Enough of All That Silly Stuff...

We need to talk about the real news of the day...



OMG, Joan Rivers & Kathy Griffin hijacked CNN last night??!! So FABULOUS! hehe ;-)

At Least It Isn't All Bad on the Health Care Front

Weall, at least not all the latest health care news is awful. Next door in California, progressive health care reform advocates seemed to win the day at the town hall in Monterey. And hopefully with stronger messages and more backbone showing, Democrats can turn the narrative around on health care.

Some More Info on Reid's New Opponent...

Via Steve Sebelius.

Sure, he made a couple mistakes, referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as “Senator Pelosi” and mangling an FDR quote to make it sound like we ought to fear ourselves. But he also said he would have voted against the confirmation of now-Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor because her comments were divisive, when what we need is national unity.

“I believe that government can have a role in our economic recovery, but it needs to be a limited and effective role,” he said to assembled reporters. “However, currently, our vast and intrusive federal government is growing well beyond the powers set out in the Constitution. This centralized power is a direct threat to our personal liberties.”

Asked what the government should do to help the economy, Tarkanian said boost consumer confidence by speaking positively about a recovery. (He gave President Barack Obama credit for doing just that.) But elsewhere in his speech, he denounced stimulus spending and the financial institutions bailout — which actually began under former President George W. Bush.

There's even more hilarity here. No wonder why even some Republicans are giving up on "Baby Tark Shark". ;-)

National Clean Energy Summit 2.0

Nope, The Teabaggers Can't Muck Up the Clean Energy Summit

(Image courtesy of Las Vegas Sun)

Oh, joy! The teabagger/birther brigade has finally come down to Vegas!

About 75 conservative activists waved signs and shouted at passing cars.

Shawn Moshos, a union carpenter and Ron Paul delegate to the Nevada state Republican Convention in Reno last year, said he was on hand to protest policies that he believes will edge America toward socialism. "This is about controlling America's prosperity, when we should be in charge of our prosperity." Recently passed legislation that would limit carbon emissions by insitituting a system for trading and selling emissions credits would destroy more jobs than it would create, he charged.

The conservative demonstrators were outnumbered by progressive activists who chanted, "What do we want? Clean energy! When do we want it? Now!"

Heh. And I really thought there would be more of them, as three of their most hated politicians (Harry Reid, Al Gore, and President Clinton) are here for the National Clean Energy Summit. Btw, I have the live stream upstairs if you'd like to watch it live (but can't be at the Thomas & Mack Center today).

Hopefully, people will look beyond the noise and actually listen to ideas on how we can combat the climate crisis, retool our economy for the 21st century, and finally put Nevada and the entire nation on a more sustainable path of smart growth.

Radical Right, Corporate Funded "Mobs" Descend Upon Colorado

(Btw, desmoinesdem & Charles Lemos do a great job of debunking the latest radical right health care myths at MyDD.)

Jeralyn at TalkLeft has all the details on the corporate puppet wackos that not only disrupted, but stirred up violence and even vandalism, at Rep. Ed Perlmutter's (D-Lakewood) town hall near Denver. Square State also has more on the insanity that plagued Colorado last weekend.



Let's just hope we're turning the corner on the glorification of the teabaggers & birthers, and that we'll see more serious conversation on health care reform once we have town halls here in Nevada.

Movie Review: "Julie & Julia"

(Yes, I'm not always the political animal. Consider this the first installment of my "Arts & Entertainment" series.)

OK, so I just got back from seeing the movie. I haven't had a chance to go to the cinema in a while, so I just had to walk over to Green Valley Ranch today to see something I've been eagerly awaiting for quite a while. So here’s my take. It's charming and heartwarming at times, but doesn't really dig deep enough into the real emotions and real humanity of Julia Child to really make this movie great.

Now I can not dispute that Meryl Streep simply shines as Julia Child. She takes the caricature of the culinary goddess in our minds and makes it come to life. However, I’m a little irked at Nora Ephron for only giving us the caricature of Child and not the Julia the real character. As well as Streep played the role, she just couldn’t make me ignore the fact that Ephron gave her such a flat character role.

Now regarding the Julie Powell character, I do agree that Amy Adams got the short end of the stick. IMHO, she was given the tougher role of playing a more full-bodied, real-life character of a writer nearing dead-end who finds joy in cooking great food (kind of like Paul Giamatti’s character in “Sideways” and his relationship with wine). Was the Julie Powell character whiny and annoying at times? Sure, but she was also sometimes charming (especially when she’d emerge triumphant after conquering another Julia Child recipe) and always relatable as a human being.

All in all, I found “Julie & Julia” quite enjoyable… But not really Academy Award material. If you’re a queeny bitch like me, you’ll probably also connect with Amy Adams. And of course, there’s no way not to love Meryl Streep in this special role (even if Nora Ephron didn’t make it 3-dimensional enough). But if you’re not into “chick flicks” (and it seems to me like Mr. ELV isn’t), wait until it comes out on DVD/iTunes and perhaps impress the girlfriend with the movie for “date night at home”.

(3.5 out of 5 stars)

What Next for Nevada's Gaming Industry?

I'm about to step out the door to see a movie. But before I do, I want to share with you something I just read in today's Sun about the casinos. They asked three retired casino executives about what went wrong in recent years, and what may be done now to get back on track. I don't know if I completely agree with what they say, but it's certainly interesting to see how we got where we are now.

NV-Sen: Harry Reid Has Less Reason to Worry

Oh, wow! The Republicans really recruited quite the "star candidate" to take on Nevada's big advocate in Washington.

Danny Tarkanian, a one-time UNLV basketball player and son of the Rebels' legendary longtime coach Jerry Tarkanian, has announced he'll run for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Tarkanian launched a Web site with biography information and is soliciting money for the campaign.

"Danny Tarkanian’s political philosophy is based on constitutional conservatism and liberty," his bio says. "He believes in limited government and opposes the government takeover of private sector industries. He believes in a smaller government that – with some occasional help – leaves the average person free to achieve his or her ambitions."

Tarkanian, who runs a real estate business and a basketball camp, is a two-time electoral loser. He was beaten in a state Senate race and, most recently, in a race for Secretary of State in 2006 to Ross Miller. [...]

Despite the famous last name, Tarkanian is not considered a favorite candidate of the state or national party, which has heavily courted Rep. Dean Heller of the 2nd Congressional District.

Excuse me while I step aside to ROTFLMAO. I know, I know, we shouldn't take this for granted. We'll still need to work hard to ensure another good Democratic year in Nevada in 2010.

But come on, this is just too good to resist a good giggle at. If a guy who just happens to be Jerry Tarkanian's son is the best the GOP can do, then they're (still) in deep sh*t.

Your Friendly "Neighborhood" Teabaggers/Birthers at Work

SEIU hasn't ever threatened violence, and neither has any other union supporting health care reform. However, they're already being threatened with real violence if they don't stop their "violence".



Keep it klassy, Republicans & sick care industry!

Again, I Told You So.

(Btw, The Ventura Star also has a great editorial today debunking the myths unfortunately being perpetuated by the NDA.)

I knew this would happen. Why won't the Nevada Development Authority think up real ways to promote Nevada instead of this crap? Our neighbors to the West really aren't happy, and they're calling the NDA out on their BS.

Our neighbors to the East are substantially different to us. They have different goals, and a different world view on how we should treat our citizens, how we should educate our children, and what kind of services we should provide. Usually, it's no big deal. They do their thing, we do ours.
Of course, times are different now. For a long time, we have had many advantages that come from a more progressive government: better educated workers and better services available to businesses. It's hard to claim much of an advantage in that realm now that we've gone ahead and slashed pretty much everything.

And now, the Nevada Development Authority is bringing their anti-tax message to California, trying to pick off California businesses. To this point, there is little evidence that companies are leaving the state because of the taxes, and it could be argued that any businesses that are leaving, are just as much due to lack of services.

But this works really, really well for the CalChamber [California Chamber of Commerce]. It sets them up so well, you might even begin to wonder if the Chambers of Commerce all across the country are coordinating a race to the bottom. One state Chamber of Commerce (or in this case, Development Authority) tosses a little stink bomb like this little ad into another state, and the recipient state gets to argue how taxes are too high.

Great! Thanks, NDA! You may end up f**king up California even more by giving "Arnold Antoinette" & his big corporate buddies ammo to block the tax reforms needed to fix that state. And by the way, doesn't the NDA realize that we need California tourists to boost our tourist-driven Nevada economy?

Cheese louise, and these boneheads really think they're helping us?

Yay! "Cash for Clunkers" Continues!

(Also at OC Progressive)

This is truly one of the best, if not THE BEST, single programs included in the federal stimulus package. The CARS, or "Cash for Clunkers", program has been wildly successful as people have raced to their nearest car dealerships to turn in old duds for new, fuel-efficient vehicles.

And fortunately this morning, the Senate has just approved the program's expansion.

Heavy demand is already leading to scattered shortages of some hot-selling vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius, Ford Focus and Dodge Caliber. Chrysler Group and General Motors Co., which shut down many of their factories for several weeks this summer to save money and reduce inventories, have been particularly affected.

"Business had slowed so much that a lot of dealers had reduced their inventories because it was expensive to hold on to," said Jerry Key, general manager at Capistrano Ford. "But now that we've had this surge in business, there's going to be holes in the inventory."

The prospect of $3,500 to $4,500 in government cash to trade in a gas guzzler for a more fuel-efficient vehicle has had customers jamming showrooms in Southern California and nationwide since the program began July 24. Now, the Obama administration said, the money should last through Labor Day. [...]

"This is the first piece of legislation Congress has hit out of the park in terms of something that can help the average person like us," said Evin Grant, a 32-year-old filmmaker who was doing a clunker deal at Toyota of Hollywood as the Senate vote was tallied.

"It's a triple threat: It helps out the economy, it helps consumers like us get into a vehicle we wanted but had no easy path to earlier, and it helps the environment by getting horrible gas guzzlers off the road," Grant said.

Thank goodness! This is what the stimulus is supposed to be: a timely infusion of cash to help improve consumer demand. I'm quite glad that this program can continue.

And even better, this also serves another purpose. This also helps consumers in buying more fuel-efficient cars that are better for the environment. And not only are we saving green, but we're being more green as well. Now this is a real "win-win" that we can be thankful for.

Please, Democrats, Give Us Reasons to Keep Working for You

Please do something to work for us the people.

“Accountability is a big word in the labor movement today,” said Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. “When these politicians come up for reelection, we’re going to look at their records and look at them close.”

He added: “I don’t think our people are willing to wait any longer.”

The most pressing issue is health care legislation, which unions see as key to advancing the labor movement. By taking one of the most contentious and expensive items off the bargaining table, labor leaders argue that employers would be more willing to negotiate first contracts with unions.

Locally, it could boost organizing efforts by dealers at Wynn Las Vegas and Caesars Palace and nurses at MountainView Hospital.

But union officials fear the pursuit of bipartisanship on health care reform by the Obama administration and congressional Democrats will lead to the demise of a key aspect of the legislation: a public plan to compete with private insurers.

McEntee, who heads the political arm of the AFL-CIO, singled out for criticism Sen. Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who heads the Finance Committee and is leading efforts to develop a compromise health care bill. McEntee said those efforts will lead to a watered-down public plan option, which he dismissed as “gimmicky,” adding, “We hope that leadership and direction can change in that committee.”

And yes, I totally agree with AFSCME and all the other union brothers & sisters pushing for accountability. We deserve it. Democrats won because we worked for them on the promise that they would deliver on health care with a strong public option and real reforms to help consumers. Now, it's time for them to deliver.

Kiss Your Assets Goodbye?

(Also at OC Progressive)

I must say it's been interesting seeing "what happens in Vegas" in the last month. However, I don't really get this.

Are California’s lawmakers pigs?

A new video campaign designed to draw businesses unhappy with California to relocate to Southern Nevada portrays lawmakers as morphing into pigs.

It is being launched by Nevada Development Authority, which has tried other ad campaigns in the past with the same goal, but not featuring the actions of the California Legislature.

The NDA says it’s sure many California businesses are considering relocation due to the state's current troubles.

The campaign stresses that business owners pay no corporate or personal income tax in Nevada and have much lower workers' compensation rates.

According to The Las Vegas Sun, our local ABC station (KABC 7) has already refused to run any of the Nevada Development Authority ads. (Btw, The Sun also has all the ad videos should you want to watch them.) I wouldn't be surprised if more California stations also turn down these ads. While it may be a great PR stunt to lure businesses from one troubled state to another, it does both a great disservice.

Why? It continues to push the false meme of "overtaxed businesses needing to flee California". It's offensive enough for the NDA to call California lawmakers "pigs" and "monkeys", but I'm even further offended by their lack of knowledge on the real reasons why the state is failing. All they had to do was read here or Calitics to see that corporate tax loopholes, property tax laws that favor big corporations, 2/3 budget rules, and other fiscal deforms are the culprits bringing the state down! Trust me. I just moved here from California, so I know what's really wrong with the state.

And frankly, they're not doing Nevada a favor, either. Yes, I said it. Nevada is also victim to a failed tax structure that depends on regressive sales taxes (especially in times like these with casino revenue down) as the big corporations enjoy even more tax loopholes and the mining industry pays virtually no taxes! Nevada has suffered massive budget woes this year, so it baffles me why the state development agency would want to continue on this failed path by begging businesses to come here and perpetuate what's throwing us into fiscal chaos.

So kiss my assets goodbye? Nope, more like I'd rather not kiss a fool by buying into this unsustainable model of "no bidness taxes". It doesn't work in California and it doesn't work in Nevada, and both states really need to rethink their fiscal thinking.

I Told You So.

See why huge cuts to the social safety net aren't the best way for a state to balance its budget? Just take a peek at what's happening next door.

On one hand, we learned that the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. expects per capita personal income in Orange County to drop for a second consecutive year as unemployment continues to rise and retail sales continue to fall. And on the other hand, OC home foreclosures are expected to continue rising. Basically, Orange County doesn't look to be exiting this recession quite yet.

It's just too bad that we can't expect more stimulus to help us soften the blow. Thanks to Arnold's "stimulus killer" budget, most of the economic benefits from the federal stimulus that are helping the rest of the country bottom out and turn around will be offset by the draconian state budget cuts. So once again, California will be losing out at the very least... Or may even hurt recovery efforts for the rest of the nation.

And unfortunately, the "bidness lobby" here in Nevada still doesn't get it. No matter how much they try to steal business from California by telling them how "high" taxes are, those of us who've seen the budget crisis there firsthand know what the problems really are. And honestly, same goes for Nevada.

So will we have enough legislators (and hopefully a sane Governor, too!) in office in 2011 to realize all this?