Time to Move On

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quick Programming Note

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

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

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

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

Happy Birthday, America!

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



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

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

Happy July 4!

Happy Holiday Announcement

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

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

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

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

Have Yourself a Big Happy Thanksgiving!

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

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

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

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

Big Week Ahead

I know we just enjoyed a quiet, extended summer solstice weekend. So are you feeling better now? I am, so I know it's now time to get back to work!

This will be a busy week here at Nevada Progressive. We are expecting some huge Supreme Court rulings, big votes in Congress, and even a final chance to reflect on the major events in Carson City this year.

So what's coming up? First, immigration reform will be back in the news as the border security deal that emerged last week finally comes up for a vote on the Senate floor.

The fate of the Senate's immigration bill likely comes down to a vote today. If it fails, it will all but guarantee that immigration reform is dead. If it passes, it will all but ensure a clear path to the finish line in the Senate, which has struggled for years to find a compromise on the controversial and emotional issue.

The pivotal vote is on a border security compromise chiefly drafted by Republican Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and John Hoeven of North Dakota. “The offering of this amendment is a turning point,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Friday. “We’ve always known there would be large numbers of Democrats to support final passage of this bill in the Senate. But this amendment gives us a real chance of getting a very significant number of our Republican colleagues.”

This may finally reveal to us where Senator Dean Heller (R) will fall on S 744. If this amendment passes, he won't have any more excuses to dither on announcing his support for the overall bill. So just how strongly does he support this amendment?

But wait, there's more! The US Supreme Court will rule on not one, but two critical marriage equality cases this week. So what's at stake? Towleroad's Ari Ezra Waldman lets us know what to watch for.

1. Standing and Jurisdiction: Are the cases properly before the Court? Remember, the question in the Prop 8 case is whether the California citizens who wrote Prop 8 (the "proponents") had standing to appeal Judge Walker's original ruling declaring Prop 8 unconstitutional. The questions in the DOMA case are (a) whether Edie Windsor, having won at the Second Circuit, can both win and appeal, and (b) whether House Republicans are properly taking the role of defending DOMA. If the answer to any of those questions is NO, then the cases get tossed and the Court doesn't have to rule on anything substantive. We still win, sort of.

2. Scrutiny: The first substantive question is about the level of scrutiny, which is like asking: OK, before we see if you passed the test, we have to determine the passing grade. It's obviously a lot easier to pass when all you have to do is get a 50/100, and harder when you need a 90. If the Court takes the unlikely step of agreeing with President Obama (and rational legal thought) that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation demands heightened scrutiny" (say, an 80 on the test), then look for DOMA and Prop 8 to be declared unconstitutional. Notably, denying already married couples federal benefits and preventing them from marrying in the first place are both so irrationally ridiculous, look for a substantive holding -- if the Court gets there -- that rejects the laws under any standard.

3. Equal Protection: This will be the basis for any substantive holding: that DOMA and Prop 8 fail to treat similar people equally for no good reason. We know this argument well, and even the Prop 8 Proponents' main witness, David Blankenhorn, recanted his views and now agrees that all couples, gay or straight, should be treated equally. One thing to look out for in this part of the decision is the fate of the "slutty heterosexual" argument. This is the argument that we need marriage only for straight people because they are the only ones that can have "accidental pregnancies." Gay couples cannot. The logic of that as a rationale for denying gay couples the honor of marriage doesn't pass the laugh test, but it is a notable argument because it turns the stereotype of the sex-crazed gay man around and places that noose around the the straight people!

4. Breadth of the Decisions: How far did the Court go? It could get rid of DOMA entirely, or keep us in this strange state of flux where DOMA is ok in some places and unconstitutional in others. In Perry, the Court could restrict its decision to California, or it could reach those seven other states that having "everything but" marriage, or it could hand down a national right to marry. In addition to this narrow way of looking at the decision -- what lawyers call the "holding" -- take note of the Court's language and its statements, or lack thereof, touching on gay equality and membership in American society. These are the words, coupled with the holdings, that will serve as the bases for future victories. The broader the language -- "Our system of government does not countenance discrimination on the basis of status," for example -- the stronger precent it will be in the future.

Got all that?

This is (one reason) why all eyes are on SCOTUS this week. The lives of many LGBTQ families are at stake. And the nation's highest court may expedite the arrival of full legal equality... Or further delay it.

But ultimately, equality will come. It's just a matter of if the Supreme Court has found just the right legal argument to do so now.

And finally, pay close attention to Chris Kluwe. He's not just a NFL superstar. He also gets how American society and our system of communities is supposed to work.

John Galt talks about intelligence and education without discussing who will pay for the schools, who will teach the teachers. John Galt has no thought for his children, or their children, or what kind of world they will have to occupy when the mines run out and the streams dry up. John Galt expects an army to protect him but has no concern about how it’s funded or staffed. John Galt spends his time in a valley where no disasters occur, no accidents happen, and no real life takes place.

John Galt lives in a giant fantasy that’s no different from an idealistic communist paradise or an anarchist’s playground or a capitalist utopia. His world is flat and two-dimensional. His world is not real, and that is the huge, glaring flaw with objectivism.

John Galt does not live in reality. In reality, hurricanes hit coastlines, earthquakes knock down buildings, people crash cars or trip over rocks or get sick and miss work. In reality, humans make good choices and bad choices based on forces even they sometimes don’t understand. To live with other human beings, to live in society, requires that we understand that shit happens and sometimes people need a safety net. Empathy teaches us that contributing to this safety net is beneficial for all, because we never know when it will be our turn.

So who is John Galt? Perhaps he's just an unrealistic and incredibly selfish fantasy who Nevada should stop trying to emulate.

So stay tuned for all of this and more this week. Oh, and Happy Summer!

Now, I'm Serious. Will You Be My Partner?

OK, so that last diary was an April Fool's Day joke. This blog isn't going anywhere... Wait, take that back. I do want to take this blog somewhere.

It's not going away any time soon. Rather, I'd like to expand it to provide even more coverage of the important issues of our communities and our time. But at this point, I'm running into difficulties.

I want to continue growing and nurturing and expanding the community we've been building here. I even have ideas for revamping this very blog! However, I can't embark on Nevada Progressive 3.0 without your support. This is why I'm coming to you now. Will you become a partner in building this blog community?

I know, I know. I'm not great at this. This is probably why I've never pursued a career in fundraising.

However, I very much want to continue doing this. I want to continue writing here. And I want to continue providing a space to share stories, even those stories that aren't always told elsewhere in the media. That's why I very much appreciate your help and continued support.

We've already been sharing some amazing stories here. We were on the ground in the last election. We've been closely monitoring the goings-on in the Nevada Legislature. We've found connections between odd local stories and major national stories. And we've even had some fun along the way.

I'd like for us to continue this. And I'd like to expand the blog to allow for even more voices to be heard and more stories to be shared. However, I can't do this without your help. Will you help me with this? Will you be my partner in progress?

Thanks so much for your support for this blog. Thanks for enduring my lame April Fool's Joke earlier this morning. I hope I can count on you as a partner to help us grow this blog & discover new opportunities. And I hope our journey here won't end any time soon.

End of the Line

I'm not sure what else to do. We may have finally reached the end of the line here. It's over.

I've done everything I could to continue this blog. Let's just say this has been a ton of work. And it hasn't always been easy work. And it may just be work I can no longer afford to do for free.

So with immense sadness in my heart, I must close this blog. It's been a rewarding labor of love in many ways. But at this point, I just can't continue.

I'm so sorry. I hope you will understand.

Leaving Carson City (for Now)

OK, we're on the road again. We have to return to Las Vegas.

We'll have more on the blog this weekend. I have even more stories from the Legislature to tell. And you'll have to stay tuned to see where we go tomorrow.

We're driving through Lyon County now... Until we reach a stable cell signal again...

Tuesday's #NVLeg Pre-game Show

Last night, the Nevada Progressive crew finally made it to Carson City just after 8:00 PM. It was an interesting ride up, but I'm glad we finally made it to our state's capital. So now, the real fun begins!

As I hinted at earlier, today will be a super busy day at the Nevada Legislature. We'll be starting today's ongoing #NVLeg coverage with a SJR 13 (marriage equality) liveblog. Later today, SJR 15 (mining tax reform) will get its own committee hearing.

And then tonight, we have another round of Steven Brooks drama. But this time, we may finally be approaching the beginning of the end of this at #NVLeg.

So today will be very action packed. Stay tuned here and follow me on Twitter for updates throughout today and tomorrow. Who knows? You may even find the occasional surprise here.

Busy Week

As early voting continues at a furious pace...



... And the debates finally come to an end, it's time for one more round of rallies and special events to fire up the base.

Today, Mitt Romney will be here in Henderson... And guess who will be just outside the venue.

And then tomorrow, Romney will head to Reno while President Obama throws a "block party" in West Las Vegas Wednesday night. We'll do our best here to stay on top of all the action and provide updates this week.

Campaign season is about to come to a close, so we might as well enjoy the fireworks.

Seriously, We Have a Great Month Ahead.

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



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

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

Coming This Weekend...

- We'll be talking more about President Obama's energy plan and what it means for Nevada.

- We'll also turn back to local issues as we further examine the red-hot scandal that caused this week's Henderson Ward 3 appointment, as well as the Las Vegas Ward 6 recall election, where early voting is already underway.

- With the Occupy Reno camp site shutting down and the Reno City Council rejecting their anti-corporate-personhood resolution, what's next for "The 99% Movement" here in Nevada?

- And as news continues to break, we'll be on it. Happy weekend, everyone.

New Hampshire. Tonight.

Tonight, I'll be waiting for a flight (home!!!) at the airport... So no worries, I'll be here with you for at least the first 90 minutes of New Hampshire primary results. It seems we all know the "winner" already, but there may yet be some real intrigue as we see who actually "wins" the expectations game and following media cycle.

Oh, and later this week we'll be talking more about how the series of events and political theatrics since Iowa and New Hampshire affect this guy. So stay tuned here at Nevada Progressive. Tonight should be fun.

Coming This Week...

We'll analyze the latest developments in the G-O-TEA clown car wreck, take a closer look at what's about to happen in New Hampshire, come back to Nevada to look at local races heating up, and take another look at the most organized campaign in the state (President Obama's). This should be fun. So as always, stay tuned!

As 2011 Comes to a Close...

I've been holed up and sick for the last week, and I can tell you it hasn't been fun. I've also been spending time with family (no, it really isn't an excuse for avoiding some budding nonexistent sex scandal!) as we're dealing with some difficult changes. I apologize for not spending as much time here as I'd like, and I promise major improvements as 2012 begins.

Still, I won't be completely absent in the next few days. I'll be keeping an eye out for important stories as they develop. And in the mean time, I'll soon bring back the "10 of..." series by highlighting the ten most fascinating and game-changing stories we discussed here this year. Stay tuned for that.

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope our amazing journey at Nevada Progressive continues in the coming new year.

Programming Note: I'm Coming Home Tomorrow

In case you were wondering, I'll be returning home tomorrow night. And later this week, I'll be resuming my usual blogging schedule.

It's certainly been an interesting journey back "home". I've had to confront death on multiple levels, and I've had to think more about life. What's happening? And why? I'll also have to talk more about that this weekend.

I'm Back!

Thanks for hanging in there with me after a VERY difficult week! In case you didn't notice last week, our friends at The Nevada View were hacked and infected with a virus. That, in turn, caused a chain reaction that nearly shut down this blog. After 48 hours of begging and pleading with Google to take down the false "MALWARE!!! VIRUS!!!" warning, along with nonstop work on The Nevada View's end to root out the virus and retake control of the blog, everything seems to be working again.

So with this done, I'll be resuming my regular blogging schedule tomorrow.

Coming This Weekend...

I'll have more on the end of DADT (and the Republican reactions to it at that shocking Florida GOP debate). I'm sure we'll also have to discuss some very important people coming to town next month, as well as why the media have so much trouble focusing on the stories that really matter (while obsessing about crap that doesn't).

So please stay tuned...

Programming Note: More Fun with Congress in Recess

As Congress is in recess, we'll keep holding their feet to the fire this weekend. Expect some more deets on what really happened at Joe Heck's "open to the public event" this week, an update on the NV-02 special election, and perhaps even a glance at what's happening in the Senate race.

Without a doubt, we'll have a full docket of elections waiting for us next year!