Looking for Wasteful Spending to Waste?

Harry Reid is working his re-election tail off to kill off Yucca Mountain, but the project remains on life support. This week, one federal agency told another federal agency that it can’t pull the project with approval of Congress. All of which leads me to two questions: Why are Nevada taxpayers continuing to fund a […]

Swine Fools

Remember the panic the government created over the swine flu and a shortage of vaccines against last year? Turns out things weren’t anywhere near as bad as the government predicted. “About a quarter of the swine flu vaccine produced for the U.S. public has expired,” reports the AP today, “meaning 40 million doses worth about […]

Jumping for Joy over Sandoval’s Education Reform Plan

Jon Ralston, Dean of Nevada Political Pundits, wrote in his e-newsletter this week that I was “ecstatic” about Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Sandoval’s education reform proposal. That was actually a race case of understatement by Mr. Ralston.

The Tire Pressure Police

In response to Comrade Sen. Mike Schneider’s bone-headed legislative proposal to use the compulsive power of government to force auto repair shops to check your tire pressure – or else! – reader Pete Fundis notes this sort of thing inevitably starts us down a slippery slope. “Chuck, maybe they’ll take this a little further,” Pete […]

Pay Raises for Health Dept. Workers in Recession?

As state and local governments battle budget deficits and spending cuts; as unemployment continues to soar; Joe Schoenmann of the Las Vegas Sun reported yesterday that “The Southern Nevada Health District board last week approved a $30,000 raise for its chief health officer and 5.5 percent raises for most of its 526 employees – and […]

From the Department of You’ve Gotta Be Freaking Kidding Me

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports this afternoon that in the middle of this Great Recession – with bankruptcies and foreclosures through the roof; with unemployment higher in Nevada than anywhere else in the free world; with an Energizer Bunny state budget deficit that seems to just keep growing and growing and growing; with public schools […]

Firefighter Union Boss Says We Have too Many Firefighters (Sort of)

(Chuck Muth) – In attempting to defend the indefensible – Clark County firefighters making more than $200,000 a year at taxpayer expense – firefighter union boss Ryan Beaman inked a guest op/ed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sunday. In it, he wrote the following:

Another Boo-Hoo Story from an Armchair Job-Seeker

Some unemployed yahoo named Brian Hughes inked a letter-to-the-editor published by the Review-Journal on Sunday kvetching about Republicans who voted against extending his unemployment benefits.

Angle’s Mission Impossible: Putting GOP’s Humpty-Dumpty Back Together Again

(Chuck Muth) – When an NPR reporter asked me on Friday if I thought Sharron Angle needed to start reaching out to independents and Democrats for the general election, I said “no.” The reality is Sharron still hasn’t secured her base – and until she does that, there’s no sense trying to reach outside it. […]

Memo to GOP Leaders: There are Other Democrats in Nevada!

At the risk of offending my close, personal friends in the Nevada and Clark County Republican Party organizations (which, as everyone knows, I hardly EVER do), I nonetheless feel compelled to point out the obvious which they’ve obviously missed. Did you know that there are other Democrats serving in elected positions in Nevada other than […]

Mini-Muth’s Truths: June 25, 2010

• Yesterday, Rep. Dina Titus (D-Big Labor) voted in favor of H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE Act, which, as GOP opponent Joe Heck points out limits “only the political speech of corporations, with no effect on unions, including foreign-influenced labor unions, public-employee unions, or government grant recipients.” Remember in November.

Father of the Tea Party Movement

Did you know that the man many refer to as the “Father of the Tea Party Movement” got his political start in Reno, Nevada and now lives in Las Vegas? Here’s the scoop on the man with the plan from a recent Associated Press story:

Mini-Muth’s Truths: June 23, 2010

• I’m back. Took a post-primary week off with the kids. Did I miss anything? • Nevada Sen. John Ensign said on Tuesday that he opposes a ban on deepwater drilling – but it was unclear if he was talking about oil exploration or hanky-panky with staffers. • Um, sorry about that one. Couldn’t resist.

Legislature’s Kick-the-Can Budgeting Got Us into This Mess

Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Sandoval has said no-new-taxes, even though he hasn’t signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. And Democrat gubernatorial candidate Rory REID has said no-new-taxes, even though he hasn’t signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Yet Carson City’s lobbying corps is threatening legislative candidates, telling them they’ll get no money for their campaigns if they […]

Mini-Muth’s Truths: June 14, 2010

If John Ensign really wants to help Sharron Angle beat Harry Reid – and we have our doubts – he’d keep both his mouth and his zipper closed for the duration of this campaign.