Brian Greenspun

CEO, Publisher and Editor

Email »

702-259-4003

Story Archive

Obvious choice for speaker is Nancy Pelosi: Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018; Nancy Pelosi has been made the poster child for all that is bad in our country, a yearslong effort by the Republican Party, whose playbook is simple and to the point: Find the one person whom your opponents can’t live without and make that person too hot to handle, an unspeakable household name and a person not worthy of belief or consideration by decent people.
Firing of Sessions shows there’s no time to rest: Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018; The 2018 midterm election results weren’t even in the books Wednesday morning when President Donald Trump stuck yet another finger in the eye of justice ...
A word to the young: Vote!: Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018; This election has to be about putting the brakes on crazy, on delusion, on authoritarianism, on demagoguery and on everything else about this administration that reminds many of us too much of the run-up to to Nazi Germany in the late 1920s …
Will America correct its mistake?: Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018; What have the people done to sully the idea of America and threaten the 21st century ideal of world leadership — in all aspects of human life?
FBI probe will put trust back in confirmation process: Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018; Regardless of the machinations grinding through the Senate halls this weekend, a razor-thin majority has been frothing at the mouth to push this nomination through come hell or high water because most of the Republicans feel compelled to seat Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court …
Brian Greenspun: The decency of America demands the truth: Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018; The issue is simple: Is an accusation by a woman toward a Supreme Court nominee of sexual misconduct, possibly attempted rape, worthy of the time and energy of the United States Senate? Or is it just a “hiccup,” as Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., described it, on the way to …
Brian Greenspun: For US, it’s time to rekindle the light: Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018; We find ourselves and our world at a point that most people would consider challenging, certainly when viewed historically over the past century. A worldwide depression and a world war — which witnessed the worst of man’s inhumanity — was overcome by the nations of the world coming together in a way previously …
Where I Stand: It’s 2018, do you know where your kids are?: Sunday, July 29, 2018; Today, there are hundreds of parents — in varying degrees of immigration status — who have no idea where their children are at any time of day. And, despite court orders to the contrary, that problem doesn’t seem like it will …
Where I Stand: Is Trump a traitor?: Sunday, July 22, 2018; By this time, most Americans have an opinion about President Donald Trump’s disastrous performance on the world stage with Russia’s Vladimir Putin this past Monday. Mine is simple. It was nothing short of the worst example of American leadership in the face of our enemy since …
Boomers to blame for the mess we’re in: Sunday, July 15, 2018; When did we move from being the No. 1 superpower both in military and economic terms to a nation torn in half and fighting among itself?
Are we near dissolving ‘our political bands?’: Sunday, July 8, 2018; It is no secret that our country has been dividing itself between right and left in a way that is causing great frustration and anger between the two sides ...
Heller can stand up for Nevadans. Will he?: Sunday, July 1, 2018; If Heller stands up to Trump and says “no” to any nominee who isn’t at least as fair and open-minded and independent as Justice Kennedy has been, Heller will force his party to …
A conditional welcome to President Trump: Saturday, June 23, 2018; Welcome to Las Vegas, Mr. President. I hear you are coming for a fundraiser for Sen. Dean Heller. He can use your help. I am sure you will do well because raising money is ...
Sound fatherly advice: Follow the money: Sunday, June 17, 2018; It is Father’s Day, so I am thinking about my role as a father and grandfather and my ongoing responsibility to my family and my country. It’s just like every father in America. And how does that mesh with …
Knights more than filled Las Vegas’ cup: Sunday, June 10, 2018; When the game was over and the fate of the Stanley Cup was sealed, what impressed me most is that the fans didn’t file out. They stayed at their seats in T-Mobile Arena …
Brian Greenspun: We must restore checks and balances: Sunday, June 3, 2018; Who in the Republican Party has dared to challenge the president when he lies, bullies, denigrates and deceives the American people?
This city’s rally cry: Go Knights, go!: Sunday, May 27, 2018; I am putting important matters on ice for a while.
How do we honor the dead who honored us with their lives?: Thursday, May 24, 2018; Memorial Day gives our country pause to reflect on brave men and women who died while in the service of the United States Military.
Let’s talk peace in the Middle East: Sunday, May 20, 2018; This past week marked two distinct celebrations of the state of Israel’s 70th birthday. One was the official opening of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem. The other was an acknowledgment in Washington, D.C., by Israel of 70 Americans who have contributed to …
Let’s talk peace in the middle east: Thursday, May 17, 2018; This past week marked two distinct celebrations of the State of Israel’s 70th birthday.
UNLV’s President is leading on his way out the door: Thursday, May 10, 2018; Pushed out by the Board of Regents and Chancellor Thom Reilly, UNLV’s dynamic president, Len Jessup, was a gentleman.
Even on the way out, Jessup is a leader: Sunday, May 6, 2018; He didn’t need to be as gracious and forward-looking and honorable as he was when he spoke to the UNLV Foundation Board members this past Wednesday morning — especially in front of a room full of UNLV community supporters who were still seething at the way the Nevada Board of Regents and Chancellor Thom Reilly chased UNLV’s dynamic leader out of town — but to Jessup, UNLV deserved the best of what this community could muster and not a devolution into some of our less-worthy instincts.
Nevada needs Heller to just say no to Yucca Mountain: Sunday, April 29, 2018; I realize there are many new as well as younger residents of Southern Nevada who may not be familiar with the federal government’s efforts to bury the nation’s high-level radioactive waste just 90 miles from Las Vegas. For those of us who have been fighting against the feds’ desire …
Believe it: True believers of Trump will be our downfall: Sunday, April 22, 2018; The tell-tale sign that we may, as a country, have crossed that line between democracy and authoritarianism-in-the-making was what I witnessed this past week on two occasions following former and fired FBI Director James Comey’s interview with George Stephanopoulos.
Opportunities plentiful on UNLV's horizon, but only after truth is told about Jessup: Sunday, April 8, 2018; It is, sadly, common knowledge that UNLV President Len Jessup is leaving the university to take the job as president of the Claremont Graduate University. While that is a great and prestigious place for Len to go, it is sad for the rest of us because he is leaving UNLV, which, for the first time in a long time, has been on the upswing in so many important areas of growth — students, contributions, athletics, academics and a medical school. Additionally, Las Vegans were finally convinced that this university was theirs to protect and nurture because, in return, our institution of higher learning would help lead the way for Southern Nevada into a promising future.
Time to reconcile our two different worlds: Sunday, April 1, 2018; “Two different worlds, we live in two different worlds.” When Don Rondo made that song famous some 60 years ago, the United States was No. 1 in the world and a country that spoke with one mind on practically every major issue. Those “separating “ words were …
Young leaders ensure our future is in good hands: Sunday, March 25, 2018; I remember a time when you couldn’t find 40 young Las Vegans, let alone the kind who can influence so many others in the business, social and civic community. Today, we are just like so many of our much older cousins across the country in that we have a committed cadre of …
On road to greatness, regents take a wrong turn: Sunday, March 18, 2018; Just when we thought our community and UNLV were on the same page — you know, the one that says a city is only as strong as its university and the university is only as strong as the community behind it — along comes a challenge that requires us to prove the point.
An American first: Russian aggression met by impotence: Sunday, March 4, 2018; Every other U.S. president would have taken Russia to the woodshed by now to protect the sanctity of the United States’ election process. After all, our ability to govern ourselves through free and fair elections is the hallmark of this democracy, which has endured for the past two and a half centuries. Destroying the sanctity of the voting booth is every bit as lethal as …
Where I Stand: Don’t bet against the kids getting the job done: Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018; This time the kids aren’t buying the argument of the National Rifle Association the way their parents and politicians have been so eager to accept. This time the young people are …
Prayers appear no match for NRA’s clout: Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018; Lest there be any confusion about why our children keep dying in their classrooms, the answer is as clear as a membership card ...
Las Vegas still needs its visionaries: Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018; Who among us can honestly claim that we are not living in a state of high anxiety, uncertainty and, yes, sometimes outright fear for the future? Not having a reasonable idea about tomorrow — it’s a stability thing — causes most humans to live in an anxious state.
Where I Stand: State of Union teeters on the brink: Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018; I will assume that a large number of Nevadans watched President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night. I will also assume that the number of Americans who tuned into Rep. Joe Kennedy III’s response was significantly less. And so, as a public service to our readers, I will try to …
Schumer forced debate on ‘Dreamers’: Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018; Last week our government was shut down. Other than the media build up and nonstop reporting about that calamitous event, not too many Americans noticed. That’s because it happened late on a Friday night and was over by dinnertime Monday. To loosely quote our president, it was a …
Brian Greenspun: Our parents did the right thing for the right reasons: Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018; As a parent and, lately, a grandparent, I can attest that the very inexplicable observations I heard from my parents’ lips are now crossing my own. And as much as I didn’t understand what they were talking about …
Saying something positive about the president is a challenge: Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018; A longtime Las Vegan and supporter of the Las Vegas Sun Camp Fund, let’s call him Don, has thrown down the gauntlet. He will donate $10 every time a story appears in the Sun that is positive about President …
Tax reform and Russia: hoaxes real and imagined: Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017; If this Russia thing is a hoax — which has been Trump’s position all along to his followers in order to keep them on his side — why did special counsel Robert Mueller cut Gen. Michael Flynn a sweetheart of a deal in order to get him to roll over on higher ups in the Trump administration? ...
With Allen, Brookings will continue to lead: Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017; Last week, at the dawn of the next 100 years of Brookings leadership throughout the world, a new president took the helm. He is, I believe, a man for these times. And he represents what I believe are the qualities of great and inspired leadership. ...
Brian Greenspun: Sun Youth Forum sees Clark County’s best: Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017; Sixty one years and counting. This past Wednesday, close to 1,000 of Clark County’s best and brightest high school students met at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the 61st Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum. ...
For meaningful tax reform, give families a shot at some real green: Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017; I was hoping that the speaker would say middle-class working families would get a minimum $5,000 tax cut. That would be meaningful. Alas, that wasn’t the case. ...
Decency, courage lacking as GOP transforms: Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017; It is an American tradition to risk it all in defense of the truth and in defense of our country and the ideals for which it stands. What happened to that tradition? What happened to America’s heroes?
Bush: America needs to recall, recover its identity: Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017; Las Vegas Sun owner, publisher and editor Brian Greenspun is using his weekly column space this week to present the transcript of George W. Bush’s speech Thursday at the “Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In The World” event in New York. ...
Trump’s base isn’t getting the joke — it’s him: Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017; There are a hundred jokes that end with a similar punch line. I am going to focus on just one. It pains me a great deal to talk about the president like this because I respect the office so much, but enough is just about enough. The joke is the POTUS, and he continues to make a laughingstock of my country. ...
Brian Greenspun: Experiencing a full spectrum of emotions: Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017; I am profoundly sad. I am extraordinarily proud. I am, somehow, grateful. I am angry beyond words. And I am always optimistic. ...
Foundation honorees are heroes of education: Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017; You don’t have to look far in Las Vegas for a hero. Especially when it comes to helping public education in our community. ...
Brian Greenspun: As a new year dawns, hope, humility are in order: Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017; Each year I try to reflect upon the year just ended and look forward to the opportunities that a new year provides. In the past, these reflections have almost always centered on prospects for peace in the Middle East, because I believe that is one of the keys to a more understanding and peaceful world. ...
Don’t take chances with Mother Nature, human nature: Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017; What the American people and people all over the world proved in the wake of Harvey and Irma over the past couple of weeks is that human beings are overwhelmingly kind, caring and concerned people in the face of devastating circumstances that befall their fellow man. ...
Bravo President Trump — maybe: Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017; President Donald Trump acted, well, presidential last week. That shouldn’t be big news in this space, but it is. And it is welcome news. ...
Don’t let bad ideas take root, R-J: Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017; Fortunately, I don’t think any sane person in this country will criticize the MGM leader for supporting his employees and his company, customers and communities in their desire to fight back against the rising tide of neo-Nazi thought that has been allowed to move from the dark fringes of society into the mainstream of political thought over these past couple of years. ...
3 GOP senators stand tall at legacy moment: Sunday, July 30, 2017; McCain is a patriot. Practically his entire adult life has been given to public service. Whether as a member of the armed services of the United States or as a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Senate, our neighbor from Arizona has epitomized the selflessness of public service. ...