Lunch With Bernie (Sanders, That Is)

So we attended a campaign event today. And we met someone who may run for President in 2016. And yes, he talked about that.

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) was invited by the Culinary Union to speak at its get out the vote rally at the Culinary Academy in North Las Vegas. At today's event, Senator Sanders touched on the major issues in this election. He addressed the the one issue that's come to define political landscape in recent cycles.





He also touched on why so many Americans are so disgusted with our government. (Hint: Follow the money.)



And yes, Senator Sanders addressed the matter of the Kochs. He explained how all the Koch money being dumped into campaigns across the nation (including here in Nevada) prevents us from having nice things. And when we say nice things, we mean policies like a livable minimum wage, extended unemployment insurance, strong action on climate change, and relief for students who are drowning in student loan debt.



Earlier this week, Nevada's top media pundits and "bid'ness establishment" elite were fluttering around a certain visit by another rumored 2016 Presidential Candidate. Yet while they were debating the "optics" of the event, they completely overlooked the policy questions that should have been examined when she arrived. Why didn't any one at Bellagio want to talk about the actual issues that the fundraiser should have been all about?

Perhaps because Senator Sanders' visit to the Culinary Academy didn't attract the kind of media attention and "controversy" that the Bellagio UNLV Foundation fundraiser did, the conversation didn't devolve into a shouting match over "optics". And perhaps that's a good thing. After all, we can now present you with this very real discussion over truly important issues.

And frankly, this is the kind of "candidate sighting" we actually enjoy.

Fringe Is Still Their "Mainstream"

(It's amazing to think that just 6 months ago, a whole bunch of Nevada Republicans, along with G-O-TEA "opinion makers" from across the nation, were actually encouraging armed insurrection against our federal government. But yes, it happened. And no matter how much Adam Laxalt, Michele Fiore, Cresent Hardy, and Nevada Republican Party media spinners want to forget their #BundyRanch debacle, we remember.

So as we commemorate the 6 month anniversary of the start of Cliven Bundy's "Range War" against the rule of law, let's dig into the Nevada Progressive archives and travel back to April 2014 so we can uncover the truth behind all the Nevada G-O-TEA denials we see today.)

Once upon a time, this was merely an oddball case out in a rural corner of Southern Nevada. Not all that long ago, hardly anyone outside the Virgin Valley knew who Cliven Bundy was. He was just the local outlaw rancher who was running his cattle onto federal property (and far beyond designated grazing territory) without paying his fees.

Once upon a time, this was merely a local embarrassment. But now, the Nevada Republican Party has taken up Cliven Bundy's (illegal) cause. And the Koch-topus has taken up this cause and broadcasted it on G-O-TEA media networks nationwide. And the entire world is looking at our state and wondering what the hell we're smoking.

Welcome to Nevada. In our state's Republican Party, fringe is the new mainstream. In this party, Sue Wagner is ostracized to the point of severing ties altogether while Cliven Bundy is celebrated to the point of being declared some sort of outlaw "folk hero".



However, it's no longer just the Nevada Republican Party. It's nationwide. #BundyRanch has been trending nationwide for nearly three weeks. And it's become the latest & greatest cause celebre for G-O-TEA politicians nationwide.

Just a decade ago, the Bush Administration would have used the "domestic terrorist" label to describe the Bundy Gang. But now that Senator Harry Reid (D) is employing the same definition of "domestic terrorism" that Former President George W. Bush used while he was in The White House, G-O-TEA media personalities are feigning "OUTRAGE!!!" while they spread more (already debunked) conspiracy theories about his alleged role in #BundyRanch.

Welcome to the Republican Party of 2014. There, fringe is the new mainstream. Since Sean Hannity has officially declared his undying love & admiration for Cliven Bundy and his merry gang of (fellow) outlaws, G-O-TEA politicians must follow his lead. And more importantly, since the Koch Empire is all in for #BundyRanch, G-O-TEA politicians from across the nation have been endorsing the Bundy Gang's calls for anarchy at gunpoint.

Once upon a time, the Republican Party was known as the "law & order party". Now, it's become the "outlaw & chaos party". Fringe is the new mainstream. And the crazier one sounds, the better chance one has of winning a G-O-TEA primary.

Back to the (DC) Beltway He Goes

Last week, they debated on Vegas PBS. They finally faced each other after weeks of attack ads and press release missives. But of course, all Adam Laxalt (R) had to offer were even more sorry "political issues".



During the Vegas PBS debate, Laxalt threw another temper tantrum over the atrocious evaluation he received from his own law firm. He even tried (again) to turn it into an attack on the character of Ross Miller (D), his opponent for Attorney General. Never mind that Laxalt himself has been loading up on Koch dark money, he's still trying to make this and "Gift-gate" trending topics.

Oh, and since he isn't satisfied by just the Koch funded ads, Laxalt's own campaign has been taking to the airwaves to lie about that "train wreck" evaluation.



He just doesn't know when to quit. Where's Kenny Rogers when we need him?

Look, we get it. Adam Laxalt doesn't want to explain why he still wants to fight against marriage equality and other LGBTQ civil rights. He doesn't want to revisit his "most flawed" take on the Affordable Care Act. He doesn't want to admit to not knowing where Yucca Mountain is. And still doesn't want to say how much (or little) he really knows about open meetings laws.

But ultimately, this is what we expect of someone aspiring to be our state's top law enforcement officer. He needs to answer critical policy questions. He needs to know the actual legal issues our state is facing. He can't just blithely dismiss everything he doesn't want to talk about as "political issues" beneath him.

Perhaps Laxalt should return to the cozy confines of Planet Neocon in the DC Beltway. He may have a "famous Nevada last name", but he clearly has no clue how to do the job for our state.

Another Foolish Project (Brought to Us by the Kochs)

We do our best to stay on top of everything. But jeez, how on earth did we miss this? Jon Ralston just took a trip to our archives!

So what did he find? Just this gem from October 2012 on the Koch backed AFP jumping into certain Nevada Legislature races.

Perhaps the SD 4 incident was just a "test run" meant to prepare AFP for what they're doing now. The doorhanger we found earlier this month attacked President Obama and Shelley Berkley on one side, then attacked John Oceguera and Joyce Woodhouse (the Democratic nominee for SD 5) on the other side. And now, AFP mailers are being caught attacking Justin Jones (the Democratic nominee in SD 9) and Sheila Leslie (the Democratic nominee in SD 15). It just looks too funny that, all of a sudden, AFP is playing in the very State Senate seats that Republicans must win in order to take control of the Nevada Senate. And we're still supposed to believe that AFP is some sort of "nonpartisan, educational, charitable foundation"? Yeah, right.

It's now looking quite clear as to what AFP Nevada is aiming to do. And no, it doesn't involve "charity" or "education". Rather, AFP is trying to tip several competitive federal and state level races into Republican hands. Yet in failing to file the appropriate paperwork as a political action committee (PAC) and disclose its donors, AFP may actually be violating state election law while trying to elect lawmakers! Surely, we can't be the only ones seeing the irony here?

In July 2012, AFP waded into a Democratic State Senate primary in North Las Vegas. For some reason, AFP attacked Kelvin Atkinson in a district where Republicans weren't even targeting. That really had us scratching our heads.

But when AFP sent a tour bus to Shelley Berkley's Congressional office, their actions started to make more sense (even if they still looked quite silly). It then tried to top that grandiose gesture with cheap gas. And for the grand finale of its 2012 campaign, it staged a "freedom concert" and dropped the wrong campaign literature in the wrong areas.

Oh, and did we mention AFP considers itself an "educational charity"? How on earth is any of this "educational" or "charitable"?

So why are we now talking about AFP? Take a look at how AFP operatives are boasting about themselves to Beltway media. They're essentially declaring their plan to defeat Senator Harry Reid (D) in 2016.

There's just a little problem with AFP's latest grandiose plan: It looks more like a delusion of grandeur. Ralston just aired out all of AFP Nevada's dirty laundry. And even though AFP just moved its Nevada headquarters to a new location, it took all its old dirty laundry with it. And to make matters even worse for the Koch-topus' loudest and longest reaching tentacle, AFP's chief just left the building.

Of course, AFP is still overflowing in Koch money. It just came off an outrageous Cliven Bundy love-fest. And it's preparing to make waves again in 2016.

But just because one makes waves doesn't mean those waves are beneficial. Just because one is loud and gregarious doesn't mean one is making friends and allies. Just because AFP has a ton of money to spend doesn't mean AFP is spending that money well. And just because AFP plans to carpet-bomb this state again to attack Senator Reid doesn't mean AFP won't undercut itself again in 2016 (like it did in 2010 and 2012).

The Heat Is On

It's been awfully hot outside lately. In fact, records were broken yesterday. Fallon, Yerington, & Lovelock all broke their previous respective record highs when they all hit 105 yesterday. And Reno hit a new record high of 103 yesterday.



Hmmm... Why does this seem so familiar? Perhaps this is because Nevada has been stuck in a perpetual heatwave and drought for over a decade? What might possibly be causing this extended hot & dry spell? (Hint: Think climate change.)

Last week, the Koch funded Heartland Institute hosted a climate denial "climate optimists'" convention at Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Strip. There, they dismissed their own record of climate denial talk of "denial" and "disaster" so they could instead turn up the happy talk on how "there's no way we could do that much damage to this great planet with our puny little carbon emissions". And of course, they reaffirmed their belief that we're better off "staying the course" with dirty fossil fuels than accelerating the switch to renewable energy.

Hmmm... Why does this sound so familiar? Might it be due to the fact that the Heartland Institute is part of the Koch-topus that's out to kill clean energy? And might it be due to the fact that the Heartland Institute also received plenty of funding from the (rest of the) fossil fuel industry?



Even a number of conservatives have come around to accept both the science of climate change and the need for climate action. Despite their "libertarian populist" rhetoric, the Heartland Institute and its "TEA" powered ideological soulmates are increasingly isolated in their hardened opposition to any & all climate action. Most Americans support President Obama's climate action plan. And the more evidence we see of climate change, the more reasons we have to act.

Lake Mead is about to hit a record low water level. Reno just hit a new record high temperature. And wildfire season began awfully early this year. Shouldn't we take notice?

We recognize Nevada tends to be quite hot during summer... But we're not used to this much heat. And we're certainly not used to this much drought. We simply can't afford to deny the reality outside, the reality that may just parch us and scorch us to death if we don't take further action.

Sandbox

Last month, we examined how national "TEA" flavored astroturf outfits were jumping into the #BundyRanch fiasco. In particular, Koch funded AFP rather quickly jumped in with inflammatory tweets and effusive praise for Cliven Bundy. AFP didn't let up in its #BundyRanch campaign...

Until it suddenly became politically inconvenient. Yet even when Cliven Bundy made interesting comments on "race relations" and Senator Dean Heller (R) started walking back his endorsement of the #BundyRanch "Range War", AFP never actually rebuked the Bundy Gang. It just scrubbed its web site and pretended that #BundyRanch was never its "Range War".



As we've been documenting here lately, Cliven Bundy and his gang of "outlaw cowboys" have been wreaking havoc upon the Virgin Valley. And yes, even after G-O-TEA politicians and media pundits dropped #BundyRanch as their outrage du jour, they continued to cause problems for Mesquite and Bunkerville residents. This is why Rep. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas) and other local leaders have been calling for an end to the armed madness.

But again, all we're hearing from AFP is radio silence. After all its rabble rousing over #BundyRanch last month, it has nothing to say now? Is that because it's now too busy hating on the Columbus Zoo? Or is that because the Kochs have been too busy trying to buy more North Carolina judges?



The Kochs jumped into #BundyRanch when it was politically convenient. But when Cliven Bundy and his gang of "outlaw cowboys" suddenly put the Koch-topus into political trouble, they left the "Range War"... Yet they also left the militia gangs behind to fight each other and cause mayhem in the Virgin Valley. They were more than happy to turn this corner of Southern Nevada into their own personal political sandbox, then they just left that sandbox for us to clean up when their "playmates" became too hot to handle.

The Kochs spent $412 million during the 2012 election cycle. And as a result, we're now dealing with the worst Congress (their) money can buy.

They're at it again. They're already on another political spending spree. And this time, they're even setting their sights on local issues throughout the nation.

What will be the result of all this Koch flavored meddling? What happens when we let our public sphere become a sandbox for a few incredibly wealthy individuals who will leave no stone unturned to further their ideological goals? Are we about to see more political sandboxes turning out of control?

Out of Excuses

So we're not the only ones who recognize the incredibly f**ked up state of the Republican Party today. None other than House Speaker John Boehner (R-Where's He Been?) is chiding his own party for failing to pass comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). No really, he went there.



Apparently, he doesn't remember that he's Speaker of the House. He's supposed to set the floor agenda. And he can bring HR 15 to the House floor whenever he wants.

So why hasn't he? Speaker Boehner clearly sounds upset over his Congressional G-O-TEA colleagues constantly scuttling reform. So why not just bypass them? If all the "pro-reform Republicans" actually vote for reform, then HR 15 will pass and CIR will be ready for President Obama to sign into law.

What's so complicated about this? Oh, wait. That's right. The 21st Century Know Nothings. House Republican "leaders" just won't stop pandering to them.

But they don't have to. Again, Speaker Boehner is supposed to be in charge. If he truly wants to pass CIR, he can bring HR 15 to the House floor so the House can finally accomplish what the Senate already did 10 months ago.

Over the past year, we've heard Rep. Joe Heck (R-Where's He Been?) pay lip service to "supporting reform". Why can't Speaker Boehner give them the chance to actually do it? Or if Speaker Boehner really doesn't want to "get his hands dirty over this", why can't he at least let them sign the discharge petition for HR 15?

Might Speaker Boehner finally be realizing that he & his G-O-TEA House Caucus are out of excuses? They've tried everything to deflect blame. They've blamed President Obama. They've blamed the Senate. They've blamed CIR activists. And now, they're at the point of blaming their own unhinged base.

Instead of playing this never ending blame game, why don't they just pass HR 15 already? Instead of dumping tons of money into misleading ad campaigns, why don't they try passing useful legislation for a change? It's painfully obvious that House Republicans are out of excuses. So why won't they simply allow a floor vote for the CIR they claim to want?

Fringe Is the New Mainstream

Once upon a time, this was merely an oddball case out in a rural corner of Southern Nevada. Not all that long ago, hardly anyone outside the Virgin Valley knew who Cliven Bundy was. He was just the local outlaw rancher who was running his cattle onto federal property (and far beyond designated grazing territory) without paying his fees.

Once upon a time, this was merely a local embarrassment. But now, the Nevada Republican Party has taken up Cliven Bundy's (illegal) cause. And the Koch-topus has taken up this cause and broadcasted it on G-O-TEA media networks nationwide. And the entire world is looking at our state and wondering what the hell we're smoking.

Welcome to Nevada. In our state's Republican Party, fringe is the new mainstream. In this party, Sue Wagner is ostracized to the point of severing ties altogether while Cliven Bundy is celebrated to the point of being declared some sort of outlaw "folk hero".



However, it's no longer just the Nevada Republican Party. It's nationwide. #BundyRanch has been trending nationwide for nearly three weeks. And it's become the latest & greatest cause celebre for G-O-TEA politicians nationwide.

Just a decade ago, the Bush Administration would have used the "domestic terrorist" label to describe the Bundy Gang. But now that Senator Harry Reid (D) is employing the same definition of "domestic terrorism" that Former President George W. Bush used while he was in The White House, G-O-TEA media personalities are feigning "OUTRAGE!!!" while they spread more (already debunked) conspiracy theories about his alleged role in #BundyRanch.

Welcome to the Republican Party of 2014. There, fringe is the new mainstream. Since Sean Hannity has officially declared his undying love & admiration for Cliven Bundy and his merry gang of (fellow) outlaws, G-O-TEA politicians must follow his lead. And more importantly, since the Koch Empire is all in for #BundyRanch, G-O-TEA politicians from across the nation have been endorsing the Bundy Gang's calls for anarchy at gunpoint.

Once upon a time, the Republican Party was known as the "law & order party". Now, it's become the "outlaw & chaos party". Fringe is the new mainstream. And the crazier one sounds, the better chance one has of winning a G-O-TEA primary.

#BundyRanch Hypocrisy, Powered by Koch

All this month, we've heard many tall tales from Cliven Bundy and his merry gang of "fringe of the fringe" radical right extremists. Perhaps the tallest (in terms of most false) has been the tale of the nonexistent Chinese owned solar power plant. G-O-TEA media spinners have been peddling this story for the past two weeks, even though the Chinese company pulled out long ago, the proposed solar power plant was on county land (not federal), and the proposed power plant was sited for that county land in Laughlin, some 180 miles away from Mesquite/Bunkerville. But hey, "DIRTY Harry Reid's assaulting Cliven Bundy to help the China COMMIES!!!!!" sounds so much more salacious and outrageous than "Cliven Bundy broke the law".

Yet even though this outrageous conspiracy theory has already been proven false, the G-O-TEA Culture Warriors are still spreading it. And no matter how false this conspiracy theory is, the Koch-topus has no problem spreading it even further. And why's that? This conspiracy theory just so happens to fit perfectly into the Kochs' latest campaign against renewable energy.

But why, oh why, are the supposedly "libertarian" and "pro-free-market" Kochs now attacking renewable energy? And why are they doing so just as the free market is increasingly favoring renewable energy?

The reason is actually quite simple: money. Much of the Kochs' multibillion dollar empire is built on fossil fuels. So really, they view renewable energy companies as competitors to undercut. And they're out to cut the growing green energy sector by drowning it in toxic politics.

Last year, we caught onto the Kochs' and Donors Trust's climate denial campaign. And we've been keeping tabs since then on their efforts to silence the truth about climate change and their campaign to kill clean energy. And we can't help but connect the dots as we notice just how the Koch funded astroturf outfits have been cozying up to the #BundyRanch outlaw gang.

Here's some food for thought: If the Kochs are so "libertarian" and "pro-free-market", then why are they trying to undermine the free market? Why have they been fighting tooth and nail against any effort to level the playing field for clean energy? Why are they fighting against closing tax loopholes that fossil fuel companies regularly exploit? And why are they now encouraging the merry gang of outlaws in Bunkerville who are demanding even more "big government" welfare at our expense?

There's a certain word we're now thinking of. Can you guess it? It has nine letters. It starts with the letter H. And it perfectly sums up the Kochs' meddling in #BundyRanch, as well as their campaign to kill their clean, green competition.

Nation of Laws

This is perhaps the most frightening aspect of the #BundyRanch saga. As Elaine Hurd has so eloquently explained, Cliven Bundy has been threatening our entire way of life with his continued attempts to subvert the rule of law. America is a nation of laws. We are a representative democracy, not a chaotic anarchy.

Since last week, national G-O-TEA astroturf outfits have been jumping into Bunkerville to defend Cliven Bundy's "right" to break the law. And G-O-TEA Culture Warriors from across the nation have rushed in to escalate an already precarious situation. One such G-O-TEA Culture Warrior is Richard Mack.



He was the one who suggested the wannabe #BundyRanch insurrectionists use women as human shields.



He's also known for his rather cozy relationship with white supremacists and extreme right militia groups. He sits on the board of the notorious Oath Keepers. And he's often led the anti-government "Patriot Movement" in its war against any & all efforts at gun violence prevention.

Have the #BundyRanch agitators really thought about what they're advocating? Do they understand the consequences of their endorsement of "Second Amendment Remedies"? If it's OK for them to take up arms to prevent the enforcement of the law, then was it OK for Anita Hill to shoot her son's boyfriend? Was it OK for Frazier Glenn Miller to open fire on that Jewish community center? Was it OK for the Tsarnaev brothers to blow up the Boston Marathon?



The reality of the #BundyRanch "logic" is that there is no logic there. They're essentially advocating the kind of armed combat that terrorists use. And their rallying cry truly looks to be nothing more than dreams of anarchy.

Again, we're supposed to be a nation of laws. We elect a government to make our society a civilized society. How can anyone claim to "love America" when one refuses to participate in our nation of laws?

Stop Wasting Time. Just #RenewUI

Earlier today, we noted the inexcusable reality of House Republicans' stealth campaign to shut down any last chance of passing comprehensive immigration reform. We also noted their decision to instead focus on... Mindless crap. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Fierce) again took to the Senate floor to condemn House Republicans' latest time wasting gambit. And of course, he pointed out why they're so eager to waste our time (& taxpayer dollars).



As usual, the G-O-TEA Culture Warriors are taking their marching orders from the Kochs. And the Kochs just happen to love Rep. Paul Ryan (R-P90X), his austerity poisoned fiscal policies, and his willingness to subject the entire nation to manufactured crises in order to further the Kochs' radical ideological agenda.

Of course, the above mentioned G-O-TEA Culture Warriors don't like it when Senator Reid (or anyone else, for that matter) speaks the truth about their relationship with the Kochs. So they're now resorting to personal attacks on Senator Reid. And as always, they're running to the media and claiming victimhood in the most pathetic way possible.

Yet while the Kochs and their "TEA" powered ideological soulmates claim to be "victims" of people telling the truth about them, we now have over 34,000 Nevadans and 2.3 million Americans who have become real victims thanks to House Republicans holding federal unemployment insurance (UI) extension hostage. And we're supposed to be "OUTRAGED!!!" over Senator Reid speaking the obvious truth?



The Senate is set to pass its UI extension bill later today. Yet even with the Senate approving its UI extension deal, the lower House of Congress may still be nowhere near approving this deal. And why's that? It's still wasting time on legislation to hurt Paul Ryan's own constituents.

Once again, Senator Dean Heller (R) is asking his former House G-O-TEA colleagues to stop wasting time and join the Senate to #RenewUI already.



Perhaps the Kochs enjoy watching House Republicans waste our time & money on their ideological circle jerks, but the rest of us don't. We've already lost nearly $5 billion worth of economic activity thanks to the G-O-TEA's Koch addiction. Must they waste even more time & money while so many Americans suffer needlessly?

No Sympathy

Last month, we saw a local media pundit get awfully butthurt express strong "OUTRAGE!!!" But why? Why all the outrage? Oh, that wily Senator Harry Reid (D) didn't hold back when he called out the Koch Brothers' campaign of deceit.

But why did he lash out at Senator Reid? Why didn't he last out at the shady billionaire brothers behind the nefarious front groups using deceitful campaign ads to buy more seats in Congress?

Alas, it's no longer just a local media pundit chiding Senator Reid for daring to speak the truth. Now, the Beltway pundits are catching up with their own tears shed for the poor lil' rich Kochs.

But why? Why is it "wrong" to fire back after the Kochs' front groups have repeatedly lied about Obamacare (aka the Affordable Care Act, or ACA)? And why is it "wrong" to reveal the truth about the Kochs, their lying ads, and their extreme ideological agenda?

Think about it. Their ads are false. They have been spending a ton of money promoting their preferred candidates & ideology. And their ideology happens to be quite extreme in its rejection of pretty much everything that's made America strong.

So please excuse us for showing "The Koch-topus" no sympathy. Unlike certain local & national media pundits, we care more about the truth than Beltway cocktail party protocol. And since the Kochs show their political opponents no sympathy, we don't understand why anyone has to show them any.

Harsh Language & Misplaced Outrage

It must be that time of the year again. The weather is not as cold outside. The days are starting to feel longer. And Jon Ralston goes off on bizarre tangents.

This time, Ralston is excoriating US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) for daring to speak the truth on the Senate floor.



Indeed, the Koch front groups' attack ads against Obamacare (aka the Affordable Care Act, or ACA) have been proven false. Their scare tactics are nothing more than air brushed lies. And the Kochs have spent millions of dollars airing these misleading ads in states where they hope to elect Republican US Senators.

So why is Ralston fuming over what Senator Reid said? Oh, that's right. Senator Reid dared to call "un-American" the use of shadowy front groups to pump millions of dollars worth of misleading ads into states where one hopes to buy (additional) seats in Congress.

Of course, we can see why the Kochs are dumping so much money into all these misleading ads. Most Americans still oppose the Koch approved agenda of manufacturing crises in order to find the "sweet spot" for their extreme ideological agenda. And since the Kochs' agenda of "license to discriminate", climate crisis, "Stand Your Ground" (to shoot to kill), privatization of public education, and voter suppression.



So why again are we supposed to be raging against Senator Reid for calling "un-American" the Kochs' underhanded plan to buy more power in government? How was Senator Reid wrong?

If anything, Jon Ralston's outrage seems awfully misplaced. Did Senator Reid use some harsh language in criticizing the latest Koch gambit? Perhaps... But then again, the Kochs ideological agenda is even harsher.

License to Discriminate, Brought to You by Koch

What on earth is going on? The Nevada Legislature is not even in session this year. So why is it grabbing headlines this week?

We can thank SB 192 for this. Even though SB 192 itself died in Carson City last spring, its legacy has quickly been resurrected. And now, it's striking fear in the hearts of civil rights advocates across the nation.

So far this year, various reincarnations of SB 192 are bubbling up through several state legislatures. The most notorious one yet has emerged in Arizona in the form of SB 1062. Meanwhile in Georgia and Missouri, similar "license to discriminate" bills have been introduced.



Clearly, these bills are making waves across the nation... But where did these waves come from? Where did this all begin? The answer may surprise you.

We suspect few people have previously known about the Ethics and Public Policy Center. However, we're sure you've already heard of the Kochs and their burgeoning political empire. And believe it or not, the Kochs' well heeled tentacles reach into the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Oh, and it's also funded by the same "TEA Party, Inc." aligned billionaires' club who are behind such infamous TEA fueled entities as Donors Trust and ALEC.

It turns out that the Ethics and Public Policy Center has an "American Religious Freedom Program". And it turns out that "American Religious Freedom Program" gave birth to the "religious freedom"/"license to discriminate" bills that are now emerging in state legislatures across the nation. So finally, the mystery of the origin of these "license to discriminate" bills has been solved.

And surprise (/snark), these bills come from the same source as the rest of the G-O-TEA legislative agenda. Once again, "TEA Party, Inc." is hiding behind shadowy front groups to push Orwellian legislation to further it's extreme ideology. And this is why we shouldn't be surprised that other G-O-TEA front groups are rushing to back the "license to discriminate" movement.

What a "Stunt": "Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee"

Yesterday, The R-J posted a ridiculously whiny editorial bashing Shelley Berkley for merely pointing out Dean Heller's voting record and asking him to join her in saying no to secretive Super PAC campaigns here in Nevada. According to The R-J, the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision only affirmed "free speech", and those big, bad "LIB'RUL!!!" women should stop attacking poor lil' Rush Limbaugh and his "free speech" rights to have advertisers pay for time on his radio show so he can continue attacking America's women.

Sorry, R-J editoral board (and all the shortsighted white male pundits who think they have a good point), but give me a f**king break!

There's disgust across the political spectrum for the system we now have that allows for the likes of the Koch family to buy elections whenever they want. Back in January, former Republican Presidential Candidate and current US Senator John McCain (R-AZ) joined with former US Senator Russ Feingold to release this statement on the two-year anniversary of Citizens United.

“Two years ago, the Supreme Court handed down one of the worst, and most radically activist decisions in the Court’s history, Citizens United. Overturning more than a century of settled law, and with an unprecedented naiveté of the political process, the Court charted a course for legalized bribery. Sadly, both Democrats and Republicans are now following the dangerous road of unlimited money in politics. There is no question whether scandal will arise from this decision; the only question is when. On this anniversary, we call on both parties to work together to remedy the obvious damage to our political system caused by the Citizens United decision.”

Another former Republican Presidential Candidate, Mike Huckabee, has also chimed in with his disapproval of the post Citizens United political landscape of unlimited secret money-bombs exploding onto our airwaves.



This obviously is NOT about free speech. Rather, Americans from across the political spectrum are increasingly fearful of a tiny group of super-wealthy donors using their Super PACs to exert massive influence over elections and gain control of government. After all, why is "free speech" no longer free? So now we're all required to raise massive amounts of money just to have the same "free speech" rights as David Koch and Sheldon Adelson?



This is why a 69% supermajority of Americans want an end to this Super PAC madness. Does The R-J editorial board think that's just a "stunt"?

And then, there's Rush-bo. When did the First Amendment guarantee the right to a multi-million dollar national talk radio contract and a full slate of advertisers? News flash to The R-J: It does NOT.

I thought the "free market libertarians" at The R-J believed in the sanctity of "the free market". So how can they legitimately complain about "the free market" determining that Rush Limbaugh's radio show is no longer a valuable commodity? At least 52 advertisers have pulled out of sponsoring Limbaugh's radio show as of last Friday. And last I checked, there's no "First Amendment mandate" for those corporate advertisers to sponsor Rush Limbaugh. Are they just as guilty as Shelley Berkley of "actively working to silence someone" who's been making a living off spewing hateful bile about women?

Yes, Rush Limbaugh has the same First Amendment rights as all the rest of us. And that's all. None of us has a guaranteed right to a multi-million dollar radio contract, and neither does Limbaugh. So if citizens like Shelley Berkley put up petitions to cancel Limbaugh's show and corporate advertisers respond by pulling their ads, that's just the American "free market" at work.

It just sounds to me like the radical "tea party" right (that The R-J loved before it became the new brand of "GOP cool") is pulling its own "desperate stunt" to change the subject because it's now starting to fear a painful loss in its War on Women. Even John McCain is now joining Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and other prominent Republicans in begging G-O-TEA leadership to drop the anti-contraception nonsense.



The polling is looking increasingly ugly for Republicans, so now some of them want to drop the birth control fight in an effort to save face. Others, however, seem to think that the bad poll numbers will just go away if they spin harder and try to turn this into an "attack on religious liberty"... And apparently now, an "attack on free speech".

What a crock of crap.

It's not Shelley Berkley's fault that Dean Heller faces consequences for supporting Rush Limbaugh over Nevada women. Her move to point out Heller's vote to restrict women's access to needed health care is not a "stunt". And her denunciation of Rush Limbaugh is not some nefarious effort to "silence free speech". If G-O-TEA politicians like Heller and "tea party" cheerleaders like The R-J editorial board really cared about free speech, they could have said something when House Republicans denied Sandra Fluke the chance to testify on her own health care.

Sharron Angle... Is Still Batshit Crazy. And She Wants to Take Away Your Vote.

She's back!



But this time, she's not asking for your vote. Rather, she's probably trying to take away your vote. Yes, you read me right. Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron is now pushing for voter suppression!

In a video on her website, she said she will produce a documentary called "Voter Fraud: America's Silent Epidemic" to "expose this underground problem."

"Over the past 18 months, I've become keenly aware of an epidemic that has swept our nation, eating away at the very fabric of our freedom," she said.

She asks for donations, that, she notes, are tax deductable.

Election officials have repeatedly and loudly said that widespread voter fraud is a myth, but Angle anticipated that a newspaper would report that.

"The progressives in the media would like us to believe that voter fraud or election tampering either do not exist or represent such a small portion of our election process we should just sweep them under the run," she said. But speaking to voters across the country, she said many people believe their votes don't matter.

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

Throughout the country, G-O-TEA forces have pushed state legislatures to pass voter suppression laws to roll back our civil rights and prevent people from voting. Why?

"VOTER FRAUD!" Oh yes, we hear that all the time. We've especially been hearing it here in Nevada since Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron's sycophants realized Harry Reid won reelection in 2010. However, the fact of the matter is that voter fraud is virtually nonexistent and these voter suppression laws are simply a "solution" looking for a problem.

However, this "solution" of voter suppression causes all sorts of new problems...



Except for Angle's buddies in "Tea Party, Inc.", who love the idea of preventing people from voting if they're not likely to vote G-O-TEA.



As expected, Desert Beacon has even more facts and figures that demolishes Sharrrrrrrrrrrron's shoddy case for voter suppression. But in case that isn't enough for you, even the Nevada Secretary of State's office released this statement yesterday.

“Our multi-jurisdictional Election Integrity Task Force has always aggressively investigated any leads and successfully prosecuted election law violations. However, we can't send out our investigators until we have basic information about what crime may have been committed, when it happened and who may have been involved. The unsupported fraud claims on Ms. Angle's campaign website don't give us enough information to even open up a case file.”

So why is Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron really pursuing this? Simple. She's doing it for the same reason why the likes of Scott Walker and Rick Perry championed their states' respective voter suppression laws. Oh, and she wants more donations from teabaggers stupid enough to send her money her "grassroots supporters". There's just nothing like making false claims of "VOTER FRAUD!!!" to beef up one's fundraising.

Are UNLV & UNR Thirsty for Koch?

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

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

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

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



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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sharrrrrrrrrrrrron Angle: She's Baaaaaaaaaack! (And She's NOT Alone!)

(Also at Daily Kos)



Apparently "Our Lady of Perpetual Campaigning" invaded California on Saturday to sell her books and raise money for her next campaign "meet with real patriots!"

And if that wasn't bad enough, their lousy attempt at Vaudeville comedy got even worse once they returned to Nevada (to torture us yet again!).

The Tea Party Express continued its cross-country tour Sunday with a midday rally in the heart of Nevada that featured about a dozen speakers and musicians focused on "reclaiming America" in the 2012 election.

Headlining the event was Sharron Angle, who lost to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in 2010. Angle is traveling with the bus tour and is expected to speak at most of the events along the way.

The Elko Daily Free Press reported that Angle told the crowd of about 75 people -- organizers pegged the crowd at closer to 100 people -- that the Republicans will take control of the U.S. Senate after the 2012 elections if people get involved in races around the country.

Tea Party Express communications director Levi Russell said the event was a success, especially considering that it was held on a Sunday.

"It was a small crowd, but enthusiastic," he said.

"We're happy that they came out to hear our message."

Other speakers included Amy Kremer, Tea Party Express co-chair, and Tabitha Hale of the Washington, D.C.-based conservative group FreedomWorks.

There's no word yet on whether Elko saw the same "colorful characters" that emerged in Searchlight last year...



But it does look like their "Tea Party Express" is losing steam on the open road. Now that we're seeing with our own eyes their strategy coming to full fruition as federal government becomes even more chaotic and dysfunctional, they're not seen as innocently as they were last year.

It seems that the Tea Party's governing style, most clearly on display during the debt ceiling fight in Congress, has taken a toll on Americans' view of the movement. Polls have been showing a drop in its approval, and a new AP/GfK poll shows that its unfavorable rating has seen a sharp rise. 46 percent of those surveyed said they have a negative view of the Tea Party movement, versus 28 who say they view it favorability.

The last time the AP conducted a national poll on Americans' favorability of Tea Partiers was in their pre-governing period: throughout 2010 the conservative movement was viewed slightly unfavorably but the splits were close. In June of 2010 it even earned a positive rating, with 33 percent of over 1,000 adults surveyed finding the movement favorable against 30 percent. In the last AP rating, taken Nov. 3-8, 2010, directly after the 2010 election, the split stood at a slim negative rating of 32 percent favorable against 36 unfavorable.

But can "unpopularity" really stop them? Remember when Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrron was pummeled for this?



She herself didn't win here in Nevada, but her "ideas" masquerading as "change" most certainly did win in other parts of the country. Look at how much President Obama and Congress have had to give in to them, and look at what we're getting in return. Economic recovery has been anemic at best, and the still jobless aren't seeing any of it. And when the American people are demanding job creation the most, all we're seeing out of Congress now is endless partisan brinksmanship and attacks on bedrocks of American society, such as Social Security and Medicare, that working class families need the most right now.

And of course, the Republican Presidential Candidates are tossing out all this teabagger nonsense as red meat to an increasingly radical and extreme "base". Watch Rick Perry call Social Security a "ponzi scheme" and a "lie".



How is this different from what Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron said?



For Republicans, extremism has become "the new mainstream". Here in Nevada last year, a slew of powerful Nevada Republicans ran away from Angle as fast as they could. Yet other than a few traditional Republicans like Ben Bernanke chiding their extremism, Rick Perry and his ideological soulmates in Congress are seeing more and more love from that radical "base". And despite what all the rest of us think about their crashing and burning of government, they don't care as long as the teabaggers love it and "Tea Party, Inc." keeps pumping the dirty corporate money into their campaigns.

I saw this for myself last weekend. My Congressman refuses to meet with us, his own constituents, because we're not contributing to his campaign and the Republican Party (even though we pay his and his staffers' salaries!).

And that's why we can't be complacent at all. Public outrage clearly isn't enough to defeat these extremists. They'll probably just buy even more TV and radio air time to try to brainwash voters again "tell their side of the story". Sharron Angle may not be in Congress herself, but her radical ideology is increasingly becoming the policies being debated and implemented in federal government now. If we don't like this, then we have to stop electing her ideological kindred spirits.