NV-02: Why Are These Republicans Against JOBS & Energy Independence?

(Also at Daily Kos)

Last week, Reno News & Review had an interesting article on Nevada experiencing more of the dangerous effects of climate change without us previously realizing it.

A string of tornados. Major international floods. Record-breaking wildfires across the Southwest. And—far less destructive but more noticeable to Northern Nevada residents—a freakishly wet and chilly May, making it the spring that never was. It’s left many to scratch their heads and say, “Maybe there’s something to this climate change thing.” If climate change were happening in Nevada, what would it look like, and are we seeing it now?

To the second question, the Desert Research Institute’s Dr. Kelly Redmond, says, “Yes, I think we probably are.” Redmond is deputy director of the Western Regional Climate Center. He compares recognizing climate change to noticing signs of aging. Every once in awhile, we have some episode—we discover we can’t party as hard as we used to, or we have a wrinkle, a gray hair, an illness—and we realize that while we don’t see it every day, we are undoubtedly aging. We don’t notice global warming every day, either, but a vast amount of data shows the Earth is warming, and the effects of it are both subtle and blunt. Sometimes climate change looks like a raging wildfire, sometimes like a butterfly where it never was before. [...]

Redmond says everybody should be skeptical of data by itself. When he first saw temperatures on research thermometers rising, he thought something was wrong with the thermometers. But even with new thermometers and placement of them, evidence of warming remained. He’s also seen evidence of snowmelt occurring one to three weeks earlier than it did 50 years ago. Lilacs and honeysuckles are blooming earlier. The biggest fires in the history of the Western U.S. have been in the past 10 years. Pine beetles in Canada, previously kept in check by cold snaps, have jumped the continental divide and are headed down the East coast. Chipmunks, mice and voles have moved up in elevation from where they lived 100 years ago. Most butterflies are also slowly moving north.

“All these bits and pieces of evidence, all these compasses, are basically pointing in the same direction. Maybe one or two of the compasses are broken. But if they’re all pointing in the same direction, you pay attention. This is very much like solving a crime. There’s a standard of proof in criminology, and we should have some kind of standard of proof in our head for when we decide to believe something or not. And then, are you willing to change your mind based on the evidence you see? I think most people’s minds can be changed by what they see. If we listen to what the world’s telling us, we’ll get it. The question is, will we get it fast enough?”

It's becoming increasingly difficult to deny the sobering reality of the coming climate crisis... Except apparently if one wants the endorsement of the Nevada Republican Party. If we're to accept the "energy policy" prescriptions coming from the Republicans (including Nevada Republican Party endorsed candidate, Mark Amodei) running in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District, we may actually never get it! Go ahead and listen for yourself as they refuse to even acknowledge the realities of climate change and deride "green energy" as "not responsible".

Face, meet palm. Well, at least I'm not alone. Mr. Spectator was also disgusted.

[...] The candidates differed in no appreciable way on issues. They predictably answered litmus questions from the party faithful on the gamut of right wing nut job topics, but I found their comments on “Green Energy” the most telling. Here is the exact question: “It is often touted that Nevada is the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy. Address the cost to the consumer and reconcile the political versus that cost.” What’s not well hidden in this poorly worded question is an inherent denial of human caused climate change. There is no reason to develop more expensive renewable energy if climate change is a myth concocted by left wing scientists. We want the cheapest energy source possible to be most economically competitive. Corporations can be trusted to not grossly pollute for profit, can’t they? [...]

If the scientific realty of human caused climate change is not front and center when setting energy policy and priorities, these are not the people we should be sending to Washington, at least to represent me. From their “green energy” responses we do not know how the candidates stand on climate change, but apparently these fellows need to pander to flat earth Nevada Republicans who are still in a tizzy President Obama was not actually born in this country. All three candidates seem to value science if it makes money or war, but not when science points out pollution and environmental destruction on a global scale.

Clearly Mark Amodei, Kirk Lippold, and Greg Brower don't want to recognize real science. So instead, they run to the hocus pocus "magic" of dirty coal, oil, nuclear, and the rest of the failed fossil fuel industry. Lovely.

Here's the problem. One, we simply can't afford to give up the potential for much needed jobs.







Good jobs are already being created right here in Nevada, and even more will be created if we invest more in renewable energy development and energy efficiency.

And here's another big issue. Mark Amodei likes to complain about the "high cost" of renewable energy, but he failed to mention the real costs of dirty fossil fuels. Solar power is becoming more affordable and accessible as companies continue to innovate with new technology and solar becomes more widespread & mainstream. However as renewable energy costs have dropped over the last decade, fossil fuel energy costs continue to rise as supply becomes more limited and the many hidden costs of pollution are revealed.

Even our REPUBLICAN Governor and Lieutenant Governor recognize the need for Nevada to go green with renewables.



So even prominent Republicans here in Nevada recognize the need to go green. Why don't Mark Amodei and the other Republicans running in NV-02?

On Distractions, Destitution, Weiner-gate, & Mittens

(Also at Daily Kos)

Look! A poll, a poll! What could it say?

Only 29% of voters think the economy will get better in the next year, while 30% say it will get worse and 39% say it will stay about the same. The number who feel the economy will get worse is the highest since April 2009, two months after Obama signed stimulus legislation.

Today, 45% of respondents say the stimulus will not help the economy. Sixty-two percent say Obama inherited the economic situation versus 25% who say Obama's policies are responsible.

Congress gets very low marks, with only 18% approval. That's the lowest rating since March 2010, at the climax of the health care debate.

WHAT??!! You mean the economy is what voters care about? If one were to pay attention to the corporate media, one would get the idea we spend all our time worrying about Weiner's weiner and Kate Gosselin's TV career and which "Real Housewife" Slade will shack up with next (while he continues to evade paying child support).

But yes, believe it or not, many Americans may not have the time to worry about stuff like that. But all too often, the distraction of bread and circus allows certain politicians to skate by as they offer a glimpse as to what they really think about us.

Mitt Romney sat at the head of the table at a coffee shop here on Thursday, listening to a group of unemployed Floridians explain the challenges of looking for work. When they finished, he weighed in with a predicament of his own.
“I should tell my story,” Mr. Romney said. “I’m also unemployed.”

He chuckled. The eight people gathered around him, who had just finished talking about strategies of finding employment in a slow-to-recover economy, joined him in laughter.

“Are you on LinkedIn?” one of the men asked.

“I’m networking,” Mr. Romney replied. “I have my sight on a particular job.”

I mean, what can be more out of touch than that? A multimillionaire calls himself "unemployed" as real people suffer the consequences of the very "disaster capitalism" that he participated in as it brought America to the crisis we now face.

"From 1984 until 1999, Romney led Bain Capital, a Boston-based private equity group that earned jaw-dropping profits through leveraged buyouts, debt hedge funds, offshore tax havens and other financial strategies. In some cases, Romney’s team closed U.S. factories, causing hundreds of layoffs, or pocketed huge fees shortly before companies collapsed."

Maybe this is why we hear no substantive proposals from the Republican Congressional leaders and Presidential candidates on job creation. Just saying.

Now yes, there may be some "gotcha" with this story. However, I think it offers some real insight as to the problems we face right now. It really seems like the chatter we hear on Capitol Hill has nothing to do with the problems "Middle America" faces. People ask about jobs, and the corporate media keep salivating over "WEINER"!



Back here in Nevada, most of my neighbors and friends don't really have the luxury of spending their nights pondering the importance of Weiner-gate. They're looking for action on job creation.





They're looking for real educational opportunities that will lead to a more stabile economy in the future.





And of course, they're wondering why one of our Congresscritters keeps hating on seniors and the disabled...



And why this is actually being debated in Congress.

Suffice to say, Nevada and America face real, serious problems. We need more jobs, and we have the opportunity to create more jobs here in America simply by taking the climate crisis seriously and investing in renewable energy & energy efficiency programs. We need to give kids more opportunities for better careers in the future, and we can do so by investing in our public schools now. We do face problems ahead with our health care system, but we can solve them by strengthening institutions like Medicare rather than weakening and dismantling them.

Really, this all boils down to the economic anxiety of the American people, and the need to protect and strengthen our working middle class. This is why most people here and throughout the country think America is heading in the wrong direction. But when we hear about the state of the economy in the national corporate media, we mostly just hear about how Republicans want to use it to attack Obama. And when these wannabe Presidents and their cohorts in Congress talk about the economy, they never seem to offer any realistic solutions.

Instead, it's all about the fiasco of sex, lies, and Twitter. How do we change this? How do we demand more from our representatives? How do we demand more from our media? And how do we demand more from ourselves?

If we are more interested in titillating trivia about the personal lives of celebrities than we are in the ramifications of Basel III, then we will get Paris, Kim, and Lindsay. If we are more intrigued by the sexually charged adventures of Foley, Craig, Vitter, Ensign, Lee, and Weiner than we are about what is necessary to prevent some of the major effects of global climate change, then we will get what we asked for. Media is, after all is said and done, a commercial enterprise.

If we are content to sit about grousing about the lack of content in media broadcasts and publications, then there is no reason to expect those outlets to provide us with more information and less entertainment. [...]

If all we want is Politics then the generalized questions will suffice. If what we want is more information about policy development then we need to respectfully request that anchors and editors ask better questions.

If we allow ourselves to be entertained, or merely reinforced, then the Simon & Garfunkle lyrics may take the day: “I get all the news I need on the weather report.”

On one hand, I can tell that "We the People" seem to understand the real problems of the day. And the more I talk with my neighbors in the community, the more hopeful I am that they "get it". However if we really do "get it", why do we keep obsessing over Weiner-gate instead of asking how Mitt Romney can get away with calling himself "unemployed" and why Congress is debating budgets to slash public investment that will create jobs instead of supporting more investment in job creation? Will someone please explain this to me?

NV-Sen: Just How Out of Touch Is Dean Heller?

So Senator Dean Heller (R-Jerk) hasn't been a US Senator for very long. Is he already sowing the seeds of his own political demise?

He's already filibustering President Obama's pick for #2 administrator at The Department of Justice... Because he apparently has a not so pleasant history with Newt Gingrich. When Nevadans are paying more at the pump than ever before, Heller is going to the mat... For the big oil conglomerates by trying to shove more pollution down our throats. And in one of his final acts in The House, Dean Heller voted to strip women of their fundamental rights over their own health care decisions.

Oh yes, that's right. Dean Heller is already off to an amazing start!

And to make things even better, Heller now can't make up his mind as to what his relationship with our duly elected Senator will be. Will work with Harry Reid on the important issues that matter to Nevada, such as kick-starting our economy with green collar jobs and ensuring our state isn't jeopardized by the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump? Will he just agree to disagree? Or is it more important for Heller to just ignore what Nevada needs and just parrot his new teabagger friends in The Senate?

Oh yes, that's right. Instead of wanting to work with Senator Reid on helping Nevada's working families get out of The Great Recession, Dean Heller stands with Paul Ryan and his extremist agenda to destroy working families.





The Paul Ryan Republican Budget Disaster Plan raises taxes on the middle class while continuing to bail out the extremely wealthy. In addition, it would jeopardize millions of older and disabled Americans by privatizing Medicare and dismantling Medicaid. It would also impoverish and starve millions more Americans by slashing food assistance programs that more and more working families have had to rely upon during the recession. All in all, it would take down the foundation of America's economic success: the middle class. Oh, and it wouldn't even reduce the federal deficit!

And Dean Heller is embracing this? He'd rather stand with Paul Ryan, the teabaggers, and other extreme right looney tunes than serve Nevada? He'd rather impoverish Nevada's working families than reach across the aisle and work on bringing more needed jobs to Nevada?

So why does Nevada need Dean Heller in The Senate?

Last Chance to Save Our State

We don't have much time left. Despite his own admission that his budget is way too extreme, "Arnold Sandogibbons" continues to deny reality and push Nevada to the edge of annihilation. Nevada needs more investment in public infrastructure, not less, to survive and ultimately thrive. The Sandogibbons "Benevolent Butcher Budget" would do nothing but imperil our fragile economic recovery, so this really shouldn't be considered a legitimate option for a state that's been as economically depressed as ours.

The Democratic budget alternative is now here. And while it may not be perfect, it has revenue components and it starts a real conversation on actually balancing the budget. And remember, PLAN's plan is also here, and it puts forward a more progressive budget that truly does invest what's needed for our state and our people.

But whatever the final budget looks like, it must be a budget that raises revenue badly needed to invest in the infrastructure that will get us out of this great recession and into sustained recovery. That's why it's critical for us to contact our legislators and ask them to support a truly balanced budget with revenue necessary to build great schools, great health care, great roads, and the kind of great lifestyle that companies and workers will want to move to Nevada for.








So what are you waiting for? Please help us save our state!

And the Chorus Grows...

Are we listening?

Kevin Whitney of TechAmerica, an advocacy group that represents 1,200 high-tech companies across the country, said an hour-long discussion with state Legislative leaders and the governor’s office focused on issues the state faces in luring such companies to move to the state or expand existing businesses.

“Many of those issues centered around a lack of workforce development and skills acquisitions that our companies require to relocate or expand our operations, here in the state of Nevada,” Whitney said. “Oftentimes what you see is these companies come here to do a project and unfortunately have to import their workforce from other states.”

Capgemeni, a tech firm working on the Nevada Business Portal and with the state department of employment and training, found those challenges firsthand, said company executive Kevin Doyle.

“Frankly, in order to start our business here, we needed to bring folks in (from out of state),” he said. “We know that’s not sustainable long-term, but having technology skills is absolutely paramount to our success.”

So tech companies are now begging the powers that be in Carson City for a more educated workforce? But guess what? Brian Sandoval wants to slash programs at Nevada colleges that are doing this! I know, I know, it's the definition of insanity.

How often have you heard me rant about our overdependence on gaming, even as it's becoming increasingly clear that gaming isn't building here any more? But as long as we refuse to provide needed infrastructure, like good PreK-16 schools, new companies and industries will continue bypassing us for greener pastures.

"Jobs, jobs, jobs" has been the mantra of the 2011 Legislative session that began Feb. 7. And while Democratic leaders have their differences with the new Republican governor over the budget, both sides of the aisle have stayed on message that working together and creating jobs is priority No. 1 this session.

Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, said the discussion with executives of TechAmerica focused on "what would it take for them to come to Nevada."

In answer to that question, Paul Miner, government affairs manager for General Electric Co., said "first and foremost what you're seeing around this table." He called the bipartisan front "unprecedented."

But Miner also said, "you need a well-educated work force to get to work."

Kevin Doyle, with Paris-based Capgemini, agreed, especially when it comes to specific skills required in the technology fields.

His consulting and technology firm recently located in Nevada, he said, and had to import staff because it could not find trained workers.

Sandoval said he was encouraged by the executives' comments.

"This is one of the reasons I am optimistic of the future of Nevada," he told reporters, who were briefly invited to ask questions after the closed discussions concluded.

Sandoval has proposed deep cuts to both K-12 and Nevada's colleges and universities. Democrats counter the cuts would counterproductive to a state trying to claw its way out of the Great Recession.

The writing is on the wall. Who is reading it? Who is heeding the warning? Who is ready to call out the "no tax" insanity for what it is and call on Nevada to start anew?

We have companies coming into our state, taking our natural resources for their profit, and paying next to nothing in taxes. What is wrong with this picture?

We have the cheapest state government in the country and one of the lowest tax rates anywhere, yet businesses are NOT flocking here in droves. What is wrong with this picture?

Business leaders are now saying they want and need a more highly educated workforce to succeed, but Governor Sandoval stands by his budget to cut to death the very economic lifeline we need now more than ever before. What is wrong with this picture?

And what will we do to make it right?

"Dewey Defeats Truman" => "Angle Defeats Reid"

If we're to believe all the Beltway chatter, Sharron Angle has surged into the lead, Harry Reid is pathetic, and Nevada is doomed.

Guess what? They're wrong! Let me explain...



Need I say more?

She is an embarrassment. She is ridiculous. She offers nothing but batsh*t crazy...

And she's winning? Not exactly. Jon Ralston, Nevada's top pundit, explained this morning what may actually be happening...

So what do we know so far? Not a lot. I have three days worth of data to peruse, just under a fourth of the 14-day total. Despite reports elsewhere, the Republicans have yet to show any unusual surge in voting, and The Reid Machine is holding its own.

So far, in the state’s two urban counties, the Republicans have less than a percentage point edge in turnout. If the Republican turnout edge by the end of early voting is 5 percent or so — standard for a midterm — the Democrats will be pretty happy, albeit edgy.

Reid needs a small GOP margin to survive. It comes down to something either candidate might say in an unguarded moment if asked by an innocent voter what the election is really all about:

It’s the turnout, stupid.

That's why we had a bunch of students at the north lawn at UNLV yesterday. And guess who joined us!



Yet again, many of the DC pundits are getting it wrong. Contrary to what they've been suggesting, there's hardly any "enthusiasm gap". And I have a feeling that we'll see even less of one come this weekend.

I didn't even really see an "enthusiasm gap" last weekend.







I walked my neighborhood last weekend, and here's what I found. ALL of the Democrats I talked to are voting for Harry Reid and Dina Titus, and all but two either already voted or will definitely be voting early this week. (The other two I may have to check on later this week.) All but one Nonpartisan (Independent) I talked with in my neighborhood last weekend are also supporting Reid and Titus. (The one who wouldn't just doesn't want to vote... Sad.) Oh, and I even found another Republican for Reid in my neighborhood!

Now I know my precinct doesn't tell the whole story, but let me explain this. It's typically one of the more pro-Republican areas of Henderson. It's no "liberal nirvana". And on a couple streets in the subdivision across the main street from my community, a few of the Republicans put up Angle signs. They may be revved up... But so are we.

And in fact, the other side may not be forming as strong of a "wave" as the Beltway pundits have been bloviating over for months now...

The Tea Party movement has gained the image of an unstoppable wave of anger sweeping everything before it as it seeks to overthrow the Washington establishment. Well in Elko, Nevada, last night it looked a little less than that.

About 150 people turned up in an open field on a very chilly night to welcome the Tea Party Express, the bus tour that is crossing America in the run-up to next month's midterm elections. Most of the participants were in their sixties or above, and the event had more in common with a sedate charity gala than a political revolution.

The low turnout and lack of energy was puzzling as it came just four hours' drive after a rousing start to the bus tour in Reno, addressed by Sarah Palin. I was lost for an explanation. This was after all the same state, the same battle to boot out Harry Reid, the local senator closely associated in Nevada with the big government spending habits of the Obama administration.

And that's what I've been finding on the ground here in Southern Nevada. Sure, teabaggers pop up here and there occasionally with their protests of everything "government" (except when they want it, go figure). But with the exception of all those thousands of people who drove in or bussed in from out of state for that "Showdown in Searchlight", I still haven't seen any massive "grassroots" outpouring of "tea party" support.

Instead, what I see and hear is concern about when more Nevadans will get back to work, concern about access to good education, concern about the family member(s) dangerously close to foreclosure... Basically, what I'm hearing from real Nevadans is real concern about how to get our state back on track.

And I'm hearing many points of view on what to do to get Nevada moving forward again. Some agree with Guy Farmer of Nevada Appeal...

I'm one of those disillusioned independent voters who supported President Obama two years ago. But, like Time magazine's Mark Halperin, I think “the White House is in over its head, insulated, insular (and) arrogant.” I also think Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) miscalculated by joining with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) to champion Obama's free-spending, Big Government agenda, which is why Reid is struggling to defeat his slightly kooky Tea Party opponent, Sharron Angle.

That said, I simply can't vote for Angle, who has espoused a series of extreme right-wing measures such as the privatization of Medicare, Social Security and the Veterans Administration, and she went way over the line by accusing Reid of voting to provide Viagra to child molesters. Please! So I'll be casting a reluctant vote for Reid, who delivers the pork (good pork, of course), and continues to block the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, which most Nevadans oppose.

While others agree with Brian Greenspun of The Las Vegas Sun...

In a state that has been devastated during this economic meltdown, the things we need more than anything else are jobs and the promise of more jobs. We don’t need people to talk about them, we need people to do something about them. This week, thousands of new jobs from renewable energy firms were announced. Some will come almost immediately, some will come in a few months. All of them are the direct result of the efforts of the majority leader of the U.S. Senate, Harry Reid.

We have learned a valuable lesson in this state in the past two years and that is we can no longer rely on gaming and construction industries to secure our futures. They both depend on the discretionary income of others who are willing to come to Nevada. When those incomes disappeared and discretionary dollars became necessary dollars for mortgages and car payments, those people stayed home. Nevada will suffer until people feel secure enough to come back and enjoy all that Nevada has to offer. We have learned that we cannot allow ourselves to be dependent upon the good will and good cheer of others ever again. We need a better plan!

That is why we must have good, high-paying jobs in other industries, and there is no better 21st-century industry than renewable energy. The world needs what we can produce in Nevada, which has been dubbed the Saudi Arabia of solar energy. That means we have plenty of sun — an unlimited supply — and we can become the energy producer for the rest of the country if we do this right.

That will take everybody working together, especially the right person in the majority leader’s chair — someone who both gives a darn about Nevada and believes his job is to help bring jobs to his home state. One thing we did learn from the debate is that Angle will not lift a finger to help and that Reid will do and has done everything possible to secure our futures in this state. Of course, most of us knew that before the debate. Now everyone knows that if it is jobs for Nevada that we want, only one candidate believes it is his job to make them happen.

But without a doubt, most of the people I've spoken with here agree that our only chance of moving forward is with Harry Reid as our Senate Majority Leader. And I know I'm not alone. That's what the Beltway pundits are missing. This isn't a game to us. We're dealing with our very lives here, and we can't afford the insane and dangerous extremism of Sharron Angle.

I want to be able to finish school at UNLV and get a good job. My unemployed friends depended on unemployment insurance, and need good jobs soon. My friend who came close to foreclosure needed someone to help him negotiate with the bank to keep his home. My parents depend on Social Security to survive. And guess who's been helping us?

Again, this isn't a game to us. And I think this is what's closing "the enthusiasm gap". And at the end of the day, I think a whole lot of folks will be surprised by the final election results.

Is Joe Heck or Sharron Angle Really on Our Side?

Yesterday, we talked about how Sharron Angle has become yet another Beltway Republican creation with her inside deals and arrogant dismissals of the concerns of Nevada's working families. And yet again, she's not alone. Take a look at who's been copying her notes.



Once again, Joe Heck is following Sharron Angle's lead. Just as she bashed Nevada kids and their futures...



Just like Angle, Heck wants to do away with the Department of Education, and with it all the block grants that keep Nevada's schools open. And just like Angle, Heck opposed help for our schools and to keep teachers in our kids' classrooms. Even though we all know a good education is the key to a successful career, Heck just doesn't care about our schools, our kids, or our economic future.

Why? But of course, his corporate patrons prefer more "billionaire bailouts" and other special tax breaks for the super-rich. Who needs such silly things as schools when Joe Heck's big corporate buddies can get more bailouts!

After all, look at who's bailing out Joe Heck's campaign! The US Chamber of Commerce endorsed Heck, and they're now putting on attack ads saying all the usual lies about Dina Titus. The Chamber is using foreign funds from foreign companies to fund these attacks!



Ever wonder why Heck won't say anything about creating more American jobs?



He's taking the big bucks from the corporate powers that be, so he has no problems sending more of our jobs overseas. And he has no problem giving more bailouts to billionaires while working class Nevadans suffer.

Sound familiar?



Just as Sharron Angle cuts her deals to serve the Beltway Republican corporate agenda...



Joe Heck does what his corporate patrons tell him to do, Nevadans be damned.

But you know who has been on our side? Dina Titus has.

She worked to deliver on health care reform that cuts costs, allows for more access to quality care, and protects patients from insurance industry wrongdoing. (And more Americans want to see it work!) She worked and fought for all her constituents, to protect all our civil rights, and make sure that LGBTQ families that are already being hit hard in this economy aren't being hit even more because of discrimination.



And when Southern Nevada's LGBTQ community looked for leadership to stop the bullying that's killing our kids



She's also worked to help people stay in their homes.



And she's worked to bring more jobs back to Southern Nevada! All in all, she's kept her priorities in order.



So who's really on our side here? Someone who's crisscrossing the district, meeting constituents as often as she can, helping local homeowners save their homes, and doing all she can to help Nevada's working families weather this economic storm? Or yet another Chamber of Commerce/"Tea Party, Inc." backed GOP Beltway tool who basks in the "aura" of his Orly Taitz endorsement and foreign funded Chamber of Commerce attack ads on his behalf while ignoring the needs of Southern Nevada working families?



The choice is ours.

The Choice Can't Be Clearer: Jobs or No Jobs?

We have this...

For the third year, UNLV hosted the National Clean Energy Summit which focused on bringing green jobs to Americans and Nevadans.

The Center for American Progress Action Fund and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid organized the Tuesday event.

Senator Reid said a greater push behind renewable energy would ease the nation's security problems and help overcome economic woes.

"We have 86 new projects now. Not projects on the drawing board, but actual projects now so these jobs are here, but as we heard the potential is unlimited," said Senator Harry Reid, (D) Nevada.

And we have this...

MGM Resorts International Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren says Sharron Angle's election to the U.S. Senate would hurt Nevada's already struggling economy.

Murren said Tuesday that Angle's comment that the company's CityCenter development injured other businesses in Nevada was disappointing and perplexing. He questions how a U.S. Senate candidate could have such a "poor" understanding of business and economics.

Murren is a Republican who supports Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Angle is Reid's GOP opponent as he seeks a fifth term.

We have jobs on the line. We have our future on the line. We can move forward to more sustainable future, both environmentally and economically...





Or we can move back to the failed policies of the past.



Again, the choice can't be clearer. Let's make the right choice.

Extreme Sharrontology Spits on Unemployed Nevadans Yet AGAIN

Yet again, Sharron Angle ran her mouth into some deep doo-doo when chatting with everyone's fave radical right radio maven, Heidi Harris. This time, they had a rather... Ummm, telling conversation on how to help people looking for work.

So what was Sharrontology's answer? Don't give them any!

"People don't want to be unemployed," she explained. "They want to have real, full-time, permanent jobs with a future. That's what they want, and we need to create that climate in Washington, D.C. that encourages businesses to create those full-time, permanent jobs with a future, and all [Rep.] Shelley Berkeley and [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid want to do is put a band-aid on this by extending unemployment, which really doesn't benefit anyone. What happens is of course that your skills stagnate. You become demoralized yourself, you know, feeling that I can't ever get a job, and these are not the solutions to the problem. We have real solutions, but they won't look at the real solutions."

Oh jeez, where do I start?

Yes, people do want to have real, full-time, permanent jobs with a future. And Harry Reid understands this! That's why he delivered on the $83 million school aid that's helping local school districts hire more teachers across the state. That's why he delivered on bringing a major wind turbine manufacturing plant to Southern Nevada to create more well-paying green collar jobs. That's why he worked to deliver on two energy transmission lines that will create 2,000 more green collar jobs. That's why he ensured passage of the Travel Promotion Act to encourage more foreign guests to visit Nevada. And that's why he called the banks to secure funding to finish CityCenter and save the 22,000 jobs on the line there, as well as continuing to fight to keep Lake Tahoe as a unique environmental jewel that continues to pump economic life into Northern Nevada.

That's what Harry Reid has been doing to bring more jobs to Nevada. So what does Sharron Angle want to do about jobs? Listen to what she has to say herself!





So she refuses to go out of her way to help Nevadans find jobs, and now she doesn't even want to offer any help while people are looking for new jobs! No one wants to be unemployed, and $400 per week does not make a "glamorous lifestyle". Unemployment insurance is a much needed lifeline for people who are out of work and searching for new work. And since we've all paid into it, don't we deserve it when we're in need?

And if that isn't bad enough, she doesn't even want to prepare our kids to be competitive in the global economy and be equipped for better jobs in the future. Remember that good education means good jobs, and Sharron Angle opposes help to keep Nevada schools open as well as Millennium Scholarships that helps in getting more Nevadans into college. I guess that's why more and more prominent Republicans, such as Former Nevada First Lady Dawn Gibbons, are rejecting Sharrontology's extremism.



So yet again, we must realize the high stakes in this election. We can't afford the kind of radical right extremism that Sharron Angle embraces. We need real action to bring more real jobs to Nevada. And this means we must keep Harry Reid as our Senate Majority Leader so he can keep fighting for us.

Sharrontology Says We're "Spoiled". I Think She's Nuts.

So everyone is talking about Harry Reid's new ad hitting Sharron Angle hard on her insane comments on our unemployed being "spoiled" by $400 per week checks as they look everywhere for new work...



But you know what? Debra Harding isn't the only one hit hard by the "jobs deficit". There are many more who have been pummeled by the recession, and who don't need Sharrontology lecturing them on being "spoiled".



I've had friends and family who have lost their jobs. They certainly weren't "spoiled" by any lap of luxury while they were either draining whatever they had left in savings... Or if not even that "spoiled", figuring out how to get by week to week, month to month. And they certainly were NOT "afraid of getting a job". Rather, they were looking everywhere they could until they found other jobs.

I know you must also know people who have gone through the same ordeal. Can this seriously be considered "spoiling our citizenry"? Sharron Angle is just so out of touch with all the rest of us in Nevada who have seen with our own eyes the wreckage from this recession, caused by the very radical right policies that Sharrontology so loves.

Unspinning Last Night's NV-Gov Debate

I was there... I was there! My inner nerd was so excited! This was my very first Gubernatorial debate in person. Finally, I could sit just a few feet away and listen for myself as the candidates answer the tough questions...

But sadly, most of those tough questions weren't really answered. I have to hand it to Elizabeth Crum on this:

In answer to Qs about "who won" tonight's #nvgov debate, I'd have to say...the people who watched the Emmys. Or the #RedSox game.

Unfortunately, it's true. If you forsook your duty as an American citizen and Nevada resident to pay attention to last night's debate and learn more about what the candidates plan to do on education, you didn't really miss too much.



Brian Sandoval lied about his education plan. He said he wouldn't cut anything except teacher salaries, but in reality his plan is far more dangerous than he hints. Because teachers really aren't paid all that much (Trust me, I've had friends and family work in the schools... It's NOT glamorous.) and they probably won't like Sandoval jumping in and demanding their contracts be reopened. If he really wants to cut $73 million from the schools' budget, he'll have to look at firing teachers.

In addition, he wants to divert $110 million from class size reduction into the general fund. Even though Sandoval spoke glowingly of "reducing class sizes", he actually wants to do away with smaller class sizes by defunding this program that's supposed to give students more of an opportunity to learn. It really shows where his priorities lie.

And finally, Sandoval wants to slash another $100 million from public schools with his voucher program to subsidize private schools. This is nothing more than a "Reverse Robin Hood" scheme of stealing from the working poor and middle class (in the form of calling our schools "failed" in order to defund them) to give to the super-rich (in the form of "bailing out" their private schools).

Behind Brian Sandoval's flowery rhetoric was something truly frightening. Naomi Klein wrote an amazing book three years ago, called "The Shock Doctrine", that explains how the radical right has used disasters and times of upheaval to sneak through their corporate right agenda of deregulation and privatization. And reading between the lines of Sandoval's statements last night, it became crystal clear he and his economic team are looking to "shock doctrine" Nevada by using our recession and budget crisis to slash public education, starve our entire public infrastructure, and let the corporate welfare agenda roll.





Rory Reid did seem to show some signs of life last night. He did challenge Sandoval on vouchers and stealing from public education to subsidize private schools. And he did challenge Sandoval on his other hidden cuts to public schools and our kids' education.

However, he refused to acknowledge the elephant in the room: How will we pay for "reform"? To his credit, Rory has come up with some smart ideas on education, from following through on class size reduction to local empowerment to freeing our kids from the shackles of "No Child Left Behind" and its flawed "standards". But again, he wouldn't talk about how he plans to pay for everything he's proposing.

We all know we can't cut our way out of this problem. As we've talked about before, there's hardly anything left to cut! And more and more state legislators are now saying the obvious that we have no choice but to look at new revenue. We know the mining industry can afford to pay its fair share, and we know corporate giants like Wal-Mart and Target have avoided paying their fair share for decades. It's time to finally address this and institute fair and progressive tax reform to save our state.

But for some reason, Rory won't talk about this. He's been told this is "bad politics". Too bad. It's good policy, and until Carson City acts on this, we won't ever have a fully functional state government.

So who won last night's debate? You tell me. And who lost? We did.

I wish I can be more hopeful. But until Rory truly calls out what Brian Sandoval is proposing and offers a clear alternative that gets our state out of this mess for good, I don't know what else to say.

(And btw, if you missed it last night and want to see the debate in full, here you go.)

Extreme Sharrontology: Why She's No Good for Us

(Also at DKos)



And come on, we know NONE of these are lies, or even exaggerations. Just look at everything she's publicly said... Or at least everything she said back when her DC handlers weren't trying to hide the real Sharron Angle.

We know that she refuses to acknowledge that well educated students means a stronger, more sustainable economy for Nevada. Hell, she even opposed our former REPUBLICAN Governor Kenny Guinn on Millennium Scholarships!



Yes, you heard me right. Sharron Angle opposed our late REPUBLICAN Governor's proposal to use funds from the Big Tobacco settlement to ensure that high school students who worked hard and achieved strongly in high school could go to college! How much more extreme can one get?

No wonder why most of us young folk are realizing we have only one choice in this election.



Really? Do we want that kind of leadership that brought home much needed aid to keep teachers doing their job and educating our kids, or this kind of extremism?



As I've said before, good education is the key to bringing and keeping good jobs in this state! And speaking of good jobs, we also know we have plenty of opportunities in renewable energy. Harry Reid has delivered on renewable energy projects in Nevada...





While Sharron Angle denies real science on climate change, refuses to lift a single finger to bring green collar jobs to Nevada, wants to bring a dangerous nuclear waste dump within 100 miles of Las Vegas, and supports polluting our fine state so her Big Coal & Big Oil corporate BFFs can profit while we suffer.

I know it's been funny sometimes to mock Sharron Angle's extremism, but let's not forget that at the end of the day, Sharrontology and her dangerous extremism are NO laughing matters! She cares nothing about the well-being of Nevada. She just says crazy things to curry the teabaggers' favor, even if it means blurting out irresponsible statements that could hurt all of us.







Sharrontology wants to eliminate fundamental bedrocks of our social safety net, like Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance. She wants to let the fossil fuel industry continue to run amok with their irresponsible profiteering while The Gulf suffers from BP's folly, our nation tries to catch up in green jobs opportunities, and Nevada looks to clean energy for an economically AND environmentally sustainable future. She wants to destroy our schools, and along with them our kids' future job opportunities, in her classic style of being "penny wise and pound foolish". Simply put, Sharron Angle is just too extreme and impractical for us in Nevada. We need someone who will fight for our best interest, NOT someone who calls us "spoiled" and ignores us while getting her latest radical right marching orders.

There's really only one choice we have for US Senate. We can't afford to lose the strongest voice we have in Congress.

Sharrontology Exposure... Continued...

So John L. Smith takes a trip down memory lane and reminds us of this famous line said in 1993:

"STOP FUNDING THE WASTEFUL SOCIAL AND ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS. MAKE THE DIFFICULT CHOICES THAT WILL KEEP OUR COUNTRY STRONG. THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE ELECTED TO DO!"

Guess who said this. If you guessed Sharron Angle, you're correct!

[I'd quote, except that I'd rather NOT get sued by Righthaven.]



No matter how hard she tries, Sharron Angle can't hide her true self. That's why, despite the topsy turvy polls, Republicans aren't as giddy behind the scenes as they put out in public.

Oh look, Sue Lowden reemerges!

[I'd quote, except that I'd rather NOT get sued by Righthaven.]

Oh, I guess she still doesn't want to be seen in public with Sharrontology.

Oh look, Danny Tarkanian is back!

Since Ms. Angle won, her campaign has been rocked by a series of politically intemperate remarks and awkward efforts to retreat from hard-line positions she has embraced in the past, like phasing out Social Security. There have also been a staff shake-up and run-ins with Nevada journalists, including one in which a television reporter chased her through a parking lot trying to get her to answer a question.

Republicans in this state are concerned that what had once seemed a relatively easy victory is suddenly in doubt, with signs that Ms. Angle’s campaign is scrambling to regroup.

“Reid had no chance to win before,” said Danny Tarkanian, one of the Republicans who lost to Ms. Angle. “He has a shot to win now. He could still lose, but I have to say he is favored.”

Oh, I guess he's also catching a glimpse of reality.







Sharrontology wants to end Social Security and allow seniors to go for broke if Wall Street doesn't treat them well. She doesn't believe it's her job to care about our jobs. She'd rather see people die from lack of health care than do anything suggesting "government is god". (HUH??!!)

She's just too extreme for Nevada.

"Pro-Business" Nevada... Has 4th Worst Business Climate in the Nation. Why?

SURPRISE! Yet again, we score a big EPIC FAIL... This time in business climate, something we're supposed to be "experts" on.

Nevada was ranked 47th of CNBC’s “Top States for Business” for the second year in a row.

CNBC measured the states in 10 categories, which included education, technology and innovation, cost of living, and quality of life. According to CNBC’s website, the group scored states on 40 metrics.

Texas, which was second overall last year, earned first place in 2010.

Nevada placed last in education and tied with Rhode Island for last place in economy — a measure of overall economic strength. [...]

The state scored 15th overall in business friendliness, which assessed “legal and regulatory” frameworks. Nevada ranked 19th for its workforce, as measured by the availability and quality of workers.

CNBC used test scores, the number of higher education institutions, class sizes and spending on education to rank each state’s schools. Education is important to businesses because it creates a strong base from which to recruit, the website said.

But wait, I thought we were a "shoo-in" to win this one. I mean, we do have the second lowest tax burden in the nation and the cheapest state government in the nation per capita (and, I might add, being far cheaper for the super-rich and big corporations than all the rest of us "unwashed masses"). So what caused this?

Oh yeah, that's right... WE HAVE NO REAL INFRASTRUCTURE! Our schools are constantly the butt of jokes. Our "transportation system" is always in a state of incomplete. Our "health care" system may actually be quite deadly. Basically, we're not the kind of place people feel comfortable living in and regularly doing business in.

And look at the places where people do feel comfortable living and working. Massachusetts and Minnesota have great schools. Virginia and Colorado have invested in the kind of infrastructure that has lured tech and biotech companies to their state. Even Texas, which scored #1 this year, invests far more in its state than Nevada!

Meanwhile, poor lil' Nevada, where the chamber of commerce always threatens to bolt when even hearing rumors of "the t word" coming, once again hits rock bottom along with "crazy, hippie, commie-loving pinko, lib'rul, anti-business" states like Mississippi, West Virginia, and Alaska. The common thread? Again, we don't invest enough in our own state and our own people!

I know some righties like to mock Rory Reid for talking so much about education (and occasionally not using his last name, whatever). But now that we think about it, is it really that crazy? Considering how states with great schools tend to have an easier time recruiting businesses, doesn't it now make sense?





Now if Rory could only come up with some plans to fully bring this state into the 21st century? Wait, that might require "the t word"? Well, look where all those "lowest taxes in the nation" got us so far.

Meanwhile, Harry Reid Actually Gets Stuff Done...

OK, so it's been hard lately for me to take my eyes off the trainwreck that Suzy Lowdown's campaign has become along with Batsh*t Crazy Sharron Angle catapulting her way to the top of her party so rich with embarrassments. But apparently today, the guy who actually is our Senator delivered some good news.

After failing yesterday to get the 60 votes they needed to bring debate on a historic financial reform bill to a close, Senate Democrats succeeded in this afternoon's cloture vote.

The final vote today was 60-40 (yesterday it was 57-42). Next up is a final vote on passage, which is expected to take place within days.

After today's vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said there are "a couple of amendments that are germane post-cloture, but they're the ones that we have to figure out a way to get resolved."

"We're going to try to work through this," Reid said, adding that there may be more votes this afternoon.

"Best of all worlds, we'd finish this thing and move onto other issues," Reid said. "We're gonna try to do that."

Sure, financial regulatory reform isn't perfect... But at least it looks like we'll have a chance to see votes on amendments to strengthen the bill tomorrow. Hope isn't all lost. Rather, we have a chance to finally see some kind of overhaul in our financial system to prevent any more "too big to fail" catastrophes like what we saw in 2008.

Oh, and did you hear about this?

Stimulus funds will have created or saved 5,600 construction jobs by the end of the year, according to a press release issued yesterday by the Nevada Department of Transportation.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the release says, has provided about $201 million in funding for road construction in Nevada, and 90 percent of the funds have already been contracted out to construction companies.

The release states that 32 ARRA-funded projects are currently underway in the state, and an additional six will begin by the end of May. After the rest of the projects begin over the course of summer and fall, a total of 69 road projects will have used stimulus funding.

Stimulus money has provided funding for numerous road preservation projects throughout the state, funding for landscape projects along the U.S. 95 in Las Vegas and the 395 in Carson City, and partial funding for a new interchange at the 395 and Meadowood Way in Reno. A full list of projects, last updated in January, can be found on the NDOT website.

The majority of the funds — $134 million – have been allocated for work on state highways. An additional $40 million was allocated to Clark County, where about 30 projects were funded by Federal stimulus money. $9 million was allocated to Washoe county, $11 million to rural areas and $6 million to numerous “enhancements.”

But wait, haven't the GOoPers been calling the Recovery Act "porkulus"? So that "pork" meant money for roads and some 5,600 much needed jobs? So Harry Reid was right in pushing to pass the Recovery Act?



The difference can't be any clearer. Whoever the GOoPers ultimately decide upon, he or she will be campaigning AGAINST the very measures that are now pulling us out of the worst recession since the 1930s and into economic recovery. Senator Reid actually worked to pass these very measures that are bringing about a turnaround.

Now why would Nevada want to settle for less? I don't think we do. :-)

Las Vegas Recovery? Harrah's Is Hiring 500 Workers.

Well, here's a nice bit of news to make our Tuesday feel better. Apparently, Harrah's is hiring.

Harrah’s Entertainment is looking to hire 500 workers for positions at its Las Vegas casinos.

The casino operator announced today that it is looking to fill 125 full-time positions and 375 temporary, on-call or part-time positions.

Full-time positions include retail sales associates, guest room attendants, cooks, front desk agents, security officers, food servers, cashiers, assistant food and beverage managers, and line cooks. Seasonal positions include lifeguards, pool hosts and pool attendants.

Harrah’s is also looking to fill temporary positions for the World Series of Poker tournament, including sales associates, cashiers, valet and servers.

Harrah’s will host a job fair Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Rio to begin its search.

So if you know any friends in need of work, let them know. Yeah, yeah, I know 375 of these 500 positions are part-time or on-call... But with Clark County unemployment still so high at 13.9%, every little bit helps.

And hopefully, this is just the start of more job openings coming on line as summer travel season quickly approaches.