"However, it was after the war, when American organized crime began to build casinos that Las Vegas boomed into the city it is today."
I can't help thinking that that's misleading. Today it's pretty corporate, like an R-rated Disney World. I once spent two whole days trying and failing to find something that really made me feel like I was in Oceans 11. Turtle Fan (talk) 01:09, June 27, 2015 (UTC)
- Yeah, we can probably temper that a bit, since things did get a lot "nicer" throughout the '80s. TR (talk) 02:20, June 27, 2015 (UTC)
- I suppose that the decrease in violent crime and black market is a positive, but I have to say, I find the old Vegas (at least by reputation) a lot more appealing than what it is now. Turtle Fan (talk) 15:28, June 27, 2015 (UTC)
CV 19[]
Roy Horn died of CV 19 in Las Vegas, which I've heard is one of the most locked down cities in the USA. Maybe that illustrates the futility of lockdowns, or maybe that indicates that without the lockdown, half the population of the city would be dead. Although his health had been bad for 17 years, ever since the tiger incident.Matthew Babe Stevenson (talk) 09:07, May 17, 2020 (UTC)
- It is one of the most locked down. I certainly lean toward the futility side of things, no surprises there. To the other point, those who wanted to zig will always be able to say "If we'd zagged it would be even worse!" but that's unprovable. Those who got their way need to own the consequences of their decisions.
- Governor Steve Sisolak, whom I've taken to referring as Piece of Shitsolak, has failed to save those lives, and has ruined countless others besides. He deemed the only industry in his state that generates any wealth to speak of as non-essential. Here are three specific accounts of the tragic consequences of his misfeasance that I have from people I know personally:
- One manages a homeless shelter on behalf of Catholic Charities. They're a five hundred bed facility that is open to men; as you probably know, men's shelters are far fewer than women's and children's shelters. One of their residents tested positive at the end of March and they were told to close. The city then asked the manager where the 500 men would sleep that night. As if Catholic Charities had another facility they weren't using that could be ready on a few hours' notice! Where did those men end up sleeping? On wrestling mats in the parking spaces of a former minor league ballpark. Most of them are still sleeping there. In a few weeks, when it stays hot all night long, many will die of exposure. Those are lives that Shitsolak has thrown away.
- One runs a safe nest. It used to be that every few nights police would show up with a woman who had called in a DV complaint. Police would say "Please take her in for a few days while we sort this out, she has nowhere to go." But now the safe nests aren't allowed to take in new residents. Police are also discouraged from making new arrests because they want to keep the jails' low population density. So after responding to a DV call--and predictably, DV calls have tripled as the psychological strain pushes heretofore mentally healthy people past the breaking point--they do what they can to talk the people involved down, and hope that the fact that they showed up will put the fear of God in the perp, then leave. In many cases it will, but some of those women will be murdered. Those are lives that Shitsolak has thrown away.
- The third is a practicing psychiatric nurse. A couple weeks ago she was on a conference call with him where he announced that he'd very belatedly formed a mental health first aid task force or something similarly grandiose-sounding. Remember, this woman is a professional in this field, not a laywoman Googling around at random. She knows where information on the state's already-bare bones mental health support network can be found. And after a thorough search, she concluded that no such task force exists. People who become suicidal after months of forced inactivity will have nowhere to turn. Those are lives that Shitsolak has thrown away. Turtle Fan (talk) 21:20, May 18, 2020 (UTC)
- I'm glad you're still here and I really hope you're right about this being a flash in the pan. But the medical disaster stories we've been getting lately are pretty horrifying. With my asthma, I keeping waking up in panic thinking my latest shortness of breath is a symptom of the virus.Matthew Babe Stevenson (talk) 22:17, May 18, 2020 (UTC)
- I never said it was a flash in the pan. Possibly it's more resilient than it seems it should be; maybe normal people are susceptible, and it's not just perverts who fuck platypuses or whatever happens in those disgusting wet markets.
- But even if it is, are you prepared to throw your life away? I mean, do you really feel like you're living now? Even when you don't factor in all the victims of nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror listed above, quality of life matters, doesn't it?
- I would suggest that you stop watching horror stories. Journalists are supposed to document how the world is being continually shaped and reshaped by human agency. If they've excused themselves from that responsibility in favor of pushing a never-ending narrative of "Oh my God, we're all gonna DIE!!!!" then they deserve to lose you as an audience member. And more importantly, you'll have a sense of perspective that will enable you to see where the real dangers lie.
- Even if it were as bad as these panic-peddlers claim, you know your history well enough to know that at no point were our ancestors free from the shadows of much, much worse. Thank God they didn't listen to people like that! Turtle Fan (talk) 06:38, May 19, 2020 (UTC)
- Please make a daily blog about this. We need your perspective!Matthew Babe Stevenson (talk) 07:51, May 19, 2020 (UTC)
- I wouldn't know how. Turtle Fan (talk) 16:48, May 19, 2020 (UTC)
- Just make a blog entry like JCC often does, and update it frequently.Matthew Babe Stevenson (talk) 02:36, May 20, 2020 (UTC)