The Old Blog in the Desert

Some people carve up their skin to feel something.
Me? I drown myself in whiskey–straight from the bottle.
Burn it down, scrape it raw.
That’s how it goes.

People slice each other open when they hurt.
I take the hit myself, keep the mess on the inside.
Better me than them.

Said I was too outré, like a foreign language
They didn’t care to learn.
Said I didn’t fit in their soft little world.

Like I’m supposed to care.
Take rejection on the chin–do not flinch, do not blink.
Stiff upper lip and all that shit. I was raised on it,
learned young to spit at the closed door–laugh it off.

But hell, that drive home, pulled over, wiped my eyes,
choked down the loss like smoke in a burning room.
Don’t tell me I got over it. Don’t tell me I found peace.
I still slice myself on whiskey, mean and unforgiving,
and drain the bottle till I feel nothing sharp enough to bleed.

As Washoe County faces growing scrutiny over alleged election mismanagement, Clark County revealed on Thursday, November 14, that 1,600 mail ballots had gone uncounted during this month’s election.

The ballots delayed in the “duplication stage” of processing were later tallied and remained under county control at all times. Officials claim the additional votes did not change the outcome of any races.

The developments in Clark County come as Washoe County battles claims of voter roll mismanagement and allegations of over 100 election violations. These include chain-of-custody breaches and signature verification errors, according to GOP donor Robert Beadles, who has been a vocal critic of Nevada’s election systems.

Beadles’ allegations gained attention after the online publication The Nevada Independent accused him of promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, including claims of global Jewish control. Beadles has not responded to the publication’s characterization of his statements as anti-Semitic or potentially defamatory.

Clark County’s disclosure of uncounted ballots prompted questions about its mail-in ballot duplication process, which involves bipartisan teams replicating ballots unreadable by scanners due to damage or unclear markings. County spokesperson Stephanie Wheatley declined to provide further details, citing the county’s statement as the best available information.

In a letter to Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, Clark County committed to reviewing its duplication procedures and announced plans for an audit in coordination with state election officials. Aguilar pledged accountability measures to ensure similar errors do not occur in the future.

The uncounted ballots, discovered just one day before statewide election certification, allegedly did not alter results, including the closely watched Ward 2 race for North Las Vegas City Council. Incumbent Ruth Garcia-Anderson’s lead narrowed slightly, from nine votes to eight, but remained decisive.

The Nevada Republican Party criticized Clark County’s handling of the election and called for greater transparency, arguing the error raised “serious questions” about the administration of mail ballots. Meanwhile, statewide data showed the rejection of over 9,000 ballots due to voters failing to cure mismatched signatures by the statutory deadline.

In Washoe County, Beadles’ accusations have continued to place pressure on the lack of election integrity within the county. Beadles has claimed widespread irregularities and alleged that Democrats manipulated the U.S. Senate race against Republican Sam Brown, who conceded last week after losing to Senator Jacky Rosen.

The 2024 election cycle in Nevada has seen fewer public disputes over voter fraud compared to 2020, partly attributed to Donald Trump’s victory in the state this year. However, administrative errors like those in Clark and Washoe Counties ensure that election integrity remains a polarizing issue in Nevada’s political landscape.

The Washoe County Commission certified the 2024 general election in a contentious 3-1 vote, with Commissioner Mike Clark abstaining due to what he described as a conflict of interest. Clark was not present for the vote, leaving the meeting following a heated exchange over the county’s handling of election-related issues. Commissioners Alexis Hill, Mariluz Garcia, and Clara Andriola voted in favor of certification, while Commissioner Jeanne Herman voted against it, continuing her pattern of opposing election certification.

The certification process came with sharp disputes over the integrity of the election, particularly regarding nearly 29,000 registered voters who were not reclassified as inactive by the federally mandated 90-day deadline before the election. The failure resulted in ballots sent to those voters, a point of contention raised by Clark.

In questioning Election Specialist Addie Vetter, Clark sought clarification on why the county missed the deadline, but Hill interrupted, accusing him of making unfounded accusations against election staff. Clark responded forcefully, stating, “Quit interrupting me. I am not accusing anyone. If a question is raised, you always have to censor speech. That is not going to happen with me. I want to know why the County Manager had this information and this information wasn’t shared with me until today. Why wasn’t this done by the federal statutory deadline?”

Hill did not respond to Clark’s comment. He then left the meeting, later issuing a statement apologizing to Washoe County residents for what he described as the county’s failure to ensure fairness and transparency in the election process.

The issues raised by Clark included duplicate ballots sent to voters, chain-of-custody concerns for ballots, and irregularities in signature verification. He also criticized the county’s implementation of a new voting system, alleging a lack of preparation and inadequate staff training. Clark pointed to the absence of leadership during the election period, with the Interim Registrar of Voters placed on administrative leave and County Manager Eric Brown on medical leave.

Despite these concerns, Hill and the majority of the commission proceeded with certification, praising the hard work of election staff and volunteers. Hill also dismissed claims of systemic election flaws, stating that the process met legal and procedural standards.

Clark’s claims have again fueled calls for a full audit of the county’s election systems and processes. Meanwhile, Washoe County faces the prospect of an employment lawsuit tied to removing Interim Registrar of Voters Carri-Anne Burgess, adding to the mounting tension surrounding election management.

Perhaps I am unwell, further sickened, most notably by the fact that I write too much–or do I not write enough–and how will the story end?

I sit here in this dusty room, the sun’s last dying rays filtering through the grimy windows, casting shadows that dance like ghosts around me. The typewriter stares back at me, a silent judge of my excesses and inadequacies.

The bottle on the table is half-empty—or is it half-full? And who the fuck cares?

The whiskey burns its way down, a reminder that I am alive and still feel. Outside, life hums its usual dirge of misery and madness, a constant backdrop to the solitary symphony of my damn existence.

I think about the stories written, the words spilled like blood on the page. Each one a confession, a scream in the dark. Too much, not enough, always the same damn questions. But the answers? They elude me, dancing just out of reach like the fleeting affections of a passing lover.

The typewriter remains silent, the words stubbornly trapped between my mind and fingertips. Perhaps they are afraid to come out–to face the same scrutiny I face. Or maybe they abandoned me, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the ghosts of stories that might have been.

If I smoked, I imagine the smoke from the cigarette I lit would curl up in lazy tendrils, blending with the shadows of my room. The clock on the wall, ticking away, indifferent to my struggle, each second a reminder of my mortality.

And how would the story end? I don’t know and don’t fucking care.

It was a regular winter’s day up in the Comstock region, where the snow fell thicker than a miner’s beard after three months on a mountain, and the wind howled like a gang of hungry coyotes. The National Weather Service, bless their hearts, went ahead and issued a blizzard warning for Northern Nevada and Northern California and the good folks of the Comstock braced themselves for a storm that promised to be as fierce as a prospector’s temper on payday.

Now, they said the snow would keep fallin’ through Saturday night, with the hope of clearin’ up by Sunday. Granny Brooks, the local meteorologist and undisputed champion apple pie baker for the last nine years, assured everyone that Sunday would bring a break in the weather—though her arthritis has a different opinion.

As the snow piled up, the people of the Comstock region hunkered down like a bunch of grizzly bears before hibernation, their spirits as high as the snowdrifts. In Tahoe, the snow was supposed to come down hard—nine to fifteen inches at the lake and a downright ridiculous twelve to twenty inches above 7,000 feet. For the Comstockers, it was just another chance to test their mettle.

The Nevada Department of Transportation had the proper sense to warn that the roads would be icy as a dead man’s stare and advised against all unnecessary travel. But the Comstock crowd, tough as nails, just smiled at the warning, knowing it would take more than a few snowflakes and ice cycles to keep them indoors.

Interstate 80 was closed at the California border to Colfax, and nobody knew when it would open again. The California Highway Patrol in Truckee kept posting updates, but the Comstock folks, seasoned as they were, figured the best way to survive a storm like this was to stay put and enjoy the view.

NV Energy sent out 200 linesmen and a hundred extra hands to restore power to over 25,000 folks statewide. In Northern Nevada, nearly 12,000 people were in the dark as the snow piled up faster than a politician’s promise. NV Energy assured everyone that their crews were working to fix the outages; however, bad road conditions and poor visibility made it a slow process.

Meanwhile, the folks in town took the whole thing with a sense of humor. Old Joe, the resident storyteller, gathered ‘round the fire and spun yarns about past blizzards, including the infamous blizzard of 82.

“I remember that storm like it was yesterday,” Joe said, “when ol’ Hank got snowed in so deep, he had to dig his way out with a spatula! Yes sir, a spatula.”

As the snow built up and the streets turned into a sea of white, the Comstock became less a place to endure the storm and more like a giant playground. SUVs and trucks slid around like oversized boxes in a game of bumper cars, their drivers, full of cabin fever and Christmas cheer, taking to the roads with reckless abandon.

“Look out, here comes Smilin’ Jim!” someone hollered as his truck bounced down the street. Jim, grinning like a jackrabbit, waved as his Jimmy spun in a perfect 360-degree turn.

“Just practicing my pirouettes!” he shouted, pleased as punch.

Not to be outdone, Jennifer decided it was high time to show off her ice-skating skills. She strapped on her cowboy boots and set off across the slick boardwalk, attempting pirouettes and spins with varying results.

“Look at me, I’m a figure skater!” she yelled, right before she lost her footing and landed face-first in a snowbank.

Eager as ever, the kids grabbed their sleds and raced for the nearest hill. “The first one to the bottom wins,” shouted Billy as he shot down like a bat out of hell. The others followed close behind, sleds bouncing and jostling like wild broncos.

Even the town’s pets got in on the action. Dogs chased each other ‘round and ‘round, tails wagging like they had found a bone. On the other hand, the cats stayed snug and safe inside, watching with wide-eyed curiosity from the windowsills.

One particularly adventurous dog, a golden retriever named Max, hopped on a sled with the kids and together went flying down the hill. “Hold on tight, Max!” yelled Ginny as the dog and sled hit the slope.

Of course, those hills were in Connecticut, and how those little adventures turned out is unclear.

But while the storm raged and the snow piled up, the good folks of the Comstock huddled together, shared their stories, and warmed their bones, knowing well enough that they’d weather this storm just like everyone before it.

The sun blazed like a relentless adversary in the sky, casting harsh shadows across the high desert. I hitched up my pack, feeling the grit beneath my worn boots. Out here, it was just me and the elements–a test of endurance and will.

The landscape stretched endlessly, punctuated by tough sagebrush and the occasional defiant Joshua Tree. My target was the ridge, rumored to guard ancient petroglyphs carved by hands long turned to dust. It wasn’t a casual stroll; it became a quest to prove something to myself, though I wouldn’t admit it out loud.

Steadily, I climbed, each step a battle against the thinning air and dropping temperature. A sense of being watched gnawed at me, but I pushed on, my resolve as solid as the rocks around me.

Approaching the ridge, a fierce gust of wind whipped around, stinging my face with desert grit. Pausing, senses heightened, catching a fleeting glimpse of a wild Mustang–a dark shape against the horizon, mane streaming like a banner. It disappeared as swiftly as it appeared, a spectral presence, a ghost of the desert.

Reaching the petroglyphs just as the sun began to lower, I traced the ancient symbols with calloused fingers, feeling a primal connection to the past. A sudden, sharp sound pierced the silence–a rattlesnake, coiled and ready. Instinctively, I placed my sturdy walking stick between us. The snake recoiled, vanishing into the shadows.

Breathless, I sat down on a flat rock, my heart pounding. I looked out over the vast expanse of the desert, the sky painted orange and purple. The wind had died down, leaving an eerie, expectant silence. In the quiet,  I understood the essence of the place–the harsh beauty, the danger, and the profound solitude.

With the sun dipping low in the sky, casting long shadows across the high desert, I knew it was time to return to my truck. The petroglyphs had whispered their ancient secret, and an encounter with a rattlesnake had left me both awed and on edge.

A vastness stretched out before me, a silent witness to my trek. As the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the ridge, I quickened my pace, eager to reach safety in the familiarity of my truck.

The wind picked up, whispering through the canyons–soft, haunting melody. I felt a sense of urgency, the desert’s vastness pressing in around me. The landscape, once awe-inspiring, now felt remote and isolated as darkness fell.

Finally, I spotted the familiar outline of my truck. Relief washed over me, mingled with a sense of accomplishment. I had faced the challenges of the desert and navigated its treacherous beauty, and now I was returning–tired but undeniably alive.

As I reached the truck, I paused, looking back at the ridge and the petroglyphs hidden beyond. The desert had tested me, but it had revealed its mystery and beauty. I climbed into the truck, the engine’s roar–a comforting sound in the silence of the night. Driving away, I knew I would carry the desert’s whispers etched into my memory like the ancient symbols on the rocks.

Recently released email communications between Nevada GOP lawyer Brian Hardy and officials at the Nevada Secretary of State’s office have shed light on an alleged clerical data error that created confusion during the final days of mail-in ballot counting for the 2023 Nevada general election.

Discovered late on Sunday, November 10, the error initially made it appear that 28,269 ballots were unaccounted for between turnout reports published on Thursday, November 7, and Friday, November 8. Following extensive weekend reviews, officials from the Secretary of State’s office and the Nevada GOP confirmed that the discrepancy was not due to any ballots going “missing,” as some social media reports suggested, but to a “cut and paste” mistake.

According to Chief Deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Di Chiara, the issue arose when Clark County provided inaccurate data to the Secretary of State’s reports on voter turnout but did not affect the official election results.

“This was a clerical error, and at no point did any election results change based on this error,” Di Chiara clarified. “We were sent a dataset from Clark County that was inaccurate, and that data went into one of our regular reports.”

Di Chiara further explained that while state turnout reports are to provide the public with frequent updates on ballot counts, they are separate from the official results displayed on the secure Election Night Reporting platform at results.nv.gov. The reporting error originated in data sent by Clark County, with a mistake in the “Total Mail Ballots Returned” figure, leading to an erroneous entry for Democratic mail-in ballots.

After reviewing the information, officials corrected the numbers and updated the reports on the evening of Friday, November 8. The accurate total of mail-in ballots returned and accepted for Democrats was 186,522, 1,762 more than initially recorded.

Chairman of the Nevada GOP, Michael McDonald, commented on the incident.

“The NV GOP can appreciate that mistakes are made, but this did not have to happen.”

McDonald suggested that eliminating universal mail-in ballots and ending vote counting by the end of election day could help streamline the process and avoid similar errors.

In addition to this incident, data from Friday, November 8, through Monday, November 11, shows 41,489 ballots added in Nevada, with former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly receiving fewer than 1,000 votes combined. The lack of public commentary from officials, including NV GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, has sparked questions online.

With the one issue resolved, Nevada election officials continue to emphasize their commitment to transparency, adding that the regularly updated turnout reports are part of a system designed to keep the public informed on ballot processing progress. Critics say a full investigation is needed to preclude the chance that the county was attempting to dump illegal ballots into the system.

When I lodge at Tahoe House in Virginia City, it is invariably in Room 14. Familiar and serene, it always retained a peculiar chill, even with the heater steadily running.

One winter’s eve, just before the break of dawn, a particularly icy draft stole through the room, sending shivers racing along my arms. Shivering, I reached down to tug my blankets higher, but my fingers brushed against something cool and solid. It was unmistakably a bracelet, with its metal links cold, solid, and foreign to my touch.

Blinking in disbelief, I dismissed it as a trick of the light, believing it to be a fold of the curtain. Yet, as my gaze rose in the dim light filtering through the window, I saw a lady swathed in layers of pale, whispering veils, standing quiet, unwavering stare. She hovered near the bed, her eyes holding an ageless sorrow. Glimmering faintly on her wrist was a bracelet–identical to the one I just touched.

Despite the startling apparition, I became enveloped by a curious calm. Startled, yes, but not frightened. I released my grip, withdrawing my hand under the blanket. Slowly, I pulled the covers over my head. My heart thudded in the ensuing silence, but so in the chill dissolved into a lingering silence.

Morning arrived, and I almost dismissed the encounter as a figment of my dreams. Yet, as I folded back my blanket, there on the bedside lay a single silver link from what could have been a bracelet–polished, cold, and undeniably real.

A power outage at the Washoe County Registrar of Voters office on Monday afternoon, November 11, allegedly brought vote tabulation to a temporary halt, leaving staff working in the dark for over an hour.

Power reportedly went down around 3:45 p.m., affecting the Washoe County Administration Complex where the Registrar’s office is. Video footage showed workers continuing their tasks in darkness while the tabulation room remained entirely dark.

Registrar of Voters office staff confirmed that ballot processing paused during the outage, though they stayed onsite along with official observers, waiting for power to resume so operations could continue. Ballots secured in a cage were also visibly monitored.

Bethany Drysdale, Washoe County’s Communications Manager, was contacted at 4:58 p.m. to clarify why the facility’s generator was not fully powering essential systems. Drysdale confirmed that the outage affected multiple buildings in the area, including the University/I-80 Corridor, as NV Energy worked to repair equipment issues while also contending with the Callahan Ranch Fire south of Reno.

The Registrar’s office resumed operations shortly after power was restored around 5 p.m., brought on by the facility’s main generator. Washoe County issued a public alert regarding the outage, confirming that ballot processing would continue.

As Nevada’s election counting stretches beyond Election Day, concerns continue about the transparency, security, and speed of mail-in ballot processing. With power outages, data discrepancies, and counting delays in Washoe and Clark counties, voters and officials are pressing the Nevada Secretary of State (SoS), the USPS, and the USPS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for answers about protocols for handling mail ballots, especially those received after Election Day.

The core question remains: What safeguards ensure that ballots received after midnight on Election Day remain unmixed with legally cast ballots? Nevada law allows for counting ballots postmarked by Election Day if they arrive within four days, while ballots without a postmark get accepted up to three days after Election Day. However, some voters question whether these late-arriving ballots are adequately separated and verified to prevent any accidental or intentional inclusion of illegitimate ones.

Critics are also questioning Clark County ballot processing capabilities. Compared to similar-sized urban areas, the Clark County processing center appears small, equipped with fewer DPS machines, which sort mail by delivery routes, while more general AFCS machines sort by zip code. Observers are concerned that these resources may not efficiently handle the mail-in ballot volume, especially under tight deadlines.

Calculations based on mail volume raise further questions.

If Clark County processed all ballots within four days after Election Day, the AFCS machines, which can handle 32,000 pieces per hour, could process the 1.5 million statewide within that timeframe— faster than observed. Voters argue that even factoring in early voting ballots, it should not take four days to finalize mail-in ballot counts, leading to suspicions of delays beyond simple processing capacity.

The delays have focused on Nevada Senators Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, along with Congressman Steven Horsford, who have explored possible federal funding to expand the Clark County mail processing infrastructure. Many believe a larger facility with additional machines would enable faster and more transparent processing in future elections.

Additionally, some voters allege that ballots from various zip codes are being delayed or discarded, though USPS protocols require mail to be immediately canceled, sorted, and routed. Nevada law does not currently mandate that ballots arrive by Election Day, a rule some argue complicates security. Opponents of extended counting argue that ballots should arrive by 7 p.m. on Election Day to avoid postmark-related concerns.

Advocates insist on clear guidance from the Nevada SoS on ballot verification procedures with requests for an investigation into late-arriving ballots to ensure they were not improperly harvested or processed. They also want real-time camera footage at processing stations to ensure ballots were handled properly after arriving past Election Day.

Despite suspicions, Nevada law permits post-election ballot receipt for verified ballots. As counting continues, voters urge the Nevada SOS to increase transparency, expedite processing times, and address public concerns to bolster confidence in the state election results.