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Life After Oscar?
His Vegasness is leaving City Hall, and he’s taking his gin with him. The whole Valley should ask some hard questions of those vying for the throne.
Wander through a park or a coffee shop in Henderson or North Las Vegas and ask voters to name their mayor. You might get a quizzical look or an uncertain reply, but the names Andy Hafen and Shari Buck are not likely to be consistently heard. Instead, a large percentage of people would probably offer one name—Oscar Goodman.
Read More »Remember the nice conservatives?
When Republicans recently marked Ronald Reagan’s centennial, two key figures were missing: Reagan and Paul Laxalt. Since Reagan has been dead since 2004, his absence is understandable. But the Reagan missing from the centennial wasn’t the physical Reagan, but the real Reagan.
Read More »Over the cliff we go
To paraphrase Winston Churchill, an empty car pulled up to the State of the State Address in Carson City, and Gov. Brian Sandoval stepped out.
Sandoval’s attempt to raze Nevada’s government and become his party’s Senate or vice-presidential nominee in 2012 or 2016 wasn’t a surprise. He didn’t rise above his campaign rhetoric, and merely sounded like a broken record of some previous governors, especially his immediate predecessor.
Nevada’s economy is a shambles, and Sandoval wants streamlining and diversification. So do we all, and we have heard this song before. But other states throughout the West aren’t just talking about it; they’re doing it through partnerships between education and industries, and by combining cuts with increased taxes, knowing that gutting education won’t attract companies that need an educated work force that wants educated children.
Read More »Forgetting our responsibilities as a republic
The following events are related because they reflect misplaced priorities and evolving politics: • State Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, retired for health reasons. He may just be sick of his caucus, which deposed him as leader when Southern Nevada Republicans decided to punish him for endorsing Sen. Harry Reid’s re-election, because he’s saner than they are, and partly (no doubt) because Sharron Angle challenged his re-election in 2008, lost 53-47 percent and still thinks she won.
• A lunatic killed at least six and shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., his apparent target, through the head. The blogosphere, including the left, focused on incendiary rhetoric from the likes of Sarah Palin and the aforementioned Angle, rather than immediately pointing out the need for gun-control legislation, which they have largely ignored as an issue in recent years. Also killed in Tucson was a federal judge, barely a year after a similar shooting in the lobby of the Lloyd George Federal Building here.
Read More »A clean shave doesn’t mean a cut throat
Brian Sandoval’s inauguration, and the hope and dread that accompany a new governorship, brought up some points to ponder:
Read More »Gov. Sandoval: Who’s fooling whom?
One of the state’s “most successful businessmen” recently spoke to Jon Ralston about his amazement that Gov. Brian Sandoval still sings from the “no new taxes” hymnal. Then came news that IKEA and EarthLink declined to move to Nevada because of our lack of college graduates.
Meanwhile, Sandoval proposes just to cut, including a reported 10-15 percent in education, especially higher education, which businesses such as IKEA and EarthLink care about.
Read More »What is it with guys named John E?
Elizabeth Edwards’ recent death brought two people to mind: Dr. Samuel Johnson and John Ensign.
Dr. Johnson, known for his dictionary and great phrases, said, “In lapidary inscriptions a man is not upon oath.” Translation: Tombstones are rarely honest.
Read More »Those who forget the past
A wise man once said, “People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors.” In this light, consider the recent Las Vegas appearance of Lonnie Bunch.
Read More »Time to start thinking like Northerners
If you want to understand not only the recent election, but how to resolve some of Nevada’s budget problems, you must first understand baseball and California.
Read More »Carnage at the R-J: a retrospective
Stephens Media Group replaced Las Vegas Review-Journal publisher Sherm Frederick, now a columnist/consultant, with advertising director Bob Brown on Nov. 12. Editor Tom Mitchell became “senior opinion editor,” which sounds like he’ll be visiting local Sun City communities to gauge seniors’ views. With a full-time publisher, as opposed to Frederick doubling as Stephens CEO, general manager Allan Fleming lost his job.
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