Poker Player Alliance released its ratings for politicians vis-a-vis online poker.

For Nevada we have:

NV-Senator John Ensign (R) - F

NV-Senator Harry Reid (D) - F

NV-01 Shelley Berkley (D) - A+

NV-02 Dean Heller (R) - A

NV-03 Jon Porter (R) - A

http://www.congressionalpoker.org/index.php?option=com_sectionex&view=category&id=2&Itemid=12#catid40

District Judge Elizabeth Halverson, who has been suspended with pay for eight months, has announced she will run for office again if forced from her post by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline, which finally filed formal charges against her. Halverson, as a judge, has been accused of falling asleep in court, abusing employees, mishandling jury trials and general incompetence, and as a citizen, keeping a filthy yard.

At the same time, the Nevada Supreme Court has ordered the commission to justify why it took so long to bring formal charges against Halverson.

Is it any surprise? Another judge in Clark County who has been accused of behaving like a pig wants to continue to wallow at the government trough. And why do bad judges and lawyers continue to practice--or in this case paid--for so long after problems begin to appear leaving the public exposed and vulneralble to a legal system voted one of the worst in the country? Perhaps the oversight committees are part of the problem?... Or the fact the legal system basically polices itself?...Do you think?

Or another question to ask the public...do you care?

Judicial Hellholes are places where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an inequitable manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits. In this sixth annual report, ATRF shines the spotlight on six areas of the country that have developed a reputation for uneven justice.
1 South Florida
2 Rio Grande Valley
and Gulf Coast, Texas
3 Cook County, Illinois
4 West Virginia
5 Clark County, Nevada
6 Atlantic County, NJ

From pg. 22 of the report:
The Los Angeles Times conducted an in-depth report on the Clark County judiciary entitled, "They're Playing With a Stacked Judicial Deck." As the paper reported: "A common perception among a dozen out-of-state lawyers interviewed about their experiences in Nevada
courtrooms is that justice in Las Vegas is just another form of legalized gambling."
Lawsuit shenanigans have increasingly tarnished the reputation of Clark County's
civil justice system. Clark County "courts are clogged with frivolous litigation and
the rolls of the state bar are spotted with unethical and incompetent attorneys."
"Indeed, frivolous class action lawsuits know no boundaries in a city that sings to
lawyers in siren song fashion."
...

As I have written before, it is so nice to know that the Times reports more on our corrupt legal system than Nevada's own media. Our newspapers seem to enjoy relaying and replaying our scandals but seem reluctant to upset the party by actually uncovering corruption, unless the players aren't part of Nevada's favorite sons and daughters club, such as former Chicagoan Lacey Thomas.of UMC "fame."

Nevada's largest teachers' union has launched its initiative targeting the state's gaming industry in an effort to get more funding for public schools.

The Nevada State Education Association submitted its petition to the secretary of state Monday. The proposal would raise the gaming tax on Nevada's largest casinos to 9.75 percent, from 6.75 percent. The union estimates that an additional $250 million per year, although others contend $400 million is more accurate, could be used for public schools and teacher raises.

The higher tax would apply only to casinos that make more than $1 million a month in gaming revenue.
...
The union's next step is to gather 58,628 signatures by May. 20.

How much would you like to bet that the initiative will be rejected just hours before the deadline to place on a ballot leaving no time for a re-write?

The guest list appears to be:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, Clark County Commission Chair Rory Reid, Washoe County Commission Chair Bob Larkin, Elko County Commission Chair John Ellison, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini, and Chancellor Jim Rogers.

As to that southern Nevada mutiny over the Governor's budget plan, Governor tells Chancellor, local officials to "face reality"

Zac Moyle, executive director of the Nevada Republican Party, was arrested last weekend, apparently over unpaid speeding tickets.

Gov. Jim Gibbons spent the last week of September on vacation in Cabo San Lucas.

Now he is attending a Republican Governor's Association forum in Oahu, Hawaii and will return Sunday morning.

Well...did he at least party with Sammy Hagar while in Cabo? Ah, TEQUILLA! So, did Warren Trepp pay for this vacation or was Gibbons interviewing future undocumented housekeepers?

In a response to Senator Lieberman's request for an analysis of the impact on the U.S. if the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007 (bill S. 280) were to be passed the E.P.A. wrote the following:
...emmissions under S. 280 would be approximately 1-3 percent lower than 2000 levels in 2030 and 1-5 percent lower than 1990 levels in 2050.
...reductions in Gross Domestic Product would range between 1.1 percent and 3.2 percent. (If enabling technologies are widely available.)
...gasoline prices would increase $0.68 per gallon and electricity by 25 percent by 2050. (That would only be the cost of the bill--not other factors that might lead to $10-20 a gallon gasoline prices.)

The E.P.A. analysis does not try to calculate the cost to the U.S. if higher operating costs cause these business to move overseas nor the cost environmentally if they move to countries with little or no environmental protections at all. In another letter to Senator Spector the E.P.A. reports that Bingaman-Specter (S. 1766) requires a smaller percentage reduction of emissions in covered sectors, but since S. 1766 has broader coverage than S. 280, the total abatement achieved by both bills is similar.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's longtime relationship with a powerful Nevada real estate developer has given rise to a lawsuit by a public interest group.
Judicial Watch wants to know if the Nevada Democrat and other state politicians exerted undue pressure on the federal government on behalf of his friend.

Mr. Reid was at the head of the Democrats' campaign against the "culture of corruption" in Washington. But for years, the Los Angeles Times reported, Reid was active in clearing hurdles to the development.

Judicial Watch is suing the Bureau of Land Management for documents related to the 43,000-acre Coyote Springs housing and recreational development northeast of Las Vegas, now in its early stages. The lawsuit alleges the bureau failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request of March 8.

Lawyer and lobbyist Harvey Whittemore, a shareholder in the law firm of Lionel Sawyer & Collins, is the driving force behind the project and a political contributor to Mr. Reid. Mr. Whittemore has employed Leif Reid, a son of the senator, as an attorney.

I wonder just how many politicians and atttorneys are going to get rich from this, especially after the glowing support by Senator Reid, Senator Ensign, former Governor Kenny Guinn, President and CEO of the Nevada Development Authority Somer Hollingsworth, Joe Pantuso of the Southern Nevada Homebuilders Association, and Pat Mulroy of the Southern Nevada Water Authority to name a few.

For more on Coyote Springs see
Water for new town flows to lobbyist: Whittemore gains water rights for development without contention seen in other parts of Nevada
Huge development under way in Nevada desert

From WTOP.com; Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress on Wednesday that the federal government will hit the current debt ceiling on Oct. 1.

The current debt limit is $8.965 trillion. Unless Congress votes to raise that ceiling, the country would be unable to borrow more money to keep the government operating and to pay debt obligations coming due.

The Senate Finance Committee earlier this month approved increasing the limit on the national debt to $9.82 trillion.

That is about $30,000 per person already, so what is another $850,000,000,000 or $2,900 per person?

In the Las Vegas Sun today key state legislators are differing over the meaning of proposed rules designed to reduce the $900 million in tax breaks that Nevada businesses can get for building environmentally friendly buildings.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, says businesses seeking sales and property tax breaks must adhere to the criteria for "green construction" buildings set out in AB621, passed by the 2007 Legislature.

But Senate Commerce and Labor Chairman Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, says some companies got opinion letters supportive of their building projects from the state Tax Commission before the new law was passed.

Because of their reliance on a 2005 law governing tax breaks for green construction, they should get tax breaks regardless of what was stated in the 2007 law, Townsend said.
...
During the June 1 floor vote on AB621, Townsend said the legislation eliminated sales tax breaks for all buildings except the CityCenter project being built by MGM-Mirage; Fontainebleau; the Venetian's Lido-Palazzo Resorts projects; the Molasky Corporate Center; the Echelon Place project by Boyd Gaming, and the Panorama Towers project. All are in Clark County.

Legislators revised the older green construction law after learning it would result in more than $900 million in sales and property tax breaks, reducing funding for local government and public schools. The new law is expected to cut the tax breaks in half.

Yep, there just might be a law suit in there somewhere; hasn't Buckley heard of ex post facto? Probably not since education isn't big in Nevada and UNLV students are more noted for hotel management than government but wasn't that Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona supposed to cover that? Just a thought.

But strangely, all the changes haven't affected the biggest projects being built by the most powerful corporations in the state, which just happen to be the ones the legislators most want to keep happy so that they get to keep their "50 percent" positions in Carson City. Frankly, my dear, I am amazed.

On LasVegasNow Brian Atkinson Turner, son of former Commissioner Yvonne Gates, and his wife, Katherine O'Gara, were taken into custody on drug and child endangerment charges.

Police arrived at the home in Southern Highlands because they received reports that O'Gara was driving erratically, possibly under the influence, and with her three-year-old in the car, unrestrained. Inside the house, they found filth and garbage and more, including marijuana and a hydroponic growing system favored by indoor pot farmers. A loaded handgun was in the glove box of the car, just inches from where the child had been.

Law enforcement are still tracking down leads about Gates and has long suspected that some of the money paid by Gates to her family members-- more than $400,000--for her campaign made its way back into her own pocket.

So far, Turner is only charged with possession with intent to sell marijuana and was released Wednesday evening on $10,000 bail.

Signed into law

- First minimum wage increase in a decade. (Note that Congress has given themselves at least seven pay raises during the same time period.)

- Implementation of many remaining 9/11 commission recommendations, including screening of all air cargo.

- Short-term authority to expand the government's ability to eavesdrop without warrants on communications that pass through the United States.

Vetoed by President Bush

- Time line to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. House upheld the veto.

- Expansion of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. No override votes have been held.

Passed House and Senate in different forms; awaiting compromise

- Expansion of the health care program that covers lower-income children. The House bill also includes significant changes in Medicare. Bush has threatened to veto both versions.

- Student aid expansion.

- Energy legislation with new efficiency standards for appliances, tax breaks and subsidies for hybrid cars and demonstration projects for burying greenhouse gases underground. (Hey, if burying the gases works--which has been a proposed solution even I have heard of--does that mean Harry Reid will stop posturing on stopping the three coal burning power plants proposed in Nevada?)

- $20-billion for water projects. Bush has threatened to veto. (Compromise bill has passed the House and is awaiting a Senate vote.)

Killed by Republican filibuster in Senate

- Immigration legislation.

- Requirement for the government to negotiate directly with drugmakers for lower consumer prices under Medicare.

Passed House

- Farm bill that includes crop payments to farmers and funds for conservation and nutrition programs. Bush has threatened a veto. (The bill it covers farm price and income support, soil and water conservation, alternative energy development, nutrition programs, agricultural trade, farm credit, research and extension, forestry, rural development, horticulture, organic agriculture, crop insurance, food labeling, meat and poultry inspection, and some sort of tax increase.)

Passed and awaiting presidential action

- Tighter congressional ethics provisions and greater disclosure of lobbyists' fundraising. (Disclosure doesn't mean fewer contributions, just greater measures by parties to figure out how to make contributions look innocuous. Remember how much money the Democratic National Committee had to return because it came from Chinese frontmen, Buddhist temples, etc. during the Clinton/Gore campaigns, though not until after they won in 1992 & 1996. Several millions! I wonder where some of Hillary's money is coming from and if she will continue Bill's legacy of quid pro quo for Chinese money.)

- Legislation calling for $33.6-billion over the next three years for science, technology, engineering and mathematics research and education programs.

And after Nancy Pelosi claimed that this new Congress would work more than the 103 days Congress put in last year, the first thing she did is call a day off to watch the NCAA basketball tournament and since then Congress still only works two to three days a week.

On Yahoo News: The FBI and IRS have searched the home of Republican Sen. Ted Stevens in a ski resort in Alaska as part of an investigation into his links with an oil-services company

Stevens is the subject of a grand-jury investigation into his links with managers of VECO Corp., the state's largest oil-services company, as well as numerous unrelated fisheries matters.

In May, Bill Allen, then the chief executive of VECO, along with a vice president, Rick Smith, pleaded guilty to several federal corruption charges.

The New York Times is reporting that Congressional Democrats reached tentative agreement Friday night on a major overhaul of lobbying rules that would for the first time require lawmakers to identify lobbyists who assemble multiple donations and turn them over to candidates.

The disclosure of what is known in political circles as bundling would be a central element of the first major changes made in lobbying rules in the aftermath of the Jack Abramoff scandal and other Congressional corruption cases tied to lobbying.

Under the tentative proposal, Congressional contenders and the respective campaign committees would be required to notify the Federal Election Commission once one individual had delivered more than $15,000 in contributions within six months or $30,000 in one year.

But disclosure doesn't mean they won't take the money; for the most part our politicians act with impunity and while Dems claim that this measure is to stop the Abramoffs of the world, did they forget that he gave money to Senator Harry Reid, who has created quite a resume of questionable land deals and associations with the underside of Las Vegas politics and organized crime. It also doesn't mean that Dems won't take lots of money from special interests as the following Times story shows:

June was a busy month for Senator Charles E. Schumer. On the phone, at large parties and small gatherings around the nation, he raised more than $1 million from the booming private equity and hedge fund industries for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, of which he is chairman.

But there is another way Mr. Schumer has been busy with hedge fund and private equity managers, an important part of his constituency in New York. He has been reassuring them that he will resist an effort led by members of his own party to single out the industry with a plan that would more than double the taxes on the enormous profits reaped by its executives.
Mr. Schumer has considerable say on the issue. In addition to being the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate leadership, he is the only Democrat serving on both of the major committees, Banking and Finance, that have jurisdiction in the matter.

He has long been a pro-business Democrat and a fund-raising machine for the party, as well as a vociferous supporter of Wall Street issues in Washington, much the way Michigan lawmakers defend the auto industry and Iowa politicians work on behalf of corn farmers.

But in the case of the tax proposals, the strategy behind Mr. Schumer's efforts is putting to the test another set of principles he is known for. He has regularly portrayed himself as a progressive politician who identifies with the struggles of the middle class and is sharply critical of the selfish "plutocrats" who he says control the Republican Party.

Sounds to me as if Dems don't need lobbyists when they go directly to businesses and solicit funds while apparently offering up a quid pro quo. And while Schumer claims to be for the middle class but working so hard to protect the exorbitant "earnings" of hedge fund managers, those same middle class constituents better be aware of changes in the tax legislation for next year decided this year by our Democratic Congress affecting the college savings plans of many parents as reported in the Nevada Appeal.

They are finding that their children with unearned income are suddenly being hit up for higher taxes. The Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 ("2007 Small Business Tax Act") that was passed on May 25 has extended the kiddie tax to those who are 18 years old or who are full-time students under age 24. The expanded kiddie tax rules apply only to dependent children who have income on investments and whose earned income does not exceed one-half the amount of their support. This provision is effective for most families as of Jan. 1, 2008.

This tax change makes custodial accounts a less attractive way to save for college education and other long-term expenses. If you have custodial accounts set up for minors or are thinking of gifting appreciated securities to these accounts, be sure to talk with your tax advisors before year end to determine if you can take advantage of any potential tax benefits for 2007.

I guess "plutocrats" come in Republican and Democratic party flavors Mr. Schumer.

Steve Miller is reporting in his column at AmericanMafia.com that ex-Las Vegas City Councilman Michael J. McDonald is currently the subject of an IRS tax fraud investigation. A federal grand jury will convene in several weeks to hear the government's case against McDonald. An Indictment is expected soon thereafter.

Steve notes that while McDonald sat on the city council between 1995 and 2003, he was best known for being the pawn of two topless bar owners, and doing the bidding of a shady golf course developer and the local trash collection company. In eight years, he went from a $42,000 per year cop to a multimillionaire real estate developer/business consultant though he never built anything other than his own $1.75 million dollar residence, and his only known consulting job was for a little known topless joint called Pleasures that reportedly paid him $30,000 per month for his "consulting services."

For Steve's full story.

On MSNBC: Sen. Obama has escalated his criticism of Hillary Clinton....

Obama said in part:

"I think what is irresponsible and naive is to have authorized a war without asking how we were going to get out -- and you know I think Senator Clinton hasn't fully answered that issue.

And also:

"[But] the general principle is one that I think Senator Clinton is wrong on -- and that is if we are laying out preconditions that prevents us from speaking frankly to these folks, then we are continuing with Bush-Cheney policies, and I am not interested in continuing that."

But then:

Clinton supporters respond to Obama's new criticism by pointing out that Clinton has been very critical of the Bush's Administration policies on diplomacy. Also, her response at the debate -- and in yesterday's skirmish -- was that it doesn't make any sense to pursue vigorous diplomacy without getting the most of it. You just can't promise to meet with world leaders, they say, without conditions.

Won't it be fun to watch if Clinton and Obama both end the primary season at the top of the heap. Hillary will want the presidential nominee spot and no one in the Democratic party will work very hard against the Clinton machine for fear of cutting their political throats. So how will Obama make up to Hillary to have a chance as a running mate? Probably something on the line of "it was in the spirit of political debate but now is the time to work together for an America which screws the little people." Well...maybe not in exactly those words.

Auditors have found that the Department of Agriculture has not been conducting the necessary checks to ensure that subsidy payments are proper.

"USDA has made farm payments to estates more than two years after recipients died, without determining, as its regulations require, whether the estates were kept open to receive these payments," their report said.

Of the identified payments to deceased farmers' estates or businesses, 40 percent went to those who had been dead more than three years, and 19 percent went to those who had been dead for seven or more years.

The report was requested by Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee

Senator Grassley's interest may have to do with the fact that he himself is a recipient of farm subsidies as reported last Monday, the 16th, by Fox News, which may be a conflict of interest worthy of an award--for hypocrisy.

Today, the average farm household earns $81,420 and has a net worth of $838,875 -- both well above the national average. Farm incomes are setting records, and farms have one of the lowest failure rates of any industry.

To be sure, some family farmers continue to struggle. But if farm subsidies were really about alleviating farmer poverty, then lawmakers could guarantee every full-time farmer an income of 185 percent of the federal level ($38,203 for a family of four) for under $5 billion annually -- one-fifth the current cost of farm subsidies.

Instead, small farmers are largely excluded from farm subsidies. Farm subsidy payments are based on acreage, so by definition, the largest agribusinesses get the largest subsidies. Consequently, commercial farmers -- who report an average income of $200,000 and net worth of nearly $2 million -- now collect the majority of farm subsidies. Most farm subsidy dollars go to millionaires.

Fom 1995 to 2005, farm subsidies have been distributed to Fortune 500 companies such as John Hancock Life Insurance ($2,849,799) and Westvaco ($534,210); as well as celebrity hobby farmers like David Rockefeller ($553,782) and Ted Turner ($206,948). Even Members of Congress who vote on farm legislation have received subsidies, such as Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa, $225,041) and Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo., $161,084).

The Washington Post reported that Tyler Farms (a big supporter of the Clintons over the years) in Arkansas has collected $37 million in farm subsidies since 1996 by dividing itself into 66 legally separate corporations. Other farmers evade payment limits by signing up family members, such as the Georgia farmer who reportedly collected thousands in additional subsidies by listing his two-year-old daughter as a co-farmer.

It gets even sillier. Most subsidies are based on land's historical use, even if it is no longer used for farming. So when 75 acres of Texas farmland was recently converted into a housing development, the homeowners on these $300,000-properties become eligible for annual farm subsidies for the lawn in their backyards.

There is not much more that I can say...our country is owned and run by special interests through campaign contributions which lead to legislation to benefit the few while education, health care, small businesses, etc. all lose ground because most of us are simply fodder for the powerful minority who see competition as detrimental to their profits.

Pat Hearn is leaving his job as executive director of the Nevada Commission on Ethics after having the position for less than a year.

Commission Chairman Jim Kosinski said Hearn is resigning the $94,136-a-year job to return to Oregon, where he headed the state ethics commission for 15 years before taking the Nevada job Aug. 1 of last year.

Is that because there are no ethics in the state of Nevada at all?

Apparently earmarks are not earmarks when Democrats tell us they aren't.

From the L.A. Times article "Lawmakers Try To Save Their Earmarks:"
After Democrats won control of Congress, they moved to fulfill their pledge to crack down on the controversial practice of lawmakers slipping projects in spending bills without public scrutiny.

In February, they scrapped Republican-drafted bills loaded with earmarks and passed a bill that they boasted had none.

Among those celebrating the achievement was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who said that piecing together the $463.5-billion spending bill was difficult, "but we got it done without a single earmark."

But the day after President Bush signed it, Reid wrote federal agencies to "strongly support the priorities" in the discarded GOP bills. "I believe they are essential to the nation and to my home state of Nevada."

Reid was not alone in seeking to save his earmarks.

Lawmakers from both parties -- including Democrats ranging from the most senior, such as Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, to one of the most junior, such as Sen. Jon Tester of Montana -- pressed agencies to grant their spending requests, according to correspondence obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Center for Investigative Reporting.

What were those Democratic campaign promises again?

Apparently after selling 1,000 acres near Kingman, AZ--and giving control of development plans for over 7,000 more acres--to Jim Rhodes, officials at the state Land Department learned that Rhodes has admitted to illegally using his money to aid powerful politicians in Nevada; that he has repeatedly and successfully been sued over allegations of fraud, theft and self-dealing by his investment partners and others he's done business with; and that he has a long history of complaints for shoddy workmanship and construction defects from people who bought his homes.

Jamie Hogue, deputy state land commissioner, said officials at the agency were not aware of those things when Rhodes officials first contacted them about the property nine days before the auction.

If they knew then what they know today, they probably couldn't have done much differently because Rhodes met the bidder qualifications published before the auction, she said.

At that time, land department officials were concerned about who could bring the money to the table.

The character of the high bidder was not an issue, she said.

Character never seems to be an issue. Look how hard Las Vegas city councilmembers have worked to keep Rick Rizzolo's club open, county commissioners to give licenses to felons like Vinnie Faraci, and how many commissioners have been caught or investigated for bribery. Part of the information on Rhodes came to light from Erin Kenney testimony during the G-Sting trial, which showed that after being a commissioner she received $200,000 a year from Rhodes as a consultant, and, from another witness, that supposedly Kenney was paid $20,000 a month while commissioner.

Other names which continue to pop up stinking of corruption along with Rhodes:

Sen. Harry Reid, who got $10,000 in illegal contributions from Rhodes.

Jay Brown, the Las Vegas lawyer who worked for Rhodes and has recently been representing Signorelli in the "imaginary" transfer of Crazy Horse Too from Rick Rizzolo, which manueverings have been extensively covered by Steve Miller. Brown is a longtime friend and investment partner of Sen. Reid. Among Brown's other clients was Mike Galardi, former owner of Cheetahs, who was convicted of racketeering and bribery of Clark County Commissioners in the G-Sting trial.

Galardi has stated he and Mike Malone, the former county commissioner, paid cash to Kenny and Commissioner Kincaid-Chauncey, and arranged sexual favors for Herrera. All of it was done in return for favorable treatment from the commission, he said.

Galardi has also claimed that local cops, prosecutors, judges, even FBI agents and an assistant U.S. attorney had taken payoffs in the form of money, campaign contributions or free services at his strip clubs.

And interestingly, attorney Christopher Kaempfer, partner at Kummer, Kaempfer, Bonner, Renshaw, & Ferrario, apparently passed on a threat by the law firm's client Rhodes to Commissioner Mark James who sponsored freezing zoning in the Red Rock Canyon area, limiting the number of houses Rhodes could build there.

Yep. It takes a whole lot of character to be successful in Clark County, if the meaning of character is money, money, money!

For more go to "New land baron has checkered past," or "Commissioners want more answers from developer Rhodes."

The GOP hasn't spent any time advertising the fact that it has moved its caucus forward, now scheduled for Jan. 19, only five days after Iowa's caucuses, until a sudden avalanche of postings on how the GOP hasn't made any noise.

Democrats have been all over Nevada while Republicans have hardly stopped by. Some may take this as a snub by Republicans who probably see delegate-rich states that have moved to Feb. 5, such as California, New York and New Jersey as more important.

I for one am considering voting for the candidate who spends the least amount of time with tv ads, which probably means some poor sixth party schmoe with no money and no chance--but at least he or she won't be spending hundreds of millions lying about his or her virtue and slamming the other candidates. Thankfully, I have several dozen books in mind to read and a number of DVDs to watch so I won't have to watch 18 months of political balderdash, blather, bunkum, claptrap, drivel, idiocy, nonsense, piffle, poppycock, rigmarole, rubbish, tomfoolery, trash, twaddle, baloney, bilge, bull, bunk, crap, hooey, malarkey.

Toughening ethics laws, once a priority of Democrats, has bogged down in Congress as party leaders find their campaign promises colliding with lawmakers' re-election concerns. Two months have passed since a task force was supposed to have recommended how an independent panel might look into ethics complaints before they go to the House ethics committee. A key sticking point is opposition in both parties to letting outsiders file complaints against members of Congress.

Currently, only House members can initiate an ethics probe. Public watchdog groups call the restriction self-serving and unreasonable.

Before the elections Dems campaigned for change; since they took office, they act just like Republicans. Big promises forgotten for Big money.

For more go to Ethics reform bogged down in Congress.

Some interesting excerpts of a Tony Cook colunm in Las Vegas Sun Politics:

Clark County hired Josh Griffin and Tim Crowley in February 2006 at a rate of $5,000 a month until the session began, when the monthly rate jumped to $10,000. Overall, the county paid the pair $105,000. Griffin and Crowley also represent gaming giant MGM Mirage.

The county stood to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue because of the tax breaks and wanted them reduced as much as possible. MGM Mirage, on the other hand, had expected to save about $395 million on its $7.4 billion CityCenter thanks to the tax breaks and wanted to keep as much as possible.

The issue pitted the interests of one Griffin-Crowley client against another.

"They couldn't forcefully advocate for the county because in doing so they would have been forcefully arguing against another client," one county official complained privately. "They weren't able to help us."

The issue highlights a common problem.

The state's most talented lobbyists often boast more than a dozen clients. Indeed, 67 lobbyists in Carson City this year each represented more than 10 clients, making occasional conflicts inevitable.

The client lists of some lobbyists include local governments and special interests that they regulate. When it comes to which client will bear the burden of a tax shift, lobbyists can suddenly find themselves in sticky situations.

Sometimes, the ironies are rich. For example, R&R Partners, one of the state's lobbying powerhouses, represents the Indoor Tanning Association and the Nevada Cancer Institute.

Conflict of interest means disclosure and withdrawal in most places...in Nevada it just means that you get paid for not being able to do the job. Great work if you can get it, but you have to be part of the corrupt network of politicians, developers, attorneys, courts, and corporations to have a chance.

Hedge funds are a trillion dollar a year player in today's commodity, real estate, and stock markets.

Democrats seek to collect more in campaign donations than the traditionally money rich Republicans.

Hedge funds are vast pools of capital that operate secretively and with little government supervision and can use techniques such as short-selling, or betting on falling stocks or markets to make a profit from downturns.

Hedge funds want to continue making money for their wealthy investors without further government restrictions; recognizing that Democrats have Congress and a good chance of gaining the White House in 2008, hedge funds are pouring money into Democrat's pockets.

Democrats like money as much as Republicans and want to win elections, so their pockets are open.

Hedge fund managers make obscene amounts of money--James Simons of Renaissance Technologies Corp., made $1.7 billion--and want to make sure it continues.

How will Democrats explain to the constituency they supposedly represent that taking vast sums on money from Republican-like, "robber baron" devils is a good thing? For more go to Hedge Funds Take On Emerging Political Role.

Two Canadian billionaires, David and Eskander Ghermezian, and one of the biggest developers in the Las Vegas area could be among the witnesses called to testify in the federal corruption trial of real estate consultant, Donald Davidson, accused of paying $200,000 for a favorable vote from former Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny and of trying to buy votes from other elected officials including former Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald, who just got his own sweetheart land deal from the Las Vegas City Council this week.

Among the Ghermezian clan, they are managers and officers of over 300 corporations listed on the secretary of state website for corporate entities

The Las Vegas Review Journal reported that Michael McDonald addressed the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday and left with the council agreeing to sell him land for millions of dollars less than it's worth.

Alpha Omega Strategies, of which McDonald is president, plans to build 600 apartments for low-income senior citizens on the 13 acres at Decatur Boulevard and Vegas Drive.

The mayor and the rest of the council voted to sell the land to the former Las Vegas councilman because of a desperate need for affordable housing for the elderly, they said.

The city acquired the acreage -- including some parcels that were purchased during the years McDonald held his office -- for $8.5 million and two recent appraisals for the city valued the land at $9.2 million and $9.6 million, but the council is letting it go for $6.5 million.

Mayor Oscar Goodman acknowledged that flak might be coming the city's way.
"Only an idiot would say this transaction would not be looked at closely," he said.

Only an idiot would believe that our "good ole boy" network of developers and politicians, making sweetheart land deals from Senator Harry Reid down to McDonald, would care whether any transactions would be looked at closely. It is time for Las Vegas voters to finally care and vote out the city council (too late for Oscar who is in his last term). After all, anyone who buys property for $8.5 million and sells for $6.5 million, even in the current market, is simply cheating the citizens. Don't let the sound bite "affordable housing" fool you.

U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign of Nevada today introduced legislation that establishes a conservation program that helps ranchers prevent the occurrence, spread of, and damages caused by wildfire to rangeland.

"Nevada, along with other Western states, is facing unprecedented threats to the rangeland," said Reid. "In the past, Nevada wildfires have devastated our rural families and ranches. This legislation will help prevent wildfires and mitigate damages from ones that occur. This is a good step forward in addressing the conservation and environmental concerns of Nevada and the Great Basin."

Meanwhile in Carson City, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons joined with Senator Maurice Washington (R-Washoe), Senator Barbara Cegavske (R-Clark), Clark County Superintendent Walt Rulffes, Clark County Assistant Superintendent Dr. Karlene Lee, and others to sign a bill providing for the establishment of 29 empowerment schools across Nevada and provides an additional $400 in per pupil spending at those schools.

"By signing this bill, we are taking that next big step toward providing our children with an education that will better prepare them for the future," said Governor Gibbons. "Who better to assess and meet the needs of students than the principals, teachers, and parents who spend time with these children each day?"

Maybe juvenile corrections officers? And who paid for two Clark County Superintendents to make the trip to Carson City?

Harry Reid of Nevada, who in the past three years has blamed Republicans for being soft and beholden to big oil, has finally noticed that gasoline prices are at record prices already this year.

CQ Today reports that Energy legislation and the annual defense authorization bill -- including an amendment to begin a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq -- will dominate the Senate floor between now and the Fourth of July recess, according to Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Senators returned this week from their Memorial Day recess, during which they got an earful from constituents. Reid said, "There are two issues that are foremost in their minds: No. 1 is the Iraq War and No. 2 are gas prices. We're going to deal with that as soon as we finish with this immigration legislation." In non-political without posturing words what Harry means is: Which we will never finish because both sides are more interested in creating more voters than closing borders and dealing with criminals so your gasoline prices will be high all summer unless something happens to depress prices which is beyond our control but that we will take credit for.

Reid, a Democrat who represents Nevada, was referring to a comprehensive immigration overhaul that has been offered as a substitute amendment to a shell bill (S 1348). The controversial bill has attracted numerous amendments, and Reid may try to force an end to the debate later this week -- a move Republicans will resist. Or not, as politicians determine how many political miles can be forced out of posturing for the public. If we could just get as many miles per gallon from our vehicles as politicians get from empty posturing we would have a world-wide oil glut.

Reid said that once the immigration debate ends, there will be an effort to proceed to a "no confidence" vote on Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. But that attempt is unlikely to garner the 60 votes needed. I thought after immigration the Senate was going to tackle gasoline prices. In ordinary speak this means by the time we are done with the small stuff oil companies will have two more record breaking quarters and the economy will be in a real recession that even the media might recognize.

The energy legislation could prove contentious, even though its pieces commanded broad bipartisan support in committee. Much will depend on the amendments offered on the floor. PORK!!!

Reid said the legislation (S 1419) is an amalgam of bills approved by four committees: Energy and Natural Resources (S 1321); Environment and Public Works (S 992); Commerce, Science and Transportation (S 357); and Foreign Relations (S 193). Oh no. If one committee is bad, think what four committees have done to the bill.

He said he did not think the legislation was the "appropriate time" for a floor fight over efforts to address global warming. But he acknowledged that battles are likely over moves to toughen fuel efficiency standards and to set a national renewable-portfolio standard requiring 10 percent to 20 percent of electricity to be produced from renewable sources by 2020. While at the same time there is Democratic Congressman, Alan Mollohan, from West Virginia trying to put restrictions on wind generated power which just might affect his state's coal industry. He claims the blades kill bats. My experience is that bats are smarter than congressmen. Naturally, miners vote and bats don't so I am sure his concern for the bats is "real." The question of how to have wind turbines and protect birds and bats has been the subject of articles for the past few years with several solutions being tested. Perhaps the Congressman simply wants the wind farms built on the land he purchased with the head of a small defense contractor that had won a $2.1 million contract from funds that the congressman added to a 2005 spending bill.

As for global warming, will someone please explain why temperatures on the other planets have also risen--is our global warming so powerful that we can affect Mars? And has anyone actually considered how much pollution is created by China, India, Mexico, etc.? Even Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is aware that China is bringing on-line a 1,000 megawatt coal-fired power plant every 10 days. Are they going to stop?

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons joined with Assemblyman Joe Hardy (R-Boulder City) May 30 during a ceremonial signing of AB 6 sponsored by Assemblyman Joe Hardy, which reaffirms the legal authority for local governments to offer prescription discount cards, such as the one offered by the National Association of Counties (NACo). The Prescription Drug Discount Card can provide as much as 20% in savings on each prescription and is available to the insured, underinsured, and non-insured.

The Governor stated, "I am pleased that all 17 counties will now have the opportunity to provide residents with the savings option provided through the Prescription Drug Discount Card program or other similar programs. The costs of prescription drugs can often create a significant burden for those living on a fixed income."

I wonder how it affects those of us on a flexible income. Mine keeps getting smaller every year.

For further details on this program contact www.NACO.org/drugcard.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D), New York: The people of Nevada are ready for change. We want it to happen.
I believe that is a royal "We."

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, spoke in part on recent developments in Venezuela, "The decision by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez not to renew the license of Radio Caracas Television," which is a large station he shut down on Sunday, which started all this, "in order to silence criticism, is exactly the kind of action that raises concern about his leadership. President Chavez should know that efforts to suppress the media will not only ultimately fail, but are also a detriment to one of the pillars of democracy, freedom of expression.
Somewhere along the line Nancy has usurped the position of the State Department. I imagine being one of the richest people in Congress has its privileges.

George W. Bush, President: If you want to kill the bill, if you don't want do what's right for America, you can pick one little aspect out of it. You can use it to frighten people.
George, who has angered liberals, moderates, majorities, minorities, men, women, children, and most of the world, has just "killed" his last remaining support in the conservative base with this comment on immigration reform. George had the perfect blueprint for how not to run a presidency--his Daddy's, though Bush Sr. was often unfairly portrayed by the media since he was so boring--and he still screwed it up. Bush Sr. didn't do anything exciting until he jumped out of an airplane at age 80, Jimmy Carter didn't accomplish anything until he began buildings houses one at a time, and it appears Bill Clinton has a new girlfriend who hopefully has a higher IQ than an Anna Nicole Smith or that woman, Monica Lewinsky, and remembers to dry clean her dresses. It seems like all these guys simply chose the wrong job.

As reported in the Sun, Nevada lawmakers heard last-minute pleas this week for several tax breaks supporting the film industry, seniors, and nonprofit medical providers.

Lobbyists for the movie industry and unions asked the Senate Finance Committee to pass SB321, a bill containing sales and fuel tax breaks for companies that make films in Nevada.

Movie companies are spending much less money in Nevada, mostly because other states have aggressively competed for their business, according to Tim Rubald, director of the state Commission on Economic Development. Spending on feature films in Nevada has dropped from $44.8 million in 2000 to just $14.3 million last year.

State tax officials estimate the tax break will take about $35,000 from state coffers each year.
However, supporters say that is vastly outweighed by film companies' contributions to Nevada's economy, and that the breaks will create jobs and spark millions of dollars in investments. To get the tax break, film companies must hire at least 30 percent Nevada employees, in full-time positions.

The committee also heard testimony on SB179, a bill sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, which would expand eligibility for a property tax break for low-income seniors.

Finally, the committee considered SB501, a proposal to give sales and fuel tax breaks to nonprofit organizations that provide ambulance or air ambulance services.

Plus legislators may be moving toward revoking "green building" tax breaks (See "Tax break pulled 'out of the air' could cost state $900 million"), which they hurriedly passed in 2005.

In 2004 Chris Giunchigliani, then a state assemblywoman, was listening to a NPR show on building green and tax incentives while working on "smart growth" bills to introduce the next year and came up with a tax break plan of her own tax of 50 percent. If a business met a certain green standard, it would get a 50 percent property tax break for 10 years. And if a business applied in the fourth quarter of 2005, it could qualify for a 50 percent sales tax break on construction materials. It sounded so good that lawmakers rushed it right through.

Did the 50 percent number come from careful research and debate?

"I just pulled it out of the air," said "Chris G.

More and more builders were already going green because building green can save a lot of money in utility costs, even before tax breaks are considered. With the 50 percent tax break developers may save three times as much in taxes as they invest in building green. MGM Mirage, for example, estimates it will spend an additional $125 million to $225 million to make its $7.4 billion CityCenter a green development, which may net as much as $390 million in tax breaks.

The number that Chris pulled out of her hmm... turns out not to be an incentive but a lucrative gift to the big developers, while possibly costing the state nearly one billion dollars in revenue over ten years. I wonder who will have to make up this deficit in budget revenue while the legislature presides over statewide infrastructure shortfalls? Let's see: I'm not a casino, a developer, a senior, or a movie maker. Oh yeah, it must be me.

Casino City Times reported that the Nevada problem gambling bill is expected to pass

The Assembly Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to discuss legislation this week that would make state funding of problem gambling treatment and research permanent with a vote on Senate Bill 453 following. The bill passed out of the Senate on May 7 following a 20-1 vote approving the measure.

Former Gov. Kenny Guinn appointed the advisory committee in 2005 to make recommendations on disbursing the state funds.

The money is diverted from the state general fund through an existing tax on slot machines, with an allocation equivalent of $2 per machine.

William Bingham, Bellagio's vice president of table games and an advisory committee member, said the measure seems to have the support of the entire gaming industry. "We're just waiting to have this renewed and to continue to monitor the programs that are being funded," Bingham said. Of course, because anything else would be bad publicity for an industry that generally feeds indiscriminately, I mean provides us with quality entertainment.

Six percent of Clark County's approximately 11,000 homeless listed problem gambling as their primary reason for being homeless, a Southern Nevada Regional Planning Commission's Committee on Homelessness survey released in April shows.

Gee whiz, oh gosh, my my--six percent works out to 660 homeless persons who blame gambling problems for their homelessness. I wonder if we could compare that to the two million residents who are affected by the lack of Clark County and the state ever developing a real transportation plan; or well over 200,000 Clark County students getting one of the worst educations in the country while legislators dicker over all day kindergarten--which is simply a disguised plan to get Mexican children out of their non-English speaking homes a little more and leading to the need to build a thousand more classrooms and hire a thousand more teachers for a program which has no lasting benefit past second to fourth grade. A more effective plan would be to give existing teachers a raise and extend the school day one hour, giving students benefits over the whole twelve year experience. But then, maybe giving our children to Clark County schools for extra time isn't the best idea either...I went to their website for information on just how many students and teachers there are in the district and found on the ccsd website some of the following headings:
School Links
Back to School Information
Important Dates for 2004-2005 (PDF)
School Directory (PDF)

Important dates for 2004 in the year 2007--yep, these people are surely the ones I want educating our children. Now I know why our legislators are so knowledgeable and wise. They must all have had a Nevada public education.

About the Senate hearings on Thursday, MSNBC reported that Gonzales stated, "The moment I believe I can no longer be effective I will resign as attorney general," and making it clear he did not believe it had come to that.

It must have been the only thing he made clear in the hearings.
Here are a few samples (all quotes apparently verbatim from the transcript) provided by wsws.org:

Could he give specific reasons why seven US attorneys were fired on December 7, 2006?

GONZALES: Senator, I have in my mind a recollection as to knowing as to some of these United States attorneys. There are two that I do not recall knowing in my mind what I understood to be the reasons for the removal.

Was the US attorney for Las Vegas, Nevada, Daniel Bogden, fired because his office had conducted an investigation of a Republican congressman?

GONZALES: I do not recall what I knew about Mr. Bogden on December 7th. That's not to say that I wasn't given a reason; I just don't recall the reason. I didn't have an independent basis or recollection of knowing about Mr. Bogden's performance.

Was the US attorney for Milwaukee, Stephen Biskupic, taken off the firing list because his office prosecuted an official of the Democratic-controlled state government?

GONZALES: Senator, I -- again, this was a process that was ongoing that I did not have transparency into. I don't recall -- transparency into with respect to Mr. Biskupic.

In response to criticism that he did not appear to have prepared for the hearing:

GONZALES: Senator, I didn't say that I was always prepared. I said I prepared for every hearing.

And the response that summed up both the content and form of his testimony:

GONZALES: Senator ... I don't recall remembering.

MY QUESTION: Mr. Gonzales, are you an idiot?
Likely response:
GONZALES: Mr. Zounds Off ... I don't recall remembering.

OK, I am baffled as to how he got the job, let alone still has it. Oh...right. Cronyism, a politician's best friend--practiced by Democrat and Republican alike.

Although Nevada Governor Gibbons has declared that new taxes are not an option, the state legislature has considered inflation driven increases in gasoline taxes, doubling the cost of driver's licenses--which I am sure they will when they require the new license which should also increase people's risk of identity theft--, shifting sales taxes on vehicle sales and repairs (So now there would be a tax on services and labor? I will pay a tax for the luxury to fix my car crippled by bad roads in the state?), and a reduction on depreciation allowance on registering vehicles. I thought we already had one of those; every year I register my aging 1992 Ford, it cost more than the year before.

But with the sad state of roads in Clark County, it appears the state legislature is still hoping to raise the gasoline tax. However, Nevada's gasoline tax already stands at 23.8 cents per gallon, which ranks 18th highest nationally, but Nevada's counties are permitted also to levy "local option" gasoline taxes up to 10 cents per gallon, which places Nevada second only to Hawaii for overall gasoline taxes in recent years

When looking at the tax bite we pay, I find that Nevada levies a 6.5 percent general sales or use tax on consumers, which is above the national median of 5 percent and then we can add other local sales taxes to the hit. State and local governments combined collect approximately $1,058 per capita in general sales taxes, which ranks 7th highest nationally. (See the Tax Foundation) I read that Nevada adds a tax to your car insurance premium--here I am required to have insurance and must pay Nevada for the requirement. We apparently pay taxes on taxes collected on goods subject to federal excise taxes, car registration is simply a personal property tax, and, when all is done, I find that the tax free day for Nevadans will come on May 8, 2007, one day AFTER California. And of course, casinos in Nevada continue to pay the lowest taxes on revenues of anyplace I can find--a maximum of 6.75 percent. Did you know that a 4.4 percent increase in tax on casino revenue--currently near $6.8 billion--would make up the $300 million per year shortfall for which our legislature wants to tax us?

On Friday the Wall Street Journal reported that while Mr. Gibbons, a five-term Republican who served on the armed services and intelligence committees and now governor, sought funding in 2004 for a no-bid federal contract for Sierra Nevada for a $4 million contract, to develop a helicopter radar-landing system, his wife, Dawn Gibbons received about $35,000 in consulting fees in 2004 from the same Sierra Nevada Corp., of Sparks, Nev. Plus, it has been reported that this company also has had dealings with Gibson's other partner in no bid contracts, eTreppid Technologies, the Reno-based federal defense contractor whose relationship with Gibbons is the subject of an FBI investigation. For more see Defense Contractors.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is working on his memoirs, which should be published spring 2008, by G.P. Putnam's Sons.

How much he will be paid is not disclosed; the bookdoesn't have a title, and it will be co-authored by Esquire Executive Editor Mark Warren.

I take this to mean that Warren will actually write the book; Attorney Jay Brown of Las Vegas, Nevada will arrange a corporation that Harry will assign proceeds to, which then will miraculously net him a 10 million dollar, or more, windfall profit four years later; and that the title of the book should be Mr. Cleanface Comes Clean: My Years Holding Hands with the Mob in Nevada.

In news that is of local as well as national significance, many are already aware of the recent firings of eight US Attorneys, one of them being Nevada's Daniel Bogden, an Independent. The Justice Department cited "poor performance evaluations" in the mass purge denying that there were any politics figuring into the decision.

Really? Did Daniel Bogden (and the others) actually suck that bad?

Perusing Google News this morning brought more blurbs about the "battle" over the latest funding request (or, if you like, demand) for the continuing occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of course, this is not news to you. The reason I mention it is that while busy this morning attending to the humdrum maintenance activities of life I had some time to ponder these things a bit more than usual. The thing that made the thoughts of this morning different were, instead of thinking about the politics of it all, I found myself dwelling on the money.

Specifically, the word "billions."

I'll confess that until recently I didn't know very much of Gov. Jim Gibbons other than something overheard or read in passing having to do with "that waitress thing."

Oh hell, now I have to go out and read some stuff.  At least I can't say it wasn't interesting reading . 

In the interest of terrible punnery, I would be remiss if I didn't add that following my brief review of the man, it was with some Treppid -ation that I found myself heading over read some more "official" words from the state website .

**cringe**

(I know that was terrible, I'll try not to do it again)

From the 2003 presidential race in Argentinia.

My favorite quote of the past couple of weeks...

"Money trumps... Peace"

$450 Million and we can talk...

That’s the price tag of the stadium the NBA is demanding Vegas build before it will even consider gracing the city with its presence again. I for one hope the city considers building this since a state of the art stadium will help the city stay on (or near) top in the increasingly competitive global entertainment market. (I’m looking at you Macau). [LVRJ]

Presidential Hopefuls and Media Elite swarm over Nevada... no one really paying much attention.

Bill Richardson, Wolf Blitzer, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and even "I'm too good for Nevada" Barrak Obama are all descending on the State in various ways. Vegas-centric to this - Edwards, appeared on Bill Maher from Las Vegas and Wolf Blitzer camped in front of the Venetian for a couple of board-casts and Interviews. [Sun]

I consider myself a libertarian. Besides allowing me to wear a tinfoil hat with pride, that means most of my political concerns are based around freedom. I'm for free speech and free trade, but not a free lunch, because anyone who groks his Heinlein knows there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. Thanks to the wonders of the internet I know that there are a lot of other similarly-minded people out there in this world, but sometimes I still feel like a political outsider in the Land of the Free. These feelings are only amplified when I look at the approach our elected officials take to the issues most important to me.

Take free trade, for instance. The people in power in America who claim to support free trade are worse than lukewarm on this issue; they want to have it both ways. You can start at the top and work your way down - President Bush has declared his support for free trade in foreign nations like Peru, but he has also imposed tariffs protecting steel mills in states vital to his re-election. Plenty of lower-level officials mimic the behavior of the Commander-in-Chief, too, trumpeting the importance of world markets to their pet industries until those markets threaten their political lives. I could go a long way down this road - and at some point in the future I will - but today I have something particular in mind.

Anyone who follows gambling-related news knows about the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. For those of you in the dark, the UIGEA outlaws the use of third-party payment processors to transfer funds from US citizens' bank accounts to online gambling institutions. The bill was passed as a rider to a port security bill last fall, rammed through at the last second as a political ploy by then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee. The bill's effects are only now beginning to be felt. Most of the legitimate foreign-based online payment processors, such as the London Stock Exchange-listed Neteller PLC, have left the US market, and any CEO who dares to stay in the market risks arrest if they're caught stepping foot in the US. As a result, many online gaming sites have been left in the lurch, despite online gambling having never been expressly outlawed in the US. The only legal online gambling left in the US are horse racing and state lotteries, whose lobbyists helped get them an exemption from the legislation.

It's the last part here that's most relevant to the free trade issue. Many online gambling sites are based in Europe, and the European Union - many of whose members, including the United Kingdom, are much more accepting of online gambling - isn't taking too well to the prospect of the UIGEA tanking what the EU considers legitimate businesses while US-based online gambling interests could set up shop. In fact, the EU is starting to grumble about making a case before the World Trade Organization that the US is engaging in protectionism. This probably wouldn't be such a big deal if the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua hadn't won a ruling against the US at the WTO back in 2003 when it argued that the US was engaged in protectionism over exactly the same issue. (The WTO is set to hand down a ruling on the case later this year.)

Before the passage of the UIGEA, some of the biggest proponents of banning online gambling in the US accepted donations from domestic gambling interests. Harrah's Entertainment, for instance, was listed as the 13th-largest donor to Frist's re-election campaign in 2000. Then there's Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, whose second-largest donor was the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Both of these men tended to vote for free trade agreements in general, but they made protecting their donors from global competition a priority. (Frist didn't run for re-election in 2006, but Goodlatte is still in action.)

So what we have here is a case of US politicians wanting to have their cake and eat it too. Until now there have been trade repercussions for protectionism, but never any major political repercussions. If the WTO rules against the US in the Antigua case and the EU subsequently decides to throw its weight around, the ball will be back in the US politicians' court. Will they continue to support free trade, choosing to work out a way to help everyone win? Or will they turn their backs on it to continue currying favor with political donors? And more importantly, what will the political impact of the quick-passage UIGEA be if a world body tells the US to play fair?

Just when those "ethical" Democrats have barely stopped celebrating their wins in Congress, their Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, gets dirty in another land scandal dustup. In an article in the L.A. Times the history of another sweet deal for Harry is exposed. A brief rundown goes like this:

Harry and his buddy of over 50 years, Claire Haycock, a lubricant distributor (remember this part), purchase a parcel of land in Arizona sometime between 1979 qne 1982 for about $1,500 an acre.

Haycock puts his share in a pension plan trust.

California investors buy the property for $8,400 an acre in the '90's but default a few years later, and the property reverts back to Reid and Haycock.

In the mid-1990s, Reid tried several times for legislation to protect lubricants distributors from abrupt cancellations by their suppliers but was unsuccessful.
.
In 2001 Haycock decides to change the pension trust to a 401 and decides to sell the property.

In 2002 Reid buys the property--which once sold for $8,400 an acre and is appraised at $2,144 an acre by the county assessor--for the lofty sum of $166 an acre.

Six months later Harry again introduces legislation for lubricants distributors (remember what I told you to remember).

Since buying the property, Harry has pushed hard for a new bridge to run near his windfall property, but claims a new bridge will not affect the value of his property.

And Harry, you probably think people believe that, too.

According to reports, Sheldon G. Adelson -- chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and the nation's third wealthiest man -- gave $1 million to another chairman, Newt Gingrich…well actually to his "American Solutions for Winning the Future."

The organization is promoting a new Contract with America for the 21st Century, which is the name of Newt's new hardcover release..

Before you laugh, the first contract was so successful that former Democratic president, Bill Clinton, claimed credit simply by signing many of the points into law.

The State of the State
Remarks by Governor Jim Gibbons [with my remarks in brackets -Pokerprof
to the 74th Session of the Nevada Legislature


[Introduction: Feel free to skip reading this until the next bracket]

Speaker Buckley, Majority Leader Raggio, Lieutenant Governor Krolicki, members of the Senate and Assembly, honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, constitutional officers, distinguished guests, and my fellow citizens: It is indeed a pleasure to be here. As the 29th Governor of Nevada, I am humbled and privileged to appear before you tonight and excited to share my vision with you for the future of our great state of Nevada.

Before I do, I would like to thank my wife, Dawn, for her love, insight, guidance and support. As a former member of this Assembly, she's no stranger to this process, and as First Lady she has already shown her effectiveness, particularly in raising public awareness of the dangers of methamphetamine use. I also want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my entire family for their many sacrifices and total dedication throughout my 18 years of public life. Thank you.

On this historic occasion, I would like to recognize a remarkable Nevadan who has persevered every day since arriving in Las Vegas in 1980. Please join me in saluting Barbara Buckley as the first female speaker in Nevada history. She and I have proven we can effectively work together, as we did in suspending the nurses' strike in Las Vegas last month, and I am confident we can build upon our past success by mutually rejecting the counterproductive tug and pull of partisan politics. Please rise as I become the first Nevada Governor to say these words: Madame Speaker, I congratulate you and look forward to working with you to create long-term, meaningful results for all Nevadans.

I was first elected to the Nevada Assembly in 1989 and I am especially delighted to work again in this chamber. Tonight I would like to recognize my colleagues from that 1989 Assembly, who continue to devote countless hours working for the citizens of Nevada. Mr. Marvel, Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Arberry and Senator McGinness, it's a pleasure to work with you again.

I want to also welcome incoming freshmen legislators Senator Joyce Woodhouse and Assembly members Bob Beers, David Bobzien, Ty Cobb, Ed Goedhart, Ruben Kihuen, James Ohrenschall, Tick Segerblom, James Settlemeyer, Lynn Stewart and Rosemary Womack. Welcome, and I look forward to working with you.

Lastly, I want to thank all of those people who agreed to serve on my transition team, especially former Governors List and Bryan and Lieutenant Governor Hunt. I value your input and support. And, as my friends in the press have pointed out, for the handful of you who are not on my transition team, I value your input, too.

[End introduction and start actual content...]

I'm giving the check mark to Governor Bill Richardson as the next President of the United States. A crazy predicition based on more fiction than fact? Maybe, but that's just the way I see it. Yes I know he hasn't even declared himself as a presidential candidate, but he will, probably sooner rather than later. I also know he has to receive the Democartic party nomination and he will, so all that's left is victory at the polls and the early returns say that's gonna happen, too.

Bill Richardson will provide the country with the healing leadership required to overcome the eight years of carnage from Tex Junior's run amok run of the executive office. Richardson has also demonstrated numerous times his successful negotiation skills at the national and world level. He is known as the man that can get the cronically differing factions to sit down, talk and agree to common sense solutions. He is a diplomat of the highest order with impeccable credentials.

And his other qualifications for the office? (Any qualifications at all places him way ahead of the last guy.) He's served in Congress, filled a presidential cabinet post and is currently serving as Governor of New Mexico. Bill Richardson is the guy you call when you're out of options and there's a critical job that must be done.

I will be looking closely at the qualifications, accomplishments and life of Governor Bill Richardson and providing my findings here.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid came into town this weekend to solidify the 'Key Test for the Westt' billing for Nevada political future, at least from the Democratic stand-point. As it stands Carson City will kick off a series of forums (2) and debates (3). The final of which is set for Jan 15 here in Vegas, just ahead of the Jan 19th caucus. [NC Times][LA Times][Gleaner]

Can't see this video? Click here.

Make of this definition dispute what you will, it's good to see some measure of reform in the Senate.

For the whole story I suggesting starting with the Citizens against Government Waste section on earmark's.

Jim Gibbons has appointed (former) lobbiest, Mendy Elliot as the Director of the Department of Business & Industry. I'm sure bankers are in a state of euphoric glee.

Gibbons has also altered the State employee raises for the next two years, changing it from a 3% this year and 3% next year to 2% and 4% respectively. A change that will reportedly save Nevada 31 million dollars. Also, being back on the DHS high risk list is apparently all Gibbons doing, according to his press release.

Finally Gibbons secret midnight inauguration has a logical explanation, it allows Gibbons to review outgoing Governor Guinn's appointments to the almost omnipotent Gaming Control Board, which is exactly what he is doing. [VGO]

Mr. Gibbons, the eyes of Nevada are on you, and we're entering an age when that means something.

Next up, is Rep Shelley Berkley is being made a Senior Whip, which in addition to her coveted Ways and Means committee seat makes her quite a powerhouse. [LVG]

Finally, Harry Reid is more than in the news these days as the Senate Majority Leader. I found a fair summary of the contradiction that is Harry Reid. And hope he seriously considers the ramifications of being party to sending more troops into Vietnam Iraq... meaning if we continue to see the status quo or (as I expect) an escalation in the death toll the American People will be hard pressed to forgive those who empowered George Bush to expand this mess... you don't put out a grease fire by throwing more grease on it.

Will the promises be kept? 100 hours for the agenda, starting with ethics reform...

Not included in the agenda is Iraq, for which Bush proposes a troop surge...

With a few new "concessions" to appease Democrats (damn the consumer), AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth draws ever closer and is nigh unstoppable at this point given that the deal may be approved as early as today.

(Reuters)" The No. 1 U.S. telephone carrier said it would sell off certain wireless airwaves in the 2.5 gigahertz band, offer a $19.95 per month stand-alone basic high-speed Internet service and for up to 24 months would not charge content providers like Google Inc.[...] to speed their services to consumers."

White House Photograph by David Hume Kennerly Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Library

Gerald R. Ford will be remembered as the man that pardoned President Richard Nixon, thus ending a turbulent period in US history that had divided the country and disgraced the government. President Ford had the courage to do the very unpopular deed knowing it would be political suicide; but, he knew the pardon was all that could restore the ailing country's faith and trust in the Presidency after the Watergate scandal.

I will always remember President Ford as the Commander in Chief when Saigon fell and the Vietnam War finally came to an end. He was the only person to serve as President of the United States without having been elected, succeeding to the office as the 38th US President after Richard Nixon resigned. President Ford received the country's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1999 for his unselfish act of courage.

New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided to continue on with his trip to South America instead of attending the funneral of former President Gerald Ford who passed away on Tuesday.

According to a Yahoo news blurb:

"Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will miss the state funeral for former President Gerald Ford at the Capitol Rotunda on Saturday night, opting instead to lead a delegation to South America with an expected stop at the Machu Picchu Inca ruins."

Posted by Dr. Pauly at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Edwards announced his Presidential Candidacy, not on a television show, but rather on his website. Edward's is considered by many to be one of the top three candidates the Democratic party.
[Washington Post]

The Gibbons scandal continues to linger on and while the charges against our new Governor have been dropped for a lack of sufficient evidence a second investigation continues into Gibbons associates impeding and obstructing the legal process. I predict nothing will come of this. [CBS]

Finally I leave you with a Barney Frank Bill O'Reilly Interview on the topic of income redistribution.

The Gleaner has been running his unofficial unscientific democratic caucus presidential candidate survey for a couple of days and so far the top three contenders are Bill Richardson with 19% of the vote, Barack Obama with 22% and leading the way is Al Gore with an astounding 25%, either Gleaner's readers have a Gore bias or the new penguin flick did more from global warming awareness then I thought. Others worth mentioning include John Edwards with 16% and Hillary Clinton whose tied with Gen. Wesley Clark at 9%.

Personally I'm leaning towards Bill Richardson both as a person and a policy maker. The fact that he's one of the worlds great diplomats is a major plus too.

Let’s see. I learned that Laura Bush has a bit of the skin cancer on her leg. It’s good that I know that because it reminds me of the inherent and ever present danger posed by the (some might say, Islamofacist) sun. I learned that the search for the three hikers on the mountain is scaling down, but the “human drama” (and consequent news coverage) still has plenty of get up and go. I also was informed, however briefly, that the reports are out saying inflation has increased by 2%, rather than the expected 0.5%. Directly following this was an oblique report about how scary it was that holiday sales are lower than expected. It was the “expected” that got me thinking. Therefore, I, being a good American promptly went out and maxed out all of my credit cards.

I’m not worried. Soon, everyone will do the same after realizing their obvious folly. See it works like this. If we buy more stuff (as analysts expect), the economy does good, and that makes us all feel good. It’s what being American is about. If one says that they don’t feel good about something, well, that just seems un-American, and that makes me feel not good. If I feel not good then it must mean that I am becoming un-American and I certainly don’t want that. I should probably go buy something now, just in case. I’m sure there’s a new upgrade to something out there that I need.

Here’s what I missed.
“Bush, who gave an interview to the newspaper on Tuesday, said he had instructed new Defense Secretary Robert Gates to report back to him with a plan to increase ground forces, the Post said.”

The article went on to state:
"It is an accurate reflection that this ideological war we're in is going to last for a while and that we're going to need a military that's capable of being able to sustain our efforts and to help us achieve peace," he said.
**sigh**

Why didn’t I see it before? It was probably all of that unbidden freedom of speech drowning out my ability to properly relax. Thanks to Newt telling me why, I’m firmly committed to shutting that stuff down ASAP. Remember, can’t relax, can’t feel good, can't be American. If you don’t feel good about the Glorious War, I don’t blame you, and neither does George. He realizes, like you probably do, that the reason you’re worried is that we’re losing. But he also realizes, like you probably don’t, that the reason we’re losing is that we haven’t thrown enough bodies onto the pyre. I mean, what do we expect? Any idiot knows that the only way to make peace is to deal more death, and to do that one has to have more troops. Jaysus, you people have no idea what it is to lead. You just go on your merry way not buying stuff and free speeching it up when the country has serious war business to attend to.
“Gen. James Conway, the commander of the U.S. Marine Corps, also has expressed concerns about the strains being placed on his force and suggested last month it may need to grow.”

Just like the economy. Is it coming into focus now? This is the call for all good Americans to get out there and “shock and awe” some analyst expectations with our mighty debt.

With the largest ever naval deployment to Persian Gulf, a healthy injection of troops, and a grateful public wielding a mighty debt hammer, we’ll have those dangerous terrorists crushed in no time and then we can finally deal with that nasty sun.

Feels just like a Mission Accomplished.

In the October of 2001 Senators Daschle and Leahy received some anthrax in the mail. Congress was completely shut down. In the beginnings of the oppressive hysteria that followed 9/11, this incident was the sneeze that sent America headlong over the edge of the abyss. Recall, if you will (and if you can't recall, look it up), that these attacks conveniently targeted the two biggest detractors of the Patriot Act which at the time had a great deal of ramming force behind it-a Patriot Act that was sitting on John Ashcroft's desk on Sept. 10 (for the numerically challenged, that's before 9/11).

Five Years Later.

Five years and no updates-I wonder quite often these days why they haven't been screaming much louder at this outrage much sooner. If this was you, or one of your family/friends, would you sit patiently and wait? And hey, perhaps they have been screaming long and loud, but the media just now decided it was time to let the braindeads know. It doesn't seem too unreasonable seeing that the only thing that got any real news coverage beyond the sound bite (or what whizzed by on the hard-hitting ticker) in the US today was a serial killer suspect in Britain, a blurb about Robert Gates private swearing in ceremony, and three guys who are lost (and likely dead) on a mountain. Thank goodness there's not too much else going on in the world-I might be inclined not to pay any attention to what they tell me (oh, wait).

Perhaps these Senators have been patient and hopeful because they have an idea of what they are really up against.

The thing that separates what happened to these senators (and their staff, some of whom were killed) from the rest of the folks involved was that it was anthrax in its most potent form--as in super weapons grade-a potency that, properly analyzed and investigated, would have led back to very few places, all of them within our government.

So says me? So says Robert Boyle. From the article:

Boyle is a leading American professor, practitioner and advocate of international law. He was responsible for drafting the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, the American implementing legislation for the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. He served on the Board of Directors of Amnesty International (1988-1992), and represented Bosnia- Herzegovina at the World Court. Professor Boyle teaches international law at the University of Illinois, Champaign. He holds a Doctor of Law Magna Cum Laude as well as a Ph.D. in Political Science, both from Harvard University.

Nevada's own white knight, Harry Reid (pictured right), together with Bill Clinton are making sure the Las Vegas Presidential Democratic Caucus meet everyone's expectations. Set for January 19, 2008 the eyes of the Nation will turn to Sin City for this political experiment. According to the source article the focus for Nevada will be "water rights, nuclear waste disposal, health care, education and maintaining military installations". [From WRAL Via LVG]

The Gibbons transition team is now over 200 strong and Gibbons own communication director, Brent Boynton notes that "because the meetings are in the hands of the various committee chairs, the Gibbons team doesn't know who has met or how often." Indeed. [Sun]

In other news Monty Partners a law firm specializing in immigration, employment law and labor relations has opened a Henderson Office, making this piece on Immigration from LVIB a bit more interesting, however, I believe the importance of Immigration is slightly exaggerated as I believe the topic on most American minds if the all-mighty SNAFU that is Iraq and more broadly the Middle-East.

For more on the web check out Raghand, another Vegas local.

Interesting to see a State with so few citizens gain control over so much of the national political real estate. The most recent sign of Nevada's political ascension comes from Rep. Shelly Berkley being named to the House Ways and Means Committee; that is, the committee that holds the Congressional purse strings.

Rep. Berkley is beginning her fifth congressional term and will be vacating her seats on the Veterans' Affairs, International Relations and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees

The latest clear cut case of purchased legislation puts an entrepreneur out of business and raises the price of milk .20 cents or so. For Reid's part, he was a major force throughout this legislation and thanks to some crafty political posturing Reid was able to get the milk industry protection through the Senate with barely a whisper.

The bill was written by Charles M. English Jr. of Thelen Reid & Priest on Behalf of his clients which include Dean Foods, Shamrock Foods, United Dairymen of Arizona and the Dairy Institute of California. Reid was tapped by tapped by David Coon, VP at Anderson Dairy, which is building a new $40 million dollar facility here in Vegas. [Washington Post]

In other news, smokers can rejoice as a court ordered injunction keeps Question 5 at bay, at least, for a couple of weeks. The complaint raises an Article 5, unconstitutional for vagueness issue for every term and phrase used. More realistically it raises an Article 14 discrimination argument which basically says the passage of Quiestion #5 unfairly discriminates against small business owners. This has some meat to it since the big gaming entities have a comfortable exception carved out and only the stand alone bars, taverns and saloons are really forced to bear the incredible economic weight of this misguided effort to restrict freedom of both person and property.

The full text of the complaint. [Vegas Pundit]

[Small update on the patch: Comes from the F117 program and a as close as you'll get to the real thing is for sale at the Bell Weather Gallery]

Trevor Paglen who has taken numerous photos of classified, need to know etc... objects and people is putting on his latest exhibit which features a lot of Las Vegas shots.

It also includes "Salt Pit", Shomali Plains Northeast of Kabul, Afghanistan (2006) the most infamous of the CIA's secret prisons, ten minutes outside of Kabul... lovely. The exhibit, sadly, is being displayed in New York at Bellwether Gallery, 134 Tenth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10001.

Of course, all I really want is the patch pictured to the right.

Story and source image from Artnet

Eleven to ten, that's the margin of control afforded Republicans in the Nevada State Legislature...one seat! Now, using every effort imaginable Reno Republican Majority Leader, Bill Raggio, seeks to ensure that Republicans continue to control all the committees.

Now it's set up with 21 total members, 9 committees with 7 members each. The current (and quite fair method) puts each member on three committees. Of course, this means that with the slim margin of majority the Republicans stand to lose control of 3 of the 9 committees. Majority Leader Bill Raggio (Reno) comes forward with his solution to this Republican dilemma. Simply reduce the membership for 3 of the committees from 7 to only 5; allowing Republicans to retain total control with thier single seat majority.

The biggest problem I see with this political genocide is it allows a narrow, unpopular majority to take total control the Nevada State Legislature--and be it Democrat, Republican, GreenThumb or Wig--allowing such total control by any majority party can have devastating consequences for every citizen. Remember, Absolute power corrupts...absolutely.

Let the minority have 3 of the 9, let our representatives re-learn the art of negotiation, compromise and reason. Let's pay attention to people like Bill Raggio, people who decide so many elements of our government. The greater a politician's interest in continually seeking total dominating power, then the closer our collective scrutiny should look. Put these power addicted individuals under the public microscope because they will require constant monitoring and supervision.

Read more over at the LVRJ and LVG

New scrutiny is directed at the 'happiest mayor in the United States', with the running a scathing article on 'Vegas Juice' that outsiders face. At the same time the Nevada Ethics Commission has agreed to take jurisdiction over a Steve Miller complaint where-in Steve points out the numerous relationships and tie-in's that exist between the Mayor, his former law firm of Goodman, Chesnoff & Keach and the recent owners of the Crazy Horse 2.

The problem partially stems from the owners of the Crazy Horse 2 being "bad neighbors" and allowing an over-the-top number of falling down drunks loose on our streets. I say Partially because the Crazy Horse 2 has done its share to remain a high profile joint getting negative reviews; but, more so because former City Counsel member Steve Miller is so phenomenally good at being a pain in the ass.

In a nutshell, Hizzoner Oscar has been wonderful for Las Vegas and the it's image. If we are a people that can look past our Nation's Vice President shooting people, I certainly believe we can look past Oscar Good being one of the best Criminal Defense Attorneys in the World, after all, the only thing the Mayor is guilty of is being himself.

I, for one, sincerely hope Mayor Goodman renews his Senate interest after he wins his 3rd (and final) term as the Mayor of Las Vegas.

Goodman loves Las Vegas, and judging by the ever expanding, ever prospering and ever entertaining local scene, I'd say he doing a fine job keeping Las Vegas on the very top as the Entertainment Capitol of the World.

Given a choice between politicians and the mob, I'll take the Mob...at least they are honest about cheating you.

From USA Today:

Nevada's caucuses will be in January 2008, between the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. The DNC wanted to move up a racially diverse state and to please Las Vegas' powerhouse, 60,000-member Culinary Union, says Michael Gehrke of the Senate Majority Project, a Democratic group separate from the party.

From Raghand I see that campaign finance reform is never going to happen. The Democrats, now in a position to change it, are suddenly uninterested in altering our money driven political system.

From Gleaner I see that Harry Reid isn't only a powerful politician, but also, a powerful member of the Mormon Church, not just another parishioner.

Above map from the Nevada State Legislator [Larger Version]

Clark County in borken down into 12 Districts and represents the largest segment of the Nevada State Legislator. The only change to this body from the 2006 elections was a new representive for Clark County District 5, Joyce Woodhouse.

So, without further ado, here is the thumbnail for our Vegas area State Senators.

If your not sure who your State Political representatives are use this handy tool to find out.

Everyone who has a TV or gets a local paper of any kind has most likely heard about FAA plans to divert some liftoffs of planes to fly over neighborhoods such as Summerlin and The Lakes. For a couple years there has been a vocal outcry by these residents over the quality of life in their upscale enclaves, although, at one time flights were common over these areas. Jumping into the fray have been city councilmen, such as Steve Wolfson, and Las Vegas Mayor, Oscar Goodman, vowing to fight the FAA, even to the point of filing lawsuits. In defense of the FAA, the matter is simple: divert some flights or shorten the time between liftoffs. For safety reasons, diverting flights is the best answer. Allowing jets to liftoff too close to previous flights leads to disastrous consequences as seen in the November 2001 crash of American Airlines flight 587 after taking off from JFK International Airport, killing nine crew, 251 passengers, and five people on the ground. From Airsafe.com I found this accident sequence which details the plane's encounter with the wake vortex from an earlier flight which apparently tore flight 587 apart as evidenced by one engine and vertical fin piece which were found separate from the crash site.

"The NTSB calculated that the time between flight 587's liftoff from Runway 31L until impact with the ground was 103 seconds. The flight data recorder (FDR) recorded data for about 93 seconds after liftoff and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) continued to record information until at or about the time of the plane's impact with the ground.
Based on radar data, flight 587 took off approximately 105 seconds behind a Japan Airlines 747. The FDR indicates that flight 587 encountered two wake vortices generated by JAL flight 47. The second wake encounter occurs about 8 seconds before the end of the FDR data. For the first few seconds after the second wake encounter, the aircraft responded to flight control inputs. Both wake encounters averaged about 0.1 G lateral (side to side) movement. During the last 8 seconds of FDR data, the plane experienced three stronger lateral movements, two to the right of 0.3 and 0.4 Gs, and then one to the left of 0.3 Gs. These lateral forces corresponded in time with rudder movements."

But I imagine that Las Vegas political leaders are more concerned over placating the affluent (whom I picture as attorneys, casino operators, and other business owners, who have made their riches from the tourists who fly into Las Vegas) than the safety of the tourist who, at best, is still a mark for the second largest carnival act in the world, now that Macau is number one. Oscar brags that he can say whatever he wants as he is beholden to no one...well, he got part of that right; he can say what he wants, but I guess he is afraid of alienating those rich and powerful voters who throw the best parties. Political and business leaders in the valley are all for uncontrolled growth and higher numbers at the airport--and roadways--but don't want it to impact any part of their lives other than their wallets and pocket books. However, a lawsuit against the FAA is probably a good idea, as long as they can bring it in Nevada courts, because, if it is heard by the Nevada Supreme Court, it is a guaranteed winner for Summerlin residents, as proved by the recent erroneous decision in favor of Steve Sisolak, UNLV regent (who bought property at the end of one runway in the 1980's subject to one height restriction ordinance already in place, never even applied for a variance through the approved procedure, and won millions of dollars in interest and damages). But, if they would win and a plane falls out of the sky because of too many flights on one path....

First, as a Nevadan I'm ecstatic that Searchlight Leadership aka Harry Reid now has the cat-bird seat in the Senate. This is a great moment for every resident of the State and congratulations are in order for our Democratic Senator now sitting at the nexus of power as Majority Leader of the Senate. I only hope that he can withstand the intense public scrutiny that will now hound his present and past dealings. I also pray that he have the moral and intestinal fortitude to withstand the barrage of less-then-honest dealings that will undoubtedly come his way.

The integrity of the Democratic party demands that its new leadership avoid any major morality or financial scandals for the next two years. The 2008 presidential election is gearing up and the Democrats have just received a big boost so any major scandal with the Democratic leadership is exactly what the Republicans need to level the playing field.

On the subject of the '08 elections, Chopper Jerry (aka Jerry Airola) the helicopter man said he plans on being a part of Rudy Giuliani's '08 Presidential campaign, as he says in this YouTube Clip.

I've also noticed that the Democratic/Republican plan for Iraq is a two-year phased withdrawal... which many are suggesting is far too long a wait. They're also saying the violence could escalate sharply as anti-occupation sentiment grows.
The new plan has James Baker at the helm, this is the most in-depth invterview I've been able to find so far...

Finally, even through it's a small story given that the Republicans were so thoroughly and soundly thumped nationwide, there are some serious voting issues from this mid-term election. Major problems plagued several States with notables including Colorado, New Jersey, of course, Florida.

With the passage of one of the more restrictive smoking bans in the nation, bar, club and tavern owners worry about the impact of the ban. The heart of the new law bans smoking anywhere food is served. The big fear from local bar owner's is their smoking patron's will head for major casino's where smoking will be allowed on the gaming floor and food is a few short steps away from the slots.

Now all of Nevada's tavern owners face a serious ultimatum: Get rid of the food or get rid of the smoking. Getting rid of smoking is considered suicide so expect to find a lot less to eat at the local watering hole. Prepackaged food (chips, pretzels, etc.) will be permitted, but that is all.

This isn't a smoking ban so much as a food ban and one I expect to be legally challenged from every possible angle.

It's official, the Democrats have control of the Senate as well as the House, it seems they still go hand in hand. And now with Nevada's own Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi running the legislative, Bush is going to play ball and Rumsfeld is out.

The Rumsfeld resignation is not a purely political move; it's simply the right move with many political benefits.

Robert Gates will in fact review America's defense policy (Iraq) thoroughly; however, I don't believe this necessarily means Bush has conceded defeat. I believe Bush will pressure Gates to 'find a way to win it' and only when and if Gates states unequivocally that it is an un-winnable situation will President Bush pursue disengagement in Iraq.

As to the timing of Rumsfeld's resignation, it's a clear matter of the "Bush Will to Power" and his loyalty to close friends. I'm convinced that Pres. Bush knew the Republican's would hold power in both the House and Senate in the way only a person of faith can know. When this didn't happen Bush knew change was necessary, a sign from God, or as I prefer to think of it a sign from rational human beings.

An era of bipartisanship in Washington would be a refreshing surprise, I hope for the best as nothing would benefit the United States like a united and functional government. I'm seeing a serious effort for bipartisanship from Bush and Pelosi and I'm cautiously optimistic.

And to future Secretary of Defense Gates I say, "Godspeed," you face the 'challenge of this generation', cleaning up one of junior's messes.

While Nancy Pelosi(D) is now the first Woman Speaker in the history of the United States, Nevada Assembly Democrats followed suit electing Barbara Buckley as the State's first woman speaker.

Speaker Buckley is only one of the political challenges Gov. Gibbons(R) can expect to face according to InBusiness.

It seems the clock has run down. My attempt to research all the candidates and offices has fallen somewhat short this election cycle; however, I plan to start my research for the '08 races on November 8th. While I might not have the deep background and understanding of the elections I'd like to, the various political endorsements provide some insight into the stances and qualifications of the incumbents and hopefuls.

A great listing of these endorsements is on NV Today, and the Sun was the only list I found that provides insight to their reasoning. Another excellent resources I discovered was the League of Women Voters Las Vegas Valley Candidate Guide[PDF], which offers some insight into these minor offices and candidates.

From Wall Street article found on Truthdig:
Some big companies are boosting their share of campaign contributions to Democrats this year, a sign that executives may be starting to hedge their political bets after a decade of supporting congressional Republicans.
The shift includes backers of the Republican Party in the insurance, pharmaceuticals and tobacco industries, such as American International Group Inc., Wyeth, and Reynolds American Inc., according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan tracker of campaign contributions.

But from All Things Considered, November 5, 2006 · The Pew Research Center released its final midterm election poll Sunday, showing strong Republican gains.

Just when corporations believed it was safe to buy influence with the Democrats, the Republicans might just retain Congressional control. Looking at contributors it sure is hard to find a difference between the two parties except for rhetoric, anymore.

Every 70 odd years a sitting President will visit Elko, Nevada. It was President Herbert Hoover that last showed up in Elko in 1932 when he gave a radio Address to the Nation, asking for Republican votes. And a plea to the American people to understand the importance of voting...

I wish to emphasize the greatest function of the American citizen, the one which each of us should perform tomorrow. The ballot is that most sacred individual act which preserves the great system of self-government which we have inherited and which should carry forward at any cost. It is a direct opportunity for every man and woman to express their views in terms of equality with every other citizen as to the policies and kind of a government that they wish carried out in the next 4 years. -Herbert Hoover...Elko, Nevada Radio Address 1932

Pesident Bush's visit on Thursday attracted 3,000 of Elko's 17,000 residents, it's unclear if this count included cat's and cow's. Bush's address included this memorable line...

"If you're 18 just rememeber who got you out of school today and vote for who I tell you to Vote for." -George W. Bush...Elko, Nevada 2006

Gibbons and Trepp

The buddy, Warren Trepp, is the buyer of this alleged influence peddling, buying Gibbon's favors with luxury ocean cruises, $100K in campaign contributions, racks of casino chips and plenty of good old fashion cash money. In addition, a lobbyist with a shady past, Letitia White, started lobbing of behalf of Trepp's company eTreppid.

Gibbons, you had my vote*...

Strike 1-

Strike 2 -

Strike 3 -

That's it, You're out, I'm gone!

I saw this poll on Las Vegas Gleaner that puts Gibbons ahead by only 4 points, and I don't think it takes into account some of this latest latest information; the details of which we should have within the next six days before the polls open. Six days... I wonder what other skeletons are in the campaign contribution closet... I also wonder if the Wall Street Journal has an agenda here.

I suspect Gibbons nemesis is very, very happy right about now.

If this turns out to be what prima fascia evidence suggests, then I will most certainly vote for Titus simply because I can't see her making this kind of a mistake.

I look forward to seeing the spin.

*This cracks me up, they disabled video embedding, so that the only pro Gibbons video is a hyper-link, talk about shooting yourself in the foot!

Read the Prof's thoughts on "Chopper Jerry" on the Las Vegas Business/Politics News Blog.

Doug Gillespie is destined to win the election for Clark Counrty Sheriff, the highest ranking lawman in Las Vegas. Gillespie is a straight shooting FBI trained over-achiever and long time member of the Merto Police establishment; in other words, Gillespie is a highly qualified, but very boring candidate.

His opponent is Jerry Airola, owner of Sliver State Helicopters and its the presence of 'Chopper Jerry' that makes this race so interesting...not because he can win, but rather the multitude of reasons why he can't.

Chopper Jerry's PR and media control efforts spun out of control as he tried to sue Metro Police (and not for the first time) he has failed on both. He's tried to scare tactics and helicopter towed message boards... and failed yet again. Chopper Jerry has lied to the local media about his past and has been caught.

Perhaps the most interesting site I've run across is Swift Choppers for Truth, a site with a compilation of many of the links I have included here, plus quite alot of other information. The only claim I was unable to substantiate was his involvement with Scientology. Yes, Chopper Jerry was involved with a company that is a documented wing of Scientology; however, George Knapp, one of the hero's of investigative journalism, failed to mention this in his recently published detailed piece on Airola. I suspect this is due to no current info, only a decades old link, with nothing else located connecting Chopper Jerry to that particular group... or maybe they didn't want him either.

Check out the latest article on the Nevada's Governor race from the Prof point of view over at the Las Vegas News Blog.

With only 7 days left until I cast my ballot I still have many offices to research and decide on who I'll vote for, today I turn my attention to the Secretary of State. To summerize, I support Ross Miller for Secretary of State.

Our current Secretary of State, Dean Heller, is running for the Nevada 2nd District Congressional seat and that means either Danny Tarkanian (son of the UNLV coaching legend 'Tark the Shark' Jerry Tarkanian, and city council member Lois Tarkanian) and Ross Miller son of former Nevada Governor Bob Miller are the serious contenders for the position that controls much of the record keeping for the State. Miller want to increase information access and decrease corporate fraud... that's enough for me... but let's explore a bit to make sure.

Of course both Miller and Tarkanian have several clips on YouTUBE. I found this John Walsh endorsement for Miller creditable...

And this clip speaks to the only issue Tarkanian has really focused on, photo ID for voting

Ross Miller spoorts building an online searchable database for documents, wants to increase access for Nevada Residents to both the voting booths and public data.[source video] So far, I'm having trouble finding one disagreeable facet of Miller, his vision for the position is a technology driven approach to solving public data access and voting access nad an investigative approach to solving corporate fraud. Miller wants to reform some of the Nevada corporate goverence laws and get tougher on corporate criminals, seems reasonable and timely.

As for Danny, I'm sure he'd be adequate, but he comes across as seriously 'out of touch' and one issue focused to me. I truly believe access and quality of record-keeping will suffer under someone who, as a top priority wants to institute a photo-id check, a procedure that does in fact add an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy to a process where citizens don't vote! A 60% voter turn-out is expected this election.

See story: 3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Uphill fight

Apparently said to Tessa Hafen as she passed out campaign literature by a woman who thought Tessa was passing out religious tracts, "I'm a Satan worshiper."

Actually, this might be the correct response to all political candidates during this last week before the elections.

From Las Vegas Now:

Nevada's Gubernatorial Race Could Be a Dead Heat

The race for governor of Nevada is getting closer. New polls show Republican Congressman Jim Gibbons with a six-point lead over Democrat Dina Titus.

Congressman Gibbons has two issues he's deflecting. He denies assaulting a woman in a Las Vegas parking garage and his people say eleven years ago his wife hiring an undocumented worker was looked into and dealt with.

Dina Titus jumped on the issues with campaign ads. She says voters are shifting in her direction.

But now Metro police claim they have surveilance tapes from the garage where Mazzeo claims the assault took place. If the tapes exonerate Gibbons, it will prove that Titus wasn't smart enough to take a high road position. It would have been so easy to simply admit the allegations appear serious but that she had faith that the facts would come out in subsequent investigation. They might not but if the allegations blew up, she would not be covered with egg. The only winner in this mess is attorney Richard Wright, who has made sure that a day does not go by without his free advertising, I mean an on air interview with the media.

First I noticed the John Ensign Question and Answer over at InBusiness... all softball questions with polished answers... what's missing the stance on Iraq, in fact the biggest issue of this election is mentioned only in passing... When asked:

The federal budget deficit has increased dramatically during the past six years although it dropped from its expected level this year. What are your thoughts on the budget deficit, and who is to blame for the ballooning national debt?

When President Bush took office, he inherited an economy in recession and 9/11 hit shortly after that, which sent us into a deeper recession. We also had to start spending money on Homeland Security and we had to spend money on the war in Afghanistan and, eventually, the war in Iraq.

Next a great find at CrazyMonk is the You TUBE that's part of a documentary centered around the Prop. 7 issue. What's interesting is the Sandy Heverly bit at the end. She's a tough one... unless were taking about drunks at Strip Clubs that is, then she rolls over. Fun to listen to this holier-then-thou talk about question seven, then deny; by trying to refocus the question on the drinking and driving that she ever said a word about it. Smacks of intellectual dishonesty in my opinion.

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dina Titus, speaking for the first time about her opponent's alleged assault on a Las Vegas cocktail waitress, said Tuesday that the incident shows that Republican Jim Gibbons exhibits bad judgment.

The Democrats' U.S. Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid, said the incident adds to reasons why Titus should win the election.

Just when Gibbons had pretty much written his own page in the book of stupid actions, these two Nevada democrats couldn't resist temptation and remain quiet and leave Gibbons to write his epitath and instead show they don't know when to keep quiet (especially Reid with his own rewriting of the meaning of windfall land sale) and prove that they too can still write a page themselves. I think we have seen enough on TV and read enough to know how we feel about the situation and the democrats could have shown a bit more class by leaving Gibbons to suffer by his own hand.

New charges filed against Las Vegas developer in bribery case

New federal charges have been lodged against a developer already awaiting trial on corruption charges involving a former Clark County commissioner.

72-year-old Donald Davidson is accused of discussing bribing an unnamed Las Vegas city council member to obtain a zone change for a Davidson project in 2002.

....

Davidson and his son, Lawrence Davidson, have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from allegations they funneled $200,000 to former county Commissioner Erin Kenny in 2002.

City council members, county commissioners, state officials...does anyone just say no?

I've added 43 sites to the list so far and set up the Search Engine to allow other to add new sites as they are discovered... welcome to the Google Powered Nevada News and Politics Search:

Because of Exit Polling Laws (which are being found unconstitutional across the Nation) it's difficult to pin down numbers for the elections in Nevada.

According to a report it looks like John Ensign(R) will hold onto his seat and beat out Jack Carter(D) unless there is a significant development in the next week and a half. John Ensign is reportedly leading Carter by 9 points in the polls. I still intend to support Carter as part of my 'throw them all out' voting policy this election.

The reportedly close race between Titus(D) and Gibbons(R) for Governor is now shifting in favor of Titus as conservative voters frown greatly on sexual impropriety. Jim Gibbons exploits with a waitress has received national attention:

Nevada Congressman Jim Gibbons, a Republican with a narrow lead for an open seat, denied accusations last week of assaulting a cocktail waitress and propositioning her for sex after an evening of drinking. The woman called police, gave a statement but did not press charges - though she also did not recant her accusations.

I believe the Republicans will continue to hold the Senate and are likely to retain control of the House as well, simply because they are willing to do everything possible to win, this report states my reasoning for this.

Ten Questions (Question #3 was removed) face Nevada and Las Vegas voters on November 7. Six of these Questions will, if passed, amend our State Constitution, the most powerful, sacred document created by a State. I urge voters to be extremely cautious and practice due restraint concerning any addition of text to this most important document of the people. In general, the longer and wordier the amendment, the more cautious you should be when deciding your vote on that Question. If your looking for an in-depth look at Nevada Smoking Legislation and 2006 ballot Question 4 and Question 5 including the actual language and impact click the above text.

First, my vote recommendations...

Question 1: YES
Question 2: NO
Question 3: REMOVED
Question 4: NO
Question 5: NO
Question 6: YES
Question 7: YES
Question 8: NO
Question 9: NO
Question 10: NO
Question 11: NO

Feel free to mark your samle ballot with the above recommendations and take it to the polls when you vote. Continue reading my analysis of the ten questions.

The transcript from ABC's This Week that aired on Sunday October 22nd:

BUSH: Well, hey, listen, we've never been "stay the course," George. We have-we will complete the mission, we will do our job, and help achieve the goal, but we're constantly adjusting to tactics. Constantly.

And the video of this event.

To fully appricate this I suggest a plentiful helping of quality tributes to 'Stay the Course'. The seems Double-Minus Bad to me.

The other night Lou Dobbs asked for "no more stay the course" and Bush has responded "We've never been stay the course". I can't wait to see the media play with this one.

Truly a great Bushism.

Backers of Nevada pot measure sue to block official opposition
In Las Vegas Sun; by Ken Ritter, Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Sponsors of a Nevada ballot initiative to legalize marijuana asked a state court Thursday to order elected officials and a police lieutenant to stop speaking out against the measure.
"Nobody's tax dollars should be used to tell people how to vote," said Neal Levine, manager of the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, which backs Question 7 on the Nov. 7 ballot. The measure would make Nevada the first state to tax and regulate the legal sale of up to an ounce of marijuana to those 21 and older.

Sounds like the same political stunt Jerry Airola is pursuing against outgoing Sheriff Bill Young, who has presided over the fastest rise in crime statistics in Clark County of which I am aware. I just can't get excited over the argument that since some powerful drugs are legal, others should be legal also. But filing the law suit gets media play; my question is where is all the money coming from for slick television ads, mailers, door to door contacts, and now a law suit?
Plus, much of their campaign is either wrong or misleading at best.
One can always find a few "experts" to support your position, but these people are as slick as a republican ad. (read big money) Their claims:
No one has ever died from smoking marijuana.
However, One study found that marijuana smokers were three times more likely to develop cancer of the head or neck than non-smokers. Many researchers believe than smoking marijuana is overall more harmful to the lungs than smoking tobacco. http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pot/a/effects.htm
The initiative will make our communities safer.
They argue that legalizing marijuana for those over 21 will take money out of violent gangs and drug dealers. Why? Will 12 year olds suddenly have no desire to try pot? Will the market supplied by criminals just stop? About 6,000 people a day in 2004 used marijuana for the first time, 2.1 million Americans. Of these, 63.8 percent were under age 18. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
Other statistics include:
THC impairs the body's immune system from fighting disease.
THC increases the risk of developing bacterial infections and tumors.
Marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke.
Prenatal marijuana exposure can cause:
- Altered responses to visual stimuli
- Increased tremulousness
- Problems with sustained attention and memory
- Poor problem-solving skills
And as a final point:
Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their nonsmoking peers.

In a state which ranks at the bottom for high school graduation, any legislation which suggests marijuana use is OK as long as you are 21 would seem to be the result of smoking the weed itself, ie. distorted perceptions.

The Las Vegas News:

The woman who accused gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons of assault won't press charges, but the event has cast a dark shadow over the candidate's reputation.

Gbbons admitted to police that he and political consultant Sig Rogich had been drinking with Chrissy Mazzeo, her friend, and several others after dinner that night. Gibbons says he was helping Mazzeo find her truck in the parking lot when she tripped.

But apparently she has hired attorney Richard Wright. Stupid question of the day. Why would you take a drunk woman to her truck, anyway? Too much to drink, yourself?

I stumbled upon this article in the NY Time Op-Ed section called The G.O.P.'s Bad Bet written by Charles Murray.

It's interesting that someone aside from online poker players are paying attention to Bill Frist attaching the IUEGA to the Port Security Bill when he knew no one during an election year would dare vote against anti-terror legislation. Murray suggests that the backlash could hurt Republicans come election day in November.

Here's an exceprt:

Last week President Bush signed a law that will try to impede online gambling by prohibiting American banks from transferring money to gambling sites. Most Americans probably didn't notice or care, but it may do significant political damage to the Republicans this fall and long-term damage to Americans' respect for the law.

So, a month before a major election, the Republicans have allied themselves with a scattering of voters who are upset by online gambling and have outraged the millions who love it. Furthermore, judging from many hours of online chat with Internet poker players, I am willing to bet (if you'll pardon the expression) that the outraged millions are disproportionately electricians, insurance agents, police officers, mid-level managers, truck drivers, small-business owners - that is, disproportionately Republicans and Reagan Democrats.

In the short term, this law all by itself could add a few more Democratic Congressional seats in the fall elections. We are talking about a lot of people (an estimated 23 million Americans gamble online) who are angry enough to vote on the basis of this one issue, and they blame Republicans... More

In the wake of his million dollar scandal...Let's look at Harry's sterling record of accomplishments.

Harry Reid's January 17, 2006 press release:
"The idea of Republicans reforming themselves is like asking John Gotti to clean up organized crime. I thought I’d seen the last of corruption when I helped clean up Las Vegas thirty years ago. But, while its not quite the mafia of Las Vegas in the 1970s, what is happening today in Washington is every bit as corrupt and the consequences for our country have been just as severe."

Reid's Coyote Springs Valley Scandal: Over the last four years, Reid has used his influence in Washington to help the developer, Nevada super-lobbyist Whittemore, clear obstacles from Coyote Springs' path.

Boxing: The Nevada senator still believes it was "entirely permissible" for him to accept ringside seats for three professional boxing matches in 2004 and 2005 from the Nevada Athletic Commission but has nonetheless decided to avoid doing so in the future.

Protégé: Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he does not regret his relationship with Dario Herrera, a former Clark County commissioner sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud, and extortion.

Abramhoff: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid wrote at least four letters helpful to Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff, and the senator's staff regularly had contact with the disgraced lobbyist's partners about legislation affecting other clients. They occurred over three years as Reid collected about $68,000 in donations from Abramoff's firm, lobbying partners, and clients.

Real Estate: Reid successfully pushed legislation in 2002 that opened tens of thousands of acres of federal land for private development by none other than his sons' employers. The legislation ... never mentioned the companies that stood to benefit or his sons' connections to them.

Plus, when Reid was Nevada Gaming Commissioner, he was believed by many law enforcement agents to be "Mr. Clean" spoken of by Tropicana mobster, Joseph Agosto, caught bragging of his influence with on an FBI wiretap. (See The Money and the Power, by Sally Denton and Roger Morris, pg. 336.)

Friends with Jay Brown, who orchestrated his latest deal "earning" more than a million dollars for Harry and whose name has surfaced in organized crime investigations. (FMNN)

It seems having Harry Reid take on corruption is almost EXACTLY like asking John Gotti to clean up organized crime. When Harry claims to have cleaned up Las Vegas 30 years ago, was that when he left Las Vegas, moving on to state and then finally national politics? I wonder what Harry thinks of Leon D. Black's role in the buyout offer of Harrah's. Jealousy?

'3 Square' Aims to Eliminate Hunger in Las Vegas. From News 8:

Some major Las Vegas gaming corporations and business leaders have gotten together and are taking a new approach in helping the homeless and hungry in the area.

The major gaming corporations are MGM Mirage, Station Casinos, Harrah's Entertainment and Boyd Gaming.

I have a plan which will eliminate homelessness in Las Vegas and reduce corruption at the same time. All we do is bus all the local politicians and committee members to California and Arizona, and then we put the homeless into all the vacant offices and let them run the show, or at least sleep in peace. I bet there will be an immediate improvement all around.

From the Las Vegas Review Journal:
Lack of integrity laid bare

Stink still wafts from city's deals with Bill Walters

On Friday, Attorney General George Chanos released a detailed report that confirms what an increasingly cynical public already knows: Las Vegas officials consummated not one, but two potentially illegal deals to enrich a politically connected businessman at taxpayer expense, and tried to do a third.

Mr. Walters secured a favorable long-term lease on about 160 acres of city property to construct and operate the Royal Links Golf Club next to a sewage treatment plant. Just before the course opened, Mr. Walters purchased the land outright for $894,000 and was given wastewater credits that allowed him to irrigate his course for about 15 percent of the watering costs accrued by his competitors. (Later, Walters asked for an received a lifting of a deed restriction so he could turn his golf course into a residential development worth several million dollars more in value.)

According to the investigative report prepared by the Senn Meulemans law firm, Mr. Goecke (former Public Works Director Richard Goecke) "seemed to place the interests of real estate developer Bill Walters above the interests of the City of Las Vegas and its constituents, in breach of the public purpose doctrine."

Moreover, if the City Council re-authorizes the removal of Mr. Walters' deed restriction -- Mayor Oscar Goodman has said he supports such an action -- that too would violate the public purpose doctrine, the report says.

Plenty of players in last year's drama are still on the city payroll. What, exactly, were City Attorney Brad Jerbic and City Manager Doug Selby doing to protect taxpayers? Not much, according to the report.

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061012/NEWS/610120337/1002/NEWS">WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS:

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is denying a report that he collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale.
The Nevada Democrat's deal was engineered by Jay Brown, a longtime friend and former casino lawyer whose name surfaced in a major political bribery trial this summer and in other prior organized crime investigations, according to the Associated Press. Brown has never been charged with wrongdoing except for a 1981 federal securities complaint that was settled out of court.
The deal began in 1998 when Reid bought undeveloped residential property on Las Vegas' booming outskirts for about $400,000. Reid bought one lot outright, and a second parcel jointly with Brown. One of the sellers was a developer who was benefiting from a government land swap that Reid supported. The seller never talked to Reid.
In 2001, Reid sold the land for the same price to a limited liability corporation created by Brown. The senator didn't disclose the sale on his annual public ethics report or tell Congress he had any stake in Brown's company. He continued to report to Congress that he personally owned the land.
After getting local officials to rezone the property for a shopping center, Brown's company sold the land in 2004 to other developers, and Reid took $1.1 million of the proceeds, nearly tripling the senator's investment. Reid reported it to Congress as a personal land sale.
The complex dealings allowed Reid to transfer ownership, legal liability and some tax consequences to Brown's company without public knowledge, but still collect a seven-figure payoff nearly three years later.
Have local officials ever met a politician, developer, or shady character for whom they wouldn't rezone a tract of land. And all this while Harry's son Rory claims that he alone has fought the special interest groups against uncontrolled growth in the valley.

photo by FlipChip LasVegasVegas.com

What is more American than Poker, Playboy and the Palms?

Our Conservative United States Congress, in a desperate effort to do something Right, did something wrong...again! They've declared Internet Gambling to be evil and illegal.

Congress' conduct is Un-American!

New 3, Las Vegas:

The second Governor's debate [began] with one of the candidates for the state's top job getting kicked out of the building. Independent candidate Christopher Hansen ran onto the stage at Bally's, demanding that he participate.
Hansen was not invited to field questions in Monday night's debate between Democrat Dina Titus and Republican Jim Gibbons. After he was escorted out of the room by security, things turned serious, with the candidates focusing on education, the water supply and Nevada's economy.
Both agreed that education was a priority for our state's future, but they did not see eye-to-eye on taxes. Titus says she'd raise them only if necessary while Gibbons promised no tax hikes.
All of the questions used in Monday's debate were scripted and given to the candidates to review ahead of time.

Nobody ever invites me to the party either, Chris. If someone does want to fix education, it will take money. Upside for teachers may mean raise in pay; downside is a raise in pay will reward so many poor teachers for failing. (In fact, school policy in Clark County is to give teachers "hazardous duty pay" when teaching in a failing school as an incentive to teach there and improve it; seems more like incentive to fail. Collect extra pay for a couple years and then transfer out.) So candidates, where will the money come from to fix education?

From In Business Las Vegas:

The most interesting question in Clark County politics these days is a simple one: Can she survive?

She is Lynette Boggs McDonald. Surviving is a two-part ordeal for the commissioner who may not have made it clear where she lives but clearly does not want to die — politically, that is.

First, she must survive a court challenge to her residency filed by the Culinary Union and Police Protective Association....

Remember, Lynette voted against the union supported pay raise for the police. I wonder what the money looks like that is now coming from the unions determined to remove her and how much. Can anyone say Lots?

I see two ways we can look at this race since no one stands out over the other candidate. We can have a feisty Ann Richards type in the governor's mansion or a staid, boring politician. Either way, it is still politics. But if we want the real battle, let's call it as it is...North v. South. Titus is from Clark County, the really crowded neon Nevada and Gibbons is from the Sparks area, the boring left over Nevada. There is a legitimate argument that the budget panel is three old fogeys from up north who have not come to Clark County and have no idea the population and growth pressures it faces. Southern Nevada is ripe for flexing some muscle to get a bigger piece of the moldy pie.

Wall at "Friendship Park"
Friendship Park residents from both sides once walked freely across the border. Today, people on the south side talk to friends and family on the US north side through holes in the metal fence.

America's Great Wall

Robert Frost wrote, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall." Maybe so, but not Republicans. Some of them consider a wall the solution to illegal immigration.

The leader of the "Wall Nuts" is U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA). Last November he proposed a 15-ft wall be constructed along the entire 2000 mile border with Mexico.

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

The infamous Sportsbet.com billboard on the Las Vegas Strip without Real Cash.

Throw On-Line Sports Betting to the Lions

SportsBet.com, to tout its website, tantalized the public by putting $100,000 in $1 bills on a Las Vegas Strip billboard last week. They then posted odds and took wagers on the proposition that the money would be stolen. It was a bad bet.

The company showed how cheap it is. In Las Vegas, $100,000 is chump change. Benny Binion put a $1 million dollars on display in the Horseshoe when gasoline was 50-cents a gallon and a new Ford cost $600.

Four months remaining on a $90,000 annual salary, and Clark County Recorder Frances Deane was asked to step down from office today after search warrants at her office and home led Metro to confiscate her computer and boxes of documents, with the charge: "misappropriation of public property."

Deane faces 19 felonies of misconduct under allegations of selling copies of county documents to businesses for thousands of dollars, as well as not reporting campaign contributions. She is suspected of profiting more than $250,000.

Deane recorded over 5,000 documents per day from marriage certificates to property records, all public information on file at the Clark County Recorder's office. She's accused of selling information within those hundreds of millions of pages of records, which are normally available free to the public.

Two years ago, Deane had done the same thing, when she started a private company for individuals to view public documents from her office for a cost. She was then charged and paid a $5,000 fine. She kept her job.

Deane stated last week, "I did not do this crime" and maintained her innocence.

Today, District Judge Douglas Herndon felt evidence was sufficient enough to order her removed from office as of Friday, Sept. 8.

photos by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

Fireworks have always been sexually symbolic.

Sex Education...Las Vegas Style

Naked nymphs, erotic exhibitionists, strippers, and lap dancers exposed their talents to an appreciative Las Vegas audience last week to raise $2500 for the financially strapped Clark County School District. The money will be donated to provide computers and supplies for teachers.

photos by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

Las Vegas Skyline

RENO vs. VEGAS

Reno and Las Vegas may be in the same state, but there the similarity ends. The two towns relate like Cain and Able, Lee and Grant, Gibbons and Titus.

Reno was built by cowboys, ranchers, railroaders, and miners; hard working folks. Las Vegas was the creation of gangsters; a guy with a short stogie, no neck and a chip on his shoulder.

As an example showing our government is hard at work, a Las Vegas City Council ordinance was recently passed prohibiting going to the bathroom in public.

As part of that ordinance, it is also illegal to sleep within 500 feet near urine or feces.

Five hundred feet is an awful long distance when it comes to urine and feces, though.

Apparently the distance was a mistake and will be corrected when the council meets again Sept. 6.

In the meantime, watch for those number 1s and 2s, 'kay?

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

Not one to monkey around,Mikey might consider a run for public office in Nevada.

2006 Nevada Primary:
A Mixed Bag of Nuts

"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."-Mark Twain

The 2006 Nevada primary exemplifies Mark Twain's observation. The primary process to select the candidates from each party who will face-off in the Fall Election has been a carnival featuring unique characters, outrageous performances and irrelevant issues unique to Nevada. It included super stars, wanna' be stars, and some who's only hope is to wish upon a star!

A friend just called and asked me to do some work on the Jerry Airola for sheriff website. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I'm up to my ass in alligators and can't do it. The one thing she did say that most of us working stiffs deem to be of some importance is he can afford it, and more importantly, he is willing to pay.

Personally, I didn't see anything particularly wrong with the site; however, I didn't see anything particularly outstanding about it either. It's just another, "I'm running for office and I know how to cure all the ills in the world site." I like politicians, they're modest.

A Modest Proposal by The City of Las Vegas

Las Vegas has once again distinguished itself in the eyes of the world. Or, was it a global cringe?

The city dedicated to glamour, greed and gluttony has declared war on hungry homeless people. A modest proposal that would do Jonathan Swift justice has become law! It's now a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine AND 6-months in jail to feed a hungry homeless person in Las Vegas. Arrests have already been made!

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

I was wandering through the election links for Nevada over on the Democratic Underground site http://www.democraticunderground.com/ and I got curious about just who was running for Governor.
Our candidates really need to try harder, I mean, they simply can't compete with that guy Jacobs, up in Utah who says, Satan is causing him not to have enough money to advertise at will, evidently the Devil has taken a personal interest in his business affairs.
Anyway, I made up a list of sites and a brief comment. My comments are strictly my own and in no way reflect the opinions or views of anyone else, living, dead, real or imagined, much less sane or sober.