- When Republicans voted Tuesday to silence Elizabeth Warren’s reading of a letter written by Coretta Scott King because King said things about Jefferson Beauregard Sessions that were true, the vote was party-line, 49 to 43. The three Republican senators not on the floor at the time, and who thus missed the opportunity to take a firm stand in favor of a) censoring historical documents written by prominent American figures and b) making a woman hush, were Cruz, Isakson, and of course, Sessions. Which is to say when Senate Republicans voted to violate basic American principles, humiliating themselves and their institution while displaying an alarming willingness to embrace authoritarian tactics, Nevada’s very own Dean Heller was there, marching in lockstep support of a disgraced and despicable past. Thoughtlessly, one presumes.
- Speaking of Heller, as Nevada’s senior senator, he might be thought to have some obligation to share his assessments, or even provide the concerned people of his state some assurances, with respect not only to cabinet nominees but also executive orders & memos, the total failure of Trump to put any meaningful distance between himself and opportunities to profit from the presidency, Steve Bannon’s national security chops, and any number of other issues and concerns of the sort that bubble up when the president of the United States is mad as a hatter. So yesterday Heller’s office put out a release … celebrating his appointment as chairman of a subcommittee where, someday, someone might talk about building a new freeway. In normal times, a local senator’s subcommittee chairmanship is the sort of thing that area media should briefly note, and the R-J’s Washington reporter did. But these are not normal times, because again, Trump is mad as a hatter. Unless it’s a parade or a rodeo or meeting with people who hate sage grouse, Heller is notoriously afraid of the press. In these times, in these circumstances, every fluff press release issued from Heller’s office while Heller at the same time refuses to answer questions about things people actually care about, is an insult to the press and, more importantly, to everyone in the state.
- There’s a move to raise property taxes in the Nevada Legislature – or more accurately, remove a cap so that local governments can do it – and state Sen. Ben Kieckherer, R-Fancypantstown, evidently, wants nothing to do with it. The houses owned by Kieckhefer’s constituents in Incline Village are worth so many millions of dollars it would be grossly unfair for them to pay taxes that represent the actual worth of their magnificent homes, as if they were mere rabble, Kieckhefer told Ray Hagar. OK, I’m paraphrasing. But not much.
- One of the new members of your Nevada Assembly is Sandra Jauregui, D-Las Vegas, and inda Indy, she says she’s sponsoring, among other things, a bill to stop “wage theft …You know when employees should be classified as employees and earning a certain wage and being provided benefits and they’re not, they’re being classified as contractors.” Disclosure: I am a part-time instructor at UNLV (most semesters, anyway). Which is to say, yes, Assemblywoman Jauregui, I know.
