Government At Its Finest
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
Although I didn’t watch the info-commercial on the ABC Obama Campaign Network, pertaining to nationalizing our country’s health care, I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought as I sat waiting for my turn at Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles for my driver license renewal. Given this experience, I can hardly wait until I get the chance to depend (perhaps with live or death on the line) on government to be there for me or for my family’s health care needs.
In April, because of an upcoming anniversary of my birth, I needed to renew my Nevada Driver’s license. The notice came in the mail with the promotional advice to go on-line and click my way through the renewal process. Because of being somewhat preoccupied with the activities of the Nevada Legislative session, this approach made all kinds of sense. With my lap-top connected I clicked my way through the renewal process and began the wait for the service I required for the privilege to operate a motor vehicle legally in the state of Nevada.
During the Nevada Legislative session I was indirectly involved with the state leadership team of the Nevada DMV through their unwilling participation with legislation giving them responsibility for the licensing and registration of off-highway vehicles. They didn’t want the job and the 6 or 8 member team of bureaucrats working to make sure they didn’t have to be responsible worked through the process to up the fiscal note several times and plead their case of being neutral throughout the legislative debate. Government bureaucracy at its finest.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the days turned into weeks – then months and my renewed driver’s license still hadn’t arrived. Finally, tired of waiting, I called the phone back for service. After only a 12-15 minute on-hold wait, I got to talk with a real person, who looked up the driver’s license number I provided (as well as the confirmation number I had from my “clicking through to save the hassle renewal process) and we learned that the card had been mailed only two days after I had filled out on-line forms. I didn’t have the driver’s license, but they had done their job…It was the post office who had let me down.
The solution was to come into their offices for a face-to-face resolution for getting the new driver’s license.
I did as instructed, visiting one of the nearby offices to learn that because of the government fiscal cut-backs (even though the state budget increased beyond last biennium levels) the office I had gone to would be closing July 1st, the start of the new fiscal year. Never mind that my visit was prior to this date, government efficiency was at work here…they were closed, except for the crew of DMV workers behind the closed and locked doors doing what they needed to get to closure.
Off to the big office and the line/wait/get a number/wait for service. Eventually my number was called I was able to repeat my experience to someone with a computer screen and the ability to help me get a new license. The solution was that I got to pay another $17 (after the first $22 back in April) for a duplicate license – after all they had done their job by sending me the license…just because the Post Office didn’t deliver it wasn’t their fault.
I was asked if I wanted to go ahead with this solution. My choices would be?
After paying nearly the full amount again, I was sent to the next line for my new photo (we may be seeing a reason behind driver’s license pictures looking the way they do). The young lady who was there to help me after this short wait in line, wondered out loud why the solution to my situation was a full-fledged duplicate to which I responded, “that’s what I was given as my choice” followed by a less than ringing endorsement for my experience with the DMV process.
As is the case with many government officials in the state, employed and drawing a state paycheck, I was informed that they didn’t like the situation that “he” caused (“he” of course being the Governor who proposed the budget reductions that came about with the Legislature deciding that a one-day per-month, non-working, non-pay “furlough” would fix things) anymore than I did. They weren’t happy either with the long lines and irate people who were there to get the required service. Government bureaucracy at its finest.
After all this and my photo was taken, another couple of autographs and I was told that my duplicate driver’s license would be coming, by mail, to me in 7-10 days. Did anyone else see the movie “Groundhog Day?” Government bureaucracy at its finest.
Yep, can’t hardly wait for my federal government to save me with socialized medicine, perhaps the people at the Nevada DMV and the U.S. Postal Service could team up for training lessons…
Although I didn’t watch the info-commercial on the ABC Obama Campaign Network, pertaining to nationalizing our country’s health care, I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought as I sat waiting for my turn at Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles for my driver license renewal. Given this experience, I can hardly wait until I get the chance to depend (perhaps with live or death on the line) on government to be there for me or for my family’s health care needs.
In April, because of an upcoming anniversary of my birth, I needed to renew my Nevada Driver’s license. The notice came in the mail with the promotional advice to go on-line and click my way through the renewal process. Because of being somewhat preoccupied with the activities of the Nevada Legislative session, this approach made all kinds of sense. With my lap-top connected I clicked my way through the renewal process and began the wait for the service I required for the privilege to operate a motor vehicle legally in the state of Nevada.
During the Nevada Legislative session I was indirectly involved with the state leadership team of the Nevada DMV through their unwilling participation with legislation giving them responsibility for the licensing and registration of off-highway vehicles. They didn’t want the job and the 6 or 8 member team of bureaucrats working to make sure they didn’t have to be responsible worked through the process to up the fiscal note several times and plead their case of being neutral throughout the legislative debate. Government bureaucracy at its finest.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the days turned into weeks – then months and my renewed driver’s license still hadn’t arrived. Finally, tired of waiting, I called the phone back for service. After only a 12-15 minute on-hold wait, I got to talk with a real person, who looked up the driver’s license number I provided (as well as the confirmation number I had from my “clicking through to save the hassle renewal process) and we learned that the card had been mailed only two days after I had filled out on-line forms. I didn’t have the driver’s license, but they had done their job…It was the post office who had let me down.
The solution was to come into their offices for a face-to-face resolution for getting the new driver’s license.
I did as instructed, visiting one of the nearby offices to learn that because of the government fiscal cut-backs (even though the state budget increased beyond last biennium levels) the office I had gone to would be closing July 1st, the start of the new fiscal year. Never mind that my visit was prior to this date, government efficiency was at work here…they were closed, except for the crew of DMV workers behind the closed and locked doors doing what they needed to get to closure.
Off to the big office and the line/wait/get a number/wait for service. Eventually my number was called I was able to repeat my experience to someone with a computer screen and the ability to help me get a new license. The solution was that I got to pay another $17 (after the first $22 back in April) for a duplicate license – after all they had done their job by sending me the license…just because the Post Office didn’t deliver it wasn’t their fault.
I was asked if I wanted to go ahead with this solution. My choices would be?
After paying nearly the full amount again, I was sent to the next line for my new photo (we may be seeing a reason behind driver’s license pictures looking the way they do). The young lady who was there to help me after this short wait in line, wondered out loud why the solution to my situation was a full-fledged duplicate to which I responded, “that’s what I was given as my choice” followed by a less than ringing endorsement for my experience with the DMV process.
As is the case with many government officials in the state, employed and drawing a state paycheck, I was informed that they didn’t like the situation that “he” caused (“he” of course being the Governor who proposed the budget reductions that came about with the Legislature deciding that a one-day per-month, non-working, non-pay “furlough” would fix things) anymore than I did. They weren’t happy either with the long lines and irate people who were there to get the required service. Government bureaucracy at its finest.
After all this and my photo was taken, another couple of autographs and I was told that my duplicate driver’s license would be coming, by mail, to me in 7-10 days. Did anyone else see the movie “Groundhog Day?” Government bureaucracy at its finest.
Yep, can’t hardly wait for my federal government to save me with socialized medicine, perhaps the people at the Nevada DMV and the U.S. Postal Service could team up for training lessons…
Posted by Doug Busselman at 6/25/2009 3:11 PM 
Categories: Nevada
Tags: Nevada Nevada Budget Nevada Budget
Categories: Nevada
Tags: Nevada Nevada Budget Nevada Budget
The climate change bill, H.R. 2454, “Toll Bridge to the Future”, is up for vote now. It is a sweeping measure that will have a negative impact on agriculture by raising production costs and lowering farm income. Agriculture will incur higher fuel, fertilizer and energy costs from this bill.
World oil production is now in permanent decline. What oil is left will provide us the only bridge we will have to what comes next. I am asking myself, "Why is the Democratic Party making this resource a TOLL BRIDGE with the passage of this new tax legislation?"
I am greatly concerned about rising energy costs and what they might do to my farming operation. I depend on abundant and affordable energy not only for operation of vehicles, but also the costs of fertilizers, irrigation and crop protection tools.
The move to change legislative language from "Global Warming" to "Climate Change" confirms Congress's acknowledgement that the planet is now cooling and that the decline in solar activity is responsible for the "Global Cooling" we are now feeling.
Google "IPCC Global Warming Potential (GWP)" to find the real story on CO2 as an atmospheric trace gas contributing to warming. Oh, by the way, what Prof. Mann's infamous hockey stick diagram Bristlecone proxy data shows conclusively is that nothing has done more to "GREEN" the planet over the past few decades than moderate sun-driven warming together with elevated levels of CO2, regardless of the source. Increase atmospheric CO2, increase crop and forest production. That's the bottom line. It’s no accident that commercial greenhouse operators invest heavily in CO2 generators to boost the productivity of their fixed growing facilities.
The potential for tremendous harm to U.S. agriculture is real. A number of agricultural sectors and areas of the country will not be able to benefit from offsets in the bill. But all of agriculture will suffer from higher production costs. Not all commodities or areas of the country are able to productively adopt conservation tillage practices or restrict their offsets.
Let’s review the arguments.
Argument: Warming is bad.
Fact: History shows’ warming is good. Rome rose to power during the Roman Warm Period. The Medieval Warm Period enabled the Renaissance. The Modern Warm Period gave rise to the US super power.
Argument: CO2 causes warming. CO2 is a pollutant.
Fact: IPCC technical reports give CO2 a GWP of unity (1); lower than most trace gases by several orders of magnitude, particularly water vapor. CO2 is an infinitesimal trace gas absolutely essential to life on this earth by virtue of its central role in photosynthesis. Doubling atmospheric CO2 levels increases crop and forest production by 33 percent while providing minimal warming compared to water vapor. As a matter of a fact, nothing has done more to "GREEN" the planet over the past several decades than moderate sun-driven warming together with elevated levels of atmospheric CO2.
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