1. travel
2. tourist facilities
3. hotel

Funding shortfall for
Social Security disability
program: Is it really real?
PAGE 2
Judge orders temporary
halt to deferred
deportation program
PAGE 9
Volume 16, Issue 50
Krattiger to appear on
‘Face The Tribune’
Friday, February 20
PAGE 11
lasvegastribune.com
February 18-24, 2015
Ward 5 Chamber of Commerce Member
LVCVA to buy
and demolish
Riviera Hotel
My Point Another Las Vegas landmark to fall in the name of progress
of View
By Rolando Larraz
Being contaminated with the
“political bug” is very dangerous;
and when the illness infects someone so that they want to run for any
office in any election cycle, the cost
is indeed very high.
Former Assembly candidate
Megan Heryet, a candidate who
only 28 percent of District 15
thought was good enough to represent them, is now running for city
council against incumbent Bob
Coffin.
There is no doubt that Councilman Bob Coffin is one of the most
hard-working public officials that
the city council has, and running
against him will take lots of hard
work, lots of money and also name
recognition, something that a onerun for the assembly would not give
to anyone.
Sometimes ego allows coldblooded so-called campaign managers to throw a would-be candidate into a race the candidate has
no chance of winning.
Candidates have to realize that
campaign managers have nothing to
lose when they throw a candidate
into a race they know from the very
beginning they are not going to win;
the so-called candidate pays the fee
to register, pays the promotional
expenses, pays for the signs, including the yard signs, and any other
expenses the campaign manager
may create; plus, let’s not forget, the
campaign manager’s salary comes
off the top before all else.
Councilman Coffin is not perfect, but at least he has legislature
experience and city council experience, which could give his constituents the peace of mind of having
an experienced elected official
working for them.
It is time to say “no” to campaign managers that pretend to be
activists when they are nothing
more than mediocre public relations
peddlers, operating under various
titles to help them as it is convenient when they move on to their
next project.
People that want to be called
“candidates” have to learn how to
hire campaign managers because
otherwise they will be put in the
employees’ shoes and the campaign
managers will act like the employers who pay their “employees.”
Candidates have to learn that
their campaign manager does not
put them into office; the constituents, the voters, the people — that
is who puts the candidates in office,
(See My Point of View, Page 2)
By Alexandra Cohen
Las Vegas Tribune
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority officials made it public their interest in spending almost
$200 million to buy the 60-year-old
Riviera Hotel at the north end of the
famous Las Vegas Strip was confirmed last Tuesday.
If the deal is approved, the
agency would close the property
and demolish it to open the road for
one of the most dramatic expansions in the history of Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Convention and
Visitors Authority board of directors will meet Friday to consider the
acquisition of the Riviera hotel,
which includes a 1.8 millionsquare-foot expansion of exhibit
and meeting space.
Aside from acquisition costs, the
board will consider approving up to
$8.5 million in additional expenditures, including $3.5 million for
Morgan Stanley to handle the transaction.
At a meeting last Tuesday the
Clark County Commission approved issuing $185 million in
bonds for the authority to fund the
Riviera purchase.
Reports of the sale have been
spreading widely this month, but
executives did not confirm them
(See Riviera, Page 8)
Las Vegas Tribune will host
Mayor Carolyn Goodman event
By Rolando Larraz
Las Vegas Tribune
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman will be
on Face The Tribune radio show on Monday,
February 23 at noon, it was confirmed by a City
Hall spokesperson.
Ms. Goodman, the wife of former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, was elected to the
position in June 2011 after her husband was
termed out by a recently created law that prohibits elected officials from serving more than
three four-year terms or six two-year terms. This
is Mayor Goodman’s second term reelection
bid.
She has been one of the most productive and
community-oriented mayors in Las Vegas and
we will find out during her appearance on
RadioTribune.com if she will be running for a
second term.
“It is with great pleasure and a little bit of
vanity that I can announce that Las Vegas Mayor
MAYOR CAROLYN GOODMAN
Carolyn Goodman has graciously accepted my
invitation to appear on my Face The Tribune
radio show and that makes me very happy,” said
Rolando Larraz, Founder and Publisher of Las
Vegas Tribune newspaper, owner of the
radiotribune.com radio station and producer of
his own show, Face The Tribune since 2008.
Mayor Carolyn Goodman will share the microphones of Face The Tribune with me on
Monday, February 23, and hopefully she will
be able to stay the whole hour and maybe even
get some phone calls on the air.
Mayor Goodman also will be available to
speak to her Las Vegas constituents and share
some cheese and crackers while listening to residents that chose to listen to the radio show from
the conference room of the newspaper and later
greet the mayor and talk with her after the show.
Face The Tribune is a mainly political, and a
little controversial, Internet radio show produced
(See Goodman, Page 7)
Tom Mitchell added to Las Vegas Tribune’s writers
By The Las Vegas Tribune Staff
Our readers may already know
the name Tom Mitchell.
Las Vegas Tribune is pleased to
announce that he will join the list
of contributors that makes the
newspaper one of the most-read
online newspapers in Nevada and
the nation.
Thomas Mitchell is a former
newspaper editor who now writes
conservative/libertarian columns
for weekly papers in central NV.
Mitchell’s reputation as an editor with larger daily newspapers is
impeccable; he is respected by jour-
THOMAS MITCHELL
nalists as well as public officials,
and his opinion is well credited.
“We are very pleased with the
addition of Tom Mitchell to our
newspaper group of contributors
and we are very happy to have Tom
on the editorial page, as he deserves,” said Las Vegas Tribune
Publisher and Founder, Rolando
Larraz.
“We all welcome Tom Mitchell
with open arms and hope he will
feel as pleased with the arrangement as we are,” stated Maramis
Choufani, the Managing Editor of
the newspaper.
Las Vegas Tribune may not be
what some campaign managers in
Clark County want the newspaper
to be because they cannot “own” the
newspaper, but it is a well read
weekly, publishing what other
newspapers don’t have the audacity to print.
The Las Vegas Tribune believes
in freedom of the press and honors
every amendment of the United
States Constitution with actions
more than words.
“Every time someone tries to put
us down, we punch back heavier
and prove that we are what we say
we are — the only independent
newspaper in Nevada,” said Larraz.
FROM THE DESK OF GORDON MARTINES
Your tax dollars at work
By Gordon Martines
The LVMPD’S involvement
with Assemblyman Chris Edwards’
criminal extortion claim is unwarranted and smacks of a conflict of
interest by LVMPD’S involvement.
For all intents and purposes, the
main allegation by Edwards is that
he was pressured and bullied by
others to cast his vote in a certain
way regarding the Governor Brian
Sandoval $1.3 billion tax increase
(allegedly for education), to be burdened by all Nevadans.
On the surface, to most, it is
business as usual, except for the fact
that our new Sheriff has allegedly
expressed his support for the new
tax, for which he and the LVMPD
may receive monetary reward if the
tax is passed. Maybe the “more tax
monies for cops” will be satisfied
from a different source.
If in fact Chris Edwards was
coerced and bullied by others to
vote a certain way regarding this tax
initiative, then there is an investigative section specifically designed
to deal with this problem (Political
Corruption) in the Federal system,
the FBI, and the Federal Justice
Department. Let there be no doubt
these allegations by Chris Edwards
are classified as “Political Corruption” and should be handled by the
Feds.
By contacting the LVMPD, and
Sheriff Joe Lombardo, and launching an alleged criminal investiga(See From the Desk, Page 11)
Page 2 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / February 18-24, 2015
Funding shortfall for Social Security
disability program: Is it really real?
Republicans say Social Security’s support for people with disabilities will be ‘broke’ next year; the Obama
budget suggests the system needs only a patch. But both sides agree: Something must be done by 2016.
By Mark Trumbull
Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON — In the wake
of Republican victories in the election last fall, pundits warned that
Congress would be at loggerheads
with President Obama on a number of budget issues in 2015, including over highway funding and the
Department of Homeland Security.
Not high on the list of hot topics: Social Security.
Yet the vaunted social insurance
TRIBUNE
VOL. 16, NO. 50
FOUNDER
Rolando Larraz
PUBLISHER
AND
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Rolando Larraz
GENERAL MANAGER
Perly Viasmensky
MANAGING EDITOR
Maramis Choufani
PRODUCTION
Don Snook
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Colleen Lloyd
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
Kenneth A. Wegner
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David A. Rifkin, Executive Vice President
Quote of the Week:
“The structure of world peace
cannot be the work of one man or
one party or one nation. It must
be a peace which rests on the
cooperative effort of the whole
world.”
—Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Please Note:
Senate Budget Committee ranking member Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) of Vermont, left, talks as committee
chairman Sen. Michael Enzi (R) of Wyoming listens during a hearing of the Senate Budget Committee on
Capitol Hill in Washington earlier this month.
system is suddenly a hot part of the cifically, how real is the financial say, in effect, that Social Security’s
fiscal debate in Washington — and trouble for the disability program? Disability Insurance program is in
The two sides are far apart on trouble only if Republicans refuse
it’s not waiting for 2016 elections.
The new Obama budget proposes a their characterizations, but they to rubber stamp Mr. Obama’s fix.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) of Verpatch to the program’s support for agree that something needs to be
people with disabilities, but Repub- done, and a good case can be made mont, the top member of the Demolicans say the system needs an over- that the reality is between the ex- cratic caucus on the Senate Budget
tremes.
Committee, accused Republicans of
haul, not a Band-Aid.
Many Democrats and liberals trying “to manufacture a crisis
How urgent an issue is this? Spe-
My Point of View
(Continued from Page 1)
regardless of how good or how bad
or how popular or unpopular the
campaign managers are.
Take for example a judicial candidate that won the election because
of his charismatic personality, because of his record and — yes, why
not? — because of his good looks;
but after winning he had to pay
$46,000 to the campaign manager
that didn’t do much to get that candidate elected, not even by answering his phone calls.
If the call was not from Channel
5, the only call it seemed the CM
would take, there was always an
excuse like “I was sick,” “I was in
the hospital,” “I had this illness” or
he’d come up with some other illness or problem or reason why he
couldn’t take the call or deal with
the person.
Recently there was an event and
everyone was waiting for the guest
speaker, who was late. Someone
was looking for the spokesperson
for that “guest of honor” to learn
what the delay was because Channel 5 had not arrived.
Can you imagine that? Other
television stations and newspapers
that were on time had to be late for
their next assignment because
Channel 5 was late for the event.
What is the relationship between
that alleged “spokesperson” and the
people from Channel 5?
That is not fair to other members
of the media, the supporters, and
worse yet, to “the man of the hour,”
making it look like the delays were
just because he didn’t know how to
be on time.
There was also this candidate
that was pushed into an election
(running against an incumbent)
who otherwise would probably not
have run, but a paid activist wanted
him to run against an elected official because the “campaign manager activist” said it was for the
good of the community; but later
another better prospect appeared on
the horizon and the scapegoat original candidate was left in the middle
of the road.
Candidates have to pay attention
to what spokespersons or campaign
managers do and how they do it
because if it is good, the campaign
manager takes credit for it; but if it
is bad, they’ll see that it reflects on
the candidate and that can mean
votes that can make a difference on
Election Day.
But who cares? Campaign managers get their money from the top
regardless of what the election results are.
I consider such behavior very
irresponsible, very unethical and
very inhumane because a campaign
manager cannot go out in the street
looking for anyone to run against
an incumbent just because the campaign manager doesn’t like or
doesn’t agree with the ideas and
actions of the incumbent.
Nothing is wrong in backing one
candidate against another one, incumbent or not, for good reasons
and for the benefit of all the citizens in the community. But to bring
in a candidate just to vent one’s capricious or personal hatred against
another public servant is not the
most decent and honest behavior of
a campaign manager, who often
uses the candidate as his puppet,
and even more, deceives the community and those lucky enough to
be able to vote.
Can you imagine a campaign
manager who goes out in public
looking for someone, anyone, no
matter who and no matter what kind
of experience that someone may or
may not have?
Behaviors like that are what
makes the choices for public servants not the best they could be for
a community that deserves the best
public officials in the world because
we are the best city of them all.
Out of respect for one past candidate and one present client I am
not mentioning the name of that
campaign manager for now, but that
does not mean that in the near future I will not put my friendship and
my respect for the past and present
candidates aside and expose this
most outrageous and egregious behavior by a campaign manager.
That kind of behavior can be
categorized as worse than David
Thomas’ behavior and that is saying a whole lot.
where none exists.”
On the Republican side, Sen.
Mike Enzi of Wyoming, who chairs
that panel, says that “by December
of next year, the program will be
broke.”
What’s new is that after years of
talk about Social Security’s solvency and the need to reform it (or
not), Congress has come to its first
definitive fork in the road on the
issue. Perhaps the problem isn’t as
dire as Republicans say it is, but
Obama also might not have a slamdunk case for his patch.
A good many economists agree
with the Republican view that reforms are needed to keep the system solvent — and the sooner
they’re enacted, the better it will be
for the nation’s fiscal health.
Here are key facts behind the
rhetoric:
The programs
The Social Security system has
two trust funds, one for Old-Age
and Survivors Insurance (essentially retirees) and one for Disability Insurance. The two funds
(See Social Security, Page 10)
Desperation to stay in the spotlight could be damaging to the socalled “campaign manager” in the
morning and “activist” in the afternoon, defending any issue, any
fight, or any reason fair or not fair,
just to be popular in the last few
years of one’s life.
It is my humble opinion that if
you have not made it to fame by a
certain age, you are never going to
make it when your age is higher
than your stature, so those “campaign managers” might as well say
good-bye to the spotlight and stay
in the hospital as long as they need
to.
My name is Rolando Larraz, and
as always, I approved this column.
Rolando Larraz is Editor in
Chief of the Las Vegas Tribune. His
column appears weekly in this
newspaper. To contact Rolando
Larraz,
email
him
at:
[email protected] or
at 702-868-NEWS (6397)
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is open to all and sundry opinions about what we publish, we
wish to inform all those who
choose to submit their opinions
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CITY BEAT
February 18-24, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 3
Las Vegas honors former coach Jerry
Tarkanian with dimmed lights on the Strip
cluding CraftHaus Brewery, Las
Vegas Distillery and Grape Expectations, concluding with appetizers
at the final location. Open to anyone at least 21 years of age, the OV
Nation mixer will provide guests
the opportunity to learn more about
the organization and its mission,
and become involved with other
like-minded emerging professionals interested in giving back to our
community.
The mission of OV Nation is to
identify, develop and engage a new
generation of Opportunity Village
brand ambassadors, donors, board
members, volunteers and supporters. OV Nation has its own Board
of Directors who spearhead the
committee’s initiatives including
special events, fundraising, networking, teambuilding, volunteering and supporting Opportunity
Village’s ongoing programs and
goals.
*****
The lights of the Las Vegas Strip
will be dimmed in observance of
former UNLV basketball coach,
Jerry Tarkanian, following the
UNLV vs. Boise State basketball
game on Wednesday night, Feb. 18.
Tarkanian will be the eighth person the lights of the Strip have been
dimmed for. The previous seven
observances include: President
John F. Kennedy, Elvis, Sammy
Davis Jr., Dean Martin, George
Burns, Frank Sinatra and President
Ronald Reagan. Beginning in 2009,
the lights of the Strip have been
dimmed annually in March for
Earth Hour.
*****
OV Nation Announces goals
and direction to engage new
members in 2015
OV Nation, a new generation of
Opportunity Village supporters, announces its goals and direction for
engaging and activating new members and supporters in 2015.
Formed in September of 2013, OV
Nation is an auxiliary organization
comprised of rising Las Vegas professionals who are committed to
expanding Opportunity Village’s
reach to future leaders within the
community. Over the past year, OV
Nation has participated in over a
dozen events, fundraisers and
awareness campaigns for Opportunity Village and has independently
raised thousands of dollars through
fundraising efforts. With a goal of
doubling that success, OV Nation
has restructured its board and event
plans in an effort to attract more
business professionals who can be
involved and at the same time balance work, life, family and social
engagements.
“We’ve found that many local
professionals want to become involved in the community and contribute to a cause, but have limited
time to give,” said Jennifer Mahar,
newly appointed chairperson for
OV Nation. She continued, “We
have restructured the board and
committees so individuals can
make an impact on their own schedule, without being required to attend
set events or meetings.”
The new OV Nation structure
will allow members to participate
in four events, four mixers and four
meetings per year. The four events
will include a mix of existing flagship events such as the Magical
Forest and HallOVeen, as well those
created, hosted and executed by OV
Nation. OV Nation mixers will feature an employee of Opportunity
Village as well as an OVIP (Opportunity Village client) to inform
guests and potential members about
the organization and its services.
Member meetings will be held at
local restaurants that will allow a
percentage of the proceeds to be
donated back to Opportunity Village, to serve as both a productive
meeting and fundraiser. In addition,
OV Nation will also have booths at
community events, runs and festivals throughout the year to promote
the organization.
For its first event of 2015, OV
Nation will host a mixer on Saturday, February 21 from 1:30-3:30
p.m. at The Booze District in
Henderson. Priced at $30 (plus
taxes and fees), the mixer will include a tour of The Booze District
and samples at member venues in-
Six Volunteer Examiners
Recognized for
Outstanding Service
The Southwest Alliance for Excellence (SWAE) is a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit that advances improvement and excellence in organizations, communities and individuals
throughout Arizona, Nevada and
Utah using the Baldrige Criteria for
Performance Excellence. To fulfill
our mission, SWAE administers the
Performance Excellence Program
and trains Examiners to evaluate
organizations.
The Board of Examiners evaluates the application, conducts Site
Visits, and prepares feedback reports for the Performance Excellence Program. The Board consists
of experts from various industry
sectors — both private and public.
With each cycle of the Performance Excellence Program, the
SWAE Examiners are truly the
backbone of our organization. In
recognition of their dedication and
expertise, SWAE is proud to recognize those Examiners who have
truly excelled and gone above and
beyond what is expected of a volunteer Examiner. This year SWAE
has recognized 6 outstanding Examiners.
Stacy Harley, of Scottsdale
Medical Imaging, has been recognized as SWAE’s 2014 Examiner of
the Year. The Examiner of the Year
Award recognizes an examiner for
team work, service, initiative,
knowledge, communication skills
and being a role model and leader.
Stacy is highly skilled, is extremely
organized, and is a strong leader.
“The Southwest Alliance for Excellence is lucky to have her as a
trainer, a member of the Board of
Overseers and as a Lead Examiner.
We so appreciate her service and
leadership,” said Karen Shepard,
SWAE Executive Director.
The Rookie Lead Examiner of
the Year Award recognized Tanya
Brodd, of Deer Valley Unified
School District. Tanya was a
Rookie examiner, who, in her first
year on the Board of Examiners, did
an outstanding job as a first year,
first time, Lead Examiner. Tanya
communicated effectively with the
team and the applicant, was organized and supported her team.
The 2014 Rookie Examiner of
the Year award went to Adrian
Juchau from the LDS Business
College in Salt Lake City, UT. The
Rookie Examiner of the Year Award
recognizes an examiner in their first
year on the Board of Examiners, for
team work, service, initiative and
communication skills. Adrian demonstrated a desire to improve his
skills, asking insightful questions
and provided continual communication with the Lead and team.
Because our examiners are the
backbone of this process, SWAE
has added the “Above and Beyond”
recognition for superior effort and
performance by Examiners in their
assigned role and other team duties.
For her diligence, achievement of
goals and leadership in her assigned
role we’ve recognized Mayfann
Millies from Salt River Project. For
his enthusiasm to learn, positive
attitude, and digging into the details
SWAE
recognizes
Dan
Pellouchoud from Salt River
Project. And, for outstanding quality in her work, natural ability to be
a great examiner, and calming, stabilizing effect on her team members
— Stephanie Kozlowski from City
of Henderson, NV.
*****
City Beat is a compilation of
news and views of our editorial and
writing team, along with reader
submissions and topics. Readers
are invited to suggest a local topic
or any other items of interest.
DO YOU NEED AN EDITOR?
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out to you that you misspelled a word in your report or maybe
had a whole sentence all messed up? Have you personally
felt that you could’ve done a much better job on that manuscript
but just didn’t have the time?
Why put off doing what you know you should have done before:
call in an editor! As a word-, sentence-, and document-doctor,
she will fix what needs fixing by adding a little of this or that,
and taking out what shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
Give yourself the luxury of looking your best in print!
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anyone with cause. You may search for a qualified Attorney at the State Bar of Nevada.
WWW.LOWCOSTPARALEGALSOLUTIONS.COM
Page 4 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / February 18-24, 2015
Cynthia
Leung
William “Bill”
Kephart
Bill
Henderson
Municipal Court
Judge
District Court
Judge
Family Court
Judge
Department R
Department 19
Department 1
Re-Elect
Bert Brown
Gloria J.
Sturman
Municipal Court
Chief Judge
District Court
Judge
Department 4
Department 26
Judge Karen
Bennett-Haron
In celebration of
Black History Month
Justice Court
Las Vegas Township
Nevada State
Assemblywoman
Regional Justice Center
Victoria
Seaman
District 34
Little White Chapel would like to
take this opportunity to acknowlege
the Life, History and Culture of the
African-American community for
this entire month of February
(702) 659-9001
Mention code “vd 15”
1221 So. Main St.
February 18-24, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 5
BLACK HISTORY:
Know it, show it, tell it
By Parker Philpot
Special to the Las Vegas Tribune
Photos provided by LaVerne Ligon
The Las Vegas Tribune has prominently and proudly supported Black History Month over the years and given space
to many of the stories that focused on Black advancement
and matters of specific interest to the African-American community. This month, the Tribune continues its tradition with
a multi-part series, this being the second.
In the prior issue, readers got a glimpse of Black locals,
including super showman Clint Holmes, who, along with others, shared their “Black Stories” in a poignant program at
Winchester Cultural Center during an event moderated by
historian-educator Claytee White, the director at the Oral History Research Center of UNLV Libraries Special Collections.
This issue is an ongoing celebration, exploration and education in which we all can share.
In this space in 2014, a Tribune headline on Part 1 of the
series described Black History as “Alive and Ongoing in Las
Vegas.” So true.
For this writer, Black History is a huge part of my personal and national history as an American. Las Vegas has
been my home for more than three decades. I’ve met and
spoken with many of the people about whom I’ve written.
And sadly, just as many other locals have done, I’ve did more
than a few heartfelt final farewells to pioneers who made
Las Vegas their home. Longtime locals we commemorate
include gaming pioneer Dr. Sarann Knight Preddy, Native
Son bookstore owner and fire department retiree, Sam Smith;
communications and entertainment pioneer Alice Key; singersongwriter Doris “Just One Look” Troy; and businessman
and television pioneer Robert “Bob” Bailey, among other
notables.
As we go through stages in life it is somewhat easier, perhaps, to appreciate history—anyone’s history—because
growing in years means seeing history made year after year.
Black history is sort of in need of a gentle push.
Why? It’s partly because its general acceptance by the
mainstream is relatively new. It’s historic challenges were
partly because, and let’s be open and honest here, “they” as
is often said, don’t care about “us” or “them” or “those
people.” Well, times, “they are a’ changin,’” as the song
goes. And change goes on.
That said, how much valuable information still goes by
our line of sight without its proper recognition? Have we
taken time to make a lasting note about the lives of trendsetters
we know, historic event makers we live near, triumphs of
family members or friends? One may think, “Certainly I do.”
Who would believe that people would have legends in their
midst and not know it?
Hah! The joke is on us sometimes when we discover that
someone known to us, maybe even fairly closely, such as a
coworker or parent of a friend, is a bona fide Black pioneer,
history-making “first,” or someone who did something extraordinary in a humble way.
Some noteworthy subjects who “made history” are not
always fast to speak to everyone about what they did. To
them, they did it, that was the times, and they did what needed
to be done. Good, but those accomplishments belong to us
all.
So, share what you’ve done (no one will think you vain
for sharing your story openly). Share with those who care to
know or need to know. Share your stories with the next generations so they will not take Black progress for granted. Tell
your story for the record to someone such as Claytee White
who seeks oral histories to archive at UNLV Libraries. Email
her at [email protected] or visit the website
www.Library.UNLV.edu/speccol.
Discovery is the fruit of Black History Month. Discover
more about ourselves, regardless of ethnic background, race,
skin shade, social status or other things that are only part of
who we are. Collectively, we are all affected by what we
know about each other, as well as what we don’t know.
In recent weeks, I discovered something interesting about
the history of “Ebony Guys and Dolls” along with Black stage
technicians who integrated the Las Vegas Strip in showrooms
and chorus lines and places behind the scenes of the super
stage productions that define Las Vegas. An event last year
was held to honor the cultural history of Vegas’ “Golden Era.”
The Nevada Council for History Education and the El Cortez
Hotel presented it through the help of several other organizations and funding agencies. It wasn’t an event I knew anything about, nor did tens of thousands of other residents and
visitors.
(See Black History, Page 6)
LaVerne Ligon (seated), the Las Vegas Strip’s first all-Black chorus line captain, with four of the line’s dancers from the
1970’s “Hallelujah Hollywood!” at the historic MGM Grand Hotel-Casino (the site is now called Bally’s.)
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In 1974, LaVerne Ligon, captain of the all-Black line, credits
Donn Arden with adding the Black dancers to the thensegregated stages of the Las Vegas Strip.
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Page 6 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / February 18-24, 2015
Black History
(Continued from Page 5)
So why mention it now, for
Black History Month?
Well, because in hindsight, I
now realize that there is some significant Black history about someone I’ve known for more than two
decades, but I never knew the role
she and many others played in the
city, on the Strip, on stage.
In the early to mid 1970s, the
waning segregation of Las Vegas,
known still as having been “the
Mississippi of the West,” was still
in full effect as I watched elaborate
stage shows with majority White
dancers, but saw beautiful Black
dancers, costumed Black men and
women in all shades of tan and
brown.
Not all of us observers knew that
the Black professionals were not
allowed to “mix” with the White
dancers other than for a scene or
two where the darker ones appeared
on stage and wove a dance line
amongst the chosen dancers. Years
after civil rights agreements, segregation was set to show tunes!
I discovered that one of those
Black, dancing, prancing professionals was the first line captain of
the all-Black chorus line — the
what??? Yes, although those of us
in the audience of the then-MGM
Grand (now Bally’s) production of
Donn Arden’s “Hallelujah Hollywood!” saw a mix of show dancers, so-called showgirls, they were
segregated right before our eyes.
One of them, LaVerne Ligon, a
longtime resident and dance studio
owner and teacher was the first captain of the all-Black chorus line. She
was a coordinator, teacher, trainer
and no doubt a comfort to the pros
who were treated as less-thans by
many peers and bosses.
Now, why was there an all-Black
team of dancers? In a meeting last
week, LaVerne (who I had worked
with more than a decade ago with
her dance studio, Simba Talent Development Center, but had not seen
or spoken with since around the
early 1990s) explained this crucial
part of Black history intertwined
with Las Vegas’ entertainment history.
LaVerne tells it this way as she
did in a DVD documentary, available to the public, that holds rare
insight into the back dressing rooms
and the backstage goings on of the
early Strip, especially the show
“Hallelujah Hollywood!” that ran
from 1974 to 1980:
“They [the hotels] did not allow
Black dancers in the main show line
at that time. Donn Arden [decided]
to put together an all-Black chorus
line.” (Kudos, Mr. Arden, for that
smart move.)
LaVerne was the first captain of
that line. She says she worked with
many other talented entertainers,
one of them was her beloved colleague, Winston Hemsley, who has
since passed. He was a Black modern, ballet and jazz dancer who
opened the show. They had worked
together in New York with Pearl
Bailey and Cab Calloway in “Hello
Dolly.”
“We started in 1974 when the
show opened. ...In 1978... you
didn’t know... but it was still segregated. It was still only one [Black]
line that was threaded throughout
the show [in and out of the White
dancers on the main chorus line and
between their acts],” she recalled.
In 1978?! That was amazing;
that’s when I moved here in 1978,
worked there, saw them dance (before I would meet her decades
later), but I never knew about the
silent segregation right before my
eyes. Yes, it’s changed now, but it
is part of Las Vegas and a part of
Black history here.
LaVerne invites the public to a
free exhibit at the William U.
Pearson Community Center located
at 1625 W. Carey in North Las Vegas. The showstopper, so to speak,
is a display of photographs showing the “Showboat” costume designed by Bob Mackie for LaVerne
to wear in the show. It is something
to see! The exhibit starts Feb. 25
and runs indefinitely.
She and others produced a DVD
of a documentary that ran on public television about that part of Las
Vegas and Black history. “Reflections of the Ebony Guys, Dolls &
Techs” is a video documentary of
panel discussions and interviews
with members reminiscing about
their experiences of being the first
Black chorus line and the first Black
show technicians on the Las Vegas
Strip. Among the early techs is B.J.
Thomas, who is a promotions and
distribution manager for the project.
“We each tell our stories of how
it was when we came to Las Vegas—whether we were accepted or
not,” she said when asked what
Technician B.J. Thomas, shown operating stage equipment, is among
the first Blacks to work behind the scenes of the Las Vegas Strip’s
massive production shows in the 1970s.
Show Producer Donn Arden (“Hallelujah Hollywood!” and later “Jubilee”) added a chorus line of allBlack dancers in 1974 during segregation on the stages of the Las Vegas Strip.
viewers would see on the DVD. She this story and so many other Black from the prior week’s article) “on,
said her purpose for the exhibit and stories that comprise Black History and on, and on, and on...”
the comprehensive DVD is to “edu- in Las Vegas. In fact, in separate
Parker Philpot is a Southern
cate.”
phone conversations, Claytee, Nevada-based writer, commentator
The DVDs are complimentary LaVerne and I concur that a “Black and humorist. She periodically
for use by schools, families, orga- History Year” is a great idea. So, writes “From Parker’s Pen” and
nizations, and individual residents here’s to learning more about Black features interesting people, highor visitors. For information about history this month, this year, and lights businesses, and points out
the DVD or exhibit, call (702) 274- each day of every year. Black his- kudos and caveats for better living.
0849.
tory gets created every day, and it Her
contact
email
is
There is much more to tell about goes (quoting Arementel Austin [email protected].
February 18-24, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 7
Goodman
(Continued from Page 1)
Robert Meyers speaks to media outside his house, Friday, Feb. 13, 2015 in Las Vegas. His wife Tammy was
shot in the head after an apparent road-rage attack by a driver who followed her to their Las Vegas home.
Mom killed in Las Vegas
road-rage shooting:
scary, but atypical
By Patrik Jonsson
Christian Science Monitor
ATLANTA — An exchange of
words after a near crash has apparently led to the road-rage shooting
death of Tammy Meyers, a 40something
Las Vegas mother of four, in
what has become an uncomfortable
reminder for a commuting nation of
the most dire consequences of rudeness and lack of compassion in traffic.
Police describe the suspect who
killed Ms. Meyers as a young white
man with a spiked hairdo and blue
or hazel eyes. The two nearly collided at an intersection and had
words, and then the suspect followed Meyers back to her house.
Once there, Meyers asked a family member for help, who apparently returned gunfire after Meyers
was shot. The mother, who sustained head injuries, was taken off
life support Saturday night.
No doubt, it’s a scary and exceedingly tragic episode, leaving
one heartbroken family and Greater
Las Vegas with far more questions
than answers. “He fired the shot.
She’s gone. And I don’t have my
wife,” Meyers’s husband, Robert
Meyers, told CBS News.
On one hand, the incident fits
into a long history of road-rage violence in the United States, including some recent viral videos highlighting drivers gone mad. But the
frequency of road-rage murders,
according to a 1990s-era study, is
low, given a total of 218 such killings over six years in a country
where 210 million people drive an
average of 37 miles each day.
Some researchers hypothesize
that road rage is more common to-
day. On the whole, police reported
12,160 road-rage injuries between
1990 and 1996, according to the
study, done by the AAA Foundation
for Traffic Safety.
Unfortunately, no agency keeps
detailed statistics on road-rage incidents. According to the surveys
that have been done, males under
the age of 19 are the most likely
road-ragers. Moreover, half of drivers who encounter a hand gesture
or other act of aggression from a
fellow driver tend to return the favor,
according
to
SafeMotorist.com.
But by far, the biggest point of
complaint coming from US drivers
isn’t people brandishing weapons,
but dummies who weave through
lanes. Lead-foots figure into nearly
2 of every 3 accidents, according
to the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration. In Georgia,
for one, LED highway signs are
now warning of a crackdown in that
state on tailgating and other forms
of pushy driving.
Distracted driving, the scourge
of the texting age, can also play a
role in tensions on the road.
But road rage is often different,
more like the occasional conclusion
of aggressive driving.
“People tend to feel more anonymous when they’re in their vehicles,” Dr. William Van Tassel,
manager of AAA’s driver training
programs, told Autoblog.com recently. “They might behave differently than they would at the workplace, with people they don’t have
to deal with.”
A major manhunt continued
Monday in the Las Vegas area for
the suspect in the road-rage shooting.
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by the weekly Las Vegas Tribune and hosted by the newspaper’s
Founder and Publisher, Rolando Larraz. Face The Tribune, which often showcases interviews of political figures and entertainers of our
community, airs daily on the Las Vegas Tribune newspaper’s own
radio station, RadioTribune.com, since the station was launched in
2010.
Among the well-known figures that have appeared on Face The
Tribune are 39-year veteran police detective Gordon Martines while
he was a candidate for Clark County Sheriff, Clark County District
Attorney Steve Wolfson, County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak,
Commissioner Larry Weekly, and Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani.
Martines is now a columnist with the Las Vegas Tribune and also
hosts his own show on radiotribune.com Tuesdays and Thursdays from
11 to noon.
Many judges like Ann Zimmerman, Debby Lippis, Bill Jansen,
Bill Kephart, Cedric Kerns and many political candidates have come
through the small but brave radio station’s door, speaking out through
a venue that prides itself on being a sister in spirit to the publication
— the Las Vegas Tribune — which is a voice for those who don’t
have a voice.
Page 8 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / February 18-24, 2015
Hypermasculinity and World-ending Weapons
By Winslow Myers
Escalating tensions in Ukraine
raise the concern that the “firebreak” between conventional and
the tactical nuclear weapons potentially available to all parties in the
conflict could be breached, with
unforeseen consequences.
Loren Thompson spelled out in
Forbes Magazine how the Ukraine
crisis could go nuclear: through
faulty intelligence, through the opposed parties sending mixed signals
to each other, through looming defeat for either side, or through command breakdown on the battlefield.
In its simplest form, the complex
Ukraine situation boils down to
conflicting interpretations and
value systems: for Putin, the
NATO-izing of Ukraine was an affront to the Russian homeland that
could not go unacknowledged, especially given the history of repeated invasion of Russia by foreign forces. From the West’s perspective, Ukraine had the right as a
sovereign nation to join NATO and
enjoy its protection, though the crisis begs the question of why there
is still a NATO at all given our remove from the long finished Cold
War. Is NATO a bulwark against
Putin’s revived Russian imperialism, or was NATO’s overreach right
up to Russia’s borders the initial
cause of his paranoid response?
While sovereignty and democracy are significant political values,
one has only to reverse the scenario
in Ukraine to begin to understand,
if not sympathize with, Putin’s macho posturing. The most relevant
reverse example already happened
Riviera
(Continued from Page 1)
until the agenda went out this morning.
Sources close to the convention
center anticipate that the hotel will
seal the agreement by Friday, February 20, and the hotel will close
approximately ninety days later.
The Riviera may get an extra
ninety days to close to meet legal
requirement with gaming laws.
The Las Vegas Convention and
Visitors Authority could be in complete control of the site by August
of this year.
The Riviera, which opened in
April 1955, is one of the oldest casinos on the Strip. Its original ninestory iteration was the first high-rise
on the Strip.
Morry Mason of Taylor International Corp., which developed the
hotel, told the Las Vegas Sun in
1993 that people used to wait in line
just to ride the elevator for a view
from the top.
LVCVA says it’s the largest
project of its kind since the convention center was built in the 1950s.
The first phase would include
750,000 square feet of new exhibit
space and an additional 187,500
square feet of supporting meeting
space.
The second phase would include
a remodel of the existing convention center “and includes 100,000
square feet general session space
and another 100,000 square feet of
meeting space,” a release said.
WINSLOW MYERS
way back in 1962. It is of course
the Cuban Missile Crisis, where the
United States felt its “sphere of influence” unacceptably penetrated,
the Monroe Doctrine writ nuclear.
Fifty-three years later the international community appears to have
learned little from coming within a
hair’s breadth of annihilation.
The crisis is an instructive example of why the blithe delay of the
great powers to meet the their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty could end in a
worst-case scenario. Our strategists
have not begun to comprehend how
much the presence of world-ending
weapons reconfigures the role of
military force in solving planetary
conflicts.
It helps with this reconfiguration
to acknowledge the evolutionary biology of male (female too, but
mostly male) interaction in conflict—our fight or flight reflexes.
Governmental officials and press
commentators dignify this position
or that by diplomatically phrased
rationalizations, but beneath all the
rhetoric we are still in a schoolyard
space, or perhaps a zoo, beating our
Once complete, the expansion
and renovation would expand from
3.2 million square feet to nearly 5.7
million square feet.
More than 6,000 construction
jobs are expected to be created for
the project, while also bringing a
permanent job force of 6,000 once
completed.
chests and roaring like gorillas.
It is a vast understatement to say
that a new paradigm of masculinity is needed. In the old one, I am
manly because I protect my position, my turf. In the new, I protect
ongoing life on the planet as a
whole. In the old, I am credible because I back up my threats with
megatons of destructive (though
ultimately self-destructive) power.
In the new, I acknowledge that the
rigidity of my convictions could
end up ending the world. Given that
the alternate is mass death, I look
for reconciliation.
Is such a radical change possible
in the present climate of masculine
violence that so dominates world
media, sports and video games, and
hyper-competitive, often corrupt
capitalism? But the looming reality of more Cuban Missile crises,
assuming the world survives them,
will pressure men to broaden out to
the planetary level what it now
means to be a winner, to be a protector not only of a family or a nation, but of a planet, home of all we
share and value.
It is not as if there is no precedent for this emerging masculine
paradigm. Think Gandhi, Cesar
Chavez, and Dr. King. Were they
wimpy or weak? Hardly. The capacity to expand identification to include care for the whole earth and
all humanity lies within all of us,
waiting for opportunities to take
creative form.
One underpublicized example of
the new paradigm emerging in creative tension with the old is Rotary.
Rotary was begun by businessmen.
Business by nature is competitive—
and often politically conservative
because markets require political
stability—but the values of Rotary
transcend the schoolyard aspects of
competition, in favor of fairness,
friendship, and high ethical standards that include asking one question implying planetary identification: will a given initiative be ben-
eficial to all concerned? Rotary has
more than 1.2 million members in
over 32,000 clubs among 200 countries and geographical areas. They
took on the extraordinarily large,
seemingly impossible task of ending polio on the planet, and they
have come very close to success.
Perhaps organizations like Rotary
will become the gymnasiums in
which a new masculine paradigm
will wrestle the old one into obsolescence. What might Rotary be
able to do if it dared to take on ending war?
Winslow Myers, syndicated by
Peacevoice, is author of “Living
Beyond War: A Citizen’s Guide.”
He serves on the Advisory Board of
the War Preventive Initiative.
[email protected]
February 18-24, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 9
Federal judge orders temporary halt to
deferred deportation program. Now what?
Ultimately, the Supreme Court has emphasized that the federal government has
broad discretion in the area of immigration that preempts the powers of the states.
By Doug Mataconis
Christian Science Monitor
A federal district court judge in
Texas has ordered a temporary halt
to the Obama administration’s deferred deportation plan for some
people who are in the country illegally, ruling that it exceeds the authority granted to the executive
branch by federal immigration
laws:
A federal judge in Texas has ordered a halt, at least temporarily, to
President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, siding with
Texas and 25 other states that filed
a lawsuit opposing the initiatives.
In an order filed on Monday, the
judge, Andrew S. Hanen of Federal
District Court in Brownsville, prohibited the Obama administration
from carrying out programs the
president announced in November
that would offer protection from
deportation and work permits to as
many as five million undocumented
immigrants.
The first of those programs was
scheduled to start receiving applications on Wednesday and the immediate impact of the ruling is that
up to 270,000 undocumented immigrants nationwide who came to
the United States as children will
not be able to apply for deportation
protection under an expansion of an
existing executive program. A
larger new program is scheduled to
begin in May.
Judge Hanen, an outspoken
critic of the administration on immigration policy, found that the
states had satisfied the minimum
legal requirements to bring their
lawsuit. He said the Obama administration had failed to comply with
basic administrative procedures for
putting such a sweeping program
into effect.
The administration argued that
Mr. Obama was well within longestablished federal authority for a
president to decide how to enforce
the immigration laws. But Texas
and the other states said the executive measures were an egregious
case of government by fiat that
would impose huge new costs on
their budgets.
The White House responded to
the judge’s ruling in a statement
early Tuesday, saying the president
had acted within the law and with
decades of legal precedent behind
him in issuing the guidelines.
“The Department of Justice, legal scholars, immigration experts
and the district court in Washington, D.C., have determined that the
president’s actions are well within
his legal authority,” the White
House statement said. “The district
court’s decision wrongly prevents
these lawful, common sense policies from taking effect, and the
Department of Justice has indicated
that it will appeal that decision.”
In ordering the administration to
suspend the programs while he
makes a final decision on the case,
Judge Hanen agreed with the states
that the president’s policies had already been costly for them.
“The court finds that the
government’s failure to secure the
border has exacerbated illegal immigration into this country,” Judge
Hanen wrote. “Further, the record
supports the finding that this lack
of enforcement, combined with the
country’s high rate of illegal immigration, significantly drains the
states’ resources.”
In his opinion, Judge Hanen accused administration officials of
being “disingenuous” when they
said the president’s initiatives did
not significantly alter existing policies. He wrote that the programs
were “a massive change in immigration practice” that would affect
“the nation’s entire immigration
scheme and the states who must
bear the lion’s share of its consequences.” He said the executive
actions had violated laws that the
federal government must follow to
issue new rules, and he determined
“the states have clearly proven a
likelihood of success on the merits.”
Since the lawsuit was filed on
Dec. 3, the stark divisions over Mr.
Obama’s sweeping actions have
played out in filings in the case.
Three senators and 65 House members, all Republicans, signed a legal brief opposing the president that
was filed by the American Center
for Law and Justice, a conservative
legal action organization.
Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of
Maricopa County in Arizona, who
Ruben Casillas (right) and others show their support during an event on DACA and DAPA Immigration
Relief at the Houston International Trade Center on Tuesday in Houston. The White House promised an
appeal Tuesday after a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked President Obama’s executive action on
immigration.
is known for crackdowns on people
“The strong entrepreneurial their own.”
living in the country illegally, also spirit of immigrants to the United
The states’ lawsuit quotes Mr.
filed a brief supporting the states’ States has significantly boosted Obama as saying many times in relawsuit. In December, a federal local economies and local labor cent years that he did not have aujudge in Washington dismissed a markets,” the mayors wrote in thority to take actions as broad as
separate lawsuit by Sheriff Arpaio their filing.
those he ultimately took. Mr. Tribe
seeking to stop the president’s acSome legal scholars said any said that argument was not likely to
tions.
order by Judge Hanen to halt the pass muster with appeals court
On the other side, Washington president’s actions would be judges.
and 11 other states as well as the quickly suspended by the United
“All of that is interesting political
District of Columbia weighed in States Court of Appeals for the rhetoric,” he said, “but it has nothing
supporting Mr. Obama, arguing that Fifth Circuit in New Orleans.
to do with whether the states have
they would benefit from the inFederal supremacy with re- standing and nothing to do with the
creased wages and taxes that would spect to immigration matters law.”
result if illegal immigrant workers makes the states a kind of interThis ruling by Judge Hansen, a
came out of the underground. The loper in disputes between the George W. Bush appointee who was
mayors of 33 cities, including New president and Congress,” said originally nominated by President
York and Los Angeles, and the Con- Laurence H. Tribe, a professor of George H.W. Bush only to see his
ference of Mayors also supported constitutional law at Harvard.
nomination lapse before the Senate
Mr. Obama.
“They don’t have any right of could vote on it in 1992, deals with
two issues that impact both the legal merits of the program, the president announced, and the future of
any litigation challenging that program.
As I’ve discussed in the past, one
immediate hurdle that any party
challenging the program, which is
officially known as “Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and
Lawful Permanent Residents,” or
DAPA, is the question of whether
or not anyone would have standing
under the law to actually challenge
the program. Late last year, for example, a lawsuit that had been filed
by Sheriff Joe Aripaio of Maricopa
County, Ariz., was dismissed by a
federal judge in Washington, D.C.,
at least in part because the judge
found that Aripaio lacked standing
to challenge the DAPA program. In
that case, Arpaio had essentially
argued that he had standing to bring
the case because the new policy
would require his agency to expend
resources to deal with illegal immigrants arriving in the area in response to the new federal policy.
The judge in that case, correctly in
my opinion, rejected Arpaio’s argument because he had failed to articulate any kind of particularized
harm resulting from the DAPA program.
In the lawsuit before Judge
Hansen, Texas and the other states
that had joined it in the litigation
are essentially making the same
type of argument regarding the alleged damages that they would suffer as a result of the new policy.
As I noted when the Texas lawsuit was first filed, it’s an argument
that does not really stand up to scrutiny when you look at it logically.
Where the judge in Washington rejected Arpaio’s standing argument,
though, Judge Hansen essentially
(See Immigration, Page 10)
Page 10 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / February 18-24, 2015
Immigration
(Continued from Page 9)
accepted it lock, stock, and barrel.
Essentially, Judge Hansen argued
that Texas and the other states have
standing because the new program
would increase the number of
people eligible for certain state benefits. The problem with that argument, though, is that most of the
benefits that the states cite in their
favor are not ones that DAPA requires them to issue, so, as the Justice Department argues, the injuries
are in some sense self-inflicted.
Without question, the standing issue is one that will be heavily argued in the expected appeal of this
ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals and, if necessary, the Supreme Court.
On the merits of the case, it’s
important to note that Judge Hansen
has not ruled that the administration acted unconstitutionally in issuing the regulations that make up
the DAPA program, or even that the
regulations violate the discretion
that the nation’s immigration laws
grant to the executive branch.
Instead, his ruling at this point
is based on the argument made by
the states that the administration
failed to abide by the provisions of
the Administrative Procedure Act in
issuing the regulations. In theory,
the administration could overcome
this problem through some mildly
cumbersome but ultimately limited
bureaucratic measures, but it’s unlikely that will happen given the
fact that this is merely a temporary
ruling until Hansen rules on the ultimate merits of the state’s claims
and that the process of appealing
this decision to the Fifth Circuit
and, ultimately, the Supreme Court
will ultimately be less cumbersome
and time consuming. For the time
being, though, this means that the
DAPA program is on temporary
hold and that the estimated three to
four million people who would
have been eligible to apply under
its provisions will have to wait until the stay is lifted to proceed forward.
Ultimately, as I’ve noted before,
the Supreme Court emphasized in
its decision several years ago regarding Arizona’s controversial bill
to give police expanded authority
to detain suspected illegal immigrants that the federal government
has broad discretion in the area of
immigration that preempts the powers of the states.
As Ian Millheiser notes, that decision was handed down mere days
after the president had announced
the initial Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that provides temporary legal
status for immigrants brought to
this country illegally as children.
No doubt, the justices were well
aware of this program when they
were making the final adjustments
to their opinions in that case. Indeed, Justice Scalia had taken the
rather unusual step of mentioning
DACA in his dissenting opinion
even though it was entirely irrelevant to the case before the court.
As Millheiser argues, if the court
shared Scalia’s disdain for DACA,
then it seems counterintuitive that
(Continued from Page 1)
(OASDI) have their own official
balances and allocation of revenues
from Social Security payroll taxes
— and hence they have differing
levels of solvency.
The problem
The old-age trust fund is on track
to be able to keep paying promised
benefits in full through 2034, but
the DI program can only do this
through 2016, according to estimates from Social Security’s trustees.
Going ‘broke’?
The 2016 date is where Senator
Enzi and others draw references to
DI “bankruptcy” or going “broke”
by next year. It’s also what prompts
the Obama administration to call for
a fix. But the DI program would still
have enough tax revenue that could
keep funding about 81 percent of
promised benefits. That’s not good
for beneficiaries, but it’s not the
same as going broke.
Obama’s proposal
Obama’s proposed fix is designed to balance things out so the
two trust funds last for the same
amount of time before running dry.
It would put a higher share of payroll taxes toward the DI program,
and a smaller share toward the oldage program. By Social Security’s
estimates, that would mean neither
trust fund would be depleted until
2033.
Looking ahead
That 2033 date is the one many
Democrats emphasize when they
call the other side alarmists. Yet at
best, that merely postpones one day
of reckoning (the 2016 DI deadline)
while bringing another one (for the
old-age program) a year closer. And
when you’re talking about all US
retirees facing the prospect of getting only 75 percent of promised
benefits, 2033 isn’t so far away.
These facts suggest that Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah had
a valid point when he argued this
week on the Senate floor that “having a joint trust fund exhaustion as
a target doesn’t solve any fundamental financial problem facing...
Social Security.”
At the same time, Democrats
have a point when they note that rebalancing the tax revenues between
the two trust funds has been done
by Congress many times in the past.
The nonpartisan Committee for
a Responsible Federal Budget notes
that Congress has reallocated tax receipts between these two funds in
the past, but generally accompanied
by reforms to Social Security.
House Republicans are seeking
to block any such reallocation, unless it’s accompanied by reforms to
shore up Social Security so promised benefits can be paid beyond
2033.
The Social Security trustees said
in their 2014 annual report that although Congress may consider another rebalancing, such a move
“might serve to delay DI reforms
and much needed financial corrections for OASDI as a whole.”
Regardless of whether the tax
flows are rebalanced, the two programs may call for differing reforms to bolster their solvency.
In the old-age program, possible
fixes include asking high-earning
Americans to shoulder bigger tax
burdens, modestly raising the retirement age, and adjusting the inflation index used for benefits (so that
annual cost-of-living increases
aren’t so big).
On the disability side, changes
might include expanding incentives
for people to work rather than rely
on DI benefits. “Increasing employment among individuals with disabilities could improve their economic well-being and increase their
autonomy while also reducing the
fiscal strains on Social Security,”
Stanford University economist
Mark Duggan argued at a Senate
hearing this week.
The disability program has
grown markedly in recent years. By
2012 it was accounting for 18 percent of all Social Security benefits,
up from 10 percent in 1970, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Much of the expansion stemmed
from demographics, as an aging
population included more people
developing disabilities in their later
work years, a 2013 CBO analysis
concluded. But it also found the
growth in the program to be related
to 1984 legislation that loosened the
definition of conditions qualifying
as disabilities, and in fluctuations
in the economy — such as the long
jobs drought following the 2008 financial crisis.
“The DI rolls have barely grown
for the last two years,” notes Kathy
Ruffing of the liberal Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities.
That slowdown coincides with
an easing of demographic pressures
on the program, as the baby
boomers retire, as well as the improving economy.
Social Security
they would have been comfortable
with issuing an opinion with such a
broad endorsement of near-complete discretion for the federal government in general, and the executive branch in particular. Obviously,
we can’t know exactly how the justices would rule in this case if and
when it reaches them, but the Arizona case certainly seems to suggest that they would be more likely
to favor the arguments of the Justice Department than those advanced by the states.
As a preliminary matter, the federal government has already announced that it will be appealing
this ruling to the Fifth Circuit,
which will have to decide whether
or not to stay Judge Hansen’s ruling before ruling on the merits itself. Potentially, the Supreme Court
could also be asked to weigh in on
the question of a stay of the ruling
as well. If that stay is lifted, then
DAPA will be able to go forward
while the merits case proceeds forward. If it is not, then the program
would be on hold until a final ruling is issued and perhaps far beyond
then, considering that this is likely
to be a case that will find its way to
the Supreme Court eventually.
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Open Mic
Every Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 a.m., Gordon Martines hosts
“Open Mic,” a popular RadioTribune.com show. The Anti-Corruption
Coalition of Nevada is the basis for and theme of “Open Mic.”
Gordon Martines was a career police officer with 39 years of on-thejob Law Enforcement experience. Past cases involving Kevin Daley,
Trayvon Cole and a variety of other covered-up criminal cases, and a
billion dollars worth of missing taxpayer money, are discussed in depth
and at length on the show.
Martines spent four years as police officer with the Hermosa Beach
Police Department before moving here and resuming his police career in
Las Vegas as a Detective in the Robbery/Homicide Bureau, retiring from
the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department after 36 years of police
service.
The amount of corruption and cover-ups by executive Police Administrative officers witnessed by Martines inside the department led to his
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“Open Mic” carries the voice the LVMPD does not want you to hear,
yet it is always there, every Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 a.m. on
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The show’s host, Rolando Larraz, has been a journalist in Clark County
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For stories and information not available anywhere else in Las Vegas,
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*****
The Victoria Seaman Show
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Vegas’ #1 online talk show radio network.
The Victoria Seaman Show
“Nevada Speaks”
From The Desk
(Continued from Page 1)
tion against those that coerced, intimidated, and apparently threatened Chris Edwards, is like letting
the fox loose in the hen house.
The tactics (Search Warrant)
used by Sheriff Joe Lombardo
against those individuals listed in
the original complaint by detectives
in the Intelligence Section of the
LVMPD against Robert Lauer,
Tony Dane, and others, are not customary and usual for this type of
case.
Under normal circumstances the
crime of Extortion is investigated
by the Robbery/Homicide Bureau,
specifically the Robbery Section. I
know this to be true, because that
is what I used to do for many years,
and was considered an expert in that
field. Whenever I see that the
LVMPD Intelligence Section is involved in investigating any crime
that is normally investigated by a
specific bureau or section in the
LVMPD, I — along with my former
co-workers — would always get a
sick feeling in my stomach, because
I knew that some funny business
was about to take place, and that the
“fix” was in, at the Sheriff’s behest,
regardless of the true facts of the
case.
The question is, how can the
LVMPD be considered unbiased
and neutral in this investigation
when the LVMPD is poised to benefit if Chris Edwards’ allegations
are proved to be valid and the
LVMPD is successful in prosecuting those involved in this case?
Obviously, if Chris Edwards votes
to pass Governor Brian Sandoval’s
Tax Initiative along with some other
turncoat no-increase-in-taxes legislators, such as John Hambrick, et
al., it will probably line the pockets
of the LVMPD and others as well,
at taxpayers’ expense.
The use of a SWAT team and
aggressive police tactics, by orders
February 18-24, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 11
of Sheriff Joe Lombardo, to gather
documentary evidence from the
homes of Lauer and Dane, is unbelievable and unwarranted in this
case. Tactics such as were used
against these American citizens —
such as ripping up carpet, making
holes in walls, and eventually confiscating electronic equipment in
their homes — all, in show of force
and an attempt to intimidate,
threaten and coerce Lauer and Dane
and their PAC’s to run for fear from
a manufactured misdirected criminal complaint that should have been
handled by the FBI and Justice Department from the very beginning,
instead of by a law enforcement
agency and the rest of the state,
which have a part, and is complicit,
in the original complaint of extortion.
Lauer and Dane have acquired
an attorney to represent them in
these unlawful actions in the serving of the Search Warrant. These
egregious actions, confiscated
property and damage to private
property by the LVMPD cannot be
taken back or undone. Not being
able to review the original affidavit
for the search warrant because it is
sealed, I would have to guess that
there is a First Amendment viola-
tion lurking around in this case
against the LVMPD and Sheriff Joe
Lombardo, et. al. It appears that the
LVMPD is still violating citizens’
civil rights, and hasn’t learned or
changed a thing from the previous
police administration, other than
using our tax dollars to cover their
wrongful acts as usual. Again, your
tax dollars at work.
Folks, when is this community
going to wake up and demand that
accountability be imposed on our
leaders, and see that they have a lot
to be held accountable for?
IN GOD WE TRUST
*****
Gordon Martines is a former
LVMPD detective who has served
in many capacities over his 39-year
career in law enforcement. He has
been a candidate for sheriff in 2002,
2006, 2010 and 2014, with the intention of bringing integrity and accountability back to the department,
and filed a federal lawsuit against
LVMPD in 2011. Martines now
contributes his opinions and ideas
to the Las Vegas Tribune to keep the
public informed and help improve
policing in Las Vegas. He has also
appeared on the Face the Tribune
radio program several times to
share his plan for a better LVMPD.
Face the Tribune Guest
City Council candidate Eric Krattiger to
appear on ‘Face The Tribune’ Friday, Feb. 20
City Council candidate Eric
Krattiger to appear on Face The
Tribune on Friday, February 20,
to speak about his city council
race and why he decided to run
and how he ended up with a new
campaign manager after announcing his intentions to run for
a city council seat.
Eric Krattiger
Open Mic
with Gordon Martines
11:00 a.m.
Tuesday and
Thursdays
on
RadioTribune.com
Face the
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EDITORIALS
Page 12 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / February 18-24, 2015
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. — Thomas Jefferson
Our Point of View
Little lies or Giant lies:
Which are the easiest
to be forgiven?
Last week Brian Williams was suspended for six months
without pay for misrepresenting events that happened during the Iraq War.
Williams has been the anchor of the NBC Nightly News
for over a decade, and after he admitted on the air that he
had misrepresented some events while he was covering
the Iraq War twelve years ago, he offered an on-the-airapology.
Six months without pay may be a little too strong of a
punishment for a man that has served in his Managing
Editor and Anchor for NBC Nightly News capacity for
more than a decade.
We realize that one wrong does not get cancelled out by
one right, but we ask: who has not stretched the truth a
little bit once in a while?
We have presidents lying when they assure the nation
that “I have not had sex with that woman” or “...you can
keep the plan and the doctor you have now”; we have a
Governor who assured his state that, if elected, he would
not raise taxes — but when elected, that governor more
than raised taxes and the citizens had to swallow the
governor’s words.
We also have a U.S. Senator that denied making statements about Obama Care. Why not accept a news anchor
reporter stretching the truth about what helicopter he was
traveling on when they were attacked?
Perhaps the impact of the helicopter in front of his coming under fire during the Iraq War in 2003 could have made
a negative impact on his mind.
NBC News president Deborah Turness said in a staff
memo obtained by TV.com, “This was a very hard decision.” She continued, “Certainly there will be those who
disagree. But we believe this suspension is the appropriate
and proportionate action.”
Of course there will be those who disagree and we are
among those who disagree, unless there is more to the story
than Ms. Turness is telling us.
One sad incident in twelve years is not really a bad
record; even one incident a year in this tumultuous world
today may not be too much of a bad record.
Williams did not distort the news; he did not take sides
in his story and did not change the facts of the story.
Using a phrase made famous by former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton, “What difference does it make now?”
If Brian Williams was in the first helicopter, the second
one, or even on roller skates, as long as the news was factual and truthful, what difference does that detail make?
Perhaps Brian Williams has committed an error and
could have jeopardized the trust that his audience and his
employer have placed in him, but, can we ignore or forget
his service and dedication during all the years he worked
for NBC?
Perhaps this situation could have been created for a reason with a hidden motive to promote someone else without being too obvious.
Look at Brian Williams’ “temporary” replacement, a man
with lots of talent and intelligence, who is well-liked, has
a great personality, and above all, this man, Lester Holt, is
a Black man ready to fulfill the quota that the law requires
of having “X” amount of minorities in key positions to be
“politically correct” and avoid any suggestion of being seen
as possibly racist, maybe incurring a penalty as a company that neglects to promote minorities.
NBC Steve Burke has said that “By his actions, Brian
has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in
NBC News. His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate. Brian’s life’s work is delivering the news. I know Brian loves his country, NBC News,
and his colleagues. He deserves a second chance and we
are rooting for him.
Brian has shared his deep remorse with me and he is
committed to winning back everyone’s trust.”
We at Las Vegas Tribune agree with Steve Burke’s statement; we believe that Brian Williams was sincere when he
expressed his deep remorse and we believe that he is sincere in his apologies and that he deserves a second chance.
The public, Brian Williams’ audience, does not deserve
to be deprived of the talent of the man that for twelve years
has done an extraordinary job and has served his bosses to
the best of his ability and has not let anyone down.
We hope someone listens to us and starts writing to the
executives, management and others on the corporate ladder to get them to lift the punishment on Brian Williams
and start being more concerned with other issues that affect the news business and the nation. Being politically
correct over one simple mistake — compared to the GIANT lies of others — does not seem worth all that energy.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE
In honor of all our presidents:
World Peace is still the plan
By Maramis
to all others, and that it possesses
Some days it just gets to you.
exclusive authority over other reliSome days you just wonder why the
gions, such a religion becomes intolheck the obvious cannot be seen by
erant of other religions and even
any country, especially ours. But
dares to persecute other religious bethen when you ponder further, you
lievers.
know why: no country wants to be
Therefore, it seems likely that rethe first to give up their sovereignty
ligious peace cannot exist until all
to join in unity with other countries.
religions are willing to completely
For Pete’s sake — we can’t even live
divest themselves of all ecclesiastiand let live when it comes to relical authority (which makes them begion!
lieve they are the only true religion),
That’s right! Unity is the obvious
and surrender that sense of religious
MARAMIS CHOUFANI
answer. Not uniformity, where we’re
sovereignty to the One God-by-anyall alike — thinking alike and acting alike—; but unity, name alone — which means realizing that the kingliving in harmony because we allow for everyone else dom of heaven is free from castes, classes, social levwhat we want them to allow for us. Hmmmm. Sounds els, economic and other groups of any kind. We (those
who oppose such religious intolerance) obviously cana little like the Golden Rule of Life.
But wait! There’s more! There are many different not then strive with any religions on the basis of “our”
reasons for disunity because there are many different — or any — religion is better than any other. Even if
reasons for the whys and wherefores of how one runs we come to that desirable state of affairs, where we all
a country: Obviously (one would think), city matters accept accepting each other’s beliefs, if one religion
need to be handled by city governments; and county again starts to assert its “superiority” over other relimatters by county governments, etc. But then it gets gions, we will be right back to dissention, recriminations, or even religious wars — making us realize that
into something a little tricky at the country level.
Today, many countries are identified with a par- all religious groups must give up completely and forticular religion — the countries of Iraq and Iran, Saudi ever their traditional notions of divine favor, chosen
Arabia and many others, for example, are identified people, and religious sovereignty in favor of the sinwith being Islamic. The United States, Brazil, England gular sovereignty of one God, the Father. Many are
and Mexico, on the other hand, are more identified already not happy with that proposition, and mayhap
with being Christian. Israel, of course, is noted as the never will be, which only makes it all the easier to
sole country with a high Jewish population, with the actually understand “the other guy’s” point of view as
United States coming in as second runner-up — and to why we have such perpetual religious DISunity.
Which brings me to political sovereignty. Oh boy!
at that, with only about 2.11 percent of the populaCan you imagine what life on this planet would be
tion. And those are just the big three.
But here’s the point that we must not miss: When like if every religionist and every country insisted on
(See Maramis, Page 16)
one religion assumes that it is in some way superior
Remodeling democracy, 800 years on
Global surveys show rising distrust of traditional democracy, and many
institutions. Yet other indicators suggest young people want different types
of civic engagement. The media must probe beyond the politics of conflict.
By the Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board
This year marks the 800th anniversary of Magna
Carta, Latin for “Great Charter.” The document, sealed
by King John in 1215, helped launch the long struggle
for democracy and civic rights around the world. Yet
by many measures, traditional democracy — at least
the kind spread widely in the 20th century — appears
to be in trouble, leading some experts to ask if democracy itself is changing.
Consider these recent surveys:
For the ninth straight year, political rights and civil
liberties across the globe have declined, according to
Freedom House’s annual report. In 2014, democracy
was under its greatest threat in the last quarter century in places such as Egypt, Thailand, and Russia.
Another survey, called AmericasBarometer Study,
found a precipitous drop of trust in elections in 26
countries in the Americas, from Chile to Canada.
Globally, public trust in government, business,
media, and nongovernmental organizations “evaporated” last year, according to a survey of 33,000 people
by the Edelman public relations firm. For the first time,
nearly two-thirds of the 27 nations surveyed fell on
the “distrustful” side of the Edelman Trust Barometer. Surprisingly, trust in NGOs fell for the first time.
In the United States, a federal survey shows a
steady decline in 16 of 20 indicators of “civic health.”
Fewer Americans, for example, say it is important to
report a crime. In the last elections, only slightly more
than one-third of eligible voters cast ballots.
Support for democracy remains high around the
world. But, says political scientist Hendrik Wagenaar
of the University of Sheffield, “Satisfaction with the
performance of their own democratic system does not
tally with citizens’ political aspirations.”
Professor Wagenaar, like many scholars, wonders
if people are searching for new forms of civic association based on shared values and beliefs, often lo-
cal in nature or through digital communities.
“They feel that ‘official democracy,’ the democracy
that the media report on, does not do well in addressing these concerns, let alone solving them,” he writes.
“People haven’t abandoned politics, but politics, they
feel, has abandoned them.” He cites cases in Europe
of citizens coming together to organize “social goods”
in voluntary attachments, such as in sustainable energy, rural transport, or access to the Internet. They
create ties of mutual dependency outside of government.
“Most people want to engage with democracy,” he
states. “But not the democracy of political parties,
powerful lobbying organizations, and the spectacle of
politicians arguing about a political agenda that is not
theirs. Citizens care for responsibility, respect and a
measure of control. It is astonishing to see how ordinary people are then able to master complexity, resolve conflict and arrive at creative solutions.”
In the U.S., one measure of this shift is seen among
those under age 30 (Millennials). Unlike other Americans, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll, they
have a much lower commitment to traditional civic
duties such as voting, jury duty, or following the news
media. Yet this age group does cite one civic activity,
volunteering, as a “very important obligation.”
One in 5 adults under 30 volunteered in 2013, up
from 14 percent in 1989, according to census data. But
where are they volunteering? Other data show a decline in activity for traditional institutions that rely on
volunteers.
All this hints at the need to rethink “civic health”
and ways of measuring it. After eight centuries of gains
in democracy, the forms may be changing, yet the spirit
probably remains — individuals gathering together as
equals around a common affection for the public good.
A new great charter may need to be sealed.
*****
VIEW POINTS
February 18-24, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 13
Editors note: The views expressed are entirely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Las Vegas Tribune.
Confronted on Wiregate, Don’t cry for me, Liberace!
Edwards tucks tail and runs
Edwards.”
By Chuck Muth
You see, this indicates
Assemblyman Chris
that Edwards did not run
“Let’s Make a Deal”
to Metro at the time he
Edwards was scheduled to
was allegedly bribed.
do an interview with
This indicates he only ran
KDWN 720 AM talkto Metro after he became
show host Alan Stock Friaware that Lauer was
day morning from 7:00–
considering blowing the
7:30 a.m. And he began
whistle on Edwards for
speaking
fluent
offering to sell his vote.
Politicianese with his first
In a sorta unrelated
sentence.
note, at the end of the
He did, however, anshortened interview,
CHUCK MUTH
swer one direct question
with a direct answer. He said that, yes, Stock tried twice to get Edwards to take a
someone did offer him money for his vote. firm position on Gov. Brian Sandoval’s
It’ll be interesting to see if (a) that’s true, Billion Dollar Tax Hike. And twice
and (b) who it was.
Edwards, like a typical, double-talking,
About halfway through the interview, the fork-tongued politician, ducked the quesman Edwards claims tried to bribe and ex- tion without giving a direct answer.
tort him, GOP activist Tony Dane, called
Weasel.
into the show. Rather than sandbag
*****
Edwards, though, Stock asked Edwards for
Roberson goes “postal”
permission to put Dane on the air with him.
on tax hike opponent
And that’s when Edwards tucked tail and
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (RINO)
ran for the hills!
challenged folks who oppose his Billion
Edwards refused to allow Dane on the Dollar Tax Hike to put forward their own
air, which was fine and understandable. But alternatives.
then he told Stock he suddenly had a meetNevada State Treasurer Dan Schwartz
ing to go to and had to cut the interview (R) accepted Sandoval’s challenge and did
short. What a weasel.
just that. On Thursday Schwartz appeared
But here’s something new we learned before the Senate Finance Committee and,
today which lends credence to the notion for his trouble, was verbally ripped to
that Edwards only ran to Metro on Decem- shreds by Sandoval’s political henchmen.
ber 23rd because he became aware of the
Here’s how Reno Gazette-Journal repossibility that another GOP activist, Rob porter Ray Hagar described the ambush...
Lauer, was considering filing an ethics comI’ve never seen an elected constitutional
plaint against him for trying to sell his vote. officer of Nevada get ripped so badly in
Indeed, in the search warrant affidavit the Legislature in my past 15 years coverused to search Lauer’s house, Metro de- ing Nevada politics than what happened to
clared it was specifically looking for...
Treasurer Dan Schwartz Thursday in the
“Affidavits, complaints, statements or Senate Finance Committee.
other documents which allege the commisNo respect was given Mr. Schwartz,
sion of an act which may be unlawful or Nevada’s newly-elected treasurer, before
unethical, whether actual or perceived, this usually politically-correct and high(See Chuck Muth, Page 14)
committed by Assemblyman Chris
BEHIND THE MIKE
Happy Valentines Day!
discipline from the
By Michael A. Aun
teacher, but you’d also
I was visiting a local
suffer the wrath of your
jewelry store recently to do
male classmates and felsome shopping for
low Cub Scouts.
Valentine’s Day. While peIn general, girls that
rusing the choices for my
age
are always smarter
wife of some four decades,
than
us guys... still are I’d
I couldn’t help but overguess.
It reminded me of
hear a conversation of a
an
old
Cub Scout story
fellow customer who had
we
used
to share at Scout
decided on a bracelet with
Troop
306 in St.
hearts for a girlfriend.
Stephen’s
Church there
The jeweler asked him
in
Lexington.
what he wanted engraved
MICHAEL A. AUN
A Cub Scout found a
on the back. “For my one
frog
that
could
talk.
The frog said to the
and only!” replied the customer. “No
Scout,
“Kiss
me
and
I’ll
turn into a beautiname?” queried the jeweler. “No... in case
ful
princess!”
The
boy
studied
the frog and
it doesn’t work out I can use it again!”
decided
to
put
it
into
his
pocket.
Frustrated,
Sadly, that seems to be more the rule
the
frog
said
“Hey,
why
won’t
you kiss
than the exception these days. With nearly
me?”
The
Scout
said
I’d
rather
have
a talkhalf the American population experiencing
ing
frog
than
a
princess!
at least one divorce, it begs one to question
I get that. The fact is I can understand a
the line... “till death do us part.”
talking
frog more than I can most females,
Nearly 90 percent of all marriages take
regardless
of the age. As dumb as most of
place before the age of 50. A healthy marus
men
are,
it’s no wonder that women who
riage is good for couples and children. On
give
“mixed
signals” are “misunderstood.”
the other hand, an unhealthy union can
I’m
convinced
that Valentine’s Day is
cause havoc.
the
brainchild
of
Hallmark
Cards along with
It seems like some couples enter their
the
aid
and
assistance
of
the
jewelry, candy
relationships too casually. Casualness leads
and
flower
industries.
Follow
the money
to casualties. That applies to anything you
and
you’ll
find
the
culprit.
do in life but more importantly to marriage
Seriously, is it about lovey-dovey stuff?
than anything else. Why? Because it affects
I
doubt
it. To cut to the chase, retailers have
everything else.
found
still
a new way to get into our walToo many people enter marriage with a
lets
after
we
just got over Christmas and
fallback position... if it doesn’t work out...
the
January
Visa
bill.
I’ll... whatever. A more important question:
Clint
Eastwood
once said that “Mar“How can I make this work better?”
riages
are
made
in
heaven...
but so is thunTrue, if you’re with the right person,
der
and
lightning.”
The
plain
fact is there
everyday is Valentine’s Day. But even if you
are
no
guarantees
in
life.
If
you
want a guarhave the right soul mate, it doesn’t mean
antee,
buy
a
toaster.
Some
people
give up
you don’t have to constantly work at it.
on
relationships
because
they
can’t
get the
One of my most embarrassing
guarantee
they
want.
Valentine’s Day memories came when I was
A person who loves you will never let
a young student at Lexington Elementary
you
go regardless of the situation. The truth
School in South Carolina. A girl named
is
we
fall in love by chance, but we stay in
Sherry was sitting behind me in class. She
love
by
choice.
decided to tear a piece of paper into tiny
When
marriages work for forty years or
bits and put it on top of my head. I’ll never
longer,
it
takes
a great deal of compromise,
forget how embarrassed I was at the prank.
but
more
importantly,
the ability to forgive.
Whether she was flirting with me or not
If
you
have
a
great
love
in your life, hang
I was too dumb and defensive to know the
on
to
them.
It’s
a
difficult
thing to replidifference. I felt like the dog which chases
cate!
the bus. I wouldn’t know what to do with it
Michael Aun is a syndicated columnist
if I caught it.
and
writes a weekly column for this newsGirls could get away with that kind of
paper.
To contact Michael Aun, email him
nonsense when we were children. If a boy
at
[email protected].
pulled the same gag, not only would he face
By Mace Yampolsky
to do,” LiMandri said, conA New Jersey judge
tending that the plaintiffs in
ruled that It is consumer
the suit are trying to prefraud for therapists to call
vent others from the right
homosexuality a curable
to make choices for themmental disorder. It’s amazselves. “Americans want
ing to me that people still
people to have the right to
believe this stuff. Do we
free self-determination,”
still bleed people to cure
he said. “I believe when the
them? The JONAH group
jury hears all the facts, they
of Defendants were allegwill ultimately decide in faedly referring individuals
vor of our clients.”
to therapists who claimed
JONAH is trying to proMACE YAMPOLSKY
to be able to help clients
tect people from the homochange their sexual orientation. Did they sexual lifestyle. What the heck does “hoalso sell them part of the Brooklyn Bridge? mosexual lifestyle” mean? Unfettered good
The judge stated that “It is misrepresen- taste in clothing, interior design, food and
tation in violation of the Consumer Fraud wine? A library of show tunes on one’s mp3
Act, in advertising or selling conversion player? In-depth knowledge and appreciatherapy services to describe homosexual- tion of the arts? A bitchy sense of humor?
ity, not as being a normal variant of human Be careful — these people are co-opting
sexuality, but as being a mental illness, dis- the metrosexuals. They are invading us. It’s
ease or disorder. He found there is no fac- a slippery slope, Vern!
tual basis for advertising. And in another
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is
ruling last week the judge barred testimony still a pig. If it walks like a duck, swims
by defense witnesses who planned to de- like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a
scribe homosexuality as an illness or dis- duck. Your sexual orientation is YOUR
order.
sexual orientation. No one else can change
Charles LiMandri of the Freedom of it. As long as it is consensual, who cares?
Conscience Defense Fund is representing As Rodney King said, ”Can’t we just all
JONAH and expects to prevail at trial be- get along?”
cause the group did not advertise success
*****
rates and did not, “in a scientific sense,”
Mace J. Yampolsky is a Board Certified
claim that being homosexual is a disorder. Criminal Law Specialist, 625 South Sixth
Then why did they need experts to testify St., Las Vegas, NV 89101; He can be
about that?
reached at: Phone 702-385-9777 or fax
“This is not a situation in which people 702-385-300. His website is located at:
are forced into something they don’t want www.macelaw.com.
Are you a leader with
an identity crisis?
By Doug Dickerson
You rely on rules
Getting in touch with
instead of
your real self must be your
relationships
first priority. — Tom
Leaders who rely
Hopkins
squarely on their title as a
A story is told of the
means to enforce their
renowned artist Paul
rules tend to miss the big
Gustave Dore who lost his
picture about relationpassport while traveling in
ships. Its been said that
Europe. When he came to
rules without relationa border crossing, he exships breeds rebellion.
plained his predicament to
And when you are more
one of the guards. Giving
concerned about dictating
his name to the official,
rules and regulations than
Dore hoped he would be
DOUG DICKERSON
you are about building rerecognized and allowed to pass.
lationships then you are a leader with an
The guard, however, said that many identity crisis. Here’s why this matters.
people attempted to cross the border by
People tend to follow leaders they like
claiming to be persons they were not. Dore and respect. If your people only see you as
insisted that he was the man he claimed to the office Sherriff and not someone they
be. “All right,” said the official, “we’ll give can relate to on a personal level then you
you a test, and if you pass it we’ll allow are depreciating your potential as a leader.
you to go through.” Handing him a pencil At the end of the day your people want a
and a sheet of paper, he told the artist to leader they can relate to not one that they
sketch several peasants standing nearby. fear.
Dore did it so quickly and skillfully that
Key takeaway: When you are heavy on
the guard was convinced he was indeed who relationships you can be light on the rules.
he claimed to be. His work confirmed his Now you can devote your time and energy
word.
to what matters most — your people and
It cannot be overstated how important your shared success.
your identity is as a leader. If you have a
You rely on receiving instead
false sense of identity it will create a void
of giving
in your leadership that will hurt you.
The magnitude and duration of your
Understanding your identity is Leader- identity crisis in leadership is contingent
ship 101 but if you don’t get this you will upon learning these basic tenants. In short;
pay a price.
it’s not about you. The depth, length, and
Are you a leader with an identity crisis? reach of your leadership will never be meaHere are three ways to find out.
sured by what you receive but by what you
You rely on your title instead
give. Here’s why it matters.
of your values
Leaders are givers. True leadership is
This is a common mistake with new about reproducing and raising up more
leaders. Leaders who do this tend to over- leaders — not more followers. When this
play their hand because they think their title truth comes to light it creates a paradigm
or position carries enough clout to lead. This shift in your thinking, your actions, and
approach is an identity crisis waiting to hap- your motives. J. Donald Walters expressed
pen. Here’ why.
it this way, “Leadership is an opportunity
When your values and character take a to serve. It is not a trumpet call to self-imback seat to a title or position then it’s likely portance.” Do the math: Creating more folthat you will wash out at some point.
lowers is about addition. Creating more
In, The 5 Levels of Leadership, John leaders is about multiplication.
Maxwell states, “Your values are the soul
Key takeaway: Be generous. Don’t meaof your leadership and they drive your be- sure your success as a leader by accolades
havior.” And this is the crux of your iden- or plaques, but by how you invested your
tity. Better to hold tight to your values than time, talents, and treasure in the lives of
try to muscle your way to the top without those you served.
them.
What do you say?
Key takeaway: In the end, what defines
Doug Dickerson is a syndicated columyou as a leader is not your title or position; nist. He writes a weekly column for this
it’s your character and values. Whenever newspaper. To contact Doug Dickerson,
you confuse the two you are having an iden- email
him
at
ddickerson@
tity crisis.
lasvegastribune.com.
SEND YOUR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR TO:
LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE
E-mail to: [email protected]
COMMENTARIES
Page 14 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / February 18-24, 2015
Editors note: The views expressed are entirely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Las Vegas Tribune.
Metro Shooting Review: Riddled With Unanswered Questions
By Norman Jahn
The LVMPD recently released
the Office of Internal Oversight
(OIO) report on a non-fatal shooting at the Excalibur Hotel from
August 11, 2013. That was almost
18 months ago! I saw zero media
coverage but I did locate the information on the website. I’m certain
that Metro wanted this one to fly
under the radar and not catch
anyone’s attention and I’ll address
some of the reasons in this column.
The reports are at http://
www.lvmpd.com/Portals/0/OIO/
OIOReview_1308113667_SLasVegasBlvd.pdf
I knew a little bit about this particular shooting from ‘sources’ and
it was troubling from the beginning.
You don’t get to shoot because you
‘speculate’ that a person MIGHT
have a gun — even if you are an
off-duty Metro detective and your
wife conveniently is quoted numerous times in the police reports as
saying she thought the guy sitting
in your car might have a gun! When
there is no adversarial proceeding
or questioning of witnesses (as
there would be in court) this stuff
can continue to happen. There were
never any details in any reports that
a gun was actually seen or that any
of the suspect’s actions posed an
immediate threat to anyone. Even
Trevon Cole was said to have at
least made a threatening motion (as
if he was faking that he was pointing a gun) when a door was kicked
in by Bryan Yant and a rifle round
was fired and took Cole’s life. The
requirements for the LEGAL use of
deadly force in Nevada go beyond
‘bare fear’ and the same standards
apply to a citizen as well as an offduty detective.
So here is the rest of this story.
Saul Villegas was unarmed. He was
mentally and physically disabled
from a prior gunshot wound to the
head. He got shot again, while sitting in the driver’s seat of a car that
didn’t belong to him at the
Excalibur Hotel. The owner of the
car was an off-duty Metro gang
detective named BJ Plaskett. Fortunately, Villegas was not killed.
Unfortunately, instead of just calling a ‘bad shoot’ a bad shoot, we
ended up with a 22-page Force Investigation Team (FIT) report and
a 2-page OIO report that are
RIDDLED with problems — all
because of that one bullet!
Villegas got ‘dumped,’ the story
goes. He took a bullet through his
wallet and into his left arm. His
family members ‘rescued’ him
from the car and took him closer to
the hotel to get medical assistance;
he did not run from the scene and
was not apprehended by security.
In fact, Plaskett was the one who
was disarmed and handcuffed by
security — not Villegas!
The first bit of false information
put out by Metro was that Villegas
attempted a ‘car-jacking’ and got
shot. In the final analysis, it is
hardly a car-jacking to sit in a car
and never put it in gear or attempt
to drive off. The next false information was that Villegas ran from
the scene and was apprehended by
security. This was repeated in multiple media reports and it was just
not true.
Metro should just stop doing onscene media briefings that later are
put out on YouTube or Facebook.
www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/
aug/12/-duty-cop-shoots-manwrist-outside-excalibur/
Why? Because they just don’t
have factual accuracy, can’t get a
straight story from the shooting officer (only a public safety statement) and, I don’t know if anyone
believes Metro on these matters
anymore anyway.
A car-jacking is the taking of a
vehicle by force or threat of force
as in robbing someone of their car.
It is considered a crime against a
person. Normally, a routine ‘auto
theft’ is a property crime. Police are
not allowed to use deadly force in
response to a property crime. I
don’t know how a disoriented person sitting in the wrong car had formulated the intent to steal that car;
and with disabilities and partial paralysis, it may not have even been
NORMAN JAHN
possible for him to drive in the first
place! I didn’t read about any questions by the detectives to even try
to determine if Villegas could have
driven in the first place. Once the
scene is stable the situation can be
sorted out. There is no excuse for
important information being missed
— or omitted — or ignored, in order to put a better ‘spin’ on a bad
shooting!
Back in August of 2013, the Las
Vegas Sun focused on inconsistencies related to the shooting: “Police
descriptions of what the man was
doing when the detective shot him
contain some inconsistencies. Las
Vegas police Capt. Brett Primas
said he reached underneath the seat
of the car before the detective fired.
In a video police posted on
YouTube, Primas said the man put
his hands “down below his waistline, out of view.”
In a news release issued Monday afternoon, police said he “lowered his hands to his waistband.”
Primas, in the YouTube video,
also makes a contradictory statement that suggests the man may
have exited the detective’s car the
first time the officer told him to get
out: “The off-duty detective, seeing
this, called to the subject and had
him come out of the vehicle. The
subject was noncompliant.”
A department spokesman
wouldn’t address questions about
whether Primas misspoke, saying
police would take questions at an
as-yet-unscheduled news conference. He said he didn’t know
whether the detective fired his dutyissued gun or whether police were
looking at hotel SURVEILLANCE
VIDEO.”
I capitalized those two words
because there is no reference to
video in either the OIO or the FIT
reports. This is inexcusable! Could
the officer’s story have been contradicted by the video? It demonstrates a massive bias for the police
and against people like Villegas.
There are so many problems, and
possible untruthful statements in
this case that I believe it is time for
the FBI or some outside organization to review the work done by
Metro.
Plaskett says he saw the man in
his car after his wife brought this
to his attention. He says he reached
in, as if faking to go for the keys in
the ignition, and then was able to
retrieve his gun. He says that he
then verbally identified himself as
a police officer (none of Villegas’
family reported hearing this so
maybe Plaskett ‘whispered’ this
into his ear while they were face to
face in the car). And guess what?
Plaskett didn’t tell this story to the
arriving officers or initial detectives
on the scene. In fact, from my reading of the report he didn’t mention
this until two days after the incident!
So the reports are quite poor
(chronology and details) but it appears as if the wife saw a man in
her car, she ‘thought’ the man might
have a gun, and she knew that her
husband kept a gun in between the
seats — this was also not mentioned
at the scene.
So Plaskett later says he ‘knew’
he had left a gun in the car and we
are expected to believe that he was
BRAVE enough to jump in the front
seat (from the open passenger door)
and go face to face with a suspect
that was thought to be armed? So
Plaskett eventually tells detectives
that he used his own gun after retrieving it from the car, ‘politely’
asking Villegas to get out of the car,
and identifying himself as a police
officer? And, of course, firing because he felt in fear for his life!
Plaskett is black. Villegas is Hispanic. What if the officer had been
white and the suspect had been an
unarmed black teen and had been
fatally shot? Does anyone not believe there would be a demand for
video and a more thorough investigation and major media attention?
The report reads, “Detective
Plaskett moved to the side of the
vehicle and advised Villegas to exit
the vehicle.” However, just about
every non-Plaskett witness said the
detective used profanity over and
over and said, “Get the ‘F’ out of
my vehicle.” Nobody said they
heard him say, “Metro Police. Get
Out of the Vehicle.” I didn’t read
where any independent witnesses
confirmed that he ever identified
himself. These are critical aspects
to the investigation and they don’t
appear in the report.
Virtually all Villegas family
members said, regarding Plaskett,
“[he] started saying get the ‘F’ out
of my car! What are you doing in
my car? and ‘Get out of my f***ing
car - get out of my f***ing car.’”
Yet another reported hearing a male
yelling, “Get the f**k out of my
car!” The story from the other side
was that Plaskett simply told
Villegas to get out of the car. Nobody from the Villegas family ever
said that Plaskett identified himself
as a police officer... but Plaskett’s
crew ‘conveniently’ said just the
opposite. One Plaskett witness went
on to say that he never heard
Villegas say a word, that Villegas
seemed unable to understand what
Chuck Muth
was being said to him and also had
a hard time with balance. There
were no determinations of credibility that could be identified in the
report.
A security officer supposedly
arrived and reported Plaskett said
he was a police officer and he had
just shot someone. Quotations attributed to Plaskett include, “it
looked like they were gonna take
off in it” and that they “were getting ready to pull out a weapon.”
Plaskett said to the two initial detectives, “I just wanted him out of
my car; I just wanted him out of my
car.”
Surprisingly, Plaskett did NOT
tell these detectives or arriving officers how he obtained his weapon
from the inside of the car. It appears
that this information was relayed
two days later! I could be wrong
here... the report is very difficult to
understand. When this information
did come out, the detectives immediately (and repeatedly) told
Plaskett he should talk to his union
attorney. I found this to be a little
unusual, to warn an officer in this
manner.
Another concern is that it does
not appear that Plaskett and his wife
were kept separated prior to their
official interviews. They apparently
had plenty of time to get their story
‘straight.’ The wife had plenty to
say and offered plenty of ‘details’
that provided possible ‘justification’
for use of deadly force. This was
also very convenient.
Most troubling was the questioning of Villegas at the hospital without Miranda rights and without an
attorney. They questioned a man
(Continued from Page 13)
ranking group of senator. And the most vociferous
criticism came from members of Schwartz’s own
Republican Party.
Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, RHenderson, raised his voice loudly — OK, he yelled
— at Schwartz, saying, “You are an embarrassment,
sir!”
Roberson added some equally derogatory statements that made me think I was in a bar in Rock
Springs, Wyo., and a fight was gonna break out.
The volume of Roberson’s voice was memorable.
I have not seen that kind of volume since Sen.
Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, took apart Washoe
school Superintendent Paul Dugan back in ’05 or ‘07
in a committee hearing about a tax proposal for
schools.
Roberson’s anger seemed unbecoming of his position. He’s the most powerful man in the Legislature.
Did he really need to roll over Schwartz like a road
grader?
Roberson’s a thug and a bully whose word isn’t
worth the proverbial warm bucket of spit. So what do
you expect?
Hagar concluded with this...
they know to be mentally deficient
without a guardian or a warning.
The reports list ‘incriminating’
statements made by a mentally deficient shooting victim to make the
case of an attempted auto theft... but
ignores the fact that the car was
never driven away and didn’t even
move at all.
Further aggravating the situation
were the arrest and charges placed
on Villegas. After the shooting, trip
to the hospital, absentia booking,
and time for Metro to investigate,
there were still serious charges
placed on Villegas (Attempted
Grand Larceny and Auto Burglary).
At least they didn’t call it a car-jacking or charge him with acting like
he was a gangster who might have
a gun.
There may be more to this story
than any of us will ever know —
unless the Las Vegas media forces
the issue. I read the two-page OIO
report entitled, ‘Key Conclusions,
Recommendations and Outcomes
of a Categorical Use of Force Incident” pertaining to an officer involved shooting at 2850 Las Vegas
Blvd. on August 11, 2013. Not sure
what a ‘categorical use of force incident” is but I guess if they make
it sound important they can bamboozle everyone.
The two-page summary really
didn’t have much value where ‘key
conclusions’ or ‘recommendations’
or ‘outcomes’ could be listed. It
read; “The matter involving Detective Plaskett was heard by the Use
of Force Board on July 17, 2014.
The Board’s finding was “Tactics/
Decision Making.” (WHAT DOES
(See Norm Jahn, Page 16)
Former GOP Gov. Bob List, who was in Carson City
Friday, is also a lawyer. He noted that any citizen of
Nevada has the right to suggest a plan or idea in writing to the Legislature.
Gov. Sandoval said before the Legislature that he
would be “all ears” if someone came up with a plan
that is better than his proposed $7.3 billion generalfund budget.
That offer apparently did not apply to the Senate
Finance Committee. To this group, it is Sandoval’s plan
or take the highway.
“We don’t require any new budget proposals,” Finance Chair Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno, told Schwartz.
There you have it. It’s like the old saying, “You can
have your car in any color you want, as long as it’s
black.
Nevada taxpayers can have any budget proposal they
want, as long as it’s Sandoval’s.
And these people will stop at nothing, including
destroying any and all opponents, to get their way.
*****
Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a nonprofit public policy grassroots advocacy organization.
Chuck Muth may be reached by email at
[email protected].
February 18-24, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 15
Pretenders
By Jerry Schafer
The only way to move forward with any project, especially if it’s
an intellectual property, is to make sure that everything you say about
it is 100 percent true.
Investors look for investments that have little or no downside
risk. When an investment opportunity is presented to a qualified investor, the immediate reaction will be to determine the risk.
Of course there’s a risk in everything we do. There’s no such
thing as a ‘sure thing’ when it comes to making an investment; therefore the element of risk is always present.
The presentation of the investment opportunity must contain information that is checkable, reliable and accurate in all respects. Information that may contain potential profits must be put forth in
such a way as to indicate the source of how the numbers were derived
The opportunity to earn a profit is the driving force behind any
investment. Investors do not want to lose their hard-earned money;
however, at the same time, qualified investors are willing to take a
risk based on the overall aspects put forth in the investment package.
Notice I keep using the word ‘qualified’ when speaking about
investors. That is the single most important element when seeking
funds to finance any project. If the potential investor is not pre-qualified as being financially able to finance a project, presenting an investment opportunity to him or her will turn out to be an exercise in
futility.
Unfortunately the world is filled with opportunists who are nothing more than ‘pretenders’ when it comes to being able to fulfill the
financial needs of someone who is seeking an investment. Pretenders have an uncanny ability to lead someone seeking a qualified investor on a wild goose chase. The pretender pretends he either has
the financial ability to finance a project, or, alternatively, pretends
that he has the financial connections to get the job done.
Someone seeking funds for a project is likely to be taken in by a
pretender because of his or her desire to achieve success inasmuch
as being funded is concerned. The longer someone has been searching to find a qualified investor, the more likely that person is to fall
prey to a pretender.
Why do pretenders pretend they can either finance a project or
arrange to have a project financed if in fact that isn’t true? What
advantage is there for a pretender to pretend when in truth he cannot
perform?
The answer is simple. The pretender who himself has nothing
going, will run with the package put forth by the person seeking
funds in an attempt to arrange the funding and thereby cut himself in
on either a finder’s fee or possibly a piece of the action, or maybe
even both.
The pretender uses the hard work the person seeking funds has
put into packaging his idea in many ways. Many times a pretender
will tell a potential investor that he was behind putting the project
together in the first place. We must remember when we do business
with a pretender that pretending is his stock in trade.
Almost 100 percent of the time, doing business with a pretender
leads to nothing more than a loss of time and money. Many times it
can even lead to heartbreak, depending on the emotional attitude of
the person seeking funds.
So the name of the game when seeking a legitimate investment is
to qualify the potential investor. You must be sure that the potential
investor you speak with has the financial ability to back your play.
Once that is done, if you have packaged your project in such a
way as to eliminate or cut down the downside risk,you may be successful in obtaining the funds you seek.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Boston’s Snow Problem is
Nevada’s Water Solution
It seems that Boston and other cities in the northeast are melting
snow and dumping into the rivers and the harbor because they have
no more room for it. I have an idea:
Why don’t we melt that snow into huge blocks of ice and then
transport these blocks of ice west by train or semi truck to Lake
Mead, where after 14 years of drought has left North America’s largest
man-made reservoir at its lowest level since the Hoover Dam was
built in the 1930s.
I mean, do we really have to discuss the positive impact this will
have on the southwest’s massive water shortage problems, not to
mention saving the Colorado River?
Along with Lake Mead, we could send some of those ice blocks
to some of the larger water reservoirs in Nevada, Utah, Colorado,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kansas, Texas, etc.
We could also send some of those blocks of ice to California,
where the statewide water shortage is terrifying.
Logistics: It’s freezing cold outside now so we don’t have to worry
about the ice melting, we are already melting the snow so it’s a matter of melting it and then draining the water into water-tight box cars
or empty shipping containers.
The water will freeze overnight or along the way - we have the
machinery and heavy equipment in place to move said ice blocks
and we have the trains and the semi trucks to transport these ice
blocks anywhere out west.
Once the ice blocks found their destination, they would melt and
be treated at local water treatment facilities.
Costs: I understand that a project of this size and magnitude is
going to cost millions and millions of dollars — we have a few
choices to relieve costs:
1.) The total expense can be split up evenly between the “receiving states”: California, Nevada, Arizona and the other states of the
southwest that need this water - the total expense of the transportation of these ice blocks from Boston to Lake Mead and other places
in the southwest will be their responsibility. The need will out-weight
other considerations.
2.) The federal government could take their share of the costs
versus taking the multi-billion dollar hit against FEMA’s Budget to
provide disaster relief to the millions of folks that will have to deal
with the massive downstream flooding and property damage issues
coming up in the spring.
Wow! Isn’t this exciting what we really could do with mother
nature and 100+ inches of snow? And there is more than enough
snow to go around!
All we need is solid leadership — Nevada Governor Brian
Sandoval and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman make a good
team.
Think of all the good this will do: the environment, for jobs, food
prices, the economy at large, etc.
Todd Tokarz
Chicago, IL
Page 16 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / February 18-24, 2015
Dousing China’s puffing dragon
China has launched a campaign for nonsmokers and against nicotine addiction. Despite a lack of enforcement of current
smoking bans and the government’s addiction to tobacco revenue, China might become a model for other countries.
for about 7 percent of its revenue.
Most sales are made by the stateowned China National Tobacco
Corporation. It manufactures more
than 2.5 trillion cigarettes a year —
or close to half of all cigarettes sold
in the world. Kicking this revenue
addiction will take a wholesale adjustment of a major industry and its
official overseers.
Just as difficult would be enforcement of new nonsmoking
rules. The few cities that now have
bans find the public largely ignores
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, a Chinese
ambassador for tobacco control, arrive in Sri Lanka last September.
By the Christian Science
a draft regulation by the powerful
Monitor’s Editorial Board
State Council would do the same
Soon after Xi Jinping became nationwide as well as put limits on
China’s new leader two years ago, outdoor smoking and restrict adverthe ruling Communist Party told tisements that glorify tobacco use.
officials to set an example by not
In addition, Xi began to chip
smoking in public and to not hand away at the government’s heavy
out cigarettes as gifts. It turned out interest in the lucrative tobacco into be the first of many more at- dustry. Some 5 million tobacco
tempts to curtail smoking in China, farmers were told in early January
the world’s largest maker and con- that the price of their leaves would
sumer of tobacco.
no longer be fixed but be set by the
Mr. Xi, whose wife has been market.
China’s “ambassador for tobacco
Xi, who has launched several
control” since 2009, has lately morality campaigns in the name of
stepped up his campaign. The city Confucian-style virtues, is up
of Beijing will ban smoking in all against powerful forces. The govindoor places starting this June. And ernment still relies on tobacco sales
Norm Jahn
(Continued from Page 14)
THIS MEAN?) The Use of Force Review Board found, even though the
use of deadly force was lawful and within policy, the tactics and/or decision making were flawed and worked to limit alternatives that may have
otherwise been available to the officer. A different approach may have
reduced or eliminated the need for the officer to employ deadly force. The
Sheriff approved of the Board’s finding.”
So what corrective action was taken? What discipline or training took
place to prevent another shooting of an unarmed subject sitting in a car?
The reason that I no longer have a job with the LVMPD can be captured
in questions like this. Too many ‘sheep’ at Metro just keep following the
trail that is mowed for them and they fail to recognize the severity of the
‘group-think’ that has continued to destroy what once was an excellent
organization. If you dissent, you are destroyed so the ‘cowboys’ can keep
riding and shooting instead of learning restraint.
Lots of unanswered questions and the potential for major problems if
the truth was not told.
Norm Jahn is a former LVMPD lieutenant, who has also served as a
police chief in Shawano, Wisconsin, and has nearly 25 years of police
experience. Jahn now contributes his opinions and ideas to help improve
policing in general, and in Las Vegas in particular, through his weekly
column in the Las Vegas Tribune.
Maramis
(Continued from Page 12)
their own way and only their way? And is that really so far from the way
it is?
But getting back to the goal of world peace: First, we must consider
the why of the way things are, and then we must consider the how of the
way things could be. We’ve been through many “small” wars, and a couple
of world wars. And we’re still warring.
Consider the concept behind all squabbles, disagreements, contentions,
and wars: I’m right and you’re wrong. When large entities have that as
their joint belief and basis for their plan of action, it is exactly like throwing grease on a fire.
No one religion or country has all the answers or is the poster child for
world peace — or world war, for that matter. No one religion or country
can stand alone and claim God’s favor in that department, or God’s disfavor on the other hand. But the big barrier to achieving world peace is that
no one country or religion is big enough to accept and acknowledge that
there are only two real levels of relative sovereignty in this world: the
spiritual free will of the individual and the collective sovereignty of mankind as a whole. Between the two, all groupings and associations are
relative, transitory, and of value only insofar as they enhance the welfare,
well-being, and progress of both. When we think of — and say — “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” we probably
ought to be thinking “government of all mankind, by all mankind, and for
all mankind,” which will be the only thing that will keep all the “separate” factions or groupings from killing each other off.
How wonderful it would be if all the great minds of all countries could
compare notes and come up with the best ways to obtain and maintain
peace among all nations. It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway)
that this could never happen until countries could and can trust their own
leaders first, let alone the leaders of all the other countries. Without that
major international element of complete trust, every country would or
will be secretly stockpiling weapons for that “just in case” moment. It
kind of reminds me of a husband secretly building up his fortune in a
foreign bank account “just in case” his wife decides to divorce him and
take half of his wealth, or a wife putting aside every spare dollar for her
big getaway plan, “just in case.” Without that element of trust, we won’t
and can’t get any closer to genuine world peace.
But in the meantime, until we can all achieve that marvelous level of
international trust — based on good and sufficient reasons for that trust
to actually exist and continue — we, as individuals and a nation, have to
do what we have to do. Our forefathers and first president had to do that;
President Lincoln had to do that; our modern-day presidents have had to
do that, and many men and women who believed in doing what needed to
be done at all those times of tribulation in this great country have risen to
meet the challenge and have done their best to preserve what freedoms
we have.
Never can we, as a country, ever turn our backs on our servicemen and
-women; and God help any president who ever does.
If you haven’t given any thought to Presidents’ Day, one way or the
other, last week or this week, at least consider being very thankful that
our first and sixteenth presidents were the kind of men they were. No
sense picking on any of their human faults and frailties, such as we all
have — they were truly great men, and so well suited for the jobs they
eventually took on, in spite of the overwhelming burden and responsibilities.
Let’s never forget that we are so entitled to celebrate Presidents’ Day
in this, the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Maramis Choufani is the Managing Editor of the Las Vegas Tribune.
She writes a weekly column in this newspaper. To contact Maramis, email
her at [email protected].
them. China is home to a third of
the world’s smokers, and most of
them, or 288 million, are men. Only
13 million women smoke out of a
population of more than 1.3 billion.
Although the campaign is largely
driven by concerns over smoking
as a major public health issue, many
of those campaigning for bans on
behalf of nonsmokers are women.
About 28 percent of adult Chinese are regular smokers, which is
high but not as high as in a few other
countries. But what really concerns
officials is that 11.2 percent of boys
ages 13 to 15 are smokers. Such
high levels of addiction do not fit
into Xi’s promise to create a “China
dream,” or a country that can become a model for the world.
Many countries have found a
way to create a social momentum
against nicotine addiction and
smoking in public. Such a mental
shift, which requires a desire for a
life free of addiction, may have already begun in China. It could yet
be an example for other countries.