah) would become part of our neighboring state. And in return, we would gain all California lands east of the Sierra Nevada drainage divide, from the Mono Lake basin to a point near Peavine Peak northwest of Reno.

Thus, our new acquisitions would constitute far more than just “the rest of Lake Tahoe.” Headwater areas of the Walker, Carson, and Truckee river basins, plus the entire Mono Lake drainage, would be included as well. Likewise, California would gain much more than simply Las Vegas. Their acquired area also would include Laughlin, Henderson, Mesquite, Beatty, the prestigious Test Site/Yucca Mountain lands and even Searchlight.

I apologize to people in the Portola-Susanville-Alturas area, to the north, and in Caliente, Goldfield, and the Owens Valley-Mammoth area, to the south, because of their exclusion from Nevada’s suggested new territory during this benevolent reapportioning.

I probably won’t hold my breath regarding the eventual approval and implementation of this plan. Nonetheless, don’t you think that “Truckee, Markleeville and Bridgeport, Nevada” has a nice sound? And likewise for “Las Vegas and Pahrump, California”?

Steve VanDenburgh Carson City

Que bueno

Re “Limping Along” (Letters to the Editor, Nov. 14):

The writer blames universal health care for the slump in Spain’s economy, as if the for-profit model has served the U.S. well. In fact, we pay more and get less care per dollar than any other industrialized country, and then our taxes and premiums cover the costs when long-deferred health issues drive the uninsured to emergency rooms. Our health continues to decline, people forgo lifesaving drugs and preventative care because they can’t afford it, and insurance companies’ quarterly profits continue to rise. Spain was rocked by the collapse of a bank-driven housing bubble, same as we were. Why blame the poor, elderly and sick for somehow taking an unfair share of corporate profits? I was teaching in the Basque Country last spring, and one afternoon over beers a local acquaintance pointed to the residencia across the street, a state-supported assisted-living home, and explained the trade-off: “This is a hard country to get rich in, but a great place to get old.”

David Fenimore Reno

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THis Modern World by tom tomorrow

What are you thankful for?

Asked at Great Basin Brewing Co., 846 Victorian Ave, Sparks

Colleen Limon

Bartender For my family, for every day being a great day, for my co-fans [at the bar]. I’m thankful for everything.

Paul Doege

Merchant I’m thankful for good health and my good life. I had bad health at the start of this year. I have a good family life, and I’m fortunate in business.

Our toxic democracy

After the murder of President Kennedy 50 years ago last week, the Washington Post observed, “Partisan feelings, petty differences disappeared in common grief.”

We suspect that a presidential murder in this century would leave partisanship in Washington, D.C., largely unaffected and undisturbed.

Oh, there would be some bows in the direction of propriety, some crocodile tears and rhetorical chest beating. There would be some Oscar-worthy performances. But very soon today’s champions of polarization would be back at work.

So much has changed in the last half century. After the assassination in Dallas, Sen. Barry Goldwater—who enjoyed Kennedy’s company and would the next year become the Republican presidential nominee—was genuinely saddened and shocked. In the succeeding months, Republican Everett Dirksen and Democrat Hubert Humphrey worked together to pass Kennedy’s 1964 Civil Rights Act.

That’s not to say that a healthy partisanship disappeared altogether, nor would it have been a positive development if it had. Legislation and policies must be put through rigorous scrutiny in a competitive process in order that they work when they are implemented.

But that’s a very different thing from today’s toxic politics in which the intent is to obstruct, destroy careers, blacken reputations, and employ lies to defeat both legislators and legislation.

Imagine if, after the Civil Rights Act was passed, legislators refused for several years to accept that decision and refused to act on additional, unrelated measures unless the Civil Rights Act was first repealed. Imagine if legislators shut down the government, preventing good working people from getting services, even organ transplants, because partisan advantage had become a greater value than the functioning of government

Imagine if legislators had used public relations techniques to invent claims with no basis in fact to employ against the Civil Rights Act and kept repeating them over and over and over and over, long after they had been discredited by fact checkers.

Well, that’s where we’re at.

Or go back even further, to Kennedy’s campaign for the presidency. Imagine if extremist billionaires of the time such as H.L. Hunt had ponied up huge sums of money and sent operatives out to target Kennedy’s strengths instead of his weaknesses, as in the Karl Rove techniques used these days. They might have assembled a few disgruntled veterans who had run-ins with Kennedy during World War II and put them out front in a “PT Boat Veterans for Truth” organization whose strings were pulled by shadowy figures who concocted all manner of claims designed to destroy Kennedy’s wartime reputation for heroism.

Well, that’s where we’re at.

In the years since Kennedy’s death, we have backed into a political system in which big campaign money can be more easily obtained through employment of polarization than through reputable, earnest hard work and decency—and in which political leaders who know better accept it as the price they must pay to win.

And the public has let it happen. Voters are unwilling to see through these kinds of tactics and punish candidates who use them. We have a political system that, with every passing decade, becomes more despicable and repulsive, driving good people out of public life.

As Mort Sahl has said, “Darwin was wrong.” Ω Tamra James

Bookkeeper I’m thankful for family and my good health. I love my mom and dad. I don’t know what it would be like here on Earth without them. They’re great support.

Cheryl Dunner

Homemaker Our wonderful children and the prospect of a good 2014. I’m hoping for no war, and peace.

Jesus Reynaga

Cabinetmaker I am thankful for family, friends, and for living. I have two children. I’m not here on Earth for myself. I’m working hard for them.