Obama wins the peace prize-

Is that really what this president needs right now?

With countless right-wing religious types calling Barack Obama the Antichrist and one of the criteria for said position being peace in the middle east, does he really even want that kind of press right now?

On top of that, President Obama is facing mounting accusations that he is not living up to his many campaign promises. Being awarded one of the most prestigious awards on the global circuit based on promises he made while campaigning can't help at this point in the ballgame.

The Nobel Peace Prize is to go to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses," according to the nobelprize.org.

To me, that implies a great deal of work. On top of that, nobelprize.org cite their reasons for awarding the prize to President Obama in are "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".

Really? Remember, the nomination was cemented in February. How much can one man do in his first two months in office to change the global scene?

I agree with Bill O'Reilly in his hope that President Obama winning the Peace Prize will be good for our country. It's been a long time since we've gotten good press on the international level. I just wish it were based on some of the great things we've already done as a country and not a gamble on the hopes that our President will turn out to be a wunderkind over the course of the next three years.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you can help me out. Does President Obama really deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? Has he actually proven himself to be a great international diplomat? Remember, there is a difference between just traveling and being well received in various global destinations and actually accomplishing something.

I will award him a few points for inviting the college professor and the police cheif over to his house for a beer. Ther's one in the Obama column. Please post any other great deeds in the comments section below.

Another sham town hall-

I've been blessed with a second call from Senator Reid. I am sitting, as I type, phone pressed to my ear listening to a poorly performed speech, which Harry Reid is almost certainly reading.

The senator is throwing out a myriad of numbers and statistics, not citing any sources, or even explaining them very well.

He preceded his numeric jibber-jabber with "Before we get into questions, I'd like to talk about a few myths, these are myths," which are the exact same words he used during the last Town Hall Meeting.

Again, as I said last time, this defeats the purpose of a Town Hall. We're supposed to talk with you, Senator, not sit quietly as you talk at us. It's unamerican.

Awesome slip-up #1: When talking about death panels Senator Reid mentioned: "Death Care Reform Bills."

Great Question- Reid's first questioner, "Victor" just cited his record disapproval rating, asking how he could possibly consider reconciliation. Reid has glossed over the disapproval comment and just said "It would be nice to have some Republicans on board," but the democratic party is in a position where they can do what they think is best.

This is the 2nd tele-town hall I've listened to, and again Harry Reid is talking about his foot surgery a few years back. The story has to do with doctors getting ready to opporate on the same foot. I bet anything he's going to speculate on what would happen if it had been his wife on the opperating table instead of him...Bingo.

Reid thinks, if doctors say they're sorry for malpractice, the statement becomes inadmissable in court.

The Senator just admitted that he checks the Blue Cross/Blue Shield option when he enrolls for healthcare. He says, "I don't know if it's the least expensive, I just check it, I'm lazy." Really, Dude? With the current debate raging over health insurance and Americans complaining about how the politicians haven't adequately researched the heath care reform bills, you're going to tell us you don't even research your own health insurance. Come on...

Again, I'm waiting to ask my own questions, but so far, I've been ignored.

No questions for Yours Truly today. These Tele-Town Halls are largely a waste of time. A chance for Reid to spin tales, uninterrupted, and come away looking like a hero. It's a joke on democracy and I don't appreciate it.

What do you think about Glenn Beck?

I don't like him. But a lot of other people do.

I think Glenn Beck is an alarmist, a kind of parasite that feeds off the fears of everyday Americans. I entire life philosophy is centered on the idea that if you have a positive outlook, things will turn out okay.

If you're constantly living in fear, of the economy, of predatory politicians, of gang violence and child abductors, it's hard to just sit back and appreciate life. People like Glenn Beck don't want you to appreciate what you have, because if you do, you're not paranoid, and then you're not tuning in at 5:00 so they can pile more horror stories on your plate.

Honestly, watching the man on the television, seeing him tear up, listening to him dance around issues in ways that hint at thinly concealed disaster, makes me think that he's just silly. Stephen King, a man with whom I have nothing in common politically, referred to him once as Satan's mentally challenged younger brother. And I can't help but think that just about sums the guy up.

Glenn Beck creeps into your head and plays puppeteer with your nightmares, but he does it in a very hokey, Little Shop of Horrors kind of way.

TIME wrote a piece on Beck, but as far as I'm concerned, it's almost as bad as Beck himself. It carries a tone of self pity and shame, beginning with an offhand remark about how we the readers don't trust the mainstream media and continuing on with the same sort of alarmist garbage that Beck spews on a daily basis, making him sound like a Pravda minister or robber baron. In fact, the only really good part of the article was the Stephen King quote which I've already mentioned.

So, please, weigh in whether you're a Beck fan or one of his detractors. I want to know what you think. My recommendation? If you're thinking about buying Glenn Beck's Common Sense. Don't. Pick up Lisey's Story instead. It's deeper, more compelling and teaches better life lessons.

Problems with Obama as Witch Doctor picture.

Recently this image, depicting President Obama as a Witch Doctor has caused quite a few heated discussions. Left and right, people are debating whether or not this picture is racist.

Absolutely it is. It's an utter shame that, in a society where children are encouraged to reach for their dreams no matter how unlikely or outlandish, we are sending the message that one has to be black to become a Witch Doctor.

It saddens me that in a country where rags to riches is the order of the day, where kids are told that they can grow up to be anything they want, there are unspoken racial limitations.

How many little white boys are girls are watched the news last night, only to have it thrown in their face that there are certain things they can never be because of their 'racial handicap'. How many suburban children grow up and are virtually forced into lives as doctors or lawyers because they have been indoctrinated since birth that if they want to be good dancers, athletes or very tall, they have to be black?

Luckily, there is hope. One white boy did grow up to reach his dream. Mac Rebennack, also known as Dr. John the Night Tripper.

This man has spent most of his life traveling the world, trying to spread the word that any man, no matter his race, creed or color can do any job. Even that of a voodoo priest or witch doctor.

Dr. John has chosen to chronicle his struggle with prejudice and racism through song, and has produced more than twenty albums in his long career. The first, titled Gris Gris, recounts one man's solitary journey to voodoo priestdom. It's a tale of perseverance even though those around you don't believe in what your doing.

The album peaks at the song I walk on gilded splinters, showing that anyone, no mater the color of their skin, can indeed achieve their dreams.
And what about this man? Ajamu Bunyip, Kenyan witch doctor, expresses wishes that the president would have consulted him before using his image.

Dr. Bunyip says, "I just hope he understands that being the president does not qualify him to make medical or metaphysical decisions.

So there you have it. Not only are the pictures of Obama as a witch doctor racist, they are false and irresponsible.

If you have any questions please e-mail me or stick them up in the comments section.

New Bin Laden Tape

Osama Bin Laden, terrorist and international bogeyman released yet another post-9/11 tape yesterday.

In it, he offers the heand of friendship to Americans if we'll just stop supporting those pesky Israelis. Good luck, Man.

In the video, Bin Laden tells the American people that they have the power to stop the war on terror, all we have to do is work toward changing the white house's policy on US-Israeli relations and punish those who are in charge.

Geeze. Does this guy see what we're dealing with here at home? We can't decide if we're going north or south on the simplest of domestic issues, and he's putting out a call to action on foreign policy?

Who is Bin Laden's PR guy? Seriously. Right now, Israel/Palestine controversies have been put on the way back burner. If the guy wanted to strike any kind of cord at all, he would have hit current hot buttons, like health care and the economy.

The truth is, in the end, Bin Laden has to get his act together if he ever wants to be a strong political force in this country. Drop the whole Israeli platform and weigh in on something we really care about, like whether or not it's okay to yell at a town hall meeting. Until then, Americans just aren't going to take you seriously, Osama. Sorry.

Obama's address to students-

After watching President Obama's address to the nations student population, I'm a little disappointed. After all the controversy, I was hoping there would be a call to arms or talk of "undesirables".

But no, the President really only said things that any other leader, celebrity or random guest speaker would say. Work hard, stay in school, not everybody can be a basketball star or a movie god. He even cited J.K. Rowling as an example of someone who worked hard and dedicated themselves. I love J.K. Rowling, she and Harry Potter are two of my heroes. He mentions her alongside Michael Jordan. I love J.K. Rowling. She and Harry Potter are two of my personal heroes. But it occurs to me he could have stuck to Americans who've achieved their dreams. We have to have more than just the one guy, right?

Anyway, the video isn't available to post yet, but I'll throw it up here when it is.

Recipe for Disaster

Short post because of the holiday today. Yesterday's Review Journal reports that consumers are purchasing so much ammunition that suppliers can't keep up with the demand. Both the RJ and national ammunition manufacturers attribute the market flux to consumer paranoia.

They say that their fear that the Obama administration will suspend gun rights has catalyzed them into purchasing bullets by the case.

Pair this up with my post about No Child Left Behind and rising racial tensions and you have a great setup for a post apocalyptic scenario.

Anyone else feel like we're having a cold war with Oblivion?

What can you do to help President Obama?

More importantly, what would you do if you were an 8 year old?

President Obama is giving an address to students next Tuesday (Sept. 8th) and has already distributed suggested lesson plans including a somewhat troubling suggestion that children write themselves a letter asking themselves what they can do to help president Obama.

Here is the complete text, in full:

PreK-6 Menu of Classroom Activities: President Obama’s Address to Students Across America

Produced by Teaching Ambassador Fellows, U.S. Department of Education

September 8, 2009

Before the Speech:

· Teachers can build background knowledge about the President of the United States and his speech by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama and motivate students by asking the following questions:

Who is the President of the United States?

What do you think it takes to be President?

To whom do you think the President is going to be speaking?

Why do you think he wants to speak to you?

What do you think he will say to you?

· Teachers can ask students to imagine being the President delivering a speech to all of the students in the United States. What would you tell students? What can students do to help in our schools? Teachers can chart ideas about what they would say.

· Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress, or the governor? Why is what they say important?

During the Speech:

• As the President speaks, teachers can ask students to write down key ideas or phrases that are important or personally meaningful. Students could use a note-taking graphic organizer such as a Cluster Web, or students could record their thoughts on sticky notes. Younger children can draw pictures and write as appropriate. As students listen to the speech, they could think about the following:

What is the President trying to tell me?

What is the President asking me to do?

What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?

· Students can record important parts of the speech where the President is asking them to do something. Students might think about: What specific job is he asking me to do? Is he asking anything of anyone else? Teachers? Principals? Parents? The American people?

· Students can record any questions they have while he is speaking and then discuss them after the speech. Younger children may need to dictate their questions.

After the Speech:

• Teachers could ask students to share the ideas they recorded, exchange sticky notes or stick notes on a butcher paper poster in the classroom to discuss main ideas from the speech, i.e. citizenship, personal responsibility, civic duty.

• Students could discuss their responses to the following questions:

What do you think the President wants us to do?

Does the speech make you want to do anything?

Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?

What would you like to tell the President?

· Teachers could encourage students to participate in the Department of Education’s “I Am What I Learn” video contest. On September 8^th the Department will invite K-12 students to submit a video no longer than 2 min, explaining why education is important and how their education will help them achieve their dreams. Teachers are welcome to incorporate the same or a similar video project into an assignment. More details will be released via www.ed.gov.

Extension of the Speech: Teachers can extend learning by having students

· Create posters of their goals. Posters could be formatted in quadrants or puzzle pieces or trails marked with the labels: personal, academic, community, country. Each area could be labeled with three steps for achieving goals in those areas. It might make sense to focus on personal and academic so community and country goals come more readily.

· Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.

· Write goals on colored index cards or precut designs to post around the classroom.

· Interview and share about their goals with one another to create a supportive community.

· Participate in School wide incentive programs or contests for students who achieve their goals.

· Write about their goals in a variety of genres, i.e. poems, songs, personal essays.

· Create artistic projects based on the themes of their goals.

· Graph student progress toward goals.

Finally, I think the growing apathy of America's youth will pay off.

Q: "What would you do to help president Obama?"

A: "I'll unlock all the Achievements in Left 4 Dead, and then maybe play some Halo."

Q: "How will that help the president?"

A: "Wha...?"

In all fairness, the lesson plan doesn't seem that bad, it's clearly designed to teach kids about goals, which is pretty standard. As long as the president doesn't start telling students what their goals should be, its probably fine.

But seriously, does Obama not see all the flack he's getting? Did no one in his highly paid staff look at the wording and think maybe they should change it to avoid the criticism? In short, I don't think it shows an attempt at mind conrtol as much as a display of poor judgement. Any thoughts?

Dick Cheney backs the CIA

As do I.

Fox News interviewed Dick Cheney this weekend about the Obama administration's decision to investigate the CIA's interrogation methods.

Huge mistake, guys. I said before, even if you're going to turn to less controversial methods of interrogating prisoners, don't tell anyone. If you have the reputation of the Huns, you won't have to resort to using barbarous methods as often. Your detainees are going to be too scared to test you.

Issues of image aside, Cheney brings up a good point. President Obama made it clear on several occasions that he would not hold agents responsible for actions sanctioned by the previous administration. Now, Eric Holder is launching an investigation of those same people, and the president is holding up white-gloved hands saying "Hey, this isn't my thing."

That's terrible. The president is the Commander in Chief, it's within his power to call off the hounds in that particular case. Not doing so sets a very bad precedent. Sometimes, in extreme cases, terrible things must be done in the interest of the greater good. Shouldn't we have a monster in our corner that we're willing to unleash in such instances? Might not it take a beast to fight a beast?

If the people who are actually willing to do the dirty work have to be afraid that their government is going to hang them out to dry when it becomes politically advantageous to do so, no one is ever going to be willing to take that step.

Look at it this way. Soldiers do terrible things in war. They have to. It's their job. Would anyone become a soldier if they knew, once they got home after a tour, they'd be put in front of a tribunal for war crimes? We're not talking about the handful of men that lose it and fall to depravity, we're talking about the every day soldier, who shoots men on the front lines because his country told him to do so. Who would be willing to take that job if they knew they were coming home to face murder charges.

As always, you're welcome to chime in. I've proven to be little more than a cold-hearted whack-job in some of your eyes. If that's the case, let me know. I'm interested in seeing your side.

Harry Reid, Live

I am currently, as I type this, taking part in a tele-town hall meeting with Harry Reid. It's gross, and I feel dirty.

This is a mockery of government. Reid is screening the calls before he takes them, and twice now, has repeated previous statements verbatim, which leads me to believe he is reading from a script.

Needless to say, I'm angry and want to express my frustration about his tail-tucked strategy of sitting in a private room and not having to face his angry constituency. But, as usual, the guy shuts out what he doesn't want to hear.

Anyway, here's what we've learned today-

• The American people don't have to worry about going into debt over this health care reform bill. According to the senator, it pays for itself, "That's the beauty of it," Says the senator.
• Reid wants to Bipartisan bill because he, will only be able to do about 3/4 of what would be possible without Republican support. However, if the GOP remains stubborn and hard nosed, the Senate will use their majority to pass what they can, thumbing their nose at the other side of the aisle, as well as more than half of the American populace.
  
• Senator Reid is in favor of end of life counseling. He straight up said so as he was explaining his "Myths about health care reform," which was nearly identical to Representative Dina Titus' Fact and Myth section on her web site. The senator says he is against euthanization of the infirm, however. Therefore, he will never be as effective as Joseph Stalin.
• Harry Reid does not know how many children he has fathered. At one point during the teleconference, a lady came on the line with questions about health insurance, stating she had four adult children, none of whom had health insurance. At which point the senator exclaimed, "I have five!" He then paused for thought and said, "I shouldn't have said that. I have four." The rest of the question was lost on me as I struggled to wrap my mind around the senator's bizarre monologue.
  

Well, that's all from your humble chronicler on that fiasco. Though I notified the moderator I had a question, I was never asked to partake in the discussion. I was, however, asked to leave a message at the end of the teleconference. I asked several questions. We'll see if the senator gets back to me.

A new way of evaluating Clark County teachers

Senator Harry Reid stopped by Las Vegas to participate in yesterday's Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon.

I guess the guy thinks that he can make up for his terrible Tele-Town Hall meetings by appearing in public and taking indirect questions.

Chamber members had to submit questions prior to the event via e-mail, which Chamber Chairman Steve Hill then asked. The Review Journal reports that Chairman Hill had to ask some of his more important questions repeatedly, which makes me happy. If Senator Reid is too squirmy to return my calls or e-mails, I'm glad someone's making him sit still.

After the Chamber luncheon, Reid dropped in on Harmon Elementary to discuss the $25 million Clark County will receive as part of a federal grant program. There is much talk about how the money will be put to use, but what caught my eye was the article's mention of a "Race to the Top" program.

The Federal Government is offering $5 billion in grants for schools with exemplary teachers, but the Clark County School District does not allow student achievement to be considered in teacher performance evaluation.

I'm not sure how I feel on that issue. Excellent teachers who genuinely encourage kids to learn should be rewarded, they should be granted seaside kingdoms. But there are students who genuinely refuse to learn. Should the saintly teachers who actually choose to teach at risk kids be punished because they have a higher percentage of bad apples in the class?

I know from experience that teaching at risk kids is more rewarding than teaching a class full of achievers. But the reason that's so is because the achievers are going to achieve on their own. They don't need a miracle-working teacher. In an at-risk classroom, the reward comes from reaching those one or two kids who, if not for you, would have dropped out or failed.

So, in your at-risk classroom, your average is pretty poor. In your Honors classes, your average is great. That being the case, is classroom achievement an accurate reflection of the caliber of a teacher? I'd love to hear some teachers weigh in on this, if there are any in the audience.

Health care and H1N1-

School is back in session, summer is coming to a close and flue season is attracting a little more attention than usual. H1N1, the Swine Flu virus is making an appearance in major news outlets today and yesterday.

Surprise surprise, Kathleen Sebelius' seems to be the virus' spokesman, saying closing schools is not an effective means of stopping the virus. On MSNBC, she said vaccination is the only way to go. If that name sounds familiar, it's because she's the Health and Human Services Spokesman, quoted as saying a public option was not essential to Obama's health care reform.

Does it put anyone else off that anyone trying to push for health care reform is now talking about a superflu? It rubs me the wrong way.

Fox news reported some numbers from the Obama administration this morning, saying up to 50% of the United States could be infected with Swine Flue this fall/winter, resulting in a heavy death toll for the young and the elderly.

Yesterday I talked about the effectiveness of scare tactics and subterfuge. Picture if you will a man in dark coat and glasses standing in front of a man strapped into a dentist's chair, holding a menacing looking drill labeled H1N1, saying, "Now, I believe we were talking about a Public Option".

I just came up with the political cartoon of the year right there.

So, what do you say? Am I just a paranoid weirdo to think the Obama Administration would publish somewhat alarmist information to get the public worried about health care?

A kinder, gentler kind of torture,

Big news today is President Obama's seal of approval on a new High Value Detainee Interrogation Group. This new group, part of the Department of Homeland Security, becomes active today, the same day that the 2004 reports of the so-called unethical interrogation of al-Queda prisoners by the CIA will be released to the public.

Every major news source is mentioning the CIA's threatened use of a power drill to extract information from a known terrorist. Read that again, the threatened use of a power drill. Is there something wrong with me that I don't see anything at all wrong with that?

Look, I don't agree with torture, not for people or animals. But, fear of torture, that's something else all together. If someone thinks there's a possibility you may use a power tool on them, they're probably a lot more likely to tell you what you want to know; especially if they're looking at said power tool.

That being said, I don't think it's a bad idea to have a branch of law enforcement which specializes in prisoner interrogation. I do think it's a bad idea to tell the world that they're going to abide by the strictest humanitarian guidelines. Advertise that their hobbies include eating babies and passing kidney stones. The more barbarian High Value Detainees believe their methods to be, the more readily they'll share information without resorting to unethical practices.

CNN reports that the CIA would conduct mock executions to convince detainees to divulge important information. They reportedly fired a pistol in an adjoining room, telling a detained terrorist his accomplice had just been shot, and the same would happen to him if he didn't start talking. That's a stroke of genius right there. Why? Because you've efficiently scared your quarry enough without having to resort to actually killing anyone. Take away fear as a weapon, and you're left with ineffective pleas or real violence.

Subterfuge is a politicians bread and butter. How is it that they haven't seen its value here? It's the practical application of BS, and they're saying it's unethical. Bizarre.

What do you say, Reader? Am I a monster? Is making a man think he could have his eye socket drilled out cruel, even if you have no intention of actually doing it? Will Obama's new interrogation task force be effective, or just a Pythonesque mockery? Cardinal Fang, fetch the Fluffy Pillow *gasp*

Health care reform transaltors-

In my effort to find out what's up with this whole health care deal, I came across a nifty page on CNN.com It's a glossary for the myriad of buzzwords that have cropped up in the past few weeks. Here's a link.

Now, when I say the Blue Dog coalition is fighting for co-ops, but the Republicans say the end-of-life counseling and the public options are a deal breaker, you'll know what I'm talking about.

One of FOX's top stories says the Democrats are flirting with trying to push their version of the reform through regardless of what Republicans think- a strategy doomed to failure if I've ever heard one.

What concerns me most is what I found on Nevada Representative Dina Titus' (D) home page. You might remember a while back I mentioned Rep. Titus sending Nancy Pelosi a letter opposing health care reform, saying I was skeptical that it was simply a publicity stunt.

She hasn't directly come out and said she is now in favor of anything, the Myths and Facts about Health Care Reform section of her website paints a fairly rosy picture of it.

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for Rep. Titus, and tend to agree with her more often than our other elected officials, and I really respect what she's trying to do with Home Foreclosures, but I have a feeling she's going to sidle up to the party line on this one.

What do my readers think about Health Care Reform? I've seen I can get a rise out of you when it comes to Harry Reid and Education, but I haven't heard much from you on this subject. Anybody anybody?

Healthcare Reform Crumbling

Well, the genius of our founding fathers shows itself yet again.

According to news outlets of all kinds, Obama's Health Care Reform plan is breaking down. There's a lot of gibberish being spewed back and fourth about public options and co-ops, but essentially, we've all seen this before.

Remember Clinton's big health care reform plan? It ended up getting shot full of holes and turned into a big lump of compromise, weakening Clinton and pumping up the Republicans. Essentially, I see the same thing happening here. People were expecting immediate positive change when Obama took office.

As with Clinton, I think we'll see some changes to health care, but not the grand sweeps that lots of Obama supporters were envisioning. This, combined with the lingering state of the economy and high unemployment rate will probably garner the president some criticism.

This is the unavoidable fate of any politician who thinks they can push any big changes through our government with any sort of speed. Why? Two reasons.

1. Our Founding Fathers designed it that way. We've got three branches of government, made up of the slickest folks available, who all specialize in getting their way, employed by a multitude that can't make up its own mind. With so many forces pushing and pulling in all directions, our government moves at the speed of continental drift. The only time that changes is when Americans are truly all of one mind; a rare occurrence.

2. This reason goes hand-in-hand with the first. The American People are exceedingly hard to please. We come from a long line of mal-contents. Everyone, save the Native Americans, either came here because they didn't like what they were brought against their will, and weren't too keen the situation once they arrived (slavery). Either way, we've never been a people who could stomach being happy with authority. Obama can plan and execute a million small changes, he's still going to piss off 30% of the people.

Seriously, we're a tough crowd. Obama, or any president, could cure cancer. He'd still upset some fundamental right wing people because cancer is the will of God, as well as the hard core left, who would petition the ACLU to campaign for Cancer Rights. Throw in the pharmaceutical companies who would sue the government for eliminating X-amount of their base income and funeral homes with the same issue and you'll eventually end up with 30% of the people unhappy.

That's the plan, and I, for one, am grateful.

Tele-Town Halls and Health Care Reform

Town Hall meetings are your moment to shine. It's when you, as a voter, get to stand up and tell your representative what you think about his or her performance in office and share what you think about important issues.

Lately, they've also become a cross between a post-apocalyptic battle ground and scenes from a bad Frankenstein movie, complete with spray painted swastikas and frightened mobs. The monster? Health Care Reform.

It's the hot-button issue right now, even the economy has taken a back seat to government weighing in on the future of American Health Insurance.

CNN talked today about the impact the Internet is having on the public's response. Specifically, they mention how easy it has become to rally support for Town Hall meetings.

What they don't talk about is how the presence of real live constituents has prompted many officials to hold their Town Halls over the phone, a practice usually reserved for times when said officials are required to stay in Washington. Many Senators however, Harry Reid included, have looked to this option to shield them from the heat during this session break.

Reid is planning a Tele-Town Hall in which Nevadans will be called and asked if they have a question for the senator. If they do, they'll be asked the nature of their question and what area.

Tele-Town Halls are a bit tidier than the regular version, in thatanyone can listen but a phone line must be "activated" from the other side before someone can speak, silencing anyone who hasn't been pre-screened.

Call me a skeptic, but I don't think all sides of the health care issue are going to be presented. I was going to advise all of you to e-mail the senator to tell him what you think about Health Care or the Tele-Town Hall, but e-mailing him doesn't seem to do much good.

So I figured, why wait for Harry to call me. I'll call him. Here are the senator's phone numbers:

Washington Office: 202-224-3542
Las Vegas Office: 702-388-5020

Remember, you're not going to get Harry Reid on the phone. You're going to get a staff member, probably an intern. Don't lose your cool. Your goal isn't to be the loudest voice, but part of the multitude. Pass this article, or at least the numbers along to someone you think will call and do the same.

It's probably too much to hope he'll change his mind and schedule a real Town Hall, but if enough people dial him up, he'll have to address the issue.

Updates as they occur.

Dina Titus wants to hear from you-

If you're in the middle of a foreclosure, Dina Titus wants to hear from you.

I'm throwing this up here because, politics aside, the housing market is a serious issue in Southern Nevada and I think as many voices as possible should be heard on the issue. Whether you're in the middle of a horror story or you have something good to say, here's the website with the contact form: Click here.

Unlike some officials, somebody in Dina Titus' office will read and respond to your correspondence.

Clean Energy Summit- rather dirty?

Clean Energy Summit soiled by President Clinton's prevalent use of "piddly", say attendees. The former president's exuberance was compelling, but it seems a recent pension for water sports may have subconsciously undermined his message.

Tanya Migroven, a student, responded to questions about President Clinton's performance, "Yeah, I mean, Green is good, right? I don't know. Excuse me, I have to go [take a shower]," ambling off with a dazed look and our microphone.

Bathroom references weren't the former president's only murky point when trying to get his point across. President Clinton referenced a sliding scale of energy type to jobs created per billion dollars invested, comparing $1 billion in a coal plant, which creates 800 jobs to $1 billion invested in wind energy creating better than 3,000 jobs.

Many were concerned why the president would want to complicate the system. Howard Rogess, a dairy farmer from New England expressed confusion, "Why would I want 3,000 people if 800 could do the job just fine? I'd have to pay all them extra folks for nothing."

The former president's plan calls for closing smaller power plants that run on coal, which will devastate the local economies of some small backwater towns, but will probable not effect the lives of real people, and it's well worth the risk. According to President Clinton's prediction going green will, "save 3.2 trillion dollars and create 3 quadrillion jobs," says Fenton Crackshell, our resident savant. With numbers like these, can any of us really afford not to listen to the former president.

Put on your 100% recyclable hat and goggles, America. Fly off to that untold land of Green Milk and Honey. Becoming a soldier for the environment not only makes you feel like you're doing the right thing, it makes good economic sense.

Dump Reid Political Action Committee-

I've never been so excited for a state election. I've mention Harry Reid's reported war chest of $25 million he plans on using to get reelected. Now, the RJ reports a PAC has formed whose soul purpose is to raise enough money to get Senator Reid out of office.

The RJ cites Nevada Activist Chuck Muth, co-founder of the Dump Reid PAC, as saying he's comfortable Reid's opposition will only need to raise about $5 million to come out on top.

$5 mil. is certainly a lot of money, but certainly doable, as there are a myriad of outside sources eager to see Harry Reid gone from the position of Senate Majority Leader.

That being said, the reason I'm so excited to see the outcome of Nevada's next senatorial election has little to do with wanting Reid out of office and everything to do with seeing which is more powerful. Ried's astronomic wallet or the true opinion of Nevada voters.

If one is to believe reports, Reid supporters are in the minority- something previous posts on this blog have corobborated. It seems the only way Reid could pull out a win is to really step up his campaigning telling Nevadans his accomplishments while in office (crickets chirping) or to utterly shred his competition's integrity. Both of which can be done easily with healthy financial backing.

So, today's question: Do you think vocal conservatives can defeat the quiet, yet rich, liberals? We've all seen that money can be the deciding factor in an election. Is having $20 million more than the other guy enough to completly railroad the competition?

Harry Reid may be a robot

As promised, here's Harry Reid's response to my e-mail:

Dear Mr. Robertson:

Thank you for contacting me to express your views. I appreciate hearing from you.

I share your frustration over recent reports that federal agencies are discriminating against certain cities, including Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, by prohibiting meetings and official agency travel to resorts and vacation destinations. Nevada's economy has already suffered enough, from high foreclosure rates and an unemployment rate above the national average, to lagging tourism revenues and the largest budget shortfall in our state's history. While these policies were adopted under the previous administration, I support the Obama Administration's effort to curb unnecessary government travel and believe that such decisions should be based on a cost-benefit analysis of the location.

The fact remains that, despite the attraction to Reno and Las Vegas by vacationers, Nevada is and will remain among the best choices for organizations to gather their employees because of the value and convenience that our state has to offer. You may be interested to know that I have contacted the Obama Administration, as well as numerous independent federal agencies, to remind officials that Nevada is a world-class destination for business conventions with bountiful space, expedient travel, and unrivaled facilities.

I also recently introduced the Protecting Resort Cities from Discrimination Act (S.1530), which would prohibit agencies and departments of the United States from implementing internal policies that discourage or prohibit travel to certain cities because they are perceived as a resort or vacation destination. S.1530 has been referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee where it awaits further consideration. I will continue to monitor this situation closely.

Nevada's working families deserve the implementation of policies that reward their hard work and provide opportunities for a more secure future. I remain committed to using my Senate leadership position to achieve these aims. Again thank you for taking the time to write me. As I continue my work on behalf of the people of Nevada, I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

My best wishes to you.

Sincerely,

HARRY REID

United States Senator

Nevada

------

What? I didn't express any concerns. As I said in my 7/30 post, all I did was copy the text of the blog entry and with a link to the website. Instead of a genuine comment, I got a response sounding as those it came from some sort of automaton.

If anything, I expressed concerns about Reid's sincerity in the above mentioned issue. It seems awfully convenient that he becomes a press superhero right before he comes home to face his constituents.

In his defense, if he took the time to personally respond to every blog questioning his abilities as a senator, he'd never leave his computer. However, it would be nice to feel like someone, even an intern, actually read my e-mail and took the time to respond. As it is, I feel like it was scanned for key-words and a pregenerated response was selected to placate me.

This makes me question how we're supposed to share our concerns with the senator. I don't know Harry Reid. I can't call him up on his cell and say, "Hey, what's the deal, Bro?" So, I'm left with checking out his website, which directs me to a standard form, which yields, in my opinion, a garbage response. What good is having the Senate Majority Leader as a senator if he doesn't listen to what we want?

But, it's my job to be the gadfly. What do you think? Are you satisfied with the level of interaction we have with out officials in Washington? Do you feel like your voice is being heard?

Stressed out? Here's a house.

According to a story in the Las Vegas Sun, the County, North Las Vegas, Las Vegas and Henderson have all gotten together to request $370 million in federal funds, for the purpose of populating abandoned and foreclosed houses in Las Vegas.

That's an astronomical sum, which I doubt we'll see in full. If the program takes off, the end sum will be significantly less than requested. Even so, some HUD money will probably be sent our way, and I'm wondering what this Frankenstein's Monster of local government is going to do with it.

President of the Nonprofit Organization, Nevada HAND, Mike Mullin is quoted as saying the challenge is, “how to get the money out on the street without doing something dumb or ineffective.” You read my mind, Mike. When I see an amalgam of government agencies with a large some of money, it makes me think of a very specific metaphor. Has a baby ever tried to feed you a cookie? Imagine a chubby, unwieldy hand inexpertly stabbing you in the face with a wet fiber knife. It may be operating on altruism, but it has no idea what its doing. And the bigger sum of money, the bigger the baby, and soggier the cookie.

I'm already getting a sense of this as the article finishes up, telling me that this will benefit more than just the housing market, as families in unstable living situations need more help with things like joblessness and stress, and getting these people situated in homes will drive down the need for other types of family services.

What?

The expert quoted for that little nugget of brilliance is the president of Nevada United Way. It makes me question whether or not he's ever owned anything ever. Owning and maintaining a house is a highly stressful venture, especially for a family who was in a "precarious housing situation" previously. Living in a house does not miraculously grant one a job, or any kind of steady income.

So, this sounds like a bad idea to me, what do you think? Am I too heartless to see the potential good that can come out of this project? Leave some comments and I'll respond tomorrow.

Clark County School District's menu is newsworthy

An 1,100-word article in today's Review Journal tells us school lunches are becoming, hipper, smarter, sexier.

Many parents are worried that the recent poor test scores reported by the school district have a direct correlation to the blandness of the food served in CCSD cafeterias. Never fear, the school district is making en effort to step up its culinary game in the coming school year.

"Well, I hate my job, and lunch is the highlight my my day. If I know my lunch is going to suck, like if my wife packs me a bologna sandwich, I can't get any work done. It's probably the same for my kids." Says William Dodongo, in response to the article.

The hard hitting expose cites experts like Dustin Lewandowski, chef and the grandson of a retired high school lunch lady, and Chynna Rodriguez, a child prodigy in the food critic industry. Rodriguez is only 17, but has a sensitive palate and a discriminating eye. She's rather harsh on the School District's current selections, claiming their food, "looks like somebody dug it out of the garbage."

But not everybody is happy with the change. Some more traditional parents say that bad cafeteria food is a staple of the American Education system. Detractors reminisce of classic musical pieces, like Lunch Lady Land, by Adam Sandler and Pizza Day, by LDS Punk sensations, the Aquabats.

"[expletive deleted] it, if stale chicken nuggets and taco boats were good enough for me, then they're good enough for my kids. You think I want those little [expletive deleted] coming home asking why we aren't having t-bones for dinner every night?" Says Dr. Albert Gannon

No matter which side of the argument you're on, the article should be praised for its enlightening nature. After all, if answers the age old question, "What exactly is a bagel dog?" Fans have been clamouring for the answer since the invention of the delectable lunch-time treat, and the RJ finally delivers, telling us they are, "hot dogs baked in bagel dough".

Amazing.

Almost-

Still no word from Senator Reid, but I did get a response from his Deputy Director of New Media. Check it out-

Hi Tony,

Saw your post about Sen. Reid taking a stand on NV tourist destinations from today. I wanted to share more good news from the Senator’s office.

Sen. Reid took another step toward terminating the Yucca Mountain project by working with Sec. Chu and Pres. Obama to eliminate funding to pursue a license application for Yucca in the ‘11 budget. http://bit.ly/LprGC

The operating funds were slashed so significantly that there’s really no way that Yucca Mountain can continue as a project. That being said, what funds are left, will be used to wind down the project.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about any of this news. Happy to help.

Best,
Erin
--
Erin Cochran
Deputy Director of New Media
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Now, pair this with today's headline in the Review Journal.

Raise your hand if you think this is a Power Play. Yes, with funding slashed, Yucca Mountain is effectively at a standstill, but it's not defeated.

I think this is being played up in the media solely to garner votes, because Senator Reid knows he needs them. As with the legislation about Las Vegas a a legitimate business destination for the government, it looks to me like Harry is painting a very big picture of himself to show his constituents.

If, however, he's sincere and genuine, if Yucca Mountain is done and our economy gets the booster shot it needs from government travel. I'll be happy, and my opinion of the Senator will have changed dramatically.

What do you think? Has Harry Reid come into his own, or is he a Peacock-man?

Positive news about Harry Reid

Seems Reid is planning to take a stand for Nevada.

Simmer down, simmer down.

The Reno Gazette Journal reported on their website that Senator Reid is drafting an act to protect known tourist destinations like Las Vegas and Miami from government discrimination.

According to the article however, says Reid's staff found documentation from the Department of Justice that prohibited conferences and the like in big tourist cities dating back to the Bush Administration. Why didn't Harry know about it until now? You really have to wait for the Wallstreet Journal to dig up some dirt before taking some initiative? Or it's just a hot-button issue, so now you have to do something so you look good.

Seriously though, Senator, if you can actually get something done here, I'll be very impressed. As soon as I post this, I'm going to send the Senator a link to my page, copy and paste the text in the body of the e-mail, then post his response the day I get it. We'll see if we can get some discourse going with the Senator.

I've got some readers that should really be talking to Senator Reid, and I'd love to see what his reaction to all of you is. So, make sure to leave a few comments.

Stimulus Czar

There's a quick story with no details whatsoever in the Review Journal today, just mentioning we may be getting a Stimulus Czar. Oh, okay, that- Wait. What!? Who's bring idea is that?

Jim. Gibbons. The Captain Hammer to my Dr. Horrible.

The text reads, "Without an endorsement, the three-member Board of Examiners unanimously sent the request by Gov. Jim Gibbons to the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee for consideration." Why?

This is telling me, with all the money we pay in taxes, we don't have a qualified grant writer who can absorb some of the duties presented by keeping track of the stimulus money?

Many of the people I talk to who own or manage businesses are in the middle of a hiring freeze. Every time they lose an employee, the survivors in the department just have to pick up the slack. It's hard. It isn't any fun, but it's necessary because it saves money. Why doesn't the State have a similar mentality?

Also, I've paralleled the Federal Government with George Orwell's 1984 numerous times, now I'd like to draw your attention to Franz Kafka's The Castle. The Castle is a satire, playing out the evils of bureaucracy. In the story, for every elected official there are two or three appointed ones, sound like the definition of a Czar to you?. They're trusted experts in their fields, appointed for their expertise. and they spin a web of red tape to prevent the protagonist from accomplishing even the simplest tasks.

What makes the stroy such a powerful metaphore is not the total lack of progress, but eponimous Castle itself. The town in which the story is set is poverty stricken, wood buildings, shacks for homes, and a single, grimy, dirt road for a street. But the government building, sitting at the head of the town like Oz's Emerald City, is opulent, grandiose in its extravagence. The officials, and their attending czars, live in The Castle, conduct their business there, and rarely leave its confines. So, they lose touch with the outside world, and use every resource to expand and improve.

The Castle is an obvious metaphore for the establishment. If the government appoints Czars, who of course hire aids, then they, in the interest of self preservation, have to say, X-ammount of dollars should go to the hiring and retention of czars. It behooves them to make their superiors think czars are an excellent idea. Thereby, they expand and use up more resources, and it turns into a vicious circle.

So, excellent readers, now we come to the point where I ask for your input. What's your opinion of appointed officials? Do you trust Jim Gibbons enough to have him just appoint someone to manage the money Nevada's federal stimulus dollars? Am I just being paranoid because bigger government gives me an itchy trigger finger? You tell me.

Who will be Nevada's next leader?

Following my lead, the Las Vegas Sun and Las Vegas City Life questioned what Harry Reid' warchest of $25 million will mean in the next election. (Sun, City Life)

Granted, $25 mil is an incredible sum for a state election. Money is good for making sure the public remembers your name, but how much good will it do if the public already remembers your name and it leaves a bad taste in their mouths when they do?

The way I see it is, Harry Reid has one strength to run on. He's the Senate Majority Leader. Yucca Mountain "no longer being viewed as a viable repository for nuclear waste" in March will probably help him in this regard.

This, however is not what's going to help him the most. The biggest beast in his corner is the GOP's inability to produce a stronger candidate. If they were able to find a capable local who wanted the job, Reid would be in trouble. Republicans from all over the country would be throwing dollars our way just to get the guy out of office.

If that were the case, and the Republicans had some sort of secret weapon, money would mean relatively little with a 30-something percent approval rating and his ability to constantly draw fire from both sides, Nevadans are just looking for an excuse to chuck the guy out.

That being said, I want to thank everybody for commenting so deliciously on Friday's post, and I encourage you to keep it going on today's. Everyone knows I'd appoint my horse a senator before voting for Harry, so I want to know, are there any Reid supporters in the audience? I'm not looking for someone to ridicule, I just want to know what people see in the guy.

If you aren't white, it's your fault. No excuses.

In today's Review Journal, we find that the school district again fell short of the expectations set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act. This means that we'll be put on a Federal Watch List, which lines us up for repercussions in the future if we don't improve. The school district says overall performance has improved; the reason we've been placed on a watch list is due to the poor performance of student subgroups.

That warrants saying again. Overall, we've done better, but student subgroups not performing to standard are the reason we've been placed on the federal watch list.

The NCLB Act is a government mandate to record the differences between children of different races and household income levels. Please, somebody tell me they see how utterly wrong that is. But that's not half of what upsets me in this article. Here's what kills me:

"School district officials, who released the results for each school and the district itself on Thursday, blamed the failure in math and English testing not on the performance of most schools, which have improved overall, but on the performance of student subgroups."

That's a straight quote from the article. The school district is blaming the failing scores on the minority/low income/handicapped kids. I think the school district should be appalled that they're being asked to view their students as race and class based statistics. Instead, they're embracing it and using it as a scape goat.

Measuring these differences sounds like some kind of bizarre scientific experiment, reminiscent of Nazis attempting to prove the Jews were subhuman.

So, if the Federal Government and our school district are going to play it that way, I want an explanation. You're telling me minority and low income students aren't performing as well as others. Which ones are messing us up? And why exactly is that? Perhaps poverty is linked to intelligence on a genetic level, and that's why poor people are poor. They just can't help it. They're bred into it and have no chance of escaping it. Or maybe you're going to tell me that one race is inferior to another?

What say you, reader? Anyone agree with measuring academic aptitude based on race or income? I won't rag on you, I'm genuinely interested in hearing a positive aspect of it. Leave your comments.

Titus' stance on healthcare- Prudence or Pomp?

It's probably pretty obvious that I would disagree with Dina Titus on issues of fiscal policy. Imagine my surprise when I opened up this morning's Sun and read she not only wasn't supporting the new taxes going to pay for healthcare reform, but actually joined with 19 of her colleagues to oppose Nancy Pelosi in a letter.

I was genuinely impressed. That is, until I continued the article and was reminded, oh yeah, she's a friggen politician.

In parts of the article, it seems like she may in fact be concerned with the fate of small business, but she quickly degenerates to pandering. She's quoted as saying, "Families like that," I can only assume she means $280,000+ households, "probably have two kids in college, a house that's upside down, a car payment." There are lots of families in that same situation in every income level.

She doesn't seem to get the potentially crippling effect that even a small tax increase can have on a small business that right now, is struggling to survive.

What's worse, at the end of the article, she pretty much says she's just putting up token resistance for show. Check it out:

Titus: That wasn’t an indictment of the bill; it was a statement that we can do better.

Las Vegas Sun: So if taxing people earning $280,000 or households earning $350,000 is in the final bill, it’s not a deal breaker?

Titus: “That’s right.”

Dina Titus, Folks. I understand being a politician is a job like any other, you have to keep your boss happy, and it's got to be rough when your boss is a mass collective. But still, we don't elect politicians to be told what we want to hear. We're Americans. We respect people who do what they believe is right, even if we disagree with it (barring the KKK and the Nazis).

Since we're on the issue of healthcare reform and taxes, and I've been getting some action in the comments section, what do you think? It looks like healthcare is getting an overhaul no matter what. Assuming that's the case, where do you all think the money should come from?