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Letters to the editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

Updated June 29, 2018 - 8:23 am

Brothel madams set the record straight

We are the madams of the Mustang Ranch. We are the backbone of a historic industry, one run by women for women. We are the voices people are fighting to silence, citing our ‘best interests’ with no regard to hear our story or our opinions.

As the madams of the Mustang Ranch, we are fighting back and sharing our stories for the world to hear.

Some members of the public would have you believe that brothels are a stain on the community. Yet, there is little realization of the positive impact brothels like the Mustang Ranch have on their communities, their colleagues and their families.

The women who work at Mustang Ranch are professional entrepreneurs – courtesans – with children and parents to care for, mortgages, car payments, savings and retirement plans. In our brothel, like other legal, well-regulated establishments, we provide full and part-time jobs for over 160 courtesans and employees and pay them over $5.7 million in total annual payroll. As part of that total payroll, our courtesans make over $4.3 million a year.

Additionally, brothels such as ours have proven to be integral to the rural communities in which they reside. Our establishments pay more taxes and fees per square-foot than any other business in Nevada and the law dictates that all local taxes be paid in full before the renewal date of our annual business licenses. Even so, brothels are some of the largest economic drivers in their counties. The money generated at our brothels is not used to coat the pockets of pimps. Rather, much of it goes back into the community.

Each year, the Mustang Ranch and its courtesans donate around $150,000 to feed residents at local senior centers and provide hundreds of backpacks filled with food for the children of Storey County from families in need. While our charitable giving and economic impact far exceeds what we’ve mentioned, it does demonstrate that we are like every other legal business in the state.

We also want to address the argument that brothels promote an institution that traffics, harms or exploits women. As we mentioned earlier, we are a business run by women for women and our vision is to provide a safe haven for women and customers alike. Long before the era of #MeToo, we were strong supporters of a woman’s right to choose what she wants to do with her own body and how she wants to lead her life.

Every year our courtesans and employees must undergo a law enforcement background investigation which includes an FBI database and fingerprint check and present valid identity documentation. We insist on a welcoming atmosphere that allows the women who work for us a life of total freedom.

They can work for periods of time at the brothel when they want, go home for time off when they want, work for other brothels, or leave the profession altogether at their whim. They decide who they interact with and how often they work. Often, our ladies work for a week or two before taking four to eight weeks off to spend time with family and friends or to pursue other avenues in life such as higher education. This freedom, along with the professional-level annual income these women earn, allows them to further their lives in ways they might have never been previously afforded and we will fight to continue to provide them with these opportunities.

We are the madams of the Mustang Ranch, the backbone of a legal and regulated industry under attack. We are the women who provide for and fight for women and we will continue to tell our stories for all to hear.

— submitted by madams of the Mustang Ranch

Bare facts about the brothel petition issue

It is my hope that you read my earlier letter to the editor encouraging you to sign the petition to place the brothel decision on the November ballot.

Yes, there are members of our community who would rather that you believe that you are protecting your freedom by not allowing you to vote your conscience.

Please remember that signing the petition does none of the things the Nye County freedom folks are claiming. The only thing done by the petition (if it receives enough signatures) is to allow you to vote. So, if the petition gets enough signatures, you get to vote via the ballot in November “Yea” or “Nay” in your decision to retain or reject the brothels in Nye County. The petition can’t change anything by signing it. Only your vote in November can make a final determination.

There is also the possibility that the Nye County commissioners will ask that the brothel question be placed on the ballot in November. They have the authority to do that or they can wait for the petition and hope it gets enough signatures. Either way allows the residents of Nye County to vote.

The Protect Nye Freedom folks say that signing the petition will deprive “working girls” of a livelihood, eliminate revenue for Nye County, and destroy the county funds provided for our veterans.

None of that is true since the petition can only get the question placed on the November ballot.

The Protect Nye Freedom folks are spending a lot of money to convince you to deprive yourself of your right to vote. It really seems strange to me that some people who preach choice and freedom are very comfortable with denying others their right to choose by voting yea or nay on brothels.

Now, I’ll repeat some of what I said in my previous letter to the editor:

Bottom line: The simple fact remains that if the required signatures are received for the petitions, the only result is that the item will be placed on the November ballot and everyone that is registered to vote in Nye County will have the opportunity to vote their conscience during the November general election. The results by the voters of the November referendum will make the determination if changes are to occur.

My opinion: Signing the petition says to me that everyone has a right to their opinion and the right to vote. You have the right to agree or disagree with my opinion and that is your opinion.

Dr. Tom Waters

Statement from the chairman of the Nye County Commission

Recent news stories around the state and nation may be giving the false impression that these positions are those of Nye County. I have been contacted or approached by more than one resident asking if these statements are the position of the Nye County Board of Commissioners.

While I respect my fellow commissioners right to support whichever candidates they chose, it is important to remember a commissioner is one of five decision-making members and individual statements do not reflect the opinions of the elected body unless backed by a resolution supported by a majority vote of the board.

The board does not and will not endorse candidates. I look forward to working with whoever is elected governor of Nevada for the betterment of Nye County and its residents.

I would also like to note comments that gubernatorial candidate and current Attorney General Adam Laxalt “has not done a thing for Nye County in all the time he’s been there” comes as the board and the sheriff’s office accepted a donation on June 19 from his office of an incinerator to dispose of opioids and other drugs at no cost to Nye County taxpayers. The donation will also save county taxpayers hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that would have been spent in shipping the hundreds of pounds of drugs currently in the sheriff’s office custody out of state for destruction.

Political season can be a contentious time, and I welcome varying views and opinions. However, it is important to note that the individual opinion of one commissioner without the support of the Board of County Commissioners is just that, an individual opinion.

Sincerely,

John Koenig

Chairman

Another view of the immigration issue

Here’s another thing to think about when all the bleeding heart politicians snivel and cry about the families torn apart at the border for ILLEGALLY crossing the border into MY COUNTRY - What about the military families that are torn apart when their loved ones are sent to face the dangers of protecting our freedoms?

Who are they really for?

Martin Glackin

A different point of view on mainstream media

I want it known, I do not watch TV news because the majority of news put forth by the mainstream media is negative and negativity gives me unneeded anxiety; however, I do confess to viewing YouTube posts and subscribing to the PVT where in doing so I noticed a letter to the editor submitted by Mr. Jim Ferrell on June 20, 2018.

When reading Mr. Ferrell’s letter, a line from Shakespeare came to mind, “Me thinks the man protests too much,” when spewing forth his wrath focused completely on Fox news and its clutch of provocateurs. By Mr. Ferrell’s obvious omission, none of the alphabet news channels were mentioned, leading one to believe those unnamed channels and collective reporters therein must be noseless by virtue of never having propagated a light-colored fib.

I would like to pose a few questions regarding reportage by the obvious sacrosanct unnamed TV news channels. Why has so much airtime been devoted to Stormy Daniels and so little mention made about the collapse of Isis, the taming of North Korea and over 3,000 CEO’s and elected officials resigning since last December. Why in the immediate wake of the Parkland School shooting CNN minions were at the scene passing out handouts to students containing politically correct answers to questions CNN reporters would ask?

Why have the other news networks continued to pound on the $7 million Russian dossier long after it was proven a fake? Why does Mr. Ferrell argue the complete FBI and the Department of Justice, having been impugned when only the top officials in each organization were caught in probable acts of treason? Why does the mainstream media feel it so important for Russia to be our nation’s top enemy? Why was Lt. Col. Ralph Peters singled out from hundreds of officers to offer proof Fox News promotes desecration of the nation’s Constitution?

From perhaps a twisted collateral damage point of view, why do Mr. Ferrell’s favored news channels spend so much airtime hammering on repealing the Constitution’s Second Amendment to prevent a minor percentage of deaths, while the nation suffers over 400,000 unnoticed deaths annually from iatrogenic causes, ie medical errors, unnecessary procedures and surgeries gone bad?

Incidentally, when putting on my Navy uniform I also accepted the oath to protect our nation and our Constitution from enemies, both foreign and domestic. Why am I left with a notion Mr. Ferrell has a sliver in his veracity when claiming political neutrality?

Dwight W. Hunter

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