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Opinion
Jun. 19, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

LETTERS: Stuggling downtown and P.T. Barnum

To the editor:

Another highly publicized promotional event billed as beneficial to the city has been evaluated by those it was supposed to help, and they are not impressed. Downtown merchants found that the downtown Grand Prix street rally did almost nothing for business except create distracting noise for hotel guests and make it more difficult for regular customers to negotiate the streets. Just as with the NBA All-Star Game, no one seemed to get anything out of it but headaches and lost profits.

The city is in a very delicate balance. The Lady Luck is closed. Binion's is apparently for sale. The City Council suspended its own rule requiring background checks before issuing permanent liquor licenses because a principal of Jillian's wouldn't go for it just to keep the place open so Neonopolis wouldn't become a ghost town.

Downtown casino profits are lagging. Condo projects that are built are going unused. Other developments are simply folding their tents. The council will practically give land to any developer who will promise to plop a building on it. And the lead balloon of a professional sports arena keeps trying to be floated.

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    • It is time to start thinking inside the envelope to work on common-sense solutions to alleviate the drain on city finances by this lackluster section. We need more Alan Greenspan and less P.T. Barnum thinking before the citizens who remain in Las Vegas find themselves with a backbreaking tax burden, paying for failed publicity stunts like the Vegas Grand Prix.

    KENT RISCHLING

    LAS VEGAS

    Too loud

    To the editor:

    After reading your recent article concerning noisy neighborhoods and the so-called noise ordinances, I've concluded that the Review-Journal is performing a disservice to its customers by giving them unreasonable expectations.

    Anyone who has called the police about noise before 10 p.m. -- or midnight on weekends -- will just get a brush off.

    I have been told by the police a number of times that people can make as much noise as they want before the above-mentioned hours. They say I have no recourse and have to live with it.

    That's one of the reasons the police don't get much support from me when they are looking for raises.

    STEVE WATKINS

    LAS VEGAS

    God-given rights

    To the editor:

    Regarding Robert Wynd's Thursday letter about your editorial, "Saturday in the park":

    Mr. Wynd says he wants parents to step up and take responsibility for their children. Right on!

    The government is not responsible for your home life and many other aspects of human individuality. People need to learn that the government is not there to give handouts and to tell us what to do every second of every day.

    Mr. Wynd said he wanted to hear one politician stand up and say that parents need to take responsibility. Well, I think you should look up Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. He's been telling people for a long time that we are individuals first -- with God-given, sovereign rights -- and nobody, not even government, should take that away from us.

    Everyone needs to accept responsibility for their own lives, not pass it off to the government. Rep. Paul is running for president in 2008, and he has my vote. Please take the time to hear what he has to say. I think you'd be impressed.

    Elizabeth Belcastro

    LAS VEGAS

    Life lessons

    To the editor:

    In his June 8 letter, "Bad things," Grant Couch quotes Richard Dawkins to the effect that there's no evidence atheism systematically influences people to do bad things. He admits they do really bad things, but not in the name of atheism. What semantic mumbo jumbo!

    Here's the bottom line: Every time some atheistic ruler gets into power -- be it Stalin, Pol Pot or Mao -- tens of millions are slaughtered because atheists don't see people as created in the image of God and worthy of life, but simply as pawns in a supposed utopian power struggle. Bad ideas have very bad consequences. Those who are not restrained by believing they must someday answer to God will do unspeakable evil, as history has shown.

    George Washington and Alexis de Tocqueville knew this well. "Of all the habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable," wrote Washington in his farewell address. De Tocqueville wrote in "Democracy in America" that the source of this country's greatness was not in its lands or industries, but in its churches and its people's religious nature. I pray that Mr. Couch and Mr. Dawkins also learn these lessons.

    Gary Strabala

    LAS VEGAS



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    Aaron wrote on June 19, 2007 08:25 PM: Any schemes to try to pull downtown out of the crapper are doomed to failure. The birdcage is a screaming example of that. NeonFlopolis can't keep tenants in the building and recently lost the poker dome studio. Until Goodman and the city council pull their heads out of their butts and really DO something for downtown, it's going to remain the same, shoddy place that it continues to be.


    Dallas Pymm wrote on June 19, 2007 02:46 PM: As a Christian it always saddens me when another Christian reflects Christ poorly, it saddens me more for doing it myself. All I can say is that we are fallen sinful people forgiven by a perfect God. Christ left a great example to follow. Love God with all your heart, strength, soul, and might. Love others as yourself, and love your brothers and sisters in Christ as Christ has loved them. This is the standard for all people and we have all failed and therefore disserve nothing good from God. However, in His great love He sent is Son to die for the sins of His people. Christ can forgive us all of our sins. Come to him, repent, and believe in the Gospel. True love and forgiveness are with Christ alone.


    Travis wrote on June 19, 2007 11:11 AM: Unfortunately, religion can be very intolerant. We need to find things that unite us, not divide us. I believe we can all agree on the morality and ethics prescribed by religion. If we all began treating others the same way we would want to be treated in our everyday lives, it would make a profound difference on all of our lives. How many times have you been cut off or tailgated by somebody with religious emblems on their car? How many “religious” politicians have divorced many times? Guiliani and Gingrich are two that come to mind right away. How many religious people “value every life”, but are more than willing to leave an impoverished family in poverty, or a homeless person without opportunity. Unfortunately, it seems that too many of these people only value a life before birth. This is just one example of living hypocritically. If you value life, then value every life, no matter how DIFFERENT they are from you.

    There are many moral and ethical religious people. I respect them for living a life of faith, not just talking about it. I know they are equally frustrated by the falsely-religious people. If you live a moral and ethical life, then you will never have to tell anybody so, they will see it in your actions. It doesn't take religion to be ethical, it takes ethical choices and actions. This would be a better world if we ALL focused on ethics in action, not just in word.


    curious wrote on June 19, 2007 09:25 AM: Religion does not hold the monopoly on hypocrisy. How many individuals in the clubs are pretending to be something they're not? How many individuals in offices, in schools, in organizations of all kinds?

    Believe it or not, religious hypocrisy is far more despised by and repugnant to the sincerely religious person than those very same behaviors practiced by those who're not religiously leaning. There is no excuse for a person to use his position of moral authority to exploit the trust and dependence of those at his mercy, ever.


    Willard Roker wrote on June 19, 2007 09:09 AM: Sorry, writing about one and thinking about another.

    I meant life lessons, I'm old cut me some slack


    Rob LoBue wrote on June 19, 2007 07:48 AM: I just love when right wingers try to equate religion with morality, as if the 2 are synonymous. Lets see... The Catholic Church is the epitome of religion and their bishops allowed hundred of kids to be molested and didnt say a word just to protect the collection plate. I cant think of anymore more despictable than that except for maybe Hitler's call to kill millions in the name of god. As an atheist, I would be willing to compare my morality against any catholic bishop any day of the week. I guess you can kid yourself into believing you are a moral person just by saying you are religious. Never mind the lying cheating and stealing...


    Patte Purcell wrote on June 19, 2007 07:35 AM: Hello? Willard?? Have you READ the constitution? We were granted sovereign
    god given rights the same as the king of England. Our rights have been taken away by the 14th amendment and replaced with "priviledges and benefits" granted by the 14th amendment, which are the same rights granted to the freed slaves. We are now all slaves of the federal government. Dr. Ron Paul wants to give us back our God given rights, eliminate the IRS, the Federal Reserve,
    the Nafta and Free trade agreements,
    the Department of Education and all of bureaucracies that have turned our wonderful country into a socialist
    re-distributionist scheme.
    I'VE ALREADY CONTRIBUTED TO DR. PAULS
    CAMPAIGN. HE IS A LIBERTARIAN-REPUBLICAN. CHECK OUT HIS WEBSITE AND HIS VIEWS. YOU'D LIKE THEM, UNLESS YOU
    ARE AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT.


    Willard Roker wrote on June 19, 2007 07:16 AM: Of God given rights

    The writer acts as if Religion hasn’t been responsible for any atrocities. If only this were true. Religion is just another thing that egomaniacs use to control people.


    Randy Bolton wrote on June 19, 2007 06:52 AM: Mr. Strabala, Grant Couch is right and you are wrong. There have been more people killed in the name of religion or because of religious affiliation in the last 2000 years than any other cause. The 2 factors that have caused the most deaths - Adolph Hitler and Catholicism.


    Patrick Dare wrote on June 19, 2007 06:28 AM: This is in response to the letter to the editor regarding the City of Las Vegas financial failures downtown. I have to agree with the writer throwing more money into downtown promotion is a waste. Las Vegas like so many cities throw a lot of tax dollars to their downtowns, but if consumers are NOT interested in coming downtown, it is a waste. Still think placing old neon signs on an empty downtown block would do more to attract visitors, and would be a lot cheaper. City of Las Vegas needs to focus more on the homeless problem, and the poverty around downtown.