Las Vegas Sun

March 9, 2010

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Gibbons: Cutting the budget can help me raise money

Or so he must think: Gov. Jim Gibbons waited about 90 minutes to try to raise money off his State of the State speech.

And it's clear the campaign rushed to put this together. How many errors can you find?

Friends,

Tonight I delivered the first off-year State of the State Address in nearly twenty years. This is just another sign of the dire economic conditions facing the State of Nevada. Tonight I reminded the Nevada lawmakers that taxes are not the way to return Nevada to economic prosperity. I have made a copy of my State of the State Address available here.

Four years ago, I signed a pledge and made a promise to the people of Nevada that under no circumstances would I raise your taxes. Who would have thought I would wear out two veto stamps in the process.

Tonight I have called a special session to address the nearly $1 billion deficit facing Nevada this year. But this isn’t the end. Even after we overcome this deficit, the legislature meets every two years. I need your help to ensure that Nevadans are represented by a governor who is not afraid to veto bills that will tax us into further economic crisis.

By Nevada law campaign contributions cannot be accepted the durring the15 days before and after a special session. I ask you to please join me in fighting to protect Nevadans from more taxes that will prevent recovery. Please make your contribution before 5pm tomorrow to help me ensure that we can bring Nevada back to prosperity through economic development.

Sincerely,

Jim Gibbons

PS – I cannot do this alone. Please show your support for our economic prosperity by contributing $25, $50, $100 or $500 to my re-election campaign.

Discussion: 19 comments so far...

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy.

  1. Oh, watch the mouth-breathing teabaggers line up to throw cash at him!

  2. "Even after we overcome this deficit, the legislature meets every two years."
    "By Nevada law campaign contributions cannot be accepted the durring the15 days before and after a special session."
    No punctuation, wrong tenses, misspelled words, run-on sentences, we could critique it down to nothing.... or ZERO.
    HEY! That's just what I expected!

  3. It is now taking our bloated state government 16 weeks to approve a teaching license because they have like 1 analyst for the whole state. REALLY BLOATED! And for that they charge $140.00. They must plan on using that money to buy us a gift certificate. HUH

  4. Can we get a copy of the the actual letter? Can you post a link? I found one BIG error, and I'd like to see the actual solicitation to confirm it. Thanks!

  5. Pattina,

    Nevada's state legislature has refused to approve alternative pathways to teacher license that would be far cheaper than going through the state bureaucracy and university system. So at times it is bloated and other times completely unnecessary.

  6. Another take: remember the charter school moratorium? They couldn't oversee 25 charter schools with a board of 7, meanwhile Arizona regulates over 400 with the same size staff. Sometimes a particular agency may not be bloated, it may just not want to do their job.

  7. Patrick, I asked you a question about how rural counties (like Nye, Lyon or Mineral) are supposed to privatize and establish charter schools on another article. You know, when towns have 400-500 residents or 1 high school is supposed to serve all students within 30 miles of it.

    You DODGED it.

    Your credibility is ZERO.

  8. This just shows he's only about getting re-elected, NOT about helping the people or the State of Nevada. Which, btw, he WON'T be getting re-elected. I am so sorry I voted for him, to begin with.

  9. Patrick,

    Just show me a credible, peer reviewed study that shows charter schools as a whole have better results than public schools as a whole.

    Arizona's charter schools results are no better than there public schools. There is no statistical difference in test scores. The only difference, is that they have less accountability, and there have been many cases of graft and corruption.

    This has also been the case of various charter schools in Nevada. A matter of fact, they have been unable to sustain them due to the lack of funding, even though they get more money than our public schools.

    Explain that!

  10. Teacher licensing was a republican idea Patrick. When I was a kid here, teachers did not have to take tests to be licensed, nor did they have to be trained as teachers.

    Also, I went through an alternative cert program 7 years ago. So, they do indeed exist contrary to your comment.

  11. Patrick must have fallen asleep in his think tank.

  12. There's also no credible study to show that those going through "alternative" licensure to teach are any better than those who have teaching degrees. In fact, it costs the state more, since they have to do on the job training, and waste time trying to teach these people how to handle a class of students.

    Just because you "KNOW" a subject doesn't mean you can effectively teach it.

    And, DouglasDem. you're right, there is no proof that charter schools (or even private schools for that matter) in and of themselves are better at educating. Just the opposite. There are studies that show, once you equate for parent involvement, parent education and level of income of the family, then all schools are the same. Private schools, charter schools, public schools, schools with uniforms... all the same education.

    It's the family that makes the difference- not the school.

    My kids middle school math teachers have stunk. Don't teach them much or teach to understanding. Yet, me kids are pretty dang smart when it comes to math, why? I teach them what they don't get. Same goes for history. I correct their grammar, I am on their behavior, I have my expectations. You could put them in a private school or a charter school and they will still get the same education- because of me- not the teacher. ((And I'm a teacher!))

  13. he not getting money people not stupid. if so that the expensive campaign ad. state of state campaign ad. oh i forgot there are stupid out there.

  14. student register and vote

  15. Doug, I missed your comment.

    How are they supposed to create charter schools?

    Create the opportunity. If Charter schools come, they come. If not, the rural counties are no worse off.

    Virtual schools will probably have the biggest impact for small districts. Virtual schooling will give rural children access to lessons and high quality instructors that they may not have in a live school.

    If you've got a question you can always email it to me. pg@npri.org

  16. Pattina,

    For studies supporting the positive effects of charter schools, start here: http://www.nber.org/~schools/charterscho...

    It was conducted by professors at Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania.

  17. PS, charter schools in Arizona, like Nevada, and everywhere else, get less money per pupil than public schools. Plus they do not have access to bond revenue for school construction.

  18. Pattina,

    Nevada does not have a true alternative program. True alternative programs are run by private non-profits not through local universities.

    FOr evidence of the ineffectiveness on teacher licenses check this out: (from the liberal Brookings Institution)

    http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2006/04e...

    For the quick answer check out this graph

    http://jaypgreene.files.wordpress.com/20...

  19. PS Pattina,

    Charter schools typically set up in the areas where better schools are needed and students are struggling the most. Compared with public schools as a whole it appears charter schools do worse.

    But comparing apples to apples charter schools do better, on average, than their counterparts.

    That said, there are bad charter schools. But you can close bad charter schools. How many bad traditional public schools get closed?

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