People love lists, good or bad, rich and poor, best and worst. Who’s on first? What’s the score? Who’s number one? The three greatest American presidents were George Washington (Federalist, 1789-97), Abraham Lincoln (Republican/National Union, 1861-65), and Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat, 1933-45). Here are the dregs, my unlucky 13 worst, a baker’s dirty … [Read more...]

“Agitate, agitate, AGITATE” — Frederick Douglass The vampires have been set upon the peasants for another two years. I should’a known when I heard two radio commercials on the last day of the 2019 legislative session. I was mildly disturbed by the accidental irony of a local rock station which followed a spot for a payday loanshark with an ad for a blood bank. The … [Read more...]

No more turning away From the weak and the weary No more turning away From the coldness inside Just a world that we all must share It’s not enough just to stand and stare Is it only a dream that there’ll be No more turning away. -- Pink Floyd (1987) In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve been in recession since the third quarter of last year. It’s just … [Read more...]

Nevada’s vaunted educational system has aced another major public relations coup for the Silver State. UNLV just hit the bottom of a survey of U.S. colleges with the worst graduation rates, right down there with a bunch of Dixie and midwestern schools. The Mountain West Conference is further represented by the bellwether of CheneyLand, Wyoming. Last Sunday, New York Times … [Read more...]

The Silver State, land of the toke and home of the vice, has gone goo-goo over the tax and tourism potential of the demon weed. Alas, another bonanza is staring us in the face and nobody has noticed. Once again, the Barbwire must categorize the obvious and illuminate the vision thing. Experts on all sides of the issue say Joe Biden’s favorite Supreme Court Justice, … [Read more...]

Norah O’Donnell is both telegenic and talented. Will she succeed where Katy Couric (CBS) and Diane Sawyer (ABC) fell short as anchors of major network evening newscasts? The pressure on Ms. O’Donnell is worse than that of her predecessors because she ascends the throne of Walter Cronkite in the heart of the MeToo movement. Will it make a difference? On an early morning … [Read more...]

This column will be on the press when Sheriff Darin Balaam hosts his Tuesday press conference to “announce” a major break in the 1982 Sheep Flats Murder cold case. The same major break that the DNA John Doe Project announced last year. The same one The New York Times reported on April 25 and I picked up in this newspaper on MayDay. Anyone with web savvy knows that you can … [Read more...]

The Great Depression spawned the Golden Age of Hollywood as oppressed, hopeless 1930s Americans looked for escape. It was worth a nickel at the local cinema. There is no greater sign of American distress than the ubiquitous superhero fantasies of mass media over the past several decades. I’m OK with pegging the start as 1981 when King Ronald the Vague ascended the White … [Read more...]