Immigrants want freedom, not Democratic handouts

To the editor:

Anthony Tidei’s analysis in his Saturday letter is sorely lacking in historical perspective and logic. He surmises that because of immigration and higher minority birth rates, the GOP is destined for the dust bin of history.

Tell us, why would those immigrants flee their own homeland to go to a country with a predominant GOP? For handouts or for freedom and opportunity?

No, I suspect that most of our recent immigrants, as did past immigrants, left their homelands — where opportunity depended mostly on the station of their birth — to go to a country of opportunity and minimal government interference, where the individual is revered.

I think Mr. Tidei’s attempt to stereotype recent immigrants as one big voting bloc is shortsighted and demeaning.

Now, if we can just get the GOP back to minimizing government …

Richard Vertrees

Las Vegas

Oil men

To the editor:

I remember a few years ago when gasoline prices were $2 per gallon. Usually, about once a week, there would be a letter to the editor in the Review-Journal blaming the oil men in the White House.

Now the Democrats have their man in the White House, and gasoline prices exceed $4 a gallon in many states. Where are those letter writers now?

I filled up yesterday in Laughlin at $3.95 a gallon.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have the oil men in the White House again?

O.D. Miller

Laughlin

Asking for it

To the editor:

Regarding your Saturday article on Mitchell Crooks’ arrest by Las Vegas officer Derek Colling, I think we need to put things in perspective.

It is obvious from Mr. Crooks’ track record that he has a clear agenda to profit from filming police activity. In California, he filmed an arrest and tried to sell the tape to the media.

In this latest incident, Mr. Crooks appears to seek out officers and goad them into a confrontation. The officer clearly asked Mr. Crooks if he lived at the residence, to which Mr. Crooks replied, “No.” Does anyone else see a pattern here?

Whether officer Colling’s actions were excessive will be decided by an internal investigation. If he violated department policy, he will be disciplined. But the fact remains that Mr. Crooks went out and looked for trouble. He has a history of it.

The majority of citizens get up and go to work every day. It appears Mr. Crooks gets up and searches for a settlement at the expense of taxpayers, which no doubt he will get. What a sad existence.

Joe Molinaro

Henderson

The writer is a retired police lieutenant with the Henderson Police Department.

English speaking

To the editor:

Doug Farmer’s Tuesday letter on Clark County School District English Language Learners is so out of touch it is scary. So he thinks educators in this district support illegal immigration, even encourage it, so their unions can benefit from more votes for Democrats on Election Day? Really? Where did he get his information? Not from reality.

Does he think teachers really know who’s legal and who isn’t? Does he really think the teacher unions concentrate on the illegal immigrant problem? Their job is to secure protection for dues-paying members, not illegal immigrants. Does he really think illegals get to vote?

Mr. Farmer’s simplistic answer is to deny illegal immigrants education. Think about this. Does he think denying an education might just cause a whole lot of social problems? Just what we need, thousands of teenagers sitting around with nothing to do.

By the way, immigrants do have to pass a test in English to become citizens.

john pauli

Las Vegas

DMV story

To the editor:

Vin Suprynowicz’s Sunday column, “An alien in my own land,” was about his experience with Nevada’s DMV.

Here is mine: I went to the DMV with my green slip for a car I had purchased from a dealer. I had in hand a printout from my insurance company indicating that my new car was, indeed, insured. Although it was not on a card, which I would eventually receive from the company, the man at the front desk said I had to have “the card” itself.

I became a bit undone about the ridiculous nature of the requirement. He insisted that I call the insurance company and have them fax a “card” to the DMV. I did so.

Later, a very kind employee said she would have accepted the validation of insurance and continued to process my registration. After that, she picked up the faxed “temporary card” and gave it to me. She didn’t need “the card,” as she accepted the insurance company’s printout of my paid insurance.

This is another first-hand example of how the DMV gets a bad reputation. The man who gave me the run-around should be replaced by someone who has much better people skills. He must learn that he is there to serve the public, not to anger them. The woman who helped me was the kind of employee the DMV needs.

Michael F. Gates

Henderson