This first published November 20, 2008 in the Henderson Home News, a Community Newspapers of Nevada publication.
A meeting between Gov. Jim Gibbons and representatives from Nevada higher education took place last week that included University Regent Chairman Michael Wixom, Chancellor Jim Rogers and Daniel Klaich, a vice president in the system, to discuss the upcoming budget. The Carson City meeting lasted a whopping 30 minutes.
First of all, 30 minutes isn’t enough time to even suggest anything, much less agree to anything. However, I’m sure it felt like a 12-hour day for the governor having to sit with his chief nemesis, Rogers.
One of the subjects Rogers and Gibbons discussed was raising college tuitions to help fill the gap.
Apparently, it was an effective use of time and enough to get the tuition increase ball rolling.
Since then, much has happened to make an increase more likely. It now has the support of State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley and a band of others with vested interests in higher education in Nevada. However, there is one caveat being tossed around, and it seems to make an increase palatable. That is any tuition increase would stay at the individual institution rather than go to the general coffer for redistribution.
The situation is so desperate in Nevada that every possible avenue must be explored. However, this doesn’t change my concerns about education in Nevada as whole.
Nevada is at the bottom, rated 47 of 51, when it comes the number of people who have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher — fewer than 25 percent of Nevadans.
Higher tuition in Nevada would put a college education even further out of reach for Nevada families. I predicted that enrollments would drop starting in January because of economic hardship. Raising tuition right now would only exacerbate the problem.
Many families may be reconsidering college options for their kids, such as enrolling them in the community college for two years to complete transferable undergraduate courses for less before enrolling them in UNR or UNLV.
Many Nevadans are concerned about losing their jobs, owing more for their homes than the market value and keeping up with the enormous cost increases of groceries.
According to a poll commissioned by the Reno Gazette-Journal and KTVN-TV Channel 2, 26 percent of respondents said they were “afraid” or “very afraid” for their jobs; with 37 percent “not too” afraid and 21 percent “not at all” afraid.
Nevada is ground zero for the mortgage crisis and now foreclosure crisis. Many parents were counting on second mortgages to fulfill college promises to their children. Those promises are now impossible to meet for many parents who are now faced with losing the roof over their heads. The dreams of getting a college education are quickly vanishing for many young people.
I don’t know about your household, but our grocery bill has nearly doubled in the last two years, even with fewer kids at home. It’s even more of a hardship for the adult student who is working a full-time job and going to school full or part time in an effort to better their quality of life and improve their employment opportunities. Oftentimes they are also raising a family at the same time.
Education is often the key to opening the gate leading out of poverty or into financial independence.
If the governor, Legislature and the Board of Regents raise college tuition now, they may as well change the locks on the gate of opportunity for many Nevadans young and old.
This is survival of financial fittest at its best.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular column One Man's View.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Action needed on U.S. 93 now
This first published November 13, 2008 in the Henderson Home News, a Community Newspapers of Nevada publication.
Wake up, Gov. Gibbons! The clock is ticking, and before we know it the O’Callaghan-Tillman bridge will be open and the traffic nightmare may very well be real.
In July last year, Robert Malone, a contributing editor at Forbes.com, scribed an article titled “America’s Killer Roads.” In it he names U.S. 93 between Hoover Dam and Wickenburg as one of the deadliest roads in America.
I can’t say too much about the entire distance, but one thing is for sure: I have plenty to say about the six or so miles west of Hoover Dam and then the next 16 mile east of Hoover Dam.
Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, travelers definitely put the lives of themselves and their families in harm’s way when driving the short 22 miles of two-lane highway. It was a constant battle between 18-wheelers chugging up hills then racing down hills and impatient drivers getting in or out of Las Vegas.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, all 18-wheelers have been banned from crossing the dam and rerouted over to Laughlin and up U.S. 95 through Searchlight.
This has been an excellent solution, especially with all the improvements made to U.S. 95, such as several passing lanes, divided highway sections and the relatively flat terrain.
The 22 miles of U.S. 93 to Boulder City, although it has improved with the absence of trucks, still remains deadly. The tractor-trailers have been replaced by reckless tour buses, unsure tourists and other assorted vehicles going and returning from Grand Canyon West and the Skywalk.
I have lost count of the near-misses and many crashes while driving between Hoover Dam and the point 16 miles south where U.S. 93 becomes a divided highway.
The most common culprit is the impatient driver not satisfied with the posted 65 mph speed limit. During the past three years, I have had a few close calls requiring evasive and dangerous maneuvers to avoid a head-on collision, including hard braking, ditch diving and rail sliding. One time, I was inches from the guardrail going south, while the northbound vehicle being passed was in dirt. The impatient jerk between us was zipping past without a care in the world.
Even though the Arizona Department of Transportation has plans to widen the road east of the dam, there are no set plans for the short length of the 93 between the Hacienda Hotel and Buchanan Boulevard in Boulder City.
So what does this have to do with Gov. Gibbons? U.S. 93 is controlled by the state, and traffic controls have to be approved by the Nevada Department of Transportation. The NDOT director is appointed by the governor. A plan needs to be under way now to stop an impending train wreck.
Granted, I’ve never been a fan of creating a bypass around Boulder City because of economic concerns for the city. I fear that a bypass would take all of the car traffic off of Boulder City streets and leave Nevada Way blowing in the wind like Seligman, Ariz., after Interstate 40 was built.
Even if I were a fan, the project is so far down on the list of state highway projects, it won’t see the light of the drafting table for years — or should I say the pixel of the CAD anytime soon.
Perhaps Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could find a way to keep the big rigs flowing down U.S. 95 or through Laughlin until a safe solution is in place. That might be a no-win proposition for the senator to even address, however. Some gadfly would say he was trying to profit by keeping the traffic flowing through Searchlight, his hometown, if he advocated such a move. Another gadfly might accuse him of trying to get the traffic away from Searchlight if he opposed it.
This kind of controversy wouldn’t be anything new. Several years ago, he had gotten funding to widen U.S. 95 through Searchlight from a two-lane road to a divided highway. Back then, U.S. 95 was a blood alley and many lives had been lost on it. A group of yahoos accused him of trying to increase the value of his property by improving the roadway — which by the way was pure BULL. You could have gotten all the traffic in the world to Searchlight, and it wouldn’t improve the values without a water source or sewer options. Searchlight has limited water resources for the present or near future, for that matter. Needless to say, the opposition delayed the funding for the road. In my opinion, many more people died unnecessarily on U.S. 95 because of distorted reasoning.
Because of Nevada’s vast open space, the Forbes.com article hits home for me because our kids — and many of yours — drive long and narrow roads through rural Nevada to get home for the holidays.
According to Malone’s article, “In 2005, 61 percent of those killed while driving died on rural, two-lane byways, according to the U.S. General Accounting Office. In Arizona, two-lane roads have three times the fatalities as four-lane roads. In California, more than half of all fatal accidents are on two-lane roads. In both Texas and Connecticut, they account for two-thirds of fatal accidents. Overall, rural roads account for less than half of the total miles in the U.S., yet are bigger killers than the interstates or urban streets.”
Perhaps because the bridge is partially named for my father, I feel a responsibility to point out its potential hazards and to remind the governor that he needs to do the right thing before 2010 gets here and the nightmare begins.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular column One Man's View.
Wake up, Gov. Gibbons! The clock is ticking, and before we know it the O’Callaghan-Tillman bridge will be open and the traffic nightmare may very well be real.
In July last year, Robert Malone, a contributing editor at Forbes.com, scribed an article titled “America’s Killer Roads.” In it he names U.S. 93 between Hoover Dam and Wickenburg as one of the deadliest roads in America.
I can’t say too much about the entire distance, but one thing is for sure: I have plenty to say about the six or so miles west of Hoover Dam and then the next 16 mile east of Hoover Dam.
Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, travelers definitely put the lives of themselves and their families in harm’s way when driving the short 22 miles of two-lane highway. It was a constant battle between 18-wheelers chugging up hills then racing down hills and impatient drivers getting in or out of Las Vegas.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, all 18-wheelers have been banned from crossing the dam and rerouted over to Laughlin and up U.S. 95 through Searchlight.
This has been an excellent solution, especially with all the improvements made to U.S. 95, such as several passing lanes, divided highway sections and the relatively flat terrain.
The 22 miles of U.S. 93 to Boulder City, although it has improved with the absence of trucks, still remains deadly. The tractor-trailers have been replaced by reckless tour buses, unsure tourists and other assorted vehicles going and returning from Grand Canyon West and the Skywalk.
I have lost count of the near-misses and many crashes while driving between Hoover Dam and the point 16 miles south where U.S. 93 becomes a divided highway.
The most common culprit is the impatient driver not satisfied with the posted 65 mph speed limit. During the past three years, I have had a few close calls requiring evasive and dangerous maneuvers to avoid a head-on collision, including hard braking, ditch diving and rail sliding. One time, I was inches from the guardrail going south, while the northbound vehicle being passed was in dirt. The impatient jerk between us was zipping past without a care in the world.
Even though the Arizona Department of Transportation has plans to widen the road east of the dam, there are no set plans for the short length of the 93 between the Hacienda Hotel and Buchanan Boulevard in Boulder City.
So what does this have to do with Gov. Gibbons? U.S. 93 is controlled by the state, and traffic controls have to be approved by the Nevada Department of Transportation. The NDOT director is appointed by the governor. A plan needs to be under way now to stop an impending train wreck.
Granted, I’ve never been a fan of creating a bypass around Boulder City because of economic concerns for the city. I fear that a bypass would take all of the car traffic off of Boulder City streets and leave Nevada Way blowing in the wind like Seligman, Ariz., after Interstate 40 was built.
Even if I were a fan, the project is so far down on the list of state highway projects, it won’t see the light of the drafting table for years — or should I say the pixel of the CAD anytime soon.
Perhaps Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could find a way to keep the big rigs flowing down U.S. 95 or through Laughlin until a safe solution is in place. That might be a no-win proposition for the senator to even address, however. Some gadfly would say he was trying to profit by keeping the traffic flowing through Searchlight, his hometown, if he advocated such a move. Another gadfly might accuse him of trying to get the traffic away from Searchlight if he opposed it.
This kind of controversy wouldn’t be anything new. Several years ago, he had gotten funding to widen U.S. 95 through Searchlight from a two-lane road to a divided highway. Back then, U.S. 95 was a blood alley and many lives had been lost on it. A group of yahoos accused him of trying to increase the value of his property by improving the roadway — which by the way was pure BULL. You could have gotten all the traffic in the world to Searchlight, and it wouldn’t improve the values without a water source or sewer options. Searchlight has limited water resources for the present or near future, for that matter. Needless to say, the opposition delayed the funding for the road. In my opinion, many more people died unnecessarily on U.S. 95 because of distorted reasoning.
Because of Nevada’s vast open space, the Forbes.com article hits home for me because our kids — and many of yours — drive long and narrow roads through rural Nevada to get home for the holidays.
According to Malone’s article, “In 2005, 61 percent of those killed while driving died on rural, two-lane byways, according to the U.S. General Accounting Office. In Arizona, two-lane roads have three times the fatalities as four-lane roads. In California, more than half of all fatal accidents are on two-lane roads. In both Texas and Connecticut, they account for two-thirds of fatal accidents. Overall, rural roads account for less than half of the total miles in the U.S., yet are bigger killers than the interstates or urban streets.”
Perhaps because the bridge is partially named for my father, I feel a responsibility to point out its potential hazards and to remind the governor that he needs to do the right thing before 2010 gets here and the nightmare begins.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular column One Man's View.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Raising college tuition in Nevada?
The Las Vegas Sun’s capital reporter, Cy Ryan, reported about a meeting between the governor and representatives from Nevada higher education today.
According to Ryan’s story, (read here) “Gov. Jim Gibbons, University Regent Chairman Michael Wixom, Chancellor Jim Rogers and Daniel Klaich, a vice president in the system, met for about 30 minutes today in Carson City to discuss the upcoming budget.”
First of all, 30 minutes isn’t enough time to even suggest anything, much less agree to anything. However, I’m sure it felt like a 12-hour day for the governor having to sit with his chief nemesis, Chancellor Jim Rogers.
Nevada is at the bottom, rated 47 of 51 when it comes the number of people who have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher — less than 25 percent of Nevadans.
One of the subjects Rogers and Gibbons discussed was raising college tuitions to help fill the gap.
Higher tuition in Nevada would put a college education even farther out of reach for Nevada families. I predict that enrollments already will drop starting in January due to economic hardship. Raising tuition right now would only exacerbate the problem.
Many families may be reconsidering college options for their kids, such as enrolling in the community college for two years to complete transferable undergraduate courses for less tuition before enrolling them in UNR or UNLV.
Many Nevadans are concerned about losing their jobs, owing more for their homes than the market value and keeping up with the enormous cost increases of groceries.
According to a poll commissioned by the Reno Gazette-Journal and KTVN-TV Channel 2, 26 percent of respondents said they were “afraid” or “very afraid” for their jobs; with 37 percent “not too” afraid and 21 percent “not at all” afraid. For the RGJ story by Bill O’Driscoll Click here KTVN Channel 2, Click here.
Nevada is ground zero for the mortgage crisis and now foreclosure crisis. Many parents were counting on second mortgages to fulfill college promises to their children. Those promises are now impossible to meet for many parents who are now faced with losing the roof over their heads. The dreams of getting a college education are quickly vanishing for many young people.
I don’t know about your household, but our grocery bill has nearly doubled in the last two years, even with fewer kids at home. It’s even more of a hardship for the adult student who is working a full-time job and going to school full- or part-time in an effort to better their quality of life and improve their employment opportunities. Oftentimes they are also raising a family at the same time.
Education is often the key to opening the gate leading out of poverty or into financial independence.
If the governor and the board of regents raise college tuition now, they may as well change the locks on the gate of opportunity for many Nevadans young and old.
According to Ryan’s story, (read here) “Gov. Jim Gibbons, University Regent Chairman Michael Wixom, Chancellor Jim Rogers and Daniel Klaich, a vice president in the system, met for about 30 minutes today in Carson City to discuss the upcoming budget.”
First of all, 30 minutes isn’t enough time to even suggest anything, much less agree to anything. However, I’m sure it felt like a 12-hour day for the governor having to sit with his chief nemesis, Chancellor Jim Rogers.
Nevada is at the bottom, rated 47 of 51 when it comes the number of people who have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher — less than 25 percent of Nevadans.
One of the subjects Rogers and Gibbons discussed was raising college tuitions to help fill the gap.
Higher tuition in Nevada would put a college education even farther out of reach for Nevada families. I predict that enrollments already will drop starting in January due to economic hardship. Raising tuition right now would only exacerbate the problem.
Many families may be reconsidering college options for their kids, such as enrolling in the community college for two years to complete transferable undergraduate courses for less tuition before enrolling them in UNR or UNLV.
Many Nevadans are concerned about losing their jobs, owing more for their homes than the market value and keeping up with the enormous cost increases of groceries.
According to a poll commissioned by the Reno Gazette-Journal and KTVN-TV Channel 2, 26 percent of respondents said they were “afraid” or “very afraid” for their jobs; with 37 percent “not too” afraid and 21 percent “not at all” afraid. For the RGJ story by Bill O’Driscoll Click here KTVN Channel 2, Click here.
Nevada is ground zero for the mortgage crisis and now foreclosure crisis. Many parents were counting on second mortgages to fulfill college promises to their children. Those promises are now impossible to meet for many parents who are now faced with losing the roof over their heads. The dreams of getting a college education are quickly vanishing for many young people.
I don’t know about your household, but our grocery bill has nearly doubled in the last two years, even with fewer kids at home. It’s even more of a hardship for the adult student who is working a full-time job and going to school full- or part-time in an effort to better their quality of life and improve their employment opportunities. Oftentimes they are also raising a family at the same time.
Education is often the key to opening the gate leading out of poverty or into financial independence.
If the governor and the board of regents raise college tuition now, they may as well change the locks on the gate of opportunity for many Nevadans young and old.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
No such thing as a free lunch
This first published November 6, 2008 in the Henderson Home News, a Community Newspapers of Nevada publication.
Finally, the campaign season is over and my phone has stopped ringing. Monday night our phone rang off the hook with all of the calls going directly to our trusty answering machine.
This has been the dirtiest campaign season I can recall, greatly attributable to the robocall machines disseminating every imaginable distortion of the truth or misrepresentation of candidate character possible.
No sense in repeating them here so adios robocall!
Now that the election is over, we can turn our attention back to daily life and economics. One of the most interesting items to speak of is the price of gas. This fall marks the sharpest decrease in prices at the pump in four years.
According to GasBuddy.com, in December 2004 the average price of regular grade gas in the Las Vegas area was $1.81 per gallon. During the next 3 1/2 years, until June of this year, prices bounced up and down to an all-time high average $4.26 per gallon.
During this period, the following average highs were reached: September 2005, $2.90; May 2006, $3.15; May 2007, $3.20; and in June 2008, it soared to $4.26.
Since then the price has dropped an amazing $1.71 to its lowest average since March 2007 at $2.55 and is still dropping.
Interesting enough, the price of oil was trending the same as gasoline until June 2007. Then it bolted up from $70 a barrel to over $146 in just over a year, nearly doubling the increase of gasoline in the same period. Then it tumbled back in line to around $60 per barrel this week.
The question remains, will prices continue to fall if Americans continue to use less fuel? U.S. oil consumption is down 5 percent, mostly attributable to the troubled economy and world financial crisis. As the price of gas falls, we may be more inclined to drive more rather than pocket the savings.
This could also build some consumer confidence, encouraging consumers to loosen their tightened purse strings. However don’t get too giddy, because the Saudis are tightening their pipelines to force the price of oil back up to what they consider a comfortable level.
I’m no expert but I would bet the price of gas will start an upward trend sooner than later, even if we continue to reduce our consumption in the U.S.
Personally, I will continue to reduce consumption whenever possible by planning local errands, fewer trips out of town, carpooling and driving the hybrid whenever possible.
While on the subject of gasoline, I’d like to tell you about an experience my bride is having. First, you must understand that she comes from generations of penny pinchers, with three of them still living. She can find a deal where no other can except her mother, grandmother and aunts. They will jump through fire to get the savings or at least jump over more hurdles than most.
So, last August we decided it would be a good idea to have the windows of our Prius tinted. We looked around for a good deal and located a tinter. The business was offering a special on the latest UV block tint material, which was a bit more than the one we planned on. However, it came with $500 in free gas! Sounded fair enough, so we agreed to the super duper (or duped) tint job, and we would get a certificate for $500 in free gas.
Right!
Once we got home, she called the number to activate the certificate in order to receive our gas vouchers. She finds there are a few stipulation, such as one must purchase $100 in gasoline per month from the same oil company, then turn in the receipts before a certain day of the month with your vouchers to get a $25 gas card.
Okay, spend $100 on gas to get $25 free in gas easy enough. If you noticed, you can only claim $25 per month. Which means we will have to spend $2,000 over 20 months to redeem our $500 in free gas.
This is all attainable, right? One fillup of the Big Red Truck and we are three-quarters of the way there.
The vouchers arrive from freebiegas.com all twenty of them on a single sheet of paper. They look official with the redemption number, month, the name of the oil company we’re using, a line stating “Return with $100 in receipts” and her name Donna O’Callaghan printed on each little voucher. There is a bonus here you can spend the $25 on anything the station sells.
I wonder if that includes $25 in quarters for the slot machines?
Needless to say the bride completed every detail and sent the first batch on Sept. 17, her birthday. I’m sure that was deliberate to memorialize the event. She waited the required 28 days then called to get an update, only to leave a message. Then a gentleman called her back to assure her the first card would be here in seven to 10 days. No worries, except its now been more than 20 days. She called again and now you can’t even leave a message, a recording assures you the gift cards are in process and they apologize for the delay due to processing issues.
One thing is for sure: While others give up, Donna will show them the other pincher in her, the Doberman pinscher. Look out freebiegas.com. While there is no such thing as a free lunch, a deal is a deal, and she knows it.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular column One Man's View.
Finally, the campaign season is over and my phone has stopped ringing. Monday night our phone rang off the hook with all of the calls going directly to our trusty answering machine.
This has been the dirtiest campaign season I can recall, greatly attributable to the robocall machines disseminating every imaginable distortion of the truth or misrepresentation of candidate character possible.
No sense in repeating them here so adios robocall!
Now that the election is over, we can turn our attention back to daily life and economics. One of the most interesting items to speak of is the price of gas. This fall marks the sharpest decrease in prices at the pump in four years.
According to GasBuddy.com, in December 2004 the average price of regular grade gas in the Las Vegas area was $1.81 per gallon. During the next 3 1/2 years, until June of this year, prices bounced up and down to an all-time high average $4.26 per gallon.
During this period, the following average highs were reached: September 2005, $2.90; May 2006, $3.15; May 2007, $3.20; and in June 2008, it soared to $4.26.
Since then the price has dropped an amazing $1.71 to its lowest average since March 2007 at $2.55 and is still dropping.
Interesting enough, the price of oil was trending the same as gasoline until June 2007. Then it bolted up from $70 a barrel to over $146 in just over a year, nearly doubling the increase of gasoline in the same period. Then it tumbled back in line to around $60 per barrel this week.
The question remains, will prices continue to fall if Americans continue to use less fuel? U.S. oil consumption is down 5 percent, mostly attributable to the troubled economy and world financial crisis. As the price of gas falls, we may be more inclined to drive more rather than pocket the savings.
This could also build some consumer confidence, encouraging consumers to loosen their tightened purse strings. However don’t get too giddy, because the Saudis are tightening their pipelines to force the price of oil back up to what they consider a comfortable level.
I’m no expert but I would bet the price of gas will start an upward trend sooner than later, even if we continue to reduce our consumption in the U.S.
Personally, I will continue to reduce consumption whenever possible by planning local errands, fewer trips out of town, carpooling and driving the hybrid whenever possible.
While on the subject of gasoline, I’d like to tell you about an experience my bride is having. First, you must understand that she comes from generations of penny pinchers, with three of them still living. She can find a deal where no other can except her mother, grandmother and aunts. They will jump through fire to get the savings or at least jump over more hurdles than most.
So, last August we decided it would be a good idea to have the windows of our Prius tinted. We looked around for a good deal and located a tinter. The business was offering a special on the latest UV block tint material, which was a bit more than the one we planned on. However, it came with $500 in free gas! Sounded fair enough, so we agreed to the super duper (or duped) tint job, and we would get a certificate for $500 in free gas.
Right!
Once we got home, she called the number to activate the certificate in order to receive our gas vouchers. She finds there are a few stipulation, such as one must purchase $100 in gasoline per month from the same oil company, then turn in the receipts before a certain day of the month with your vouchers to get a $25 gas card.
Okay, spend $100 on gas to get $25 free in gas easy enough. If you noticed, you can only claim $25 per month. Which means we will have to spend $2,000 over 20 months to redeem our $500 in free gas.
This is all attainable, right? One fillup of the Big Red Truck and we are three-quarters of the way there.
The vouchers arrive from freebiegas.com all twenty of them on a single sheet of paper. They look official with the redemption number, month, the name of the oil company we’re using, a line stating “Return with $100 in receipts” and her name Donna O’Callaghan printed on each little voucher. There is a bonus here you can spend the $25 on anything the station sells.
I wonder if that includes $25 in quarters for the slot machines?
Needless to say the bride completed every detail and sent the first batch on Sept. 17, her birthday. I’m sure that was deliberate to memorialize the event. She waited the required 28 days then called to get an update, only to leave a message. Then a gentleman called her back to assure her the first card would be here in seven to 10 days. No worries, except its now been more than 20 days. She called again and now you can’t even leave a message, a recording assures you the gift cards are in process and they apologize for the delay due to processing issues.
One thing is for sure: While others give up, Donna will show them the other pincher in her, the Doberman pinscher. Look out freebiegas.com. While there is no such thing as a free lunch, a deal is a deal, and she knows it.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular column One Man's View.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Don't let lesser issues pass you by
This first published October 23, 2008 in the Henderson Home News, a Community Newspapers of Nevada publication.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” was less than hysterical.
In fact, it was downright eerie — that is the striking resemblance of Palin and Tina Fey is eerie.
Her cameo did lend itself to blasting SNL’s ratings to their highest numbers in 14 years. But Alec Baldwin’s line about Palin being hotter in person was belittling.
In any case, Palin has yet to convince me she is vice presidential material and, more importantly, presidential material. I haven’t, however, completely made up my mind about which ticket to vote for.
Because I’m undecided, I repeat what I’ve stated since the inception of early voting in Nevada: I’m really leery of the idea because so much can happen in the last days of a campaign that could determine how people vote.
Why, if I had voted for McCain on Saturday and then on Monday a great American patriot like Colin Powell endorses Obama, I might feel regret. Actually, this race may have been more interesting had Colin Powell been running.
With that said, I must admit early voting can be convenient with busy schedules in a community that operates 24 hours a day. And in many cases it probably doesn’t matter whether people vote early or not.
I say this because many of the Democrats and Republicans I have discussed the election with would vote for their party’s candidate no matter what might possibly happen. It’s amusing how members of each party rattle off their party’s talking points or negative campaign rhetoric without regard to the facts or truth.
Democrats usually recite advertisement copy or news accounts, and Republicans recite the talking points of conservative spinners such as Limbaugh, Hanity and Levine. Being a talk radio junkie, I listen to these three spin doctors throughout the day, challenging the loosely weaved fabric they spin.
Politics is a tricky river to navigate because there is no perfect candidate who could possibly align with every issue you may consider important.
For instance, I know people who abhor abortion yet fervently defend the death penalty.
There is a businessman who complains about the debatable economic drain and increased cost of health care created by undocumented immigrants, then in the very same breath expresses how important they are to the survival of business in Las Vegas and this country.
Whatever your hot-button issue might be, try to remain cognisant of your lesser issues, because they could easily outweigh your hot button.
I’m not suggesting you vote for any particular candidate or back the platform of one party over the other. What I’m suggesting is that you think about the issues that are dear to you and vote your conscience.
If you have no special issues, then educate yourself on the issues, challenge the rhetoric and vote. There is no excuse for not voting, especially in Clark County where every opportunity is provided for you to do so.
Whenever I consider people not voting, I’m reminded of my father’s experiences as an observer of elections in places like Kurdistan in the early ’90s. This is a region on the borders of Iraq, Iran and Turkey where a people without a country called the Kurds live. In the case of the Kurds, many walked for three days to reach a polling place.
The photos he took are etched in my mind, especially the ones of the long lines, in some cases half a mile long.
It is disheartening to see voter turnouts in Clark County from past elections. I predict a higher than average turnout in this presidential election compared to other presidential elections.
If you do not vote in this election, you have little right to complain about the direction of this country’s future.
If 17 million people will stay up until midnight to watch SNL with Gov. Sarah Palin, just think of the millions who might get out to vote in this election.
That’s no joke!
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. His regular column is at One Man's View
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” was less than hysterical.
In fact, it was downright eerie — that is the striking resemblance of Palin and Tina Fey is eerie.
Her cameo did lend itself to blasting SNL’s ratings to their highest numbers in 14 years. But Alec Baldwin’s line about Palin being hotter in person was belittling.
In any case, Palin has yet to convince me she is vice presidential material and, more importantly, presidential material. I haven’t, however, completely made up my mind about which ticket to vote for.
Because I’m undecided, I repeat what I’ve stated since the inception of early voting in Nevada: I’m really leery of the idea because so much can happen in the last days of a campaign that could determine how people vote.
Why, if I had voted for McCain on Saturday and then on Monday a great American patriot like Colin Powell endorses Obama, I might feel regret. Actually, this race may have been more interesting had Colin Powell been running.
With that said, I must admit early voting can be convenient with busy schedules in a community that operates 24 hours a day. And in many cases it probably doesn’t matter whether people vote early or not.
I say this because many of the Democrats and Republicans I have discussed the election with would vote for their party’s candidate no matter what might possibly happen. It’s amusing how members of each party rattle off their party’s talking points or negative campaign rhetoric without regard to the facts or truth.
Democrats usually recite advertisement copy or news accounts, and Republicans recite the talking points of conservative spinners such as Limbaugh, Hanity and Levine. Being a talk radio junkie, I listen to these three spin doctors throughout the day, challenging the loosely weaved fabric they spin.
Politics is a tricky river to navigate because there is no perfect candidate who could possibly align with every issue you may consider important.
For instance, I know people who abhor abortion yet fervently defend the death penalty.
There is a businessman who complains about the debatable economic drain and increased cost of health care created by undocumented immigrants, then in the very same breath expresses how important they are to the survival of business in Las Vegas and this country.
Whatever your hot-button issue might be, try to remain cognisant of your lesser issues, because they could easily outweigh your hot button.
I’m not suggesting you vote for any particular candidate or back the platform of one party over the other. What I’m suggesting is that you think about the issues that are dear to you and vote your conscience.
If you have no special issues, then educate yourself on the issues, challenge the rhetoric and vote. There is no excuse for not voting, especially in Clark County where every opportunity is provided for you to do so.
Whenever I consider people not voting, I’m reminded of my father’s experiences as an observer of elections in places like Kurdistan in the early ’90s. This is a region on the borders of Iraq, Iran and Turkey where a people without a country called the Kurds live. In the case of the Kurds, many walked for three days to reach a polling place.
The photos he took are etched in my mind, especially the ones of the long lines, in some cases half a mile long.
It is disheartening to see voter turnouts in Clark County from past elections. I predict a higher than average turnout in this presidential election compared to other presidential elections.
If you do not vote in this election, you have little right to complain about the direction of this country’s future.
If 17 million people will stay up until midnight to watch SNL with Gov. Sarah Palin, just think of the millions who might get out to vote in this election.
That’s no joke!
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. His regular column is at One Man's View
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Government Misjudged Lifeline
This first published October 2, 2008 in the Henderson Home News, a Community Newspapers of Nevada publication.
It looks like the rooster has come home to roost. The U.S. economy has tanked after the first “bailout” failed, as it should have.
Isn’t it amazing how the stock market moved up as the promise of a lifeline was looming? And then the line snaps, and computers take over with automated trades dumping stocks, causing a 777-point drop on Monday. Some jackpot.
Then on Tuesday, as Congress continued to mend the lifeline for another toss to the sinking economy, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped back up 485 points.
Personally, I’m not real fond of bailing out all of the hooligans who have been living high on the hog with multiple homes and private jets on the backs of citizens trying reach the American dream just to have it snuffed out like a bad cigar.
I’m even more disenchanted by the political stock that both John McCain and Barack Obama tried to lasso from the crisis. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t buy into the ridiculous name-calling and blame-shifting going on by both parties. As far as the debates went, both of them should have stayed in Washington D.C. for change — a real change.
Last year, more than 37 million people were living below the poverty level in this country — the wealthiest country in the world. After this year, who knows how many more millions will have been forced into poverty?
What will the big “Bailout of ’08” do for the average “take a lunchbox to work Joe” in America? Very little is my guess.
Being very fortunate to have a 401(k) plan — even one that has gotten the you-know-what kicked out of it lately — I have decided not to panic and ride it out. The beauty of my 401(k) is that I make all of the decisions on what funds I choose. The downside is some of my choices weren’t that great. But I made the choices, and is Congress going to bail me out from my bad choices? Hell no!
Is this economic plan going to bail out all of those speculators who bought multiple homes in, let’s say, Las Vegas? Let’s just hope not.
So what am I going to do about my 401(k) and our mortgage? Absolutely nothing. Remain calm and continue on as usual. I’m not running to the bank and withdrawing our cash savings to put it in the mattress either.
Not only that, I’m encouraging you to spend wiser and, like me, keep spending even a little bit. Especially if you can spend your hard-earned cash with the small-business people trying to keep their heads above water and a roof over their families’ heads.
This is what made America great and will continue to do so in the future.
While you’re at it, don’t forget to tip. Tips are what makes the world go ’round. Just ask any of the tens of thousands of tip earners in this valley — our neighbors that is!
Now what about how our Nevada delegation voted on Monday’s failed bailout attempt?
Remember my last column, where I said Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., needed to shed his Bush lap dog image? Well he didn’t do it on Monday. He voted just the way President Bush wanted him to. Atta boy Jon. Here’s a bone. Good Boy!
Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., did the right thing by voting against many of her colleagues and the president. She said the plan didn’t do enough for Americans and too much for corporate America.
Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., voted against it, saying he couldn’t vote for it in good conscience.
Don’t get me wrong: I could support any of the three. Some just need to learn a little independence.
Even though this idea won’t help my 401(k), I believe Wall Street should not get a dime other than what’s needed to borrow for capitalization and conservative expansion to create new jobs in the U.S.
In a perfect world, we would bail out residents trying to keep their homes by providing refinancing in the form of government loans and the understanding only one home would be eligible per tax filing. In other words, if you have two homes and you filed joint tax returns in 2007, you could only refinance one with a government loan.
That would keep the foxes out of the roost and the hens laying.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular column at One Man's View.
It looks like the rooster has come home to roost. The U.S. economy has tanked after the first “bailout” failed, as it should have.
Isn’t it amazing how the stock market moved up as the promise of a lifeline was looming? And then the line snaps, and computers take over with automated trades dumping stocks, causing a 777-point drop on Monday. Some jackpot.
Then on Tuesday, as Congress continued to mend the lifeline for another toss to the sinking economy, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped back up 485 points.
Personally, I’m not real fond of bailing out all of the hooligans who have been living high on the hog with multiple homes and private jets on the backs of citizens trying reach the American dream just to have it snuffed out like a bad cigar.
I’m even more disenchanted by the political stock that both John McCain and Barack Obama tried to lasso from the crisis. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t buy into the ridiculous name-calling and blame-shifting going on by both parties. As far as the debates went, both of them should have stayed in Washington D.C. for change — a real change.
Last year, more than 37 million people were living below the poverty level in this country — the wealthiest country in the world. After this year, who knows how many more millions will have been forced into poverty?
What will the big “Bailout of ’08” do for the average “take a lunchbox to work Joe” in America? Very little is my guess.
Being very fortunate to have a 401(k) plan — even one that has gotten the you-know-what kicked out of it lately — I have decided not to panic and ride it out. The beauty of my 401(k) is that I make all of the decisions on what funds I choose. The downside is some of my choices weren’t that great. But I made the choices, and is Congress going to bail me out from my bad choices? Hell no!
Is this economic plan going to bail out all of those speculators who bought multiple homes in, let’s say, Las Vegas? Let’s just hope not.
So what am I going to do about my 401(k) and our mortgage? Absolutely nothing. Remain calm and continue on as usual. I’m not running to the bank and withdrawing our cash savings to put it in the mattress either.
Not only that, I’m encouraging you to spend wiser and, like me, keep spending even a little bit. Especially if you can spend your hard-earned cash with the small-business people trying to keep their heads above water and a roof over their families’ heads.
This is what made America great and will continue to do so in the future.
While you’re at it, don’t forget to tip. Tips are what makes the world go ’round. Just ask any of the tens of thousands of tip earners in this valley — our neighbors that is!
Now what about how our Nevada delegation voted on Monday’s failed bailout attempt?
Remember my last column, where I said Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., needed to shed his Bush lap dog image? Well he didn’t do it on Monday. He voted just the way President Bush wanted him to. Atta boy Jon. Here’s a bone. Good Boy!
Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., did the right thing by voting against many of her colleagues and the president. She said the plan didn’t do enough for Americans and too much for corporate America.
Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., voted against it, saying he couldn’t vote for it in good conscience.
Don’t get me wrong: I could support any of the three. Some just need to learn a little independence.
Even though this idea won’t help my 401(k), I believe Wall Street should not get a dime other than what’s needed to borrow for capitalization and conservative expansion to create new jobs in the U.S.
In a perfect world, we would bail out residents trying to keep their homes by providing refinancing in the form of government loans and the understanding only one home would be eligible per tax filing. In other words, if you have two homes and you filed joint tax returns in 2007, you could only refinance one with a government loan.
That would keep the foxes out of the roost and the hens laying.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. He writes a regular column at One Man's View.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Political directions are off
This first published September 18, 2008 in the Henderson Home News, a Community Newspapers of Nevada publication.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the running mate of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, has captured the imaginations of millions of Americans for many different reasons. This is the land of capitalism, where a creative mind can capitalize on the Palin phenomena with very little effort.
So far we’ve seen the Sarah Palin dolls in different attire, the pit bull with lipstick T-shirts and every other imaginable gimmick.
The real question is: Will she ever become anything more than a novelty? Not to say that with any contempt or flare of sexism, but can she find a place in the minds of American voters?
The McCain campaign has kept her away from any open media opportunities where she could face multiple questions from more than one journalist. After her interview with ABC News anchor Charles Gibson last week, it’s becoming evident she is either unpolished or rather shallow.
This plays well with the hearts of middle America, because she is viewed more like the rest of us plain ol’ folk.
But how does that play with the voters? She has become everything the Republicans deplored about Barack Obama. She now carries the Rock Star label that Barack Obama carried during the Republican National Convention. She is younger than Barack Obama, too.
Just wait one minute. Who is running for president anyway, Palin or McCain? Other than the obvious, it is really hard to tell by media accounts, or rather the amount of media attention being given to Palin, overshadowing McCain.
The media will continue to fall all over themselves to get what they can’t have, and that is Sarah Palin over the pit barbecue spinning on a rotisserie of unfiltered questions. They will probably have to wait until the debates just like the rest of us to really get a look behind her fashionable eye wear and red lipstick.
There are many political tricksters in media-type sheepskin trying to unravel the Palin phenomenon, but only time will tell if anything sticks.
If this is anything like a high school homecoming election and not an election to the two highest offices in the free world, then Barack Obama should be very concerned.
Personally, I’m a bit concerned that Palin didn’t have a clue what the “Bush Doctrine” is and a bit more concerned she thinks that her ability to see Russia from a remote area of Alaska is international relations experience.
Americans need to take a long, hard look at these candidates, including the running mates. Wall Street is collapsing, not one brick at a time, but rather by entire buildings. The economy is in such a funk it is going to require some real leadership and vision. For this reason, we had better take a close look a our U.S. Congress, because that is where reform really begins. Without an agreeable Congress, the best of presidents can’t get a single bill passed.
So, whether Obama is a rock star or McCain is a great American war hero or Biden is ever mentioned or Palin is all lipstick and no pit bull, we are in need of some redirection in America.
Until then, I’m waiting for the debates.
Speaking of Congress, have you noticed the ads in the race for Congressional District 3 between Rep. Jon Porter and state Sen. Dina Titus? Personally, I like both Titus and Porter for various reasons. However, they both need to reconsider their ads.
Porter, for one, has this ad stating he personally helped build the solar generation project in Eldorado Valley. He makes it sound like he was out there shining the mirrors and negotiating the deal for the land. Then I see Titus referring to how she supported legislation for renewable energy.
We need to hear about how they’re going to bring change to the economy and how they will develop bipartisanship in a completely divided Congress.
Porter has to shed his Bush lapdog image, and I would suggest Titus get busy on the issues and not how she has a 30-year-old twang.
Last week I mentioned on my blog that Gov. Jim Gibbons — our politically challenged governor of Nevada — is going to host a seminar for governors-elect to prepare them for their new jobs.
No doubt the governor has plenty of experience to share with those newly elected governors. I imagined some of the seminar topics, so I created a possible top 10 list and posted it on the blog. Hopefully, the governor is only hosting and not providing the topics.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. His regular column is at One Man's View.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the running mate of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, has captured the imaginations of millions of Americans for many different reasons. This is the land of capitalism, where a creative mind can capitalize on the Palin phenomena with very little effort.
So far we’ve seen the Sarah Palin dolls in different attire, the pit bull with lipstick T-shirts and every other imaginable gimmick.
The real question is: Will she ever become anything more than a novelty? Not to say that with any contempt or flare of sexism, but can she find a place in the minds of American voters?
The McCain campaign has kept her away from any open media opportunities where she could face multiple questions from more than one journalist. After her interview with ABC News anchor Charles Gibson last week, it’s becoming evident she is either unpolished or rather shallow.
This plays well with the hearts of middle America, because she is viewed more like the rest of us plain ol’ folk.
But how does that play with the voters? She has become everything the Republicans deplored about Barack Obama. She now carries the Rock Star label that Barack Obama carried during the Republican National Convention. She is younger than Barack Obama, too.
Just wait one minute. Who is running for president anyway, Palin or McCain? Other than the obvious, it is really hard to tell by media accounts, or rather the amount of media attention being given to Palin, overshadowing McCain.
The media will continue to fall all over themselves to get what they can’t have, and that is Sarah Palin over the pit barbecue spinning on a rotisserie of unfiltered questions. They will probably have to wait until the debates just like the rest of us to really get a look behind her fashionable eye wear and red lipstick.
There are many political tricksters in media-type sheepskin trying to unravel the Palin phenomenon, but only time will tell if anything sticks.
If this is anything like a high school homecoming election and not an election to the two highest offices in the free world, then Barack Obama should be very concerned.
Personally, I’m a bit concerned that Palin didn’t have a clue what the “Bush Doctrine” is and a bit more concerned she thinks that her ability to see Russia from a remote area of Alaska is international relations experience.
Americans need to take a long, hard look at these candidates, including the running mates. Wall Street is collapsing, not one brick at a time, but rather by entire buildings. The economy is in such a funk it is going to require some real leadership and vision. For this reason, we had better take a close look a our U.S. Congress, because that is where reform really begins. Without an agreeable Congress, the best of presidents can’t get a single bill passed.
So, whether Obama is a rock star or McCain is a great American war hero or Biden is ever mentioned or Palin is all lipstick and no pit bull, we are in need of some redirection in America.
Until then, I’m waiting for the debates.
Speaking of Congress, have you noticed the ads in the race for Congressional District 3 between Rep. Jon Porter and state Sen. Dina Titus? Personally, I like both Titus and Porter for various reasons. However, they both need to reconsider their ads.
Porter, for one, has this ad stating he personally helped build the solar generation project in Eldorado Valley. He makes it sound like he was out there shining the mirrors and negotiating the deal for the land. Then I see Titus referring to how she supported legislation for renewable energy.
We need to hear about how they’re going to bring change to the economy and how they will develop bipartisanship in a completely divided Congress.
Porter has to shed his Bush lapdog image, and I would suggest Titus get busy on the issues and not how she has a 30-year-old twang.
Last week I mentioned on my blog that Gov. Jim Gibbons — our politically challenged governor of Nevada — is going to host a seminar for governors-elect to prepare them for their new jobs.
No doubt the governor has plenty of experience to share with those newly elected governors. I imagined some of the seminar topics, so I created a possible top 10 list and posted it on the blog. Hopefully, the governor is only hosting and not providing the topics.
Tim O’Callaghan, co-publisher of the Home News, can be reached at 990-2656 or tim.oc@vegas.com. His regular column is at One Man's View.
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