Opinion

With Congress scrambling to agree on ways to reduce the deficit, USPIRG released a fact sheet to point out a clear first step to avoid the “fiscal cliff”: closing offshore tax loopholes.

Many of America’s largest corporations and wealthiest individuals use accounting gimmicks to shift profits made in America to offshore tax havens, where they pay little to no taxes. This tax avoidance costs the federal government $150 billion in tax revenue each year. USPIRG released new data illustrating the size of this loss with 16 dramatic ways the public could benefit from those lost funds.

A petition representing over 213 concerned Carson City constituents (including 8 business owners) and 1661 other Nevada residents was presented to the Carson City Board of Supervisors on Thursday, December 6.

The petition asks the Board to join over 300 cities and 11 states in passing a resolution that supports a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision which opened the flood gates for unlimited outside spending in all political elections.

The editor must have been enjoying some holiday cheer. Sometimes I envy the guy, he sure has a fun job. Consider the last few postings. 1. ...and deservedly so! | Carson City Nevada News - Carson Now http://carsonnow.org/reader-content/11/23/2012/and-deservedly-so  Absolutely right. As the author says, there is no cure for willful ignorance. Before I give in to the temptation of pointing to this letter as one obvious illustration of that dictum, let me ask the following questions:

As a matter of law, the Nevada state constitution requires a balanced budget. As a matter of economic law and history, raising taxes will never balance a budget. It never has and never will. If a budget cannot be balanced without tax increases, it will never be balanced afterwards. The reason is simple, raising taxes decreases tax revenues and strangles growth. Many Nevada taxpayers believe that our legislators seek to redistribute our tax dollars to buy votes or political power rather than serve the public good.

As a classical conservative and former broadcaster, I am always highly amused when I hear the extreme right wing commentators who proudly claim and boast of their ratings dominance throughout the spectrum of modern media. The structural core of their argument is that the “ratings” reflect the mood of America.

Unfortunately, those who are incapable of thinking for themselves and rely on these outlets for their political information, and who kneel in complete supplication at their altars, do so at their own peril. But,then again, there is no known cure for willful ignorance.

My grandfather lived through the Great War - the War to end all wars. And I think of him on this eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month honoring the Armistice. I remember my grandfather on this day along with my father who fought in WWII in Africa and Italy. Today especially, I think of my nephew who has fallen on the battlefield in Afghanistan engaged in combat with the ancient cult of murder and slavery called Islam.

“If thou be judged, thou shall be judged by the company ye keep”
— Author Unknown
When the Traveling Vietnam Wall came to Carson City, I was a member of the Honor Guard. In no particular order, and if I’m to be judged, then, the following comments are from men and their families whose company I choose to keep!

And so it begins...

http://nationaljournal.com/domesticpolicy/floodgates-open-on-new-health-...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/6125-proposed-regulations-and-notificati...

http://www.regulations.gov/#!home;tab=search

I told you so, again and again for four years. OK, so Obama did not cancel the elections; he did one better, he put the veneer of the "will of the people" on it. Voting is the best revenge...? He never had to say, against whom.

What are we voting on? The only design that has some cost estimates is a grandiose wish list with artist’s renderings presented in July 2011 that has been pared down and down… down to what? Vote NO on CC #1.

Cost estimates vary from $28M to $49M (plus financing costs), depending on what’s included. Even with the tax hike, the intent is to raid NNDA, sewer, federal and private funds. Vote NO on CC #1.

The concept dated July 2011 shows a grandiose wish list for a public-private development. Where is the pared down wish list that CC #1 asks us to approve? Vote NO on CC #1.

Perhaps if Carson City wasn't so quick to give million-dollar tax breaks to move car dealerships down the street; and spend millions more on a tourist train the public doesn't even want, the city might not have to resort to divisive bond elections to fund basic services like libraries.

It's sad to see so many people unwilling to give something back to a community they claim to love. Unfortunately you're about as likely to get a good deal on a car from those grateful dealerships as the new V&T is to pay for itself.

“I love Carson City” …pretty common words from Jim Shirk but when I checked out his campaign disclosure at http://nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/CEFDSearch/Candida...
I noticed that he has been doing some spending out of town.
Austin, Texas got $238 and Van Nuys, California got $2172.
What is the deal Jim? Can’t Carson City business provide you with the banners and signs you want? Or are these "special" signs and banners?

Let’s get real about the proposed new library. It will do nothing for downtown development and will not serve the twenty-first century needs of our community. I grew up in Indianapolis, went to college in Cincinnati, and lived and worked in San Diego, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. All have monstrous downtown libraries none of which slowed or prevented the decay of their downtowns. My brother, an activist Cincinnati developer for such
controversial efforts as stadiums and light rail, sees little community value to downtown libraries.

Most Nevadan's are part of the 58% majority of registered voters in our state. The national socialist democrat party has only registered 42% of Nevada voters even using the illegal tactics of ACORN and similar illegal acts of registering non residents of our state. We still have the majority votes required to FIRE 'em ALL! We still have a majority of the vote. Now we need to Fire 'em All!

While watching the Giants' baseball game last night, I searched for an alternative during a commercial break.

Tuning into the local public access station, I saw the Carson City Library Board meeting in progress. Perhaps what would be said could help clarify the debate about building a new library.

My mother taught me that only a foolish man insists on learning from his own mistakes at his own expense; a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. In that spirit, I am grateful to friends who sent me this link:

Library faces fiscal crisis - Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online
http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2012/08/18/news/19local_08-18-12.txt

Supporters. "naysayers" and fence-sitters alike, please PLEASE read this article. I am not going to insult you by paraphrasing it here. Just let it be enlightening and fair warning before you vote.

Thank you!

Peter Hennessey, Ph.D.

The Secretary of State, Ross Miller, has posted updated information on voter registration in Nevada, as of Oct 2012, broken down by party and counties. According to Secretary Miller, Nevada registered voters total slightly more than one and a half million. The breakdown is approximately 42% Democrat, 34% Republican and 24% Others. For either major party to win it requires a substantial percentage of independent or unaffiliated voters unless some voters fail to cast their ballots.

I attended a League of Women Voters' meeting last week ( October 16th). I may be have been dreaming, but people were mostly civil to each other. It was a refreshing change from so many discussions I've observed over the past two years. . . mostly angry shouting matches. Marilee Swirczek wrote recently about the "shout-out" at WNC which turned unruly when some opponents of the City Center Project started pushing and shoving an invited guest. I'm glad I wasn't there.

A previous letter (by Janice Ayers) has presented no new arguments FOR the KDC project, and failed to address the arguments made by people such as I and others who are against it. Instead, she engages in a childish ad hominem attack. That is exactly what I got in response to my first letter on this topic.

I appreciate the opportunity to write a commentary regarding Carson City Question 1 (CC#1) because I hope I might reach those people who are undecided on CC1 because of all the fearful information being circulated.
To make my point, a fairly large ad appeared in the Saturday, October 20th edition of the NV Appeal which had a picture of two older people and a young child and it said “Loving grandparents leave no debts for their grandchildren, vote no on CC#1”.

This is in reference to the Letter: Think before you vote, Carson City Nevada News - Carson Now.

16 Questions about CC1

While few can claim to have all the answers about the CC1 advisory, concerning the funding of a new city library, here are a few questions that I think everyone might consider – especially those in our city government.

Why are libraries being closed and sold all over the country?

Why are universities closing and selling libraries?

How fast will all books be replaced with eBooks?

What is the future of the library in the Internet age?

How many books can I carry on my keychain flashdrive or in my smart cell phone or eBook reader?

The Tea Party Republicans claim President Obama has not repaired the Bush/Republican mistakes fast enough. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi passed several job bills out of the House. Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell filibustered and stopped those job bills.
In 2010 the Tea Party Republicans ran on "jobs, jobs, jobs" and, oh yes, hate President Obama. Please note: Not one job bill was offered by Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and the Tea Party Republicans. Further, they killed all job bills from President Obama.

Let me start with a disclaimer. I am not against libraries. I have an entire room dedicated to my books. But I have not used a library since I was in graduate school, because everything I needed for work was on-line or in a bookstore, too new to have made it into a library, public or private.

This information is in response to several recent letters to the editor that have proposed the consolidation of libraries in Carson City. Our goal is to provide our community a better understanding of the types of libraries in Carson City. It is true there are libraries who serve the public in Carson City, but Carson City Library is the only “public library.” The other libraries are not “public libraries” and here is how they differ:

If Carson City really needs a new library, I have an excellent idea. Let’s just buy the Ormsby House. Not for sale? Make em’ an offer they can’t refuse. Think about it.

On the 1st floor: foyer, auditorium, and changing exhibit area, all adjacent to an outdoor plaza (current valet parking). Second floor will have main library desk, space for newspaper and periodical reading, and restaurant without outdoor seating. Floors 3, 4, and 5 would be the main library collection. Floors 6, 7, and 8: computer labs, meeting rooms, and BRIC.

Letter to the editor:
It was with great sadness that I read the Nevada Appeal report (Oct.6,) “Political Speech Leads to Pushing at Forum”. For many months I’ve tolerated mean, thoughtless tirades by a handful of people opposed to positive change in our capital city community. Everyone is entitled to his opinion, however negative and uninformed it might be.

Nevada NFIB State Director, Randi Thompson, and several Carson City small business owners, made the following statements following the first presidential debate and in anticipation for the first vice presidential debate.

From the Carson City sample ballot for the general election on November 6:

Question CC1.

"Shall Carson City, Nevada, be authorized to impose an additional sales tax of up to ¼ of 1 percent pursuant to NRS Chapter 377A to finance the design, construction, and maintenance of a library and public plaza park in the downtown on lands donated by the Hop and Mae Adams Foundation?"

Where to begin....

A “Yes” vote on CC-1 will increase our Carson City debt to over $250 million in dire economic times. For what? Another library at a total debt over $4,500 for every man, woman and child in Carson City! San Bernardino, which just went bankrupt, has one-third that per person debt! What’s the need?

We already have 31 libraries - four separate public libraries, libraries in each of the 12 public schools, three museum libraries, 11 private school libraries and the Business Resource Innovation Center library. The present