Anjeanette and David hit the nail on the head in their summary of why Harry Reid's support for Ruben Kihuen evaporated.

There are very few Democrats in Nevada (other than party stooges and hangers-on) who have true warm feelings for Harry Reid. He's admired as a wise general, but there's little affection towards him as a person or as a candidate. He constantly sells-out progressive political principles in "leading" the Senate, even when the Democrats had a super-majority in the Senate.

On the other hand, Dina Titus has a large group of ardent supporters because she's kind, approachable, intelligent and ran a good "constituent services" operation when she was in Congress. Titus engenders the same loyalty and affection which Shelley Berkeley does within the conservative Democrat 1st District.

Titus and Berkeley are viewed in the same light as a beloved grandmother, wisely and assertively protecting her "family", while Reid is viewed as a cold, calculating, manipulative grandfather for whom few voters or family members have affection. In his last election, if the Republicans had run a respectable candidate, Harry Reid probably would no longer be Majority Leader and instead be sitting at his desk at home in Searchlight (or at some corporate lobbying firm on K Street.)

The bottom line is that Harry Reid knows the limits of his power over intelligent Democrat voters in Nevada, and those powers certainly do not include the power to step on beloved women candidates to "give a congressional seat" to an inexperienced, ineffectual, self-impressed pipsqueak simply as a means to "help" Barack Obama be re-elected.

That fact is especially true in the 1st District, because independents who voted for Berkeley and Titus would be more likely to vote for a Republican Congressional candidate than for an under-qualified "Reid puppet" foisted on them.

The reality is that Harry Reid knows that many independents and progressive Democrats are furious with Barack Obama concerning a large number of issues. The currently-breaking news story that the Obama Administration is "cooking the books" on unemployment statistics nationally, in an effort to gain re-election, is certainly not going to help the Obama re-election campaign in this state with its real-world massive under-reported unemployment/ underemployment. Nevada independent, progressive and Democrat voters have had enough time to see President Obama for what he really is...nothing but a charlatan.

When election day rolls around, many independent and progressive Democrat voters in Nevada are NOT going to vote for Barack Obama, or perhaps not vote at all. Barack Obama is going to lose Nevada's electoral votes. Cold, calculating Reid can read the handwriting on the wall. There would be no point in embarrassing himself for a losing cause and in the process alienating the not-party-manipulated Democratic and independent voter base in the 1st District.

I don't mean to be snarky, but what corporate documents is The Sun talking about? I just went on the NYSE website, and there's nothing new posted in terms of Las Vegas Sands' disclosure filings with the SEC. See: http://secfilings.nyse.com/files.php?sym...

Part 2

How soon is soon?

Apparently, the Homeless Youth Foundation has been operating since 2008, so given that the HYF website says the "Audit and Financials will be available soon in pdf format" one would assume that the Audited Financial Statements would already be "ready" or finished for 2008, 2009 and 2010, as well as HYF's IRS Form 990 tax returns for 2008, 2009 and 2010.

While, as far as I know, the Homeless Youth Foundation's Financial Statements and IRS 990's don't have to be posted online, if HYF is to hope to continue to function as a useful and important charitable foundation/non-profit corporation, it will be important that those documents be made public ASAP. That would be especially important given that in the 2009 Audited Financial Statement for Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (viewable on its website as of 1/26/12) had, at "Note 4" reference to a transfer of roughly $300,000 of Partnership for Homeless Youth's restricted and unrestricted funds were 'transferred to an affilated non-profit corporation'. One must assume that the roughly $300,000 of NPHY money went to this "Homeless Youth Foundation".

The question of the evening is whether Ms. Boutin-Vermillion is also gone as Executive Director of this lesser known "affiliated" Nevada non-profit corporation, as well as how that roughly $300,000 was spent by Homeless Youth Foundation.

So sad for all of the nice people who are volunteer Directors and Advisors for these organizations, so sad for the donors, so sad for the kids who needed every dime donated to help them.

Part 1 of 2

Tonight TV news stations are telling us that Kathleen Boutin-Vermillion is no longer associated with Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY).

However, according to the Nevada Secretary of State's online corporate records as of 1/26/12, HOMELESS YOUTH FOUNDATION (HYF) is a Nevada non-profit corporation incorporated June 30, 2008. It is Nevada Entity E0428492008-5. In a regular List of Officers & Directors for HYF, filed with the Secretary of State on May 11, 2011, signed by Ms. Boutin, she is listed as Registered Agent for Service of Process and as Executive Director.

Sadly, Mrs. Sandy Miller is listed as a Director, i.e. Member of the Board of Directors with an address on that same residential street in Henderson starting with "C" where Ms. Boutin listed herself as the person to serve in lawsuits against Homeless Youth Foundation or Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth and Homeless Youth Foundation. I doubt Mrs. Miller lives or works at that address. On HYF's website as of 1/26/12, Mrs. Miller is touted as a former Nevada First Lady, and mother of the current Secretary of State. Sadly someone running HYF was trying to give HYF the appearance of legitimacy On that same Secretary of State filing for HYF, Marcus Conklin is listed as President, Jasen Cassady is listed as Treasurer and Tim Herbst is listed as Secretary of HYF. None of those three are listed as members of the Board of Directors.

In contrast on 1/26/12, on HYF's website, http://www.homelessyouthfoundation.org/u... a shadow tab when you mouse over "About Us", Kathleen Vermillion, Sandy Miller, Tim Herbst, Jasen Cassady and Mark Fiorentino are listed as "Trustees". In non-profit corporate law parlance a foundation (other than a private family foundation) and a corporation are the same, and Directors and Trustees serve the same function. Yet for some odd reason Ms. Vermillion and Mr. Fiorentino are not listed in the HYF filing with the Secretary of State as Directors or Trustees.

On the Homeless Youth Foundation website, at "Credentials" http://www.homelessyouthfoundation.org/c... there is a copy of an IRS 501(c)(3) status approval letter for HYF addressed to "Ms. Butin" on that "C" named residential street in Henderson and dated March 20, 2009. The "Credentials" page of the HYF website also has a pdf of some unsigned Bylaws, and a statement (not a link) which says "Audit and Financials will be available soon in pdf format"

How soon is soon?

During the saga of the extortion attempt against Bill Cosby, by his allegedly illegitimate daughter, meetings of the parties occurred including the extortionist/alleged adult illegitimate daughter, her accomplices, Cosby and his lawyers, and extortion threats occurred in the view of the FBI. The alleged illegitimate daughter and her two accomplices were tried in U.S. District Court, and all 3 were convicted of some sort of Federal extortion conspiracy crime. (Sounds like the Medical Mafia cases, tried and plea bargained despite everything being "kosher" under Nevada law in the minds of the defendants.) Bill Cosby's alleged illegitimate daughter/extortioner did 26 months in a Federal pen. I couldn't figure out what happened to the 2 accomplices who were convicted. One can find these old stories by running internet searches using key words like "Bill Cosby" and "extortion".

More recently, David Letterman was the victim of an extortion attempt by an Emmy award winning CBS TV producer, who was angry that Mr. Letterman allegedly had an affair with the producer's youngish girlfriend BEFORE Mr. Letterman was married. Mr. Letterman cooperated with law enforcement, and the TV producer was convicted by way of plea bargain in New York State criminal court, and just recently got out of jail according to one news story I read. The extortioner and his lawyer put up quite a lot of screeching that it wasn't an extortion, but instead an attempt to sell a screenplay about how Mr. Letterman "treated women on his staff" to Mr. Letterman as the potential producer of a movie about his 'bad self'. Again, these news stories can be found by internet searching "David Letterman" and "extortion".

So I guess these sorts of extortion plots are common against "people with money". Glad I'm just a poor progressive civil libertarian.

"A sop to environmentalists, he added that companies would need to divulge lists of chemicals used when drilling on public lands."

Thank you Joe Schoenmann for using the right words.

Barack Obama is the Charlatan in Chief. He'll say anything to anybody to get re-elected, even if what he says to one group is a dire detriment to another, especially ordinary people who are "part of his base".

I was getting irritated with the Republicans for demanding to see Obama's college grades, but now I agree with them. Exactly what science courses did he take and pass in college? Vegetable Gardening 101?

Barack Obama obviously knows nothing about geology, ground water hydrology, and the chemistry of toxics in drinking water.

America's drinking water is awash in toxic chemicals, in every state, in every major metropolitan area. We all know the Charlatan in Chief is talking about "fracking" to increase natural gas production.

It's so nice that he will require "disclosure" of the chemicals used for fracking to pump natural gas on public lands. Such a tiny little sop to plaintiffs' lawyers to help them expedite their lawsuits against the natural gas extraction companies for contaminating ground water aquifers which supply water to individuals, farms and cities.

It's bad enough in most states that ordinary citizens are being forced to protect their drinking water from fracking chemicals used on private land. Soon they'll get to defend their drinking water from fracking chemicals used on public land.

Barack Obama, the smartest Republican President since Bill Clinton.

Please somebody tell me no Nevada or North Las Vegas or Clark County tax dollars, or tax concessions, or redevelopment money of any kind were given to this company to induce it to locate in North Las Vegas.

And for the 200 people to be laid off on the day President Barack Obama is in Clark County, touting alternative energy as a job creator for America...so sad for all involved.

My real world observation is that most of the judges in Eighth District Family Court, especially the women judges, will look the other way, in deciding custody issues, when the mother is a middle class crazy, a middle class druggie or both. The mom will end up with primary custody if she wants it, and her certifiably-nuts-behavior will then be taught to her children as 'unthinking' and 'acceptable' behavior when they grow up.

My own ex-daughter in law committed a B&E at our house, standing over us while we were still asleep in bed at 6AM. She was ranting and raving hysterically about something my son did to tick her off. Metro could not be bothered to show up in a timely way, so after about an hour of trying to remove this psycho from our house, she left of her own volition. If my ex-daughter in law had a gun or a knife, would we be dead?

Is that woman going to be teaching my two granddaughters that it is acceptable behave in the same way? According to one "still sitting" woman judge at the Eight District Family Court she (the judge) cannot get involved in protecting the senior citizen parents or the children of parties involved in divorce cases, when the conduct is "ordinary overwhelming anger that she hears about every day".

This retraction by Mr. Boutin is just the sort of liability avoidance tool which non-custodial dads apparently need to learn as their wacko ex-wives train the kids to be psycho commandos by age 15.

My granddaughters are 5 and 2. Beginning 10 years from now, do I have to worry about them trying to kill me, because an Eight District Court Judge, used to dealing with wacko women, doesn't think about what the wacko moms teach their young daughters?

Do I have to worry about my wacko ex-daughter in law teaching my granddaughters to make false accusations gratuitously, or to get a new video game, lap top or fancy cel phone?

Do I have to worry about my wacko ex-daughter in law teaching my grandchildren that it's OK to break and enter, or brandish a weapon at a family member, "If you're angry in an ordinary way"?

Thanks to the Boutin family for this important lesson in the reality of domestic relations law.

Noon news on TV just reported that Ms. Boutin-Vermillion has been "placed on administrative leave" at the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth. So there's no telling if her stepping aside was voluntary or decided by whoever is left running the charity's Board of Directors.

According to the various press stories, Boutin-Vermillion was the senior employee of the charity. Out of curiosity I'd like to know:

(1) how much she was paid in salary and benefits, and for how long,

(2) whether her compensation was consistent with that of other employee-leaders of charities in Nevada,

(3) the identities of the Board of Directors members who agreed to hire her, to pay her current salary/benefits and to put her on "administrative leave",

(4) what her academic and experience qualifications were to run this charity,

(5) whether the charity is in any donation-splitting arrangement with other charities like a "United Way"

(6) whether the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth in any way, shape or form runs a clinic which dispenses methadone and for what reasons the methadone dispensed and

(7) is it legal in Nevada for a doctor to prescribe the use of methadone as an "analgesic" for chronic pain, or is it only legally used to wean someone off heroin?

No one in the Nevada press, print or TV, is giving us this sort of detail.

Being naive, I find it VERY ODD for a well-paid employee, living a more-lavish-than-normal private life thanks to friends or family, having methadone show up in their blood test. Then again, well publicized stories about Ted Binion's lifestyle, leading up to his death, show that one could have everything life has to offer but still be hooked on one kind of illegal drug or another.

Have we reached the point where all charities, companies, government agencies and other employers need to adopt an official "written policy" making it a fire-able offense for an employee to be using illegal drugs while not on the job? Or will we see lawsuits from well connected employees because those written policies are not in place, but they are fired "for cause", i.e. illegal drug addiction? Are Nevadan's charitable donation dollars (or in the case of drug addicted public employees Nevadan's tax dollars) going to be wasted defending these sorts of wrongful termination lawsuits? What is the broad economic impact of drug addicted employees stealing from their employers across Nevada?

Does Nevada need to pass a law specifically, affirmatively requiring relatives and live-in friends to report illegal drug use by their relatives or roommates to law enforcement?

Perhaps if Ted Binion had been locked up for his illegal drug use, he would not be dead. Do the Clark County and the District Attorney's office and the U.S. Attorney for Nevada have a 'double standard' of non-prosecution or probation for illegal drug use by the rich or well connected, versus criminal prosecution and jail time for illegal drug use by the poor?

On Jon Ralston's show he just mentioned Boutin Vermillion's claims that Sisolak paid for "merchandise from Victoria's Secret" picked out by Boutin Vermillion's daughter.

For those who don't have teenaged/college aged daughters, Victoria's Secret has a knit sportswear line called "Pink" which is about as sexy as knit sportswear purchased at Wal-Mart. Let's see what little Ms. Boutin picked out. Let's see the merchandise receipts with the bar codes so we all know what little Ms. Boutin picked out. Let's see the receipts proving Mr. Sisolak paid for anything. In my mind there's a 90% chance it's "Pink".