Michael Hicks, either give a reason for your unsubstantiated allegation or publicly withdraw it
February 7, 2012
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by David Safier While being interviewed on Garrett Lewis' morning talk show, TUSD Board member Michael Hicks intimated Wakefield Middle School children might have been sexually abused when they attended a college course at UA. He has yet to comment on his vicious, unsubstantiated allegation. Hicks should either give some reason why he suspects the … Read more
Purposefully deceptively titled ballot measure to kill Citizens Clean Elections passed in Senate committee
February 7, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Jonathan "Payday" Paton is no longer in the legislature, but his No Taxpayer Money for Politicians Group continues his purposefully deceptive attempts to repeal Citizens Clean Elections that began in 2010. Paton thinks the voters are just a bunch of rubes for ever enacting Citizens Clean Elections, and he wants you to repeal it. On Monday, … Read more
What will we tell the (college aged) children?
February 7, 2012
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by David Safier Story after story has detailed cheating on standardized tests by K-12 teachers and administrators to raise schools' scores and rankings. Now comes the not-very-surprising fact that colleges have been cooking the books to raise their ratings on the U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Colleges." It's pretty much a … Read more
Grijalva on labor relations, union issues
February 7, 2012
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by David Safier Adam Sarvana, Raúl M. Grijalva's Communications Director, forwards this quote from Grijalva's comments on C-SPAN this morning: “This union-bashing and this anti-union fervor, almost a frenzy, that’s going on right now, it’s a blame game. Let’s blame the unions for our economic woes. Let’s blame the immigrants for our economic woes. What … Read more
Fool’s Gold: Best reason to buy back govt. buildings is, we don’t have to spend that money on education or children’s health
February 7, 2012
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by David Safier The Goldwater Institute thinks it's a great idea to buy back state buildings now, at no savings to the government, instead of using the $106 million to help build the state. Republicans have said for the past few years they had no choice but cut spending on education and children's health care … Read more
California’s anti-marriage equality Prop. 8 unconstitutional
February 7, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: A 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today held that Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that limited marriage to one man and one woman, violates the U.S. Constitution. Prop. 8: Gay-marriage ban unconstitutional, court rules – latimes.com: “Proposition 8 served no purpose, and had no … Read more
Yet another example of lobbyists and legislators restricting the rights of citizens
February 7, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Founding Fathers of Arizona were progressive populists. They included in the Arizona Constitution three progressive era rights of citizens: initiative, referendum, and recall. These rights were to protect the citizens against the abuses by state legislators controled by powerful lobbyist interests.
There are a number of bills in the legislature this session which seek to restrict and limit these rights of citizens in favor of legislators controled by powerful lobbyist interests. In this, our Centennial year as a state, our Tea-Publican legislature rejects and seeks to reverse Arizona's progressive populist heritage.
One such bill is a legislative proposed referendum to severely limit the ability of Arizona citizens to enact new revenue sources for such things as education and health care that our ideological Tea-Publican legislature routinely underfunds in their desire to shred the "socialist" safety net of the "entitlement society."
Arizonans have routinely approved new taxes and spending for education and health care by citizen initiatives every time such initiatives have appeared on the ballot. It is how the citizens of Arizona correct the ideological extremism of our Tea-Publican legislature.
So now our Tea-Publican legislature wants to impose a two-thirds super-majority requirement on citizen initiatives which seek to enact new revenue sources for such things as education and health care. Because a simple majority vote, the foundation of our democratic Republic, apparently no longer is good enough when it comes to taxes.
"The first principle of republicanism is that the lex majoris partis is the fundamental law of every society of individuals of equal rights; to consider the will of the society enounced by the majority of a single vote as sacred as if unanimous is the first of all lessons in importance, yet the last which is thoroughly learnt. This law once disregarded, no other remains but that of force, which ends necessarily in military despotism." –Thomas Jefferson to Alexander von Humboldt, 1817.
Rep. David Stevens, R-Sierra Vista, is sponsoring legislation that would require any sort of tax hike to receive the approval of two-thirds of voters in order to be enacted. Referendum would raise the bar on raising taxes – Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required):
He says the change proposed by HCR2043 is necessary to keep a small minority of voters influenced by special interest groups from rubber-stamping a tax hike on everyone.
Really? What Rep. Stevens actually proposes is a minority veto power, a "tyranny of the minority."
Guns at swimming pools? Seriously?
February 7, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
"Is that a handgun tucked in your Speedo? Or are you just really happy to see me big boy!"
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday passed a bill that would loosen restrictions on carrying guns in public buildings, including city halls, libraries and municipal swimming pools.
Jaws was just a movie you idiot. That's not a shark, it's just a fat kid with a snorkel. Geezus! What kind of "afraid of his own shadow" freak needs to pack heat in his Speedo at the swimming pool? Get some psychiatric help already for your irrational fears and phobias, will ya?
Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, who sponsored one of the other bills, admitted the gun bills still need some work. "There are government facilities that need to be secured, but does the swimming pool need to be secured?" Gould asked. "I would argue probably not."
