Letters to the Editor Aug. 19

What happened to the days ...

When the only time you were prompted to press the number 1 button was to dial long distance?

When people used both hands while driving and the car was not viewed as a mobile dining room?

When someone had a phone in their hands and it was used only for talking?

When a hard day's work was a proud thing to achieve?

When people migrated to this country and were proud to call themselves Americans while speaking English?

When people went on welfare until they were back on their feet, and were ashamed they had to resort to food stamps?

When parents knew what their children were learning in school and who their friends were?

When you "friended" someone in person while talking about your common interest?

When people kept their personal lives private and didn't share every aspect over the Internet?

When schoolchildren had to learn how to correctly spell words and could not just click "spellcheck?"

When you used a pencil to figure a math problem out?

When people wrote mail using words, not acronyms like TTFN, BRB etc.?

When the only Spam was an unknown type of meat product in a can?

When the only time someone had to sleep outside was when they were camping?

I see the day when because of all this electronic communication, people will not be able to hold a conversation in person because they're not accustomed to having to face someone.

Donald Jackson

Carson City

Bears are incredibly intelligent animals who, if left alone, are happy to be just what they are. Wild, free creatures. They don't seek us out as food.

Now, we are going to kill possibly over 40 beautiful, innocent animals just to appease man's need to kill. Outrageous. Uncalled for. Unnecessary. Do you really need a dust-collecting stuffed bear with glass eyes or a bearskin rug on the floor?

The bears in the area of hunting are fairly familiar with humans. They are curious by nature. More than likely, if a hunter (with a gun that can kill them from over 1,500 yards away) gets close enough for the bear to smell or see them, they will stand up to check it out. Posing, like a target, for the manly hunter. How sporting!

 To all hunters with bear tags, shame on you. What you are doing is like hunting an innocent child. An unarmed animal that if given the opportunity will run from you, not attack you. (I have been backpacking amongst up to seven or eight bears within the space of a football field or smaller, so I know what I am talking about.)

 I grieve for the foraging dead. The bears going about their daily lives of surviving who have no idea a well-armed militia of "brave hunters" are about to descend upon them. A four-month open season on slaughtering unsuspecting, naive, beautiful animals. This sickens me. You, the hunters, sicken me.

C.J. OJANPERA

Minden

Another sad tale from Afghanistan - 22 valuable and highly trained defenders of America, along with 10 helicopter crewmen and ground fighters, were just wasted on this ongoing United Nations war to guarantee the U.N.'s open-border policy, and not to defend America.

When will we and our politicians ever learn? Our sons and daughters should be used for America's defense only, which is a much higher purpose.

Thomas Jefferson

Elko

I was so very pleased to open up this Sunday's newspaper to see a front-page story titled "From Prison to Border Patrol." I've been fortunate to go to the Northern Nevada Correctional Center's Saddle Horse Training Auctions on several occasions. This is a program that truly benefits both horse and man.

Though we want to see Nevada's wild horses stay - with proper management - on the open range where they belong, unfortunately many are still being rounded up. The lucky ones that are selected for this program benefit the most, as they find very good homes.

For the inmates who participate in this program, it is a learning experience that will help them immensely when they are released. These men must learn a whole new way of life - patience, kindness, understanding and, most importantly, respect for another living thing.

Working with a wild horse coming directly off the land is entirely different from working with a domestic horse. A mustang will never cooperate with a human being unless it has gained that person's respect. And, once accomplished, that horse will give its everything to please you.

I wish this program could be tripled in size, as it benefits all. The next auction will be held at noon Saturday at the Western States Wild Horse and Burro Expo at the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center. Don't miss it.

Bonnie Matton, president

Wild Horse Preservation League