LETTERS: Taxpayers subsidize all forms of transportation

To the editor:

In his June 18 column, “Light rail fantastic — if you’re not paying for it,” Patrick Everson cites the cost of light rail to taxpayers, but does he realize taxes are already subsidizing buses, cars and airlines?

The federal government has been building roads since 1916. The Interstate Highway System was authorized by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 and is estimated to have cost $425 billion (in 2006 dollars). Our government also foots the bill for airport security and air traffic control.

My husband and I traveled to Portland, Ore., for a wedding. We got on the light rail at the airport and it took us to within a block of our hotel. Sometimes it went underground, but most of the trip was scenic. The platform was flush with the train car, so there was no struggling to get our suitcases up steep steps, like there is on the bus. And the cost was only a few dollars. That is a place I’d like to go back to, which is what we want all our visitors to say after they leave Las Vegas.

The next time you hear about the billions of dollars spent on new airports or the billions spent on highways, remember the convenience of light rail and decide where you want to invest your tax dollars.

JANICE HERR

LAS VEGAS

Wine connoisseur

To the editor:

Kudos to John Dombek for his very descriptive analysis of Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine reviews in the Review-Journal (June 22 letter). My husband and I have wondered the exact same things that Mr. Dombek penned so clearly in his letter. We, too, tried for years in vain to see and smell what on earth Mr. Lempert-Schwarz was writing about. Now I must dash off to buy the wine of the week (the one with phenol), as I’m all out of Lysol. Thanks for the tip, Mr. Dombek!

GEETA SARAIYA

LAS VEGAS

Gun control agenda

To the editor:

Never one to pass up an opportunity to turn a solemn occasion into a promotion for his agenda, President Barack Obama managed to degrade his “heartfelt sorrow” comments on the tragic Charleston church shootings into a statement on gun control.

As usual, his mind-set centers not on the deranged shooter, but on the fact that a handgun was involved, as if the gun itself was at fault. Predictably, he called for new legislation to solve this pesky Second Amendment problem of private citizens owning firearms, since acts of mayhem like this occur “only in America and nowhere in any other civilized nation.”

Within hours of Mr. Obama’s comments, a story hits the news wires about a deranged individual in Austria ramming his SUV into a crowd of bystanders, killing three. He then proceeded to stab several survivors with a butcher knife. I anxiously await the White House’s suggestion to Austria to outlaw SUVs and butcher knives and then have the U.S. State Department declare Austria an uncivilized, Third-World country.

J.J. SCHRADER

HENDERSON

Reid and the Rebels

To the editor:

I feel so warm inside knowing that Sen. Harry Reid is tackling the major issues facing our country, like changing the nickname of the UNLV sports teams (June 24 Review-Journal).

I can see in the very near future PETA wanting to change every team named after some animal, because that animal feels offended. Will this lunacy ever end?

TIM HICKS

LAS VEGAS

Excessive celebration

To the editor:

I do not understand why Las Vegas City Hall and the White House were lit up with rainbow colors. The Supreme Court decision to allow gay marriage does not justify the celebrations one bit (“Right to wed OK’d,” June 27 Review-Journal).

Average folks are being pushed further and further down the liberal black hole, and special interest groups rise above the majority. I have no qualms with the court’s decision; actually, I could care less. Just please don’t make it any more important than it is. There are far more pressing issues confronting this country.

JOHN SCHMIDT

LAS VEGAS