Kiss That Straw Man Goodbye

We expected them to scream over it. But really, did they have to lie? And did they have to advocate a "plan" they themselves know will go nowhere?

So what are we talking about? Remember those gawd awful "Kiss Your Assets Goodbye" TV ads that the rabidly anti-tax-reform Nevada Development Authority ran in California nearly five years ago to entice businesses there to move here? Well, it's back... And it has a new name: The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA).

And not only does LVGEA have a new name, but it also has a new mission: killing The Education Initiative (TEI). Perhaps it's not really all that new, since LVGEA/NDA has always fought any attempt to bring Nevada's tax code into the 21st century. But now, it's focused on killing this new effort to break the cycle of FAIL that's crippled Nevada schools and the state’s overall economy. But why? Simple answer: shortsighted greed.

But this week, that shortsighted greed may be coming back to bite LVGEA. Why? Remember when we discussed the shortchanging of Southern Nevada two years ago? LVGEA went there this week. So far, so good. But then, it proceeded to shoot itself in the foot. But how so?

Remember when we went into detail last year about how to fix state funding formulae without shortchanging anyone? LVGEA clearly doesn't get that, since Jon Ralston & other local media caught LVGEA boss Tom Skancke claiming Esmeralda County can magically fix Clark County schools. But how so?

He claimed the state should just slash funding for Esmeralda County schools and the rest of Northern Nevada public education, then divert all that money to the Clark County School District. Of course, there's one problem with this new funding fix: It's anything but realistic. There's no way anyone up north will agree to massive budget cuts in order to better fund the south. But even if Southern Nevada lawmakers were to miraculously agree on a "Rob from the North to Fund the South" budget, it would still only add a few extra pennies into the still mostly empty bucket for Southern Nevada's schools.

So why go there? Why is LVGEA proposing such a nonsensical and unrealistic "alternative" to TEI? Does LVGEA now care about public education in Southern Nevada? Is its rage against the state’s flawed funding formulae blinding it to the full picture of Nevada's flawed tax structure? Or is it just trying to distract Southern Nevada voters with a rather flimsy straw man?

Frankly, we strongly suspect the latter. We also suspect this straw man is faring as well as that ridiculous "Kiss Your Assets Goodbye" campaign did five years ago. And if NDA/LVGEA/Whatever-the-hell-it-will-call-itself-next wants us to believe it has a realistic alternative to TEI, then it actually needs to produce one (and then get its cronies in Carson City to actually pass it).

Pat Hickey Just Spilled Carson City's Dirty Little Secret

How many times before have we looked at the depth to which this state's government has been controlled by what we've dubbed "the gaming-mining-lobbying industrial complex"? Well, now I don't feel so isolated and crazy any more. Someone right in the thick of it pretty much confirmed everything we've observed here. Believe it or not, none other than Assembly G-O-TEA Leader Pat Hickey (R-See Above) let it slip last night on Jon Ralston's show just after Governor Brian Sandoval's State of the State speech.



(H/T to ProgressNow Nevada for catching this.)

What's truly depressing about this is that it's not even shocking any more. No really, who's surprised by this? Only those who've been sticking their heads in the sand may be.

Still, we can't tolerate this any longer. This is perhaps the chief reason why Nevada Government is so dysfunctional. When government is so disconnected from the needs of its own people, it just can't function. And at this point, corporate lobbyists have so much power that it's become far too easy for Carson City to ignore the needs of the 99%.

This is simply unsustainable. And again, something must change. This constant culture of corruption has prevented Nevada from implementing the kind of tax reform necessary to properly fund our public infrastructure, invest in our people, and build a sound economic future. Nevada's ONLY hope for a brighter future lies in breaking free of this culture of corruption and reexamining the rather shaky economic foundation of this state. But alas, that requires turning away from the powers that be in the gaming-mining-lobbying industrial complex.

When can that happen? Who's ready to change?

Tough to Swallow

All of a sudden, there's been plenty of buzz about a rather curious story coming out of Utah. But wait, it's in Utah. Why are we discussing it here on Nevada Progressive?

First off, it's a sordid tale of epic political corruption that should teach us all some important lessons. And secondly, the people involved in this Utah scandal are throwing around Harry Reid's name. So, of course, the usual suspects in this state are drawing conclusions that have no basis in the facts known so far.

So what happened? The Salt Lake Tribune has been on top of this story. And reporters there are still trying to sort out this sordid hot mess.

As Utah Democrats called for a federal investigation, Utah Attorney General John Swallow late Saturday issued a strong denial of allegations that he helped broker a deal to help embattled businessman Jeremy Johnson’s legal problems go away — an arrangement Johnson considered a bribe.

Swallow said in a statement that Johnson has done "everything he can to damage me as a desperate way to get out of his own legal problems."

"My intentions were good but I misjudged Mr. Johnson’s character and regret meeting with him," Swallow said.

The statement includes a point-by-point denial of Johnson’s claims that Swallow put him in touch with Richard Rawle, the late founder of the Check City payday loan businesses, to arrange a bribe. Johnson said he agreed to pay $600,000 to Rawle, who would use his connections with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to make Johnson’s problems with the Federal Trade Commission disappear.

"Jeremy Johnson is desperate to do and say anything possible to attempt to secure a better deal with federal prosecutors. He has made false and defaming statements about me," Swallow said. "It is hard to accept anyone would give any credibility to Mr. Johnson’s outrageous assertions."

Earlier Saturday, Utah Democrats called on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor with subpoena power to conduct a thorough, independent investigation of Johnson’s allegations.

"The people of Utah need to have confidence that the whole story is going to be told," said Jim Dabakis, Utah Democratic Party chairman. "It’s only fair for John Swallow and for everyone else involved that an [investigator who is] independent, nonpartisan and not part of the Utah system come in and ask the hard questions and have an absolute, follow-the-facts-wherever-they-go, kind of investigation."

Here's what we know so far. St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson wanted the legal equivalent of a magic wand to wave away a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into his internet marketing company, I Works. So he contacted then Deputy Utah Attorney General John Swallow (R), who then connected him with the late Check City (payday loan provider) owner Richard Rawle.

Now here's where we descend into "he said, he said" territory. Johnson alleges that Swallow & Rawle struck a deal with him where he'd give them $600,000... For them to then bribe Senator Reid into making the FTC investigation of I Works go away.

However, Swallow vehemently denies this allegation. Swallow's version of the story goes as this: He just thought (at the time that) Johnson was facing an unfair probe by the FTC. So he referred Johnson to his former employer Rawle. And he's even presented an affidavit from Rawle (prepared just before his death) stating Johnson paid Rawle $250,000 to hire federal lobbyists to make Johnson's case in DC.

At the very least, some sleazy wheeling-dealing was going on here. And now that John Swallow is Utah's Attorney General, he's facing the political scandal of his life. However, there's been nothing produced so far that confirms that
Reid accepted any kind of bribe from Johnson, Swallow, and/or Rawle.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was never involved in an alleged effort to help derail a federal investigation into Utahn Jeremy Johnson’s businesses, his office said Sunday, dismissing Johnson’s claims that he paid money he believed was meant to bribe the Nevada Democrat.

"Senator Reid has no knowledge or involvement regarding Mr. Johnson’s case," his spokeswoman, Kristen Orthman, said in a statement. "These unsubstantiated allegations implying Senator Reid’s involvement are nothing more than innuendo and simply not true."

Perhaps Richard Rawle was Utah's version of Harvey Whittemore, a prominent Utah power broker who held all the keys to government favor. And perhaps Utah Attorney General John Swallow (R) has been way too close to him and other corporate power brokers to really do his job, which is to serve the people of Utah. And perhaps there may be some truth to Jeremy Johnson's story, though again there's been no actual evidence tying Harry Reid to any of this. (He may have very well been fooled into believing that however much money he paid Rawle would cause Harry Reid to make the FTC drop the investigation.)

All we know for sure right now is that too much corporate money has been allowed to influence the actions of our public servants. We've seen this happen time & again here in Nevada. And now, the people of Utah will have to learn the hard way the consequences of this.

Of course, certain media pundits want to continue drumming up speculation of possible Reid involvement in this scandal. And certain "TEA" flavored instigators want to burn Harry Reid at the stake for something he may have even known absolutely nothing about. And of course, far too many looking at this scandal seem to be missing the point of this story. Hopefully, you're not.

Senator, Interrupted... Or Just Plain Torn?

In case you were wondering if I totally missed this story, rest assured that I didn't. It's just taken me a while to have the time to finally get to it. But thankfully, Desert Beacon has already been on it.

A treaty needs a 2/3rds majority to be ratified by the Senate and Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) donned his tin foil chapeau to join fellow conspiracy theorists in the failure of the UN Treaty on the Rights of the Disabled. What could possibly have gone wrong with a Treaty based on U.S. statutes, negotiated by the Bush Administration, and supported by 300 disability advocacy organizations, 21 veterans organizations including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the Wounded Warriors Project? What might be controversial about a convention signed by 155 nations and ratified by 126? Paranoia? [...]

Merciful Heavens, we (according to the Chamber of Commerce) must do nothing to facilitate access to business and commerce, or to enhance the prospects of persons with disabilities — if it might in any way encroach on the corporate bottom line!

So, with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) a disabled veteran of the Viet Nam War, and with former Senator and GOP standard bearer Robert Dole (KS) a disabled veteran from World War II looking on… Senator Dean Heller joined the Tin Foil Hat Crowd, while genuflecting to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and voted against ratification of the convention. Shame.

So for all the talk of a "kinder, gentler, moderate" Dean Heller, it didn't take him long to revert to his "tea party" ways.

What made that whole embarrassing display even more eye-popping is that it happened right in the thick of "Fiscal Cliff" negotiations. And Congressional Republicans seem to be toying with even more extremism. For goodness sake, US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) even filibustered his own bill to raise the debt ceiling!

Here's what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Badass) had to say about this.

“The Senate should pass Senator McConnell’s proposal to give the President the authority to avoid the knock-down, drag-out fight we had over the debt ceiling last year – a fight that caused the first-ever downgrade of this country’s credit, and cost our economy billions. Senator McConnell’s filibuster prevented us from having this vote today, but I will continue to seek an agreement to hold an up-or-down vote on his proposal to avoid another debt ceiling debacle.

“After leading three hundred and eighty five filibusters in recent years, Senator McConnell took obstruction to new heights by filibustering his own bill. Republicans’ obstruction and intransigence turned the last debt ceiling fight into a disaster for the middle-class. We should give American families the security of knowing we will never go through such a harmful ordeal again.”

Ouch.

But you know what? He has a point. Our country was perilously close to catastrophe last year. And why? Well, the teabaggers wanted to essentially force feed America extreme austerity and wreck the economy (even more).

So now, we may be back to this? Maybe not. And President Obama may have some new allies in preventing another debt debacle.

I’ve just learned that one of the most influential business groups in Washington, the Business Roundtable, is prepared to support a provision designed to dramatically minimize the possibility of another standoff now and in the future —one also supported by the White House. This is a step forward for White House efforts to prevent a 2011-style battle, which led to a credit downgrade for the United States, and widespread fears that the country would go into default.

Obama —who is refusing to negotiate over the debt ceiling again —supports a measure called the “McConnell provision,” a proposal pushed by Mitch McConnell last year to try to defuse the crisis. Under the provision, the president can request a debt limit hike, after which Congress can vote to deny the request by disapproving of it. The president can then veto that request, and unless Congress overrides that veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses, it is honored. The provision transfers most control over the debt ceiling to the President and makes it far harder for the opposing party in Congress to block hikes —meaning the constant threat of default, and the ability to engage in brinksmanship around it, are effectively removed. [...]

This underscores the rising determination among business leaders —many of whom are aligned with the GOP —to avoid a rerun of the 2011 debacle. Obama is aggressively lobbying these business leaders, publicly and privately, to make their opposition to another standoff known. And it appears that they are doing so. As Politico’s Ben White reports today, executives are privately beginning to coalesce around the McConnell provision as a means to that end.

The prospect of another debt ceiling fight puts the House GOP in an interesting spot, pitting its Tea Party wing against more pragmatic GOP-aligned interests in the business community. While the former will be spoiling for another fight, the latter appears far less willing to see the country dragged through another deeply damaging round of debt ceiling brinksmanship —with the full faith and credit of the United States, and the economy, at stake —this time around.

At least some corporate types are not stupid. They know the ramifications of another extended budget brawl, debt debacle, and "Fiscal Cliff" dive. But with other corporate funded "Tea Party, Inc." astroturf outfits demanding ideological purity "or else", Republicans are in a bind.

Perhaps this is best reflected in the recent words and actions of Dean Heller. On one hand, he talks of "coming together" for "bipartisan solutions". But on the other hand, he still votes with teabaggers' craziest wishes in mind.

So what will he ultimately do? And what will his fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill do? Republican leaders know they have to reach a deal soon to save face. But at this point, will any deal be accepted by the "TEA" fueled base?

Are UNLV & UNR Thirsty for Koch?

Tonight, UNLV will be hosting a lecture on human rights by a professor from Boston College. OK, so what's the big deal here? Let me explain. It's scarier than you think.

First off, the lecturer from Boston is a "libertarian" who doesn't seem to like granting liberty to LGBTQ folk. Seriously, how can one be "libertarian" and oppose marriage equality? I know the "tea party" set is making "libertarian" cool again, but last I checked, Rick Santorum is not "libertarian".

OK, so Professor Susan Meld Shell isn't consistent in her "libertarian" beliefs. What's the big deal? Honestly, this is the even bigger deal: This lecture is being bankrolled by the Koch family.

Remember the Kochs? They've only been lifting up radical teabaggers and astroturfing them to positions of prominence and power across the country.



And they're not hesitating to buy themselves even more power by buying even more Presidential, Congressional, and state level candidates this year.



But wait, there's more. The Koch empire isn't stopping at electoral politics. It's now injecting its extreme "tea party" ideology into college campuses throughout the country.

What’s happening to academia in Florida demands national attention. Billionaires Charles and David Koch are infringing on intellectual freedom and independence in colleges and universities. It’s an old fashioned quid pro quo where the Koch brothers get allied professors who’ll preach Ayn Rand, supply side economic policies and the values of the 19th century Guilded Age to students and the college gets some funding.

Every year, thousands of individuals move through the Koch-supported classes, lectures and fields of study, which in their totality amount to an ideological assembly line bought and paid for by the Koch brothers. There are Koch-funded agreements at more than 150 American colleges and universities.

“The Koch brothers have paid tens of millions of dollars to get their point of view instilled in classrooms, amongst faculty members and in students,” said Cary Nelson, President of the American Association of University Professors. “Programs they start tend to be one point of view only.”

The Koch brothers’ business has annual revenue that are about 200 times the size ($100 billion) in one year than the entirety of Florida State University’s endowment ($423 million). At a time when governors like Florida Gov. Rick Scott are slashing spending on education, colleges and universities are virtually forced into restrictive and ideological funding agreements with questionable sources to meet students’ demands. Instead, they’re meeting the Koch brothers needs and the students are paying the intellectual price.

Enter the Charles Koch Charitable Foundation, which has given more than $14.39 million in grants to universities like Florida State, Auburn, Clemson, West Virginia and Utah State. All five campuses are in financial agreements with Koch-supported groups requiring the university to hire candidates who adhere to defined ideological guidelines. In some cases, the Koch-supported groups recommend candidates to the faculty or have sway over the college’s hiring committee.

OK, so now this s**t is starting to look scary... But why should we worry? After all, we're Nevada. Do we even have higher education?

Well, that's actually the point. We DO have higher education... And we need to strengthen it, not sell it to Koch Industries for mere pennies on the dollar. Just last October, alarm bells went off at UNR as it looked like the Kochs were about to set up their own teabagger indoctrination camp "center" in Reno.

Earlier this month, a news release went out from a Center for Public Policy Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. The wording of the release made it appear that the Center already exists: “The Great Recession, fiscal distress, and respective policy responses have rekindled intense debates about the appropriate roles of government and the private sector in fashioning economic outcomes, at both the macro and micro levels. Political rhetoric about the causes and consequences of government intervention has been fierce, yet our academic institutions have been largely mute in these debates due to an absence of a central, recognized forum for policy research and development. To fill this void, a center for Public Policy Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno will be a nexus for rational public policy debate on critical issues facing Nevada, our region and our nation.”

The release also reported that “the Koch Foundation has recognized the commitment we are seeking and has agreed to increase the impact of your support by offering to match the first $1 million (subject to Regents’ approval and satisfactory agreement on final terms).”

This set off alarm bells. There are several Koch Foundations, but this one is the Charles G. Koch Foundation, which has a history.

Charles and David Koch are the sons of Fred Koch, a founder of a gargantuan industrial conglomerate in oil, gas and chemicals. The two sons have provided funding to a wide variety of libertarian and private enterprise political organizations, and David was the Libertarian Party vice presidential candidate in 1980. Among the organizations funded by Koch money are FreedomWorks, the Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation, Patients United Now (which opposes a single-payer health care system) and the anti-environment group Citizens for the Environment. [...]

The Reno news release named faculty for the Center for Public Policy Studies: Economists Brad Schiller, Mark Pringle, John Dobra, Thomas Cargill and Gerald O’Driscoll. The first four are among Nevada’s top economists (O’Driscoll is with the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.). All are conservatives.

The news release referred inquiries to UNR College of Business development director Kristen Kennedy, but she knew little about the proposed Center and referred calls to Dean Gregory Mosier.

Mosier said the Center did not yet exist and its creation depended on several things that have yet to unfold. He said the project is in a very early stage: “We don’t have a single piece of paper other than that [news release] … We don’t have a single thing in writing.”

Fortunately, it turned out that the proposal for a "Center for Public Policy Studies" that only seems interested in "studying" radical right policies of privatized everything was just that: a proposal, and a proposal that doesn't seem to be going anywhere at the moment. Thanks to the early outcry and righteous outrage over allowing the Kochs to stomp on academic freedom at UNR, the project to install the Koch's new Northern Nevada outpost seems stalled at the moment. However, don't discount the Koch family's ability to revive the project and tempt UNR with grant money (with plenty of ideological strings attached) some time soon.

But for now, it looks like the Kochs have turned south and turned their focus to UNLV. First, we see UNLV College Republicans chief and local Koch/"tea party" darling Mark Ciavola running for UNLV Student Body President. And now, we're seeing this Koch funded lecture pop onto the schedule. What's going on?

Now before I hear any accusations of "CENSORSHIP!!!", let me say this. I'm not out to censor anyone, not even some "Tea Party, Inc." backed "libertarian" Boston College professor who's not really a "libertarian" and not into recognizing civil rights for queer folk. Sure, she and other Koch allies can have their platform. However, the Kochs have no right to buy their way into power at UNLV and UNR and force their platform to become the only acceptable platform in Nevada higher education. We at Nevada Progressive will be keeping a close eye on both UNLV and UNR to ensure the Kochs and "Tea Party, Inc." don't attempt to shut out free speech and academic integrity and/or shove their radical right "tea party" agenda down any throats at any of Nevada's colleges.

So if you still plan to attend tonight's lecture, go ahead and do it... Then come here and let us know how it went. And if you're concerned about "Tea Party, Inc." injecting its ideology into Nevada higher education, join our friends at MoveOn for a rally outside the lecture tonight to demand that UNLV maintains its commitment to providing a free exchange of ideas and points of view from across the ideological spectrum. Hopefully starting today, we can protect Nevada's institutions of higher learning from "Tea Party, Inc." corruption.

Finding Elizabeth Halseth: Postscript (& Connecting the Dots)

So today, Chuck Muth has one more batch of Elizabeth Halseth's dirty laundry to expose. And jeez, it's a real doozy. And it gets really personal really fast.

Again, I don't really like talking about others' private lives. But in the case of Halseth, where she often injected private morality into the public sphere, she essentially asked for this. And by using her private life to make excuses for not fulfilling her public duties, Halseth also a lack of interest in showing any public morality. Sorry, but who can really fault Muth for "going there"?

And this really goes to a deeper core problem with our Legislature: When did this become "the norm" for governance in our state?

Right before Halseth's sudden resignation overshadowed every other trending #NVLeg story, we were again seeing the usual Sturm und Drang on a Sun piece on three Assembly Democrats not following Secretary of State Ross Miller's guidelines on reporting campaign expenses done while working in Carson City. As usual, queue the "revolutionaries" yielding pitchforks and decrying "corruption". But again, it was all just another Kabuki dance, since no one wanted to go to the heart of this problem, which is the massive amount of corporate money infecting our politics and our government. Instead of asking why who didn't report what on which form, why can't anyone ask why we have to accept the gaming-mining-lobbying industrial complex bestowing upon us "the best democracy money can buy"?

We saw another act in this Kabuki theater last week when the Harvey Whittemore scandal broke. Pundits were pointing fingers in all directions. "How much did Harry Reid get from Whittemore? What will Dean Heller do with all those donations?" But funny enough, Jane Ann Morrison, one of the resident R-J pundits, actually made what was perhaps the smartest comment on last Friday's episode of "Nevada Week & Review" when she pointed out that what Whittemore did with his contributions isn't all that different from what the likes of Sheldon Adelson and Foster Friess are doing with Super PACs today. Of course, the only big difference is that Whittemore was "ahead of the curve" in doing it before the US Supreme Court legalized Super PACs with their Citizens United decision. Again, instead of asking why who accepted how much from whom, why can't anyone ask why we have to accept that so much power and influence in concentrated in the hands of a privileged few?

And finally, we saw California's State Senate Leader tell us to stick our SB 271 "Trash Tahoe Bill" where the sun don't shine. Thankfully, California's Legislature doesn't seem to be under the firm grip of corporate lobbyists yearning for more real estate development at Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately, ours has been. Again, why can't anyone ask why we have to accept that a few powerful corporate interests get to call all the shots and pave paradise to put up more parking lots?

And this takes us back to Elizabeth Halseth and her now defunct political career. How did it last for this long? And how was she able to get away with her escapades with Tiger Helgelien until late last week? If you want answers, then I suggest you see her page on the Secretary of State's new AURORA campaign finance database. And remember who funded "anonymous" attacks on her Democratic opponent in 2010. And remember who guided her last February to smear elementary school kids begging for the chance to stay in school. Notice anything?

If one really has to ask why Halseth made it to Carson City last year, then one hasn't been paying attention.

Believe it or not, a whole lot of folks across the state are still asking that question. And a whole lot of folks are still shocked at Chuck Muth exposing Halseth's moral hypocrisy. I'm just waiting for someone, anyone (!!!), to demand the kind of changes to our system that will no longer allow shadowy corporate interests to pop out of nowhere and send "empty suit" politicians like Elizabeth Halseth to do their bidding.

Dirty Cup of G-O-TEA

Apparently, the fossil fuel industry just dropped a cool $1.2 million into "Nevada Fracas Caucus" winner Willard "Mr. 1%" Romney's Super PAC. And what have they gotten out of Willard? See for yourself.

With [Texas Governor Rick] Perry out of the race, Romney has received more money from mining and oil than any other presidential candidate. The pro-Perry super PAC “Make Us Great Again” took in an outstanding $1.3 million from oil companies and executives during the last six months of his run.

Although Restore Our Future has no “formal” ties to the candidate, the donations reflect Romney’s right pivot on energy and climate concerns. The Massachusetts governor that once supported regulations on coal pollution, has since questioned whether carbon is even dangerous. In addition to becoming a climate denier, he now blasts government support for cleaner energy — despite creating a state green fund as governor.

You can expect Romney to sound suspiciously like his rich polluting backers, as dirty money continues to flood Restore Our Future and Romney’s campaign stash.

And that's not all. While Romney was campaigning here in Nevada, he actually told the RGJ editorial board that he doesn't know "what the purpose is" of public lands. I guess Mittens doesn't know his history or his economics.

Romney’s statement stands in stark contrast to the conservative tradition of knowing the value of protecting the lands that belong to all of us places for future generations. Teddy Roosevelt, the great Republican conservationist, once said, “Conservation is a great moral issue, for it involves the patriotic duty of insuring the safety and continuance of the nation.”

Public lands in Nevada – and other western states—actually provide an enormous economic boost and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs. Indeed, recent Interior Department statistics show that federally managed public lands in Nevada provided over $1 billion in economic impacts and supported 13,311 jobs in 2010 (and this statistic doesn’t even include the economic impacts of Forest Service lands, managed by the Department of Agriculture). Recreation, energy and minerals, and grazing and timber all play a part in the economic effects that public lands provide to Nevada. Activities like skiing at Lake Tahoe, boating at Lake Mead, and hiking at Great Basin National Park all take place on public lands.

Either that, or perhaps his better judgment is being clouded by all those campaign donations by the fossil fuel industry. Hey, Desert Beacon may be onto something here. We're obviously doing quite well in providing jobs with public lands kept with the public's best interest in mind. ExxonMobil can't make money from that. Where's the "Drill, Baby, Drill!" when they need it?

Well, at least ExxonMobil is avoiding paying taxes on a whole lot of its profits. In fact, ExxonMobil pays a lower tax rate (17.6%) than most Americans. And it and other big oil companies can do so thanks to the G-O-TEA Congresscritters' votes to protect their tax bailouts. And yes, Nevada's own Senator Dean Heller (R-Fossil Fuel Industry BFF) voted with Big Oil. And considering Dean Heller netted $156,000 in fossil fuel industry donations, it makes perfect (dollars &) cents for Heller to vote for his BFFs.



So with Dean Heller already selling out Nevadans' best interests in Congress, is it any surprise that Mitt Romney is doing the same with his Presidential Campaign (and aligned Super PACs)? We know what will get our economy going again while also doing something about the greatest global security threat of our time. Yet instead of jumping forward with clean energy, G-O-TEA lackeys like Heller and Romney prefer to keep us mired in the dirty past with the fossil fuel industry that just happens to fuel their campaigns.

Why Wikipedia Is Blacked Out Today

Do you notice there's no Wikipedia today? And that Google blacked out its logo? And that many more of your favorite web sites are down or redirecting you to a special page today?

Here's why.



If passed, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and/or its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act (PIPA), would essentially cripple the internet. How?

The internet is built on freedom: the freedom to create, the freedom to express oneself, and the freedom to share ideas with anyone anywhere. But if passed, SOPA and/or PIPA would destroy the foundation of the internet by forcing internet companies to monitor everything we do on their sites and act as "club bouncers" for big media corporations that are more interested in protecting their profits than protecting our free expression. These companies, such as Nintendo, Sony, Comcast (which now owns a 51% controlling stake of NBCUniversal), and Time Warner, have unleashed their lobbyists on Capitol Hill to try to grease the House floor to pass SOPA. And while the latest updates from DC look to be good as House members retreat from SOPA, PIPA is still quite alive in the Senate and still needs to be stopped.

But why must they be stopped? Isn't copyright enforcement important any more? Yes, it is. However, SOPA and PIPA as written go way beyond that and require social media sites to either censor their users (as in "We the People"!) or risk expensive law suits that force them to try to explain sophisticated technology to judges that (smart as they are on the law) most likely know nothing about it. Simply put: This shit is SCARY, and it must be stopped ASAP.



If SOPA and/or PIPA become law, say goodbye to "social media revolutions". And especially if other countries follow our lead and propose similar anti-internet legislation, say goodbye to democratic movements like "The Arab Spring", "The Orange Revolution", and #Occupy. In the wrong hands, the broad authority given to governments and big corporations in SOPA and PIPA threaten the entire internet as we know it. And even if our federal government doesn't aim to abuse that power, there's obviously plenty of room for multinational media conglomerates like NewsCorp (which has already caused mischief in this department), Viacom, and Disney to shut down global competitors and kill off internet start-ups that threaten their "sacred business model" of making us pay up the wazoo for their (and only their!) bread and circuses.

What's really funny here is that the supposed goal of SOPA and PIPA is to stop online piracy and protect artists' work, but they wouldn't do anything to actually stop that piracy if passed. These kinds of criminals aren't stupid. They can and will easily change their IP addresses and find new ways to showcase their stolen goods. All SOPA and PIPA would really do if passed would be to create a new "online black market" for stolen content while forcing law-abiding web sites to essentially create an "online police state" for all the rest of us and/or risk those infamous frivolous law suits from multinational corporations that certain politicians supposedly hate so much.

So please, please, PLEASE (!!!!!) do your part to stop SOPA and PIPA from tearing apart the internet as we know and love it. Check out Nevadans Against SOPA/PIPA, then call Harry Reid at 202-224-3542 and Dean Heller at 202-224-6244, and ask them to drop PIPA and SOPA. Also make sure to tweet them at @SenatorReid and @DeanHeller.

Mitt Romney Just Exposed Himself (As a 1% Elitist)

Hey, don't just take my word... Mittens just outed himself!



And not only that, but he also exposed both the moral and intellectual emptiness of his "job creator" myths.

Citizens for Tax Justice a few months ago estimated that Mitt Romney, due to most of his income coming from investments, pays a tax rate of around 14 percent, a far cry from the 35 percent top income tax rate. Romney then confirmed that the bulk of his income does, indeed, come from investments (and is thus subject to the top capital gains tax rate of 15 percent), but he has refused to release his tax returns in order to reveal the definitive tax rate that he pays. [...]

As Center for American Progress Director of Fiscal Reform Seth Hanlon has explained, the latest data shows that “many middle-class families paid much more [in taxes] than the 17.5 percent average paid by the very rich.” When President Obama suggested the “Buffett rule,” aimed at ensuring that millionaires can’t pay lower taxes than middle class families, Romney derided it as “class warfare,” and “the wrong way to go.”

One of the reasons Romney is able to drive his tax rate down so low is that he is still earning money from his private equity firm, Bain Capital, that is likely subject to a pernicious tax loophole. This loophole lets wealthy money mangers like Romney pay the capital gains tax rate on profits they make investing other people’s money, turning the justification for having a lower capital gains tax rate completely on its head.

During the same press conference, Romney said that he only makes some income from speaker’s fees, “but not very much,” which is money that would be taxed at normal income tax rates. From Feb. 2010 to Feb. 2011, Romney earned $362,000 in speaker’s fees.

This explains why Romney is far to George W. Bush's right politically... Especially when it comes to economic policy. Since it's obviously in his personal interest to continue paying less in taxes than the vast majority of working class families, we can see why he wants to continue coddling the 1% while attacking the 99% with brutal cuts on everything from Head Start to Pell Grants to law enforcement to the Centers for Disease Control to the EPA.

Honestly, this is why I've never bought Mittens' attempt to crown himself as "the winner" last year. Even if he survives the G-O-TEA primary, he now emerges as "The Wall Street Elitist 1% Candidate" with major political liabilities. Perhaps this is why Mittens fell behind President Obama in a big way in the new PPP national poll out today.

Perhaps American voters aren't as stupid as many have made us out to be. Perhaps more folks truly are realizing that economic inequality hurts the overall economy. And perhaps voters are realizing that "tea party madness" is no way to govern a country. Considering how extreme(ly absurd) Mittens and his G-O-TEA have become, President Obama really doesn't look bad, after all.

Republicans & "Class Warfare"

Mitt Romney is trying hard to brush off criticism of his "private sector experience". He's trying (again) to blame everything on President Obama and his Republican rivals, but can he afford to ignore what the actual voters are saying?



And can he ignore "tea party" Congressional "rock stars" (and key opinion makers) in upcoming early primary states?



So does REPUBLICAN Jon Huntsman really sound all that crazy, after all?



Nevada Republicans may now be worrying about how this affects the general election campaign, but they really can't blame some "big, bad Democrat bogeyman!!!" Sorry, folks, but neither President Obama nor Harry Reid told them how to run their party (into the ground), and neither one of them is forking over the big bucks to air these attack ads.



Actually, it's none other than Nevada Republican darling Sheldon Adelson! And really, does it sound all that different from this mini-documentary that MoveOn recently released?



So perhaps the issue here isn't who's attacking Mitt Romney. Perhaps the real issue here is what Mitt Romney did at Bain Capital.

Thanks, G-O-TEA, for Bursting Mittens' Bubble

Rick Santorum must be giddy right now. Instead of suffering an intense media focus on his role in John Ensign's career ending scandal, Mitt Romney just tossed him a reprieve... And a ready-made issue that may yet end Romney's political career. As we've been talking about endlessly here, Romney has a BIG Bain (as in, Bain Capital) problem.

And now, all of a sudden, Newt Gingrich is jumping on it...

“You have to ask the question, is capitalism really about the ability of a handful of rich people to manipulate the lives of thousands of people and then walk off with the money?”

Who said it — Elizabeth Warren? Dennis Kucinich? Noam Chomsky?

Not quite, that was Newt Gingrich talking to reporters at an energy company in Manchester on Monday about his new effort to paint Mitt Romney as a greedy one-percenter who finds “clever legal ways” to go about “looting a company” while screwing over its workers. [...]

The former Speaker is making the case that, in contrast to good old fashioned businesses who make stuff, Romney and his ilk have instead gamed the system to create a soulless machine that profits from the misery of others. Whereas Republicans used to merely whisper that Bain was an electability problem for Romney, Gingrich and other candidates are now openly making the case that the invisible hand has failed to stop corporate raiders from hurting American workers — even as they condemn President Obama as a radical socialist for his rhetoric on Wall Street.

“I am totally for capitalism, I am for free markets,” Gingrich assured reporters on Monday. “Nobody objects to Bill Gates being extraordinarily rich, they provide a service.” What he instead is concerned about is when an investor receives “six-to-one returns, and the company goes bankrupt.”

OUCH! And to add insult to injury...

When you go to South Carolina, that was one of those cities that had a business -- it was a photo album and a framing business. And those people are out of work today after Bain Capital basically gut the company. Took $20 million of profit out of it and people lost their jobs. There is a steel manufacturer here in South Carolina. Mitt Romney will have a hard time coming into South Carolina and have the people here think he's anything but a rich Wall Streeter that took advantage of their businesses. People lost their jobs, they lost their pensions, they lost a lot.

The bottom line for Bain was making money. It wasn't about helping the people of South Carolina or trying to keep these people employed. The idea that Mitt stood up and said he's worried about pink slips. This is probably one of the richest people ever to run for president of the United States. Son of a multi-millionaire. An individual -- Mitt Romney has never worried about pink slip. He might have worried about not having enough of them to hand out. But he's not worried about losing his job.

Whoops. I guess Mittens really does have a growing problem on his hands.

And you know what's really funny here? In their zeal for attacking Mittens and destroying his Presidential aspirations, they're actually doing a good job in articulating why their own G-O-TEA policies have failed America. No really, think about it.

Who's been making noise about "vulture capitalists" like Mitt Romney for the last 30 years? And who's been trying to get Americans to realize the consequences of deregulation and "supply side" mayhem? And who's been offering alternative economic policies that really work in creating jobs and providing more stability?

And now, it's none other than the Republican clown car circus of candidates themselves that are reminding Americans of why President Obama deserves reelection. Thank you, G-O-TEA. And I actually mean it. ;-)

Sorry, Mittens. It Ain't Over 'til It's Over.

So Mitt Romney won... By eight votes??!! And we're supposed to crown him "inevitable"? He's the big "winner", even though he only mustered the same support he got in Iowa four years ago?

Take a look at this map, then look at this map... And then, look at the exit poll. Looking at what happened in Iowa yesterday, it's looking increasingly clear that the Republican Party is a house divided against itself. As much as Mitt Romney is trying to ignore the battle on his own turf, the Iowa results prove that he really can't.

Is that why he has to resort to using deranged TEA-nut extremists as his campaign surrogates? And is that why Romney won't acknowledge the reality that continues to stare at him?

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And is that why he has to resort to lying about President Obama?

First, there’s no comparison between President Obama’s rescue of the American automotive industry and Romney orchestrating leveraged buyouts at his vulture-capitalist firm. Obama wasn’t trying to profit; Romney was trying to make himself and his investors rich.

Second, Romney now claims to have created “over 100,000 jobs” at his vulture-capitalist firm, but he appears to have made this number up out of whole cloth. Keep in mind, just a few weeks ago, when Romney’s Super PAC ran an ad claiming he “helped create thousands of jobs” as CEO at Bain, Super PAC officials were asked to back that up with evidence. They refused. Fact-checkers haven’t been able to substantiate the claim in any way.

Third, Romney seems eager to boast about his record in Massachusetts, but that’s a mistake. His administration’s record on job creation was “one of the worst in the country,” ranking 47th out of 50 states in job growth. It’s one of the reasons Romney left office after one term deeply unpopular, and why his former constituents don’t want him near the White House.

I guess he just can't run on his own record.

Of course, Romney has tried to spin his private sector role as that of a “job creator.” But a closer look at Bain’s modus operandi reveals that firm spent a lot of time laying off company employees rather than hiring them — all while turning a profit. More than 20 years ago, Bain — with Romney at the helm — opened a new plant in Gaffney, South Carolina with the promise of “highly anticipated manufacturing jobs,” only to shut down that plant four years later, laying off 150 workers while making millions [...]

“In the real world, some things don’t make it,” Romney offered as an explanation for the layoffs he had overseen as Bain’s CEO. However, the plant in South Carolina is not an isolated incident. Under Romney, “four of the 10 companies Bain acquired declared bankruptcy within a few years, shedding thousands of jobs.” But documents show that “Bain investors profited in eight of the 10 deals, including three of the four that ended in bankruptcy.” Indeed, the firm pointedly made higher profits “by firing workers, seeking government subsidies, and flipping companies quickly for large profits.”

As Romney’s own business partner stated, “I never thought of what I do for a living as job creation.” It’ll be an interesting display of acrobatics to see how Romney explains to South Carolinians that the profit his company made off the backs of 150 laid off workers proves his bona fides as a job creator.

Mittens was hoping he could wrap up the G-O-TEA nomination last night so he could start distracting us from what he really did and what he really said. But funny enough, Rick Santorum simply won't let him. Apparently, Rick Santorum is now the G-O-TEA's "great 'white working class'/blue collar hope"! I guess that's why he recently went on his crazy @ss racist rant against imaginary black people on welfare?



Mittens thought he could wrap it all up last night, but he forgot. It ain't over 'til it's over.

Why Occupy?

Yesterday, this happened in Northern California.

At the University of California at Davis this afternoon, police tore down down the tents of students inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, and arrested those who stood in their way. Others peacefully demanded that police release the arrested.

In the video above, you see [UC Davis Police Lt. John Pike] walk down a line of those young people seated quietly on the ground in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience, and spray them all with pepper spray at very close range. He is clearing a path for fellow officers to walk through and arrest more students, but it's as if he's dousing a row of bugs with insecticide.

Wayne Tilcock of the Davis-Enterprise newspaper has a gallery of photographs from the incident[...]. Ten people in this scene were arrested, nine of whom were current UC Davis students. At least one woman is reported to have been taken away in an ambulance with chemical burns.

The Davis Enterprise has even more scenes from yesterday's brutal show of force. So why did this happen?

Look at UC Davis getting shortchanged again. Look at rising tuitions. What used to be "The American Dream" has become a horrid nightmare as college education has become increasingly unaffordable for working class families.

Yet again, the 99% are under attack... And the 1% are striking back.

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If you were wondering why protesters have been risking it all, even their very lives (as the occupiers at UC Davis did), here's why. The American Banking Association's lobbyists want them to spend $850,000 on opposition research alone! And then, they want to not only smear Occupy's already controversial public image, but also use Occupy to hurt Democratic candidates across the country.

This is the intersection of crony capitalism and political corruption that has more and more Americans up in arms. When they see that the $222.7 BILLION in taxes that big corporations avoided paying could have created over 100,000 jobs in education, they get angry. And when they see that billionaires continue to abuse the tax code to avoid paying taxes, they get angrier. Is there any wonder why people are hitting the streets? It's just sad to see such brutal force being used on protesters.

As we were talking about yesterday, stuff like this can easily discourage people from taking action. However, we simply can't allow apathy to take hold. What do you think creates this?

#OccupyLasVegas: The Winner of Last Night’s Republican Debate?

(Also at The Nevada View)





Apparently, the scene inside The Venetian last night turned into a complete and utter train wreck. Mitt Romney continued to call for MORE foreclosures and more families losing their homes to the big banks. He also fought with Rick Perry over which of them hates Latinos more. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann desperately begged to stay relevant by throwing out empty emotional platitudes as Newt Gingrich effectively told us in Nevada to "suck it up" and enjoy the nukes at Yucca Mountain. Oh, and of course Herman Cain threw more pot shots at the formerly middle class workers who have been taking to the streets as part of the #OccupyWallStreet movement.

So should it really come as a surprise that the winner of last night's debate (other than Barack Obama) was #OccupyLasVegas? ProgressNow Nevada started the festivities outside The Venetian with a rally and quick press conference on what the Republican candidates were about to talk about.



Afterward, the Occupy Las Vegas activists began to show up and protest alongside the folks who showed up earlier. I know we've all heard plenty about what can be found at Occupy/99% movement events, but I wanted to give you a chance to see for yourself who makes the Occupy/99% movement.





No really, look closely at these photos (and the ones I posted at the top).





Yes, there were a few conspiracy nuts. And there were some Ron Paul fans. And there were some genuine socialists.

However, there were also unemployed workers. And there were frustrated students. And there were union workers. And there were angry seniors. And there was an amazing cross-section of Southern Nevada present outside The Venetian. For all of Wall Street's efforts to smear and denigrate the Occupy/99% movement, there's obviously far more to it than just the small radical fringes that's really resonating with the strong majority of Americans. And that scares the corporate powers that be.

This is what scares them.



They just can't lump together all the Occupy/99% protesters as "crazies". It's easy to zoom in on one person and try it, but it's not so easy to dismiss this kind of crowd. And it's not easy to dismiss the policy ideas that most in Occupy support that most Americans also support, such as making the super-rich pay their fair share so we can make better investments in taking care of our seniors, putting people back to work, and educating our future leaders. The big corporate powers that be simply can't spin that as "fringe" or "extreme", and that scares them.







The Republicans on the stage inside The Venetian last night may be in love with Wall Street robber barons, but the American people are not. That's the key takeaway from last night. And over time, it may just show that Occupy has more staying power than any of the clowns on the GOP stage in The Venetian.

Is This Why Heck Is Running Scared?

Apparently, Congressional Republicans are really feeling the heat in the first town hall meetings since Congress broke for August Recess. Here's what happened next door in Arizona...



And take a look at what happened in Nebraska.

At a town hall meeting yesterday, Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) became the latest Republican member of Congress to face a backlash over the GOP’s intransigence against raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. As the Lincoln Journal Star reported, “many of the loudest voices and waving fingers urged Johanns to include tax increases — particularly applied to the wealthiest Americans — as part of the solution to debt reduction“:

“The wealthy just hoard the cash.”

“The old tax rates worked well for the economy under Clinton.”

“Quit listening to the scare tactics, all the crap in the media.”

Jennifer Wendelin, who waited to be recognized by Johanns before voicing her opinion, said additional revenue has to be part of the debt reduction solution along with spending cuts.

“Big corporations and the rich have to pay their fair share,” she said after the meeting had concluded. “If we have to bite the bullet, they do, too.

“We can’t be forced to shoulder the entire burden,” she said.

And all this happened after Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Illinois) was caught off guard when constituents were asking why we can't "tax the rich".

So perhaps this is why Joe Heck didn't want constituents at his oil industry backed event "open to the public" on Tuesday? Maybe this explains it?

Republicans are facing a growing backlash over oil subsidies. Not only have top lawmakers faced angry constituents and questions from the press, but even Tea Party activists have called for the GOP to stop giving so much taxpayer money to multinational oil companies.

A few Republican lawmakers, like Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), have called for an end to oil subsidies, as well as all other energy subsidies.

Well, this would explain why Joe Heck doesn't like having cameras at his town halls. Can it also explain why he doesn't actually want to do any town halls that are actually open and accessible to the public? I mean, it's so much easier to just have Big Oil's publicity team write the local "newspaper" story of what happened than allow real discussion with real working class constituents.

Heck voted twice to (mis)use our tax dollars to subsidize Big Oil!



So now you have it. While Joe Heck keeps voting for "shared sacrifice" that just seems to call on working families to sacrifice what they can't afford, he keeps giving away our tax dollars to the fossil fuel industry.



Maybe this is why Heck is running scared?

NV-03: Who Does Heck REALLY Serve?

Oh, my. I guess yesterday's "event" with Joe Heck didn't quite go as planned.

What especially looks to be the problem at hand was the event Joe Heck attended. Was it private? Were protests allowed? Who was causing a scene?

Honestly, that's missing the point. Why is Joe Heck's event page completely empty? Why was a constituent who RSVPed to an event that was supposedly "open to the public" kicked out for wearing a "Beyond Coal" Sierra Club t-shirt? And why weren't local constituents allowed to ask questions of (supposedly) their member of Congress?

Seriously, something is wrong with this picture.

When did it suddenly become acceptable for a consulting firm working with the oil industry to shield an elected public servant from the voting public that he's supposed to serve?

After I wrote my first diary yesterday, I heard firsthand reports from a few people who made it inside. Now I understand why they didn't want more people inside. Heck said one of our energy problems is that "we can't utilize fracking to its full potential". So our energy solution lies in a dangerous practice going after a limited amount of natural gas? And how is that supposed to help us in Nevada?

And how on earth is the "clean coal" myth supposed to help? Apparently that was the other "bright idea" Heck threw out yesterday. There's no such thing as "clean coal", and America will do just fine without it.

So these are the "energy solutions" coming from Joe Heck? No wonder why his new dirty energy friends had their PR people kick citizens out of that "open to the public" meeting yesterday. What will fracking for natural gas or "clean coal" actually do for Nevada? Absolutely nothing.

On the other hand, we have great potential for renewable energy. Why wouldn't Heck address that yesterday? Was he afraid someone would ask why he pledged to oppose any climate legislation that could create more clean energy jobs here in Nevada?

So who does Joe Heck really serve? It doesn't sound like he's doing anything to help us in Nevada. Heck, he won't even listen to us!

As the Chamber Talks... We Need to Act

Every legislative session, all eagerly await the recommendations from a certain set of lobbyists. And this year, there seems to be even more excitement/angst surrounding them.

Every organization at the table in Carson City plays the game of give and take. For years, the [Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce] has been the voice against implementing various businesses taxes. Not unlike the Nevada Development Authority, an organization with which it often collaborates, it sold the argument that Las Vegas is a great place to do business because taxes are low and stable. This year, though, a number of studies, think tanks and interest groups have found that the state’s education system has a greater role in Nevadans’ quality of life than many previously thought. Nearly every report recommends the state strengthen its education system to build toward economic diversification.

That hasn’t been lost on the chamber, which has built stronger bridges with the education community in the past year. Crosson embraced new UNLV President Neal Smatresk; now, Smatresk is a member of the chamber’s board of trustees. McMillan said maintaining a close relationship with UNLV and with Clark County School District Superintendent Dwight Jones is a priority.

“Clearly, education is important to the future of Southern Nevada,” McMillan said. “We all know that. Nobody wants to see teachers take pay cuts. These are very difficult and complicated issues. Our government affairs committee is taking a close look at the impacts of the governor’s budget.”

Nevada’s education system lands at the bottom of numerous lists ranking education quality. Further cuts are outlined in Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget proposal to close a multimillion-dollar funding gap. Would lawmakers allow the state’s system to fall into a bigger hole? What would that say about the state’s commitment to education and economic diversification? Would the chamber be willing to support a tax increase as an investment in the state’s economic future? The answer to that last question appears to be “maybe.”

So the chamber, of all people, is the last great hope to save Nevada? Really? Or is there a catch? Desert Beacon may have caught one. Must we sacrifice out public servants at the altar?

The trading position appears reasonably obvious — the Chambers will not oppose some concessions in terms of taxation IF they can achieve the limitation of public employee collective bargaining rights at the local level, and continue the policy of no collective bargaining for state employees. In sum, the posture appears to be: “We will give you a little — certainly not more rational taxation on mining, or Heaven Forfend discuss amending the state constitution to incorporate a progressive income tax — if you (labor) will give up retirement benefits, health care insurance benefits, collective bargaining rights in terms of mediation/arbitration, subjects included in the collective bargaining process, and allow school districts to do away with salary schedules and seniority.

Thus, no one should be surprised at the latest amendment to S.B. 98, emanating from the Chamber of Commerce which would allow local entities to (1) renegotiate contracts if revenues come in 5% below expectations, (2) eliminate binding arbitration, (3) remove public sector managers and administrators from the bargaining process, (4) and require that newly negotiated contracts take effect at the beginning of the prior contract’s expiration. [NNB] If this sounds familiar — like the initial position of the Chambers of Commerce listed above — you’re right; that is precisely what it is.

Horse trading is a fine old legislative art in these United States. However, what the Chambers of Commerce appears to have in mind is trading a pony (minimal concessions on taxation) for a working saddle horse. IF public employees are willing to give up retirement benefits, retiree’s health care benefits, arbitration, subjects of mandatory collective bargaining, salary schedules, seniority clauses, and evergreen clauses — then Maybe the Chamber will ‘negotiate’ on tax increases.

There is a difference between horse trading and hostage taking, although it seems that the Chambers of Commerce in Nevada are more willing to indulge in the latter than the former during this session of the Legislature.

So what can we do? Basically, it all comes down to knowing how to play hardball. Right now, that's what the Vegas Chamber is doing... And progressives need to step up with their own.

Wait... What is that I hear? Sandoville? Someone's arriving to "Wake Up Nevada"? That's right. Many of my very courageous friends & family are in Carson City right now, literally CAMPING right outside The Legislature to make it known to them that we the people won't accept any more of these cheap and degrading games that jeopardize our future.

As many as 200 students, social service workers, teachers and progressive activists plan to live in tents during Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as they host events and lobby legislators.

The agenda could include events at both the Capitol and the Legislature, said Jan Gilbert, lobbyist for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, which has helped coordinate the event.

“We hope to change some of the legislators minds to increase the revenue base,” she said. “We know there need to be cuts, but also revenue.”

Students are again planning to bring buses from Las Vegas, as they did March 21 for a rally for revenue at the Legislature. Some say it was the largest rally ever held at the Legislature.

“We know that enough legislators are on the fence about supporting new revenue to help education that we can win the fight, but we cannot win it without direct action,” said Mike Flores of Progress NOW, another sponsor of the event, in an email.

This is simply amazing. And frankly, we need to keep seeing this new (or renewed?) spirit of activism. We've had to learn the hard way that we can't always count on "big bid'ness" to be "benevolent" enough to throw the plebes some crumbs, depending on how much revenue they can extract from the casinos.

Hopefully, The Las Vegas & Reno/Sparks Chambers will realize that saving our state by restoring our public infrastructure (starting with public education) is more important than silly ideological battles over public servants' workplace rights and benefits. But in the mean time, we can't wait for them to say the right words. We need to act.

Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Sharrontology

Angle: Says the grass roots movement “gives me juice. That’s really all I can offer to you (Ashjian) is whatever juice I have, you have as well…You want to see DeMint, I have juice with him….I go to Washington, DC and want to see Jim DeMint, he’s right there for me. I want to see Tom Coburn, he’s right there for me. I want to see Mitch McConnell, he’s there.”

I guess we finally found the real Sharrontology. Behind all the inflated rhetoric, all the confusion over what she really did, and all the sideshows of the various outside interests trying to push her on Nevada, we finally caught a glimpse of the real Sharron Angle when she did the very thing she said she doesn't do: cut back room deals behind closed doors!

A tape of the 38-minute meeting that I have obtained provides a rare window into the kinds of discussions that take place during campaigns behind closed doors, redolent of the authenticity that disappears in public or in TV ads.

The conversation reveals Angle almost desperate to show Ashjian they are like-minded, that they both disdain the major parties, but insistent that the Tea Party of Nevada contender could help Reid win if he doesn’t embrace her candidacy. Ashjian emphasizes he believes a third party is the only way and that he believes he can garner a fifth of the vote, which seems fantastically optimistic, to put it mildly.

Angle expresses disdain for the national GOP, which she says she now has “in a box” because she won the primary, which caused the DC types after her June 8 victory to still be “moaning and groaning and weeping and gnashing teeth over Sue Lowden.” Later, she tries to persuade Ashjian to endorse her because she will have “juice” he can tap into to get access to Sens. Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn and Mitch McConnell.

I can just hear it now: The woman who calls the majority leader “Let’s Make a Deal Harry Reid” becomes “Let’s Make a Deal Sharron Angle”. [Emphasis mine.]

So there you have it. Sharron Angle did the very thing she said she doesn't do. She tried to cut a deal. And do it behind closed doors. And she tried to bribe Ashjian with "juice", with access.

Don't believe me? Don't believe Ralston? Listen to the audio for yourself!

So for all her talk of rejecting "Let's Make a Deal Harry" and her bashing of Harry Reid's negotiating skills, Angle then did something that she claimed she doesn't do. She's a hypocrite. She claims she doesn't "play the game", but behind the scenes she plays like no one else has tried before. She claims she's a part of some "grassroots uprising", but she's been bankrolled by a cabal of California corporate lobbyists and she's cozied up to the very entrenched special interests she claims to "fight".

Hypocrisy, thy name is Sharrontology. Meet "The New GOoP", same as the old GOoP.

Leg Watch: Sex, Lies, & Corporate Cash

Oh goody, Ralston is back... And he hits hard on the new "scandal" everyone in Carson City is talking about.

I have been ruminating on what the proper reaction is to Steven Horsford’s “Money for Something and Your Access Ain’t Free” fundraising pitch. Or what the proper reaction to the reaction might be. [...]

What Horsford did was crass, heavy-handed and arrogant. But it takes a spectacular naiveté or a willful ignorance — and there is much more of the latter than the former in much of the reaction — not to realize this is just par for a course where membership is reserved only for a closed circle and where the entry fee for influence is often too rich for almost anyone without a Las Vegas Boulevard South address.

Of course, Ralston is talking about State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford (D) sending out a ridiculous letter recently promising special meals with him for big contributions. He even promised meals and extra "quality time" with Committee Chairs, apparently without even asking them if they wanted to do this!

It was pathetic. It was lame. It was dirty... And oh boy, it was clumsy!

So what exactly were the Republicans criticizing?

I smiled when I read of state Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio tut-tutting about Horsford’s solicitation, suggesting his counterpart had been intimidating lobbyists not to contribute to Republicans during the campaign season. This is laugh-out-loud funny, folks.

Raggio is the anti-Horsford, but not in the way he implied. When he was majority leader, Raggio was anything but blunt. A master of finesse, he knew how to inspire fear with a carefully chosen word or two, or perhaps by using someone else to send a message.

Don’t misunderstand: I don’t suggest Raggio ever did anything unethical. But when a consummate insider, a man who served on gaming and managed care boards while being the most powerful legislator in the state for decades, expresses disdain for Horsford’s blunt instrument, I figured he must be muttering, “That young man needs to learn a little subtlety.”

Even better, state GOP Chairman Mark Amodei’s sense of outrage was comically outrageous. “We never operated that way when we were in the majority,” Amodei told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Probably no laws were broken, but it sends a bad sign about the whole process. You need to raise money, but you don’t do that.”

This from the man who, while a state senator, auditioned for a job as the mining association’s top lobbyist and formed a political action committee with business interests he regulated. A sense of irony is always helpful, Mr. Chairman.

So Raggio and Amodei bash Horsford over his clumsy letter and want us to forget everything they did when in the majority? Seriously? And they want us to ignore their newest scandal involving their "Star Senator" Barbara Cegavske?

And if anyone is truly serious in uprooting Carson City corruption, why not discuss possible solutions? Solutions like clean money campaigning?



It's already being implemented in several states, and the results so far have been clear. If we really want to solve this problem, let's get to the root of it.

So what's the real root of this problem? It's MONEY, as in the corporate money that buys access in Carson City. Take the big corporate money out, and none of this has to happen any more For many decades now, it's been standard operating practice that the "big bid'nis'eez" with the best connected lobbyists, best parties, and biggest campaign contributions get the most access in state government. If we really want to do something about this problem, let's get to the source of it by ridding our election system of all this corporate corruption.

So when will we ever get a serious discussion on clean money campaigns and serious election reform? When will we demand that our elected officials listen to us instead of the big corporate powers that be?