When it comes to Nevada politics, principles be damned, it is all about partisanship, no matter the topic. President Trump’s nomination of federal Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court is still another case in point. The Senate must now exercise its constitutional advise and consent role to confirm the nomination — by … [Read more...]
BLM Should Fight Wild Horse Suit This Time
The usual suspects are at it again, filing a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia demanding the court halt a plan by the Bureau of Land Management to remove all the feral horses in a 40-mile radius around Caliente. The American Wild Horse Campaign, Western Watershed Project, The Cloud Foundation and a Beatty outdoor enthusiast are suing the … [Read more...]
Forget PILT Checks, Transfer Federal Land to Nevada
It’s that time of year again, when counties in Nevada and across the West squat on the street corner with their alms cups extended anxiously awaiting the tinkling sound of a few coins from the federal till — otherwise known as Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) — and certain politicians pound their chests and boast of their generosity. Since 1977 Congress has parsimoniously … [Read more...]
Online Sales Tax Collection Might Not Be Worth It
Before jumping on the bandwagon and trying to snag sales tax revenue from out-of-state online retailers — which a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling now allows — Nevada should crunch the numbers to make sure it is worth the effort. Overturning previous case law the court ruled 5-4 in a case out of South Dakota that local jurisdictions may collect sales taxes from online … [Read more...]
The One Question to Ask Every Candidate
The major party primaries are over and it is on to the General Election this November. The candidates will be making the rounds shaking hands and asking for your vote. So, stick out your right hand and firmly clutch you wallet with your left, then ask where this candidate stands on the question of whether to alter the current property tax law. Back in 2005, when property … [Read more...]
Stop Blocking Public Land from Productive Use
Several years ago a high ranking Interior Department official told a Nevada newspaper editorial board that the agency planned to maintain its level of land control by acquiring an acre of land for federal ownership for every acre of land that was released to private ownership. It was a blatant admission that the bureaucracy intended to maintain its power and authority and … [Read more...]
Let Trump Control Who Stands on His Soapbox
The First Amendment prohibits the federal government abridging one’s free speech, but it does not, as a federal judge has ruled, require anyone to provide the soapbox for that speech. U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of New York ruled recently that President Donald Trump may not block Twitter users who criticize him because that violates their right to free … [Read more...]
Free Market Is Better for the Internet
The debate continues over whether the Federal Communications Commission’s December repeal of the Obama administration’s “net neutrality” rule will help or hurt rural communities’ bid for greater access to high-speed Internet service, and now it has become an issue in this year’s race for a Nevada U.S. Senate seat. Recently there was a vote in the Senate using the … [Read more...]