Letters to the editor for Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018

Shame on NFL for encouraging disrespect

My father was a star football player for UCLA and owned a professional football team in the Los Angeles area before television. He also played professional football. I played football in high school. I was an NFL fan until the NFL sanctioned disrespect for the national anthem and the flag. I haven’t watched an NFL game, nor have my close friends, since they became a vehicle for “Black Lives Matter” (as compared to others) propaganda.

I am pleased to see that viewership is off about 10 percent for 2017. Hopefully viewership will continue to fall until those overpaid protesters receive an adjustment and start respecting this country.

I know Kaepernick is out of work, but I don’t see any news about just who the other disrespectful players are and which teams tolerate them.

Best regards,

Julian C. Smith, Jr.

Washoe Valley

Etiquette not being observed by local dog owners

As a daily walker, I must come forward and remind some pet owners: Please pick up your pet droppings.

Lately there is a lot of dog waste on city sidewalks and trails in the center of town. It’s apparent many dogs are not being walked enough because they barely make it out to the sidewalk, and, well, everything breaks loose.

It’s horrible to accidentally step in a negligent pet owner’s mess.

Please think of others who also use the sidewalks and clean up after your pets. That’s what being a responsible pet owner entails. Please show some effort! Walking a pet means walking it off a property and allowing it ample exercise to properly void in the appropriate areas and picking up after the pet.

Ann Burke

Carson City

Obama known to egregiously lie, too

Robert Simpson’s letter states he is in need of alternate facts and truths and not President Trump’s lies. I will admit he stretches the facts a lot, but it is not done to hurt anyone like President Obama’s lies did.

If you like your doctor, you can keep him, and if you like your health insurance, you can keep it. Those two lies hurt millions of Americans. A fact you will not find on CNN, MSN or all the other news outlets.

Patrick McIntyre

Stagecoach

Heller, Amodei not looking out for Nevadans

I’m writing to express my deep disappointment in both Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei. Both have supported the Trump administration’s devastating tax bill, now law, which will hurt average Nevadans while benefitting the very rich.

In addition, the president ‘s tax legislation also severely restricts the Affordable Care law which has helped middle class Nevadans get affordable healthcare.

We need elected officials committed to improving the lives of Nevadans and not supporting public policies that make their lives worse.

Lisa Rea

Carson City

Come on America, give it a rest

As our government officials on both sides of the aisle spend their taxpayer-funded time trying to dig up some dirt in an effort to discredit their counterparts across the aisle, our country continues to have a crumbling infrastructure, high numbers of unemployed Americans, drug abuse killing thousands yearly, and illegals crossing open borders filing for and receiving social services paid for and meant for Americans.

I won’t even begin to discuss that state to the west of us that is bluntly disregarding all federal laws meant to protect our country from a swarm of those arriving here illegally by publicly announcing they are a “sanctuary state.”

Personally I think as many Nevadans do, we don’t need to build a wall along our southern border, but along our western border with California. But that’s another issue.

Our founding fathers devised a system of government meant to balance one another by requiring us to debate and arrive upon a mutual agreement on any subject with a conclusion that allows this issue to be in the best interest of its citizens.

But currently, as for years past, our government is acting like a couple of schoolyard bullies trying to “one up” the other without even considering the interest or perspective of the citizens they represent.

Maybe we should consider rewarding the government officials income based on a “pay to play” perspective, as to allow them to get paid directly related to their performance.

Donald Jackson

Carson City