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Updated 7-21-2017 GMT

BREAKING NEWS & THEN SOME —>

Texas Hold'em—>RTC Washoe transit system workers overwhelmingly reject contract offer, strike authorized
Strikebreakers on the streets of Reno-Sparks without a strike
Charges of illegal unfair labor practices filed with federal authorities
System manager given big pay raise

Authentic fakes, blonde flaks & grumpy old men
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 7-19-2017 Sparks Tribune

Union busters in town to disrupt bus system
Workers reject deficient contract offer, strike authorized
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Special Online Edition 7-13-2017 / Updated 7-14, 7-15, 7-16, 7-20 and 7-21-2017 GMT
An edited version of this commentary appeared in the 7-20-2017 Reno News & Review

Trump converts flaming liberals into gunfighters
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 7-12-2017 Sparks Tribune

America's final Independence Day looms
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 7-5-2017 Sparks Tribune

We Don't Need No Education Part LXXVII—>
Flint Michigan, Sparks-Reno style
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 6-28-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 6-29-2017

Of Sons & Giants: Reno-Sparks NAACP families grieve

Workers demonstrate at Sparks Nugget

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., opposes GOP health care bill
Las Vegas Review-Journal / 6-23-2017

Rx for Rape and Pillage

SMOKING GUN —> The big picture ain't pretty. DC GOP lawmakers are trying to bludgeon thru Obamacare "repeal" because the budget cuts therein will substantially reduce projected deficits. Without those projections in law, under current revenue-neutral rules, they will not be able to pass their tax cuts for the corporately wealthy. No less than conservative Reason Magazine Editor Peter Suderman said that on the June 19 PBS/Bloomberg Charlie Rose TV program. As Lily Tomlin once opined, no matter how cynical you become, it's hard to keep up. The game's afoot. So use a foot to kick some ass.
Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno.
Andrew

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Labor Day Parade 6 September 2010 Virginia City, Nev.

On 20 June 1967, heavyweight champion and Muslim minister Muhammad Ali was convicted of violating the federal draft law (he was stripped of his title and blacklisted for three and a half years); on 20 June 1910, the Nevada governor’s office reported a flood of telegrams and other communications asking Governor Denver Dickerson to stop the Johnson/Jeffries prizefight in Reno, but Dickerson (traveling back to Nevada from Oregon) gave no indication that he planned to interfere with the fight. [Courtesy of Journalist Dennis Myers' Poor Denny's Almanac] On June 16, 2016, United Auto Workers legend and boxing historian George "Battling" Nelson (left) died in Sparks, Nevada.

BREAKING NEWS AND THEN SOME—>

One for the books under the bus
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 6-21-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 6-22 and 7-3-2017

Condemned at Birth
The diabetes establishment inhibits research on a very promising diabetes CURE
"Tell us how it will make ever make us money."
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 6-14-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 6-14 and 6-20-2017

EMERGENCY TRAFFIC BULLETIN
Reno street sealing seals residents in their own homes
1:51 p.m. PDT 8 June 2017

Nevada consumers consumed again
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 6-6-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 6-8-2017

Ring up hope before checking out
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 5-30-2017 Sparks Tribune

Down Amnesia Lane with the Gold Hill News

Drafting the Donkeyite Dream Team
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 5-23-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 5-25 and 5-26-2017

In Memoriam
Seattle, Wash. (5-22-2017) — Former Reno-Sparks NAACP President and Nevada civil rights legend Eddie B. Scott is dead.
His family informs us that he was a victim of cancer. He was in his 80s. A memorial service is tentatively targeted for Reno in June. Watch this site for more information as it develops. Eddie ventured out on the front lines when such temerity could (and often did) get people killed. May the great man rest in peace knowing that he did his work so admirably well.

HOT-WIRED (and wireless) STRIKE
AT&T Wireless, Wireline and DIRECTV workers walk off the job
After AT&T refuses to present serious proposals by deadline, three-day strike hits dozens of cities.
First-ever AT&T wireless strike could close many retail stores this weekend.
"Frustrated over the lack of progress in contract talks, more than 17,000 AT&T union members
in California and Nevada walked off their jobs on Friday."
Los Angeles Times / 5-19-2017

Trumping Reagan's television rules
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 5-16-2017 Sparks Tribune

Bench warrants and G-forces
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 5-9-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 5-10-2017 GMT

On Cinco de Mayo, 2012, at Barrio Logan, the Navy cargo ship U.S.N.S. César Chávez was christened.
(©ourtesy of Dennis Myers' Daily Almanac)

¡Viva Chávez!
César Chávez Celebration XVI / Celebración de César Chávez XVI
Saturday 31 March 2018 / Sabado 31 de Marzo 2018
Highlights from the record-breaking 2017 event at Circus Circus Reno

May Day for Labor Day
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 5-2-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 5-3 and 5-4-2017 GMT

Happy Labor Day everywhere in the world save the USA. Join the demonstration in your town.
Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)

Get ahead of corporate-influenced news—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential

Trump'll shake 'em up
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 4-25-2017 Sparks Tribune

Busted at the Legislature
Fear & Loathing @ the Ledge
Barbwire by Andrew Barbáno / Expanded from the 4-18-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 4-20, 4-21, 4-22, 4-23, 4-25 and 4-28-2017.
Expansions in blue; much more to follow; stay tuned.

60 Revenging Rakkasans
Barbwire by Barbáno / Expanded from the 4-11-2017 Sparks Tribune

On April 4, 1968, the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn. (NY Times)

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¡Viva Chávez!
César Chávez Celebration XVI / Celebración de César Chávez XVI
Saturday 31 March 2018 / Sabado 31 de Marzo 2018
Highlights from the record-breaking 2017 event at Circus Circus Reno

Halls of Fame and Glory
Barbwire by Andres Luis Barbáno / Expanded from the 4-4-2017 Sparks Tribune

Listen to the man himself / entravista con César Chávez SPECIAL BULLETIN 31 March 2017 (U-News) — An archival interview with César Chávez will air this evening on the Sacramento/Lake Tahoe/Reno-Sparks-Carson City NPR Radio station 90.5-fm | 91.3-fm Stockton/Modesto | 88.1-fm Quincy. It was recorded when César Chávez and more than 10,000 marchers arrived in Sacramento. They included Nevada César Chávez Day stalwarts Mary Valencia Wilson, Maria Zamora and José Refugio Rubio Avalos. Times: 7:00 p.m. PDT/10:00 p.m. EDT/02:00 GMT/SUT. Spread the word. ¡Sí se puede! The César Chávez Long March by Reno artist Erik Holland The original watercolor was displayed for several years in the Nevada Legislature offices of Sen. (now Congressman) Ruben Kihuen, D-Las Vegas, prime sponsor of the 2009 César Chávez Day bill. Copyright © 2009 Erik Holland. All rights reserved. On March 31, 1927, César Chávez was born near Yuma, Arizona. On this date in 2017, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval was timely for once and declared today César Chávez Day in the Silver State. Although invited, he did not attend this week's annual celebration. Hope springs eternal for March 31, 2018, at Circus Circus in Reno.

César Chávez Celebration XV / XV Celebración del día de César Chávez
Wednesday 29 March 2017 / Miércoles Marzo 29, 2017
2017 info and highlights from the record-breaking 2016 event at Circus Circus Reno
Washoe County Commission proclaims César Chávez Day / del dia de César Chávez 2017

Sponsorship and Online Ticket Purchase Information
Boletos e información

In search of César Chávez
Barbwire by Andres Luis Barbáno / Expanded from the 3-28-2017 Sparks Tribune

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CWA wins California/Nevada strike at AT&T
By Samantha Masunaga / Los Angeles Times 3-23-2017

Not necessarily news
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 3-21-2017 Sparks Tribune

Workers make a housecall on their congressman
Amodei opposes current Trumpcare proposal

Death Panels, Part Deux
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 3-14-2017 Sparks Tribune

NEW — World-class inaugural inductee to Nevada Musicians Hall of Fame announced

Positively negative
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 3-7-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 3-9 and 3-12-2017

In memoriam DEBRA JOYCE DONLEVY 16 January 1959 — 4 March 1978 Rural Nevada is a very dangerous place should you ever need medical attention — and nothing has changed in four decades. January 16, 1959, brought the births of Debra Joyce Donlevy/Carson High '77 (1959-1978) and Donna Leslie Cline (1959-1999). Their youth was cut in twain on the same night in 1978 within the loneliness of the High Desert Outback of the American Dream. They made much of the little time they were given. Remember them fondly.

Equal Rights Betrayal
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 2-28-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 3-1, 3-3, 3-6 and 3-8-2017

First woman Teamsters CEO re-elected to new term

Recall in Tesla County moves ahead
18:18 GMT 2-24-2017 / 6:18 PST 2-23-2017 (Barbwire Confidential U-News) — A petition to recall Storey County Sheriff Gerald Cook Antinoro was certified today. [MORE]

Reidless or Rudderless?
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 2-21-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 2-22-2017

Kate Smith & Lady Gaga
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 2-14-2017 Sparks Tribune / Updated 2-16, 2-17 and 2-21-2017

Feliz al dia de Santo Valentino

On Feb. 11, 1960, sixty members of the NAACP appeared at the doors of the whites-only Hawthorne, Nev., casino, the El Capitan, and were refused entry. [Poor Denny's Almanac]

Go Trump Yourself
23:18 GMT 2-9-2017 (Info from Reuters via Las Vegas Review-Journal, comments via Barbwire) — A U.S. federal appeals court (made up of three so-called judges) on Thursday unanimously upheld a temporary suspension of President Donald Trump’s order that restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. Stay tuned.
Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)

How Donald Trump could build an autocracy — and how you are democracy's only chance Cover article by former GW Bush speechwriter David Frum / The Atlantic Monthly March 2017 "The preconditions are present in the U.S. today. Here’s the playbook Donald Trump could use to set the country down a path toward illiberalism....Those citizens who fantasize about defying tyranny from within fortified compounds have never understood how liberty is actually threatened in a modern bureaucratic state: not by diktat and violence, but by the slow, demoralizing process of corruption and deceit. And the way that liberty must be defended is not with amateur firearms, but with an unwearying insistence upon the honesty, integrity, and professionalism of American institutions and those who lead them. We are living through the most dangerous challenge to the free government of the United States that anyone alive has encountered. What happens next is up to you and me. Don’t be afraid. This moment of danger can also be your finest hour as a citizen and an American." (Emphasis added.)

The Gorsuch Nonesuch: Poison Annie's Revenge
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 2-7-2017 Sparks Tribune

BROKEN SOLIDARITY Death knell not so distant for organized labor By Naomi Klein / The New York Times 2-7-2017

Limited Crime Offer: Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential NOW
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Subscribe today to get the exclusive End of Times Retrogression, a Procession for Progression, an Obsession to relieve Depression, Proselytizing Prayer for Divine Intercession at the Legislative Session. Don't wait— procrastination is the devil's dislocation. Hie thee hence to BallotBoxing.US.

7-COME-11!
Barbwire wins 7th Nevada Press Assn. award
Je Suis Charlie

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MORE BREAKING NEWS AND THEN SOME—>

Smoot, smut and stash
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 1-31-2017 Sparks Tribune

The last question
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 1-24-2017 Sparks Tribune

Patient Zero Plagues
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 1-17-2017 Sparks Tribune

Democrats in Margaritaville
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 1-10-2017 Sparks Tribune

Regressions, Transitions and Predictions
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 1-3-2017 Sparks Tribune

HAPPY NEW YEAR / Feliz Año Nuevo
Frohe Weihnachten und beste Wuensche fuer 2017
Happy High Holly Days
Merry Christmas/Kwanzaa/Solstice/Festivus/Chanukah
Hope you and yours experienced enthralling Thanksgibleting.

11-24-2016 — 142 years ago on Thanksgiving Thursday,
Barbed wire was patented (11-24-1874).
On 18 Jan. 1813, Joseph Glidden, inventor of barbed wire, was born.
The west was never the same. Likewise here.
Stick with The Barbwire to sharply point out the awful truth. Always here.

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Love's Labours Lost Dept.

On 12-27-2005

Betty J. Barbano 2-7-1941 / 12-27-2005

On 12-27-2015

Hunka Hunka Bernie Love

SOLIDARITY — Communications Workers of America members and their families from throughout northern Nevada pose with Sen. Sanders after his speech. NevadaLabor.com editor Andrew Barbano, far right, holds up his copy of the Dec. 3, 2015, edition of Rolling Stone with Sen. Sanders on the cover. The senator signed it immediately after the photo-op. Primo.

Sanders promises penalties for state corporate welfare Sparks, Nev. (U-News) [Copyright © 2015 NevadaLabor.com] 4:55 p.m. PST 12-27-2015, 00:55 GMT 12-28-2015 — Campaigning in northwestern Nevada, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, told a standing-room-only crowd at the Northern Nevada Labor Temple that he would work to inhibit state vs. state corporate welfare. Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 26/AFL-CIO Business Development Director Rob Benner asked "Senator, I assume you've noticed the 'Fix Tesla First' sign on the wall. Another electric car company, China-owned Faraday, has just received $334 million in tax breaks to come to Nevada. This came almost exactly a year after state government granted Tesla $1.4 billion. What can you do to fix this?" Sanders understood the problem, stating that "it's not as simple as I will say it, but I would work to see that states lose some portion of federal benefits when they grant huge tax incentives such as you are describing which hurt needed services." Sanders also said that he would support automatic union recognition if 50 percent plus one worker sign cards saying they want a union. President Obama promised to support such legislation when he ran in 2008, but the White House never got behind the now long-dead Employee Free Choice Act. Sanders also opposed a recent proposal to enact a national "right-to-work-for-less" law, adding that if workers get the benefits of a union contract, "they should contribute." He noted his longtime opposition to treaties such as the Clinton administration's North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the current Trans Pacific Partnership, both of which allow shipping U.S. jobs to low-wage countries. He added that he knows some Republican senators who have problems with the TPP and it may not pass in this session of Congress. Sanders advocated for a $15 per hour minimum wage, noting that a working male today makes $700 per year less than he did in 1973, adjusted for inflation. Sanders added that women have also lost ground, especially over the past decade. NevadaLabor.com Editor Andrew Barbano asked Sen. Sanders if he would support a fix to Obamacare which has put union health plans in jeopardy and is forcing union workers to pay a tax for which they receive nothing. "Absolutely," Sanders replied. Sanders answered every question from the audience which ranged from moppets to retirees. One young man noted that since he will be 18 by the general election next year, he will be allowed to participate in Nevada's February caucus. Sen. Sanders noted that Iowa likewise allows youth participation. He added that he's running ahead in New Hampshire, is getting closer in Iowa and if he also does well in Nevada and S. Carolina, victory will be possible. In the Dec. 3 edition of Rolling Stone, he stated that "Nobody denies, Hillary Clinton least of all, that she is an establishment candidate." Sanders signed Barbano's Dec. 3 Rolling Stone cover. Weekend at Bernie's with Eugene McCarthy's grandchildren Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 11-10-2015 Sparks Tribune / Updated 11-12-2015

Education Dysfunction Part LXXV
Year-end or end of times?
Smoking gun: throwing more money at public schools actually works
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 12-27-2016 Sparks Tribune

First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 12-20-2016 Sparks Tribune

Education Dysfunction Part LXXIV
We don't need no education
What's a little cancer or brain damage as long as graduation rate projections remain rosy?
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 12-13-2016 Sparks Tribune

Dark predictions and enlightened people
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 12-6-2016 Sparks Tribune

The Barbwire billion-dollar cure for what ails us
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 11-29-2016 Sparks Tribune

On Nov. 23, 2014, after revelations by The Barbwire/Sparks Tribune, the Reno News & Review and the Reno-Sparks NAACP, Assemblymember Ira-Hansen, R-Sparks, resigned as speaker-designate of the Nevada State Assembly.

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In Memoriam: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 5-29-1917/11-22-1963

Wisdom abides from songs long sung    Everybody knows the dice are loaded. Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed.    Everybody knows the war is over. Everybody knows the good guys lost.    Everybody knows the fight was fixed. The poor stay poor, the rich get rich.    That's how it goes. Everybody knows... Everybody knows the scene is dead    But there's gonna be a meter on your bed That will disclose    What everybody knows...    Everybody talking to their pockets. Everybody wants a box of chocolates    and a long red rose.    Everybody knows. Everybody knows. That's how it goes. Everybody knows. — Leonard Cohen, 1934-2016

I hope you understand I just had to go back to the island. —Leon Russell, 1942-2016

Toxins, turkeys, takeovers and true Nevadians
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 11-22-2016 Sparks Tribune

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil 2
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 11-15-2016 Sparks Tribune

President Donald Trump as Andrew Jackson? So opined a plethora of prestigious, highly-paid expert pundits on election night. The Barbwire warned of exactly that last March. Twice. And that ain't all. Read 'em and weep, pilgrims. Nobody knows nothin' By David Horsey, Staff Cartoonist / Los Angeles Times 11-9-2016 BARBWIRE SEZ the awesome Mr. Horsey's assertion that only the LAT/USC poll was accurate ain't necessarily so. Those with crystal balls shouldn't throw stones Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 3-15-2016 Sparks Tribune Remembering the first female U.S. presidents Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 3-8-2016 Sparks Tribune "Any system of prolonged political paralysis and failed liberalism vomits up monsters. And the longer we remain in a state of political paralysis — especially as we stumble toward another financial collapse — the more certain it becomes that these monsters will take power." — Christopher Hedges at NationOfChange.org 17 Oct. 2016. History foreshadows a GOP November win Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 2-16-2016 Sparks Tribune / Updated 2-19-2016 All the more reason to subscribe to Barbwire Confidential.

If you voted early, read this and regret it
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 11-8-2016 Sparks Tribune

On Nov. 6, 1860, former Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates for the U.S. presidency. (New York Times)

11-4-2016: On this date in 2008, Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States, as the country chose him as its first black chief executive. (New York Times)

Death wish: How the war on drugs turned into massive black disenfranchisement, electing regressives
"How the Democrats screwed over their most loyal supporters."
By Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 11-3-2016

Poor Denny's Almanac—>Déjà vu all over again & again

Child pawnography in the year of amorality
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 11-1-2016 Sparks Tribune

Happy 152nd Birthday, Ms. Nevada
Nevada Day Required Reading
The Lady in the Red Dress
The Barbwire's award-winning Nevada Day classic written in 1983
The compleat history of the Silver State in 500 words
SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Sparks Tribune 11-4-1990 and oftimes since

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Democrats for Trump

Trump running mate exposed

Poor Denny's Almanac — Saturday, 24 Sept. 2016 10:38:31 PDT

On this date in 1864, mine owner and Nevada governor James Nye requested and received two companies of U.S. Army cavalry troops from Fort Churchill to break a miners’ labor union in Virginia City. (Courtesy of veteran Nevadian journalist/historian Dennis Myers' daily Poor Denny's Almanac © 2016)

Have a happy and non-laborious Labor Day weekend.
Be safe. Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno

HONORING LABOR AT THE 2016 LABOR DAY PARADE
Area workers again march through historic Virginia City to celebrate the value of work on Labor Day
Northern Nevada Central Labor Council: Labor Day stands for much more than selling sofas

Labor Day weekend union election for culinary workers & bartenders at anti-union LV Boulder Station Hotel-Casino
Richard N. Velotta / Las Vegas Review-Journal 9-1-2016

Be well. Raise hell.

NevadaLabor.com Labor Day Treasury

Prescience, premonition or predilection of election?
Labor Day 2016: Nevada Workers' last stand
Barbwire Exclusives: Gansert will run to replace Brower in Nevada Senate
Better late than never dept.: The Reno Gazette-Journal confirmed the above on Sept. 9, 2015
Complaint filed against welfare-bashing illegal GOP front petition
Barbwire by Barbano / Uploaded 8-30-2015/ Expanded from the Tuesday 9-1-2015 Sparks Tribune

Labor Day 2014: Red, white and screwed
Silver State Lining: Nevada union membership 10th-highest in the nation
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune / 8-28-2014

Union sisters and brothers participate in the Sept. 7, 2013 Virginia City Labor Day Parade.
Major Reno Gazette-Journal news roundup

Labor Day Weekend Almanac

On 9-3-1937, in his powerful “Labor, like Israel” radio address now included in many collections of U.S. rhetoric, labor leader John L. Lewis denounced politicians who were aided by labor in elections but then supported management in industrial disputes, mentioning Chicago Mayor Edward Kelly, Ohio Governor Martin Davey, and President Franklin Roosevelt (who during the bloody “Little Steel Strike” had said “A curse on both your houses” to employers and the workers who had been brutalized and murdered by management goons). [Courtesy of longtime Nevada reporter Dennis Myers' daily Poor Denny's Almanac]

On Sept. 1, 1907, labor leader Walter Reuther, named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. (More Labor Day Poor Denny's Almanac)

On Sept. 3, 1906, four years before the “great white hope” fight in Reno, African American Joe Gans triumphed over Oscar “Battling” Nelson in a brutally hot fight (Gans entered the ring carrying an umbrella) in Goldfield. (Courtesy of veteran Nevadian journalist/historian Dennis Myers' daily Poor Denny's Almanac © 2016)

The Storey County Miner's Union marching in the Virginia City Labor Day parade, September 7, 1908. (Nevada Historical Society)

Nevada Labor History

UPDATED 22 AUGUST 2014 01:07 a.m. PDT, 08:07 ZULU/GMT/SUT/CUT —> On this date in 1966, the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, now the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), was formed from a merger of the National Farm Workers Association and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and became a powerful tool for the advancement of Latinos under the leadership of César Chávez and Dolores Huerta. (Courtesy Dennis Myers' daily Poor Denny's Almanac © 2014)

OCTOBER, 1969 — César Chávez, right, and Walter Reuther, center, at the dedication of the United Farm Workers' new headquarters in Delano, Calif. The buildings were dedicated to Reuther's late younger brother, Roy. The Reuther-led United Auto Workers were instrumental in acquiring the land and funding for "The 40 Acres," as the site was known. The man at left walked a picket line for five years and may or may not be a Chávez relative. Anyone who can identify him, please contact me. A character resembling him appeared in many scenes of the 2014 major motion picture César Chávez. (Photo courtesy of George "Battling" Nelson, UAW Local 2162 Retirees.)

When César Chávez came to Reno

Obama pays tribute to late Reno labor leader

THE WAY WE WERE — The above is a recently discovered photo from July 15, 1986. Left to right are Kathy Brown, Culinary Union Local 86 office manager; Miguel Contreras, Local 86 Secretary-Treasurer; Local 86 President Bill Uehlein; a lady named Natalie (anyone who knows her last name, please write), and César Chávez. This item was first published in Ahora, northern Nevada's Spanish-English weekly, on March 26, 2008. (On 3-19-2009, President Obama paid tribute to Brother Contreras as he spoke in the L.A. building named after the late labor leader. See the 1986 Chávez Reno archive, below.) (Photo courtesy of Dan Rusnak, retired business manager of Laborers' Union Local 169.) More stories and photos from César Chávez's 1986 Reno visit

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Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them. — Paul Valery, French critic & poet (1871-1945) Thank you for NOT voting—> SUBSCRIBE TO BARBWIRE CONFIDENTIAL: TOP SECRET, Hush-Hush! "If voting mattered, they wouldn't let us do it." — Travus T. Hipp, 1982 EVIDENCE IN POINT: The GOP's Stealth War Against Voters Will an anti-voter-fraud program designed by one of Trump's advisers deny tens of thousands their right to vote in November? The Crosscheck program is a response to the imaginary menace of mass voter fraud. By Greg Palast / Rolling Stone 9-8-2016 Barbwire exposes Trump running mate

Walk a mile in Colin Kaepernick's cleats
"In this country, American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate."—Toni Morrison
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 8-30-2016 Sparks Tribune / Updated 8-31-2016

In Memoriam
Adios: Sam Lumpe, 1940-2016
The César Chávez Nevada Labor Hall of Famer and retired member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 26/AFL-CIO passed away in Reno on Aug. 24. All testimonials will be most welcome for inclusion in a complete remembrance of our brother Sam which will be posted here soon. At his request, there will be no memorial service. He is the second hall-of-famer (with the United Auto Workers' George "Battling" Nelson) to pass this summer. Requiescant in pace.

Adios: Librado Chávez muerto
Librado "Lee" Chávez, brother of César Chávez and frequent participant in Nevada César Chávez Day activities, has passed away in California. This comes two months after the passing of Mrs. César Chávez, Helen. Details as they arrive. Requiescant in pace.

Tivoli Village construction worker dies in fall after scaffolding collapse in Summerlin/West Las Vegas Valley
Ricardo Nicolas Bautista, 30, of North Las Vegas was on the scaffolding with two other workers when it collapsed about 2 p.m. at the construction site, 302 S. Rampart Blvd. Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said the other two workers were able to jump to safety. Bautista died at the scene. [More workplace safety news]
Las Vegas Review-Journal 8-22 and 23, 2016

Happy Anniversary Barbwire Fencers
On 8-12-1988, Barbwire by Barbano found a permanent home in the newly-Daily Sparks Tribune. Quaff a beer of good cheer against softshoe fascistista fear.

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Adios: George "Battling" Nelson, 1932-2016 Labor Day Parade 6 September 2010 Virginia City, Nev. Latest updates from the Sparks Tribune George's obituary Reno Gazette-Journal 7-9-2016 SPARKS, NEV. (16 JUNE 2016) — Our brother and César Chávez Nevada Labor Hall of Famer George "Battling" Nelson, 83, passed away this morning at his home. He was diagnosed with leukemia a few weeks ago and faded a couple of months faster than doctors predicted. We were able to get his second-to-last wish fulfilled in his lifetime. (The last, a posthumous pardon for former heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, may happen before President Obama leaves office. Please contact your senators, congressmembers and the White House.) I got George on tape one week before his death and asked him to say "be well, raise hell" one last time. He did it his way: "Be well. Raise hell. Have fun." That's my man, George. Rest in peace, great warrior, we are richer for your having passed this way. See you in the next round, champ. With love and laughter, in eternal solidarity and forever your friend, Andrew "Bruiser" Barbano —>Condolences to his family. Details here as they become available. George's Adiós Union Meeting (he wanted it run like one) took place at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, July 9, at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 350 Training Center, 1150 Greg Street, Sparks NV 89431. STAY TUNED for photos and details. It was tremendous. NEW—> THE BATTLING NELSON HALL OF FAME GALLERY SEND YOUR REMEMBRANCES OF GEORGE FOR PERMANENT POSTING Latest updates from the Sparks Tribune Reno News & Review remembers George Nelson's battles By Dennis Myers 6-23-2016 BLAST FROM THE PAST — 1969: George "Battling" Nelson stood with UAW President Walter Reuther and César Chávez at the dedication of the United Farm Workers headquarters in Delano, California In case you wondered: The original Battling Nelson was world lightweight champion

Grand Marshal George Nelson, 2010 Virginia City Labor Day Parade LABORING FOR LABOR DAY (6 Sept. 2010) — Union members prepare for the 2010 Virginia City Labor Day Parade, the only such soirée in Nevada. Left to right are Penny Bueno (holding the yellow UAW banner) and Bob Bueno, current president of UAW 2162/AFL-CIO (with the American flag). Holding the white banner behind the Chevy are Glenda Gravelyn, left, and Rudy Viola, right, in the Indiana Jones hat. Rudy is immediate past-president of the local. Doing his best impression of Uncle Sam on steroids is Robert "Tuna" Townsend, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World union (aka "The Wobblies"). Labor Day Parade Grand Marshal George "Battling" Nelson, President of the Reno United Auto Workers Retirees, is seated in the 1957 Chevrolet behind driver Mike Murray of UAW 2162. UNO MAS, 2013 — Brother Nelson reported that the UAW entered three General Motors products in the Monday 2 September 2013 Labor Day event: a 2014 Chevrolet Impala, a 2013 GMC Acadia Denali and a 2013 Cadillac XTS. In July 2013, the Impala received surprising rave reviews from Consumer Reports, a legendarily tough crowd. (UAW 2162 photo) Latest updates from the Sparks Tribune

Psychographic testing biases police application exams
By Patricia Gallimore and Andrew Barbano / RGJ.com 7-14-2016 / Reno Gazette-Journal 7-17-2016

 

Just a few of the Barbwire's Greatest Hits

Remembering the first female U.S. presidents
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 3-8-2016 Sparks Tribune

2-29-2016: A mighty leap on Leap Day
Tesla Commits Teslacide
Nevada workers strike megabucks battery plant
2-29-2016 / Updated 3-1, 3-2 and 3-3-2016

TV or not TV — Oscar blackouts and PBS blacklists
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 3-1-2016 Sparks Tribune

Screw the courts and screw the dealers: Wynn continues to rip off tips
Las Vegas Review-Journal 2-24-2016

All the news you never knew you needed to know—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential
The Underbelly of the News—>TOP SECRET, HUSH HUSH!

Thanks to all Nevada Caucusians

ATTRACTIVELY ACTIVE CAMPAIGN — Laws of Attraction and Titanic star Frances Fisher campaigning for Bernie in Nevada with her chauffeur and chaperone, Annalise Gardella of Reno. (Frances Fisher photo)

Nevada caucuses: Star-studded or star-crossed?
Interview with Titanic star Frances Fisher campaigning for Bernie in Nevada
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 2-23-2016 Sparks Tribune

History foreshadows a GOP November win
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 2-16-2016 Sparks Tribune / Updated 2-19-2016

Psycho-spying the presidential pretenders
Psychological profiles of candidates and presidents
Previous analyses of Justice Clarence Thomas and President Obama proven correct
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 2-9-2016 Sparks Tribune

Donald Trump: from ivory tower to Hightower
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 2-2-2016 Sparks Tribune

If only Shakespeare had written the Constitution
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 1-26-2016 Sparks Tribune

Leading questions and lead-headed leaders
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 1-19-2016 Sparks Tribune

Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend traditional event schedule

¡Feliz año nuevo!

Hunka Hunka Bernie Love

SOLIDARITY — Communications Workers of America members and their families from throughout northern Nevada pose with Sen. Sanders after his speech. NevadaLabor.com editor Andrew Barbano, far right, holds up his copy of the Dec. 3, 2015, edition of Rolling Stone with Sen. Sanders on the cover. The senator signed it immediately after the photo-op. Primo.

Sanders promises penalties for state corporate welfare Sparks, Nev. (U-News) [Copyright © 2015 NevadaLabor.com] 4:55 p.m. PST 12-27-2015, 00:55 GMT 12-28-2015 — Campaigning in northwestern Nevada, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, told a standing-room-only crowd at the Northern Nevada Labor Temple that he would work to inhibit state vs. state corporate welfare. Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 26/AFL-CIO Business Development Director Rob Benner asked "Senator, I assume you've noticed the 'Fix Tesla First' sign on the wall. Another electric car company, China-owned Faraday, has just received $334 million in tax breaks to come to Nevada. This came almost exactly a year after state government granted Tesla $1.4 billion. What can you do to fix this?" Sanders understood the problem, stating that "it's not as simple as I will say it, but I would work to see that states lose some portion of federal benefits when they grant huge tax incentives such as you are describing which hurt needed services." Sanders also said that he would support automatic union recognition if 50 percent plus one worker sign cards saying they want a union. President Obama promised to support such legislation when he ran in 2008, but the White House never got behind the now long-dead Employee Free Choice Act. Sanders also opposed a recent proposal to enact a national "right-to-work-for-less" law, adding that if workers get the benefits of a union contract, "they should contribute." He noted his longtime opposition to treaties such as the Clinton administration's North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the current Trans Pacific Partnership, both of which allow shipping U.S. jobs to low-wage countries. He added that he knows some Republican senators who have problems with the TPP and it may not pass in this session of Congress. Sanders advocated for a $15 per hour minimum wage, noting that a working male today makes $700 per year less than he did in 1973, adjusted for inflation. Sanders added that women have also lost ground, especially over the past decade. NevadaLabor.com Editor Andrew Barbano asked Sen. Sanders if he would support a fix to Obamacare which has put union health plans in jeopardy and is forcing union workers to pay a tax for which they receive nothing. "Absolutely," Sanders replied. Sanders answered every question from the audience which ranged from moppets to retirees. One young man noted that since he will be 18 by the general election next year, he will be allowed to participate in Nevada's February caucus. Sen. Sanders noted that Iowa likewise allows youth participation. He added that he's running ahead in New Hampshire, is getting closer in Iowa and if he also does well in Nevada and S. Carolina, victory will be possible. In the Dec. 3 edition of Rolling Stone, he stated that "Nobody denies, Hillary Clinton least of all, that she is an establishment candidate." Sanders signed Barbano's Dec. 3 Rolling Stone cover. Weekend at Bernie's with Eugene McCarthy's grandchildren Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 11-10-2015 Sparks Tribune / Updated 11-12-2015

Betty J. Barbano 2-7-1941 / 12-27-2005

Faraday's fair name befouled in fallow fields of North Vegas
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 12-22-2015 Sparks Tribune

FIX TESLA FIRST — Unions protest Faraday giveaway Las Vegas Sun 12-16-2015 "Democrats are pushing for a workforce diversity requirement in the legislation, looking at the way that Faraday’s workforce can represent and benefit the diverse population in North Las Vegas," the Sun reports. BREAKING NEWS 3:00 p.m. PST 12-17-2015: Republicans have introduced an amendment to Assembly Bill 1, not yet posted online, to prohibit unions from taking part in the workforce training program included in the measure. (The Sparks City Council must be advising them.) Stay tuned. UPDATE: 2:49 a.m. PST 12-18: STILL NO AMENDMENT POSTED. Skullduggery be afoot. Beware.

Another corporate welfare special legislative session begins
Building trades unions demonstrate: "Fix Tesla First"
Union workers protest no accountability for promised local jobs at Tesla corporate welfare site. Same old story, different players.
Officials again chant the old used car salesman's mantra: Get 'em in, mislead 'em & get 'em outta here

Outside of the capitol, a handful of protestors from the Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada urged lawmakers to “Fix Tesla First.” “During the Tesla deal, we only got 50% local hire requirement. There was no protection for local business and contractors,” says Rob Benner. The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (is) also urging lawmakers to be cautious in drafting provisions for Faraday Future. (A letter stated) in part: "For a non-Nevadan company whose product remains unseen and performance and skills (are) unproven, it is only just and responsible that they adhere to protections to put our people and planet first," PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson wrote. —Information from KRNV TV-4 12-16-2015   Text of handbill distributed by workers at the legislative building — FIX TESLA FIRST What did the citizens in Northern Nevada get for $1.4 billion? 50% local hire requirement. 100% Nevada taxpayer money. Lack of enforcement for required reports A strain on our aging infrastructure More overcrowding in our schools No requirements for local businesses and local contractors No reporting requirements for percentage of local businesses Washoe County taxpayers are faced with raising $819 million to pay for school overcrowding and repair needs. In September 2014 the State of Nevada entered into the biggest tax giveaway in its history, giving away 1.4 billion dollars to Tesla. Even though we were promised there would be transparency and oversight, Tesla has been slow to file all of the reports that were required. Storey County has not filed all of the reports required by Senate Bill 1. Before Nevada enters into another huge tax give away with another electric car manufacturer, tell Governor Sandoval to FIX TESLA FIRST! This message brought to you by the Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada FIX TESLA FIRST — Unions protest Faraday giveaway Las Vegas Sun 12-16-2015 Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any wool? "Shear me in cold winter, a corporate welfare fool." Nevada legislators flock to special session for Faraday Las Vegas Review-Journal 12-16-2015 Sometimes, even the moonhowlers get one right Tesla numbers cast doubt on rosy Faraday projections Audit shows Tesla project falling far short of 2015 forecasts Victor Joecks / Nevada Policy Research Institute 12-17-2015 Is the moon full? Blast from the past Taxpayers taken for Teslacide demo ride Barbwire Nevada Corporate Welfare Archive

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The Underbelly of the News—>TOP SECRET, HUSH HUSH!

In Sparks, politics isn't personal, just business Conflict of interest means never having to say you're sorry Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 1-12-2016 Sparks Tribune / Updated 1-14-2016 We didn't even get kissed afterward Barbwire by Barbano / Sparks City Council special online report 12-14-2015 12-14-2015: Sparks unanimously allows unlicensed plumbers & electricians Contact Mayor Martini, City Manager Driscoll and five councilmembers <gmartini@cityofsparks.us> <elawson@cityofsparks.us> <rsmith@cityofsparks.us> <cbybee@cityofsparks.us> <rschmitt@cityofsparks.us> <jratti@cityofsparks.us> <sdriscoll@cityofsparks.us> Highlight, capture and import the above into your e-mail window. Thanks to all who showed up SRO. Proceedings were broadcast via Charter Cable 191 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99. Call your Sparks councilcritters at (775) 353-2311. Find ward maps and e-mail addresses at http://cityofsparks.us/city-services/mayorcouncil-and-manager/ Don't diminish value of technical education SAFETY WARNING: Sparks City Council votes Dec. 14 to allow unlicensed plumbers & electricians Guest editorial from Stan Jones and Andrew Barbano Reno Gazette-Journal online 12-10-2015 / Print edition 12-14-2015 Listen to radio campaign rallying Sparks workers & citizens Featuring the voices of Jim McClain, Donna Lewis and Andrew Barbano NAACP unanimously opposes removal of licensing standards      WHEREAS the NAACP has always supported the need for an educated workforce,      AND WHEREAS the City of Sparks is proposing to remove licensing qualification requirements for plumbers and electricians,      BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Reno-Sparks NAACP opposes passage of Sparks City Council Agenda Item No. 10.2 on its 14 December 2015 agenda, which would remove all such licensing qualification standards. — Passed unanimously at the 12-10-2015 Reno-Sparks NAACP general membership meeting Dirty deeds done dirt cheap—again and again Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 12-8-2015 Sparks Tribune Turf and training: Dirty deeds done dirt cheap Contractors oppose education with a twist of bigotry and racism before the Sparks City Council Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 12-1-2015 Sparks Tribune / Updated 12-2-2015 On artificial turf, don't breathe unless necessary Toxic turf all over town Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 11-24-2015 Sparks Tribune Sorcerer's apprentices work cheap in Nevada Want minimum-wage plumbers and electricians building your house? Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 11-17-2015 Sparks Tribune

Democrats for Trump Ideal Running Mate ID'd

Moving the needle and needling the weasels
Education funding hike non-existent / Confederate flags fly in Sparks
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Tuesday 7-21-2015 Sparks Tribune

Michele Fiore: the Italian girl mama wanted for me?
Barbwire by Barbano / Excised from the 3-10-2015 Sparks Tribune as "not suitable" / Continually updated

Who was that lady I saw you with last night? (But can she cook?)

Machine Gun Michele Fiore wants to shoot Syrian refugees
Barbwire by Barbano / Excised from the 3-10-2015 Sparks Tribune as "not suitable" / Updated 12-8-2015

SMOKING GUNS: The Ira Hansen Files

BREAKING BAD Walter White and some other white guy

Who's,,, ...Who?

The documented racism and bigotry of incoming Nevada State Assembly Speaker Ira Hansen
Barbwire by Barbano / Sparks Tribune / 11-18-2014

Corporate welfare unites me with the moonhowlers
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 5-19-2015 Sparks Tribune

If you voted early, this will make you regret it
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 11-4-2014 Daily Sparks Tribune

Virginia City's next scary sexy Hollywood movie
Virginia City 911: Sexy Sheriffing in Old ConforteLand
Barbwire by Barbano / Special Nevada Day Edition 10-31-2014
Updated 11-1 and 11-3-2014, 2-10, 3-3 , 6-23, 7-2 and 7-15-2015, and 9-13-2016
This column was simultaneously published at BallotBoxing.US

Happy Birthday, Ms. Nevada
Nevada Day Required Reading
The Lady in the Red Dress
The Barbwire's award-winning Nevada Day classic written in 1983
The compleat history of the Silver State in 500 words
SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Sparks Tribune 11-4-1990 and oftimes since

Travus T. Hipp Feb. 20, 1937 — May 18, 2012 BREAKING NEWS 10-24-2014: Travus and Lynne Hughes' longtime home, the old church in Silver City, has burned to the ground with the loss of one life. Say a prayer and treasure the memories. Sean Laughlin promises to rebuild. Victims were Travus' first wife, Sandra, and her dog. The Bullfrog Times-Picayune Sticky Stones: Last blast from the past Love ain't free: Evelyn Kerr's remembrances of the life and times of Travus T. Hipp from the pages of TimeMazine (CD available)

LA Times 9-28-14: Nevada overstating economic benefits of Tesla factory

–>9/23 Washoe School Superintendent Pedro Martinez out as The Barbwire exclusively predicted last week

FIRE METERS FUEL A LONG, HOT SUMMER
As with the bright, shining lies of the Washoe and Clark County School Districts' graduation rates, the Reno Gazette-Journal is again two years behind the Barbwire (11 October 2012) regarding NVEnergy's combustible "smart meters." It ain't news unless the legit media find it first, right?

The latest shrift & shred on Tesla fever
Taxpayers taken for Teslacide demo ride
Elon Musk: Pseudo-green plantation overlord and union buster

Can megaresorts scam Tesla-style freebies?
EXTRA—>READ ALL ABOUT IT: Barbwire scoops Reno Gazette-Journal by 2 years on flammable NVEnergy fire meters
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 9-23-2014 Sparks Tribune

Education Dysfunction Part XLVIII—>
St. Elon, Lord Pedro and Gov. Veto El Obtúsè
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 9-16-2014 Sparks Tribune
9-23-2014 CRYSTAL BALL UPDATE: The above column accurately predicted Supt. Martinez's departure one week in advance

Tinkle-down economics: testing Tesla's testes
Tesla and the hospital thieves:
Theft of Washoe Med/Renown provides cautionary tale
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 9-9-2014 Sparks Tribune

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Largest Nevada newspaper confirms Barbwire investigative series about Clark and Washoe County school districts' phony graduation rates. CLICK HERE FOR THE AWFUL TRUTH UNO MAS.

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The Underbelly of the News—>TOP SECRET, HUSH HUSH!

Navigating the flagship—>Making quick work of NevadaLabor.com WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS DEPT.—> A year pr sp back, I got my first criticism in twp decades that this site is a bit confusing to navigate. I take that as a compliment. Confusing people is one of my few talents.     I thought I had anticipated any such problems years ago by liberally sprinkling links to the front page site map. (These days, am I supposed to say that I sprinkled progressively rather than liberally?)     The front page of NevadaLabor.com acts as a chronological listing of recent workplace news with the latest at the top. I archive annually to create a continuous permanent record fully accessible via the site map or any garden-variety websearch.     "We Don't Need No Education" is now approaching its 50th installment and thus merits its own section inside. Say hi to Don Quixote.     Current Barbwires plus more than 20 years of columaniacal archives, the Statewide News Roundup and Breaking News/Bull'tins/Almanac are all available via the site map—>as well as the usual general or specific ongoing madness and historical inflammation. (Once something's posted here or to any of my other sites, it's up forever.)     While the front page is chronological, the Statewide News Roundup is categorical, e.g., construction, hospitality, legislation, health care and many others. Breaking News/Bull'tins/Almanac often publishes original U-News as well as links to items at other sites that are not hot enough for the front page chronology. The NevadaLabor.com search engine acts as a short-cut to everything, depending on what you seek. So simply seek and ye shall find.     As my old friend Wise John the Lake Havasu Cropduster Pilot often says, "when all else fails, read the instructions." So when all else fails, re-read the above, then go to the nearest site map link and/or "search." The NevadaLabor.com search engine is really amazing. It's also union-signatory and thus quite efficient.     Thanks for your inputs and support over lo, these many years. Keep up the good work and the good fight.     Esté bien. Haga infierno. / Be well. Raise hell. —> Andrew the Barbwire Man

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them. — Paul Valery, French critic & poet (1871-1945) Thank you for NOT voting—> SUBSCRIBE TO BARBWIRE CONFIDENTIAL: TOP SECRET, Hush-Hush! "If voting mattered, they wouldn't let us do it." — Travus T. Hipp, 1982 EVIDENCE IN POINT: The GOP's Stealth War Against Voters Will an anti-voter-fraud program designed by one of Trump's advisers deny tens of thousands their right to vote in November? The Crosscheck program is a response to the imaginary menace of mass voter fraud. By Greg Palast / Rolling Stone 9-8-2016 Barbwire exposes Trump running mate