Tag: Nevada

Down And Out on Paradise

Sticklers for detail will notice this is the Strip and not actually Paradise, a few blocks East.

Things are tough all over.

I do hope nobody is surprised to learn that poverty in the United States is even higher than expected. After all, some 15% of our population is on food stamps — and that’s according to the freaking Wall Street Journal! And it is worse than average here in Vegas, where the “recovery” you lucky souls in other parts of the nation have been experiencing the last 2 years has passed us by like some angry Santa:

There’s a newer version of this chart right here. Add to that the fact that Vegas is still the reigning foreclosure capital of the nation, and it shouldn’t be any shock that we have a problem with homelessness and “food security” — a fancy term for “no food and/or no money for food.” Please remember that no matter what you may think of the work ethic of people in these situations, some of the people effected are children. There are mighty few jobs available to children that will pay the family’s bills, and most of them are worse than mere hunger.

Maybe if Wall Street didn’t sell us a pack of lies about how we can run our economy on lattes and cheap imports, we could change things. Even Starbucks is trying to create jobs outside the Latte Economy.

In Closing: is police use of a GPS really different from tailing them (uh, yeah); whites use more drugs, but blacks get sent to prison more (huh, could the War on Drugs possibly be racist??); even a broken clock is right twice a day; Americans would rather have government bureaucrats than insurance company bureaucrats (who could know these things?); amen; and right on, Rick.

Is the 50 State Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Dead?

It sure looks that way!

The California Attorney General has pulled out of the settlement talks and plans to run her own investigation! I wouldn’t be surprised if the New York Attorney General followed, since he‘s already talked about investigating on his own, and says he’s looking forward to talking with her.

For that matter, since Nevada‘s Attorney General has taken Bank of America to court for (allegedly) not abiding by a 2009 agreement on foreclosures and foreclosure fraud, it would make sense for her to join the party as well.

In Closing: The D Word; I miss the old days too; I guess they were in the building so that makes them accessories?; Occupy Wherever (like, say, Vegas); yes, mostly; about time somebody called out this BS; mechanically challenged; hell no!; and Happy October.

Revisiting the BAMTOR Principle

Banks Always Make Their Own Rules, and this has been a banner week for demonstrating it!

You’ve heard of course about the lady who arrived at her second home to discover new locks and all her stuff missing, including her late husband’s ashes, right?

What about Deutsche Bank agreeing to pay a bunch of fines for helping wealthy Americans dodge their taxes?

Arizona and Nevada are both suing Bank of America over loan adjustments, and the Nevada AG has evidence that B of A has engaged in massive deceptive trade practices.

In California, Wells Fargo has been forced to admit that “pick a payment” was a bad idea and strongarmed into modifying a whopping 15,000 homeowners (sounds much more impressive if you say $2 billion in mortgages, doesn’t it?).

Meanwhile, the federal agencies that should be regulating the banks and protecting the citizens are protecting the banks from the citizens. The Federal Reserve has actually blocked new foreclosure regulations.

Even MarketWatch suggests that the banks have pulled on over on all of us.

We don’t just need rules for Big Banks, we need them to be forced to follow the law. Put a few bankers in jail, and I imagine the rest will be more likely to resist criminal activity.

In Closing: less American Pie; when Pat Robertson says to decriminalize pot, you know the War on Drugs is a failure; duh; security threat; Schneier; look, there’s never going to be a “get out of the security line free” card, so stop wishing for one!; gee, whoda thought?; good idea, wish somebody thought of it during the Clinton Administration; and idiot motorists drove through wet cement, getting stuck and delaying a project that would have been open in time for Christmas until probably Easter. Hope they’re real proud of themselves.

Reid and Reid

Among states having a Primary election today is Nevada. Nevada voters were faced with two big decisions today in addition to a couple dozen local level races. The electronic ballot in some precincts was 9 pages long. While the nation has one eye on our race, it turns out that the majority of Nevadans won’t even bother showing up at the polls.

The headline star of the show here and across the country is of course the race for United States Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid has been a fixture of Nevada politics for decades, having even been portrayed in the movies. Today he had 3 Democratic challengers in addition to a full dozen Republican candidates vying for his seat. It would appear that in terms of campaign finance, Reid has the ability to outspend all of them in the general election combined. A new front runner has emerged in that race, Sharron Angle, following Sue Lowden’s infamous chickens-for-doctors gaffe. The race itself is still close to call. Angle has a Tea Party endorsement, so it will be interesting to see how that plays in her campaign should she win today’s race.

Meanwhile, Senator Reid has laid out an ambitious summer agenda for the Senate. His “business as usual” approach is welcome considering the problems facing the nation, and the number one most important issue to most Americans is unemployment and the lack of health insurance that goes with it. It would appear that his campaign revolves around getting things done.

Of course the elephant in the room for the Senate race is Yucca Mountain. Reid has been using his influence to thwart the nuclear waste dump just 90 miles from Las Vegas for decades. If Reid loses the fall election, his successor will most likely not have the political clout to keep the site closed. While Nevada’s other Senator, Republican John Ensign, also opposes Yucca Mountain, he has bigger things to worry about.

Of course Harry isn’t the only Reid on the ballot today. His son Rory hopes to be the Democratic nominee for the upcoming Gubernatorial race. Rory Reid only faces one other Democratic challenger, and in addition to name recognition, he’s a County Commissioner in Clark County. Las Vegas is in Clark County, which is home to roughly 80% of Nevadans and in fact has a bigger budget than the State of Nevada. Embattled Governor Jim Gibbons faces 4 primary challengers and the aftermath of a viscous divorce; despite his confidence, he is unlikely to win the primary. In addition to trailing the front runner by 14 points, his campaign is low on money. Most likely, Rory Reid will face Brian Sandoval in the Fall.

Rory is only 47. From the Governor’s Mansion, he can name a replacement for a resigning or deceased Senator and more. He can build towards a Senate run or even a Presidential run. And that makes Rory Reid a man to watch.

Cross-posted at The Moderate Voice, one of Associated Content’s Top 3 Centrist Websites!