LETTERS: Centralized government piles up power

To the editor:

I have noticed a big change in the letters to the editor regarding President Barack Obama. I believe that is due to the fact that blaming George W. Bush and playing the race card has finally run out of steam. The president now has his own record for all to see.

Many of the letters have eloquently pointed out the failures of this president’s policies, most notably the submissions from Michael O. Kreps (“Obama being judged by content of his policies,” Saturday Review-Journal) and Dale Laine Sr. (“Obama no savior; he’s a spender,” Sunday Review-Journal). I am glad to see that there are still some thinking people out there who are not buying what the Obama administration is selling.

I would like to add that President Obama’s foreign policy has been a complete disaster. On Nov. 1, 2012, President Obama bragged, “Al-Qaida has been decimated and Osama bin Laden is dead.” Well, he got that half right. Pick up any newspaper today. The Middle East is frighteningly aflame, emboldened by a weak American president who insists on downplaying American exceptionalism and continues in his unsuccessful policy of leading from behind. Our relationship with our closest ally in the region, Israel, is in tatters, and Iran is openly ridiculing us as it continues its steady march toward nuclear weapons.

But my greatest concern is the bankrupting of our country by liberal socialist policies on both sides of the aisle. The separation of powers and the system of checks and balances that prevented centralization of power seems to be gone. Congress alone is supposed to be the legislative branch. Now, we find all three branches of the federal government are seizing expanded authority over the states and the individual.

The courts now legislate by judicial review, and the executive branch legislates by executive order. Confusing? Yes, a law gets passed by one branch, then is overturned by another. A law is passed by one branch, then suddenly is changed by executive order. None of this would be happening if the Constitution were being followed.

We are now seeing our freedoms disappear as the authority and power is centralized in the bloated behemoth we call the federal government. And now, President Obama is threatening even more overreach with his pen and his phone.

I hope people will see that we need true constitutionalists in office if we are ever going to turn this train around.

LINDA CATERINE

HENDERSON

Stadium and arena plans

To the editor:

I keep reading about a new UNLV football stadium on campus and a new arena by New York-New York. Have any of these planners driven by these areas when a small event is taking place? There is no place to expand road infrastructure in any of these already congested areas. The current traffic conditions in front of the Monte Carlo and New York-New York is already a disaster when just one lane closes. Where is anyone going to park?

If they were smart, the powers that be at UNLV, MGM Resorts International and the owners of the 51s minor league baseball team would pool their resources and build a sports and entertainment venue on the vast expanse of vacant land between South Point and the M Resort.

There, you have access via Las Vegas Boulevard (with lots of space to expand the roadway), Interstate 15, St. Rose Parkway and Blue Diamond Road. Just think of the advertising revenue that would be generated by the signage, with all the traffic passing the stadium on I-15. Millions of people would see the facility and upcoming events as they drove along I-15. How many people see (or even know) where the Thomas &Mack Center or Sam Boyd Stadium are?

LARRY FRIED

LAS VEGAS

Rights, not allowances

To the editor:

In Monday’s Review-Journal, Laura Myers wrote that “policymakers have been looking for ways to allow Americans to enjoy their Second Amendment right to bear arms, while also trying to keep guns out of the hands of those who might turn to violence” (“Poll finds background checks popular”).

Someone needs to educate Ms. Myers. The Second Amendment does not “allow” us the right to bear arms, it tells policymakers that we have the right to keep and bear arms. Let’s also not forget that the Second Amendment is what protects our First Amendment rights.

VICTOR MOSS

LAS VEGAS

Not-so QuickRead

To the editor:

On Page 3A of Monday’s Review-Journal, the heading at the top of the page reads “QuickRead.” It’s then followed by two long articles by your entertainment writers, and below all of that are brief summaries of events and articles. There are certainly no “QuickReads” about those entertainment articles (excuse me while I yawn).

In fact, I don’t know why you even print those articles in the A section, when they clearly belong in your entertainment section. If you insist on keeping those entertainment articles on 3A, you really need to relocate the “QuickRead” header to where it applies — it’s certainly in a stupid location now.

SPENCER HAWKINS

HENDERSON

Benghazi and Clinton

To the editor:

Janice Herr’s letter to the editor states that Ambassador Chris Stevens is partly to blame for the Benghazi attack (“Christie vs. Hillary,” Wednesday Review-Journal). If you read enough, you’ll see that the ambassador told Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that there were terrorists in Benghazi.

So what happened? His security was cut in half. And when the attack happened, the rescue force was told to stand down. So who should get the blame for this?

RODNEY T. ELKINS

LAS VEGAS