Letters 12-25

Differentiating between moral and moralistic

Regarding the Sunday, Dec. 21, letter in the Opinion page: Were "young voters blind to moral corruption?" This is the type of letter that as a senior citizen I'm grateful that many young voters are able to discern between moral and moralistic.

Obama was a young child when the Roe vs. Wade decision was enacted 1973. Prior to Roe vs. Wade illegal abortions took place in tenements in urban areas and in houses in rural areas. Having Republican presidents (three of which I voted for) Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr., Bush, we still have Roe vs. Wade. The real problem is and has been what to do about unwanted pregnancy and this is not going to go away because the "moralistic set" wishes to vanish it from their eyes.

If you really want to do away with abortions then we must work on solutions as to why people turn to abortion, legal or illegal. Going back to illegal abortions is not a moral solution.

Obama stated he supported equal legal rights for all people in this country and that he supports the historic definition of marriage being a man and woman.

Obama did not state that he supports illegal immigration. He wants to determine what is not working with our current immigration laws.

To young voters, I hope you will be aware of those "Who could not see a belt without hitting below it."

LINDA ADAMS

Dayton

Drivers: Slow down, stay alive this winter

Winter is here. In Northern Nevada, the winter season often brings ice and snow to our roadways.

Alongside our local government partners, the Nevada Department of Transportation is dedicated to safely clearing this ice and snow, with over 71,000 NDOT person hours spent last year removing snow on Reno, Tahoe, Carson City and Fallon-area state roads.

As we clear the roads, your fellow drivers depend on you to help keep those roads safe.

In 2007, Nevada saw four deaths and 778 vehicle crashes statewide attributable to unsafe driving behaviors in snow and ice, such as driving too fast for conditions, following too closely, or failing to maintain a lane and overcorrecting.

Many of these tragedies can be prevented. How? Dial 511 for Nevada winter road conditions and weather before driving. Use seatbelts and headlights. Avoid quick starts, stops and fast turns. Keep additional space between your car and other vehicles. Use extra caution on bridges, ramps, overpasses and shaded areas. Most importantly, always take it slow in ice and snow.

Just as you rely on us to clear the roads, your fellow drivers rely on you to drive safely on those same winter roads.

NDOT invites all motorists to visit www.nevadadot.com/winter for more safe winter driving tips, current road conditions and chain requirement descriptions.

SUSAN MARTINOVICH,

Public Education DIRECTOR

NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF

TRANSPORTATION

Carson City

Exercise program keeps seniors fit

As I approached my senior years, I suddenly became accident prone. First it was a broken arm, then a fractured leg and hip. My biggest worry " I did not want to end up living in an institution.

I joined a resistance exercise class for all of rural Northern Nevada held by Glen Martin " sponsored by RSVP. These classes are available all over the state.

Glen Martin holds classes on Monday from 9-10 a.m., Wednesday and Friday 9:30-10:30 a.m. at our local Senior Center.

They come from all walks of life to Glen's class. We have one group that comes from one of our senior retirement communities. It's a wonderful program and I strongly recommend it for all seniors.

Learn to exercise muscles you didn't know you had. We all have our accidents as we get older, but by strengthening our muscles today, it will help protect them as we get older.

Remember, bring your water bottle and your cane if you have one.

Come and enjoy - socialize and work out those kinks.

For any further questions, call RSVP at 687-4680.

SHIRLEY SWAFFORD

Carson City

In this economy, judges shouldn't get pay raises?

Regarding the front page of the Nevada Appeal for Tuesday, Dec. 22. One headline states "smaller staff in schools saves money" (ya think?) The story next to it is "Judges to get hefty raise in January" (not a good idea in these financially troubled times).

I think these judges could do without a raise until the economy comes back around. This is as ridiculous as the auto industry executives coming to Washington, D.C., in private jets to beg the government for more money at the taxpayers' expense.

Our son and his wife, who are both Washoe county employees (making much less than judges) have just agreed, through an employees association, to freeze their wages for 18 months. This measure is to help alleviate some layoffs. Why is it that the bottom of the wage scale has to make all of the sacrifices?

Also, if I am not mistaken, our senators have just voted themselves a nice little pay raise. I wish I could have voted for my own raises when I was working. It's time to put an end to all of the bureaucratic and upper management waste in this country and get our economy back on track.

JIM HARPER

Carson City

Security clearance, birth record not an issue

This is in response to Tom Cashen's Dec. 7 letter stating that President-elect Obama would not be able to obtain a security clearance because of his associations or distant relations. Mr. Cashen's position has no merit.

In an article in the St. Petersburg Times (Oct. 10) three national security lawyers whose specialize in security clearance investigations stated that Obama's associations would never even come up in such an investigation, and even if they did the past actions of those people is too distant in time and wholly unrelated to Obama's associations with them now. In fact, one of them stated Obama's educational background would make him an excellent and sought-after candidate for any agency.

Second, with respect to the birth certificate issue: The person in charge of the Hawaii Department of Health has not only certified that they have Obama's original birth certificate on file, but has stated publicly that the certificate they have looks identical in every way, shape and form to her own.

Factcheck.org physically examined the document provided by the Obama campaign and conclusively proved that it is an original, unaltered and authentic public record. They even released a picture of the birth announcement in the paper of record (Honolulu Advertiser, Aug. 13, 1961), an announcement that was not published by family but by the Vital Statistics Office upon reports from local hospitals.

Can we discuss something important now, please?

ANTHONY SPOTTS

Gardnerville