Letters to the Editor

Voter happy that political ads, election are done

I am happy that the election campaigning is over, but most of all the absence of political ads from both parties, blatantly lying about their opponents. When are we going to demand transparency in campaign ads by making political candidates prove accusations and be subject to slander and libel like everyone else?

It is a shame that citizens vote for our leaders based on which politicians best survive the lies from their opponents rather than what they can do for us and the country. Those that win elections sense the system works so they have no reason to make changes. The same logic goes for term limitations, so it will require a concerted effort, and laws initiated by the citizens, not the elected.

I was the victim of political campaign lies so I know the effects from both perspectives.

I lost my campaign after 12 years as an elected official based on lies while I was the mayor of SeaTac, Washington. Thirty-five Wall Street demonstrators were paid $15 an hour to continuously doorbell the city saying I stole money, and that my expense account was much higher than other elected officials. The latter was true and made a great issue for my opponent.

I was on the Steering Committee of the 600-member Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy Board (PSCPB) for the National League of Cities (NLC). We were required to meet in different states four times a year to determine the three worst national public safety issues for (NLC) to direct Congress for extra funding to Homeland Security to address major national crime and safety issues.

I did not have the time or the money to rebut the lies or explain my expense account. I lost the election in 2011 because of the lies, not my expense account.

Gene Fisher

USN Retired

Reader says we need to stop the solar madness

Now that common sense has been restored to the political landscape, it is imperative that we, the weary, turn our collective attention to the pressing need to stop the solar project madness.

Two solar projects that directly affect us, Rough Hat and Larrea/Mosey, are on full-steam-ahead fast track for approval. Together these projects will pump over 423,606,856 gallons of water from Basin 162. That is over 423 MILLION gallons of water.

Don’t believe me? Look up the projects online and read their proposals. It is all public knowledge.

Division of Water Resources studies in the past few years address the issue of over-allocation and growth, but excessive use by needless solar farms has never been contemplated. In their 2018 report’s conclusion, it states, “There is currently nothing in the statute that expressly prohibits the utility from moving excess dedicated water to other uses, including additional development. DWR maintains that they will not allow these excess dedications to be moved and/or used for anything other than the original purpose of the dedication.”

Yet that is just what the Nye County Commission will address during their November 7th meeting (item 14), when they set a time and date to address this issue.

Short of armed insurrection, the only viable action we can and must take is to bombard our elected officials with calls and letters in an effort to force the Bureau of Land Management to deny all applications that take water from Basin 162. If we can stop them, then we need to get state laws enacted to prohibit water use for any solar project.

Hey — we prevailed in the re-election of a great president — this should be a walk in the park!

David Perlman

Resident skeptical about need of help for homeless

I moved to Pahrump from Fresno, California just over two years ago. Like all big cities, Fresno has a drug, crime, gang, and homeless problem. Why? Because city leaders do not address these problems when they first occur but wait until they are out of control.

Several years ago, the city spent many millions of dollars purchasing motels and converting them to house the homeless.

When only a few homeless took advantage of these rooms, the city sent out city workers with police escorts to see why. The homeless told them they didn’t want to live where there are rules. Most homeless are either druggies, alcoholics, or mentally ill. They prefer living on the streets where they can do what they want when they want. That’s why their family and friends have given up on them.

They only want a handout, not a hand up.

Jerry McCracken