According to Dean Heller’s website,

Democrats in Washington are close to finalizing a bill that would apply an income tax surcharge to “individuals with gross incomes of more than $200,000 and families with incomes of more than $250,000.”

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, House Republicans including Congressman Dean Heller find the potential tax to be misleading.

According to Congressman Heller, this tax would extend well beyond the rich in its effects. Rep. Heller noted that most small businesses gross more $250,000. “This hits small business,” ” I have a real problem when you start taxing small businesses at a time when 11 percent of Nevadans are unemployed.”

Heller also said national health care is a way for the government to offer insurance for illegal immigrants.

Spokesmen for Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., both said they would not comment until the legislation is finalized.

Chuck Muth, an active outspoken, former Republican is pushing Nevada’s Republicans to boot Senator Harry Reid out of office. [Desert Conservative]

Muth wants Ensign to resign. He figures Sue Lowden, the Nevada Republican Party Chairman, is the Republican’s best chance since Heller apparently isn’t going to run for another office.

Muth isn’t alone. Michelle Malkin thinks the same. [Michelle Malkin] She even thinks Ensign is dragging Senator Tom Coburn down into the Ensign muck.

Just listening to MSNBC. The talking heads were talking about the GOP leadership wanting to have Senator John Ensign resign so that Governor Jim Gibbons can appoint a new Republican Senator who can then run in the 2010 election.

I’d bet dollars to donuts Gibbons would appoint Congressman Dean Heller to replace Ensign.

If so, that would open Heller’s seat for another appointment. If that happens the question then will be who Cindy Trigg or Paul Reeves would be running against? Trigg and Reeves, both Democrats, are competing for the Democratic Party’s nomination to run.

Trigg and Reeves will make a joint appearance here in Pahrump at Honeysuckle Park, Monday, August 3 from 7 – 9:00 p.m. at a campaign event hosted and paid for by the Pahrump Chapter of Democracy for America.

Update: July 10, 2009: I just got an email from Rich Dunn who wrote:

I’d bet dollars to donuts Gibbons would appoint Congressman Dean Heller to replace Ensign. If so, that would open Heller’s seat for another appointment. If that happens the question then will be who Cindy Trigg or Paul Reeves would be running against? Trigg and Reeves, both Democrats, are competing for the Democratic Party’s nomination to run.

Wrong. Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states, “When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such vacancies.” In fact, no House member has ever been appointed in the nation’s history.

The 2nd District seat would remain vacant until the results of a special election which, thanks to the low turnout in such elections, a Democrat could win if the base is fired up and ready to go. That would also let a Democratic incumbent run for reelection in 2010 as the incumbent (a huge advantage).

Rich Dunn

Carson  City

If you’re not sure which rail road your ancestor worked for take a look for a website that gives historical information to get started. Try:

This search on Cyndi’s List

Railroad Retirement Board

For old photos, groups or trains and stations try Family Old Photos.

Making Tracks Through Railroad Research on Ancestry.com.

Take a look at the Virginia Tech Imagebase.

Good luck.

Part I Segment 1 Part I Segment 2 Part I Segment 3 Part I Segment 4

Part II of the Ralston interview of Hampton can be found at the Las Vegas Sun. Reporters J. Patrick Coolican and Lisa Mascaro’s article on the the shrinking GOP support of Senator Ensign can also be found on the Las Vegas Sun. Additionally, Jon Ralston writes about why the story is about Ensign — and his hypocrisy and lies.

The Ensign soap opera just continues to build. It has a good chance of becoming a movie, when once it is all sorted out. It has all the ingredients for a John Grisham book.

At the center is Nevada’s Republican Senator, 51- year old John Ensign (see also Project Vote Smart and OpenSecrets) and 46-year old Cynthia Hampton, who carried on an adulterous affair for months while employed by Cynthia’s husband, Doug Hampton.

Ensign’s parents, Michael and Sharon Ensign, “paid the (Hampton) family a total of $96,000 about the time Cindy and Doug stopped working for Ensign. Ensign’s attorney said the money was paid by the elder Ensigns “out of concern of the well-being of the longtime family friends during a difficult time.” Further that the gifts were “consistent with a pattern of generosity by the Ensign family to the Hamptons and others.”

Ever astute as to money matters, Michael and Sharon cut the $96,000 into four $12,000 payments to avoid taxes.

I don’t buy that for a minute. They were paying money to the Hamptons to shut them up. The $96,000 was on top of the $25,000 severance pay to Cindy when she left Ensign’s employ from Ensign’s election campaign and as bookkeeper for his political action committee, Battle Born PAC.

Doug Hampton comes across as sort of a sleazy guy is trying to milk this thing for all it’s worth. Close to extortion.