Get public employees out of Legislature

The Review-Journal’s Feb. 12 editorial, “Union gift basket,” did a good job of quantifying the cost of Assembly Bill 121, sponsored by Assemblyman Steve Yeager, a Las Vegas Democrat who is also a government employee.

But Victor Joecks’ Feb. 13 column on the subject, “Separation of powers?” — which included, verbatim, the Nevada Constitution’s Article 3 Section 1 separation doctrine — should be a wake-up call for everyone in the private sector.

Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with political party or where you stand on the political spectrum. Nobody has the right to function in two branches of government. The vast majority of us don’t function in even one branch, yet here we are being told by these government insider/ political activist elitists that it’s perfectly OK for them to operate in two branches. It isn’t. It’s dangerous and destructive.

Stop voting for government employees. Get them out of elected office. Knight Allen Las Vegas

American values

I was delighted to read John M. Glionna’s Sunday Review-Journal story, “Backcountry girl,” about Letha Roberson. It is refreshing to see a positive front-page article about hunting after all the negative publicity hunting has been getting in recent years.

Those who are totally disconnected with the real issues of wildlife conservation do not realize that hound hunting for mountain lion is a necessity in the balance of nature. Cougars can rapidly multiply and their numbers can get well out of hand. The numbers of these nocturnal predators cannot be kept under control by what sportsmen refer to as “fair chase.” Hunting with hounds is still rigorous and difficult as keeping up with them is a monumental task. But, if lucky, the pursuit ends with a cat at bay.

Man, a sort of predator himself, is a part of the balance. So it is modern man’s responsibility to keep predator/prey numbers in check. Thankfully the Nevada Department of Wildlife allows hound hunting, but eventually the department will need to establish measures to reduce predators within the state.

Here is a scenario that has to be considered. While it is unknown what the population of cougar are in Nevada, NDOW suggests 245 permits for 2017. Their permit-to-population ratios are normally around 10 percent. So at that ratio, they probably think there are about 2,450 cougar in the state.

The normal consensus is that a cougar kills about one large animal a week to sustain itself. With 52 (weeks) table settings per year for each cat, that is 127,400 prey annually. Think bighorn sheep, deer, elk, antelope and wild horses. If we could just train the cats to prey only on wild horses, that would solve another severe conservation problem that Nevada faces.

Ms. Roberson is a true example of American values, embracing hunting as a tradition and heritage that dates back to pre-history and as an invigorating and healthy form of recreation. Chris Klineburge Las Vegas

Senseless killing

How does glorifying the killing of our wildlife deserve a feature article in your paper (“Backcountry girl,” Sunday Review-Journal)? I was turned off by this chronicle of a woman hunter’s exploits and I tried to understand how it is that one can claim to appreciate wild animals yet have no problem ending their lives.

I think the writer, John Glionna, could do a better service by focusing on how many Nevadans appreciate and value these creatures that so many other people across the nation don’t even get to see. This is one of our main attractions for tourists, by the way.

I was very disappointed by what I read — and I’m sure that I’m not alone in the thought that causing suffering and death to animals by chasing, trapping, shooting and otherwise harming them is not very noble nor something that we should be entertained by if we are a compassionate society. Susan Russell Las Vegas

Cal-Nevada

A $15 per minimum wage? An ACLU-endorsed program regarding solitary confinement in prisons? A new regulation for cosmetology salon procedures (pedicures to be performed by fish)? Expansion (more taxpayer money) of an illegal immigrant crime-victims fund? But wait. Isn’t illegal immigration, by definition, a crime in itself?

Yikes, more news from California? No, it’s the Nevada Legislature just warming up. John Thompson Henderson