Trust government, not the ‘free market’
To the editor:
Gary Ashman's polemic about Michael Moore's polemic ("Health care," Tuesday letter) made me look up "non sequitur." According to Mr. Ashman, "Mr. Moore's solution to the problem is to look for nations that have ceded more control of health care to the government." Well, why not? Those countries are rated among the world's best when it comes to health care.
Why does Mr. Ashman think that corporate control (i.e., the "free market") is better than government control? Corporate control requires profit. Government control requires taxes. The work to be done and the associated jobs are necessary in either case. Government control does not allow nine-figure salaries and 10-figure stock options.
Personally, I prefer to pay additional taxes for universal coverage rather than pay high premiums for limited coverage. The point here being that I would be willing to contribute to, or share with, others less fortunate than I.
David L. Sullivan
LAS VEGAS
Tatted up
To the editor:
In response to the Monday article, "Taboo on Tattoos": If "it" looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and walks like a duck, is it a duck?
Anyone watching the television shows depicting activities in the various state correctional institutions must notice that a great many inmates look like walking billboards, usually advertising the gang they belong to.
Is it a surprise that retail business owners do not want prison inmate look-alikes as salespeople?
Duane getty
HENDERSON
Lake levels
To the editor:
So long, goodbye, auf Wiedersehen, adieu Lake Mead -- it's been nice knowing you. In less than three years time, you have been sucked down 100 feet to an elevation of 1,115 feet. Perhaps this is a conspiracy of planned obsolescence.
Launches at Las Vegas Bay and Government Wash are closed -- the former, being covered in vegetation, would make for a good study of contaminated water and wetlands. The RV campground at Government Wash is a littered disgrace and looks like a shantytown for the homeless.
The marina at Overton is closed and homes have been removed. The launch at Callville Bay is a project in dire need of completion.
The National Park Service is hardly doing service to area boaters who constantly deal with crowds at Hemenway and Las Vegas Marina (Saddle Island), both of which lack lighting and are left unfinished. Why not take some of the $1 billion -- now intended for tunneling under the lake to suck out more water -- to maintain these areas that are affected by the lowering levels?
Navigational hazards are appearing faster than they can be posted, resulting in wrecked boats. Can this still be considered a safe, navigable waterway?
The ranger patrol is more intent on patrolling both shoreline roads for speeders than for maintaining safety at the remaining three launch areas.
It is odd that Lakes Mohave and Havasu stay at stable levels throughout the year without fluctuating drastically.
Covered at this time by 200 feet of water at an elevation of approximately 910 feet is a submerged dam at the mouth of Las Vegas Bay. In another four years, this could serve as a base for Lake Las Vegas II. More water can be sucked out for those adjacent homes, hotels and golf courses.
By that time, the water authority's billion-dollar tunnel will be sucking air -- an intake pipe can then be extended into the Colorado River. All launches and marinas will be closed.
We could soon have to drive 100 or 200 miles to Mohave and Havasu to enjoy water recreation.
James cook
LAS VEGAS
Election time
To the editor:
This campaign cycle is way too long. Each candidate should be allowed to spend only a specific amount of dollars. No candidate should be allowed to start before, say, January of an election year.
The way things are now, the election process drags on and candidates are indebted to too many people.
Frank eichele
LAS VEGAS
Word play
To the editor:
Why the humongous brouhaha and ballyhoo over the addition of words such as "Bollywood," "ginormous" and "crunk" to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (Wednesday Review-Journal)? The dictionary already contains more than 165,000 words, and I am quite sure that the vast majority of us will never use all of them in our lifetimes.
I personally find it groovy and peachy keen that new words are being added. But as a high school teacher, I hope that some of the words I hear daily from the students are never considered for adoption.
MARY MACIOCE
LAS VEGAS
