BARBWIRE by ANDREW BARBANO Pirate Laureate of the High Desert Outback of the American Dream

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"I could elect Judas Iscariot. The name is familiar," said legendary Boston Mayor James Michael Curley (1874-1958).

American electioneering has not substantially changed since Dwight Eisenhower's presidential campaign aired the first political TV commercial 62 years ago.

Last Tuesday's primary results provided textbook examples. Reno mayoral candidate Idora Silver failed to run any TV ads, instead spending a ton on mailing, Facebook, door knocking and consultants.

A Democrat acceptable to the establishment, she became an early favorite.

Eddie Lorton invested princely sums contributing to the greater welfare of the local video industry but finished fourth among 19 on the ballot.

He was afflicted with the same malady as the only other candidate with meaningful positions, artist Erik Holland.

Both lacked a broad enough base of people upon which to build a campaign. Lorton's money brought him in fourth behind Silver with the humble Holland ninth.

Ray Pezonella's silver medal finish demonstrated the still-awesome power of the downtown good ole boys.

Voters will now choose between a registered Democrat who disavows his party, supported by a who's-who of the Republican establishment, and ticket-topping non-partisan freshman Councilmember Hillary Schieve.

Both bought saturation TV.

Instructively, a deceased candidate actually outpolled two live ones at the bottom of the ticket.

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE. It was easy to predict the winner of the Democratic congressional primary by remembering the 1994 race in which unknown Gomorrah South realtor Janet Greeson won against a James and a Patrick. This year, young Incline Village attorney Kristen Spees beat a Brian, a Vance and an Ed.

Detect a pattern?

People vote like they read classified ads, looking to narrow their choices. If all they know is candidate gender, girls often win. Fully 53 percent of the population is female. Can you say President Hillary?

Spees has the potential to give Republican Congresscritter Mark Amodei fits. She campaigned in the primary playing her alto sax as crowds filtered into a Reno Aceholes baseball game.

Spees speaks fluent Spanish. (Try saying that fast 10 times.)

On election night, she said she's going to ride a dirt bike through the largely rural district.

Can't hurt. Since 1981, it's been gerrymandered so a Donkeyite can never win, so might as well have some fun.

Her advantage disappears now that former Sparks perennial Janine Hansen becomes her general election opponent via the George Wallace Party ticket.

MAN UP. Bob Goodman may have lost to "none of these candidates" in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, but he's no lightweight.

I knew him in the 1970s when he served as Gov. Mike O'Callaghan's director of economic development and tourism. He's a very impressive guy with a deep résumé.

CHEAP SHOT DEPARTMENT. One cynic asserted that if Schieve wins, the actual mayor will be former Councilmember Jessica Sferrazza.

"Not so," said another, "Hillary will get Jessica appointed city manager."

"So what's not to like?" said a third.

UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT. Douglas County Republicans overwhelmingly re-nominated Assemblyman Jim "I'd vote for slavery" Wheeler. Barbwire spies report no truth to the rumor that he wore a Los Angeles Clippers jersey on election night.

As the late great Tribune columnist Travus T. Hipp once noted, "sometimes cheap shots are the only shots you get."

So keep your powder dry and remember the wise words of late Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Al Gunderson more than 40 years ago (unadjusted for inflation): "Fifty grand can go a long way toward making just about anybody a respectable citizen."

The name is familiar.

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

WEB EXTRAS...

MORE MAYORAL MAYHEM —>

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HONOR YOUR DON. Campaign season is upon us. I'm working to elect legendary Nevada photographer Don Dondero (1920-2003) for the Nevada Press Association Hall of Fame.

His life's work appeared worldwide, including the Tribune and most probably every newspaper in Nevada.

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 deadline is the end of this month, so get it on.

The Barbwire got the late Reno Gazette-Journal columnist Guy Richardson elected in 2012.

Help me double down

TOO LEGIT TO QUIT. The Barbwire's ongoing investigation of phony Nevada graduation rates, now in its third year, just got respectable. (Scroll down to Hiding in Plain Sight.) Read it and weep, then review the series for yourself.

TOAST ALERT. Teachers' union tax petition supporters and opponents would do well to review the Barbwire of Feb. 28, 2013.

Passage of the tax initiative could easily lead to a successful court challenge that would at the same time blow out not only the revenue hike, but also term limits and the state's worst anti-union laws. Something for everybody. [UPDATE]

ANTE INTO THE GAME: Support the new season of Barbwire.TV by putting your money where my mouth is.

PayPal monthly subscription software is now operational at the website.

A thousand thanks to those who already responded and keep sending show suggestions. Current frontrunners include (pardon the pun) wild mustangs as canned goods, education and  i-Guns with César Chávez in Nevada recently surging.

Now come queries about ballot questions. The Jan. 30 column brought a surge of inquiries about the Nevada State Education Association corporate tax petition on this November's ballot.

Stay tuned.

  Please forward additional ideas or vote on the above.

  I encourage you to donate to the cause at Barbwire.TV/

The medium that shapes public opinion needs at least one refuge where it is not filtered through the distorted green eye shades of prissy corporate accountants for whom profit is the only priority; where self-censorship is the journalist's normal work environment and where all sins of omission are tacitly encouraged and forgiven with the wave of a balance sheet.

Just look what the lack of TV did to two candidates, above.

This is important.

We've got work to do.

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

____________
Andrew Barbano is a 45-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 and DoctorLawyerWatch.com/ 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 Sparks Tribune since 1988.

Smoking Guns... Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential Nevada's righteous ayatollahs arise once again Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 6-5-2014 Sparks Tribune When your enemy is destroying himself, never interfere Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 5-29-2014 Sparks Tribune Barbara Bennett, Erik Holland and Václav Havel Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 5-22-2014 Sparks Tribune Stabbing rock-sucking kangaroos on the Ides of May Reno Gazette-Journal blatantly manipulates mayoral contest Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 5-15-2014 Sparks Tribune Negative Optimism: Making the best of being worst Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 5-8-2014 Sparks Tribune Nevada State AFL-CIO conventioners join anti-education initiative business coalition Steve Sebelius / Las Vegas Review-Journal 5-2-2014 In search of the modern day Barbara Bennett Barbwire by Barbano / Substantially expanded from the 4-3-2014 Sparks Tribune ...and more ammo... We Don't Need No Education The continuing Barbwire series Barbwire: Nevada not really a state No, we were not Battle Born in Kenya Top 10 reasons Nevada lives in the 19th Century Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 10-17-2013 Sparks Tribune Low-income penalty: Nevada socks it to the working poor BARBANO: Nevada is one big company town Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 10-10-2013 State of Health National health care comes up against a very sick state. WHAT'S IN IT FOR US? Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 10-10-2013 USA at crossroads: New Deal or new Confederacy? Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 10-10-2013 Sparks Tribune UPDATE—>Bill Moyers: Shutdown is simply secession by other means ...and more ammo yet IMF Head Says Inequality Threatens Democracy. Here Are 7 Charts Proving She’s Right. By Erika Eichelberger / Mother Jones/BillMoyers.com 5-30-2014 “The behavior of the financial sector has not changed fundamentally…since the crisis. The industry still prizes short-term profit.” 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 The life and times of Travus T. Hipp The best who ever was

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Copyright © 1982-2014 Andrew Barbano

Andrew Barbano is a 45-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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