BARBWIRE by ANDREW BARBANO Pirate Laureate of the High Desert Outback of the American Dream The Barbwire Molly Ivins Memorial Columniator Hall of Flames

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Photo: Debra Reid, Sparks Tribune

 

An Alternative National Anthem By Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) & Sharon Robinson © 1988 CBS Records, Inc.    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 that the boat is leaking. Everybody knows that the captain lied.    Everybody got this broken feeling Like their father or their dog just died.    Everybody talking to their pockets. Everybody wants a box of chocolates    And a long stem rose. Everybody knows.    Everybody knows that you love me, baby. Everybody knows you really do.    Everybody knows that you've been faithful, Give or take a time or two.    Everybody knows you've been discreet But there were so many people you just had to meet    Without your clothes. Everybody knows.

Everybody knows that it's now or never. Everybody knows that it's me or you.    And everybody knows that you live forever When you've done a line or two.    Everybody knows the deal is rotten Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton    For your ribbons and bows And everybody knows.    Everybody knows that the plague is coming. Everybody knows that it's moving fast.    Everybody knows that the naked man & woman — Just a shining artifact of the past.    Everybody knows the scene is dead But there's gonna be a meter on your bed    That will disclose What everybody knows.    And everybody knows that you're in trouble. Everybody knows what you've been through    From the bloody cross on top of Calvary To the beach at Malibu.    Everybody knows it's coming apart. Take one last look at this Sacred Heart    Before it blows. And everybody knows. Everybody knows. Everybody knows.    That's how it goes. Everybody knows.

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

"The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you'll never have." — Kierkegaard

Treasure the age of the republic's wane
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 2-2-2022 / Updated 2-4-2022 GMT / Expansions in blue

"Florida Republicans advance draconian bills banning abortion, discussions of sexuality and white racial ‘discomfort’ aiming to establish Florida as capital of Trumpistan" — The Guardian of London, UK, 1-31-2022

Greatest Hits Dept. WE WON: BIG NEWS FROM THE NEVADA PRESS ASSOCIATION CONFAB IN GOMORRAH SOUTH —> BARBWIRE NOMINEE GUY RICHARDSON INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME ON FIRST BALLOT Barbwire nominee Dennis Myers elected to NPA Hall of Fame Support Don Dondero and Jake Highton next. Send endorsements Eee-yo-leven! Barbwire wins 11th Nevada Press Association award GOLD 2017-18 2018 First-Place Winners From the depths of despair to the den of iniquity & holy of holies "Excellent work. These are some of the most moving columns I've read." — NPA contest judge/9-29-2018 The Grasshopper and the Dragonfly 9-6-2017 Kicked off the Ledge 4-18-2017 NATIONAL NEWS FIRST-BREAK Back to the Future in Mississippi West Nevada 10-18-2017 Gold 2017 Don't ask Renown Med for marijuana to help your chemo 10-4-2016 We Don't Need No Education Toxic turf threat ignored 12-13-2016 Kate Smith & Lady Gaga 2-14-2017 Bronze 6-pack In the Uber-Nevada legislature, words can kill 4-28-2015 On artificial turf, don't breathe unless absolutely necessary (above) 11-24-2015 Leading questions, lead-headed leaders 1-19-2016 Hopelessly trying to win an earthquake 4-18-2013 2013 Loony Tunes Legislative Lexicon 5-30-2013 The politics of media ga-ga boosterism 3-20-2014 More statewide and national award winners We Don't Need No Education—> Neverending Barbwire Series 1997 Pulitzer Prize entries Barbwire.TV: 15-year overnight success Daily Sparks Tribune 2-10-2008 The Barbwire's Greatest Hits BEATING LUSH RAMBO AT HIS OWN GAME: Highlights from radio days mp3 file 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 Tomorrow's news today —> Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential TOP SECRET— HushHush!

Doomsaying is epidemic as fascism rises worldwide. US Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Caligula, was recently asked what he intends to do when he regains the senate majority next year. He promised to let America know next year.

In 2016, ex-Russian KGB agent Vladimir Putin, C-Caligula), broke the European Union and elected a commie-friendly American president. Internet disinformation is much cheaper than tanks. He bit off a major chunk of Ukraine, which foolishly gave up its nukes after the Cold War in exchange for flimsy promises of western protection.

Might as well believe two-faced S. Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-Janus, when he says he'll support a black supreme court nominee.

"This will always remain one of the best jokes of democracy — that it gave its deadly enemies the means by which it was destroyed," Hitler propaganda boss Joseph Goebbels once said.

The playbook is easy.

"Naturally, the common people don't want war, but after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship," Nazi leader Herman Goering once said.

"Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country," Goering noted.

Czar Donaldov said we were being attacked by brown foreign rapists. Instant president.

And so we carry on with business as usual as we treasure the remaining time in our democracy's decline.

NAMING NAMES. Last week, I promised the names of applicants for the still organizing Sparks Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board, 15 years in the making since us NAACP types got the city council to pass a resolution authorizing one in 2007. Here they are.

• A'Keia Sanders, a lead legal administration specialist, US Veterans Benefit Administration, Sparks resident for 21 months.
  
• Elvira Diaz, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada civil engagement coordinator, 15 years (and a great baker; we both serve on the Reno-Sparks NAACP executive committee)
  
• Jarell D. Green, counselor/coordinator, 18 years
  
• Melissa M. Nordeen, chief marketing officer, 3 (years or months, not specified)
  
• Michael K. Scherzer, chief technology officer, 5 months
  
• Roberto J. Castillo mortgage consultant, not noted
  
• Rose J. Meza, UNR outreach project coordinator, 22 years
  
• T. Tran, real estate broker, 32 years

Links to applications at NevadaLabor.com/ It will only be available online for a few weeks.

The Rail City's new Citizen Police Advisory Committee met at city hall for the first time on January 31. Report next week.

BOOK 'EM. "David Toll's NEVADA" is now available. His prize-winning Nevada writing is well worth perusal and purchase. It will soon be reviewed in the Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. Hie thee to nevadabookstore.org/

80 PERCENT OF SUCCESS IS SHOWING UP, as Woody Allen once calculated the math. Thanks to all those who showed up at United Parcel Service in Sparks last Thursday. The brown box behemoth is trying to cut the pay of its part-timers as much as $6.00 per hour for dangerous and physically rough labor. In the last three months of 2021, UPS made $2.9 Billion with a capital "B."

So why is unionization in the private sector continuing to drift downward (six per hundred workers, 6%) while the public sector has held steady for decades at 34 per 100 employees (34%) — and as a whopping two of every three Americans (68%) approve of labor unions? The answer is easy: labor laws stacked against private sector unions and corporations willing to perpetrate any abuse, legal or illegal, to stop workers from organizing. And the costs of hiring $1,000-per-hour union-busting thugs is fully tax deductible, thus underwritten by suckers like you and me. (See NYTimes 1-29-2022)

Speaking of union-busting blackguards, lack of COVID-19 safety measures is a major reason why the Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission's foreign owned bus contractor Keolis Transit can't get enough drivers. The system has been falling apart since Keolis took over in July, 2019, fully eight months before the plague hit. [RTC CONTACT INFO]

Local pols including Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson are at least paying attention. "We need to blow the thing up and…build a better system," Lawson said last month.

Some corporations other than UPS and Keolis Transit know that the age of the disposable worker is over.

SEND PRAYERS AND GOOD VIBES FOR MIKE. My Sparks union brother, RTCRide bus operator Michael Lansborough, goes under the knife in a day or two.

He is sole support of his wife and son, Logan, who has no lower legs due to a genetic flaw. In his wheelchair, the intrepid 10 year-old supported his dad on Teamsters Union picket lines during last summer's Hot August Strike. (Photos on the front page of NevadaLabor.com/)

A GoFundMe page set up by friends just broke $3k at $3,180 and they've raised the goal from $4k to $6k, which is great. Mike faces a rough recovery.

Here is the link <https://gofund.me/7eae2ed0> Be generous. If you would like to help by check, make it payable to Michael Lansborough and send to his attention at Teamsters Local 533, 1190 Selmi Drive, Suite 100, Reno NV 89512.

Join me in donating. Please. And tell your friends

[UPDATE: Thursday, Feb. 3, p.m.: GREAT NEWS! Mike is out of surgery and doing OK. Stay tuned.]

Take care of each other and be careful out there.

¡Sí se puede!

Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)
être bien, élever l'enfer (Pardon my French.)
Stammi bene. Scatenare l'inferno. (And Italian.)
___________________
Andrew Quarantino Barbano is a 53-year Nevadan and editor of NevadaLabor.com, SenJoeNeal.org, BallotBoxing.US, ConsumerCoalitionv.org, Rentvolution.org, MIssissippiWestNV.org and CesarChavezNevada.com among others. He is a longtime member of the Reno-Sparks NAACP. As always, his comments are entirely his own. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Sparks Tribune since 1988. E-mail <barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us>

I first saw an online post about Kenosha, Wisconsin, shooter Kyle Rittenhouse having moved to these parts. Ho hum, another Internet rumor.

Then last week came a tip from a reader saying someone identifying himself as Rittenhouse has been shopping big ticket items around town.

The teen who shot two men dead during riotous mayhem was acquitted of murder charges. Unlike the three crackers who executed black jogger Ahmed Arbery, gunny Rittenhouse had a defense fund that topped $2 million.

Perhaps he still has some left. Anyone having a Rittenhouse sighting, please contact me.

National news reports say that he has requested return of the 99-percent machine gun he used to kill two men. Not to worry. He can replace his firepower and a whole lot more just about anywhere in Nevada. He's old enough now that he won't even need to illegally employ a straw buyer to pass a background check. Or go to a Nevada gun show to be welcomed as a hero or in Groucho goggles to be anonymous. An eyewitness informed me that the guy saying he's the killer makes it very clear who he is but is trying to start over In Nevada. Red flag.

If it's him, so be it. If not, he won't be the first to skate on someone else's fame in a faraway small town. I've seen a few.

OUTBREAK OF REASON AT RAIL CITY HALL? Who'da thunk it?

I was mildly surprised when Sparks councilcritters recently started a version of a diversity commission (see below) which their predecessors passed on Jan. 22, 2007, then let drift for 15 years. (Former Reno-Sparks NAACP Presidents Lucille Adin and Dolores Feemster attended with me.)

I was shocked when Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson, who represents the city on the Regional Transportation Commission, said "We need to blow the thing up and…build a better system" at last Friday's RTC meeting.

He was talking about our collapsing mass transit system. I could not agree more and I've been beating that drum for 30 years.

Bus system mismanagement has its roots in a three-tiered structure built to bounce blame to somebody else. The five elected commissioners (two each from Reno and Washoe County, one from Sparks) sit atop the pyramid. Below them, a large RTC staff responsible for the bus system and a lot of road stuff.

Tier three is the for-profit foreign contractor hired at an exorbitant fee to mismanage the system. Tier four at the back of the bus are the passengers, drivers and support staff.

“We are subsidizing something that is failing,” Washoe County Commissioner Bob Lucey echoed. “Why are we continuing to chase a broken model?”

I never thought I'd say it, but he reminds me of me. I've been chronicling RTC mass transit abuses since the 1990s, including four strikes and a few close calls.

RTC Executive (?) Director (?) Bill Thomas fell back on the same old excuses. He is not responsible for the cruel winds of fate that have sore abused his psyche while scoring $220,000 a year plus cushy benefits. See NevadaLabor.com for how he spawned a COVID-19 superspreader.

Bob Conrad at ThisIsReno.com reported that "RTC has seen a drop of about 10,000 riders per day since the start of the pandemic."

Actually, it's worse. Ridership nosedived from the first day the current contractor, France-based Keolis Transit, took over on July 1, 2019, fully eight months before the pandemic.

For 30-plus years of chapter and verse about this government boondoggle, see NevadaLabor.com/

OOPS DEPT. Last week, I printed an item about open seats on the newly formed Sparks Police Citizens Advisory Committee. SPD Chief Chris Crawforth has since let me know that I had been misinformed and that there are no slots available.

The first meeting of the Rail City panel is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31 at Sparks City Hall. It will not be livestreamed.

"We are utilizing PD personnel to manage the meeting and it is all new to them. We have it on the radar to implement live stream" on April 4, the chief noted.

COURTHOUSE BEAT. Stormy Daniels and Sarah Palin are both heading for court in the Big Apple. In case you've forgotten, one is a faithless, shameless opportunistic hussy and the other is a porn star. More next week.

SECESSIONIST SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK. Republican operatives in Gomorrah South are threatening an initiative to allow small communities to secede from larger school districts. Civics optional, book burning mandatory.

Before anyone starts singing that siren song, I refer you to my extensive coverage of Lyon County's racist small town Yerington High School. Details at NevadaLabor.com/

NEWS ABOUT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE, as it's known in Reno, or the Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board in Sparks.

"The Mayor’s and Councilmembers’ appointments to the EIAB will be included on an agenda for one of the Council’s regular meetings but the date has not been set," stated Assistant City Manager Alyson McCormick. I have received info on the Sparks applicants and will publish them next week.

Pre-pandemic, Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve tried to start a countywide human rights commission. Washoe County was not interested and told her they'd watch Reno. Sparks simply said "we're broke." So what else is new?

I can't assert cause and effect, but the profile that I and former Reno-Sparks NAACP President Lonnie Feemster raised about the Sparks PD killing of suicidal 18 year-old Miciah Lee may well have played a role in thawing city hall. That, and getting a responsive police chief.

Look out, guys. Some moonhowlers may accuse the all-Republican mayor and council of (gasp!) liberalism.

SPARKS FAMILY UPDATE. The GoFundMe campaign to help local bus operator Michael Lansborough and his family has risen to $2,870 since last week's paper. The announced goal is $4,000 but that remains quite modest when lost work and post-op recovery time are factored in.

My Sparks union brother faces mega-major surgery next week. He is sole support of his wife and son, Logan, who has no lower legs due to a genetic flaw. In his wheelchair, the intrepid 10 year-old supported his dad on Teamsters Union picket lines during last summer's Hot August Strike. (Photos on the front page of NevadaLabor.com/)

Here is the link <https://gofund.me/7eae2ed0> Be generous. If you would like to help by check, make it payable to Michael Lansborough and send to his attention at Teamsters Local 533, 1190 Selmi Drive, Suite 100, Reno NV 89512.

Join me in donating. Please. And tell your friends.

Take care of each other and be careful out there.

¡Sí se puede!

Próspero año y felicidad

Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)
être bien, élever l'enfer (Pardon my French.)
Stammi bene. Scatenare l'inferno. (And Italian.)
___________________
Andrew Quarantino Barbano is a 53-year Nevadan and editor of NevadaLabor.com, SenJoeNeal.org, BallotBoxing.US, ConsumerCoalitionv.org, Rentvolution.org, MIssissippiWestNV.org and CesarChavezNevada.com among others. He is a longtime member of the Reno-Sparks NAACP. As always, his comments are entirely his own. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Sparks Tribune since 1988. E-mail <barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us>

But I will. Democrats made a mistake supporting Joseph Biden over Bernie Sanders.

I forgave Mr. Biden for Clarence Thomas and a host of other sellouts to the corporate good ole boy system and voted for the president anyway —  as did Sen. Sanders.

In recent decades, the bedrock of Democratic strength has always been unions, African Americans and women. Both Barack Obama and now Mr. Biden have failed to move long-sought legislation to level the union election playing field which has resulted in the lowest union numbers among first-world nations.

Organized labor has become co-dependent. We're so used to getting abused by our friends that the only excuse for sticking around is "without us, he wouldn't have anybody like us to beat up."

Is there a Committee to Aid Abused Unions somewhere?

Over MLK weekend, media veritably dripped with bile over Mr. Biden's shilly-shallying, dithering and dilatory dilly-dallying over voting rights while the party of Godhead Trump the Ultimate subverted democracy in dozens of states.

How bad has it gotten? As you have already heard, the conventional wisdom holds that the Trump cult will sweep this fall, re-taking the House and Senate. Combined with their dominance of a royalist supreme court, Biden may as well not show up for work a year from now.

Without naming names, I've heard the same dark warnings from the mouths of professional Donkey Party operatives.

FREE TICKETS ON THE TITANIC. America seems hellbent on suicide both at the ballot box and the bloodstream. I saw a META (aka Facebook) post from a retired union guy who bought into the idea to stop fighting and learn to love the plague. Go get it, get over it and go on with your life as usual.

No photo accompanied the post so I couldn't tell if his head showed evidence of having been buried in the sand or other dark dirty places. The comment was in the right place. "Meta" is Hebrew for "death."

Conspiracy lovers are apparently again pimping the sci-fi fantasy that John F. Kennedy, Jr., will soon return to right the ship of state.

I think some mischievous teenager, perhaps in Russia, came up with that one during a game of how low can you go.

"Hey, Tovarich. I'm go to see just how stupid are American. Let's see if who believe a Kennedy back from grave."

"Give it a try, Ivanov. They already believe that about their Jesus and E.T., the Extra Terrestrial. How about a side bet on how many Google returns we'll get? Czar Vladimir will be so pleased by our work."

So the joke gets quickly transmuted into reality by the Internet gullible.

Alas and alack, thereinbelow lies a gnawing hunger for true inspirational leadership, the kind JFK the Elder embodied. Millions of Americans are so desperate that they have even embraced an anti-JFK who trashed everything Kennedy stood for.

Bernie has been the only unyielding leader who fit the bill in recent years, motivating the young and disgruntled, but the corporate system quashed him.

I will brook no accusation of being personally disgruntled. I have never been gruntled in my life, drunk or sober.

ENGRAVE ON YOUR PSYCHE: "This will always remain one of the best jokes of democracy — that it gave its deadly enemies the means by which it was destroyed." — Hitler propaganda boss Joseph Goebbels.

BACK TO REALITY. At last week's Reno-Sparks NAACP meeting, I was informed that the City of Sparks is forming an Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board. Excellent.

Former President Lucille Adin and I find this welcome news, as the council passed a resolution to form a diversity commission on Jan. 22, 2007, but it never happened. (We were in attendance at Sparks City Hall along with late President Dolores Feemster.)

I was further informed that the application period to apply has closed. As I did with the citizen police advisory committee, I have asked for the names and applications of the candidates and will publish them as before. Watch the Trib or NevadaLabor.com for info about the council appointment timeline.

I also learned that the police committee has had several departures although it has yet to meet due to a long training period.

The first meeting of the Rail City panel is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Monday Jan. 31 at Sparks City Hall. I don't know if it will be livestreamed.

The City of Reno's Human Rights Commission is once again showing signs of life. Perhaps local governments will start talking with each other. That might be pro-gruntling.

Stay tuned.

KEEP IT UP. The GoFundMe campaign to help local bus operator Michael Lansborough and his family has risen to $2,565 since last week's paper. The announced goal is $4,000 but that remains quite modest.
My Sparks union brother faces mega-major surgery soon. He is sole support of his wife and son, Logan, who has no lower legs due to a genetic flaw. In his wheelchair, the intrepid 10 year-old supported his dad on Teamsters Union picket lines during last summer's Hot August Strike. (Photos on the front page of NevadaLabor.com/)

Here is the link <https://gofund.me/7eae2ed0> Be generous. If you would like to help by check, make it payable to Michael Lansborough and send to his attention at Teamsters Local 533, 1190 Selmi Drive, Suite 100, Reno NV 89512.

Join me in donating. Please. And tell your friends.

Take care of each other and be careful out there.

¡Sí se puede!

Próspero año y felicidad

Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)
être bien, élever l'enfer (Pardon my French.)
Stammi bene. Scatenare l'inferno. (And Italian.)
___________________
Andrew Quarantino Barbano is a 53-year Nevadan and editor of NevadaLabor.com, SenJoeNeal.org, BallotBoxing.US, ConsumerCoalitionv.org, Rentvolution.org, MIssissippiWestNV.org and CesarChavezNevada.com among others. He is a longtime member of the Reno-Sparks NAACP. As always, his comments are entirely his own. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Sparks Tribune since 1988. E-mail <barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us>

"This will always remain one of the best jokes of democracy — that it gave its deadly enemies the means by which it was destroyed." — Hitler propaganda boss Joseph Goebbels

Greatest Hits Dept. WE WON: BIG NEWS FROM THE NEVADA PRESS ASSOCIATION CONFAB IN GOMORRAH SOUTH —> BARBWIRE NOMINEE GUY RICHARDSON INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME ON FIRST BALLOT Barbwire nominee Dennis Myers elected to NPA Hall of Fame Support Don Dondero and Jake Highton next. Send endorsements Eee-yo-leven! Barbwire wins 11th Nevada Press Association award GOLD 2017-18 2018 First-Place Winners From the depths of despair to the den of iniquity & holy of holies "Excellent work. These are some of the most moving columns I've read." — NPA contest judge/9-29-2018 The Grasshopper and the Dragonfly 9-6-2017 Kicked off the Ledge 4-18-2017 NATIONAL NEWS FIRST-BREAK Back to the Future in Mississippi West Nevada 10-18-2017 Gold 2017 Don't ask Renown Med for marijuana to help your chemo 10-4-2016 We Don't Need No Education Toxic turf threat ignored 12-13-2016 Kate Smith & Lady Gaga 2-14-2017 Bronze 6-pack In the Uber-Nevada legislature, words can kill 4-28-2015 On artificial turf, don't breathe unless absolutely necessary (above) 11-24-2015 Leading questions, lead-headed leaders 1-19-2016 Hopelessly trying to win an earthquake 4-18-2013 2013 Loony Tunes Legislative Lexicon 5-30-2013 The politics of media ga-ga boosterism 3-20-2014 More statewide and national award winners We Don't Need No Education—> Neverending Barbwire Series 1997 Pulitzer Prize entries Barbwire.TV: 15-year overnight success Daily Sparks Tribune 2-10-2008 The Barbwire's Greatest Hits BEATING LUSH RAMBO AT HIS OWN GAME: Highlights from radio days mp3 file 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 Tomorrow's news today —> Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential TOP SECRET— HushHush!

Herr Goebbels would recognize Trump's Start the Steal, Part Deux.

As I mentioned last week, Barbwire predixions often come true, too often to my regret.

On Feb. 16, 2016, with 17 candidates in the Republican presidential primary, I moved a piece entitled "History foreshadows a GOP November win." Lots of my friends didn't like my projection based on well-founded historical research by minds far greater than mine.

Later, I published this quote from an LA Times cartoon by David Horsey: "As democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete moron." — H.L. Mencken, Baltimore Evening Sun, 7-26-1920.

Republican Warren G. Harding won that November, creating the most corrupt presidency until that of Czar Donaldov. Had he not died of a heart attack, Harding would have become the first president impeached, convicted and removed due to the infamous Teapot Dome oilfield leasing scandal.

On the good side, back in February 2006, I also noted that the cycles of history forecast a Democratic win in 2020. Which also came to pass for all Americans, including the burgeoning Trump Evangelical Church of God in Donald.

This week, a longtime Barbwire reader forwarded this: "If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence,” that war would not be waged between regional factions, but “between patriotism and intelligence on one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.”  (Snopes.com)

That purportedly came from our 18th President (1869-1877), Hiram Ulysses (aka Ulysses Simpson aka US) Grant. Is it correct?

Jawohl. Snopes.com fact checkers verified it from a Grant speech at Des Moines, Iowa, on Sept. 29, 1875. (Link with this column's expanded web edition at NevadaLabor.com/)

SIDNEY POITIER RISKED HIS LIFE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS. On August 4, 2020, Jerry Mitchell of the Center for Investigative Reporting wrote "On this day in 1964, the same day the FBI found the bodies of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andy Goodman and Mickey Schwerner, singer Harry Belafonte heard that the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee needed at least $50,000 to survive. His friend and fellow activist Sidney Poitier delivered $70,000 raised in the Mississippi Delta. When they landed at the Greenwood airport after dark, a pickup filled with white men pursued and rammed them. The two performers made it to their destination, delivering the money to keep Freedom Summer going.

" 'We knew if we never did another thing together,' Belafonte recalled, 'this was to be forever cherished.' "

The Dallas Morning News picked up the Poitier/Belafonte story so it appears credible and has been lighting up anti-social media. Speaking of which...

TAKE MY WIFE, PLEASE! Meta (as in "I never META white person I didn't like"), fka  Facebook, is rife with stories that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, Ginni, posted a Tweet endorsing the treasonous Jan. 6, 2021 attempt to crown Trump king.

"God bless each of you!" she effused. Snopes.com verified the story. See NevadaLabor.com/

I regret that I must remind readers that Justice Thomas is black, his wife is white.

Given his record and her support of the murderous MAGA rioters, I am on firm ground when I say they are a match made in heaven: both white supremacists.

(Columniator's note: "meta" in Hebrew means "death.")

MORE UNENLIGHTENED MAGAMANIACS. In last week's Nevada Republican gubernatorial candidate debate, one guy actually said that government should task law enforcement to tax homeless panhandlers.

Others typified Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau's definition of the oxymoronic GOP PR spin "compassionate conservatism."

"Compassionate" means "we care," where "conservatism" means "you're on your own."

Wacko former Democrat John Lee actually said something borderline sensible. The North Las Vegas Mayor trashed homeless people, then advocated for increased mental health care. By doing so, he agreed with the GOP's boogeyman, Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, who recently lamented how mental health care in Nevada has been underfunded "for decades."

As someone who's been in that fight since the 1970s, both are correct. But just words.

CRACKERJACK: GEORGIA 33, 'BAMA 18. A Blue State collegiate football champion at last.

GHOST OF GUINIERE. Last week came news of the death at 71 of Harvard law professor Lani Guiniere. Bill and Hillary threw her under the boss when GOP moonhowlers trashed and smeared her as a "quota queen" when Friendly President Clinton nominated her to become chief deputy attorney general for civil rights in 1993.

She had proposed ideas to make voting more fair, like open primaries and ranked-choice voting. The latter idea just won a round in Carson District Court, opposed by (drum roll, please...) Democratic Party interests.

Can't blame them too much. Our last two legislatures have been historic in American history: Majority female. We're on a good trajectory despite ourselves.

The state teachers' union is also in court opposing its own initiative petitions to raise mining and major casino taxes. (They called the petitions legislative bargaining chips.)

To rewrite a cliché, if Lani Guiniere and State Sen. Joe Neal, D-N. Las Vegas, were alive, they'd be turning over in their graves.

THANKS FOR THE HELP. The GoFundMe campaign campaign to help local bus operator Michael Lansborough and his family has gone from $1,400 to $2,225 since last week's paper. The announced goal is $4,000 but that's quite modest.

My Sparks union brother faces mega-major surgery in a couple of weeks. He is sole support of his wife and son, Logan, who has no lower legs due to a genetic flaw. The stalwart 10 year-old was ubiquitous in his wheelchair supporting his father on Teamsters Union picket lines during last summer's Hot August Strike. (Photos on the front page of NevadaLabor.com/)

Here is the link <https://gofund.me/7eae2ed0> Be generous. If you would like to help by check, make it payable to Michael Lansborough and send to his attention at Teamsters Local 533, 1190 Selmi Drive, Suite 100, Reno NV 89512.

Join me in donating. Please.

Take care of each other and be careful out there.

¡Sí se puede

Próspero año y felicidad

Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)
être bien, élever l'enfer (Pardon my French.)
Stammi bene. Scatenare l'inferno. (And Italian.)
___________________
Andrew Quarantino Barbano is a 53-year Nevadan and editor of NevadaLabor.com, SenJoeNeal.org, BallotBoxing.US, ConsumerCoalitionv.org, Rentvolution.org, MIssissippiWestNV.org and CesarChavezNevada.com among others. He is a longtime member of the Reno-Sparks NAACP. As always, his comments are entirely his own. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Sparks Tribune since 1988. E-mail <barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us>

Barbwire predixions usually come true. I herewith predict that you will be hearing more and more about the following for many, many years to come. Read on.

SUE THE BASTARDS. Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County bus system has scheduled major cutbacks starting January 8, blaming driver and passenger shortages.

Orwellianly, they call it "planning to rebuild." I guess it ain't planning if it don't hurt the peons.

The RTC passenger count dropped thru the floor the day Keolis-19 took over in July 2019, fully eight months before the plague hit. (Official smoking gun stats at NevadaLabor.com/)

They proceeded to intentionally run a virus Superspreader, refusing to enforce mask mandates. I can't blame passengers and workers for not wanting to patronize an overtly unsafe system. Dozens of drivers and even some support staff were infected and hospitalized, at least two admitted to intensive care. Only heaven knows how many passengers fell.

RTC Executive Director Bill Thomas unilaterally and secretly waived all performance penalties in March, 2020, so France-based for-profit contractor Keolis-19 screwed up with impunity, drivers and passengers be damned.

The five RTC Commissioners (Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson, Washoe County Commissioners Vaughn Hartung and Bob Lucey, Reno Councilcritters Neoma Jardon and Oscar Delgado) turned their backs and walked away. [RTC Commissioners contact info]

Ironically, one of the affected bus routes serves the front door of the Community Health Alliance on Wells Ave., Delgado's day job in the heart of the Latino community.

Another eroded route serves the 9th Street/Silverada area.

I've heard from top gun lawyers about this. The RTCRide bus system not only gets local sales tax money but also millions in federal funds.

If RTC has not performed a study on how these cuts will affect minority and economically stressed communities, well, that makes work for top gun lawyers, several of whom I've heard from about this.

If RTC can't be transparent, the Barbwire always operates that way. So before I ask the bureaucracy, I'm asking RTC here in the Tribune: Show me a detailed pre-January 8 analysis on how these cuts affect the least among us. Or you can get the request via subpoena.

The mass transit system serves the weak — the poor, the sick, the very young and very old, the homeless and the disabled, speaking of which...

HELP DAD AND THE KID. Logan Lansborough was the poster child of the Hat Trick Strikes, all three won to national acclaim against Keolis-19 last year by Teamsters Local 533.

Logan is 10 and picketed the mass transit system from his wheelchair last summer.

"He couldn't wait to get back on the line even in the heat," his father Michael, a union coach operator and Sparks resident told me. (Photos at NevadaLabor.com/)

 "My son was born with congenital absence of the tibia. At 17 months, Logan had an operation to amputate his legs," dad Michael said. "When Keolis first took over the (bus system management) contract, I was trying to get Logan some new prosthetic legs when the company making the legs informed me that the insurance company informed them that I had been terminated while Keolis continued to collect my premiums. I had never missed work other than doctors appointments."

Alas, Michael Lansborough had little time to savor his union's victory. He's now on the beach and facing major surgery.

"One of my shop stewards has a serious medical condition and will be missing quite a bit of time from work," fellow bus driver Mike Humes informed me.

"Michael Lansborough is the sole provider for his family. Some of my (union) sisters have started a GoFundMe page to help him and his family during this difficult time. Please share this so we can help our brother out," Brother Humes added.

Here is the link <https://gofund.me/7eae2ed0> Be generous.

If you would like to help by check, make it payable to Michael Lansborough and send to his attention at Teamsters Local 533, 1190 Selmi Drive, Suite 100, Reno NV 89512.

Join me in donating. Please.

JOIN NATIONWIDE GATHERINGS, TOO. At noon this Thursday, Jan. 6, a day which shall live in infamy, local groups will gather at the Believe Plaza in front of Reno City Hall downtown to mark the anniversary of the murderous and treasonous attempt by the Trump cult to overthrow the legitimately elected government of the United States.

"Masked attendees will bring signs and will be invited to sign jumbo-sized petitions to Nevada’s senators, urging them to pass four urgent democracy reform bills," stated organizers Kim Carden <klcarden@gmail.com> (775) 376-1267 and Carla Fells <cfells@charter.net> (775) 240-0888.

Speaking of treason...

PUT HOOVER IN THE DUMPER. You heard it first on the Barbwire. It's well-documented that FBI infighting stopped the feds from forwarding info about the 9/11 hijackers to the FBI New York City Bureau, so the World Trade Center fell. (See the PBS Frontline documentary "The Man Who Knew.")

Now comes an extensive Washington Post investigation that the FBI ignored red flags all across the nation about January 6. Why? J. Edgar Hoover's outfit is still flamingly racist.

They just could not believe that white guys would do such a thing. Had it been Black Lives Matter, there would have been tanks on the Capitol steps.

J. Edgar was every bit the megalomaniacal psycho that treasonous godhead Czar Donaldov is today.

So take Hoover's name off FBI HQ in DC and rename it for the woman who originated codebreaking, Elizebeth Smith Friedman (1892-1980). Her work saved countless lives from German U-Boats in both world wars. In the interim, she busted Al Capone's maritime bootlegging operation.

Her story was marked top secret for 62 years and she took her achievements to her grave.

Adding insult to injury, J. Edgar plagiarized her work under his name and took credit for all of it. His media hot-dogging destroyed our insights into Hitler's communications.

Mrs. Friedman rebuilt her network in time to warn the captain of the Queen Mary that U-Boats had his location. She saved the lives of 8,000 U.S. soldiers on just that occasion. (See the 2021 PBS American Experience documentary "The Codebreaker" based on the 2017 book "The Woman Who Smashed Codes" by Jason Fagone.)

Spread the word. J. Edgar Hoover belongs in the dustbin of history along with Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and John C. Calhoun.

Take care of each other and be careful out there.

¡Sí se puede!

Próspero año y felicidad

Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)
être bien, élever l'enfer (Pardon my French.)
Stammi bene. Scatenare l'inferno. (And Italian.)
___________________
Andrew Quarantino Barbano is a 53-year Nevadan and editor of NevadaLabor.com, SenJoeNeal.org, BallotBoxing.US, ConsumerCoalitionv.org, Rentvolution.org, MIssissippiWestNV.org and CesarChavezNevada.com among others. He is a longtime member of the Reno-Sparks NAACP. As always, his comments are entirely his own. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Sparks Tribune since 1988. E-mail <barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us>

Greatest Hits Dept. WE WON: BIG NEWS FROM THE NEVADA PRESS ASSOCIATION CONFAB IN GOMORRAH SOUTH —> BARBWIRE NOMINEE GUY RICHARDSON INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME ON FIRST BALLOT Barbwire nominee Dennis Myers elected to NPA Hall of Fame Support Don Dondero and Jake Highton next. Send endorsements Eee-yo-leven! Barbwire wins 11th Nevada Press Association award GOLD 2017-18 2018 First-Place Winners From the depths of despair to the den of iniquity & holy of holies "Excellent work. These are some of the most moving columns I've read." — NPA contest judge/9-29-2018 The Grasshopper and the Dragonfly 9-6-2017 Kicked off the Ledge 4-18-2017 NATIONAL NEWS FIRST-BREAK Back to the Future in Mississippi West Nevada 10-18-2017 Gold 2017 Don't ask Renown Med for marijuana to help your chemo 10-4-2016 We Don't Need No Education Toxic turf threat ignored 12-13-2016 Kate Smith & Lady Gaga 2-14-2017 Bronze 6-pack In the Uber-Nevada legislature, words can kill 4-28-2015 On artificial turf, don't breathe unless absolutely necessary (above) 11-24-2015 Leading questions, lead-headed leaders 1-19-2016 Hopelessly trying to win an earthquake 4-18-2013 2013 Loony Tunes Legislative Lexicon 5-30-2013 The politics of media ga-ga boosterism 3-20-2014 More statewide and national award winners We Don't Need No Education—> Neverending Barbwire Series 1997 Pulitzer Prize entries Barbwire.TV: 15-year overnight success Daily Sparks Tribune 2-10-2008 The Barbwire's Greatest Hits BEATING LUSH RAMBO AT HIS OWN GAME: Highlights from radio days mp3 file 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 Tomorrow's news today —> Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential TOP SECRET— HushHush!

TRUE OR FALSE:
1. Jesus of Nazareth had blue eyes and blonde hair.
2. Buddha is a Christian saint.
3. Christianity existed more than 600 years before Jesus.

If you missed all three, you really need to read on.

Back in Fresno about 60 years ago, my very Catholic mother had a conversation with one of the regular customers of Mary's Regal Drive-In Cafe & Diner.

"You're Catholic, Mary, right?" asked Mr. Rappin, an insurance agent. "That's your religion. I'm Jewish and I respect it," he added.

"Religions all lead to the same place," ventured my mom many decades ago.

Subsequent scholarship has shown that dear Mrs. Barbano could not have been more correct.

The case for the unity of the world's major religions was made convincingly in former nun Karen Armstrong's tour-de-force of what she termed "spiritual archaeology." Her 500-page masterwork "The Great Transformation — The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions" (Knopf, 2006) chronicled the concurrent confluence of our four major belief systems.

"In this killer piece of exegesis," I wrote in the 12-10-2006 Barbwire, "the British authoress traces the roots of all the world's great religious philosophies which began to evolve about 3,000 years ago in four countries, China, Greece, India and Israel. Guess what? They all pretty much arrived at one guiding principal: take care of each other, aka the Golden Rule.

"Alas and alack, several thousand years of greed, egos and marketing have perverted them all. In order to sell something, you have to standardize and mass produce the product, in this case fear.

"The apocryphal Gospel of St. Thomas was excised from the New Testament for saying that you don't need a preacher to find God: The kingdom of God is within you, according to several great prophets, some of whom were executed for their trouble.

"The epistle of the Apostle James the Less was nuked from the King James Protestant Bible because St. James said that 'faith without works is nothing,' the wrong message for somebody selling faith-based salvation that lets Sunday true believers into the magic kingdom no matter what they've done Monday through Saturday.

"Take care of each other. Regardless of how often that simple message gets sent to us, in every medium imaginable, it gets ignored by those with the most capacity to help.

"Somehow, attaining political power makes most leaders deaf to the principles they espoused which rallied the support to get to the top.

"No matter whether stated by George Carlin, Jesus of Nazareth, Mohammed or Larry Gelbart and George Burns in the greatest movie ever made (Director Carl Reiner's Oscar-nominated 'Oh, God!', 1977), we're still killing each other in the name of some twisted version of The Almighty...."

The great director Frank Capra ("It's a Wonderful Life") once advised that "before you can preach, you must entertain." Writer Gelbart and legendary comic actor Burns taught great moral lessons with laughter in that film.

"...All we the weak can do is whatever we can in our little piece of the world to live up to the great admonition even if our betters will not," I wrote in 2006.

Discrimination and bigotry based on somebody's version of The Creator relentlessly plague the world.

The Chinese government's Mao & Xi Cult enslaves, abuses and exploits its largely Muslim Uighur minority. The military dictatorship of majority Buddhist Myanmar (Burma) has done the same to its stateless Rohingya Islamics.

The Jews of Palestine lived in harmony with their Moslem neighbors for millennia until western military powers needed to assuage their guilt for doing nothing about Hitler's Holocaust.

Myanmar and Israel/Gaza/West Bank/East Jerusalem now live in a chronic state of civil war as do so many other regions which incidentally prove very profitable for the world's arms makers.

The Hindu government of India, the world's largest "democracy," has institutionalized and authorized persecution of Christians and Moslems.

Here in the land of liberty and justice for some, synagogues get torched and black and brown people get lynched, although hung with other creative descriptives.

It's not really religious persecution. That's just the vehicle, the justification for such bloody tribalism. It's all really about this monster mannunkind's (props to e.e. cummings) basest motivations: power, greed, wealth and love of more stuff (props to George Carlin).

Which is why you need to get the January edition of Harper's Magazine.

In his commentary "Dangling Man," British novelist and author Hari Kunzru traces the curious and convoluted journey of Christian St. Josaphat, better known these days as Buddha.

Buddha?!

Jawohl.

This recovering Catholic altar boy has become sort of a Buddhist late in life. I consider myself quite religious and spiritual, though I identify with no organized denomination.

My Catholic schooling through high school, replete with Christian Brothers who pointed out the absurdities in the dogma, taught me the chinks in the armor. You can't get to heaven on your Mastercard (props to Betty J. Barbano), an example of which was published in newspapers nationwide last week.

The Hobby Lobby chain, which discriminates against employees who don't cotton to ownership's dogma, published full page ads mostly comprised of an illustration which shows St. Joseph at his carpentry bench with blonde-haired toddler Jesus playing at his feet.

You would need a magnifying glass to read Hobby Lobby's name at bottom. (Are they ashamed to be associated with the fair-haired redeemer and his sandy-haired dad? Probably not, but why alienate non-Christian customers who may not know how you abuse your workers? Without the sponsor identification, the ad would probably have run [newspapers are quite hungry these days], perhaps under a front name, but the cost may not have been tax-deductible. Separation of church and state is a nice concept, but hey — business is business.)

Alas and alack, man will accept no god who is not made unto man's image and likeness. How many times have you heard that God is pure spirit? So why the depiction of a hairy old man with a beard who looks like Charlton Heston? Same reason as the Hobby Lobby ad. He looked like the targeted customer base.

Karen Armstrong's book tells the tale of the Axial Age, starting around 900 BC "in which the foundations were laid for Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as the later faiths of Christianity and Islam," noted Baltimore Evening Sun reviewer Charles Matthews.

Once upon that time, the warring dukedoms of ancient China actually practiced make-believe war, where fully armed forces charged each other, stopped, sat down and partied. The Axial Age was a magical era when peace broke out in many places. Alas and alack, it was eventually burned to the ground by greedy egos.

"The Axial sages put the abandonment of selfishness and the spirituality of compassion at the top of their agendas," Armstrong noted.

"For them, religion was the Golden Rule. They concentrated on what people were supposed to transcend from — their greed, egotism, hatred and violence."

Which is why Armstrong called that time "The Great Transformation."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu died on Sunday at 90. There can be no greater tribute than if each of us goes forward doing to others, especially the least of our brethren, as we would have them do unto us.

Can a great transformation come again? The answer lies within all of us. St. James and Ms. Armstrong might agree.

Happy High Holly Days to you and yours.

Take care of each other and be careful out there.

¡Sí se puede!

Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)
être bien, élever l'enfer (Pardon my French.)
Stammi bene. Scatenare l'inferno. (And Italian.)

___________________
Andrew Quarantino Barbano is a 53-year Nevadan and editor of NevadaLabor.com, SenJoeNeal.org, BallotBoxing.US, ConsumerCoalitionv.org, Rentvolution.org, MIssissippiWestNV.org and CesarChavezNevada.com among others. He is a longtime member of the Reno-Sparks NAACP and Sparks Communications Workers Local 9413/AFL-CIO. As always, his comments are entirely his own. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Sparks Tribune since 1988. E-mail <barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us> Column title by José Feliciano.

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

 

Death Panels for Christmas
Barbwire by Andrew Quarantino Barbáno / Expanded from the Sparks Tribune 12-22-2021 / Expansions in blue