Letters to the editor for Friday, April 15, 2016

DMV becoming too efficient

The Nevada DMV is getting too darned efficient. My wife is a busy woman. She has every minute of her life planned through Christmas 2017. She had to renew her driver’s license, so she planned for 100 minutes of sitting and waiting in the DMV office. But, to her surprise, when she checked in she was told that she would receive text messages on her smart phone about her status in line (she was No. 29). She didn’t have to hang around the DMV waiting for her number to be called.

Idle hands are the devil’s playthings, so they say. Given this unexpected free time, she scooted out of the DMV and headed to go ... shopping. Her first stop was the Carson Mall, where she bought another worthless bauble for her wrist. Then she headed to Trader Joe’s to shop for groceries. (This I cannot complain about). After finishing there she went to the auto mall where new SUVs were on her mind.

All the while she was receiving multiple text messages advising of her progress in line. She arrived back at the DMV with two minutes to spare, and was out of there in a jiffy.

She returned back home breathless and excited about her accomplishment of converting wasted time to productive ... shopping. With visions of a new SUV dancing in her head and new spangles dangling from her wrist, I’m concerned that if she has any more free time facilitated by the DMV, we may be headed for bankruptcy.

Phil Stotts

Carson City

Cuba isn’t all it’s cracked up to be

I read Kathy Schwerin’s commentary regarding her visit to Cuba.

Kathy, your comment that health care is free and available is based upon your independent research and unbiased data developed by resources not associated with the Cuban government. Please tell me that is so. Otherwise, I think you’ve fallen for the line accredited to P.T. Barnum, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

If it’s such a great place, move there. Many people have braved the overcrowded boat rides that have killed so many as they flee the United States to enter Cuba. Actually, it’s the opposite.

I’m surprised they didn’t show you the prisons where political prisoners were sent because they committed the atrocity of speaking out against the government. Clearly we are so evil for our terrible embargo.

We need to remember the current dictatorship tried to hold a knife to our throats by positioning nuclear missiles in their country. I remember how fearful our people were then. It was called the Cuban Missile Crisis.

We need to teach this to our children and grandchildren until the current regime is removed from Cuba and the people there live under a democracy that respects individual freedom over the will of the state. I do care about the people of Cuba, so much so that I hope they will shed the chains of their repression that they do not deserve.

One of the phrases of our forefathers was “liberty or death.” I’ll take liberty over free health care any day. I’d rather die free than live long under a repressive government.

John Sciacca

Carson City