The great thing about government transparency and freedom of information is that the government can't get away with bald-faced lies for very long. So, though the governing class hopes citizens will be left standing ignorantly in the dark while politicians blow billions of dollars on their chums and sponsors, we can still shine light on their nefarious – although, of course, "well intentioned" – activities. The key thing is knowing the right question to ask.

The Arizona Supreme Court, citing the state's Blaine Amendment — the bigoted anti-Catholic constitutional amendment adopted by several states in the late 19th century — has struck down two parental choice voucher programs.

The bad news is Gov. Gibbons announced yesterday that he would accept $77 million of federal stimulus money. Nevada must use the money to expand its unemployment program. The good news is that he may change his mind tomorrow.

Everyone's heard the news about Nevada's unemployment rate breaking the 10 percent mark, and we probably all know people who are affected by businesses that are shutting down. What's often not reported are the new jobs that are being created.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Rachel Maddow, the dogmatic, left-wing host of an MSNBC "news-based" show, asserted last week that deregulation not only caused the world financial crisis, but that deregulation is causing average Americans to increasingly become impoverished. Although the facts don't square at all with Maddow's misconceptions, many Americans share her outlook.

And unfortunately, their vote was unanimous. The Assembly Ways and Means committee unanimously passed AB469, designed to force Gov. Jim Gibbons' hand in accepting all of the stimulus money for unemployment benefits for which Nevada is eligible.

Not if Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, gets his way.

Over at TransparentNevada, it's all transparency, all the time. Many of the rest of us, though, don't think about it quite as often. That's why this week is Sunshine Week.

In George Orwell's famous novel about a dystopian future, 1984, the totalitarian state has a slogan announcing that, "War is Peace, Slavery is Freedom, Ignorance is Strength." Such doublespeak may seem unbelievable to us today, but when it comes to education in Nevada, many indulge beliefs equally as absurd.