Letters to the editor for Saturday, May 31, 2014

Reid, Nevada land just extension of Washington, D.C.

I recently wrote a letter that was printed in the Appeal. The gist of it was, why does the federal government own any land at all? Well, I have done some digging and found out that the feds own over 81 percent of Nevada — an area larger than all of New England! In fact, the feds own exactly zero land in New England. How can we let this go on?

That means our state government is actually totally powerless and a total waste of time. I also read that Harry Reid could have all of the BLM land in Nevada reverted to state owned and controlled if he actually cared about his own state, which he obviously doesn’t. He’s too busy running the country rather than caring for the people who put him in his position.

By the way, I was not one of those people who put him in office! Nevada is over 81 percent owned by the federal government and, therefore, just an extension of Washington, D.C. We must do something about this, people!

Tom Cashen

Minden

Reedy can’t hide from Common Core

Responding to Donna Baushke’s letter to the editor dated May 25, Ms. Baushke should read Gov. Gibbon’s cover letter dated May 28, 2010, attached to Nevada’s Round 2 Race to the Top application. He writes, “Our proposal includes ... adopting the Common Core Standards ...” (You can read this letter at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase2-applications/index.html?exp=0.)

Although the Nevada Board of Education did not formally adopt the Common Core Standards until October, 2010, Gov. Gibbons and his staff committed Nevada to adopt Common Core on May 28, 2010, when they submitted Nevada’s Round 2 Race to the Top application.

In addition, in order to submit the Round 2 Race to the Top application, Nevada had to immediately pass legislation that would tie teacher’s pay to student test results. Gov. Gibbons signed SB2 on March 10, 2010, in order to submit the Round 2 Race to the Top application. Robin Reedy was Gov. Gibbons’ Chief of Staff from 2009 through 2010. Robin Reedy knows about Gov. Gibbons’ role in bringing Common Core to Nevada as she was in charge of his office during this time.

It is bad enough that Robin Reedy helped to bring Common Core to our state, but the cover-up that she is willing to perpetrate to distance herself from Common Core in order to get elected is the bigger issue. It is Donna Baushke and Robin Reedy’s campaign that is distorting facts and trying to deny the truth about how Common Core came to Nevada.

Jeanne Shizuru

Gardnerville