Mesquite Citizen Journal

Mesquite Citizen Journal:

Mayor Hits Bulls-eye with Performance Suggestions Posting Date: 08/30/2011 Michael McGreer

Mayor Mark Wier's suggestion that the city adopt a performance-based budget approach is right on target. There is nothing new about performance based budgeting, nor about linking the budget to the planning and programming processes. Wier is correct in arguing that line-item budgets create organizations that have little reason to strive for better performance. And, he is correct in asserting that the use of performance-based approaches is not the same as micro-management. There are numerous examples of government experiences with performance-based budgeting. Everything from Management by Objectives, Planning, Programming and Budgeting, Zero Based Budgeting and the contemporary mix of all these in the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) which has been in use for years in the Federal government. Indeed, it's the executives' job to ensure that taxpayer funds are spend efficiently and effectively and ensuring so is not simply done through legislation as Councilman Karl Gustaveson suggested. It's the job of an executive (elected or otherwise) to see that governance is done correctly. If they can't do it, they hire or contract with someone who can guide them through the process and help city administrators and elected officials freeze the performance process into everyday operations.. The terms, efficiently and effectively, form the measurement framework around which a performance-based management approach rallies. There are four key elements of a performance-based approach and each element is measured qualitatively or quantitatively with concentration of the efficiency and effectiveness of the service or program under study. Here, in simple terms, are the four key elements of any good performance-based program: 1. Resource inputs, i.e. dollars and man-hours are committed to… 2. a set of processes that are measured in terms of their efficiency which results in… 3. a set of outputs which taken together meet the… 4. goals (outcomes) which are measured in terms of effectiveness. One notices that this is an approach that does not simply concentrate on the inputs and the outcomes. All the elements must be considered in a systematic fashion if resources are to be spent in an efficient and effective way. Further, it's important to realize that all the functions of an executive; planning, organizing, staffing, directing, co-coordinating, reporting andbudgeting, are exercised in a performance-based approach. If all the functions of an executive fail to be unified, then the exercise becomes nothing more than a disjointed plan with little actual impact. Normally, a person, trained, educated and experienced in governance would lead elected officials and department heads through the process, but the city lacks that type of expertise. Space does not permit specific examples on how this approach works in practice but it is practical, sensible, and well understood by those who have worked within such a system. Further performance-based management is not as time consuming as it may appear primarily since it's a matter of adding measurable elements to the existing functions which are performed routinely. In other words, its a re-education process. A systematic approach to performance management is very much needed if the city is to survive the upcoming financial difficulties and deliver the most efficient and effective service possible. Done correctly, the approach generates measurable economic and performance rewards. Done incorrectly, it's an exercise in futility.

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Mesquite Citizen Journal

Mesquite Citizen Journal:

Congressional Candidate Would Advance Mesquite Posting Date: 08/29/2011 Michael McGreer

Fred Toval, left, President of Mesquite Democrats, discusses election issues with Democratic Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives Dist. 2, Kate Marshall. Photo by Mike McGreer. Nevada State Treasurer Kate Marshall would help Mesquite entrepreneurs obtain an incubation site to advance alternative energy if elected to Congress, she told Mesquite democrats during a question and answer session held by her supporters in Las Vegas last week. Marshall, who was first elected Nevada State Treasurer in 2006 and was reelected in 2010, was the sponsor for SB75, which created a private equity investment fund for Nevada. The bill was signed into law by Governor Brian Sandoval to take effect on October 1, 2011. The private equity investment fund, a first for Nevada, provides that non-tax dollars from the Permanent School Fund may be invested in new businesses in Nevada, in existing businesses that are expanding, or in businesses which agree to relocate to this state. The bill also establishes a partnership with the Nevada System of Higher Education to provide students internship opportunities with businesses that receive investments from this fund. The legislation also creates a nonprofit public entity, the Nevada Capital Investment Corporation (NCIC), a board that includes appointees of the Governor and Legislative Leadership based on their investment, finance, or banking expertise. The State Treasurer, whose duties include the investment of state money, is also a member. Marshall told the group that two incubation sites, one in Northern Nevada and the other in Las Vegas are being established to advance alternative energy opportunities. “I would certainly work with Mesquite on another incubation site to explore alternative energy if elected,” she told members of the group. In a podcast (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/16778797) to Mesquite voters, Marshall noted that it was time to promote alternative energy. She pointed to Germany as one country moving to solar energy to reduce its dependency on Russia for gasoline. When asked if she would support the progressive coalition in Congress, she nodded and went on to explain that Congress should represent the people, not special interests such as giving subsidies to Exxon, and proving tax breaks for hedge fund managers. In terms of home losses, Marshall pointed out that “banks make money on foreclosures. They need to make money on rewriting contracts.” “Money,” she said is “motivating the wrong behavior.” “They had a saying in the Justice Department when I worked there,” Marshall said, “get them bracelets (a reference to putting offenders in handcuffs). Some bankers need bracelets,” she said, when discussing the need to protect the consumer from fraud. Marshall pointed out in the podcast that she is a strong supporter of education, while her opponent (Republican Mark Amodei) was the lone vote in opposition to more funding for text books, and has publicly stated that if he is elected to congress he wants to end the Department of Energy, cut 20 percent from Education, Social Security, Medicare and Defense. (Authors note: Amodei was term limited last year after twelve years in the State Senate.) “My opponent has stated that he supports the Ryan budget plan which guts Medicare, and has publicly said that he likes what the Ryan plan has to say about Medicare in the budget,” Marshall said. “My opponent has used falsehoods, prevarications, and misstatements so much that ads have been pulled from the air,” Marshall said, adding that the Republican party has poured “three quarters of a million dollars into his campaign.“ When asked about her chances to win in the September 13, special election, she said, “If people vote, we win, if they don't, we loose. The race is about you.” Early voting runs from 8 to 5 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 29-31, at 150 Yucca Street, Mesquite.

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Mesquite Citizen Journal

Mesquite Citizen Journal

CNN.com News Article Discusses Fairchild Deaths Posting Date: 08/22/2011 By Barbara Ellestad

Sometimes it's good for a small town like Mesquite to make national headline news. Other times, maybe not so much. A lengthy news article, "Deaths reveal a small town's mean streak,"posted on CNN.com, Sunday, Aug. 21, discusses the Jan. 25 murder-suicide of former Mesquite City Councilwoman Donna and her husband, Bill Fairchild. An Editor's note included at the beginning of the story written by Ann O'Neill, explains that it was based on "two visits to Mesquite, Nevada, interviews with two dozen people and hundreds of pages of police and city documents obtained by CNN through a public records request." O'Neill explains the allegations of wrongdoing from former Mesquite Mayor Susan Holecheck about a $94 travel voucher that Donna Fairchild had falsely submitted for a trip to Las Vegas to attend a meeting of the Nevada Development Authority that kicked off a series of events no one could possibly have foreseen. "While she was at lunch, Fairchild had received an e-mail from the city, and the news wasn't what she'd hoped for. They were playing hardball: If Fairchild quit the City Council, she'd avoid a criminal investigation. But she could never again seek public office in Mesquite," the article said. The article goes on to describe a phone call Fairchild received just before she took her husband's life and then her own. "'You know, you brought this on yourself,' the caller said," is how O'Neill quoted Bob Shively, "a retired medical sales executive from Rochester, Minnesota, [who] fancies himself a behind-the-scenes player." O'Neill then states that "Shively admits making the phone call that had Fairchild so upset the day before she died. But he denies calling to taunt her, even if that is the way she took it." Throughout the article, O'Neill explains Mesquite's long history of political firestorms that seem to erupt every two years during what some longtime residents call "the silly season," officially known as campaigns for municipal and general elections. She discusses the particularly brutal mayoral campaign in 2007 in which Holecheck won over incumbent Mayor Bill Nicholes by 200 votes. She goes on to describe how the 2011 mayoral race was shaping up to be more of the same. "Mesquite has never re-elected an incumbent mayor, and Susan Holecheck was determined to change that in 2011. She faced three challengers - City Councilman Dave Bennett, political newcomer Mark Wier, who works for the phone company, and Fairchild." "There are plenty of people in Mesquite who believe Fairchild was targeted for a 'political hit.' They include Nicholes, the mayor Holecheck ousted from office. Nicholes felt bullied during the 2007 race and believes Fairchild fell victim to the same political dirty tricks," is how O'Neill described the situation. O'Neill says Holecheck "denies playing petty politics, explaining that she did what she had to as mayor. 'This idea that we were going to pound her into the sand isn't true,' she said. 'Unfortunately, I got blamed for it all.'" The article goes on to trace the mayoral election through to Wier's election to the seat. It also mentions that one of the first actions Wier and the City Council took after they were sworn into office July 1 was to rescind the Mesquite Code of Conduct for Elected Officials. The Code is what Holecheck, City Attorney Cheryl Hunt, and the then-City Council used to charge Fairchild with wrongdoing. The newly elected council also began allowing citizens to attend technical reviews meetings, previously closed to the public. The meetings are used by council members and City Staff to review agenda items for upcoming Council meetings. Many citizens felt they were used to manipulate the agenda and secure agreements on pending actions between council members ahead of time. All of the sitting council members and mayor denied those allegations during the spring election campaign. Those two actions answered the call from many voters during the campaign season to change the way Mesquite elected officials responded to their constituents. During the course of her investigation, O'Neill conducted several interviews with the previous editor of the Mesquite Local News, Morris Workman. O'Neill described an interview Workman had with Donna Fairchild just before she shot her husband while he slept and then killed herself. He added the interview to the online arm of the newspaper the Saturday before the tragic end of the Fairchilds' lives. Workman mentioned to O'Neill that reader comments were divided between positive messages for Donna and negative ones calling for her ouster from City Council and the mayoral race. Some local Mesquite residents later blamed Workman's articles and associated reader comments as causing, in part, the situation between Donna, Holecheck, and the City Council to escalate. O'Neill quoted Workman as saying, "'We get blamed for being mean. What we're guilty of is trying to get to the truth.'" O'Neill also pointed out that Workman, who was replaced as editor of the popular news source in June, felt that "he's now more aware of the impact his stories have on people." O'Neill also points out that City Manager Tim Hacker was fired in May, and Police Chief Douglas Law, retired in April. While she doesn't directly relate all of the subsequent personnel actions to the Fairchild murder-suicide, she does say, "With a changing of the guard, the city built on the dreams of people from somewhere else will continue to grow and change long after the players in the Donna Fairchild tragedy move on." The complete CNN.com article, "Deaths reveal a small town's mean streak," O'Neill, Ann, August 21, 2011 11:11 a.m. EDT is available through this Web link: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/21/mesquite.murder.suicide/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Who are the Koch Brothers and why do they matter?

By
Michael M. McGreer
Mesquite Citizen Journal

Billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch are the bankers behind the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement that has divided the Republican party in their attempt to dismantle government and increase their capital investments in many environmental hazardous investments. The brothers own Koch Industries, a Kansas-based conglomerate that operates oil refineries in several states and is the company behind brands including Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Lycra fibers and Stainmaster Carpet. Forbes ranks Koch Industries as the second-largest privately held company in the U.S. The Koch brothers themselves are worth billions. On one side of the Republican party are the old line establishment Republicans who hold with both fiscal and social conservatism. Over the years, their policies have grown increasingly restrictive of personal liberties, and they have contributed to increasing corporate welfare and national debt. In opposition to the old-line are the far right anti-government individuals identified chiefly with the Tea Party movement to which the Koch brothers give money ostensibly to educate, fund and organize Tea Party protesters. This has allowed the Koch brothers to turn their private agenda into a mass movement. Since the 1980s the Koch Foundations have given more than $100 million to such organizations, among these, think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute, as well as more recently Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks in order to steer the country in a more libertarian direction. The brothers also have created several neutral-sounding groups like Citizens for a Sound Economy which staged media events to oppose President Clinton's proposed BTU tax on energy and Citizens for the Environment, which called many environmental problems, including acid rain, "myths." Rob Stein, a Democratic political strategist who has studied the conservative movements finances, said that the Kochs are the epicenter of the anti-Obama movement. But it is not just about Obama. They would have done the same to Hillary Clinton. They did the same with Bill Clinton. They are out to destroy the progressive movement. The foundation of the Koch paranoia over government goes back to their father, Fred C. Koch who attended M.I.T., and earned a degree in chemical engineering. In 1927, he invented a more efficient process for converting oil into gasoline but, unable to succeed at home, went to work in the Soviet Union. In the 1930s, his company trained Bolshevik engineers and helped the Stalin regime set up fifteen modern oil refineries until they were purged. Koch returned to the United States where he anguished over his Soviet experience. In 1958, Fred Koch became one of the original members of the John Birch Society, the arch-conservative group known, in part, for a highly skeptical view of governance and for spreading fears of a Communist takeover. Koch claimed that the Communists have infiltrated both the Democrat and Republican Parties. He wrote admiringly of Benito Mussolini's suppression of Communists in Italy, and disparagingly of the American civil-rights movement. He claimed that welfare was a secret plot to attract rural blacks to cities, where they would foment a vicious race war. In a 1963 speech Koch predicted that Communists would infiltrate the highest offices of government in the U.S. until the President is a Communist, unknown to the rest of us. Friends of Fred Koch report that he was a John Wayne type who emphasized rugged pursuits, taking his sons big-game hunting in Africa, and requiring them to do farm labor at the family ranch. "He was constantly speaking to us children about what was wrong with government," Charles Koch told Brian Doherty, an editor of the libertarian magazine Reason. He said that they grew up with a fundamentalist point of view that big government was bad, and "imposition of government controls on our lives and economic fortunes was not good." David and Charles had absorbed their father's conservative politics and adopted the John Birch Society's interest in a school of Austrian economists who promoted free-market ideals. They were particularly influenced by the work of Friedrich von Hayek, the author of The Road to Serfdom (1944), which argued that centralized government planning led, inexorably, to totalitarianism. Along with Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged, the ultra-conservatives promote The Road to Serfdom, both of which have become best-sellers on Amazon. These two academically discredited books, serve as the intellectual base for the Tea Party's ultra-conservative movement. The Koch brothers are also devotees of a more radical thinker, anarchist Robert LeFevre, who favored the abolition of the state and argued that the New Deal was a horrible mistake. As their fortunes grew, Charles and David Koch became the primary underwriters of hard-line libertarian politics in America. Charles' goal, according to Doherty, is to tear the government apart at the root. Tax records indicate that in 2008 the three main Koch family foundations gave money to 34 political and policy organizations, three of which they founded, and several of which they direct. The Kochs and their company have given additional millions to political campaigns, advocacy groups, and lobbyists. Following an airplane accident that nearly cost David Koch his life, he was diagnosed with prostrate cancer. His reaction to the disease was to donate to several cancer fighting institutes. However, his gratitude poses a conflict of interest since Koch Industries has been lobbying to prevent the E.P.A. from classifying formaldehyde, which the company produces in great quantities, as a known carcinogen in humans. The Kochs have long depended on the public not knowing all the details about them. They have been content to operate what David Koch has called the largest company that you've never heard of. But with the growing prominence of the Tea Party, and with increased awareness of the Koch's ties to the movement, the brothers may find it harder to deflect scrutiny. Michael M. McGreer writes on public policy. His books: No Harm, No Foul, Bioterrorism in the 21st century, and All Rivers Flow West, are both available on Amazon. Click here to see his blog

Mesquite Citizen Journal

Mesquite Citizen Journal

The Consequences of Budget Control Posting Date: 08/04/2011 Michael McGreer

The Economic Policy Institute reports that the Budget Control Act of 2011 will take 1.8 million jobs out of the economy and slow economic growth by another 3 percent. While debate over the Act proceeded in Congress, Wall Street declined by 850 points losing 6.8 % of its value. Economists are reporting that the world's confidence in the full faith and credit of the United States has been shattered by the Tea-Party manufactured crisis over the debt ceiling. Crisis in the US market contributes to a continuing decline in the world market. The Act gives ultra-conservatives the opportunity to cut at least $2.1 trillion dollars in spending for entitlements, subsidies, defense and infrastructure in addition to other economic investments necessary to reverse the current downturn in the economy. The Act guarantees at least a dollar of deficit reduction for each dollar of debt limit increase but continues the George W. Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy and continues funding of the Afghanistan, Iraq wars and nation building in those areas. While the wars in the Middle East and nation building will continue to be funded, general defense funds are in for a significant hit. These general defense cuts are an attempt by Democrats to offset their failed attempt to get tax increases by replacing that potential revenue with defense cuts. Conservatives countered by refusing to allow cuts in Afghanistan and Iraq warfare and nation building. Many Nevadans rely on federal spending to survive. In 2008, the state received $17.3 billion in federal funding which increased the states Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from about $111.5 billion to $128.8 billion. How many Nevadans will suffer is everybody's question with no answer in sight. But one thing is certain, if fully implemented, Nevadans will see cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Childcare Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Social Security, defense, farm subsidies, education, transportation, police and fire programs, and the management, protection and fire control on 84.5 percent of Nevada federal lands, waterways, and recreation sites. If ultra-conservatives get their way, individuals will work until they are 70-years-of-age to receive Social Security. Medicare will be turned into a voucher, which would be used to purchase private health insurance. Medicaid will become a block grant for states to spend as they choose, including to pay for deficits in other accounts. Instead of paying their fair share, the wealthy will receive additional tax cuts. Deductions, potentially including interests on home loans, will end or be severely limited. While they are at it, expect caps on domestic spending, and repeal the Health Care legislation, along with slashes in farm subsidies. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents need to carefully consider who they vote for, and the potential consequences of that vote. Michael M. McGreer writes on public policy. His recent book, "No Harm,No Foul, Bioterrorism in the 21st Century" is currently available online at Amazon.com. See his blog at: http://www.generations.typepad.com/.

Mesquite Citizen Journal

Mesquite Citizen Journal

Betty Freeman Haines, regular contributor to Mesquite Citizen Journal's Writers Corner,curriculum designer, author and recent widow has just had a new book published by InterWorld Publishing; the title is Grieving Sucks or Does It?

Following the death of my husband and the end of our 42 year honeymoon, I searched desperately, in books and on the internet, for anything that might help to soothe my aching heart and help me begin the impossible task of going on without him. I was amazed at the abundance of information available in cyberspace; however, upon closer examination I found that most of it to be superficial, poorly thought out, and meaningless.

In desperation, I began keeping a journal as a means of dealing with my grief. The act of pouring my hurt, confusion, and frustration onto the pages of a journal did, indeed, give me a small measure of comfort. As my grief ebbed and I reflected on some of my journal entries, I realized that grieving had taught me valuable lessons that I wouldn't have otherwise learned. Hence, I decided to combine excerpts from my journal with my thoughts regarding these lessons and share the information with other grieving souls; thus my book was born.

The grief I felt at the loss of my husband was more acute than than any grief I had previously experienced. While he was alive, we laughed at the absurdity of the phrase too much togetherness. We were soul-mates; we were in love; we were the very best of friends. We didn't need to be together to make life complete, we wanted to be together because we found life more exciting and enjoyable that way.

Grieving the loss of a loving spouse is a very painful process; but, I believe that if one elects to open their heart and mind, grief can be an effective teacher.

From grieving, I learned lessons that will serve me well for the remainder of my life. Yes, there are times when I still proclaim that GRIEVING SUCKS; but, more often than not, I now pause and ask OR DOES IT?

I write under the name Betty Freeman Haines; my new book - Grieving Sucks Or Does it - as well as, my earlier historical fiction novel - Reluctant Hero, are available from Amazon.com.

Mesquite Citizen Journal

Mesquite Citizen Journal

Bullying and suicide: A community problem Posting Date: 07/08/2011 Michael McGreer

This is Part 2 of a 2-part Guest Editorial series on bullying and suicide. Part 1 appeared July 7. The alleged suicide of a young girl in Mesquite recently highlights the importance of taking a strong stand against bullying. The City's Interim Police Chief, Troy Tanner, has refused to release information about the young girl's death at the request of the family. That has led to a range of speculation from homicide to an accident about the cause of death. Nonetheless, there seems to be a consensus developing among the public that the young woman was subjected to bullying prior to her death. Unfortunately, far too many public officials fail to take action until forced to do so by public pressure from concerned and responsible citizens. Consider the suicide of South Hadley, Massachusetts High School student Phoebe Prince on January 14, 2010. This tragic event led to the criminal prosecution of ten teenagers on charges including statutory rape and civil rights violations, as well as to the enactment of stricter anti-bullying legislation by the Massachusetts state legislature. Prince had moved from Ireland to South Hadley, Mass., where she was bullied for several months by at least two groups of students, reportedly because of disputes with other girls over her brief relationship with a senior high school football player and another male student. After a day of harassment and taunting, followed by a final incident in which a student threw a can at her from a passing car as she walked home from school, Prince committed suicide by hanging herself in the stairwell leading to the second floor of the family apartment. Her body was discovered by her 12-year-old sister. After her death, many crude comments about her were posted on her Facebook memorial page, most of which were removed. Eight teenage girls and two teenage boys from South Hadley, Mass., were eventually charged with crimes ranging from criminal harassment and civil rights violations to stalking and statutory rape for bullying Prince. Conspicuously absent were allegations that the bullying children were legally responsible for the victims death. Instead, the legal argument centered around, in addition to the criminal charges, the school's failure to properly supervise its students thus driving the victim to suicide. On March 29, 2010, Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel announced that nine teenagers from the high school were indicted as adults on felony charges by a Hampshire County grand jury. Charges ranged from statutory rape for the two male teenagers involved (both adults under Massachusetts law) to violations of civil rights, criminal harassment, disturbance of a school assembly, and stalking. Additional delinquency complaints were also filed against the three female minors indicted by the grand jury. One was charged with assault with a deadly weapon for throwing a can at Prince. A separate delinquency complaint was filed against one of the three female minors for assault and battery against another victim. The Prince harassment was common knowledge to most of the school's student body. The investigation has revealed that certain faculty, staff and administrators of the high school also were alerted to the harassment of Prince before her death. Prior to the Prince death, her mother spoke with at least two school staff members about the harassment Phoebe had reported to her. Prosecutors considered whether or not the actions or omissions to act by faculty, staff and administrators of the public schools individually, or collectively, amounted to criminal behavior. In their opinion, it did not. Nevertheless, the actions or inaction of some adults at the school are troublesome. The teenagers 17 or older pleaded not guilty through their lawyers in a Superior Court on April 6. Three female minors pleaded not guilty to delinquency charges on April 8 in a Juvenile Court where they were arraigned as youthful offenders on adult felony charges. They waived their right to appear in court and did not appear at their arraignment hearings. In May 2011, the cases were resolved, after agreements to plead guilty to lesser charges. All of the defendants were placed on probation and a few were also sentenced to community service. It's just a matter of time before an ambitious prosecutor decides to make the causal links between bullying, political terrorism, suicide, and murder-suicide. In the meantime, government administrators, business owners, and politicians need to hold bullies responsible for any physical injuries they may cause. It's unclear how, or why, the local teenager died since officials have failed to fully and completely disclose, or possibly even fully investigate, the incident. Nonetheless, bullying is a community problem. Bullying in Mesquite occurs at all levels from school grounds, to the home, and business and political offices. There was a bullying nexus between some current and former politicians and the suicide of a former city councilwomen. Writers and press representatives have been subjected to bullying from individuals in the community associated with some politicians. Even parents have been subjected to bullying from seriously disturbed children and teenagers. Now it appears, not surprisingly, that bullying has come to our local schools. Tanner and the City Attorney, Cheryl Hunt, need reminding that bullying is a serious problem with criminal and civil consequences. The problem requires immediate action for which they and incumbent politicians appear ill-suited to meet. It remains up to the new Mayor and those newly appointed members of the city council to prevent and address bullying in the community from the school grounds, to licensed senior citizen homes, to public offices. It is also up to them to educate the community on the problem and provide resources for families terrorized by bullying in their own homes. Michael M. McGreer writes on public policy. His books: No Harm, No Foul, Bioterrorism in the 21st century, and All Rivers Flow West, are both available on Amazon.

Mesquite Citizen Journal

Mesquite Citizen Journal

The Consequences of Bullying as Public Policy Posting Date: 07/07/2011 Michael McGreer

This is Part 1 of a 2-part Guest Editorial series on bullying and suicide. Part 2 appears tomorrow, July 8. Bullying is generally thought of as a childhood-teenage phenomena but, in fact, it is widespread in American schools, the workplace and drives political strategies. Learning how to bully starts in childhood with more than 16 percent of U.S. school children being bullied. It extends into the elder population with some 10 to 20 percent of adults reporting experiencing senior-to-senior bullying. Regardless of age, males and females generally differ in their tactics.Males engage in both physical and verbal abuse. Some 26 percent of female bullies may engage in male tactics. However, the majority of female bullying is done by creating a caste system with a clearly defined leader. Collectively, they engage in verbal aggression, rumoring, and ostracism as their primary tactic. Thus, females politicize and socialize their bullying. Female bullies remove their opposition via preemptive strikes to ostracize. Crucially, ostracism has no relation to justice or fairness. There is no charge or defense, since the exile is not used as a penalty; it is simply a command by the leader. Female bullies drive their opponents into depression and unhappiness which is a form of social death. This is done by combining ostracism with verbal aggression and rumors. If women commit these acts for ideological or political motives, their acts may be identified as the criminal offense of limited political terrorism, since they are utilizing distinct methods of violence to get their message across. In recent years, bullying has been related to suicide. Yale University reports that suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, and bully victims are between two to nine times more likely to consider suicide than non-bullied victims. The possibility of suicide or murder-suicide increases when victims of bullying are, or have been, using certain legally prescribed drugs. According to Ann Blake Tracy, PhD, Executive Director, International Coalition for Drug Awareness, the number one common denominator in these (suicide) cases is an antidepressant. The drugs cause one to act out nightmares so these cases often happen in the middle of night or early morning hours and generally happen for no apparent reason. This condition, she reports, is called REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. Her research suggests that 86 percent of the suicide cases involved antidepressants. A person can do very detailed tasks in this sleep state, the doctor suggests. It's a slippery slope to causally link bullying, drugs, and suicide or suicide-murder, to murder charges. However, some prosecutors are, at least, attacking the problem of bullying. Bullying is a serious public policy issue that must be brought into the sunshine and dealt with harshly. Michael M. McGreer writes on public policy. His books: No Harm, No Foul, Bioterrorism in the 21st century, and All Rivers Flow West, are both available on Amazon.

Mesquite Citizen Journal

Mesquite Citizen Journal

Mesquite Clean Air Advocates Rally Against Weakened Legislation Posting Date: 08/01/2011 Michael McGreer

Assemblyman Crescent Hardy (R. Dist. 20) is one of 21 members of the Nevada State Assembly who contributed to the weakening of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (NCIAA) during the last legislative session according to an American Lung Association Tobacco Policy Update of the 2011 Nevada Legislative session. The report was provided to participants of the 2011 Smoke-Free Celebration held Friday, July 29, at the Mesa View Regional Hospital in Mesquite. State Senator Dr. Joe Hardy (R. Dist, 12) was one of eight state senators recognized for his continued, but unsuccessful, support of the NCIAA. Both Assembly District 20 and Senate District 12 cover Mesquite. The two Hardy's are unrelated and clearly hold separate views on smoking issues. Allison Newlon Moser, Executive Director, American Lung Association in Nevada, reported at Friday's meeting that every state except Nevada has improved their policies toward improving the air in their communities. Nevada is the only state to roll back its clean air laws. Moser told the group that some Nevada legislators acted against the will of the people of Nevada by working against legislation that would improve air quality and, in fact, passed legislation that weakened the 2006 NCIAA law. Among the bills weakening the NCIAA was a provision to allow bars, taverns and saloons to serve food in smoking areas, which Assemblyman Hardy supported, and legislation prohibiting the use of tobacco suit funds in anti-smoking campaigns. City Councilmen Allan Litman and Kraig Hafen also attended the celebration. Litman told the group that the new Mayor and all the city councilmen are non-smokers. He talked about his father, a smoker, who had his first heart attack at 39 and died at 50. He also noted that during his military career, the tobacco companies donated cases of cigarettes to soldiers which helped the industry build clientele. Litman reminded the group that during his election bid he proposed a Mesquite sin tax on tobacco which was widely criticized, Yet, Litman pointed out that several years ago cigarettes in Canada were $9.00 a pack which served as a significant economic incentive to stop smoking. The Canadian Non-Smokers' Rights Association currently calculates the average price of a carton of cigarettes at $91.62. Moser agreed with the use of economics to hinder smokers. She told the group that every 10 percent increase in the price of tobacco reduces smoking by 3 to 5 percent. The Smoke-Free event was coordinated by Fred Toval, Community Outreach Coordinator. Toval, President of the Mesquite Democrats, shared with the group how his father, a smoker, died in 1975 from heart thrombosis brought on by smoking. “In spite of my attempts to resuscitate him, his lungs were simply gone,” Toval told the group. Both Toval and Litman pointed out that Mesquite is a draw for those wishing to live in a clean air community. Both also mentioned that a smoke-filled atmosphere keeps them from spending much time in the casinos. “Everyone has the right to breath clean air,” Sarah Davis, Regional Program Coordinator for the American Lung Association in Nevada, told the group. Davis mentioned the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, especially to hospitality workers, adding that none of the circulation systems on the market today can remove the cancer-causing materials in cigarette smoke. Additional information about the grassroots effort to make Mesquite smoke-free can be found at http://www.smokefreemesquite.org/ or by contacting Fred Toval, Community Outreach Coordinator atftoval@lungnevada.org (801)574-5336.

Michael M. McGreer: Mesquite Citizen Journal

Michael M. McGreer: Mesquite Citizen Journal: "Mesquite Citizen Journal"