Letters to the Editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

We should shut off left and right and enjoy every day

I am annoyed with television, newspapers, and the internet giving me a constant stream of gloomy opinions about the coronavirus, virtual lockdown, and a dreadful future. All I hear is gloom and doom!

I am so tired of talking heads on both the right and left giving us their take on events. We need newscasters who will give us, in the words of Dragnet’s Lt. Joe Friday, “Just the facts ma’am.”

Have we forgotten the beautiful world around us? We live in the Southwest, a place of sunny days. It’s time for us to slow down and concentrate on what we do have.

Looking out the window, we see a beautiful blue sky, yards full of flowers, and the mountains that surround us. We hear birds singing and feel the wind blowing through the trees. We should not take them for granted.

Wake up Pahrump! Turn off the television and make up you own mind. Choose to enjoy life. Live fully each day. Be grateful we are not in charge. God is. Listen to him.

Betty Cotner

Government is not being honest with us, reader says

I have been sitting around, pondering if you will, a bunch of people scurrying around like a bunch of rabbits, or a covey of quail. Crowds are jumping around in so many directions they are running into each other front to back. To add insult to injury, Sisolak’s Directive 007 Section 4 exempts all homeless from the provisions of Section 1. This threatens all working taxpayers in the “private sector.” A reminder, the “public sector” and Welfare are not able to fund their own taxpayer-funded payments. The private sector and only the private sector fund the complete operation of all levels of government in this nation. Sisolak’s directive is rather strange. On one hand he demands that we comply with his mandates, on the other he completely ignores and violates our immigration laws that were designed to protect our nation from outbreaks as we now have. We have ten times the allowable arsenic content in our well water. We have been buying bottled/canned water “out of pocket.” Fallon got water delivered. Water delivery to us (even though we pay) is prohibited.

At the helm sits Trump, trying to right the sinking ship of these United States. By his side are Pelosi, Obama, Clinton, Rice, Schumer, Schiff, ad nauseum, who are not there to add assistance. They continue the impeachment program. We had eight dismal years under Obama, and a bleak future similar to East Germany. Obama, in the summer of 2008, planned to overthrow this nation, run it into a state of “third-world” economics, then step in as dictator of this nation. What he, and the radical “Dimms” had not planned on was Trump winning the election of 2016. That election was like a light switch that had been turned on, the darkness went away and prosperity was available for all. Boy, did prosperity throw a wrench into Obama and Clinton’s plans.

An opportunity arose, the Chinese flu. Obama and co-conspirators jumped on that like the second coming. They could back off of their impeachment program (they did wait too long) and concentrate on criticism of, and attacks on Trump’s presidency.

In 77 years, I have been swamped with lies from my government. Some outstanding, such as the CIA’s claim, “The Cuban people will rise up and embrace us when we eliminate Castro.” Yeah, right. Then there was the “NSL 55 mph speed limit.” That mandate was presented to us in October 1973, with much chest pounding, proclaimed, “The 55 shall reduce our energy consumption by 20%.” It would protect our oil industry, from the wells going dry, in two years. Here I sit, 47 years this October, wondering where the other 19% got off to. The USDOT produced estimates in 1978 that stated the savings were 0.9% to 1.1%. In 47 years we have gone from an “oil poverty” nation to a nation of oil exporters. We also, 47 years ago, had coal reserves of 200 to 250 years.

Then we had news from Nixon that he had negotiated “favored nation status” to communist China. We have become aware of just how profitable that was for China, and how bad it was for the U.S.

Trump has managed to reverse many of the one-sided negotiated treaties, with China, and Pelosi and her co-conspirators are livid with Trump. Just how much can a politician of our country grow to hate our nation and its success? Not limited to, but China has us by the “short hair” with antibiotics. That is a very serious predicament.

Then I recall our Merchant Marine, U.S. Naval shipyards, civilian dry-docks, steel mills, mining, textiles, manufacturing, all disappearing as the final insult of NAFTA. About 25 or 30 years ago, I pointed out to politicians, “We could not mount a successful defense, let alone a successful offense against an intruder, at our borders.” Does that sound familiar? Based on the number of public offices I have called (emergency management, et al) only to find them closed until (when?) we see a demonstration of the number of public workers that can make redundant. We don’t need them. For three-plus years we have been steaming along, now the rug has been pulled out from under us. What are you going to do?

Wayne Brotherton, Sr.

Resident is now in favor of recall of governor

I am all about what is fair so when Mr. Sisolak was elected, even though I didn’t vote for him, I said to myself, self, let’s give him a chance.

Well, he is now showing his true colors and I would like to see him recalled! Period.

Gary Bennett

We should be paying more attention to actions and not listen to every word

Mr. Dennis Crooks may feel qualified to evaluate people by way of media reports and extensive opinions, individual’s Tweets and public appearances. I don’t. I learned long ago “talk is cheap” no matter how eloquent it is delivered but results of actions speak louder than words.

I have read many books, and quite a variety, from Marx and Engels’ “The Communist Manifesto” to Obama’s books, to Adam Smith’s “Moral Sentiments” and “Wealth of Nations.” I struggle because of being somewhat dyslexic, which few if any educators were aware existed while I was in school. At that time you were just considered “slow” or “dumb.”

My first wife was an educator and very dedicated to it, also she was a member of Mensa International. She tested me to find my dyslexia and showed me techniques to overcome the condition. She taught me there were a wide variety of “smart” people who were not fortunate enough to get a high-quality formal education. Her father was a good example, having only gone to the sixth grade but through the drive he had and his hard work and cognitive brain power, he was quite successful.

As for our president, I fully understand how so many people despise him. His public mannerisms are frequently rude and crude and has a way many take those comments personally. Because of these traits I did not vote for him in 2016 and maybe if I met him today I still may not like him personally but remembering some wise words once said by the late Charles Krauthammer regarding then president Obama: “Don’t pay attention to what he says, pay attention to what he does.”

Referring to results of actions will speak louder than words, no matter how eloquent. That could easily be applied to President Trump as well as every leader we’ve ever had. None were perfect, some had greater challenges and barriers in their tenancy, sometimes foreign, sometimes domestic, seldom both, but in different ways.

Overall, the jury is still out on this president, but if one blocks out his detractors who seem to have the loudest megaphones that spend so much time on “blame and gotcha” rather than real fact finding, these were and still may be, some bright spots.

Cognitive application of knowledge is much more important than unused or knowledge used in a productive way.

David Jaronik