Letters to the Editor for June 5

Obama's border security plan waste of money

Because of the heavy pressure from the citizens of Arizona, President Obama has agreed to send 1,200 guardsmen to the border. These guardsmen will not be allowed to stop or detain anyone crossing the border. They will only be allowed to inform the border guards of their presence. The guardsmen will, for the most, be in offices, collecting information and sending it on to the border guards.

This is - in my opinion - a complete waste of tax money and the time and efforts of the guardsmen.

It seems to me that President Obama and his administration are really not interested in securing the border. The deployment of the guardsmen, in my opinion, is strictly a political move. It will not help with the securing of the border.

Serge Puchert

Carson City

Sheriff's attempt at humor sent wrong message

I took my family to the Cops and Kids event, as I do every year. This is something my 7-year-old looks forward to and we, as a family, enjoy. This year, however, thanks to Sheriff Furlong, it was extremely awkward.

The DJ was talking about raising $500 for the Explorer's Program with Sheriff Furlong and Miss Nevada alongside of him. The DJ said if they could raise $500, the sheriff would jump in the bounce house and if they went over $500, Miss Nevada would jump. OK, we get it.

But then, Sheriff Furlong thought it necessary to let the crowd know that he would pay $100 to jump in the bounce house with Miss Nevada. This was creepy; this is a function geared toward children. There are lots of booths at this event showing children ways to make good choices and not bad ones, as well as behaviors to avoid in life.

My 7-year-old is very familiar with the sheriff and his wife, as we used to live near them. The questions from my 7-year-old put me in an awkward position, as I could not answer on behalf of Sheriff Furlong: "Why would he pay that lady to jump in the bounce house with him? That's weird. Where is his wife? Doesn't he want his wife to jump with him?"

Sheriff Furlong's comment was appalling. Shame on him.

Joel Wixon

Carson City

No taxes? No fire, police, roads, teachers ...

I read with interest (Sharron Angle's) proposals to make America better. To start with, she would like to dismantle the Social Security Administration. She claims those of us on it will continue to receive benefits. What about those who have not retired yet, but have paid into the system all their working life? Who gets that money? The Tea Party? Or are we going to be led to believe the Tea Party will return that money to everyone who has paid into the system? I don't think so.

Another issue I take exception to is Angle's desire to eliminate income taxes. How does she plan to pay for all the public services we need?

For those of you who are so gung ho to elect these Tea Party extremists, ask yourself a few questions. With no taxes to pay for our public services, how do you plan to survive? Next time your house catches fire, put it out yourself - no taxes, no fire department. When someone breaks into your house or mugs you - oh well, that's your problem - no police services, either.

We all begrudge the IRS the money we give them, but without our taxes, how many Americans could really live on their own? Most of us are not survivalists; most of us love our pampered American lifestyle.

So unless you think you can be your own fire department, police and teachers among other services, you need to actually think about what you are touting.

Edith Crowe

Carson City