Letters to the editor for Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018

Event to protest Trump, Laxalt policies

We would like to invite the public to an event on Saturday, Aug. 25 just south of Gardnerville. A broad coalition of Nevadans is holding a public protest against Donald Trump and Adam Laxalt’s extreme and cruel policies (for which they’ll be raising money at a nearby Republican fundraiser).

Our message is simple: Trump and Laxalt do NOT represent Nevadans.

Nevadans reject Trump and Laxalt’s extreme right-wing, inhumane agenda.

We Nevadans believe in keeping families together and providing a safety net for children and the elderly. We support affordable health care for all, and women’s (and men’s) reproductive rights. We believe in a decent wage for workers, good public education, and clean air and water for our kids. Trump and Laxalt are already stripping us of many of OUR legal rights and protections.

Most of us in “the Sweet Promised Land” of Nevada are descended from immigrants. We’re grateful that this great nation welcomed our ancestors to work and live here. We welcome today’s hardworking immigrant families. We’re horrified by the brutal treatment of little children at our southern border, under Trump and Laxalt’s draconian policy.

So please join us next Saturday, Aug. 25, 9-11 a.m., at 395 and Muller Parkway (south of Gardnerville) in an All-American speak-out for kindness and intelligence in government.

Speakers will include Holocaust survivor Leon Malmed (a harsh critic of Trump and Laxalt border policies), Washoe Tribal members and others.

Kit Miller

Washoe Valley

CNN is a real hoot

I enjoy watching CNN news for one reason: It reminds me of a favorite program I used to watch. It was called “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.”

CNN news is every bit as funny as “Laugh-In” was.

Joe Lopez

Carson City

Percentage pay increases extremely unfair

Ron Feldstein’s letter to the editor did not cover the complaint that I have about cost of living pay raises.

The average pay for the top 100 federal employees is $314,697.34. A 2 percent raise in their pay would be $6,293.94 per year. Ron’s wife gets $12 per year increase and Ron’s does not increase at all.

The pay raises on a percentage basis is a scam, for the benefit of the higher paid government employees.

If anyone believes that the top government employees’ cost of living went up $6,293.94 per year and Ron’s cost of living went up nothing, those people must be the ones collecting the higher raises.

Raises on a percentage basis are a farce for the benefit of the rich. Does anyone wonder why there are so many rich government employees? A $6,293.94 raise is more than $500 per month extra in their pockets. Did their cost of living go up that much more than Ron’s?

The percentage pay increases are robbing people of their fair share of government pay raises. It should be stopped.

Bud Irving

Carson City