Humane Society critic an unabashed hypocrite

To the editor:

Washington PR man Rick Berman of the Center for Consumer Freedom is right about one thing: Nonprofit organizations must be scrupulous in their expenditures. The problem is, he’s the textbook case of someone who abuses the tax code for his own private benefit (“Nonprofit litigation aids lawyers more than public,” Jan. 30 commentary).

Mr. Berman has set up a spider web of front groups to attack many leading nonprofit charities and government agencies, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Humane Society of the United States. Corporations with image problems fund Mr. Berman’s groups, which mount attack campaigns as surrogates, while his public relations firm collects millions of dollars for management and other fees.

Several of the nation’s leading experts in nonprofit law have been quoted by Bloomberg News about Mr. Berman’s misuse of the charitable tax code. Marcus Owens, who has run the tax-exempt section of the IRS, said Mr. Berman’s entities are “a clear violation of the requirements for tax-exempt status.”

Mr. Berman’s groups do a lot of work to defend circuses that use elephants in traveling acts. While the Humane Society of the United States has never been a party to a lawsuit by animal welfare groups against Ringling Brothers, we agree that the treatment of elephants by Ringling and other circuses is unacceptable.

In the case that was recently settled by the two main parties, Kenneth Feld, the CEO of Ringling’s parent company, admitted under oath that his employees strike elephants with bull hooks – a pointed spike with a hook at the end, which is used to poke, prod, strike and hit animals to “train” them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which enforces the Animal Welfare Act, fined Ringling $270,000 in a 2011 settlement that allowed the circus to avoid an administrative hearing on numerous alleged violations of the law. The fine against Ringling was the largest penalty ever meted out for Animal Welfare Act violations.

The Humane Society of the United States and our affiliates know a thing or two about animal care. We provided direct-care services for more than 100,000 animals last year and worked to prevent or mitigate suffering for millions and millions of others through our policy, corporate and educational efforts. To learn more, please visit us at humanesociety.org.

Wayne Pacelle

Washington, D.C.

The writer is president and chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States.

Cheap labor

To the editor:

The lead article of your Jan. 30 edition reported on President Barack Obama’s Las Vegas speech, which announced the full force of his administration was now being directed to establish and implement a new immigration law that will provide a path to citizenship for the approximately 11 million illegal aliens residing throughout our nation.

After “coming out of the shadows” and registering, these aliens would be granted green cards so they could become legally employed while awaiting formal citizenship to be processed. There was euphoria and wild cheering for this recommended policy.

But also on the same front page was a much less conspicuous article by Jennifer Robison, “Nevada jobless rate exceeds 20 percent.” The article explained that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the state’s 20 percent rate as the accurate rate of unemployment, as opposed to the 11 percent rate of workers still actively looking for work. Many have just given up and stopped looking.

The misleading lower unemployment statistics usually promoted are as suspect as the estimate of 11 million illegal aliens, with some organizations claiming the figure is closer to 20 million. These false statistics seriously understate the real problem.

Whatever the accurate figures, has no one connected the dots? What happens to our local and national labor markets when our citizens must accommodate so many more newly legalized workers?

With an economy in shreds and a long famine of full-time jobs, this is the time to bring in millions of newly legalized workers? Are they seeking an instant depression?

Those cheers for the president’s speech should have been tears.

JOHN TOBIN

LAS VEGAS

Goose vs. gander

To the editor:

Ironic, isn’t it? Some members of Congress want to put new limits on gun buyers and owners. Meanwhile, the Nevada Supreme Court wants to create its own armed police force at a cost of $430,000 (Thursday editorial).

You see, of course, that the government is arming itself while disarming the people. More of the “Do as I say, not as I do” special treatment for the lawmakers and deciders again.

What a shame.

B.J. FAGIN

LAS VEGAS

Fact-checking

To the editor:

This is in response to the Jan. 30 letter from Rodney T. Elkins concerning Medicare premiums.

His assertion that Medicare premiums will increase to $247 per month in 2014 because of ObamaCare is a hoax that has been going around for a couple of years now and has absolutely no basis in fact. Premiums are expected to be in the vicinity of $115 in 2014. There are a number of fact-checking websites where he can verify this.

You can believe that President Barack Obama is a socialist Muslim from Kenya who wants to take your guns away and make himself King of America if you want, but when it comes to citing numbers, Mr. Elkins probably should make an effort to verify them before he resorts to name-calling.

STEVE OSBORNE

BOULDER CITY