Letters to the editor

Headlines highlight Obama’s failed policiesDirect from the front page of the Wall Street Journal, “Mideast Assaults Challenge Obama Foreign Policy” and “Household income sinks to 1995 level.” Two front-page articles that perfectly highlight President Obama’s failed policies both domestic and foreign. His foreign policies are in shambles. American soldiers, diplomats and other loyal citizens are brazenly being murdered at will. Israel (our only real ally in the Mideast) is treated with contempt. Apologizing for America, devastating cuts to our military capability and abandoning our key allies are all hallmarks of the Obama administration. Is Obama’s state department so inept and detached from reality that they did not have the common sense to beef up security at our Consulates and Embassies around the world prior to a 9/11 anniversary? Domestically, it is even worse with sinking incomes, record unemployment, massive debt, growing welfare roles and out-of-control spending. Nevada citizens are feeling the effect of the inept performance of this president more than ever. This president puts fundraising, golfing/vacations, hobnobbing with Hollywood elite and interviews with “trash” publications ahead of the security, safety and well being of this great country and its citizens. This president is AWOL in his job performance and needs to be removed in November. To those who have been writing letters of support for an Obama re-election, you have been snookered by a smooth-talking, well-dressed, inexperienced, community organizer who came out of the corrupt Chicago political machine. Reading the Wall Street Journal daily would be an excellent start.Bill JohnstonCarson CityBicyclists need to follow rules of the roadI just want to say a few words to the bicyclists who were out in number on the morning of Sept. 16. I witnessed almost every cyclist running stop signs as if they did not exist. At many intersections, cyclists clearly cut in front of cars who were there ahead of them. The law clearly states that cyclists are subject to the same rules of the road as motorists.I’ve been a cyclist for 47 years and it angered me to see fellow cyclists show such utter disregard for the rules of the road. This is what causes accidents. All you end up doing is to anger motorists and give good reasons for taking away your rights (and mine) to the road. And then you wonder why some folks don’t like cyclists on the road. I don’t blame them with the way you all rode on Sunday.It seems that whatever cycling groups are in the area need to remind their members about simple courtesy along with the rules of the road. Ultimately, it comes down to safety and common sense. Follow the rules or stay off the road.Alan BanfieldCarson CityLearn from teen’s accidentWhile it was good to read in the Sept. 11 Nevada Appeal the front-page article of the recovery of crash victim Tiffany Day, I find that the reporter and Tiffany’s mother were remiss in not including valuable lessons for every driver, especially our young drivers.I don’t mean to sound callous in the aftermath of what could have been a tragic loss of a child, but someone needs to say "Let this be a lesson to all of us, especially our young drivers..."Wear your seat belt, not just because it is the law, but because they can be lifesavers. Pay attention to what is happening around you. You are driving a machine that can have deadly consequences. You must see that traffic light, the cars around yours, pedestrians, bicyclists, animals, anything and everything. This accident didn’t just affect the Day family. The people involved in the accident and those who witnessed it will have this seared in their memories. Thankfully, Tiffany survived and as a community we all pray for her speedy recovery, but please, let’s learn from this and maybe we can avoid another tragedy in the future.Jonathan BrownMindenClimate changes is a hoaxAnne Macquarie tells us that she will not vote for Mitt Romney because he “denies” climate change. Please ask Anne to actually study anthropomorphic climate change. It is a hoax invented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations organization. I don’t know the academic credential of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but I do know that 31,487 American scientists have signed a petition rejecting the global warming agreement, known as the Kyoto Protocol. Among those 31,487 scientists is Edward Teller, Ph.D.. Dr. Teller knows more about physics than Anne Macquarie. Mitt Romney has it right, Ann Macquarie has it dead wrong. Those who wish to check the petition will find it at www.petitionproject.org. Please ask Anne to write a column on why an ice-covered island in the North Atlantic is called Greenland.David K. SchumannMindenPaper should focus on younger audienceThe Nevada Appeal needs to broaden its audience. I feel that the younger generations are not involved as much in the newspaper. There should be more in the newspaper to capture our attention rather than comics and sports. Lately, the paper is mainly about politics, which is somewhat understandable with the elections coming up. However, that is not all that is going on in this town. The college or the high school should be a topic that is more often talked about in the newspaper and all of the local events our community has coming up, which there are quite a few. The article about Carson High School’s trees producing an abundance of crabapples, and now the students are going to make jam out of the apples is the kind of story younger generations would like to hear about. If the newspaper focused more on the happenings of this town, it would have a few more readers.A lot of people do not know the resources they have because they are not publicized correctly.Chelsea AldridgeYeringtonDoes Gov. Sandoval care about the horses?Yoo hoo, Gov. Sandoval, where are you hiding? On Sept. 3, your office and the Department of Agriculture’s office was bombarded with phone calls from all over the U.S. and Nevada. This was a planned event to complain about your policies concerning the wild horses and how it will affect you and the state of Nevada. Letting the state-owned wild horses go to Fallon to be bought by kill buyers and the horses will go to Mexico for slaughter. Governor, do you know or even care that there are four foals in the group of 22?Why are you allowing James Barbee, director of the Department of Agriculture, to fictionalize the amount of horses in the Virginia Range? You show me the field reports that can back up his amounts, then and only then will I believe him and you! Why is the Department of Agriculture demonizing the horses as over-populated and as nuisance horses? Why are you not denouncing the feeding of the horses by people in neighborhoods? Why are we not shipping these feeders off to the auction in Fallon? They are the true problem.Let’s be honest. All this is a smoke screen to cover your reputations. Blaming the horses is easier than taking responsibility for your actions. Gov. Sandoval allows the killing of Nevada’s state-owned horses because the nonprofit groups are low on money and places to put the horses. Now that is the truth. John TriBoldStagecoachCooperative library agreements, winner for everyoneA little historical perspective may be useful regarding Carson City’s proposed library card fee for Storey County residents. Nevada continues to be one of few states that have statewide reciprocal borrowing. This agreement, established in 1973, grew from earlier cooperation among rural Northern Nevada libraries we called the “silver circle” of cooperation. Some called the first statewide agreement “sharing our poverty.”The premise of all cooperative agreements, including CLAN (of which Storey County was a member and received discounted computer, catalog, database and purchasing) is that all counties provide local library services and maintain them according to minimum standards promulgated by the state library to continue receiving reciprocal borrowing, federal and state funding. This is the only way the system can work.Our libraries have come a long way since 1973, but with population growth and exploding usage, we are, in many ways, still sharing our poverty. That is why it is necessary for counties to provide local service. More importantly, Storey County needs to provide local services for elderly, children and busy adults who just don’t have a way to get to Carson City every time they need to use the library.Nevada public libraries have always been committed to providing access to information resources. Our experience is that Carson City Library has always gone above and beyond to serve everyone. The current library has been inadequate for the city’s population for many years. As residents of these communities, we are responsible for adequately funding public library services in both Carson City and Storey County.Joan Kerschner Tinker, retired Nevada State LibrarianMartha Gould, retired Washoe County LibrarianIs America a God-fearing nation?The most important issue — as asked for by the Nevada Appeal — in the election is not the economy but will America be a God-fearing nation. Obama and the entire Democrat platform defied the word of God by supporting homosexual marriage. Then they tried to delete the word of God from their platform. If we put God first, the other things will follow. Matthew 6:33: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”Stan SeversonClaremore, Okla.Let recluse have privacyMr. Samaszko, being a quiet recluse, probably wouldn’t have wanted his home and address pictured in the paper. Just wondering the reasoning behind this?Phyllis PhillipsCarson CityThanks for keeping women’s health in mindLorie Schaefer articulated quite well what I had been thinking about the contradiction that many Republicans, who want smaller government with less intrusion, also want government to regulate a woman's body excessively. At a time when the world is facing a population crisis and organizations such as the World Health Organization see a direct connection between health, population and the environment and conclude that reproductive decisions in developing countries need to be in the hands of women, a major faction of a U.S. national political party is attempting to reverse the management of reproductive decisions by women in the United States. Thanks Lorie, for pointing this out and let's keep women's health and reproductive rights in the hands of women, where it belongs.Doug MartinCarson City