AZ Repubs between Barack and a hard place
March 25, 2009
by David Safier This could cause some problems. A draft proposal of rules by U.S. Department of Education could force the state to undo $160 million in cuts to higher education approved in January by lawmakers if Arizona is to receive $775 million in federal stimulus aid. [snip] Included in those rules, House Speaker Pro
Unanimous ruling: vouchers violate AZ constitution
March 25, 2009
by David Safier How often do you see a unanimous ruling from a Supreme Court, state or federal? That's what we got today on the voucher issue from the Arizona Supreme Court. At issue are the vouchers for foster children and disabled students I wrote about earlier today. Here's the shocker, for me, anyway. The ruling
AZ Voucher legality decision coming soon
March 25, 2009
by David Safier From the Capitol Times: The Arizona Supreme Court has announced that on March 25 it will decide whether two school tuition-voucher programs for disabled and foster children should be allowed to continue. By way of background, in May, an appellate court decided the Arizona vouchers for disabled and foster children were unconstitutional since some
Somehow, this doesn’t feel right
March 25, 2009
by David Safier From the Arizona Guardian's blog, the Guardian Angel: The Angel just loves the smell of free energy drinks in the afternoon. That rumbling you heard Tuesday was sound of lawmakers stampeding toward the Ice Cream Parlor in the Old Capitol to snatch up some free swag from one of the state's most
In Memoriam: Jack Jacobson
March 25, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I was saddened to learn today of the passing of Tucson television pioneer Jack Jacobson. I knew him as a man (he was a member of my church when I was a youngster), but I loved him for his television character, "Dr. Scar" on K-GUN's Chiller Theater on Saturday nights. It was
Gallows humor: you can either laugh or cry
March 24, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The Washington elitists, government types and the media villagers who are completely out of touch with average Americans who do not live in the "Beltway Bubble," apparently took offense to President Obama being the first president since Grover Cleveland in 1885 to miss the Gridiron Dinner in his first year in office.
Water desalination doesn’t produce salt?
March 24, 2009
by David Safier In an attempt to cure some of my ignorance, I did a google search on water desalination (desalinization, desalinisation) and found an Economist article from June, 2008. It has lots of excellent technical information. The most important fact in terms of answering my question — Why isn't desalination coupled with the production
Where do college athlete’s scholarships come from?
March 24, 2009
by David Safier Here's another question born of ignorance. When college athletes are given scholarships, where does the money come from? A column by John Harris in the Pittsburgh Trib-Review questions the free education given to college athletes. Harris comments: A basketball player attending Pitt is eligible for an education worth more than $100,000. Except
