The GOP and children
To Senator Heller: Why have I not heard your voice loudly and clearly calling for a stop to any further deportation of people whose only crime is being brought to America as a child or those who are here because their home country is currently a well-defined risk to their lives? You can argue principle about how immigration law should be done all you want, but these are real people who will suffer great harm if our government, a.k.a. you, doesn’t do something now to stop these blanket deportations.
Using these people as some kind of bargaining chip or as examples for other people who might consider seeking asylum here represents the most heinous of evils that need to be purged from government at all levels. Don’t be part of the problem. Do something now to stop the inhumanity. A spectrum of solutions exist, and if you’re not willing or able to stand up and do what’s right for these people, then you need to be replaced, plain and simple.
Michel Rottmann
Virginia Highlands
The Bundy case
Re “Cockamamie legal theories” (Let Freedom Ring, Jan. 23):
Cliven Bundy was illegally grazing cattle on public land for decades. That is a fact. He refused to pay the grazing fees that all ranchers must pay to run their cattle on federally-managed land. That the federal prosecutors’ incompetence led to the dismissal of the case against Bundy does not mean he was not guilty, nor does it change the fact that he was illegally running his cattle on federal land.
On guns, the excessive weaponization of law enforcement officers—federal, state, and local—is a response to the flood of guns in the United States. We can blame the NRA (the gun manufacturers’ lobby) for pushing for guns, guns, everywhere, and Republican politicians for allowing this to happen.
Finally, Roy Finecum is dead because, after jumping out of the vehicle at a police roadblock, he started to reach into his coat for a pistol. That’s never a good idea when you’re surrounded by cops.
Michael Powell
Reno
One thumb down,One thumb up
Re “The trail is cold” (Let Freedom Ring, Jan 11) and “The no frontier” (Art of the State, Jan 11):
To Brendan Trainor’s opinion that “Continued wealth creation for adaptability and infrastructure development is a superior strategy to sustainable austerity,” can we consider not superior or inferior, but what modern times is really offering is ever more potential lifestyle choices depending on the needs of the individual? That kind of freedom sure sounds good to me.
To Josie Glassberg’s coverage of art and its beautiful purpose—when I read her articles, resistance is futile. One must go have a look.
Becky Jessee
Reno
Unsafe passage
Re “Safe passage” (cover story, Jan. 18)
SO PROUD OF YOUR ABILITY TO DEAL WITH ALL YOU HAD TO ENDURE. Thank you for your honesty in telling us all how someone is affected by such an accident. I feel your story will ring loud and clear for us all to please be alert and conscious every moment, that we could be the cause of changing someone’s life forever.
Gwen Davis
Murphys, California
Jaquelyn Davis’s narrative is well-written and touching, but she leaves out the crucial fact: Reno drivers do not know that other humans exist. Stand beside any street and look at the faces of people driving cars. Their eyes are blank. They purposely avert their gaze from other people. Those drivers are talking on their phones, texting, changing radio stations, applying lipstick and mascara, smoking, and eating McDonald’s burgers and fries. They drive 20 to 60 mph over the posted speed limit. The Police Department is probably under-funded. Therefore, murderous drivers are free to go.
Valerie P. Cohen
Reno