What a joke! People everywhere are watching their companies close down, losing their jobs, scratching for change to keep afloat, and these guys are doing what exactly about it? Nothing, there at a dinner party eating jumbo shrimp while their constituants are wondering if they can even afford to do any type of grocery shopping at all this week. Maybe I'm missing something here, because to me, this just doesn't seem right.

I'm in the private sector myself, part-time minimum wage for the time being (unfortunately). I never got a degree, but that's my fault. I've tried to get a couple of public sector jobs but didn't succeed. I just want to say that those of you in the private sector bagging on public sector workers don't know sh*t. My dad has worked in the public sector for 25+ years in the waste water district for the county. He works 10 hour days, puts in overtime at the drop of a hat in emergency situations, studies and attends mandatory certification courses that updates his knowledge, has come home with his clothes in shambles, torn and burned due to chemicals, arms/legs with mild burns, and drop dead tired. He gets calls at all hours of the day or evening as needed and has come home with on-call monitoring equipment that has kept him on 24 hour-call for up to a couple of weeks straight at a time. He may get paid better than some private sector workers, but believe me, he earns his pay and has the education, knowledge and experience to back it up. I only wish I had done the same and found a county job.

My mom works in the private sector as an assistant G.M. and works as hard as my dad. Neither is better than the other or works harder than the other. She is also educated and has many years of knowledge and experience and also earns her pay.

I've seen it from both angles and grew up with it d*mn near from the start, so I know. Although the public sector gets more money for their work due to the challenges of the jobs, neither sector is any easier than the other. So quit you're whining. If you don't believe me then get off your butts and get a public sector job and see how easy it really is. Then and only then will you have the right to b*tch, moan and groan about it, except by then you'll know what a horses a** you've been acting like.

Frem,

Of course you never know what will happen in a dog park. It's a shame what happened to your boy, dogs that aggressive shouldn't be out there. I hope he asked for an updated copy of the dog's rabies and vaccination shot records.

Unfortunately, running into aggressive dogs like that is a risk every owner must choose whether or not to take. You must be vigilant in watching for the signs of a possible attack, even when your experienced it can be easy to miss the slightest sign. Chances are the owner was/is already aware of the dogs temperment and capability for violence. A dog that aggressive should stay home.

Most people at the dog parks are responsible owners though (even though unfortunate accidents can/do occur), but most of them do keep a careful and close watch on what their dogs are doing and keep a watch out for issues whether it involve their dogs or another persons dogs. I've got two dogs myself, a 10 lb chihuahua and a 90 lb shepard/lab/chow mix. The mix is friendly enough, except he is getting tempermental in his old age. He does not do well around unknown dogs or unknown people, he doesn't go to the dog parks. My runt, the chihuahua, is great with people and dogs, so I have taken him to the dog park on several occassions. But at the first sign of trouble from another dog or from my dog, and we're gone.

Like with anything else, there is a great deal of responsibility involved, it is a place where it is best that experienced dog owners only get involved. It's a shame idiots who do not think right also attend the parks. It's all about knowing the signs and watching for the signs as well as knowing your dog's temperment. It's not easy and is never 100% accurate, but with proper planning, a watchful eye, and conscience decision making, it can be a fun experience. Hope your boy's hand heals

Did I miss something here? Where does is say anything about mexicans or mexican style anything?

Lasvegas,

Good old-fashioned original thinking. That's what we need more of. Love the idea, I'm surprised no one has ever tried to do this as an elective choice. As long as responsible parents are running the class with a teacher to help back it up, I think it could work. Of course there'd probably be a couple of bugs to work through, but there is a definite possibility that it would be successful. Why hasn't anyone tried this yet?

I've been here since I was 5 years old, we came down in '81 from oregon because of a lack of jobs up there. I've seen this town change and grow so much in the past 27/28 years. I've seen it do nothing but continue to grow. It's sad to see it die like this. I've watched so many businesses close down in the past couple of years, more so in the past 6 months. Places I myself have been to, restaurants I have eaten at, stores that I've shopped.

I'm not used to this type of atmosphere, to me growth was normal, change of businesses were normal, but losing the amount of businesses we have lately has been quite a shock to see. I'm just not used to it. I'm also not used to not being able to find work. Must've been what my mom/dad felt like when they opted to move to vegas so many years ago because of oregons job market.

The grocery store down the road is closing down, a place I've shopped at for 10+ years and have gotten to know some of the staff. Dairy Queen that my family and I have eaten at so many times, I found out recently is already gone. Rite aid, gone. Various restaurants are gone.

I've seen so many casinos/hotels blown up that I cannot even remember them all. I practically grew up on the weekends at the Showboat. Friday nights buffet and arcade, saturday mornings strawberry shortcake/hot cocoa and bowling/bowling lessons. It was a sad day, years ago, when I had found out that they sold it. From what I've heard travel to vegas is down approx 15%, and casino profits are down 12-15%. Now many more casinos will be doing the same here very soon if things do not improve very shortly.

As tiresome as this town can be at times, I still feel like it is my home town because I don't remember much about oregon and I did almost all of my growning up here. It makes me wonder what's next.

Why don't they just hire more people? Add some more job openings and give the jobs to people who need the jobs. It would help the economy. If they can afford that much OT, they can afford to open up and offer more job positions.

In my opinion, Obama cannot do much worse than Bush did. The fault lies with all elected officials, they're the reason we are in this mess but only they can get us out of it. At least this time, we have a democrat, hopefully it will do some good.

Give Obama the chance to set things right. Bush is accountable for the mess he made and Obama will be held accountable for either fixing or not fixing the mess in the upcoming years. Only time will tell what will happen, but let's not condemn the man before he has had his chance up at bat.

What gets me, is that these teachers are already using their salaries to pay for classroom supplies for these children. Now they want to cut their pay as well, by more than $2,000+. Why even bother being a teacher? They do this and the teachers will leave for good. It's bad enough that our kids are already not getting that good of an education, but what the hell, lets make it even worse.

What they need to do is cut every city employees salary (that makes over $100k per year) by 15% to 20%. There's your savings. After all, they don't seem to be doing a very good job at the moment anyhow. Let those who can afford to take the paycuts, be the ones "who take the paycuts". They can always afford to lose their second house or third car without running the risk of becoming homeless. Why should teachers be forced to take that risk? It's not their fault the economy is in the crapper.

I have mild right spastic hemiplegia/paralysis (Cerebral Palsy), mild petit-mal Epilepsy, ADHD, Scoliosis, Low Testosterone, and am infertile. Although my disabilities are mild they have caused me a great deal of trouble of the years. I am in constant pain and discomfort. I have had major surgery on my left knee and my right knee and hips are starting to go. I have loose joints in almost every joint in my body, my joints constantly pop. My muscles go stiff/spastic at a moments notice. I have caused myself more bruises than I can count because I have to literally break apart the spastic muscle with deep tissue massage. As a child I used to literally wake up screaming in pain due to stiff calves, which most of the time my dad massaged to the point of relaxation.

Some days are obviously better than others, but most days I have to push myself to get myself to walk, stand, sit, move, or do anything without pain or struggle that most people take for granted on a daily basis. Good sleep is at best sporatic, maybe one good sleep per week/month. I've never had a "real" relationship, never had sex, never played sports, cannot run, have difficulties in climbing ladders or stairs, etc.

My body is aging faster than normal peoples bodies do. I have arthritis in both of my knees and both hands already. I walk like a 60 year old and have low energy all the time. Various parts of my body is riddled with veins due to the spasms. I'm 32 years old and have dealt with these problems since birth. I live at best a half-life watching everyone else around me do the things (without pain and struggle) that I wish I could do.

Nay-Sayers who think that embryo's being used for a cure is immoral doesn't fit my definition of morality. It's B.S. Let them live one day in my body and then say it's immoral. Walk a mile in my shoes and then tell me that some non-thinking, non-sentient, non-conscious being is more important than my right to a real life, a pain-free life. Me, and others like me, who have to live in a prison of pain and struggle on a daily basis deserve to be cured of our incurable disabilities. Any one who says otherwise is nothing more than a cold-hearted prick. Bush and others, who use religion as an excuse are even worse. Forget religion and morality, where is their HUMANITY!!!