CQ Politics figures Dean Heller, GOP holder of the congressional seat in Nevada’s District #2, is safe for re-election in 2010.

CQ says, “Jack Schofield, an 86-year-old who was a state senator in the 1970s, and Reno attorney Ken McKenna are vying for the Democratic nomination, but neither appears to have the profile to mount a threatening challenge to Heller, a former Nevada secretary of state who is viewed as a rising star in state and national Republican politics.”

Dan Hart, a Democratic political consultant based in Las Vegas, agreed that Heller does not face a strong threat in 2010.

“It is such a hard district for Democrats,” Hart said of the largely rural 2nd, which apart from the Reno region is a vast and sparsely populated expanse that takes in all of the state north of metropolitan Las Vegas. Hart said it is hard for Democrats “to get traction up there, especially this year.”

You can check out CQ’s political map here.

Dawn Gibbons

Rather than endure a four day public trial in their divorce Governor Jim Gibbons and Dawn Gibbons have reached a settlement. Now the judge has to approve it.

Nevada is a no-fault state. Settlement of divorces generally address a split of their property, determining spousal support (alimony) and child support (no children here).

Of course there has to be property to split. Real property, personal property, vested retirement, bank account(s) and the like. Most of us only have our houses to split, which may actually represent a community debt rather than asset in current times.

Jim and Dawn have agreed to split their Reno home and 40 acres in scenic Lamoille in Elko County, lawyers said. Each has a net value of about $575,000. Jim will get the guns, Dawn the art.

The governor and his wife live a bit higher on the hog than most of us.

The governor will get to keep a 1914 Model T car. The first lady will get a 1915 Model T. They are still dividing up their furniture. You know, who gets the big HD TV and who gets the smaller analog version.

Dawn will get a lump $275,000 payment within 60 days, representing half of the value of the 40 acres the couple own in Lamoille, outside Elko. Once she gets that payment, she’ll leave the apartment on the grounds of the governor’s residence where she has been staying.

She will also get $1,454 from Gibbons’ various pensions (he was an airline pilot and receives a federal pension from his time in Congress.) On top of that, for the next five years she would get 25 percent of his gross monthly income. Recent court documents filed in the divorce put his monthly pre-tax income at $16,700.

Dawn will keep the last name of Gibbons. Why she would want to retain the married name is beyond me.

It is historic. The first divorce for a sitting governor in Nevada.

[Source: Las Vegas Sun]

Job Outsourcing

I keep remembering the wholesale outsourcing of manufacturing jobs by global corporations over the past decade or so. Auto manufacturers outsourced their jobs to Mexico. Computer software companies outsourced their technical support to India, and so on.

As they did so thousands of Americans lost their jobs. It has been apparent that the motivation of the corporations in doing so was to cut their production costs thereby increasing their profits. Might have been a good move for the corporations, but devastating to the American blue-collar middle class.

My wife, who is the primary shopper in our family, tells me she looks at the labels of things she shops for to see if they were manufactured in the United States. She wants to buy American. But the preponderance of goods are manufactured in some foreign country. (Like many she shops at Wal-Mart). The stuff she is looking for is made in China, Mexico, Taiwan, etc. Very little is made in the USA.

Of course the lack of jobs in the USA is a major concern at present. No wonder there is such a lack of jobs—they are outsourced to foreign countries.

I don’t hear about the outsourcing being discussed on the news. Am I wrong in my conclusion that the outsourcing is the cause of the job loss in the US?

If I’m right then why isn’t it being talked about and addressed?

It may mean that sexual discrimination of men in favor of women is about to become a thing of the past. Nevada, famous for its legal brothels, has allowed women to practice the oldest profession for years, but not men. [Pahrump Mirror, December 17, 2009, pages 1, 8]

But earlier this month the door was opened for men to operate legally in brothels in Nevada. Bobbi Davis, owner of the Shady Lady Ranch, just north of Beatty, Nevada says “I’m excited about it….” She is contemplating adding men to her brothel’s services.

But she has to get the concurrence of the Nye County Board of Commissioners. Once that is accomplished she will begin interviewing males to add to the seven females on her staff. She refers to it as “adding a new product.”

Nobody knows whether there is a market for male prostitutes, including Davis. Will any women come to the brothel and engage any of the men? Beats me. Might help the job situation.

I’ve never quite understood how the brothels remain in business. But they have. Where do their clients come from? Who wants to pay for sex if it can be found for free?

Wonder if any special training is required of the men? Are their college courses somewhere that they can learn the ins and outs of the trade? Haven’t heard of any. What characteristics will Ms. Davis be looking for?

Where does one go to sign up for an interview?