Letters to the editor Oct. 13

BLM deserves a

Wooden Nickel

Wooden nickels to the Bureau of Land Management.

Just because the prisoners get to train 13 horses means nothing. What becomes of the other 20,000 to 40,000 of them that are stuck in holding pens in the great state of Nevada, and who knows where else, slowly dying a little more each day?

I say let them all roam free like they were meant to do.

Diane Brodak

Holly, Mich.

Stop protesting, elect

the right people

Wall Street protesters have many good reasons to protest. Like most of us, I've been troubled with the financial meltdown of 2008, but it seemed too complicated and difficult to grasp.

We knew, of course, that corporate greed in the financial sector was the main culprit. If you want to discover the real, most important and core problems affecting our country, watch a movie called "Inside Job." Produced by Charles Ferguson, it gives a simplified and detailed account of what took place.

It begins with a 30-year financial deregulation of banks that started with Greenspan under the Reagan administration, and proves how risky investments such as derivatives and collateralized debt obligations ruined our economy while thousands of brokers and bankers made millions, even billions.

The organizations designed to protect us, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve and the rating agencies, all played a part. It demonstrates how the financial sector captured both the Republican and Democratic sides while spending $5 billion on lobbying and campaign contributions, and by providing the equivalent of five lobbyists for each seat in Congress.

Watch the film and see the financial executives' blantant disregard for the impact their actions have on society while none has been prosecuted or penalized for securities fraud or other fraudulent activity.

With a Wall Street government, if you want to solve the real problems of America, vote for candidates who advocate strong financial and tax reform, with even stronger investment regulations.

Doug Sever

Carson City

HOP soldiers should receive a Purple Heart

Dear U.S. Sen. Dean Heller,

First of all, congratulations on your appointment to represent Nevada in the United States Senate. I am sure that graduates who heard you as our keynote speaker at their graduation in 2005 are proud they heard a future U.S. congressman and senator.

What I am writing you about is if you would support or talk to the proper authorities about awarding the Purple Heart to our five fine soldiers who were wounded or killed at the tragic IHOP shooting in Carson City.

My understanding from another Purple Heart recipient is they had to be in a combat zone to qualify. It would seem a logical argument that a gunman with a fully automatic weapon specifically targeting five U.S. uniformed military personnel in any location in the world would be classified as a combatant or a terrorist.

I sincerely hope you would look into and support this request.

Steve Knight

Carson City