MUTH'S TRUTHS 06/21/2015

FATHER’S DAY MINUS ONE This is the first time in 15 years that I will be celebrating Father’s Day without my first born.  She’s in Switzerland as we speak. Kristen (r) and her friend Mindy (l) successfully raised over $17,000 in sponsorships in less than three months this spring to pay the tuition for a three-week/seven-country European Heritage Tour with the People-to-People Student Ambassador program.  They left Las Vegas yesterday morning at 4:00 a.m. and arrived in Zurich just after midnight our time. I miss the heck out of her already.  And while the selfish father part of me wishes she was here, the proud papa part of me is so happy that my “baby” had the desire, perseverance and courage to travel halfway around the world on her own with a bunch of strangers. Heck, when I was her age, it was considered a big deal to go halfway around the block! OK, that was a little hyperbole for effect, but you get the idea. Fortunately, I have two other kids to spend the day with while Kristen’s overseas.  And here’s what my boy, CJ, and I are gonna be doing later this afternoon… JASON DAY, THOMAS EDISON AND THE CONSERVATIVES If you like “Cinderella stories” of people overcoming tremendous odds and winning, you might want to tune into today’s final round of the U.S. Open even if you’re not a golf fan.  Because Australian Jason Day will have the entire world rooting for him and might just become the latest chapter. Jason is one of four golfers who are tied for the lead at four under par and will be in the final pairing when they tee off this afternoon.  Now, if you’re not a golfer you’re probably saying to yourself right now, “So what?  Who’s Jason Day?  And why should I care?” Ever hear of “vertigo”? According to my online dictionary, vertigo is “a sensation of whirling and loss of balance, associated particularly with looking down from a great height, or caused by disease affecting the inner ear or the vestibular nerve.” As you can imagine, that’s not exactly a good thing if you’re a professional golfer. Well, Jason Day has it.  And on Friday he literally passed out and collapsed from it on the golf course.  He was on the ground for a few minutes waiting for it to pass and his head to clear.  If you missed it, watch it here. Remarkably, Day not only got up and finished the round, but remained in contention for the lead.  Still, many doubted he’d return on Saturday for round three. But he did.  Rob Damron of Fox Sport reported before the round yesterday that… “While Day warmed up on the range, it was obvious that he was uneasy on his feet. His complexion looked pale and clammy. He moved in slow motion so he didn’t trigger another onset of vertigo and his system was full of medication to try and control it.” For many, just showing up after Friday’s episode seemed miraculous.  But it gets better… After round three, we learned that Day was still feeling out of sorts and “almost quit three times on the front nine.”  But he soldiered on and somehow birdied the 12th, 15th, 17th and 18th holes for a share of the lead going into today’s final round. Guts.  Courage.  Perseverance.  Whatever you want to call it, this is a story you should have your kids watch today even if they don’t have any interest in golf whatsoever and regardless of how the tournament ends. Because this is no longer about golf.  This is about the human spirit. This is about defying the odds and continuing even if you don’t win. Which brings me to Jon Ralston (after all, this is a political e-newsletter)… On Wednesday, Riley Snyder of the Associated Press tweeted about Republican Nevada State Controller Ron Knecht, Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers and former State Assemblyman Ed Goedhart leading a conservative effort to repeal the $1.4 billion tax hike the Nevada Legislature just passed a couple weeks ago. Ralston’s snarky response… “Controller no one respects, councilman who can't win statewide and nonentity ex-ass.?” Nevada’s #2 liberal blogger-with-a-taxpayer-subsidized-TV-show then went on to criticize conservatives in the Assembly who barely lost a leadership fight to the moderates last January before the start of the session, conservatives who came up short in an effort to recall Speaker-of-the-Weak John Hambrick in the spring, and the loss by conservative underdog Sue Lowden to heavily-favored moderate Mark Hutchison in the lieutenant governor GOP primary a year ago. Bear in mind, however, that Ralston himself is a monumental failure.  A loser. But in his case, it’s because he’s never tried. Indeed, King Jon simply sits up on his throne in his media ivory tower and criticizes those who are actually involved in the political process.  He is the epitome of what Teddy Roosevelt was talking about when he said… “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Indeed, when conservatives fail, it is often while “daring greatly” against extremely long odds. Ralston, on the other hand, is one of those “cold and timid souls” who criticizes those in the arena from up in the peanut gallery. You know who else was a “failure”?  Thomas Edison. The man who invented the light bulb had far more failures in his life than successes, but dared greatly and had this to say about all the times he came up short… “I have not failed 10,000 times.  I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” Edison wasn’t a failure, because he was in the arena.  And never quit. Jon Ralston is no Thomas Edison. Jon Ralston is no Jason Day. And Jon Ralston sure as hell is no conservative. And for that, we can all be grateful on this Father’s Day! NEVER FORGET WHO SOLD YOU OUT Here’s the full rogue’s gallery list of the Dirty Baker’s Dozen of RINO legislators who voted for the largest tax hike in Nevada’s history, including creation of a new gross receipts tax… Assemblyman James “The Big Selloutski” Oscarson – Nye County Assemblyman P.K. O’Neill – Carson City Assemblyman Pat “RINO” Hickey – Washoe Assemblyman Randy “Kirner Tax” Kirner – Washoe Assemblyman David Gardner - Clark Assemblywoman Melissa Woodbury – Clark Assemblyman Lynn “The Bug Man” Stewart – Clark Assemblyman Paul Anderson – Clark Assemblyman Derek Armstrong-Anderson – Clark Assemblyman Stephen Silberkraus – Clark Assemblyman Erv Nelson – Clark Assemblyman Glenn Trowbridge - Clark Assembly Speaker-of-the-Weak John Hambrick – Clark Let the primaries begin! You can read this column online, as well as access archives of past Muth's Truths columns by clicking here... www.MuthsTruths.com Did someone forward you this copy of Muth's Truths? Get your own FREE subscription...