Free Republic

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fl.) is now urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to propose a revision to the Senate's cloture rules so that only 55 votes, instead of 60, would be required to end floor debate. His effort -- spearheaded with the help of an online campaign at StopSenateStalling.com -- takes special aim at the healthcare debate, which Grayson said has fallen victim to countless overused and unfair filibuster threats over the past few months. "Why should launching wars and cutting taxes for the rich require only 50 votes while saving lives requires 60?" asked Grayson, who listed a...

Mike Wiley won’t fire until he sees the whites of their eyes, but needs you to provide him with the ammo he’ll need to win this campaign

You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. That’s the way it’s always worked in Washington, so the news that Mary Landrieu will hold a fundraiser in New Orleans for Senator Harry Reid comes as no surprise. Reid procured a substantial dose of cash to Landrieu’s Louisiana in exchange for her crucial “moderate” vote. Senator Mary Landrieu from Louisiana garnered a lot of attention before the healthcare vote last night as to whether she would or wouldn’t vote yes to send the monstrosity of a bill to the floor for debate. After rumors of a $100 million dollar bribe by Senator...

The Las Vegas city council passed a new ordinance this past week requiring most cats and dogs to be spay or neutered by four months of age, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The ordinance, which passed the city council by a vote of 5 to 2, is an effort to help curb pet overpopulation. The ordinance takes effect April 1 and will be reviewed annually. It is in response to Southern Nevada’s pet overpopulation problem and had support from local veterinarians and animal rescue groups, according to the Review-Journal. It's noted that the Lied Animal Shelter, which services Las Vegas,...

ADD to post no. 105: http://www2.lasvegasnow.com/docs/terror_complaint.pdf http://www2.lasvegasnow.com/docs/terror_indict.pdf LAS VEGAS, NV — SNIPPET: “The real end, however, came in a Minnesota Federal Court. Two weeks ago, the FBI arrested Abdow Munye Abdow for two counts of making false statements to a federal official. The FBI believes Abdow lied about his trip to Las Vegas, and a passenger he was with who was on the terrorism watch list. The Nevada Highway Patrol pulled over Abdow and four other people on October 6, 2009 for speeding. Trooper Alan Davidson, a spokesperson for NHP, said the officer on the scene began asking questions.” SNIPPET:...

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Homeowners and authorities in Incline Village, Nev., say they're on the lookout for a marauding, 700-pound black bear . The bear, they say, has caused as much as $70,000 in damage so far this year, including havoc wrought inside a home it has broken into several times, the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal reported Wednesday. "The deputies up there all say he's the biggest bear they've ever seen," Carl Lackey, a biologist and bear expert with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, told the newspaper. "He'll walk right by a trap. He won't go in them....

Nevada Has Highest Foreclosure Rate AgainUpdated: Nov 12, 2009 4:17 PM EST Despite the state's effort to slow foreclosures, Nevada once again has the highest rate of foreclosures in the nation. The latest report done by Realty Trac shows foreclosure filings were the highest in Las Vegas where one in 68 homes received a foreclosure filing in October. That's more than five times the national average which is one in every 385 homes. However, that national number is down three percent from September but when compared to a year ago, foreclosure filings are still up 19 percent.

It was March of 2008, at the meeting of the Republican National Committee in Albquerque. All the state GOP organizations were to submit their plans to the McCain campaign for how they would win their respective states in the fall election. When it came time for Nevada to make their presentation, the state chairman told the campaign how much money it would take to win the state, the amount of votes needed to win, and how much staff was needed on the ground. But according to state chairman Sue Lowden, McCain had a secret weapon in Nevada. Showgirls. According to...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The same economic pressures that pushed California to the brink of insolvency are wreaking havoc on other states, a new report has found. And how state officials deal with their fiscal problems could reverberate across the United States, according to the Pew Center on the States' analysis released Wednesday. The 10 most troubled states are: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. The list is based on several factors, including the loss of state revenue, size of budget gaps, unemployment and foreclosure rates, poor money management practices, and state laws...

PLEASE freep this poll. http://www.rgj.com/section/OPED

The likelihood of outrage seems inevitable this year in college football: The BCS controversy, which even President Obama has issued proclamations about, seems ready to explode, since six undefeated teams - two from minor conferences - survive with only three games left in the season. Two conferences, Mountain West and Western Athletic (WAC) are excluded from automatic participation in the BCS, and must compete for one of two wildcard teams, and both still have undefeated teams. But should a team which has gone undefeated and unchallenged take a slot from Alabama or Florida, which are likely to also go undefeated......

Berkley Slams Door in Veteran’s Face (NN&V staff report) – Decorated Desert Storm Veteran and Clark County resident Steve Sanson said he had a door slammed in his face by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., during a trip to Washington, DC, today as part of a Vets for Freedom event. Sanson and several other Las Vegas area veterans, including retired Air Force Col. Ed Bridges, were making the rounds of Nevada’s Congressional delegation when the incident occurred. Bridges, a candidate for the Congressional Seat 3 seat now held by Rep. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said the group was warmly greeted by...

Veterans In Politics Talk Show Introduces Andrew Martin and Nevada Whistle Blower LIVE on www.AllTalkRadio.net Our Listeners for the month of October are 117,361 thousand: Thank You: November 7: Andrew Martin 1st Vice Chairman for the Clark County Democrat Party and Democratic candidate for Nevada State Assembly District 13: Nevada Whistle Blower within the Clark County School System: "Veterans In Politics" is a weekly radio show produced by the Veterans In Politics International and hosted by Steve Sanson and co-hosted by Jim Jonas on www.alltalkradio.net. The "Veterans In Politics" show is live every Saturday 2:05 PM Pacific Time you can...

Another soldier from Nevada has been killed in Afghanistan, the second Silver State-related casualty in a week, according to the Department of Defense. Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez Chavez, 23, of Reno was one of seven soldiers killed Monday when a helicopter crashed in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said in a news release Thursday. Chavez was on a MH-47 heavy lift helicopter with four other soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment from Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., and two from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

If you’ve been reading the papers lately you’ve probably concluded that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s political future doesn’t look good. The headlines speak for themselves: “Poll: Reid’s re-election numbers don’t add up”; “Harry Reid Seen Losing 2010 Reelection, Poll Shows”; “Senate Leader Harry Reid faces tough re-election” — just to name a few. If you’re just glancing at the polls, Reid’s two likely challengers are clobbering him in hypothetical match-ups — and some polls show Republican challenger Danny Tarkanian has a double-digit lead over him. Further, Reid’s approval rating ranges between 20 and 40 percent, with some polls showing...

RENO, Nev. -- A fight broke out Thursday at a Reno, Nev., clinic giving shots for swine flu when someone reportedly tried to cut in line. Washoe County Health District spokeswoman Judy Davis says she didn't have any details of the incident, but it involved people in high-risk groups waiting for a chance to get the shot. A witness told the Reno Gazette-Journal that a man took a swing at a woman, then jumped on her and they fell to the ground. They left after a security guard stepped in and broke up the fight. Davis says 1,200 vaccines were...

The Tea Party Express rolls into Nevada!! We'll be at Tonopah, Hawthorne and Fallon today, and Carson City tomorrow morning, and then it's back to California at Walnut Creek tomorrow night!! Conservative groups have joined forces to make this massive national effort possible. Besides the lead sponsor, the Our Country Deserves Better Committee, the Tea Party Express II enjoys support from Grassfire.org, ResistNet, Free Republic, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, National Tax Limitation Committee, Americans for Prosperity, the Conservative MultiCultural Coalition, and dozens of local tea party groups across the country. The Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day national...

SEARCHLIGHT, Nev. -- Along a curve of desert highway near the gated home of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, mechanic Bill Johnson is struggling to keep his checkbook balanced. With Nevada's economy poisoned by recession and the nation's highest foreclosure and bankruptcy rates, business at Johnson's boat-repair shop has nose-dived 40 percent since last year. He cannot afford health insurance, and his sewer bill jumped to $875 a year. "I really have to pose a question: Harry, what have you done for me lately?" asks Johnson, who vows to vote against Reid and other incumbents unless health care is made...

Listen to the Veterans In Politics Interview Joe Heck Republican Candidate for US Congress CD3 and Frank Ricotta Clark County Republican Party Coalition Director Listen to what they have to say and do your homework be an educated voter. Turn up your speakers and GO TO: http://www.alltalkradio.net/alt/show.php?folder=veteransinpolitics and to your right of the screen click onto: 10-24-09 - Veterans in Politics "Veterans In Politics" is a weekly radio show produced by the Veterans In Politics International and hosted by Steve Sanson and co-hosted by Jim Jonas on www.alltalkradio.net. The "Veterans In Politics" show is live every Saturday 2:05 PM Pacific...

The Tea Party Express II launches at 11:00 am today from San Diego's Tuna Harbor Park, just across from the USS Midway!! Woo hoo!! We'll be there!! The coast to coast Tea Party Express schedule includes San Diego and Los Angeles today, Bakersfield and Fresno tomorrow, and then it's on to Nevada and beyond to Florida!! Conservative groups have joined forces to make this massive national effort possible. Besides the lead sponsor, the Our Country Deserves Better Committee, the Tea Party Express II enjoys support from Grassfire.org, ResistNet, Free Republic, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, National Tax Limitation Committee, Americans for...

ACORN,the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, faces still another high-stakes challenge — and more embarrassment — in Nevada, where it has been charged with 13 felony counts related to potential voter registration fraud during the 2008 campaign. This is the only state where ACORN, as an organization, is accused of criminal wrongdoing. Similar investigations in Pennsylvania and Florida have resulted in charges against individual canvassers the group hired to register voters. “With ACORN, one wonders how it could get worse for them,” said Tom Fitton, president of Washington-based Judicial Watch, a conservative government watchdog group that has been...

A top Chinese general will visit the United States this month and tour major U.S. bases as Washington seeks to improve relations and reduce the risk of conlict, offi

Better late than never:Democratic Rep. Dina Titus will do this week what most Nevada lawmakers ably avoided during the long hot summer of Tea Party protests: She will host an open town hall forum on health care on Monday. The freshmen congresswoman had publicly promised her constituents in August that she would return to her Southern Nevada district in fall with a full-fledged forum. Titus is keeping good on her word with an event from 7-8 p.m. on Monday at Temple Ner Tamid, 55 North Valle Verde Drive in Henderson. Yes, questions will be taken and answered.Good for Rep. Titus...

Somalis in U.S. draw FBI attention War at home seen as lure The FBI is expanding contacts with Somali immigrant communities in the U.S., especially in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, fearing that terrorists are recruiting young men for suicide missions in their homeland. FBI Special Agent E.K. Wilson, spokesman for the Twin Cities FBI field office, described the effort as community outreach. Many members of the Somali community are concerned over disappearances, he said.

It's become increasingly clear in recent weeks that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is in deep trouble in his re-election race next fall. A new independent poll conducted for the Las Vegas Review Journal shows Reid trailing two unknown opponents -- former state party chairwoman Sue Lowden and businessman Danny Tarkanian -- and just 38 percent of Nevada voters had a favorable opinion of their senator. At the heart of Reid's vulnerability is the disconnect between his role in Washington as the leader of Senate Democrats and his status as Nevada's senior senator. In Washington, Reid is tasked with carrying...

RUSH: Remember last week I told you how Harry Reid was going to pull a trick on everybody to get the Senate health care bill actually over to the House for conference committee by attaching a merged bill. Two Senate bills -- there's the Harkin committee bill, and there's the Baucus committee bill -- and he's going to take the best parts that he likes, gonna merge them into one bill, and attach them to some other bill that the House has already passed, sent over to the Senate that they haven't acted on yet, and that bill will be...

Politically speaking, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada is about as battered as it gets. The Republican senator in June acknowledged an extramarital affair with a campaign aide, who was married to his best friend, who has castigated Ensign in television interviews as a shameless Lothario. In recent days, after the New York Times reported on Ensign's efforts to silence his mistress' husband, Doug Hampton, the Senate ethics committee launched an investigation and talk surfaced of a possible FBI inquiry. Ensign has said he won't resign, and Nevada's GOP is widely considered too emasculated to push him out. Regardless of what...

The FBI on Wednesday announced that it had charged 53 defendants, the largest number ever charged in a cybercrime case, following a multinational investigation into a phishing scheme that operated in the United States and Egypt. Thirty-three of the 53 defendants named in the indictment have been arrested, the FBI said, and several others are being sought. The investigation, dubbed "Operation Phish Phry," began in 2007. Authorities in Egypt have charged 47 defendants linked to the phishing operation. Phishing is a form of social engineering that attempts to convince Internet users, via e-mail or other means, to provide online credentials...

FReep this Poll! Nevada

RENO — The seven-year, no-holds-barred, legal battle between Washoe County and Lake Tahoe property owners will reach a crucial turning point today. Hanging in the balance isn't just the tens of millions in property tax dollars that the county doesn't want to refund to thousands of residents in the wealthy North Shore Communities of Incline Village and Crystal Bay. The scorched-earth legal attack, experts say, has revealed serious, fundamental problems with the state's property tax system, raising the specter it is unconstitutional and will have to be scrapped. The question before Washoe County District Court Judge Brent Adams, however, is...

The Nevada Secretary of State was on television all weekend discussing his office's prosecution of ACORN. The Secretary of State, Ross Miller, is himself a Democrat. That's important, obviously, because ACORN's first reaction to most investigations is to say they are political. Given Miller's party affiliation that is harder to do. Much more important that that, Miller's office isn't going after some of the help. Instead, they are going after ACORN itself.

If an organization that is funded largely by George Soros, Herb and Marion Sandler, and a variety of other foundations (often established by conservative businessmen and which now are totally controlled by left-oriented administrators like Ford and Annenberg) tells you it does serious journalistic investigation in the public interest and calls itself the Center for Public Integrity, I suggest you take their offerings with a boulder of salt. Last year at this time, it was evident to every open-minded person that ACORN was engaged in widespread voter registration fraud under the cover of helping 1.7 million unregistered (and given the...

A judge has ruled that political advocacy group ACORN and a former employee will stand trial in District Court on felony charges they paid canvassers to collect voter registration cards last year. Arraignment was set for 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 14. Former ACORN Las Vegas field director Christopher Edwards testified Tuesday that he created a bonus incentive program called “Blackjack” or “21+” that awarded an extra $5 to any canvasser who collected at least 21 registration cards. His immediate supervisor, Amy Busefink, welcomed the idea and he bragged about its success on conference calls with his peers around the country,...

Chris Edwards, the former Las Vegas Director for ACORN has "flipped" for the Nevada AG's prosecution of ACORN in voter fraud case. Matthew Vadum of Capital Resource Center claims the Nevada AG has possession of ACORN Resource Manual which includes a registration incentive scheme called, "21" that paid cash bonuses.FOX News video of interview here and at link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFaIeMogWa4

LAS VEGAS — When ACORN took to Las Vegas and started playing "Blackjack" and "21," the activist group was making a far bigger gamble than it ever guessed, according to Nevada prosecutors. There's nothing wrong with playing the tables in Vegas, but authorities say ACORN was using the names of those casino games as a cover to illegally pay workers to sign up voters as part of an illegal quota system. A preliminary hearing Tuesday in the downtown Clark County courthouse has put ACORN on trial for the first time as a criminal defendant. Until now, prosecutions for voter registration...

LAS VEGAS -- Testimony has begun before a judge hearing allegations that the political advocacy group ACORN illegally paid canvassers to register voters in Nevada during last year's presidential campaign. The judge will decide after an evidentiary hearing whether to bind the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now and former regional supervisor Amy Busefink over for trial on felony charges. They are accused of paying bonuses to canvassers who turned in at least 21 voter registration cards per day in the summer of 2008. Prosecutors said that violates state law banning voter signup quotas. Former ACORN organizer Christopher Edwards...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is close to selecting a location on U.S. soil to house some detainees from the controversial American military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an administration official said on Saturday. President Barack Obama has pledged to close the facility, which has been the target of international condemnation, by January 2010 but has faced legal, political and diplomatic difficulties that could make it hard to meet that deadline.

News just on FOX: An Acorn Field Director has "flipped", is now working with Nevada Attorney General on case against ACORN. Nevada Acorn offices raided, field manuals on how to commit Voter Registration Fraud seized.

RENO, Nev. -- As Senate majority leader, Harry Reid stands with President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as part of a triumvirate that rules Washington. But back home in Nevada, the Democratic lawmaker is just another incumbent with a bull's-eye on his back. Mr. Reid, 69 years old, is facing mounting criticism in his home state and is trailing in the polls against two Republican challengers for his Senate seat: former University of Nevada at Las Vegas basketball star Danny Tarkanian and Nevada Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden. According to an independent Mason-Dixon poll Aug. 23, Mr. Reid...

ACORN -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- is stinking up Washington. And this is far more significant than if a suspiciously large number of operatives for a purely "private" outfit had been found systematically bending and breaking the law, because ACORN receives and spends taxpayer money -- lots of it -- and had carried the imprimatur of official partnerships with the IRS, the Census Bureau ... the kind of "cred" that in the political world comes only from "who you know."

In 1991, facing obvious limits to growth from meager water resources, Las Vegas power brokers decided to bring the drama of high stakes gambling from the casinos to the board room of the Southern Nevada Water Authority headed by the Bernie Madoff of Western water, Pat Mulroy. The strategy was even proudly Ballyhooed in public. Las Vegas would just keep building beyond the capacity of its Colorado River allocation and dare other states or the federal government to stop them. At the time, a spokesman for Nevada's Colorado River Commission even announced, "The federal government will never let Nevada go...

BULLHEAD CITY - An “Un-Elect Harry Reid Rally” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of the Searchlight, Nev. Community Center. Reid, 69, serves as majority leader of the Democratic Party-controlled U.S. Senate. He was first elected senator in 1986 and is up for re-election next year. The rally is being held in Searchlight because Reid was born and raised there. He maintains a legal residence in the historic mining town on U.S. Route 95, located roughly halfway between Laughlin and Las Vegas. The event is organized by the Lake Havasu City-based Committee on...

Policymaking: If the stimulus isn't working, perhaps it's because it was largely written by a collection of leftist interest groups called the Apollo Alliance that counts among its directors a co-founder of the Weather Underground.The Labor Department reported Friday that 42 states lost more jobs than they gained in August, and that 14 plus Washington, D.C., reported unemployment rates of 10% or more. Michigan's rate rose to 15.2%, highest in the nation. Nevada, represented by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is second with 13.2%. California, home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is tied for fourth with Oregon at 12.2%. Clearly,...

"In the heat of the 2008 Democratic primary campaign, when members of candidate Barack Obama's staff began to fret about the potential for illegal attempts to intimidate voters on Election Day in Nevada, the campaign's general counsel calmly told everyone on a staff conference call to settle down. Don't worry, attorney Robert Bauer is said to have counseled. If necessary, the campaign will simply call the local authorities and have the opposition forces arrested."

Unemployment continues to set records in Nevada and Las Vegas, and experts forecast higher joblessness in coming months even as the city's biggest resort begins hiring Monday. Unemployment has spiked nearly a percentage point statewide, jumping from 12.5 percent in July to 13.2 percent in August, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said Friday. August's statewide unemployment rate was nearly triple the level at the recession's beginning in December 2007, when joblessness clocked in at 5.2 percent. [Snip] Officially, 183,000 Nevadans were out of work and actively hunting for jobs in August. In Las Vegas, 135,100 residents were...

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Nevada authorities said Tuesday they raided the Las Vegas offices of the controversial voter-registration activist group, ACORN. The Secretary of State's Office confirmed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a search warrant was served at the ACORN office as part of a probe into suspected voter registration fraud. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, has been under withering attack from the Republican Party for allegedly signing up unqualified voters in order to boost Democratic presidential candidate Barrack Obama. ACORN has stated that while it indeed targets low-income voters, it is...

Move over, Bill Ayers. This week, Republican activists have a new Public Enemy #1. It’s ACORN, the once-obscure community-organizing group that boasts of having registered 1.3 million new voters. Republican officials and advisers to Sen. John McCain have accused ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) of rampant voter-registration fraud. Indeed, officials in states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Indiana and Connecticut now are looking into accusations that ACORN workers turned in thousands of fraudulent or duplicate voter-registration applications. (The Dallas Cowboys magically filled out voter registration forms in Nevada, for example.) So what exactly is...

The push to raise Nevada's taxes in 2011 has already started, and NPRI is going to be there to give you the facts every step of the way. On Monday, Geoffrey Lawrence and I are going to be live blogging the meeting of the subcommittee that will conduct a review of Nevada's revenue structure — that's legislative speak for "subcommittee to try and figure out the best way to raise your taxes." The meeting starts at 9 a.m., and since it's a government meeting it could go all day. But we'll be sticking it out to the very end so...

Has anyone noticed how quiet Harry Reid has been on pushing ObamaCare? Reid has let Max Baucus (D-MT) take the public lead in pushing for health-care reform and has limited himself mostly to general statements of support for industry reform. Rasmussen’s new polling in Nevada shows why. Reid trails both of his potential Republican challengers, and has gone under water on favorability in his state: In what is currently a difficult political climate for Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid trails two potential Republican challengers seeking to unseat him as he faces reelection next year in Nevada. The first Rasmussen...

Congressman Heller sent this letter to President Obama on September 8, 2009 offering options to help bridge the gap between Republicans and Democrats on health care reform: September 8, 2009 The Honorable Barack Obama President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C., 20006 Dear Mr. President: Yesterday, you said those critical of your healthcare plan were "trying to scare the American people and preserve the status quo." You rhetorically asked critics "what's your answer? What's your solution?" and asserted that "the truth is, they don't have one. It's do nothing." (Speech before the AFL-CIO, Cincinnati,...