Print edition for September 16, 2006

Letter: Don't believe everything Democrats tell you: The nation's economy is strong. Unemployment is down, productivity is up, and there is no inflation. Property values are leveling off and interest rates are really good.

Editorial: A polluted culture: "Simply stated, short of a crime, anything goes at the highest levels of the Department of the Interior," Inspector General Earl E. Devaney on Wednesday told the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy.

CAMPAIGN AD REALITY CHECK: Brian Wargo / staff writer; Rep. Jon Porter: As parents, we need to know that our schools are not hiring teachers that are sexual predators.

PISTOL aimed at growth: By Steve Kanigher; The half-finished $1.6 billion Las Vegas Beltway, Clark Countys biggest public works project, would be lucky to be that far along if the ballot measure had been law at the projects inception. And the 10-figure price tag almost certainly would be higher much higher.

Letter: People have the right to vote on initiative: Now I see that thousands of voters have legally petitioned that they be able to vote on an item in November. And our Supreme Court in Carson City has said that, in its powerful opinion, that the people have no right to vote on this item. Am I missing something here, or are the "justices" simply people who just don't get it?

Editorial: A burning issue: The nation's focus on the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks could be one reason. The contentious political battles revolving around November's elections could be another. But a third, more likely, scenario also emerges.

Libertarian lawyer has more issues up his sleeve: Outside are palm trees. Its all quite suburban and orderly and pleasant. Not one gravel pit in sight. Or an old trailer home or junkyard or strip club. Cant build them here, zoning wont allow it.

Letter: Burglars deserve the punishment they get: The Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law defines burglary as "the act of entering or remaining unlawfully (as after closing to the public) in a building with intent to commit a crime (as a felony)." The cited examples of a woman drinking two cups of coffee without paying and a man stealing bottles of alcohol are both instances where the individuals entered the buildings for the sole purpose of committing a crime. Therefore, the above cited definition is adequate in describing the criminal activity.

FLASHPOINT for Sep 16, 2006: Political IQ question: Which race has featured the most public to and fro in the general election season and will keep up that pace until November? If you guessed Dina Titus and Jim Gibbons in the governor's race, try again. It's unquestionably the congressional contest between Rep. Jon Porter and Tessa Hafen. Hafen is trying to define Porter early as a presidential puppet - she has put three ads on in a little over a week, an unusual and risky strategy. And Porter is now up with an ad declaring his opposition to sexual predators - a usual and hardly ...

Editorial: Teaching to a standard: The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, founded in 1920 and based in Reston, Va., produced the study, which found that the nation's schools are inconsistent when it comes to deciding the grade levels in which math concepts are taught.