So why did Titus support ‘bad parts’?

“He likes all the good parts. Who doesn’t?” That was Rep. Dina Titus’ response to Joe Heck concerning Obamacare at their recent debate in the contest for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District seat.

So Rep. Titus finally admits there are bad parts. That is why many Americans object. And that is why the “party of no” opposed the bill.

Can Rep. Titus please explain why the bad provisions were included in the first place? You know, the little things like forcing insurance companies to take on customers that will cause the companies to take a loss. Like compelling otherwise free Americans to buy health insurance that they may not want.

This is reminiscent of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, which compelled lending institutions to finance mortgages that they otherwise would have declined. Look where that has gotten us.

Face it: Rep. Titus helped force a plan through that was not in the best overall interests of the majority of the citizenry. Time was of the essence — she knew then that after the next election she would never be able to perpetuate such a grand mistake. And that makes it all the more wrong.

Don Dieckmann

Henderson

Payers or spenders?

To the editor:

In response to the Tuesday story, “Differential tuition weighed”:

UNLV President Neal Smatresk is starting to sound like a taxpayer instead of a tax spender. Nevada State College’s provost, Erika Beck, still doesn’t seem to understand simple economics.

When Mr. Smatresk correctly points out that local private universities charge three times UNLV’s tuition for some programs and have no lack of students, he is starting to think like a taxpayer. When English majors pay the same tuition to use a piece of chalk as physics students pay to use lasers, university officials are thinking like tax spenders.

Further cuts to the state education budget may be necessary for tax spenders to learn how to think like taxpayers.

If a few of the students learn the true value of education, so much the better.

Howard Giles

Henderson

Sign on

To the editor:

Earlier this year, Republican Scott Brown shocked the nation when he won the election to fill Ted Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat in heavily Democratic Massachusetts.

I remember reading that during the election, many people in Massachusetts put up homemade signs in favor of Scott Brown, and against Democratic Party policies that they did not like.

This was a major sign that Scott Brown might actually have a chance to win.

We are seeing the same thing in Nevada. I have seen homemade signs in people’s yards that say “Vote For Anybody But Harry Reid” and similar sentiments. I saw a truck recently with two large signs in the back window that said “Dump Harry Reid.”

I have a homemade sign in my front yard that says: “Harry Reid: Job Destroyer. Too Extreme For America.” For about nine months, I have had a “Dump Reid” bumper sticker on my car. People constantly come up to me in parking lots and tell me that they like my bumper sticker.

Thankfully, Sen. Harry Reid’s days of causing job losses, limiting the economic future of our children, and lowering the quality of our health care will soon be over.

Michael W. Nash

Las Vegas

Bear necessities

To the editor:

The Nevada Department of Wildlife has announced that the state bear population is on the rise, yet it refuses to provide the public with any research to support these findings (“Outdoor brief,” Oct. 10).

The department has refused to provide information to the public on the bear population since 2002. The most recent estimate based on publicly available research is a paltry 180 animals, little different than the estimate a decade before.

The Nevada Wildlife Commission has proposed a six-month bear hunting season, including a spring hunt at a time when nursing cubs will ultimately die if their mothers are killed.

The use of packs of dogs would also be permitted to harass bears and tree them so hunters can shoot them down at near point-blank range.

Historically, bears have been protected in Nevada, and there is no reason to initiate a hunt. Bears are not overpopulated, and any conflicts can be reduced through public education, proper garbage management and other non-lethal strategies.

Nevada’s tiny bear population should not be sacrificed for the interests of a handful of trophy hunters looking for heads and hides.

Beverlee McGrath

Sparks

Berkley endorsement

To the editor:

So the Review-Journal endorsed Shelley Berkley for Congress. Are you kidding me?

Did she represent Nevada when she voted for Obamacare? Did she represent Nevada when she voted for cap and trade?

What will a 40 percent hike in electricity bills do to our economy?

Rep. Berkley voted for her party over the people. Now she must pay for it. Another reason to support GOP challenger Ken Wegner is it’s a two-year term. So if he doesn’t perform, it will be easy to get him out of office.

Richard Santa Maria

Las Vegas

Salary travesty

To the editor:

In response to the Thursday story, “Schools chief salary offer: $270,000”:

I see the compensation also includes 31 days vacation (so he works 11 months for that amount), plus a $700 car allowance, plus mileage, plus a five-year commitment when it is against state law.

How can the state of Nevada pay more than New York or Los Angeles? Just what makes him worth so much more?

Just what does he do to earn this? Travel around in his car?

This is a travesty. How can anyone from the School Board now look to the teachers and complain about their salaries and benefits?

Once again, Nevada stands out when it comes to education — and not for the good, but the lowest standards of education.

Gary M. Warden

North Las Vegas