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Thursday, January 8, 2015
It’s the people
Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review. OK, this column is not Facebook, so I try to include stories about the less photogenic parts of my life, and the not-so-respectable parts of being a human, but, man, I have got to tell you about my day yesterday. My day yesterday: 1. I got to hire Georgia Fisher as special projects editor. 2. I was interviewed by a kindred mind at the Epoch Times in New York City. 3. I got the first response to a volunteer’s public records request of all 1,700 law enforcement agencies in Texas. 4. I got a call from a U.S. Representative’s staff to meet with them on Monday. 5. I got told I’m a finalist for a $12,000 grant. 6. I got interviewed by Channel 4’s Jaime Hayden. 7. I was asked to speak to the Media Consortium and Association of Alternative Newsmedia about Fatal Encounters. They’re picking up the room and conference costs! 8. I got an update on the next iteration of the Fatal Encounters website. Machine language learning? Multiple languages? Crazy! 9. I got to drink some wine with my girl. 10. Charter called to say they’re doubling my internet speed at home for free. I had one really dark spot that made everything else seem brighter. I also had another dark spot that turned out to be some of the small stuff we’re not supposed to sweat. I don’t know what the takeaway to all this is, but I’m sure it’s something sweet. Appreciate your good days? Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may die? Recognize that we can’t really take credit for everything that luck hands us? Sometimes you just have to believe it: There is no spoon. *** Update: I did get the grant from J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism, which will help launch encuentrosmortales.org. This site will focus on officer-involved homicides on the U.S. border with Mexico.
Re “More fond farewells” (Left Foot Forward, Dec. 24, 2014): I am amused that Sheila Leslie is still writing about “Nevada’s lowestever voter turnout last month” without seeming to comprehend the reason. Since states generally calculate potential voter turnout using the number of registered voters, I feel that voter registration campaigns are to blame. When “get out the vote” volunteers take clipboards to farmers markets and food truck events with the goal of registering people to vote, they are registering non-voters, i.e., people who generally don’t bother to vote. The “get out the vote” volunteers are undoubtedly proud of themselves for convincing people to register to vote as they wolf down kettle corn and hot dogs. The people who registered were undoubtedly fired up about the election at the time, but, as the election approached, apathy set in. I hypothesize that the increased number of non-voters registered to vote caused the decrease in voter turnout. The solution is to stop these clipboard campaigns and, instead, encourage people to go to the Registrar of Voters office and register themselves to vote. Only people who are actually planning to vote will bother to do that, which will lead to a higher voter turnout. Karen Inda Sparks
It’s the greed Car dealerships never fail to amaze me in their incessant greed. Took my car to a dealership to have a couple of recall jobs done and decided that I might as well let them do my 50,000mile maintenance—oil, filter, rotate and check fluids, a typical hour’s work, $159 labor. Needed an actuator for the door look installed—pull door panel, replace part, at best an hours workm $159 labor. Average dealership cost $60 to $90 per hour. On top of the outrageous labor cost, add $40 for “possible incidentals,” like rags, washers, a screw—charged if used or not. So why am I not paying for the receptionist’s lip stick, too? So taking your car into a dealership for free recall service, just gives these guys an
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opportunity to take advantage of you. None of these costs were reviewed with me in advance. The serviceperson even asked me to please not give her a bad review when I called to question/ complain. Apparently, dealerships live off of people who don’t question anything. I am so mad at myself for trusting them, but am making sure to share what others should know about their practices. Wayne Irvine Reno
It’s the religious freedom Why does our president rush so quickly to Islam’s defense? And why does President Obama have so much trouble calling out Islamic terrorism? It seems obvious that any ideology that violently seeks submission and can use coercion —even death—to enforce their tyrannical law is not a religion at all. It’s a political system. And just as clearly Islamic law is totally inconsistent with our Constitution. The recent terrorism slaughter in France demonstrated again that a tyrannical political system like Jihadist Islam cannot co-exist within a free society. Jihadist Islam will metastasize. Our nation was formed out of a rejection of tyranny. And our elected leaders take an oath to defend and protect our Constitution. President Reagan took on the “evil empire.” It’s your time to step up, Mr. President. Which political system will you defend? Robert R. Kessler Las Vegas
It’s the encyclopedia The chance for complete change and the best resolution the RN&R could make would be to get over the insane fear and jealousy of Sam Dehne; who should have been the answer to every newspaper’s dream for the last 20 years. He has more stories to write about in a week than RN&R and its sister paper the RGJ write about in a year. Years. Dehne is live and extemporaneous, and he owns Youtube. Sam Dehne Reno
Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Special Projects Editor Georgia Fisher Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Contributors Amy Alkon, Woody Barlettani, Bob Grimm, Ashley Hennefer, Sheila Leslie, Eric Marks, Dave Preston, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young
Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Junior Art Director Brian Breneman Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Design Melissa Bernard, Brad Coates, Kyle Shine Advertising Consultants Joseph “Joey” Davis, Gina Odegard, Bev Savage, Jessica Wilson Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker
—D. Brian Burghart
brianb@ ne wsreview . com
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ART OF THE STATE
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It’s the lame relationships Re “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (Film, Dec. 25): I thought, at the time, your reviews of the first two Hobbit films were harsh. However, what little I enjoyed in the first two films has been completely eroded by the final installment. This film drags. And I enjoyed Chariots of Fire! Jackson pulled off a minor miracle with his Lord of the Rings trilogy. There, he actually took the time to develop relationships among the characters. Here, there just isn’t anything really bonding in Bilbo’s relationship with the dwarves. In “Rings,” Frodo is changed by his experiences. In The Hobbit, Bilbo doesn’t seem much different at the end. I’m glad it’s over. Paul Anthony George Brockton, Massachusetts
It’s the ... lawyers Re “But how do you feel?” (Letters to the editor, Dec. 31): The never ending debate about “Obamskicare” is little more than a classic case of obfuscation to: 1)ensure current and future astronomical inflation of medical care ... and 2) benefit the bank accounts of medical malpractice attorneys. Call it a classic example of “misdirection” on a massive tawdry scale. Huh? Obamskis first public speech after being elected was to the American Medical Association. He informed the physicians that he had no intentions of lessening their onerous burdens relative to the filings of frivolous lawsuits and concomitant astronomical, malpractice premiums— Obamski’s opening salvo in the never ending “Liar in Chief” play book. Think Goebels circa 1938. Being a lawyer who is owned lock, stock and gavel by the legal PACs, our dear leader knew that he’d lose support from fellow leeches if he acted otherwise. What’s even more insidious, however, is the reality that the secretary general of the Politburo had Obamskicare already percolating in his seditious mind. All he had to do was package his lie and spoon feed it to the lapdog mainstream media for faithful regurgitation. Sell it as compassion Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager Anthony Clarke Distribution Drivers Sandra Chhina, Steve Finlayson, Debbi Frenzi, Vicky Jewell, Angela Littlefield, Joe Medeiros, Ron Neill, Christian Shearer, Marty Troye, Warren Tucker, Gary White, Joseph White, Margaret Underwood General Manager/Publisher John D. Murphy President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resource Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Rosenquist
NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
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THIS WEEK
for the uninsured, better health care for Grandma, comprehensive care. Remember: you can keep your doctor, costs will go down, premium costs will be less than a cell phone, and the insured youth will pay for the elderly. It simply would not do if the lawyers had disincentives not to sue physicians! For Obamskicare to work, he required the astronomical rise in health care costs to continue. Let me reiterate: Obamskicare will not work if overall health care costs go down. The higher the medical costs, the better for our “dear Leader’s” plans. Ergo: If health care costs were actually contained, pure market conditions would take over and allow malpractice underwriters to lessen the cost of policies. Why? Because physicians would be practicing pure medicine versus medico-legal medicine. In order to shove Obamskicare down our collective throats, he had to negate the consequences of the legitimate market conditions. Lower health care costs would surely trump any pseudo-logic babble that Obamskicare proponents were trying to fool the masses with. The real problem with health care in America is that providers are obliged to order needless tests/exams to preclude the chance of a frivolous malpractice suit. Consider: a simple laceration to a finger requiring nothing but a couple of stitches and a bandage. Should take no more than 15 minutes and cost less than a 50 bucks. I’ve had this exact malady in numerous countries overseas. Take my word for it, that’s the average cost. But this would not sit well with the purveyors Obamskicare Liars Manifesto! Realizing that a serious “hit” on his malpractice insurance is always a real possibility, this same health care provider who would otherwise just sew up the pinky is faced with a survival decision. His own! The boo boo on the pinky isn’t the problem here, sports fan. Kim Kollman Captain/USMM Reno Editor’s note, Capt. Kollman sent a related letter that we published in December. This one ran about 1,700 words, but unfortunately, we don’t have room to serialize it, so here’s more of his thinking on the socialistic Obamskicare.
Business Nicole Jackson, Kortnee Angel Sweetdeals Coordinator Courtney deShields Nuts & Bolts Ninja Christina Wukmir Lead Technology Synthesist Jonathan Schultz Senior Support Tech Joe Kakacek Developer John Bisignano System Support Specialist Kalinn Jenkins 405 Marsh Ave., Third Floor Reno, NV 89509 Phone (775) 324-4440 Fax (775) 324-4572 Classified Fax (916) 498-7940 Mail Classifieds to classifieds@newsreview.com
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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.
Cover and feature story design: Brian Breneman Cover photo: Howard Goldbaum
JANUARY 15, 2015
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