Letters to the editor Feb. 22

Handouts to illegals ruins voting for writer

Voting is a waste. After believing my vote makes a difference, I was wrong. I have the feeling that our government does not care about anything but to line the pockets of their friends and themselves.

Citizens are sleeping in the streets, highways are falling apart, and our government is spending billions to help countries that would jump at the chance to stab us in our backs. Americans are losing their homes, and our government is allowing illegals to receive services meant for our citizens.

As an American citizen, besides having the right to vote, what else is offered that illegals can't obtain - welfare, HUD housing energy assistance? Nope.

In the past, our great country was the land of opportunity if you put the effort in to pursue your dream, the sweat to fulfill your goal, the respect to become a citizen. Not anymore.

Today you can come here illegally and receive social services, and all this is given to you on the backs of hard-working American citizens. I am tired of people from other countries coming here with the attitude we owe them something.

All we owe you is the respect to give you the chance to prove that you are here to become an American, and help our country remain great. If you can't do this, there's the door.

Until the day that our government understands that illegal means illegal, and I see no more Americans sleeping in our streets, I will not be casting a vote for anything or anyone.

Donald Jackson

Carson City

Democrats refuse to defend Constitution

Surprise! The president pretends to have heard the people about his unconstitutional intrusion into church matters. So he's backed off, now pronouncing that churches don't have to provide birth control services that are against their moral tenets. But insurance companies do - free.

Isn't the president's compromise still a head fake around the Constitution? Where does the Constitution give any president the right to dictate to any industry the services it must provide? And why would we expect that we're not all going to pay for those services through increases in premiums? I don't think any insurance company would remain in business very long if it gave away free benefits.

There's more than one lesson here. First, Barack Obama is introducing a volatile social issue into the campaign to change the subject from his dismal performance as president. Second, if Obama is willing to abuse our Constitution this blatantly while facing an election, just imagine how dictatorial he'll become if he gets re-elected.

The final lesson: Democrats are silent in the face of the president's egregious abuse of power. We simply cannot trust Dems to defend our Constitution. They must all be defeated in November. It's not about women's health care - it's all about America's Freedom.

Robert R. Kessler

Las Vegas

Douglas board seeks fee hike for no reason

The proposed Douglas County Sewer Utility increase, scheduled to be considered by the Board of Commissioners on March 1, is unnecessary. In fact, if the board did the right thing, the rates could be reduced.

Why should the existing customers pay for the unused facilities - the debt service, operations and depreciation?

When the citizens raised the issue that the county code stated it "will charge a standby fee," the county refused, changed "standby fee" for vacant subdivided lots to "availability fee" and set the fee at $0.

Based on the numbers from the county's own records, if the county had collected the standby fee as required or set the availability fee at a minimal $10 per month, the proposed increase would be unnecessary to provide the system revenue increase sought from this proposal. It they had set it at $20, the existing customers could get an $18 per month reduction while still maintaining the system revenue sought.

The builder-supported majority of the board wants to again sock it to the existing customers.

Don't forget the November election.

Stuart Posselt

Minden