Story Archive

Giving taxpayers a stake is an idea worth a look

Worries about socialism shouldn’t block government investment in companies

Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008

Given a choice between socialism and capitalism, I think I would like to try the first one.

Hate what they got us into, but we need politicians now

Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008

The United States lives at the intersection of Main and Wall.

Taxpayers deserve right deal right now

Bailout must accomplish credit market relief without sacking the public

Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008

“Deal or no deal?”

Voters must not forgive leaders who let crisis play out

Taxpayers on the hook for billions in bailouts should give elected officials the boot

Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008

Where do you get in line for a bailout?

Keep on fighting the good fight for education, Chancellor Rogers

Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008

An open letter to Jim Rogers, chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education: Dear Jim, The system is broken. That is not news to you, I know, but it may be to the 3 million-plus Nevadans who are awash in their own financial and societal issues during this very difficult time.

Bolt caused, but never bowed to, distractions

Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008

The champion! The gallery is hushed. The crowd is tense. Every stroke of the golf club can be worth $10,000.

Going back in time to pay tribute to golfer ‘Terrible Tommy’ Bolt

Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008

Tommy Bolt, one of the most colorful golfers to ever play professionally, died Aug. 30 at age 92.

Brian Greenspun knows which side of Yucca they’re on

For Nevada, Obama is good, McCain bad

Sunday, July 27, 2008

There you go again.

The importance of balanced conversation

Overreaction to blunt remarks serves no good

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Beware of open microphones and open mouths. Often there is truth coming through.

New inspiration for holiday

Two mothers remind Brian Greenspun of Founding Fathers’ values

Sunday, July 6, 2008

We need to declare our independence, once again.

Brian Greenspun reminds lawmakers that talk is cheap

Sunday, June 22, 2008

It is time to do and not just to say.

Brian Greenspun wants legislators to seize the day

Special session provides chance to fix tax system

Sunday, June 15, 2008

During times of great challenge there are greater opportunities.

Brian Greenspun says it’s time for those who care about the future to take a stand

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Remember all those stories about what do we do when we reach the crossroads of our future? Well, we are at that point and it is decision time.

Brian Greenspun laments the loss of some of Nevada’s best public officials as a foreseeable result of term limits

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Tee up the “be careful what you vote for” music because it is time to pay the piper.

Brian Greenspun gives his mom the second-best gift ever

Second rise of Las Vegas Sun can make her proud

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Love is never having to say you’re sorry.

Brian Greenspun has a proposal for a ticket to unite Democrats

And it doesn’t involve Clinton giving up and going home

Sunday, May 11, 2008

I am not a pundit. I am not an expert. I am simply an American who wants what he believes is best for America.

Brian Greenspun knows a leader when he sees one

Top Nevada business exec could fill vacuum

Sunday, May 4, 2008

I decided a few weeks ago that I was no longer going to act like a common scold in this space. The people of Nevada should know by now that I believe we are in desperate need of new leadership at the state level and any other part of government that doesn’t recognize that we are in trouble or, worse, refuses to do anything about it.

Remembering the all-too-human Henri Lewin

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Henri Lewin passed away last week. Some of the details of his life were published in the myriad obituaries that recounted his time with us and his contributions to society in general and, for Las Vegans, the gaming and entertainment industry, which exists today in Las Vegas because of his vision.

Brian Greenspun lauds man whose name graces school

Sunday, April 13, 2008

“He arrived in the United States as an immigrant from Mexico with few possessions,” the dedication program for the middle school noted, “but with great ambitions and a strong work ethic.” From there, Eddie Escobedo has lived the American dream.

Some recent news items don’t make much sense

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Perhaps it is advancing age. I don’t claim to be the hippest Baby Boomer on the block. In fact, I know there is still so much about practically everything there is to know that I still don’t know. And I understand that the challenge of life is to live and learn long enough so that the gap between what we do know and what we don’t becomes small enough to make us feel our time on Earth has not been wasted.

It's time to cast off one legacy of Watergate

Sunday, March 30, 2008

We have finally gone too far. Actually, we went too far a long time ago in this country. It started with Watergate and it has continued ever since. The “it” is the public’s belief that it is entitled to know anything and everything about a citizen in this country who puts himself or herself up for public service.

Circumstances that, though defeatable, test America’s resolve

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Is the sky really falling? I have yet to fall for the Chicken Little story, even though there have been times and events over the past few decades when one could reasonably conclude that the Earth had fallen off its axis and would have difficulty righting itself.

Heed the lessons taught by Gandhi

Sunday, March 16, 2008

As Dorothy said when she returned to her beloved Kansas, there is no place like home.

How Gandhi’s dream is being realized

Sunday, March 9, 2008

“I shall work for an India, in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country in whose making they have an effective voice; an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people; an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There can be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability or the curse of the intoxicating drinks and drugs. Women will enjoy the same rights as men. Since we shall be at peace with all the rest of the world, neither exploiting, nor being exploited, we should have the smallest army imaginable. This is the India of my dreams.”
Mahatma Gandhi, born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, wrote those words and many others to inspire a country of a few hundred million people to reach beyond themselves toward a freedom that it had not known for practically forever.

Brian Greenspun discovers that the world is, indeed, flat

Sunday, March 2, 2008

When New York Times columnist and best-selling author Tom Friedman visited Bangalore, he knew instinctively that the world was flat.

Brian Greenspun finds progress in India — and tests for its democracy

Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008

We are traveling through the subcontinent on a path toward 21st century dominance.

Brian Greenspun joins tributes to worthy men

D.C. shows love for leader in labor, legend in Congress

Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008

The city of brotherly and sisterly love. No, I am not talking about Philadelphia. Here’s the surprise: It is Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, the city that seems to take pride in its rancorous partisanship, pettiness and petulance.

Brian Greenspun says Clinton put her money where her mouth is

Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008

The whole world loves an underdog.

Brian Greenspun believes a bold plan to make Israel an oil-independent, electric car nation is a model for the world

Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008

If you were going to declare your oil independence, where would you do it?

Brian Greenspun will make a big change to get what we need

Friday, Jan. 18, 2008

TGIF. That means there is just one day to go before Nevada Democrats head to their first-in-the-nation Western caucus to weigh in on who they think should be their party’s nominee for the presidency of the United States. And everyone I know is glad it is just about over.

Brian Greenspun urges voters to choose realistically

Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008

Look out Nevada, the world is coming to town.
For the next week, our state will be the focus of the entire country, if not the world. For it is here that the Democrats may well decide to support Sen. Barack Obama or to choose a much wiser course by confirming what New Hampshire voters instinctively knew and what most Nevadans have understood for a long time, that Sen. Hillary Clinton will make an excellent president of the United States.

Brian Greenspun on the ‘why’ of responsible journalism

Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008

Without the “why” what's the point? So goes an advertising campaign launched this winter by the Las Vegas Sun. It is designed to give readers and potential readers of our newspaper a substantive reason for picking up Las Vegas' independent voice. I liked the phrase when I heard it and now that the Tribune Co. acquisition has been announced, along with my family's role in it, I like it even more.

The world is watching

Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007

We had our 15 minutes of fame and a whole lot more.

Las Vegans are used to being exposed by the bright lights of the media. It is the way we make our living. The more publicity, the more business is generated. Pretty simple formula.

Greenspun: The world is watching

Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007

Las Vegans are used to being exposed by the bright lights of the media. It is the way we make our living. The more publicity, the more business is generated. Pretty simple formula.

Brian Greenspun shares his father's fondness and admiration for Rat Packer Joey Bishop

Monday, Oct. 22, 2007

Sun founder Hank Greenspun wrote many columns about his good friend Joey and many of the antics that made Las Vegas entertainment the envy of the world.

Brian Greenspun wonders why it took the president six years to think about health care, global warming

Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007

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.

Brian Greenspun on the timeliness of the Newseum and its importance to our democracy

Friday, May 26, 2006

So here's a good question: What's a Newseum? The Newseum is an interactive museum that focuses exclusively on the First Amendment to the Constitution and the long history - up to and including the present and all of our tomorrows - of media organizations and the courageous men and women who comprise them and work tirelessly to preserve this great democracy of ours.

Bar has been raised

Friday, April 29, 2005

Vegas has another Wynner! It is hard to write about the Wynn Las Vegas hotel without reaching deep into a bag full of superlatives, an exercise already repeated in newspapers and on television sets all over the world. So, to save the repetition and to keep it simple, Steve Wynn has met every expectation, each of which was exceedingly and unreasonably high.

A reason to abstain

Friday, Nov. 21, 2003

WELCOME to Las Vegas, Mr. President. On Tuesday, President George W. Bush is coming to Las Vegas. It is appropriate that we welcome him to our city and wish him well in his travels. It is also appropriate that we share with the president our thoughts about his presidency.

Columnist Brian Greenspun: Plenty of straight talk

Thursday, June 15, 2000

Editor's note: Mike O'Callaghan has been out of the governor's office and in the newspaper business for over 20 years. But in all that time, he has never left politics. At least, he has never given up on the idea of public service. There is still no one I know who gives more of his time to help those in need, or those who don't think they need, than Mike. And it is all done quietly because that's the way Mike likes it.

Clinton: Reid needed to fight dump

Friday, Oct. 30, 1998

That column expressed a belief that without Reid in the U.S. Senate -- another term would solidify his position and leadership among Senate Democrats and make him a significant player in the Senate's seniority system -- the GOP's effort to the send the nation's radioactive waste to Nevada would, finally, be successful.

Bellagio inspires new era for Las Vegas

Saturday, Oct. 17, 1998

When Steve Wynn changed the landscape and future of Las Vegas with the opening of the Mirage hotel-casino in 1989, the naysayers -- those who continue to predict doom and gloom for our community in the hopes, I suppose, that one time they are going to guess right -- retreated in awe and with a degree of respect for what visionaries could create with adequate capital and the determination that comes from the heart of a gambler.

Where I Stand: The rocky road toward peace

Saturday, March 9, 1996

Life is complicated but life in that part of the world defies definition by those of us who live in the relative peace and tranquility of the West. So it was with equal parts trepidation and delight that the combating parties signed on the line of peace and started down that long road.