Month: February 2014

Healthcare enrollment for AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders)

by

Posted by Carolyn Sugiyama Classen

EnrollAAPI_Flyer[1]-page-001

As an Asian American born in raised in the State of Hawaii, this is important to me and my community here in Tucson. Press release info:
“Get your health insurance questions answered and help with enrollment during Enroll AAPI(Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders) on Saturday, March 1st from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center (1288 W River Rd).

Certified Navigators will be on hand to help people enroll in a healthcare plan. Information on the new healthcare laws and how to sign up to get healthcare coverage will be presented in English and selected Asian languages (Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese). Representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will also be on hand.

Free health screenings for asthma, cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, and osteoporosis will also be available. The diabetes test requires fasting 8 hours prior to the screening.

This event is made possible thanks to a coalition of partners that includes the Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, College of Pharmacy, College of Medicine, the Southern Arizona & Pacific Islander Health Coalition, Pima County Health Department, Health hand other community organizations.

For more information, please contact Kim Tham or Sujana Vinjamuri at (520) 300-0627”.

Read more

Cathi Herrod tells the BIG LIE — about her SB1062 defeat

by

On February 23, I posted an analysis of SB1062. I did so because Cathi Herrod told the world to “read the bill, just read the bill.”

However, it was abundantly clear from the day the bill was introduced, January 13, 2014, that it was an outrageous attack on humanity under the guise of religious freedom. A few days later, I asked by what objective measure the bill could possibly have been considered about defending religious freedom.

Read more

SB1062 vetoed! Whoooo hooooo! Now, keep paying attention

by

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

By now, most people who were paying attention at all are aware that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has vetoed the infamous SB1062, a proposal to provide legal immunity for discrimination and other bad behavior if the person behaving badly could cite a religious justification.

At her announcement, she cited reasons for her veto such as the lack of an actual problem in AZ that the bill would address.  She did not state that she believes that discriminating against the LGBT community is wrong.

Her veto letter is here.

Read more

Congressman Ed Pastor retiring from Congress

by

…Thank you for your service and let the scrum begin…

From the Washington Post –

Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.) announced Thursday that he will be retiring after his current term, setting off what could be a widespread battle to replace him.

The 11-term lawmaker made the announcement via Facebook: “After 23 years in Congress serving the people of Arizona, I have decided that I will not seek re-election this year. It has been a great honor and experience, but it is time for me to close this chapter of my life and start a new one,” he said. “I want to thank everyone who has assisted me and supported me throughout my career. Thank you very much for all of your support.”

First, let me be one of the many who thank Congressman Pastor for his decades of service to the people of his district, to Phoenix, and Arizona. His quietly effective style of getting things done will be missed, and will leave some big shoes to fill, for whoever ends up with the job.

Second, the popcorn part of the post.

Read more

Oh look, they’re blaming Clean Elections again

by

Fresh on the heels of the SB1062 veto, and with national columnists hungry to meet deadlines with something “insightful” about Arizona, the Chamber of Commerce crowd is really pushing the “Clean Elections done it!” myth hard.

Here’s New York Times liberal Gail Collins repeating the narrative:

“I remember having a meeting with some folks I’d call country-club Republicans, and listening to them bemoan the fact that they have no more influence because of the Clean Elections law,” said Rodolfo Espino, a professor at Arizona State University.

We will come to a screeching halt here and re-examine that thought.

Yes! Part of the super-weirdness of Arizona politics appears to be the result of the state’s 1998 public financing law, which provided tons of matching funds to unwealthy-but-energetic candidates from the social right at the expense of the pragmatic upper class. The Supreme Court took the teeth out of the law in 2011, but, by then, the traditional Republican elite had lost its place at the head of the political table.

Read more