Michael Jackson's ‘Neverland’ Comes to Life For One More Day

My proof that I was there! (Click to embiggen)

I originally moved to Las Vegas because I was in the amusement industry, and amusement rides were at the time very big here. It was Vegas' misguided push to become "family friendly." Since then, the slogan has become the very adult, "What happens here stays here," of course. And my amusement industry career came to an unceremonious end almost 15 years ago. But I was in the industry for about eight years, and got to work at and for several parks and fairs, across the country.

By far the most interesting was Michael Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch. See, one of the guys I worked with--and shared an apartment with--back in Ohio had been inspecting the rides at Jackson's spread for years, and was eventually hired away. For one of the many events the ranch held, Big Al Scanlan (everyone calls him Big Al) invited me and a few other former co-workers and friends to come to the ranch as ride operators. I got to run the (awesome) bumper car ride, and my friends ran the swinging ship and carousel for the event. Many months later, there was an "employee appreciation" event held, and we were invited to that as well! On that trip, we got to take a tour of the grounds, and even of Jackson's house. Both visits were extraordinary experiences.



Big Al on the Neverland Valley
Steam Train



If you've only heard of Jackson's park, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was a ridiculously lavish and ostentatious extravagance of a pampered star's ego. Maybe it was, a bit. But it was also one of the coolest places I've ever been. If I lived or worked there, I'd never want to leave. Now, for one more day, Neverland will come back to life at Disneyland. And Big Al will be there.

[Excerpt]

‘Neverland’ Comes to Life For One More Day



. . .“The Amusement Park, along with the rest of Neverland, was built to bring a magical day; a joy filled memory into the lives of all those sick and less fortunate kids who visited Neverland,” Scanlan said. “The impact that a day at Neverland had on the inner city children and the children who were dealing with life threatening illness was beyond belief. To represent Mr. Jackson and to help make his dream come true for those children, to be part of that magical day and the memory those children will hang onto was a blessing. . .”
 
Read more at: MJFanClub

Rep. Shelley Berkley Protests Criticism of Las Vegas

Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nevada) has heard the ridiculous lie about a train from Anaheim to Las Vegas one too many times, and is sounding off about it. She sent out an email with her comments, which I'm printing in full below. Good on Shelley for speaking out, though I don't entirely agree about the bailed-out companies taking junkets to Vegas. However painful it is to our economy to lose that business, they shouldn't be spending taxpayer money to whoop it up on the Strip.

Be that as it may, I agree with most of what Rep. Berkley has to say, and am proud to have her as one of our Representatives.

[Email from Shelley Berkley]


Today I responded to Congressional critics of Las Vegas and to lawmakers who have attacked funding for Nevada projects, including the proposed Mag-lev high speed train. I delivered these comments in a speech from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

You can view my speech here.

The text of my remarks are as follows:

"Mr. Speaker, I'm mad and I'm not going to take it anymore.

I've had enough of my colleagues bashing my district, my hometown, and the community I love, Las Vegas.

I've sat back as Las Vegas has been maligned, insulted, and lied about for the sole purpose of making political points.

I've been waiting for common sense to prevail. But I'm here to say that this nonsense, the bashing and lies about Las Vegas have got to end and they have got to end now.

It started with Senator McConnell's misguided attack on the stimulus bill by singling out a mob museum in Las Vegas as an earmark in the stimulus package.

There's only a couple of things wrong with that, there never was an earmark in the stimulus bill -- there are none -- and there certainly wasn’t one for a mob museum, there was never a mention of it in the stimulus package. The lies continue.

Then we found out about the Mag-lev train, countless republicans have misrepresented the $8 billion included in the stimulus bill as being an earmark for the Las Vegas-Anaheim Mag-lev route.

The only problem is even after it was pointed out that there is no earmark, that Las Vegas and California are going to have to compete with other projects, that this has been a project that's been in the works for 20 years and that it will bring thousands of visitors to the Las Vegas area and to the Southern California area, the lies continue.

The latest one was Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. He repeated the lie in his televised response to the President's remarks to Congress, claiming the bill included funding for a magnetic levitation line from Las Vegas to Disneyland.

And then it goes one worse. Trent franks just mentioned there's a Mag-lev going from Disneyland to the Moonlight Bunny brothel. Now I grew up in Las Vegas and I've never heard of the Moonlight Bunny brothel, but I guarantee the Mag-lev train is not going there.

The latest whipping boy is in the omnibus bill -- Sustainable Las Vegas.

Just yesterday, Senator McCain took to the floor of the Senate to attack sustainable Las Vegas. What does sustainable Las Vegas mean? He yelled. Let me enlighten the senator, it's a University of Nevada education and research program on energy supply, water supply and air quality issues that are very important for the desert southwest for cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix and Tucson. But he knows that.

So why is it different than the hundreds of other programs given out to other universities in the United States? Including universities in Arizona? Because it has Las Vegas in its name.

And let me tell you about my hometown of Las Vegas -- it's a community of families looking for a better life; it's a community of schools and churches and mosques, a community of small businesses, working people and beautiful hotels.

That brings me to the most egregious affront to Las Vegas. Stop bad mouthing Las Vegas and stop telling businesses and major companies to stay away from Vegas.

You are hurting our economy, you're forcing major layoffs of employees in the hotel industry. Hundreds-of-thousands of Nevadans depend on the tourism and convention business for their livelihood.

Las Vegas has long been a city where serious business is conducted, where small and large conventions can be accommodated. When it comes to business meetings, Las Vegas is the best city on the planet. You still get the best bang for your buck. Great hotels, great convention facilities, great restaurants, great transportation and a great price.

When you bad mouth Las Vegas, you are hurting our major industry, you're hurting your fellow citizens by taking away their livelihood. You are taking food out of their children's mouths.

Las Vegas is having a very tough time right now. High mortgage foreclosure rate, high unemployment, high bankruptcy rate. We are hurting. Every attack on Las Vegas by my colleagues is a knife in the heart of my city.

So I implore my colleagues, stop bashing Las Vegas. Find some other whipping boy. We've had enough, we're not going to take it anymore. I yield back the balance of my time."
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or you wish to share your comments with me by clicking here.

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for passing this on.

"Train to Vegas": The Red Lie Express

I've written a couple of times about the brazen lie, that is engineered (hah!) to criticize both Barack Obama and Harry Reid. Various members of the Republican party--including Bobby Jindal--contend that a bullet train from "Anaheim to Las Vegas" is provided for in the stimulus bill. It's fiction, but it has caught on like the lie about Michelle Obama getting a lobster from room service.

The Daily Kos has put together a great video that puts it all in context. All the way up to the ridiculous assertion that the train goes to the Moonlight Bunny Ranch brothel!

"Train From LA to Vegas" Lie Gets Weirder

In an effort to slam President Barack Obama's stimulus plan and Harry Reid, the right-wing punditry (and politicians like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal) have been spreading a lie about a train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Supposedly the stimulus plan includes beau coup bucks for such a thing. But no such prevision exists.

You could tell it was a talking point, because it was continuously referred to as a train from "Disneyland to Vegas." It has now become a train from Disneyland to brothels. Shameless.

[Excerpt]



Latest Stimulus Lie: Harry Reid ‘Is Committed To’ A ‘Red Light Express’ To Nevada Brothel

. . .It’s a super railroad, of sorts — a line that will deliver customers straight from Disney, we kid you not, to the doorstep of the moonlight bunny ranch brothel in Nevada. I say, to the moonlight Bunny Ranch brothel in Nevada. So should your tax dollars be paying for these kinds of projects?. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Bobby Jindal Repeats False "Disneyland to Vegas" Train Story

After a pretty good performance by President Barack Obama in his address to Congress, the Republican response was offered by Louisiana Governor Piyush "Bobby" Jindal. It was an awkward speech, and one couldn't help but notice the difference in tenor and presence between the two men. This is an important thing to keep an eye on, as Jindal is thought to be "The Next Ronald Reagan" by many on the right, and has been slashed a lot lately (examples: Jindal/Palin '12).

Unsurprisingly, I wasn't bowled over by the guy, his style or his message. Rachel Maddow was actually left speechless after Jindal's allusion to Hurricane Katrina. I was most taken aback by Jindal's reference to a high-speed rail system from Disneyland to Las Vegas that he says in the stimulus package. No such thing exists, but the line keeps getting repeated.



Jindal said that Republicans hadn't done much to gain the public's trust lately. He's right. And with lies right there in his speech, Jindal hasn't done much to earn it either.