National media have elected Obama
To the editor:
The news coverage of this presidential race by the three major TV networks demonstrates how desperate they are to make sure Mitt Romney does not get elected.
I used my trusty remote control last week to flick through the 5:30 p.m. news broadcasts from ABC, CBS and NBC. Each of them led their evening news broadcasts with a minimum of 10 minutes showing, by the way in which they were covering the story, how Romney has essentially killed his chances for election with the statements he made about 47 percent of Americans not paying taxes. Each network had a breakdown of what the 47 percent is made up of, and how Romney has "written off half the country."
This same coverage was continued, again for a minimum of 10 minutes each, on the morning shows of the three major networks the next day.
Our ambassador is murdered along with three other Americans. The Middle East is on fire with anti-American demonstrations. France has temporarily closed embassies in 20 countries over publication of more Muhammad cartoons. Our flag is being burned and President Barack Obama refuses to meet with the prime minister of Israel - one of our strongest allies in the region. All of these stories are not reported or are under-reported because they are just "bumps in the road," because Mr. Obama has decreed it to be so, and the media quickly agree.
Today, we have all of the networks broadcasting new polls that show Mr. Obama winning all of the battleground states and essentially saying that the race is over. Ohio is gone, Florida is gone, etc. These polls are so heavily over-sampled with Democrats and under-sampled with Republicans and independents that they are a joke, but they provide the narrative the national media want to portray on this race.
The truth is that if Mr. Obama had the large leads being reported by these phony polls, he wouldn't be spending the time he is in Ohio and the other Midwest battleground states. And he certainly wouldn't be spending three days in Las Vegas this week if he had Nevada all sewn up.
Will a Republican ever be elected president again? Not if the national media have their way.
BARRY PEREA
LAS VEGAS
Building a welfare state
To the editor:
I decided to do some further research on why that 47 percent will vote for Obama. In a nutshell, if one earns only $3,600 per year (head of household with family of three) the net earnings (after taxes and government benefits) will amount to $32,360. Now, if you earn $60,000 a year, your net earnings will be $34,366. In short, you worked your butt off to increase your earnings by $56,400, and you are only ahead by $2,736 in take-home pay! The analysis can be found at zerohedge.com.
If a welfare recipient decides to earn some extra money, say increasing from $3,600 a year to $14,500 a year, the government will take away 43 percent of every dollar earned. If that welfare recipient really wants to get off the welfare rolls and increase their annual salary to, say, $30,000 a year, the government will take away 167 percent of every dollar they earn (because the marginal tax rate, as compared to the $3,600-a-year salary, is 167 percent). Only when the person earns more than $30,000 per year will the tax margin come down to 77 percent.
In essence, the Obama-Reid-Pelosi socialists have successfully built a welfare state that imprisons 47 percent of Americans.
WARREN WILLIS SR.
LAS VEGAS
Bigger, not better
To the editor:
I love coffee, but since it doesn't return the sentiment I've cut back to just one Starbucks a day.
On my weekly trip to Costco, I noticed a fine modern coffee machine of the newest type that offers one perfect cup for around a buck. Plus the machine, of course, which was offered for about $140 plus tax.
Well, I got home without buying the new machine, but I did have a craving for a cup, so having rid the house of coffee equipment, I dug out a bag of ground coffee from the freezer, a measuring cup and saucepan and boiled up 8 ounces of water. I took it off the burner, added a tablespoon of the coffee and, after a minute, poured the result through a paper towel filter into a cup. Voila, a very nice cup of coffee in about six minutes.
Meditating on my success (I think it's called cowboy coffee), it occurred to me that the whole thing is a good metaphor for our current political problems. Over the years, we have gone politically from cowboy coffee to that fancy coffee maker today. Government has grown ever more complicated and expensive, yet the outcome is really no improvement.
Unfortunately, both of the major candidates will certainly lead to more cost and more complication without adding to our happiness. Makes me consider tossing away my vote and marking the spot for Libertarian Gary Johnson.
ED DORNLAS
LAS VEGAS
