Reid's Two Answers On Angle's $14m

This morning, Elizabeth Crum broke on National Review that Sharron Angle is reporting a record-busting $14 million raised in the third quarter of the year for her campaign against Harry Reid. It's a stunning number even in this age of megabucks politics.

But the fun part, really, is the way Reid responded. That is, the ways. See, within four minutes of one another, I received two emails from Reid.


The first one, to the media, went like this:

"Sharron Angle's fundraising number is meaningless without disclosing how much they spent to raise it. In fact, Angle's shady fundraisers are reputed for cooking the books and fleecing their clients, so any number Angle may assert to generate media buzz is highly suspect."

And the second one, to potential Reid donors, went like this:

"A major development here in Nevada: My Tea Party opponent just announced that she received $14 million in donations in the last quarter. That could be enough to dominate Nevada airwaves in the critical final days and prevent us from exposing her wild rhetoric and dangerous extremism. I need you to send a contribution as soon as you can."

OK. So it's not a real $14 million but, also, it is, so send us a check RIGHT NOW!!!

Or something.

So getting fake-married in NV...

...will cost almost as much as -- or more! -- than getting real-married.

Odd, no?

I'm very pleased that SB283 passed and that Miles and I will be able to register as domestic partners in Nevada. According to the new law, the term "domestic partner" equals "spouse" wherever in Nevada law "spouse" is written. So it's virtual marriage except we can't call it that and it means nothing to the federal government or most other states. Oh, and nobody's employers are required to provide health benefits to same-sex partners or, presumably, any children you have together.

Today, Secretary of State Ross Miller issued the instructions on how same-sex and unmarried heterosexual couples can sign up. The new law goes into effect on Oct. 1, and Miller says he wants to give folks a chance to have their registrations in hand the day it becomes legal. "October 1st is shaping up to be a very important and festive day for many Nevadans," Miller said in a press release. That's great, and Oct. 1 actually has special resonance for Miles and me as it will be the 5th anniversary of our first date.

But.

I'm baffled by the cost. We have to pay $50 to register, plus the cost of a notary public to certify it. This being Vegas, there's also a deluxe model, too; for a $15 upgrade, you can have a "ceremonial certificate" as opposed to merely a "black and white certificate." Here's what the fancy version looks like:


Meanwhile, it costs $55 for a hetero-marriage license. With that comes the whole enchilada -- pension and Social Security benefits and the other gazillion federal benefits being legally married provides. Dunno if it's as pretty as all that, but most people stick it in a drawer anyhow, right?

Seems to me that the cash-strapped Silver State has realized this darn thing could be revenue-positive. Let's make a few bucks off the grateful gays, why don't we? There's no other explanation as to why getting fake-married could cost $65 but getting real-married costs $55, is there? It certainly isn't much of a deal, really.

I know, I know. We should just shut up and be happy we got anything at all and not get all uppity in demanding a price befitting the product we're receiving. But these costs are totally arbitrary in the first place. They're symbolic, not related to any specific or actual costs. You tell me: Under what other circumstances would anyone pay the same or more for about 75 percent less of something?

And one more thing. I'm thinking the fine folks in the Secretary of State's office had a fun time coming up with those gender-neutral surnames with those oh-so-QUEER middle initials, huh? How much you wanna bet someone made references to the classic SNL skits around the office while conjuring this up?

Fossett Sightings Abound!

Here we go... A minister near El Paso, Texas, emailed me this morning saying he'd seen Steve Fossett at a filling station down there in a Ford Mustang. He left his number, so I called.

The fellow, whom I will not name because I know he means well, explained he turned around and, "Boy gosh, that guy was Steve Fossett!" The man he saw pulled right out in front of my "source" in a vintage black Ford Mustang convertible and got on Interstate 10. "The guy looked a little spacy," I was told. "I wondered if he realized they're lookin' for him."

I am NOT making this up. He also said, "I sure hope it was him. I'd sure hate if we lost him. He's a great man."

I called Nevada Civil Air Patrol Maj. Cynthia Ryan, spokeswoman for the massive search, to let her know.

"We've getting those by the hundreds," Ryan said. "There's a psychic in Ohio who knows where he is and can lead us to him if we'd only follow her instructions. We have someone devoted to nothing else but these sorts of sightings. If they could only put this to work on the lottery. I guess we just have to delight in the diversity of humanity and give everyone their shot."

I asked if she wanted this fellow's name and number and she said, "No, not really. We can't even wade through what we have."

Imagine if Fossett is never found!

Our Hapless Governor

It's not just the fairly silly look on Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons' visage in this one frame that was transmitted by Idaho Statesman photographer Shawn Raecke via the Associated Press. Surely there were others Raecke shot from this event in Boise last Monday when Gibbons met with three other Mountain West governors to discuss wildfire prevention, including Idaho Gov. "Butch" Otter seated besides Gibbons.

No, the look is bad enough. But if you look really close, there's one other thing: Our governor is seated behind Otter's name plate.

Oops.