Annie Black

(Annie Black) – Well, it’s all over but the counting.  And we still don’t know who won and who lost in a number of close races – some of which won’t be known until the counting stops next Thursday.

Unfortunately, some folks in Mesquite’s city government missed the memo.

City Manager Aaron Baker has been demanding since Wednesday that I resign my city council seat immediately even while ballots are still coming in and being counted thanks to “emergency” election changes (AB4) made by back in August.

In fact, they’ve already shut down my official city council email address.  They’re also trying to force people I’ve appointed to various boards and committees to resign.

This is dead wrong.  Why should I resign my city council seat BEFORE the election is over?

The argument being put forward by Mr. Baker and others is that I won my seat for the Nevada State Assembly on Tuesday – even though they’re still counting ballots – and can’t hold both that seat and my city council seat at the same time.

Yes, once all the ballots are counted, I’m going to win.  I ran unopposed in the general election.

But that’s not the point. There are pragmatic considerations involved here that could come into play in future elections.  Consider the following…

Let’s say I DID have a general election opponent.  And let’s say when the initial vote count came out, I was ahead by 50 votes – with hundreds or thousands of votes not yet counted.

Would they expect me to immediately resign my city council seat even though there was a chance that the uncounted ballots could flip the election to my opponent?

And that’s not just theoretical.  Consider the current race for Nevada State Senate District 6.

On Wednesday, after initial results were counted, Republican April Becker was leading Democrat Nicole Cannizzaro by 553 votes.

Well, according to the logic of Mr. Baker, if Ms. Becker was a member of her local city council, she should have immediately resigned her council seat.

But as of this morning, the updated results show Ms. Cannizzaro is now up by 231 votes.  If that holds up – and I sure hope it doesn’t! – it would mean Ms. Becker resigned her council seat even though she didn’t win her legislative race.

So, no.  As a matter of principle, I will not resign my Mesquite City Council seat until after they are finished counting ALL the ballots next Friday.

And short of a court order, I intend to participate and do my job at next Tuesday’s council meeting.  My constituents deserve to be represented…and they will be.

I simply won’t be pressured, strong-armed or bullied into doing the wrong thing just because some upset people at City Hall are overly anxious to get rid of me ASAP.

That said, since you can’t reach me using my official city council email address any longer, if you need to get in touch, please send an email to annie@electannieblack.com or call me on my cell phone at (702) 872-2222.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“If we are going to continue to be America, every legal vote must be counted and certified, illegal votes must be tossed out.” – Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich

Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Assemblywoman-elect for Nevada State Assembly District 19.  You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com 

(Annie Black) – Over the summer the Nevada Legislature convened in special session to fill a $1.2 billion hole created by the #SisolakShutdown in the current budget cycle.  They did it primarily by draining the state’s rainy-day fund and implementing various smoke-and-mirror budget gimmicks.

That effort is going to seem like a walk in the park compared to what the Legislature will have to do when it meets in regular session next February to stop the ongoing bleeding.  Either major spending cuts or major tax hikes or a combination of both are the only options.

I’ve already taken tax hikes off the table by signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge promising to “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.”  Which led a Democrat lobbyist to ask recently what I would cut instead.

While a legitimate question, it’s also a bit unfair.  Here’s why…

In Nevada, the governor proposes a budget and the Legislature then tinkers with it around the edges.  In crafting his budget, the governor enjoys a army of taxpayer-funded budget analysts and staff working over a period of many months.

Legislators, on the other hand, are part-time citizens, not professional lawmakers with a full-time staff to review and analyze government spending.  If they did, the “What would you cut?” question would be fairer.

Give me several months, a staff of budget cutters and a case of red pens and Nevadans would be looking at tax CUTS right now instead of tax hikes.  And the process is actually pretty simple.

All we need to do is invoke the “Sisolak Rule.”

When Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak shut our state down last March, he arbitrarily separated Nevada’s businesses and jobs into two categories: essential and non-essential.

Then he unilaterally shut down every business he considered non-essential, which resulted in laying off hundreds of thousands of what he considered to be “non-essential” workers.

What he DIDN’T do was cut non-essential government programs, agencies and departments or lay off non-essential government workers.  And by refusing to inflict on the government the same agonizing pain he’s inflicted on the rest of us, the ongoing situation is far worse than it should be.

Make no mistake.  The severity of the impending budget crisis is due solely to Gov. Sisolak’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.  But the problem of politicians addicted to spending other people’s money – from both parties – has been around forever.

In fact, Nevada governors and the Legislature have jacked up government spending by about $1 billion in each of the last three sessions before the COVID-19 hit us.  Now it’s time to identify non-essential spending worthy of the budget ax.

But it’s hard to find something you’re not looking for. 

That’s where my proposed CONES Act (Cut Out Non-Essential Spending) comes into play.  And it’s not a new concept.

In 2008, then-Gov. Jim Gibbons established the privately-funded SAGE Commission to study ways to make government more efficient and less costly.  A noble first-step effort, but reminds me of something Barry Goldwater wrote…

“I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size.”

In any event, after 18 months of study the SAGE Commission made 44 recommendations that “could save the state hundreds of millions of dollars in the short run and billions over the next decade and have the potential to add tens of millions of dollars to state revenues without increasing taxes.”

Unfortunately, the Legislature refused to adopt and implement most of the recommendations and the SAGE Report is now, sadly, gathering dust on bookshelves.

Fortunately, however, there’s an even better structural reform that could take the one-time SAGE Commission effort and put some teeth in it.

Back in 2010, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, wrote about the Joint Committee on Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures – better known as the Byrd Committee – which was established in 1941 at the start of World War II.

Named after Sen. Harry F. Byrd (D-VA), the committee’s “sole mission was to identify nonessential federal expenditures and recommend their elimination or reduction” so as to “pay for the war effort not by raising taxes but by reducing non-defense government spending.”

The ANTI-Appropriations Committee

The key to this anti-appropriations committee’s success was that it was ongoing (until 1974) and had a full staff with “subpoena power to compel bureaucrats to testify and open up their books.”

During the war years, Mr. Norquist notes, the Byrd Committee spent just under $46,000 while making recommendations that resulted in direct and indirect savings of over $3 billion (in 1945 dollars).  So the cost of establishing and operating the committee cost “less than $20 for every million dollars saved.”

That’s a darned impressive return on investment for taxpayers.  And it happened while the president was a Democrat and Democrats controlled Congress!

In the 2021 session, the Nevada Legislature should combine both the SAGE Commission and the Byrd Committee models and create a permanent legislative CONES Committee devoted solely to following the “Sisolak Rule” and proposing bills to cut non-essential state government spending.

Here’s just one example I wrote about back in July…

“Which brings me to Nicole Kiley.

“According to a recent article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Ms. Kiley is a full-time, taxpayer-funded ‘dietitian’ at UNLV who provides ‘nuanced detailed guidelines tailored to the needs of the 500-plus student-athletes at the university.’

“Among the services she provides is ‘virtually sifting through their refrigerators as a means to provide the best advice possible.’

“Sorry, Charlie.  That’s just not ‘essential’ at any time, let alone in the current budget environment.  Any student-athlete interested in learning more about good nutrition can simply Google it or check with their doctor like the rest of us.”

Sure, Ms. Kiley’s salary may seem like chump change when you compare it to the entirety of the state budget.  But as they say, a dollar here and a dollar there and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.

To get out of the budget hole Gov. Sisolak has dug for us, we don’t need to raise taxes.  Or even do more with less.  We simply need to do less with less by eliminating non-essential spending.  Not just during the current COVID budget crisis, but for generations to come.

All in favor say “aye.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size.  Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!” – President Ronald Reagan

Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Assemblywoman-elect for Nevada State Assembly District 19.  You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com 

(Annie Black) – During my primary back in June, Mesquite City Council candidate Karen Fielding falsely accused me on Facebook of “leading” a Black Lives Matter protest in our community.

Jokingly, I replied…

“Apparently, Karen thinks ‘Black Lives Matter’ means me, Annie Black!”

But such irresponsible and unsubstantiated accusations, leveled on social media or elsewhere, are not a joke.  And being falsely accused is not fun – even though I accept that politics is sometimes conducted as warfare without the bloodshed.

Well, here we go again.

An anonymous letter, headlined “Bob ‘Above the Law’ Sweetin,” arrived in Mesquite mailboxes this week.  Mr. Sweetin is the current city attorney who is also running for mayor.

Among other things, the letter criticizes Mr. Sweetin for…

• Hiding the fact that he “clerked for Harry Reid in 2011” when Mr. Reid was the U.S. Senate Majority Leader.
• Allegedly being stopped “29 times since 2015” for various traffic violations, including speeding and talking on his cell phone while driving.
• Misrepresenting the pay a Mesquite police officer has received for work performed during the COVID-19 crisis.
• Failing to disclose how over $200,000 for “Professional and Technical Services” was spent by his office and to whom.

The mailer also includes photographs of Mr. Sweetin participating in, and “taking a knee” at, a Black Lives Matter protest in Mesquite a couple months ago.

I won’t comment on the claims in the letter.  However, in response to it Cristie Wursten, wife of Mesquite City Councilman Brian Wursten, posted the following on Facebook…

“Clearly it was drafted by MPOA and mailed out possibly, by AnniePAC?”

First, AnniePAC is my political action committee.  And I deny, categorically, that I had anything to do with this mailer.

Frankly, it’s not my style.  I don’t criticize or attack anonymously.  If I’m going to stab you politically, it’ll be in the heart, not the back.

Secondly, Lawrence Stewart, president of the MPOA (Mesquite Police Officers Association), issued a written statement in response to the mailer which clearly and unambiguously declared…

“THIS ANONYMOUS LETTER WAS NOT SENT OR AUTHORIZED BY THE MPOA OR ANY OF ITS MEMBERS.”

So clearly, Mrs. Wursten’s accusations and suppositions are just plain false.

And to pose her accusation about my “possible” involvement as a question – so as to give her “plausible deniability” – was both cowardly and intentionally dishonest.  It’d be like me posting on Facebook…

“Clearly Mayor Litman contracted COVID from a family member of someone on the city council, possibly Cristie Wursten?”

How do you think that would play in the Wursten household?  Not so fun when the shoe is on the other foot, is it?

We now return you to our regular programming…

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Poll: Voter support for Sisolak’s coronavirus response tumbles.” – Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/14/20

Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Assemblywoman-elect for Nevada State Assembly District 19.  You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com 

(Annie Black) – I.  LOVE.  RACING.

I’ve been going out to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) for the annual NASCAR race for years.  It’s a blast!

My family and friends usually rent spots on the infield and make a whole weekend party out of it.  Always a great time.  Everybody loves it.

See if you can find me in the photo above.  (No, I’m not the one pulling my t-shirt up!)

The Southpoint 400 NASCAR playoff race is scheduled for next Sunday.  But we won’t be there.  Can’t.  By imperial order of Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.

And like most of the governor’s other “emergency” orders, this one makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

According to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Saturday (“No Fans Allowed for Vegas Race”), the speedway went well BEYOND what should have been necessary to safely allow fans in the stands.

LVMS wanted to allow up to 8,000 spectators – which would be about 10% of capacity – well under the 50% capacity allowed for casinos, restaurants, etc.

“We would not space people 6 feet apart,” explained LVMS president Chris Powell.  “We would space groups 20 feet apart.”

Mr. Powell also noted that in Bristol, Tennessee on Saturday night, some 25,000 spectators were allowed to watch the race in person.

“In Texas, they’ve had fans,” he added.  “In Daytona, they had fans.  So many other speedways.”

Powell also advised that a detailed health and safety plan was submitted to the state four weeks ago.  The governor’s response this past Friday:

Pound sand.

Mr. Powell responded…

“I am as disappointed in our governor as I could possibly be.  We have worked behind the scenes through every channel we know.  I’ve spoken to the governor. 

“Two Wednesdays ago I expressed to him how important this was to me and the speedway.  He promised he would get back to me within 48 hours.  He has yet to call me back.”

Mr. Powell also noted that it’s not just the fans who are being made to suffer, but the thousands of people who usually pick up some extra money working the event…

“Yeah, they might be part-time jobs for most people, but these are jobs people depend on.  To have to tell these people that we’re not hiring you because we’re not having any race fans at the event … the frustration level is off the charts.”

“We have taken every step imaginable to take into account race fans’ desire to see a race and see it in a safe environment.  Here we are a destination city and we have a government that is slapping tourists in the face.”

If it’s “safe” to cram people together walking along the Strip and inside casinos, it’s certainly safe – SAFER! – to allow 8,000 people to sit in the speedway’s stands that hold 80,000.

This is just another nonsensical, arbitrary, unilateral, conflicting and discriminatory decision by Gov. Sisolak – who loves to wield the “picking winners and losers” power he’s bestowed upon himself.  As Vice President Mike Pence said…

“Their agenda is based on government control. Our agenda is based on freedom.”

NASCAR fans overwhelmingly support President Trump.  And you won’t see anybody kneeling during the National Anthem (they’d get an old-fashioned whoopin’!).

Gov. Sisolak despises anything and anyone who supports our president.  So the decision to ban fans at LVMS next Sunday obviously is, as usual, purely political.

I think I know where the president should hold his next Vegas campaign rally/peaceful protest!

From the AnnieGram Mailbag

“Definitely like your attitude and your statements. So, damn few politicians keep their promises once elected. I am half-tempted to move to Mesquite just so I can say I have an assemblywoman that does what she says she is going to do.” – Dave Austin

Annie responds:

“Thanks, Dave.  Just know I intend to be THE conservative representative for ALL Nevadans.  You don’t have to live in Mesquite to share thoughts, express frustrations or ask for help.  I’m here for you!”

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Biden, to me, is like taking a flashlight with a dying battery and going for a long walk in the woods.” – Joe Rogan

Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Assemblywoman-elect for Nevada State Assembly District 19.  You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com 

(Annie Black) – Cowboy up! *

According to Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John Katsilometes, on August 29^th Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s OSHA ordered the Saddle N Spurs Saloon – a “down-home, Western-style roadhouse” in Las Vegas – to “pull the music or shut down the business entirely.”

The very next night, the governor was caught on video having an intimate dinner with his wife and guests at a Las Vegas Italian restaurant in which a live band was performing without masks.

Just another example of Gov. Sisolak’s do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do two-facedness.

Well, the saloon’s owner, Bobby Kingston, is fighting back.  Live entertainment has returned to Saddle N Spurs (unless the governor shuts him down again).  KATS! has the details…

“Once more, Kingston is presenting musicians onstage nightly. None are considered ‘headliners,’ in his (or anyone’s) estimation. He’s not paying for any promotion or advertising. There is no cover charge or ticket price required. The format is ‘ambient music,’ as is required by the governor.

“Kingston’s mirth-some method of promotion is to post on social media: ‘SNS SALOON HAS UNADVERTISED AMBIENT LIVE MUSIC WITHOUT HEADLINERS WHILE YOU EAT’ and a list of what’s planned each night. ‘MON – ROCK DUO 6-9 P.M. TUE – COUNTRY DUO 6-10 P.M.’ and so on.”

Understandably, most business owners are afraid to challenge the governor’s contradictory and discriminatory “emergency” orders since Sisolak has threatened them with fines, citations and revocation of their government-issued business licenses.

So when a business owner such as Mr. Kingston stands up for his rights, we all should support him as strongly as we can!

And since the Saddle N Spurs – advertised as “Las Vegas’ LAST Remaining REAL Honky Tonk Bar” – isn’t allowed by Gov. Sislak to advertise his business in the traditional way, the least we can all do is help spread the word through our own social media channels.

So here goes…

The Saddle N Spurs Saloon now has a fully functioning kitchen, appropriately called “The Chuck Wagon,” turning out some great Honky Tonk Bar Room Food.

SNS Saloon is open daily at Noon as a restaurant.  Join us for some tasty food, cold drinks, and hot jackpots now featuring 14 stand-alone gaming machines reserved first come first served for our gamers.  Our Happy Hour is still 3-6p!

We also have ambient local live music, no dancing permitted, while you eat daily when we aren’t showing playoff hockey games or other key sporting events on our HDTVs:

• • Mon – Rock Duo 6-9p
  • Tue – Country Duo 6-10p
  • Weds – Acoustic Rock 6-10p
  • Thurs – Various 6-10p
  • Fri/Sat – Country 7-11p
  • Sun – Blues/Rock 6-10p

In all cases, masks are mandatory, social distancing is required, bar is closed with table service only and all government mandates are strictly enforced for our customer’s safety.

The Saddle N Spurs Saloon is located at 2333 N Jones Blvd., Ste 108 (at the corner of Smoke Ranch) in Las Vegas.  The phone number is (702) 646-6292.

Please share this with your friends and family.  And if you can stop by and spend a little money to help keep SNS Saloon open, great.

Also, if you’d like to send Mr. Kingston an email thanking him for standing his ground and fighting back, his email address is bobby@saddlenspurssaloon.com.   Tell him you’re a foot soldier in “Annie’s Army.”

Mount up!

* (To “cowboy up” you have to take a stand. You have to be strong, courageous and willing to make sacrifices. You have to face down danger, stress and quite possibly surly in-laws with grace. You have to be willing to do the right thing, even – or especially – when it’s not the popular thing to do.)

QUOTES OF THE DAY“Everyone makes mistakes, and nobody agrees with anyone, especially politicians, all the time, but the level of incompetence of this (Sisolak) administration is astounding.” – Dennis Koehl

Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Assemblywoman-elect for Nevada State Assembly District 19.  You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com 

(Annie Black) – Over the weekend, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak was caught on video enjoying a night on the town, wining and dining mask-less at a cozy dinner-for-four with live entertainment at an Italian restaurant in Las Vegas.

What a double-talking hypocrite.

After getting blistered unmercifully and deservedly on social media this morning, the governor issued a statement excusing himself, including the following…

“There is no prohibition on ambient background music, like what was playing at the restaurant.”

But just yesterday columnist John Katsilometes of the Las Vegas Review-Journal detailed the contradictory hoops to jump through, including the definition of “ambient” music, that have been imposed on other restaurants and venues.

Apparently, a live band is OK for the governor’s favorite eatery, but not anyone else.

Instead, according to the governor, the rest of us should go visit a ghost town (seriously, he actually said that).

If it’s safe and OK for Gov. Sisolak to catch dinner and a show, it should be OK for bars, churches, showrooms, playgrounds and convention centers to reopen, too.

People who are at a high risk of catching the coronavirus or afraid to venture out should stay home.  But set the rest of us FREE!

Especially in light of the new CDC report that came out this morning showing that “only 6% of all coronavirus deaths were completely due to the coronavirus alone” and “the rest of the deaths…are attributed to individuals who had other serious issues going on.”

This is just the latest in a long list of reasons why so many Nevadans signed my “Resign Sisolak!” petition.

Oh, and about that…

A serious effort to muzzle me is well underway.

Seems the petition – and my ongoing criticism of the Governor on social media and in AnnieGrams – has gotten under somebody’s skin.

It’s been “suggested” that I “tone it down.”  Play the game.  Learn the ropes.  Pay my dues.  Wait my turn.  Not speak unless spoken to.  Go along to get along.

Or else.

Yep.  A not-too-subtle threat that unless I play ball, I risk what every politician is supposed to be scared to death of…

Not getting re-elected (the horror!).

This threat usually works on most people.

I’m not most people.

As the late Herman Cain was fond of saying, “I does not care.”

In my mind I’ll have 120 days next session to champion the causes and issues I ran on.

If the Governor, certain special interests and the Carson City political establishment want to try to take me out in 2022, have at it.

The only thing I care about is keeping the promises I made in my campaign.

I won’t be silenced.  I won’t be intimidated.

Nobody puts Annie in a corner!  LOL

P.S.  If you support me speaking up and speaking out on your behalf, please help me elect more conservatives to the Legislature in November by making a donation to AnniePAC…

Click here

QUOTES OF THE DAY on the Governor’s Pizza Party…

“Your logic during this entire thing has just been so out of touch with reality. It’s like you’re just doing things on purpose to see how many blatantly pointless things we’ll just keep putting up with for your own amusement.  I’ll tune in next week when u tell us that wearing our left shoe is ok but the right one is super dangerous and cannot be worn in public.” – Aaron Alexander 

“Must be nice! Many people can’t afford to eat at all.” – Cyndie Collins

“Why are YOU allowed to enjoy these kinds of things yet disallow Nevadans from having that same luxury?” – Brandon Manimal Shirey

“You are a lying hypocrite. That was live entertainment and you know it.” – Chris Hughes

“Stay home, Governor.  Isn’t that your slogan? How can the virus know if I’m eating while listening to music?” – Cheryl Irish Trotter

“You need to man up and open our state!!! You have failed on so many levels. Make this right NOW!” – Audrey Schmierer

“People are going to start losing their homes! We can get unemployment because the system is so messed up!  I am glad you get to go out and enjoy yourself while you are still collecting a paycheck and sleeping fine at night!!!” – Sara Wyant

“There is a woman on stage with a microphone.  This isn’t just background music.” – Nicole Langhans

“’Ambient background music.’  LOL. People playing instruments – plural – with a singer is now considered ambient background music.  That is a really pathetic statement by a lazy, former telemarketer, con man.” – Russell Price

“18,000 employees are being laid off at MGM. … Get off your high horse and open live entertainment now.” – Jeremy Rose

“Who cares about background music?  People have real problems that you are not addressing. I don’t see how you can even eat or sleep at night knowing you failed a whole state.” – Danielle Squires

“He would have never said a word if he didn’t get caught.” – Michele Richardson

“There are so many things that are contradictions in the way things are operating.  Let’s open everything up…and let our workers get back to work.” – Melinda Harris

“Your mandates are ridiculous.  And they aren’t working or changing anything at all.” – Jaydon Ogden

“Open our state NOW.  Schools, bars, clubs, sports … and anyone who doesn’t agree, STAY HOME.” – Frederick Marquez

“We are all tired of this mandatory mask-wearing Covid BS!  Open this state.  You already destroyed enough lives and businesses.” – Martin Laktzian

“You are by far the worst governor ever. This should be over now. Furthermore, you put mandate on masks and numbers are spiking?” – Lynette Brown

Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Assemblywoman-elect for Nevada State Assembly District 19.  You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com 

(Annie Black) – Remember what Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak told Nevadans way back on April 16, 2020 about listening to experts when it came to his statewide shutdown orders?  Here’s a reminder…

“I am listening, and I will repeat this as many times as you’d like me to, to medical experts, to my scientific experts, and determining what is in the best interest of this community.”

And yes, he HAS repeated it ad nauseum.  But apparently we didn’t pay close enough attention to one all-important word in that statement: “my.”

The fact is, since Day One of the #SisolakShutdown the governor has used guidelines put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to justify one “emergency” order after another, including his mandatory face mask order…

“The Medical Advisory Team and the CDC recommend homemade fabric face coverings of all types.  They’re easy to make, and can be made from cloth, or fashioned out of something as simple as a bandana or an old T-shirt.”

But that was then.  This is now.

Earlier this week the CDC changed its guidelines on COVID-19 testing; now maintaining, as reported by the Associated Press, that “it’s not necessary for people who don’t feel sick but have been in close contact with infected people to get tested.”

The CDC.  The experts and scientists Gov. Sisolak has relied upon to maintain his political death grip on Nevadans and Nevada’s economy.

But the new advisory from the scientific health experts at the CDC doesn’t square with Gov. Sisolak’s use of increased testing to boost the number of reported cases so as to perpetuate his continued, never-ending “emergency” declarations.

Without more tests, there isn’t a big boost in cases.  Without big boosts in cases, there’s no reason to extend the governor’s self-bestowed emergency powers.

As such, the governor had a cow…

“In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changing their COVID-19 testing guidance earlier this week to say that some individuals without symptoms may not need to be tested, State of Nevada health officials confirm that they will not be adopting the new guidance and will continue to strongly recommend testing for all individuals.”

He then went on Twitter and desperately blustered…

“There is no scientific justification for the disappointing & inexplicable CDC change.”

Got that?

Gov. Sisolak has relied on the CDC’s health “experts” and “scientific” recommendations to justify his authoritarian stranglehold on Nevada and our economy when it suited him.

But now that the CDC’s scientific medical experts no longer support his craving to retain kinglike power over our lives and businesses…well, screw them.

Which brings us back to the governor’s April 16 statement that he was listening to “MY scientific experts.”

As he’s now confirmed, if he can’t control ‘em, he ain’t listenin’ to ‘em.

So bug off, CDC!

This self-serving attitude calls into question EVERY decision the governor has made in mishandling the coronavirus crisis.

He should resign.

Which reminds me…

Our “Resign Sisolak!” proclamation was FedEx’ed to the governor on Monday.  If you’d like to see the final document – with all your names added in alphabetical order – click here

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Their agenda is based on government control. Our agenda is based on freedom.” – Vice President Mike Pence

“Lockdown was a panic measure and I believe history will say trying to control Covid-19 through lockdown was a monumental mistake on a global scale, the cure was worse than the disease.  I never want to see national lockdown again.” – Dr. Mark Woolhouse, a scientist who advises the British government on infectious diseases

“Sturgis, South Dakota with a population of 6,000 had an invasion from August 7th to 16th of 460,000 vehicles (according to NBC News).  Very few wore masks and the bars and restaurants were filled to the brim.  We are now at 14 days from the middle of the event.  Folks that attended should be dropping like flies.  What happened?” – Bill Thornhil

Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Assemblywoman-elect for Nevada State Assembly District 19.  You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com 

Annie talks with Nevada conservative talk-show host Kevin Wall about AnniePAC & the new online petition calling for Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak to resign.

(Annie Black) – With Gov. Sisolak keeping much of the state closed for business, that $1.2 billion budget hole the Legislature put a band-aid on last month – using the usual smoke-and-mirrors budget gimmicks – is gonna be back with a vengeance.

By the time the Legislature reconvenes for its next regular session in February, don’t be surprised if that deficit is doubled.  Or more. 

Why?  Because they didn’t really cut anything.  They simply raided and drained the Rainy Day Fund and moved money around from various accounts.

What the governor SHOULD have done last March – and what the Legislature SHOULD have done last month – was the same thing the governor did to the private sector: Lay off non-essential government employees and cut non-essential government services, programs, agencies and departments. 

THAT’S where the money is. 

You simply cannot run the same sized government when tax revenues from closed businesses and out-of-work families are a fraction of what they were.

If we’re supposedly “all in this together,” then taxpayer-funded government workers and operations MUST be cut, just as various businesses and private sector workers have been cut.

Delaying the inevitable will only make the pain worse next year when it again comes time to pay the piper.  Why more Republican elected officials aren’t screaming this from the rafters is a mystery.

UPDATE: “Resign Sisolak” Proclamation

When I launched our AnniePAC online proclamation yesterday – declaring that Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s “systemic incompetence” in mishandling the COVID-19 situation has resulted in an “economic health crisis” for which he should resign – I thought maybe we’d get a couple dozen signers.

After all, I’m just a small-town councilwoman who won’t even be officially elected to the Nevada State Assembly until November.

But we’ve already gotten almost 600 signatures…and more keep rolling in every hour as word spreads throughout the state. 

THANK YOU!

We’re going to keep collecting online signatures through close-of-business tomorrow and then print out a hard copy of the proclamation and mail it to the governor on Monday.  So if you, your friends, family, neighbors or co-workers want to add your names, you still have time.

Click here: anniepac.com/proclamation

Annie Black: In the News

Nick Yamashita of The Progress has a new story out on the Legislature’s changes to election law that were passed in the recent special session. Some excerpts…

Mesquite resident Annie Black is the newly elected Assemblywoman for District 19 which includes Mesquite, Overton and a portion of the Las Vegas valley. She is also currently serving on the Mesquite City Council.

Black is the former President of the Mesquite Republican Women’s Club. She gave some insight from the conservative standpoint regarding the bill.  “It is a travesty.” Black said. “It was all done in the middle of the night, so it seemed pretty shady.”

Firstly, Black points out the dire financial situation which Nevada is currently in. There are no spare funds to allocate to mail-in voting, she said.  “We could be using that money better towards helping our failing economy,” she said.

Another huge problem with the bill is the likelihood of ballot harvesting, Black said. This is the gathering and submitting of absentee or mail-in ballots by third-party individuals, volunteers or workers; rather than submission of the ballots by the voters themselves to official collection sites.

Black said that this is a recipe for fraud-tainted election results.  “They have found people are voting but their votes are ineligible due to signatures not matching,” Black said. “There are just so many chances for voter fraud to occur here!”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’d like to see the money follow the student. If a school is going to be closed, and we’re giving all of this money on the federal basis to a school… I think the money should follow the student. And that’s something that we want to do.

“We’re having a hard time with the Democrats. They want the money to follow the union… I would like the money to follow the student. And this way, you can make your own choice if the school is closed.

“Why are we paying if a school is closed? Why are we paying the school? I’d rather give it to the student, the parents, and you do your own thing.”

         – President Donald Trump

Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Assemblywoman-elect for Nevada State Assembly District 19.  You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com