We put our thugs into office

The Las Vegas metroplex in Southern Nevada has a population of over 2 million and growing. In this valley we have some of the wealthiest men and women on the planet. McMansions pop up like toadstools and multibillions are spent constructing paradises for the tourism trade.

Across the sea young men and women wearing this country's uniform fight...and die in a battle against Islamic terrorism. Whether or not that battle is currently justified is a subject for another article. The fact is that they are doing so right now, and they are doing so under orders. Not one of these youngsters would appreciate being called a hero, though many of them put some of our historical heroes to shame. They deserve any honor they have bestowed upon them and you would think that an area as wealthy as mine would be glad to join in on the praise.

You would think...and you would be wrong. The USO manages and maintains airport clubs for our military personnel across the world. Every major airport has one, except McCarran in Las Vegas. I tried to get a club put into the airport. I got a lot of support...that is until I asked those folks to actually spend some money. Drive into nearly every town in the US and you will find a park or a school honoring the sacrifices of our soldiers, not here in Las Vegas. The town where Sarah Palin was Mayor has a population of 9,000. There you will find a neatly maintained garden honoring our military and the job they have done. In Las Vegas, population 2 million, you won't even find a plaque.

Oscar Goodman, a semi-retired mob lawyer, lover of gin and the current mayor of Las Vegas, is pushing for the construction of a museum in Las Vegas honoring the achievements of organized crime. Yes, that group that has done so much toward building a better, safer future for America. We can all sleep comfortably knowing that our thugs, pimps, dealers and hitmen are working overtime keeping us safe. Hey, if you have to have crime, it may as well be organized, right? I am told that Oscar and company have raised over $45 Million toward this endeavor. They did this while saying that they could not find the $800,000 needed to renovate an abandoned city park into a memorial for our troops.

That is the way it is down here in Southern Nevada. If you need money for something Al Capone would blush at, it's yours. If you need money for those who have fought and died for you, fuggidaboudit! You may be the sort who puts your thugs in jail. Down here we put them into office.