BARBWIRE by ANDREW BARBANO

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Death panels have come to Nevada.

What started as a moonhowler smear that almost derailed Obamacare has now metastasized into cruel reality.

Right here in River City.

Because of the Kafkaesque federal budget sequester, Washoe County as of last Sunday fired a visiting nurse who was apparently tasked with keeping some unimportant old people alive.

Shades of the legendary Governor Gloom.

"We've got a duty to die and get out of the way with all of our machines and artificial hearts and everything else like that and let the other society, our kids, build a reasonable life," stated sensationalist former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm (D, 1975-87).

While the infamous Death Panels proved a very creative fraud perpetrated by a non-descript right-wing blogger, scared congressional Democrats nonetheless amended the health care legislation by removing funding to pay doctors for consulting with patients on end-of-life issues.

As my late, great Tribune colleague in columny Travus T. Hipp often groused, "when there's a fight, liberals cut and run."

Witness how Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, announced that impeachment was "off the table" within hours of winning a majority in the House of Representatives in 2006.

Witness how congressional Democrats announced that single-payer health care (Medicare for All) was "off the table" before Obamacare even came before Congress.

Since when has unilateral surrender proven an effective negotiating tactic?

Was the majority-Republican Washoe County Commission aware that it was becoming a de facto Death Panel when slashing the senior services budget?

Since this went public, has anyone in officialdom lifted a bony finger against the scythe of the Grim Reaper?

Alas and alack, most government bodies act as Death Panels sooner or later.

Our priorities are demonstrated by how we spend our money.

We love war, the most destructive and counter-productive use of taxes.

We are easily rich enough to offer free public education to anyone motivated to do the work.

Instead, we have created a government-funded industry of expensive private schools that compete with public institutions and drain taxpayer money.

College is increasingly out of reach for countless hopefuls.

Student loan debt now stands well over a trillion and climbing.

Why pay tens of thousands for a university degree when the financial burden will cripple your future?

Hell, you can buy a nicely framed diploma online for twenty bucks.

Redirecting a portion of our war spending would cure so many ills.

Instead, the feds bankroll countless forms of corporate welfare, as do Nevada state and local governments.

Witness the movie, gambling and mining industries, NASCAR, Apple, Cabela's, Scheels , the Reno Aceholes baseball team and Reno's Union Pacific railroad trench —> among so damned many others.

Meanwhile, Washoe County's infant mortality rate is sharply rising.

Babies, like seniors, lie condemned by government Death Panels.

I cry.

HAPPY INTERDEPENDENCE DAY. The great question remains: When will our Death Panels finally stop making more war veterans?

Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno.

WEB EXTRAS...

HONOR YOUR DON. Keep sending comments supporting legendary Nevada photographer Don Dondero (1920-2003) for the Nevada Press Association Hall of Fame.

His life's work appeared worldwide, including this newspaper.

Enlist in the campaign to install Big Don.

Please send me your memories and endorsements via e-mail or to P.O. Box 10034, Reno NV 89510.

The Barbwire got the late Reno Gazette-Journal columnist Guy Richardson elected last year.

Let's go for a repeat.

BARBWIRE.TV. Support the return of community TV to these parts.

If last year's elections didn't convince you of the need, the 2013 legislature certainly should have.

Join up. You may donate at ReSurge.TV or contact me.

This is important.

Thank you.

VOTE FOR THE LUCKY 13, the most powerful Nevadans of 2013. Send nominations to <barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us>

Last year's rogues gallery will be linked to the expanded web edition of this column at NevadaLabor.com/

LET'S GET IT ON. E-me to get on the Barbwire News bulletin list for information not filtered through corporate lenses.

I broke a bushel of major stories last year and 2013 has gotten even better.

The bad guys really make it easy sometimes.

Turn on, tune in and tell a friend.

Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)

____________

Andrew Barbano is a 44-year Nevadan, chair of the Nevada César Chávez Committee, producer of Nevada's annual César Chávez Day celebration, first vice-president and political action chair of the Reno-Sparks NAACP, labor/consumer/civil rights advocate, member of Communications Workers of America Local 9413/AFL-CIO and editor of NevadaLabor.com and JoeNeal.org. As always, his opinions are strictly his own. Check local listings for other Nevada cable systems. E-mail barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Daily Sparks Tribune since 1988.

Smoking Guns... Clarence Thomas, Little Anthony & the Imperials Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 6-27-2013 Sparks Tribune Rosy the poll dancer's destructive seduction Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 6-20-2013 Sparks Tribune Googling for liquid Romanian castanets Other than doing our laundry, what should we do about Big Brother peeking into our collective lace undies? Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 6-13-2013 Sparks Tribune Barbwire Corporate Welfare Archive Barbwire Corporate Propaganda Archive Cabellyup.com Enron II: Nevada's Battle-Born Toxic Event Indigence and indigestion from ingestion of Warren Buffett's buffet Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 6-6-2013 Sparks Tribune Longing for the wisdom of the grateful dead Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 5-23-2013 Sparks Tribune Star-stuck: Dirty deals for dirty movies Ghostrider Nicolas Cage sticks it to school kids Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 5-16-2013 Daily Sparks Tribune Mr. Wynnderful waxes wealthier whilst we wither Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 5-9-2013 Daily Sparks Tribune FROM HUGH JACKSON THE LAS VEGAS MEANER GLEANER The best Nevada political commentator alive Policy with the stars Of Wynn service, lip service and Cage fighting Las Vegas CityLife / 5-15-2013 Rules of Disengagement Gov. Veto El Obtúse struck dumb, but with a smile Las Vegas CityLife / 4-17-2013   ...and more ammo... We Don't Need No Education The continuing Barbwire series The Post-Dated Recession: Pay me now or pay me later Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 9-6-2012 Daily Sparks Tribune The Post-dated Recession By Joshua H. Silavent / Daily Sparks Tribune / 5-3-2011 Union decline and rising inequality in two charts by Colin Gordon Economic Policy Institute / 6-5-2012 Used in journalist Mark Robison's extensive Hard Labor: Nevada unions tout role in helping workers, firms, economy (Sunday 2 Sept. 2012 Reno Gazette-Journal, page one, Reno Rebirth section of the print edition). Union men Jim Burrell, Paul McKenzie and Guy Louis Rocha did the movement proud. Not included in the RGJ online edition. WOMEN AND UNIONS — ORPHAN MAJORITIES The Barbwire Labor Day column Reno Gazette-Journal / 9-3-2012 Nevada Press Assn. Better Newspaper Contest HAT TRICK: Barbwire takes first place three years in a row. The winning entries Suing for Schools: The 20-year shuck Expanded from the 2-21-2010 Daily Sparks Tribune Click here to view the show on your desktop RED flags flying low over Sparks Expanded from the 1-10-2010 Daily Sparks Tribune The wrath of self-righteous racism Expanded from the 11-8-2009 Daily Sparks Tribune Government contacts Nev. congressional delegation Nevada Legislature State of Nevada Secretary of State Carson City Clark County City of Las Vegas Douglas County Reno City Council Sparks City Council Washoe County Commission Washoe Registrar of Voters The campaign against forcibly-paid newspaper obituaries And they wonder why the newspaper business is dying?   The Dean's List    The Dean of Reno Bloggers could very well be Andrew Barbano, self-described "fighter of public demons," who started putting his "Barbwire" columns online in 1996 and now runs 10 sites. RENO NEWS & REVIEW, 11-9-2006 The 2009 first-place Nevada Press Association award winners Tony the Tiger & the flaky NFL Barbwire / 11-30-2008 Deregulation is never having to say you're sorry Barbwire / 8-3-2008 Nevada: A good place to visit, but do you want to live here? Barbwire / 6-15-2008 The 2008 first-place Nevada Press Association award winners The price of a piece / 6-17-2007 Boxing Pandora /9-23-2007 The Lady in the Red Dress 10-28-2007 1997 Pulitzer Prize entries ...and more ammo yet The life and times of Travus T. Hipp The best who ever was

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Copyright © 1982-2013 Andrew Barbano

Andrew Barbano is a 44-year Nevadan, editor of NevadaLabor.com and JoeNeal.org; and former chair of the City of Reno's Citizens Cable Compliance Committee, He is producer of Nevada's annual César Chávez Day celebration and serves as first vice-president, political action chair and webmaster of the Reno-Sparks NAACP. As always, his opinions are strictly his own. E-mail barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us.

Barbwire by Barbano moved to Nevada's Daily Sparks Tribune on Aug. 12, 1988, and has originated in them parts ever since.
Whom to blame: How a hall-of-famer's hunch birthed the Barbwire in August of 1987
Tempus fugit.

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