>Coffee and the Papers: Fallout and Foul Ups

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A little good news: Divine Strake goes “not with a bang but with a whimper.” [LVRJ] Radioactive debris from the Nevada Test Site will not be sailing into the atmosphere for the time being. Update: Statement from Nevada Senator Harry Reid — “…the Department of Defense failed to appropriately consult and work with our communities to demonstrate that the project is safe and sound. They didn’t seek proper community input in the decision and overall didn’t execute the process properly. There were still many questions left unanswered, including the possible environmental effects. Taking these factors into consideration, I support the Defense Department decision to play it safe by canceling Divine Strake. We never want to jeopardize the health and safety of Nevadans.” {Reid Press Release 2.23.07}

Fallout of the political kind: One reporter thinks perhaps the Democratic Presidential Forum held in Carson City this week may have done Nevada more good than it did the candidates. [RGJ] Jon Ralston comments on Forummania. [LVSun] John L. Smith thinks Bill Richardson deserves more attention. [NA]

Old fashioned pollution/fallout: The Queenstake Resources’ Jerritt Canyon gold mine has been ordered to repair mercury emissions control equipment or shut down its ore processing plant. [LVRJ] [EDFP] The requirements set forth in the order at [EDFP] Newmont and Barrick cite increased production costs as a reason for predicting higher gold prices. [RGJ] Hitting lower grades now? Low grade usually equates to higher production costs.

Falling all over themselves? The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and the Clark County Commission are reviewing the Clark County Family Services report on child welfare cases. The review is intended to assure the public that 55 cases were properly handled by an agency in which foster children may have died or disappeared while in custody, the emergency shelter was routinely over capacity, and overloaded caseworkers failed to perform regular visits. [LVRJ]

Pahrump may have taken itself off the National Register of Silly Places by rescinding the English Only Ordinance — but the debate lingers on. [PVT]
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McConnell v. Reid: Round Three — Senate Democratic leaders intend to offer a resolution to repeal the 2002 Blank Check authorizing the invasion of Iraq. [WaPo] Rep. John Murtha may have added fuel to the fire by publishing his funding plan on a “left-wing” website — “inflaming party moderates.” The problems do highlight the divergence of opinions within the Democratic caucus, with opinions ranging from immediate withdrawal from Iraq to those to who believe Congress cannot limit spending or place conditions on funding. [LAT] One of Murtha’s proposals that moderate/conservative Democrats may want to retain is the notion that troops should not be redeployed to Iraq without adequate time for rest between assignments. An article in this morning’s New York Times illustrates why this is an important consideration. [NYT] One other thing that should be considered is the effect of multiple deployments of National Guard and Reservists — whose family and business concerns are different than those of regular Army forces. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Democratic split means that Congress won’t be able to stop the White House war strategy. [The Hill]

Another sources weighs in on the so-called success of the British forces in Basra — “In a comment entitled “The British Defeat in Iraq” the pre-eminent American analyst on Iraq, Anthony Cordesman of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, in Washington, asserts that British forces lost control of the situation in and around Basra by the second half of 2005. Mr Cordesman says that while the British won some tactical clashes in Basra and Maysan province in 2004, that “did not stop Islamists from taking more local political power and controlling security at the neighbourhood level when British troops were not present”. As a result, southern Iraq has, in effect, long been under the control of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri) and the so-called “Sadrist” factions.” [Independent UK]

The fall of the Italian coalition government illustrates the tensions in European politics about how to deal with the Bush Administration, and the differing perspectives on the occupation of Iraq. The administration holds that Iraq is part of the Afghanistan/anti-terrorism fight — European nations see a profound distinction. [CSM] Meanwhile, the Taliban is threatening “the bloodiest year yet” for foreign troops in Afghanistan. [Guardian UK] The British Government is expected to announce the redeployment of another 1,000 troops to Afghanistan. [Independent UK]

The U.S. is seeking stronger sanctions on Iran for refusing to cooperate with the demand to suspend uranium enrichment. [McClatchy] Neoconservative Joshua Muravchik of the American Enterprise Institute believes that President Bush will bomb Iranian nuclear facilities, and believes the current diplomacy is a “prelude to attack.” [McClatchy] U.S. intelligence on Iran has been “shaky.” [McClatchy] According to a report drafted by a Republican staff member on the House Intelligence Committee: “American intelligence agencies do not know nearly enough about Iran’s nuclear weapons program” to help policy-makers at a critical time, the report’s authors say. Information “regarding potential Iranian chemical weapons and biological weapons programs is neither voluminous nor conclusive,” and little evidence has been gathered to tie Iran to al-Qaeda and to the recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.”[SDUT]
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The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets sees nothing wrong with hedge fund “outsized returns,” and dismisses concerns that excessive borrowing and trading bets by the hedge funds could cause stock market instability. [WaPo] Caveat Emptor!
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Nevada Legislative news at Blue Sage Views
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Update: Wouldn’t you know it — just when I wanted to consult the Magic 8 Ball in the sidebar to see if Joshua Muravchik’s advice to President Bush about nuking Iran would be accepted by the White House — the thing’s “temporarily unavailable.” Update II: The Eight Ball’s gone…until it can be “repaired”… perhaps it wore out trying to figure out who’s in charge of U.S. foreign policy — Bush or Cheney, or both?

>Coffee and the Papers

>Nevada Test Site: Nevada Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that he is introducing a bill to extend compensation for Nevada Test Site workers who were “in harm’s way” during test site activities between 1951 and 1993. Current compensation rules eliminate 2/3rds of those who worked there during testing. [LVRJ] Question for the Bush Administration Department of Energy: If there is sufficient contamination to justify paying those who were on site 250 days or more between 1951 and 1962 — then why does the DoE continue to claim that the fallout from the Divine Strake Test won’t endanger anyone? If the soil was contaminated then — and now — why the claim the proposed test is safe? Could part of the answer lie with the call for the contamination profile at the site to be upgraded? If the contamination from radioactive materials is underestimated by 2/3rds, then Reid’s bill opens up the Divine Strake question to more scrutiny, perhaps an unintended consequence, but a follow up question nonetheless.

Legislature opens: Nevada Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley (D-Clark) got the gavel, announced that Nevada is 44th nationally in student achievement, and needs an all day kindergarten program. Republicans countered: Kindergarten teachers don’t want it. Kindergarten teachers don’t want it unless it’s tied to class size reduction. It doesn’t work. In sum, any reason to oppose it will do. [LVRJ] Buckley also called for increased pay to attract and keep quality teachers, improved access to health care, and development of Nevada’s wind, solar, and geotherman resources, and ethics reform. [NA]

The Echo Chamber: The other female Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), was the recipient of one of those notorious GOP echo chamber smear jobs. The Washington Times [TP] printed an article saying she was demanding military flights. The right wing commentators, Faux Snooze, and even some otherwise reputable anchors quoted the Times, and then of course the RWEC quoted the announcers. Problem is that since the 9/11 attacks the Speaker, who is third in the Presidential Succession line, has been given the use of a military plane for security reasons. The plane Speaker Dennis Hastert used is too small to make it non-stop to California and the question is about security not convenience. [WaPo]

Save the Surge: Columnist E.J. Dionne takes a look at the “War to Save the Surge” and concludes that if the anti-Iraq occupation resolutions in the U.S. Senate are so “trivial” then why the all out attack by “All the President’s Men” to stop debate — or maybe because they really don’t want to discuss the topic on the record? [WaPo] See also [NYT]

The archaeological treasures of Iraq, already under attack from the beginning of the occupation, may be at risk from security forces who station themselves in historic locations and then pass the time digging for artifacts? The looting continues…? [McClatchy]

Remember New Orleans: Eugene Robinson’s column has some questions more people should be asking. For example, why have only 331 families received reconstruction funds? Why is the state of Louisiana required to ante up 10% since this provision was waived for the 9/11 attacks and several Florida hurricanes? Why are the Feds requiring that Louisiana write a 10% check for each and every individual rebuilding project? Why, if a person gets a “Road Home” check are they then required to immediately repay in full any loan he or she got from the Small Business Administration? Why is the Texas banker in charge of the rebuilding emphasizing “tax incentives” to promote reconstruction and rebuilding? [WaPo] Does anyone have any answers?

How quickly they forget? With a few corporate executives just beginning their prison terms, the SEC is starting an investigation into whether Wall Street bank employees are leaking information to large clients in order to “curry favor” via insider trading, and putting a new twist on the practices by trying to obfuscate the paper trail. [NYT] This, while the Wall Street lobbyists are claiming that the burdens of Sarbanes-Oxley are too onerous?

I don’t know if I’m pleased or unsettled to find out that our neck of the woods is considered in the realm between Neptune and Pluto by the Reno Montessori kids who are “designing” their own solar system. [RGJ] I suppose it’s a great way to teach the concept of ratios — but it does leave the impression that the outback is as far out as the sadly downgraded Pluto. But then, the Legislature’s pretty much treated us that way, so what’s the problem?

Nevada state/local at Blue Sage Views

>Coffee and the Papers

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Divine Strake: Saturday, activists, including the Sierra Interfaith Action for Peace, the Reno Anti-War Coalition, and the Western Shoshone Defense Project protested the proposed Divine Strake blast. The groups’ representatives sought to get Governor Jim Gibbons’ agreement to request a supplemental EIS requiring public hearings. [LVRJ] “Gibbons’ communications director, Brent Boynton, did not return phone calls seeking comment Saturday.”
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Dean Heller: Congressman Dean Heller (R-NV02) was the only member of the Nevada congressional delegation to vote against the extension of the appropriations necessary to prevent a government shut down after the Republican dominated 109th Congress adjourned with 9 of 11 appropriations bills unfinished. [LVRJ]
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Nevada Legislature: As he said in “The Devil Wears Prada,” — “Gird Your Loins” the Nevada Legislature will convene tomorrow: [RGJ]

The question: What will Gov. Jim Gibbons do to pay for the long-term cost of health insurance benefits for retired state workers? The answer: (drumroll please, why could a person have guessed this?)…appoint different people to the PER Board. [LVRJ] Second question: Why is the new Governor’s answer to any issue “Appoint Lots of New People?”

Nevada Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley is supporting a proposal to provide a small state subsidy to small businesses that provide health care insurance for their employees. [LVRJ] Employers who already provide healthcare insurance were to be able to keep their minimum wage at $5.15 — how the newly enacted, but yet unresolved, increase in federal minimum wages will affect Nevada will no doubt be under discussion. [RGJ] Giving the Governor another opportunity to appoint “Lots of New People” to yet another task force/advisory group/blue ribbon panel?

Nevada Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie (D-Reno) observes that the worst thing that could happen in the 2007 legislative session would be for the assemblage to do nothing about the much criticized child welfare system in Nevada. [LVRJ]

More State/Local at Blue Sage Views
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Iraq Occupation: World Record Flip Flop? 47 seconds. From Senator John McCain (R-AZ) recently of the Double Talk Express who reversed his position on how long before we know if The Surge will be effective in Iraq. [Think Progress] Senator Chuck Hagel calls McCain’s proposal “intellectually dishonest.” [Huffington Post has the tape.] Meanwhile back at the White House, there is no Plan B? “Several sources expressed concern that the administration, by publicly rejecting a “containment” option — withdrawing U.S. troops to Iraqi borders to avoid sectarian fighting while preventing outside arms and personnel from entering the country — has not left itself a fall-back plan in the event of failure.” [WaPo]

Could one of the repercussions of the Iraq Occupation be increasing ill will between Shiite and Sunnis in other parts of the world — like Pakistan? [CSM]

The protracted problems with the Iraq Occupation aren’t stopping the Pentagon from hiring more “private contractors” for security at reconstruction projects, and General David H. Petraeus is counting the “contractors” among “…the assets available to him to supplement the limited number of U.S. and Iraqi troops to be used for dealing with the insurgency.” [WaPo] Col. Patrick Lang responds, “I can’t remember a subordinate commander considering mercenaries as part of his forces.” And, Retired Gen. Anthony Zinni warns that problems can arise when the contractors take on quasi-military roles.”
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Problems with contractors in general according to the New York Times, as the Bush Administration continues to outsource as many functions as possible:
1. Competition, intended to produce savings, appears to have sharply eroded.
2. The most secret and politically delicate government jobs, like intelligence collection and budget preparation, are increasingly contracted out, despite regulations forbidding the outsourcing of “inherently governmental” work.
3. Agencies are crippled in their ability to seek low prices, supervise contractors and intervene when work goes off course because the number of government workers overseeing contracts has remained level as spending has shot up.
4. The most successful contractors are not necessarily those doing the best work, but those who have mastered the special skill of selling to Uncle Sam.
5. Contracting almost always leads to less public scrutiny, as government programs are hidden behind closed corporate doors. [NYT]
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Remember New Orleans? Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) is calling the Army Corps of Engineers an “utterly broken bureaucracy,” and that the Administration, instead of shifting the reconstruction funds from one bank of the Mississippi to the other, should complete all the levee work necessary in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. [NOLA]

>Ensign wants to go surging

>Nevada Senator John Ensign (R) took to the Senate floor to establish his ultra-right wing credentials as a member of the White House Cheerleading Corps. To wit: The President’s plan isn’t perfect, but it is “certainly a change.” “Every voice of reason tells us that Iraq would implode into a terrorist state used by Al-Qaeda as a launching pad.” [LVRJ] One more time — there’s nothing new about this plan, 6 surges are 6 surges, each ineffective. Most “voices of reason” (i.e. those not found on right wing AM radio) are saying that Al Qaeda is already using Iraq as a vocational training center, witness the last publicized NIE. The first elected Iraqi leader tried to tell us in 2005 that things were “imploding.” Did we listen?

Ensign: “We cannot wash our hands of the responsibility incumbent upon us as the leader of the free world,” … “We cannot afford to fail.” [LVRJ] If we were really the leader of the free world — would we be all but alone in the occupation of Iraq? What is mission at which we might fail?

Update: TPM Muckraker reports that the Congressional Budget Office is estimating that the “surge” will not be the advertised 21,500, but an additional 35,000 when support personnel (3,000 per combat brigade) are factored in. [TPMM]
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African American leaders are wondering if they have any clout with Governor Jim Gibbons. [LVRJ] Another way to phrase the question might be does anyone have any access to the Governor? The leaders of Nevada’s African American community may find that they have just about as much access as, say, the School District Superintendents, the Blue Ribbon Transportation Panel, and the “input” from all those members of the Rolodex Regiments.
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Wouldn’t it be fine to wake up some morning in the great state of Nevada and discover that the Federal government no longer perceives us to be the nation’s garbage dump and target range? Opponents of the Divine Strake big bang point out that the military model to determine fall out has nothing to do with health risks. [LVRJ] A new “status hearing” is scheduled for March 1.
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And, then there are those pipe clogging invasive pest Quaggas… No surprise here, park managers have been loathe to make things “inconvenient” for boaters, so now we have a potential billion dollar bill for cleaning up sewer and water systems. [LVSun] Rant: There wouldn’t be a problem IF boaters would take some pride in their equipment and keep it cleaned up, and IF boaters would assume some personal responsibility.

The Las Vegas Sun article has a sidebar showing the invasive species that have set up camp in the western states, and I think I know of one more example. I have to admit that the only time I’ve contemplated homicide was when listening to a Perfect Fool blathering happily away at a luncheon about how he had personally packed some fish from Louisiana in a cooler and released them into a northern Nevada reservoir. That I am “on the outside” now is a testament to the will power it took not to shove the Perfect Fool’s baked potato into his mouth and strangle him with his napkin.
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Nevada State/Local at Blue Sage Views