In a meeting with the Washoe County Commission on Tue., Apr. 25, County Manager Eric Brown said the Elections Group would not be working on-site with her Washoe County Registrar of Voters office. However, as he was testifying, they were already working in person inside the ROV’s office.

Then there is the contract, a matter of public record, which states that they would be on-site. It also shows that phase 2 of the program set up by the Election Group will cost $250 per hour for one-on-one training, capped at $500,000.

During the same meeting, Brown testified, as the county manager, he has authorization to spend up to $300,000. His comments were followed by Commissioner Clara Andriola suggesting he also had the authority to spend an initial $100,000 on the Elections Group without board approval.

The contract does indicate a $100,000 starting point, but it also suggests the Election Group will continue billing until the end of the year.

The contract starts with an on-site assessment scheduled for Mon. Mar. 13 through Fri., Mar. 17, and into April, if necessary, despite Brown assuring Commissioners that no one from the Election Group would be in the Washoe County Registrar of Voters office.

He’s home-schooled and was outside bouncing a basketball on the sidewalk when he saw me. He came up on the porch and sat by me as I watched Buddy sniff around the front yard.

“What are you learning today?” I asked.

“How to be frustrated with my computer,” he answered.

We both laugh. Chase can be funny, even though a youngster.

“So Chase, who’s your favorite music artist?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“I like Eminem,” my young neighbor answered. “How about yours?”

“I prefer Skittles,” I returned. “The red ones taste the best.”

“Skittles?!” the ten-year-old exclaims. “I mean the rapper!”

“Well, why would I want to eat the wrapper?” I ask.

“Ah, geez,” I’m out of here,” Chase said as he stepped from my porch and returned to dribbling his ball along the sidewalk and up the driveway to his porch, where he disappeared into his home.

President Joe Biden warned us in December 2022 that there “surely will be” another pandemic while announcing millions of dollars in U.S. aid for the African continent.

While we are growing used to his mumbling, fumbling, and stumbling because of his dementia, it still pays to listen and remember what he says. More times than not, he is divulging plans meant to remain under wraps.

“Fighters occupied a national public laboratory in Sudan holding samples of diseases including polio and measles, creating an “extremely, extremely dangerous” situation, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tue., Apr. 24,” CBS News reported.

The combatants “kicked out all the technicians from the lab…which is completely under the control of one of the fighting parties as a military base,” said Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO representative in Sudan.

“There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab,” Abid added.

Abid did not say if it was the Sudanese Armed Forces or RSF paramilitary group. He said he received a call from the head of the national lab in Khartoum on Mon., Apr. 23, a day before a US-brokered 72-hour ceasefire between warring the two generals took effect following ten days of urban combat.

The lab possibly holds a strain of Ebola as well.

Some people make it so hard to want to help others, and I don’t know if I should be mad or sad at the realization.

It started in December when I told a friend I’d help her find a dresser. She has been living out of a suitcase since I’ve known her, and that will soon be three years.

That month I found a dresser. It came from my son and daughter-in-law.

When I showed it to the person I was helping, they said it was too long, too low, that there were not enough drawers, and that they were too shallow. Okay, so back to square one.

Finally, I located a dresser about two and a half feet wide and slightly taller than four-foot. It is a standard four-drawer, more than likely manufactured in the early 70s.

Because of logistics and miscommunication, it took four days to get my hands on the damned thing and get it home. Once out of the back of my truck, I snapped a photograph of it and sent it to my friend.

They messaged: “I think I’d say no for now. Looking for something narrower, I think.”

As I said, people make it hard to want to help others. As for this one person, they are on their own in this venture from here on out.

Today we have an entire generation of people who shout “fake news” at the slightest hint of something they believe to be untrue. Sadly, this shows what our education system has done for these people; nothing.

The term “fake news” was known as “yellow press” at one time. Many historians claim it originated in the competition over the New York City newspaper market between newspaper publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst.

At first, yellow journalism had nothing to do with reporting but derived from a cartoon strip about life in the slums of New York called “Hogan’s Alley,” drawn by Richard F. Outcault. Published in color by the New York World, which Pulitzer owned, the comic had the Yellow Kid.

In 1896, to boost sales of his New York Journal, Hearst hired Outcault away from Pulitzer, launching a bidding war between the two publishers over the cartoonist. Hearst won, but Pulitzer refused to give in and hired a new cartoonist to continue drawing the cartoon for his paper.

The fight over the Yellow Kid gave rise to the term yellow journalism. And once coined, it extended to the sensationalist style employed by the two publishers in their profit-driven coverage of world events.

However, long before Hearst and Pulitzer created their publishing dynasty, there was Joeseph Goodman of the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City, Nevada Territory. On staff, Goodman employed two men who famously wrote “fake news” articles called “quaints.”

William Wright wrote under the nom de plume “Dan DeQuille,” while Sam Clemens first signed his humorous letters with “Josh,” he became better known as “Mark Twain.”

There is the 1862 “The Petrified Man” by Twain and his 1863 “Empire City Massacre.” In 1867, DeQuille wrote “The Traveling Stones of Pahranagat Valley,” and “Solar Armor,” published in 1874.

The pair followed in the footsteps of Benjamin Franklin, who used hoaxes for satirical ends, to expose foolishness and vice to the light of public censure. His first hoax, “Silence Dogood,” was hot off the press in 1722.

In 1835, The New York Sun announced that the British astronomer Sir John Herschel had discovered life on the moon using a new telescope “of vast dimensions and an entirely new principle.” According to the article, Herschel reported seeing lunar bison, fire-wielding biped beavers, and winged “man-bats.”

On Sat., Apr. 13, 1844, the New York Sun announced that the European balloonist Monck Mason had completed the first-ever transatlantic balloon crossing — accidentally. He had taken off from England, intending to go to Paris, but had been blown off course and ended up floating to South Carolina and penned by none other than Edgar Allen Poe.

The Los Angeles Evening Express published “The Bigamist of San Bernardino” in 1873, and a year later, the New York World ran the article “The Man-Eating Tree of Madagascar.” Then there is “The Global Warming Hoax of 1874” that ran in the Kansas City Times, The New York Hearlds “The Central Park Zoo Escape,” also written in 1874, and in 1875, The Chicago Times printed “The Chicago Theater Fire.”

Perhaps it is time to do some more reading and less whining.

During the early 19th century, Nevada witnessed the arrival of fur trappers and commercial caravaners, marking the first phase of exploration and contact with the region. These individuals embarked on small-scale expeditions, driven by their pursuit of natural resources and the desire to establish profitable trade routes. Influenced by economic interests and competition with British counterparts, American fur trappers ventured into the Great Basin to capitalize on the lucrative beaver trade.

One notable figure among these trappers was Jedediah Smith, hailed as “the greatest of all Mountain Man explorers.” In 1826, Smith and his group of 15 men blazed a trail from Salt Lake, traversing southern Nevada and reaching Los Angeles via the Mojave villages. Their journey marked the incorporation of this route into the Old Spanish Trail, later known as the Mormon Road and the Salt Lake Road.

Peter Skene Ogden, a chief trader for the British-owned Hudson’s Bay Company, also ventured into the northeastern corner of Nevada in 1826. Ogden’s expedition predates Smith’s and provided valuable insights into the region. Notably, he encountered the Humboldt River in 1828, a significant landmark that later served as a crucial emigration corridor across Nevada.

The second phase of exploration in Nevada emerged as the United States government-sponsored various expeditions to chart the western Great Basin and identify potential routes for transportation, particularly for a transcontinental railroad. The expansionist policies of the U.S. government, driven by the concept of “manifest destiny,” spurred the need for thorough exploration and mapping of the western North American region.

One of the most renowned explorers during this phase was John C. Fremont, who embarked on several surveys and expeditions into the Great Basin. Fremont’s 1843-1844 expedition established his reputation as an explorer. His party of 39 men, guided by Thomas “Broken Hand” Fitzpatrick, extensively explored the Great Basin, scientifically mapping its geography and documenting their findings. This expedition played a pivotal role in popularizing the Old Spanish Trail, and Fremont’s route map garnered significant attention, with 20,000 copies printed and distributed.

Other explorers like Edward F. Beale, Edward J. Steptoe, and Captain James H. Simpson led government-sponsored expeditions. These explorations aimed to understand the physical features of Nevada, identify potential transportation routes, and gather valuable geographic and ethnographic data.

The third and final phase in Nevada exploration coincided with a significant wave of emigration, as settlers sought new opportunities in the western frontier. Emigrants crossed Nevada in their quest to reach the gold fields of California, particularly before the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859, which became a turning point for Nevada as settlement patterns, population growth, infrastructure, and economic prospects experienced significant transformations.

Emigration through Nevada began earlier, with the Bidwell-Bartleson party in 1841 becoming the first group to traverse the region as part of the California Trail. These early emigrants faced challenging conditions, including treacherous winter crossings of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Their journeys established initial routes, and subsequent emigrants followed in their footsteps, with the numbers swelling during the California Gold Rush in 1849.

The influx of emigrants led to the establishment of settlements and the development of infrastructure in Nevada. Despite the absence of a railroad until 1868-1869, early travel and settlement modes persisted. Emigration expeditions overlapped with the ongoing exploration activities, as explorers often followed well-established emigration routes or made discoveries along the way.

Brady grabbed the wool blanket from the foot of his cot and folded it in half twice before dropping it on the small step that doubled as his front porch. He sat down on it, using it as a cushion.

The thought of his “porch” made him reflect on his youth and the porch’s popularity as a meeting place for families and friends. Now, no one had a real one unless they were a member of the social elite, which he and his wife were not.

He pictured his wife as she visited with her sister. She had received her travel papers the week before, but the ministry declined his permission.

Brady had heard the workers when they were west of his home. He could hear the sound of the heavy sledge hammers cracking the cement and the crew as they moved in his direction.

“This will make shopping and communitcation with family and the state easier,” the ministry had said as they passed by, announcing the planned work.

Now they were nearly in front of where he sat. They were a marvel of teamwork, moving in such a way that they never stopped breaking up the cement, moving it out of the way, laying the thick black piping down, and then encasing it in new concrete.

He recalled how only three years ago, he had watched a team of workers lay the same sidewalk, which doubled as a cart path, in the same manner. It reminded him then, as now, of how the Egyptians must have put the Pyramids up, or how the Transcontinental laid the hundreds of miles of train tracks, or Henry Ford’s assembly line.

“What’s in the pipe?” he asked as the fellow he took for the foreman stood, hands in pocket, watching over the crew.

“Some sort of fiber optic cable,” the man said, never turning around.

“Huh,” Brady returned, knowing the man was not listening.

He saw the bright red ‘A’ on the side of the truck from where the tube came. Somewhere in his mind, he recognized the symbol but could not remember the company it belonged to.

“I’ll probably remember at two in the morning,” he chuckled to himself, “And by then, it won’t matter.”

In minutes the work crew had moved past him and was nearly beyond his neighbor’s house to the east. Brady would sit there for most of the afternoon, knowing the sidewalk, once dry, would be a digital conduit designed to track citizens’ movements.

“They must think we’re all stupid,” he thought as he felt for his state-issued hand-held device.

Too many islands had sprung up at the edge of Marlette Lake, which had grown. The merfolk and the naiads feared this place, and he did not blame them.

As Brady paddled across the water, he saw creatures lurking in the depths. A few rose to see him, to peer at Brady with eyes of deep purple and mouths like nightmares.

They neither knew Brady nor feared him, which he took as a good sign. Had either been the case, Brady doubted his travels would have gone so smoothly.

As it was, Brady landed on a large island and took stock of what he had. His ruck held a week’s worth of hiking, a fair amount of ammunition for the Colts, his Bowie knife, and warclub.

The island had increased in size. Perhaps the largest to ever appear from the Comstock, and he had no doubt who was behind it.

Big Jack Davis, Alhazred’s man, might have prevented his mother from leaving the Comstock, but he was not stopping her from helping the Silver Fever to spread. Not that it needed much assistance.

He walked for about half an hour when he heard the steady thrum of troops marching in unison. A few moments later, Brady caught sight of the soldiers.

Like the other troopers Brady recently faced, these men wore uniforms he was unfamiliar with and carried rifles both new and strange. Their swords, though, Brady was all too familiar with edged weapons.

When the troops saw him, they halted, spread out, and charged Brady at the order given in antique Farsi. None of them shot at the lone man.

Brady could not say the same. He emptied the Colts, the revolvers thundering and tearing the air as the slugs tore through the charging troops.

When the men reached him, Brady was ready. Bowie knife in one hand, warclub in the other. It was blood and violence, pain and terror.

They beat Brady with the rifle stocks, and he gutted them with the knife. Some stabbed with bayonets and knives, while Brady crushed their skulls.

They held his arms, and Brady bit out their throats. They did not have to chase after him.

They died, and when Brady killed the last of them, he searched for more to kill. He knew where to look and how to ride the flume.

When I first entered the news business in 1976, The New York Times v. Sullivan 1964 supreme Court decision was one of the first things I learned. The court said the First Amendment gives the press the right to publish all statements. They also said to prove libel, a public official must show that what was printed or broadcast against them was made with actual malice, “that is, with [the] knowledge that it was false or [with] reckless disregard for the truth.”

But now, I’m not sure where the press stands. Further, as a newspaper reporter, I don’t know where I stand.

FOX News, though a liberal news outlet like ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and NBC, did nothing wrong in how they broadcast about the Dominion Voting Machines. The same outlets and others did the same by reporting on the Russian collusion hoax and the Trump dossier, both proven unfounded but continue to be proclaimed as factual.

So, is this where we are at? Litigation to shut down a news item that does not meet the approved narrative?

Worse yet is to watch and listen to the glee being shown by the press after FOX settled with Dominion. They are ecstatic that the First Amendment, to wit: “Congress shall make no law respecting … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,” is now in dire jeopardy of being ignored, that soon they will be the official “propaganda arm for the federal government,” more so than they already are.

From where I stand, FOX had no choice but to capitulate and settle the case, knowing that there was a chance they would lose. All one has to do is look at the Manhattan District Attorney and how he is riding rough-shod over the justice system by charging a former U.S. President with a crime never committed.

If this is the new standard, many of us still working in journalism will find ourselves in court instead of the press room. But then, this could be by design as we move toward becoming submissives to an Artificially Intelligent Overlord.

The Washoe County Commission has voted to employ the Election Group to help organize the Washoe County Registrar of Voters office.

Washoe County Manager Eric Brown, a registered Non-Partisan, brought the group before the Commission on Tue., Mar. 28. When the body voted on a contract offer, the motion ended in defeat, 2-2. However, Brown returned the group to the agenda on Tue., Apr. 11, and with the vote of newly appointed Commissioner Clara Andriola, the group won a $ 600 thousand contract.

Andriola was appointed by Gov. Joe Lombardo following former Washoe County Commissioner Vaugh Hartung’s appointment as the head of the Nevada Transportation Authority. Andriola was vice chairwoman of the Sparks Planning Commission and a Sparks Citizens Advisory Council member.

As for the Elections Group, Jennifer Morrell and Chris Piper appear to be the more active part of the group.

“Morrell is a former election official who currently works in a variety of left-leaning election policy roles, most notably she works as a consultant to the left-leaning Democracy Fund, where she leads the fund’s Election Validation Project,” according to Influence Watch. “Much of Morrell’s work and consulting focuses on combatting alleged interference in elections from foreign governments.”

The Democracy Fund, created by eBay founder and former chairman Pierre Omidyar, often receives grants from Soros’ Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation.

“This group is connected to George Soros and Jennifer Morrell,” Gateway Pundit reporter Joe Hoft wrote on Sun., Aug. 1, 2021. “The Elections Group was also present during the election steal in Georgia and Morrell was one of the observers selected by Katie Hobbs in Arizona to review the Senate’s election audit in Maricopa County.”

Meanwhile, Piper also appears to have a partisan background.

“Chris was appointed Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections in January 2018,” the Election Group website said. “While Commissioner, he served on many national boards including the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and the Electronic Registration and Information Center (ERIC) as well as Chair of the Election Assistance Commission’s Standards Board.”

So, Piper was on the board of ERIC.

“The Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, was sold to states as a quick and easy way to update their voter rolls. Started in 2012 by far-left activist David Becker and the left-leaning Pew Charitable Trusts, the program is ostensibly run by the member states themselves,” writes Victoria Marshall in the Federalist. “But as public records show, Democratic operatives are working overtime, under the cover of ERIC to accomplish their partisan goals and drive Democratic voter turnout.”

Meanwhile, three of The Elections Group’s six nonprofit and academic partners include the Center for Tech and Civic Life, the Center for Civic Design, and the National Vote at Home Institute, each attached to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg. Unfortunately, the Election Group has removed this link from their webpage.

As for Brown, an appointed bureaucrat, in June 2022, he redefined workplace violence, saying “…by providing payment for legal and personal services by outside third-party organizations in situations where employees are unfairly publicly attacked, harassed, or disparaged by members of the public or by political organizations as determined on a case-by-case basis by the Washoe County Manager with input from the Washoe County Workplace Violence Committee.”

He was responding to former Washoe County Registrar of Voter Deanna Spikula, who resigned in July 2022 after she claimed she received death threats.

“Eric Brown is proposing to create a Washoe County agency wide Gestapo to be used at his discretion,” posits Nevada Liberty America First. “A similar proposal was drafted in 2021 with “no fiscal impact,” but now that the Biden Administration is pushing the “domestic terrorism narrative against anyone who doesn’t agree with their policies,” Washoe County Dictator Eric Brown has taken the cue and is attempting to codify himself as County Dictator Judge and Jury to crush local dissent.”

The threats appear vague to non-existent.

“A background report by county staff said, “aggressive comments, threats, conspiracy theories, and false accusations … can have the impact of deterring qualified individuals from continuing their careers in government service with the county or discouraging individuals who may be considering careers in government service,” the Associated Press (AP) wrote on Sat., Jun. 25, 2022.

The Washoe County Commission authorized the Washoe County Workplace Violence Committee to allow Brown to spend up to $150,000 per fiscal year for legal assistance on the same day the AP article was published.