Time to Move On

For five years, we've been here. Through thick and then. In good times and bad times. To celebrate and to mourn. To investigate and to analyse.

For five years, you've been here with us. You've seen it all. You've done it all. And all this time, you've stuck with us.

You were with us when we raged against the machine. You were with us when we took many looks under the hood of the machine. And yes, you were even with us when we drunkenly twerked our way all the way through the machine.

And now, I have to say this. And yes, I have to do this. It's time for me to move on.

Starting today, I'm becoming a contributing editor at Let's Talk Nevada. I already have my inaugural piece up as an official LTN contributor. It's an in-depth look inside the Nevada Democratic Party's 2014 campaign (or lack thereof). And trust me, there will be even more of the juicy policy realness there that you've come to enjoy here. And yes, there will be more political pieces like the one I posted this morning.

Anyone who knows my herstory knows that I have experience making waves on community sites. I'm not the type of blogger who's easily lost in the shuffle.

Rather, this is opportunity for us to be a part of something bigger. Now, more than ever before, we need to foster a better sense of community. And in this new community we're joining, we'll have an even greater platform to share the news and views you may not find anywhere else.

We've complained about the lack of independent media. Now, we're finally doing something about it. And I dearly hope you will join me at LTN.

As long as Google/Blogger allows me, I will keep the Nevada Progressive archives alive for you. Hey, I have just over five years of stories for you to re-read and enjoy! You can never say I didn't give you enough.

For five years, we've had a good run here. This blog may have been held together by duct tape, bubble gum, nail polish, and an endless supply of big dreams, but we made the most of it and fulfilled so many of our dreams here. I can't thank you enough for sticking with me for all this time.

But now, it's time to move on. The next chapter is about to begin. Would you like to turn the page with me?

Quick Programming Note

It's getting to that time of the year. We're doing our best to juggle everything. But this weekend, we will likely be swamped.

We're waiting for a "special surprise" to drop. When it does, we'll blog it. And from there, we'll probably need the extended weekend off.

But don't worry, you won't be all alone. Desert Beacon, Let's Talk Nevada, & Buzz are here for your enlightenment. And if you still haven't voted yet (& so far, it looks like you probably haven't), please check our one stop voter shop and the Nevada Voter Guide for all the early voting information you need.

We hope this helps. And above all else, we hope you go out and vote soon. Why miss out on your chance to have your say?

This Too Shall Pass

(Thanks so much for your patience yesterday. The situation has calmed down somewhat, but I still have more issues there to resolve. But for the time being, I'll be picking up where I left off on the blog.

This month hasn't been an easy one for me. I lost a loved one, I'm having to sever a relationship, and it's almost the two year anniversary of my grandmother passing away.

This morning, I reached back into the Nevada Progressive archives for this. In a sense, I feel like my life is in this limbo again. Yet eventually, this too shall pass. I have to keep reminding myself of that.)

So I was helping with voter registration earlier today when I got the call. My dad called to tell me my grandmother had just passed away. And I didn't quite know what to do next.

We've known for some time that my grandmother was getting worse. It was becoming increasingly obvious by the time of her last hospital visit, when the decision was made to place her on hospice. I knew that at some point, she would have to leave us.

I just wasn't expecting this to occur today. I just didn't want to think it could happen so soon. But alas, it happened.

Even when one feels best prepared to deal with tragedy, one is never fully prepared when it finally happens. So it happened. She's gone. And I'm pretty much an emotional mess.

Yet somehow, I'm still here. And somehow, I'm continuing my day. Maybe it's because I know she is in a better place now. And maybe it's because I don't know what I'd be doing now if I had not been helping with voter registration when I got the call.

Sorry for the personal 411, but I just need to release what's been building in me since this morning.

Life Intervenes

Please excuse this latest interruption. I was planning some more stories today...

But life intervenes. Those closest to me know what's going down. It's a saddening and difficult situation. However, it's a situation that I'm working hard to resolve.

It's not often easy to say goodbye. It's often even more difficult to ask someone to exit one's life. And it's even more difficult when one is exposed to the underlying issues causing the strife.

I'm hoping to resume my regular work schedule at some point this week. But for the time being, life intervenes. I'm hoping I won't have to take too long of a break to resolve this issue.

My Own 9/11 (& Deja Vu, Fog of War)

(Especially in light of President Obama's big announcement on Isis last night, I figured now's a good time to rerun this piece from September 11, 2011. I'll have more on the President's plan to take on Isis later today.)



September 11, 2001, is a day I can't forget... Even though it was a day that seemed to start like so many others had. While I was getting ready for school, America's beating economic heart and central political nervous system were under attack. And as I was starting what I just thought would be my second day of high school, my entire outlook on life would forever change.

That morning, I woke up as just another Orange County kid attending just another conservative Christian fundamentalist private school. In the following weeks, I would be relegated as "extreme" as that crazy "anti-American" extremist, Barbara Lee. Why? Well, I agree(d) with her.



It was my first experience of expressing dissent, and of paying the price for holding an unpopular point of view. In the immediate days following 9/11, there was a sense of national unity. And while it was helpful in many ways, on the other hand it allowed for the Bush Administration to embark on policy prescriptions that we would later learn to be quite harmful to our country. It was easy to go with the masses and cheer on "retaliation" against the "evildoers". It most definitely wasn't easy to point out what would happen once Congress gave George Bush a blank check to engage in endless war.

I was just trying to make sense of everything that was happening all around me... And it just wasn't making sense. Even as everyone else around me kept beating the drums for war more loudly, I kept wondering why we were doing this. My teachers and my own mother were asking why I sympathized with "terrorists". Other students just saw me as "the liberal weirdo". Nothing seemed to make sense then...

But it all comes together now.

Fast forward ten years, and now Rep. Barbara Lee's words ring more prescient and true than ever before. We're mired in multiple wars abroad, yet we supposedly can't afford to create jobs for the unemployed here at home. Nearly ten years after the USA (Un)PATRIOT(ic) Act passed, Americans are now asking where their freedom went. And now that memories of a nation so proudly patriotic seem so distant, Congress has reached a new low in unpopularity as seemingly anything and everything is being questioned.

In many ways, it feels like the tables have turned. Back then, I felt so alone in opposing what seemed so American as apple pie. But now, I'm trying to explain how things work to the very same people who are now losing faith in the entire American experiment. It can be sad to watch, but I can't lose hope that our people will recognize what needs to be done to restore our democracy.

Yep, More Technical Difficulties

We hate having to write this again. But sadly, it's come to this.

Our personal blogging assistant (aka our smartphone) started experiencing problems last weekend. At one point, it just went berserk. And then, we started experiencing dead spots on the screen.

Sadly, our personal blogging assistant is defective. So we're now waiting for a replacement.

We appreciate your patience while we're working out this latest set of technical difficulties. Jeez, is it too much to ask for a functioning smartphone and reliable internet?

We Need You

We need to talk.

ProgressNow Nevada Action will be giving us an award. We still can't believe this is actually happening.

However, we're not surprised by the other fine people ProgressNow will be honoring some very worthy people at its Celebrate Progress awards reception on September 16. State Senator Tick Segerblom (D-Las Vegas), organizer extraordinaire Rudy Zamora, and GymCats owner/activist superstar Cassie Rice will all honored for all their amazing work. We certainly couldn't be happier for them.

It's amazing to think we'll be sharing the stage with them. And it's great to see so many worthy people honored. But will it truly be an honor if we're in a mostly empty bar?

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You know who we want to see at Artifice on September 16 at 6:00 PM? You! If you want to honor some great progressives and a great organization committed to fighting for progressive values, please come to Artifice on September 16. Tickets start at $50, proceeds will be put to great use, and you'll have the opportunity to meet the best of the best in person (along with us).

We couldn't have achieved this without you, so we need you at Artifice on the 16th.

Why Does ProgressNow Want to Award This Blog? (Find Out 9/16!)

We weren't asking for this. We swear!

We certainly weren't demanding that ProgressNow Nevada Action risk ruining its reputation by giving us an award. But alas, they just had to do that.

Fortunately, ProgressNow will also be honoring some very worthy people at its Celebrate Progress awards reception on September 16. State Senator Tick Segerblom (D-Las Vegas), organizer extraordinaire Rudy Zamora, and GymCats owner/activist superstar Cassie Rice will all honored for all their amazing work. We certainly couldn't be happier for them.

However, it will be more than a little awkward for us to share the stage with them. After all, we just run this dowdy little blog that's dedicated to ending political careers. While Senator Segerblom is working on seemingly endless worthy legislation and Rudy & Cassie are taking the good fight to a whole new level, we just point and laugh at the latest & greatest Sharron Angle endeavor. Oh, and we occasionally embarrass ourselves on Twitter.

If you want to see us embarrass ourselves live, come to Artifice on September 16 at 6:00 PM. And if you want to honor some great progressives and a great organization committed to fighting for progressive values, please come to Artifice on September 16. Tickets start at $50, proceeds will be put to great use, and you'll have the opportunity to meet the best of the best in person (along with lowly us).

Technical Difficulties (Again)

Not again! Yesterday, we had another round of technical difficulties.

And yes, those technical difficulties were again due to incredibly slow internet while we were out. This is nothing short of embarrassing. We sincerely apologize for the brief post this morning.

But hey, we might as well bring this up again. The internet is too damned slow. And it's long past due for us to do something about this.

Really, it's this bad.

Technical Difficulties

It's about to get very real up in here. We're about to reveal why we're posting this instead of the usual Monday morning policy dig.

We had technical difficulties again. This time, we were roaming all around the neighborhood in search of a stable LTE signal. We had to keep roaming because the signal would constantly drop.

Obviously, we became very furious very fast. Why is this happening to us? Why is it so hard to find fast internet? Why is American internet so damned slow?

Susan Crawford on Why US Internet Access is Slow, Costly, and Unfair from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo

There are so many policy FAILs here that it's hard to keep track of all of them. Federal regulation of the telecom industry has not kept up with technological innovation. Internet service providers (ISPs) are increasingly prioritizing price gouging over improving their networks. And the giant telecom corporations are pressuring the federal government to give them even more leeway to limit consumers' internet speed and create "online toll roads" for content providers.

So why is the internet so much faster in other developed nations? Unlike America, they fully regulate the telecom industry. And unlike America, they've been investing in developing state-of-the-art fiber networks that deliver blazing fast speed.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering changing the definition of "broadband internet" to prod the telecom companies to fix their dilapidated, slow networks. While this may be a promising start, so much more is needed to fix these technical difficulties. We need hard commitments to real infrastructure investment to update our outdated internet connections. And we need real net neutrality to guarantee fair play and high speed for all.

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) has endorsed a strong net neutrality standard, and so has President Obama. But now, it's up to the FCC to decide new net neutrality standards. And ultimately, it's up to us to urge Congress and/or the telecom companies themselves to finally bring our communications infrastructure into the 21st century and bring these obnoxious technical difficulties to an end.

Please Pardon Our (Broken Smartphone).

Unfortunately, we ran into a terrible accident last Thursday. Our "mobile blogging device" slipped and fell while we were out. And sadly, our electronic companion won't be making it.

If you'd like to share condolences for our trusted "mobile blogging device", you may do so here. Otherwise, please hold tight while we await the arrival of our new electronic life partner and soulmate.

Hopefully, we won't be out of commission too much longer. It's just difficult typing on a shattered screen. Thanks so much for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.

We hope to be back up to full speed once our new "mobile blogging device" arrives this week!

Happy Birthday, America!

It's the start of July... And you know what that means. It's time for us to take a mental health break. And it's time for you to celebrate!



So go & celebrate America's 238th Birthday in proper style. Go ahead. We encourage it. Have some fun!

And please feel free to return here next week for more of the content you keep craving more of for some strange reason. And if for some reason you need something to read, check out our archives. Oh, and please visit the fine blogs featured on the sidebar.

Happy July 4!

"The Ultimate Sacrifice"

This shouldn't be such a pungent punchline. Our founders probably didn't mean for it to be this way. But alas, it's now this way.

We can't personally remember a time when Congress was a respected institution, but we know it occasionally used to be that way. And technically, it's supposed to be that way. After all, Congress makes laws. And the law is supposed to be respected.

Unfortunately, Congress couldn't be any less respected than it is now. But then again, G-O-TEA "leaders" in Congress have worked very hard lately to earn this disrespect. When they engage in pointless ideological grandstanding and reckless & nonsensical bloviating, why should we respect them?

So we could understand initial reactions to NV-04 candidate Niger Innis' assertion that he's making "the ultimate sacrifice" in running for Congress. Where's the sacrifice? He's running for a position that offers a six-figure salary in an institution that's become notorious for its agenda of nothing. Where's the sacrifice in competing for for what's essentially become a glorified paid vacation?

But then, we thought about it some more. Theoretically, Congress is supposed to be a body of public servants. They're supposed to sacrifice for the public good. And they're supposed to be a part of a respected institution.

Sadly, that's not the case. And sadly, the recent unfortunate remarks from Niger Innis will probably just be treated as another "stupid gaffe" rather than a call for serious introspection from his own party's "leaders" on Capitol Hill. Think about it. If they're not there to make any kind of sacrifice or offer any kind of public service, then why are they there in the first place?

RIP, CityLife??!!

When we started the conversation on this little blog of ours nearly five years ago, we did occasionally wonder whether this site was actually necessary. After all, this damned thing is on Blogger! And it's a site slapped together by someone who came here because he didn't always like writing by certain other people's rules.

Oops, did I really just air some of my (quite old) dirty laundry?

Enough of that. Today, we have more important things to talk about. Believe it or not, another one is close to biting the dust. And what might that "another one" be?

Here's a hint: Go back to September and remember what we said about a little law suit involving the viability of the Las Vegas Sun?

[... W]ith the rise of TV newsrooms and online news sites, there are at least theoretically alternatives to the one "newspaper" left standing...

Except that's in theory. What about reality? Just how invested are the local TV stations in supporting real journalism? And can a few scrappy web sites truly make up for losing what was once a great paper?

For now, Southern Nevada still has two newspapers in circulation. We just don't know how much longer this will last. In so many ways, the slow and ugly decline of The Sun reflects the brutal reality of print journalism's dilemma in The Digital Age. And both the recent tabloid-ization of The Sun & the decimated reputation of the other "newspaper" remind us of what happens when corporate profit seeking gets in the way of reporting the news. We may be nearing the end of an era for Southern Nevada, but this is only the continuation of a disturbing trend in journalism.

Last fall, we received a rude awakening. The Sun was already becoming a shell of its former self, but it still had value as a newspaper reporting on real news. What would happen if it were to fully decease?

Even before it started becoming obvious that The Sun's days are numbered, we were concerned about the lack of independent voices in our local media. All too often, both major papers seemed to advocate a certain point of view that looked to be all too convenient for the powers-that-be in this state. Where could we find the news and views that the powers-that-be try to prevent us from seeing?

This is typically where Las Vegas CityLife steps in. For over two decades, CityLife has been more than willing to go places the "traditional media" in this town have refused to go. And even though CityLife has shared the same owner as the "newspaper" for some time, it's somehow avoided to catch the same disease the "newspaper" has refused to cure itself of.

But very soon, this will be no more. Why? Stephens Media recently decided to discontinue its publishing of Las Vegas CityLife. Next week's issue is supposed to be the last.

And this brings us back to where we started this discussion. I honestly never thought I'd be placed in such an awkward position. I've been accustomed to being a tiny electronic cog in much bigger alternative media machine. I never imagined the day when I'd be among the few alternative, independent voices left.

As we've mentioned before, this scrappy little site that was slapped together by some punky little online rabble-rouser just can't replace an entire newspaper. And I know we're not the only ones who realize this. As we speak, a MoveOn petition (calling for Stephens Media to let CityLife live on) is collecting signatures. Who knows, maybe Stephens corporate bosses aren't fully immune from public outrage?

But if that isn't the case, someone will need to fill the void left by a dead CityLife. Paging Vegas Seven?

In the mean time, we'll still be here. We just didn't want to become necessary this way. And we just don't have an entire office to publish an entire newspaper. That's supposed to be where actual newspapers step in. When did it become acceptable for shortsighted corporate greed to kill all this journalism?

Happy Holiday Announcement

We hope you're enjoying the holiday season. We have been here... But now, it's time to go. We hate to say it, but we have to go.

We're leaving Las Vegas, and this time it's for... The rest of the month.

Don't worry. We'll still check in here from time to time. We'll be on the case in the event of any critical breaking news. And we'll soon roll out a recap of the 10 most remarkable stories of 2013.

But in the mean time, go ahead and celebrate the winter holiday season with your loved ones. That's what we'll be trying to do.

Have Yourself a Big Happy Thanksgiving!

Believe it or not, we do have reasons to be thankful this week. So go ahead and be thankful, dammit!

We will be. And that's why we'll be taking the rest of the week off here. But don't worry, we won't be gone for too long (especially not if there's any breaking news this week, which we will still be on the lookout for just in case).

In the mean time, please check out the great blogs featured on the sidebars to the right. We're thankful for our fellow progressive bloggers in Nevada and elsewhere who are reporting news and/or cutting through spin like no one else can.

We'll be back in December to cover the usual year-end stories. We'll also recap 10 of the most memorable stories of 2013. So enjoy the holiday, then come on back next week to end the year the right left way here with us.

End of an Era?

Moments ago, a local judge denied a preliminary injunction to a very possible deal (between Stephens Media and some Greenspun family members) to end the joint operating agreement (JOA) that officially allows for the printing and physical distribution of two newspapers in Southern Nevada. This may not seem like a big deal at first glance, but take a closer look. There's more to this.

Sure, overall newspaper circulation has been in decline for years. And specifically here, the Las Vegas Sun has struggled to stay in business for nearly a decade. The JOA is likely the only reason why there's any Sun print edition at all. Most folks (moiself included) now get their news by other means, such as the great wide world of the internet. (Hey, that's what's allowed me to report, comment, on bloviate on the news here!)

Speaking as an internet person myself, the rise of blogs, online news clearinghouse sites, web-izines, and other news sites has very much changed the way we see news. A century ago, we had to wait until the newspaper was delivered to see the headlines. But now, one can click on a variety of sites from a variety of internet enabled devices to see what's happening in the world.

But you know what? Even though I'm very much an internet person, I still appreciate newspapers. They invest in newsrooms, dedicated reporters, and respected space for the community to discuss the important issues of the day. Hell, newspapers often help me and other bloggers catch onto stories we might otherwise miss!

This is why the possible death of the Las Vegas Sun concerns me. I know there are folks at that paper who still want to deliver quality content. While recent cost-cutting moves have resulted in more "fluff", there are still reporters there hunting for the truth. And while the editorial pages often seem to reflect the views of certain "friends in high places", they at least offer different points of view that one can't always find in the other "newspaper" in this town.

And that's what makes today's news at least somewhat alarming. The "newspaper's" management long ago quit caring about their reputation and allowed the state’s largest paper to become the state's largest laughingstock. Can we afford to allow the "newspaper" to become the only paper in the state’s most populous county?

Or does it even matter any more? As I alluded to above, recent budget cuts and "editorial makeovers" at The Sun have resulted in that paper losing a whole lot of serious journalistic talent as it's become more focused on repeating celebrity gossip than highlighting the real reporting from the journalists who are still there. And with the rise of TV newsrooms and online news sites, there are at least theoretically alternatives to the one "newspaper" left standing...

Except that's in theory. What about reality? Just how invested are the local TV stations in supporting real journalism? And can a few scrappy web sites truly make up for losing what was once a great paper?

For now, Southern Nevada still has two newspapers in circulation. We just don't know how much longer this will last. In so many ways, the slow and ugly decline of The Sun reflects the brutal reality of print journalism's dilemma in The Digital Age. And both the recent tabloid-ization of The Sun & the decimated reputation of the other "newspaper" remind us of what happens when corporate profit seeking gets in the way of reporting the news. We may be nearing the end of an era for Southern Nevada, but this is only the continuation of a disturbing trend in journalism.

End of the Year Housekeeping

So we're already about 1/3 of the way through December. I'm sure you know what this means.

Don't worry. We'll keep an eye on breaking news and continually developing stories. We just may need to step back occasionally as Holiday Season ramps up.

Oh, and since it's pretty much become a tradition here, our "10 of..." series will return this week as we remember the 10 most riveting, "game changing", groundbreaking, and even surprising stories of 2012. If you have any suggestions,let me know.

So Happy Holidays, enjoy the season with your loved ones, and stay tuned to see what makes the "10 of 12" final cut.

How I Got My Start

Since arriving here in California, I've been reminded of my own personal history. Believe it or not, I wasn't always... Oh hell, yes I was. Still, I like to think I've matured in the last three years that I've lived in Nevada.

My first big blog gig was at Calitics in 2007. I pretty much covered the OC beat... And raised a whole lot of hell. I'm still proud of the hell-raising I did over a proposed toll road through a state park to the beach.

I then moved onto The Liberal OC, and I had a chance to grow some more and learn from the pro's on how to properly "muck-rake" and get to what's really happening in local politics. While I sometimes behaved as the local blogs' "wild child", I like to think I was at least of some use. I still won't forget my experience investigating the strange goings-on in Dana Point City Hall.

My final posts in OC were for an upstart blog. It was quite fun to be at the ground floor of something for a change, and my colleagues there encouraged me to dig deeper into the kind of policy wonkiness that you've all come to know and love me (hopefully!) for now.

Trust me, I didn't quite take a short & easy path to ProgressNow's, Desert Beacon's, & The Nevada View's respective blog rolls. Before Elizabeth Halseth, there was Diane Harkey. Before Yucca Mountain, there was Trestles. Before the beautiful train wreck that is the Nevada Republican Party, there was the grueling machine that was the Orange County Republican Party. Before I began experiencing the true "fabulosity" of Nevada politics, I had to learn my way through the hurly burly of Orange County politics.

And I appreciate all my old friends (and even some old foes) who helped me reach the point I'm at today.

Seriously, We Have a Great Month Ahead.

I hope you enjoyed getting "Rickrolled" today. It really made my April Fool's Day. ;-)



Don't worry, this was just a joke befitting the "holiday". Nevada Progressive isn't "shutting down" or "selling out" any time soon. We'll still be here to cover the big events coming up.

And wow, it looks like there will be plenty of big events and stories to cover this week. So stay tuned. Our journey together has just begun.