E!!

On the subject of delegates to the Republican national convention, a few readers (who don’t normally follow politics but are now perking up) have asked me what the stats from Nevada’s state caucuses were.  You can view them here. 

Romney got 51.1% of the vote; Ron Paul got 14.73%; and McCain got 13.75%.

Pretty interesting insight on Obama “The One” ad from Virginia Postrel. 

[Hat Tip to Ramesh at the Corner]

Well, I’ve listened to an hour+ of commentary and been on a dozen blogs and no one is mentioning the thing that (to me) stood out most in Michelle Obama’s speech:  she started at least a dozen sentences with the word “See…” to the point that the repetition became a distraction and annoyance.

I took it this way:  ”See, it’s like this” and “See, let me tell you how” and “See, this is what you have to understand.”  As she delivered her lines, she was just shy of being vein-poppingly earnest.  Which is to say, she wasn’t quite convincing except in her obvious desire to make us See what she thinks we need to See in order to put she and her husband in the White House.

Coupled with the finger pointing and subtle head-bobbing which both increased as the moments ticked on (go back to the video and watch for it) I couldn’t help but think, “You can take the girl out of the South Side, but you can’t take the South Side out of the girl.” 

No soft dress, salon-styled hair, and suave speech writer can make Michelle Obama other than what she is:  an overtly proud and condescending woman with an attitude a mile high.

Carter said in his video clip that during and after Katrina, New Orleans residents were “abandoned by their government.”  Um…  In the midst of all that Chaos mistakes were certainly made, but that does not equal Abandonment.  Carter grossly exaggerates.  As usual.  What is his deal?

Blue Collar Muse has a good piece up on Fred Baron’s seemingly bottomless pile of cash and what he’s choosing to do with it:  among other things, hide the truth (Edwards’ affair) from the public and attempt to swing national elections. 

Instapundit has a photo of some Denver protestors up.  One of the signs says “Riot 4 Peace”

:-/

Looks like Jimmy Carter will not be speaking on stage at the Dem convention after all.  Instead, he’ll be hovering around oozing moral fortitude from his pores.

One of my NV business owner pals just forwarded me her recent email exchange with Nevada State Senator Dennis Nolan.  It’s worth sharing especially since Nolan’s advice to her (and anyone who agrees with her) was to leave the state.  Way to persuade your critics and strengthen Nevada, Senator Nolan!

P:  The reason people don’t get Nevada plates is that they are the highest in the country. Hey, Earth to Nolan! You can CHOOSE your state of residency. You can set up an LLC or company in another state. All of these are perfectly legal ways to have plates from other states. Want people to register here? Cut the fees down and they will register!!! DUH!

Senator Nolan:  If they like paying to register in another state and let the rest of us pay for roads and highways, then they should live in the other state! DUH!

P:  Because people can have more than one house or an RV which is deductible as a house! DUH! Last time I looked half of it went to the overbloated worthless school system stuffed with illegals that you refuse to do anything about! DUH! WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE ROADS? WITH THE WAY THIS STATE IS GETTING CALIFORNICATED THERE WILL BE LOTS OF PEOPLE LEAVING!  READ IT AND WEEP! http://wyomingcompany.com/ 

$500 to set up a Wyoming LLC, cheap plates, no business tax and no Nevada stigma! and no Rhinos! That single move alone would save me $3,800 a year in plates for a 1999 car ($500), a 2001 car ($650), and a 2003 motor home ($1,800) which is never there! And when it is, it’s parked!!!! Tell me, why should I keep paying license plate fees in Nevada?????? It’s a NO BRAINER!

Senator Nolan:  Your Right! and in your case I think the move would be a prudent and in the State’s best interest!

(E!! Note:  The word “your” is not the same as the contraction “you’re” meaning you are.  Dare I speculate that Nolan attended public school in Nevada?)

P:  I’m sure there are plenty more people that would rather see you go. Shall we make a list???

Senator Nolan:  You’re probably right! No, don’t worry,  I’ve already started a list.  Hey, I really do appreciate your concern and  involvement despite our differences.  Have a good week.

(Having calmed down, Nolan realizes that shouting “DUH!” and advising unhappy citizens to leave the state is probably not a good strategy…or very Senatorial, either.)

P:  Truce, for now. If you really want to do something to help the economy, support cutting the school fees out of the budget and allowing for licensing your cars based on what they are actually worth, not some inflated retail price.  We pay $1,800 a year for license plates for a 5 year old motorhome. We RV outside of Nevada 10 months a year. When it’s in Las Vegas it’s parked. Now tell me why I should pay that kind of money to the state?

I can license in Wyoming or Montana (no sales tax either) by purchasing an LLC. I haven’t yet, but I’m going to. You can be a citizen of anywhere now by buying an LLC or Corp. Why is Nevada driving business and fees out of Nevada? Wyoming is actively seeking what would be Nevada businesses. I would love to see some numbers on how much the LLC business has dropped in Nevada since 2003, and the big tax and fee hikes.

The threat of a business tax being espoused by Rogers and Buckley are forcing people to look elsewhere. It is perfectly legal and smart to lower your taxes legally. It would be in Nevada’s best interest to change these 2 anti-business, anti-consumer things that are patently unfair. It would cut the cost of plates in half, and I bet alot more people would buy their plates here.

By the way, I am also a small business owner, Internet. It would be very easy for me to move my business to Wyoming. In fact I’m setting up a second LLC in Wyoming this next week as a precaution against a potential business tax. How many other businesses are doing or will do the same thing?

It’s a world economy now. State governments should realize that. Make it attractive for small businesses to be here or they will stop coming. Have a nice evening.

On the subject of how disastrous a failed black president could/would be, see this ad by the Black Republican PAC.  I believe our first black president should be, and will be, a True Conservative.

Who and Where are you, Sir?

I am a big Mark Levin fan and agree muchly with this comment re: Biden:

I think Biden is a great pick … for the McCain campaign.  Biden has run for president a few times and has never caught on in his own party.  He dropped out after Iowa this time around. 

And when we speak of foreign policy experience, in Biden’s case we are really speaking of his serving many years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with precious little useful to show for it. 

Biden’s greatest role was on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he trashed originalist nominees and promoted extreme activists.  McCain & Company should hammer this.  Biden has spent 30-years radicalizing the judiciary.   

So…what are you doing on September 18-21, 2008?

If your answer is “nothing, why?” then may I suggest that you attend the 2008 Conservative Leadership Conference at the Tuscany Suites Resort in Las Vegas?  The event is being co-hosted by Citizen Outreach and Americans for Tax Reform.  The Honorary Conference Chairman is Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona.

CLC is a yearly gathering of conservatives and libertarians focused on bridging differences and finding common ground in their mutual desire to limit government – as well as discussing the best political means of achieving that goal.

Your truly (yes, E!!) has been asked to be the Press Liason so I will be hanging around assisting the media (and anyone else in need) all weekend.  I’d love to meet any/all of you so please stop by and say Hello if you can.

Confirmed speakers for CLC ’08 include (to name just a few):

*  Bob Barr, Libertarian Party candidate for President
*  Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party candidate for President
*  Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform
*  Rich Galen of Mullings.com
*  John Fund of the Wall Street Journal
*  Richard Viguerie, author of “Conservatives Betrayed”
*  Pat Toomey of the Club for Growth
*  Talk-show host Roger Hedgecock
*  David Keene of the American Conservative Union
*  Ward Connerly of the American Civil Rights Institute
*  Paul Jacob of the Sam Adams Alliance
*  Former Congressman and talk-show host J.D. Hayworth
*  Chris Simcox of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
*  Erick Erickson of RedState.org
*  Matt Sheffield of Newsbusters.org
*  Danny Vargas or the Republican National Hispanic Assembly
*  Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute

Over the course of the weekend there will be an Exhibit Hall featuring a variety of conservative organizations and vendors, various policy panels and workshops, book-signings, “live” radio broadcasts, awards, keynote addresses, luncheons, BBQs, banquets, raffles, etc. 

Saturday night’s gala banquet will be held at the Venetian and will feature the annual “State of the Conservative Union” address by a major conservative figure.  (I know who they’ve invited and if he says Yes, you will Definitely want to be there!)

To find out more and/or register, click HERE or call (202) 558-7162.

Remember the movie Pay It Forward in which random acts of kindness are not paid back but instead are bestowed upon someone Else?   

Here in Nevada, we’re gearing up to shoot the sequel.  It’s called Tax it Backward and its about Nevadans imposing taxes on folks who don’t live here:  the hapless tourists standing behind us in whatever line for whatever show at whatever mega-resort.

The would-be producers of this very bad idea are the usual suspects:  the head honchos in the teachers union and many of the Dems in Carson City.  The extras are the voters in favor of fleecing Nevada’s tourists rather than pay for a tax increase on themselves.  Those against funding education spending increases with a room tax increase can be found on both the left and the right. 

CityLife editor Steve Sebelius thinks we need to raise taxes.  Me and the Muthster, we say no.  Where we three agree is thinking its wrong to fund the education department by taxing people who don’t live in Nevada (tourists) via higher lodging taxes.  Yesterday, Sebelius wrote…

“The Review-Journal published a poll in today’s editions, revealing that 60 percent favor increasing the room tax to pay for education, a move that will raise about $150 million to $185 million per year. ‘People will vote for tax increases that don’t affect them. I would be surprised if it did not pass given the numbers that are showing right now,’ said Brad Coker, managing partner of Mason-Dixon, the company that did the poll.

“Exactly. People don’t mind soaking others for things they ought to be paying for themselves. In this case it’s two easy targets: Casinos, and tourists. 

“How many of those people would walk into a 7-Eleven, fill up a Big Gulp, grab some Doritos and then tell the clerk to charge the guy who’s next in line? Sure they might want to do that, but how many would actually have the cojones to do it in person?

“Not very many. But they’ll do it at the ballot box.

“The point is, education benefits everybody in Nevada, and therefore, everybody in Nevada has an obligation to pay.”

Correct-a-mundo.  To raise taxes on tourists is not only taxation without representation – a no-no per the Founders of this great nation - it’s also bad for Tourism which, might I remind everyone, is a major source of revenue here in Nevada.  

If we’re going to raise taxes for education in Nevada - which I strongly oppose because I don’t think more money is the answer to our education problems – then Nevadans ought to be the ones to put their money where their ballot button is. 

And that’s a Wrap.

Charles Krauthammer writes an excellent piece on the Russia-Georgia issue.  All this back bending appeasement is an embarassment – and a tragedy.  Unbelievable.

A friend and Nevada business owner just sent me this link.  Wyoming is trying to seduce and steal her away from the Silver State.  With all the discussion in Nevada about a possible business tax, she says she’s seriously considering leaving us. 

Here’s some good op-ed’ing on Biden at Rocky Mountain News.

And what Noodles Obama and staff are for finally texting the choice between 2:30 and 4:30 a.m. after the bloggers and news outlets had already gotten the FYI and the McCain camp already issued a statement.  What happened to Obama’s promise that those who signed up to receive the text would be “the first to know”?

Obamamania should have announced yesterday between 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. eastern time and they should have done it by text as promised.  Everyone was waiting for it.  Everyone wanted to talk about it.  The news cycle was ripe for the picking…and they passed it over.

Dumb.

Fox/Hannity is reporting that the Obama camp has said they will not text the VP pick until at/after 10 a.m. tomorrow.

They’ve got the cameras on Biden’s house “Live” and Dick Morris is saying he thinks it IS Biden. Which surprises me if true. I didn’t think Obama would go with a white-haired guy especially one with such a strong personality and who supported the intial action in Iraq as well as The Surge. Plus Biden pointed out Obama’s lack of experience earlier in the year, which is a sound byte the Obama camp could live without in a race that’s getting tighter with each passing day.

I thought it would be Bayh because his personality wouldn’t eclipse Obama, he’s a moderate, he’s a fiscal conserative, and he’s generally likeable especially with/by women – a demographic that Obama is struggling with right now.

I guess we won’t know until tomorrow…and some people are still saying “it’s Hillary” so the speculation continues.

The first E!! election prediction to come true?  (Predictions were posted here.)

K-Lo @ The Corner just posted a fun email I sent her.  My day is now complete… 

(And I think I’ll stop waiting for Obama’s announcement; it’s obviously not happening today.)

BUT WAIT:  An emailer on The Corner thinks they were avoiding announcing while Rush was on the air and are now waiting for Hannity to go off air.  Which is 5 minutes from now so we’ll see…

OR MAYBE (another Corner e-mail):

Since Obama’s doing the texting thing…he’s going to release in the next two hours, as all the 20/30 somethings start going out with their friends on the East Coast—that way it will dominate their evening festivities, as each member gets a text at various times. Probably stupid if true, but that’s how they think—that everybody is a metrosexual hanging out like its an episode of Sex and the City or Friends, or going to wine-tasting parties….

You gotta love Jonah (excerpted from his column today):

The winds at the Democrats’ backs are hurricane-force gales, and yet there’s Obama holding steady, like a young Dan Rather in his schoolgirl rain slicker, immobile and unmovable.

Ask the typical Obama supporter why this should be so and you’ll get a range of answers. Some just stare at the poll numbers the way my late basset hound would look at me when I tried to feed him a grape: with pure unblinking incomprehension. Others act like the guy who sits alone with his shopping bags at the public library, muttering about Fox News conspiracies and how Karl Rove-like aliens are doing terrible things with probes of proctological exactitude. Still others just shake their heads at the racism of anyone who could possibly have a problem with a very left-wing politician with almost no experience, who often sounds like his campaign slogan is: “People of Earth! Stop Your Bickering. I Am From Harvard, And I’m Here To Help.”

Perhaps therein lies the answer to this supposed mystery. Indeed, perhaps there’s no mystery at all, and Obama’s problems are the same problems Democrats always have at the presidential level: He’s an elitist.

Oh, I know. Upon reading that, some liberal spluttered herbal chai tea from her nose at the injustice of this whole elitist canard, and the earnest Ivy League interns at some liberal magazine have burst into laughter, offering the appropriate bons mots from Balzac at the preposterousness of such a suggestion, saying: “Don’t you conservatives understand? Democrats care about the little guy. They’re on the side of the proletariat — I mean workers — and as Obama has so eloquently put it, if the workers would only stop clinging to their silly sky god and guns, they’d understand that.” 

From Blue Collar Muse today:

The ol’ “Toca del Sombrero” for this Friday Funny goes to Bob R. via email…

1. Open a new file in your computer.
2. Name it ‘Barack Obama’.
3. Send it to the Recycle Bin.
4. Empty the Recycle Bin.
5. Your PC will ask you: ‘Do you really want to get rid of ‘Barack Obama?’
6. Firmly Click ‘Yes.’
7. Feel better?

GOOD! – Tomorrow we’ll do Nancy Pelosi…

“Our schools deserve parents’ support” was the scintillating headline of Nevada System of Higher Education chancellor Jim Rogers’ op-ed in the Las Vegas Sun on Tuesday.  Rogers kicks his column off by equating Nevada’s per-pupil funding levels to child abuse and neglect.  (Read it to believe it!)

Rogers then goes on to criticize Nevadans for not paying enough taxes to adequately fund education in Nevada. 

FACT ONE:  Based on U.S. Census data on K-12 spending and doing a little quick math, Nevada spent $8,926 per student in 2006 which, at an average classroom size of, say, 30, works out to $267,780 per classroom year.

FACT TWO:  43% of Nevada’s fourth graders are functionally illiterate, according to the National Assessment in Education Progress reading test.

Even allowing for the 3 to 18% of Nevada’s students who are ELLs (English Language Learners, meaning those who speak only or primarily Spanish) and who naturally cannot be expected to test as fully literate in English, that 43% is a pretty dismal number.

How is it that over a quarter of a million dollars of spending PER CLASSROOM is not enough money to ensure that by fourth grade our students have learned to read with basic competency?

And Rogers wants to lecture the taxpayers about ABUSE and NEGLECT…?

You can reach Rogers by email at chancellor@unlv.edu or call his office at (702) 889-8426.

Confession:

I love to predict political outcomes but so far have lacked the courage to post them on E!!  Today, I shed the shackles of fear and take a stand with some predictions…

Obama’s VP pick will be Evan Bayh.

McCain’s VP pick will be Romney (who will run in 2012 when McCain decides one term was enough).

McCain-Romney will win easily in November.

Hillary will win her party’s nominiation in 2012 after saying something like this to the Dems, “Hey Dummies!  Your arugula-eating, Maxim reading, Harvard grad Golden Boy got stomped in ’08, so stop messing around and nominate me.”

“When examined as a whole, I find it impossible to believe that there is simply no way to reduce spending within the system of higher education. . . . The system of higher education currently employs 1,328 people who are paid $100,000 or more annually.”

- Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, 8/20/08

“The top 452 (university system employees)…all make more than the governor, who receives $140,000 a year.  The highest paid university system employee is [Dr. William Zamboni, head of the School of Medicine's surgery department] who receives $1.4 million a year in compensation not counting health and retirement benefits.”

- Nevada Appeal, 8/21/08

The Muthster tells me that Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley did an interview last week in which she threatened to target any Republican candidate who signs the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. 

On the other side is Muth and Citizen Outreach, not-so-gently reminding candidates that there will be a barrage of pre-election phone calls and mail-outs into their districts if they don’t sign the Pledge.

What’s a Republican candidate to do?  Buckle when the leader of the opposition party points her canons his way, or stand up for fiscal conservatism and fight the Good Fight?

Here’s a third alternative for Nevada’s candidates:  if you’re billing yourself as a Republican but support raising taxes on an already over-taxed citizenry, do us all a favor and leave the party.  Buckley will be glad to have you, and we’ll be glad to see you go.

If you’re a voter who opposes new taxes, or are running for election and want to see and/or sign the Pledge, go here.  Candidates can fax it to Citizen Outreach at (775) 522-3925.

The Corner is speculating that Chet Edwards (not John) might be the pick.  Not a good idea due to the possible name confusion; don’t think it’s gonna happen. 

I think Obama should pick Hillary if he wants to have any chance of winning, but I’m not sure she would agree to take it or that he would be willing to tolerate her on the ticket – or in the White House on a daily basis. 

Geraldine Ferraro was on Hannity last night and said there is “no way” Hillary will accept the VP spot under Obama.  Others have said they think she would, if it were properly offered.

If I were a Hillary staffer, I would advise her to Just Say No to Obama and stick with the roll call vote at the convention, which even if she loses will remind people that she still has strong support in the Demcoratic base, and then in 2012 she can come back and say (to the Dems), “OK Dummies, your Golden Boy got stomped in ’08, so stop messing around and nominate me.”

 Just got a shout-out from Don Turner, the manager of the under-construction Clark County Shooting Park (CCSP) opening here in Vegas in June 2009.  For my out-of-state readers, this is going to be the mother of all shooting parks. 

At 2,900 acres (most of which is a “buffer zone” – less than 1,000 acres will be dedicated to facilities and ranges), the CCSP will be the largest public shooting park in the U.S.  At final build-out, there will be 22 buildings and 100,000 square feet of usable space including meeting rooms, classroom space, and indoor ranges.  By all accounts, it’s going to be a world class facility that will serve the local population while also attracting gun enthusiasts and competitors from all over the Southwest.

Project Update:

Infrastructure (electricity, water, flood channels, grading) is almost done.  The first building pad will be completed by October 1^st, and with six buildings out to bid we should soon be seeing some vertical construction.  The Clark County Board of County Commissioners has approved all the Park ordinances, rules and procedures and has awarded the contract for the design of the Tourism Center.

Notable Note:

Don reminds me that the Park has been a long time coming.  Back in 1984, a local citizens group identified the current parcel on the north end of Decatur Boulevard as the preferred site and began negotiations with BLM to build a public shooting range.  The park will finally open 25 years later and after a lot of red tape and some hard-fought battles.

You can read the full history of the Park here.

With 47% of all Nevada households owning a firearm, I assume the Park will be busy.  I know the Venerable Mr. Crum is looking forward to taking our 13-year old son over there (to practice with the Ruger 22 rifle he got for his birthday last year).

If you’re a reader or writer of conservative books, an aspiring author or publisher, or a left-wing bookhound with an open mind, don’t miss Harry Stein’s piece The Future of Conservative Books.

It’s a look at how mainstream publishers have gotten on (and may soon be getting off) the bandwagon of conservative publishing, and how smaller publishing houses are stepping in to fill the gap.  The article also remembers those who forged the way for today’s conservative bestsellers and offers thought-food to conservative writers thinking about their next (or first) book.

Stein is an editor for City Journal and the author of How I Accidentally Joined the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy (and Found Inner Peace).

National Review Online editor-at-large Jonah Goldberg just emailed me to point out that Reid could screw Lieberman on committee assignments, seniority, etc. 

(I suppose Lieberman might prefer a broken leg or two to being shut down in the Senate…)