Fans should reward Rebels for team’s success

To the editor:

I was born here in 1967 and am the first to admit being a fair-weather fan of the UNLV basketball team.

The glory days were great, and tickets were hard to come by back then. After enduring a couple of years of hard times, I still went to a few games and followed the team but found other things to start doing with my time and money.

If this sounds anything like you, I firmly believe that it is safe to come out of hiding and jump back on the Rebel bandwagon.

I’ve been a season ticket holder for the past two years and could not be more impressed with the attitude, class, energy and drive of these players. Their willingness to play as a team shows confidence in coach Lon Kruger and his staff. The wins have just been a bonus, because these teams play so hard that they are easy to root for.

This next season shows great promise, and if the team’s attitude and desire are anything like this year’s team, you should be very happy with the product on the court. Hopefully, “Pack the Mack” won’t be a singular event, and the legendary Rebel pride will return.

I’m embarrassed to admit my lack of support in the past, but hopefully there are others like me who will come back out and reward coach Kruger and these young men for their hard work.

Paul Teffron

HENDERSON

Board conflicts

To the editor:

The recent spate of articles on sloppy procedures at an endoscopy clinic and the members of the Board of Medical Examiners refusing the governor’s request to resign ignores the elephant in the room.

What has happened is the guaranteed result of a national system wherein the states put professionals in charge of regulating their own activities. All the problems with physicians, lawyers, accountants and others stem from the same problem: They each control their professional activities. This setup is an obvious conflict of interest and may even be unconstitutional.

The effect of “self-policing” is that regulations are profession-centered and totally ignore the impact of their activities upon society as a whole. System experts and other professionals have no say in what the various professions can and cannot do, which comprises the largest loss of all.

The only way we are going to rid ourselves of bad doctors, horrendous class-action legal fees and lying accountants who prepare statements they know are wrong, is to change state laws to eliminate conflict-of-interest board members.

Raymond E. Bowden

EMMETT, IDAHO

Ozone standard

To the editor:

A recent article (“New ozone standard worries local officials,” March 13) noted that state and local officials are concerned about the practicality of new federal ozone regulations. As the general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, I share these concerns.

The RTC is responsible for maintaining a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive transportation process across our region. That includes ensuring that transportation plans and programs conform to approved air quality standards. There is good reason to believe that the new federal ozone regulations will actually undermine efforts to reduce the traffic congestion that contributes to higher ozone levels in our region. In fact, new federal rules will make it more difficult for public officials and contractors to secure the approvals needed to move forward with roadway improvement projects. As a result, many critically important projects will be delayed, postponed or eliminated.

The federal government’s new ozone regulations reflect a “one-size fits all” solution to a complex problem. In the case of Southern Nevada, imposing strict federal regulations will only make it more difficult for our fast-growing community to make the infrastructure improvements that are needed to reduce ozone emissions.

Jacob Snow

LAS VEGAS

Retiring teachers

To the editor:

In response to your Tuesday editorial, “Entitled to the taxpayer subsidy”: Wow, the Review-Journal really does hate teachers.

I don’t understand how someone who in all likelihood received a free public education would write such snippy remarks about public employees who provide services to their communities. As stated in the editorial, it was the Legislature that decided to allow teachers and other local government employees to join the state Public Employees Benefits Program upon retirement.

Why, then, do you accuse teachers of “sneaking in the door before this year’s deadline”? We’re not sneaking. We’re taking an opportunity that was legally presented to us. The fact that this opportunity will no longer exist is also not our fault. Again, the Legislature decided it was time for this option to end.

Instead of saying teachers are “encouraged” to throw early retirement parties, you might say many of us are “forced” to retire early so we can afford to live on our pensions.

So please, stop taking cheap shots at good people who work hard with children. Stop the insinuations that teachers are somehow getting away with something. Perhaps you should be thanking those of us who’ve stayed in education long enough to be considering this retirement option, since most new teachers today leave education within five years. (Maybe that is the answer to your fear of having to offer benefits to future retirees.)

By the way, teachers are some of those taxpayers mentioned who are struggling to make ends meet.

Brenda Becker

LAS VEGAS

Learning patience

To the editor:

Citing various and legitimate sources and statistics, syndicated columnist Diana West wonders whether our venture into Iraq has won anything of value (Tuesday Review-Journal, “After five years, what have we won?”). Indeed it has.

Fundamental enemy capabilities are far less than what they were before Uncle Sam made bivouac along the Tigris and Euphrates. It is now impossible for jihadists to establish a caliphate, hermetically sealed from Western cultural and religious influences. Without that sine qua non, their goal of our subjugation cannot come about.

Enemy forces can still make much tactical mischief, and will make as much of it as they can possibly arrange. That is true both there and here. Some are even eager to arrange a gotterdamerung regardless of the consequences to themselves. (Baathists and Persian fanatics were bosom buddies with hard-core Nazis back in the 1940s. They shared and share the same occult vision of humanity.)

However, their victory will remain beyond them so long as we are resolute. Our main trouble is that the majority of this war will be a sitzkrieg instead of a blitzkrieg. Americans are going to have to learn patience, and learn it in a great big hurry.

Ms. West’s concerns are certainly not trivial, but they are only momentarily valid. We can prevail if we will.

Dave Hanley

LAS VEGAS

Class warfare

To the editor:

Your Sunday editorial “Obama condemns quotas — or does he?” states that the bottom 50 percent of income earners pay just 3 percent of the taxes. Sounds low. But even if true, that’s federal income taxes.

Consider this: No matter one’s income, he pays payroll taxes, property taxes (directly or indirectly), sales taxes, (in most states) state income taxes and myriad fees and licensing assessments.

All that comes to considerably more than 3 percent of all taxes paid.

Include all taxes henceforth, or us poor folk will believe that class warfare is alive and thriving at the Review-Journal.

And remember, Warren Buffett has a standing offer of a million dollars to any CEO who can prove he pays a higher percentage of his wages in taxes than his secretary.

ROY GROSSER

LAS VEGAS