This week Nevadans celebrate Nevada’s entry into the Union as a state on Oct. 31, 1864 — 155 years ago. Not only was Nevada “Battle Born,” as the flag proclaims, it was battle bred and born after a remarkably short gestation during the Civil War. With Southern states seceding from the Union, in March 1861 President James Buchanan designated the western portion of the Utah … [Read more...]
Presidents and courts should not overturn laws
The Supreme Court in June agreed to decide whether the Trump administration lawfully canceled a program created by executive fiat by President Obama in 2012 that protected immigrants brought into the country illegally as children — popularly dubbed Dreamers — from deportation and be provided work permits. Prior to that, such persons were subject to deportation by law. The … [Read more...]
Casting doubt on the climate doomsayers
The apocalypse is nigh. It must be so. It is in all the papers. Why even a 16-year-old Swedish scold lectured the delegates to the United Nations recently: “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words and yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass … [Read more...]
Government Retiree Costs Must be Reined in
The PERS cost creep continues. According to TransparentNevada, a website maintained by the Nevada Policy Research Institute, the number of former Nevada government employees drawing pensions in excess of $100,000 a year from the Nevada Public Employees’ Retirement System now exceeds 2,150. In 2013, when pension data were first made available the number was 1,000. To pay … [Read more...]
NPRI Issues Report Card 2019 Legislature
The conservative/libertarian Nevada Policy Research Institute (NPRI) recently published its biennial report card on our state’s legislative session, but, rather than just rate lawmakers on how they voted, this year the report card also delves into issues and lawmaker actions on bills that never even came up for a vote. For example, the report looks into how and why Assembly … [Read more...]
Denial of Second Amendment Rights Warrants a Jury Trial
Earlier this month, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled a person charged with misdemeanor domestic battery is entitled to a trial by jury, because the state Legislature in 2017 enacted a law saying someone convicted of such a crime could have their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms denied. In keeping with a 1993 U.S. Supreme Court decision, our state’s high court had … [Read more...]
Trump Appeals Court Nominee Looks Right for the Job
This past Friday President Trump nominated former Nevada Solicitor General Lawrence VanDyke to a seat on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which handles cases for nine Western states and territories in the Pacific. As solicitor general, VanDyke served in the office of then-Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt. He also served as solicitor general in Montana and Texas. … [Read more...]
Cougs Pick Up First Win; Raiders Roll
The Spanish Springs High football team earned its first win of the season Friday night when they blanked Wooster on the road, 41- 0. In what was their first game against a Northern Nevada school, the Cougs got on the board throughout the night with a balanced offense where both the running and air attack was on full display. The team racked up 179 total yards on the ground … [Read more...]