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

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Sexy scandals, whitewashes & black towers
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune / 8-21-2014 / Updated 8-28-2014, 9-4 and 10-14-2014

New Veterans Administration boss Robert McDonald spoke in Sparks and Reno on Tuesday.

He defended improvements made in local services and invoked the high-sounding name of "The Joint Commission" as having certified the quality of care.

I've had harsh experience with that spineless outfit.

The Chicago-based Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals morphed into the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations and in recent years renamed itself as The Joint Commission.

It's a joint, alright, a private corporation in the business of flying into town, making sure paperwork is in order, then rubberstamping. For a fat fee.

"It's not an instrument of social change," a disdainful longtime high-level VA social worker told me.

I had a very unpleasant confrontation with them in 1982.

I warned them of dangerous conditions, especially unsupervised bathing, at the state mental health institute in Sparks.

Three days after they signed off and announced accreditation renewal, a troubled young woman drowned in bathtub. Details at NevadaLabor.com/

BLACK TOWER OBTUSENESS. Deputy Reno City Manager Cadence Matijevich this week praised Amazon to high heaven as news broke that the predatory retailer is moving its distribution warehouse from Fernley to Stead.

She called Amazon an exemplary employer with great programs for its workers.

Reno City Hall has long been divorced from reality.

Nothing's changed.

As I noted on July 17, "the August edition of prestigious 164 year-old Harper's Magazine presents a devastating vision of America's future....Get used to the word 'workampers,' perpetually itinerant senior citizens who live in rickety motorhomes and travel trailers to work seasonally nationwide. Amazon calls them its 'camperforce' while 'history-minded commentators have labeled them the Okies of the Great Recession...geriatric migrant labor...downwardly mobile older Americans' in 'ephemeral company towns.'" [1]

Hard, low-wage work. No benefits.

How truly Nevadian.

"Amazon comes off like a brutal plantation," I wrote.

THROUGH THE CRACKS. In all the furor over the school board and its shaky superintendent, why has no one remembered the May 26 Reno Gazette-Journal report that the Washoe County School District is under investigation by the U.S. Dept. of Education's Office of Civil Rights?

Aren't sexual, racial and ethnic discrimination er...sexy enough?

JUST SAY NO, DUMBO. Gov. Sandoval's Administration is blowing $140,000 on paid TV to tell kids that sex is dangerous so just say no.

Nevada ain't big on education, especially about sex.

The spots don't even dare offer a website.

See laughably and lamentably more at NevadaLabor.com/ [2]

GOMORRAH SOUTH SERENDIPITY. Thursday, "Nevada’s advisory committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will meet in Las Vegas to gauge public sentiment on the militarization of local police forces," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

"The meeting has been scheduled for over six months."

Las Vegas Metro PD has long been notorious as among the nation's most trigger-happy. _[3]

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

WEB EXTRAS...

TOAST ALERT. Teachers' union gross profits 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.

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.

This is important.

We've got work to do.

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

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.

The Underbellyof the News—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential

Smoking Guns... Get ahead of corporate-influenced news—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential 1. Bruder, Jessica; The End of Retirement—When you can't afford to stop working; Harper's Magazine, August 2014, at 28 Like Walmart, only with supercomputers and drones: At Amazon.com "cheap" comes at a very hefty price By Jim Hightower / 8-4-2014 Go west, young Bezoids Amazon.com scores $1.3 million in tax freebies for moving 30 miles west to Reno from Fernley Associated Press / 10-12-2014 2. The last chapter of "What's the Use?" —> The official Sandoval Administration Just Say No explanation: Our (federal) notice of awards did not stipulate restrictions on language that can and cannot be used. Abortion and condoms are not part of the PHAT (Promoting Health Among Teens) Curriculum that is used in Nevada for this program. However, there is a mention of the “pill” in the workbooks (not in the curriculum though). The general approach when the kids ask questions about these topics is to emphasize that abstinence is the only 100% effective way to prevent unplanned pregnancy and STIs; condoms still pose some risk in the sense that there can still be skin to skin contact (HPV and herpes), and that the pill or other birth control does not protect against STIs/HIV. When abortion is brought up, our subgrantees redirect the focus towards adoption being an option in that case, and since it’s an abstinence class, they keep abstinence as being the most effective approach at the forefront of any of these types of questions. This is the second year that we will be paying Nevada Broadcasters Association a total of $70,000, for which they will provide a non-federal match of in-kind services; the AEGP receives $5 for every $1 paid, for a total match of $350,000. Again, this funding is intended to establish a foundation (to wait to engage in sexual activity – by promoting awareness of unintended consequences such as pregnancy, HIV and STI’s) among our younger population (9-12yrs). As Nevada’s children enter into adolescence, the state utilizes federal funding intended to promote personal responsibility among at-risk youth who may already be engaging in sexual activity. What's the use, part deux: Bill O'Reilly's Sex Education Letter to the Reno Gazette-Journal / 8-16-2013 [3] Not Just Ferguson: 11 Eye-Opening Facts About America’s Militarized Police Forces — American police departments are starting to look like invading armies. By Alex Kane / Alternet via Bill Moyers.com 8-13-2014 Labor Day 2014: Red, white and screwed Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune / 8-28-2014 Education Dysfunction Part XLV—> Bringing serious heat well into the night Nevadans host moment of silence for Missouri police shooting victim Michael Brown Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune / 8-14-2014 Nevada children have long been victims of separate and unequal education Nevada education ranks dead last in nation for third year running Dismal placements in children’s health, education, economic security, state of families & community Las Vegas Review-Journal / 7-22-2014 OLD NEWS IS NEWS AGAIN: Nevada remains a hellhole for children By Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 8-7-2014 Education Dysfunction Part XLIV—> Pots and Kettles: Can't we all get along? BREAKING NEWS: WCSD Vice-President Dave Aiazzi has announced that he has been diagnosed with leukemia and will be resigning by the end of September. Remember him with healing thoughts and prayers. Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune / 8-7-2014 TOO LEGIT TO QUIT. The Barbwire's ongoing investigation of phony Nevada graduation rates, now in its third year, just got respectable. See Hiding in Plain Sight by Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 3-27-2014 Education Dysfunction Part XLIII—> Playing the race card for profit and peril Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune / 8-7-2014 Marriage of convenience: Martinez return leaves some issues unsettled By Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 8-7-2014 Happy Un-birthday, Chief Mieras Reno News & Review Editorial 8-7-2014 Education Dysfunction Part XLII—> We don't need no education or Pedro, either Reno-Sparks-Washoe school boss fired and unfired Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune / 7-24-2014 We Don't Need No Education The continuing Barbwire series A cold shower for the NY Times Tesla gusher 40 years in the wilderness: Study says Silver State on downhill slide since 1970 Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 7-10-2014 Sparks Tribune Ask Hobby Lobby to take in refugee kids So five uptight old Catholic guys in grim reaper robes don't like contraception. Wonder if they thought that way back in college? Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 7-3-2014 Sparks Tribune The Status Quo Ante versus the Status Quo Uncle Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 6-26-2014 Sparks Tribune Tesla plants PR slants to get into the public's pants Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 6-19-2014 Sparks Tribune ...and more ammo... The hardest and fairest questions yet asked of proponents of the teachers gross profits tax initiative Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 7-10-2014 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 Labor Day: State of the Unions By Mark Robison / Reno Gazette-Journal / Sunday 9-1-2013 The above graph was 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. 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   Get ahead of corporate-influenced news—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential

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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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