Sorry, readers. It’s been a busy day here at the nondescript building in an industrial area near McCarran International Airport that serves as offices for CityLife. But we didn’t want to leave you without any blogging for the day, so here goes some Quick Hits.

» "I’ve known him for almost 20 years. He’s like a younger brother to me. He’s someone who would never, ever do what this guy is alleging." — Gov. Jim Gibbons, who accepted a nice Caribbean cruise from software company chief Warren Trepp, defending the character of Warren Trepp.

Now, you don’t have to be a regular viewer of Law & Order (although we are) to know that the character witness testimony of one alleged co-conspirator is worthless in vouching for another participant in that same conspiracy. It would be like Vice President Dick Cheney telling us that President George W. Bush would never manipulate intelligence to go to war in Iraq.

So why do it? Because, we think, he just can’t help himself. Gibbons we mean. Or Cheney. Or Bush, now that we think of it…

» Well, since our colleague Jon Ralston weighed in Sunday on the controversy about Fox News "partnering" with the Nevada Democratic Party to broadcast the Aug. 14 presidential debate at UNR, we figured we would, too. Ralston said that bloggers were driving the state’s Democrats to abandon Fox, which claims to be "fair and balanced" but which any viewer of longer than 10 minutes knows is totally false.

Plus, he said they were hypocrites. Check it:

"MoveOn and others have used Fox’s recent smearing of Barack Obama as a case in point. But this is not about some lofty principle or they would carry it over to other media outlets.

"Why don’t local Democrats boycott the Review-Journal because it is so conservative and deifies state Sen. Bob Beers? Why don’t local Republicans snub the Sun because it is not conservative and has been hard on Gov. Jim Gibbons?

"Do these activists honestly think all the journalists at Fox are Rupert Murdoch puppets? Is Air America fair and balanced? Should Republicans tune out CBS News because of the George W. Bush/National Guard report that was widely seen as costing Dan Rather his anchor’s chair?

A couple things:

First, local Democrats bitch constantly about the Review-Journal’s libertarian bias on the editorial page. And when it was announced that the Sun would be delivered inside the daily Review-Journal, partisan bitching on both sides ensued, from conservatives who didn’t want to get the "liberal" Sun, and liberals who didn’t want to hunt through the "right-wing" R-J to get to the Sun.

Second, while all the journalists at Fox aren’t Murdoch puppets, most are reliably and predictably conservative in their outlook. And it’s been documented that Fox journalists get a daily talking points memo that outlines the subject of the day, to which they can apply their conservative mindset.

Third, Air America never said it was fair or balanced; it was created in fact to counter Fox News. (And that’s one of the many reasons why it’s failing; when your mission is formed in contravention to somebody else’s, you’ll always been at his mercy in terms of what you do.)

Fourth, does anybody not think that Republicans tune out CBS News, and did so long before Rathergate? They do, people. They do. Republicans, Democrats, and plenty of other Americans are seeking out news media that reinforce their beliefs, rather than challenge them. It’s a sad trend.

Now, having said all that, we don’t have particular objections to Fox airing the Democratic event. We watch Fox occasionally, mostly for entertainment value. We see the subtle and not-so-subtle ways they distort and spin the news. But then again, we can see that on CNN, MSNBC or most any other channel, too. That is, when they can take a break to catch their breath after covering Anna Nicole Smith’s ongoing death.

But we can sure understand why the faithful (and perhaps we should include ourselves in that group; that is, if they’d have us) don’t like Fox and don’t want it to be the "broadcast partner" for a Democratic event. It’s not the hill to die for, however (whoops; we just got kicked out of the faithful).

Hey, maybe Bill O’Reilly will show up and give us tips on dirty phone talk at the Reno Hilton afterwards?

» Nevada’s bankers are hopping mad that they have to pay a 2 percent payroll tax while the rest of the state’s businesses only have to pay 0.65 percent, which may be cut to 0.63 percent permanently in this session of the Legislature. Why? Well, because it’s interfering with their charitable giving, that’s why!

If the tax were repealed, the state would get $44 million less in revenue. And the bankers would have $22 million to spend on charitable programs, education programs and on dividends, says William Uffelman, a lobbyist for the Nevada Bankers Association. (Yeah, we know that’s just half of the revenue. These are bankers, remember?!)

Anybody want to be what the percentages would be, charity versus dividends? Listen, we’re not bankers, but we think the state keeping all of $44 million and using it for necessary programs is a hell of a better bet than hoping the banks will devote $22 million to charity. (And yes, right wingers, we know it’s not our money, but we like to think of the banks getting screwed by taxes the way they screw us with a $2 fee for taking money out of our account. The higher tax on banks is about as fair as that $2 fee, and just as delightfully inexplicable.)

Besides, let’s not forget that the banks backed the tax back in 2003! Oh, that’s right: 2 percent was fine and dandy back then, when they were looking at the possibility of paying other, higher taxes. But they agreed to it. And if banks and their fellow robber barons in big business had simply agreed on the much more fair and tax-base-broadening gross receipts tax that then-Gov. Kenny Guinn had advocated, they wouldn’t be in this position now.

» Quotable: "I look at the state of Nevada and I say to myself, ‘What needs to be fixed? Who out there is suffering?’ And boy, bankers never popped into my mind." — Assemblywoman Peggy Pierce, courtesy of Jon Ralston’s Flashpoint in the Sun. We just love that Peggy Pierce.

» Man, it’s not just the R-J that thinks state Sen. Bob Beers is a hero. It’s schoolkids, too! No, they don’t back his proposal to arm teachers. But they love him for introducing bills to let high schoolers sleep in later (2005) and now for mandating they only have to take two assessment tests every year!

Where was this guy when we were in high school, long ago? We could have used him!

» Of course, we think the plan for the Clark County Health District to impose a $600 fee on people caught smoking in prohibited places (in addition to a $100 fine) is just as ridiculous as the idea of banning smoking in places like bars in the first place. So as long as we’re off the charts on the Ridic-U-Ometer, why not have some fun with smoke banner Michael Hackett’s quote in support of the fee?

Here’s the quote, unaltered: "If you are a business owner and continue to not comply with the law, you have to be held accountable. What’s going on is the Southern Nevada Health District is developing regulations, which are going to make the businesses accountable for their violations and violators. These types of regulations are being developed in other health districts throughout the state."

Here’s the quote, after we’ve played with the context a little: "If you are a business owner and continue to not comply with the [separate but equal facilities] law, you have to be held accountable. What’s going on is the [police and sheriff's departments are] developing regulations [to make sure white people don't mix with black people, and those regulations] are going to make the businesses accountable for their violations and their violators. These types of regulations are being developed in other [parts of Mississippi]."

Too far? Smoking and civil rights, too outrageous to be put in the same statement? Perhaps. But the War of Ridiculousness was begun by the smoke banners, and we’re just using weapons taken straight from their cache.

» So Gov. Jim Gibbons, who is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly receiving gifts in exchange for official actions while serving in Congress, has been named a co-chairman of the National Governors Association on homeland security. Hey, this is the guy who had the idea to create the Homeland Security Department, after all! First priority: Tightening up e-mail security, so those pesky messages don’t leak out…

» Vice President Dick Cheney said some nasty things about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the weekend. We’d break them down for you, but why? Cheney has been so wrong for so long on Iraq, it’s a wonder anybody takes the guy seriously anymore. It’s like listening to stock market advice from the crazy dude at the freeway offramp who wants to wash your windows for loose change.

Think about it: He said Iraq and al-Qaida were in league together. False. He said Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. False. He said American troops would be greeted as liberators. False. He said Iraqi intelligence agents met with 9/11 hijacker Muhammad Atta in Prague. False. He later said he’d never said that. Doubly false. He said the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes" — a long time ago. False.

Hell, this guy’s been wrong more than that guy on the freeway offramp who keeps giving us stock tips while washing our windows! Nothing he says should be taken seriously. Cheney, that is. The window-washer guy may be right on this whole Station Casinos stock thing…

» It’s no secret that anti-taxer and alleged Jack Abramoff money launderer Grover Norquist hates democracy. After all, in democracy, people vote for people who raise taxes. And then what do you have? (Yes, we know, civilization. It was a setup question.)

But we still don’t get why Norquist (and our good friend and frequent political talk show guest Chuck Muth) don’t want lawmakers to put a tax increase to cover an estimated $3.8 billion transportation backlog on the ballot. After all, even staunchly anti-tax Gov. Jim Gibbons says the voters are in charge in Nevada!

"Taxpayers don’t need the Legislature to put a tax increase on the ballot. If they truly feel higher taxes are needed, they can go out and collect the necessary signatures [for an initiative]. … A vote to short-circuit the initiative process to put a tax hike on the ballot would amount to an abdication of fiscal leadership," Norquist wrote.

We totally agree on that last part: The Legislature should find the courage to pass the taxes itself, and not bother with a vote. (The need is so obvious, nobody sane could deny it.) But sending it to the voters is the next best thing. And consider this: Whether by initiative (which takes a long time and is cumbersome) or by Legislative fiat, the matter ends up before voters, who get final say. How can that be a bad thing?

» Look, we’re not saying that North Las Vegas Mike Montandon is an idiot. That would be disrespectful and wrong. (Besides, the guy can’t be totally dumb, having been involved in a political money laundering operation.) Voters in his city have seen fit to return him to office, and they must have their reasons, right? Who knows, maybe he’s entertaining at council meetings?

But we were surprised to learn from today’s Las Vegas Sun that the mayor apparently can’t tell the difference between a strip club and a Burger King. North Las Vegas wants to restrict the former by requiring a special use permit, which would allow the five-member council to sit in judgment on each First Amendment-protected adult business that comes to town. The American Civil Liberties Union has concerns.

"I find that fascinating. We require use permits for drive-through restaurants," Montandon said.

Well — patiently explained the ACLU’s Allen Lichtenstein, no doubt in a voice reserved for small children and very old people — exotic dancers and naughty bookstores are protected under the free speech clause of the First Amendment, while "do you want fries with that?" hasn’t reached that sacred pinnacle just yet. (If the drive-through window was staffed by strippers, now that would be a North Las Vegas dilemma!)

Anyway, Montandon said he’d meet with the ACLU, but that "we’re moving forward" on the ordinance. Now that should be a productive meeting. You know, for all the hate these Republicans heap on trial lawyers, they sure do a lot to keep the barristers employed.