Nevada Resembles It's Mob Parents, Not Its Western Neighbors

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Nevada has become more like its mob parent-states over the last 60 years, than it has its neighbors from its Western sister-states. Yesterday's grading by NationalJournal.com indicates that the top 3 most "dysfunctional" states are: 1. New York; 2. Nevada; & 3. Illinois. (or should we just call it like it is: 1. New York, NY; 2. Las Vegas, NV; & 3. Chicago, IL).

Nevada received a 7.75/10 on the "TOTAL DYSFUNCTIONALITY" scale. I like how the report cleverly avoids the word "corruption". The report included such factors as Criminality, Media Circus, Statewide Challenges and Leadership Problems. Nevada received a 10/10 for Leadership Problems, citing Gibbon's media fiasco & subsequent divorce, as well as Sen. Ensign's affair, as major contributors. Other contributors to the "dysfuntion" of the state include the housing decline, record unemployment, multiple politician criminal indictments, with more on the horizon, Gibbons, Gibbons and more Gibbons, a multi-billion dollar budget problem and they even blame a little bit on our Las Vegas ex-mob lawyer, Mayor Goodman (if anything, he gives the rating some "functionality").

Nothing new here, though. It is the same story with only the revolving door of names in the article and a new year on the date. This has been going on for a long time here and it is really how Las Vegas, Nevada even got so popular. The most revealing, though, is that Nevada is flanked by the states with the U.S.'s two biggest mob cities: New York & Chicago. Our mob parents taught us well, evidently. It is still Las Vegas, as usual, around here. Don't feel too badly mobsters, California, with its #6 rating, was the model for Nevada government since the formation of the state. However, it is a bit of a competition for who to blame all of this "dysfunction" on, the North or the South.

Is there any question why Northern Nevadans [resemble CA (#6)] and Southern Nevadans [resemble NY (#1) & IL (#3)] can hardly break bread together? It has been a 60 year mob take over of a strongly seasoned CA-style ballooning regulation government, while "dysfunction" is smeared over all our faces.
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