Print edition for May 26, 2007

Letter: Nation is ripe for major political change: If we have politicians who pass our laws and then have no way of enforcing them, why do we have politicians? Everyone in this country is getting railroaded and the only ones making out are the elite and politicians.

Letter: Electing judges is lesser of two evils: As I see it, electing judges (as is currently done), opens the door to bribes or, at least, favorable decisions to campaign contributors - especially if those contributors are attorneys.

FLASHPOINT for May 26, 2007: The headline was brutal: "Salary by Commission: It Works for Car Dealers, How About Political Committees?" Brutal because the story in CQ Today was about salaries being paid to top staffers at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, run by John Ensign, the Nevada senator. The piece began: "Despite lousy fundraising numbers and little to show for candidate recruitment efforts, top aides at the National Republican Senatorial Committee are making much more than their Democratic counterparts." Those aides are former Ensign operatives making upward of $100,000. "We pay good people," Ensign said, adding that the discrepancy in fundraising "doesn't mean our ...

Editorial: A teen with a plan: The Long Beach, Calif., teenager completed this monumental accomplishment when she reached the top of Mount Everest on May 17. According to 7summits.com, which tracks those who attempt the challenge, Larson has joined the ranks of 199 other people worldwide who have completed the task. And she is the first teenager and youngest person reported to have done so.

Letter: Outdated birthright laws need changing: Those jobs are partially what attracts millions of illegal residents to risk everything to come here, and, as a retired U.S. Customs agent with 15 years of experience on the Mexican border, I believe effective enforcement is the key. Congress' efforts are a valid attempt to stop illegal entry by removing the reason they come here.

Editorial: Stop snitching?: The New York Times reported Tuesday on the Web site, which bills itself as the "largest online database of informants and agents." It is a search engine to find out who has been talking to law enforcement. While acknowledging that some information "may not be 100 percent accurate," the site allows anyone who pays, including defendants in criminal cases, to "gather and share information about a witness or law enforcement officer."

Goodman, gamers grapple with Gov. Gibbons: By J. Patrick Coolican; CARSON CITY - Given 120 days to write a college term paper, who among us would be finished writing in 110?

Lessons in history: By Kristen Peterson; Crews carefully gut the interior of the historic Fifth Street School, exposing hidden doors, skylights and students' initials carved in the concrete in the '50s.

Editorial: More drug trouble: But the public didn't know of the possibility of such risks until Monday, when The New England Journal of Medicine posted online a report that says an analysis of 42 smaller, short-term studies shows Avandia raised patient s' heart disease risk by 30 percent.

Flawed ad: Hands off historic artifacts: By Phoebe Sweet; An otherwise innocuous commercial for a Clark County housing development sends the ill-advised message that it's OK to pocket historical artifacts such as arrowheads, conservationists and archaeologists worry.

Ron Kantowski describes the frat-party frenzy that has turned thirsty Thursdays into a big hit at Cashman Field: By Ron Kantowski; But that will always be the goal.

Snowbirds leave, so do volunteers: By Mike Trask; Russ Way knows the hit is coming each year in the weeks following Easter. But there's nothing he can do but brace himself.

Rogers sweetens the pot to keep Carpenter: University system Chancellor Jim Rogers is hoping a new, four-year contract with an additional $50,000 annual salary boost will persuade Richard Carpenter to stay as president of the Community College of Southern Nevada.

Union, hotel not quite on same page: Michael J. Mishak; Disagreement over wages and union-organizing rights threaten to push contract talks between MGM Mirage and Culinary Union workers beyond next week's deadline, company officials say.