Pamela Powers

Long-time blogger and political activist, Pamela Powers holds a masters’ degree in public health from the University of Arizona and a bachelors’ degree in journalism from the Ohio State University. She has worked for many years in communications and public relations. Powers stepped down from her position as the managing editor of the American Journal of Medicine to serve Legislative District 9 in the Arizona House. Powers won her seat in November 2016 and won her re-election bid in 2018. She continues to work part-time social media editor for the journal. In addition to Blog for Arizona, she writes her own blog, The The Tucson Progressive and has contributed political stories to the Huffington Post. Powers Hannley is co-director of Arizonans for a New Economy, Arizona’s public banking initiative. Political website: PowersForThePeople.net Facebook Page: Pamela Powers Hannley for House Tucson Progressive on Facebook: Tucson Progressive Twitter handle: @p2hannley Instagram: p2hannley

1858 Redux: Lessons from the Town 10 Miles from Sin

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A hotbed of free thought and equality since it was founded as Christian Perfectionist community in 1833, Oberlin, Ohio has been credited with starting the Civil War. In the early 1800s, Ohio was a free state, and Oberlin was a key stop along the Underground Railroad which helped fugitive slaves escape from the south and … Read more

Top 20 Reasons Why Republicans Want to Repeal Obamacare (video)

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elysium-NLIn Elysium, Matt Damon’s 2013 post-apocalyptic drama, the 1% are safely ensconced on a idyllic floating space station (Elysium). In contrast, the 99% toil in poverty and grime and suffer from police oppression on Earth, which has been destroyed by pollution and over-crowding.

Early on in Elysium, Damon, a former thug who works in a giant factory with no safety equipment, workplace regulations, or human resources protections, has an industrial accident and is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. Fellow workers hear his screams from the radiation chamber and try valiantly to get him out, but the supervisor tells them to leave him in there and go back to work “because he’s already dead”. After the exposure, they drag Damon out (literally) and take him to the factory clinic. When the CEO sees him, he tells the supervisor to send Damon home before he soils the sheets. At several junctures in the movie, the dire, dirty conditions on Earth are juxtaposed with the gleaming perfection of Elysium, but the contrast in healthcare is the most stark. On Elysium, people have high-tech, full-body scanners that can cure all diseases. On Earth, people are left to die.

At one point, the CEO says to a worker whose daughter is dying, “This isn’t Elysium. We can’t just heal her.” This movie is the Koch Brothers’ wet dream and our nightmare. If the Republican Party could get away with it, this is where we will be by 2154 (the date of the movie) or sooner. Getting rid of the Affordable Care Act and social safety net programs are the first steps.

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Close the Meth Lab of Democracy: Vote Blue Today

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Fred DuValIt’s time for Arizona to stop being the brunt of jokes on Comedy Central and time to close the Meth Lab of Democracy.

Meth– like dark money from the Koch Brothers, ALEC, and Arizona Public Service– is addicting and #Bad4AZ. We need politicians who are clean and not addicted to or swayed by dark money.

To do your part, here are the top 10 things you should do on Election Day:

1- Vote for Fred DuVal, Terry Goddard, Felecia Rotellini, David Garcia, Jim Holway, Sandra Kennedy, Ron Barber (or Raul Grijalva, Ann Kirkpatrick, Mikel Weisser, or James Woods, depending upon where you live), and your Legislative reps (like Victoria Steele, Randy Friese, and Steve Farley) if you haven’t done so already.

2- Vote “No” on Props 122 and 303 because they are all about challenging the federal government and sparking new costly and unnecessary lawsuits. Not #Good4AZ.

3- Vote “Yes” on Prop 415 to build the new animal shelter. It’s only $3/year to treat animals humanely.

4- Take your early ballot to your polling place if you still have it. Volunteer to drive friends to the polls or to drop off their mailed ballot.

5- Ask everyone you see if they have voted and encourage them to follow steps #1, #2, #3, and #4 if they have not.

6- If you have adult children, contact them and encourage them to vote.

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Republicans Have a Problem with Women (video)

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The Republican Party doesn’t realize what all husbands know: Women have legendary memories. We know where your socks are, and we know who our friends are.

The Party of NO— no leaders, no ideas, no morals, and no action– is not a friend of women. Since the Tea Party astroturf revolution of 2010:

  • Hundreds of bills restricting the rights of women and forcing women to have unnecessary, invasive medical procedures have been passed by red state legislatures, including Arizona’s;
  • 100% of the Republicans in the US Senate have voted against paycheck fairness for women;
  • 100% of the Arizona Republican legislators and statewide leaders– including their candidate for governor, Doug Ducey– signed a fetal personhood pledge to fight for the rights of fetuses over the rights of women;
  • 100% of Republicans in Congress and the Arizona Legislature would deny women equal rights under the US Constitution by continuing to block passage of the Equal Rights Amendment;
  • 0% of Republican candidates have announced their support for raising the minimum wage and wage discrimination against women;
  • Women and children are murdered everyday because Republicans in the US Senate– including Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake– blocked common sense gun laws proposed after the Sandy Hook Massacre;

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