Update on yesterday's post about the Feds and the Mustang Ranch

I didn't have time, yesterday, to check out the claim made in the email I reprinted yesterday about the government losing money while running a Nevada house of ill fame that it acquired in a tax forfeiture. I recalled, or thought I recalled, hearing exactly that at the time.

This morning, though, I consulted the highest authority available (Wikipedia) and was unable to confirm the gist of the story. While Wikipedia confirms that the ranch was seized for taxes and later auctioned off by the Feds, it does not say that the government lost money operating the house in the interim. (Still, I couldn't entirely rid my mind of images of a bored clerk demanding that forms be filled in in triplicate in order to arrange an 'appointment'... of, uh, anxious customers being told to come back in a week to see if the paperwork has been processed... of red flocked wallpaper and leopard prints being covered up in civil service green....)

It just may be possible, however, that the government never actually ran the ranch at all. After all, it must have been difficult for the government to offer as a service for the public what it routinely does to the public....

But, there I go, being unfair again. Anyone who has actual facts about this matter is strongly encouraged to leave a comment with perhaps a link so we can finally, uh, put this rumor to bed.

No, under the circumstances, that's wrong.... Let me think of something else....