Automakers got a huge bailout, too — and nobody noticed

To the editor:

How come nobody is talking about the $25 billion that Congress loaned U.S. automakers two weeks ago? We were so fixated on the $700 billion for the banks that this automaker bailout slipped right by us.

The automakers say it is to help them retool for "greener cars." I thought that was the job of CEOs and their companies, to keep up with the changing wants of their customers.

I don't pretend to know the right or wrong way to fix the economy. What I do know is that the bigger issue is fixing the lack of trust many people have in Washington.

If this $700 billion loan was so important, why was it necessary to add pork to this bill? Couldn't the needs of rum suppliers and racetrack owners be addressed at another time?

Whatever happened to the line-item veto? Most states (not Nevada) have a line-item veto available for governors to use when they see pork-barrel items attached to an important funding bill. President Clinton had this power until the U.S. Supreme Court nixed it.

The loan to automakers and part of the $700 billion loan to financial institutions could be used to buy bad car loans from banks. I don't know if the loan to automakers was a good or bad idea, but I hate the way it was hushed up and barely made the news. It, too, was an item added to an important bill to keep the federal government operating.

All of our currency says "In God We Trust." It is too bad that he is not running for office, for he is about the only one I trust at the moment.

Teri Rogers

LAS VEGAS

Save Gold Butte

To the editor:

The area referred to as Gold Butte includes land rich in visual beauty, wildlife, archeological and cultural history and solitude. Unrestricted entry has resulted in negative impacts to all of these wonders through inappropriate motorized vehicle use, theft and vandalism.

The only tools we currently have to attempt to curtail such degradation are such designations as wilderness and conservation areas.

In response to Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley's recently introduced legislation to create the Gold Butte Conservation Area, Review-Journal outdoors columnist C. Douglas Nielsen wrote Oct. 2: "But do we have to jump to the wilderness and conservation area designations? Isn't there something in the middle that will allow continued use of the land by people of varied interests while protecting the most significant resources?"

I submit that considering the scarring and damage that have already occurred, we need to act with whatever tools we have to stem the tide of loss as soon as possible. Waiting for the development of some other means of control will result in less to save.

Rep. Berkley's legislation would have been better passed years ago, with adequate funding to be effective. It deserves full support now -- and timely action.

William Belknap

BOULDER CITY

I'm with stupid

To the editor:

We gave AIG $85 billion. One week later, AIG executives pay $400,000 for a corporate junket.

There are only two possible reactions. Either we demand our $85 billion back and pursue criminal charges ... or we give them $38 billion more!

I think it is time for all Americans to look in their mirrors and see what stupid looks like.

David Stanfield

LAS VEGAS

Swift truth

To the editor:

Sen. Barack Obama claims comments by his opponent's campaign about his relationship with "terrorists" is a form of "Swift Boating."

As the last commander of the Swift Boat Squadron and a dedicated member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, I can assure you and your readers that we wrote the truth. The inference that "Swift Boating" is tantamount to untruth is, itself, the biggest lie of all.

Sen. Obama, like Sen. John Kerry before him, has put his character and integrity before the public. It is not the fault of Swift Boat veterans that neither of them has much to offer.

Lawrence R. Jefferis

LAS VEGAS

GOP whining

To the editor:

Interesting logic from letter writer Travis Whitley ("This is change?" Tuesday Review-Journal). The Democrats have been in power for almost two years, so they are responsible for the current economic meltdown? This in spite of the fact that Congress has done "absolutely nothing," according to Mr. Whitley.

No, Congress has not done "absolutely nothing." The Republicans have set a new record for filibustering, and President Bush began vetoing right and left. In other words, the Republicans have been extremely obstructionist, while the policies of Bush appointees -- Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Henry Paulson, et al. -- have gone unhindered, and the deregulation wrecking crew led by Sen. John McCain and his chief economic adviser, former Sen. Phil Gramm, has left us a nation of "whiners" in a "mental recession."

Mr. Whitley: Stop your whining.

Bob Hannah

HENDERSON