ProgressNow Nevada

Congratulations Mike!

2012-05-12T14:27:40Z

Our fantastic organizer and communications director has gotten enough hands-on experience in the past several years to earn five degrees.

But today, Michael Flores, makes it official and earns his BA from UNLV.

We couldn't be prouder of this terrific accomplishment, made possible through his hard work, tenacity and familial support. But what truly stands out about Michael's graduation today is that he didn't just work for it in the classroom, he fought for it for years, starting on campus and working the issue front and center in Carson City.

Congratulations Mike! Your future is bright. And you've helped make a future for so many of your classmates.

We're honored to work with you and can't wait to see what you become.

John Lee's Republican

2012-04-25T17:57:57Z

We've known for years that John Lee isn't progressive and probably isn't even a Democrat anymore.

He only half-jokes when he talks about switching parties.

Lee lives with Republicans, votes with them, sponsors their bills, and now, he's decided that he needs Republicans to give him issue and campaign advice. That's why he hired Ryann Juden to run his political business.

Don't believe me, listen to Lee talk about him.

Juden is a Republican operative.

He's vehemently pro-life.

He's vehemently anti-Democrat.

Juden even writes against foreclosure programs, despite having his own foreclosure.

He's anti-gay (see #291).

Juden is also a director of Danny Tarkanian's anti-Harry Reid organization. This is what Juden's been working on.

He's John Lee's top man. Doesn't that make you wonder exactly what kind of Democrat John Lee is.

There's a clear choice in the primary for SD1. And John Lee's GOP-led campaign isn't it

Progressive Priorities

2012-04-14T13:44:24Z

We're a non-partisan organization, but we typically find that our issues run into roadblocks from those on the right.

In Carson City, that can be a different story. When we advocate with our partners for social justice, equality, environmental progress and public safety, we often find that speaking to the state senator in District 1 is as good as talking to Sharron Angle.

That's why this year, we decided it's time to send a message to the Democrats who've abandoned us.

Myself and two of our board members registered the Nevada Priorities PAC for the express purpose of educating voters in Senate District 1 about John Lee. This effort is independent of any candidate's campaign for District 1.

Patricia Spearman, who is running against Lee in the primary, is one of dozens of our members seeking office this year.

But our business this election year is with Mr. Lee. We've begun to explain his horrible record for voters on the PAC's new Facebook page.

And if you're headed to the Clark County Convention today, feel free to stop by our table for more information.

Tule Springs + President Obama = Jobs for Nevada

2012-04-09T20:54:32Z

Conventional wisdom is Las Vegas is a young city that only came into its prime in the late 20th Century. That's not entirely true.

Thousands of years ago the Vegas Valley area had all kinds of activity as pre-historic creatures and plantlife flourished. Back then the land area we now know as Southern Nevada was much closer to the equator and had a drastically different environment than what we know today.

Flash forward to the present day where thanks to those ancient animals thoughtful decision to die en mass in our backyard, Las Vegas has the opporunity to have a world class paleontology site that would serve to further diversify our tourist options.

Tule Springs in northwest Las Vegas is a world-renowned mammoth fossil site. In 1962 National Geographic documented a "Big Dig" at Tule Springs. The significant four-month study cataloged thousands of Ice Age mammal fossils including Columbian Mammoth, Ground Sloth, American Lion, Camelops, Bison and ancient species of Horse.

Growth in Las Vegas Valley extending to the Upper Las Vegas Wash (along with illegal dumping and unauthorized vehicles in the area) resulted in several studies over the past few years commissioned by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies. The studies pointed out literally hundreds of surface fossil sites in the area and identify three unique and endangered plants - the Las Vegas buckwheat, Merriam's bearpoppy and the Las Vegas bearpoppy.

In April 2009, the exceptional attributes of Tule Springs were again substantiated when a small team of scientists was dispatched to the site to evaluate Tule Springs potential as a National Monument. The ensuing report recommended, "the area should definitely receive protection to preserve the fossil resources." It also said this location holds opportunities to attract visitors from all over the world as well as provide recreational and educational pursuits to Nevada residents.

Join us today - sign our open letter to President Barack Obama urging him to act decisively to protect cultural treasures and irreplaceable public lands for this and future generations to enjoy. Our economic future and the well-being of our communities depend on decisive action now.

Ask President Obama to act now!

Yeah, why not go to Station Casinos?

2012-03-20T18:30:28Z

You may have seen the TV ads running the last few months between Station Casinos and the Culinary Union and wondered what the heck is going on.

The Culinary Union is trying to organize the workers at Station Casinos so they can receive the same benefits of union membership (better wages, job security, better healthcare, etc) as thousands of other hotel and casino workers in the valley. The owners of Station Casinos are very staunchly opposed to this.

So far Culinary has been hesitant to call for an official boycott of Stations, but that hasn't stopped some of their labor allies from walking up to that line.

This week the Southern Nevada Building & Construction Trades Council put out a memo to its members explaining why it's important for them to support their brothers and sisters in the Culinary Union and not spend money at Station Casinos right now.

I don't know if this qualifies as an official call for a "boycott" as the term doesn't show up anywhere in the memo and I believe there are legal ramifications for using it, but it is still a strong show of solidarity from organized labor.

Below is a copy of the memo:

Why Not Go to Station Casinos

Primary for Progress

2012-03-19T18:25:54Z

While we're a non-partisan organization, we believe that political primaries can be a good thing for progress.

Most of our Republican members feel lost in their current party that is hewing more to the right with each passing GOP primary. Many of our Democrats wonder about those they've elected who end up protecting their corporate funders over their constituents.

And so, it's my belief that primaries are a necessary step in holding our leaders accountable to our issues.

Nowhere is that more important this election year, than in the primary for state Senate District 1. Incumbent Democrat John Lee has stood in the way of progress now for the past two legislative sessions.

If ever progressives were going to send a message to the so-called "friendly" Democratic Party -- this is it. Lee needs to answer for opposing basic civil rights; for promoting guns on campus; for selling out Lake Tahoe and for threatening time after time to switch parties.

There's a reason Lee isn't comfortable voting on progressive issues. He isn't one. He's technically a Democrat, but is so uncomfortable in that skin that he reaches out to conservatives to bolster his ego.

After he was escorted out of the Congressional race earlier this year, he immediately tried a power play in his caucus to try to lead the Senate Democrats. He got one supporter, evidence of just how far he's strayed from his party.

Now he's running for election, full of campaign cash from NVEnergy and the miners and the bankers. And he's running, likely full of promises from the Senate Republicans about what he might get if they somehow retake leadership.

We intend to aggressively inform voters of SD1 exactly who John Lee is. We will examine his statements and his votes and we'll let voters determine whether he deserves another term.

For us it's simple accountability. If Lee should win re-election, we expect to get just as far with him in 2013 as we did talking to him in 2009 and 2011. That is to say, nowhere.

And voters in SD1 have a choice. They can choose one of our members, Patricia Spearman. Pastor Pat, as we like to call her, has been a go-to citizen activist on many key issues critical in SD1. We're glad voters will have such a fine choice.

So, if you're interested in taking back this state, we believe progress sometimes has to start in a primary. There's a red button on the right of this page asking you to be a progressive leader.

We intend to use all donations raised through that button over the next 10 weeks to educate voters in SD1. Please consider being that progressive leader -- someone who understands that elected officials will only truly become accountable to us when they fear people-powered politics.

Mitt Romney doesn't know the purpose of public lands

2012-02-03T18:01:27Z

When asked if he supported transfering some of the public land managed by the United States government back to the state of Nevada Mitt Romney told the Reno Gazette-Journal editorial board "I don't know why the government owns so much of this land. So I haven't studied it, what the purpose is of the land."

So the guy who wants to be the chief decision maker on what happens to our public lands has no idea why they exist or what they're for.

Wonderful.

Besides the fact that our public lands pump $1 billion into our state economy, creating jobs and state revenue, they're also some of the biggest quality of life enhancers we have.

Romney goes on to say "But where government ownership of land is designed to satisfy, let's say, the most extreme environmentalists, from keeping a population from developing their coal, their gold, their other resources for the benefit of the state, I would find that to be unacceptable."

Yes, because what Nevada needs is another champion for Big Mining, an industry so powerful in Nevada that until last year it had the right to sieze your property if it thought there was material worth mining under it.

Party Platforms - Our Chance to Make a Difference (Republican Caucus)

2012-02-02T17:41:13Z

One of the most important parts of the caucus process is the chance to introduce planks into the party platforms. These are the standards that the party will hold up as their ideals for both their members and elected officials.

This Saturday, February 4 is the Republican Party caucus and our chance to make a difference.

Find your caucus location using the tool here.

The Republican Party Platform Plank Process

To submit a plank for the party platform you must attend the caucus meeting (February 4, 2012. Start times vary by county. Clark County starts at 9:00am, Washoe County starts at 10:00am). At the meeting an informational packet will be handed out that includes an email address for the county party platform committee. You can then submit as many plank proposals as you would like to the platform committee, but they must be done by sending them to this email address.

After the planks are submitted the platform committee will hold two public hearings where proposed planks are discussed. Then at the county party convention the platform committee will submit a report on the proposed planks. A comment period will take place, followed by a vote of the entire convention membership on the proposed planks.

If the plank receives enough votes it will go to the state party convention. There will be another round of public discussion at the state convention. During this process anyone who is a member of the state convention can propose an amendment to the plank. The plank will then be voted on by the convention at large.

Suggested Planks

Below is a plank suggested by ProgressNow Nevada focusing on helping homeowners in Nevada who are facing foreclosure. Feel free to print it out and bring it to your caucus where you can introduce it.

Download and print the ProgressNow Nevada suggested policy plank.

For other suggested progressive policy planks visit the caucus page on the Nevada Values Coalition website.

PNNV GOP Platform Resolution

Most pols can at least fake it...

2012-02-01T22:13:54Z

John McCain may have had seven, or was it eight, homes. But he could sometimes come across like W. who the average person would want to have a beer with.

Mitt Romney is so stuck in war mode from his carpetbombing of Newt Gingrich in Florida, that he can't even fake support for the middle class.

For Romney, it's as if he wants to be president of the hedge fund managers who've filled up the Super PAC doing his talking.

How else to explain a guy who doesn't get real Americans on any level. He wants to let banks take over homes so that the market can bottom out and investors can buy up the properties for renters.

He likes to fire people who don't provide him good service. And today, he said:
"I'm not concerned about the very poor. They have a safety net."

You've got to be kidding. Romney probably thinks the safety net is some kind of padded room of luxury for the extremely poor.

I'd love to see him walk one day in the shoes of an actual middle income person, let alone a poor one.

I don't know anyone poor who doesn't work. And as to that elusive safety net.

Here in Nevada legislators try to save budget face by cutting hole after hole into ours. On the federal level, Romney would support the Ryan budget, which eviscerates funding for low-income programs.

Not only does Romney not get it, at all. Even if you think he thinks there's a safety net, he has no idea what that net is.

Anyway, more the reason to go see him this evening at Brady Industries. And, take a moment to see Romney for yourself at our project: http://ForecloseRomney.com

No to SOPA

2012-01-19T17:56:17Z

Yesterday, many online sites blocked out their content to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act. And that's why this blog post is up a day later.

It's a noble effort, on paper, to take on pirates.

But how does downloading music equate to the noted rape and pillaging in the 16th century? Maybe Disney wants to protect its Pirates of the Caribbean series, but while I love Capt. Jack Sparrow as much as any woman, it's not fair to put Wikipedia, Google and Tumblr on the chopping block so the Mouse Inc., et al, get a bigger payday.

I prefer to read Wired online, to create websites on Tumblr and get some quick basic facts from Wiki and Google.

"Under the current wording of the measures, the Attorney General would have the power to order ISPs to block access to foreign-based sites suspected of trafficking in pirated and counterfeit goods; order search engines to delist the sites from their indexes; ban advertising on suspected sites; and block payment services from processing transactions for accused sites," Wired reports.

SOPA is simply a sop to big corporations at the expense of the First Amendment.

Party Platforms - Our Chance to Make a Difference

2012-01-18T18:15:31Z

This Saturday, January 21 is the Democratic Party caucus and our first chance to make a difference.

Find your caucus location using the tool here.

The Democratic Party Platform Plank Process

To submit a plank for the party platform you must attend the caucus meeting (January 21, 2012 starting at 11:30am in all locations). At the caucus meeting you must submit your plank in writing to the chairperson at your caucus location. It can be written on any sheet of paper, but to make things easier we've provided a blank version of the official plank submission form (click here to download).

Voting then takes place at your caucus location, the county party convention, and the state party convention to determine if your plank will become part of the party platform.

Suggested Planks

Below is a plank suggested by ProgressNow Nevada focusing on helping homeowners in Nevada who are facing foreclosure. Feel free to print it out and bring it to your caucus where you can introduce it.

Download and print the ProgressNow Nevada suggested policy plank.

For other suggested progressive policy planks visit the caucus page on the Nevada Values Coalition website.

Help for Nevada Homeowners

Check back next week for information about the Republican Party caucus process and how to introduce policy planks in that process.

Wishing you happy holidays

2011-12-21T23:48:01Z

The craziness of the holiday season is upon us. We just wanted to wish you a joyous holiday and a very happy new year.

Occupy Congress Day 2 Video and Pictures

2011-12-07T22:47:41Z

Day 2 of Occupy Congress included thousands of the 99% breaking up into groups and using different routes to march through the city to get to K Street, the lobbyist epicenter of Washington D.C.

Here's video from the occupying of Senator Heller and Representative Heck's offices in DC. A group of Nevadans made the trip all the way to DC to speak with Heller and Heck, but neither could find five minutes in their schedule to meet with constituents.

This was in hour four of the six hour occupation of Dean Heller's office. The TV in the office was tuned to MSNBC so we were able to watch coverage of Occupy Congress as we were occupying congress.

Pictures from Day 1 and Day 2:

Day 1 of Occupy Congress: Photo Gallery

2011-12-07T13:47:45Z

Check out pictures from Day 1 of the Occupy Congress actions taking place this week.

A group of Nevadans spent over six hours sitting in the offices of Senator Heller and Representative Heck, but neither one could find five minutes in their shedule to meet with us.

Guest Post: Why I'm at #99inDC

2011-12-07T05:48:09Z

I have always been very involved in politics, government, and take care to be an informed voter who is aware of what the policies are that shape my life (especially those that involve our ability to change in a changing world to grow and adapt and remain a front runner from healthcare to green energy to job creation and superior education that will keep the USA number one!).

This has been slipping away from us for far too long. And now as a parent I see our county torn apart by wars, bankrupted by 30 years of supply side economics, lack of investment in our own infrastructure and education, poor paying jobs, an economic top heavy scale with tax codes and too much deregulation and unbridled criminal capitalism that rewards far too few while systematically shrinking the middle class to the status of "working poor" and higher education for middle or lower incomes that has become so expensive that only the rich can afford it.

A healthcare system broken by for profit greed driven incentives that reward insurers for turning away the sick and a "managed care system" that cherry picks among the healthy and pushes the healthy people into high deductible H.A.S. plans that essentially are only adventurous to the health and the young who can bank their pre-tax dollars into the HAS account and not have to use these policies right away.

Sick people like me? Financial disaster!

I had a pretty work life until my own life and health deteriorated in my 40s due to the premature arthritis, degenerative disk disease, fibromyalgia, goiter on my thyroid and worsening clinical insomnia, agoraphobia, and complications from last surgery. I could no longer perform the functions of my job after years of taking care to learn more outside of work by becoming HIAA certified, got my life and health license, took courses in medical coding, medical ethics and the law, and group health insurance business.

Now I'm collecting my OWN social security and disability insurance the age of 45 and Medicaid as secondary since 2009, so I fight for preservation of these. I am a champion for real health care reform which is single payer

I fight for the end of the unfair trade policies, the end of 20 years of Reaganomics and the END of money in politics, lobbying, and the corruption in influence it has had over everything. The destruction of our economy and country is unprecedented!

This sick economic approach that protecting tax cuts for the top 1%, keep funding wars and cutting our domestic economy is going to grow the economy is insane as this is an exact repeat of the disastrous policies that lend to the crash of 1929!

We need to investments not cuts!

I am tired of my husband working 11:00pm-7:00am whenever he is told to and if he refuses he can be fired!! Also, he does not get half clocked out meal no matter how many hours he works because no union and nobody says anything for fear they'll be fired!

Teresa Van Remortel
Green Bay, WI

Teresa Van Remortel traveled all the way from Green Bay, WI to be at Occupy Congress. Her last job before her health deteroriated to levels that prevented her from working was as an office manager at a skilled nursing facility. She spent six hours in Senator Dean Heller's office with Nevadans waiting to speak with the Senator. Heller did not meet with his constituents.