Monday Musings: February 21. 2011

I hope you’ve been watching what has been happening in the Middle East. It all started with the Tunisian Revolution. Where they don’t have guns. No ‘Second Amendment remedies’ were available to the people of Tunisia.

Facebook brought down a government. And, Twitter.

Same in Egypt - with a few molotov cocktails.

Have the people, like Sharron Angle, given any thought to this? Does that make them question their assumptions about how citizens might alter the course of a government? It seems that caliber and semi-automatic clip size isn’t the only way to effect change.

Of course, America isn’t Tunisia. We’ve never, ever had a dictator who’s been in power - dyeing his hair to appear younger, and hopefully, fool the masses into forgetting how long he’s been there - for 30 years. We don’t have to worry about such things with the Constitutional term limits already imposed on our presidency. Eight years, max. But, listening to the Tea Party, you’d think we were all somewhere else. Different place, time … planet perhaps.

And Sharron Angle is hopping from presidential primary state to state. How bizarre, nee delusional, is that?

The thing that really occurs to me about the Tea Party, much like the old, deposed dictators of Tunisia and Egypt - and maybe Libya and more -  is that they just don’t ‘get it’. The power of the internet - techonology - can potentially surpass weaponry.

Just a thought I had.

There was actually some worthwhile reading and reporting in the ever shrinking Reno Gazette-Journal this morning.

The Fact Checker, by Mark Robison, debunked the claim that teacher salaries are about $55,000 … therefore, it’s no big deal if the Legislature cuts them. Right? Wrong. In reality - which isn’t where the Tea Party and most of the GOP reside - teacher pay is about six percent less than that on average.

Teachers, with their education, could earn a lot more in the private sector - even after benefits are factored in. A lot more. But flogging them makes for such good - if useless and non-productive - political theater. So what could the real problem be?

Uh, lobbyists.

In the RG-J today, there was a feature - print only - on “The Industry of Influence”, describing the increasingly large role that lobbyists play in Carson City. I’d give you the links to verify, but the RG-J is stubbornly holding to its title as “The Most Annoying Not Really Online, Make You Buy the Analog Version Or Else Eat Shit” newspaper in the country. Here it is Sunday night, and I can’t bring up any of the articles in today’s paper, no matter what I type into Google. The RG-J ranks right up there with small North African dictators and Sharron Angle: They don’t ‘get it’.

Here’s the ClifNotes version, since you can’t pull this up online: 609 registered lobbyists in the Nevada legislature. 445 of those are paid - it’s their paycheck. 900 lobbyists are projected to be hard at work in Carson City by the end of this current session. There is a 14 to 1 ration of lobbyists to legislators. The City of Sparks is spending $30,000 to lobby. The City of Reno is allocating $73,500. Washoe County had budgeted $117,5000. $500,000 is the amount some of the highest paid lobbyists can make.

I chose the wrong profession. Wouldn’t even have to get stoned and nekkid with a trucker for this.

Is this all a part of ‘belt tightening’? Should I - as a taxpayer - now hire a lobbyist to protect my interests? Do you think this is as out-fucking-rageous as I do? Who stands up in Carson City for me?

My biggest question here - as the GOP and Tea Baggers decry unnecessary spending and the need to trim budgets and deficits - why aren’t the GOP and Tea Baggers up in arms about this? Why aren’t they insisting on robust campaign finance reform that would tell paid lobbyists to go find honorable work? Why is wasting money here alright?

Just think of the number of teachers we could put back on the payroll if we eliminated the lobbyists. Oh, and one other thing: You elected legislators. You didn’t elect those lobbyists. Yet, all too often, it’s the lobbyists that are running your government. How do you like that?

Analysts say that our silly, antiquated Nevada system of a biennual legislature is a part of the problem. Okay, I can sorta, kinda see that. No staff to speak of.  But, how does that explain the massive, unelected lobbying industry (shadow government) that’s taken legislatures over in every other state and Congress on the federal level?

How’s that workin’ out?

Here’s another thing I wonder about - why is it that ‘belt tightening’ always begins and ends of kids, usually poor kids, the poor in general, the environment, public employees, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and such. They must not have really well-paid lobbyists. Not like General Dynamics, United Technologies, Rathyeon, General Electric et al. Notice how often the word ‘General’ comes up? Can you say ‘military-industrial complex’?

Worrying about how much some poor kid and his mother might be gettin’ away with (as opposed to a defense contractor and his handmaidens like Rep. John Boehner ) is much preferred to the Senator Muskrat D. Cornpone’s out there. Then they don’t have to think too much about the real issues- when they’re not fighting a re-enactment of the glorious Battle of Who Gives a Rat’s Ass.

The really sad thing is when I occasionally hear a Liberal friend bring up welfare moms as a favorite boogey-man. Sigh. What I want to ask is this: How many welfare mom’s can you fit into the annual  national defense contractor budget?

Sheesh. Is it so much to ask that people just think things through a bit?

You might have noticed a couple small changes on the mavenandmeddler.

The Lifestyle & Health tab went away, to be replaced with Skeptical Maven. The blog has to honestly reflect what I’m thinking about, and I’ve decided that talking about skeptical issues - from critical thinking, to logical fallacies, to quack cures - better suits my readers. Or at least that’s what I hope for. For the time, I’ll keep the information regarding health ( and cancer ) that have been living there, and may occasionally add to it, but the topic will be primarily skepticism and related topics. Just use the Search to find old articles.

Oh, if you know a Medicare beneficiary that was all worried over Obama Liberals wrecking their Medicare, ask them how they liked the check they received the other day. And the letter, informing them that - in accordance with the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare - they got a $250 rebate to help with prescription drug costs. Also, as part of the new law, said Medicare beneficiaries are going to receive a 50% discount on covered brand-name drugs, once the coverage gap is reached, with more savings after the gap is closed completely in 2020. It was appreciated here at Rancho Maven.

Don’t you just hate government helping folks?

Have a good week and stay in touch.

-maven

Friday Fish Wrap: October 29, 2010

When we asked for the check at Peg’s Glorified Ham ‘n Eggs (South Meadows) this morning, I knew it was going to be an alright day. And, I’m not talking about the fact that Dean Heller, R-NV was there. No, when Mr. Maven asked for the check, the server replied that our bill had been taken care of. Huh? Yes, she said, we had a ‘secret admirer’.

Whoa. “Quick. Take a look around! Who do you see?”

The only person I could make out was a guy I used to run into while serving on the Nevada State SAR (Search and Rescue) Board. Naw. Not him. I didn’t know him that well anyway.

Was it Dean Heller. Not unless he remembers that email I sent. Hmmmm.

Anyway, I’ve still gotta recommend Peg’s out here on South Meadows Parkway. They were slammed when we got there. Breakfast crowd on a Friday sorta holiday. It’s Nevada Day. Why folks take Nevada Day off still puzzles me. I never got it off at the uh, environmental consulting firm. Hint.

My CIA-HydePark,NY grad nephew is a serious ‘front of the house’ man and executive chef with a big restaurant chain, so I know some of the challenges of  keeping a place running smoothly when everything could be going to hell in a handbasket. The guy who runs that South Meadows version of Peg’s is an artist, and has a staff that has been well trained. They all have a clue. He was directing bus service to various tables like an air traffic controller at JFK - “4 and 2, no, 2 and 2. Get it going” referring to getting tables set up for the next customers. Four tops and two tops.

That’s why waits at even the busy times aren’t onerous. The service is efficiently spot-on and friendly. I like that.

Well, plus the food of course.

This takes me to what I’d like to be doing other than political posts after the election is over - except for the crying. As in get serious about being more food/restaurant centered, with the politics being a bit more on the sideline. At least that’s what I hope for. I’m a meddler and can’t generally contain high umbrage and outrage, so it could all go off the rails. I’m going to try.

Hey- here’s another true Republican tipping to Harry Reid:

Yerington, NV Mayor Doug Homestead sums up the situation in the Reid-Angle election: “The choice in this election is clear.  You can side with the experience and leadership that Senator Reid brings to the table, or you can side with the dangerous, radical agenda of Sharron Angle.  I hope you join me in doing the right thing for Nevada and vote for Senator Reid.”(Mason Valley News, op-ed) 

If you’re not from Nevada - or are new to the state - let me clue you in. There ain’t any Liberals in Yerington. Nice folks there. Had lots of cool friends there over the years. But they be very Republican. They don’t go over to the Harry side lightly.

I think part of the most discouraging aspect of this election was seeing just how easily people I know and respected can be led to think that slogans and talking points, with a large splash of viral (in the worst ‘typhoid mary’ sense of that word) email are a good substitute for thoughtful, critical discourse - armed with facts. I don’t mean Glenn Becks facts. I refer to facts that can be corroborated with actual evidence from impartial, authoritative sources.

Here’s the latest (an excerpt):

USA, free enterprise companies at their finest, not socialism.

 Far be it for our President and his America bashing administration to publicly congratulate (let alone even mention) AMERICAN ingenuity and AMERICAN PRIVATE ENTERPRISE for its part in the miracle rescue of the Chilean Miners.  Nor does our current government/media seem to have the slightest concept of the value in public relations that American’s plain old love of our fellow man brings.

Schramm Inc. of West Chester, Pennsylvania built the drills and equipment used to reach the trapped miners.

Center Rock Company, also from Pennsylvania, built the special percussion drill bits used to reach the miners.

UPS,  the US shipping company,  delivered the 13-ton drilling equipment from
Pennsylvania to Chile in less than 48 hours.

Crews from Layne Christensen Company of Wichita Kansas and its subsidiary
Geotec Boyles Bros. worked the drills and machinery to locate and reach the
miners and then enlarge the holes to ultimately rescue them.

(Blah, blah, blah - list of more companies) 

The hearts of people all over the world were touched by the dramatic rescue of these miners.   It would seem appropriate to allow the world to know the part the American Private Enterprise System contributed to the happy outcome  For some reason, our Administration seems to prefer to stay mum on the subject.  The bastards!!

Yes, I applaud those companies that helped free the Chilean miners, too. Funny thing, though, I hadn’t heard Obama or anybody in his administration say anything negative about American enterprise, the free market, American innovation or ingenuity. Where do these people get this stuff?

I know where they DIDN’T get it - the mainstream and usually credible press.

Here’s what I found from the Seattle Times:

( Maven has edited for brevity)

“WASHINGTON —President Barack Obama on Thursday congratulated officials from NASA and several U.S. companies for their role in this month’s rescue of 33 miners trapped underground in Chile.

In public comments earlier this month, Obama said the rescue had captivated the world. He also commended everyone involved, including a NASA team that helped design the capsule that was used to bring the miners above ground one at a time.

Jim Stefanic, operations manager for Geotec Boyles Bros., S.A., a drilling company, said they had a “very good chat” with the president.

“He congratulated everybody on this great rescue mission down there,” Stefanic told reporters outside the White House after the meeting. Stefanic said Obama also told them he was “very proud that we were down there doing this job and rescued all 33 miners alive.”

Geotec Boyles Bros., S.A., is a U.S.-Chilean company based in Santiago, Chile.

Other drilling companies represented at the meeting were Schramm Inc., of West Chester, Pa.; Center Rock Inc. of Berlin, Pa.; and Layne Christensen Co. of Kansas City, Kan. Also attending were representatives of Philadelphia-based Aramark, a professional services company.”

Hmmm. That took me about one minute to find that. Obama publicly congratulating the American companies that helped with the rescue effort. Doesn’t sound like bashing at all. What do you think?

I mean, Obama even gave the NASA guys medals - how much more should he have done?

The Atlanta Constitution Journal also seemed to know about Obama doing everything except kissing these executives on the lips - I guess it all got around, except to a few true-believers here in Nevada.

Ard and Bill, you know who you are. Why not do your homework next time - before hitting that forward button -  and so, quit looking foolishly out of touch? Now, there’s a thought. Jeeze, the one guy flew a 747 for a giant world wide airline, the same ‘airframe’ that fell into Long Island Sound just a week later in 1996. He testified before Congress. You’d think …. nah, don’t go there.

But see, it has nothing, nada to do with ‘IQ smarts’. It’s about being intellectually lazy. It’s about wanting important and complex issues boiled down to easily swallowed bullet points. I’ve been a fan of Edward Tufte - the arch enemy of the powerpoint, for a long time. Tufte is Professor Emeritus at Yale University, where he taught courses in statistical evidence, information design, and interface design and he simply says that reducing complex information to bullet points all too often obfuscates, confuses and otherwise fails to inform.

Apparently, that’s what the TeaNuts/GOP prefer. To be bamboozled. They do not seem to value critical thinking, civil discourse or the other attributes of higher learning. Perhaps this is why they - and Sharron Angle - are so eager to defund things like the Department of Education.

The creepy part is that once you point out how they’ve been mis-led - bamboozled - they go right on repeating the same fallacies. Is there a Doctor of Psychology out there who would like to address this? Shelley?

I’m talking about ‘intelligent’ folks, here, not the unwashed rank and file TeaBag idiots. Doctors, dentists and airline captains. They worked damn hard to get to where they were professionally, and then they just …. just, quit thinking? Quit questioning? I mean, is it even reasonable that the POTUS would not want to honor the companies that saved the Chilean miners? Does that even make sense?

I think I want another glass of wine.

Oh, if you haven’t read Tufte’s seminal essay “The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within” you should. It’s sorta, kinda required reading among the circles that matter. Taking one of his courses would absolutely rock if you want to present complex information in the best way possible.

“I will answer those questions when I’m the senator.” Sharron Angle

Whoa! Sharron Angle isn’t letting anything out of the bag until AFTER she’s elected queen of that undiscovered planet out past Pluto:

She doesn’t have to tell Nevada’s electorate a damn thing until ….. until….. that message comes in from her handlers, through the tinfoil helmet.

Where does this woman get off? She’ll let us know her views after the election? WTF? This is the kind of shirking, coward that TeaNuts want to represent Nevada?

Yup. Just like my friends that seem a bit daft … half a bubble off when it comes to the intellect. They’re so worried about the ‘guvmint coming to get their guns’ and the UN, and the Black Helicopters, One World Guvmint, and, and those GAYS!!!!!!! AND ILLEGALS!!!!!!!!!!!! that they have lost all touch with reality.

Which might be right where some people want them, if a certain video I saw today is to be believed - and I’m not sure it is.

I was reminded by a fellow blogger that I have some credibility in the blogging community, so I’ve decided not to post the videos in question. It could be a huge hoax. However, the whole idea is that large corporations in this country don’t give a rats’ ass about Sharron Angle, but they do care about getting rid of the last vestiges of credible, sensible Congressional representation that might not agree with their agenda. So with the blessing of the Citizens United SCOTUS decision, they are free to ‘donate’ tens of millions to get rid of the likes of Harry Reid.

Anonymously. Get rid of the guy who thinks, who questions. Put the bat-shit crazy lady in there. They can control her.

That’s not the way our democracy can survive. So. What’s the answer?

VOTE.

That’s an honor you do for yourself - as a citizen of the United States - and to the Founders who risked so much. It’s an honor you pay to the women who couldn’t vote. It’s an honor you pay to the African-Americans who couldn’t vote.

Along with the vote, also comes a responsibility to think. To question. To challenge your deeply held beliefs and assumptions.

That’s all your country asks of you. That’s not much at the end of the day and yet it’s everything.

-maven

Update on Friday, October 29, 2010 at 20:39 by mavenandmeddler

If there was another reason to avoid McDonalds, here it is from Huffington Post:

“WASHINGTON — There may be something rotten at McDonald’s — and it’s not a year-old Happy Meal.

The owner of a franchise in Canton, Ohio enclosed a handbill in employees’ paychecks that threatened lower wages and benefits if Republicans don’t win on Tuesday.

“As the election season is here we wanted you to know which candidates will help our business grow in the future,” reads the letter. “As you know, the better our business does it enables us to invest in our people and our restaurants. If the right people are elected we will be able to continue with raises and benefits at or above our present levels. If others are elected, we will not. As always, who you vote for is completely your personal decision and many factors go into your decision.”

The note ends with a list of candidates McDonald’s believes “will help our business move forward.” It names Republicans John Kasich for governor, Rob Portman for Senate, and Jim Renacci for Congress. With the letter was a biography of Renacci.”

Can you spell V-O-T-E-R  I-N-T-M-I-D-A-T-I-O-N?

Ah, just another reason to support Republicans. Right?

Sharron Angle recycles: the 'death panels'

It never ceases to puzzle me that Republicans and TeaNuts still prefer to get their ‘facts’ via Facebook, viral unsubstantiated emails and Fox mouthpieces like Glenn Beck. Don’t they possess any critical thinking skills?

Today, the Harry Reid campaign sent out an email blast showing how low the Angle campaign can sink - handing out flyers to seniors, scaring them with this same tired, dis-proven crap about ‘death panels’.

The ‘death panel’ lie has been debunked so many times, but apparently the TeaNuts still fall for it.

Back in 2009, NPR debunked it.

On August 15, 2009, Media Matters said this:

Numerous media outlets have now debunked right-wing claims that the House health care reform bill would encourage euthanasia of the elderly, including Sarah Palin’s claim — forwarded by the conservative media — that the bill would create a “death panel” and the related claim — initiated by Betsy McCaughey — that the bill would “absolutely require” that seniors on Medicare undergo end-of-life counseling “that will tell them how to end their life sooner.” Indeed, Media Matters for America has identified more than 40 instances of media reporting that these claims are false.

On August 14, 2009 FactCheck.org did a thorough debunking of this nonsense.

Even were I not an unabashed, unashamed PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL, I would still vote for Harry Reid, just simply to punish Angle and the TeaParty for thinking I’m that damn gullible.

This was in my email:

Dear Maven,

A Nevada journalist just caught Angle supporters circulating a shocking flyer containing the false claim that seniors will be euthanized by death panels under the provisions of the health insurance reform law. It actually claims that “Your Lifespan will depend on” your vote.

Click here to see this deplorable flyer and then contribute to help us fight back!

This is just wrong. The “death panels” lie has been debunked over and over again. Shame on Sharron Angle and her supporters who would attempt to scare seniors like this.

Please, click here to donate $10 right now to help us expand GOTV efforts in the areas where these flyers are being distributed - with your support, we can fight back with the truth!

The truth is that it’s Sharron Angle who is not on Seniors’ side. Just this week, she was caught on tape calling Social Security and Medicare “wicked.”

Early voting is happening right now, and we have just 5 days left to go before Election Day on Tuesday. Please consider helping us push back right now with a small, secure, online donation.

Thanks for your support,

-Harry

Is Angle just crazy in addition to be racist? New ad sez "uh, yeah"

This has to be either one of the most bone-headed moves in the final crunch of a heated political campaign - or a flagrant slap in the face directed at the already Angle-queasy Hispanic voting block.

Either way, the newest ad from Angle (‘The Wave’) seems to fly right in the face of the hub-bub just a short while back where she made some clueless statements when speaking to the Hispanic Union students group at a Las Vegas high school, and then proceeded to revise her own history be declaring previous ad hadn’t featured Hispanics - when it so obviously was, and then suggesting that the students looked Asian. Why, she even declared that she was mistaken for Asian.

Then her campaign pulled the offending ad. They’re making up for it now with one even more disgraceful.

“Sharron Angle has decided to run one of the ugliest anti-illegal immigrants ad campaigns in history,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, Christian Science Monitor

I want you to go to the YouTube site where this ad is - take a look at the Comments section. Comments have been disabled. She and her staff - plus her Karl Rove handlers - know what a firestorm this ad is likely to ignite.

This is just like her sneak attack campaign stops where she hides from the media, only taking the risk of public appearances where she’s among true-believers or completely insulated by goons from uncomfortable questions. The only interviews she’ll grant are those where she can fund raise among friends. Informing and educating Nevadans about important issues of the day, apparently, isn’t an objective. That’s surprising for somebody that keeps reminding us that we was a ‘teacher’.

Is Sharron Angle the kind of public servant Nevadans want? In the biggest downturn since the Great Depression, does Nevada need a legislator that can’t even stand up to a few questions from reporters? How will she stand up for Nevada?

There will always be a comfortable block of true believers for Sharron Angle - those people simply can’t challenge their own deeply held beliefs.

For the rest of Nevada though, how could you not vote for Harry Reid?

Take a listen at the ad again.

Where are the ‘waves of illegal immigrants, streaming in’ … into Nevada? WTF? “Joining violent gangs ...” or just schlepping dishes in the casino buffet, and mowing the lawns in the gated communities.

Are you living in fear of the waves of illegals? Sharron sez you are.

Did Harry Reid vote to extend social security benefits to illegal aliens? No. I blogged about this as have others.

Does Harry Reid want to vote against making English the official language? You may not like Reid, but he’s not stupid. No politician worth his salt would even consider such a stupid, impolitic move.

Is Reid against Arizona’s unconstitutional anti-immigration law? Uh, I hope so. Angle is such a supposedly strict constitutionalist, she ought to be against it as well.

Yes, it’s clear which side Harry Reid is on: Nevada’s

Sharron Angle appears to be on the side of whomever is paying for her crazy, racist ads.

-maven

The latest ad: 'More than Wrong" and revisionist history

Jon Ralston offers up this analysis of Sharron Angle’s penchant for revisionist history on those rare occasions somebody can actually engage her to talk - she runs off whenever the media shows up.

Sharron Angle must believe in evolution, her stories keep changing faster than fruitfly DNA.

Note the way she rambles on - argument by verbosity - below. And remember, as you stumble over the goofy verb-subject agreement, this woman claims to have been a school teacher for more than 25 years.

Yikes! Her poor students.

Here’s the scary part: I’ve pointed these obvious inconsistencies out to some true believers. They don’t get it and they don’t care to. Nobody wants it pointed out that they’ve been made a fool of. Would that the Democratic party could give these folks a safe way to come back in from the intellectual cold of TeaNut land.

-maven

Angle: I never said I wanted to privatize the VA - but of course she did.

By Jon Ralston · September 28, 2010 · 3:38 PM

Related files

• Listen to audio

GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle was asked at a private function Saturday evening in Reno hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition about privatizing the VA. And, as she has done before, she took the opportunity to rewrite history.

Here’s the exchange — audio at right:

Guest: Sharron I wanted to task you about one of the new ads that Harry has got running against you, and that concerns the VA hospitals. I’m really big on one that we have here, and I would like to hear a clarification about what your stand really is.

Angle: Well, first of all, when we talk about Harry Reid’s ads, let’s remember that a half-truth is no truth. And what you’re finding in his ads are these half truths. We were discussing, at the time that I made that remark, we were discussing Obamacare and Medicare. And how Harry Reid has taken a half a trillion dollars out of Medicare, right out at a place where seniors have choices—Medicare Advantage, one of the programs that actually works. And I was talking about my father, who is 88 years old, he’s on Medicare, he’s on Social Security, and he’s a veteran. Not of just World War II, but also the Korean War. He had a Purple Heart. He has served this country, and yet he pays $800 a month in prescription drugs that are not covered by the VA and they’re not covered by Medicare. And, there is a lot of you that understand what I’m saying. And that was the context of those comments. I said that they could do a better job, that’s all I said, is the VA could do a better job for our veterans. And I believe that. I believe that our veterans fit in that A priority box. We should be supporting our military and their dependents (applause) and our veterans. We should be supporting them. We owe them. We owe them and we should be supporting them. And then of course he pulls out something that I said about my grandfather, and I’ll clear this up at the same time. My grandfather didn’t pay into Social Security. And so, when they sent his first Social Security check, he said “I’m not taking this. I don’t need this check. I saved for my retirement.” And that’s what that was, that was my grandfather. And of course he was quite, well he wasn’t too old, he wasn’t as old as I am now. But still he was a potato farmer, he worked in California, he raised a family, been through the Depression, and he saved for his retirement, and he had not paid into the Social Security system and so he refused to take his check (applause).

This is quite the revisionist history (again) by Angle. The context she claims is wrong, and so is her recollection of what she argued.

Here’s what she said on KNPR in May — note context and use of word “privatized” in this interview with Dave Becker:

Angle: … And my father did the same thing. He calls it his rocking chair pay but he doesn’t live on his social security, he has investments that he has made over the years in rental properties and things like that—that are actually paying for his retirement. He needs more and more supervised care. He’s 87 years old and has Parkinson’s and we have to pay more and more for his healthcare. I know he pays over 800 dollars a month in prescription drugs that we can’t get through his VA nor through Medicare—they just wont cover those things. And I know lots of seniors—

Becker: Should they cover those things?

Angle: No, not if you’re working towards a privatized system. And he can pay for them. That’s my whole point. Even with the system we’ve got, it’s broken, its not covering for every cost that he has. And if he were dependent upon that, he wouldn’t be getting the healthcare he needs and that’s why we need to fix the system.

Becker: As a senator, how would you fix that system if it’s not to say that you’re on your own? If VA is not going to cover then you have to cover it yourself. Over how long?

Angle: Well, I’m not the only person and I’m not the President. I can propose bills and then my job as a senator is to build a coalition that will get on board with my idea. And, of course, as you know that my idea may be a good idea, but the details of that idea will be worked out through that coalition. And you know there are smarter heads than mine on this and that’s what we’ll be doing.

I am beginning to wonder about this seemingly pathological habit Angle has of saying she never said something when it is on tape and so easily retrieved. Does she really not remember, or does she think this is a “Mission Impossible” world where all tapes self-destruct after five seconds?

Friday Fish Wrap: October 22, 2010

The Script:

This ad is NOT paid for by the corporate front groups and oil billionaires that are trying to buy this election.

This is OUR ad made by hard working Americans who live right here in Nevada

and we have one simple message: Sharron Angle is being backed by one of those front groups, and if she’s on their side, she’s sure not on ours.

Vote Harry Reid!

The Ad:

Now you know what I’ve been up to when I’m not blogging! Ha! You’ve gotta love it. MoveOn.org made it harder than it needed to be. They had about eight different packets of signs that you could download and print - only after you did the previous one. This required being particularly tenacious- which I am.

Unfortunately, I started running out of daylight.

Gawd, I was just coming home, driving down South Virginia and there was a bunch of Angle supporters along the side holding ‘Honk for Angle’. I exercised remarkable restraint, realizing that Tea Party people love America and mean well. They just get their information from different sources.

WWE and Dancing with the Stars.

Here’s a good example - self-proclaimed Constitutional law expert, Christine O’Donnell who is running for Senate in Delaware:

Nevada Rocks!

Yesterday, I participated in the Great Nevada Shakeout! At precisely 10:21 a.m. my iphone alarm rang while I was cycling along Huffaker Road. Off the bike and into the weeds to ‘hold on’ to a fence post. The geese in the field looked as though to say WTF? They just went on eating.

This was a worthwhile event, and I hope you participated. As somebody with, shall we say A LOT of emergency management and disaster preparedness experience, exercises like this are essential. They provide us with that all important ‘clue’  what to do during a critical event. We couldn’t have been nearly as safe or effective in airborne Search and Rescue without plenty of exercises and practice.

You should understand, as an average citizen, that practicing for a critical event goes a long way toward mitigating the negative effects of said event. Most importantly, it also saves lives and reduces the costs that must be dedicated toward recovery.

One last word on this - my tall, heavy furniture is bolted into the wall studs. Is yours? I also have spare water supplies, a medical kit, and a bag of emergency clothing/shoes/meds. Do you? Don’t you think it’s time to consider doing that?

Now, ladies and gentlemen, that’s being a true conservative!

Like we haven’t talked about sad old Sharron Angle enough, but listen to this. The Nevada state senator from Elko County, Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora - a well known liberal bastion (LOL- NOT!!) - came out in support of Harry Reid yesterday! Now, when you can get folks from Elko County to support Reid, the opposition must smell pretty damn bad indeed. The Elko Daily Free Press also got behind Harry Reid.

If you need some convincing on just how delusional the Elko County Angle supporters are, read some of the comments on their website. Sigh.

Oh, BTW - Mr. Maven and I got it over with. We early voted yesterday. I gotta tell you that I love the voting here in Nevada. It’s so fast and easy, with a paper ballot to seal the deal. This is the way it should be done everywhere. There’s simply no excuse for having differening voting systems around the country. One that has proven bullet proof and scam proof for everybody.

This is a transient, mobile society. Having the same system across the country will eliminate confusion. Hmmm. But that confusion is probably what a few politicians are counting on, right?

I want to do something that Roxy’s husband here in Reno refused to do. Make a note of her passing.

We knew Roxy from the Tamarack Junction casino restaurant. She was an incredible waitress, and a neat lady. We knew she had a lot of issues in her life. It sure wasn’t an easy existence. But she worked really hard and was always smiling and joking despite the challenges. The harsh realities of her life were finally more than she could handle. She got a ‘gut full’ as we say - or as is euphemistically called ‘cardiac arrest’.

It’s people like Roxy that make life a bit smoother for the rest of us. An hourly wage earner with tips all of her life, few benefits and a lot on her plate. This was the obit from the Sacramento Bee. I wish I’d taken a better picture of her when I coulda.

McKEE, Roxy Lynn (Eure)
Roxy passed away in Reno, Nev., on October 11, 2010, due to cardiac arrest. She was born in Mobile, Ala., on October 6, 1954, to Bill and Claudia Eure. Roxy was a beloved wife to Ken McKee for 20 years and loving mother to Jessica and lil’ Roxy. She is also survived by her granddaughter Mandy, her brother Bill Eure (Cyndi), nieces Angela and Renea, and many extended family members. Roxy enjoyed her career as a waitress in Reno because it gave her a chance to interact with people and really get to know them. She was often referred to as ”Flo” for her red hair, big earrings and smart mouth, Roxy liked to make her customers laugh. Roxy struggled with alcoholism but in the end was sober for five years. She will be remembered for her fighting spirit, quirky personality and her passion for family. Per Roxy’s request, her ashes will be spread among the mountains in Virginia City, Nev.

I know that Natacha will remember and miss her, as we do. It was so sad that few of her co-workers even knew or remembered her last name. I couldn’t bear to let her passing go by so anonymously.

Such is life - and death - these days.

In other passings of note, the Truckee Bar & Grill (Lakeside and Moana) that I’ve blogged about is no more. Nor is South Side Cafe. Both victims of the economic downturn. These are places we’ve patronized for many years and through many incarnations and ownerships.

And no, Harry Reid didn’t have anything to do with it. Nothing is ever that simple, except in Sharron Angle’s fevered imagination. My guess would be uh, Wall Street, unregulated capitalism, George W. Bush et al.

Talking about Women of the TeaParty,  Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas, wife of SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas - he of Long Dong Silver fame, who stepped up early to diminish the luster of the Supreme Court during his confirmation hearings in 1991 - apparently made an outreach call to Anita Hill the other day. ‘Ginni’ suggested that Hill should apologize to her husband.

Whoa! Talk about harboring a grudge.

‘Ginni’ is a fun loving person and creator of Liberty Central - and here’s what they say about her:

“Ginni is a new social entrepreneur and the Founder of Liberty Central, Inc.  Ginni is excited about launching LibertyCentral.org and finds the new citizen activists inspirational! She brings passion, enthusiasm and principled participation to the public square. With 30 years of experience within the Washington beltway working alongside esteemed politicians like Dick Armey and for institutions like Hillsdale College, the Heritage Foundation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ginni is committed to serving as a clearinghouse for new and more effective online activism. Ginni, the ‘proud’ Nebraskan, is a fan of Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Laura Ingraham and other talk radio hosts. She is intrigued by Glenn Beck and listening carefully. She also enjoys motor homing and watching “24″.”

I’m impressed. Her COO and Counsel, Sara Field worked for the Koch brothers. You know those goofy billionaire guys that are currently buying up every election across the country for the extreme right.

Yup. This is the kind of grassroots organizing that is going to take back Washington for the average American. No wonder Clarence Thomas might have been happy to help out from the bench with the Citizens United decision.

Isn’t it nifty how this all ties together?

Well, speaking of tying things together, I’ll be on the road tomorrow to Apple Hill to sample some of the fall harvest. I’ve been dehydrating a ton of asian pears to send to Louisiana and Marin County. The bags of dried fruit would be fatter if I could quit snacking out of them prior to sending.

Yes, dried asian pear apples are just that good.

Neighbor Peg just came down awhile ago with a belated birthday present. This is truly different:

Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka from Poland. This is wild stuff. Literally. It tastes like the forest. It’s ‘vernal’. According to Peg ( and the Russian friends who brought it with them ) you mix it with apple juice and a wedge of lemon. Check out the hip website Bartender page for some truly different mixology that will intrigue your guests.

We did a bit of uh, sampling on the rocks while I finished cooking dinner.

This is hard to describe, but you get notes of vanilla, grasses and coconut. It would also pair well with cucumber and fresh apple juice.

Here’s something I’m pondering: Muddle some snappingly crisp cold Jonagold or HoneyCrisp apples, a squeeze of lemon, a splash of apple cider. Shaken. Served straight up. Garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.

What do you think? Peg?

Well, have a great weekend. I’ll let myself out.

-maven

Update on Friday, October 22, 2010 at 21:46 by mavenandmeddler

I just watched this interview with Harry Reid on the Ed Show:

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

Update on Friday, October 22, 2010 at 21:47 by mavenandmeddler

And this is vintage Sharron Angle:

Reno News & Review rips Angle candidacy

Defeat Angle

This article was published on 10.21.10, Reno News & Review

Last week in this space we dealt with the importance of reelecting Harry Reid to the U.S. Senate.

It is not just important to reelect Reid. It is also important to defeat Sharron Angle, to send a clear message about quality of candidates. Angle does not have the skills or intellectual gifts the state needs. She’s not smart enough, not discerning enough for a legislator who must scrutinize the claims of agencies and lobbyists.

Angle reaches conclusions, then cherry-picks evidence to support them. She is unable to spot people who try to con her. She embraces tales that fit her prejudices. If she agrees with someone, she cannot tell when they use arguments that are misleading, disingenuous, or false.

• In 2005 Angle accused the Washoe County assessor of telling a widow to sell her house to pay her taxes. Angle repeated the story without checking it out, the assessor flatly denied it, and there was no evidence to support Angle’s claim (“Angle vs. McGowan,” RN&R, July 7, 2005).

• She hired campaign consultants who charged her at least $4.4 million to raise $9.6 million for her.

• She claimed Islamic law is used in two U.S. communities, one of which does not exist, the other of which uses U.S. law. She “read it somewhere,” she said.

• She read about one historian who discounted Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation” between church and state and embraced his finding, ignoring the more numerous historians who didn’t agree.

• In their debate, Angle accused Reid of becoming wealthy as a senator. She didn’t bother checking it out before speaking, though Reid’s finances have been a matter of public record for decades.

• When she sponsored legislation to force physicians to tell women seeking abortions that they risked breast cancer, her “evidence” of this link carefully excluded the overwhelming majority of studies that did not support her (“Dr. Angle’s prescription,” RN&R, June 24).

These are not patterns of behavior needed in the Senate. Lobbyists who tell her what she wants to hear will take her to the cleaners, just as her campaign consultants did. She does not demonstrate intellectual rigor and critical thinking. In the hard-boiled Washington, D.C., world, her naïveté would put her and Nevada at the mercy of those who learn to work her.

That is our basic reason for our opposition. But we are also dismayed at her meanspirited view of humankind, of the way she demeans good people. She calls the unemployed spoiled. She trivializes autism. She would force rape and incest victims to bear children. Angle would never be able to call on the best in all our people.

Hers is a world of black and white, where the battle is between what she imagines is good vs. evil. What will happen when she gets into reality, where most battles are not between enemies but between good people who just have different views of policy?

Angle likes to frame these things in religious terms, so we will do the same. George Washington once wrote a prayer expressing the hope “that He would incline the hearts of the citizens … to entertain brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens.” Politician Angle has spent her public career working against that goal, instead pitting us against each other and then exploiting the resulting rage.



Republicorp: Buying democracy one race at a time

This is simply perfect, and to paraphrase the Sharron Angle campaign, “what more do you need to know about Republican candidates?”

Republicorp.

They’re bought and paid for by the countries biggest corporations and the military industrial complex.

And after you get done laughing, send MoveOn.org a few more bucks to keep up the good work. Oh, and put a reminder in your Outlook to keep insisting on publicly financed campaigns from whoever wins this damn thing.

Another high profile Republican endorses Harry Reid

This from the Reno Gazette-Journal -

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. has endorsed Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, saying it would be a mistake for Nevadans to elect Republican Sharron Angle and lose Reid’s clout to protect the state’s lifeblood gambling industry.

“It’s disturbing that she (Angle) is taking money from people who oppose gambling,” Fahrenkopf told The Associated Press. “She may not even know it, but Gary Bauer has been a longtime, outspoken opponent of legalized gambling. I did a double-take when I read she was re ceiving assistance from someone who has opposed Nevada’s chief industry for so long.”

To paraphrase an Angle ad - “what more do you need to know?”

Doesn’t it figure that Angle is apparently getting an endorsement from Gary Bauer’s friend, Newt Gingrich. It looks like she’s well into the Citizens for The Republic PAC.

“We just can’t take any more assaults on us tax-wise or otherwise,” Fahrenkopf said. “We need someone strong to protect the state and the industry. No freshman senator would have clout. To trade the most powerful position in the Senate for a freshman senator doesn’t make sense.”

MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren, a Republican, agreed.

“For a small state like Nevada to have the most powerful person in the Senate is not something we should be willing to let go,” he said in a statement. “Simply put: Harry Reid is a better choice for Nevada’s future. He has far more experience and can wield far more authority and influence on our behalf than any freshman senator.”

As usual, neither Angle nor her campaign staff, feel obligated to return phone calls from the RGJ to respond to all this. She and her staff have also not thought it important enough to answer additional questions - although she agreed to prior to the debate - from the night of her televised debate with Reid. Harry Reid had guts enough to respond and answer questions submitted by the public after the debate.

What you need to know here: Follow the big money. Gary Bauer just lanched a $1 million ad campaign against Harry Reid this week. Follow it right to Sharron Angle’s doorstep of her ‘modest home’ in Sparks.

Yup, this is the same woman who thinks it a bad thing that Harry Reid rose from impoverished miner’s son to live in something besides a shack in Searchlight, Nevada.

What would Sharron have done?

-maven

Jon Ashjian tells ABC-TV: "She lies"

Just when you think the senate race here in Nevada couldn’t get any more bizarre, it looks like Tea Party candidate Jon Ashjian would vote for Harry Reid?

Watch this:

“I’m saying that Sharron Angle lies on her issues,” Ashjian explained. “She’s come off 100 percent of where she was in the beginning when I supported her, compared to where she is today. She went to Washington, DC, where you’re from, and got schooled on what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. And, at the end of the day she’s turned into the consummate politician.”

As 'Perfect Storm' gathers speed, Tea Party takes advantage

It’s the best of times and the worst of times. The best for TeaParty opportunists like Sharron Angle, and the worst for the rest of us. Reich paints a thought provoking picture of what we are facing as a country - further unconscionable consolidation of economic power by a few, Wall St. abuses, and the mortgage/financial crisis - and says that there is plenty of money to help, but no political will to use it.

-maven

The Perfect Storm

Robert Reich, Robert Reich’s Blog, 18 October 10

t’s a perfect storm. And I’m not talking about the impending dangers facing Democrats. I’m talking about the dangers facing our democracy.

First, income in America is now more concentrated in fewer hands than it’s been in 80 years. Almost a quarter of total income generated in the United States is going to the top 1 percent of Americans.

The top one-tenth of one percent of Americans now earn as much as the bottom 120 million of us.

Who are these people? With the exception of a few entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, they’re top executives of big corporations and Wall Street, hedge-fund managers, and private equity managers. They include the Koch brothers, whose wealth increased by billions last year, and who are now funding tea party candidates across the nation.

Which gets us to the second part of the perfect storm. A relatively few Americans are buying our democracy as never before. And they’re doing it completely in secret.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are pouring into advertisements for and against candidates - without a trace of where the dollars are coming from. They’re laundered through a handful of groups. Fred Maleck, whom you may remember as deputy director of Richard Nixon’s notorious Committee to Reelect the President (dubbed Creep in the Watergate scandal), is running one of them. Republican operative Karl Rove runs another. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a third.

The Supreme Court’s Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission made it possible. The Federal Election Commission says only 32 percent of groups paying for election ads are disclosing the names of their donors. By comparison, in the 2006 midterm, 97 percent disclosed; in 2008, almost half disclosed.

We’re back to the late 19th century when the lackeys of robber barons literally deposited sacks of cash on the desks of friendly legislators. The public never knew who was bribing whom.

Just before it recessed the House passed a bill that would require that the names of all such donors be publicly disclosed. But it couldn’t get through the Senate. Every Republican voted against it. (To see how far the GOP has come, nearly ten years ago campaign disclosure was supported by 48 of 54 Republican senators.)

Here’s the third part of the perfect storm. Most Americans are in trouble. Their jobs, incomes, savings, and even homes are on the line. They need a government that’s working for them, not for the privileged and the powerful.

Yet their state and local taxes are rising. And their services are being cut. Teachers and firefighters are being laid off. The roads and bridges they count on are crumbling, pipelines are leaking, schools are dilapidated, and public libraries are being shut.

There’s no jobs bill to speak of. No WPA to hire those who can’t find jobs in the private sector. Unemployment insurance doesn’t reach half of the unemployed.

Washington says nothing can be done. There’s no money left.

No money? The marginal income tax rate on the very rich is the lowest it’s been in more than 80 years. Under President Dwight Eisenhower (who no one would have accused of being a radical) it was 91 percent. Now it’s 36 percent. Congress is even fighting over whether to end the temporary Bush tax cut for the rich and return them to the Clinton top tax of 39 percent.

Much of the income of the highest earners is treated as capital gains, anyway - subject to a 15 percent tax. The typical hedge-fund and private-equity manager paid only 17 percent last year. Their earnings were not exactly modest. The top 15 hedge-fund managers earned an average of $1 billion.

Congress won’t even return to the estate tax in place during the Clinton administration – which applied only to those in the top 2 percent of incomes.

It won’t limit the tax deductions of the very rich, which include interest payments on multi-million dollar mortgages. (Yet Wall Street refuses to allow homeowners who can’t meet mortgage payments to include their primary residence in personal bankruptcy.)

There’s plenty of money to help stranded Americans, just not the political will to raise it. And at the rate secret money is flooding our political system, even less political will in the future.

The perfect storm: An unprecedented concentration of income and wealth at the top; a record amount of secret money flooding our democracy; and a public becoming increasingly angry and cynical about a government that’s raising its taxes, reducing its services, and unable to get it back to work.

We’re losing our democracy to a different system. It’s called plutocracy.

Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. He has written twelve books, including “The Work of Nations,” “Locked in the Cabinet,” “Supercapitalism” and his latest book, “AFTERSHOCK: The Next Economy and America’s Future.” His ‘Marketplace’ commentaries can be found on publicradio.com and iTunes.



Angle makes it onto Countdown, confuses Olberman and nation

This is great! Uh, unless you actually care about Nevada’s reputation and how we are perceived around the country.

The Angle gaffe of the day is playing out to a national audience today. She seems to be terribly confused about the differences between Hispanics and Asians, oh and Canadians too. It seems that the Canadian ambassador is asking her for an apology …

According to Politico:

“There have been no terrorist attacks on the United States coming from Canada,” the letter stated, according to a report in the Vancouver Sun. “None of the 9/11 hijackers entered the United States from or through Canada.”

The ambassador asked Angle to “set the record straight.” Angle hasn’t replied to the letter, an embassy representative told the Sun.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43810.html#ixzz12mAExn9f

Watch:

Ralston actually almost redeems himself here.

Here are some of the reader comments after this story:

“See I want to see her get elected. She is so obviously mentally-ill, she’ll be a laugh a minute in the Senate and then will completely implode. If Nevadans are this stupid to support her in the numbers they are doing, they deserve EXACTLY what they get.”

“She’s a moron, but apparently about half of Nevada voters are, too.
And she IS decisive, whereas Harry Reid is just a run-of-the-mill Wimpocrat.”

“And the dumb assed krackas in Nevada take this bitch seriously!”

“Someone get Sharron Angle a map! Harry Reid is supposed to protect the border? Nevada borders Oregon, Utah, California, Nevada, Idaho. Which of these foreign countries doesn’t she like?”

Monday Musings: October 18, 2010

Alright, here’s the latest Angle gaffe: She goes to Las Vegas’ Rancho High School to convince the schools Hispanic Student Union that she’s not really a bigot or a racist, and the students ask her about the Angle ads condemning Harry Reid of delivering tax breaks, and every other perk on the planet to ‘illegals’

Now watch the ad carefully :

Here’s what Sharron Angle told the students -

“I think that you’re misinterpreting those commercials,” Angle tells the students.

“I’m not sure that those are Latinos in that commercial. What it is, is a fence and there are people coming across that fence. What we know is that our northern border is where the terrorists came through. That’s the most porous border that we have. We cannot allow terrorists, we cannot allow anyone to come across our border if we don’t know why they’re coming. So, we have to secure all of our borders and that’s what that was about, is border security.”

Here’s what one student said:

“She said that they were just people crossing the fence, but they weren’t Latinos. And then she said some of us don’t even look Latino, we could be Asian,” said Debbie Rios, 16, a junior at Rancho who was sitting in the front row at the assembly, which drew about 50 to 60 people. “She dodged the question; she didn’t really answer it.”

You know, Angle probably has a point. Hordes of French-Canadians are probably pouring across the northern border into the U. S. looking for expensive health insurance.

Canadians, Mexicans, Asians … they all look alike in the dark, with hoodies on.

But notice the ad makes repeated references to Mexico and the Arizona anti-immigrant law. So, there’s your proof. She’s worried about terrorists coming from Canada.

Sheesh. See, this is what happens when you allow people getting their marching orders beamed in through a tinfoil helmet to enter politics or public life.

“Sharron has said several times before that illegal immigration is not about race. It is about the rule of law in this country. It would be a misinterpretation to think that one group of people should be singled out,” Angle campaign spokesman Jarrod Agen said Saturday.

“The issue is that we must stop illegal immigration by security our borders, both northern and southern, and by enforcing our immigration laws,” he said. “Harry Reid does not want to end illegal immigration; he is pro-amnesty.”

Uh, Jarrod, if you want to be completely unambiguous about the illegal immigration thing, here’s a suggestion: Show a diverse group of scary ‘illegals’ in your ads next time.

Oh, and quite trying to say that being in favor of doing something fair regarding illegals who are here already ( an incremental and careful type of amnesty program ) is the same thing as being ‘in favor’ of illegal immigration. (“Harry Reid favors so-called ‘amnesty’ therefore he must favor illegal immigration? False analogy? Straw Man argument? Appeal to emotion? It’s faulty reasoning anyway.)

Or quit peeing on my shoes, Jarrod and telling me that it’s raining.

If this mid-term election proves nothing else, it will demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that we need publicly financed political campaigns. For just a moment, try to visualize what the last several months would’ve been like with equal public financing. Without the shadowy front groups.

When campaigns can be financed by vast personal wealth (think the two women over in California. No, not Boxer. Fiorina and Whitman) or failing that - when you’re living on a Federal/BLM pension like Angle - you get Karl Rove to march in with Crossroads GPS and throw millions at your campaign - is that really what the Founders had in mind for First Amendment protected free speech?

At least the Reno Gazette-Journal got it right and endorsed Harry Reid - Jon Ralston notwithstanding.

The RGJ editorial in Sunday’s paper was as strong and well-reasoned argument for dumping Angle and supporting Harry Reid as I’ve seen anywhere.

If you aren’t happy with the partisan gridlock in Washington D. C., then why in the world would you want to make it worse by sending the Queen of Nay, Angle, there? To lamely offer that she’ll be junior and therefore ‘harmless’ for six years until the GOP can find a ‘better’ candidate is simply ludicrous. She never reached across the aisle during her years in the Assembly, so why would she start now?

Polls have shown that the average person doesn’t want partisan bickering and stalemates. They expect the party sharing power to uh, “Man up” and be a part of the solution. Candidates like Angle have more than demonstrated that they are on a search and destroy mission, and compromise is not part of it. They see victories as a referendum on Obama, rather than a chance to solve problems.

So let’s send the person voted “least effective” by her peers in the Nevada Assembly. Yup. That’ll do it - send the obstinate, wacky, intellectually bankrupt one.

She can join forces with the other Super Hero from Nevada - Sen. John Ensign, R-NV who has reportedly spent more than $500,000 in the last three months on legal expenses. Uh, they’re probably related to those pesky stories of gross infidelity and payoffs.

Yup, if the rest of the country didn’t already have that queasy feeling that Nevada was the place of Area 51, hidden aliens and just generally crazy shit that stays in Vegas, this should really cap it. That ranks right up there with doubling down when the dealer is showing a face card. Duh.

Finally, we lost one of our tee-vee icons over the weekend. Barbara Billingsly of ‘Leave it to Beaver’ fame died. She was that nice lady named June, that never raised her voice, never told the men to “Man up”, was always dressed nice. I’ll bet she always smelled nice, too.

Sharron Angle got the role of June Cleaver confused with reality. And unfortunately, there are a lot of other people doing the same thing. Most of them belong to the Tea Party.

Well, have a tolerable work week or a good one if you must.

Check back in occasionally for updates - not through your tinfoil helmet though. Take that damn thing off and put it away until Halloween … aka Nevada Day.

-maven

Update on Monday, October 18, 2010 at 11:00 by mavenandmeddler

And now Ms Angle becomes completely confused about her own ethnic heritage:

“So that’s what we want is a secure and sovereign nation and, you know, I don’t know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me. I don’t know that,” Angle said, according to video posted by the Nevada paper. “What we know, what we know about ourselves is that we are a melting pot in this country.”

Angle then claimed that she too has been confused as a different ethnicity, seemingly in an attempt to illustrate her melting pot point.

“I’ve been called the first Asian legislator in our Nevada State Assembly,” Angle said.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43757.html#ixzz12jbYIPAP

Love him or not: Reid leading Social Security COLA increase

Angle supporters may call this a cynical move but seniors on Social Security might want to remember that Harry Reid is the one who could actually make this happen despite the times. The word was that seniors wouldn’t be getting any cost of living increases through 2012.

This just in:

REID TO LEAD PASSAGE OF SOCIAL SECURITY COLA FOR SENIORS

Las Vegas, NV - Nevada Senator Harry Reid released the following statement today announcing his intention to pass a cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security recipients when the Senate reconvenes in November:

“Millions of seniors rely on Social Security to make ends meet, especially in today’s troubled economy.  While the Social Security Administration has announced that no COLA will be provided next year, it’s a decision I don’t agree with. Too many seniors are struggling to pay rising costs for basic necessities, even while their retirement savings and home values have taken real hits.

“Earlier this year I voted to provide seniors a $250 Social Security raise.  While Republicans blocked our efforts to help seniors the last time, we cannot give up.  That is why when the Senate reconvenes, we will give seniors in Nevada and across the country this badly-needed raise. I will be working hard to gain Senate passage for a proposal that ensures that America’s seniors are treated fairly.”

Would Sharron Angle be able to get this done for seniors in Nevada? If Sharron Angle could for a  moment disentangle herself from ideology which seems to promote dismantling Social Security, she’d still be too junior to even be effective on a question like this.

Can you imagine a senior that would vote against Social Security COLA’s? Yup. Those are the ones supporting Sharron Angle.

Go figure.

-maven

'Nothing': Defines the Angle campaign pretty well

The fact that Angle can’t think of a single thing medical insurance companies should be mandated - forced - to provide to you the insured is so very telling.

As Reid said during the debate, the insurance companies are their to provide necessary and lifesaving things like colonoscopies and mammograms out of the goodness of their hearts.

“Insurance companies … don’t do things out of the goodness of their hearts. They do it out of a profit motive and they have almost destroyed our economy,” Reid fired back.

Too true. As a breast cancer survivor and advocate, I can tell you that I’ve seen women denied. I’ve seen women torn apart with worry about the ‘maybe’ of that ‘odd’ thing they feel in their breast.

That isn’t right. That’s cruel.

That’s not what civilized societies do to their citizens.

It is what Sharron Angle would do.

That’s not what Harry Reid would do.

He gets it.

Friday Fish Wrap: October 15, 2010

Thursday night was the great takedown that wasn’t. I’ve heard from more than a few people - Reid supporters mostly - that they were disappointed but not surprised. It changed nobody’s mind. In the comments sections of several media websites, the Angle supporters were present, in full delusional tinfoil helmeted force:

Timekeeper wrote on October 15, 2010 02:55 PM:

“The best “Social Program” is a JOB!
The Best Neighborhood cop is a “Home Owner!”
the socialist democrats have destroyed both!

Harry Reid refuses to discuss the issues; Unemployment, high Taxes, Stim-U-Less, Takeovers of “private” businesses, MASSIVE SPENDING, Backroom Deals, Voting without reading the bill, Home Forclosures, Bankruptcy, Mortgage Scams, NV last in Education, Cap & Trade, Union paybacks(card-check), …

Vote for Sharron Angle - she has the American Values that will be needed to help restore this nation, stop the spending spree and create jobs.”

What this amounts to is the usual TeaNut strategies of suppressed correlatives, bare assertions, and existential fallacies, plus a lot of angry verbal foot stamping and name calling. Sadly, GOP operatives like Rove and Gillespie are kicking back with a satisfied smirk.

When they write like that, what do they expect people to do besides laugh? These are the same voters who believe every viral email hoax that comes across their inbox. This is sad. Slogan based intellects.

On a more personal, and local level: I was told this week that one of our favorite restaurants will be closing. Oddly, I didn’t hear a thing about Obama-care, Socialists or tax and spend liberals being the cause. Add to that the sad news that a familiar waitperson at another restaurant we frequent committed suicide this week.  Again, no mention of a failed stimulus, interference by the United Nations or the World Bank, or even MASSIVE SPENDING.

I’ll tell you what killed a business and a person:

A- An economy played so fast and loose by a largely unregulated, out of control Wall Street (thanks to the Grover Norquist philosophy of starving the ‘beast’) while a pro-business White House watched with a complete lack of concern, that it eventually broke. When the Christmas choo-choo train finally went off the tracks it took a lot of people, mortgages and businesses with it.  This was all set into motion long before Obama got there.

B- There comes a point when people break too. After years of living hand to mouth doing the jobs that need to be done yet don’t pay big - like waiting tables - with a seriously disabled spouse at home, little in the way of help from struggling social services, medical insurance and more, people simply wear down and out. The pain of the struggle becomes too much to bear on a daily basis.

This was a sad week for Mr. Maven and I, but sadder still for those whose efforts and story have come to an end.

I can say pretty confidently that Sharron Angle would simply shrug it off. ‘They’ failed. All failures are ‘personal’ for true believers. Harry Reid would want to know why so that he could prevent it from happening again to somebody else. He believes that such failures, although they might have some personal/individual responsibility, also have roots in the community and it’s responsibilities to people.

Sharron Angle sees ‘me’. Harry Reid sees ‘we’.

That’s an important distinction.

Sharron Angle the Darwinian said during the debate that she believed it was her responsibility to make policy such that business could survive and thrive, rather than bringing jobs to Nevada herself, let the conditions or lack of them bring jobs … or not.

Harry Reid said, and has repeatedly shown by his actions, that he believes he has to both craft the right policy to grow an economy and bring the jobs. He would both teach the man to fish, and bring a spare fishing pole and bait to the pond.

I’ve always believed that you can’t really separate self/individual from the larger community. I support Harry Reid because I know he also believes that.

Oh, one last thing about the debate. I’ll be happy to hear the last of Sharron Angle’s self-promotion as a ‘teacher’. I can’t find anything that spells out what her actual teaching experience or credentials are beyond being a substitute teacher for 25 years (in all that time nobody wanted her full time?) and a two year gig at a tiny private religious school. Now there’s a resume to be proud of. When did she get her teaching certifications and from where?

Was Angle’s teaching just a nice bit of extra money while husband, Ted, was busy working for the BLM?

Oh, if you want to read an entertaining view of the debate, check out the Rude Pundit. Funny. And, FactCheck.org has a nifty analysis of the Sharron Angle ‘Viagra’ ad.

We went to see ‘Social Network’ the other day and really liked it. It’s a fascinating inside look at how one of the most wildly viral of modern phenomena came to be - Facebook.

We both got a lot out of this movie. He better understands the whole social networking thing. I related in a much different way - as a participant in an eerily similar story. Brilliantly creative people are both a gift and a curse. You can make some enemies and fail some friends on your way up.  I’ll let it go at that.

I’ve been working with Adobe tech support in Delhi for the last month, dogging a rather novel bug that’s been creating some anguish when I used Photoshop Elements 8.0. I think we’ve finally gotten it fixed in today’s session. What I really want to say here is that Adobe really went the distance in trying to resolve the problem. I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with their folks in Delhi. They are professional and easy to work with - and they speak enough of an American style of English that communications wasn’t an issue.

Do I have any angst over outsourced jobs like this? No. Not really. It’s a world economy, and as long as the primary software development - the core creative engine behind it all with the best paying jobs - is done here in the United States, why would I?

Worrying about keeping some phone tech support here in the United States would be about as smart as trying to keep all the Adobe jobs - for example - in San Jose, California. I say this having worked on a web-based SaaS product that was created here in Reno, Nevada but built both here and in Delhi, India.

There’s an important distinction - that one of the Indian software guys point out to me. One thing that is unique to America is our creative drive … our ability to take entrepenurial risks and challenge the status quo.  That’s why enterprise the world over comes to the United States. We’ll be alright as long as we keep supporting an educational system that produces people like Bill Gates. Without that, it won’t matter how many assembly line jobs we keep here, our economy will fail.

The next time a politician talks about keeping American jobs here - ask what kind of jobs. High volume, minimum wage jobs of yesteryear? Or high value, high wage jobs of the future? There’s an important distinction there that few politicians understand, not to mention the electorate. Unfortunately, our economic future depends on it.

Talking about Adobe, I was taking a peek at the new version, 9.0, of Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Premier. Adobe finally gets it. Not everybody needs to be a Photoshop guru. Too time intensive - it becomes an end in itself. We want to enjoy the pictures we take of our friends and families, our lives and move on to share them in new ways. Adobe has finally made Photoshop for the rest of us, and then with 9.0 taken it even closer.

I’ll be upgrading from PSE 8.0 to 9.0 soon. But what I keep wondering is why they are still bothering to put out software on a disc? Why it’s not web-based. A part of the cloud. Maybe if the American infrastructure lived up to its own self hype … You can bet that the Sharron Angles of the world will never understand the question not to mention the possible answers.

Ah, that’s a discussion for another place and time.

Have a good weekend.

-maven

Angle vs Reid: The dessert was better than the debate.

Were you as psyched up for this HUGE DEBATE as we were? Wow. I even invited guests, did a brisket, served cocktails and dessert. I have to admit that I was a tad embarrassed, with our new to Nevada friends here watching, that neither candidate exactly set the world on fire with eloquence speechifying.

Would that, just for a few minutes, Harry Reid could’ve channeled Rove or motor-mouth Ed Gillespie. Thank gawd, we had really good dessert to look forward to. Fortunately, Reid makes up for being professorial and occasionally tongue-tied with a decent command of facts - not that Angle is at all swayed by them.

Sigh.

Here’s what I was thinking through the debate:  When will it end? Sharron Angle - refusing to be influenced by evidence or reason, Harry Reid wandering off onto wonkishly long-winded answers. Slogans vs. substance. Fossil fueled Sharron Angle vs the always renewable power of Harry Reid. Neither is exactly Churchillian in their presence or style.

Amid the confusing non-answers, flubbed numbers, exaggerations, missed opportunities, disconnected attempts at Reagan-era boosterism and misplaced gravitas there is one point that stood up and saluted:

Sharron Angle has been living on the largesse of her BLM retiree husband’s federal pension and medical insurance for virtually her entire adult life. She’s right up there with a lot of the politicians she so loves to hate for what they supposedly have.

She came across as a self-absorbed, self-satisfied and yet jealous bitch who knew all her bizarre talking points to a ‘t’ - whether they were appropriate to the question or not.

Angle consistently ignores available data in favor of anecdotal particulars - such as mentioning that her father pays $800 for his monthly drugs despite being a wounded war veteran. The point went to Reid as he suggested that dear old Dad should come to the Reid office so that wiser heads might help him remedy such a ridiculous and unnecessary situation.

And typically, she engages in one ad hominum argument after another - attacking Reid personally. This works for her, since she would otherwise have to have an actual command of facts and issues beyond the simplistic TeaNut demagoguery.

On the subject of health care reform, Harry Reid remarked that, obviously, insurance companies wouldn’t do squat unless the government forced them to - so much for the free market. But Angle blundered forward carrying the banner of “Obama-care” saying “What we have here is a choice between the free market and Americanism…. We don’t have to force anyone to buy anything,” agreeing that she would not force companies to cover specific disorders.

The point went to Reid when Angle whined about not getting a coal-fired power plant in Ely or nuclear power at Yucca Mountain. Reid shot back that the reason just might be that he was working really hard to make Nevada a leader in renewable power - and related that he had just brought 1,000 jobs to Nevada with an LED plant. Sharron, duh!

That Angle had the bad manners and lack of class to suggest that the Senate Majority Leader “Man up” was telling. Refer to my earlier statement about being a bitch. She’s a no-class bitch spewing the same old simple-minded TeaNut drool. She even went on to attack Reid for uh, having money. Isn’t that sort of the point of her free-market driven American dream? Point goes to Reid for explaining that as a successful attorney and investor, that can happen, even while you put five kids through “100 semesters” of college.

I do have to hand it to Angle, she didn’t come off as well, crazy. That maniacal Stepford Wives smile was fixed and creepily unchanging. But that doesn’t seem to be a debate winning attribute. And you have to say that she really does embrace her own brand of fact-challenged crazy saying she was “glad to give voters the opportunity to see that Harry Reid has voted to give Social Security to illegal aliens.”

Sigh.

Nothing changed this evening. For those who’ve been paying attention all along - you knew when Angle was lying and dissembling, running for cover in slogans and tales of Ronald Reagan when confronted with actual uh, issue questions. Reid, for his part, dryly plodded onward delivering facts like he delivers jobs for Nevadans - just fine, if without style or flash, thank you.

What can you say about the woulda been match of the century?

I’m voting for Harry Reid.

-maven

While Angle flip-flops, Reid brings 1,000 high tech jobs to Henderson

She’s busily flip-flopping her position on privatizing Social Security, Medicare and the VA - running like to hell to distance herself from the extreme positions everybody who’s been paying attention knows she’s held since the ‘flood’ - which she’s probably blaming Harry Reid for.

Meanwhile, Harry Reid just brought 1,000 jobs in a high tech LED plant to Henderson, Nevada.

What I wonder is how many Angle supporters will be there standing in line to put in an application?

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, center, arrives with Kai Huang, 2nd left, deputy mayor of Shenyang, China, Jinxiang Lu, 2nd right, chairman/CEO of A-Power, and Tom Conway, right, international vice president of the United Steelworkers union, for the dedication of a new A-Power Energy Generation Systems manufacturing facility in Henderson Tuesday, October 12, 2010. A translator is at far left. The company, based in China, will produce wind turbines and LED lighting.

Here’s the article from the Las Vegas Sun as reported by Erin Dostal:

Officials unveiled an LED manufacturing plant on Tuesday expected to create more than 1,000 jobs in Henderson by the end of the year.

The 36,000-square-foot plant at 1100 Mary Crest Road, near the Interstate 215 and Gibson Road interchange, will house a manufacturing plant for Singapore-based Asia New Energy.

An LED is a light emitting diode, which produce light while using less energy than standard light bulbs. They can be used in everything from flashlights to televisions.

The building also will be a temporary site for a wind turbine assembly facility operated by renewable energy company A-Power. Officials said A-Power will hire about 100 workers initially and up to 300 workers after it relocates to a planned 320,000-square-foot facility.

“The idea that we had to bring manufacturing jobs to Clark County…that’s what brings this about today,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said at a news conference to announce the manufacturing plant.

Reid noted that the U.S. is the greatest consumer of oil in the world. Green energy projects will help create jobs in Nevada and reduce dependence on foreign oil — two priorities, he said.

“Today we’re here for a strategy for tomorrow,” Reid said. “Nevada is already the nation’s hub for renewable energy.”

The campaign stop allowed Reid to showcase the kind of international clout and recognition he says he brings to Nevada as the Senate majority leader.

Cappy McGarr, managing partner of U.S. Renewable Energy Group and host of the event, said Reid was instrumental in getting the companies to locate in Henderson.

“He has been very astute at bringing new-energy jobs to Nevada,” McGarr said, calling the Silver State “pro-business” and adding that all jobs would be local jobs.

“I don’t know how you could get any more local than all this,” he said.

Tom Conway, international vice president of United Steelworkers, said that because 250 tons of steel are in each turbine, he expects jobs for his union’s members.

“Reid has been instrumental in bringing this about,” he said.

Asia New Energy and A-Power have a long-standing relationship of partnerships in Aisa, said Gene Jixiang Lu, chairmain and CEO of A-Power. A-Power is based in Senyang, China.

“In the future, we will also depend on your support,” Lu said through a translator.

Speaking through a translator, Kai Huang, vice mayor of Senyang City Government, said, “As the biggest energy-producing and consumer countries in the world, China and the U.S. are expanding new energy.”

The countries could continue to “set a good example for energy and environmental protection” by supporting green energy projects, he said.

The location of the final facility for wind turbines is yet to be determined, Lu said, but it will be located in either Clark County or Lincoln County in Southern Nevada. The LED manufacturing facility, he said, will begin hiring to fill the 1,000 job openings right away.

Lu didn’t give any specific instructions for applying for jobs, but he said his company had been working closely with the state to recruit.

Foreclosure fraud probe puts Angle's extreme claims to shame

“Wednesday, all fifty U.S. State attorneys general launched a joint investigation into allegations that mortgage companies broke laws in foreclosing on homeowners.

Ally Financial, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo halted foreclosures in 23 states after bank employees testified to having robo-signed documents without reading them.”

KTVN, Las Vegas

Sharron Angle’s campaign has repeatedly hammered home that Senate Majority Leader Reid is the diabolical mastermind behind the foreclosure crisis here in Nevada.

Just how does she plan to spin this new information? Do you think she might want to revisit blaming him for everything else that’s happened since the beginning of the world?

-maven

Anti-gay, anti-choice and most everything else is behind Angle ads

One of the more recent Sharron Angle bizarro alternate universe ads listed CitizenLink in the ‘Fine Print’. Me being Moi, I had to find out who in the heck CitizenLink is. I’m rather fierce about the role of ‘front groups’ in political campaigns. They tend to make it terribly difficult to ‘follow the money’ and influence. And, to be perfectly fair, I include Patriot Majority in that kettle.

If I were in charge of the world, I’d make it so that the actual candidate must stand in front of the camera and deliver those messages, accusations, mischaracterizations, lies, and spin. None of this front/end over dub of “I’m XXXXX and I approve this ad” bullshit. Robust campaign finance reform would also take care of this crap.

So, who is CitizenLink?

Well, there you are. A homophobic off-shoot of Focus on the Family and Rising Voice.

If you believe in (what I understand to be) REAL christian tolerance, you might want to give Sharron Angle a pass on Nov. 2.

I found the following article on the money that these organizations are putting into the Angle campaign:

Carson City, NV (LifeNews.com) — Two pro-life groups announced today they are unveiling a new $200,000 advertising campaign designed to support pro-life Senate candidate Sharron Angle in Nevada.

The Susan B. Anthony List and CitizenLink, the lobbying arm of Focus on the Family, are behind the television ad featuring personal testimonials from Nevada residents who believe Angle is the best candidate.

Angle is taking on pro-abortion Sen. Harry Reid, the top Democrat in the Senate who formerly espoused pro-life views but has watered them down over the years to the point that he has advocated abortions funded at taxpayer expense.

“Sharron Angle understands Nevadans real needs and views and is poised to unseat the leader of the U.S. Senate and key proponent of Obama’s pro-abortion health care plan,” SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, told LifeNews.com.

She continued, “This campaign sheds light on how Nevadans see Sharron Angle – as someone who will speak for them instead of perpetuating Obama’s extreme agenda as Harry Reid has done. What a great contrast: freshness and authenticity versus good old boy opportunism.”

Tom Minnery, Senior Vice President of CitizenLink, added, “Sharron Angle is a refreshing voice, who speaks common sense about common American values.”

The 30-second television spot entitled “Sharron Speaks for Me,” which began over the weekend, will air until October 16.

A new poll released by Rasmussen Reports late last week showed Angle has now moved to a four-point lead over Reid. This marks the widest gap between the two candidates since late June, but the race remains a toss-up according to the polling firm.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters shows Angle hitting the 50% mark for the first time since mid-August, while Reid earns 46% of the vote. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and two percent (2%) more are undecided.

Just over a week ago, the race was virtually tied, with Reid at 48% and Angle at 47%. The two have been separated by a gap of three points or less since Reid came charging back in June with a series of blistering attack ads on Angle.

Before the health care vote, the SBA List spent $150,000 on television ads and voter calls to pressure Senator Reid to stop calling himself “pro-life” in Nevada then voting another way in Washington. The SBA List has committed $1 million in voter education and mobilization efforts to unseat Harry Reid.

“We are proud to put our political machine - built for the purpose of supporting women like Sharron - behind her race to beat Senator Harry Reid,” Dannenfelser said. “Now more than ever, Nevadans and Americans are hungry for authentic pro-life leadership from women like Sharron Angle to win back critical margins in the U.S. Senate.”

Related web sites:
New TV ad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk8TGrgR9-U
SBA List - http://www.sba-list.org