Letters to the editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

Elks Lodge thanks community for fundraiser

Pahrump Elks Lodge #2796 wishes to thank the following businesses and individuals for their donations of raffle prizes for our USO benefit fundraiser on June 24th. Thanks to your donations, the lodge raised over $3,200 for the USO unit at McCarran International Airport.

Albertsons Bakery; Amber Murphy; Carmelo’s Bistro; Carol Burton, Inspiration Salon; Do It Best Hardware; Dtech Onsite Services; Fitness for $10 ;Front Sight; Greenspan Brokerage; Harvey’s Barber Shop; Holiday Inn Express; Jane Schmidt; Liberty Tax Preparation; Lisa Bond Real Estate; Mark’s Grill; Mastertech Computers; Michael Foley; Mom’s Diner; Mona Lisa Dickerson; Mountain Falls Golf Course; Nevada Treasure RV Resort; Pahrump Nugget Hotel Casino; Pahrump Valley Auto Plaza; Pahrump Valley Winery; Pete’s Auto Clinic; Purcell Tires; Romero’s Restaurant;Saddle West Hotel, Casino & RV Park; Scotty Winegar, Ms. Senior Nye County; Sherry Brady; Stockman’s Steakhouse; Subway Restaurants; Sue Ann Vasquez; Taco Bell; Terrible’ s Roadhouse; and Valley Electric Association.

Dennis London

Transgender soldier story gets reaction

The Pahrump Valley Times story by Emerson Marcus on July 28, was a human interest story, tugging of “heartstrings” for the deserved sympathy of the struggles of a transgender individual. Trying to live by the “live and let live” philosophy, the real world problems arise.

Whether or not politically correct people want to admit it, there really are physical differences between the male and female species, which presents some different health care needs. Adding the transgender element, there’s now hormone, drugs and other medical procedures. Who pays? Adding also more time off, also again, who pays?

Being a Vietnam vet, I do know the military capabilities and readiness is not the place for social experiments, no matter how noble one may think, is the place for 0.3 percent of the U.S. transgender population experiment.

David Jaronik

Proposed cuts to EPA threaten nation’s health

I’ve been reading up on Trump’s proposed EPA cuts and honestly they are just nuts.

I like breathing, it’s one of those things I really enjoy doing, especially since I grew up with asthma in smoggy Los Angeles. I wouldn’t wish asthma on anyone, but that’s practically what this Trump administration is wishing on others with these cuts to the EPA.

And that’s not even mentioning the other ills these cuts are practically wishing on us that could result in more unchecked lead in our drinking water, and who knows what else will come with our developing climate crisis.

I do hope our senator, Dean Heller, whose party it is that is proposing these ridiculous cuts to the EPA, will stand up and oppose them. I’m tired of politicians who are more interested in padding the already overstuffed wallets of the fossil fuel industry and their allies, rather than paying attention to the health of their own constituents.

Thomas Rasmussen

Un-American Republicans inflict death and damage

For the past seven years the Republicans have complained about how awful ObamaCare is, yet when trying to replace it they offered a solution which would cause thousands of our fellow Americans to die and leave many more in a state of hopeless sickness. All this so that they could give tax breaks to the richest among us. Mr. Liar, woman abuser, thieving Trump, I pay for the Obama tax and do not want to discontinue paying it, especially if it means making my fellow Americans suffer and die. As we often say in America, “either put up or shut up.” You and your anti-American Republicans apparently can’t do either. Thank you to Senator McCain for again standing up to the enemy of America, this time being the Republican Party.

Contrary to what the lying Republicans have been telling us, ObamaCare, while not perfect and needs fixing, has been the single biggest job creator of the 21st century. Over five million jobs were established because of ObamaCare. These health care workers are buying homes, new cars, and sending their children to colleges and universities. If the repeal without replacement bill had passed, millions of these health care workers would be without jobs and again we would be pushed into another Republican recession, which is so typical when they govern. Many businesses would suffer and go under without the health care workers who are consumers.

Moreover, this phony supply side economic theory, the belief that if we lower taxes, especially for the rich, that this in turn will more than offset itself with increased spending, thus creating more government revenue, is a hoax, designed to give fat cats more tax breaks. For example, I have enough to get anything I want, and lower taxes won’t make any difference. We should all remember that Reagan tripled the national debt from one trillion to three trillion with supply side economics. If the republicans really wanted to balance the budget they should duplicate the tax structure that Bill Clinton had. He not only balanced the budget, but was paying down our debt until Slime Ball G.W. Bush came in and drastically lowered the taxes for the very rich, and brought about the greatest recession since the Great Depression. We were losing 800,000 jobs a month. Thank God for Obama and ObamaCare which restored us to a good economy.

Finally, what makes the whole Republican governance so deplorable is that many of us are being led astray by agencies for the very rich such as Fox News and the Koch brothers, which in turn program many of the less informed, like the rednecks and crackers. For example, probably the reddest state, Mississippi, takes in much more tax revenue than it pays to the federal government. Welfare runs rampant in Mississippi, yet it overwhelmingly votes Republican in every national election. The Republicans want to end welfare, yet welfare voters in Mississippi keep it a red state. Go figure.

Jim Ferrell

Current administration is failing Americans

President Trump is going after Congress and their health benefits due to the inability to govern and look at any options to repeal, replace, or even improve the ACA. I read this and that just like you about how President Trump goes left, then right, then left looking lost. He isn’t lost though. Reading between the lines I see how frustrating D.C. politics are to the non-politician. I believe that those who get elected to represent should work on governing even when legislation does not appeal or appease them specifically. Personally, I see all those serving in Washington failing America and her people by choosing to procrastinate, play politics, and continue to divide Americans and ultimately the American Dream.

As a fellow American,

Leo Blundo

Proposed cuts to EPA threaten nation’s health

I’ve been reading up on Trump’s proposed EPA cuts and honestly they are just nuts.

I like breathing, it’s one of those things I really enjoy doing, especially since I grew up with asthma in smoggy Los Angeles. I wouldn’t wish asthma on anyone, but that’s practically what this Trump administration is wishing on others with these cuts to the EPA.

And that’s not even mentioning the other ills these cuts are practically wishing on us that could result in more unchecked lead in our drinking water, and who knows what else will come with our developing climate crisis.

I do hope our senator, Dean Heller, whose party it is that is proposing these ridiculous cuts to the EPA, will stand up and oppose them. I’m tired of politicians who are more interested in padding the already overstuffed wallets of the fossil fuel industry and their allies, rather than paying attention to the health of their own constituents.

Thomas Rasmussen

A suggestion for the solution on the national debt

What will we do if the national debt becomes so big that other countries stop lending to us? How will we be able to pay entitlements and still pay for our military? We could dismantle some of our nuclear weapons, but at the same time we need to build a missile defense system.

If we can’t cut, the solution lies in higher taxes. These need not be imposed on everybody, but I believe the top 5 percent of the population makes about 4.5 trillion dollars a year. The deficit is only 440 billion, so a tax increase on the wealthiest need not be painful.

Alex Sokolow