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It was a cloudy, chilled afternoon, with a fresh Zephyr blowing out of the southwest the evening of Friday, December 11, 1863, when Deborah Anne Phillips, after three attempts, shot and killed Charles Stier in Virginia City.

In her late twenties and a widow, Phillips recently arrived from California and made her living taking in laundry. Stier was a butcher, about 30 years old, born in Hamburg, Germany.

Both occupied a two-unit cottage on South C Street in Virginia City. Stier and Joseph Peterson resided in the east apartment; Deborah and her 8-year-old daughter, Susie, occupied the west apartment facing onto South C Street.

Each residence had a separate entrance on the north side of the building about 10 feet apart, each at the head of a short flight of steps.

A man named McMillan visited Philips between 3 and 4 p.m., where she spoke of Stier and his recent kindnesses, followed by his rude behavior. Stier had provided wood for her fire and relieved her of several household chores but later made some insulting remarks, most likely resulting from a realization that the relationship was not developing as he had hoped.

Suddenly, Stier came to her door enraged, let himself in, and said in his thick accent, “I don’t want anything more to do with you; you can’t play me.”

He then repeated, “I know all of your kind,” several times.

He pointed at McMillan and said, “I insult a lone woman, and if anyone wants to take it up, I am ready for him.”

Stier returned to his apartment, repeating his words through the thin walls. McMillan, however, chose not to rise to the challenge and returned to his store, where Stier later came “and spoke derogatively as to her character.”

Shortly afterward, Deborah borrowed a six-shooter from a friend named Schofield. About 6 p.m., Stier returned to her apartment, where he called her a “damned whore.”

She chased him into his apartment with the pistol, calling him a coward, fired through the closed door, and briefly returned to her residence. Moments later, Stier and Phillips, now unarmed, came back out into the hallway and argued from the tops of their respective stairs, with Stier adamantly refusing her demand to take back his insult.

Philips went back into her apartment, returning with the pistol.

Responding to the altercation, Peterson attempted to stop Phillips and prevent any further gunplay.

Still standing at the threshold of his steps, Stier said to Peterson, “Let her fire.”

Despite his efforts, she fired and missed.

Stier repeated, “Do not hold her — let her shoot.”

Again, she fired the gun and again missed.

Continuing to ignore Stier, Peterson took the pistol from Phillips, but Stier insisted, “Give her back the pistol and let her shoot.”

Following his demand, Peterson returned the gun. Phillips shot Stier in the head on her fourth attempt, and he fell to the bottom of the stairs.

Hearing the shots, witnesses had gathered, where Phillips addressed them, “Boys, you may all see that I have done this with a clean conscience.”

According to Dr. McNally, who testified at the coroner’s inquest the following morning, Stier died about 8 p.m. that night “of the effects of the gunshot wound.”

Her defense of her honor captured the imagination of the public. Three days after the shooting, the Saturday, December 12, 1863 edition of the Gold Hill Daily News reported, “We need scarcely say that public sympathy is generally on her side because Steir [sic] called her out of her name.”

Arrested and jailed by Storey County Sheriff H.W. Howard, Philips posted a $1,000 bond. She was found guilty of manslaughter and treated with unusual courtesy at her sentencing as reported in the Sunday, March 29, 1864 edition of the Gold Hill News, “…Judge North remarked that as the prisoner was a woman, he would not, as is customary in such cases, request her to rise…”

North sentenced her to one year in the Territorial Prison on Monday, March 28, 1864. However, the following month, she received a full pardon from Governor James Warren Nye in response to public outcry.

According to the Saturday, April 9, 1864 edition of Gold Hill Daily News, “The petition presented to the Governor, praying for her pardon, was signed by the jury that convicted her, by Judge North and the Prosecuting Attorney, by the Sheriff and his Deputies, also by all the city officials, a majority of the members of the Board, a great number of prominent citizens.”

There remains the question of motivation by Stier in repeatedly urging Peterson to allow Phillips to shoot at him.

The Gold Hill Daily News of Monday, December 14, 1863, offered the most likely explanation, “Steir [sic] was a butcher, and formerly worked in this city, and was regarded as a harmless fellow. Of late he indulged so excessively in strong drink that he was looked upon as a little ‘daft.’”

Set free, her subsequent life seems relatively uneventful. The 1880 census listed her as widowed, working as a housekeeper for Stephen Milligan, a single, 51-year-old farmer in Branch Township, Stanislaus County, California.

Her daughter, Susie S. Phillips, married in 1870 to Wright S. Curless and divorced in 1877, lived with them and was listed as a servant. Others in the household were her grandson, four-year-old Joseph R. Curless, and a Chinese farm laborer named Chung.

The 1900 census showed her living in San Francisco, now head of household and still widowed, working as a seamstress with her now 24-year-old grandson, Joseph, working as a day laborer. She died on Friday. January 13, 1911, at 77, in San Francisco, her daughter Susie having pre-deceased her.

According to her obituary in the Sunday, January 15, 1911 edition of the San Francisco Call, she left behind a sister, a Mrs. Ryan of St. Joseph, Mo., grandson Joseph Curless, a granddaughter listed only as Mrs. Oscar Jacobson, and great-granddaughter Althea Jacobson.

There was no mention of the half-century-old manslaughter incident in Virginia City.

The Nevada Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint lodged against Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow regarding her vote to allocate $250,000 to a nonprofit organization that hired her after it found no evidence of impropriety or misuse of her position.

Filed in August, the complaint alleged that Gorelow leveraged her legislative position to secure employment with The Arc of Nevada, a nonprofit aiding individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Gorelow was appointed the organization’s executive director just one month after the legislative session concluded.

Despite the allegations, a three-member panel unanimously ruled that Gorelow did not exploit her legislative role to pursue private employment nor utilized government resources for personal gain. Additionally, the panel concluded that her acceptance of the position did not compromise her impartial discharge of public duties.

In response to the dismissal, Gorelow expressed relief, denouncing the complaint as baseless and politically motivated. Her attorney, Bradley Schrager, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing her adherence to ethical standards throughout the process.

Gorelow’s case is part of a broader controversy surrounding legislative ties to nonprofits benefiting from state funding. Referred to as “Christmas tree bills,” the legislation allocated millions to numerous nonprofits and governmental entities. Gorelow, in her defense, provided evidence demonstrating that her job interview with The Arc of Nevada occurred after the legislative session concluded and affirmed no prior communication with the organization.

While the Nevada Ethics Commission lacks authority over core legislative functions, it maintains jurisdiction over non-core actions, thereby permitting an investigation into Gorelow’s case. Executive Director Ross Armstrong conducted interviews and reviewed documents as part of the inquiry.

My Cousin Elmo says, “After getting up throughout the morning to use the bathroom, I now know why they are called the wee hours.”

Sadly, no matter how I vote, no matter what I say, nothing is ever going to be the same because:

• • We see other countries going Socialist and collapsing, but it seems like a great plan to us. 
  • It is un-American for the census to count how many Americans are in America.
  • People who say there is no such thing as gender are demanding a female President.
  • Universities advocate equality but discriminate against Asian Americans in favor of African Americans.
  • Some people are blamed for things that happened before they were born, while others are not being held responsible for what they are doing now.
  • Criminals are captured and released to hurt more people because stopping them is a violation of their rights.
  • People who have never owned slaves should pay slavery reparations to people who have never been slaves. 
  • After legislating gender, if a man pretends to be a woman, I am required to pretend with him. 
  • It was okay for Joe Biden to demand the President of Ukraine fire a prosecutor, but it is an impeachable offense if Donald Trump inquiries about it.
  • People who have never been to college must pay the debts of college students who took out huge loans for their degrees.
  • Immigrants with tuberculosis and polio are welcome, but you had better be able to prove your dog is vaccinated.
  • Doctors and engineers who want to immigrate to the U.S. must go through a rigorous 12 to 20-year vetting process, but illiterate gang-bangers who jump the southern fence get welcomed immediately.
  • $5 billion for border security is too expensive, but $1.5 trillion for “free” health care is not.
  • If you cheat to get into college, you go to prison, but if you cheat to get into the country, you go to college for free.
  • Biden has provable dementia and can hardly talk, but it is Trump who is “mentally ill” because he says unkind things about people who attack him publicly.
  • People died from COVID-19, but it is racist to refer to it as Chinese despite being developed in China.
  • We are living in an upside-down world where killing murderers is wrong, but killing innocent babies is right.
  • I cannot ask an honest question of a friend or point something out without them getting angry.
  • And pointing out any of this hypocrisy somehow makes me “racists” and “a privileged white male.”

Finally, I can’t even ask a friend an honest question or point something out without them getting angry and some people will read this but because they are so set in their ways, they won’t or can’t agree with me on any of this.

Am I wrong?

My Cousin Elmo says, “While politicians are busy canceling TikTok, why don’t they cancel themselves too.”

My Cousin Elmos says, “If Don Lemon were white, he would be Keith Olbermann.”

The Nevada Secretary of State’s office remains under scrutiny over the accelerated rollout of the Voter Registration and Elections Management Solution (VREMS), with sources expressing apprehensions regarding its potential impact on election integrity.

According to insiders, there are widespread concerns within the Secretary of State’s office that the hasty implementation of the top-down election system may jeopardize the primary and presidential elections. Some fear that the system may fail altogether, with doubts cast on its efficacy and the level of trust it commands among counties.

The $30 million allocated during the last legislative session for VREMS, as mandated by Assembly Bill 422 passed in the 2021 legislature, was to create a centralized statewide voter registration database. Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar has emphasized that it will enhance consistency across all 17 counties and improve transparency in voter data.

However, county registrars and clerks are raising objections to the timeline for implementation, labeling it as “asinine” and “ridiculous.” Despite many county Registrars of Voters (ROVs) expressing interest in the new system, election officials in other states, like Wisconsin, caution that similar systems typically require two to three years for implementation, not the eight months allotted by Aguilar.

Furthermore, concerns have been exacerbated by the validation process for VREMS, with only one mock election scheduled to test the new system. The inclusion of mail-in ballots in the validation process was only amended recently after widespread pushback from counties.

With the mock elections on Monday, March 11, and Tuesday, March 12, and a final implementation date set for Monday, April 1, counties have less than six weeks to prepare for early voting in the June primary. The tight timeline has raised alarms among election officials, highlighting a lack of experience among project managers and the additional burden placed on counties already engaged in various community activities.

The concerns follow a recent “glitch” in the Presidential Preference Primary (PPP), which triggered a public backlash. Despite an apology from Aguilar and assurances of election integrity, questions linger regarding the transparency and reliability of the entire election process.

To shed light on these matters, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Nevada GOP have filed public records requests seeking related information, including internal and external communications of the Secretary of State office.

LaCinda Elgan, Esmeralda County Clerk, is embroiled in controversy as critics push for her recall, citing disagreements over election procedures.

During a recent Esmeralda County Board of Commissioners meeting, Mary Jane Zakas, representing the Esmeralda County Republican Central Committee, presented a letter seeking Elgan’s recall. The move comes as the county faces budgetary discussions, potentially impacting the elections department.

The crux of the recall effort revolves around Elgan’s resistance to hand-count ballots, a practice advocated by some following doubts regarding election outcomes. Elgan’s stance on hand counting and the broader skepticism surrounding election procedures exposes the charged political climate in Nevada.

Despite assertions by Elgan’s critics, her supporters argue that her resistance to hand counting reflects adherence to state guidelines and a commitment to transparency. However, concerns persist regarding the potential influence of external pressures on election administration.

Kerry Durmick, Nevada state director of the Democrat-aligned All Voting is Local, condemned what she perceives as retaliatory actions against Elgan, stressing the need to safeguard election administrators amid heightened scrutiny.

The Nevada State Legislature has convened for its Interim Session, looking at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and the Marlette Lake Water System.

The newly established Legislative Committee for the Review and Oversight of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Marlette Lake Water System comprises six members from both the Assembly and the Senate, with the committee chaired by Senator Skip Daly, with Assemblywoman Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod as the Vice Chair. Other members include Senator Melanie Scheible, Senator Robin L. Titus, Assemblyman Rich DeLong, and Assemblywoman Angie Taylor.

The committee’s inaugural meeting on Tuesday, January 23, marked the first in a series of six sessions reviewing the budget, programs, activities, responsiveness, and accountability of TRPA and the Marlette Lake Water System. The first meeting in Carson City attracted considerable public interest, with attendees overflowing the committee room, necessitating an additional room to accommodate the enthusiastic crowd.

During the 30-minute public comment section, residents from the Tahoe area of Douglas County and Incline Village expressed their views on TRPA oversight, ranging from general support to calls for a reevaluation of TRPA’s focus. Despite being a recurrent oversight committee since 1985, the coming meetings will address the role, authority, and activities of TRPA concerning Lake Tahoe and the Marlette Lake Water System.

Following discussions on committee logistics, representatives made presentations on the organization’s history before addressing the TRPA’s organizational size and dual environmental and economic focus.

Representatives from the Division of State Lands and the State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources also presented on the Environmental Improvement Program and related Nevada programs, explaining their role in overseeing the Lake Tahoe Basin and its various program areas, including recreation enhancement, forest health and restoration, water quality, and erosion.

A presentation on the Marlette Lake Water System followed, outlining its historical significance, purpose, and recent updates. The system, a Historic Landmark, provides water to Virginia City, Gold Hill, Silver City, Carson City, and Storey County and will see improvements that include upgrades to transmission lines and dam rehabilitation projects.

The meeting concluded with representatives from local counties and Carson City sharing their priorities and utilization of Marlette Lake and Lake Tahoe. The next hearing is scheduled for March 8, promising further insights into the oversight of these vital regional entities.

As the political spotlight shifts to Nevada with the upcoming Republican presidential contest, it’s essential to understand the intricacies of the state’s electorate, which boasts a blend of demographics and diversity. Unlike other states, Nevada will host a primary and a caucus, presenting a distinctive electoral landscape.

Delving into the demographics of the Silver State, data collected by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) offers some insights. The median age of adults in Nevada is 51, slightly higher than the national median of 48. Moreover, the educational attainment in Nevada reflects a diverse spectrum, with around one-third of Nevadans having a high school diploma or less and only 15 percent holding a college degree.

Racially, Nevada mirrors the nation’s shifting demographics, with slightly more than half identifying as white and significant populations of Hispanic, Black, and Asian American or Pacific Islander communities. Additionally, the state boasts a notable proportion of individuals identifying as independent at38 percent), with Democrats and Republicans making up 33 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

Religious diversity adds another layer to Nevada’s electoral tapestry. The PRRI Census of American Religion underscores the state’s religious landscape, with notable concentrations of various religious groups across its counties. From white Christians to Hispanic Catholics and Latter-day Saints, Nevada presents a mosaic of religious affiliations.

For instance, while white Christians make up around one-third of Nevadans, certain counties exhibit higher concentrations, such as Lander County, where 62 percent identify as such. Similarly, white evangelical Protestants, white mainline/non-evangelical Protestants, and white Catholics have notable presences across different counties. Moreover, Nevada’s religious diversity index score surpasses the national average, with Clark County leading as the most religiously diverse.

Beyond religious lines, the state also harbors a sizable population of religiously unaffiliated individuals, comprising 27 percent of the national population. Counties like Pershing, Washoe, and Humboldt stand out for their higher concentrations of religiously unaffiliated residents.

Storey County emerges as a microcosm of Nevada’s political diversity. With a religious diversity index score of 0.817, Storey boasts a rich tapestry of religious affiliations, including notable concentrations of white Christians. Approximately 59 percent of Storey County residents identify as white Christians, underscoring the influence of religious demographics in shaping political discourse. Moreover, Storey County’s 38 percent proportion of independent voters highlights a trend across Nevada, where nonpartisan affiliations play a significant role in electoral outcomes. As the county prepares to participate in the primary and caucus, observers keenly anticipate the impact of Storey’s unique blend of demographics on the electoral stage.

Lyon County embodies Nevada’s shifting demographics and political dynamics. With a religious diversity index score of 0.799, the county reflects the state’s many religious affiliations, from white Christians to Hispanic Catholics. Notably, Lyon County’s 33 percent conservative identification aligns with broader trends across Nevada, where many residents identify with conservative ideologies, emerging as a bellwether.

Douglas County holds one of Nevada’s most diverse electorates. With a religious diversity index score of 0.806, Douglas boasts a notable concentration of white mainline/non-evangelical Protestants and white Christians. Furthermore, the county has a 34 percent liberal identification.

With the capital of Nevada in its midst, Carson City County has a pivotal role in shaping the state’s political trajectory. With a religious diversity index score of 0.83, Carson City exemplifies Nevada’s diverse religious landscape, from white Christians to Hispanic Catholics. Moreover, the county’s 33 percent proportion of Democratic identification reflects the state’s broader partisan trends.