Columnist Susan Snyder: Reality in Vegas is unrealistic

Tuesday, July 27, 2004 | 8:09 a.m.

Reality bites.

I figured everything that could be said had been said or written in the barrage of local and national media commentary that followed Linda Ronstadt's ejection from the Aladdin July 17.

But it took a dozen letters to editors of local daily and weekly publications to shed light on the offense the obviously aging Ronstadt actually committed when she dedicated a song to "Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker Michael Moore.

Las Vegas has, after all, one unforgivable sin: Reality. People who come here aren't supposed to see it.

They aren't supposed to see homeless people, understaffed schools, poorly built roads or know that many residents have to work two jobs just to eat.

Ronstadt is middle-aged and, according to the reviews, had the audacity to look and sound like it. Worst of all, for a few fleeting moments, Ronstadt forced her audience to consider the real world beyond the casino.

That is not allowed in Las Vegas. What happens here, stays here. What happens out there, isn't allowed here.

Letters out-of-towners wrote to local editors said over and over again that they come to Las Vegas to be entertained. They don't come here to think.

They don't have to tell us that. We count on it. It's how we've paved a whole valley.

Reality is the one facade we won't build.

The reality of living in Las Vegas or anywhere is that ranting to your friends, running off at the e-mail in chat rooms and putting a bumper sticker on the car doesn't really change anything.

E-mails on opposing sides of the Bush administration's proposed road rules for national forests urge residents to comment on the measure before Sept. 14.

Bush officials in 2003 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Clinton administration's Roadless Initiative that barred construction of new roads in the nation's forests. That measure was adopted after more than 600 public meetings and examination of comments from about 1.6 million people.

Bush's plan would allow construction of new roads for access to activities that could include logging and oil and gas drilling in the nation's previously protected forests.

In an e-mail sent Monday morning, the Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees, a group of retired park service officials, said they fear the Bush plan will have a detrimental impact on national parks that abut these forests.

In an e-mail sent Sunday, the Horse Council of Nevada forwarded a plea from the American Horse Council asking equestrian groups to support Bush's plan. More roads will mean more access and parking areas for horse trailers at trail heads, they say.

Access to what? Views of oil derricks or loggers' work?

U.S. Forest Service officials will issue a final rule after reviewing public comments. The 60-day comment period ends Sept. 14.

Mail written comments to Content Analysis Team, ATTN Roadless State Petitions, USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 221090, Salt Lake City, UT 84122. Or fax to (801) 517-1014, or e-mail to statepetitionroadless@fs.fed.us. Or log onto www.regulations.gov.

Don't let reality bite you. Participate. For real.