Outsourcing and U.S. consumers

In the July 22 Viewpoints section, you ran a commentary arguing that outsourcing saves jobs. Recently I shopped Kohl’s for my favorite tees by Croft & Barrow. I didn’t pay attention at first, but I noticed they were made in different countries, same tee.

There were two made in Cambodia, two made in Vietnam, two made in China, one made in Jordan and one other brand made in Indonesia. That’s a lot of outsourcing for one product. But look how many stores Kohl’s has and how many employees have jobs.

Sometimes outsourcing has its benefits to us consumers – we get the benefit of lower prices.

Roxine Hartnett

Henderson

What fraud?

To the editor:

A number of readers have written letters recently discussing voter ID requirements as a method to prevent fraud. While the letters were well-intentioned, there is one major issue – voter fraud is simply not a real problem, it is fabricated by the GOP.

In a nutshell, there is virtually no voter fraud in the United States.

A major probe by the Justice Department between 2002 and 2007 failed to prosecute a single person for going to the polls and impersonating an eligible voter, which the anti-fraud laws are supposedly designed to stop. Out of the 300 million votes cast in that period, federal prosecutors convicted only 86 people for voter fraud – and many of the cases involved immigrants and former felons who were simply unaware of their ineligibility.

A much-hyped investigation in Wisconsin, meanwhile, led to the prosecution of only .0007 percent of the local electorate for alleged voter fraud. A 2007 report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a leading advocate for voting rights at the New York University School of Law, quantified the problem in stark terms. “It is more likely that an individual will be struck by lightning,” the report calculated, “than that he will impersonate another voter at the polls.”

So why is the GOP trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist? It’s quite simple – unlawful voter suppression. Unable to win fairly, Republicans seem determined to undermine the Constitution and prevent lawful voters their right to vote on Election Day. Poor, minority and elderly voters are especially likely to fall into the 11 percent of eligible American voters who lack sufficient ID.

We must demand that Republicans stop this unconstitutional behavior immediately, before they make U.S. voting like that of a Third World country – and the laughingstock of the world.

Paul Carman

Henderson

Pet regulations

To the editor:

Hats off to state Sen. Michael Roberson for introducing a bill to ban the private ownership of dangerous animals here. Nevada is one of only five or six states in the country with no laws pertaining to exotics. I have worked on this issue for 25 years and know this bill is long overdue.

Many incidents involving exotics have happened here with little or no attention, other than a blurb on the TV news or barely a mention in the paper. Many of the people with exotics moved to Nevada from states – such as California – that were tightening up regulations on their animals. Some have bragged that Nevada is still the Wild West and anything goes.

We tried locally to get an exotic ordinance 10 years ago and it went nowhere. I want to thank the Humane Society of the United States – with its professionalism, resources, expertise and determination to make animals lives better – for having a representative here in Nevada to help local people get laws passed. I, for one, will be happy to do all I can and work as a team with the largest animal protection group in the country.

Linda Faso

Las Vegas

Flag protocol

To the editor:

This letter may seem trivial to the elitist groupies in the Democratic Party. As a spouse of a military veteran, however, I was dismayed when I saw the photo on page 5 of Tuesday’s Nevada section with Rep. Shelley Berkley at the podium addressing the visitors at the East Las Vegas Senior Center.

Rep. Berkley, a self acclaimed “embracer of veterans,” does not recognize the United States of America flag protocol. The U.S. flag is always to the right of the podium/speaker. Surely her staff should have alerted the folks who set the stage for the event to make certain everything was in order for her photo-op.

But on the other hand, Ms. Berkley does embrace the left wing of her party and the flag was placed on her left.

Joann Schoch

Las Vegas

Nothing wrong?

To the editor:

Steve Sebelius’s commentary in Tuesday’s Review-Journal was right on target concerning Rep. Shelley Berkley inserting herself in the UMC kidney program debacle that has resulted in an ethics complaint. With other Nevada congressional members also on board, she did not need to add her voice.The program would have been saved anyway.

The fact that she did not make proper disclosure concerning her husband’s involvement brings into question whether she has the savvy to be a U.S. senator.

I also wonder where Harry Reid was while Rep. Berkley was lobbying for the kidney center. Perhaps he didn’t think she was doing anything wrong, either.

Ed Feldman

Henderson

Don’t blame Obama

To the editor:

In his Sunday column, Sherman Frederick blamed Barack Obama because Nevada’s economy hasn’t rebounded fast enough. I’d like to know why when a state is doing well and has a Republican governor, the governor gets all the credit and Mr. Obama gets zero credit. But when a state isn’t doing well and has a Republican governor, the governor gets zero blame and it all falls on Mr. Obama.

Seems like quite the double standard to me.

I especially laughed at Mr. Frederick whining about Mr. Obama’s comment on “not blowing your kid’s college money in Vegas.” You’d think fiscally responsible Republicans would applaud that.

The Las Vegas economy still stinks because our leaders, mostly Republican governors, failed to diversify the economy and because of all the greedy homeowners who thought they could retire after flipping houses.

Other states are doing great with Mr. Obama in charge, so Mr. Frederick should point to our governor instead.

Tim Weaver

Henderson