- “Do your job,” chanted an uncharacteristically impolite crowd of Utahns Thursday night. But Rep. Jason Chaffetz was doing at least one part of his job, by meeting with humans, in person, in this, the age of Trump. Contrast that with fellow Western member of U.S. government’s currently pointless legislative branch, Dean Heller. Instead of meeting with people in his state’s largest city, a la Chaffetz, Heller this week confronted/avoided voters from the safety and comfort of a carefully controlled phone-it-in and a canned social media post. Heller loves to wrap himself in western custom and culture, portraying himself as a boots-wearin’ horse-ridin’ truck-fixin’ rugged individualist who means what he says and says what he means. Just like John Wayne, except not dead. But unless and until Heller faces people in an openly announced true town hall – and not in Fernley or Ely, but in Las Vegas – Nevada’s senior senator can make no claim to bearing the slightest resemblance to the figure of some strong, principled, tall man in the saddle of the sort that anchored classic Western films. That said, Heller’s portrayal of the nervous shopkeeper who shuts his doors and cowers behind the counter when the action starts is quite convincing.
- There is still something called the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, and its members are missing an outstanding opportunity to do a great service for the people of Clark County by … dissolving itself. Instead, it continues to give every indication that it is committed to assuring $750 million of taxing capacity will be frittered away on a football field no matter how ill-advised the project, and no matter which billionaire, investment bank or hedge fund gets the profit while the public is saddled with the risk. Many of the usual suspects in this farce, like Steve Hill of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and consultant Jeremy Aguero, are professional cheerleaders, so whatever. But UNLV President Len Jessup’s participation in and enabling of the stadium nonsense has always been disappointing. Almost any other public expenditure of $750 million in public money would be better for the people and the economy of Clark County, and Jessup knows it. Or he should.
- There were not Gleanettes Thursday. There will be Gleanettes whenever I feel like it, and you will enjoy them. But if there had been Gleanettes Thursday, they would have included a link to this really quite good and useful Indysplainer of Medicaid and what’s at stake when the aforementioned cowardly shopkeeper goes along with gutting Obamacare. On a related note, for years and years and years, the percentage of adult uninsured Nevadans was among the nation’s highest. Not no more. Tesla/schmesla, and don’t get me started on that dumb football field … oh wait, too late. Anyway, the single most consequential and productive action of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s administration, bar none, was expanding Medicaid in Nevada under the ACA.