Reno and Beyond: WeFi Is For The Enjoyment Of All
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My lord, I take a day or two off and half of the state’s political luminaries make sure they are splashed all over the national media in very unflattering ways. The good news is that The Imperial Bar and Lounge is now open for lunch. If they would start carrying Newcastle, I’d drag Bjorn the Houseboy there everyday for some frites at lunch. They’re my favorite, but a little greasy so Bjorn feeds them to me so I don’t have to get my hands dirty.
- 1 percent of 625 regular voters surveyed in a recent Review-Journal poll believe Gibbons is doing an excellent job as governor (margin of error +/- 4 ). I was going to ask whether Gibbons has the worst approval ratings of any new governor…ever….in history, but Larry Sabato confirms it. In fact, this news article was like reading an Onion article–full of hilarious understatements and clearly painful attempts to remain unbiased on Molly Ball’s part. For example:
“Governor Gibbons will not govern by polls but by the interests of the people of the state.”
“This is not good news for Jim Gibbons.”
“He hasn’t been effective”
Its comical, and yet, so tragic at the same time.
- The absolutely against amnesty for illegal immigrants Senator Ensign attempted to hold a National Senate Republican Committee fund raiser in the home of a woman who appears to be an illegal immigrant. The most bizarre thing about this is that Eve Rosen was going to host a fund raiser for the party that is doing its darnedest to have her and all her little brown friends deported. Well maybe not her because she has a lot of money, but still–what about her help? Kudos go to Miami-Dade Democratic Party chairman Joe Garcia for this quote:
“We appreciate Sen. Ensign’s attempts to emphasize the hard work undocumented aliens do in America, like throwing fundraisers for the GOP.”
- Today is Downtown living day at the RGJ.com. Earlier they had a poll asking whether the city should limit early morning activity in downtown. (There is now a poll on meth use in its place. It seems impossible to link to RGJ polls by the way.) They added a forum, not to mention the slightly sanctimonious editorial published last week. Hmmm, let’s see, do I think the city should regulate irresponsible and illegal behavior downtown? Uh, duh. There are a couple of points I’d like to make but commenter kreynen made them for me–why be redundant? However, what Reno residents who don’t live downtown need to remember is that a safe and attractive downtown encourages tourism as well as business, and makes the river district (WeFi) a better place for all residents to enjoy–its not rocket science people–a safe WeFi is better for all of us. I’ve seen a crowd of nearly 20 young men on the corner of West and Second in front of Ace’s Liquor intimidate the bicycle cops at 2am, let alone everyone else on their way home. And call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure that all the people eating in Beaujolais Bistro and hanging out at The Imperial and 210 North don’t live in my building. Trust me on that one. If that were the case, the Imperial wouldn’t be so swinging because a lot of my neighbors are a bit senior if you catch my drift. So get over it–no one wants crime in their neighborhood, let alone in the middle of their city’s best attraction.
- Sometimes things work out the way they should. I don’t know if the investigation is over but at least ASUN Senator Steven Caloiaro resigned. Perhaps he’s learned a valuable lesson. No, not to be careful about calling women cunts in text messages, but about being a professional and respectable person who takes responsibility for his behavior.
- Scott Schrantz alerts about an important Carson City news item–Jethro is back and most people don’t seem all that upset about his casino plans anymore. There is nothing more effective at reinforcing the small town image of the Carson/Minden metropolitan effort than constructing a Beverly Hillbillies themed casino. I assume they will have a cement pond of some sort.
- Happy Mother’s Day from The Onion.
- One of our readers couldn’t believe that I didn’t announce the winner of the De La Hoya vs Mayweather boxing match. I know one thing, HBO Chief Chris Albrecht’s girlfriend lost the first round, but Chris Albrecht might pull out a victory after returning from rehab. Alcohol is so seldom involved in domestic abuse cases.
- Here, here (hair flip to Andrew Sullivan). When everything comes out surrounding the U.S. Attorney scandal, it can’t be anything less than shocking can it–all signs point in that direction.
- Nathan Bedford Forrest? Egads man.
- The idea of impeaching Bush and Cheney seems like a good one to many people, however, I think its similar to the marijuana legalization initiative in Nevada–it polls well (good on paper) but when it comes down to it–I just don’t think it’ll work. Unlike Nevada’s marijuana initiaitve, the House under Pelosi isn’t going to seriously pursue it.
- The apocalypse must be near.
- It seems that judges and juries believe domestic abuse victims more when they see the abuse in a photograph. This is a really sad case of the old adage–seeing is believing. Since many cases end up examining evidence and testimony over years, the bruises and fear have time to fade depending on the severity of the injuries. If a wife or husband beats thier spouse but does not bruise them, does that not count? And what about psychological abuse which doesn’t produce any visible bruises or wounds? Something that becomes clearer to me every day is that violence, along with poverty, is our country’s shame. Certainly, we can do better than this.
- Christy Hardin Smith at Firedoglake posted part of a wonderful editorial on the aftermath of Katrina and poverty by the NYTimes’ Bob Herbert:
…Mr. Edwards, who announced his campaign for the presidency in the Ninth Ward, has stood by his commitment to make poverty one of his big campaign issues. I mentioned that poverty has not gotten much attention from the national media, and asked why middle-class Americans should care about the issue.
“First, you should care because it’s a moral issue,” he said. “It tells us something about the character of our country. And, by the way, I think most people do care about it. And second, you should care because if you want to see the American economy grow and strengthen over time, the strength and breadth of the middle class is a critical factor. When we have middle-class families struggling on the edge, falling into poverty or near poverty, those things weaken the American economy.”
It’s not a good sign, said Mr. Edwards, to have so much of the middle class hanging on by its fingertips at the same time that the ranks of the poor are growing. There are about 37 million Americans living below the poverty line, five million more than when President Bush took office.
In an essay in the recently published book “Ending Poverty in America,” which he co-edited, Mr. Edwards wrote: “The real story is not the number but the people behind the number. The men, women and children living in poverty — one in eight of us — do not have enough money for the food, shelter, and clothing they need. One in eight. That is not a problem. That is not a challenge. That is a plague.”…
It’s true that promises from politicians come at us like weeds on steroids. But the nation would get a clearer picture of the character, integrity and leadership qualities of individual candidates if the press would focus more intently on matters of substance.
As a rule, we’re much more interested in gaffes than in the details of a candidate’s position on a complex issue. We’re much more interested in sound bites than in sound policy.
That should change. We should give the candidates time to speak. And we should listen.
Nice huh?
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Imperial has always carried Newcastle in the bottle, would you like it on tap??
1. Jim Gibbon’s natural goofyness defies logic.
2. Max Baer Jr. is in love with his own celebrity and wants despiratly to see himself immortalized before he goes (a slot machine theme about his how wasn’t enough?). The Beverly Hillbillies ‘jumped the shark’ decades ago and is only held up in conciousness on TV Land.
3. I remember Shelby Foote calling Nathan Bedford Forrest “one of the geniuses of the Civil War” when he was on Ken Burns’ terrific series.
Forrest was a brilliant tactician, but a controversial man. He did disavow the KKK but played a huge role in making it popular. Can I just say that I love Shelby Foote in a serious way–he was a poetic soul.
Thanks for the reminder Ryan….maybe I did find that out last time I was there.