‘Strategery’: winning the presidency is nothing without taking back the Senate

Democrats have too many candidates who want to be president, and not enough who want to take back the Senate. Let’s be clear: the presidency is nothing without taking back the Senate (and holding the House of Representatives). Without the Senate a Democratic president’s agenda would be subjected to the GOP’s “total obstruction” warfare and … Read more

Disadvantaged students 3+ years behind more affluent peers

A recently-released study by Harvard and Stanford universities shows the “achievement gap is as big today as it was for children born in 1954, with disadvantaged students three to four years behind their more affluent peers.” There are of course, multiple reasons offered for this stagnation, but the Boston Globe reports that researchers Eric Hanushek and Paul Peterson suggest “a decline in teacher quality through the years may be offsetting gains made in education reforms such as head start school desegregation, and federal aid to districts with low-income students.” Peterson said, “There is every reason to believe that the quality of the teaching profession will have a particularly adverse effect on low income…disadvantaged students, because those are the students who are unfortunately encountering the most inexperienced teachers.”

Hanushek and Peterson (H&P) write in EducationNext, that, “while some might see income inequality as the result of adult life choices about matters such as how hard to work or where to live, educational inequality seems unfair, because the economic status of a child is outside the child’s own control. It is an inequality of opportunity that runs counter to the American dream.” This is my point when I hear someone say something like, “it isn’t the school’s job to feed kids breakfast…their parents should be feeding them at home.” Uh, well yes, their parents should be feeding them. But…what do we do about those children that come to school hungry because their parents don’t properly care for them or, those who don’t even have parents in the picture?

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Actions to Protect AZ Water: for TODAY and this week at the Arizona State Legislature

This week there are some bills that could affect our water being heard at the Arizona State Legislature.

The first action requires a quick phone call. Please, take a couple minutes to call your state Representatives before it goes to a vote (which could be anytime.)

The rest of the bills are being heard in committee. If you have registered for the Request to Speak, you can sign in on the system on the Arizona Legislature Website.  You can weigh in on RTS anytime before or during that meeting. (See info below.)

PHONE ACTION:

There was a recent attempt to resurrect one of several bad water bills in the House. HB2609 Harquahala non-expansion area; groundwater transfer (Petersen: Cook) allows private water companies in the Harquahala Irrigation Non-expansion area (west of the Phoenix area) to withdraw water to a depth of 1,500 feet rather than 1,000 feet and transport it into an active management area. This violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Code and sets a terrible precedent for bypassing statewide groundwater management by importing water from areas outside the Active Management Areas. Speaker of the House, Rusty Bowers, is leading the effort to jam this through over the objections of La Paz County and any who are concerned about further privatizing water. Please call your representatives and ask them to oppose HB2609. If they say they are opposing it, thank them.

To find out who your Rep is, find your district: https://azredistricting.org/districtlocator/

Use that district to find the contact information for your Rep: https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/

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Not “shocked, shocked” that the KKK-Endorsed Trump doesn’t think White Nationalist Terror is on the Rise

There is a famous scene in the movie classic Casablanca where the Prefect of Police, portrayed wonderfully by Claude Rains, closes Humphrey Bogart’s (Rick Blaine’s) bar, saying he “was shocked, shocked that gambling is going on here,” to appease the Nazis while at the same time collecting his evening winnings. Sadly, people should not be … Read more

4th Avenue Spring Street Fair on March 22 to 24

  “The Fourth Avenue Street Fair is Tucson’s Premier Community Event! The 2019 Fourth Avenue Spring Street Fair happens on March 22, 23 & 24, 10:00 a.m. to Dusk each day. Pets are not allowed. This nearly 50-year-old, family-friendly tradition brings over 600,000 people to the heart of the Old Pueblo every year. The Fair … Read more