Seriously, people, how many transition team members does it take to run a state? We’re going to start having to encourage more Californians to move to Nevada pretty soon just to have members for Gov.-elect Jim Gibbons‘ transition teams!

A public safety/homeland security/emergency operations/corrections team will be headed by university regent/Metro Police Capt./rap music fighter Stavros Anthony, as well as Jerry Bussell, former homeland security advisor to Gov. Kenny Guinn. But that’s not the big news! No, the big news is that Democratic Attorney General-elect Catherine Cortez Masto will serve on this committee, as well her husband, retiring Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Paul Masto. Now that’s what we call law-enforcement chops, baby!

Other members include Mike Haley, sheriff-elect of Washoe County, Douglas Combs, another retired special agent in charge of the Las Vegas’ Secret Service office, Adam Garcia, top cop at UNR, senior Washoe County Judge Charles McGee and Metro Police Deputy Chief Dennis Cobb, who heads up the division that deals with radios, a key problem in Nevada where agencies can’t talk to each other without the aid of dispatchers. Apparently, all the former FBI agents in town already had jobs in casino security departments.

Republican state Sen. Dennis Nolan and Democratic Assemblyman David Parks will also be on this team.

» Perhaps even more exciting, Gibbons also named two other teams, one to focus on water and the other on energy. (Water? Why does he need a team on water? Gibbons knows water from the ground up!) Stephen Wells, president of the Desert Research Institute, will lead the water group, which includes state Sen. Mark Amodei and Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea, as well as Lori Williams, general manager of the Truckee Meadows Water Authority. (Message: "See? I love rurals and would never allow the thirsty bastards down south to suck our water dry!")

Oh, wait. We may have spoken too soon: Also on the team is Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, who is trying to build a pipeline to bring rural water down south. Then again, Mulroy has unquestioned expertise and it would be a surprise if she wasn’t on this team. Other experts include Ross de Lipkau, a former state hydraulic engineer, and Michael Turnipseed, a former state engineer.

The energy team will be led by former Assemblyman Jason Geddes, who now works for the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. His team includes Michael Brown of Barrick Gold Corp. and Joe Danni of Glamis Gold, friends of Gibbons from his days in Washington, D.C., when he represented mining.

Other team members include attorney/lobbyist Mark Fiorentino, Herbst Gaming lawyer Sean Higgins, Sierra Pacific President Walt Higgins and Bob Larkin, chairman of the Washoe County Commission.

We were disappointed to see that Gibbons forgot his old friend Richard Pombo. Together, Pombo and Gibbons wrote a report arguing that mercury isn’t all that harmful to humans. Granted, that report was debunked by Reno News & Review writer Dennis Meyers, whose telling piece was reprinted in CityLife. But Pombo lost his bid for re-election last month, and could probably use the distraction!

» So soon-to-be-former House Speaker Dennis Hastert finds out about explicit e-mails sent by U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Pederasty, in the spring, but then says he didn’t learn of them until September. His chief of staff, Scott Palmer, was told about the e-mails in 2002 or 2003. The head of the House page program knew about them for a long time, too. In fact, concerns first surfaced when Foley was elected in 1995. And the worst thing that ever happened was to Foley was a stern scolding?

And the House Ethics Committee now says no rules were broken, and no punishments will be meted out?

How about the rules that say people who have a conscience should take action when minor children are placed in jeopardy by a would-be sexual predator? How about those rules?

Oh, right: This is the House Ethics Committee we’re talking about. Sorry, readers. We forgot where we were for a second.

» A fair and balanced look at Gov. Kenny Guinn’s tenure from the Review-Journal reveals … he was a tax-and-spend liberal who will wear a scarlet "T" around his neck like a millstone until his dying day!

That’s the upshot of an Ed Vogel story Sunday, which lacked only for a trademark quote from GOP fringe player George Harris.

"Those in favor of more and bigger government will praise him, and people who are in favor of limited government won’t," said state Sen. Bob Beers. "He will be remembered as a governor who oversaw Nevada switching from a lower-taxed per capita state to one above average in per capita taxes."

Oh, yes, the oppressive tax burden that has ground Nevada’s growth down to … No. 1 in the nation! It’s unthinkable! And how about that economy, which is so onerously taxed that it … produces surpluses! Call us a U-Haul somebody! We’ve got to flee to a lesser taxed state like California, where we only have to pay … an income tax on top of everything else!

"The tax increase is what we will remember him for," said former Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick. "A tax increase that was not ultimately needed. He is a nice guy, but in terms of performance, it is a matter of your point of view."

Indeed it is. So where was the point of view of some Democrats? Perhaps Dina Titus? Or Sheila Leslie? Richard Perkins, Barbara Buckley or Chris Giunchigliani perhaps? Maggie Carlton? Maybe even a Jan Jones or a Joe Neal, both of whom ran against Guinn at various times. Anybody?

Nope. Not a single Democrat. We’re left to read UNR political science professor Eric Herzik’s meager defense of Guinn, and the governor’s defense of himself.

But no, there is absolutely no conservative bias in the R-J. None.

» Before there was Sept. 11, 2001, there was Sept. 11, 1973, in which Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew the democratically elected government of President Salvador Allende in a bloody coup, kicking off decades of brutal rule that included allegations of murder and corruption.

What’s the connection? Well, for years, authorities have suspected that Pinochet may have been behind a terrorist bombing on U.S. soil, the Sept. 21, 1976 car bombing on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C., in which Allende’s former ambassador to the United States, Orlando Letelier, was killed, along with 25-year-old Ronnie Moffitt.

The Justice Department considered indicting Pinochet for the crime back in 2000, when he faced charges in Chile and abroad stemming from his junta. Ultimately, Pinochet’s health prevented him from facing the dock.

Pinochet died Sunday, at age 91, prompting some to lament that he’d escaped justice. Yes, either that, or he’s facing ultimate justice right now. We tend to prefer the latter.

The smoke has hardly cleared from Judge Douglas Herndon’s ruling last week that suspended enforcement of the anti-smoking Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, but there are definitely developments. Check them:

» The American Lung Association put out an e-mail encouraging supporters to call or fax Herndon and object to his ruling. This may be one reason the judge is receiving all manner of nasty threats. Ah, there’s nothing like people who care so much about public health that they’ll threaten to harm people who don’t agree with them, is there?

Here’s the e-mail in question, obtained from a secret source. Our comments appear in italics, and all errors are in the cut-and-pasted original:

"Hello everybody,

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who helped passs Q5 [Question 5, where the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act appeared on the ballot] into law. We were looking forward to inviting everyone to take a night out on the town tonight and enjoy some smoke free dining, but the opposition has pulled a fast one. We expected a challenge in court but we did not know they could get a stay on compliance until the case was tried. None of us want them to be able to skirt the law while it is tied up in the courts which could take a long time. However, we are confident that the court will eventually rule in favor of the Act. So what do we do now?"

Oh, boy, words can’t describe how super-fun a night on the town with the health nazis would be! Salads for everyone! But far from "pulling a fast one," the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the anti-smoking initiative exercised their legal rights, as everybody including the American Lung Association knew they would do. To feign surprise is nothing new; we’ve found the association and others affiliated with the anti-smoking campaign to be totally disingenuous. Oh, by the way: Nobody is "skirting" anything; a judge issued a temporary restraining order, which means the law is not in effect, which means smoking is perfectly legal. And finally, the fact that "we did not know they [plaintiffs] could get a stay on compliance until the case was tried" betrays the fact that, for people who seem to enjoy writing laws, they’re painfully ignorant when it comes to legal procedure.

"The Nevadans for Tobacco Free Kids (the coalition of health orgs sponsoring Q5) has maintained some funds to pay toward the ongoing legal defense and even though none of the coalition members are named we are filing to intervene. Maria Pence, our coalition attorney, will offer assistance to the counsel for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the Attorney General, the Health Districts and other named defendants."

It’s fully appropriate for the American Lung Association to intervene in the lawsuit. We’re just surprised by the fact that the group has lawyers. Could one of them explain to American Cancer Society government relations director Buffy Martin Tarbox that a pre-election challenge to Question 5 is NOT the same as a challenge to the constitutionality of the law on its merits? Oh, wait, somebody already has. (See below.)

"What can you do, you ask? It is certainly within your rights as a voter to call and voice your displeasure with the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that is preventing enforcement of this act, or send a fax. You can let the court know you expect the TRO to end on the 19th and not be extended while the case is being held up in court for months. The Eighth Judicial District where the TRO was granted can be reached via telephone at: (702) 455-2385. Judge Herndon was the presiding judge in the case. His address is:

Eighth Judicial Court
The Honorable Judge Douglas Herndon
601 N. Pecas Rd
Las Vegas NV 89101
His fax is (702) 671-4311"

Of course, there is no such road as "N. Pecas" in Las Vegas. But at 601 N. PECOS Road, you’ll find the Family Court and Services Center. You won’t, however, find Judge Herndon, who works in Department 3 of the 8th District Court, located the Regional Justice Center at 200 Lewis Avenue downtown. But those are merely details: While the judicial branch is supposed to be insulated from public pressure, there’s nothing illegal about asking people to lobby a judge (even if they’re given the wrong address). And judging by what’s been written about Herndon, he’s a fair-minded jurist who can take the heat. At the end of the day, it’s not the angry letters and faxes that will make the difference in this case, it’s the quality of the legal arguments and the drafting of the act. And from what we’ve seen thus far, the act has some real problems.

"Here is a sample letter/fax if you would like to use it or personalize it.

"Your Honor,

"As a voter and supporter of question 5, I was appalled by the restraining order placed on the enforcement of this voter mandated law. While it is certainly within the rights of the opposition to have its day in court, it is not appropriate to allow moneyed interests to skirt a legally established law by tying it up in court indefinitely. We, the electorate, fully expect the Temporary Restraining Order to end as of December 19th, and not be allowed to continue past that date. The burden is on the Plaintiffs to prove that the law is unconstitutional, and until such time as that might happen, the law should be enforced per the will of the people. Thank you for time and consideration of this message. (Sign and personalize as appropriate)."

So many ways to go here: We support their right to have a day in court, but not to the long-established practice of enjoying a temporary restraining order when they’ve met the burden outlined in law? Skirting the law, by using well-established legal procedures to challenge an initiative? Tying it up indefinitely, when the TEMPORARY restraining order very clearly expires on Dec. 19? Yes, the burden is on the plaintiffs to prove the law unconstitutional: What do you think they’ll be trying to do Dec. 19? And if a law is unconstitutional, no matter that it was supported by a margin of 99.9 percent to .01 percent, it cannot be enforced. That’s called the American way.

"Another important thing we can do is encourage the named defendants to vigorously defend enforcement of the Act in court, cheifly the Attorney General. The Clark County Health District has also been named and has supplied active legal representation requesting to enforce the Act.

"To contact the Attorney General:

"Office of the Attorney General
Nevada Department of Justice
Las Vegas Office
555 E. Washington Ave Suite 3900
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
(702) 486-3420
Fax - (702) 486-3768

"Of course, the Lung Association and the coalition will be aided in the defense of the Act by supplying the best legal representation possible. Such representation requires funding and is mainly possible by the generous donations of concerned neighbors pooling their resources. We want to make sure our supporters know what we do with your contributions and the American Lung Association has donated over $40,000 worth of goods and services to the campaign to pass Q5. If that is a cause you would like to continue to support, we welcome donations directly to us or the Nevadans for Tobacco Free Kids."

Damn those moneyed interests, fundraising their way to a courtroom! They shouldn’t be allowed to skirt the Constitution by duping voters into approving a flawed initiative that could have economic consequences — to say nothing of the toll on property rights!

» Speaking of Buffy Martin Tarbox, as we were a few paragraphs ago, we understand she appeared on Friday’s edition of KNPR’s State of Nevada. There, she attempted once again to claim that the lawsuit now pending before Herndon was the second time tavern owners had tried to spike the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act.

Our friend Trevor Hayes, a former journalist who was sharp enough to leave the profession for law school, quickly reminded Martin Tarbox that what she was saying was not true. A lawsuit filed before the election sought to exploit the acts’ flaws to keep it off the ballot; the present lawsuit seeks to invalidate the law on its merits.

We’ve been writing this for days, but we’re a dirty-lunged cigar smoker and Martin Tarbox probably doesn’t read our blog. But now she’s heard it from an attorney who works at the state’s largest firm, Lionel, Sawyer & Collins, and she at least has reason to suspect what she’s saying is totally wrong. If she keeps repeating it, we’ll know that she simply doesn’t care about the truth, and will say anything to advance the smoking ban.

We tried to find a link to the show online, but it appears KNPR is way behind on getting MP3 files of State of Nevada up on its website.