Letters

See ya, Sage

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Today’s a sad day in the world of this newspaper. Sage Leehey is moving back down to the Las Vegas area. She’s been with us since March 2013. She’s been in charge of the Green section, and she’s headed up all the special projects, like Summer and Winter Guides and all those family supplements.

I first met Sage four years ago next month. She was in my Journalism 107 class. Crazy how these kids grow up before your eyes. One second they’re in a freshman journalism class and the next they’re going back to Vegas to get a grown up job in a big city and help out with the family.

I’ve got certain favorites through the years, beginning journalists I worked with who went on to do bigger things than I’ll ever do. I always know it when I’m working with them; they’ve just got something that makes them stand out. (And I’ve often been told I have an eye for talent.) Sage is one of these, and I’m going to miss her, both in these pages and in the office.

***

It’s Christmas. Many people think I’m a screwed up human being for many reasons, but man, I will never be able to get behind Christmas. For one, I’m not a Christian, except in American cultural ways. Second, I don’t believe that conspicuous consumerism and waste should be celebrated. I’m forced by culture to change my life to adapt to the schedule foisted on us by the dominant religion in this country.

I understand a little bit why Fox’s Bill O’Reilly feels there’s a war on Christmas by the secular part of society. It’s easy. It takes two to have a war, and O’Reilly is simply feeling his side’s aggression toward the rest of us.

But on the other hand, Christmas is a great time for me. I really like to have time alone with my thoughts, and since everyone else is doing the Christmas thing, the time I get to do the things I can only do by myself is the best gift I get every year.

Regardless, I hope every day is a happy holiday for our readers. —D. Brian Burghart brianb@newsreview.com

30 seconds gone, just gone.

Re “Poetic adjustments” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, Dec. 11):

This is the worst piece of writing I have ever seen or read by a journalist. What is it you are saying? Are you making fun of what has been going on? Are you saying you disagree with what has been going on? Are you saying you agree with what has been going on? What, what it is you are trying to say to your readers, Mr. Van Dyke? Whatever it is you are trying to say, this piece of garbage doesn’t say anything at all and is a waste of time to read. Melynda Mall Sparks

All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again

Re “Immigrants are not the enemy” (Left Foot Forward, Dec. 11):

Absolute rubbish. It’s rubbish because this has all happened before. All the promises and benefits that would result if good, consistent, enforcement was applied as required by the statutes. But we know, again, from direct experience, such enforcement was not, is not, and will not be delivered and sustained as promised. This is why immigration reform, real immigration reform, must start with the delegalization of present incentives for those who have crossed our borders illegally. They must include: 1. Repeal the unaccompanied minors’ law that is being manipulated by smugglers to move Central Americans into our country illegally—so far, all we see is funding to help it along—and withdraw new funding for this effort. 2. Pass a law that both bars the explicit claim of deferred action and parole discretion asserted by the president and DHS, as well as their ability to issue work documents to those not in the country in a defined status (non-immigrant, refugee or permanent resident alien). 3. Pass a mandatory e-verify bill for all employers and present it to the President. 4. Pass an interior enforcement bill that unites state, federal, and local assets in immigration law enforcement. 5. And an end to ascriptive allegiance and a return to consensual natural right U.S. citizenship.

David Farrar Cedartown

Pay as you go

Re “The doctor won’t see you now” (Feature story, Nov. 28, 2013):

I retired last year and my wife had to take on my insurance payments, which were previously paid by my employer. That took an additional $550 a month out of her paycheck. I signed on for concierge health care at a clinic for $2,100 a year. I pay for tests and meds and they do not do insurance. If I could switch our plan to a high premium catastrophic coverage for myself, we would come out OK. My doctor of record that I can use my insurance with does very little. When I get to see him, he doesn’t touch me. He asks questions and taps on his tablet and then he’s gone. My concierge doctor sees me every time I go in. I’m sometimes there for an hour talking to him and the other providers in his clinic. With the choices available to me in this country, I’m very satisfied with this. The insurance I have to have for anything catastrophic is the bad part. Sean Grady Cherokee, North Carolina

Black leader roulette

Without getting into the grand jury findings in the two cases involving the deaths of black men who were resisting arrest, I think it’s unfortunate that President Obama and Attorney General Holder stepped into these two cases. They were local law enforcement issues. The president and attorney general expressed their interest in ways that inflamed rather than defused the community unrest. The administration turned this situation into an emotional and divisive national issue.

Maybe that’s because the president sought counsel from the black community by going to Al Sharpton. I guess Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson wasn’t available. Obviously neither was Herman Cain or Dr. Ben Carson. Or Condi Rice. Or Rep. Mia Love. Or Larry Elder. Or Ward Connerly. Or Sen. Tim Scott. Or Thomas Sowell. Col. Allen West. Deneen Borelli. Would even a Frederick Douglass have been consulted by this White House?

But then, we all know what someone wants when they consult Al Sharpton. And it’s neither facts nor calm.

Robert R. Kessler Las Vegas

Ironic, much?

Re “The Future Of Shopping Hell” (Feature story, Dec. 18):

Page 15, the conclusion of your article on the evils of Amazon: “More people need to know what’s going on between that jazzy website and ‘the FedEx guy,’ for Amazon is insidious, far more dangerous and destructive to our culture’s essential values than Wal-Mart ever dreamed of being. Remember: Price is not value. Exchanging value—and our society’s values—for Amazon’s low prices is a raw deal.”

Page 16, literally the very next page, an article on DVDs recommending Amazon for purchase!

C’mon guys!

Jake Palmer Reno

Bring on the music

Re “Air waves” (Art of the State, Dec. 18):

I’d like to say thanks to the editors and to Ashley Hennefer for the story about Radio Free Nevada. We are so excited about the potential rewards our neighbors can realize with a fullyfunctional community radio station for our region. Communities who already have access to non-profit community stations are demonstrably more cohesive, enjoy higher rates of volunteerism and are better able to solve their own problems from the grassroots up. We greatly appreciate the attention that the debut of KXNV 89.1fm has received.

I’d like to clear up a couple of items in the story, though. Firstly, my role is not “station manager,” that falls to Jeff Cotton of Open Sky Radio. My role is advisory, as a boardmember, and much more fun than his, in content creation via my Bucket Show that airs daily between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Also, my part with PLAN is only as, again, an advisor in the process of getting this baby off the drawing board and into the community. I’m certainly proud of these efforts, as are the others who have given their time and energies to the project.

Many more Reno-tians, Sparks-ites, and denizens of surrounding communities will lend their hands and hearts to this project for generations to come, and all of us, our children, and our children’s children will be beneficiaries.

Radio Free Nevada KXNV is inclusive, non-commercial, educational, non-partisan and non-confrontational. It is a resource for community building and bonding and, by the way, is pretty darn fun to listen to! We are running it on a ridiculously small shoestring budget and look to the community for financial support. Donation details are found on the website at www.kxnv891. fm. We also hope everyone will visit and “like” the Radio Free Nevada page on Facebook, an easy way to stay in touch with station activities and provide feedback.

Steve Funk Advisory Board Member Radio Free Nevada, KXNV 89.1fm

Radio Reno

Re “Air waves” (Art of the State, Dec. 18):

Great radio is back! Thank you Steve Funk, Bruce Van Dyke, and all the people involved with Radio Free Nevada KXNV 89.1. I am so sick of flipping channels to get away from all the corporate BS ads that constantly flood the airwaves of some of what used to be good radio stations here in Reno. Being a fan of Mr. Van Dyke’s from his days on KTHX I have followed him via his weekly column in your paper, and his involvement with KLAP radio out of Gerlach/ Cedarville. I wish him and all involved much success in this latest venture and look forward to many years of ad free listening.

Tim Holmen Reno

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