Letters to the Editor

Wants to have

a primary

Editor:

I have voted in every presidential election since I turned 18 in 1979, and in every one of those elections, regardless of where I lived, each party chose its candidate via a primary election Ð not a caucus.

I'm not sure whose idea it was to start using the caucus method rather than a primary election, but I'm adamantly opposed to a method that turns a simple, quiet choice into a contest of personalities where the strongest and most vocal supporters carry the day, rather than a simple majority tallied by secret ballot.

It reminds me a lot of that trend in the workplace a few years ago where hierarchical management was shoved aside in favor of "teams" where there was really no strongly established leader and everyone was just magically supposed to work as free-agent, "empowered" peers. Worked just great if you wanted the strongest personality in the room to emerge as the Grand Poo-Bah.

Welcome to the caucus method of selecting a leader. Seems that since it didn't work too well in the workplace we did the only logical thing: enshrined it as the latest fad in our political process.

Brilliant.

Yes, I know caucuses aren't new inventions. I'm simply angered about the resurgence of a bad idea.

Caucuses are fine for some things, but they really shouldn't have a role in the two major events related to electing a president.

I'm also not real thrilled about the less-than-two-hour window in which one is supposed to act under this "new, improved" method of selecting a candidate for my party. The Douglas County Republican caucus started at 9 a.m. on Saturday. By 11 a.m. the Nevada winner (Romney) was already on the Internet. Conclusion: Don't blink. You'll miss it.

Does anyone else have a problem with that? Used to be we had all day to vote our conscience at our leisure, and selecting a candidate was not an exercise in one's ability to persuade others. It was simply placing a check mark next to your chosen candidate in the sanctity of the ballot box.

Sometimes change is good. But in this case it is very, very bad. Give me my primaries back.

Steve Sabin

Gardnerville

Not a big fan

of the caucus

Editor:

At 9:40 a.m., (I know it started at 9 a.m.) Saturday, I walked into the Ranchos fire department precinct with a card I got in the mail and asked a lady, "where do I vote?"

"It's all over," she said.

I walked to the back of the room and said "How do I vote?"

The person with an envelope full of ballots said "it's all over because the ballots are sealed."

A tall person who appeared to be in charge said "wait, anyone can vote until 10 a.m." and they gave me a blank white sheet of paper.

There were six to eight people watching as I wrote "Duncan Hunter" in full view of everyone and handed it to the vote collector woman.

I said "so much for voting in private" and all six to eight people laughed.

I said "is this it?"

They said "yes" and I said, "this sucks" and the same people laughed again. I left and went home.

In my opinion, this is a pathetic method to allow the citizens of Nevada to vote for their choice for president. They should go back to the smoke-filled room where the big-wigs decide the party choice. At least they get to vote. I don't know who the moron is that dreamed up this method but it stinks. I love to watch the news after the annual elections and listen to the reporters whine about disenfranchisement. I could not dream up a better example of disenfranchisement of voters if I tried, than the Nevada caucus.

James F. Joseph

Gardnerville

Caucus excludes many people

Editor:

No more caucuses please. The caucus excludes everyone who cannot attend, including:

n Military in combat (disgraceful)

n The elderly in nursing homes;

n Business people on travel;

n Jews observing the Sabbath;

n Ill people at home or hospitals;

n Disabled people who can't travel or get into the caucus;

n Members of small parties (no place for them at the caucus site).

The public nature of the caucus eliminates a voters privacy and secrecy of vote, a time honored American tradition.

Lee Johnson

Gardnerville

Who benefits from growth?

Editor:

It has been said in a statement in a newspaper article by our county manager, Dan Holler, that this big building boom is good for Douglas County. Lots of building, not only in the north end of our county but the rest of it, is good for the citizens. Our county parents (leaders) are putting millions of tax dollars on the line helping the big retailers get moved into our county.

Mr. Holler stated in this article that with all the building going on that there was a lot of jobs created with this building boom. In the long run it was therefore good for the county and its taxpayers.

Well Mr. Holler I think maybe you should get out for yourself just to see what is really going on in your county. The project that I am going to relate to is not a huge one like the retail stores on the north hill, but a multifamily housing development being built off of Mica Drive. This is still a pretty good-sized building complex and lots of material used and lots of labor to build.

During the whole process, as I would walk down to one of the stores by the project to get a newspaper or drive by on my way somewhere, I would see lots of the material being unloaded, or the equipment being unloaded, or the workers showing up for work in their personal vehicles or company vehicles.

It was amazing to see some of the names or licenses on the vehicles working there. It appears that many of the workers were from California, and a lot of the subcontractors were from Reno/Sparks area. I also, on many occasions, witnessed the offloading of materials to complete the buildings and most of them were from places in Reno or Sparks. The cabinets that went into the apartments were delivered by a pickup truck pulling a utility trailer that were both licensed out of California, but no name of company on either.

So Mr. Holler, how is all of this really going to help Douglas County, and bring in lots of tax revenue to help our infrastructure improve? If most of the workers were not from our county they are therefore taking their money elsewhere to spend.

This leads me to think that the even bigger construction jobs surely are doing the same thing, going to the contractors and suppliers that are underbidding the smaller businesses here in Douglas County. Granted there were a few of the subcontractors there from Douglas County but very few.

Bill Sweetwood

Carson City

Fundraiser for

Mattinson family

Editor:

On Feb. 9, there will be a spaghetti dinner and silent auction to help offset medical expenses for the Mattinson family.

Douglas County School District teachers Robyn and Donovan Mattinson's son Britt collapsed and died at flag football practice on Sept.15.

His death is thought to be caused by a hereditary condition, Long QT Syndrome. There continues to be a need for genetic testing for the Mattinson's two daughters.

As you can imagine medical expenses are mounting which is why, as friends of the Mattinson family, we are hosting this important fundraiser at the St. Gall Pastoral Center from 5-9 p.m. Feb. 9.

Dinner will cost $7 per person and $25 for a family of four or more. Tickets can be purchased at the following locations: Big Daddy's Bicycles, Taylor York Salon, Classical Glass, Wasabi's Restaurant, and Indigo Restaurant. Tickets will also be sold at the door.

If you would like to make a donation to the Mattinson family, you may do so at Bank of America account No. 005011578665.

Thank you for joining us in supporting this wonderful family. We hope to see you there.

Lauren C. Hayes

Mattinson Family Fundraiser Committee

Minden

Democrats will help terrorists

Editor:

A few days into the Clinton co-presidency, a young jihadi strolled along the left-turn lane leading into CIA headquarters at Langley, shooting car-bound American spies waiting in traffic. The Clintons' response to this attack and several bombings varied from non-existent to tepid.

Bill and Hill accepted this level of terror and ran off to the Balkans for a euro-approved campaign. Peace through weakness failed on Sept. 11, 2001.

The attacks stopped when President Bush engaged the islamofascists in Iraq and Afghanistan and Republicans passed the Patriot Act. Each Democrat presidential candidate promises to end the fighting by surrendering our troops' sacred honor to islamofascism posthaste.

Outsourcing jobs to foreign workers that liberals just wouldn't do, the Clintons' rendition program was a cowardly flop. Third world interrogators used pliers and piano wire on the suspects we sent them; we got back a few intelligence crumbs.

We prosecuted terrorists like bank robbers, their civil rights intact and now recruiting for violent jihad in our prisons.

No one was waterboarded, and no attacks were prevented, in this imitation of an anti-terror policy.

This is what will replace the Patriot Act and Guantanamo.

Democrat peace with our terrorist enemies will be washed in civilian blood.

Lynn Muzzy

Minden

Thanks for

the support

Editor:

The employees from the China Spring Youth Camp and Aurora Pines Girls Facility would like to express their sincere appreciation to Project Santa Claus, Minden Rotary and Coldwell Banker for its generous donation to the camp during Christmas 2007.

Each year the youth in the facility receive toiletry items, clothing, school supplies and board games. The gifts truly make a difference for the youth at Christmas time.

We also thank the Carson Valley Kiwanis Club for their continued support of the Project Santa bicycle program. The youth of the camp produced eighty-two bicycles for distribution to needy juveniles in the community. Kiwanis generously donates their time to drop off used bicycles for re-furbishing and donates funds annual to the camp an to the camp's bicycle program.

The service clubs and private businesses of the Carson Valley are very generous and giving to the community.

Michael D. Beam

China Spring Program Manager