Seeing Florida Green

He's at it again. He's unloading his very overloaded wallet. And G-O-TEA politicians are rushing to worship at his feet to get in on the SuperPAC action.

G-O-TEA kingmaker Sheldon Adelson is back... With a vengeance. He's already writing the big checks again. "TEA" flavored politicians are flocking to Adelson's not-so-little corner of The Strip to curry favor. And Adelson is already trying to set the terms of debate for the 2016 Presidential Campaign.

So are we to expect a bunch of G-O-TEA Presidential hopefuls decry "reefer madness" next year? Believe it or not, Sheldon Adelson is now bankrolling the campaign to defeat a medical marijuana ballot initiative in Florida.

Why is Adelson pushing so hard against medical marijuana in Florida? He isn't funding the anti campaigns in the other states with marijuana on the ballot (such as the full legalization initiative in Oregon). And Adelson's medical research foundation has been funding medical marijuana research in Israel! So what's Adelson actually doing in Florida?

Apparently, he's looking out for Governor Rick Scott (R). Scott is locked in a difficult race for reelection, and some Republican consultants have worried that the medical marijuana ballot initiative will boost turnout this fall... Along with Charlie Crist's (D) hopes for a political comeback.

Of course, Sheldon Adelson is also looking out for himself. It just so happens that Las Vegas Sands wants to open casinos in Florida. But as of now, legislation to expand legal gaming in Florida (beyond the Seminole tribal holdings) remains stalled. Adelson seems to hope Rick Scott will try to revive gaming expansion if reelected... And make sure Las Vegas Sands emerges with shiny new contracts for shiny new Florida casinos.

We've been wondering why Sheldon Adelson has been so quiet about medical marijuana proceeding right here in his own state while he's bankrolling the anti-marijuana campaign in Florida (and funding medical marijuana research in Israel). Yet the more we sniff into this, the more we sense Adelson cares more about the kind of green he rakes in at his casinos than the kind of green Florida patients hope will finally become more accessible. And now, we're left to wonder if we'll be seeing more of these crafty political maneuvers as Adelson prepares to ramp up his 2016 political shopping spree.

Like Clockwork

Haven't we seen this before? It's now like clockwork. Every so often, a certain local media pundit declares his disdain for early voting. And whenever that happens, G-O-TEA politicians & media personalities respond with glee... And with legislation to restrict and/or abolish early voting.

Like clockwork, the above mentioned local media pundit went on another tirade against early voting. But this time, national G-O-TEA media personalities became involved. And this time, the local media pundit contracted a case of the sads when he was caught in the middle of Dave Weigel's rebuttal of the G-O-TEA case against early voting.

Whenever the above mentioned local media pundit rails against early voting, he cries, "SLOTH!" And whenever G-O-TEA politicians rail against early voting, they cry, "INTEGRITY!". But in reality, early voting neither encourages "sloth" nor threatens "integrity". Rather, it's simply a way to allow more voters to participate in our ("small d") democratic process.

And that brings us back to Weigel's Slate column... And to Wisconsin State Senator Dale Schultz (R). He voted against his own Republican Party's plan to severely restrict early voting. And he didn't hold back when he explained to a Madison, Wisconsin, radio station why he did so.

It’s just, I think, sad when a political party — my political party — has so lost faith in its ideas that it’s pouring all of its energy into election mechanics. And again, I’m a guy who understands and appreciates what we should be doing in order to make sure every vote counts, every vote is legitimate. But that fact is, it ought to be abundantly clear to everybody in this state that there is no massive voter fraud. 

The only thing that we do have in this state is we have long lines of people who want to vote. And it seems to me that we should be doing everything we can to make it easier, to help these people get their votes counted. And that we should be pitching as political parties our ideas for improving things in the future, rather than mucking around in the mechanics and making it more confrontational at the voting sites and trying to suppress the vote.

And Dale Schultz is not alone in saying this. In fact, the bipartisan presidential commission that was appointed after the 2012 Election recommended expansion of early voting in order to avert the kinds of long lines and voter dropout that occurred in states like Florida & Ohio, where Republicans had severely cut back early voting opportunities.

And that was no accident. A Republican Florida State Senator had actually declared, "This should not be easy", when he voted to cut early voting. That State Senator, Mike Bennett, is now the Election Supervisor for Manatee County. And ironically enough, he just convinced county supervisors there to slash Election Day voting sites in order to "save money and allow the county to offer more early voting sites in the future".

This is why we have such a hard time accepting G-O-TEA excuses for attacking early voting, even when a certain local media pundit attempts to validate their excuses. There's no "integrity" in eliminating citizens' ability to participate in our democratic system. There's no "virtue" in forcing hardworking Americans to choose between voting and keeping a job &/or taking care of their families. And there's certainly no "value" in deliberately creating long lines on Election Day that discourage people from voting.

At least Assembly Member Pat Hickey (R-Reno) had a moment of honesty last September when he admitted 2014 will be a "great year for Republicans" so long as we don't vote. That's what they're counting on. They're hoping we don't vote. And they're hoping by eliminating our opportunities to vote, we'll give up and simply don't vote.

Like clockwork, G-O-TEA politicians attack our voting rights. And like clockwork, they come up with elaborate excuses as they attempt to cover up their dirty misdeeds. It's just irritating that like clockwork, a certain local media pundit fails to recognize what's really behind their campaign against early voting.

What Stood in the Way

Here they go again. Once more, "Republican rebranding" is the term of the day. Why? They just can't stop reminding us of why they tried "rebranding" in the first place.

Case in point: Colorado State Senator Bernie Herpin (R-Colorado Springs). While the Colorado Legislature was debating a bill he proposed to overturn the state’s new ban on high capacity magazines, he let these "words of wisdom" slip from his tongue.

“My understanding is that James Holmes bought his 100-round capacity magazine legally,” state Sen. Irene Aguilar (D) said to Herpin during the hearing. “So in fact, this law would have stopped James Holmes from purchasing a 100-round magazine. ... I just wondered if you agree with me.”

“Perhaps, James Holmes would not have been able to purchase a 100-round magazine,” Herpin said in response. “As it turned out, that was maybe a good thing that he had a 100-round magazine, because it jammed. If he had instead had four, five, six 15-round magazines, no telling how much damage he could have done until a good guy with a gun showed up.”

For the record, James Holmes was able to shoot 45 rounds in that Aurora movie theater in July 2012. He killed 12 people and wounded 58 others. And NRA All Star Bernie Herpin thinks it's "maybe a good thing" that James Holmes was able to legally obtain a 100-round magazine to use to kill 12 people & injure 58 other people in that Aurora movie theater?

Meanwhile in Florida, the NRA & its G-O-TEA allies are pushing to expand Florida's now infamous "Stand Your Ground" statute. Michael Dunn is on trial for the murder of Jordan Davis. And even though Dunn is using "Stand Your Ground" as his defense, his supporters are worried that his story of "defending himself against a car blasting loud music" may simply be too absurd for a jury to use to acquit him of all criminal charges. So now, the NRA is "jumping to the rescue" to save white & well armed wannabe militia-men from the "clear & present danger" of unarmed African-American youth like Jordan Davis & Trayvon Martin.

Meanwhile here in Nevada, some local Republicans want everyone to know that Governor Brian Sandoval (R-NRA) is "what stood in the way" between us and better gun safety laws. It probably won't be long until we hear about how US Senator Dean Heller (R-NRA) & Rep. Joe Heck (R-NRA) are "what stood in the way" between us and federal level progress on gun violence prevention. After all, why shouldn't they all be proud of standing in the way of efforts to prevent the meaningless loss of life of those who simply "committed the crime" of going to the movies, listening to music in the car, going to school, and/or walking home while black?

Yep, so many G-O-TEA politicians continue to boast about how they're "what stood in the way" of any & all gun safety legislation. And they continue deluding themselves into thinking this is some kind of "virtue".

It's Their Choice

And it's happened again. Is anyone surprised? Late last month, Former Lt. Governor Sue Wagner caused a political earthquake here in Nevada by announcing she's no longer a registered Republican. And when Neena Laxalt soon followed, we got quite the aftershock.

And this week, we have another prominent Republican quitting the party. But this time, it's in Florida. And Former Florida State Rep. Ana Rivas Logan made waves by switching her registration from Republican to Democratic. But why?

"The GOP of today is not the party I joined," said Rivas Logan, who also served on the Miami-Dade School Board. "It's not the party of my parents. It's a party that has been radicalized and held hostage by a group of extremists."

Rivas Logan was welcomed to the party by another Republican-turned-Democrat: gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. 

"Bienvenida @anarivaslogan to the Democratic Party!" Crist wrote on Twitter. "Glad you are here my friend." [...]

On Monday, Rivas Logan called the Republican Party "a party that attacks women and minorities — and one that asked me, and my former Hispanic Republican colleagues in the Florida legislature, to turn on their own people by supporting extreme anti-immigrant policies."

What else can we say? They can't say we didn't warn them. When we said that Republicans' stealth campaign to kill comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) would come back to bite them, we envisioned this happening.

After all, who would feel welcome in a party that rewards politicians who try to use xenophobia and hatred for political advantage? And sadly for those Republicans who share the same worries as Ana Rivas Logan, this trend shows no signs of letting up. Instead, (current federal Rep. and) "King of Crazy" Steve King (R-Iowa) is running victory laps around the rotting corpse of CIR on Capitol Hill.

"It's the right position and makes sense and is consistent with a majority of our conference -- a significant majority of our conference," Rep. Steve King (R-IA) told TPM in a brief interview on Monday evening.

He claimed House Republicans oppose bringing up immigration reform by "a three or four to one" margin.

The Iowa congressman said reform opponents must keep the heat on Republican leaders so that they don't change their minds.

"We still have to man the watchtowers because things could change," he said.

Wait, what?! What does Rep. King mean by "manning the watchtowers"? Perhaps he's referring to this. The House voted yesterday to raise the debt ceiling in order for the nation to pay its bills. The final tally was 221-201, with 28 Republicans joining 193 Democrats to pass it. (For the record, Reps. Mark Amodei [R-Carson City] & Joe Heck [R-Henderson] voted against paying the nation's bills, while Reps. Dina Titus [D-Paradise] & Steven Horsford [D-North Las Vegas] both voted in favor of doing so.)

So what does the latest debt ceiling vote have to do with CIR? Think two letters and a number: HR 15. It already has bipartisan support, and it's modeled after the bipartisan Senate CIR bill that easily passed that chamber last summer. Since House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has now demonstrated that bills can pass the lower house of Congress without the "TEA Powered Total Obstruction Caucus", why can't he bring to the floor legislation that achieves what several of his backbenchers (cough- Joe Heck- cough) have said they want to accomplish?

Right now, Steve King is running victory laps on Capitol Hill because he believes Speaker Boehner is too afraid of him and his fellow 21st Century Know Nothings to actually cross them & let CIR pass. But if Speaker Boehner & other Republican "leaders" want to prove they're serious about offering America a realistic option for sound governance, then they must drop the "rebranding" nonsense and actually start governing for real. And that means they must pass long awaited & sorely needed legislation that has clear bipartisan support, even if it's legislation that the 'baggers don't like.

Either Republicans can finally let CIR pass, or they can let more members like Ana Rivas Logan leave their sorry excuse for a party. It's ultimately their choice.

Standing on Bitter Ground

On Saturday, a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin. Since the verdict was announced, protests have broken out nationwide.

Thousands of demonstrators from across the country — chanting, praying and even fighting tears — protested a jury’s decision to clear neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager while the Justice Department considered whether to file criminal civil rights charges. [...]

The NAACP and protesters called for federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman, who was acquitted Saturday in Martin’s February 2012 shooting death. The Justice Department said it is looking into the case to determine whether federal prosecutors should file criminal civil rights charges now that Zimmerman has been acquitted in the state case. The department opened an investigation into Martin’s death last year but stepped aside to allow the state prosecution to proceed. [...]

In Miami, more than 200 people gathered for a vigil. “You can’t justify murder,” read one poster. Another read “Don’t worry about more riots. Worry about more Zimmermans.” Carol Reitner, 76, of Miami, said she heard about the vigil through an announcement at her church Sunday morning. “I was really devastated. It’s really hard to believe that someone can take the life of someone else and walk out of court free,” she said. [...]

In Philadelphia, about 700 protesters marched from LOVE Park to the Liberty Bell, alternating between chanting Trayvon Martin’s name and “No justice, no peace!”

“We hope this will begin a movement to end discrimination against young black men,” said Johnathan Cooper, one of the protest’s organizers. “And also to empower black people and get them involved in the system.”

A young man was gunned down for walking outside while black. He was carrying Arizona iced tea and Skittles. And he was wearing a hoodie. This is what George Zimmerman found "threatening".

Somehow, a jury of six in Sanford, Florida, found Zimmerman's story possible. So they acquitted him. And protests have since spontaneously emerged nationwide. When is the slaughter of an innocent teenager justified?

That's what continues to be asked in Florida and nationwide. When did the victim become the suspect? When did racial profiling become "public safety"? Why is this happening?

Not only have the NRA, ALEC, and the rest of "Tea Party, Inc." succeeded in recent years in making so many dangerous weapons readily accessible (even to criminals), but they have also passed "Stand Your Ground" laws across the country (including a limited version here in Nevada) that encourage the very vigilantism that George Zimmerman engaged in. And on top of that, these "Stand Your Ground" laws allow vigilantes like Zimmerman to walk away free after shooting innocent people.

So where do we go from here? What happened over the weekend served as a stark reminder of the many loopholes in our gun laws... And of the long road ahead to remedy continuing racial discrimination across this country.

So Now We Matter?

I guess it's official now. Ralston says "we matter" again, so now we matter. But wait, we're not quite done with Florida yet!



And despite Florida's results starting to look and feel like a foregone conclusion, there may yet be intrigue ahead as all this election year madness comes to our own backyard. After all, Republican primary voters still don't like Mitt Romney. And as long as they don't like Romney and keep flirting with the other candidates, this process may yet stretch out for a while.

Here's Rachel Maddow explaining why she's actually excited about our G-O-TEA Caucus fast approaching.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Now there are plenty of doubts that Newt Gingrich really has the kind of infrastructure he needs to keep his campaign going through this spring, but how much does that really matter? If Mittens keeps spending all his millions to continue "winning" with far less than 50% of the vote, then can he really wrap up the nomination soon?

And don't forget, there's another factor here. Ron Paul has been spending almost as much on TV ads as Romney, and he does have a strong organization here. This is part of his "Caucus Plan" to amass delegates in inexpensive caucus states (like ours) instead of trying to compete in big primary states (like Florida) with pricey media markets. Can Ron Paul actually win the Caucus this Saturday? Or at the very least, can he pull enough support to force Romney's campaign to spin another 30-40% finish as a "convincing victory!"?

Whatever the case, the media are declaring that "we matter" again. So I guess we should celebrate this circus coming back to town for the next 100 hours?

Yes, We Really Do Matter.

Remember the run up to New Hampshire's primary? It may now seem like a million years ago, but it's really been just two weeks. Then, we learned that Sheldon Adelson planned to up the ante for his BFF Newt Gingrich. And regardless of what he says about what he supposedly knew (or not) about how Newt's Super PAC would nip at Mitt Romney's Achilles' Heel,

Well, apparently Adelson is about to go all in... And so is his wife! And since this week may be the most critical ever for Newt Gingrich and his political career, as well as Mitt Romney and his political career, the stakes couldn't be higher.

And yet again, there will be increased focus on Mittens' full embrace of his role as "Mr. 1%".



No really, think about it.

But Gingrich’s upset victory in South Carolina seems to show that potency of arguments that highlight the unfairness and inequality of our economic system. As Ruy Texeira writes, conservatives “should realize they’re attacking the opinions of most Americans who do, in fact, believe the system unfairly favors the wealthy“.

On CNN’s State of the Union yesterday, Gingrich took a bit of victory lap on the Bain attacks, acknowledging that they helped him win South Carolina because, he argued, they show voters where Romney is vulnerable against President Obama.

Indeed, after several weeks dominated by the controversy over Bain and Romney’s tax returns, the former governor risks losing his frontrunner status. Romney is down by double digits in Florida and is barely hanging onto a one point lead nationally, according to Gallup. For instance, one self-described “scorned woman” in South Carolina told TPM that she voted for Gingrich, even as lurid new revelations about his second wife were emerging, because of Romney’s waffling on his tax returns.

It’s worth remembering that in its early days, the Tea Party was nearly as anti-Wall Street as it was anti-government, galvanized by the Wall Street bailout. Much of that resentment likely remains, despite the best efforts of conservative elites to redirect that anger toward the government in order to white wash the distasteful record of companies like Bain.

Even though Sheldon Adelson is also "Mr. 1%" and he apparently wasn't all that into Newt's Bain attacks, his donation to Newt's Super-PAC just as it was about to release the "King of Bain" anti-Romney movie onto South Carolina airwaves nonetheless triggered this debate on economic inequality on the right. And what really makes this interesting is that despite all the efforts of the Nevada Republican Party to make its caucus totally irrelevant, Nevada and our biggest concerns may matter more in this election than we had ever imagined. And especially if Mittens plans to hit Newton on housing while Newton hits Mitten on Bain, perhaps Nevadans really will see more of a discussion on economic issues that we want answers on.

Of course, this probably won't be good for the G-O-TEA. Remember this?



Mittens doesn't want us to... But that's too bad. And funny enough, Sheldon Adelson is doing his part to help us remember.

Nevada Today, South Carolina Tonight

So today's the big day. Are you ready for it? The caucus is today... Wait, wasn't it moved? Nope, the Democratic Caucus is still today, people will be filling up local schools and community centers again, and the fun starts at 11:00 AM.

I'll be at Green Valley High School today, and I'll deliver updates after the caucus closes.

But of course, everyone else is paying attention to South Carolina right now. The polls have been very volatile this week, but we're starting to get a better sense of how Newt Gingrich's relentless attacks on Mitt Romney are now giving him momentum and throwing new doubt on the once growing meme that Romney is "the inevitable GOP nominee".

So is "Mitt-mentum" so last week? We'll start to see an answer to that question tonight, so stay tuned here after 4:00 PM when we start seeing results. And tomorrow morning, I'll try to interpret what happened here and in South Carolina, and what we will see next as the campaigning shifts further south to Florida.

Nevada's Turn... For What, Exactly?

Perusing Nevada Appeal this morning, I noticed this AP story explaining how "Nevada is preparing for its Cinderella moment". Oh yes, that's right. They went there.

Of course, the big news over the weekend was over how Nevada and the other officially approved early caucus/primary states reacted to Florida jumping the gun in moving its primary to January 31 (violating both RNC and DNC rules, just as Florida did in 2008). Funny enough, the RNC is now threatening to not just punish Florida, but also punish all the officially approved early caucus/primary states for playing leap frog and simply catching up with Florida's latest move.

So last Saturday night, Nevada Republicans voted to move the caucus to January. So now, "we matter again"... Or do we?

Well, we'll certainly matter in the general election. But when it comes to the Presidential Caucus, Nevada Republicans look to bungle the opportunities being provided to them. After all, the same "tea party" faithful that botched Republican plans for a full Nevada takeover last year are now preventing the party from using same day voter registration at their caucus. The TEA-nuts are crying the usual cries of "VOTER FRAUD!!!", "ACORN!!!", and "LIB'RUL CONSPIRACY!!!", and all I have to say is more power to them (for now, so they can botch GOP plans for a full national takeover next year!).

And looking more broadly at the national Republican scene, do they really expect people to get excited about this?



Or this?



Is this a joke? Just another day in "TEA Party" Crazy Wonderland? Or maybe yet another episode of teabagger follies set to backfire on their GOP lovers quite miserably?

Casinos: Las Vegas Sands to Move Out of Pennsylvania? Into Florida?

Confusion, confusion, confusion! What on earth is going on at Sheldon Adelson's empire these days?

First off was some explosive news over the weekend that Las Vegas Sands is looking to sell the Sands Bethlehem casino that they had just started building last year. The casino has been open only for a few months, and works hasn't even begun yet on the planned hotel part of the project.

So today, the official word out of LVS is that they are NOT planning to sell Sands Bethlehem.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. today denied "rumors" that it plans to sell its Pennsylvania casino because of disappointing results there.

The Express-Times newspaper in Pennsylvania on Saturday reported that, according to a source, the Las Vegas company hopes to sell its Bethlehem casino.

But Las Vegas Sands said today in a press release it's applied to add table games to the 3,250-machine slot parlor and is preparing to resume construction on a 300-room hotel there.

"Las Vegas Sands Corp. said today that recent rumors of the company's supposed interest in selling its Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem property, or indefinitely delaying the completion of the hotel and other components of the development, are unfounded," the company said in a statement.

With $4.5 billion in net revenue in 2009, Las Vegas Sands collected most of that in Macau and Las Vegas and is preparing to open a $5.5 billion resort in Singapore. The Bethlehem casino, which opened in May, produced $141.8 million in revenue last year.

"With the addition of table games, Sands Bethlehem will become the most complete and convenient gaming destination for millions of New York City and northern New Jersey residents and, at the same time, enhance the profitability of the property starting in the foreseeable future," Las Vegas Sands Chairman and Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson said in today's press release.

OK, so what are we to take from this? Obviously, Sands Bethlehem hasn't yet turned a profit and hasn't been as successful as LVS was originally hoping for. Oh yes, and Sheldon Adelson has said repeatedly that his company is now "an Asian company doing business in America", so it seems to make sense for LVS to focus more on its budding casino projects in Macau and Singapore.

However, one can argue that Sands Bethlehem hasn't had a chance yet to reach its full potential. After all, the hotel hasn't been built yet. The shopping mall hasn't been built yet. The conference center, with its promised arts & cultural center and local PBS TV studio, hasn't been built yet. Sands Bethlehem is supposed to be a "destination resort", but LVS hasn't yet finished the "destination" or the "resort".

Oh, and did I mention that Pennsylvania has just legalized casino table games and Sands Bethlehem can now install them in the casino?

So we don't know yet what really really know about LVS' plans for Pennsylvania... But we now know they're showing interest on the other end of The Eastern Seaboard.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida will be at the center of the debate when lawmakers return to the issue of gambling this year.

Though little has changed for the tribe in the past year -- it still runs blackjack and other casino games without a valid state gambling agreement -- its influence is being felt in all corners of the state.

Other players in the gambling scene, spurred by the prospect of the state giving the tribe a monopoly outside of South Florida, are pushing to add more games and more gambling options in Florida.

• The state Division of Parimutuel Wagering gave permission for the state's seven parimutuel casinos to start using a slot machine-style blackjack game.

• Hialeah Park resumed live racing at the historic track with quarter horses.

• One of the largest casino operators in Las Vegas, Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas Sands, has hired a lobbyist to explore the prospect of resort-style casinos in Florida.

• The Florida House, with a history of opposing the expansion of gambling, is pushing legislation to lower the tax rate on slot machines at parimutuels.

• The operators of international online poker sites are asking legislators to pass a law to allow online poker games within the state.

• And perhaps the biggest change of all: The federal government, after nearly three years of taking a hands-off approach to Florida's gambling scene, has indicated it will decide whether to shut down or sanction the Seminole Tribe's table games, which were ruled illegal in Florida by a 2008 Florida Supreme Court decision.

``There is a heightened level of involvement and diligence occurring on the part of federal government,'' said Rep. Bill Galvano, the Bradenton Republican who has headed legislative attempts to craft a gambling compact with the tribe.

The issue in Florida is over the Seminole Tribe and how much of the gaming market the state will allow them to control. Previously, the state legislature has been dominated by anti-gambling "Christianist right" Republicans who have toed the religious right line on limiting casino growth in Florida. But now with the Seminole Tribe operating table games without a necessary agreement and the feds likely to direct them to work out a new agreement with the state, there no longer looks to be a "Moral Majority" in Tallahassee as state legislators see massive "Ka-ching! Ka-ching!" dollar signs in using this situation to expand legal gambling across Florida and allow more operators, like Las Vegas Sands, to jump into the market.

Seriously, it will be a game changer... A game changer for Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Biloxi, Tunica, California, and the entire American gaming industry if Florida loosens its anti-gambling laws and allows casinos in or near the state's major tourist attractions like Miami and Orlando.

I guess we'll see how LVS is trying to take advantage of this... And for that matter, if the other big casinos follow suit...

No Taxes! No Growth?

Yep, Florida may finally face the first population decline in decades. Yes, THAT Florida... The Florida with no income tax. And the Nevada "Bidness Lobby" really thinks they can still magically lure companies from all over because "no one pays taxes here"?

It's the infrastructure, stupid. ;-)