Letters to the editor for Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013

Government claims it’s broke, but evidence suggests otherwise

Barriers, barriers, barriers. Our government told us they (we) were broke. If so, where did the money to buy, install, guard, maintain and reinstall the barriers to deny our access to our monuments come from? I wonder, how did they know in advance and who will pay to remove and store these barriers? Us, again. (Who else?)

Maybe we could reuse them again to block all of our wonderful government officials when they choose to run for reelection. Or maybe they could be used to bar them from returning to their plush offices which we pay for where they so diligently and with great sacrifice to themselves pretend to serve us! Just a small thought!

They can barricade us from our parks and monuments, but they can never bar us from our right to speak.

Bill Migan

Dayton

Why are NHP, the sheriff’s office supporting ambulance chasers?

Is anyone else upset by the lawyer ads on TV? Why are they even allowed? Is anyone (besides me) upset that the Nevada Highway Patrol and the Carson City Sheriff’s Office is supporting and advertising with these ambulance chasers?

Vince Baum

Carson City

Be on the lookout for dogs that attacked at workplace

This letter is a follow up letter asking for the communities help in locating the truck and the owner of the dogs who attacked me at my place of work at Carson Tahoe Cancer Center on Tuesday October 8, 2013 as my coworker and I were out for a run on our lunch hour. This elderly man, is in his 70’s and he drives a late 80’s or early 90’s Ford two tone red and white “king cab” truck with a red camper shell on it. His is about 5’ 10” tall and is a little heavy set with grayish white hair and a white beard. I am urging everyone to be on the lookout for this man and this truck with his 4 dogs, one is a reddish colored heeler type dog and the dog that attacked me was a black lab mix. The dogs are dangerous and VERY aggressive! Please contact me at MXgang576@aol.com if you have any information.

Debbie Moore

Carson City

Kudos to supervisors for decision to fence off Sonoma Park playground

I would like to thank the supervisors for their decision to fence off the playground area at Sonoma Park. It has been needed for some time, and I was so pleased that it was put up so children can play safely. I have lived in the area for over 30 years, and my children and grandchildren have played in the park. Until recently, when dogs were allowed in the park, they enjoyed playing over there. My two younger grandchildren are not used to dogs and were afraid to play in the park. I was disappointed that they did not feel secure in the playground area. With this added security, I know that they will be back playing in the park and having fun once again. Dogs can enjoy the park, and our children can enjoy the park. Thank you for a good decision.

Daphne Gammell

Carson City

Unless we rein in budget, nations will shy away from lending to us

Everything is great. The government is open again, the stock market is rising, and Obamacare will likely be fully implemented. But wait, we still have a $16 trillion debt hanging over our heads with the amount rising daily.

The recent controversy in Washington over a budget had nothing to do with a government shutdown. It was a subterfuge to conceal the real issue. In fact, do you really believe that the signs displayed around the world shutting down American historical sites were created, printed and delivered in a matter of days? Washington doesn’t work that fast. We are normally looking at bureaucratic approval, letting of contracts, etc. How long does it take you to get your IRS refund?

Unless something is done to rein in the budget, we are looking at a point where loaner nations will not longer loan us money because we can’t pay our bills. Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security need to be addressed to limit the costs to the government (us). Don’t misunderstand; I am not suggesting restructuring benefits as much as I am advocating a reduction in overhead (bureaucrats). Obamacare became a battleground because it is one more benefit that we can’t afford in the manner it is structured. If we start taking initial steps by making cuts in our bloated democracy, we may be able to hold off the loaner nations. I don’t understand why the media has gone along with this travesty, they too will have to deal with worldwide inflation and financial chaos.

Don Gurney

Carson City

Columnists need intellectual skill, not a prescribed set of beliefs

Recently a reader of the Appeal submitted a letter chastising the Appeal for (what he presumed) presenting an unbalanced selection of columnists. He felt that there were more conservative contributors than liberal, and that there should be an equal or “more balanced” group.

I think that it is more important to have columnists who are able to present facts that support their opinions, as the current group on both sides do in my opinion, rather than just spout political ideology. I never saw any liberal readers complain about the lopsided views of opinion columnists that were previously submitting articles. If a reader doesn’t agree with what a columnist writes, then they are free to submit a letter to the editor or they can contact the writer to discuss the column. Just do so in a rational and respectful manner. That gets a much better response than just saying that a particular writer, of either side, is misguided, uninformed, or lacks insight.

As the old saying goes: opinions are like (insert your favorite reference here), everyone has one. That is what makes our country different from many others.

David Knighton

Carson City