The Irascible One

Whips and Chains anyone? --- A few years ago in Nye County Joni Wines paraded around as District Attorney sporting a Thompson sub-machine gun. Also just a few years ago, working prostitute Jessie Winchester campaigned for governor. She had more credence with voters than Ms Wines. So it is with Nevada politics, but now comes Leola McConnell, a Clark County resident who is known on some wicked Internet sites as Miss Lee, a dominatrix, and she too wants to be governor. Well, why not?

If you have young children they probably should be kept away from most of the sites that come up when you Google Leola McConnell, but she does have her own site, and she proclaims herself as the most liberal of all liberals. Well, there's our answer for why not!

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The march of inflation --- On or about February 22, 1879 a man named Frank Woolworth opened the first of what became a national chain of Five Cent stores. As a youngster we were forced to go to five and dimes, and if you sit in some busy parking lots across the great country of ours today, the busiest stores are called dollar stores. If we can keep Ted Kennedy and Harry Reid in line, they won't become five-dollar stores for awhile.

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Reid Power Play? --- Former Harry Reid press secretary Tessa Hafen has announced that she wants to try and unseat Republican Congressman Jon Porter. Porter is the money man in that contest with more than $1 million in the bank. Of course when it comes to gathering money in the political bank there aren't any better at it that Pinky. One question that might be asked is whether she will be serving Harry Reid or the constituents in Congressional District 3.

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Ah, those wonderful Gifts --- Gifts, bribes, offerings of love, what ever you wish to call them, politicians this year will be faced with angry questions from their constituents. Did you go to the Rolling Stones concert as a guest of Ameriquest? Did you sit in a very expensive sky box at NASCAR? How many dinners at Adele's did you eat for free during the last session? At least one wanna-be pol, Danny Tarkanian, has put together what he is calling reform measures to be considered at the next legislature.

Tarkanian is running for Secretary of State, so this is a legitimate goal. The Secretary is the elections boss in Nevada and is responsible for collecting Contributions and Expenses Reports. Now, Danny old boy, your next chore is to create a database program for those C&E reports that will allow more than just nosey reporters to understand them.

Speaking of which ... George Chanos filed a report that is typed and in alphabetical order. Whoa, Nellie.

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Why the system doesn't work --- Sparks city councilman Ron Schmitt was challenged on one of his C&E reports and said since no one at the city clerk's office or the Secretary of State's office complained, there must not be anything wrong with the reports. It had to happen. Former Reno City Clerk Don Cook was quoted in these pages not too long ago saying he was never given any information on what to do with C&E reports, and just filed them away. Also for the last two years, Secretary of State Dean Heller has said he doesn't have the authority to even look at one of them much less file a grievance.

I hope you just read that, Danny Tarkanian. This needs to be changed. Now.

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Gatherings --- Lincoln Day dinners were held all over the Silver State during the last couple of weeks. There was also a gathering of politicians in Pahrump. Dawn Gibbons, a Republican running for the Congressional District 2 seat was asked her opinion on firearms legislation. "My idea of gun control is to use two hands to steady your aim." Washington needs a straight shooter.

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Read the Constitution --- The University of Nevada Reno doesn't understand the concept of free speech apparently. They want to set aside four areas on the campus to be considered free speech zones. At least one student seemed to understand. He is quoted as saying all of America is a free speech zone. As with yelling fire in a crowded theater, disrupting classes is probably a no-no, but ranting in the quad should be such a natural thing for a young person developing that keen political edge.

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Meet your next guv --- The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) is holding a meet your candidates breakfast on April 12 at the Atlantis Casino Hotel in Reno. For twenty bucks you can mingle and schmooze with Bob Beers, Jim Gibbons, Jim Gibson (if he remembers his wallet), Lorraine Hunt, and Dina Titus. There will be speeches so eat lightly.

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Just a thought --- If the state GOP actually does disown Kathy Augustine and creates a rule in the organization that anyone impeached is not eligible to be promoted by the party, I wonder if that might be transferred to the national Democratic Party. There would of course have to be slight variations, but it might read something like this: If any member of a family is impeached at the national level no member of the family will be supported by the party. Well, just say goodbye to Hillary.

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