Brian Greenspun

CEO, Publisher and Editor

Email »

702-259-4003

Story Archive

Holiday season is no time to deny others joy: Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022; I think I speak for most people when I say that December and its festive holiday season is my favorite time of year. Mine starts a week earlier, of course, with Thanksgiving, but you get my drift. People just seem a bit happier, a bit more relaxed and a bit more in that spirit of giving — and giving to others.
Count your blessings, and give thanks for them: Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022; People across this country will gather on Thanksgiving Day — or whichever day their schedules allow — with family and friends for what has consistently been that time of year when the blessings of living in America are brought home.
Sun Youth Forum gives us hope — just when we need it: Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022; The hope for America. While I write this, Nevada election officials are trying to count every vote that has been cast in last week’s midterm election. It appears we won’t know the final results until well into this coming week. What we do know is that Nevada appears poised to buck the national trend. And not in a good way.
Brian Greenspun: You owe your vote to America’s democracy: Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022; There isn’t much anyone can say at this point to those who don’t plan to vote, except tell them the truth. After all, it is the truth that shall set you free — enough for you to get out of the chair and out of your comfort zone to participate in this great democracy.
Don’t get confused over which president to punish: Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022; In the spirit of helping those few who haven’t made up their minds or voted, let’s talk about the gas pump. Because it is the price of gas that is mostly responsible for the increased prices of practically everything else we consume.
America could use dose of clarity from old TV reruns: Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022; I yearn for those simpler days when it was much easier to tell the good guys from the bad ones. I miss the days when people who understood what was right and what was wrong, almost always opted for doing what was right and rarely ever rationalized their way into a knowingly bad decision.
Exercise the vote: Exorcise the charlatans: Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022; Yes, charlatans abound in these midterms and to the extent that the candidates can fool the voters — just like Alex Jones has fooled the gullible who hang on his every word — our democracy will be injured in much the same way as those families who, after suffering unthinkable personal losses, had to endure the pain of the lies that belied their pain.
We can all use a Day of Atonement, but no one can do it alone: Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022; Yom Kippur should be for everybody. Tuesday night marks the observance of the holiest Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur — the Day of Atonement. Jews around the world gather together to observe this most solemn day during which ...
Good manners: From the queen to my mother’s house: Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022; Thank God for saving the queen all of these years. I am not a big one for monarchies — mostly because the folks who created the United States of America weren’t ...
It’s 2022. The judge spoke the truth.: Sunday, July 24, 2022; District Court Judge Erika Ballou, who is not known to be timid or shy, drew the ire of the leadership of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association for telling the truth in her courtroom recently.
Our future starts at the dinner table: Sunday, July 17, 2022; Whether it was overcoming a worldwide depression that threatened to create a permanent underclass of people in the most prosperous country on the planet; fighting World War II to defeat a Nazi Germany hellbent on world domination and the genocide of millions of people deemed not “human” enough for the likes of Adolf Hitler; freezing the Soviet Union into submission during a Cold War that lasted 40 years and threatened freedom-loving people around the globe; or taking calculated risks with the U.S. Treasury to prevent a collapse of our capitalistic system in America during the Great Recession just 14 years ago; Americans have always stepped up when it was their time to defend and preserve our democracy and our way of life.
Real patriots among us stand for and tell the truth: Sunday, July 3, 2022; July 4, 1776. That was a really big day. Right? For those of you wondering what all the fuss is about this Monday, we are celebrating the 246th birthday of ...
McConaughey spoke to and for America's fathers: Sunday, June 19, 2022; This is the day I try to share a message about what it means to be a father. It’s a tradition my father started when we were just little kids. He would write about us and, somehow, everyone in Las Vegas saw their own children, their own issues, their own hopes and dreams, through his writing.
Reid’s leadership missed most in troubling times: Sunday, June 12, 2022; Father Joe Annese, who has lived in Clark County for a half-century during which he pastored in North Las Vegas, Boulder City and Las Vegas to multiple generations of Nevadans, recounts his lunches with Harry Reid. In doing so, he described Harry as a man of abiding faith and unwavering commitment to public service.
Those who stand up for our children are America’s standouts: Sunday, May 29, 2022; The only thing that stands out about all those murders is the refusal of this country’s leaders to do anything to stop the carnage. Not every leader, of course, just those in the pockets of the gun lobby ...
Americans must reject those who would replace us: Sunday, May 22, 2022; It has never been OK for political or civic or religious leadership to rationalize unpatriotic behavior by those who take up arms against their innocent fellow citizens, who threaten them with AR-15’s and who kill them indiscriminately for no good reason. Or any reason at all. And, yet, here we are. No one less than a former president of the United States told every would-be killer that there were good people on “both sides” of a Nazi march in which participants chanted that “Jews will not replace us.”
All things being equal, don’t fret. Vote.: Sunday, May 15, 2022; Handwringing in America is a national pastime. This time, though, it's serious. I am talking about the angst-ridden anticipation by the overwhelming majority of Americans that the U.S. Supreme Court will one day very soon tell every woman in this country that she is less.
America is being tested. Failure is not an option.: Sunday, April 24, 2022; If this were a test, we would be struggling to get a passing grade. Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine is not a test. It is real. People are dying — old men, women and very young children. Not to mention the husbands and fathers who have vowed to defend their country against Vladimir Putin’s criminal war machine to their death — something the Russian president is only too happy to oblige.
Holidays inspire us to deliver world from evil: Sunday, April 17, 2022; The world knows far too well the evils of enslaving one people by another. Human beings are born to be free. We also know that making war on peaceful neighbors is an abomination and contrary to the good teachings of both the Old and New Testaments. So why do we continue to allow it?
Voting your conscience used to mean something: Sunday, April 10, 2022; There were 63 Republicans who found the courage to support Putin — against the best interests of the United States. There was no principle at stake. Just a desire by the unprincipled to gin up the anti-democratic forces ...
Missing minutes or hours both reek of cover-up: Sunday, April 3, 2022; Watergate set the low-water mark for presidential illegality and constitutional confrontation. And it set in motion the American pendulum that swings too far in either direction trying to fix an immediate problem. Three generations later, that pendulum is stuck in the outer reaches of government’s inability to act when action is exactly what is required.
Patriots can save America by saving Ukraine: Sunday, March 27, 2022; A major fault line between a now-tribal America exists down the middle of the street in cities across this country. That’s where you find people — mostly peaceful people — marching in protest about one issue or another. In their faces are other people we will call them patriots because that is what they call themselves. They are dressed up in military fatigues, armored up in military gear, they carry military assault weapons and they train incessantly and militarily in the cold woods of Michigan and the hot deserts of the Southwest. They — these patriots — say they are ready, willing and able to …
To stop Putin, let history point the way: Sunday, March 13, 2022; Almost every home in America is talking about Ukraine and what to do about Russia’s unprovoked, unwarranted and unholy attack on innocent people. Sometimes the discussions focus on the price of gas but most often the concerns expressed are not dissimilar to those from another time; a time when Germany’s Adolf Hitler had designs on Europe and, once successful, designs on the rest of the modern world.
We will be OK if we stick together: Sunday, March 6, 2022; In today’s world, we know that President Joe Biden is a rational actor. He is doing his best to stop the madness of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine without testing the limits of that dictator’s capacity for rational acts. The fact that he could bring together practically the entirety of the free world and those not quite so free to stand as a unifying block to Putin’s immoral and destructive desires in Ukraine speaks volumes about the American president’s leadership.
We all must pay the price to stand up to Putin: Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022; When Russia’s Vladimir Putin gave the order this past week to overwhelmingly, mercilessly and wantonly attack his democratic neighbor, Ukraine, it opened up the history books to a time in recent memory that threatened decency around the globe and ended with a new world order that gave the promise of peace.
We know right from wrong. We just need reminding.: Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022; We live in an increasingly dangerous world. In the past, what was a clear-eyed demarcation between good and evil is a line often blurred today by ideological disputes and moral relativity, which can make our eyes glaze over and our minds numb trying to understand the nuances designed to confuse.
Increased devotion to democracy’s cause sorely needed: Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022; The eternal optimist in me longed for our yesterdays as I listened Thursday to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, standing next to President Joe Biden at the White House, as he formally announced his retirement. He has served this nation on the Supreme Court for nearly 28 years.
A calm, steady, working presidency turns a year old: Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022; It is clear to me — in hindsight, which is the lens through which we look at Biden’s first year — that what Republicans say to the public is not even close to how they vote against America’s values. What is not as clear is whether the voters are willing to see through the charade and vote against the hypocrisy of it all.
Where is Mr. Smith when we need him?: Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022; The latest example of how our democracy is not functioning properly is not coming from the Republicans for a change. No, the GOP has made it clear to all that participating in this democracy is antithetical to its cult-like, anarchistic tendencies so it has focused its efforts in a more dangerous direction.
Now is the time for all good men …: Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022; Every American knows that Dec. 7, 1941 — the day that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and signaled the United States entry into World War ll — is a day to remember not only the carnage of that attack but the ensuing battles that followed in the ultimate triumph of good over the evil of Nazi Germany and its Axis partners. Not every American is convinced that Jan. 6, 2021 — and the days preceding it and the many months that have followed — is a day far more critical to the survival of the United States of America than that fateful day more than 80 years ago.
Thank you, Senator. For everything.: Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022; The year 2021 — I think we can all agree — while better than 2020, was not a very good year either, mostly because of the unrelenting COVID-19 attack on the world. It got decidedly worse on Dec. 28 ...
What’s in a name? Everything!: Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021; Welcome to Harry Reid International Airport. This week the name change to Las Vegas’ airport will be official. McCarran’s name comes down and Harry’s goes up to signal ...
It is not Mother Nature; it is the nature of mothers: Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021; Finally, the decades-long effort of a minority of Americans may pay off when the Supreme Court issues what is expected to be a decision next year either overturning or gutting Roe v. Wade. It will be a happy day for the pro-life movement, a day of angst for the pro-choice movement, and a very dark day in the history of this democracy for anyone who still believes …
Kenosha verdict won’t answer why such behavior is allowed: Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021; Whether young Kyle Rittenhouse is found guilty of murdering two looters, rioters or victims, or not guilty by reason of self-defense is not the only question hanging in the balance of this trial.
A broken America can be fixed — again: Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021; Jon Grinspan wrote a most interesting guest essay last month titled, “What We Did the Last Time We Broke America.” I don’t know whether he is a distant cousin of mine, but Grinspan is a curator of political history at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. That’s the place a person should go to find out what actually happened in this country during its …
Thanks to Congress, the trick’s on us: Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021; This Halloween is different, though. This time there are some exceedingly selfish adults who are scaring the children. And, yes, their parents as well. While hope continues to spring eternal, I don’t know where President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” legislation will land — if, indeed, it ever takes off — because …
Our choices are not free from consequences: Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021; I know it’s been hard during COVID and, for most people before COVID, but traveling around the world to visit other countries, experience different cultures and see myriad governing philosophies at work has made it clear beyond question that the difference between the United States and almost everywhere else is our ability to choose for ourselves.
Under Biden, public has angst-free presidential problems: Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021; Americans have developed a relatively new pastime. Or should I say we have overdeveloped a very old pastime. And that is picking on our elected representatives mercilessly until we either feel better about ourselves or we make those …
Social media needs to be responsible — just like the rest of us: Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021; I remember almost 20 years ago, I was in Israel for Shimon Peres’ 80th birthday. Myra and I wound up in a car with Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Is there life on Mars? UNLV may have the answer.: Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021; What should not be lost on anyone is the fact that UNLV, our university, is a significant part of the Mars science program that may one day provide answers to …
Walk the talk, Republicans, and choose life: Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021; Both the Jewish and Christian traditions teach adherents to treat thy neighbor as thyself, have respect and compassion for the least among us, protect the newest generations and the weak for they are the inheritors, and do unto others, etc. The theme is consistent and critical to a good life, a good Jewish life and a good Christian life. So, knowing that vaccinations for COVID-19 actually save lives and protect those who can’t be vaccinated — the young people especially — why are so many people refusing to …
Vote, lest the autocrats steal our country: Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021; Will this nation, “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” endure much longer? There have always been what the Founding Fathers called “ intense minorities” who care more about a particular issue than they do almost any other, sometimes to the point of …
Henry’s recipe for a very long life: Friday, July 30, 2021; Henry Kronberg managed to live to be 101. But, he was born near the beginning of a prior century when there was no such expectation. He passed away this week after living what can only be described as a remarkable life, defying the greatest of death threats and living joyously …
Appreciate, not depreciate, the spirit of discovery: Sunday, July 25, 2021; At a time when the world and, especially, the United States of America has completely gone mad — witness our latest and lamest response to COVID-19 and its variants — these most recent two trips into space have provided …
Saving democracy. One resignation at a time.: Sunday, July 18, 2021; I am pretty sure I am not alone in my uneasy yet reassuring surprise to learn that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, had actually made a contingency plan against the likelihood that then, now (thankfully) former President Donald Trump, would try to totally abandon the Constitution and stay in power a moment longer than …
In this land of the free, where are the brave?: Sunday, July 11, 2021; Here we are in 2021 and the question must be asked: Are we brave enough to stand up to the anarchists, anti-democratic forces and thugs and fight for our liberty, our right to be free? Or are we something else, something unknown to Francis Scott Key and those who fought so bravely in 1814? And don’t forget the American revolutionaries, our Founding Fathers and the men and women who fought and died in the wars that helped …
Rob Lang, impact player of the decade: Sunday, June 27, 2021; This past week, Rob Lang passed away far too early, after a lengthy battle with an illness that kept sapping his strength but never his determination and his will — right to the end. Beyond his immediate world and those with whom he dealt over the past decade in Nevada, he was not well known.
Israel provides light in the darkness of American politics: Sunday, June 13, 2021; From generation to generation. So teaches the Good Book. With that biblical admonition always in my head, I gave my two brilliant grandchildren a homework assignment the other night. Yes, I know school is out for the summer, but not for them!
What the hell’s wrong with us?: Sunday, May 30, 2021; We will never be safe until people wake up and accept the fact that a person’s politics and beliefs will not stop a bullet — just like we can’t stop COVID-19 based on party affiliation.
The time for peace keeps ticking away: Sunday, May 23, 2021; Frankly, from what I understand, people using TikTok appear not to require context or facts necessary to make decisions of life and death or those of …