Student drug testing is an abomination
To the editor:
I am sickened, saddened and outraged to read about Principal Jeff Horn of Green Valley High School submitting his student athletes to the Draconian inquisition of forced random drug testing (Sunday Review-Journal). Anyone who does not believe that drug testing is unconstitutional has not bothered to read the Bill of Rights.
Drug testing started in the military, where soldiers have almost no constitutional rights. It has spread like a plague to the general populace (mostly as a condition of employment).
I was dismayed by Mr. Horn’s assertion to “throw the statistics out the door” when confronted with the fact that drug testing is not very effective in preventing drug use. He obviously does not care that legitimate studies have proved that prevention education works better and is far more cost effective than drug testing. He prefers the age-old failed policies of prohibition, public humiliation and punishment. Prohibition never has, and never will work.
I am sure he would test all of his students if it weren’t forbidden by that pesky clause in the Fourth Amendment that supposedly protects us from just such intrusive searches.
Mr. Horn also seems oblivious to the damage done to a student’s future after a failed drug test. Anyone who ever fails a drug test cannot join the armed services, is ineligible for government-funded college scholarships, will never get a government security clearance, will never pass an FAA pilot’s medical exam and will be shut out of an extremely large number of jobs (both government and private). “Drug Test Flunkies” will never get hired anywhere, ever, if you are truthful about failing a drug test on a job application and/or interview.
Basically, any student who fails a drug test or has a false positive is guilty until proven innocent, and innocence is impossible to prove. A failed drug test is akin to a Scarlet Letter for life.
The main lesson all Green Valley students will learn is that they are now living in a surveillance society at war with its own population.
J. Collier
HENDERSON
Little difference
To the editor:
A Feb. 6 Review-Journal editorial maintained that the Democratic Congress forced overspending during the Reagan years.
The Congressional Almanac 1982-1989 details the budgets for fiscal years 1982-1989. Proposed budgets of the administration were $7.314 trillion. Actual budget expenditures were $7.361 trillion.
That is not even 1 percent difference.
roy grosser
LAS VEGAS
Smoking gun
To the editor:
What a shock to see the photo of the Wynn Macau in the Wednesday Review-Journal Business section. The photo clearly depicts on the marquee a cigarette with the universal “NO” symbol across it. Even more amazing was that the photo shows the words “Non-Smoking Casino.” I found it necessary to do a triple take on this photo.
Obviously, Wynn Resorts cares more about its Asian customers than the casino patrons in Las Vegas. By allowing Nevada patrons to smoke like fiends and poison non-smoking patrons, Wynn shows its true concerns.
Can we please put smoke-free casinos on the next ballot?
Todd Wheelan
NORTH LAS VEGAS
That’s the ticket
To the editor:
Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie needs more money for his jails (Wednesday Review-Journal)? Raising taxes is not the answer. Just write more speeding and red-light running tickets.
I guarantee he will have enough money to fund not only the jails but the whole police force.
Gary Packard
LAS VEGAS
Road show
To the editor:
Last Friday night we saw the Utah Shakespearean Festival’s Educational Road Show production of “Romeo and Juliet.” While we can agree with a good deal of AnthonyDel Valle’s Feb. 7 review, we feel that there should have been a nod in the direction of the purpose of this annual road-show production.
It’s never intended to be Shakespeare as it “should be done,” full-scale resident setting. Its purpose is strictly Shakespeare “done for fun.”
During this three-month tour, some 50,000 to 70,000 high school students in Nevada, Utah and Arizona will see this play. The girls will remember the “Hot Hunks” in tight leather pants, the guys will recall the fights and the way Juliet drapes herself over the balcony and funeral bier. Probably none will recall the very good “Queen Mab” speech or the fact that Juliet was a really good 14-year-old effortlessly played by a twentysomething actress.
As a consequence, just maybe, 10 years from now 10 percent of these present students will remember their first afternoon seeing Shakespeare as fun and pony up the price of a ticket for a live theater production of any kind, or even another Shakespeare play.
In any event, Shakespeare as it “should be done” is Step No. 2. Step No. 1 is “Shakespeare Done for Fun” — and that, the road show does very well.
david dameron
HENDERSON
Bet ban
To the editor:
I see in Tuesday’s Review-Journal Business section that Sen. John McCain has backed off his proposal to eliminate casino betting on college sports. Maybe it has dawned on him that there are a hell of a lot more corrupt politicians sharing the halls of Congress with him in Washington than there are point-shaving college athletes.
Any betting ban might appear a little hypocritical considering what’s going on in D.C. these days.
bruce brown
LAS VEGAS
Foul ball
To the editor:
Watching the House committee and the hearing on steroids in baseball, I was struck by the comment that Congress is worried that our children will imitate their sports heroes. I also read that there are more than 3,000 homeless and hungry kids here in Clark County.
Not to mention the fact that we have a war going on in Iraq, and all over this country people are out of work, without health insurance, and losing their retirement benefits due to collapsing business giants — the list goes on.
Do you wonder why the American people are crying for a change?
If it were up to me, I would fire everyone sitting in the Senate and House and start all over from scratch. Leave baseball to the baseball commissioner.
What Congress is doing is an exhibition and a waste of time.
joanne lindley
HENDERSON
Free school
To the editor:
Declining revenues have the Clark County School Board asking where best to make budget cuts, including shortening the school year (Review-Journal, Thursday).
School performance is bad enough now. It would only get worse with fewer class days.
What is needed is to look at the elephant in the closet: free education for non-citizens. Either tax the employers of the illegals to pay for the children’s education, stop providing for their education, or let the politicians in Washington come up with the money to pay for it.
Tom Keller
HENDERSON
