LETTERS: Sandoval hasn’t sold out Republicans

To the editor:

Many letters about Gov. Brian Sandoval depict him as selling out the Republican Party voters who elected him. They are dead wrong about that. My wife and I are moderate senior Democrats who voted for him because he has always displayed actions that are good for both state and federal governments.

We are not wealthy and have no children, but we are educated and realize the value of educating our youth no matter what it costs. The only ones complaining are tea party folks who want to keep the status quo similar to the do-nothing Congress. Many of these same folks constantly spread false rhetoric about Social Security and the Nevada Public Employees Retirement System.

If Congress would put back the money it raided to supplement past wars, Social Security would be very solvent. If our government can afford to allocate a military budget of $600 billion a year, surely we can afford a few billion dollars here and there for social programs. And perhaps these same folks are so critical of PERS because they are jealous of not being smart enough to take advantage of better work situations in life. Maybe they decided to pass on securing a decent education. I have a few uneducated friends who spew this same rhetoric.

We believe Gov. Sandoval will always try to make positive decisions, no matter what flak he may get from the “let’s close down the government” Ted Cruz followers.

DON ELLIS

HENDERSON

Space to destroy

To the editor:

Yet another politician thinks she can make a riot go away by ignoring it. This time, it’s Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. With ignorant gravitas, she told her police force to give the crowd space to destroy.

As a former officer, I have seen many riots, and they all go from zero to 60 in seconds. And for some reason, all mayors, or whoever is in charge, think that escalation will not occur if police departments allow mobs their “space.” There is a big difference between that and allowing peaceful demonstrators their space to picket. Peaceful demonstrators carry signs and comprise many different people, of different ages, race and gender. Mobs usually comprise teens and young men, usually with their faces covered and carrying bricks and bottles in place of signs. These mobs cannot be given free rein.

“Looting” is the warm and fuzzy legal vernacular politicians have come up with to describe violent actions committed by mobs when their actions disintegrate into a riot. Sadly, looting offenders usually receive no punishment, often because they wear masks, much like criminals hiding their identity when committing crimes. Without police intervention, mobs destroy other people’s property and put innocent lives at risk.

A brick thrown into a crowd of policemen is not an act of peaceful demonstration; it is an act specifically intended to kill or maim officers. If this act were committed by someone in any other common everyday setting, it would be construed as a felony and the offender would be arrested and charged. The same goes for similar violent acts such as torching buildings, breaking into a store and stealing the merchandise, stealing a car and so on. Criminals and thugs hide behind honest citizens involved in legal activism, in order to commit their cowardly acts.

Tragically, both criminals and politicians alike use the cops as human targets — thugs try to kill or maim a cop, while politicians hope that rioters’ violence will be depleted by releasing their pent-up energy on the officers. It is wrong on both counts.

The term “looting” is archaic. Get rid of it. Protect a picketer’s right to demonstrate, but by no means should violent criminality be allowed. Picket peacefully or suffer the consequences of a society that will protect itself.

RON MOERS

HENDERSON