SHORT TAKE

BARKLEY: CNN’S USEFUL IDIOT

Charles Barkley, the old faithful of spouters-off everywhere, became CNN’s useful idiot Friday when he spouted off to Wolf Blitzer about conservatives”

“Hey, I live in Arizona. I have got great respect for Senator McCain. Great respect. But I don't like the way the Republicans are taking this country. Every time I hear the word ‘conservative,’ it makes me sick to my stomach, because they're really just fake Christians, as I call them. That's all they are. But I just -- I'm going to vote Democratic no matter what.”

Blitzer played the role of good cop, offering Barkley an opportunity to take back his bitter criticisms, without success. CNN gave the mighty mouth an opportunity to disparage conservatives without allowing equal time for a rebuttal, confirming its well known political bias. Thus, Barkley served as a useful idiot for the “Clinton News Network.”

Barkley also said he is pro-choice, favors of same-sex “marriage” and in his judgment, conservatives are too judgmental. Also, he said Republicans had lost their mind. He just bought a house in his native Alabama in order to fulfill a seven-year requirement to run for governor there in 2014.

Memo to Barkley:  We’d prefer to see you use that house immediately, instead of your home in Arizona.

More memos: It’s a shame you turn a blind eye to the fact that many abortion mills are located in black neighborhoods, and a highly disproportionate percentage of African-American babies are aborted. And that’s just the way the racist founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, wanted it. You, Charles, could do a great service to African-Americans by pointing out the truth of abortion’s dirty little racial secret.

Furthermore, it’s a shame you believe that boys and girls do not have the right to grow up with a father and a mother in their household. Children lacking one or the other parent – especially the father – fall prey to a long list of social ills. Have you not heard of the blight of “Fatherless America”?

If conservatives are “judgmental,” I wonder what it is that you do on your TNT basketball broadcasts all winter long. You’re not holding back any judgment on anyone. And you did not hold back judgment on conservatives last Friday.

You said conservatives are “false Christians,” implying that you know something of the Christian faith and something about Biblical tents of judging. Here’s what the Good Book actually says about judging:

Matthew 7: 1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

 3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

Also, Leviticus 19:15: “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.”

Charles, how many times have you “lost your mind?” You once threw a man through a plate glass window at a bar, resisted arrest and then said you were sorry the crime hadn’t been committed from the second story of the bar.

Barkley arrested after bar scuffle | Arrest Complaint

Barkley Fined And Suspended

Since you like to launch grenades at conservatives, Charles, you have opened yourself up for judgment. Your career resembles something akin to “fake Christianity.” Here are some of the highlights:

In March 1991, during an overtime game in New Jersey, Barkley tried to spit at a heckler, missed and instead spat on a young girl. Rod Thorn, then president of NBA operations, suspended Barkley without pay and fined him $10,000 for spitting and using abusive language at the fan.

12/2/99--The NBA fined Charles Barkley (Hou) $20,000 for disparaging remarks made about ref Mike Mathis following Wednesday's Hou-Pho game.

11/11/99--The NBA fined fined Charles Barkley (Hou) $5,000 and suspended him for one game for throwing the ball at Shaquille O'Neal as the two scuffled during Wednesday's LAL-Hou game.

2/8/99--The NBA fined Charles Barkley (Hou) $5,000 for foul language directed at fans during Friday's Hou-LAL game.

4/24/98--The NBA fined Charles Barkley (Hou) $10,000 for using profane language and making obscene gestures at a fan during Thursday's Hou-Uta game.

3/30/98--The NBA fined Charles Barkley (Hou) $10,000 for calling ref Jack Nies "a gutless official who holds grudges" following his ejection in Friday's Orl-Hou game.

2/15/97--The NBA Charles Barkley (Hou) $2,500 and suspended him for 1 game for leaving the bench during the altercation in Friday's Hou-Sea game. Leaving the bench is an automatic fine and suspension.

12/20/96--The NBA fined Charles Barkley (Hou) $7,500 and suspended him for 2 games Barkley accidentally cut the ref's nose.

10/28/96--The NBA has fined Charles Barkley (Hou) $5,000 and suspended him for 1 game for a fight in Friday's NY-Hou game.  The suspension will start with the first game of the season.

3/6/96--The NBA fined Charles Barkley (Pho) $7,500 for criticizing the refs following Sunday's Pho-Dal game.

2/28/96--The NBA fined Charles Barkley (Pho) $10,000 for not attending the media session for the All-Star weekend.

2/15/96--Charles Barkley (Pho) was fined $5,000 for slamming the ball at the feet of the ref after Tuesday night's loss to Seattle.

4/15/95—The NBA suspended Charles Barkley (Pho) for 1 game for exceeding the league flagrant foul limit.  Barkley received his 6th flagrant foul of the season during Friday's Phoenix-Denver game.  Barkley served his suspension during the LA Lakers game Saturday night.

10/28/94--The NBA fined Charles Barkley (Hou) $5,000 and suspended him for one game for a fight in Friday's Hou-NY game.

In conclusion, I can’t let you off the hook for the many racist remarks you have made over the years about “white people.”

Charles, you wore out your welcome in Phoenix and demanded that the Suns trade you. When the trade went through, it was announced at the Tempe New Year's Eve Block Party and the news of your departure received a thunderous ovation.

NAPOLITANO'S HIGHER EDUCATION PROPOSALS ARE OFF THE MARK

By Matthew Ladner, Goldwater Institute
Jan. 26, 2008

Gov. Janet Napolitano called for the doubling of the number of college graduates by 2020 in her 2007 state of the state address and paying the tuition for students who graduate high school with a B average. How fast can you say "grade inflation"?

 

 

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 29 percent of all jobs actually required a degree in 2004. But the U.S. Department of Education's National Education Longitudinal Study reports that 40 percent of its sample attained a two- or four-year degree or higher. Many people with college degrees have jobs that do not require them.

 

Of course, Arizona's universities can and should do more to improve their abysmal graduation rates. The National Center for Education Statistics lists Arizona State's four year graduation rate as 28 percent, the University of Arizona at 30 and Northern Arizona University at 27. The six year graduation rates for these three schools stand at 56%, 56% and 47% respectively. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like Arizona taxpayers are already subsidizing a good deal more than we should.

 

The crisis in our public universities is effectiveness, not affordability. They need focus, reform, and competition, not new subsidies and a continued lack of accountability. Massive new taxpayer subsidies will simply turn today's farce into tomorrow's tragedy.

ASU LIBRARY'S FINEST COLLECTION THE 'HALLUCINOGENIC RAVINGS' OF A HEROIN ADDICT

By Dennis Durband, Editor
Jan. 23, 2008

This morning, I was doing some research at ASU's Hayden Library. Eventually, a middle-aged man who was leading a group of prospective students on a tour of the campus passed by my work desk and stopped nearby.

The man told the prospects that business, economic and social science books were located on this particular floor. Then he proceeded to tell them that ASU has some very valuable collections in Hayden Library. One of them is that of William Burroughs, author of "The Naked Lunch."

"He was a heroin addict, and this is some pretty heady stuff," the tour guide said of Burroughs. "His is probably one of our finest collections." What's more, Amazon's editor's review calls Burroughs the 20th century drug culture's version of Edgar Allen Poe. The book represents "the hallucinogenic ravings of a heroin addict."

Wow. Just think how these future Sun Devils are salivating to attend the "new university" whose finest collection is the work of a hallucinogenic heroin addict. It doesn't get any better than this. ASU ... the Harvard of the West. Wow. Your tax dollars at work training the leaders of tomorrow..

GOLDWATER'S LEGACY NOW ASSOCIATED WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD

Jan. 21, 2008

The late Sen. Barry Goldwater's "conservative legacy" is becoming less and less significant. The Peggy Goldwater Award is Planned Parenthood Arizona's most prestigious recognition of volunteer leadership. The award is named after its first recipient, Peggy (Mrs. Barry) Goldwater. In 1937, Peggy Goldwater joined Mrs. Dwight Heard and other leading women volunteers to establish the abortion agency. During the spring of each year, the Peggy Goldwater Award is awarded to a Planned Parenthood volunteer who has shown extraordinary commitment to the agency's mission as well as the generosity of their financial support.

 

By Clint Bolick, Goldwater Institute
Jan. 10, 2008

 

Extending health benefits to domestic partners of government employees is a fiercely contentious issue. Arizona voters decided last year not to prohibit such benefits, but efforts to create them have come up empty in the state legislature.

 

No problem, says the Department of Administration, a state executive agency: we'll mandate insurance coverage for domestic partners of state employees and retirees by bureaucratic fiat. And it did just that in a proposed rule filed last November 30 to expand the term "dependent" to include domestic partners.

 

State agencies are not omnipotent; our state Supreme Court has ruled that agencies "have no common law or inherent powers-their powers are limited by their enabling legislation." State law gives the department authority to administer insurance for state employees-but no fewer than six statutes clearly define "dependents," all of them encompassing spouses and children but clearly not domestic partners.

 

Likewise, state agencies are not allowed to make budget appropriations (can you imagine if they were?); yet this regulation will cost millions of dollars every year. So in one fell swoop the agency has usurped two fundamental legislative powers: policymaking and appropriations.

 

The Arizona Republic applauded the move, saying "Arizona is preparing to take an obvious, practical, and fair step." No, it isn't. An administrative agency is not the state. We have a constitutionally ordained way of making law and policy, and bureaucratic fiat is not it.

 

No matter how one feels about the underlying policy issue, it is vital to preserve the separation of powers that helps limit government overreaching. If domestic partner benefits are created, it should be by the people directly or through their elected officials-not through unelected bureaucrats. The Governor should halt this proposed rule before it becomes effective, or surely will face a legal challenge whose resolution should not be a close call.

 

PHOENIX BILKS TAXPAYERS FOR $10,000 A WEEK ATTORNEY FEES TO DEFEND CORPORATE WELFARE

By The Goldwater Institute
Jan. 8, 2008

The City of Phoenix has paid more than $100,000 to attorneys from the law firm of Fennemore Craig to defend the City in a legal challenge filed by the Goldwater Institute. This taxpayer-funded legal counsel is above and beyond the City of Phoenix's Law Department of 250 full-time attorneys and support staff.

Darcy Olsen, president and CEO of the Goldwater Institute, criticized Phoenix's cavalier use of taxpayer resources, saying "Even Marie Antoinette would find this spending excessive."

The Goldwater Institute filed its lawsuit, Turken v. Gordon, in August, challenging the City's $100 million subsidy to the developers of the upscale shopping mall called CityNorth. Between August 14 and October 31, the City spent more than $100,000 in legal fees, which include the billable hours of some of the law firm's highest paid lawyers. In cases like this, cities often rely on in-house counsel. "Given that city lawyers negotiated the subsidy, presumably they would have expertise to defend it," said Olsen.

The Goldwater Institute Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation filed its opening brief with Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Miles yesterday. The brief explains how the CityNorth deal violates three separate sections of the Arizona Constitution and is available here. Also yesterday, the National Federation of Independent Businesses concurred in an amicus brief. Oral arguments are scheduled in the case for February 4, 2008.

BIG BROTHER'S BAILOUT OF HOUSING MARKET

By Dr. Tom Patterson, Chairman, Goldwater Institute
Dec. 11, 2007

Here's a seldom-reported fact. Our recent housing bubble was caused by government.  The intended consequence was to stimulate the economy. But below-market interest rates produced above-market real estate values.

Now the government seems determined to help us out of this crisis. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., has proposed a bill that would fix the mortgage market with regulations. Hillary Clinton wants a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and a five-year freeze on mortgage rates. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's more modest plan is to persuade lenders to forego any interest rate adjustments on subprime mortgages. But these are all just temporizing measures. If we want to keep mortgage holders in homes they can't afford, eventually a taxpayer bailout will be required.

The justification for the various subsidies and moratoriums is that they would prop up the housing market and prevent the economy from tumbling into a recession. Maybe they would. But these solutions actually perpetuate the conditions that caused the bubble and keep the market from making the necessary adjustments.

Beyond unintended consequences, there are issues of fundamental fairness. Why should homeowners who deferred other expenses and selected a house within their means subsidize those who did neither? Should people be entitled to relief if they have a subprime mortgage that they can afford? Should borrowers get help with a mortgage they received in the first place because they lied about their income?

All the cures are worse than the disease. Whether we're forcing government or rich lenders or Wall Street to pay really doesn't matter much. The bailout schemes reinforce Americans' belief that the consequences of risky behavior should be borne by government. Government should assure transparency, prevent fraud, honor contracts and butt out. For once, let the markets work.

UA’S COACH OLSON WANTS OUT OF MARRIAGE TO PRO-ABORTION RINO WIFE

The Arizona Conservative
Dec. 8, 2007

Lute Olson and his RINO wife Christine are splitsville, and the University of Arizona coach is taking the rest of the season off. He plans to return next season.

We knew Coach Olson was a better man than to stoop for the pro-choice Pennsylvania GOP national committeewoman. We were disappointed to see their involvement in the pro-abortion WISH List – Women In Senate and House who demand abortion rights on demand for women.

Olson had divorce papers served on his wife in New York Thursday night. She said she was “devastated” by this and that she plans to stay committed to their marriage.

Oddly, the Olsons have been “represented” by the Gordon James public relations firm in the Valley of the Sun. The James, Gordon and Lisa, are “Republican” politicos with ties to supporters of Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano and who have sewn discord within the Republican Party. The James gained notoriety within the past year when Lisa ran unsuccessfully for state Republican chairman and their PR firm created auto-dialer messages attacking Randy Pullen, the man who defeated her in that contentious January election

SCOTTSDALE COUNCIL CAVES IN TO HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVISTS' PRESSURE

By Cathi Herrod, President
Dec. 5, 2007

Last night, the Scottsdale City Council caved in to the demands of advocates of homosexual behavior and voted 4-3 to add "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" to the list of individuals receiving special employment protections as employees of the City of Scottsdale. Those voting "yes" were Mayor Mary Manross, Council Members Wayne Ecton, Robert Littlefield, and Betty Drake. Councilmen Tony Nelssen, Ron McCullagh, and Jim Lane all voted against the measure. To thank these council members for standing up to the pressure, please send them an email. Their email addresses are: jlane@scottsdaleaz.gov, tnelssen@scottsdaleaz.gov, and rmccullagh@scottsdaleaz.gov. I urge you to take a moment and read CAP General Counsel Peter Gentala's testimony against the ordinance available here.

No evidence was presented to the City Council that discrimination against homosexuals has been an issue for Scottsdale city employees. In fact, to get a picture of any community-wide discrimination against homosexuals, a council member asked the Chief of Police about crimes against the GLBT community. The Chief of Police responded that last year there were 8,970 violent crimes in Scottsdale. Only one of these was committed against a gay couple, and it has not been determined whether that crime was motivated by animosity towards homosexuals. This year, there have been two reported incidents, and both are still under investigation. Those are the facts. But over the last year, the media has portrayed Scottsdale as being under a wave of systematic crime against homosexuals. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What no council members or city staff were able to answer were the practical questions of what the ordinance will mean. Will men who "identify" themselves as women now be allowed to use city park and library women's restrooms instead of the men's room? Will the city now have to spend millions of dollars to remodel restrooms? Has the city opened itself up to be the target of new lawsuits based on fuzzy definitions of "gender identity"? Will Christian employees be punished or fired for exercising their First Amendment rights and voicing their deeply held convictions about sexual behavior?

No one knows the answers to these questions. What we do know is that there are no facts that support this ordinance. Its real purpose is to incrementally pass measures recognizing homosexual behavior and relationships that will lead to the legalization of same-sex "marriage."

CREATIVE FINANCING FOR THEME PARK IN ELOY ISN'T GOOD FOR BUSINESS

By Dr. Byron Schlomoch, Goldwater Institute
Nov. 28, 2007

Maybe it's a good idea. A music-themed amusement park in Eloy just might work. True, the park would be in the desert between Tucson and Phoenix with a limited available work force and limited infrastructure for large numbers of visitors. Still, there have been surprises before. Who could have predicted Branson, Missouri?

But, the developers of Decades Music Theme Park want a big favor from the state. They want their park to be a "Theme Park District." This would be a mini government agency with the ability to issue tax-free government bonds. The bonds would be paid off with a nine percent sales tax within the district.

At first glance, this doesn't seem like that big of a deal, or something that could affect the average taxpayer. Businesses borrow money for an initial capital investment all the time. And, the sales tax would only be paid by people coming to the park.

The thing is, this is a pretty special privilege the state is being asked to confer. In a nutshell, this private business would be financed as if it were a municipality, county, or the state, and get all the tax benefits that come along with that. Needless to say, most businesses in Arizona don't get these sorts of benefits.

The adoption of this proposal will allow the state to favor one business by lowering its investment costs and not doing so for other businesses. Arizona's constitution has several provisions to prevent these types of deals. In fact, the Goldwater Institute has filed a lawsuit against the City of Phoenix to prevent it from offering a sweetheart deal to a mall developer.

This project also does present a risk for all Arizona taxpayers. If Decades' owners default on their "government" bonds, Arizona's legitimate government bond ratings could suffer.

All of these creative financing schemes for private businesses that cities around the state continue to offer beg one question: if we are so desperate to help businesses open in Arizona, why don't we lower costs for everyone? If costs are too high, then cutting business taxes is the way to address the problem.

VOTER PROTECTION ACT CONTRIBUTING TO BUDGET SHORTFALL

By Dr. Tom Patterson, Goldwater Institute
Nov. 27, 2007

Words like "crisis" and "pain" describe the state budget situation. The revenue shortfall for this fiscal year, once thought to be as high as $600 million, now looks to be somewhere north of $800 million. Next year looks even worse. 

But trouble can be the mother of opportunity. Lawmakers may, for the first time, have a realistic chance to reform one of the structural anomalies that caused the problem in the first place, the Voter Protection Act (VPA).

The VPA provides that any measure passed at the ballot box can never be amended by the Legislature unless the amendment "furthers the purpose" of the original initiative, and even then only with a three-fourths vote. So we have an ever-growing body of appropriations, taxes and laws which, practically speaking, can never be changed.

 

 

The Legislature would be more able to avoid new taxes, new debt and accounting gimmicks to balance the budget if they were able to reprioritize spending, at least on a temporary basis. The VPA stands in the way of this fiscal commonsense.

Changing the Voter Protection Act can only be accomplished by a vote of the people and it won't help resolve the current budget crisis. If the VPA can't be eliminated, surely reasonable minds could agree that a five or 10-year moratorium on amendments would be sufficient to protect citizens' interests. We can act now to avoid painful crises in the future.

DEMS TALK GOOD GAME ON 'DISCRIMINATION,' BUT HOW MANY TRANSGENDERED FOLKS HAVE THEY HIRED?

By Dennis Durband, Editor
Nov. 16, 2007

Tempe congressman Harry Mitchell explained in a letter to a constituent why he voted in favor of ENDA – the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

ENDA would prohibit intentional employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. This legislation would also stipulate a means by which to handle complaints of such discrimination. This bill would apply to employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and joint labor-management committees. Religious organizations and the armed forces would be excluded from ENDA.

I believe that discrimination is wrong. No American should ever be a target of discrimination because of his or her religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation or disability. The Civil Rights Act currently protects employment discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, color and national origin, but stops short of offering recourse for employees discriminated against based on sexual orientation.

I also believe that equality in the workplace is a basic and fundamental right and that workers should receive compensation based solely on their skills. Because that is not the case today, ENDA is a necessary measure to eliminate hatred and discrimination from America's workplaces.

I voted for and the House passed ENDA by a vote of 235 to 184 on November 7, 2007. This legislation has been referred to the Senate for further consideration. Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind as this bill continues its way through the legislative process.

Again, thank you for contacting me about this issue. I hope that you will not hesitate to contact me again should you have any additional questions, comments, or concerns.

Homosexual pressure groups backed ENDA because it is a bill that represents a major piece in the incremental gains strategy of the homosexual agenda.

What I would really like to know is how many cross-dressing, transgendered and questioning folks the Democrats in Congress have hired to work in their offices. And what is their quota system for hiring these strange people? It doesn’t take a creative imagination to wonder what kind of a “style show” might occur daily in the Bay Area offices of leftist lawmakers.

ENDA REPRESENTS BUILDING BLOCK FOR HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA

By Cathi Herrod, President
Center for Arizona Policy
Nov. 9, 2007

In an historic vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday prohibiting discrimination in employment (ENDA) against individuals based on their sexual behavior. The House voted 235 - 184 in favor of ENDA. Arizona Congressmen voting yes: Flake, Grijalva, Mitchell, Pastor; Arizona Congressmen voting no: Renzi, Shadegg, Franks. Giffords did not vote, although she cast votes on other items under consideration yesterday. The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration. To see the complete breakdown of the vote, visit clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1057.xml.

Why does this matter? After all, no one supports discrimination in the workplace. As always, one must look at the bill's real intent, purpose, and impact. In today's culture, there's little evidence that homosexuals are losing their jobs or not getting jobs because of their sexual orientation. To the contrary, homosexuals as a group have a higher per capita income and hold more professional level jobs than most other groups. Certainly homosexuals have not faced the discrimination faced by people of color and women that established the need for legislation prohibiting discrimination in the workplace.

No, passage of ENDA is a critical building block to the pro-homosexual special rights agenda set forth by the Human Rights Campaign. Consider the statement issued by HRC President Joe Solmonese after the House vote: "Our fight for equality will not be won overnight. It will be one step at a time, and we will not give up until we reach the finish line. This is a critical piece of legislation and a major step toward the finish line for all Americans."

Make no mistake. The "finish line" means "full equality" in the form of same sex marriage and the promotion of homosexuality throughout all segments of society, including the church. The "finish line" means hate crimes laws preventing preaching and teaching biblical truths about homosexual behavior.

The bill provides a narrow exemption for religious organizations. In all likelihood, however, many para-church organizations, including CAP, would not be exempted from the bill's provisions. Pregnancy resource centers likely would not be exempted. Businessmen desiring to operate their businesses according to their religious beliefs would not be exempted. Only an organization propagating the faith or controlled by a religious organization or society is exempted.

Next up will be Senate consideration of the House approved version of ENDA. Negotiations also continue on "hate crimes" legislation. While the White House has indicated President Bush will veto both measures, let's not take a potential veto for granted. We'll let you know when it's time to let the President hear your voice!

Meanwhile, the proponents behind ENDA and hate crimes legislation in Congress also are pouring millions of dollars into state and federal election campaigns. The Human Rights Campaign Fund is one of the most well-funded advocacy organizations in the country.

ARIZONA'S TAX BITE

By Byron Schlomach, Goldwater Institute
Nov. 5, 2007

With a $600 million general fund shortfall -- almost 6 percent of the general fund budget -- some Arizonans might be tempted with a tax increase. After all, the state recently enjoyed a tax cut. Arizona is a low-tax state, right?

 

Not exactly. It is true that Arizona's state and local tax burden is below the national average, ranking 31^st highest among the states this year according to the Tax Foundation. Still, Arizona's governments take 10.3 percent of Arizonans' income.

 

The good news is Arizona's tax burden ranking is falling. In 1980, Arizona ranked 12^th highest among the states, then taking a whopping 10.3 percent of Arizonans' incomes. Wait a minute--that's the same as today! Turns out state and local tax burdens across the nation are at record levels. We're not doing better in the rankings because we've reduced our tax burden; it's that everyone else's tax burden has increased.

 

Fortunately, Arizona taxes less than California (11.5%), slightly less than Colorado (10.4%) and Utah (10.7%), and only a little more than Nevada (10.1%). But New Mexico taxes at only 9.8 percent and Texas taxes an even lower 9.3 percent.

 

So, while our overall tax burden is far from the worst in the country, taxation has effects deeper than the sum of its parts.

 

The Tax Foundation also looked specifically at states' business tax climates. With number one being the best, Arizona is right in the middle at 25^th. Under this ranking, California is at a dismal 47^th. But, Nevada ranks 3^rd, Utah 17^th, Colorado 13^th, New Mexico 23^rd, and Texas 8^th. In our region, Arizona only outranks California.

 

Business is the engine of an economy's prosperity. And right now Arizona's economic future is too dependent on California's monumental fiscal incompetence. Just being better than California is not a tax or fiscal policy that will ensure economic prosperity in the future.

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN: HOLLYWEIRD WRITERS STRIKE!

By The Arizona Conservative
Nov. 3, 2007

It’s a beautiful thing: Hollyweird writers going on strike and sparing families of some of the garbage on the idiot box and the silver screen. The strike was juxtaposed against a stinging rebuke of the media by Carl Bernstein, a Washington Post reporter who helped break the Watergate story.

Talks between Hollywood writers and studios abruptly broke off last week and a strike has ensued. This could be the strike that cripples the television industry, morally bankrupt as it is and capable of creating little in the way of socially redeeming value. For some unknown length of time, America’s airwaves will be free of new pollution from the idiot box.

Hollyweird screenwriters – vastly out of touch with America -- last struck in 1988, for 22 weeks. That fortunate strike delayed the fall TV season and cost the industry $500 million. As this new strike approached, networks sped up production of movies and television shows. They can do us all a favor and stay on strike, or get real jobs, and end the cultural rot that has done so much to dumb down America.

It is also ironic that Bernstein just this week criticized the excesses in entertainment and celebrity reporting, during a meeting with college prep students. He said that more reporting resources go to the exploits of celebrities than to hard news.

"The problems we have in news and journalism are about us not doing our job well enough," Bernstein said. "The ideal of providing the best available version of the truth is being affected by the dominance of a journalistic culture that has less and less to do with reality and context."

Bernstein said the "idiot culture" is partly to blame for the dysfunction of political life in the United States. "You can't separate the appetites and demands of the people themselves and what they are given," he said. "The blame simply can't all be put at the feet of those who present news."

Let’s hope for a long strike and that Americans find useful things to do with the time they might have spent numbing out on stupid, insulting forms of “entertainment.” And let’s hope that the media takes a hint and reports less on entertainment and more on things that matter.

CLINT BOLICK: I'M SHOCKED, SHOCKED!

Oct. 24, 2007

Oro Valley's recent decision to yield its status as Arizona's subsidy capital didn't come a moment too soon. The first report for two sales-tax rebate subsidies awarded for Oracle Crossings Center and Steam Pump Village are in, and the results are predictable. 

 

The first project forecast sales of $106 million over the last two fiscal years, which would have generated $2.12 million in sales tax revenues; but instead produced $35.5 million in sales and only $441,000 in sales tax revenue. The second projected sales of over $26 million and tax revenue of $525,000, and instead produced sales of $2.1 million and tax revenues of $46,000.  In both cases, nearly half of the sales tax revenue will revert to the developers.

 

Explanations for the revenue paucity include delayed construction and insufficient demand for retail space. Could it be that the market is telling the town something?

 

The Oro Valley experience is only the latest evidence that politicians are lousy investors. A few years back, Tucson gave Slim-Fast a big subsidy to build a plant; within a few years the plant went bust and the promised jobs disappeared-along with the taxpayers' money.

 

Arizona's founders had their own epiphany 100 years ago: subsidies lavished upon railroad companies that never managed to lay track. Determined never to repeat that error, they wrote into the Constitution the anti-gift clause, which absolutely prohibits gifts to individuals or corporations in the form of subsidies or otherwise.

 

Cities have ignored the constitutional constraint, engaging in a frenzied competition over who can bestow the most corporate welfare. The Goldwater Institute's constitutional challenge to the $97.4 million subsidy of the CityNorth mall in Phoenix offers hope in reining in local government excesses.

 

Politicians have every right to be gamblers-but the Constitution instructs that they do so with their own money.

TOM PATTERSON: HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN, COURTESY OF NAPOLITANO

Oct. 11, 2007

Say your family finances hit a rough spot. What should you do?  One option would be to pull out the plastic and rack up credit card debt. You don't have to be a financial genius to understand that's not very smart. Yet that is pretty much Governor Napolitano's plan to address Arizona's revenue shortfall.

State government in Arizona has gorged itself for the past five years, growing at a truly unsustainable 12 percent rate. State revenue is already $300 million under budget for the fiscal year that began July 1, with the total deficit projected to hit at least $600 million.
   

Matters are even more grim for next year. This year's budget assumed a surplus of $400 million from last year (which didn't entirely materialize). So next year's budget will begin with a $1 billion gap between current spending and revenue levels.

Even aside from the dreadful policy implications, there are problems with the governor's proposal. For one, her proposal to use debt to balance the budget is unconstitutional. The Constitution categorically prohibits the state from contracting for more than $350,000 of debt.

The governor is using debt to substitute for a cash appropriation to balance the budget and that is specifically what the state founders intended to prohibit. The practice of forcing future generations to pay for things we want today would have been unthinkable to our fiscally responsible forefathers.

Ultimately, there is no realistic choice considering the situation except to enact real spending cuts, politically painful though that may be.

TOLERANCE LITE, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA STYLE

By Cathi Herrod, President, Center for Arizona Policy
Oct. 2, 2007

Where can you find those who have honed intolerance to a fine art? Among those who preach tolerance as the highest of virtues, of course! Last month, Priority College Ministry, a student club at the U of A, succeeded in pulling off a Christian concert despite the best efforts of student body leaders to sabotage the event. The club had been promised more than $4,000 in student funds for the event by the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, or ASUA. All student organizations are eligible to receive funds, but ASUA changed the rules after promising the funds, making "blatantly religious or political events" ineligible for funds. Priority College Ministry was left in a lurch, and if it hadn't been for local churches who were willing to help fund the concert at the last minute, it would have been cancelled.

But ASUA apparently doesn't mind funding items that are both politically and religiously charged. At the very same meeting where they changed the funding rules, they voted to pay for a two-page ad in the school newspaper to promote "Coming Out Week" for one of the campus's homosexual clubs. Not to be outdone, U of A administrators created a new office of "gay and lesbian affairs" on campus last week, and hired a local homosexual activist as its first director. If you are a Wildcat alum, you now know what to do when you are next solicited for a donation. And if you haven't heard today's related radio commentary, "Intolerant Wildcats," you can listen to it online.

IT'S THE SPENDING, STUPID (JANET NAPOLITANO)

By Bryon Schlomach, Goldwater Institute
Sept. 28, 2007

Holy misdirection, Batman! Only sitting elected officials could make a spending problem seem like an economic illness. 

Arizona's state revenues are short an estimated $600 million for 2008, just three months into the fiscal year. The culprit cited is a slowing housing market and falling home values.
 
However, under Governor Napolitano, every budget from 2004 to 2007 has grown faster than Arizonans' collective personal income. Nearly 7 percentage points faster in 2004, 12.3 points faster in 2005, 5.7 points faster in 2006, and 0.5 point faster in 2007.
 
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s budget growth history shows appropriations rising faster than personal income in 15 of the last 28 years. Even so, there is only one other four-year period when budgets rose faster than personal income (1986-1989)--but it was by an average of 1.7 points per year compared to Governor Napolitano’s four-year average of 6.4 points.
 
When spending growth outpaces the growth in earnings of the people who pay the bills, it inevitably sets the state up for hard times. Now the reality of less-than-breakneck revenue growth has hit the ninth floor like bankruptcy for a gambling addict.
 
The first step is to understand the problem. The problem is spending. Had it stayed in line with our population growth and inflation since 2002, instead of a $600 million shortfall, we could be looking at a (conservatively estimated, but hefty) billion dollar surplus.

Dr. Byron Schlomach is the director for the Center for Economic Prosperity at the Goldwater Institute.

KKNT TALKERS BLOWN AWAY, BLOWN OUT

By Dennis Durband, Editor
Sept. 27, 2007

KKNT Radio, alias "The Patriot," dial 960 in Phoenix had bled long enough, so the station recently jettisoned 3-6 p.m. drive time talk show hosts Tom Liddy and Austin Hill. Nationally-syndicated talker Hugh Hewitt moved into the slot to fill the void.

Tapscan Ratings showed KFYI Radio, with Sean Hannity and J.D. Hayworth, blowing away Liddy and Hill by nearly a 3-1 margin. Hannity, whose show runs 1-4 p.m. and overlapped the first hour of Liddy and Hill, pounded the duo 123,400 listeners to 37,700. Hayworth went up against Liddy and Hill from 4-6 p.m. and the former congressman pounded them,  96,200 listeners to just 37,300.

To put it mildly, Liddy and Hill were boring as month-old bread. And Liddy is no conservative.

Liddy is the former chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Party. Hill has also been filling in on stations in L.A., Dallas, Chicago and D.C.  The duo got their start at KFYI during the start of the Iraq War in 2003.

CRUEL INTENTIONS: REPUBLIC HIT PIECE ON CHARTER SCHOOLS AIMS TO DISCREDIT MOVEMENT

By Clint Bolick, Goldwater Institute
Sept. 18, 2007

The Arizona Republic recently featured a two-part series on alleged financial improprieties of charter schools.  Focusing on a small number of rogue schools leads one to wonder if the reporter's intent was to tar the entire charter school movement and invite a regulatory response.

 

 

Arizona is the nation's leading pioneer of charter schools, which are public schools that are allowed to offer distinctive curricula (though even there, the Empire is striking back in the form of "curriculum alignment," which the Goldwater Institute is challenging in court).

 

Charter schools enroll only 7.5 percent of the state's children, yet by the state's own standards, nine out of 10 of the top-ranked public schools are charter schools. Students attending charter schools typically are from poorer families and possess greater special needs than traditional public school students, yet they usually outperform the public schools with which they compete.  Moreover, competition from charter schools boosts performance in traditional public schools, according to a study by Harvard Professor Caroline Hoxby.

 

The state should more carefully monitor financial governance at charter schools, and take action against the bad actors.  But it also should aggressively promote parental choice in both the public and private educational sectors, for choice is the tide that lifts all boats.

 

Meanwhile, we eagerly await the Republic's expose on financial waste in traditional public schools-but won't hold our breath!

LIBERAL POLITRICKSTERS CAUGHT RED-HANDED STEALING CAMPAIGN SIGNS

The Arizona Conservative
Sept. 6, 2007

Little things like campaign laws and ethics seldom get in the way of liberal politricksters. Such was the case Wednesday night for a campaign sign stealer in Phoenix who got caught red-handed taking down council candidate Jon Altmann’s sign.
 
On Wednesday, a volunteer sign maintenance volunteer witnessed someone cutting down and taking a 4x8 signs in the area of Seventh Street and Greenway Parkway. He phoned the Phoenix police with the thief’s license plate and vehicle description.
 
Police ran the plate and went to the residence of the thief, who had a lot of candidates’ signs in plain view in his home – including a Maria Baier candidate sign. The man had violated ARS 16-1610.
 
The sign taker claimed incorrectly that the signs had been posted on the property of a Home Owners Association. The man is not an official of the HOA. Altmann had that particular sign posted on that corner for about three months, and no one from the HOA had complained.
 
Altmann reported that two of his signs were stolen Wednesday. The other sign had been located in a home owner’s front yard at 52nd Street and Thunderbird. Overall, Altmann has lost 22 huge signs since beginning his campaign. He recently confronted a Baier volunteer placing Baier yard signs directly in front of his signs, persuading the person to move the signs. Incidentally, Baier is a
supporter of liberal Gov. Janet Napolitano, a seasoned politrickster in her own right.

GORE WINS LD 8 STRAW POLL AMONG DEMS; MRS. CLINTON WOULD LIKELY WIN AMONG DISTRICT 8 RINOs

By Dennis Durband, Editor
Aug. 23, 2007

A mere 40 people showed up at a private home in Legislative District 8 (Scottsdale/Fountain Hills/Rio Verde) and gave non-candidate Al Gore the majority in a straw poll vote. This proves it doesn’t take much of a crowd of lefties to generate news in the Arizona Repugnant. Truth be known, if this had been a meeting of Legislative District 8 “Republicans,” Mrs. Bill Clinton (MBC) would most likely have won … with Janet Napolitano as their preferred running mate for MBC.

O’CONNOR COURTHOUSE VACUOUS, EMPTY – JUST LIKE HER SUPREME COURT CAREER

By Dennis Durband, Editor
Aug. 20, 2007

Recently, I had to make a six-hour detour to the Sandra Day O’Connor Courthouse in Phoenix for jury duty. On trial was a single, solitary illegal alien who had been deported, only to return to the U.S. to be arrested again. Sixty potential jurors, including me, were summoned to the courtroom of U.S. District Judge James Teilborg for jury selection. I knew I was marked for dismissal by the defense attorney when I told the court that I had signed an electronic petition opposing congressional amnesty this summer and that I had posted Minutemen accounts on my website. When I, along with several others, stood to indicate that I believe the country is being over-run by illegals taking jobs away from Americans, I knew that would seal my exodus deal.

Two things struck me as poignant about the day’s experience: 1) what a shame that so many people’s lives were disrupted for the trial of only one border invader when there are millions of them in the U.S. illegally; and 2) the taxpayers were fleeced by the vacuous courthouse, which is literally about 90 percent hot, unconditioned air with court rooms and offices tucked on the south side of the building. This wasted space emulates O’Connor’s hollow career on the U.S. Supreme Court, where many of her decisions were vacuous and without reason or merit.

PARENTS, WATCH WHAT'S GOING ON AT YOUR SCHOOL

By Cathi Herrod, President, Center for Arizona Policy
Aug. 15, 2007

Parents and grandparents, take notice! As your children start off a new school year, take time to get to know what's going on at your local public school. Organizations such as the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) constantly pressure school administrators and teachers to use the classroom to use the classroom environment to indoctrinate students into accepting homosexual behavior as just another healthy option.

For example, last year GLSEN encouraged educators in Mesa Public Schools to "use inclusive, affirming, gender-neutral language when referring to sexuality and human relationships in every-day speech..." and to say words like "'lesbian,' 'gay,' 'bisexual,' 'transgender' each day in a positive way." Teachers were also asked to "use inclusive language that implicitly allows for LGBT possibilities," always substituting "parent" for "mother" or "father," or using "spouse," rather than "husband" or "wife."

School clubs are often used by homosexual activists to further their cause, but they are sometimes given innocuous names like "Club SODA." This fun-sounding name is actually an acronym for "Sexual Orientation Diversity Awareness." Other clubs pushing a pro-homosexual-behavior agenda include Unitown and Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs).

GLSEN also pressures schools to observe various "days of action," such as "No Name Calling Week," the "Day of Silence," and the "Transgender Day of Remembrance." The occasions are used to get the attention of all students and convey the message that their school supports homosexual behavior.

UNACCEPTABLE! 7,500 GANG MEMBERS IN PHOENIX!

The Arizona Conservative
Aug. 3, 2007

Authorities say there are 250 gangs with 7,500 members in Phoenix. The majority of towns in America do not have populations of 7,500. These shocking numbers are completely unacceptable to the citizens of this county. These shocking figures, reported by ABC Channel 15 should have prompted the governor’s office, the state, Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio and the city to take stronger measures to regain control of this lost city. It should have happened long before things got this far out of hand. This kind of crime is totally unacceptable to the citizens of and visitors to Arizona – all of whom have no guarantees of safety. Phoenix is becoming another Detroit. Sheriff Joe is tough on prisoners, but weak on criminals. Gov. Napolitano needs to show some leadership and bring this horrible situation brought under control. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and his chief of police ought to wipe out gangs or resign. While Gordon, Napolitano and Arpaio have been busy politicking and staging publicity stunts, gangs have been terrorizing Phoenix, committing murder and mayhem. We, the people, demand eradication of this gang infestation that plagues this city.

FIRST, DOCTORS, DO NO HARM

The Arizona Conservative
Aug. 1, 2007

Concerned with the ethics of taking human life, a national debate is underway on the “Katrina Killings” by Dr. Anna Pou and her staff in New Orleans two years ago. Pou, a head and neck surgeon, and nurses Cheri Landry and Lori Budo were exonerated by a Grand Jury in Louisiana for their roles in hastening the deaths of patients under their care. They had been arrested and accused of killing nine patients with a lethal cocktail of drugs at Memorial Medical Center after the August 2005 mega-storm.

Pou still faces four civil suits in connection with the deaths, regarded as a homicide by the attorney general’s office. In a tear-filled press conference, she said she hopes God will forgive her.

There are several lessons to take away from this unfortunate situation.

It should be incumbent upon medical personnel to do their utmost to save the lives of patients--even under the most extreme circumstances. That's what heroism is. Now days, there are too many people who shrink in the face of adversity and too few heroes.

There was no reason to kill the patients in Louisiana. Did the firemen climbing the World Trade Center towers kill the people trying to escape? No, they made every effort to help evacuate people. And like the Pou staff in Louisiana, they had no assurances that they would succeed. People should not assume that they must have assurances that efforts to save lives will succeed; they merely need to make the effort.

It appears that Pou and staff attempted to absolve themselves of responsibility by lightening their patient load. There was no justification to make assumptions that the patients would not survive rescue attempts. Their tragic decisions were entirely self-motivated and paternalistic.

One of the big problems in society is that we cannot stand to see someone suffer. We say of Terri Schiavo "I wouldn't want to live like that." Well, no one does want to live like that! Life is full of pain of suffering from birth to natural death. So many people are so quick to pull the plug if they see someone else suffer. And they believe that if the person is old and/or already sick then that gives them a license to play God with other people's lives.

Pou and the two nurses would have done better to do nothing to their victims than to have made arbitrary decisions that the best course of action would be taking their lives.

When I am nearing the end of this life, I want the Lord to do the taking, not a stranger who has not shown the courtesy of consulting with me or my wife. Another person's ailing condition is not a license or an invitation for any of us to kill them. If Pou and her staff had only made an attempt to rescue these poor folks -- even if the people died during the attempt to evacuate them -- we would all be hailing her as a heroine, and she and her staff would not have any guilt on their consciences today. Nor would they be facing civil charges.

The civil case will take on a different tone that the criminal charges. This time, the juries will be presented with the loss suffered by the families of the victims, as opposed to the sympathy shown the medicos by the Grand Jury.

WAKE UP, WAKE UP ARIZONA!

The Arizona Conservative
July 21, 2007

"Tokyo Rose" is back on the radio and this time she is sporting the moniker, "Wake Up Arizona!" Just as Tokyo Rose lied about America and tried to undermine the morale of our armed forces during World War II, Wake Up Arizona! is now subverting national sovereignty by advocating for amnesty, through offensive and insensitive radio commercials.

Who are the targets of the vile messages? Conservatives who oppose amnesty and who favor a controlled border. The greedy people behind the radio spots are businesses that benefit directly from employing cheap labor, such as McDonald's and professional sports teams connected to Jerry Colangelo.

One radio commercial features a Latina woman condescendingly dressing down conservatives and warning them that Hispanics voted a whopping 44 percent for George W. Bush in 2000 and that by opposing amnesty guest worker programs GOP candidates will lose that "big" block of voters in the future. These ads directly subvert America and American sovereignty -- all in the name of the greenbacks the greedy sponsors lust for by using illegal, cheap  immigrant labor. These commercials will no more change the hearts and minds of Americans than Tokyo Rose did during Great War II.

Wake up, Wake Up Arizona!

TANCREDO REGAINS TOP SPOT IN TAC PRESIDENTIAL RATINGS

The Arizona Conservative
July 17, 2007

Colorado Cong. Tom Tancredo has regained the No. 1 position in The Arizona Conservative presidential, after slipping to second place last month. Tancredo has made strong public showings recently, while stories surfaced about former leader Fred Thompson previously lobbying for the abortion industry. Thompson fell all the way to sixth place.

Former Constitution Party presidential candidate Howard Phillips and CP vice-presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin rank second and third. Both are conservative Christians.

The remaining contenders in order of position appear below. Not all of our ranked contenders are announced candidates, but they are people we would respect to some degree as entries in the White House sweepstakes.

1. Cong. Tom Tancredo
2. Howard Phillips
3. Chuck Baldwin
4. Cong. Duncan Hunter
5. Sen. Sam Brownback
6. Fred Thompson
7. Mike Huckabee
8. Mitt Romney
9. Cong. Ron Paul
10. Michael Peroutka

KKNT AMNESTY ADS FIT WITH STATION'S COMPROMISING NATURE

July 16, 2007

Some of our conservative blogging brothers are expressing angst over KKNT Radio's airing of pro-amnesty advertisements. I don't know why there are surprised. That's just KKNT being KKNT.

After all, KKNT is the station that gives us neocons Tom Liddy, Austin Hill, Hugh Hewitt, Mike Gallagher and Michael Medved.

KKNT is also the source of many liberal soundbites from news anchor John Gibson.

The Phoenix station was also the source of campaign ads by RINO Rick Murphy, who challenged conservative Cong. Trent Franks in 2004.

The bottom line is advertising revenue -- not conservative ideology.

CNN SETS JOURNALISM BACK A DECADE WITH BIASED REPORT FROM ARIZONA

July 14, 2007

CNN, aka the "Clinton News Network," aired a completely biased report Friday night on Arizona's latest get-tough-on-the-border-invasion law, signed recently by liberal Gov. Janet Napolitano.

Proponents of open borders received a disproportionate share of air time from CNN. The statistics cited by State Rep. Russell Pearce were refuted. The statements of pecan growers and the owner of numerous McDonald's Restaurants that they only hire legals was not challenged. It was clearly obvious that the owners of the businesses enjoyed cheap labor. The report was moderated by Anderson Cooper.

Ultra-left cookie-cutter media, such as The Arizona Republic and CNN, have been supporting the border invasion for several years. Meanwhile, illegals are killing Americans on the roads and filling up prisons, while overcrowding schools and hospital emergency rooms.

MAN RECOVERS FROM COMA AFTER MEDICS TRIED TO STARVE HIM TO DEATH

By Cathi Herrod, President, Center for Arizona Policy
June 27, 2007

On Sunday, Jesse Ramirez Jr. became responsive after being in a coma since he was badly injured in a car accident on May 30th. Mr. Ramirez is lucky to be alive.

Just ten days after the accident, Jesse was moved from the hospital to a hospice. The tubes that provided him with food and water were removed. Members of Jesse's family were alarmed that these actions were taken so quickly after his injury. So, with the help of our friends at the Alliance Defense Fund, they filed a lawsuit to have his food and water restored.

As a result of the lawsuit, Jesse was again given nourishment. He had gone without food and water for five days. About a week after his food and water were restored, Jesse began to show signs of recovery. He is now alert to his surroundings, responds to voice commands, and recognizes family members. He has been moved from a hospice to a rehabilitation center. Hopefully, Jesse's miracle recovery will continue.

Jesse's case raises grave concerns. His food and water was removed too quickly, without sufficient deliberation, and without lawful authority. In fact, Jesse's nourishment should never have been removed in the first place. Arizona law states: "A surrogate who is not the patient's agent or guardian shall not make decisions to withdraw the artificial administration of food or fluid." Jesse had neither an agent [person appointed by power of attorney] nor a court-appointed guardian. The reality is it took a lawsuit for the law to be followed so Jesse could have a chance at recovery.

By Cathi Herrod, President, Center for Arizona Policy
June 27, 2007

THOMPSON ASSUMES TOP POSITION IN T.A.C. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RATINGS

June 23, 2007

The Arizona Conservative has released its latest presidential preference ratings, and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson has taken the No. 1 spot away from Colorado Cong. Tom Tancredo, leader in the two previous ratings.

Thompson last week assumed the lead in the Rasmussen poll, as well, surpassing Rudy Giuliani. The Arizona Conservative ratings do not include the more liberal candidates like Giuliani and Sen. John McCain, who has largely abandoned Republican principle. For instance, Planned Parenthood activist State Sen. Carolyn Allen also endorses McCain.

1. Fred Thompson
2. Cong. Tom Tancredo
3. Howard Phillips
4. Chuck Baldwin
5. Cong. Duncan Hunter
6. Sen. Sam Brownback
7. Jim Gilmore
8. Mike Huckabee
9. Mitt Romney
10. Tommy Thompson

VIRGINIA TECH PERSPECTIVE: TIME MAG HONORS VICTIMS; LIB UNIVERSITIES OVERLY PROTECTIVE OF MINORITIES

The Arizona Conservative
April 21, 2007

Point I: Time Magazine got it right this time. Time put victims' photos on the cover of its upcoming issue. After Columbine, the magazine unconscionably honored the wishes of killers Harris and Klebold, who wanted to be featured on the covers of magazines.

Point II: Newsweek did not put the killer's face on the cover this week. Let's hope NW is smart enough to avoid doing so next week, too.

Point III: It never ceases to amaze us how the humanist religion-dominated education establishment, of which Virginia Tech is a card-carrying member, questions traditional morality and pushes diversity, political correctness and other leftist malarkey. If Cho had been a white male, he may have been expelled long ago by VTU. But since minorities are valued more highly by universities obsessed with quotas, diversity, multiculturalism and affirmative action, minorities are heavily recruited and coddled with fluffy support programs.

VIRGINIA TECH MADMAN CHOSE ULTRA LEFT MEDIA TO DO HIS DIRTY WORK

April 18, 2007

Cho Seung-Hui chose NBC Television as the recipient of his hate package. Did he identify with the Ultra Left Media and its liberal agenda? One can only speculate.

Consider, for a moment, if the mad Virginia Tech mass killer had sent his sick package to Fox News. Now that alone would have dominated today's news cycle -- if not for the rest of the week. He would have been dubbed a "conservative," and Fox News, conservatives and Seung-Hui would have all been shaped into one huge target for a ravenous Ultra Left Media pack. Katie Couric would have mentioned Cho and Dr. Dobson in the same breath. Keith Olbermann would be ranting incoherently about Heinrich Himmler, Cho and Rush Limbaugh. Fortunately, we were spared the agony.

But he chose the Ultra Left Media. Very interesting. The Ultra Left Media, dominant in the mass media culture, often distorts the story ... and one demented, distorted mass killer apparently identified with the NBC branch of the ULM.

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, PRESIDENT STILL DOESN'T GET IT RIGHT ON BORDER INVASION

April 9, 2007

Is that a broken record, or is it just President Bush repeating his call for guest worker amnesty legislation? After all these years as president and all the trips to the border, George W. Bush is still repeating amnesty lines, like a parrot:

People are coming here to put food on the table, and they're doing jobs Americans are not doing. And the farmers in this part of the world understand exactly what I'm saying. But so do a lot of other folks around the country. People are coming to work, and many of them have no lawful way to come to America, and so they're sneaking in.

Those who have studied the border invasion have reported that most invaders are not sneaking into the United States to work. Arizonans living with the invasion nightmare are fed up with the president's endless repetitions of claims he can't back up. Mostly, we are fed up with having to rely on citizens to do the job at the border that the government won't do. American agriculture is only lightly served by illegal aliens.

We need a comprehensive bill, and that's what I'm working with members of Congress on, a comprehensive immigration bill. And now is the year to get it done. The first element, of course, is to secure this border. That's what I'm down here for, to remind the American people that we're spending their taxpayer -- their money, taxpayers' money, on securing the border. And we're making progress. This border should be open to trade and lawful immigration, and shut down to criminals and drug dealers and terrorists and coyotes and smugglers, people who prey on innocent life.

It's a shame the president believes the sixth year of his administration is the year to reform border control. Over that time, hundreds of thousands of invaders have streamed into the nation, to commit thousands of crimes against innocent, law-abiding Americans.

If you want to take the pressure off your border, have a temporary worker program.

We do want to take the pressure off our border, and we do not want a temporary worker program, aka amnesty, which only rewards lawbreakers and puts American families and American workers at risk. We do not have any reason to think the invasion will be brought under control during your administration, Mr. President. We long ago lost faith in you to solve this problem.

People who entered our country illegally should not be given amnesty. ... So we're working closely with Republicans and Democrats to find a practical answer that lies between granting automatic citizenship to every illegal immigrant and deporting every illegal immigrant.

If that isn't talking out of both sides of your mouth, Mr. president, I don't know what is. And I don't know why you keep coming to Arizona every year to talk about amnesty when the government refuses to protect our border.

PERFECT VISION FOR ARIZONA

By Arwynn Mattox, Goldwater Institute
April 3, 2007

Between education, health care and highways, Arizona’s budget is stretched pretty thin. So thin, in fact, that Governor Janet Napolitano wants to borrow money from future generations to pay for today’s expenses.

Rather than saddle future generations with today’s bills, Arizona should find a way to pay them. Lowering them is a place to start. This year Arizona appropriated about $810 million to the state’s two largest public universities, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, a 10- percent increase over the previous year.

The University of Michigan provides an example of how public universities can thrive with less state funding. Under the “Vision 2017” plan, U-M sought to become a “privately financed public university.” In 1965, state appropriations accounted for 70 percent of U-M’s general revenue. But, by 2003, state appropriations accounted for less than ten percent. Meanwhile, U-M has remained one of the nation’s top ranked universities. U-M reduced dependence on taxpayer funds by aggressively pursuing private fundraising campaigns, aligning tuition more closely with costs, and identifying core academic programs and eliminating others.

This year, Arizona taxpayers will finance 31 percent of the general revenue for ASU and 35 percent for UA. Following the Wolverine model is one way Arizona can reduce its bills and pay them when they’re due.

MERIT JUDICIAL SELECTIONS LACK MERIT

By Cathi Herrod, Center for Arizona Policy
March 16, 2007

Gov. Janet Napolitano appointed former state senator Bill Brotherton as a Maricopa County Superior Court Judge this week. The essence of Senator Brotherton’s application was this: I was a legislator who wrote bills and defended the State Bar and the judiciary against attempts at reform, therefore I should be a judge.

There’s something wrong when candidates for judicial selection feel the need to boast about their efforts to make sure the system never changes. Would Senator Brotherton still have been selected if he was an outspoken critic of merit selection?

Defenders of Arizona’s merit selection system for judicial selection continually tell us we have the nation’s best system for picking and choosing well-qualified, capable attorneys to be judges. The system supposedly doesn’t allow for politics, favoritism or cronyism. I’m having trouble once again buying that defense when I see someone with Senator Brotherton’s background and record picked for the bench. He opposed virtually every pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-school choice and judicial reform measure. Don’t get me wrong. I hope Senator Brotherton makes a great judge. But I sure wish Arizonans had the chance to have their Senators question him about his judicial philosophy. Thanks to merit selection, that important conversation will never happen.

THE BRAIN-CENTERED ECONOMY

By Noah Clarke, Goldwater Institute
March 14, 2007

Governor Janet Napolitano once said, “we must prepare young people for a ‘brain-centered economy’ whose one constant is rapid change.” Catch phrases like this are often used to justify new programs like the 21st Century Fund for biosciences and the National Governor’s Association Innovation America plan. These and other programs are touted as the key to keeping Arizona’s economy growing.

The underlying assumption is that government knows where the economy is going and the kind of workers it will need. Were that true, however, the Soviet Union would have beaten the economic pants off the West. Instead, it collapsed. An army of central planners failed to meet Russia’s most basic needs, let alone steer the country toward prosperity. The history of the world is replete with such failures.

The key to economic growth is not a “brain-centered” elite chosen by the government, but ordinary entrepreneurs reacting to market opportunities.

Government’s track record in predicting the “next big thing” speaks for itself. Back in the 1970’s, the U.S. government wasted billions on the failed “synfuels” project. In the 1980’s, the Japanese government created a fifth generation supercomputer, only to watch it become the world’s most expensive paper- weight. Today, government-controlled Airbus flounders as Boeing soars. There may be exceptions to the general rule, but the pattern of failure is unmistakable.

Government should leave “brain-centered economy” decisions to entrepreneurs.

ASU STARTS CHAPTER OF ENLIGHTENED WOMEN

By Cathi Herrod, President, Center for Arizona Policy
March 13, 2007

Linda Turley-Hansen, columnist for the Scottsdale Tribune wrote a great piece for Sunday’s paper featuring Annemarie Smith, Office Assistant at CAP, and her sister Catherine. Annemarie and Catherine have founded a chapter of NeW, the “Network of Enlightened Women” on ASU’s campus. Read the article to find out how the organization fights liberalism and radical feminism on campus, and read Annemarie’s own article about NeW in the March issue of Arizona Citizen.

For more on liberalism on college campuses, join us next Tuesday night, March 20 at 7 pm for “Breaking Liberalism’s Hold on Higher Education” with David French, Director of Alliance Defense Fund’s Center for Academic Freedom. He will give us a first-hand look into the fight against liberalism’s domination of college campuses, speech codes and “diversity training.” Liberalism has had a tremendous impact on Christian young people going off to college. David French has said, “...studies show dramatic changes in students’ religious beliefs and practices while they are in college. In fact, I can’t think of any other aspect of our culture where the impact of leftism on religious faith is so dramatic and so documented.”

This free family event will be held at Grace Chapel, 8524 E. Thomas Road in Scottsdale, just a few blocks west of Loop 101. To register, please visit www.azpolicy.org.

SUPER ULTRA MEGA DITTOS! RUSH LIMBAUGH QUOTES THE ARIZONA CONSERVATIVE

By Dennis Durband, Editor
March 5, 2007

In its 41st month of existence, The Arizona Conservative reached the pinnacle today when Conservative #1 himself, Rush Limbaugh, led off his Excellence In Broadcasting program by speaking about our site. Rush cited Semi-News writer John Semmens' "Hillary Clinton Grabs for Husband's Coattails," then laughing about it. March 5th is a date that shall live in infamy here at The Arizona Conservative. We have arrived.

Rush read from John's column, regarding Hillary Clinton:

"She's gotta drag him into it now, folks. Things are not ripe in paradise. “’Who even knows who Obama is married to?’ Hillary asked. ‘You've got the least experienced senator and a nobody spouse as his confidante and advisor. Is that pathetic or what?’” This is actually a parody, but I had you going, didn't I? (Laughing.) It's in the ArizonaConservative.org blog. It's by a guy named John Semmens, and it's called Semi-News. (Laughing.) I had you, didn't I? But that's why good comedy is good comedy, because it's gotta have an element of truth in it in order for it to be funny."

We are very grateful to John for his great contributions through his weekly humorous news parodies. Each month, John’s semi-news columns are the most read posts on entire The Arizona Conservative site, now more than 800 pages in size. John has brought in readers from far and wide – and now has attracted the attention of Rushdus Magnus himself. Let us raise a toast: here, here!

In previous years, The Arizona Conservative has placed posts on NewsMax, one of the top conservative sites in the United States. Many other sites and blogs have linked to our stories, commentaries and semi-news. Our columnists, Bruce Barton in particular, have been interviewed on numerous radio programs, including Barry Farber’s.

INTRODUCING THE ULM: ULTRA-LEFT MEDIA

Feb. 25, 2007

We have made a big mistake over the years by referring to the liberal media as the "mainstream media." That moniker is taken as a compliment that's gone to their heads. In fact, leftist reporters, editors, news directors, producers and publishers consider themselves a cross-section of typical Americans, when in fact they are lined up with the far left.

We complain when the media refers to Sam Brownback as the "ultra-conservative" senator from Kansas, while referring to Ted Kennedy merely as the senator from Massachusetts. But we have given them license to think and act this way. We've let them win the word manipulation game.

It's high time we stopped using the term "mainstream media" and started speaking more accurately about the "ultra-leftist media," -- the ULM -- as well as the "humanist left."

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: GOP AND DNC INNOCENT BYSTANDERS … FOR NOW

Feb. 13, 2007

Imagine a presidential election in which the GOP and the DNC are merely bystanders in the run-up to Election Day. Watch it between now and November 2008.

The coming presidential campaign, more than any other, has turned into a competition based on race, gender, special interest groups and religion. The candidates running on issues are in the minority.

John Edwards is the candidate of the trial lawyers.

Sen. Barack Obama is the candidate of African Americans.

Mitt Romney is the candidate of Mormons.

Sen. Sam Brown is the candidate of Catholics.

Sen. Hillary Clinton is the candidate of women. If it’s Clinton vs. a pro-life Republican, whom do you really think that many members of the National Federation of Republican Women and its state chapters will vote for? Whom do you think the Log Cabin lesbians and the WISH List women will vote for?

Sen. John McCain is the candidate of … the John McCain “party.”

Rudy Giuliani is the candidate of Planned Parenthood and homosexual activist groups. He would be the first president to ride in Pride Parades.

Congressmen Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter are actually running on issues. They are the candidates for border control. Eventually, Newt Gingrich will be the candidate of the legacy of Ronald Reagan.

Only after the identity of the final two candidates is determined will the race for the White House actually take the form of party competition.

HUALAPAI'S CANYON DEVELOPMENT PLANS ARE GRAND RESORT

Feb. 11, 2007

Indian reservations are pockets of poverty. And unemployment. And alcoholism. And suicide. And despair. Over the years, casinos have proven not to be the solution to reservation problems.

The Hualapai Tribe in Northwestern Arizona is beginning an innovative development which is a refreshing and positive alternative to casinos, which create addiction, contribute to family break-up and attract criminal elements. The Hualapai are building a glass walkway that juts 70 feet out over the canyon. It is hoped that resorts, golf courses and other attractions will build up in the same area.

Skeptics are opposing development along this stretch of the Grand Canyon.

The Arizona Conservative salutes the Hualapai for resorting to a positive form of development that will enhance opportunities for recreation, tourism and enjoyment. Their development plans amount to a grand resort in an era of expanding casinos with significant accompanying social problems. There is plenty of room in Grand Canyon country for a little development that does not raise blood money off the backs of families.

ESPN = EXTREMELY SEXUALLY PERVERTED NETWORK

Jan. 9, 2007

ESPN is once again pushing its liberal, homosexual agenda. The sports cable TV giant is concerned about far more than sports broadcasting; it has a far left agenda. This week, former NBA player John Amaechi came out of the closet in a biography produced by ESPN. In case you hadn’t noticed it, the “Entertainment and Sports Programming Network” has been a front for homosexual activism in recent years.

In addition to the touting of Amaechi’s sexual orientation, ESPN has also done the following:
• Aired a six-week mini-series, “The Replacements,” in which a pro football player wins respect from teammates when they accidentally discover that he is homosexual.
• ESPN.com ran a series of stories attempting to normalize homosexuality in sports. Here’s an excerpt from Jim Caple’s story about homosexuality and baseball, on ESPN.com:
“I hope someone eventually does have the strength to come out, someone who thinks it is worth the grief to show there are gays in sports just as there are gays everywhere else and it doesn’t matter.”
• ESPN.com reporter Wayne Drehs complained that homophobia can strike fear into the hearts of professional athletes. An interview with the late Reggie White disdained his Christian view on homosexuality.
• ESPN TV ran a documentary attempting to normalize homosexuality in sports.
• ESPN TV reporter Jeremy Schaap angrily accused New York Giants’ tight-end Jeremy Shockey of committing the unpardonable “crime” of “homophobia.”
• NBA player Jason Williams was ridiculed on ESPN.com for “reportedly” yelling "anti-gay" remarks at fans.

Considering ESPN’s ties to Disney, the homosexual agenda is not surprising. Former Disney head Michael Eisner is a member of the homosexual activist organization “Hollywood Supports.”

ESPN flies a purple flag, emblematic of the homosexual agenda -- and the “Extremely Sexually Perverted Network.”

LAPTOP LOWDOWN: IF STUDENTS CAN'T READ, WHAT USE IS THE INTERNET, SUPT. HORNE?

By Arwynn Mattix, Goldwater Institute
Feb. 7, 2007

In his State of Education address, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne unveiled an expanded pilot program that would give students at seven schools personal laptop computers. The program would cost approximately $5 million. “Teachers can better prepare students for the digital economy in a context where every student has his or her own laptop,” said Horne.

Unfortunately, having access to resources isn’t always enough. Consider this: Despite having text books readily available, only 24 percent of fourth graders and 23 percent of eighth graders in Arizona scored proficient on the highly respected NAEP reading exam. One wonders whether the return on laptop investments will be any better.

Horne’s long-term vision is “that every student in the state above a certain age will have his or her own laptop.” With about 515,000 students enrolled in grades 7-12 last year, and enrollment climbing, the plan could cost well over $515 million (assuming elementary students don’t receive laptops). That’s ten percent of current operating expenses for k-12 education.

Rather than allocate one tenth of the k-12 budget for laptops, legislators should focus on ensuring Arizona students have basic literacy and numeracy skills--skills that are essential if we want students to use laptops for anything beyond video games and music downloads.

MEDIA IN PERSISTENT VEGETATIVE STATE OF REPORTING ON ABORTION: PART 10,000

By Cathi Herrod, Center for Arizona Policy
Jan. 31, 2007

“Compassion and Choices,” formerly known as the Hemlock Society, held what has become an annual event for them at the Arizona Capitol – the “Million Geezer March.” Despite the name and media reports which wildly exaggerated their numbers, some claiming more than 100 marchers, our staff observer counted exactly 40 demonstrators, most carrying signs like “Million Geezer March for Human Freedom and Human Dignity.” You can watch a video, posted on AzPolicyBlog.org, that we took of the marchers and see for yourself. But for all the attention they received from the media, you would think that a million geezers had actually shown up. Reports on the march were heard on local radio, local television news, the Arizona Republic, and even national cable giant FOX News ran a story. (We haven’t seen it, but we have been told that parts of an interview I gave to a local television reporter were shown on the FOX News report.)

The whole point of the “Million Geezer March” was to promote physician-assisted suicide legislation. On Monday The Center for Arizona Policy hosted a pro-life event at the Capitol, just yards from where yesterday’s event occurred. More than a dozen pro-life organizations were represented, and more than a hundred people attended. Women who personally experienced the pain and heartache that abortion causes spoke passionately about their stories.

Despite giving local media advanced notice, how many television news crews showed up on Monday? None. How many articles were printed in Tuesday morning’s papers? None. How many reports on local radio? None. It should come as no surprise that the media shows only what it wants to, but it should cause us to be wary of what we do see and hear, and to be thinking about what it is that the media is not showing. If your only source of information is mainstream media, you might think that the passionate people are those on the pro-death side and that no one cares a whit about unborn babies.

TAXPAYER-FUNDED LOBBYING BAD FOR TAXPAYERS' BOTTOM LINE

By Benjamin Barr, Goldwater Institute
Jan. 30, 2007

The Oscars are still a month away, so here are a few awards to tide you over. Drum roll, please. The winners of the Golden Turkey Award for taxpayer- funded lobbying are the Department of Transportation, Maricopa County, and the City of Tucson. In Arizona, these three government bodies are the top-spenders of tax dollars on lobbyists. And while they may be winners of the Golden Turkey Award, the losers are Arizona taxpayers.

There’s no doubt about it, taxpayer-funded lobbying is a growth industry. For example, the Biomedical Research Commission increased its lobbying expenses ten-fold from 2000 to 2005. And the three state universities increased their reported lobbying expenditures more 125 percent during that time.

As more and more taxpayer-funded lobbyists roam the capitol, the voice of the average citizen becomes harder and harder to hear. Government lobbyists now outnumber legislators ten to one.

Lawmakers should revoke the backstage passes that government lobbyists have been given and prohibit lobbying with taxpayer dollars.

JURY STILL OUT ON SHADEGG

Jan. 28, 2007

Arizona Cong. John Shadegg said following Saturday's election of Randy Pullen as Arizona Republican chairman that the jury is still out on a Pullen chairmanship.

"I think we'll have to wait and see," Shadegg said. "He clearly has a job in front of him of reaching out to the others who did not support him."

The Arizona Conservative believes the shoe is on the other foot. Pullen has been on the right side of the issue in opposing the border invasion and supporting Prop 200, Protect Arizona Now. Shadegg and most of the congressional delegation -- the power brokers of AZ GOP -- were on the wrong side of that issue. Shadegg is emblematic of a disconnect between a citizenry that is fed up with the bi-party push for amnesty, and he still doesn't get it.

The jury is still out, not on Pullen, but on Shadegg and those who are deaf to the sentiment of a nation that is sick and tired of calculating politicians who are blind, deaf and dumb to demands for sealing the border and requiring prospective immigrants to apply for immigration clearance and wait their turn to come here legally.

Goldwater Institute
Jan. 24, 2007

When Governor Janet Napolitano says she is not going to raise your taxes to pay for her budget priorities, the operative word is your. The $400 million in debt financing she recommends is simply a way of forcing the citizens of tomorrow to pay for programs we want today.

The governor’s 2008 budget calls for an 11 percent increase in spending over this year--which itself was 20 percent higher than 2006. Adding another $407 million to our debt load “balances” the budget and allows her to claim a budget increase of just 6.9 percent.

Advocates argue that debt financing capital projects, principally school buildings, is the same as individuals using mortgages to pay for their homes. The correct comparison would be financing routine expenses with an interest-bearing credit card. Building schools is a recurring annual state government expense. So, the mortgage analogy just doesn’t work here.

The governor is often portrayed as a fiscal conservative who can find creative ways to fund lots of stuff without raising taxes. But the nonpartisan Cato Institute isn’t impressed. They awarded her one of the few F’s they handed out last year for exceptionally poor fiscal performance. If the governor’s spending recommendations are critical, she should support taxing today’s voters to pay for them.

THOSE WHO UPHOLD REPUBLICAN PRINCIPLES THE MOST 'DON'T GET NO RESPECT'

Jan.. 22, 2007

These are strange times in Arizona Republican politics. Some of the people most loyal to the party are also the ones who are most disrespected.

Former State Rep. Colette Rosati, a pro-life conservative who served District 8 for two terms until losing her Senate challenge to Planned Parenthood activist Carolyn Allen in November, is still smarting from a betrayal by GOP leaders. Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain and former Cong. J.D. Hayworth all endorsed the liberal Allen in hopes of attracting liberal votes in District 8.

Then there is Rob Haney, chairman of Legislative District 11, who recently fended off a weak challenge by McCain's people. Haney actually believes that the Republican Party stands for something -- its national platform. Yet Republicans beat up on Haney and belittle him.

The recent meeting of LD17 in Tempe addressed the upcoming election for state GOP chairman between Lisa James and Randy Pullen. During that discussion, Haney was criticized for "viciously attacking Senator McCain." What the Republican Party needs is more Haneys "viciously" attacking the traitor McCain.

Pullen is a good Republican, too, a member of the Republican National Committee, no less. Yet Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallmann told the same LD17 audience that the party will further disintegrate if people like Randy Pullen are elected. If he is elected, he and his followers will continue to turn away party members that they feel “are not Republican enough.”  Candidate Pullen’s continued activism and divisiveness will do nothing but destroy our Party, Hallmann said.

Truth be known, when Republicans behave like Republicans, they've won big in recent elections. When they don't ... they lose elections. If it's merely warm bodies that the GOP seeks, it may as well start a skeet shooting club. And furthermore, absolutely no one is being turned away from the Republican Party.

FUR FLIES OVER McCAIN'S LOSS IN MARICOPA COUNTY GOP STRAW POLL

Jan. 18, 2007

Arizona’s No. 1 Republican is upset over the recent drubbing U.S. Sen. John McCain absorbed at the Maricopa County GOP’s annual meeting of precinct committeemen. A majority of 435 Maricopa County Republican precinct committeemen voted in a Jan. 13 straw poll, ranking McCain at the top of a list of most “unacceptable” Republican presidential candidates. McCain finished a distant fourth in an additional straw vote for president.

None of this was lost on Matt Salmon, a former congressman and now serving as chairman of the Arizona Republican Party. Salmon, McCain and other state GOP leaders have been trying for more than a year to quell a rebellion of party base loyalists opposed to McCain because of the senator’s liberal positions.

In a sound bite played on KKNT Radio (Phoenix, 960 AM) today, an upset Salmon referred to the straw poll as a “dirty little trick” by those who oppose McCain as a presidential candidate. Salmon, who has served one two-year term as state Republican chairman, is not running for re-election Jan. 27 at the state GOP convention.

Not only did Salmon bitterly denounce the Maricopa County straw vote, but liberal ASU pollster Bruce Merrill was heard on KKNT news dismissing the McCain rebellion as merely a vote of people who attended the county PC meeting and not representative of the state.

Supposedly a conservative radio station, KKNT never reported the original story. Only the angry and skeptical reactions were reported by News Director John Gibson. Moments after the KKNT news report, conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham chastized the constitutionally-challenged McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform law.

As The Arizona Conservative has been reporting for more than a year, McCain has done a great deal to distance himself from Republican principles and sowed discord within the party. Yet the state party leadership keeps trying to browbeat the grassroots party loyalists. Party leaders refuse to accept the fact that conservatives won’t support liberals – even when the liberals are from Arizona and pretend to be Republican.

TWELVE-STEP PROGRAM FOR GOVERNMENT SPENDING

Ben Barr, Goldwater Institute
Jan. 11, 2007

After the New Year, some of us look back and promise to drop those extra pounds, pay off our credit cards, or stop drinking. Twelve-step programs have proven popular in this regard. Perhaps with the ringing in of the New Year, it’s time for government spenders to sober up. Here’s one easy step in that direction.

Get rid of government lobbyists. Taxpayer- funded lobbying--that is, government bodies lobbying other government bodies--grows government at a dizzying pace. For example, between 2000 and 2005, the state Department of Transportation spent $1.3 million on lobbying activities.

Government lobbyists promote the best interests of their agencies, not citizens. The practice distorts the democratic process by drowning out the voice of regular Arizonans. The First Amendment is based on the premise that citizen participation is the cornerstone of a healthy republic. Instead of bolstering citizen voices, taxpayer-funded lobbying pits the interests of government bodies against those of ordinary citizens.

Florida has severely curtailed this practice by prohibiting state entities from using public funds for lobbying. Florida also forbids executive branch departments, state colleges and water management districts from directly hiring lobbyists. Arizona should take similar steps and ban government entities from hiring, contracting with, or employing lobbyists. It should also consider limiting indirect lobbying, where government bodies pay membership fees to organizations that lobby for them.

Taxpayers can do without government lobbyists. Let’s hope this year the legislators decide they can do without them, too.

REPUGNANT’S NOWICKI PERPETUATES ISOLATIONIST MYTH REGARDING D11 CONSERVATIVES

Dec. 2, 2006

In the “wise” and “learned” ways of the “sages” at the state’s largest and ever-shrinking newspaper, conservatives are often portrayed as illogical bumpkins who just fell off the turnip truck. Such is the case with the reporting by The Arizona Repugnant on last week’s GOP Legislative District 11 leadership elections.

The Repugnant’s Dan Nowicki tries to make a case that D11 Chairman Rob Haney and his slate of conservative officers and PCs are isolated in their opposition to U.S. Sen. John McCain and that they are fringe minority types.

Logic and history are frequently the victims of Repugnant distortion, however, and this is one such case in point.

Not only did District 11 censure McCain in 2005, but so did the Maricopa County GOP leadership committee, the Arizona Republican Assembly and the Mohave County Republicans. The National Federation of Republican Assemblies also entertained such a motion. Furthermore, McCain’s name is “mud” to true-blue Republicans all around the Grand Canyon State. Truth be known, when McCain got re-elected two years ago, his support from Republicans dropped off from previous years, a loss of support which was amply offset by renewed affection from Democrats and Independents.

Furthermore, at the Nov. 18th Arizona Federation of Taxpayers, guest speaker Steve Moore asked how many in the audience of 200 support McCain. Not a single hand went up.

In the words of Homer Simpson, "wrong again, Arizona Repugnant!"

BIOTECH COMPANIES ARE HIGH-TAILING FOR CHINA; SHOULD ARIZONA CHASE THEM WITH TAX DOLLARS?

By Noah Clarke, Goldwater Institute
Nov. 30, 2006

If there were an award for “The Legislative Act with the Worst Understanding of Basic Economics,” Arizona’s $35 million 21st Century Fund to promote biotech would have to be the 2006 winner.

Arizona policymakers argued that spending taxpayer money on the latest scientific fad will spark growth. The City of San Diego is finding out just how wrongheaded that assumption is.

California has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into subsidizing biotech. The City of San Diego loans up to $250,000 to new biotech companies. Despite that significant government support, many of San Diego’s biotech companies are shutting down or leaving for China.

As Herve Le Calvez, director of business development for Abgent, an antibody research company headquartered in San Diego, said recently: “Using the labor market in China, you can multiply by 10 the number of products you can put on the market.”

Consumers, not funding, ultimately determine the success or failure of new technologies. If consumers demand more affordable drugs, companies will try to deliver them. That includes moving to China, or any other place where it will be cheaper and easier to do business. Arizona would go bankrupt trying to compete with the cost savings that a move to China could deliver.

Arizona can avoid California’s mistakes by letting consumers and entrepreneurs, not government bureaucrats, set the course for the state’s economic future.

SKY HARBOR'S RENTAL CAR TAXES AMONG HIGHEST IN NATION

By Benjamin Bull, Goldwater Institute
Nov. 27, 2006

If you had family in town for Thanksgiving, they may have mentioned how expensive it was to rent a car at Phoenix Sky Harbor. Nearly 30 percent of the average car-rental bill at Sky Harbor is taxes, the fourth highest in the nation. Ever wonder why they’re so high? Sky Harbor doesn’t hide the facts: the charges help pay for the University of Phoenix Stadium and a new multimillion-dollar car rental facility.

Targeted excise taxes have proven regrettably popular across the nation. Since 1976, more than 80 car rental excise taxes have sprung up. They often fund things like minor league baseball and the performing arts, costing consumers $3 billion over the past 12 years.

Many wonder why customers should be forced to fund programs bearing no connection to the car rental industry whatsoever. But the fundamental question is with discriminatory taxation. Rental taxes targeted explicitly at out-of-state residents likely violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which protects against state- sanctioned economic discrimination against out-of- state residents.

Stadiums might be a good thing, but tax schemes ignorant of the Constitution are no way to play ball.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ADMITS TO ABORTION'S RISKS

By Jim Sedlak, American Life League
Nov. 21, 2006

On November 8, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in challenges to the law that is intended to restrict partial-birth abortion. Eve Gartner, general counsel of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, gave testimony opposing the law. In her testimony, Gartner refused to call the procedure a ‘’partial-birth abortion’’ and even refused to use the medical tern of a D&X procedure. Instead, she referred to it as an ‘’intact D&E’’ procedure.
 
At one point in the questioning from the justices, she was trying to explain why bringing the baby partially out of the woman’s body and then killing it was safer for the woman than killing the baby in the womb and extracting the dead baby.
 
She told the justices:
 
I think the important point, Your Honor, is that this, that the intact D&E procedure, and the testimony was overwhelming to this effect, that -- in some cases this procedure averts catastrophic health consequences for the woman. It averts uterine perforation, it averts the spread of sepsis or infection; it averts the spread of --potentially the spread of malignant cancer throughout the woman's body.
 
The next time Planned Parenthood in your community talks about its safe abortions, perhaps you should read them Ms. Gartner’s testimony.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS NOT NEEDED HERE

By Tom Patterson, Goldwater Institute
Nov. 21, 2006

Advocates for school district consolidation are gearing up to press their issue in the next legislative session. But there’s a bigger question: Do we still need school districts at all?

It makes intuitive sense that we have “too many” school districts, with more than 200 in the state, 54 in Maricopa County alone. Many believe administrative costs could be reduced with fewer school districts. But there is scant evidence that larger school districts are more efficient.

Until recently, school districts were granted a monopoly right to provide government-funded education services within their boundaries. Now, with open enrollment, districts openly compete with each other for students. In this environment, districts are no longer necessary to ensure that all students have access to a public school.

Some may argue that districts are necessary to build new schools in growth areas. But in 1998, the state took over responsibility for building schools under the court mandated Students First program.

Still doubt we could get along without school districts? Charter schools predominate among the top public schools in the state and they’re not members of any district.

Is radical system overhaul truly possible? You never know. Not long ago, school choice itself seemed unfamiliar and a little crazy. Maybe it’s time to think the unthinkable. Free the schools.

‘WEDDING CRASHERS II’: STARRING REPUBLICAN-WHEN-IT-IS CONVENIENT SEN. MCCAIN

By Dennis Durband
Nov. 17, 2006

"Wedding Crashers II" is out. This version features U.S. Sen. John McCain trying to buddy up to people who have been strangers to him for the past six years – platform Republicans. McCain crashed the party at the Federalist Society’s annual meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C. It was his latest attempt to suck up to the conservatives he has dissed in recent years, as he shills for support for the Republican nomination for the 2008 election.

McCain’s remarks indicate that he either has a lot of gaul, or that he is hoping conservatives have a short memory. Check out his remarks, followed by my reactions.

CNS News reports that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) encouraged the Republican Party to return to conservative principles of limited government and the rule of law. Let’s start with you, Mr. Left Turns Senator.

"We must spend the next two years reacquainting the public and ourselves with the reason we came to office in the first place," McCain said, "to serve a cause greater than our self-interest." I could not have said it better, senator. You walked away from conservative Republican principles six years ago. Johnny, we hardly know ye, and ye hardly know us, Johnny.

"There is no way to recover our majority without recovering our principles first," McCain said. You’re a dollar and six years late.

"Common sense conservatives believe that the government that governs least governs best, that government should do only those things individuals cannot do for themselves and do them efficiently," McCain said. Common sense conservatives also believe that your campaign finance reform governs excessively and violates constitutional protections of free speech. And what would you know about what common sense conservatives believe? You haven’t exactly been in our camp the past six years, not while cavorting about with the Daschlecrats, the Camelot Kennedys and the Feingolds.

"I think the American people want us to reaffirm who we are," McCain said. I think the Republican American people are wondering who you are and which side of the aisle you caucus with.

ASU CAMPUS HEALTH SERVICE PUTS WOMEN AT RISK

By Cathi Herrod, Center for Arizona Policy
Nov. 16, 2006

Arizona State University’s Campus Health Service now dispenses “Plan B,” the morning after pill, without a prescription. These pills, which contain an ultra-high dosage of synthetic hormones, have the potential to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus, causing an abortion. The long-term health effects of taking high doses of hormones is still unknown, and unlike regular birth control pills, no physical exam is needed to obtain them. Since the “no-prescription” sales have begun, demand has already increased by 50 percent. The danger is compounded by the fact that young women are encouraged to stockpile extra doses of the morning after pill for future “emergency use.” No one has studied what effect repeated ultra-high dosages of synthetic hormones will have on a woman’s body, which sell for $40 per dose at Campus Health Services. Once again, those who claim to advocate for “women’s health” are doing nothing more than making a “healthy profit” at the expense of the women they purport to help!

FRIEDMAN STUDY SHOWS PRIVATE SCHOOLS ARE MORE INTEGRATED

By Arwynn Mattox
Nov. 16, 2006

According to the National Education Association (NEA), “A pure voucher system would only encourage economic, racial, ethnic, and religious stratification in our society.” One wonders how the NEA could reach this conclusion when both the Milwaukee and Cleveland voucher experiences show otherwise.

Rather than encourage stratification, these voucher programs lead to even less segregation, according to two recent reports by the Friedman Foundation. Private schools participating in the programs were found to be 13 to 18 points less segregated than their public school counterparts.

Because students are assigned to public schools based on where they live, there is a significant risk that schools will reflect the racial and economic segregation of neighborhoods. But, “Private schools have more potential to break down geographic barriers, drawing students together across neighborhood boundaries,” explains Greg Forester, author of the reports. And, with the help of vouchers and tuition scholarships, private schools become affordable for more families, eliminating the financial obstacle to private school.

If “America’s success has been built on our ability to unify our diverse populations,” as the NEA claims, then doesn’t their anti-voucher position block the way to an even more successful America?

PLANNED PARENTHOOD RENOVATING ARIZONA ABORTION CLINIC

 

By Jim Sedlak
Nov. 15, 2006

 

This week Planned Parenthood temporarily closed its abortion clinic in Tempe for renovations. According to Planned Parenthood, the remodeling of the facility will include increasing its size. The facility is expected to reopen in February.

 

This is a great opportunity for the pro-lifers in Tempe and surrounding community to educate the public on Planned Parenthood’s gruesome business. Our experience has been that the actual workers on the site will not be aware that they are renovating a building where babies are killed, unless we tell them.

 

It is also a great time to note all of the subcontractors who choose to work at the site. Take down the business names and let them know that pro-lifers in the area will take note of their participation in the murder of children when the pro-lifers are looking for someone to do work at their homes, places of business or churches.

 

The Planned Parenthood abortion mill is located at 1250 E Apache Blvd, #108, Tempe. It is run by Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona that is headquartered in Phoenix. This Planned Parenthood affiliate also commits abortions at the Women's Surgical Center , 4417 N 7th Ave., Phoenix. During construction in Tempe, it is expected that the Phoenix abortuary will see a heavier volume of business.

WAL-MART SUPPORTING HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA

American Family Association
Nov. 14, 2006

By Dan Lips, Goldwater Institute
Nov. 13, 2006

Sweeping victories in the midterm elections have put Democrats in charge of the 110th Congress. After 12 years out of power, what will Democrats seek to accomplish in federal education policy?

One common theme in their recommendations has been to increase spending. But, federal spending on elementary and secondary education has grown dramatically over the past six years, increasing from $27 billion to $38 billion between 2001 and 2006. According to the U.S. Department of Education, annual spending on the Title I program to assist disadvantaged children grew by 45 percent during that same period. In 2007, the department will spend 59 percent more on special education programs than it did in 2001.

But more important, whether it’s Republicans or Democrats increasing federal funding, more federal dollars have not improved American education in recent decades. Since the early 1970s, inflation- adjusted federal spending per pupil has doubled. Over that period, student performance has not markedly improved.

Calls for more funding for public schools may be popular on the campaign trail, but simply increasing federal funding for education is not the answer. If it were, we should have seen better results by now.

LIBS, NEO-CONS LIE ABOUT ELECTION, IMMIGRATION

Nov. 12, 2006

There is a ton of misinformation in the media, both by liberals (e.g. 
Pelosi) and neocons (e.g. Bill Kristol, Linda Chavez). They are being dishonest about the election and immigration.

Every single exit poll shows that voters voted against Republicans in this election because

(1) the war in Iraq
(2) corruption
(3) (in some states) free trade

It had nothing to do with immigration. In fact, if the GOP had been more anti-immigration and did not have a President who cares more about amnesty than hard-working Americans, the GOP would have done better.

Here are some interesting statistics by Roy Beck (NumbersUSA):

Of the Republicans who lost in this election:

--only 6.7% of those losing were anti-immigration (in Tancredo's caucus)
--34.9 % of those who lost, however, were pro-Amnesty and supported Bush's pro-Amnesty plan. These people received a grade of D or lower on their Immigration Report Cards)

BIG GOVERNMENT SWELLS UNDER NAPOLITBURO

By Noah Clark, Goldwater Institute
Nov. 12, 2006

From all her talk about investing, one might think Governor Janet Napolitano is trying to channel Warren Buffet. She’s always talking about investing in something –education, bio-tech, downtown.

But she’s not really investing, she’s spending. In her first term, General Fund spending surged 70 percent, a bigger increase than any other governor in the past two decades. Not only is general spending up, debt spending is increasing $2 billion a year. Is all this “investing” really good for Arizona?

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas offers this point of view, “growth in government stunts general economic growth. Regardless of how it is financed, an increase in government spending leads to slower economic growth” (emphasis added).

In a radio interview, Governor Napolitano was asked if debt financing of capital projects was like using a credit card. She replied flatly, “No, it's a bond,” as if that explained everything. But bonds are like credit cards--they allow government to spend beyond its current means, saddling future taxpayers with higher costs and interest payments.

If the governor wants Arizona to sustain its economic momentum in her second term, she will need to cut spending. Period.

IF GOP COULD ONLY CAPTURE ITS OWN PEOPLE, IT WOULD WIN GOVERNOR'S RACES

Nov. 9, 2006

Crunching numbers can reveal interesting truths. Especially for the beleaguered Arizona Republican Party, turned briskly away from the governor's office once again Tuesday as liberal Democrat Janet Napolitano smashed Republican Len Munsil. Crunch on these numbers, if you will:

There are currently 1,014,690 registered Republicans in the Great State of Arizona. Munsil attracted 448,883 votes, which is 44.2 percent of the total number of registered Republicans. GOP candidate for attorney general Bill Montgomery did a little better with a vote total of 451,043. Now let's drop back to 2002 when Republican candidate for governor Matt Salmon received 554,465 votes.

If you're thinking what I'm thinking: Salmon+Munsil, in two consecutive elections, combined for 1,003,348 votes -- less than the current number of registered Republicans! This is mind boggling. The GOP has a huge registered voter advantage over the Democrats and is not reaching its own people, not even coming close. Talk about an under-performing Arizona Republican Party!

The Democrats are doing much, much better by comparison. Napolitano received 792,850 votes this year, which is 92.8 percent of the number of registered Democrats (854,228). This is more than double Munsil's percentage.

Across the border in California, Gov. Schwarzenegger just drew 76 percent of the registered Republicans in the Golden State.

BOTTOM LINE: Have our complaints that the Arizona Republican Party has been infiltrated by Democrats been confirmed? Yes.

BOTTOM LINE 2: This being a retirement state, there surely must be many aging registered Republicans who haven't voted in years, but whom still remain on an antiquated voter registration list.

MINUTEMEN ASK: DID PRESIDENT BUSH SANDBAG THE GOP?

Nov. 10, 2006

Why did President George W. Bush wait until after the mid-term elections to replace Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld? Why was there virtually no support from the White House for Republican candidates like Randy Graf and J.D. Hayworth?

Most pundits agree that if Rumsfeld was to be replaced, it would have been much better for Republicans had the announcement been made before the elections. And with the razor-thin losses of key Republican candidates to supposedly "conservative" Democrats, it seems clear that a little more money or other support from the President or national GOP headquarters might have kept the House and Senate from turning over to Democrat control.

"Here you have conservative candidates and some incumbents who were solidly in favor of protecting our borders - a position with which the overwhelming American majority agrees," commented Minuteman Founder Jim Gilchrist. "Bush has been unable to pass his amnesty program through the GOP-controlled Congress, but he won't give up, so why wouldn't he welcome a more compliant Democrat-led pro-illegal alien Congress, where he wouldn't have effective opposition from his own party?"

Today's speech by the President tends to confirm Gilchrist's ruminations. When asked about the prospect of the Democrats cooperating with his amnesty proposals, Bush seemed almost delighted with the change of House leadership. Americans who question the open borders policies of this and previous administrations will have plenty to worry about in the coming months, if Gilchrist's analysis proves accurate.

"This is a devastating blow to the security of the country," said Gilchrist. "Every American is at greater risk than before the elections. Illegal aliens and terrorists are celebrating today, but our mission remains clear: we shall continue our surveillance and reporting operations in a continuing effort to inform and mobilize Americans to demand better border security."

LEN MUNSIL: WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR ME FOR GOVERNOR

Nov. 6, 2006

Now it is decision time. If you are undecided, I hope you will take time to read this. If you are a supporter, I hope you will send this to everyone in your address book.

I am a native Arizonan, and I love this state and its people. We have the potential to make Arizona the best, safest and most prosperous place to live in the nation.

I am committed to Arizona’s families. My wife Tracy and I have been married more than 20 years and have eight children. I am a Christian, and I believe faith is an asset for officeholders, not a detriment. One of Janet Napolitano’s top aides called me a “zealot” because of my faith – suggesting a different view of religious commitment from her camp.

I am not a politician. I’ve been involved in public policy for 20 years based on fighting for values and principles, not partisanship or political power.

I have similar legal credentials to Janet Napolitano. But instead of gaining experience as a political appointee or bureaucrat like Napolitano, I have entrepreneurial experience building a nonprofit organization from scratch into the largest of its kind in the United States.

I have also worked to train prosecutors and law enforcement officials in enforcing laws protecting women and children from sexual violence.

I believe my core values – limited government, lower taxes, strong support for law enforcement, a tough approach to crime, and the centrality of the family – are the core values of most Arizonans.

Janet Napolitano has tried to present herself as something other than what she is – a big-government, cultural liberal with no ideas and no plans for our future.

I have a plan to secure the border. I believe doing so will save Arizona taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually and improve our health care, educational and criminal justice systems. Janet Napolitano believes the border cannot be secured, and has done nothing to stop illegal immigration in four years.

And less than two years after 9/11, she proposed giving drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants. She has vetoed every legislative effort to address illegal immigration, and even vetoed a bill that would have stopped our taxes from going to subsidize in-state tuition for illegal aliens.

I have a plan to improve education in Arizona, which has declined to the worst results in the nation under Janet Napolitano’s watch. She has no plan and no agenda other than to throw more money at the problem. I believe in excellent pay for excellent teachers, accountability, and providing more educational choice for parents.

I have a plan to work with Attorney General candidate Bill Montgomery to attack Arizona’s worst crime rate in the nation, and I will appoint tough-on-crime judges.

I have proposed steady downward pressure on income and property tax rates in Arizona because you deserve to keep more of your own money, rather than give it to the government. Janet Napolitano has fought and tried to kill every proposed tax cut over the last four years. When she was finally forced to sign a tax cut, she took credit for it.

Arizona’s economy improved because none of Janet Napolitano’s economic proposals were followed. We didn’t raise the taxes she wanted to raise, borrow the money she wanted to borrow, or spend all of the money she wanted to spend.

I have a record of working with both Republicans and Democrats to advance good policy. Janet Napolitano doesn’t get along with people in either party. She set a record for vetoes in one term, and three of the small number of Democratic legislators switched parties because of her.

She vetoed the rights of gun owners during emergencies. She vetoed efforts to lower health care costs and emergency room wait times by ending frivolous lawsuits against emergency room doctors.

She is a committed liberal on cultural matters. She embraced an offensive, anti-American 9/11 memorial. She is not merely pro-choice, but is an abortion extremist who has backed partial-birth abortion and taxpayer-funded abortion, while opposing parental consent and a woman’s right to know. I am pro-life.

Napolitano opposes preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman. I support preserving the definition of marriage.

I believe in open and honest government. Napolitano has repeatedly vetoed efforts to require that her multi-billion dollar executive budget be opened to public scrutiny.

If you are content to live in a state that is last in education but first in crime, if you are content to have a leader who has done nothing about our most pressing problem – illegal immigration – if you are content to live in a state with a committed cultural leftist at its helm – vote for Janet Napolitano.

But if you believe in mainstream American values, I hope you’ll join Sen. John McCain, Sen. Jon Kyl, and dozens of Congressmen, state legislators and mayors around Arizona in voting for me.

GROSCOST REMEMBERED

Nov. 4, 2006

The late Jeff Groscost, former speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives who died Friday of a heart attack, should be remembered as a leader who wanted to help the citizens of this state. Though he is maligned for the "alt fuels scandal" which cost Arizona big bucatos, his intentions were good. Everyone should recall that then Attorney General Janet Napolitano exhaustively investigated Groscost for his role in that legislation and completely cleared him of any willful wrongdoing. Groscost should be remembered as the man who spearheaded "It's A Bad Deal," a committee formed in 2002 to oppose the expansion of gambling in Arizona. It is unfortunate that one of those three propositions (202) narrowly passed because gambling ruins marriages and families and causes tremendous social harms. The schools and roads that are built with casino money is collected off the backs of people who would otherwise pay utility bills, feed and clothe their families. There are dozens of Gamblers Anonymous groups in Arizona to try to clean up the carnage wrought by casinos.

COMEUPPANCE OVERDUE FOR REP. SINEMA -- A stay at home mother and her son demonstrate how they feel about State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema's remarks that stay at home moms are leeches. Dennis Durband photo

MEDIA BIAS BRICK FOR PHOENIX CHANNEL 12

Oct. 31, 2006

During last week's Phoenix rally by stay at home moms against radical leftist State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, Channel 12 television earned its first media bias "brick" from The Arizona Conservative. Sinema had made incendiary remarks against stay at home moms, during a recent magazine interview. She called them leeches and used vulgarity in a manner unbefitting an elected official. But we expect as much from radical leftists.

Carol Soelberg, Nancy Salmon and Cathi Herrod all addressed the more than 100 stay at home moms at the rally and called for Sinema to apologize. They also demanded that Sinema resign as the director of the Arizona Together Coalition, a front group for homosexual activists campaigning against Protect Marriage Arizona Prop 107.

During Q&A with the media, the video cameraman for Channel 12 acted unprofessionally in making remarks to Herrod. He said the stay at home moms were expressing religious undertones, that they were bigoted and homophobic. None of them had made any religious or hateful statements. After the press conference, I asked him what his name was and he said "Daniel." Daniel, here's a well-earned media bias "brick" for you.

NO AGENDA FOR NAPOLITANO

By Len Munsil
Oct. 30, 2006
 
Finally some in the media are beginning to recognize what I've been saying all along -- Janet Napolitano has no agenda for Arizona's future.

She has no plan to secure the border. She has no plan to improve education. She has no plan to address our worst crime rate in the nation. She has no plan on transportation, water or growth. She has no economic plan.

I have a 100-day agenda, details of which we have been rolling out for several weeks. Finally on Friday the Tribune points out that Napolitano is refusing to even answer questions about future plans until after the election: "When pressed in a recent meeting with the Tribune Editorial Board, Napolitano admitted she won�t be announcing any potential new innovations until a January State of the State speech ...".

CATHI HERROD'S REMARKS AT STAY AT HOME MOMS’ RALLY FOR PROP 107

Oct. 26, 2006

Good morning. My name is Cathi Herrod. I am the spokesperson for Protect Marriage Arizona – the campaign in support of Prop 107. I’m also the president of the Center for Arizona Policy.

Thank you all for being here today.

Over and over again, the opponents to Prop 107 have attempted to distort and tell lies about what Prop 107 would do and wouldn’t do. The opponents want you to believe that Prop 107 is about anything besides protecting and preserving the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. They have kept their ultra-liberal agenda hidden from public view.

Until now. Kyrsten Sinema recently said some of the most reprehensible things that I have ever heard a public figure say. Ms. Sinema is the chairman of Arizona Together, the group to Protect Marriage Arizona.

While I like Kyrsten as an individual and have enjoyed my debates with her during this campaign, on behalf of the stay at home moms gathered here today and as a stay at home mom myself, I can’t let her recent comments go unanswered.

She said hateful, mean-spirited, and yes, bigoted things about stay at home moms.

She called mothers who stay at home to take care of their children “leeches” living off the checks of their husbands and boyfriends.

To quote her, Ms. Sinema said:

“I’m worried that we’re regressing. For instance, this supposed New Feminism. These women who act like staying at home, leeching off their husbands or boyfriend, and just cashing to checks is some sort of feminism because they’re choosing to live out that life. That’s (expletive deleted). I mean, what the (expletive deleted) are we really talking about here? But if you look at history, before the light, there’s always a point of darkness. I believe that – even though I’m not winning many battles – what I’m doing now is paving the way for the future.”

Is that how Ms. Sinema views families? I’m not saying that all women must stay at home with their kids. I’ve done both. While I primarily have been a stay at home mom, I also started working part-time once my youngest was in school. However, you can almost hear the disgust dripping from her voice when she talks about stay at home moms.

This is reprehensible, and I believe it reveals what many opponents of Protect Marriage Arizona believe about traditional families.

They are “paving the way for the future” – a future that no longer values the role of stay at home moms or marriage as the union on one man and one woman.

I am calling on Kyrsten Sinema to apologize to every mother in Arizona that has made the commitment and sacrifice to stay at home raising their children. That is the least she can do.

I am calling on Arizona Together to repudiate these hate-filled comments and ask for Ms. Sinema to step down as chairman of their organization. Otherwise, we are left with no choice but to believe that Arizona Together agrees with the statements of their chairman.

Thank you for coming today. Vote yes on Prop 107 on November 7th!

NEW JERSEY JUDICIAL ACTIVISTS MAKE THE CASE FOR PROP 107

By Len Munsil
Oct. 25, 2006

Once again judicial activists are dictating to elected officials a radical reshaping of marriage laws. Today the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered the New Jersey legislature to give all the rights of marriage to same sex couples, leaving it to the legislature only to decide whether to call it marriage.

New Jersey has no constitutional amendment protecting marriage, and no restriction on out-of-state marriages. That means Arizona same sex couples who go to New Jersey to get "married" would be able to return to Arizona and demand marriage rights in our state.

This form of judicial activism in other states threatens Arizona’s right to self-determination. That is why I am asking you to help spread the word to support Proposition 107, the Protect Marriage Arizona Amendment. Janet Napolitano and Terry Goddard oppose Prop 107, and would probably fight its implementation just like they fought the implementation of Prop 200.

PROTECT MARRIAGE ARIZONA UP 10 POINTS IN NAU POLL

By Cathi Herrod, President, Center for Arizona Policy
Oct. 17, 2006

This morning Northern Arizona University’s Social Research Laboratory released the results of its latest poll. Proposition 107, the Protect Marriage Arizona Amendment, is supported by 51 percent of likely voters in Arizona. A strong minority – 41 percent – is opposed to Prop. 107. My friends, that is just too close to have any assurance at all about the outcome. In order to win this we must be fully engaged. If you care about this, you must not be complacent. There are no guarantees come November 7.

If you have the ability to contribute financially to preserve marriage, would you do that today? Send your contribution to Prop. 107 to P.O. Box 3025, Tempe, AZ 85280-3025. Finally, let your neighbors know how you are going to vote. We have hundreds of yard signs available for you to put up in front of you own home. Let your neighborhood know that you support marrige!

PLANNED PARENTHOOD'S ‘RACE AGAINST THE CURE’
Oct. 5, 2006

Planned Parenthood received a grant of $24,850 from the Susan G. Komen Foundation this year. Proof once again that Komen is not serious about funding a cure for breast cancer research. In point of fact, the Komen Foundation is defeating its own purpose. Why? Because abortion increases a woman’s chance of breast cancer … and Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest provider of abortions. Twenty-eight international studies reveal a connection between abortion and breast cancer, as well as cervical cancer. Komen’s grant award to Planned Parenthood is ostensibly “for breast health education and early cancer detection in Coconino, Gila, Maricopa and Yavapai Counties.” Komen is so tight with Planned Parenthood that it will not admit the abortion-breast cancer link. That is not only sad; it is tragic for the women of America.

REPUBLIC'S LIGHT RAIL SERIES DIDN'T TELL THE TRUTH

Oct. 5, 2006

The Arizona Republic’s recent series on Dallas made several claims about light rail. Although Phoenix has already decided to build light rail, it is still important to have an honest discussion about its potential benefits and pitfalls.

Claim #1: “It costs $2.50 in Dallas to ride light rail and buses all day.”

Light rail riders do not pay the full cost of operating the system. This is true for public transit systems the world over and it will be true in Phoenix. In Dallas, taxpayers subsidize $3.24 of each passenger fare, bringing the total ticket price to well over $5.00 . That means, when a passenger rides the train to and from work every weekday for 50 weeks, it costs taxpayers $1,620 a year.

Claim #2: “One thing light rail does. . .is spur economic development.”

Supporters point to the estimated $3.3 billion in private funds invested near Dallas rail stations as proof that light rail benefits the economy. But Dallas has spent at least that much to build and operate light rail. Add in the administrative costs of collecting, processing, and distributing the dedicated sales tax, and it is a net loss.

The truth is light rail is an expensive mode of transit with little to no positive economic effect. No amount of statements to the contrary will change that bottom line.

NAPOLITANO'S LINE-ITEM VETO ABUSE VETOED

By Jeffrey McLerran, Goldwater Institute
Oct. 4, 2006

The Arizona Supreme Court recently handed Governor Napolitano a double defeat. In the first, the Court agreed to review the Governor’s line-item veto. In the second, the ruling in the line-item case was unanimous.

In this case, the governor line-item vetoed a change in state personnel policy. But, the Arizona Constitution limits line-item vetoes to spending proposals; they can’t be used to make policy changes. There’s good reason for that: the framers of the state constitution wanted the executive branch to be able to cut excessive spending, not legislate.

The governor argued that possible costs created by this policy change amounted to an appropriation, making it subject to line-item veto authority. But, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected this reasoning. The Court ruled that a change in policy does not constitute an appropriation, even if there is a fiscal impact.

The state Supreme Court ruling is a welcome move in keeping executive power in check.

ARIZONA BASKETBALL COACH  ATTACKED FOR SUPPORTING CHRISTIAN RADIO STATION

Sept. 28, 2006

The good intolerant, totalitarian, anti-religious bigots at the University of Arizona Fundamentalist University of Humanist Instruction-Tucson are at it again. Feminist faculty member Katrina Trevor has written a letter to the Daily Wildcat excoriating basketball coach Lute Olson for lending his face to a billboard promoting a Tucson Christian radio station. In case the good professor hasn’t noticed, Coach Olson has never been arrested for drunken driving, molesting coeds, kicking his players or throwing chairs across the basketball court. Perhaps his faith is behind his respected reputation as a solid, honest citizen and an asset to the university. These virtues contribute to an orderly community and university. If Olson had lent his good name to radical organizations like MoveOn.org, LaRaza or the communist Workers of the World, he might have drawn praise from leftists like Trevor. She seems to be unaware of the U.S. Constitution, freedom of speech and a few Supreme Court decisions. Other than that, she is up to date. If Olson’s employer is in conflict with his personal right to faith, then it may be in harmony with the kind of bigotry that was witnessed in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. If she had her choice, Trevor might prefer to exorcise all Christians from her humanist university of indoctrination.

GOVERNOR’S 9-11 MEMORIAL AND CURRICULUM ARE AN INSULT

By Len Munsil Sept. 23, 2006 I have been saying for months that Janet Napolitano is out of the mainstream in Arizona. Now we have more evidence through her support for an offensive 9-11 Memorial and a politically correct 9-11 curriculum for our public schools. Janet describes the Memorial as “unique, bold, educational and unforgettable.” I would describe it as an insult to the victims of 9-11 and the American military. In particular, the 9-11 Memorial calls attention to accidental civilian casualties in Afghanistan and ventures into 9-11 conspiracy wackiness by raising questions about whether the government could have stopped the attacks. Neither of those stories have anything to do with remembering the barbaric attacks on innocent Americans, or honoring the ultimate sacrifice paid by American soldiers in the ensuing effort to confront terrorism at its roots. I believe the Memorial is an insult to victims of 9-11, their families, and our military. Equally offensive is the Governor’s commission report on suggested “K-12 Educational Activities to Commemorate September 11th.” Among other things, our high school students are expected to “explain the roots of terrorism,” including “background and motives” and “economic and political inequities and cultural insensitivities.” Seventh-graders have a segment on “tolerance, unity and diversity” where the goal of the class is to “recognize both the unity and diversity of their class” while discussing how “some people had angry feelings about people who came from different parts of the world - they were intolerant.” I think when terrorists kill thousands of innocent Americans it is OK to have “angry feelings” – especially when you watch video of people celebrating in the streets. That anger was largely not directed at just anyone from another country, but was quite appropriately directed at the terrorists and those who cheered them on. Remembrances of the heroes of 9-11 should not be sullied by anti-American and anti-war sentiments, nor should our schoolchildren be indoctrinated in tolerance for terrorists.

GUN LOCKERS A BAD IDEA

By Alan Korwin
Sept. 21, 2006

Government facilities statewide are scurrying to install gun lockers near their public entrances, to comply with a new state law that requires them to carefully store firearms people routinely carry. Storage itself is not required, but if they wish to disarm people who enter, convenient lockers must be made available.

"Disarming honest citizens who carry firearms, because you're afraid of them, is bad public policy," says John Wentling, a lobbyist with the Arizona Citizens Defense League (azcdl.org), who helped get the law enacted. "It's better to let people simply come and go, safely in possession of their private property." It's generally agreed that criminals would simply ignore any locker plan.

Charles Heller, a Tucson-based radio talk-show host and firearms instructor, who serves as secretary of AZCDL, believes that disarming innocent citizens for political correctness, or out of an irrational fear of guns, is a recipe for disaster.

"The reason people carry a personal sidearm is as a deterrent to crime," he notes. "If you force these people to disarm when they enter a public place, you defeat a main purpose of gun ownership." Everyone with a concealed-weapon permit has been trained, tested, fingerprinted and FBI certified, he adds.

Gun-rights advocates generally agree that the new locker law, effective on Sep. 21, is better than banning innocent people from entering a building or event. Even worse, they say, was the old policy of requiring people to leave their guns in their cars, which left people defenseless and led to firearm thefts in the past. The best approach, they believe, is to simply let people come and go about their business.

Some people who seek to ban gun owners may suffer from hoplophobia, a poorly understood morbid fear of weapons. Scholarly studies consistently show several million defensive gun uses each year by members of the public.

NAPOLITANO HAS FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES By Len Munsil Sept. 20, 2006

We now know that Democratic Party operatives with ties to the Napolitano campaign are behind the independent expenditure committees that are pretending to be values oriented conservatives, while lying and distorting my record through emails, autodials and a website. As political dirty tricks go, this effort is pretty pathetic. But make no mistake, it is deceptive and it is dirty. We filed a Clean Elections request for matching funds on Tuesday and called for an investigation. Our press release is here. Setting up fraudulently named entities to attack a political opponent with lies and distortions does not seem like the strategy of a confident reelection campaign that is cruising to an easy victory. Call me naive, but this is pretty disappointing. It appears Janet Napolitano's supporters hope to discuss anything but her record -- 5 million unlawful border crossings on her watch, the worst crime rate in the nation, continued failures in education and at CPS. I will continue speaking directly to the voters of Arizona about the issues that affect our future. Janet should do the same thing, while calling off her Democratic Party hatchet men.

NAPOLITANO FAILED ARIZONA'S CHILDREN

By Len Munsil
Aug. 29, 2006

Four years ago Janet Napolitano promised to be the “Education Governor”, but with more money than ever before being spent on our public schools, achievement has not improved. In fact, more than 600 Arizona schools failed to meet academic standards according to a newspaper article today.

We need real education reform in Arizona and it starts with maximizing parental choice and providing higher performance-based pay for teachers – two measures opposed by Janet Napolitano.

ASU FORM TAKES DEMOGRAPHICS TO A NEW LOW

Aug. 25, 2006

Remember the recent news about Harvard University's wacky PC application form? Well, Arizona State University is right up there with Harvard with this liberal malarkey.

ASU's "Registration for GRE" form asks people for more information than the government university really needs to know. Not only does the form ask if the student is male or female, but it also gives students an opportunity to mark their status as "transgender," "bisexual," "gay/lesbian," "heterosexual," "not sure/questioning," as well as whether or not they are disabled.

Is this really necessary? And why are conservatives the ones accused of putting government in people's bed rooms? ASU cannot be taken seriously by surveying students on such ridiculous demographics. In fact, they give demographics a whole new name -- a wacky, liberal name.

ARE WE MISSING THE OBVIOUS WHILE NAPOLITANO ENJOYS THE GOP PRIMARY?

Aug. 22, 2006

Are we missing the obvious? Surely, Janet Napolitano isn’t. She must be sitting back enjoying the Republican gubernatorial primary season. Enjoying it immensely.

Why? Let’s take a closer look at this year’s run for the governor’s office “roses.”

An employee of the Napolitano administration, one with a staunch pro-choice background, has been running for governor for a year. He’s been collecting, collecting, collecting, trying to collect 4,200 Clean Elections contributions. After 12 months, he finally submits more than 4,600 of them and then has to sweat it out wondering if disqualified contributions will lower his total below the required 4,200.

The Napolitano employee has never been elected to public office before. In fact, he stumbled badly in a legislative race against people without famous names. He also loses a governor’s “vote” at this summer’s annual Arizona Republican Assembly’s state convention. The candidate isn’t at the top of anyone’s “most conservative” lists, but he joints the Minutemen Project and he has conservative friends who say their man is the only one who can beat Napolitano. He has not proven to be able to put together the kind of statewide organization that can instill fear in his opponents.

Meanwhile, he’s got precious little money in his war chest. He’s only reported a few thousand dollars in collections and disbursements. His rival has quickly qualified for Clean Elections funding and is working with nearly a half-million campaign bucks.

Here’s the catch. Because of the candidate’s famous last name – Goldwater – he is at or close to the lead in Republican gubernatorial candidate polling. If he wins the primary, it will most likely be by a small margin.

Given all of the above, Napolitano has to be cheering wildly for Goldwater to win the primary. Then, given his campaign financing and organizational liabilities, she can sail circles around him for eight weeks and torpedo his “campaign ship” to the murky bottom. Game, set, match in easy fashion.

Someone could make an awfully good case that Goldwater is a patsy for the governor. She could not have handpicked a better opponent or re-election scenario. If anything can doom the GOP in this election, it is exactly the scenario that is playing out in Arizona this summer.

If Goldwater’s rival, Len Munsil, wins the primary, Napolitano actually has to work for the two months leading up to the general election. And Munsil, a brilliant and articulate attorney with a great record in public policy that plays to the Republican base, will push Napolitano hard to hang on to the governor’s office.

At best, Goldwater goes into a fall campaign wounded, disarmed and with no noticeable momentum. Much to Napolitano’s enjoyment.

HARRIS, TUPPER APPEAL TO HOMOSEXUALS, WIN SUPPORT FROM REPUGNANT
Aug. 21, 2006

Republican candidates for governor Mike Harris and liberal Gary Tupper plan to turn their campaigns around by appealing to homosexual voters. The ploy earned instant support from Arizona’s version of Cheyenne Mountain -- the state’s largest cookie-cutter liberal rag and whose reporters are deeply insulated from political realities. The Arizona Republic’s radar promptly locked on at the sign of an attack launched on conservatives by two candidates who have not registered on a political seismometer. The cast of characters interviewed by the “Repugnant” would have you believe that conservatives only win elections because hordes of moderates and homosexuals are in hiding and don’t vote.

Harris and “Tupperware” Party both did interviews with a homosexual publication, while Len Munsil and Don Goldwater declined such invitations. There are far more important issues in this election than paying attention to how people behave privately and sexually.

Harris, who looks like he might have played the role of an up-tight banker on an episode of Bonanza, ripped into his political party in comments to the Arizona Republic: “The Republican Party is on the way to imploding with their holier than thou religious attitude."

In the “Repugnant’s” story, liberal loon pseudo-reporter Chip Scutari referred to the “so-called Protect Marriage Arizona constitutional amendment,” which is on the ballot this fall. Nothing like objective journalism. I haven’t seen the Repugnant refer to any other ballot initiatives with the “so-called” qualifier. He also says the proposition is headed for a showdown at the Arizona Supreme Court. It is unlikely that the Supreme Court will overturn the Superior Court which has already ruled in favor of Protect Marriage Arizona. Wishful thinking by the pro-homosexual “news” room at the Repugnant.

The really-reaching Scutari (look for his “photo” by scrolling down) mentioned that despite Arizona’s conservative reputation, the state has “elected a number of prominent gay Republicans, such as U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, former Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano and Phoenix City Councilman Tom Simplot.” It was beyond Scutari’s “reporting” abilities to mention that Kolbe had a liberal Tucson voting base, that Giuliano was mayor in the state’s most liberal city – Tempe and Simplot benefits from the liberal Phoenix voter base.

The wining continued, as Scutari brought in Thom Van Hapsburg, frequent loser in legislative prirmaries, a homosexual and president of the Arizona Log Cabin Republicans. Van Hapsburg said, "The apparatus of the Republican Party in Arizona are religious theocrats. What happened to less government in business and in our private lives? Moderate Republicans are very frustrated, but are they voting? Apparently not."

Translation: Moderate and liberal Republicans lose Arizona elections, with few exceptions, because voters are mostly conservative, do not identify with them and prefer the better candidates they keep voting into office. And nobody, but no one, is advocating for a theocracy – anymore than atheists are advocating for totalitarianism. If there were so many moderate Republicans, they’d be winning a few more elections. Furthermore, it was not Republicans who created Tucson’s domestic partner registry, which opens up the bedrooms of cohabiting heterosexuals and homosexuals for financial gain from their employers.

A GIFT TO FUTURE GENERATIONS
By Glen Hamer, AZ GOP Executive Director

For those concerned about Arizona’s economic health, there is no more important area for agreement than low tax rates. For as Chief Justice John Marshall once said, “The power to tax involves the power to destroy.”

Tax rates often play a key role in determining where individuals and businesses locate. There is a consistent migration of individuals and businesses from high tax areas (the Northeast) to lower tax areas (South and Southwest).

The Reagan expansion of the 1980s, which lasted for a generation and the Bush Boom of this decade are two textbook cases of the salutary effect of tax cuts. Ireland’s economy is strong today as a result of a deliberate low tax strategy. Even some high tax states such as Rhode Island have embraced lower tax rates as a way to stimulate the economy.

The most durable achievement of this legislative session was the permanent 10 percent income tax cut. The entire tax cut package is a gift to future generations.

Simply put, low tax rates are a magnet for people and businesses. Counter-intuitively, lower tax rates often result in increased tax revenues as explained by the Laffer Curve. The success we have in even further reducing our tax burden will be a leading indicator of the economic health of this state.

PROPOSITION 200’S VOTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT IS UPHELD

Aug. 15, 2006

Part of Arizona’s 2004 Proposition 200 law requires citizens to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote. Because voting is a right enjoyed by eligible citizens only, it makes sense to ensure that voters are who they say they are.

But, Proposition 200 recently came under legal attack in the federal courts. In this challenge, plaintiffs argued that the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) precluded Arizona from enacting its own voter certification requirements. The federal court disagreed and ruled that nothing in the NVRA prevents states from determining voter qualifications. The court said the federal rules set minimum, not maximum, requirements and states like Arizona are permitted to do more to regulate their elections.

This ruling correctly affirms the right of states to secure the integrity of their elections. From hanging chads to touch-screen voting machines, there are many things that can go wrong in elections, making sure only eligible voters cast ballots shouldn’t be one of them.

THE ARIZONA CONSERVATIVE WITHDRAWS ENDORSEMENT OF BARTO

Aug. 14, 2006

Until today, The Arizona Conservative had listed State Rep. Nancy Barto as an endorsed candidate. However, it has come to light that Barto self-identifies as a moderate, and worse yet, she refused to vote on a number of key bills related to the border invasion. Barto was appointed to the House months ago by District 7 Republicans when State Rep. David Burnell Smith was removed for violating Clean Elections Commission regulations.

State legislative seats are highly contested. People donate a lot of time, money and support to elect candidates. The citizens of this state deserve legislators who will actually vote on bills. In this past legislative session, Barto merely voted "present" on a number bills. This is unacceptable.

Last Feb. 6, Barto voted "present" on House Bill 2577 (illegal aliens; employment; verification). She did not vote on third reading, March 9th.

Also on March 9th, Barto refused to vote on HB2580 (illegal aliens; serious felonies; bail).

When HB 2582 came up Feb. 6th for a vote, Barto voted "present." On March 9th, she refused to vote, then finally voted "yea" a few days later.

HB 2837 dealt with the highly offensive sanctuary policy that undermines the rule of law. On Feb. 13th, Barto voted "present," refusing to oppose this liberal policy. Later, she voted against it.

Senate Bill 1157 dealt with illegal aliens and trespassing; Barto voted "present" at first and later opposed it.

Arizona has a shameful history of legislators -- gutless wonders -- hiding in bathrooms, hiding under desks and refusing to cast votes. It will be a shame if Barto, or any other elected official, is selected to serve the voters and refuses to vote on bills again. We do not elect people to office to sit on their hands. Lead, follow or get out of the way.

JIM KISER WRONG AGAIN

Aug. 7, 2006

Remember this spring when Jim Kiser, liberal whiner/crybaby columnist for Tucson's Arizona Daily "Red" Star belittled State Rep. Pamela Gorman for supporting fetal rights legislation and then having the gaul to claim The Arizona Conservative was "hurting democracy" by criticizing him? Kiser also took issue with our claims that the Arizona Republic and liberal Gov. Janet Napolitano slant left. He cited research by the Pew Research Center to claim that a majority of Americans are supposedly pro-abortion.

We showed then just how wrong he was. And now Kiser's liberal allies at the leftist Pew Research Center have just released a new poll on the abortion issue. What did it say?

Forty-six percent of Americans want abortion to be banned altogether (11 percent) or legal only in a few rare instances (35 percent). Another 20 percent said abortion should be allowed, but want more restrictions on it. That's 64 percent claiming abortion should be banned on restricted. Just 31 percent of the public wants abortion to be generally available and not have more restrictions placed on it, according to the Pew Research Center poll.

Kiser may be forced to cite Planned Parenthood polls in the future. Or perhaps he'll claim the new Pew poll is a threat to democracy.

OVER-REACHING CLEAN ELECTIONS COMMISSION SHOULDN'T DETERMINE WHAT QUALIFIES AS NEWS

By Benjamin Barr, Goldwater Institute
Aug. 7, 2006

What started as a simple political endorsement in March by J&G Gun Sales has resulted in a state investigation. In its regular catalog, J&G outlined its support for Republican primary gubernatorial candidate Len Munsil, because he supports the constitutional right to own and carry firearms. The investigatory hubbub centers around how to interpret the endorsement under Arizona’s Clean Elections Act.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission will decide whether the endorsement is deemed an “independent expenditure,” which might trigger matching funds, or a press expenditure, which would be exempt from regulation. In doing so, the Commission places itself in the position of deciding what qualifies as a legitimate news source.

Before the Revolutionary War, the English Crown regularly licensed the press, determining what subjects should be covered and by whom. The heroic American struggle for liberty eliminated state oversight of the press and embraced an independent and free press as a primary freedom in the new Republic.

At present, the Clean Elections system grants the press greater freedom to endorse candidates than other associations or groups. Now, regulators will determine what constitutes “news” and what doesn’t. This case is another testament to the danger of excessive government control over the electoral process. The role of government in the election process should be limited to ensuring legitimate elections, permitting all voices to be heard.

PRIORITIZE POLICE: CITY FUNDING ON NON-ESSENTIAL PROJECTS SHOULD BE REDIRECTED TO POLICE

By Darcy Olsen, Goldwater Institute
Aug. 1, 2006

Phoenix’s recent crime wave has put public safety in the headlines. As our hardworking police force works to make our streets safer, we should study successful crime fighting models like New York.

Once the inspiration for Batman’s Gotham City, New York is now the safest big city in America. By comparison, Phoenix has the third-highest overall crime rate among the nation’s 10 largest cities.

Our murder rate is double New York’s, and almost three times higher than the national average. And in the last two years, our violent crime rate has surged. A recent Arizona Republic editorial dismissed the increase saying crime rose in “nearly every other major American city.” What the editorial didn’t say was that Phoenix’s violent crime increase was four times higher than the national increase, 10.4 percent compared to 2.5 percent.

Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris told the Arizona Republic, “To make Phoenix the safest major city in the country, we’re going to have to have more officers in the future.”

In 2000, Phoenix had two officers per 1,000 citizens. At last count, the ratio dropped to 1.89. So while New York has more than four officers for every 1,000 citizens, Phoenix has less than two.

Making funds available for new officers must be part of our fight against crime, and the resources are there. The city’s general fund increased almost ten percent over the last fiscal year. The problem isn’t resources, it’s priorities. Providing more funding for public safety will be a key to making Phoenix safer and this may require cutting back on luxury projects like theatre.

No one blames the recent violence on any of our elected officials. But we all should agree on the need to discuss ways to make our community safer. Even if that includes questioning City Hall’s priorities.

YATES SHOULD BE GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY
July 28, 2006

Whomever dreamed up the "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict should be drawn and quartered. That's an insane verdict.

In cold blood, Andrea Yates drowned her five children. The facts of that case were never in dispute. It was an insane act by a deranged psychotic. But to declare someone innocent for an insane act is equally devoid of insanity. It's definitely time to throw out the ridiculous "innocent by reason of insanity" verdict.

By Matthew Ladner, Goldwater Institute
July 1, 2006

BETTER THAN BOYCOTTING McCAIN'S STATE ... HURT THE LIBS WITH YOUR SPENDING DOLLAR

June 26, 2006

Activist Barry Weinstein, writing in the conservative publication Human Events, suggests that millions of Americans opposed to the U.S. Senate's amnesty bill will boycott Arizona and Massachusetts until senators John McCain (R.-Ariz.) and Teddy Kennedy (D.-Mass.), are removed from office. McCain was just re-elected last year and has five more years on his current term.

The Arizona Conservative has a better suggestion. Rather than boycott the Grand Canyon State and hurt conservative business owners and families, it is far better to shop conservative as a principle. Our links to businesses showing liberal and conservative donation tendencies are far better tools for how we can help our causes with smart spending. Illegal immigration is only one issue we should use in our consumer decisions. We have already prepared links to help you out:

Smart Conservative Shopping Guide

How to Avoid Supporting Homo Manic Agenda with Your Shopping Dollars

PHOENIX CITY REVENUE UNAFFECTED BY TAX CUT

Goldwater Institute
June 1, 2006

ANTI-EDUCATION GOVERNOR SHORTCHANGES KIDS AGAIN

By Cathi Herrod, Interim President, Center for Arizona Policy
May 18, 2006

On Tuesday, Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed Senate Bill 1151. The legislation would have enabled employees to select a payroll deduction for donations toward Arizona’s school tax credits and working poor tax credit. In the governor’s veto message, she stated that the bill “poses undue burdens” upon businesses. The bill, however, stated clearly that an employer “may” implement the payroll deduction program at an employee’s request. Employers were not under any mandate. I’m still trying to figure out how a law allowing businesses to conduct a payroll deduction program places an undue burden on a business. Any objecting business would have been allowed to tell employees, “We’re not participating.” The bill would have enabled more taxpayers to choose and employers to voluntarily support education opportunities for children and charities helping the working poor. The only feasible explanation for the veto appears to be the fact that it was proposed by school choice supporters, including The Center for Arizona Policy, Arizona Catholic Conference and the Alliance for School Choice.

MAY DAY FOR MARRIAGE

By Cathi Herrod, Interim President, Center for Arizona Policy
May 17, 2006

One year ago today, the Center for Arizona Policy  along with other members of the Protect Marriage Arizona Coalition launched the drive to place an amendment to the Arizona constitution on the November, 2006 ballot. The PMA Coalition is uniting Arizonans of many different faiths, races, and political persuasions to support marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Two years ago today, Massachusetts became the first state to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples as ordered by state judges. We now watch the negative consequences of gay marriage unfold in Massachusetts. There is growing concern over the conflict between religious liberties and the homosexual agenda. For example, Catholic Charities has been forced to stop their adoption services. Massachusetts required them to place children in same-sex households. Elementary school children are being required to read books that promote homosexuality.

In nine other states, activists are seeking to redefine marriage through the courts. The goal is to redefine marriage in a few key states so that the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually redefine marriage for the entire country. Arizona is one court case away from having our marriage laws redefined by activist state judges.

Why protect marriage? Marriage benefits society. Marriage between one man and one woman is the fundamental building block of society. Children do better in life when they have a married mother and father. Society is strong when the institution of marriage is strong. Social science data repeatedly proves what we instinctively know to be true: marriage between one man and one woman provides the most benefits to society as a whole as well as to men, women and children.

Marriage is under attack. Pro same-sex marriage activists have outlined a fifteen-year strategy to redefine marriage nationwide. A state constitutional amendment provides the strongest possible legal protection for marriage against redefinition by activist state judges. The Protect Marriage Arizona Amendment allows the people of Arizona to decide the definition of marriage in our state, not activist judges. Equally important, a state constitutional amendment sends a strong message to the U.S. Senate that it should pass the marriage protection amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

We have a mere six weeks left in which to collect 300,000 signatures. We’re not there yet. In fact, we still have much work to do to reach our goals for signatures. There are several ways you can help: (1) stop by one of several locations today to sign a petition, to drop off petitions or to pick up more petitions to get filled with signatures. More information on May Day for Marriage is available at www.azpolicy.org. (2) Take a moment to pray for the marriage amendment effort. (3) Send a check today to Protect Marriage Arizona, P.O. Box 3025 Tempe, AZ 85280-3025 to help fund the significant expenses associated with the campaign. (4) Volunteer to help PMA – send an email to mdumee@azpolicy.org to find out how you can help our volunteer efforts. Let’s not wait until we have the “Roe v. Wade” court decision that legalizes same sex marriage. Let’s take the steps necessary today to protect and preserve marriage in Arizona and in our country. Let’s do our duty to lift up a standard that says marriage between one man and one woman is worth protecting.

IRAQ UNSAFE? TRY D.C. OR NEW ORLEANS

By Rush Limbaugh
May 17, 2006

Rep. Steve King, a Republican of Iowa, on C-span last week rattled off some startling figures that demonstrate how off-base journalists are when it comes to reporting on the war in Iraq.

According to Mr. King, the violent death rate in Iraq is 25.71 per 100,000. That may sound high, but not when you compare it to other places, Colombia's is 61.7 per 100,000 death rate, South Africa has a higher violent death rate per 100,000: 49.6 per 100,000. Even Jamaica has a higher violent death rate than does Iraq: 32.4, and Venezuela comes in at 31.6 violent deaths per 100,000.

How about the violent death rates in American cities? New Orleans, before Hurricane Katrina, was 53.1, violent death rate per 100,000. FBI statistics for 2004-05 have Washington. D.C.'s violent death rate at 45.9 per 100,000; Baltimore at 37.7 per 100,000, and Atlanta at 34.9 per 100,000. The figure again from -- Iraq, 25.71 per 100,000, and that includes the war.

So Iraq, I mean, if you're just going to roll the dice and take your chances, Iraq's a much safer place to go than Washington or Jamaica or New Orleans pre-Katrina, or Venezuela!

ELECTION NIGHT 2006: 'HARRY (MITCHELL), I DIDN'T SEE YOU'
April 24, 2006

Tempe is one strange city politically. Home to the largest university in the nation, the city was selected the most liberal in Arizona. Many a career in Tempe is based on the frivolous pursuit of evolution, the greatest hoax of all time, courtesy of your tax dollars. So the liberal residents there are quite accepting to political hoaxes like Harry Mitchell. The city is also home to a high percentage of independent voters. Tempe sets its standards so low that it erected a statue to former mayor Mitchell, who was caught red-handed stealing a campaign opponents' signs a few years ago. Mitchell was previously called one of the laziest campaigners his campaign manager had ever seen, and he gave the Italian salute to a lady and her small child as they distributed the campaign literature of an opponent in 2002.

Since he wasn't doing anything in the Arizona Senate of note anyway, Mitchell quit that post to pursue the seat of longtime Arizona conservative Congressman J.D. Hayworth. John Gizzi, a political columnist for the conservative publication Human Events writes that Mitchell "may give a tough fight to Republican Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who has broken with the Bush Administration on immigration."

Gizzi is writing from a distant shore on the East coast and knoweth not Mitchell well enough. Mitchell figures to hold his own in Tempe's land of sign stealing, finger-flipping liberals. However, he isn't going to carry any other portions of Congressional District 5 and we expect Hayworth to hold onto his seat. Hayworth has done a good job and has done more to represent the common man's sentiment on the border invasion than any other Arizona congressman. Mitchell was dead wood in the Senate in opposing border control. We suspect that on election night, we'll all be saying, "Harry, I didn't see you."

BLACK MONDAY: GOV. 'VETO' CHAMPIONS CULTURE OF DEATH
By Cathi Herod, Center for Arizona Policy
April 18, 2006

In a black Monday for Arizona’s families, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano yesterday vetoed three bills that would have clarified existing Arizona laws on sanctity of human life issues. Each bill vetoed yesterday provided a common sense solution to a real problem in our state.

• HB 2666 would have required a parent’s consent to an abortion for their minor daughter be notarized. The legislature passed HB 2666 by large, bi-partisan margins after hearing from parents whose daughter was given an abortion on the basis of an e-mail sent by her boyfriend. Parents are frequently required to have to have their signature notarized on numerous medical and school permission forms for their children, yet a minor can get an abortion without the signature having to be notarized.
• HB 2142 would have prohibited the sale of human eggs for the purpose of human cloning. The human cloning process takes significant numbers of human eggs, obtained through a medically invasive procedure that puts women at risk.
• SB 1325 would have clarified Arizona’s existing ban on taxpayer funding of abortion to apply also to government subsidies in health insurance plans for government employees. Right now, the City of Phoenix offers elective abortions as a covered health insurance benefit.

The abortion industry and proponents of human cloning will be very pleased by the Governor’s vetoes. Arizonans, however, who support policy proposals embodied in these three bills by significant majorities in virtually every opinion poll, will be sorely disappointed and dismayed.

With these vetoes, Gov. Napolitano sides with the abortion industry by supporting taxpayer funding of abortion and opposing parental consent for a minor’s abortion. The Center will continue to support legislation rejecting the radical viewpoint that abortion should be available at any age, for any reason, and be paid for by taxpayers.

McCAIN FOOLS FALWELL, BUT NOT US!
April 17, 2006

Seems the Rev. Jerry Falwell has been taken in by the snowy-haired senior Senator from the Great State of Arizona. But we know better and we aren't about to get snowed by John McCain, like the president of Liberty University was. Falwell and McCain had expressed some differences in the media once upon a time, and just recently they met face to face and engaged in a mutual admiration society.

"By five minutes in, we'd gotten all the old stuff behind us and the air all cleared," Falwell said. "And, you know, John McCain is a strong conservative. He's pro-life. He's strong national defense. He's a national hero. His view on family is just where most conservative Christians' views are. It's just that we had another champion back then."

Bzzzzzzzzzzt! Wrong! McCain loathes conservatives, especially Christian conservatives. He's pro-choice. He consorts with liberals because he thinks like a liberal. He undermined the First Amendment with his unconstitutional -- despite what the libs on the Supreme Court ruled -- campaign finance reform law. He supports destructive embryonic stem cell research. We know conservatives ... and he's not one of us. We suspect McCain thought a phoney-baloney parlay with Rev. Falwell would pull in a few votes from Falwell's followers.

HOW SMART IS 'SMART' GROWTH?
By Benjamin Barr, Goldwater Institute
April 17, 2006

HEFNER'S LEGACY: DISEASE, DEATH AND DIVORCE
By Cathi Herrod, Center for Arizona Policy
April 10, 2006

Hugh Hefner is turning 80 next week and you can almost guarantee that we’ll be hearing a lot of stories in the media about Hefner and his impact on our culture. Most will have a celebratory tone, rejoicing over the end of “repressive” Christian ideas about sexuality. Hefner’s Playboy empire opened the floodgates of pornography into our culture and has brought about an “anything goes” philosophy when it comes to sexual mores. Hefner’s legacy will be anything but positive. It includes rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases, high teen pregnancy rates, millions of aborted babies and a divorce rate that leaves more and more children each year to be raised in broken homes. In fact, a recent survey of divorce attorneys found that two-thirds of them said that the Internet played a significant role in divorces during the previous year, with online porn contributing to more than half of those divorces. So if Hugh Hefner points to loosening sexual morals as his legacy, he’ll also have to take credit for disease, death and divorce as well, which really isn’t much of a legacy to be proud of.

NEW GOLDWATER INSTITUTE REVIEW FINDS CLEAN ELECTIONS ACT FAILS TO DELIVER ON PROMISES
Goldwater Institute
March 30, 2006

TAINTED GOPUSA/ARIZONA POLL DOESN'T ACCURATELY REFLECT GOVERNOR'S RACE
March 16, 2006

A poll on GOPUSA/Arizona shows Don Goldwater with a huge lead over Jan Florez and Len Munsil in the race for the Republican nomination for governor. There is just one problem with the poll and it's a huge one. GOPUSA polls are regularly manipulated by GOP IT experts, and many Republican polls on the site have been tampered with in attempts to drive public opinion over the years. The tainted polls extend back to the 2002 Congressional District 1 race, won at the last minute by Cong. Rick Renzi over Sydney Hay. A North Carolina source identified as Surreal.com was responsible for the 2002 poll manipulation. The publisher of GOPUSA admitted that a subsequent Arizona poll had been hacked into, but declined to comment further or seek legal recourse. Other polls have also been manipulated.

MESSAGE TO O'CONNOR: ENJOY YOUR INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMS ABROAD
March 15, 2006

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor launched a tirade against the people she most disdains – mainstream Americans -- during a speech at Georgetown University. The pro-abortion O’Connor bitterly attacked pro-life lawmakers who voted a year ago to give the late Terri Schiavo the same judicial review rights as a convicted murderer.

An over-the-top O’Connor foolishly claimed that a Congressional effort to allow federal courts to review the Schiavo case was the first step towards a dictatorship. Excuse me? Yes, a dictatorship. O’Connor has been spending too much time in the Riviera sun brushing up on the international laws and customs she ruled on at the expense of the U.S. Constitution.

"We must be ever-vigilant against those who would strong-arm the judiciary," said the champion of the barbaric act referred to as partial-birth abortion (infanticide). O’Connor’s deciding vote in 2000 (Carhart v. Stenberg) over-ruled a ban on partial-birth abortion because the law did not make allowances for the health of the mother. The American Medical Association had told the Supreme Court that medical considerations are never at issue in partial-birth abortions.

In the Georgetown tirade, the dictatorial O’Connor referred to Communist countries and autocracies around the world: "It takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship, but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings.”

O'Connor was only getting warmed up. She also said that attempts by the people to hold run-away judicial activists accountable "pose a direct threat to our constitutional freedom."

"Statutes and constitutions do not protect judicial independence -- people do," O’Connor said. And, for your information, your honor, rogue judges threaten the Constitution.

O’Connor said that Republican lawmakers contribute to a climate of violence against judges by criticizing their decisions. If that ridiculous assertion were true, the United States would have a history full of violent acts for the millions of criticisms leveled at public officials. O'Connor and her liberal associates have spent so much time vacationing on the French Riviera that they are  insulated from the American public and out of touch.

Happiness is the invoking of the words “retirement” and “O’Connor” in the same sentence.

FURTHER EVIDENCE OF THE OUT-OF-TOUCH MAINSTREAM MEDIA
March 14, 2006

Leftist writers like Richard Ruelas of The Arizona Republic and Jim Kiser of the Arizona Daily "Red" Star believe they represent mainstream views. As a great man once said, the liberals know so much that isn't true. A new study by Columbia University proves once again just how far removed the cookie cutter leftist media is from mainstream America.

"The State of the News Media 2006" is a voluminous series of surveys and analyses released Monday by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a research group affiliated with Columbia University. The New York Times received a 38-percent favorability rating in the study. So when the Times points out President George W. Bush's low ratings, they know all about low ratings. Here's more from the study:

• 72 percent believe the press favors one side or the other, according to a poll of 1,464 adults. That number rose from 66 percent two years earlier.
• About 60 percent found the press politically biased, up from 53 percent.
• Just 43 percent say the national press is moral.
• The researchers found a "values gap on social issues." In a survey of 547 journalists, 6 percent felt that belief in God is necessary to be moral; the figure is 58 percent among the general public.
• 88 percent of the media core think society should accept homosexuality, compared to 51 percent of the public
• A paltry 20 percent of the public described themselves as liberal, but 34 percent journalists are libs.
• 33 percent of the public deem themselves conservative, but just 7 percent of the press members self-identified as conservatives.
• Most journalists -- 54 percent -- say they are moderates, compared with 41 percent of the public.

Researchers noted that, "Most liberals don't see a liberal point of view. Fewer than a fourth of the liberal journalists could think of a news organization that was "especially" liberal. No wonder lib writers can say the words "abortion" and "moderate" in the same sentence.

A whopping 79 percent of journalists could name a conservative news organization. I wonder how many of them could name more than one. Of the conservative journalists, 68 percent could name an especially liberal news organization and 68 percent could name an especially conservative news outlet.

It's no wonder the mainstream media keep beating up on the president: 55 percent of print and electronic journalists from national news organizations say the coverage of the Bush administration has not been critical enough. So they're going to pile on until they reach 100 percent.

A demoralized media core -- 51 percent -- see journalism going in the "wrong direction." One can safely assume that figure is much higher among the public.

STATE DOESN'T 'INVEST'; IT SPENDS
By Tom Patterson, Goldwater Institute

AIR (HATE) AMERICA GONE FROM PHOENIX AIRWAVES, REPLACED BY 'LOVE RADIO'
March 1, 2006

After spewing out pure, unadulterated hate radio for a year and a half, Air (Hate) America is gone from the Phoenix airwaves. And the irony is that 1010 AM is now "love radio" -- Christian programming. Thank you, God!

About the time that former presidential candidate John Kerry pulled his Arizona radio advertising in the 2004 campaign, Air (Hate) America suddenly replaced conservative programming on the tiny 1010 station. 1010 had previously featured conservative luminaries Rusty Humphries and Michael Savage. At the time, it was suspected that Air (Hate) America was only leasing stations around the country to do Sen. Kerry's dirty work for him. The radical, far-left network poured out nothing but non-stop anger and vitriol toward conservatives and President Bush.

A communist blog today lamented the demise of the Phoenix hate radio affiliate and resorted to vulgarity and -- what else -- hatred toward Christians because a religious network now occupies 1010. This is something of a modern-day parallel to an earlier time when Nietsche declared the death of God, only to have his home used to print Bibles after his own death.

AND THIS IS THE SOCIALIZATION THE LIBS SAY HOME SCHOOLERS ARE MISSING OUT ON
Feb. 27, 2006

According to a 2005 survey of 3,300 Arizona high school students, 43 percent of them are having sex. One in five students have seriously considered suicide in the past year, while 16 percent have planned suicide and 12 percent have actually attempted suicide. Twenty-seven Arizona youths did commit suicide in 2004. More than 5,000 Arizona teens had babies in 2004. Who knows how many had abortions and how many under-age girls had abortions without abortion providers reporting it to the authorities? Many teens are also drinking and using drugs, the survey revealed. Furthermore, a third of the respondents had ridden in a car with a drinking driver.

And this is the socialization the libs say home schoolers are missing out on.