Print edition for December 5, 2007

Q+A: Trace Adkins: By Jerry Fink; Who: Trace Adkins When: 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 9 p.m. Saturday

FLASHPOINT for Dec 05, 2007: I hate to tell the people of Nevada, but Gov. Jim Gibbons thinks you are morons. Why else would he put out a news release declaring December "Winter Driving Safety Month" and hand out tips that even cretinous Nevada motorists don't need. These come as part of the state's "Ice and Snow - Take It Slow" campaign, apparently targeting 3-year-olds: "Share your travel itinerary so others know when to expect you." Genius! And: "Turn on headlights to see and be seen." Of course! And this one: "Keep additional distance from other vehicles." Never thought of that. The insights keep coming: ...

Jon Ralston on Nevada's rise to Division I in caucuses: By Jon Ralston; The national media and candidates will cure their New Year's hangovers in Iowa and skip to New Hampshire for five days. Then, unless the Inevitability Express gets back on track and the nomination appears secure for Hillary Clinton, which now seems unlikely, the Democratic candidates will spend a third of the month campaigning in Nevada for its Jan. 19 caucus.

Letter: NRC's objectivity on Yucca is questionable: Regarding today's hearing, an article in Saturday's Las Vegas Sun reported that "on one side will be lawyers from the Energy Department (DOE) and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the industry's main lobbying arm. On the other will be Nevada and (Judy) Treichel (of the nonprofit Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force)."

Editorial: A better energy bill: A major breakthrough on this issue, however, gives reason for optimism. The House reached agreement on a compromise late Friday that would require the auto industry to make cars, light trucks and vans that would, on average, get 35 miles to the gallon by 2020.

Editorial: A mess, courtesy of Bush: The White House had been beating the war drums for some time with respect to Iran, saying the Islamic regime was developing a nuclear weapons program, but such talk generated considerable skepticism. This, after all, was the same administration that had warned of gathering "mushroom clouds" if we didn't invade Iraq and remove its weapons of mass destruction. Of course, there were no WMDs and our nation has been bogged down in a quagmire in Iraq since 2003.

Editorial: Another Yucca failure: Today the department will ask a panel of three administrative law judges for approval to apply for a license to build the dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas at Yucca Mountain.

Letter: U.S. should build bridges, not walls: For the industries that can prove American workers aren't available to fill jobs, an expanded system of work cards for "registered" aliens would enable employers to hire them. Federal and state income taxes should be collected to support the communities in which they reside. Even Social Security and Medicare taxes could be collected to bring in more money to those programs.

Letter: Immigration laws should be enforced: We are told we must ignore the breaking of immigration laws by illegals because they are here only to do jobs Americans will not do and, besides, many do pay taxes.

'Green' perks progress, with questions: David McGrath Schwartz; After months of wrangling, regulations that will guide significant tax breaks for environmentally friendly projects were adopted Tuesday by a subcommittee of state legislators.

Christian radio coming, in Spanish: By Timothy Pratt; Dios is coming. To Hawthorne. To Cactus Springs. To Glendale.

Elise Vallee: 1928 - 2007: Elise Vallee, a singer and classically trained ballet dancer, arrived in Las Vegas by way of Paris and Hollywood.

Yucca forum gets loud, rude, does little: By Phoebe Sweet; What's happening: A three-judge panel convenes in Vegas to determine whether the U.S. Energy Department has disclosed enough documents about the Yucca Mountain project to the public.