...and why is that afvet? Because our foolish Governor should be able to hide once again? Because the concept of our courts being open forums should be tossed aside? I have no issue with settlement discussions and conferences being private, but if there's a trial, it should be public, as all other trials are. And as for Gibbon's and his lawyer's assertion that Dawn is trying to humiliate him, I think his own boorish behavior and inability to show any sort of leadership has more than filled that bucket up, all by himself.

Hats off to you, Patti, for at least giving some information and analysis, which of course shows that once again Gibbons has failed to think something through.

Oh, and by the way, when (please) are you going to start calling Raggio a "moron", Mr. Gibbons? Even he sees the devastation of Gibbons budget that your myopic, vitrolic eyes can't see. You can't hold a candle to a man of Bill Raggio's stature. EVER.

Ahh, NB, you must be Patrick Gibbons, or some other fool who's part of Adelson's and Weidner's NPRI goon squad. Your comments read too closely to Patrick Gibbons' latest screed, as mentioned by Jon Ralston. He outed you any way. What are you going to do when Sheldon finally goes broke?

Nance has to be given credit for staying on message, if nothing else. One would almost consider him/her to be a sycophant follower and member of the "drank the kool-aid" Gibbonites, with your constant and never screeds against Buckley and any other D's, and abject refusal to recognize that something has to be done to stabilize how the state's budget is funded (note as well that it's just not D's that recognize that, but which of course you conveniently ignore in order to keep up the attack just on the D's). And I suppose as well that, like your tirades against the D's after all of 12 days of the 120 day session, that Raggio is now a coward and lacks leadership because he, too, has said that what your Luv Guv wants to do is and will be devastating to the State he has worked for over 30 years to make better, and particularly so with higher ed. Ed Goedhart must be your hero, Nance. Or perhaps Chuck Muth. Or worse, Sue Lowden.

Well said, afvet. Very well said. If we leave it to the Goedharts of the world, we'll stay stuck and mired in the bottom 10, as we have been for much too long.

2z, you must be kidding. Raggio's legacy is already established. What he's proud enough, smart enough, and tough enough to do is tell the Luv Guv that he's dead wrong, and he isn't going to let him destroy this state. A state that Raggio has worked for most of his life to make better. I'm not a Republican, but I admire the man for his moxey, will and determination. With term limits, no person alive will ever establish the incredible legislative legacy that Raggio has deservedly earned, and one that he earned long before he smacked down a single track minded sophomore legislator. As he has been for so many of the past sessions, Bill Raggio will definitely "be the man."

Well, Mr. Hill, let's do this then, in the interest of "full disclosure," and to make sure you're esteemed organization is being truly transparent: Put your whole compensation packages up for each of these individuals. Show us the base pay of Kara Kelly and the other individuals. Let's see how that base pay compares to these "public employees," whose compensation information, as I understand, is public information and easily verified. Let's see what sort of "incentive and performance pay" Ms. Kelly and the others can earn that isn't available to "public employees. Let's see how, if the Luv Guv's 6% cuts to state employees and teachers, and the decrease in the health insurance subsidies goes forward, these numbers really compare. Trying to shift the focus? Hardly, sir. What Mr. Kallas and the other public unions are attempting to do is to point out the abject hypocrisy in the Chamber, who has supported big business so much better while tossing small businesses under the bus, (the reason my company in particular dropped our Chamber membership a number of years ago), to claim folks are over paid, over compensated, blah blah blah. There's really nothing new in what you say on behalf of the Chamber, is there? I'm not a "public employee" in any sense of the word, but I know for damn sure that I as a 22 year Nevada resident WANT our goverment and public agencies to be able to draw the best talent and most qualified folks at every level...starting with the Sheriff in Clark County, to the men and women working a beat for Metro, to the folks ready to respond to fires and emergencies, and most of all, to the folks who are teaching our kids whether in Higher Ed or K-12. I note that your purposefully excluded teachers in your "defense" of the Chamber, as it is obvious you CAN'T argue the same points as to compensation for them, can you? But what will the Chambers motto be soon? "50th IN EVERYTHING, AND NO WHERE LOWER TO FALL!" ?

Nance is just continuing his/her ongoing offer nothing constructive, "happy to be last in everything good, first in everything bad" attitude that is displayed in every one of the support Gibbons at all costs screeds that are shared. Sometimes I wonder which sycophant staff member we are hearing from....Watching the decimation of our Higher Ed system, which was sorely lacking before the downturn, and further cuts to our third of fourth tier K-12 system, ought to be reason enough for any Nevadan to realize the lack of leadership in the Gibbons Administration should be tossed out in 2010, as well as the need for the Legislature to do the work Gibbons won't do. To say this is "his" budget is a farce; his rare appearances in the capitol underscores BS's comments...not only isn't it his, he has no ideas of its details, and only continuously repeats his one-trick-pony and tiresome three words of "no new taxes." That's not a political philosophy or budget plan, that's a campaign slogan. The only good news in Gibbons complete irrelevancy is that he has a very talented and extremely smart budget director in the young Mr. Clinger. I'd surely pin my hopes on him and his knowledge long before I'd give credence to any thing the Luv Guv has to say.

Ahhh yes, more of the same tired rhetoric from jfnance and endorsed by his Republican friend Elizabeth as to how it's all the D's fault, despite the fact we've had a Republican Gov in this state for 2 full terms and part of a third. Love or hate Jim Rogers, he's making the right point about Nevada's standing, and well stated by Morgen. First in everything bad, last in everything good. But as long as we have folks like nance that are content with being there, the fundamental issues of how we run and finance our state government will never be fixed, and we'll continue to linger as a second rate state with a third rate education system.