Letters to the editor for Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013

Wilson a great judge in court and a good person outside it

It seems like a rare opportunity these days to be able to cast a vote in an election and feel good about your selection. Most of the time I wind up voting against the other person as a choice between the lesser of two evils. As a result, I believe most Americans are unhappy at one time or another about some facet of their government whether local, state or national.

Occasionally, there is an exception when a candidate comes along that I can truly feel good about casting a vote for. Such an occasion is the 2014 election year and the candidacy of Jim Wilson for District Court judge. Judge Wilson has served admirably on the bench since his election in 2008. He is well-respected by his peers, serving as chairman of the Sierra Judicial Council and as a member of the Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics. He has written several important opinions that have been cited by the state’s Supreme Court, and teaches other attorneys.

More importantly (to me at least), I have come to know Jim very well over the past 20 years as a husband, father, church leader, citizen and public servant. He is a model of integrity, and his sound judgment is needed more than ever on the bench in Carson City. I consider it a privilege to be able to cast my vote for Judge Wilson and hope that the people of Carson City and Storey County will feel the same.

William L. Brewer

Carson City

GOP’s gamesmanship costs ailing Americans their lives

In all the worry over canceled vacations to national parks and furloughed federal workers, people seem to forgotten the issue at the heart of the 2013 government shutdown. Babies, children and adults in this country are dying every day because they do not have health insurance. According to a 2012 study by Reuters, more than 26,000 working-age adults die prematurely in the U.S. annually because they lack health insurance. A 2008 study by the Centers for Disease Control and the National Center for Health Statistics states that 30,000 infants die in the U.S. each year. Many of these deaths are due to the poor health of the mothers and lack of prenatal care because they don’t have health insurance.

Every day the Republicans in Congress fail to fund the Affordable Care Act, 72 adults die. Their tired political games are killing people. This madness must stop now.

Kay Elverum

Carson City