Most Northern Nevadans have a serious problem with Clark County as a whole. It's nothing new. I mean come on, the state song doesn't even mention anything about Southern Nevada at all.

Over the years, we've fought and fought with the North over many financial allocation issues. Especially with road construction. The biggest embarrassment being Mitchell Dettloff causing a catastrophic highway accident @ Ann Road & 95. All of that could have been prevented had proper highway barriers had been in place to keep cars from coming into oncoming traffic. But no, without even coming down in person to survey the road, they denied funds, and it cost people their lives. This same thing has been happening for years. Northern Nevada doesn't care a thing about us.

The Coup de grace to all this is Clark County's booming population thanks to the Las Vegas Valley. Not only has the South now gained majority representation and basic control of the state, but we turned Nevada into a Blue State thanks to the influx of residents from more liberal cities. This has not sat very well at all with the staunch republican majority of Northern Nevada, and is pretty much just one more thing they resent about us.

He is certainly right about "Talking Heads", and "Citizen Journalism" not being a viable alternative. After all, people are hired for their looks, and not their intellectual thought capacity when it comes to television news shows. And having random bloggers attempt to report their ignorant opinions about various subjects doesn't actually report on any news, but rather further muddies the subject and forces all of us into ignorance.

However after decades, if not centuries of biased journalism from newspapers, people are finally fed up. How many times have we seen only one side of an important story reported because the newspaper, or owner of a newspaper has a vested interest in keeping the alternate or opposing viewpoint from public view? Most of the public doesn't see this very often no, because they're lazy and it requires the effort of independent research to try and learn the other sides of the story.

I mean for instance can Jerry Izenberg himself tell us with a clear conscience that he has absolutely never, ever once been biased in a news story he himself reported? He never painted a rosy picture of a team or an athlete that maybe wasn't doing so well, but yet told his readers to have hope in them simply because he himself wanted them to succeed? Just like the comment that he says that Newspapers are the best source for information for the public. He being a newspaper writer himself seems to present one huge conflict of interest, especially when he presents no actual argument to back that claim up...

Don't get me wrong, I understand wholeheartedly where this guy is coming from though. But the sad truth is the general public is impulsive and stupid. When it comes to sports, even trying to figure out stats is too hard for most people, so it's easier to just latch on to tabloid stories and use those to root against your rival teams. But then again your average sports fan is in fact a total moron. Most don't even care for the games they watch, but rather they just want to be apart of the fan base that supports the team in question. Of course, why would anyone involved in the sport want that to change when each and every single team gets to cash in on memorabilia sales that exploit that very that need people have?

I keep reading that PropCo is leasing back 4 casinos, but no articles I've read indicates which properties they are. Does anyone know which ones they're talking about?

matteo2003i: It's not as hard as you think. William Mulholland was able to move water over mountains by siphoning it, as well as using booster pumps. The hydraulics involved make it possible.

As for Lake Mead filling up, don't bet on it any time soon. Even with huge snow packs over several winters, Lake Mead has to compete with Colorado and hope they don't take all of the water before it gets sent down the river. And even then you've got other man made lakes and reservoirs to compete with as well. If Powel, Mojave, or any other lake needs to be filled first, the water will either be withheld from Lake Mead, or we have to give up the water to other lakes downstream and are not allowed to retain it.

Desalinization has been an option for years for SoCal, but there not going to do it. Don't know if it's true, but I heard from a man who emigrated here from Africa that desalinated water still doesn't taste the same and is not pleasant. Besides that, California politics won't allow any feasible solutions. They've really cleaned up the San Fernando valley's ground pollution over the past couple of decades, and are trying to pump their treated water back into the ground to keep their reservoirs filled, so that they can reclaim the water back through natural artesian wells. Sure the water is *technically* safe to drink as soon as it's discharged from the water treatment plants. But by discharging it back into the ground, it reclaims minerals, and becomes naturally filtered and purified. The whole process takes an estimated 12 years, and makes allot of sense. The goal was to help SoCal stop consuming so much Colorado river water, and to stop wasting what they already have by not just dumping the discharge into the LA River.

But hot-shot up and coming politicians who want to make a name for themselves by sensationalizing these plans in order to thwart them and make incumbent elected officials look bad by telling voters they're drinking toilet water so they themselves could get elected have actually turned public opinion AGAINST this option!

Nothing much will ever get done, because the needs of politicians for personal gain will always outweigh the needs of sustainability and protection for the people.

Good luck getting water out of the Mississippi River. Since places like Iowa always have the caucus and host such important political events, that's why we've ended up promoting corn-based everything, and why we'll never touch any of the water coming out of there.

Could it be done? Absolutely. But between opposing , radical political groups who are against almost any sort of government work project, as well as all of the Mid-westerners who reject anything that's west of the Rockies, you'd never get any sort of project like this done. Especially when it comes to water. They'd paint us all as sleazy gamblers from Nevada, dirty illegal immigrants from Arizona, and filthy California hippies stealing the most precious resource of all from the lands of good old fashioned, God-Fearing, American Farmers...Water.

Never mind that something like this would probably solve our water needs, and help to pump out all those filthy fertilizers from farms that have turned almost all of the Gulf Cost into a Dead Zone that's harmed commercial fishing. But since the Gulf Coast Dead-Zone is just more "Environmental Propaganda" from California, no hayseeds from the Corn Belt are ever going to change.

We might as well split California into North and South. Then annex Clark County into Southern California with Las Vegas becoming just another suburb. They'd love our Gaming revenue, and we'd love their support for more water from any source. Then we'd see just how much Carson City would miss us...

Either give Las Vegas the water we need, or we'll take our tax revenue elsewhere. After all, we've practically become California already...

No, it's not that simple. No matter who you take the water from, there is going to be an immense legal battle. What SNWA like any good strategist has to do is pick their fights. So in the simplest terms, they have to go up against the people with the smallest War Chests who don't have as much financial and legal resources. Once they win, they secure both water rights, as well as prescient for when they go against stronger foes.

Take the Salton Sea for example. It's a lake that was only supposed to fill whenever the Colorado jumped it's banks and flooded the area. Otherwise it should always be dry. Decades of agricultural farming resulting in run-off kept the lake filled and prevented it from drying up naturally. Farmers always hid behind the fallacy that their run off kept the lake's wetlands preserved, ergo they were benefiting the environment. However once Government stepped in and told the farmers to consume less water, and the Environmental groups agreed because they were feeding a naturally diseased wetland that killed more species than it helped sustain, all hell broke loose.

That's just one example. LV doesn't have a whole lot of industry. That means not only do we have less reasons for entitlement to water rights than other cities/regions, we also don't have nearly as many lobby groups to fight for the water either.

So if we ran out and took a whole lot more water from the Colorado, the SNWA would end up in court. Who do you think a judge is going to side with? Big cities that have large populations and prosperous industries that need water for agriculture to sustain life? Or Las Vegas who wastes water on purely ornamental features like huge water fountains up and down the strip, and lawns that we never get to use because it's so hot outside in the summer? We would loose in a heartbeat.

Pick your battles carefully...

Scientology doesn't improve the lives of any of it's members. It's totally fake in both it's mythological, as well as it's practicing technological aspects. L. Ron Hubbard was a failed Science Fiction writer who barely got any of his work published. No one was interested in it because it wasn't any good.

Later on he tried publishing his own self-help book series, and it failed miserably as well. The wealth and fame that L. Ron Hubbard always so desperately sought out he could not achieve. Until he patched his books together, and created a cult.

And let's not forget the infamous "E-Meter". Once a simple toy lie detector sold in the back of comic books right next to the Sea Monkeys and X-Ray Specs, L. Ron Hubbard then decided to market it as a "tool" for "Auditing". What only costs a few dollars in raw materials to make, they sell for thousands of dollars to their members. And that's not counting the cost of classes so you can learn how to use the thing. Just one of many ways that rather than help people, the organization is geared as a for-profit corporation.

And of course this is where Scientology likes to play "Cat and Mouse". You bring up these facts, and they'll try to change the subject. Once you pin them into the corner, they in turn either try to place the proof of burden onto you, or commence with outright defamatory comments against you to try and discredit you. All the while, pay close attention to how they never challenge the claims laid against them. The silence is deafening...

People are attracted to Scientology because they're young, insecure, lonely, and have no guidance in life. Scientology, like an abusive pimp promises people that they can unlock the secrets of their minds, unleash their hidden potentials, and whatever else they want. And of course once you're in, you're held in against your will. Otherwise, you're "Fair Game", and it is morally acceptable to the church at that time to actually murder you. People are no smarter after any of their sessions, or successful in any of their careers. But they certainly are poorer. Both financially and emotionally.

Teaser said:

I'm no fan of Scientology, but why is are their beliefs considered any more odd than what a lot of other faiths contend?
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Scientology IS in fact very different from other religions, because it is not one. It is a cult. It's whole purpose is to achieve monetary gain by exploiting it's members. With Christianity/Protestants, one simply needs to accept Christ, and BOOM! You get into heaven. Catholics have a different hierarchy you gotta go through first. Other religions like Judaism, Islam, Sikh, Hinduism, etc. have similar rules where you simply accept a deity and their teachings, and live your life accordingly. In any case, once you feel blessed, atoned, or just touched in some way by a hold spirit, you're done. And if it's not working for you, well there is always that "Free Will" aspect.

Scientology is much different. First, you gotta pay to ascend through courses. Whereas you don't even need to purchase a Bible or Koran, you have to pay for all your books, tapes, and auditing sessions. And you are not *saved* until you've paid enough for the church to allow you to be as such. Or in this case, "Theta Clear"/

What is quite disturbing about this is the fact that Scientology itself is really a terrorist organization. From kidnapping it's members and brain washing, to outright Government Activities such as "Operation Snow White".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_S...

So what we have here is a Terrorist Organization who has been documented in the past of successfully infiltrating our government for the purpose of espionage to compromise Law Enforcement Intelligence, and is now able to control these same Law Enforcement agencies to do their bidding. That's like Al Qaeda getting the FBI to arrest Oath Keepers, or Minute Man members.

This is not good.

Scientology is building a new "church" here?!? You know, I've defended Las Vegas quite a bit over the years. But this is just going too far. We've seen how our corrupt government allowed developers to rape the land and over-build homes that are becoming ghettos, drain our waters out of Lake Mead, and force Braid-Drain on the valley since.

How in the world can we expect already corrupt government and law enforcement agencies to be immune to a dangerous cult? Especially when you factor in how much more money Scientology has, and how easily peons can become star-struck.

If this is Vegas' future, I'm out.

$281 million? From what?!? They obviously haven't been remodeling this place! In fact, the only thing I've read about is some automated "gravy" machine they were touting that allowed them to fire their sauciers.

Riviera: It's the "Moulin Rouge" of the Strip!