Gov. Jim Gibbons has told Chancellor Jim Rogers, Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid and other officials to get real when it comes to cutting the budget, according to Reno’s biggest defender, Gazette-Journal political reporter Anjeanette Damon.

It’s his first personal pushback since Rogers and the locals staged a government mutiny, refusing Gibbons’ request to identify places where budgets could be cut as much as 5 percent, thanks to gambling and sales tax shortfalls.

Damon quoted Gibbons on her blog thus: "The reality is the revenues coming in to the state are lower. They have to face reality. I increased their budget 13 percent over the biennium, I would think they could look at their expenditures and find some way to assist in helping with this revenue decline."

You mean, telling Gibbons to blow it out his ass isn’t helpful?

Anyway, this would normally be the part where we make jokes about Gibbons himself being out of touch with reality, except for one thing: He’s right. The state is seeing less in tax money coming in, and cuts have to be made, or the budget will be unconstitutionally out of balance. Sure, part of the problem is Gibbons’ own fealty to that stupid no-taxes pledge. But that’s not something he’s able to move away from, ideologically, psychologically or politically.

So given that reality, and given that Gibbons has the authority to make the cuts without anybody’s permission, it seems like the responsible thing to do is to find ways to make any potential cuts hurt the least.

We understand that Rogers, Reid and others don’t want to make any cuts, and that they disagree with the notion of cutting higher education, juvenile justice services and the rest. That’s clear. But it’s kind of their job to step in when things don’t go well and fix the problem. Just saying no — or issuing broadsides saying the governor should raise taxes or convene a tax-raising summit — isn’t going to do the trick. (Besides, issuing big-picture declarations that nobody pays any attention to anyway is our job.)

Gibbons is going to cut no matter what, or so we think. (Asked about it by Damon, Gibbons said, "I think there are a lot of smart people in this state making those decisions who can figure it out themselves what’s going to happen." Hmmmm. Sounds ominous. Then again, it sounds funny, because it seems like the governor is saying that he’s not a smart person making those decisions. Ha!)

Anyway, Gibbons has convened a meeting with local officials Nov. 7 to discuss the matter. The time between now and then might be best used figuring out how to cover the shortfall. And maybe in those discussions, Rogers, Reid and their allies can explain to the governor why cutting higher education and human services is a really bad idea. Who knows? He might change his mind, and choose to cut elsewhere. (We know, but still…) But you can’t be part of the conversation unless you’re in that room, right?

UPDATE: Gibbons office just sent out a news release formally announcing the Nov. 7 meeting. It reads in part:

"Reduced revenue projections require us to evaluate our state’s spending priorities to ensure that we continue to responsibly manage taxpayer dollars," said Governor Jim Gibbons. "This meeting will provide an opportunity for key decision makers and state budget experts to review the state’s current and future fiscal status."
 
Governor Gibbons invited the following state and local leaders to the November 7 meeting: Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, Clark County Commission Chair Rory Reid, Washoe County Commission Chair Bob Larkin, Elko County Commission Chair John Ellison, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman,  Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini, and Chancellor Jim Rogers.
 
"Like any family or business facing potential income reductions, the state must create contingency plans to live within its means, and I will lead our efforts to ensure we have a constitutionally mandated balanced budget without dipping further into the pockets of our hardworking taxpayers," Governor Gibbons concluded.

Notice the release says Gibbons "invited" those people, not that they’ve committed to attend. They should, as we’ve said, but it will still be interesting to see who shows up. Especially Rogers, whose name was listed last on this list. Oh, sorry, we’re reading into things again.

We’ve already called Gov. Jim Gibbons a bunch of immature names for first whining and bitching about not being invited to a Yucca Mountain hearing in Washington, and then bailing on the hearing once he was finally invited. Seriously, Gov. Diva. Get over your gubernatorial self.

But there’s more! Instead of just sucking it up, we get a bunch more excuses from Carson City for what’s really become ridiculous behavior.

Melissa Subbotin, Gibbons’ press secretary, told the Review-Journal that the governor was going to try to make it out on the red eye, but just couldn’t make the schedule work. "Unfortunately, we are working with timely information [on the state budget] and at the end of the day, the governor felt the budget challenges took precedent."

First, it’s precedence, not "precedent." A precedent is an act, statement or decision that is invoked to deal with similar situations at a later time, like a legal precedent. (For example, "Gov. Gibbons set a bad precedent when he lied about why he had his inauguration at midnight.") Precedence means the act or right of preceding in time, order or rank. We’re just saying.

Second, Gibbons (and God knows we don’t like admitting this) is the governor. He can arrange budget meetings whenever he wants. His staff will wait for him. So if he had to be in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, well, he could have a budget meeting on Thursday. Or Tuesday. Or whenever. That’s part of what being a "chief executive" is all about.

And poor U.S. Rep. Jon Porter! After sticking his neck out for Gibbons and saying a hearing without the governor would be a dog and pony show, the congressman had to deal with Gibbons’ ball-taking and home-going. "It was unfortunate he will not be able to attend," Porter said. (Memo to Porter: Gibbons, as we said Monday, is a bit of an ass clown. Don’t defend him! You’ll get ass clown all over your congressional blue suit!)

Now, over in the Las Vegas Sun, there’s something else that’s amusing. Porter spokesman Matt Leffingwell is quoted saying "The congressman feels he [Gibbons] would have offered valuable testimony." (And, knowing Leffingwell, dude did it with a straight face, too. He’s just that good.)

Subbotin, however, countered by saying Nevada’s views would be well-represented. "He [Gibbons] has great confidence in the delegation."

Really? Then why the hell did Gibbons bitch, cry, whine and moan like a little girl with a skinned knee that he wasn’t invited in the first place?! If the delegation could do such a good job, why not just tend to your budget  cutting and let them deal with Yucca, huh?

Unless, of course, you’re an attention starved brat who’s been watching The Hills on DVD late into the night at the mansion.

But Gibbons has been busy with the budget, right? Way, way to busy to do anything but crunch numbers, right? So busy that despite getting a Senate committee to invite him to a hearing and totally reshuffle its schedule to accommodate him, he doesn’t have a minute to spare, right?

Then why the hell was Gibbons in California on Monday touring military bases with his homeland security chief? That’s right: Our super-busy governor had plenty of time to burn playing G.I. Joe, but no time to travel back to Washington, D.C. and fulfill the commitment that he got himself into by throwing his political temper tantrum in the first place.

We spell that: A-S-S C-L-O-W-N.

Steve Wynn is pretty good at building casinos. The Golden Nugget, which he used to own, is still the nicest place downtown. The Mirage totally revolutionized Las Vegas, ushering in the megaresort era. And The Bellagio set new standards for luxury. His latest place, the Wynn Las Vegas, is very nice, too.

But when it comes to holding forth on geopolitical issues, well, not so much. Check out this story from the Associated Press for proof:

"That imbecile Mao Zedong almost ruined that country [China]," Wynn said.

 

Later, Wynn clarified his remarks, saying "I said the Cultural Revolution almost ruined the country. It was imbecilic. I didn’t call him [Zedong] an imbecile, I said it was imbecilic."

"I said Deng Xiaoping was the father of modern China, and then I went into a long dissertation about how well I thought they managed their affairs."

See? Being super-rich means being able to totally manipulate reality! In fact, Wynn did call Mao Zedong an imbecile. But once confronted, he simply said he didn’t, and everything’s cool! Wow. Being rich must be so super-sweet!

For example, if we at Various Things & Stuff were rich, we might say this: "That ridiculous dumbass Steve Wynn totally had it right when he called Mao Zedong an imbecile!" And then later, if Wynn or his people were to call, we’d simply say this:

"Oh, we didn’t call Wynn a ridiculous dumbass. No, we said his backing off his original quote about Mao Zedong was ridiculous and dumbasstic."

Now, some of you may wonder if Wynn’s remarks might get back to Beijing, where authorities might make trouble for him in Macau, where Wynn has a casino, and is looking to build another. Fear not! Because Wynn went on to kiss a little sweet & sour Chinese ass, thusly:

• He said a visit to China by the exiled Dali Lama might cause some "unintended disorder." (And you know how the Chinese deal with disorder, don’t you? Here’s a hint: Rhymes with "tank"!)
  
• He said the greatest threat to global business is terrorism, as opposed to, in no particular order, global poverty, disease, political oppression (like they have in, say, China!) or war.
  
• He said that "Taiwan is like Maine, or Washington. It was theirs [China's] and it got taken away. It’s like Hawaii. And they want it back. And most of the people in Taiwan want to go back."
  
• Of course, many people in Taiwan don’t want to go back, just as many of the residents of Maine and Washington and probably Hawaii, too, wouldn’t mind splitting off from the United States until we elect a better president. But we’re sure Wynn’s hummer of a quote sure put a smile on the faces of officials in Beijing, whom he also praised for the country’s economic growth and efficient bureaucracy.

So, there you have it: Just when it looks like an American businessman is going to tell the truth about China, he goes all soft and cuddly. Sure, what Wynn said was not as bad as, say, Sheldon Adelson’s despicable remarks. But it sure wasn’t good, either.

Maybe he should stick to building casinos.