Letters to the editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

PVT letter on homeless issue inspires firm agreement

I just read Nancy Bernert’s letter to the editor on the “homeless problem” and I could not agree more.

I agree because I have been saying the same kinds of things for years. I can attest, and probably Nancy as well, that when you say these things you are automatically branded as being “uncaring, selfish, unhuman,” plus a whole lot of other words that cannot be printed here.

The homeless are not stupid. They, like everyone else, are self-interested. Every human being capable of rational thought on any level is.

Whatever you reward, you will get more of, no matter what it is you are rewarding. If you allow homeless people to “camp out” wherever they please, give them cellphones, and some pin money, then don’t be surprised when you get more of them. Econ 101. Supply and demand.

The incidence of drug addiction and mental illness in that population are both quite high. I’ve seen numbers from 70%-90% in either or both categories. At the same time, our legislative geniuses have pretty much destroyed our public health system. No, you can’t cure mental illness in a 72-hour psyche hold. So where do they go? Right back out onto the street and homelessness with a side trip to the local country lockup where they are known as “Frequent Flyers.”

I’m thinking maybe those legislative geniuses in the Legislature might want to take this issue up with a bend toward supporting cities and counties that do not want to get involved in the “free stuff” giveaways that courts and politicians themselves particularly like.

Re-establish a state mental health system with a focus on long-term care and re-integration. Establish drug rehab centers instead of just sending addicts back out on the street where they get into even more trouble and quickly recycle back into “the system.” Figure out a way to get the new wave of economic homeless from Covid-19 re-integrated back into the workforce.

But under NO circumstances do we offer “free stuff” because it’s like a heroin fix to an addict.

Vince Clark

Open-minded reader mulls the new administration

It looks like we will now become a Biden/Harris-run socialist country controlled by China so then the Biden family can get additional millions from them.(By the way, where is Hunter?)

They want the following: socialism and communism, take away your free speech, pass laws that would apply to you but not them, they want and have controlled elections, want to restrict health care to the old, take away your guns, give free health care for all people whether legal or not, everyone in the USA will have the right to vote (meaning illegals can too), and Biden wants to tax your net worth.

I realize all the far-left voters may not be aware of the things Biden/Harris want to do if all that they have watched were the fake news and The View. I watch both fake news and Fox. I have an open mind.

I do not like Trump’s tweets or a lot of what comes out of his mouth but I do like what he has done for America. What has Biden ever done for our country in his 47 years other than being another corrupt politician?

By the way, will the Trump haters take the COVID-19 vaccine?

Bill Angle

VFW may be badly in need of food bank donations

Everyone goes through hard times, especially in these days! Several months ago I relocated from Las Vegas to Pahrump where I established residence in a local RV Park. I’m an honorably discharged Vietnam veteran with over 15 years of service. I’m also a 70-year-old senior citizen.

My situation: Me to seek assistance with food, I was hungry. The day before Thanksgiving I decided to visit the VFW Post 10054 Food Bank. I arrived early, around 9 a.m. I anticipated a line. Besides the volunteers, I was the only one there. This was my first experience visiting any VFW. One of the volunteers, a lady, approached me and with a stern face asked, “can I help you?” After explaining my situation she asked me for documentation, which I provided and completed a short questionnaire, which I completed, signed and returned. She then thanked me for my service. She told me they don’t start until 10 a.m. She said she couldn’t give me a turkey because they were pre-ordered for members and she had no extras. I told her I would wait until 10 a.m.

She then told me that since I arrived early she would make an exception for me and she went into the building and returned with a plastic bag of groceries. This is a list of what she gave me; six eggs, two boxes of muffin mix, two candy bars, a can of beans, a can of tuna, a pack of vanilla thins and a can of carrots. I said thank you and left!

John Carter

Black American veteran

Reader shares predictions regarding America’s future

Let me see if I have the correct facts. Obama was elected president in 2008 and sworn in January 2009. My union hall was sending travelers out for calls up to the time that Obama took office, then the number of calls dwindled (for all of us), to almost nothing for the following eight years. The economy, under Obama, went stagnant. Millions of U.S. citizens lost their jobs, lost their homes, lost their health insurance, lost their retirement. For eight long years, there was very little work available. Folks were working two and three jobs, and considered themselves to be very lucky but they were just barely keeping their heads above water. It was a dismal eight years of “Obamanomics.”

Then Trump announced his candidacy, and the trouble started. The entire Obama administration started a campaign to destroy Trump, and he hadn’t been elected. For four long years we citizens watched an endless parade of false charges, false evidence, and falsifications of FISA court applications and endless impeachment attempts that ended in failure. As we look back on the history of the Obama era, they were doing what they accused Trump of doing. The entire Obama administration was trying to impeach Trump before he was elected, or sworn in.

But something happened when Trump entered the White House: the economy was better; more people were working than had been employed in 60 years. We were sending travelers off of Book II, unheard of in the Obama era. We became an oil exporting nation, as opposed to the “doom and gloom” of 47 years ago when we were told, “The oil wells will run dry in two years if we don’t implement the 55 mph speed limit.” I asked the question, “Would our government lie to us?” I already knew the answer, for Bo Gritz taught me, “Know the answer before you ask the question.” Sound advice. I listen to Biden and he is already trying to take credit for the possible vaccine that Trump has been pressing for. Amazing, for Biden and the residue of the Obama administration claimed the Wuhan virus was a political ploy by Trump and tried to thwart his efforts to restrict travel from China to the U.S. Pelosi gave her famous freezer/Chinese dinner speech about the unlawful acts of Trump, to stem the flow of the Wuhan Chinese flu infestation. What is not so strange is: the virus is not as bad as we were told, in the beginning. At first we were advised that up to 20% of the population would die from the Wuhan virus. The latest fatality rate figures (315 million citizens/220,000 deaths), show a fatality rate of 0.07%. That is minimal. This has become the BIG lie. We have had viruses in the past and we shall have viruses in the future, in spite of Biden.

I see nothing good coming out of the Biden presidency. We shall end up, as planned, with the first woman president, who not surprisingly had nothing but bad things to say about Biden. Then I see Obama sliding in as vice-president. Trump should explore and conduct every avenue of lawful challenges against the Biden presidency. The Obama “hangers-on” did so for four long years. I believe that Trump’s accusations are quite correct. Time will tell which direction this nation is headed: success under Trump or third world under Obama/Biden.

Wayne Brotherton