Safe Sex, Times Style

There's nothing like sex to liven up a story, or a stuffy, serious news report.

Usually, it's a politician caught with his pants down, a situation which often, but not always, is a career-ending event (and I'll never understand why a hooker can sink one official and not every official with whom they go to bed.)

Today, the Times devotes 1,300 words and two sort-of-sexy photos to Senator Harry Reid's suggestion that Nevada outlaw prostitution. This got scant attention when he made the remark several days ago. The big political story about Reid and and his home state was in November when the Tea Party failed to knock him off. As a state issue, it was dismissed out of hand. Whores pay taxes, too, people said.

The writer of the Times story says, "It is unclear what motivated Mr. Reid at this moment." I don't know either, but I'm more curious about why the Times is curious.

I just don't find his remark so stunning. Nevada politics is not exactly his turf. I would guess he spoke as just another Nevada citizen. I find his point of view reasonable. When one thinks of Nevada, one thinks of gambling, marriage and divorce, glitzy entertainment, and maybe the legal whorehouses. How does that compare to the finance and fashion image of New York City? Or Boston with its universities and technology industries, or Michigan with its auto industry, or Texas and its oil?

What does a Nevadan say about his home state? "I come from Nevada and we got whores," or, "We fleece tourists and send 'em on their way." In dismissing Reid's comments, many in Nevada seemed to say that legal prostitution is the one bright spot is a dismal employment picture. They sure do sound like a third world country, touting its tourism.

Meanwhile, I found an interesting, and serious, item about Nevada in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on voters who prefer taxes over budget cuts.

Here's the opener:

CARSON CITY -- Most Nevadans disagree with Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval's plan to avoid tax increases in large part by cutting education and social service programs, a new poll shows.

How's that for a cup of tea?