End of ‘Viva Elvis’ show not a big surprise
To the editor:
I was saddened to read in the Nov. 24 Review-Journal that “Viva Elvis” will be closing in 2012, but I was not surprised. My wife and I are big Elvis Presley fans. We were overjoyed when we heard a Cirque du Soleil show was being built around Elvis’ music.
We went to see it in January 2010. We were both underwhelmed, to say the least. The first thing we found wrong was the theater itself. It was not a theater in the round like the theater for the Beatles tribute, “Love.” That made the Elvis show seem very one-dimensional. Why would Cirque du Soleil change something that worked so well for them?
Also, we were sitting on an aisle, but there was a wall beside us, preventing us from exiting right into the aisle. We had to walk to the other end of the row to enter and exit our seats. That sure seemed like a fire trap to me.
We both found the show too biographical, with not nearly enough Cirque in it. We were never Beatles fans, and we don’t have a single album of theirs, but we do enjoy seeing “Love.” When we get company in town, we take them to see “Love,” not “Viva Elvis.” “Love” is a simple tribute to the Beatles’ music, and Cirque should have stuck to the same formula for “Viva Elvis.”
William H. Isaac II
Henderson
The GOP and taxes
To the editor:
I agree with the Sunday letter from Richard J. Mundy. Most, if not all, Republicans are against any and all tax increases. As they should be. Why? Let me list just four reasons.
1.Treasury receipts for 2010 were approximately $2.16 trillion from income, payroll, corporate, customs, excise, estate, gift and miscellaneous taxes. Enough is enough.
2. Waste. For example, the federal government made at least $72 billion in improper payments in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. I’ll wager lots more. And recent Government Accountability Office reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs, 130 programs serving the disabled, 130 programs serving at-risk youth, 90 early childhood development programs, 75 programs funding international education, cultural and training exchange activities, and 72 safe water programs. All federal.
3. Does any logical person believe that if we give politicians more money, they won’t just spend it? Perhaps even on more waste.
4. Most Republicans in the 2010 elections promised their constituents they would not vote for tax increases. God forbid they keep their promises.
With all due respect to Mr. Mundy, his is the quintessential attitude of most active or retired public-sector workers. Enough is never enough.
Mark D. Traeger
Las Vegas
Sees the light
To the editor:
Clean energy, alternative energy, green energy — no matter what you call it, it’s the ever-prevalent future for our society. In this day and age, when the negative effects of fossil fuels, oils and natural gasses are becoming increasingly transparent, it’s a wonder that we haven’t turned to innovative alternatives yet.
A major obstacle is the tedious permit process. I’ve always wondered what could be done to make this process more hassle-free. Then I heard about Solar Energy Zones.
Solar Energy Zones are a new concept proposed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Energy. What this concept consists of is a proposed creation of 17 Solar Energy Zones across the Southwest, which would in turn ease the process for contracting and creating solar energy facilities. If passed, the 17 zones, which have been chosen due to their high potential in harnessing sun power, would begin development to help power our country.
This measure needs to be supported. These are the issues people need to start talking about again. With the economy and foreign policy hogging the spotlight, people are trying to push things such as clean energy into a corner to be dealt with later. Well, I’m sorry, but just because we can wait doesn’t mean the Earth is going to wait with us.
It’s up to us, the people, to take a stand and protect our Earth. We have a desert with more than 200 days of glorious sunshine each year. Why not finally make more use of that?
Sara Meraz
Las Vegas
Dead animals
To the editor:
I opened my Review-Journal Thanksgiving morning and wondered why the Review-Journal and outdoors columnist C. Douglas Nielsen felt it necessary to show two beautiful, but sadly dead, desert bighorn sheep, telling us it’s “just cause for a day of Thanksgiving.”
I found the photo unnecessary and his comments irreverent on a day when there are real things to be thankful for that don’t include having to look at a picture of these beautiful creatures of God laying dead in the arms of smiling young girls.
I guess we should be thankful the photograph didn’t show the girls gutting them.
Tricia Ansley
Las Vegas
