That Was Quick

Yesterday, I predicted that The Las Vegas Sun would run an editorial agreeing with Harry Reid on the banning of brothels within a week: I also predict that the Las Vegas Sun will run an editorial endorsing Harry's idea within the next week. http://lasvegasbadger.blogspot.com/2011/02/harry-reid-and-prostitutes-i-am-sure.html
Well, today, the Sun was sucking off Harry Reid's teat when they endorsed Reid's idea to make illegal, brothels.
From the Sun: As the Legislature sat in joint session Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid delivered a thoughtful vision of Nevada’s future that was unmistakable in tone, coming from a man who has invested a lifetime promoting the well-being of this state. The media undoubtedly will focus on a single aspect of Reid’s address, his sensible call for the state to outlaw prostitution.
Reid is right that it is time for Nevada to have an adult conversation about the brothels in rural counties because of negative images those enterprises represent, both to families who live in the state and others who are thinking of opening businesses here.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/23/blueprint-nevada/
Seriously, it is really scary how the Las Vegas Sun is a whore to Harry Reid. Where has the Sun been on this issue? I look at the Sun's editorial most everyday and they have not come out against brothels until Harry Reid said so.
Maybe because the Sun is close to moral and financial bankruptcy, Harry Reid needs to prop up the Sun. Or maybe it's vice versa.
But remember, Whorehouse Harry Reid, as Jerry Doyle loves to call him, was a huge backer of brothels because he lived next door to one in Searchlight, NV. In addition, his mother used to work for the brothel, cleaning sheets and Harry learned how to swim in the brothel's swimming pool. Harry's very proud of those moments in his life.
So, all of a sudden he says a business did not locate to Nevada because of brothels? I highly doubt that story. Harry Reid has been a liar for a long time. From the time he claimed his family station wagon had a bomb placed underneath it to this last election, Harry Reid has been a liar.
So, I don't buy his story about a company not locating here because of brothels and I believe Harry Reid is close to being senile.

Whorehouse Harry Reid + Best Quote Regarding Outlawing Prostitution

The Pahrump Valley Times has the best quote regarding Harry Reid and the whorehouses in Nevada: Nevada District 36 Assemblyman Ed Goedhart, R-Amargosa Valley said Reid should concentrate on the problems in Washington, D.C. including a federal budget that’s out of control.
“At least the women who work in Nevada’s legal brothels are paid for their work. The citizens of Nevada have been sending money to Washington, D.C. ever since Sen. Reid was elected majority leader of the U.S. Senate. Sen. Reid is hypocritical to suggest we outlaw legal brothels, he has been using Nevada as a brothel since he was elected majority leader; the only difference is that we haven’t received any compensation in return,” Goedhart said. (emphasis mine)
http://pvtimes.com/news/reid-attacked-for-prostitution-speech/
That's pretty much says it all.

AOL News Gets It

From AOL News: The protests in Wisconsin over Republican efforts to breach the last major bastion of organized labor -- state and local governments -- are likely to reverberate in the 2012 election. But to whose advantage is anyone's guess.Democrats say Gov. Scott Walker's bid to close his state's budget gap by gutting the power of the state's public employee unions, as well as similar efforts in more than a dozen states, have energized the party faithful, whose enthusiasm for President Barack Obama has waned from the heady and historic days of 2008.
Republicans, who so far have presented a fairly weak field of presidential contenders, argue that governors like Walker and New Jersey's Chris Christie are heroes to their party's base. If Obama champions the unions, they warn, he will get little sympathy from voters whose own wages and benefits have taken a hit in recent years.
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/22/union-protests-in-wisconsin-could-affect-obamas-chances-in-2012/
With gas and food prices skyrocketing, President Obama has thrown his muscle, not to mention thugs and goons, against the taxpayer, the poor and the middle class and for the state and local labor unions.
In 2012, you will see states, counties, cities and towns have to make massive layoffs because of budget shortfalls. There will increased unemployment because of higher taxes and higher prices and the GOP will show that Obama is out of touch and doesn't care.
But the GOP has a pathetic list of candidates right now and that is Obama's saving grace. But then remember Bill Clinton in 1992.

What's Worse?

Harry Reid wanting to fire women who screw people for a living.
Or
Harry Reid who screws people over money for a living?

Interesting: Nuclear War Would Not Cause Global Warming

NASA Space News has interesting article in which a NASA scientist put to the test as to what would happen if the earth had a nuclear war.
From the article: Oman: We studied the scenario of using 100 Hiroshima-size bombs, the fires from which would inject upward of 5 teragrams (megatons) of black carbon particles into Earth's upper troposphere. Observations of forest fires have shown this to occur on much smaller scales.On the ground, global temperatures would fall by a little over 1 degree Celsius (C) (1.8 Fahrenheit (F)) over first three years. In contrast, aerosols from the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo contributed to about 3/10 of a degree C (~ 0.5 F) of cooling over one year. Black carbon particles are smaller than sulfate particles and can be lofted much higher by solar heating, where their influence on climate can last up to a decade.We also saw that two to four years after the event, rainfall would decrease globally by an average of about 10 percent. http://spacestation-shuttle.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-would-nuclear-war-affect-climate.html
I don't know, but I always thought that a nuclear war would have more of an effect on the climate.
Of course that nasty problem of radiation would be pretty bad.

What Are Hotel Scared Of Most: Bed Bugs Or Out Of State Democrats?

I feel sorry for the Illinois hotel business. First they have to deal with bed bugs that are sweeping the nation and now they have to deal with run away Democratic state senators from Indiana and Wisconsin.
So, which is worse, Democratic legislators or bedbugs? I think they are one in the same. To bad you can't put a Democratic senator out it's misery from a swat with a newspaper or some Raid.

Nevada Government Kills Another Business

John Smith writes a terrific article in today's LVRJ about how government is killing small business in Nevada. start with the new minimum wage and the higher fees and you get closures all around Nevada.
From John Smith and the LVRJ: In the endless battle for the unofficial title of Best Hamburger in Las Vegas, Kilroy's was a perennial top contender.
Shortly after it opened in 1991, the bar and grill at 1021 S. Buffalo Drive gained a deserved reputation for good food and friendly service. With its funky caricatures on the wall, it established its own identity above the haze of smoke-choked video poker caves that once seemed to inhabit every strip mall and street corner in the valley....
But it's more than that, Lampi says. If the government is truly interested in increasing employment, it can do more to help small bar and restaurant owners.
Back to those burgers. Lampi says Kilroy's bought $30,000 a month in groceries for its small restaurant, which employed 30. At its best, it grossed $1.5 million in food business in addition to its bar and slot profits.
The slumping economy changed everything. When the state instituted a $1-per-hour increase in the minimum wage, his bottom line was slashed by approximately $48,000 a year. That took the meat of the net profit out of the food side of his businesses and in 2007 made a very difficult decision to close the restaurants inevitable....
Kilroy's closed last year when they instituted the minimum wage increase of $1 an hour," Lampi says. Overall, "we laid off 40 employees. I basically haven't sent in this year $170,000 in sales taxes because of the closure."...
And don't get him started with the state's Clean Indoor Air Act, which compels bar and restaurant owners to either shut down their kitchens or spend thousands to enclose the smoke-approved bar area from the food service. By Lampi's count, those design changes cost Kilroy's $40,000.
Then he watched as other bar-restaurants ignored the law and greeted chain-smoking slot customers who were turned off by being encased in glass.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/more-than-good-burgers-are-lost-when-small-businesses-close-116642543.html
The minimum wage law in Nevada has been disastrous to Nevadans and it is a reason why there are few restaurants opening and many closing. Many restaurants, who were 24 hours have eliminated the night shift. Why? Because the new minimum wage law, which is $1 over the federal minimum wage, has been costing small businesses money. When you are on a very tight budget, you can't afford the extra costs the government imposes on business and so you have to close. I realize most liberals in government don't realize this, but it is the truth.
Ask the 40 people who got laid off from Kilroys how the new minimum wage helped them. I'm pretty sure they don't like it.
And Smith didn't even mention the new higher taxes business owners are going to have to pay for unemployment insurance. You can see more businesses closing up shop before the end of the year with even fewer businesses to take their place.
Government puts another business out of business.

It's Official: Indy Cars Coming To LVMS in October

From ESPN: INDYCAR finally confirmed on Tuesday that its 2011 season finale will be contested Oct. 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Of course, Las Vegas is known for (among other things) its quickie marriages, and Indy car racing has had its share of brief affairs in Sin City. The question is whether open-wheel racing's latest spin of the Vegas roulette wheel will result in a lasting, mutually profitable relationship.
USAC, CART, IRL and Champ Car all staged races in Vegas over the years. Bobby Unser won a one-off USAC tilt at the defunct Stardust Raceway in 1968, but Indy car racing disappeared from the scene until CART picked up the crumbs left behind by Formula One in 1984 to stage a one-and-done event in the parking lot of Caesar's Palace won by Mario Andretti.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway was one of the Indy Racing League's original ovals in 1996, but like many venues new to open-wheel racing during the CART/IRL war, it failed to attract a large enough audience to maintain staying power. Switching from a fall to a spring date failed to improve the commercial viability of the event, which was dropped from the IRL schedule after the 2000 season.
http://espn.go.com/racing/blog/_/name/oreovicz_john/id/6147576/yeah-stay-las-vegas
Of course there are questions if the Indy Cars will succeed in Las Vegas. Will they get as many spectators as the NASCAR Sprint race? Probably not.
Will they get as many people in the stands as the Indy 500? Doubtful.
But will they get about 50,000 people in the stands? I think so. Maybe the LVMS will have to give away some tickets to teachers, police and other agencies, but they should get a good paying crowd because in the same weekend, they will be holding the Sam's Town Camping World Truck Race at the LVMS. So, Indy Car fans and NASCAR fans will be together in one place at the same time. That should be interesting.
More from ESPN: Another positive is the fact that Las Vegas will host the Izod IndyCar Series championship finale, which has gone right down to the wire the past five years. Unless recent form is upset, fans are going to get a tension-filled event with significant championship implications.
The announcement of a $5 million prize for any non-IndyCar driver who manages to win the Las Vegas race could spur interest, though it may be difficult to find "name" drivers able to participate and teams in championship contention are unlikely to want to be distracted from their primary effort by running an extra car. Formula One is set to race in Korea that weekend, but the NASCAR Sprint Cup's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be the night before the IndyCar finale, theoretically opening the door for Cup driver participation.
This should be an interesting part of the weekend, a challenge of the Indy Cars to put up $5 million to any driver that can beat the Indy drivers at Indy Car drivers own game. So, there will be heighten interest. I see Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya calling along with a Formula 1 driver or 2.
It's going to be a great weekend.

New Democratic Part Mascot

It's hard for the democrats to beat a jackass as their party mascot. But now that the Dem's are on the run in Wisconsin and Indiana, I believe Foghorn Leghorn is a perfect mascot.
First, he is a loud mouth, long winded and in th eend, doesn't say very much. Further, he enjoys picking on animals and people smaller than him but usually, in the end, he has the crap beaten out of him and loses the big fight. Finally, he usually runs aways after he is beaten. Just like Democrats of today.
So, my nomination of the new mascot ofthe Democratic Party is Foghorn Leghorn.

U.S. Offers Assistance To Christchurch, New Zealand

Today, the U.S. offered assistance to Christchurch, the place where they had a devestating yesterday, killing scores of people.
From the State Department and Hillary Clinton: I am deeply saddened by the news that a second major earthquake in 6 months has struck Christchurch. On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I send our sincere condolences and sympathy to the people of New Zealand.
When the earthquake struck, American and Kiwi officials were in the middle of a meeting in Christchurch, discussing plans to further develop and expand the broad partnership between our nations...
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/02/156913.htm
From President Obama: ...The United States is a close friend and partner of New Zealand, as evidenced by the meeting of the U.S.-New Zealand Partnership Forum that was underway in Christchurch when the earthquake struck. To assist in the rescue and recovery efforts, we have agreed to deploy a U.S. Agency for International Development Disaster Assistance Response Team, including an Urban Search and Rescue Team, and we stand ready to provide more assistance as needed.
Kudos for the President for offering one the world's best urban rescue teams and I hope they are on their way.
Luckily (or unluckily, I guess) there was a large conference in Christchurch when the earthquake hit and Richard Armitage, formerly of the State Department was there. Armitage has been reported missing and I have not heard if he has been found. I am assuming he was because no news is good news.
For the latest updates from a Christchurch newspaper:LATEST: Rescue teams are being withdrawn from the collapsed CTV building after reports 15 people were trapped alive were proved wrong.
Mayor Bob Parker and Prime Minister John Key said this morning at least 75 people were dead following yesterday's quake. They said 55 bodies had been identified and there were a further 20 unidentified bodies.
Email your quake photos and stories at newstips@stuff.co.nz
Parker said another 300 people were listed as missing, though not all of them would be trapped in buildings that were being searched for survivors.
It was confirmed that one person had died in the The Press newspaper's central city office.
Previous reports that 15 people were trapped alive in a pocket in the CTV building were false, Fire Commander Mike Hall said.
Rescuers have announced efforts will now be concentrated on the collapsed Pyne Gould building where there had been some success this morning. Heavy machinery was being brought in but it was going to be slow progress, Hall said.
When asked if it was still a rescue operation or a recovery operation, Mr Hall said: ''As far as we are concerned it's still a rescue, it's only 24 hours since the earthquake and we know that's far too soon to give up hope.''
Some family members who were waiting outside the site were upset and crying after being spoken to by police.
In an emotional address this morning Key announced a national emergency, telling the nation it would get through the disaster.
"This country is right behind you and we are backing you with all of our might."
CARNAGE HITS HOME
Christchurch people woke this morning to a scene of absolute carnage, with bodies lying throughout the central business district.
The living, trapped in many buildings, are fighting for their lives after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck at a shallow depth 10km southeast of the city at 1pm yesterday.
Rescuers were still hearing signs of life from the Pyne Gould Corporation building on Cambridge Tce. Three people had this morning been rescued from the CTV building and eight from the PGC building.
Shane Cole, a fireman and a member of the urban search and rescue team, said rescuers had heard banging in buildings and one person had managed to send a text message this morning while trapped on the first floor of the CTV building.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/4692170/Quake-toll-75-hundreds-missing
One newspaper has been knocked off line and so this is most comprehensive news there is coming out of New Zealand.
Prayers to Christchurch and the outlying cities that have been hit. Two major earthquakes in the same city a little over 6 months is just horrible. I have my doubts that a city like Los Angeles could handle 2 devesating earthquakes like Christchurch has. Not to mention wimp cities like Madison, WI.
So, keep them in your prayers and if they call for donations, please considering contributing, especially through the Salvation Army.

Harry Reid And Prostitutes: I Am Sure There Is A Joke In There Some Where

One wonders if Harry Reid has had a bad experience at a local whorehouse?
Today, Harry Reid came to Carson City to talk about job creation. No. Foreclosure problems. No. Education problems. No. Instead Harry brought his circus to the Sate Capitol and said that Nevada needs to limit prostitution. Kinds me of the movie Dragnet where the priest and the playboy publisher combined to increase pornography.
OK, Harry, whorehouses in rural counties have been legal forever in Nevada. Why are you bringing this subject up now? Bad experience? They didn't pay enough to you in the election? They didn't endorse you? Why, Harry. Why?
For more information: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/22/reid-vs-brothel-industry/
Whorehouses have been legal in Nevada in the rural counties of Nevada. Prostitution is not legal in Clark County, where Las Vegas is in or Washoe County, where Reno is, but whorehouses are legal in the other counties.
Unless you know where a whorehouse is, you probably will drive right by one, as I have done. No, I don't go looking for one, but it would be interesting to see one from the road, which you usually cannot do. There are very few signs or advertisements, if any, saying where a whorehouse is.
But according to Harry Reid, he thinks this is a reason why Nevada loses out on jobs.
As a conservative, I find that the whorehouses are immoral. But also, as a conservative, I think government needs to lay off legal businesses that aren't causing problems. As far as I know, the whorehouses don't generate too many police calls to their business and they pay their taxes and fees.
So, Harry Reid, I understand your shortcomings. But in a time when the deficit is out of control, record unemployment, record foreclosure rates, poor education, increasing deficits in the U.S., I would think you have better things to rant about.
I predict this will not got forward. I also predict that the Las Vegas Sun will run an editorial endorsing Harry's idea within the next week.

Chris Matthews Get Schooled By GOP WI. State Senator

Taking my clue from my friend Jamie Greenlee, the Greenlee Gazette, here is a video clip of Chris Matthews getting schooled by Glen Grothman, a state senator from Wisconsin:


For the record, I feel that Scott Walker and the GOP should have included firefighters and the police in taking away collective bargaining. Especially after what has happened within the CCFD and their abuse of sick pay. You just cannot trust any government public employee union.

Keep Christchurch, New Zealand In Your Prayers

Last September 3 of 2010, Christchurch New Zealand had a devastating 7.1 earthquake in it's city. The city worked very hard to get through the disaster and the damaged it received. The city didn't cry or demand the world give it public assistance.
http://lasvegasbadger.blogspot.com/2011/01/tale-of-two-countries.html
Well, today, the city has suffered a less powerful but far more deadly earthquake, with as many 65 people dying in the quake.
From a local Christchurch newspaper: An earthquake in Christchurch has claimed at least 65 lives, and scores more are injured in what Prime Minister John Key says "may well be New Zealand's darkest day".
Key tonight confirmed that at least 65 people were dead after the shallow 6.3 earthquake, which hit 10km southeast of the city just before 1pm. That quake has been followed by constant aftershocks, as powerful as magnitude 5.7.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told TVNZ that figure could double.
Buildings have been destroyed, with an unknown number of people trapped inside, with rescuers saying some people would remain trapped overnight.
Parker said up to 25 buildings of significant size in the city were probably damaged beyond repair.
Civil Defence director John Hamilton said the death toll was expected to climb.
Hospitals around the South Island were being cleared to take the hundreds of casualties expected, while makeshift hospitals were being set up in parts of Christchurch.
"This is a big problem. Far worse in casualties than the 4th of September, largely because it happened at a different time of the day," Hamilton said.
"Everybody was at work, it was lunchtime and people were in the streets and we've got to be realistic about it, but we don't want to go over the top at this stage. I think we've got to be prepared to accept that there is going to be quite a heavy toll."
Up to 500 people have set up for the night in Hagley Park, where they will be spending the night. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/4688231/65-dead-in-Christchurch-quake
If President has not offered yet, he needs to offer rescue specialists that specialize in earthquake rescues to New Zealand. I would hope Obama has offered and if he hasn't, shame on him. I will with hold judgement until I find out more. But so far, there has been no information on the State Department web site or the White House web site regarding the quake. This is very pathetic on the part of the U.S. government.
So, please keep the people in Christchurch, new Zealand in your prayers. They are going through their Job moment.

Oh, To be In Carson City Tomorrow: Prostitutes Will Be Lobbying Lawmakers

From The Las Vegas Sun: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could have used this defense to rebuff Republicans who blamed him for the state's dismal economy during the campaign: The brothels are responsible for our high unemployment rate.
The brothel industry is preparing to stack the Legislature with its professional women on Tuesday, fearing Reid will call for an end to legalized prostitution in Nevada when he addresses lawmakers.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/21/brothel-industry-fears-harry-reid-will-seek-end-le/

No word if John Ensign, Sen. Vitter or Ted Kennedy's ghost will be at the State Capitol tomorrow.

Madison Teachers Are An Embarassment To The Teaching Profession

I don't have the video and it does come from Fox News, so i realize a lot of liberals will blow it off, but...
The Fox reporter quoted a Madison teacher as saying that her going on strike was a learning experience for her students and that she won't go back to work because it will further the student's in her classes education.
I am not sure he quoted her 100% accurately, but from what I have read in posts in the Madison newspapers and other liberal blogs, this is the sentiment of Madison and Madison area teachers.
Well, these teachers are an embarrassment to the teaching profession. Maybe shut down the schools one day to prove your point, but Madison teachers have closed down their schools for at least 4 days and counting.
That's 4 days of not receiving any education in the classroom.
That's 4 days of families of having to find babysitters for young ones.
That's 4 days of students who live in poverty, not receiving free lunches and breakfasts.
That's 4 days the severely disabled students who don't get out of the houses on a regular basis are stuck in the houses where they live.
That's 4 days that teenagers are allowed to roam the malls and the City of Madison.
That's 4 days of school that student teachers at U.W. Madison will have to make up somehow.
That's 4 days that some school employees will not get paid like school cafeteria workers, secretaries, custodians etc.
That's 4 days that private sector employees that work with Madison schools won't get paid, like crossing guards and bus drivers.
That's 4 days extra that Madison students will have to spend in school after the school year is supposed to end and this may affect student jobs and perhaps some vacations.
That's 4 days that Madison area police officers have to babysit the teachers and other protesters, guaranteeing that they will have to work overtime and be away from their families.

The Madison teachers are nothing but a bunch of selfish and pathetic bunch of so called "educators". They are not teachers but a bunch of spoiled brats.
I am sure there are many more ways the Madison teachers have embarrassed themselves and may things difficult for the residents of Madison. They are an embarrassment to the teaching profession and I hope that the Department of Education in Wisconsin will take a look at this and revoke the licenses of the teachers that participated in the illegal strike.

A Perfect Example Why You Need To Reign In Spending Before It Gets Too Bad

Today, the Detroit schools were ordered to close half of their schools because of severe financial problems.
From the Detroit News: Swift and severe changes are coming to Detroit Public Schools.
State education officials have ordered Robert Bobb to immediately implement a financial restructuring plan that balances the district's books by closing half of its schools, swelling high school class sizes to 60 students and consolidating operations.
This week, Bobb, the district's emergency financial manager, said he is meeting with Detroit city officials and will set up a meeting with Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency to discuss consolidation opportunities in areas such as finance, public safety, transportation and other areas.
Bobb also is preparing a list of recommended school closures and Friday said layoff discussions are under way and would be announced closer to April, when notices would be issued. "We are moving forward with the plan," he said "Right now my focus is on my transition plan and the DEP (deficit elimination plan)." From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110221/SCHOOLS/102210355/Michigan-orders-DPS-to-make-huge-cuts#ixzz1Ef1DuZC0
Michigan and Detroit refused to acknowledge that there problems and used financing schemes. Detroit and until recently the State of Michigan, have been ruled the state and this is the mess they caused. Now, thousands of families will be be inconvenienced and hundreds, if not thousands of teachers and other staff will be laid off.
This is another reason why we need reform in local and state government. Most states are in financial difficulty and they need help and until recently, most government employee unions have not acknowledged this and just say give me more. Otherwise, many areas will end up like Detroit.

Lot's Of Las Vegas News Today: A Good Foreclosure, Indy Cars And College Closures?

Today has been a busy day in Las Vegas.
In the most ironic news of the day, Brian Greenspun and the Las Vegas Sun and their off shoot corporation which owns The District at Green Valley, a large shopping outside shopping center right by the Green Valley casino went into receivership today as they owed over $100,000,000.
From the Sun: Lenders owed about $100 million have assumed ownership of The District at Green Valley Ranch mixed-use center in Henderson.
The District was developed by the Greenspun family, owner of the Las Vegas Sun, through its American Nevada Company. The District includes retail, office, entertainment and residential components.
Because of weak sales by key retailers and declining occupancy, income at the property fell during the recession and American Nevada said in late 2009 it had put the loan for the property into strategic default in hopes of negotiating more realistic terms.
Bruce Deifik, president of The Greenspun Corporation, parent of American Nevada, said Monday that American Nevada worked for 16 months to restructure the loan but in the end couldn't come to terms with the lenders, which foreclosed on the property in January.
It's ironic that this happened a day after the Sun and Greenspun wished death and destruction on Florida for political reasons. A bad thing like this could not have not have happened to a worse bunch of people.
For some reason they didn't accept comments on this story. I guess Greenspun is just as weak minded and a wimp as Desert Beacon and Blue Cheddar. I am pretty sure that ma and pa Greenspun would be quite disappointed in their son who is such a wimp that he can't stand criticisms.

Next up, the Indy Cars will be coming to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for their season ending race on October 16th. This is the same weekend as the Sam's Town Camping World 350 truck race. This is great news on many fronts. It pairs up the truck race with another race, which makes it a full weekend. The last race of the season is always the best in any car racing major event and we got it. And I love Indy car racing, they are much more competitive than NASCAR who races in a single file vs Indy cars who race side by side. For more information: http://www.lvrj.com/sports/indycar-series-returning-to-las-vegas-this-season-116609618.html

Finally, the faculty at UNLV has put out a plan to close most of the State's small colleges located in small cities such as Ely Elko, Pahrump and other small towns in Nevada. Is this a payback to the GOP who represent the areas of the smaller campuses?
From Jon Ralston, posted the letter on the Las Vegas Sun website:
A PROPOSAL FOR RESTRUCTURING THE NEVADA SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION (NSHE)
BACKGROUND
The budget for NSHE reflects a reduction of 29.1% in the next biennium (2011‐2013). State general
fund support for NSHE is projected to be reduced by $163 million. The NSHE administration has
directed each of the eight institutions to anticipate drastic funding reductions. The University of
Nevada ‐ Las Vegas portion of this proposed reduction in state funding is $47.5 million while the
University of Nevada – Reno reduction is $53.3 million. All indications suggest that the NSHE Board
of Regents will declare financial exigency (bankruptcy) in response to the 29.1% reduction in state
funding. The NSHE – System Center must consider dramatic restructuring in order to preserve the
core mission of higher education for the State of Nevada.
The NSHE system is comprised of eight units occupying nine campuses:
• Western Nevada Community College
• Great Basin College
• Nevada State College
• Desert Research Institute – North
• Desert Research Institute – South
• Truckee Meadows Community College
• University of Nevada – Reno
• College of Southern Nevada
• University of Nevada ‐ Las Vegas
ACTION
Given what appears to be devastating reductions in state funding to NSHE, only four institutions
should be maintained:
• One college – North
• One university – North
• One college – South
• One university – South
http://media.lasvegassun.com/media/pdfs/blogs/documents/2011/02/21/Nine_to_Four_Plan.pdf

Quite frankly, this is a stpid idea. So, if you live in Elko, good luck commuting to school. It will also hurt the economy of these cities are it, especially the schools in the smaller cities.
On the other hand, it may make sense to integrate UNLV, CSN and NSC and share resources within the colleges. It will stop the duplicating of classes in all three or 2 colleges and they may be able to buy supplies cheaper.
So in the end, this plan will never fly but some parts are worth looking to.

Las Vegas Union Goons Protest On Wisconsin's Behalf

From The Las Vegas Sun: Union members gathered in downtown Las Vegas on Monday to deliver a forceful message to state officials: Efforts like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to strip public workers of collective bargaining rights won’t be tolerated in Nevada.
“Let them hear it in Wisconsin,” said Neil Lake, president of AFSCME Local 4041. “Let them hear it in Carson City.”
Amid chants of “kill the bill,” “solidarity” and “keep collective bargaining,” about 1,000 demonstrators from public and private sector unions rallied outside the Grant Sawyer Building, vowing to work together to oppose perceived attacks on the middle class.
“There should be no reason why the working class can’t do good for themselves,” Lake said. “They continue to beat us down.”
The rally also drew local politicians, including former Rep. Dina Titus and Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani.
“The reason that we’re here is because we care,” Titus told the crowd. “We care about this state. We care about the nation.”
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/21/hundreds-union-workers-rally-las-vegas-bargaining-/
First, to have Dina Titus at this rally while she is making $107,000+ for teaching 1 class and working 6 hours a week is more than disgusting. She cares about the middle class as much as the head of the Wisconsin state teachers union who makes significantly more than the teachers she represents.
For the stupidest comment from a protester: AFSCME member Sherri Thompson said union members need to “stick together” in the down economy — the worst she has seen during her 44 years in Las Vegas.
“It’s really bad out there,” said Thompson, who works in an unemployment office. “There are not a lot of good prospects to help the general public.”
So, Sherri Thompson, apparently works for the state of Nevada in an unemployment office. Umm, Ms. Thompson, you don't have collective bargaining rights as an employee of the State of Nevada. If things are that bad for you, why are you working for the state for 44 years?
So, a pitiful amount of people came to rally for Wisconsin. Pitiful because all of the government workers in Clark County, with the exception of first responders, had the day off because of Presidents Day. What a joke.

That Classy Left Wing Compassion On Display

Of course, not all lefties think this way but how many are condemning it? President Obama? Arne Duncan? Unions? Protesters? State of Wisconsin Democratic legislators? Teachers who are striking?

h/t Badgerblogger

Stupid Blogs Watch

I have run across several blogs in the past few days that are just pathetic. Of course, they are liberal blogs, for the most part.
Blue Cheddar, out of Wisconsin, has been covering the protests in Wisconsin, from the extreme liberal point of view. OK, no problem with that. However, I caught Blue Cheddar in a blatant lie regarding a portion of the rally in Madison. Blue Cheddar is still sticking to the notion that there were no doctors giving out sick excuses from the rallies over the past week, especially Saturday. He/she/it is so adamant, that he/she/it won't allow comments pointing out his/her/it's lies. When I commented on Blue Cheddar, he/she/it removed my comment. How insecure do you have to be to remove comments you don't agree with, especially if the comment is not distasteful. Very classy, Blue Cheddar. And why won't admit you were wrong? Because you are stupid like the strikers in Madison or because you are unethical, like the strikers in Madison?
Another distasteful blog continues to the Desert Beacon. This blog continues to accept comments but refuses to post comments that disagree with he/she/it.
Lately, the Desert Bacon is running posts about teaching and teacher salaries and clerly, he/she/it has no clue what they are talking about.
For instance, he/she/it posts: The top possible salary for a mathematics (or business) teacher in the Clark County School District is $71,560 a salary level which requires a doctorate and at least 14 years experience. In the Washoe County School District the maximum is $70,697 per year, also assuming a doctorate and 21 years of experience. Elko County School District has a special schedule for those teachers who are nationally board certified, but for most teachers the maximum earnings are $71,281 which requires a Master's degree and 48 additional approved credit hours, along with 28 years of experience. These are the maximum salaries, and no matter how many more years a teacher stays in the District any increase in salary is dependent upon a negotiated increase in the base.
What this bozo forgets is this is for a 9 month salary and does extend it to 12 months. He then compares this salary against other fields that have 12 months salary. Kind of brain dead, he/she/it is.
Of course, this brilliant blogger forgets to mention that police and firefighters and most local government employees in Clark County make far more than teachers and they only need a high school diploma in a lot of jobs. Further, this brilliant brain forgets to mention that there are many dealers in the Valley that make far more money than teachers (not to mention dancers, waiters, waitresses and many others in the hospitality industry)
What this bozo also forgets is he just made the case for merit pay for teachers, something he/she/it is against, when he/she/it says that the highest possible salary is the maximum and dependent upon a negotiated increase in the base. If there was merit pay, there would be no maximum salary limit that is imposed by the unions. Apparently, they don't don't think before they write or it is a Freudian slip.
So, when the Desert Bacon, who makes huge mistakes on his/her/it's blog, and it is frequent, and won't allow people to post differing opinions, that is pretty pathetic and he he/she/it must not be very confident in their position.
I guess being weak minded is a trait of these two pathetic bloggers.


ok, for the obligatory post, most liberal blogs are decent blogs and some are very good and run by quality individuals.

This Is Pretty Close To Being 100% Accurarte

Seriously, does anybody think government workers, with their salary and benefits are underpaid?

Further, does anybody think teachers have it that rough that they feel the need to shut down schools and deny the majority of kids the right to an education for the past several days?

h/t Charlie Sykes

Another Question: If Arne Duncan Was Pro-Education...

If Arne Duncan, head of the department of Failed Education, was so pro education and pro child, how come he didn't demand the illegal striking teachers in Wisconsin go back to the classroom? How come he has remained silent while over a hundred thousand students remained locked out of their classrooms because of the illegal striking teachers? How many children were denied free meals from schools because of the striking teachers. There must be thousands of starving students in the streets of Wisconsin.
Obviously, Arne Duncan is just a union hack not interested in the teaching of the students in Wisconsin.
Another reason why to eliminate the Department of Failed Education and impeach Duncan.

If The Wisconsin Governement Union Protesters Are Sure The People Support Them...

If the Wisconsin government employees union protesters are so sure the private sector support them, why do they feel the need to import people like Jesse Jackson (yes, we have Joe the Plumber- we both have our sins) and the different social activist groups to beef up the number of protesters? Why did they have to bring in President Obama and Arne Duncan?
If they were confident in their position, they would have declined the help and said this is Wisconsin's battle and we have the support of the people of Wisconsin.
Well, of course, they don't have the support of the people and they know it. The only support are government workers in Madison, some but not many, people in Dane County, government workers in the rest of the State and a few liberals. That's it.
So, union protesters, please don't sound stupid and say the people are behind you. They are not, unless you are a union goon or hack or a die hard liberal.

No Pawn Stars Tonight

For some reason, the highly rated Pawn Stars show will not be seen tonight because the History Channel is showing a show on the Presidents. How dare they do that on President's Day in the U.S.
They do have repeats from last week on at 8:00 and the review is here: http://lasvegasbadger.blogspot.com/2011/02/pawn-star-review-february-142011.html
Have a great week.

U.W. Hospital To Ivestigate Fraudulent Doctors

From Fox News: The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health is investigating whether some of its doctors wrote fake sick notes to people protesting the governor's plan to strip public union employees of the right to collectively bargain.Over the weekend, FOX News reported that doctors from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine were manning a doctor station to write medical notes excusing those protesting at the Wisconsin State Capitol from work. Physicians were seen standing on a street corner wearing lab coats and giving out medical notes."This involves a few individuals out of the nearly 1,300 physicians at UW Health," Lisa Brunette, Director of Media Relations for the school said in an email."These UW Health physicians were acting on their own and without the knowledge or approval of UW Health, she continued. "These charges are very serious and in response the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and the University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation, two of the entities that comprise UW Health, will immediately launch an investigation of the reported behavior. The investigation will identify which UW Health physicians were involved and whether their behavior constituted violations of medical ethics or University of Wisconsin and UW Health policies and work rules."
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/02/21/university-wisconsin-medical-school-investigating-doctors-notes-protest
Good for them. I used to work at U.W. hospitals as I was working my way through college. One of the best jobs I ever, but that for another story. I know they have high standards there because they are teaching future doctors and they tolerate mistakes or ethical lapses.
But they apparently hire tone deaf people as well. "Dr." Joe Sanner was shocked, just shocked, I tell about the backlash he received.
From jsonline: Sanner said his intent in signing notes was to perform a public service. He said that's why he and his colleagues were stunned when they returned home Saturday night to find their e-mail inboxes filled with profane messages saying the doctors should be ashamed and should go to jail.
The doctors also got swamped by hostile phone calls and Facebook messages from across the U.S., he said.
"We're not political activists. We were surprised at the nationwide organized vitriol that has come our way so quickly," he said. "Apparently we hit a nerve. I've been a doctor for 30 years. I kind of missed when politics got this viral, this national."
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/116589928.html
We're not political activists but missed it when politics got this viral? Huh. Anyone see the contradiction in that statement. And I am pretty sure he did not get hostile phone calls, unless he considers hostile to be a difference of opinion.
I hope this quack is fired and loses his medical license along with the other alleged 'doctors" passing out fake doctor notes. They bring disrespect to the medical field and it is even more troubling that he is employed by a medical school and hospital where ethics are very important.

How The hell Do You Shoplift $5,000,000 From A Grocery Store?

A couple in Portland OR has been arrested for shoplifting $5,000,000 in merchandise.
From NWCN.com: Safeway officials say they have proof that a local couple stole more than $5 million in merchandise from stores in the Portland Metro area over the past several years.
Police arrested Richard Lavern Remington, 52, and Angela Rose Evans, 32, on Tuesday and the couple was arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit Court Wednesday.
The probable cause affidavit showed that Safeway began formally tracking the pair last November after suspicions surfaced they had been shoplifting.
Evans told police that the couple stole mostly common items like shampoos, razors, Rogaine, teeth whiteners, conditioners to batteries, DVDs and CDs, according to the affidavit, which also said that Remington stole DVDs on 22 different dates since November.
http://www.nwcn.com/home/Couple-shoplifted-5-million-from-Portland-Safeway-stores-police-say.html
Further: Safeway security officer Trent Drucker estimates that Remington stole $400,000 a year in merchandise over several years, totaling $5 million over the span of thefts.
On Nov. 19, Safeway security officials placed a tracking device on a van driven by the couple. Whenever the van was driven to a Safeway, surveillance videos were carefully scrutinized.
In the weeks following, Safeway officials created a spreadsheet of locations and thefts, which they presented to Portland police. The couple was arrested outside a Safeway store in Portland's Woodstock neighborhood.
I would suggest to Safeway that they need a better security system and security team. At $400,000 a year, that comes out to almost $7700 a week or over a thousand dollars a day. How many fully loaded shopping baskets does that come to each day? At least 7 or 8. Every day for years. How did they get away with it for so long?
And where did they keep all the stuff? The stuff mentioned in the article isn't easily sold or pawned. It's possible they went to bars and sold the stuff to some booze hounds, but they would need to do that in a lot of bars and they didn't get caught selling anything? Did they give it away? And if they knew the people were stealing from Safeway, why did they wait for them to steal from them 22 times? Why not after say, the 10th time?
This case is just baffling on so many levels.

Wisconsin Rallies Just Wisconsin Government Workers? Nah

An e-mailer mistakenly, for some reason, thinks this blog is a liberal blog and they sent me to a web site name Jobs for Justice blog.
Well, they have a list rallies that will be held in the very near future. These rallies are not some poor government employee run rallies, they are well organized and more than likely run by Democrats from Washington.
Some activities coming up: The week of February 21st, workers, community, faith, and students will come together to rally in support of workers under attack in Wisconsin and across the country. Below is a list of actions we know are planned so far. More details are coming in all the time, so check back for updates. Post in the comments if you’re planning something & we’ll add it to the list.
(Last updated February 20, 2011 at 3:30pm)
Juneau, AKTuesday, February 22 . 12:00pm, Contact AFSCME for details
Little Rock, ARWednesday, February 23 . 11:30am, State Capitol
Phoenix, AZTuesday, February 22 . Contact AFSCME for details
Palmdale, CATuesday, February 22 . 5:30pm. Vigil at Poncitian Square
Sacramento, CATuesday, February 22 . 5:30pm. State Capitol, West steps
San Diego, CATuesday, February 22 . 4:30pm. 3737 Camino del Rio South
Denver, COTuesday, February 22 . 12:00pm, Colorado State House
Hartford, CTWednesday, February 23 . 12:00pm, State Capitol West Steps
Atlanta, GAWednesday, February 23. 4:00pm. State Capitol
Chicago, ILMonday, February 21 . 6:00am, Plumber’s Hall. Buses to Madison, WI returning at 9pm. Contact Chicago JwJ to reserve a seat.
Indianapolis, INMonday, February 21 · 9:00am – 5:00pm, Indiana State House, Room 156A in the basement. This is a hearing on IN’s Right to Work Bill.
South Bend, INMonday, February 21 . 10:00am. Teamsters Local 364 2405 East Edison Rd. Workers’ Rights Board Hearing on Right to Work
http://www.jwjblog.org/2011/02/worker-solidarity-rallies-planned/
Note that they have buses from Chicago going to Madison for the rally.
Also funny, is that Jobs with Justice has no coalition affiliated with them from Wisconsin.
So, if you live in the States mentioned and there are several more, beware of a bunch of unsavory people from out of state to march in which they have no connection.
So, again, if anyone thinks that these rallies are just a bunch of teachers and state and local government workers, they are sadly mistaken.

How Pathetic: Las Vegas Sun Hopes For Death And Destruction For Florida

Today, in the print edition, the Las Vegas Sun ran an editorial that hopes and prays for a natural disaster with death and destruction for the State of Florida. The editorial was placed underneath the main editorial and the column was written by a maggot named Frank Cerabino who is some kind of POS who writes for the rag of the Palm Beach Post.
For some reason, the Las Vegas Sun did not put this editorial on the web site of the Sun. Fortunately, I have found the editorial the Las Vegas Sun is ashamed to post on-line.
From the Palm Beach Post and the ethically challenged Cerabino: I hate to say it, but Florida may just need a natural disaster for its own good.
It doesn't have to be catastrophic. A simple state of emergency may be enough to do the trick.
Because it's becoming clear that our new governor, Rick Scott, thinks that federal partnerships are, by definition, evil. And it just might be that without proper treatment, this psychological condition will continue to exist among him and his not-so-merry band of delusional pretend-patriots until Republican control is fully restored to Washington.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/cerabino-scott-needs-disaster-to-see-feds-as-1263540.html
So, just a disaster to get a state of emergency. Well, maybe a hurricane will do it. And what does a hurricane do? Why it causes destruction and most of the time will cause deaths of people. So the Las Vegas Sun and this writer, who has of pig feces for brains, hope this for Florida just to prove a political point. What a mentally challenged group of editors at the Sun and Palm Beach Post.
From the last 2 paragraphs for this 2 brain cell knuckle dragging writer from the Post and Sun:
It would be a shame if it takes a hurricane for our governor to grow out of his personal phobia of the federal government.
But I guess this is what happens when the state is in the hands of a political novice whose primary experience with federal money is in running a hospital chain that figured out a way to steal it.
They pathetic and deranged writers pray and hope for a hurricane to come to Florida to prove a political point.
And liberals think they are sane. Liberalism is a mental disease.
But I think I should play their game and I think I can be good at it. How about this: I hope that the building of the Las Vegas Sun catches fire and Brian Greenspun, editor of the Sun, who gave permission for this editorial to be run, is trapped inside and is horribly burned. Then this will make him appreciate the health insurance he has.

Nah, I can't wish that on him because as a conservative I have compassion for people, unlike Greenspun, Cerabino, the Sun and Post, and other liberals who show little compassion, like the teachers in Wisconsin who went on an illegal strike and left kids out on the streets.

Michael Savage is right: liberalism is a mental disease.

Brian Greenspun and/or Frank Cerabino as a child

I Should Have Listened To My Son Regarding The Daytona 500

Last night at the dinner table, my son predicted that Trevor Bayne would win the Daytona 500 and we all laughed at his pick. We're not laughing anymore as 20 year old Bayne won the Daytona 500. Should have gone to the casino with his pick and would won have boat load of money.
It was another great 500 as the Wood Brothers, a team that almost went extinct a few years ago, went to victory lane. The team is so short of money that Bayne doesn't even have a ride for the whole year.
The race was exciting as there was close racing throughout the race and the usual accidents. Dale Jr. went out in the first green white checker. My pony, Clint Boyer and my other favorite racer, Matt Kenseth were taken out by crashes, and Boyer took 17th.
Paul Menard of Eau Claire WI. had a great race, leading a number of laps and finished 9th. Las Vegas native Kurt Busch finished 5th and Kyle finished 8th. Other Wisconsin drivers include Travis Kvapil at 32 and Kenseth at 34.
If this race is a sign of things to come, we're going to have a great NASCAR season and in two weeks, NASCAR is coming to Las Vegas for the Sams Town Nationwide race and Kobalt 400 Sprint car race. The trucks come in the Fall.
On to Phoenix next week and then Vegas. What a great Spring!

Run Wisconsin Senators Run!!

From Grandpa John's: http://grandpajohn.blogspot.com/



Can Democrats and liberals be more funny?

Hillary Clinton Gives A Speech On Freedom Of Protestors And Then Has A Silent Protester Arrested

You just can't make these things up. From The Sky Valley Chronicle: Could it be the U.S. government thinks peaceful, civilian protest against government is fine on the streets of Cairo, Egypt but not on U.S. soil?As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a speech at George Washington University yesterday condemning governments that arrest protestors and do not allow free expression - and lauding freedom of speech on the Internet - 71-year-old military veteran Ray McGovern was grabbed from the audience in plain view of her by police and an unidentified official in plain clothes and hustled out of the building and, according to McGovern and his supporters, was “brutalized and left bleeding in jail.” What McGovern did was simply remain standing silently in the audience and turned his back on her as Secretary Clinton began her speech.That was it. McGovern, a veteran Army officer who also worked as a C.I.A. analyst for 27 years, was wearing Veterans for Peace t-shirt. http://www.skyvalleychronicle.com/BREAKING-NEWS/VETERAN-S-GROUP-DEMANDS-APOLOGY-FROM-SEC-OF-STATE-CLINTON-BR-Claims-vet-was-manhandled-for-silent-protest-596038
Here is the video:


Does Hillary even read her speeches? She gives a speech about governments arresting protesters and then she goes out and has a older man who was a veteran arrested for standing silently and having him charged with disorderly conduct.
And please, don't come here and say she didn't order the arrest. She could have stopped the incident at any time since he was standing right in front of him and it wasn't a large crowd. She knew what was going on.
But I guess we can't accuse her of stifling speech since the man didn't say anything.
The long term ramifications for Clinton will be that this video will be shown when she campaigns for president and this will sink her candidacy.

Can The Protests That Are Happening In Wisconsin Happen In Nevada?

Much of what is happening in Madison WI. is getting covered in blogs like mine and in the local and national press. (Funny, the Sun and LVRJ barely mention what is going) But can the same kind of protests happen in Nevada where public employees are being threatened with layoffs and/or pay cuts.
The governor, Brian Sandoval, a Republician, has put forth a budget where he calls for a 5% decrease in wages for all government employees, including teachers and local government employees and taking away furlough days that were given last year to most state employees.
The governor has not threatened to take away collective bargaining rights, but trust me, employee rights for government employees in Nevada aren't even close to the collective bargaining rights they receive in Wisconsin. Having been both a government employee in Wisconsin (State employee and teacher in two school districts) and a teacher in Nevada, I have experienced both worker rights in both states. For instance, state employees in Nevada do not have collective bargaining rights. They were not given the right to negotiate the furlough days and cut in pay. Teacher's don't have it much better but we do have some collective bargaining rights.
So, will we see protests because of the latest cuts to employees pay and rights?
No. First, the majority of government employees reside in Southern Nevada and the State capitol is in Carson City, about an 8 hour drive. People are not going to travel that far to protest and then stay over night and protest the next day. It can get expensive and most government employees don't have that kind of money to spend. They can protest in Las Vegas, but other than the sympathetic media, who is going to listen?
That being said, most government employees are well paid, some of the highest paid government employees in the country. They are not going to bite that feeds them. Further, many, around I would say, at least 33%, are conservative and they support the governor, even if it hurts them financially. Most of the teachers I hang around with have worked in the private sector, so they know what it is like in the real world- the pay and benefits. Further, even most liberals in Nevada are pretty strong and are not complainers like they are in Wisconsin.
Further, if the government workers protest, they would get very little sympathy from the public. With 14.5% unemployment in the State, there is no way the public will feel sorry for the public employees.
Finally, most state and local government employees, unlike their counterparts in Wisconsin, know the State is having severe financial problems and most are willing to help out, as long as they don't get screwed over.
So, there won't be any major protests about the state budget cuts in Nevada, except for some small rallies on the campuses of colleges, which are pretty much insignificant anyways. This will not make the media and some liberals very happy.

Good Post On The Protest In Madison Today

Jill Sixpack, aka, Ordinary Jill, has a very good and mostly humorous post on today's rally in Madison. http://jillsixpack.blogspot.com/2011/02/scenes-from-riot.html
I'm glad she survived the Tea Party protest and some of the pictures are quite funny and good, especially the attack dog the protester brought.

About Time: Clark County Going to Monitor CCFD Sick Time, But...

From the LVRJ: Clark County managers have stepped up oversight of firefighters' sick leave use amid a public outcry, a possible criminal investigation and evidence that suggests some supervising battalion chiefs also abused the system.
Battalion chiefs are no longer handling sick leave requests for themselves, and they will have more eyes looking over their shoulders when they deal with sick calls from lower-ranking firefighters under new procedures started last week.
The fire chief and deputy chiefs will monitor sick leave in the department, and human resource officials and county managers also will review how sick days are approved and used.
"Hopefully it will reduce sick leave use," County Manager Don Burnette said Friday.
More than 230 firefighters each missed at least a month's worth of 24-hour shifts because of sick calls in 2009, and a dozen missed more than three months of work because of sick leave.
Firefighters' sick leave can be costly because the tight staffing often requires those who fill in for absent co-workers to be paid overtime, and usually for 24 hours.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/county-officials-crack-down-on-firefighters-use-of-sick-leave-116517013.html
This is all well and good. Many firefighters have been abusing sick time to the point of being almost criminal and it has been going on a long time. I'm not sure if it is criminal if they followed the contract and it will be very difficult to prove.

Further, this oversight should have done a lot earlier, when County Commissioner Steve Sisolak first brought it overtime abuse over a year ago.

What has not been mentioned is if the taking out of service the water tender and heavy duty rescue truck and I believe haz-mat has helped reduce overtime for the department. this was done to reduce overtime. If overtime is still a problem, then why is it a problem after taking all the equipment out of service?

update: the orginal post contained inaccurate information about the Fire Chief and I removed it.

This Seems Pretty Cool: A 50 Story Ferris Wheel In Vegas

A new amusement park operator is trying to get approval from Clark County commissioners for a park by Mandalay Bay and it includes a 500 foot Ferris wheel. from the Las Vegas Sun: An amusement park is in the works on a site where another family-friendly attraction failed at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.
Developers hope to build a recreational facility that would include amusement rides on a 9.6-acre site across from Mandalay Bay, according to plans filed with Clark County...
The plan calls for up to eight amusement rides, including a 500-foot Ferris wheel. In addition to rides, plans also include a 21,000-square-foot convention center and a 139,500-square-foot venue for retail, restaurants and offices.
Developers said in their proposal that the facility would be built in two phases, but didn't include a timeline for construction in their submitted plans.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/18/developers-plan-amusement-park-retail-center-las-v/
Hopefully, they are not blowing smoke and serious about this plan. And hope they can get the financing. An outside 50 story Ferris wheel would be pretty cool for most everybody... except me.

Those Honest And Hard Working Public Employees In Wisconsin

From the MacIver Institute via Badger Blogger: http://badgerblogger.com/




Yep, doctors writing false excuses from work. These doctors are committing fraud by writing these phoney doctor excuses and costing school district thousands of dollars. But I guess when you are a phoney liberal doctor who commits fraud upon the taxpayers of Wisconsin, I guess it's excusable.
These "doctors" are frauds and they should be thrown out of the medical profession for being frauds.
These phoney "doctors" ought to be thrown out medicine. If you can't trust them to write an honest doctors excuse, how can you trust them with your life?

Update: The Milwaukee Journal-Sentenel has identified one of the doctors of this massive fraud: On Saturday, family physician Lou Sanner, 59, of Madison, said he had given out hundreds of notes. Many of the people he spoke with seemed to be suffering from stress, he said.
"What employers have a right to know is if the patient was assessed by a duly licensed physician about time off of work," Sanner said. "Employers don't have a right to know the nature of that conversation or the nature of that illness. So it's as valid as every other work note that I've written for the last 30 years." http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/116542773.html

For some reason, this docor's name seems familar to me, but I can't put a finger on it.

Anyways, this doctor is a quck and a fraud and his medical license should be revoked. This "doctor" is no different than the doctors you find on TV advertisements wanting to sell you Viagra or other drugs. They do a 5 second interview and prescribe drugs. In this case this quack gives out fake doctor's excuses.

One Of The Best Articles Regarding The Teacher's Strike

Elliot, from "Where I sit" http://www.fromwhereisit.org/ wrote a great piece about the teacher's strike and other government workers:
The students and public union members who have taken over Wisconsin’s state capital in an attempt to intimidate the duly elected majority have been chanting, “This is what democracy looks like.”
This is not what democracy looks like. This is what mob rule looks like. It’s what self-interest looks like. It’s what a minority trying to thwart the will of the majority looks like. It is the exact opposite of democracy.
The reason America’s democracy has worked so long when so many other attempts at democracy have quickly failed is that Americans understand that the winners of elections get to govern.
I could not disagree more strenuously with President Obama’s agenda, but as he famously said, “elections have consequences.” For the time being, he gets to implement his policies. In 2012, I will do my best to see that he is defeated and that many of his policies are reversed. That’s how we do it in America.
If you don’t like the results of an election, you work harder to win next time, you don’t attempt to overturn the results through work stoppages or by shutting down the government and refusing to return until the majority bows to your will.
http://www.fromwhereisit.org/?p=8564
No wonder the guy is a brillant author.

Besides Striking Teachers in Madison, WI. They Also Have Stupid Judges

The Madison, WI. school district has been shut down by the illegal strike by teachers for 3 days now. today, the District finally decided that enough was enough and tried to go to court and order the teachers back to work from their illegal strike. Well a judge said no.

From the Wisconsin State Journal: In the lawsuit, the district characterized the work stoppage as a strike, which it said is prohibited by state law.
Sumi, however, denied the restraining order request, saying she was not convinced the district's argument would succeed as the suit moved through the legal system.
Sumi said there was not enough evidence to show the work stoppage is a strike under state law. She said the district made a more compelling argument that it has suffered irreparable harm in lost classroom time, but that also fell short. http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/local_schools/article_1a2a34ce-3baf-11e0-983c-001cc4c03286.html

The judge's name is Maryann Sumi and when the good Lord passed out common sense, she missed that part. When they passed out brains, she must have gotten one from discount bin at Wal-Mart.

Let's see. There was a huge protest in Madison, with apparently 10's of thousands people showing up and acting like buffons. The state teacher's union asked the teachers to come to Madison to protest. Hundreds of teachers in Madison called in sick or said they were not coming in to work. Enough teachers did not come to work and the school district had to cancel classes for at least 3 days now. Some of the teachers probably even carried picket signs. The head of the Madison's teacher union said the teachers would return to work on Tuesday. If this was not an organized strike, how would the union president know the teachers would return to work on Tuesday?

And this is not an illegal strike? What kind of drugs are in the judge's pipe?

then the judge said there was no irreparable harm? I guess 3 days of missing school doesn't represent harm. And of course, other staff who work for the district didn't get paid those days. Special education aides, cooks and cafeteria workers, and possibly custodians and school secretaries didn't get paid because of the striking teachers. Hopefully, if the these employees didn't paid, maybe some teachers will accidentally run over some nails in the teachers parking lot and flatten a few tires.

Not to mention the harm that parents and families had to go through in finding daycare at the last minute, an extended school year, lack of education, poor role models from the teachers but they did get an education law breaking and apparently a lesson that some judges are stupid and that if you break the law, you may not get consequences.

So to "Judge" Sumi, one hopes maybe she will be able to her G.E.D.. As for common sense, I invite her to my Special Ed. class where we teach students how to use common sense. I may be able to help her. Judge Sumi makes this judge look like a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Oh, To Be In North Dakota

North Dakota is in an oil boom right now, with 171 oil rigs operating right now. The state is so confident in it's economic that it's about to cut it's taxes. (see the TV show "Boomtown") From the Minot Daily News: North Dakota's House has approved proposals to reduce the state's income taxes on individuals and corporations.
Both measures were endorsed by large margins Tuesday. They seek to reduce individual income taxes by about 15 percent across the board.
The individual income tax cut would save North Dakota taxpayers almost $100 million over two years.
The corporate tax cut would set up a single 4.9 percent tax rate, and exempt the first $75,000 of corporate earnings from state taxes. It would provide a $50 million benefit to corporate taxpayers.

http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/551923/N-D--House-approves-income-tax-cuts.html?nav=5583

People say to diversify Nevada's economy. In North Dakota, the businesses are farms, military and oil.

Too bad we can't find oil in Nevada, but then Harry Reid would find a way to screw it up.

I used to live in North Dakota. Join the Air Force to see the world and I saw "Why Not Minot" for almost 4 years, but I loved it. I used to live in Dunseith and worked at a state institution for the mentally disabled until they shut it down. (San Haven) It's beautiful up there, especially up in the Turtle Mountain region and the people are great. I even got to see Tiny Tim in Antler N.D.

So, congratulations to North Dakota and don't forget to save some money. And don't over extend yourselves like we did in Nevada.

CCSD Financial Picture: Who Knows & Who Cares????

From the Las Vegas Sun: This has all the makings of fiscal chaos:
Before the Clark County School District knows how much money it’ll have for the next two years, it will first have to:
• Negotiate contracts with teachers, administrators and clerical staff.
• Talk employees out of pay raises they were scheduled to receive.
• Decide whether to lay off of as many as 3,800 teachers and others, or cut 33 days out of the school year, or cram so many students into classroom as to risk making them unmanageable.
• Adopt a final budget by May.
And then, maybe by late June at best, the district will know how much money it has to spend under the budget hammered out by Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Legislature.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/18/school-board-hears-grim-budget-details-it-confront/
Ok, we know the situation is not very good. There is a lot of blame to go around, especially those who have been on the the school board now and the past and the past superintendent.
So, what is CCSD doing about the budget?
Well, the district is not doing any cost cutting now. As a teacher in CCSD, I haven't seen any e-mails saying we need to cut money. In fact, I got an e-mail the other week saying that we need to spend money or we will lose it. The superintendent has not asked us to cut costs. No mention of cutting utilities, saving paper, stop going on field trips or other small, but meaningful cuts.
In the article, they say they may want to sue the legislatures and governor for raiding certain funds. Great and how long will that take and what are you going to do in the meantime?
The union says they are just beginning to negotiate? Just beginning? This should have been going on for months now.
They have not asked for a show of hands of who is retiring or quitting. But they probably know not too many people are going to be retiring or quitting because there are teaching jobs available nationwide and it is tougher to retire now than in the past.
Of course CCSD is talking about spending money. From a different article in the Sun: In Clark County, one-third of schools are 40 years or older and there are $4.9 billion in needs for rehabilitation in the next 10 years, officials said. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/18/school-union-officials-back-bill-school-constructi/
So, what is CCSD going to do in the next month or so? I don't know, but they better be some quick thinkers on ways to cut hundreds of millions of dollars.
And Wisconsin school districts think they have problems. They are a bunch of whiners compared to CCSD.

Eerie: Michael Waltrip Wins NASCAR Race 10 Years To The Day Of Winning Daytona 500

10 years ago today, February 18, 2001,, was the one of the saddest days in NASCAR history as Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash in the Daytona 500. The winner of that race was Michael Waltrip.
Today, 10 years after the tragic race, the Camping World NASCAR Truck raced 250 miles at Daytona, and the winner was... Michael Waltrip.
Waltrip passed Elliot Sadler in the last lap and won the race that featured two huge wrecks in the race.
If the truck race is any indication of what will happen in Nationwide and Sprint, it's going to be a fun weekend to watch NASCAR. Fast cars and big wrecks. Can't get any better than that.

Elections Have Consequences: House Defunds Planned Parenthood

From Politico: The House just approved Rep. Mike Pence’s amendment to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, checking off a hot-button social issue even as it set up a bigger showdown over defunding the health care law.
The vote was 240-185 with 11 Democrats voting for the amendment, and seven Republicans voting against. One member voted present. A group of Republicans on the floor applauded when the vote hit 218.
That amendment managed to suck up three hours of often emotional debate time Thursday night, which is a big part of the reason the health care law defunding votes got pushed into today.
Pence, of Indiana, touched off a vicious back-and-forth Thursday night in which Republicans insisted the organization is too aggressive about performing abortions and several Democrats charged that the GOP was waging a “war on women. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49830.html#ixzz1EMqijJSg

First, a war on women? You mean Planned Parenthood is the only provider of women services in the country? Umm no.
I applaud this for action for two reasons. Planned Parenthood is the biggest provider of abortion provider in the Country, or least one of the top ones. They have a conflict of providing abortions and providing abortion advice. The two are incompatible. And if there are fewer abortions there, great and maybe some women will choose not to have an abortion because they will get better counsel.
Second, why should the government fund a private organization? It's not like Planned Parenthood is the only provider of abortions, health services, guidance or any other services Planned Parenthood provides. There are many agencies, doctors, social workers and other non-profit agencies that provide the same services and they don't get government funding.
So, elections have consequences and it is good news that Planned Parenthood doesn't receive federal money.

Union Thug Obama Involves Himself In Wisconsin Matters

Apparently Union Thug in Chief Obama just doesn't understand about State's rights and decided to get his fat nose involved in the Wisconsin union/state mess.
From the Washington Post: President Obama thrust himself and his political operation this week into Wisconsin's broiling budget battle, mobilizing opposition Thursday to a Republican bill that would curb public-worker benefits and planning similar protests in other state capitals.
Obama accused Scott Walker, the state's new Republican governor, of unleashing an "assault" on unions in pushing emergency legislation that would change future collective-bargaining agreements that affect most public employees, including teachers.
The president's political machine worked in close coordination Thursday with state and national union officials to get thousands of protesters to gather in Madison and to plan similar demonstrations in other state capitals.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/17/AR2011021705494.html
Hey, Obama, you moron, you are not a community organizer anymore. You are the president of the United States and you represent all people. If you want to be a union thug/goon, quit being president and become a community organizer again.

Worst and dumbest president ever. No question about it. Seriously, is it even close?

What Scares The Striking Teachers In Wisconsin?

About half of the students in Wisconsin were given a three of four day weekend by the law breaking teachers of Wisconsin who were conducting illegal strikes.
So, what are these law breaking teachers so scared of?
Well, according to the law before the legislators, the "teachers" and other public employees will have to pay more in their pensions and health insurance. Right now, the employees don't pay anything into their pensions. When I was a teacher in Wisconsin, for about 9 years, when I left, I got a check for $17,000 from the pension fund even though I didn't contribute anything to it. The health insurance for teachers is the Rolls Royce of health insurance if the teacher gets the teacher union insurance, the WEA insurance. You pay minimally for the insurance and you get first rate insurance where there is very little out of pocket expenses, like co-pays. So, the governor wants the public employees to pay a little bit of money for benefits that the private sector never will get.
Second, their raises are tied to the CPI. Well, this could very well benefit the employees as inflation will soon be with us and they will get bigger pay raises than they normally will get, so this is a non-issue.
Next is work place rules. 99% of the public employees are hard working and rarely get into trouble, so they won't be affected by this issue. The 1% or so employees who are the problems and make public employees look bad would be in trouble, but I suspect most employees would love to see bad employees fired.
So, what is causing the unions all their anger? Why, it is the fact that unions would have to justify themselves every year to their union members. The unions and locals will have to undergo a vote each year to decide if the workers still want to be unionized. The unions are scared of this because they know the unions benefit only a few but tax everyone. They know locals will soon become non-union and then the unions lose members and more importantly, union dues. This is all about money- union dues money. The unions will find out they are not wanted and they will find themselves decertified and lose power and money. This is why the unions, union leaders and some of their union members are scared and pooping in their pants at the thought of losing power.
That is what is behind the illegal teacher strikes in Wisconsin.

At Least 20 School Districts Closed In Wisconsin On Friday

Striking Wisconsin School Teachers Give The Finger To Wisconsin Taxpayers

At least 16 school districts will close on Friday, giving the illegal strikers a 3 or 4 day weekend, depending if they take Monday off for President's Day. In the Madison area:

http://www.wkow.com/Global/category.asp?C=135641&nav=menu1362_3_1

For the Wausau area:

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20110217/WDH0101/110217112/Update-Wausau-Merrill-School-Districts-closed-Friday-Mosinee-uncertain

For the LaCrosse area: http://www.wkbt.com/Global/Category.asp?c=153241

So, the striking teachers continue to make asses of themselves and set poor examples to the students they supposedly teach. Meanwhile, more parents have to pay for daycare when they didn't have to, students of junior high and high school age roam the cities of the schools that canceled school. And the public is even more outraged at the striking teachers and now, Democrats.