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Jobless rate huge, Trump guesses

Republican Party presidential front-runner Donald Trump wowed a capacity crowd Thursday at TI’s Mystere Theater.

In a rambling speech lasting more than an hour, Trump KO’d the usual political enemies and strawmen in the press, spent time bragging about his popularity and reassured the appreciative audience that he was the guy to make America great again.

He also said the current unemployment rate in America is higher than in the depths of the Great Depression, when it soared to 25 percent. The current unemployment rate hovers around 5.5 percent, and even those who scoff at its accuracy only estimate it is perhaps twice that high.

But if you’ve been listening to Trump in recent months, you know his world is a much, much bigger place. In fact, it’s huge.

“They say 5.3 percent unemployment,” Trump postured to the adoring assembly. “The number’s probably 32 percent.”

He then estimated that the actual unemployment rate when you include those no longer looking for work could be as high as 42 percent. He threw around a figure of 100 million Americans being out of the workforce, then trimmed his sails a bit and settled on an effective unemployment rate of 20 or 25 percent.

DANE CURSE: At some point, attorney David Otto may be accused of goading. One day, he might be reminded of the adage about letting “sleeping dogs lie.”

But these days Otto appears more confident than ever that his client, controversial conservative political operative Tony Dane, will never be charged in an extortion investigation that’s seen police search warrants served in Virginia, Utah and Nevada.

“Approximately 10 months have gone by and there have been no charges pressed against Tony Dane or Rob Lauer,” Otto said this week. “This investigation was nothing more than a totalitarian government effort to interrupt the legislative process in favor of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s extreme tax hike.”

The police investigation, according to published reports and the Virginia search warrant affidavit served at Dane’s home, centers on whether Dane used his autodialing and telemarketing equipment to attempt to extort a vote from freshman Republican Assemblyman Chris Edwards that possibly would have led to changes in the Assembly and blocked Sandoval’s tax increase plan to fund public education.

Dane and Lauer have denied attempts to bribe Edwards. Dane has made no secret of his anger over the Assemblyman’s support of Sandoval’s plan. Edwards was elected in a conservative district and during his campaign espoused conservative principles.

Charges or not, I’m looking forward to listening to what’s on those wiretaps. They just might reveal how local politics works in some circles.

AGING EXPO: The Review-Journal’s annual Successful Aging Expo on Saturday at Cashman Field attracted thousands of locals looking for everything from health advice to adjustable beds. It gave me a chance to meet a few new friends and get reacquainted with some old ones.

There was 90-year-old World War II veteran Herb Cohen, who proudly served in the U.S. Coast Guard — even though he admitted it’s the “Rodney Dangerfield of service organizations.”

Herb has two loves these days. First, there’s his cigars. “I’ve been smoking cigars for 60 years, and I’m not going to stop now.”

Then there’s his family. He said, “I tell people I’m a very rich man. Not in money but in family.”

There was Mark Bird, a desalination expert; Dave Wooten, a fine photographer; and Debra Hardy, a personal caregiver. And I met Marianne Downing and Mari Copeland, 10-year Las Vegans who have been partners 46 years.

In the longevity department, they couldn’t touch Dolores and Kevin Walsh, who have celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary and are still laughing.

And I met Margaret and Darrell Christean. Las Vegans for just two years, they’re avid fans of Southern Nevada’s underrated public library system. Margaret volunteers — and you can, too.

ON THE BOULEVARD: TI’s Kahunaville bar and restaurant had a field day Thursday as the unofficial overflow party place for Trump supporters. It was all The Donald, all the time on the big-screen TVs. … Former U.S. Organized Crime Strike Force prosecutor Stan Hunterton is being named counsel for the State Bar of Nevada.

Have an item for Bard of the Boulevard? Email comments and contributions to jsmith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.

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