We were touched — moved, really — by the heartwarming appeal that casino owner Steve Wynn made to his dealers Thursday, apologizing for hurting them, pleading with them to give him another chance and not vote to form a union.
It was so much different than the other Steve Wynn, the one described in a National Labor Relations Board complaint as a screaming tyrant threatening the job of anyone who opposed him and his tip-stealing scheme. (Wynn is alleged to have pounded on the table and screamed that he was "the most powerful man in Nevada," although he denies those charges.)
We were even more moved when we read in Norm Clarke’s Review-Journal column today that poor Wynn opened up to his dealers (you know, the ones he earlier allegedly said were all replaceable) about his pending eye surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. (Wynn suffers from the degenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa.)
That is just so sad. And while we wish Wynn a speedy recovery from surgery, we can’t help but think that if he didn’t act like such a total prick, maybe his dealers would have bought his whole "I’m sorry" act and not voted overwhelmingly to form a union. And by "act like a total prick," we mean order dealers to share tips with supervisors so the casino didn’t have to pay the supervisors more to take the jobs that can actually pay less than a dealer’s salary, plus tips.
But, on balance, we can see why the dealers voted for the union: Wynn steals their tips and behind closed doors yells at them and tells them they can be replaced and generally treats them like shit. And only then, on the eve of a union election, does Wynn apologize and pretend he really didn’t know he was acting like a douche? What are the odds that, had the election gone the other way, a gloating Wynn would be patting himself on the back for dodging another bullet?
The fact is, Wynn is a very powerful man in Nevada. The fact also is, he’s contributed to Nevada’s development as a destination, perhaps more than any other single individual in history. But regardless of all that, stealing from your employees is wrong, and browbeating them is also wrong. And, as it turns out, a group of people united in a common cause can be just as powerful as a rich casino developer any day.
» The more we hear about the inner workings of the George W. Bush administration, the more we think this is a Fyodor Dostoevsky-class example of human depravity. And the more we see Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifying before Congress about his sorry tenure atop Main Justice, the more we have to wonder how this guy can still have a job. When this story is written, it will be a tale of immorality, lust for power and political desperation.
» Oh, we have totally got to get one of these.
» It’s not quite as good as l’affair Gibbons — after all, none of the players has dressed up as a pirate or been depicted as a robot — but the power struggle at District Court between Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle and freshman Judge Elizabeth Halverson is a distracting sideshow nonetheless. As the Supreme Court may soon be mulling this case, we can’t help but think that state Sen. Bill Raggio’s idea of appointing judges is looking better and better all the time.
The following blog is satire, which is to say, it’s not true, although we have reproduced actual quotes with some minor alterations. Although we deeply respect our regular readers, we at Various Things & Stuff know that there are plenty of people out there too stupid to recognize satire, and who can blame them after "It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is."? Not us, that’s for sure.
Gov. Jim Gibbons today vetoed Senate Bill 699, which would have made several changes to administrative appeals in capital murder cases. But at the same time, he issued an executive order declaring that murder-defining and punishing statutes NRS 200.010 through NRS 200.260 be suspended until the end of the current legislative session, to give lawmakers more time to craft rules.
Constitutional scholars objected, suggesting that, if Gibbons executive order is taken a face value, murder would technically be legal in Nevada. But Gibbons chief counsel Joshua Hicks wrote an e-mail, defending the governor’s authority.
"While it is certainly the province of the Legislature to decide whether laws against murder should exist in the first place, the manner in which applications are administratively processed is an executive function," he wrote. "And keep in mind that there is nothing in the law that requires alleged murderers be arrested or tried within a certain time frame or even in an expedited manner.
"Therefore, and in my opinion, the executive branch is certainly entitled to put a temporary moratorium (about three weeks here) on the administrative pursuit of alleged murderers while the Legislature decides what, if any, substantive action it will take on the capital murder rules of procedure," he added.
The issue, of course, highlights the long-simmering tension embodied in the separation of powers doctrine, in which the Legislature is empowered to make laws, while the executive (the governor, in this case) is charged with faithfully enforcing those laws. Some scholars have questioned whether issuing an executive order that a law not be enforced at all meets the strict definition of "faithfully enforcing" the law. Other, less politic scholars, suggested that to adapt the Gibbons’ administration position on the issue requires you to first undergo a full frontal lobotomy.
Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley said she was surprised by the veto, and has serious questions about the executive order. "You can’t stop a statute with an executive order," she said, adding "duh."
Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, who with Buckley requested a formal legal opinion from the Legislative Counsel Bureau, also voiced concerns. "I’m always concerned about separation of powers," Raggio said. Curiously, however, he has never expressed concern about members of the executive branch, including teachers, university professors, firefighters, police officers or local government employees, serving in the legislative branch, although that is expressly prohibited by the state constitution.
This just in: According to the Review-Journal’s electronic news flash, LCB attorney Kevin Powers has concluded that Gibbons’ executive order is "not valid and enforceable." The four-page opinion concludes: "Therefore, in the absence of any constitutional or statutory authority, we believe the governor’s executive order which suspends the murder statutes enacted by the Legislature does not have the force and effect of law and will not be enforced by the courts." Powers, also, added "Duh" at the end of the document.
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