November has arrived and with it the start of the Holiday season. Pumpkins are everywhere from our drinks to our food and most of us are starting to plan for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I believe it’s important we take a moment to reflect on how Thanksgiving came to be in the United States. And so every few years around this time, I reread President Abraham Lincoln’s … [Read more...] about Happy Thanksgiving
Commentary
Tight RacesGet Out and Vote
Well, folks, it’s that time again. Every two years we endure months of political ads, mailers and debates leading up to election day which is only a month away. This year, Nevada elections are very tight which means each and every vote is important. The Review Journal recently cited a poll from Emerson College Polling which showed the races in Nevada for U.S. Senate and … [Read more...] about Tight Races
Break It to Fix ItEducation in Nevada
When you want to make an omelet, you need to break a few eggs. That adage also clearly applies to our state’s education system. I’ve been a Nevada resident for almost half a century and, as long as I’ve been here, the biggest topic of concern has been our failing school district. For years we’ve been among the worst in the nation in a number of measurements. Our failure in … [Read more...] about Break It to Fix It
Questioning AuthorityChecks and Balances
In high school civics, most of us were taught about the Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances in our government. As a refresher, our government is designed with three branches, each with individual powers to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful. The Legislative Branch passes laws. The Executive Branch enforces laws. And the Judicial Branch interprets … [Read more...] about Questioning Authority
Shop and Vote Your Values
This may be the most politically incorrect commentary you read in a while. So, if you are especially sensitive, please just turn the page. I write this knowing people will disagree, my email will be flooded with responses and I may be punished, or as we like to say these days “cancelled”. Regardless, the cultural madness needs to stop, and God-fearing leaders need to find … [Read more...] about Shop and Vote Your Values
Repairing the Vote“Hope is Not a Course of Action”
In a phone call earlier this year, Mark Wlaschin, deputy Secretary of State (SOS) for elections in Nevada said, “Hope is not a course of action. We are taking action.” He was referring to the measures the Secretary of State is taking to prevent election fraud and restore confidence in Nevada’s process. Wlaschin spoke about the ways the SOS office is working to secure the voting … [Read more...] about Repairing the Vote
Parent’s RightsSome Things Shouldn’t Involve the Village
When I first heard the idea that children don’t belong to their parents, but rather to the community, I passed it off as far-left nonsense. That was in 2013 with the following quote, “We have to break through this idea that kids belong to their parents, or kids belong to their families,” by Melissa Harris-Perry, a commentator for MSNBC. Then, last year, while running for … [Read more...] about Parent’s Rights
Education Needs HelpAnd Parents Need Options
There seems to be one issue Nevadans can all agree on to some degree – education needs to improve, the health of our state depends on it. However, how to improve education is an issue that has been hotly debated and those debates tend to fall along party lines. You may recall in 2015 the Legislature passed, and then-Governor Brian Sandoval signed, Senate Bill 302, which … [Read more...] about Education Needs Help
Mission WarLas Vegas Wants Nonprofit’s Land
CARE Complex is a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating homelessness in Downtown Las Vegas. The organization was established in 2005. In 2014, CARE purchased a foreclosed property in the city’s “Corridor of Hope” – a prime area to help those burdened with homelessness. Three years later, in 2017, the City of Las Vegas opened the Courtyard Homeless Resource Center next door to … [Read more...] about Mission War
Dangerous Word PlayHolding the Line with “Shall”
For as long as I can remember, the Clark County Education Association (CCEA) has been working to raise taxes for education. They’ve come to nearly every industry in the state with their hand out for more money. Like most other business owners, I firmly believe in the importance of education and the need to fund education. However, Nevada’s education system, and CCEA in … [Read more...] about Dangerous Word Play
Unconstitutional LawDon’t “Ghost” Homemade Guns
Last year, Nevada legislators passed AB 286, an anti-gun bill that would have made some elements of home gunsmithing illegal under a broad banner definition. As it was passed, the bill would have prohibited a person from possessing, purchasing, transporting or receiving an unfinished frame or receiver of a firearm or assembling a firearm without a serial number. The law was set … [Read more...] about Unconstitutional Law
What is Truth…And, is it Relative?
How important is the truth to you? I expect it’s important to most of us, so let’s dig into what truth is. And, since its December, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let’s first look at what He says about truth. When being interrogated by Pontius Pilate prior to His crucifixion, Jesus directly references this question of truth. In the Bible, John 18:37 (NKJV), Pilate asked, … [Read more...] about What is Truth…
Blessings CheckMore Than Thanksgiving
… the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It … [Read more...] about Blessings Check
Enough is EnoughStop Government Overreach
I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education.Thomas Jefferson Those words were written by Jefferson in a letter dated September 28, 1820. Now, just … [Read more...] about Enough is Enough
Can’t We All Just Get Along?
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr If Dr. King were alive today, half a century after his famous speech, he would surely be disappointed his dream remains unfulfilled. It seems the country is even more divided, … [Read more...] about Can’t We All Just Get Along?