Letters to the editor

Columnist blasted

for criticizing GOP

Once again, Dr. Eugene Paslov comes down from his high and mighty position to lecture us "little peons" on what is wrong with this country. It is those nasty Republicans. In his opinion, it is the Republican Party's fault for all this country's ills. It is just so simple.

Dr. Paslov has never seen a government program that he didn't like. It's about spending too much money, money that we don't have. He talks about the lack of Republican bipartisanship. Was it not President Obama who said that "We don't mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back." That is great bipartisanship.

Dr. Paslov is right in one respect: this will be the most important election in our recent history.

David Youngs

Gardnerville

GOP candidates threat to Medicare, Social Security

If Romney, Ryan, Heller and the Republicans control the White House or Congress, do you really think they will protect Medicare or Social Security? Really!

John Hartley

Dayton

President hid facts about U.S. ambassador's murder

Where is the outrage? Our ambassador in Benghazi, Christopher Stevens, was murdered on Sept. 11! This is huge, yet I hear very little coverage in the network news, nor do I hear questions coming from U.S. citizens.

For days Obama's administration insisted the attack was due to a film degrading the Muslim religion and Obama called for tolerance. Now we know that this was a terrorist attack, and what is worse, we now know the administration knew this all along.

Why were we not told the truth? All Americans should demand an answer. Intelligence now shows that the ambassador requested more security and was refused. This breaks my heart. An ambassador is a high-ranking diplomat in service to our country. Why would we abandon him and his staff? I want answers.

I fear our current administration reported what would reflect best on them. If this is true, we are in trouble. Isn't this what countries that have no freedom must endure? Think about it.

Whatever the reason, we let our ambassador and his staff down. Please open your history book and read about Neville Chamberlain and his policy of appeasement when Hitler threatened the world. I see Obama's foreign policy as very similar.

I hate war, but I do believe it is important to "walk softly, but carry a big stick."

Vivian Spiker

Carson City

Governor should restore worker pay cuts

I was very disheartened to read in the Oct. 7 issue of the Appeal that our governor was going to change his mind about restoring our state workers' pay cuts and furloughs. I now have to wonder if he ever intended to help them in the first place.

It is obvious that Nevada is No. 1 in foreclosures and high-ranking in job losses. Yet our overpaid, elected state officials are still living in greed and luxury. So how can they expect our hard-working people to continue sacrificing when they have no more of themselves to give?

Our governor needs to show more appreciation towards his employees. Otherwise, more of them could be forced to find better paying jobs outside of the state. And this, in turn, will cause even less revenue, causing our state to become bankrupt.

Joshua Dealy

Carson City

Violence at political

forum is too much

It was with great sadness that I read the Nevada Appeal report on Oct. 6 "Political Speech Leads to Pushing at Forum."

For many months I've tolerated mean, thoughtless tirades by a handful of people opposed to positive change in our capital city community. Everyone is entitled to his opinion, however negative and uninformed it might be. But when Clarence Southard allegedly physically attacked an invited speaker at a Western Nevada College forum, that was the last straw for me. Assaulting someone who is peacefully exercising his freedom of speech is shameful.

Southard was identified in the newspaper as a principal in the group opposed to the City Center Project. I am a grandmother, and I have said to my grandchildren what my own grandmother said to me: "Birds of a feather flock together." If Mr. Southard represents the judgment and values of those opposed to moving Carson City into the 21st century, I say leave them all behind. I do not believe one word of what they say, for obviously they have no respect for anyone or anything. What a terrible example for our youth!

Marilee Swirczek

Carson City

President puts in weak debate performance

It was a one-way debate. It seems to me that we have one choice for president now that we have found out that Obama cannot speak without help from a teleprompter.

It's also evident by the latest polls that a majority of Americans that Mr. Romney has been helped by his stomping of Obama in the debate after witnessing the turnaround. We do have two more debates which should show the same end, and anyone who has seen Vice President Biden speak on his own should understand that he will be no competition for Ryan.

Still, Obama continues with his vicious ads demeaning Romney and spewing lie upon lie to somehow help his campaign. Somehow, I believe that the American voters have a different view on this putrid display.

Lee Smith

Carson City

Paslov slammed

for Tea Party criticism

Nevada's No. 1 self-proclaimed socialist has really outdone himself this time. In his Oct. 6 column, Eugene Paslov blames Republicans and Tea Party members for all the ills of society. His 13-paragraph diatribe, mostly taken directly out of the Democrats' playbook, is laced with false accusations and downright lies.

Paslov demonstrates his elitist mentality when he brands Tea Party members as "not a particularly enlightened group" with "little knowledge of how government functioned." Give me a break! Paslov need not look any further than Harry Reid for the problem with Washington. Sen. Reid's failure to allow Senate votes on the multitude of budget and jobs bills sent to the Senate by the House is the primary reason for the legislative log jam and lack of bipartisanship in Congress.

If the people of this country subscribe to Paslov's warped socialist ideology and Sen. Reid's political partisanship, we are all doomed!

Gary Thompson

Gardnerville

Free college courses for seniors should be reinstated

During the past session of the Legislature, the University of Nevada proposed to terminate the long-standing program that permitted seniors to audit university and community college courses free of charge. The Legislature agreed that this was too costly and ended the program.

In my opinion there is very little, if any, expense involved. For many years, I and many others were "senior" students at Western Nevada College. We were able to attend the classes that otherwise would not be filled and we participated in the college activities. Not only did we benefit from the learning experience, but the students in the classes benefited from the diversity that a senior perspective brought to their classes.

This year I am taking classes via the Internet. The website coursera.org offers a huge variety of subjects with participating colleges from all over the world. This is a free program. The course I am taking in modern poetry has over 30,000 students of all ages and from over 100 countries.

Although this is enjoyable, it is no substitute for the social interaction that comes from a classroom and which is particularly appealing to senior citizens. I would urge this community to contact the university system and our legislators asking them to reconsider their policy and reinstate the program that was so valuable to our students.

Jeanne Baret

Carson City