Letters to the editor, Feb. 5

Turn Nevada State Prison into a museum

In the Jan. 25 Appeal, reader Jim Shirk submitted two suggestions for our state legislators to consider in their next session. One of the suggestions was to open up the newly vacant state prison to house homeless and single mothers and families.

While I applaud his charitable heart and thinking, I can hardly think of a worse idea. Among the many issues of such a proposal are who pays for the food, water, electricity or gas for heating, medical and dental services? Who provides and pays for the liability insurance that would be necessary in case of accidents or any assaults, thefts or other criminal behavior that may occur? In addition, Carson City would be inundated with a flood of homeless coming to take advantage of all the free services and shelter.

Good intentions, Mr. Shirk, but in my opinion, it would be much better for those who want to help the homeless and single mothers to donate money or time as a volunteer to the churches, food banks and shelters that already provide assistance.

Transition the state prison to a museum and require all middle school students to take a tour of the facility, to see what fate awaits them if they go down the path of criminal behavior.

David Knighton

Carson City

U.S. needs to collect unpaid taxes

It's unforgivable. In 2010, there were 98,000 people who received their income directly from taxes who failed to pay their taxes. These deadbeats owe more than $1 billion.

They come from all areas, including five from the U.S. Tax Court, five from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, 36 from the Executive Office staff who owe about $834,000, more than 400 from the House and 200 from the Senate, and 1,181 from the Treasury Department. Congressional staffers owe $10.6 million in unpaid taxes for just 2010.

There are bills in both houses to fire government employees who fail to pay their taxes, but those bills haven't seen the light of day. Why? The federal government is too big and has too much power. We need term limits for members of Congress and a new president.

Judy Jacobs

Topaz Lake

Socialistic views are ruining America

Popular socialistic political views seem to point to an acceptance of mediocrity as the desired way of life. Why so many Americans seek this confounds me. Why do so many supposed great thinkers attach themselves to the class of American politics, and the populous, who will do anything and everything to keep from helping themselves?

Do these enlightened truly believe that a government can do a better job of handing out their hard-earned dollars than they themselves can?

Government is funded by you, the taxed.

Currently, if more folks don't trade in their bleeding hearts for common sense when they vote, we will become a nation of more takers than earners. Then try and have a voice.

Our housing values have tanked, in part because some who governed us decided that even those who weren't in the best position to purchase homes were entitled to them. There's that word again.

Have your property taxes gone down, not up, to reflect a 30-50 percent decline in value? Why not? Might be a good question for your local assessor's office.

Linda Henrichsen

Carson City

Capitalism is what makes this country great

Columnist Jan Ting, I read in awe your commentary in the Appeal on Jan. 21. How can you not know what the tax is on a long-term capital gain? It is taxed at 15 percent. So Mitt Romney, if he paid 15 percent, obeyed the U.S. tax code. His earnings were from capital gains. This rate is purposely low for a reason; that is, to encourage investors to take risk and invest in startup companies, to buy stock, etc.

My three companies never would have started without a low capital-gains tax. I never went to poor people to invest in my high-tech companies. I went to multimillionaires. Thus, I was able to hire hundreds of people including engineers and technicians. I even hired people who were out of work.

This is called capitalism, and it's what has made this country a technological giant. Just look at Silicon Valley. It takes rich people like Mitt Romney and others to invest and take risk; some companies do fail and their investment is lost. Somehow we miss the forest for the trees. If it wasn't for the trees, we would have no forest, and if it wasn't for the rich, we would have no investment in new or older companies needing a chance to just start or start over again.

This is what has made America the greatest country in the world. Let's not change it for European socialism, as our current president wishes to do.

Steve Markoe

Dayton

St. Peter's also hosts support group

Relating to Sam Bauman's column on Jan. 22, there is another group in Carson City that provides emotional and physical help to caregivers. It's the St. Peter's Episcopal Church Caregiver Support Group.

They meet at St. Peter's and are not affiliated with any religious group. I attended their meetings for nearly a year, and they truly helped me in my hour of need.

For more information, contact Deb Cash at 775-887-8846.

Bob Hilderbrand

Carson City

Martial law is coming soon to our country

I am writing in regards to the article "It was only a drill," about the Carson City sheriff's SWAT team holding a training exercise in the middle of a neighborhood in our old hospital building.

Capt. Bob White said that to make things realistic, they take their training scenarios from real events that have happened around the country.

This SWAT scenario was a takeover of a clinic by anti-abortion terrorists threatening to blow up the building and everyone in it unless the clinic shuts down. The two terrorists were holding two hostages, played by Carson community policing volunteers.

Since when are people called terrorists who are anti-abortion? And what has SWAT done without our empty or abandoned buildings to train in? There is more to this than the public is being told.

America and Carson City need to wake up to the truth of what is happening. Why is this happening? Here are documentaries:

libertyvideos.org/martiallaw.htm; libertyvideos.org/policestate

2000.htm; libertyvideos.org/

policestate2.htm; and libertyvideos.org/policestate3.htm

We need to stand up for our rights; even if it is uncomfortable.

Citizens need to read the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which says authorities have the right to arrest, detain and even kill us without warrant or reason, and don't have to let our families know where we are or what they have done with us.

Martial law is right around the corner, and we must not miss all the warning signs.

Thresa Zylstra

Dayton