To the Editor:

What do call constant attacks against the President and his ability to act under laws that were voted on by congress? Some might call it annoying, some might call it rhetoric, but I call it unpatriotic. Mr. Thomas Mitchell has been just that, unpatriotic. Mr. Mitchell has written article after article that has been printed in every newspaper from Laughlin to Owyhee Nevada criticizing everything from oil regulations to the Antiquities Act. That tells me something, Mr. Mitchell is well connected, and no its wonder, he was the chief editor of the Las Vegas Review Journal for over 20 years.

Mr. Mitchell’s recent article “Nevada representatives must challenge efforts to close off more land from productive uses”, argues false pretenses. The first argument is if the President designates Basin and Range a National Monument, a lawful action under the powers vested to him by congress under the Antiquities Act, a power all presidents have used, that this would be, “closing the land to most beneficial uses”, and therefore feudalism in action. The quote is another false pretense. The ”beneficial uses” Mr. Mitchell would like to see are short term gains from fracking and mining everything in sight, rather than growing a long term economy develop from truly beneficial uses like sustainable free range grazing, hunting, camping, and hiking. The last falsehood is that we live under feudalism because of the Antiquities Act, really? Would you call President Reagan or Teddy Roosevelt feudalists? Whose welfare is Mr. Mitchell trying to protect?

Genine Aiello,
Alamo, NV