LETTERS: Nevada lowers bar by scuttling tests
To the editor:
I read that the Nevada State Board of Education is once again changing graduation requirements for the students (“Proficiency tests to be scuttled,” Jan. 31 Review-Journal). Board member Dave Cook states that tests are subjective, “so why prolong them?” Mr. Cook apparently thinks it is wrong to set standards.
My question would be, if there are no standards by which to measure a child’s learning, the very reason we send kids to school, then why do we have school at all, other than to keep the education complex employed? My guess is that the board is pandering to the large illegal immigrant student population that contributes to low test scores; the board wants to dumb down the system so it can receive more federal money. I guess by pretending a “D” is really an “A,” the board can delude itself into thinking it is helping students. Nothing is further from the truth.
The immigrants came here for a better life and better opportunity. How does lowering the bar help them? How does lowering the bar help Nevada citizens? It doesn’t help either one, Mr. Cook.
RON MOERS
HENDERSON
Debt ceiling
To the editor:
Reading Jim Graham’s letter regarding the debt ceiling makes me shudder, as it explains the complete ignorance of so many people regarding the amount of debt accumulated by this country (“Republicans perpetuate debt ceiling lie,” Saturday Review-Journal). First, I will agree with Mr. Graham that the Republican Party has been complicit in this financial tragedy. Spending under the leadership of George W. Bush and Tom DeLay was shameful.
That being said, the contention that anyone is lying about the seriousness of this problem is reprehensible. The Democrats are in complete denial of this problem, as underscored by Mr. Graham’s letter. Each year, there is a spread between what we spend and what we take in. That financial chasm causes us to sell more and more bonds to “fill in the hole.” Each and every time we fill in that hole, we are on the hook for more and more interest on the accumulating debt. As of today, the second-largest annual expense of the U.S. is interest on that debt.
Mr. Graham uses the analogy of paying off your credit card. But what we are doing is making the minimum payment on that card and asking the issuer to increase the credit line each year. Everyone who has a credit card knows where that leads — financial ruin and bankruptcy.
The denial of this problem was one of the factors in the rise of the tea party movement. The Democrats savage the tea party because they want to foster this debt denial and keep the spending party going, while letting our kids pick up the tab. But they can’t kill the movement because responsible people don’t want their children and grandchildren to live under the yoke of financial servitude.
Wake up, Mr. Graham, and get educated as to the impact of the debt on our future generations — and join in to save their future.
JOSEPH SCHILLMOELLER
LAS VEGAS
Mulroy’s run
To the editor:
Pat Mulroy deserved front-page recognition for her remarkable performance with the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Las Vegas Valley Water District (“Why the water kept flowing,” Sunday Review-Journal). She has done an outstanding job.
Unfortunately, the objectives of the politicians she served were driven by greed — the greed for campaign contributions lavished on them by managers of the gaming and construction industries, and the greed of those profiting from growth despite its degradation of our quality of life.
Water has always been limited in the West. With drought conditions expected to worsen, the folly of our past growth is clear. To pump water hundreds of miles to Las Vegas would be even more senseless. We need a better solution.
ALBERT M. NEUMANN
LAS VEGAS
Pizza column inedible
To the editor:
I read Ron Kantowski’s Page 1A column Monday (“Rosati’s workers abide by No. 1 rule: Have fun”), and I must say it is one of the worst articles I have ever read in your newspaper. But that is not fair, because I should not judge a story I could not read. I tried, but after eight ponderous column inches of leaden verbiage concerning pizza, I could not muster the effort to continue.
I can only hope it got better. And the next time you think your readers want to read about pizza after the Super Bowl, you should at least bury the story in the Food section.
DANIEL ORR
HENDERSON
Woody Allen
To the editor:
After reading the latest about Woody Allen, I find it amazing that people still defend him (“Allegations of abuse untrue, Allen declares,” Monday Review-Journal). Even if his stepdaughter’s allegations weren’t true, there’s always the other stepdaughter he started up with when he was 56 and she was 19.
Maybe I’m being a prude, but that just shreds any credibility he might have. As far as the district attorney not taking it to trial when it first came up, New York City is no different than any other city, county or state in this country. Justice can be purchased by people with money and clout.
STEVEN C. HIZA
LAS VEGAS
