Find Out More About Our Wonderful State.
Nevada History
Online and Free In TNO's Reading Room

Nevada News Digest

And Links Of Interest

=================================

The new issue of The Nevada Observer is now up and ready for your reading pleasure (check the middle column for our current articles, features and columns)

Your Vegas Is Showing

"Lanni's resignation was announced the same day the Wall Street Journal raised questions about the gaming executive's academic credentials."

MGM Mirage chief retiring: Jim Murren expected to replace Terry Lanni (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

MGM Mirage CEO Terry Lanni to step aside as questions swirl: He says the USC business degree listed on his company bio is honorary, and he wants to spend more time with his family (Bloomberg)

MGM Mirage CEO to retire amid question over degree (Associated Press)

"Consumers, taking a beating from the worst financial crisis in seven decades, cut back sharply on their spending in October, pushing retail sales down by a record amount."

Consumers cut back sharply on spending (Associated Press)

Retail sales fall by record amount in October (Associated Press)

"What normally would be seen as an improvement in the trade balance set off alarms with a record drop in imports and a steep fall in exports."

Global financial crisis rocks US trade (AFP)

"The nation's financial picture grew darker Thursday, a day marked by breathtaking numbers: a quarter-trillion-dollar budget deficit for a single month and projections of up to $1 trillion for a year, a half-million new applications for unemployment benefits and a 900-point swing on Wall Street."

Budget deficit hits record; jobless claims surge (Associated Press)

Foreclosure rates up 25 percent year-over-year (Associated Press)

Freddie seeks gov't aid after $25.3B loss (Associated Press)

Fed officials see economic gloom, policy bind (Reuters)

Stocks stage huge rebound; Dow jumps 553 points (Associated Press)

Bernanke: Central banks ready to act if needed (Reuters)

Lawmakers challenge big banks on bailout funds (Reuters)

US regulators warn banks against 'retreat' from lending (AFP)

US Senate Hearings On The Bailout

11/13/08 Oversight of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act: Examining Financial Institution Use of Funding Under the Capital Purchase Program. (Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs)

10/23/08 Turmoil in the U.S. Credit Markets: Examining Recent Regulatory Responses (Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs)

10/16/08 Turmoil in the U.S. Credit Markets: The Genesis of the Current Economic Crisis (Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs)

9/23/08 Turmoil in US Credit Markets: Recent Actions Regarding Government Sponsored Entities, Investment Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs)

Top hedge funds see more rules coming (Reuters)

11/13/08 Committee Holds Hearing on Hedge Funds and the Financial Market (House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform)

Auto bankruptcy protection won't work: report (Reuters)

Chrysler urges bailout, Washington split (Reuters)

Hopes for auto bailout stall (AFP)

White House won't commit to saving US auto giants (AFP)

Obama wants bigger aid effort for auto giants (Reuters)

Three big city mayors seek share of bailout (Associated Press)

The Rest Of The World

OPEC calls special meeting amid calls for output cut (AFP)

OECD says developed world already in recession (Associated Press)

Euro Zone Officially Is in Recession (New York Times)

Euro firms against dollar, pound sinks amid credit turmoil (AFP)

Millions Spent To Torture Foreign Cab Drivers

"Of the 775 people detained in Guantánamo since its establishment, many were found to be noncombatants with no ties to either the Taliban or al-Qaeda, many of them mistakenly apprehended or wrongfully turned over by anti-Taliban bounty hunters in Afghanistan. Only around 250 prisoners remain in Gitmo, the majority of whom have either already been cleared or are expected to be cleared of charges due to lack of evidence."

"We cannot sweep this dark chapter of our nation's history under the rug by simply closing the Guantanamo detention camp. The new administration must investigate what went wrong and who should be accountable."

Researchers urge Obama to set up Guantanamo review (AFP)

Congress has fast-track power to kill Bush rules (Associated Press)

Our Nation's Armed Forces

Two wars pose challenge for Obama: US official (AFP)

Pentagon procurement, budget pose big challenges (Reuters)

C.I.A. Chief Says Qaeda Is Extending Its Reach (New York Times)

Dunwoody to be first female four-star general (Associated Press)

Afghanistan

Suicide blast kills 11 in Afghanistan (Reuters)

Convoy attack kills US soldier, 8 Afghan civilians (Associated Press)

Afghan Commandos Capture Explosives Expert (American Forces Press Service)

Taliban kill mullah critical of suicide attacks (Associated Press)

DoD News Briefing with Maj. Gen. Cone from Afghanistan (US Department of Defense)

UK may send 2,000 more troops to Afghanistan: BBC (Reuters)

Britain resists Afghan call for more troops (AFP)

Iraq

British troops out of Iraq by end of 2009: Iraqi official (AFP)

Coalition Forces Target al-Qaida Networks, Capture 10 Suspects (American Forces Press Service)

Civilian cargo plane crashes in Iraq, 7 killed (Reuters)

"One of the regular questions people ask is (why) the most powerful nation on earth has been here for five years, but the lights can't stay on,"

Iraqis measure progress with flip of switch (Reuters)

Pakistan

Foreigners shot in Pakistan, U.S. missiles hit militants (Reuters)

Officials: Missiles Kill 11 in Northwest Pakistan (Washington Post)

Bin Laden is isolated, focused on his own security: CIA (AFP)

Obama administration to ratchet up hunt for bin Laden (CNN)

Pakistan supply line attacks show US vulnerability (Associated Press)

Iranian diplomat kidnapped in Peshawar (The Long War Journal)

Iran diplomat kidnapped, insecurity mounts in Pakistan (Reuters)

Foreign Affairs

Burma (Myanmar)

Treasury adds to Myanmar drug trafficker list (Reuters)

The Additions (US Treasury Department)

Mexico

Crime reporter killed in Mexican border city (Associated Press)

Mexico captures 19 suspected drug gang planes (Reuters)

Mexican court upholds moderate leftist's victory (Associated Press)

US experts believe Mexico plane crash was accident (Associated Press)

Stocks lower as Paulson unveils change in bailout (Associated Press)

Credit losses may surpass 10 percent of U.S. GDP (Reuters)

US shifts rescue away from buying toxic mortgage assets (AFP)

Paulson: Government won't buy troubled bank assets (Associated Press)

Paulson backs off asset plan; crisis deals at risk (Reuters)

Gov't considers changes to mortgage program (Associated Press)

Paulson Dancing As Fast As He Can, Bush Bailout Bubble Breaks (Desert Beacon)

Paulson: Rescue package not for automakers (Associated Press)

Struggling US carmakers say they can't wait for Obama presidency (AFP)

Oil hits 20-month low on demand fears, stocks (Reuters)

U.S. 2008 oil demand to drop most since 1980: EIA (Reuters)

Airline shares tumble on weak outlook for travel (Reuters)

Web travel agencies feel pinch of weaker demand (Reuters)

"President-elect Barack Obama's plans to overhaul the U.S. health care system would cost the federal government $75 billion but would provide health insurance for 95 percent of Americans, consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers said on Wednesday."

Obama health plan to cost $75 billion: analysis (Reuters)

Appeals court clears way for Rep. Jefferson trial (Associated Press)

US v. Jefferson (4th Cir. 2008)

UBS executive charged with aiding tax evasion (Reuters)

Swiss Bank Executive Charged with Aiding U.S. Taxpayers Evade Income Tax: Approximately $20 Billion in U.S. Assets Allegedly Concealed from IRS (US Department of Justice press release)

LG, Sharp, Chunghwa Agree to Plead Guilty, Pay Total of $585 Million in Fines for Participating in LCD Price-fixing Conspiracies (US Department of Justice press release)

"Secret Order" to Target al Qaeda Not So Secret (Weekly Standard)

Afghan leader's brother escapes suicide blast unhurt (Reuters)

Suicide bomber hits Afghan gov't office, killing 6 (Associated Press)

Two schoolgirls blinded in acid attack in Afghanistan (CNN)

Taliban, Al-Qaeda Militants Among Four Afghans Hanged (Reuters)

Battle for Iraq's 3rd city hangs in the balance (Associated Press)

Insurgents vow to resist security pact (Associated Press)

Spate of Iraq attacks leaves 23 dead (AFP)

Iraqi soldier kills two U.S. soldiers (Reuters)

Baghdad market blasts kill 28 in deadliest recent attack (AFP)

Pakistani Army Struggles Against Taliban (Weekly Standard)

Taliban murder US citizen, launch suicide attack in northwestern Pakistan (The Long War Journal)

US aid worker shot dead in northwest Pakistan (Associated Press)

Suicide bombing kills 3 in Peshawar (The Long War Journal)

Taliban hijack NATO convoy in Pakistan (The Long War Journal)

"The main revenue sources for the mafia are drug trafficking (59 billion euros), racketeering (9 billion euros) and usury (12.6 billion euros). These are followed by arms trafficking (5,8 billion euros), contraband (1.2 billion euros) and prostitution (six million euros)."

Italian mafia untouched by global economic crisis: business group (AFP)

Mexico: Former senior official under investigation (Washington Post)

Mexican officials seize arsenal, arrest gang leader (Houston Chronicle)

Mexico captures top Gulf drug cartel hitman (SwissInfo)

Mexico border city violence leaves 19 dead (AFP)

90th Anniversary of the End of WWI

From The President

President Proclaims Nov. 11 Veterans Day (American Forces Press Service)

From The Secretary Of Defense

Gates Emphasizes Warrior Care in Veterans Day Message (American Forces Press Service)

From The Secretary Of Veterans Affairs

VA Secretary: America Keeps Lincoln's Promise to Veterans (American Forces Press Service)

Veterans Affairs Secretary Notes Progress in Holiday Message (American Forces Press Service)

From The Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff

Chairman Cites History in Veterans Day Message (American Forces Press Service)

Chairman Promises Wounded Warriors They Will be Cared for, Remembered (American Forces Press Service)

From Sen. Reid

Reid Honors Nevada's Veterans (Sen. Reid Press Release)

Lest We Forget

[No press releases for Veterans Day on the websites of Sen. Ensign, Rep. Berkley, Rep. Heller, Rep. Porter, Rep.-elect Titus or Gov. Gibbons as of 8:20 AM, Nov. 11, 2008]

From Nevada

Veterans Day (Hal Swift, The Nevada Observer)

REMEMBERING AND HONORING VETERANS (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Veterans Day 2008: America takes a day to honor the troops and the values they fight to defend (Las Vegas Sun)

Americans mustn't allow 'old soldiers' simply to fade away (Reno Gazette-Journal)

Veterans Day: Keeping the Promise (Desert Beacon)

Remembering WWI

November 11, 1918, C. Leroy Baldridge [click on image to enlarge].

World Marks 90th Anniversary of WWI (Voice of America)

World recalls end of World War I (BBC)

Europe Mourns its World War I Dead (Der Spiegel Online)

"Behind each destroyed house, each devastated village, there was a deep wound that will never fully heal."

Verdun hosts sombre WWI ceremony: There are few settings as dramatic, or depressing, as Verdun (BBC)

Photographer races clock to honor last few World War I vets (CNN)

Our Nation's Armed Forces

Afghanistan

A soldier with 101st Airborne Division's Company A, 101st Division Special Troops Battalion, is haloed by light shining through a Chinook helicopter's window as he flies out from Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan to air assault into a narrow valley to search for IED making materials (Department of Defense) [click on image to enlarge]

U.S. Army soldiers patrol a small village during an air assault mission in Bamyan province, eastern Afghanistan (Department of Defense) [click on image to enlarge]

Iraq

U.S. Army soldier provides over-watch security for Iraqi National Police officers conducting a cordon and "knock" mission to introduce themselves to the residents of Thawra neighborhood of Mosul, Iraq (Department of Defense) [click on image to enlarge]

Coalition Dismantles Bomb Networks in Iraq, Captures 11 (American Forces Press Service)

Residents See ‘Light at End of Tunnel’ in Iraqi City (American Forces Press Service)

The Dead

Lab Offers Last-Ditch Effort to Identify Servicemembers (American Forces Press Service)

=================================================================

New TNO Links

Some Common Sense For Transitional Times:

The prefaces, proverbs, and poems of Benjamin Franklin: originally printed in Poor Richard's almanacs for 1733-1758 (1889)

Maxims and morals from Dr. Franklin: being incitements to industry, frugality, and prudence (1807)

Franklin's way to wealth, or, Poor Richard improved, &c (1814)

The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia; a comprehensive collection of the views of Thomas Jefferson (1900)

Anecdotes of Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln's stories (1879)

Lincoln's anecdotes: a complete collection of the anecdotes, stories and pithy sayings of the late Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States (1867)

Strenuous Epigrams of Theodore Roosevelt (1904)

=================================================================

IN THIS ISSUE

Nevada Energy And President Obama

Are The Two Compatible? Where Does He Stand?

by Johnny Gunn

Our new president hasn’t taken the oath of office yet, but for a state that could very well be the leader in renewable energy resources during the next few decades, it’s important to understand exactly what President elect Barack Obama might have in store for Nevada and the nation.  Nevada stands at the top of the class in opportunity right now, with virtually unlimited solar energy possibilities, with geothermal activity at a high level of production and research, and with wind farms passing from research into the development stages.

There are many that support the concept of this country being able to use only renewable energy resources in combination with nuclear energy, and there are others, possibly a little more pragmatic in their thinking that understand the limitations of renewable energy.  For most energy distributors, such as NV Energy, the peak hours for usage are night time hours, the time when solar energy is at its lowest availability. Wind, too, will have its peak efficiency during daytime hours, and geothermal is the one constant in renewable energy.

From a practical standpoint, then, our renewable resources must work in conjunction with other sources of energy.  Many believe that the other source should be nuclear, and of course, problems of waste to be disposed of or recycled, and the constant question of safety will cloud that picture.  Natural gas is the least offensive, air pollution wise, of the fossil fuels that are available, and the most expensive at this time.  Within the industry, the answer seems to be a combination of resources in which energy is produced efficiently, safely, and with the least amount of pollution.  Mr. Obama’s plans fit into that picture, but it isn’t a complete fit.  Read full story

Top News Story:

Thanksgiving, A Time For Family, Nation

Traditions From Yesterday Now Mix With Those Of Today

by Johnny Gunn

Some think of it in terms of a wonderful parade, others, a football game deep in the heart of Texas, while many more conjure sights and aromas of turkeys roasting with yams, and pumpkin pies cooling on an open sill.  For most, though, Thanksgiving in the United States is a time for family, reflection on our way of life, and gratitude for its bounty.  Grandma's house is still the location of choice.

Often we think of Thanksgiving as a purely American tradition but it is celebrated in some form or another in many countries around the world including Canada, Japan, and Liberia.  Festivities are also held in Brazil and Korea.  To dispel another historical myth, the first Thanksgiving in the Americas was celebrated in 1541 by the Spanish in the Palo Duro Canyon in West Texas.  It wasn't until 1621 that the Puritans, those of Pilgrim's Pride fame celebrated their Thanksgiving along with the Wampanoag Indians.

Thomas Jefferson would not allow for a Thanksgiving holiday, he said, because it was "a monarchical practice."  Jefferson fought against the concept of monarchy all his life and it wasn't Thanksgiving he was riled about, it was the practice of a presidential proclamation designating a holiday.  The traditions of his predecessors didn't have much impact on this thinking.  George Washington on the other hand proclaimed a Thanksgiving holiday in 1777 following a victory over the British, and the holiday was Colonies-wide.  This was the first Thanksgiving in the United States.

Today, even with our far flung economy spreading families in so many directions, it is tradition for children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and even good neighbors to get together at Grandma's and feast, chow-down, on turkey, pie, mashed potatoes, fruit salads, and don't forget the green beans with almonds.  It wasn't so in 1621.  There was no flour or potatoes.  There was no milk or butter since there were no domesticated critters from which dairy products might come.

The natives living on the east coast of North America only had dogs as far as domesticated animals go.  Bison and deer were never domesticated and the Puritans did not bring cattle, goats, or sheep with them.  One thing that survives unto today is Indian Fry Bread, and that was served.  Ground corn fried into a flat bread is a staple in many cultures in the Americas today as it was 400 years ago.  Read full story

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore.

Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.  Read full proclamation

Water Is 21st Century Gold

Water Will Determine Nevada’s Growth Direction

by Johnny Gunn

A planning change in Washoe County could move through other counties in the state, those that are planning to import water for continued growth, and those that wish to protect their water, either for current use, or for future growth.  Water in the west today is the gold and silver of the 19th Century, and as the old saying goes, he who has the gold makes the rules.  At this time in Nevada, the Vidler Water Company of Carson City has the gold.

The Washoe County Commission placed a question on the ballot, one that is not fully binding, only informative, asking whether future planning must be coupled to existing and sustainable water resources.  Voters in the northern county supported the concept overwhelmingly.  While the measure is binding to a degree, if the Regional Planning Governing Board doesn’t accept the initiative, then further elective options and of course legal options will come into play.

While the human body can suffer through long periods with little or no food, it cannot last without water, and communities cannot grow unless water can be provided for those moving into an area.  Because of the nature of Nevada’s laws concerning water rights and the distribution of water, the Vidler Water Company has been able to secure huge amounts of water rights in the state.  Vidler reportedly holds more water rights in Nevada than any other company, individual, or government agency.  The law is such that Vidler cannot deliver or distribute that water to residential or business properties.  Water for consumption and other use must come from a community water source, most of which in Nevada are quasi governmental in nature.  Read full story

Economic Development In Nevada Growing

Tough Economy Brings Out Top Fighters

With Nevada and the nation reeling from the effects of a near depression, the business community of northern Nevada has taken the stance of a Rocky Balboa, and is fighting, if not clawing, its way out of the deep pit.  The 24th Annual Governor’s Industry Appreciation Dinner was held on November 6 at John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks, and the fight was led by the director of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development (NCED), Mike Skaggs.  He had help in the corner from Governor Jim Gibbons and Lt. Governor Brian Krolicki.

At the heart of the dinner is the awarding of Distinguished Business of the Year honors, and this year, there were four categories of winners.  What the program featured, more than these winners, is that despite the economic problems being faced by small and large businesses throughout the country, some businesses are able to do well and prosper.  Some of the businesses that were honored have been able to expand, while others have capitalized on available resources.

Co-sponsored by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) and the Northern Nevada Development Authority (NNDA), the dinner brought out almost 700 of northern Nevada’s business leaders.  Governor Jim Gibbons spoke of the relationship between government and business, and said business operates best when government interference is least.  He put it this way, “Government should be there when it is needed and get the hell out of the way when it isn’t.”  Read full story

Budget Woes Continue To Inflict Misery

Some Are Calling For Increased Taxes, Others For Service Cuts

Gibbons Calls For Voluntary Salary Reductions

The 2008 elections are finally over, but the budget woes brought on by poor fiscal policies in the mortgage and banking industries, and a lack of congressional oversight are continuing, and many believe, will continue at least through 2010.  As 2008 draws to a close, Nevada’s budget has been cut by more than $1.2 billion, the 2008-09 budget is being cut as you read this, and plans for the next biennial budget, to be developed during the 2009 legislative session are being sliced by at least another $1.5 billion.

There are no clear cut answers to the problem other than a constant working and reworking of the numbers.  Governor Jim Gibbons says the next step, if it comes to that would be pay cuts across the board, including teachers.  There are legal barriers to many of the cuts that were discussed by the governor, dealing with union and other contracts.  Gibbons said he would be first in line for a pay cut.  He pointed out that the holiday period is upon us, and it’s a time when people cannot afford a reduction in pay or to lose a job.

The governor had suggested voluntary reductions, but most state employee groups have said they oppose such a move.  The leader of the teacher’s union agreed, and said there are legal points that would not allow for such a reduction.  Gibbons said voluntary reductions in pay are far better than lay offs.  Read full story

Another Press Secretary Given Hiking Orders

Follows On Heels Of End Of Corruption Investigation

It was reported on November 2 that the FBI had concluded there was no criminal activity involved in dealings between Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons and defense contractor Warren Trepp and his eTreppid corporation.  A disgruntled former employee, Dennis Montgomery, had sued Trepp over alleged theft of material he believed he owned.  Montgomery complained that Gibbons helped Trepp get federal contracts and in payment received cash, gifts, casino chips, and trips on a Trepp yacht.  The FBI says there is no truth to the allegations.

Gibbons responded this way to the report, “About two years ago, false accusations about  me surfaced in the midst of some contentious litigation involving the  eTreppid Company. Now, federal investigators, including the FBI, have confirmed what I have said all along. These accusations are baseless and there  is not a shred of evidence showing I did anything improper.”

Just a week later, Gibbons summarily dismissed his press secretary, Ben Kieckhefer, from the job he’s held just since March when former press secretary Brent Boynton left the governor’s service.  There has been no reason given, and Kieckhefer said he was not at liberty to discuss the situation.  Gibbons has appointed Dan Burns of Las Vegas to replace Kieckhefer.  Burns now becomes the fourth person to serve in that capacity in the last two years.  Read full story

Is Yucca Mountain Coming To An End?

Obama Said So, But Is It Really Going To Happen?

Those who have fought the creation of the Yucca Mountain high level nuclear waste repository are hoping that President elect Barack Obama will stand up to his campaign rhetoric and work to end the project.  On the other hand, the Department of Energy (DOE) went before congress recently saying they not only want Yucca Mountain to be completed, but that another repository is needed right now.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently reviewing a license application from DOE for the Yucca site, congress has cut back funding for the operation, and the Senate Majority Leader, Nevada Senator Harry Reid has promised to stop the project completely.  From a political standpoint, Reid and Obama, along with California’s Pelosi, form a triumvirate that could very well end the project in a moment’s notice.

Along with the emotional arguments against the high level nuclear waste repository are strong scientific reasons to stop the project, including what many believe is the correct answer to getting rid of the waste, recycling.  Recycling of the high level nuclear waste at the plants where the waste is created would answer two of the largest arguments against the repository.  The waste would not have to be transported across the country, inviting terrorist attacks, or creating a localized nuclear emergency in the event of an accident.  Recycling would allow for the waste to be fully used, something that is not the case today.  When the rods are not capable of producing the heat necessary to drive the turbines, they are still deadly.  Thus, waste.  By recycling, something that takes place regularly in European nuclear power plants, the waste eventually becomes almost inert, and storage is, according to the French nuclear industry, as simple as putting it in a garage.  Read full story

He Was Full Of Fury During The Campaign

Will His Rhetoric Become Pragmatic And Actionable?

by Johnny Gunn

It will of course be a long way down the road before we will see any changes in our lives, in our government, in our relations with the rest of the world, but it isn’t too early to look at some of what might come about following the January inauguration of Barack Obama and a very heavily weighted democratic congress.  It is also in February that we will see what the election of a democrat weighted Nevada Legislature might bring to the table.  The one constant in all of this is what was called “change” during the campaigns.  The question of course is, what will those changes be?

Mr. Obama will have to make some very early decisions, maybe even before the inauguration, about the current economic crisis in the country.  The general population doesn’t trust our government, according to a significant poll recently, and as things stand right now, it’s safe to say there is very little trust in our banking and mortgage industries.  While a president has limited ability to actually make changes, the policies of the president carry considerable weight in congress and in the business world.  With a democratic congress, the president should have an open door for bringing the crisis under control.

A move like that would also bolster the public’s feelings toward its government.  There would be little chance of creating a national health program, which would entail large tax increases, when the current economic conditions are such that millions are out of work, homes are being foreclosed on, and small businesses are folding left and right.  Mr. Obama’s economic policies must be sure and quick if he is to have any kind of effectiveness for other programs.  Read full column

Change

by Bob Bennett

It’s difficult to walk through downtown Reno, or any city, for that matter, without being asked for change.  Change was also the theme during the Presidential campaign, from both major candidates.  Obviously Mr. Obama had better credibility, or at least was seen as providing hope that change for the better would be in store.   

I just got back from a week in Buffalo N.Y., a city which has lost over half its population in the last decade.  Shuttered storefronts make up the major portion of downtown.  While I thought the political campaigns, both nationally and here in Nevada were nasty, they were almost models of civility compared with the ads and campaigns in western New York.  Yet, even in Buffalo, I met people who were working to make it a better place to live.  People there had heard of Reno’s art community, and are hoping to bring some of our innovations to their city.  They have a stunning waterfront, and while they have depleted much of their fishing stock, they hope to return to more sustainable models of managing their resources.

Innovative ways of thinking are needed for change for the better to take place.  Change which will benefit all the people -- and the environment which supports other life forms as well.  The last few decades have seen unprecedented power transferred to the hands of a few, and it has been power which has been wielded with amazing short sightedness and with concern solely for maintaining the wealth and power of the privileged.  Even though some disagreed with Saint Ronnie (Ronald Reagan), when he said, “A little bit of greed is a good thing,” almost all his disciples decided greed was the new god, and devoted themselves whole heartedly to it.

Working quietly behind the scenes, however, growing numbers have been putting forth new models and ways of looking at things.  Should figures for inflation disregard food and housing costs?  That’s the way it’s been for more than 50 years, but for the average person, it can easily make up 50 to 75%, or more, of their entire budget.  This may have alerted The Federal Reserve and other economic entities about the pain their leverage of assets was inflicting on the common man and woman.  Should the cost for disposing of a product be figured into its purchase price?  Should the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) begin to replace the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?  Read full column

Thanksgiving Makes Me Glad

by Hal Swift

I remember once, waking in a featherbed when I was seven.  I'd forgotten where I was until I smelled the cornmeal mush my Aunt Mye made for us sometimes for breakfast.

I opened my eyes and saw the wallpaper--stripes in places, floor to ceiling--and flowers covered all the rest.  There were dark oak doors with frames to match.  And I loved the wood.  Not only did it smell good, but when I touched it I had these life-like daydreams about another boy and how he did the same.

The doorknobs made of porcelain intrigued me.  Even on the hottest summer day their surfaces still were cool.  And on a winter day like this, their touch was frosty!  And, come to think of it, this morning all the windowpanes were frosty, too!

I never will forget the giddiness, and the tendency to giggle that came over me when I thought for just a second, "Maybe it snowed!  Maybe this Thanksgiving'll be a white one!  Maybe it really snowed last night!"

I wanted, at the same time, both to look and not to look.  But you know what I did.  Of course!  I looked!  But not right away.  First I had to listen to see if it had snowed last night, when all of us inside this two-hundred-year-old farmhouse were asleep.

But I kinda felt maybe God liked surprising us.  Just like we did when we'd tiptoe up to hang a basketful of food on some old lady's door, then knock and run and hide, and watch how surprised she was when she stepped out on the porch and saw what she had got. 

She'd shade her eyes with one old bony hand and peer in all directions, calling out, "Hoo-hoo!  Anybody there?  Who brought me this?  My, my," she'd say, "I 'spect it must have been an angel!  Why, just look at all these goodies!  Even 'pears to be a turkey, too!  Well, whoever you are, if you can hear me, I want you to know that this here old lady 'preciates it, yes indeed, and thanks you, too!"

Don't you just know, that God'd get a kick out of doing something that way--sneaking around while we all slept, and laying down a foot-deep covering of snow? 

And without even leaving footprints when he ran to hide behind a tree somewhere to see how pleased we were with what he'd done? Read full column

Navigating a Tall Tale

by Guy Rocha, Nevada State Archivist

The story of the Reese River Navigation Company in central Nevada is an oft repeated tall tale very short on depth.

Of nationwide scope was the stock promotion bubble of the Reese River Navigation Company...  when thousands of credulous souls bought shares in a company ‘to freight rich ore from mines to mill on barges floating down the Reese River.’  Little could they tell that the impressive river on the maps was (like most Nevada rivers) only a few inches deep!

Reese River flood near Austin, Nevada, 1910 (Nevada Historical Society)

So says Pioneer Nevada (1951), a creation of Reno’s Thomas C. Wilson Advertising Agency, in its story “Incredible Austin!

The claim for the little river—just a stream really—in Lander and Nye counties is pure invention, a real anecdotal whooper, getting bigger and better with every telling.  A host of articles and books have further exaggerated the tale since it first appeared in Nevada newspapers in 1946 as part of a Reno Harolds Club promotion.  Any mention of the Reese River Navigation Company is conspicuously absent in Fred Hart’s Sazerac Lying Club (1878), Oscar Lewis’s The Town That Died Laughing (1955), and Donald R. Abbe’s scholarly study, Austin and the Reese River Mining District (1985).  Read full column

Possible answers --- There is much more behind the presidential election than partisan politics as was published in a recent New York Times article in which it was pointed out that large numbers of Americans have been dissatisfied with their government for two or three generations.  Is Obama a Messiah?  Of course not, but he represents something that hasn’t been seen in American politics for a long time.  To many, the president elect appears to be legitimate.  In that, they think they see something more than just someone looking for an egotistical pole vault into history.

Numbers in the high 60 percent to mid 70 percent of those polled indicate they don’t trust the government, and have no confidence in it either.  Taken over a thirty plus year picture, these are incredible numbers.  From what looks like a period right after the brief John F. Kennedy presidency, to the present, the American public has not found its government something they could trust, could depend on, or have any confidence in.  What a sad state of affairs for a country that has produced such leaders as Lincoln, Jefferson, and Kennedy.  Read full column