Print edition for February 4, 2007

Letter: Put the Super Bowl into proper perspective: Public school students will return to school on Monday quoting statistics, scores and specific plays from the Super Bowl in great detail and with ease while they and their parents ignored required homework assignments. Unfortunately, many of the sports-wise students are unable to name members of important government posts, governors of their own states or to identify their own states on a map. They don't know their multiplication tables and can't work with fractions, but can identify any amount of team information and statistics with ease.

Brian Greenspun on growing up and paying our public servants: As parents, we ask our children and their friends that question often - not that we want to pin them down at an early age, but rather so that they can pin themselves down long enough to focus on what their futures might look like.

FLASHPOINT for Feb 04, 2007: John Ensign, the Nevada senator and chairman of the GOP senators' campaign committee, has advice for his colleagues. "You have to assume there is a recording device of some kind on you at all times - that is what I am telling all of my people," he told CBS. This is in reaction to George Allen's demise - the former Virginia senator lost after he was YouTubed by the infamous "macaca" video. That is considered a racial slur to someone of Indian ancestry. I wonder what might be added to the new chairman's "Don't say anything stupid in public because ...

RED TAPE CHRONICLES: When 80-year-old Arline Shively felt she had been wronged by the local bus company that shuttles disabled people around town, she called to complain.

Letter: Partitioning Iraq is a reasonable solution: If you can start afresh, and bring stability to three small portions of the country, allowing the Kurds, Sunnis and Shiite designated areas to live in peace, what's wrong with that? More than a million Iraqis have fled to Syria and Jordan, stressing out those countries. They would be able to return to their lives in Iraq with security, knowing the area they are living in would be productive and safe. If some have to uproot and move into a different area, I would think that would be a welcome change rather than shooting and being shot at by your ...

Capitol reluctantly awakens: J. Patrick Coolican, Las Vegas Sun; E very cup of coffee at Java Joe's here tastes a little different than the one before.

Jon Ralston counts down the top 10 questions that face the Legislature and Gov. Jim Gibbons as the 74th session begins Monday in Carson City: He is the helmsman of a vessel on which more than half the passengers didn't want him as their leader, so he didn't have much goodwill coming in. And his embarrassing lack of knowledge about his own programs and state government in general has not provided him with a happy gubernatorial christening.

John Katsilometes monitors changes - which could include monitors - in the 'Le Reve' Theater: But after its slumber, which will last from March 5 to April 5, the Wynn showcase will enjoy revamped surroundings. The Le Reve Theater will be renovated, with the most telling changes being fewer seats (dropping from its current 2,087 capacity to 1,600) and innovative perks offered to VIPs.

Editorial: Urgent response is required: Her statement reminds us of Bush's remark upon release of the Iraq Study Group's report.

Letter: Bearing arms is a right, not a privilege: The Second Amendment to our Constitution, as the other amendments in our Bill of Rights, enumerates "rights," not privileges. Just as the Las Vegas Sun enjoys the freedom of the press as outlined in the First Amendment, all citizens, individually, have the inalienable right to bear arms. The Second Amendment states unequivocally that this right "shall not be infringed."

The great state debate: By J. Patrick Coolican, Michael Mishak; New Hampshire Democrats are lousy at picking good candidates in their precious first-in-the-nation primary. New Hampshire will always play in the game, but it can't always have the ball. Time to let other states play a bigger role.

Editorial: Right idea, wrong method: The Nevada Collision Industry Association wants the Legislature, which starts its 2007 session Monday, to approve the creation of a "Class A" designation for auto body shops. The association also seeks to have the DMV assign and regulate the designation.

Editorial: Shifting into neutral: One of the offshoots of the debate on solving, or slowing, global warming is the idea of people going "carbon neutral," or offsetting the amount of carbon dioxide they create from driving, flying or turning on the lights or heat at home.