No #AZRacism Clone in Nevada... For Now...

Excuse us while we take a break from reporting the latest outbreak of Sharrontology crazy to notice some other Nevada news...

Chad Christensen is really giving up his EPIC FAIL of an election year gimmick Arizona SB 1070 clone?

Faced with a number of lawsuits, Las Vegas Assemblyman Chad Christensen has abandoned his initiative petition to enact an immigration law in Nevada similar to one in Arizona. [...]

A number of groups filed suit to block the Christensen petition and Futrell said that put it on hold, making it impossible to gather 97,002 signatures by Nov. 8.

If successful, it would have been submitted to the 2011 Legislature. If the Legislature rejected it, the plan would go on the 2012 ballot for voters to decide.

Christensen, an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate, is officially notifying the Secretary of State to withdraw the petition. [...]

The proposal was similar to Arizona, where a law enforcement officer stopping a person for another offense could require the person to show proof of citizenship. The Nevada plan would have imposed penalties on employers who knowingly hire people here illegally.

So this really didn't pan out? When this wasn't enough to lift Chad Christensen out of the low single digits in his failed US Senate bid? When the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce did something it almost NEVER does... Join the ACLU in a law suit (!!!)? When all the casinos were begging us not to sign this petition, as our very tourism industry depends on the free flow of travelers, and foreign tourists would be less likely to go somewhere full of police officers harassing them and demanding to see "their papers"? And when our police officers are already overstretched dealing with actual crime?

Let's face it, the GOoPers love using those "scary brown people" as a handy political prop to stoke fear in their "targeted voters". And in economic hard times like these, it's easy to claim this as a "populist issue" and direct everyone's anger to those "illegal aliens". Never mind that none of this fear is based in any fact.

But hey, reason won this time and this stupid waste of time is being dropped... For now. But jeez, let's hope a few extreme GOoPer hotheads don't try to waste our time next year by carrying Chad Christensen's ridiculously FAIL-tastic race-baiting banner.

Sharrontology Spinning Out of Control

Oh, jeez. It gets worse. Sharrontology attacks the workers of CityCenter, bashes Harry Reid's work to secure financing so MGM Resorts could finish CityCenter, and now lies about it by calling it "stimulus" and "bailout" that she "would not have voted for".





HUH??!! Reid helped secure funding... Private funds. There was no TARP money involved, and there was no ARRA money involved. Clearly, Sharrontology Obtuse Angle knows nothing of which she speaks.

And by the way, Reid has worked hard both to bring our tax dollars home to create jobs AND to encourage private companies to come here to Nevada to create jobs.





And if you think that's bad enough, it gets worse. Much, much worse!

Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee for Senate in Nevada against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, fired back at Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT), who predicted that she would lose to Harry Reid because of her associations with the Tea Party movement. In response, she says that Bennett, who lost his renomination at the state GOP convention this spring, has "outlived his usefulness."

"I'm glad to be lumped to a crowd of mainstream Americans who believe as they showed at the polls that Sen. Bennett has outlived his usefulness. I suppose he's not mainstream any longer," Angle said during an appearance Monday on the Neil Cavuto show. "He has become one of those elitists that is no longer in touch with what the country is really thinking about in these economic times."

"Not mainstream"? "Elitist"? Oh boy, Sharrontology didn't wait long to resume attacks against her own fellow Republicans for not being batsh*t crazy wingnutty enough for her own personal taste. And for the record, Bob Bennett was defeated at a convention, NOT at the ballot box.

And wait, I thought Sharrontology didn't like "death panels"... Apparently when she's a death panel of one making all the life-or-death decisions, she relishes it!

Oh, and Bob Bennett not alone in rejecting her extremism. An increasing number of Nevada Republicans are doing the same.

A growing number of Nevada Republicans are expressing skepticism over Angle's Senate candidacy. Some are even signaling they may not vote for the GOP contender over Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November.

Mayor Geno Martini, the Republican mayor of Sparks, Nev., bucked his own party this week when he endorsed Reid over Angle.

"Harry Reid's been very good for us for many, many years," Martini said of his decision to support the majority leader. "We can't rely on a new person, especially Sharron Angle, to do anything for us here in Sparks."

After first withholding her support, former Nevada Congresswoman Barbara Vucanovich, a well-respected figure in the party, announced this week that she would back Angle. But Vucanovich's endorsement ended up sounding more like a scolding.

"I said, 'Sharron, you're scaring the bejesus out of everybody,'" Vucanovich told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, describing "a long, candid conversation" with Angle. "I told her you better make damn sure people really understand what you're trying to do." [...]

State Sen. William Raggio, who Angle tried but failed to unseat in 2008, recently said he will "find it very difficult to support" the Senate candidate and also wagered he's hardly the only member of the Nevada GOP who has concerns.

"I would say there are a lot of Republicans who will find it difficult to support Sharron Angle," Raggio said shortly after the Nevada primary. "Abolishing the Department of Education, phasing out Social Security, those are pretty extreme positions. I think any incumbent is vulnerable, but you have to have somebody that is also acceptable if you're going to win."

Republican Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, who backed Angle's GOP primary opponent, Sue Lowden, recently criticized Angle by calling her an "ultra right-winger." Cashell does not mince words when it comes to Angle: "Our state [would] suffer and we would never get anything done." The Reno mayor intends to hit the campaign trail for Reid.

No wonder why Sharrontology has to depend on corporate funded outsiders like Sal Russo, Ralph Reed, Dick Morris to raise money. If even a growing chorus of conservative Republicans are rejecting Sharrontology, she's toast... Or should I say charbroiled chicken?



And by the way, why wasn't Suzy Lowdown at the GOoP Convention last weekend? Hit too close to home for Sweet Suzy? She now has the experience to smell the start of a losing campaign?

Why Does Sharrontology Have to Depend on California Based "Tea Party, Inc." for Support?

So this is the moment we've been waiting for...

Sarah Palin's political action committee contributed at least $87,500 to candidates she's endorsed in the last few months, according to a report filed Sunday with the Federal Elections Commission. U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle was among the beneficiaries.

But SarahPAC's financial disclosure also shows Palin spending more than $210,000 on consulting. [...]

Among Palin's other high-profile endorsements, Republican Carly Fiorina, who's running for the U.S. Senate from California, received $2,500.

Angle, who's challenging U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada, also got $2,500. Nikki Haley, who's running for governor in South Carolina and for whom Palin personally campaigned, got no money, according to the filings.

Ah, the intersection of Sharrontology and Palintology. Sharron Angle and Sarah Palin, ideological soulmates.

So why can't she get more support from more locals? Why does Sharrontology have to go to Washington, DC, New York, and California for money? Why do she and her campaign depend on outsiders for help?

Well, remember who got her where she's at now. Her ascendancy was engineered by "Tea Party, Inc."... With a little help from Suzy Lowdown (and her self-imploding hot mess of a "campaign"). From the start, "Tea Party, Inc." had Harry Reid on its radar.

The defeat of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was from the outset perhaps the top priority of the Tea Party Express, according to an internal memo obtained by Politico. The group's focus on unseating the Democratic Senate leader appears to bolster the charge that its priorities dovetail more closely with those of the Republican party than with the more independent Tea Party movement.

The memo was written in April 2009 by Joe Wierzbicki of Russo, Marsh -- the California Republican consulting firm, run by veteran consultant Sal Russo, that created the PAC that runs Tea Party Express. As Politico reported, Wierzbicki proposed launching the Tea Party Express as a bus tour across the country, arguing that it would "give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus." [...]

Of course, it's not a surprise that a Tea Party group would be no fan of Harry Reid. But toppling the Democratic leader is as much a Republican priority as a Tea Party one -- as the example of 2004, when Republicans set out, successfully, to defeat then-Democratic Senate leader Tom Daschle, suggests. The fact that Reid's campaign seemingly was Russo Marsh's top priority in formulating the Tea Party Express offers another stark reminder that the group may have more in common with an independent expenditure campaign on behalf of the GOP than an autonomous grassroots uprising -- a charge that grassroots Tea Partiers have leveled at Tea Party Express in the past.

The keen interest that Tea Party Express has taken in the Reid race hasn't waned. Just today, the group announced it would support former state assemblywoman Sharron Angle in the Republican primary.

"We will invest the resources necessary for Sharron Angle to win the Republican primary through an aggressive independent expenditure campaign," said Wierzbicki in a press release. "Sharron Angle's victory is our top priority for support in the primaries in the 2010 elections.

But wait, who are these people? Really, who are these people pulling the strings at Tea Party, Inc? A local conservative blogger investigated, and discovered the bizarre tangled web of self-enrichment, self promotion, and back scratching among a few high powered California Republican operatives.

Let's start with the guy who started Tea Party Express. So where did Sal Russo come from?

The architect of the Tea Party Express, Sal Russo, is a California political operative who has spent nearly half a century campaigning for Republican candidates.

The Sacramento-based political action committee that funds Tea Party Express activities, Our Country Deserves Better, has taken in more than $4.5 million since forming in 2008 to help John McCain's presidential campaign. That includes major contributions from corporate executives and other bedrock supporters of conservative candidates, such as actor Chuck Norris. [...]

That the Tea Party Express is led by operatives such as Russo has caused some resentment among others in the tea party movement. They believe the group has blurred the line between what they see as a nonpartisan effort and the GOP establishment.

Mark Meckler, a Northern California attorney who is a national co-founder of a separate group, Tea Party Patriots, seeks to distance his organization from the Tea Party Express and its leaders.

The Patriots group is a nonprofit umbrella organization for more than 1,200 tea party chapters around the country. Meckler said the activities of the Tea Party Express undermine the tea party's claims of nonpartisanship and run against its founding ideals.

"When you have people who've associated with the GOP for their entire lives claiming to be anti-establishment and then appearing at the Republican convention, that's a pretty interesting picture," said Meckler, who lives in the former Gold Rush town of Nevada City near Sacramento.

Russo runs a PR firm in Sacramento, and utilizes his right hand men (and women) in Tea Party Express. There's "grassroots coordinator" Joe Wierzbicki, the same guy who works at Russo's high priced Sacramento PR firm, the same guy who tried to help George Bush drum up support for the Iraq War, tried to swiftboat Barack Obama the same way John Kerry was swiftboated, and is now organizing his luxury coach buses to go across the country and spread lies about Democrats like Harry Reid.

And then there's Howard Kaloogian. He aligned with the radical right and corporate powers that be in the California Legislature. And in 2003, he teamed up with Russo's PR firm, Enron pollster Frank Luntz, talk radio "shock jock" Melanie Morgan, and Newt Gingrich to engineer the 2003 recall campaign that ousted California's duly elected Governor and replaced him with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And in 2006, Kaloogian himself ran for Congress in a special election in San Diego County. Russo joined him yet again, hoping that he'd slip in. But oops, one of Howard's lies about his "time in Iraq" caught up with him.

Remember Howard Kaloogian? He was the Republican House candidate who in 2006 tried to pass off a picture of a quiet Istanbul street as having been taken during a trip he made to Baghdad -- then told a string of additional lies in trying to explain what happened. [Emphasis mine.]

Well, he's back. And this time he's taking the bamboozlement to a whole new level.

Kaloogian is the chair of Our Country Deserves Better, a GOP-affiliated PAC which has just launched what it calls the "Tea Party Express" bus tour. The tour -- which made a stop over the weekend in Elko, Nevada, where it kicked off a round of awkward dancing -- is the latest effort to organize the Tea Partiers into a cohesive movement.

Also involved in the effort is Sal Russo, the heavy-hitting California Republican political consultant and former Reagan aide who ran Kaloogian's ill-fated congressional campaign.

In 2005, Kaloogian and Russo teamed up to create Moving America Forward, which used conservative radio hosts to, as a spokesman put it, "report the good news on Operation Iraqi Freedom you're not hearing from the old line news media." It was a "Truth Tour," organized by MAF and the Defense Department's Office of Media Outreach, that Kaloogian claimed his Istanbul picture came from. Around the same time, Russo's firm signed a contract with the Kurdish government to promote Kurdish interests in the U.S., including T.V. advertising.

Now it looks like Kaloogian and Russo may have spotted their latest opportunity for political agit-prop. As with other Tea-Party-branded rallies, the anti-government types who are showing up for the tour's events appear motivated by a range of issues, from health-care to taxes to an unfounded fear of government control of the internet. The savvy activist who can cohere this inchoate anxiety into some kind of movement could turn himself into a powerful player in GOP circles. Never mind that Kaloogian and Russo's GOP insider operation doesn't do much for the supposed grassroots cred of the Tea Party brand.

So they lied about Bush's war in Iraq, they lied about what they actually saw there, they lied their way into the California Recall that saddled that state with "Arnold", and now they're lying about what their little "tea party" is really up to.

Oh, and now they're trying to dupe us into believe Harry Reid is some sort of "Satan Incarnate" and Sharrontology is our only way to salvation. But when we look behind the curtain, we have to notice the corporate fat cats funding the "Tea Party, Inc." gravy train supporting Sharrontology.

They may claim to be "helping the grassroots defeat Harry Reid", but what Sal Russo and his band of corporate funded California Republican PR operatives, along with their high profile national cheerleaders like Sarah Palin, are really up to is a national campaign to replace Democrats like Harry Reid who can think for themselves and help working families in their states with corporate tools like Sharron Angle who will do as they say, NOT as we Nevadans would like.

Can we really afford to lose real representation, real service to working Nevada families, and real leadership, just so we can instead have someone who's simply a pawn of the corporate right?

Obama & Reid Did a Rally... At the Place Sharrontology Would Have Let Fail

So I saw Obama at CityCenter yesterday. And he stuck up for our Senator, Harry Reid.

“There’s a guy from Searchlight, Nevada, who has been fighting for Nevada his whole life, and he’s fighting for working-class families,” Obama said of Reid. “He comes across soft-spoken. But anyone who knows Harry knows he’s made of strong stuff. He’s one tough guy.”

“He doesn’t always do what’s easy, he doesn’t always do what’s popular, but he always does what’s right.”

Obama also discussed the state of the economy, along with Harry Reid. They both discussed the need to continue working to bring more jobs back to Southern Nevada. And hey, what more appropriate venue to do this than at CityCenter, the complex Reid worked to save when financing was pulled and MGM Resorts (then MGM Mirage) nearly went bankrupt.



Actually, one of our Clark County Commissioners summed it up best...

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani told the crowd: “Sharron Angle would not have lifted a finger to help any one of you ... If it’s not your job to create jobs, what the hell is your job?”

Oh yes, that's right. While Reid has worked hard to bring Recovery Act funds to Nevada, bring more renewable energy projects here, and prevent the collapse of Las Vegas' tourism industry...

Sharron Angle doesn't believe it's her job to ensure we have jobs.



Yep, that's right. If Sharrontology had her way, some 22,000 workers at CityCenter, along with many thousands more MGM Resorts workers, would likely be out of work.



In fact, one of these workers, Penny Webster, spoke and reminded us just exactly what the stakes are in this election.

"If Sharron Angle had her way, I would not have my job today. [...] Thanks to Harry Reid, I have a job".

Yep, that really summed it up well. Is Harry Reid some sort of "messiah" for Nevada? Nope. Is President Obama right about Harry Reid being so soft spoken that he may seem dull at times? Sure. And is Reid the best public speaker out there? No, not really.

But hey, I don't need all of that. (And last I checked, Ms. Obtuse Angle isn't all that great in her communication skills.) I need a Senator who works hard for me every day... And for you, and for our friends and family, and for our entire state of Nevada. That's what Reid does, and that's what Obtuse Angle refuses to do.

The choice is clear. And I didn't even need President Obama to tell me that, but it was still great to see him again. And yes, it looks like he's having a good time here in Vegas. :-)

NV-03: Joe Heck, Drinking from the Public Trough, Yet Another GOoP Hypocrite

In case you thought the Republicans had their hands full with Sharron Angle's many flip flops and bouts of hypocrisy, here comes another one: Joe Heck!

Joe Heck always bashes Congresswoman Dina Titus for her previous years of public service as an educator at UNLV, but Heck does not want us to know about all the money he's earned while on the public sector payroll.

Here are the facts-

Triple-dipping Instance 1:
Senator Joe Heck collected all the following checks simultaneously

Government Paycheck #1: Since 1993, Senator Joe Heck has had various contracts with the Southern Nevada Health District.
Government Paycheck #2: From 1998 to 2003, Senator Heck worked as a medical director at a federally supported facility... in Maryland.
Government Paycheck #3: Since 2002, Senator Heck has been paid as a consultant by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Triple-dipping Instance 2:
Senator Joe Heck collected all the following checks simultaneously

Government Paycheck #1: Senator Heck served in the Nevada Legislature in the 2005 and 2007 legislative sessions.
Government Paycheck #2: Senator Heck received a $5,000 monthly retainer from the Southern Nevada Health District during the 2007 legislative session.
Government Paycheck #3: Senator Heck was under contract to receive compensation from Metro during April, May and June 2007, while the Legislature was in session.

Check this new web site for even more facts on Heck's flagrant hypocrisy:

And let all your friends & family know why Dina Titus is our best & only choice for Congress in District 3!

Programming Note: Mr. President Is Coming Back to Town Tomorrow...

And this time, I intend NOT to miss it! I'll be at Aria tomorrow to report live from the Obama-Reid rally. Just check my Twitter (@atdleft) and Facebook for updates.

Oh, and there may be a surprise or three coming tomorrow... Stay tuned for more! :-p

Are the Beltway/NYC Pundits Giving up on Sharrontology?

If we're to believe the talking heads on MSNBC's often painfully obnoxious "Morning Joe", they're not holding much more hope for Sharrontology Obtuse Angle (Sharron Angle) to keep our little US Senate race exciting enough for them to keep making up shit about discussing.



Meanwhile, I hear our lovely local teabagger flavored fishwrap "newspaper" has something to say about all of this.

Bullshit, crap, more crap, blow job for Ronald Reagan, miss old Ronnie, hate Harry, [LOVE SHARRONTOLOGY OBTUSE ANGLE!!!], bullshit, more bullshit, pure unadulterated crap, derivative crap, insightful conservative hate speech, more crap, small turds, bigger turds, little rat publisher flatulence, bla, bla bla, love the governor... [Governor Who?], all lies about [Sandoval], the governor... [We mean, Sandoval!] ... didn't do any of that, apologist, [all lies about Sharrontology], flatulence, still hate Reid, both of them, Shelley Berkley, lucky she's in that gerrymandered district, more flatulence, Dina Taxes is in trouble, she won but she's in trouble, hate democrats, love the tea baggers, [jerking off for Joe Heck], love the [radical right], lovin Ronnie Reagan, George who?, [Johnny Casino who?], [Gibbons who?], [Angle who?], bullshit, crap, more crap, the only thing I like about the beltway is the name, damn people speeding, crap, bla, crap, bla, shit, bla ffffffffffftttttttt(a tribute to Mad Magazine!)

:-D

GOoP Hypocrisy Inaction: Sharrontology Threatens to File Frivolous Law Suit, GOoP to Embrace "Big Government Socialism" for Protest

This is too batsh*t crazy to be true. It has to be... Oh wait, that's right. We're talking about Sharrontology Obtuse Angle here.

Sharron Angle has resorted to an unusual maneuver to counter Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's attacks on her past quotes and positions, the Reid campaign has announced: A cease-and-desist letter, demanding that Reid no longer republish Angle's previous campaign website.

The short version of the story is as follows: After the former state Rep won Nevada's Republican Senate primary, Angle's campaign took down most of its website, and later replaced it with a relaunched version that in some ways toned down her right-wing rhetoric. But Internet pages are rarely ever forgotten -- the Reid campaign saved the old version, and put up a website called "The Real Sharron Angle," reproducing the old content.

Then, they say, the Angle campaign sent them a cease-and-desist letter, claiming misuse of copyrighted materials in the reposting of the old website -- which was, of course, being posted for the purposes of ridiculing Angle. The Reid campaign has in fact taken down the site, rerouting visitors to another website that goes after Angle's positions, "Sharron's Underground Bunker." [...]

We asked Reid campaign deputy communications director Zac Petkanas whether, by taking down the "Real Sharron Angle" site, they were admitting the legitimacy of the complaint. "While we do not necessarily agree with the Angle campaign's assertions, a point is made," said Petkanas. "Sharron Angle is hiding her views from Nevada voters."

So what's Sharrontology afraid of? Oh yes, that's right. All of this...

Sharrontology

Sharron Angle holds dangerously extreme policy positions. Even fellow Republicans don't understand her extreme views. She has publicly taken the following positions (NOTE: Because Angle has been modifying information on her website, we link to screen captures of her policy stances as shown on her site before modification):
Privatize Social Security (Face to Face, May 19, block 1)
Criminalize alcohol (Liberty Watch magazine, 2006)
Pull out of the United Nations (Sharron Angle's website)
Eliminate the Department of Education (Sharron Angle's website)
Eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency (Nevada News and Views, March 22, 2010)
Eliminate the Department of Energy (Nevada News and Views, March 22, 2010)
Put nuclear plants inside Yucca Mountain (Sharron Angle's website)
Abolish the IRS (Sharron Angle's website)
Wants to tell women that abortions cause cancer (AB580, 1999)

But if she's so right and most Nevadans are really clamoring for a radical right extremist to represent us in the US Senate, then why is Sharrontology so afraid of us learning the truth about her real positions on the issues? Oh, and why won't she be a "good conservative" and take some personal responsibility for her own actions? I thought she was against "frivolous law suits"... So now she wants to file one?

And chalk another one up for GOoP hypocrisy, they want to protest on Thursday when President Obama and Senator Reid do a rally open to the public at CityCenter. Wait, I thought they said we're always supposed to "Support the Commander-in-Chief"... Oh wait, only when he's Bush? And they're complaining about jobs and foreclosures... I thought they wanted those left to "the free market"? And what are they doing taking advantage of socialized police, socialized sidewalk, and socialized government subsidizing of free speech? If the GOoPers want a protest, shouldn't they use a "free market solution" and rent space at The Palazzo? Oh wait, that's right... They couldn't honor their date set for their own "tea party nation convention"!

So yet again, we see GOoP hypocrisy in full bloom. Why should we expect anything else? Well, at least it should be fun to laugh at them on Thursday when they make complete fools of themselves.

Oh, and by the way, I dare them to join me in helping stimulate the local economy on Thursday. After the event, I'll be doing dinner on The Strip, somewhere that's NOT Sharrontology's Underground Bunker. Do they believe in the resiliency of Nevada's "free market economy" as much as I do? Haha. ;-)

Dina Titus, Stonewall Democrats, Henderson Democrats, & Even More Nevada Democrats at Boulder City Damboree Parade

OK, here was some of what I was up to this past weekend. I was hanging with Dina Titus, Joyce Woodhouse, Stonewall, Henderson Dems, Team Reid, and plenty more awesome Nevada Democrats.







We marched... And then many of us marched again in "the wet zone"... Yes, I got soaked! And so did Senator Woodhouse!

But then, I dried off and headed over to the Henderson Democratic Club's after party in Green Valley Ranch. And guess who I found? In addition to some friends & neighbors, Congresswoman Titus dropped by... And so did Rory Reid! He chatted with us for a few minutes about why he's running for Governor.





All in all, we had a great Third of July, and I think we threw some great celebrations for America's Birthday. Happy B-day, USA! :-D

Are Strip Malls "Dressed for Success"?

Is everything changing at The Strip's malls?

High-end retailers along the Strip — think Tiffany, Louis Vuitton and Chanel — are mourning the loss of splurgers — vacationers who reach deeper into their wallets for a big-ticket purchase because that’s one of the frills and thrills of the Vegas escape.

These days, Macy’s is the day’s fancy outing.

And it helps explain why Strip malls are branding down, and a new retail center planned across the street from the $8.5 billion CityCenter and its uber-posh Crystals mall will be anchored by Walgreens.

“The success of high-end luxury retail before the Great Recession was attributed to those who could afford it, and the aspirational consumer who wanted to trade up to luxury,” said Pamela Joy Ring, president of the Ring Retail Advisory in Las Vegas. “Those aspirational people are gone. They are spending within their means and patronizing the middle market.”

Well, it makes sense. So many of us have changed our spending habits, so it makes sense that a number of tourists have, too. Maybe five years ago they would have splurged on a Burberry scarf, but now they just want an "I Got Lucky in Vegas" t-shirt.

But wait, are we over-simplifying this? Is the uber-high-end really dead? Actually, no... Far from it!

The Forum Shops, which kicked off the move to luxury when it opened in 1992, said the upper-end market shouldn’t be written off. It cited recent remodeling and expansion by some of its retailers.

Versace, Gucci and Ermenegildo Zegna have recently expanded their stores, and others that are expanding include Burberry and Cartier.

The Forum Shops reports its sales were up double digits during the first quarter of this year, coming off a down 2009 when sales were about $1,400 per square foot. Even though sales dipped from $1,500 a square foot in 2008, the mall kept its No. 1 ranking in the country. [...]

Crystals’ operators say they are not second-guessing their high-end tenant-mix strategy, even in the face of the recession and competition from other luxury stores in town.

“We leased the building in the worst economic time ever and we know that,” said Farid Matraki, vice president and general manager. “But despite that, we had a mission, and we stayed on course on that mission. We knew we wanted a certain type of client and we pursued (that client).”

“I think our tenants appreciated the strategy as well. You don’t want to put a magnet souvenir store next to a Louis Vuitton.” [...]

“Las Vegas continues to draw high-end customers who enjoy certain dining and shopping,” Hermes USA President and CEO Robert Chavez said, citing high-end domestic and international travelers. “We are very optimistic about the potential upside of our business in Las Vegas.”

Come on, let's face it. High-rollers and big spenders do NOT come here to "save money and be thrifty"... They want the most lavish and extravagant experience of their lives! So as long as those big spenders keep coming back to Vegas to live out their fantasies, I guess there will always be a need for Prada and Chopard.

So where does it all fit in? Diversity. That's it, diversity.

Vegas has all sorts of people coming here for all sorts of different experiences. Some just want $5 blackjack tables, cheap dinner buffets, and that "I Got Lucky in Vegas" t-shirt, while others want private gaming salons, exquisite multi-course haute cuisine dinners, and that perfect Chanel little black dress.

The Strip's retail scene needs all sorts of stores to please all sorts of people. Perhaps the malls were in over their heads packing in the same ol' luxury brands four years ago, but now it would be foolish to completely drop them.

This is probably the key to The Forum Shops' continued success. They have ultra luxurious boutiques, kitschy souvenir shops, and everything in between. They seem to have something to target any tourist stopping by.

This makes me wonder how Crystals can keep going as is. Have they tied themselves too tightly into just one niche (luxury clothing & accessories)? Or are they being smart in sticking with the big spenders who just need to make their regular splurges to keep them afloat? We'll have to wait and see...

Crazy Fun Video Night... Goes GAY!!!

Actually, tonight I'm feeling more lesbian...

Watch Gay Video & Lesbian Movies

Watch Gay Video & Lesbian Movies

Thanks for the inspiration, Vegas Style Guy! :-p

Sharrontology Emerges from the Bunker... And Blames Reid for It

(Btw, Sharrontology has apparently scrubbed and "relaunched" her "new web site"... But you can still find Obtuse Angle's original batsh*t crazy here.)

Surprise, surprise! Sharrontology is coming out of her bunker!



And look where she landed. Oh, jeez...

Ralston played back the audio, with accompanying on-screen text, from an interview that Angle gave with a conservative talk radio host back in January. "You know, our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason, and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government. And in fact Thomas Jefferson said, it's good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years," Angle said. "I hope that's not where we're going, but, you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying, my goodness, what can we do to turn this country around? I'll tell you, the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out."

"A lot of people think that's pretty outrageous rhetoric," Ralston said, referring to the language about "take Harry Reid out," and asked Angle whether she thought President Obama was a tyrant comparable to King George III.

"Well, I was speaking broadly, as you saw, about the Constitution, and that was the context of that rhetoric," Angle responded. "I admit that was a little strong to say 'take him out,' but you know what I meant. I meant take him out of office, and taking him out of office is a little different. I changed my rhetoric, to 'defeat Harry Reid.'"

Ralston continued to ask Angle whether she had gone too far.

"You know what, Jon," Angle responded, "I think it's interesting that we're nitpicking on all the little topics that Harry is putting out there."

"Harry Reid didn't put this out there," an excited Ralston said. "You put it out there."

So this is the new Sharrontology? Try to explain away dangerously radical positions, then try to blame everything on Harry Reid? Whatever happened to that 'conservative value" of personal responsibility? Why is Sharrontology Obtuse Angle now morphing into... SUZY LOWDOWN??!!

But wait, whatever happened to that "conservative value" that is personal responsibility? Did Suzy Lowdown and Bobby Uithoven miss that day's lesson in "GOoP Talking Points 101"? How is Ms. Suzy pulling herself up by her own bootstraps when she wants Harry Reid to tie them for her?

See how ridiculous they really sound? Again, Suzy Lowdown refuses to acknowledge that her crazy words wrecked her own campaign. And instead of realizing that the teabaggers are abandoning her in droves to go for "real deal" Obtuse Angle, she'd rather just try one more "Hail Mary Pass" to save her rapidly collapsing campaign by blaming it all on Harry Reid.

Well, we can now rest assured that personal responsibility wasn't covered in Sharrontology's "GOoP Talking Points 101" class... But "pass the buck" and "no matter what, blame everything on Reid" were. And now, Sharrontology is trying to blame Harry Reid for all the things she said (that's all, folks, and no one ever forced her to say those things!) and for the media asking questions on where she really stands on the 2nd Amendment, abortion, taxes, Yucca, Social Security, and more. Come on, haven't we seen this tried before by Suzy Lowdown?

So is this the new campaign slogan? "Sharrontology Obtuse Angle: Even Crazier than Suzy Lowdown, But It's All Reid's Fault."

(Failed) State of Cheap

Surprise! Nevada's "tax burden" is among the tiniest in the nation!

Nevada’s state and local tax burden ranks 50th out of 51, according to one study that includes Washington, D.C. A family of three living in Las Vegas with a $75,000 annual income had the 47th lowest tax burden compared with a similar family in each state’s largest city, another study found. More, we reportedly have near-bottom levels of taxpayer funding for welfare, education and parks.

Yet the political and policy debate in Nevada is all about who can most convincingly promise not to raise taxes. Both candidates for governor say they can improve education by better spending existing revenue (we supposedly rank 49th nationally on spending per pupil). All but a few liberal legislators deny that they will consider raising taxes to close the state’s $3 billion budget deficit. [...]

The Taxpayers Network said our welfare spending ranks 50th. We have the fourth fewest state employees. We rank 40th on parks and natural resources. And from 1998 through 2007, state spending per capita was among the slowest to grow.

Republican legislators such as state Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio of Reno declare that we have one of the leanest state governments in the country. But he’s still met by accusations that he’s a Republican in name only.

He said voters are the angriest he’s ever seen.

“People keep on being fed misinformation,” he said. “I don’t think they understand the true situation of what the tax burden is in Nevada.”

Of course. It's easy to listen to Sharrontology Obtuse Angle and "Where's Brian?" Sandoval and conclude we're being taxed out of our living daylights... But then these facts arrive, and we're forced yet again to face reality. Let me again dig up that something we've done nothing about for far too long.

1. Nevada is already the cheapest state in the nation -- for the size of the state's economy, Nevada spends less on state government than any other state.

2. Nevada's tax structure is already one of the most regressive in the nation.

3. Nevada is one of only three states without a corporate income tax or a gross receipts tax on business (the other two being the mostly uninhabited pseudo states of Wyoming and South Dakota).

4. Probably in no small part because of 2 and 3, Nevada's budget shortfall was already the largest in the nation even before release of the latest numbers revealing that the state is more broke than earlier projected.

5. Taken all in all then, proportionally, Nevada will now be cutting more money than any other state from services that are already funded less than in any other state.

Remember, Mr. Gleaner said this over a year ago. And now, this problem is even worse since we've had two more budgets slashing even more on essential services. So now the DMV is regularly running four day work weeks, other state agencies are following suit, local libraries and community centers and after school programs are being forced to cut hours even more, schools are facing dilemmas over laying off even more teachers and/or cutting days in the school year...

And we wonder why Nevada has the highest unemployment rate in the nation? Why Las Vegas is woefully overdependent on the casinos? Why so many roads around town look like crap (and feel like crap when driving on them)? Why many neighborhoods around town have experienced "crime waves"? And why despite having the second smallest tax burden in the nation, businesses still aren't rushing to relocate in Nevada?

Come on, haven't we talked about this before? As long as we refuse to invest what's needed in our schools, our parks, our roads, and all in all our basic infrastructure, we will never succeed as a state. And as long as our state offers a not-so-well-educated workforce and limited community services, those new businesses won't come and we will continue to be stuck, overdependent upon casinos that aren't investing as much in our state as the global gaming sector expands and new opportunities in Macau, Singapore, Eastern Europe, Mexico, and elsewhere outshine what we once had to offer.

Jeez, what will it take to get our state to wake up and smell the napalm (of "failed state of cheap")?

Crazy Fun Video Night: Look, Mom, I Found Real Food!

Thanks, Epicurious!

Sharrontology & Choice: She Wants You to Have None

I hinted at this yesterday, but let's take another look at just what Sharrontology Obtuse Angle believes on women's reproductive health.

There's anti-abortion, and then there's Nevada Senatorial candidate Sharron Angle: "Angle’s hard line on abortion in cases of rape and incest is even more terrifying. When asked by conservative radio talk host Bill Manders whether she would support banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest Angle said there was no acceptable reason for an abortion because "God has a plan." Manders: Is there any reason at all for an abortion?
Angle: Not in my book.
Manders: So, in other words, rape and incest would not be something?
Angle: You know, I’m a Christian and I believe that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives and that he can intercede in all kinds of situations and we need to have a little faith in many things." [Bill Manders Show, link/source]

It's a bit confusing just how the Almighty is supposed to "intercede" in this situation - prevent the rape? prevent the incest? Is the rape or incest victim simply to follow the Victorian honeymoon advice and "close her eyes and think of England?"

Good question, DB. Let's see if Jon Ralston asks her this tonight after all her weeks spent ditching the press.