Print edition for January 28, 2007

Letter: Face it: Decider has been wrong all along: At some point it becomes only rational to predict that anything he "Deciderizes" will fail in light of his dismal track record, and, with respect to this particular topic, the net result will simply be more death, destruction and instability in Iraq and the broader Middle East.

Letter: Support Bush's fight to save civilization: Civilization as we know it will end during our grandchildren's lives if Americans don't stand by American principles and allow our military to take the fight to the enemy and win. Surrendering now will only embolden the enemy to up the ante. If God has any meaning in our lives, we will note that Lincoln, Roosevelt, Truman, JFK, MLK, Reagan, Bush, Patton, MacArthur and many others have miraculously been in the right place at the right time in our history.

FLASHPOINT for Jan 28, 2007: One thing that emerged in the aftermath of the new gover- nor's State of the State speech was how energized legislative Democrats are to take on Jim Gibbons. It's not just that they know he is a fundamentally weak chief executive because of his 48 percent victory . They really feel as if he has given them something to fight about. If it's not empowerment experiments or school funding, it's access to health care or coal plants or a road infrastructure non-plan. It was less than an hour after Gibbons kicked off his speech, with encomiums directed toward Speaker Barbara ...

Editorial: Bush's plan is no cure: The centerpiece of Bush's proposal is a new tax benefit that would allow families to deduct $15,000 and individuals to deduct $7,500 annually for health care costs - even if they spend less than those amounts on coverage. It applies to people who are insured through their employers and those who buy coverage on their own. The 17 million Americans who currently buy their own coverage would benefit because most of them cannot deduct that much now.

Jon Ralston on the dialogue that must take place between Democrats and Republicans for the sake of Nevada's children: When the snickering subsides about the new governor needing a remedial class on the centerpiece of his education agenda, and when the shock ebbs over the decrease in the percentage of money that the state spends on schools, we are hardly left empowered by the state of lower ed in Nevada.

Editorial: Who needs details?: First lady Dawn Gibbons, according to a press release, will be wearing a "Bordeaux velvet gown, designed by Giorgio Armani," to the Inaugural Balls in Reno and Las Vegas.

Hooters struggling with startup blues: By Liz Benston; The glow from those notorious orange shorts at the year-old Hooters Casino Hotel is struggling to be seen against the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip.

Spending big bucks on new digs: By Jeff German; With a new executive director and scaled-back responsibilities in the aftermath of embarrassing management missteps, the UNLV Research Foundation, its leaders vowed late last year, was on the path to greater public accountability.

John Katsilometes talks swimsuits with 'Hardball' host (and Miss America Pageant judge) Chris Matthews: "I grew up with the Miss America Pageant. My family used to spend summers in Ocean City, N.J., just south of Atlantic City, and in those days the pageant was known as 'The Pageant,' " said Matthews, who is probably better educated about the swimsuit and talent competitions than any political pundit in the country. He is a pageant judge this year, having made the contact with the Miss America Organization through "Hardball" Executive Producer Tamara Haddad, who is on the Miss America board of directors. "It was serendipitous that Tammy runs ("Hardball") and got me into this, but I ...

Editorial: Air controllers stretched thin: At a press conference on Jan. 8, in which she was joined by members of the air traffic controllers union, Berkley released the text of a letter she sent to the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, Marion Blakey.

Careless cat keepers: Gert "Abby" Hedengran got the hell out of California. He and his wife, purveyors of an exotic animal sanctuary, lost a Siberian tiger in the suburbs of San Diego and then allegedly told authorities they didn't own the 350-pound feline, which roamed for three weeks before it was shot. RIP Tuffy.

Letter: President has played into bin Laden's hands: Osama bin Laden has already won. He got the president to attack Iraq when Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Remember Vice President Dick Cheney telling the American public that Saddam had connections with the terrorists and tried to connect him to the 9/11 attacks, when in truth he had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks?

Letter: Energy independence requires leadership: Look outside. We in Nevada have more sunshine than we can stand. If the governor would propose legislation making it mandatory that, say, in three years all new housing built in Nevada must have passive solar energy systems for generating electricity, heating water, and using "solar tubes" for supplemental lighting, we could put Nevada on the map and actually do something about energy consumption. Excessive cost? Lack of technology? Bull!

On education, Peckman seems to have Gibbons' ear: By Emily Richmond; When last heard from, Maureen Peckman and the Council for a Better Nevada were lying low, having failed a year ago to land an innovative New York City educator as the next superintendent of the Clark County School District.

Jack Sheehan on a great guy - on and off the field - who should be in the Hall of Fame: And yet like each husky that pulls those sleds, offensive linemen in pro football are absolutely essential to their team's success. You hear it time and again from the talking heads who are paid to analyze football teams. You build a championship team by starting with a great offensive line.

Brian Greenspun wonders why it took the president six years to think about health care, global warming: By Brian Greenspun; The pundit class has spent this past week picking apart or propping up President Bush's State of the Union address. The result of the past few days' effort to sell whatever it was that the president tried so hard to sell is that not much has changed in the public's mind. The people are still convinced that Iraq is a mistake and that more troops - unless they number in the hundreds of thousands - will do nothing to change the outcome.