We’re getting into the home stretch here, people. With less than 24 hours to go, we are still leading in KNPR-FM 89.5’s online auction! The bid to have lunch with us at Various Things & Stuff — along with our colleague Jon Ralston — is $550! That’s well ahead of other media celebrities, including our delightful colleague, George "The Knappster" Knapp! His bid is a mere $390.

This front-runner status is all the more impressive, given that our colleague Norm Clarke of Review-Journal fame has tried to bribe auction bidders with valuable prizes, like copies of his book and a free Norm! bobblehead! Yet still, the public has spoken with cold, hard cash, and said this:

Of all the celebrities in the auction, including Clarke, Knappster, freelancer Steve Friess, R-J "Online Guy" Al Gibes and even foodie John Curtas, we (and Ralston) are the most popular lunch companions of all time! Yes! The people have spoken!

Sure, there are haters out there who say it takes two of us to go up against one Knappster. Well, of course it does! He’s on TV! That means he’s automatically more credible than somebody who types things in a blog! Plus, he’s got access to sophisticated alien mind-control technology. How else can you explain a bid of $390 U.S. dollars? Yes, we know the dollar is worthless compared to other world currency, like the Euro, the Canadian dollar or, say, the peso. But still!

But now is not the time for complacency! The auction doesn’t end until Saturday, which means there’s still a chance that supporters of one of our rivals may try to outbid us at the last second! That’s why you’ve got to remain alert, and keep monitoring the KNPR auction website until the bidding closes! Don’t let somebody else beat the mighty duo of us and Ralston! Keep us on top!

Don’t forget, the money goes to a great cause: All the wonderful programming you listen to every day on KNPR. That’s news. All Things Considered. Fresh Air. And our very own State of Nevada, an award-winning, locally produced public affairs program.

But the most important thing, of course, is keeping us in the lead! The end is in sight, people! Push on until tomorrow! The link above takes you right to the website, so victory is just a click away!

We’ve been busy this week, what with Valentine’s Day and all. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t notice a few things that bear wrapping up and handing out in the form of Quick Hits. Here we go!

• Again? Poor misanthrope and former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle just can’t get her campaign to attack nurses, police officers, firefighters and school teachers off the ground! She pulled a re-written version of her anti-human initiative, ostensibly to edit it yet again, based on suggestions from the AFL-CIO. (The labor group says it will still oppose the petition, which aims to limit property tax in a way contrary to Nevada’s Constitution.)
  
• Since the AFL-CIO seems to have her ear, maybe it can tell Angle we Nevadans don’t need her California-style Proposition 13 solutions for our problems! And that she should take that petition, roll it up in a ball and shove it right up … the chimney.
  
• What did you think we were going to say?
  
• The gambling industry isn’t worried about U.S. Sen. John McCain’s stance on sports betting, says chief Washington lobbyist Frank Fahrenkopf. It’s not entirely clear if the industry is worried about McCain’s stance on staying in Iraq for up to 10,000 years or starting a whole bunch of new wars. Think about it, Frank: That’s a lot of potential gamblers who may die to satisfy the War Party bloodlust.
  
• Meanwhile, Steve Wynn’s lawyers sue to block an initiative that aims to ban tip stealing, which oddly enough is already illegal, even though Wynn does it all the time because he’s managed to convince a labor commissioner and a judge that it’s cool. Only in Nevada. Sigh.
  
• Oh, but officials will still pretend to listen to screwed-over workers. Anybody want to bet how this one comes out?
  
• Sheriff Doug Gillespie, another member of the reality-based community, breaks with Gov. Jim Gibbons‘ insistence that there’s no need for new taxes. Apparently, crimes committed against the residents of his jurisdiction forced Gillespie to admit that he can’t conjure cops with mysterious Republican incantations, nor could he do more with less. On the upside, voters may not mind paying more in sales tax if it keeps them from being robbed, raped or burglarized.
  
• But look at the bright side! If Lake Mead dries up by 2021, we’ll solve plenty of old murders, and get to visit all those planes that have crashed in there over the years.
  
• War Party leader loves war; says it will last a long time. Yawn.
  
• OK, follow this: The casinos industry recorded record profits in 2007. But the rate of growth in the industry has slowed. Therefore, it’s a crisis, and we cannot possibly raise the gambling tax. Oh, and you can expect layoffs soon.
  
• Told you so.
  
• Don’t be too hard on the War Party’s top Nevada leaders. Sure, they picked the old guy who loves war. But what was the alternative? The guy who believes The Flintstones is a documentary? The only real choice there was between McCain and switching to a party that’s not totally fucked.
  
• Wait, was the Monte Carlo made of flammable construction foam or gold hand-spun by leprechauns? For $100 million, we could totally build our own megaresort!
  
• Whenever we see the name "Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki" and "tax money" in the same sentence, we can’t help but wonder: How is the most weasely of Nevada public officials going to promote himself at your expense this time?
  
• We can see it now: Krolicki as the celebrity spokesmodel for holding the 2018 Olympic games in Reno and Lake Tahoe. Hey, he should be out from under supervised release by then, shouldn’t he?
  
• Oh, yeah: The one who lied a lot has flip-flopped yet again and endorsed the one who loves war. Didn’t the war-lover once accuse the liar of not loving war enough, sparking a 15-minute break in the traditional every-four-year worshipping of Ronald Reagan’s corpse? We think we remember that….