From our readers

My faith has taught me to hate the sin and not the sinner. I do not like the word "hate" because I've experienced the terrible feeling of it, it truly tests my faith. It is just wrong to call me a Bush hater when I express my belief that the president is also the current CEO/manager of something that resembles a modern-day religious cult.

The vision or agenda of this cult has been with us for some time. It is ongoing and developed in Republican think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, formerly the American Heritage Foundation. I recognize it as the right-wing conspiracy that Mr. Clinton referred to as vast.

I remember this bunch from my days in the labor movement and their hate for unions. Infiltrate, undermine, dismantle if need be, then privatize ... privatize labor, Social Security, Medicare, public schools, public assistance (welfare), postal service, any rights or programs that favor we the people and do not fit the capitalistic, corporate profit mold. Bottom-line it (the end justifies the means).

I am a proud Democrat, I vote Democratic and I follow ... study the issues as best I can and when in discussing an issue with someone who suddenly calls me a Bush hater, I feel sorry for them. They become angry and are at a loss for words or facts to support their point or, as in many cases, just don't get it (comprehend the issue). Facts and recorded history just mess with some people's heads, I guess.

This Bush administration's corrupt devotion to its base is scandalous and is beneath contempt. As president, he and his party were elected to work hard (hard, hard work - his words) for all Americans, not just his base.

This scandalous devotion that I see can best be shown by reviewing the article on page A8 of the Nevada Appeal Sept. 30. Our opinion: "As long as finger pointing is still in style" ... I would draw your attention to this point in the piece. (The timeline was compiled by factcheck.org, where more details - and a messier picture of the organizational dysfunction - can be found.) In the middle of this messy picture, there were two items or actions that received the full attention and benefit of Bush's leadership and quick response. No-bid contracts were like already in place, then without missing a beat, Bush put a stop to any thought of the prevailing- wage rate provision. He waived it. (Check the timeline on that one.) First things first in a federal emergency, don't-cha know?

I do not hate these people, really, I just do not like them very much. That snide smirk they all seem to share is a facial expression of an arrogant (bad) attitude that they just can't hide. It's a dead giveaway. and it's offensive.

I look forward to a good old-fashioned political housecleaning in this next election cycle. We deserve one.

JACK G. DYER

Carson City

Older people can also be really rude too

Young people can be so rude nowadays. To that end, I agree with a recent letter writer. I was raised to be polite to people, and at 21 years of age, I am just that - polite until there is a need to not be polite. My parents also raised me with a good work ethic - if my job means being polite to people who aren't polite to me, well, I grin, bear it, and act polite. After all, I'm on their time, not mine.

It's not just the young people, though. I've noticed a lot of people well past middle age being rude (especially to me, a mere youngster who hasn't a clue of what real life is about ... right?). I think it's an issue of empathy. People nowadays can't seem to put themselves in the other person's shoes. And here I am, unable to beat a simple video game because I can't make my character be mean to robots.

No, you probably aren't saying that all young people are rude, because most of them are actually somewhat decent people. At least, the ones I've met. The problem, I think, is that most people hate their jobs and would rather be anywhere else other than that job - especially if you work at one of the local "marts," as I used to. Trust me, it's not a fun job. Incidentally, no one at the local mart makes minimum wage. It boosts image, you see, if they pay their employees slightly over minimum wage. Only a few dollars more, but hey, at least it's not McDonald's, right?

I don't know what you do for a living, but us working grunts put up with jerks most of the day (oh, man, you should have heard some of the guff I got as a manager at a pizza place ... people get so angry if you forget their olives) and few people have the gratitude to simply deal with a person who's nicely asking a question. It's a quirk of human nature to be ungrateful. At least, nowadays it is.

Yes, people who are on the company's clock should be polite. But hey, if you're sick of it, go ahead and shop somewhere else - the local mart doesn't make billions of dollars a year because it hires good quality, it makes billions of dollars a year because it hires people who don't demand prevailing wage. Your $200 is a drop in the bucket.

NATASHA GONZALES

Carson City