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My boss at Intel used to work on the US early warning radar stations in Alaska when he was in the military. He said that pretty much ALL of these encounters are intentionally planned and carried out by both the US and Soviet government in a silly cat and mouse game they play testing the other guys defenses. He said that many times when the media reports that an American military plane accidentally ventured into Russian airspace and was shot down, that was usually a pre-planned test of Russian defense system by the American military. Same for when a Russian plane is "accidentally" ventures into American airspace and is shot down. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/china-russia-flex-muscles-in-increasing-number-of-close-calls-with-us-aircraft/2014/10/04/a398731c-4b21-11e4-891d-713f052086a0_story.html?hpid=z5 China, Russia flex muscles in increasing number of close calls with U.S. aircraft By Craig Whitlock October 4 at 8:32 PM A recent spate of dangerous midair encounters between American military aircraft and Chinese and Russian planes in the Pacific is the result of increasingly assertive strategies by both U.S. adversaries to project power far beyond their borders, according to the top U.S. Air Force commander in the region. Air Force Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, the head of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, said China’s naval and air forces in particular are “very much continuing to push” and becoming more active in international waters and airspace in Asia. “They still talk about the century of humiliation in the last century. They still talk about this as the rise of China,” Carlisle said in an interview. “They still talk about this as their great nation. And they want to continue to demonstrate that.” Carlisle said U.S. and Chinese forces are frequently encountering each other in parts of the East China and South China seas where they rarely came into contact in the past. Since commissioning its first aircraft carrier two years ago, China’s navy has conducted more exercises farther away from its shores and is closely patrolling areas in disputed waters where Chinese companies are drilling for oil. Those movements have prompted the U.S. military in turn to deploy its ships and reconnaissance aircraft to keep a close watch. China’s military usually responds by conducting intercepts of U.S. aircraft as the two sides jockey for position, Carlisle said. “All of that makes their tension go up a little bit,” he added. U.S. officials said one such encounter got out of hand in August, when a Chinese J-11 fighter jet flashed past a Navy Poseidon P-8 patrol aircraft, performing a “barrel roll” at close range and bringing its wingtip within 20 feet of the U.S. plane. That incident occurred in international airspace about 135 miles east of China’s Hainan Island. At the time, Pentagon officials protested publicly and released photos of the near-miss, which they cited as evidence of rash and irresponsible behavior on the part of the Chinese pilot. They said the same Chinese military unit had conducted three other risky intercepts of U.S. aircraft earlier in the year. Carlisle was more measured in his assessment, saying that there has always been “an ebb and flow” in the number of Chinese intercepts and that he didn’t think China’s military leadership was looking to provoke a conflict. “I personally don’t think it needs to get too much hype,” said Carlisle, who will leave his post in the Pacific this month to take a new assignment as chief of the Air Force’s Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Va. But he acknowledged that “the opportunity for something to go wrong” will likely increase as China’s military gathers strength and moves farther afield. To prevent such incidents, the Pentagon has tried to enhance communications channels and expand formal ties with the People’s Liberation Army in recent years. Although U.S. officials said progress has been made, they added that they didn’t expect to solve the issue overnight. “I am disappointed. Am I surprised? I’m not necessarily surprised,” Adm. Samuel Locklear, the chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said at a Sept. 25 news briefing at the Pentagon, when asked about the close calls. He added that the “vast majority” of interactions between U.S. and Chinese military aircraft and ships resulted in no problems. “It’s those outliers that concern us.” While the Pentagon has long expected an increase in Chinese military activity in the Pacific, it has also had to confront a resurgent Russia, which is conducting more long-range reconnaissance and bomber missions in the region and even approaching U.S. territory. On Sept. 17, U.S. fighter jets intercepted a half-dozen Russian military planes — two fighter jets, two long-range bombers and two refueling tankers — as they were flying in international airspace near the coast of Alaska. U.S. officials said they have also seen an increase in Russian bombers flying near Guam, the U.S. territory in the Pacific. Carlisle attributed the Russian flights to a strategy by President Vladimir Putin “to reassert Russia into what he thinks its rightful place in the international order is, and part of that is continuing to push into the Pacific.” He described the Russian maneuvers as “a little harder to figure out” in comparison with Chinese military actions, which he called “more rational.” Russia has also become more active in airspace between its Pacific border and Japan, prompting a sharp rise in Japanese intercepts of Russian military aircraft over the past year. In turn, Russia hasn’t hesitated to challenge U.S. reconnaissance flights near its territory. In April, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet flew within 100 feet of a U.S. Air Force RC-135U aircraft that was operating in international airspace over the Sea of Okhotsk, prompting complaints from the Pentagon. Craig Whitlock covers the Pentagon and national security. He has reported for The Washington Post since 1998.
Colorado man sues for right to carry handgun in post office. It p*sses me off royal every time I go into a US Post Office lobby and see a sign that says "No Guns Except for Police" The whole purposes of the 2nd Amendment is to allow us to protect us from government tyrants. Like the government rulers that run the US Post Office. The US Post Offices I go to in Tempe and Chandler also have signs up saying that "No Cameras" are allowed. I guess the First Amendment is also null and void in post offices. Sadly the government tyrants that run the US Post Office seem to think that the 1st and 2nd Amendment are null and void on government property. http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Federal-appeals-court-to-mull-guns-in-post-offices-5793612.php Colorado man wants to bring gun into post office BY SADIE GURMAN, Associated Press Updated 3:56 pm, Wednesday, October 1, 2014 BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Tab Bonidy carries a concealed pistol everywhere he goes. It offers him a sense of safety even in Avon, Colorado, a mountain town so small its lone post office doesn't offer home delivery. But when the 56-year-old architect drives into town to pick up his mail, he has to disarm, even if he's just running into the lobby. It's a hassle, he says, but U.S. Postal Service rules prohibit bringing guns inside. Bonidy is challenging that rule in federal court, saying it violates his Second Amendment rights. "It's just a lobby with a bunch of boxes, everyone in Avon goes there to get their mail," Bonidy said. "Even there, I'm disarmed and not able to protect myself." A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday heard arguments in his case, which could impact security at the Postal Service's tens of thousands of facilities nationwide. The court met at the University of Colorado campus in Boulder, where the judges held the hearing so students could listen. Though Bonidy was never specifically confronted about his handgun, he sued the Postal Service in 2010. U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch found the agency could not keep him from securing his weapon in his truck in the post office parking lot while he went inside unarmed. But the judge also ruled that the post office could prohibit him from bringing his gun into any part of the building. Bonidy appealed, seeking access to the unsecured lobby. He said Matsch's ruling didn't go far enough. The Postal Service also appealed, arguing the judge was wrong to let Bonidy take his weapon anywhere on postal property, even the parking lot. Bonidy, whose lawsuit is backed by the National Association for Gun Rights, and the postal service disagree over what constitutes a "sensitive place" where guns can be legally banned, such as a government building or school. Bonidy's attorney Steven Lechner of the Mountain States Legal Foundation told the judges the lobby is not such a place, as there are no security guards checking patrons, who come at all hours. "Not every government building is sensitive. There has to be some criteria or the government gets a free pass," he said. "If the government prevents someone from defending themselves, there has to be some security. You can't disarm a citizen if he wants to pick up his mail." But Daniel Tenny, an attorney for the Department of Justice, told the judges that the Postal Service needs the blanket weapons ban for security purposes. Deciding which buildings — and which people — should be exempt from the rules would be a strain on resources, he said. One of the justices, Judge Gregory A. Phillips, noted that not all people who bring guns into buildings bring them to protect themselves. There have been several shootings at postal facilities and other government buildings in recent years. A former postal employee in 2006 shot five people to death at a huge mail-processing center in California before killing herself. The judges will issue a written ruling, but it could take weeks or months. Despite the argument over sensitive places, Bonidy agreed the courtroom was no place for a gun. Wearing a cowboy hat and bolo tie with his full suit, he stowed his gun in his truck before walking inside. ___ Follow Sadie Gurman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sgurman
Entrepreneurs eye emerging marijuana markets If you totally legalized marijuana, and the government doesn't tax the krap out of it, or give out monopolies to folks like Andrew Myers and his Arizona Dispensary Association all the big time profits from the marijuana industry would disappear and a pound of marijuana wouldn't cost any more then a pound of tomatoes or potatoes. Of course currently the government does tax the krap out of marijuana in the few states that have legalized it for either recreational purposes or for medical purposes. And the government is also giving out monopolies on growing and selling marijuana. And that is why the black market has not disappeared. Currently in Arizona legal medical marijuana costs $300+ an ounce, while you can buy black market marijuana for maybe $50 to $100 and ounces. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/04/entrepreneurs-eye-emerging-marijuana-markets/15522833/ Entrepreneurs eye emerging marijuana markets Donna Leinwand Leger, USA TODAY 9:11 p.m. EDT October 4, 2014 When James Howler created his marijuana-infused taffy in 2009, the Colorado entrepreneur had trouble finding an accountant willing to keep the books of a company making legally fuzzy medical marijuana candy. Now, five years later, venture capitalists from New York City want to shower him with money for a stake in his Cheeba Chews and a foothold in a $2.6 billion marijuana industry now operating in nearly half the country. With medical marijuana legal in 23 states and Washington, D.C., and recreational marijuana legal in Colorado and Washington state, the market for weed is rife with potential, and the people in pinstripes have taken note. As the marijuana companies grow more sophisticated — and profitable — they are attracting the attention of investors and corporations. Tapping into the green revolution, however, brings unique challenges for entrepreneurs and corporate honchos alike. States may have bucked federal law, which considers marijuana illegal for any purpose, but they have imposed their own complicated, lengthy lists of regulations meant to keep cannabis tightly under control and, in some cases, keep the corporate behemoths out. But with so much money at stake, industry experts say, it's only a matter of time before corporate giants, already eyeing the market, grab their share, too. "If leaders of these companies are not looking at the cannabis space, then they are not doing their jobs," says Chris Walsh, editor of Marijuana Business Daily, a trade publication based in Denver. "Billions of dollars are here, and no seasoned business executive is going to overlook a billion-dollar industry that they might be positioned to tap." CORPORATE GIANTS If the crowd of 200 executives who jammed the marijuana panel at the Wine & Spirits Summit on June 5 in Denver is any indication, the alcohol industry is paying attention. "Some see it as a threat, and some are interested in being part of the industry," says Emily Pennington, editor of Wine & Spirits Daily, an online trade publication that hosted the summit. "Either way, they are watching it very closely." Brown-Forman, the company that owns Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and Finlandia Vodka, mentioned marijuana legalization in its 2014 annual report as a potential threat to its market share. The company noted that consumer preferences may shift because of a number of factors, including "the potential legalization of marijuana use on a more widespread basis within the United States." Most major tobacco companies, which explored the possibilities of marijuana in the 1970s, when federal legalization seemed possible, now deny any interest. "Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and Altria's companies have no plans to sell marijuana-based products," says Brian May, spokesman for Altria, the company that owns tobacco company Philip Morris America. He said he could not speculate on what the company might do if the federal government lifted its ban on marijuana. The company took legal action in 2010 to lay claim to two domain names, AltriaCannabis.com and AltriaMarijuana.com, from someone unrelated to the company who had purchased the names. May says it was a move to protect its trademark. USATODAY Green gold rush creating gray marijuana market R.J. Reynolds Tobacco also says it isn't interested in marijuana. "We have no intention to have any involvement when it comes to marijuana," spokesman David Howard says. "We have no interest in that industry." But tobacco giant Japan Tobacco International entered into a deal in December 2011 with Ploom, the San Francisco-based manufacturer of a pocket-sized smoking device that heats tobacco, vaporizing nicotine and flavor without producing smoke, to commercialize the product outside the United States. Although the company maintains its device is solely for tobacco, the latest version, called Pax, is popular among marijuana users. At least two pharmaceutical firms, AbbVie and GW Pharmaceuticals, already produce medicines that contain active ingredients from cannabis. GW says it is a traditional pharmaceutical company that won't be dabbling in what it calls the "artisanal" medical marijuana business.The company manufactures Sativex, a cannabinoid medicine for the treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis. "Our business is very different. Our approach to cannabinoids as therapeutics is very different than the medical marijuana movement," says Stephen Schultz, vice president for investor relations at GW Pharmaceuticals. "Real medicine is designed and developed using proper science for a particular therapeutic need. It is run through clinical trials that yield a clear understanding of what a medicine does and does not do, and what the appropriate dosing regime is. None of those things are found in medical marijuana." If some corporate giants are sniffing around these emerging markets, they haven't entered it in any public way. BARRIERS It's not that they don't want to, Walsh says. "It's because there are several big barriers keeping them from doing so." Federal law and regulations that differ not only from state to state but from town to town make it inefficient, not to mention potentially illegal, for big business to enter the market, he says. "I definitely think we're going to see mainstream companies come into the cannabis space, but it won't happen until there's change at the federal level," Walsh says. Some states don't allow non-residents to open or have equity investments in marijuana businesses. Colorado, which has more than 1,300 licensed marijuana businesses, requires marijuana investors to have lived in the state for at least two years. The owner, operator and employees must all be residents of the state. Non-state residents can lend money but can't have an equity interest, says Colorado Department of Revenue spokeswoman Natriece Bryant. The state enacted those regulations specifically to keep the giant multinationals out, Bryant says. USATODAY Marijuana farmers markets budding trend on West Coast "We wanted to make sure it was a closed system that we could really wrap our heads and hands around," says Colorado Rep. Jonathan Singer, a Democrat from Longmont who sat on the task force that devised the regulations. "If you have outside investment, can you track where those dollars are coming from? You want to make sure that none of the criminal element is infiltrating the marijuana industry." "This is not just a protectionist element to keep money in Colorado. It's also to keep the federal government outside Colorado," Singer says. "The federal government is very clear that they could come in if it was found (the marijuana industry) was contributing to criminal enterprises." Singer acknowledges that without outside investment and no access to bank loans, the state's marijuana industry is finding it challenging to grow. Most federally insured banks have opted to stay away from the industry because of legal uncertainty about whether transactions for marijuana businesses could be considered money laundering. That means marijuana businesses have little access to small business loans or even payroll accounts. With banks out of the picture for now, most of the financial backing for growth in the marijuana industry has come from venture capital, angel investors and private loans. "We've had bankers from New York City asking for a tour of the facilities and wanting to know how they can invest," said Ralph Morgan, chief operating officer of O.penVAPE, which specializes in extraction of purified cannabis oil from marijuana and produces a vape pen that vaporizes the oil to be inhaled. O.penVAPE products are sold in Colorado, California, Washington, Oregon and Arizona. "There are tons of people dumping tons of money into the industry," says Cheeba Chews' Howler. "There is money to be made, and that's why that big money is coming in." It's harvest time around the country. In Colorado, it's prime time for the first outdoor crop of legal marijuana. VPC GROWING CREATIVELY Boulder-based Cheeba Chews is still a small business, producing 12,000 pieces of its signature hand-cut and -wrapped taffy, which retail for about $12 each, and related products each week, says marketing director Eric Leslie. But after a few years in the marijuana edibles business, the company developed nationwide name recognition and wanted to expand. So far, Cheeba Chews has opted for slow and steady growth without investors or bank loans, Leslie says. It is the largest edible manufacturer in the country, he says. Investors have approached, Howler says. Some speculators offer shell companies or schemes to take the company public, Howler says. "It just screams 'sketchy' to me," he says. A manufacturer of almost any other product could simply ramp up production, create a distribution plan and ship its orders around the country. Not marijuana. Since pot remains illegal under federal law, a cannabis product cannot be transported over state lines. States where marijuana is legal have wildly divergent regulatory setups. So Cheeba Chews had to get creative. It grew by licensing its brand to manufacturers already licensed to operate in California and Washington. "You have to be agile enough to meet the standards in every state. On top of that, the laws are constantly changing," Leslie says. "You have to have this adaptability. You're not going to find an industry like it." The industry, he says "is creating itself right in front of our eyes." Ultimately, once corporate America thinks the industry is safe, well-established marijuana companies will be targets for acquisition, says Steve Berg, chief financial officer of O.penVAPE. "By virtue of the success we've had and the powerful brand we've developed, we constantly get inquiries from individuals and companies looking to partner," Berg says. None have come from Big Pharma, Big Tobacco or Big Alcohol, "but we feel like we can feel them out there," he says. "How could it be otherwise? This is a new industry that is growing very, very rapidly," Berg says. "Any business-development division that has any similarity has to have their eye on this ball." O.penVAPE's chief operating officer, Ralph Morgan, who worked in medical device sales before he and his wife, intrigued by the medical side of cannabis, decided to open a dispensary in Colorado, says there's nothing mysterious about the marijuana industry. "All the regular business rules apply to the marijuana industry — taxation, regulation, human resources," Morgan says. "It's just a different widget." Morgan says recreational marijuana businesses are a natural fit for the alcohol industry, which is already accustomed to state-by-state regulation. Marijuana products "could be made and distributed in a similar fashion," Morgan says. "The alcohol industry has done a good job of creating brands." Trip Keber, who four years ago founded Dixie Elixirs to make marijuana-infused drinks, chocolates and lotions, says he, too, has had inquiries from investment bankers, hedge funds and venture capitalists. And at conferences, he has fielded questions from alcohol industry executives. "Four years ago, I couldn't get anyone to return my calls," Keber says. "Now the tables have turned. We are too big to ignore." THE NEW MARIJUANA PROFESSIONALS One of the biggest signs that the industry has matured is the influx of top-notch professionals — lawyers, accountants, advertising execs — willing to take jobs at the marijuana companies, Berg says. Full legalization in Colorado and Washington was a watershed event for many business professionals, who could then feel it was safe to join the industry, Berg says. "One of the major themes or trends in the legal cannabis industry is the professionalization of the industry," Berg says. "Professionals are crossing over from the more conventional industries because they see a lot of opportunity and a lot of challenge." As those professionals have entered the market, Berg says, he's seen big leaps in quality control and in standardization of systems and manufacturing processes. Keber, a former dotcom entrepreneur who sold his company and moved to Colorado in 2002, began exploring the possibilities in the marijuana industry seven years ago. A former Washington, D.C., resident who once interned at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, Keber wore business suits to meetings. The other marijuana entrepreneurs thought he was a narc, he says. "I went to these clandestine meetings because people didn't want you to know where their marijuana cultivation was. No one understood what was legal, illegal. Those were clearly the Wild West days," Keber says. "One thing I understood clearly: If we took traditional business practices and applied it to this disorganized community, it would transform it." When he created Dixie Elixirs, he sought top-notch professionals, including food scientists and herbalists. Now among them is Joe Hodas, 44, who until a year ago was a partner in an ad agency in Colorado. The agency created Dixie's logo. Hodas, a father of three who describes himself as the "quintessential middle-of-the-road family guy," agonized about whether to leave his conventional ad-guy job for Dixie. He wondered if the industry could survive, if the company had enough capitalization and whether the feds could shut them down and throw him in the clink. "There's risk all over the place with this industry, but I don't think there will be another opportunity in my lifetime to be part of the birth of an industry," he says. "I'll either do it now or never." A few months later at the Cannabis Economy Summit, he was surprised to find himself at a table with executives from cheese, nut and chocolate manufacturers. "More people want to get engaged in this business," he says. Changes in societal attitudes toward marijuana caught attorney Barry Peek's attention a few years ago. Peek, a labor and employment lawyer at the 65-lawyer New York firm Meyer, Suozzi, English and Klein, did some reading, attended a few conferences and then gathered a group of three or four attorneys in his firm to study the issues around medical marijuana. He concluded that medical marijuana would turn out to be big business. And if it's a new business, Peek says, people will need legal advice. When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the state's medical marijuana law on July 5, Peek's firm was ready. "We are advising clients on how to maneuver through those regulations," Peek says. "We have a full-service law firm, so if there is a company that needs to get into the business, we can handle corporate issues, tax issues, land-use issues, whatever they need." Interest in New York is widespread, from farmers in Upstate New York who have idle land that could grow marijuana to doctors who want to dispense it, Peek says. "It will be a growing sector in the legal community," Peek says. "And once the smaller companies get a foothold and become profitable, they will get bought out by larger companies."
Some small-city managers are paid big-time salaries Sadly when it comes to the government game, the only winners are the people who run the government. And of course the special interest groups that helped get them elected and who are usually shoveled with pork that the rest of us pay for. Last if you are interested in this article you may want to look at the original article because it has a lot of tables that I could not include here. The URL follows. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/southwest-valley/2014/09/29/buckeye-tolleson-city-managers-salaries-outweigh-city-size/16448013/ Buckeye, Tolleson city managers' salaries outweigh city size David Madrid, The Republic | azcentral.com 10:31 p.m. MST October 4, 2014 Buckeye and Tolleson, two of the least-populated suburbs in the Phoenix area, each pay their city manager at least $180,000 per year, more than some of their counterparts in much-larger municipalities in the Valley. Buckeye Town Manager Stephen Cleveland, whose annual salary was bumped to $190,000 after receiving a 15 percent raise last year, and Tolleson City Manager Reyes Medrano Jr., who received an 18 percent raise last year that increased his annual salary to $180,000, each oversee communities with relatively few residents. Tolleson is ranked 14th largest of the 15 Valley municipalities in population and annual budget and 13th in number of employees, according to an Arizona Republic analysis. Medrano earns a higher annual salary than the city managers in Surprise and El Mirage — which have more residents, city employees and larger budgets — and significantly more than the city manager of Litchfield Park, which has about 1,000 fewer residents than Tolleson. Cleveland, who has been manager of Buckeye for about five years, oversees the 12th-largest city in the Valley; it has the 12th-highest number of employees and the 11th-highest annual budget. Cleveland declined to speak with The Arizona Republic for this story. Cleveland is the seventh-highest-paid city manager, earning more than counterparts in Gilbert, Surprise, Avondale, Goodyear and Tempe. Tempe City Manager Andrew Ching, whose city's population is almost three times as big as Goodyear, earns an annual salary of $185,748. As recently as June 30, he was making $170,000, before being bumped to the higher salary July 1. His latest pay increase came because of a city rule that requires a 5 percent differential between what a supervisor earns and what the supervisor's highest-paid subordinate earns. Ching agrees with municipal experts who say you can't compare city-manager salaries based on population, number of employees and the size of the annual budget. Each city has unique issues city leaders consider when determining a city manager's salary. City councils determine how they value and pay their chief executives. "I work out my salary with the council that I work for, and I'm comfortable that what we have makes sense for what I do, given my scope of activities that I perform for a city this size," Ching said. Tolleson Councilman Juan Rodriguez was the only council member to vote against Medrano's pay increase. He said Medrano's salary should have been compared to city managers of cities throughout the nation that match Tolleson in geographic size, population, number of employees and annual budget. "Had we taken those into consideration, there is no way that a city manager that manages a city of all those factors, as it pertains to Tolleson, should be making $180,000 a year." Rodriguez said. The International City/County Management Association sets guidelines for city-manager salaries, such as services provided, job requirements, market pay for comparable public-sector executives, the local government's financial position, and the manager's credentials, experience and expertise. Tolleson Mayor Adolfo Gámez said it is fair that Medrano's pay compares to the managers of larger cities. "We compete for the same businesses Glendale is competing for," Gámez said. "The same industries. The same everything. Just because we are smaller doesn't mean we're not in the mix. We have to work harder to make sure these people see us, and understand we can deliver the same thing the big cities do." David Evertsen, principal and CEO of Goodyear-based Municipal Solutions, said that salary negotiations with the local council, the complexity of the job and an executive's unique strengths determine salaries. "We look at the types of services being provided. For example, a city with three unions ... is quite a bit more challenging than a city with no collective-bargaining units," he said. "These individuals know heart and soul and body how municipal government works," Evertsen said. "A city manager's salary isn't just a taxpayer expense, it's an investment." Cleveland, a former Goodyear city manager, started working for Buckeye five years ago, after the brief stay of two previous town managers. Buckeye Mayor Jackie Meck said Cleveland is worth his salary because Buckeye has issues that set it apart from other municipalities. Buckeye has boundaries that exceed Phoenix, the nation's sixth-largest city. Buckeye reaches around the White Tank Mountains in the Southwest Valley and is marked with swaths of vacant land. "We're 60 miles long," he said. "We have a community at Sun City Festival. We're not like other cities. We don't have a radius like other cities. We have six fire stations. If we had a smaller radius, we would have two fire stations." Gámez also defended his city manager's salary and 2013 pay raise, based on a complex formula that includes pay and benefits of city workers in 10 Valley municipalities and Maricopa County. "He has met all his goals and objectives and then some," Gámez said of Medrano, city manager of Tolleson since October 2005. "The city has progressed very successfully, economically speaking, under his leadership, so we all felt he deserved a raise in accordance to the study that was conducted." Medrano also oversees a $9.2 million makeover of Tolleson's downtown, a decade-old dream to attract tourists and businesses to the small city. The city is also working on a trucking corridor. It has attracted three major trucking businesses to the area. Medrano said he is comfortable with the pay increase the Tolleson council gave him. "What people need to understand and look past is that we are a far more complex city than our population implies," he said. City managers ranked from highest to lowest salaries Name City Population Annual salary City employees Annual budget Ed Zuercher Phoenix 1,513,367 315,000 12,213 3.503B Chris Brady Mesa 462,821 225,000 4,079 1.340B Fritz Behring Scottsdale 222,213 211,150 2,413 1.172B Brenda Fischer Glendale 226,721 203,975 1,713 642M Carl Swenson Peoria 162,000 195,732 1,094 470M Richard Dlugas Chandler 244,081 193,417 1,541 804M Stephen Cleveland Buckeye 59,056 190,000 432 185M Patrick Banger Gilbert 227,598 189,625 1,121 555M Brian Dalke Goodyear 73,832 188,562 511 222M Andrew Ching Tempe 166,842 185,748 1,512 581M David Fitzhugh Avondale 78,000 184,000 525 179M Reyes Medrano Jr. Tolleson 6,704 180,000 175 57M Bob Wingenroth Surprise 121,629 179,500 780 311M Spencer Isom El Mirage 32,700 167,648 174 91M Darryl Crossman Litchfield Park 5,800 136,526 72 What do metro Phoenix city managers earn? Avondale David Fitzhugh Avondale City Manager David Fitzhugh earns an annual salary of $178,338. Fitzhugh took over for former City Manager Charlie McClendon who took a job in California. McClendon's annual salary was $189,399 when he left the city. Population: 78,000 City employees: 525 Annual budget: $179 million Buckeye Stephen Cleveland Stephen Cleveland earns an annual salary of $190,000 this fiscal year, up from $165,000 in fiscal year 2013. Cleveland took a 15 percent salary reduction to $140,250 from fiscal 2009 to 2011. Population: 59,056 City employees: 432 Annual budget: $185 million Chandler Richard Dlugas Richard Dlugas earns an annual salary of $193,417, a 2 percent increase over the $189,625 salary he earned for fiscal year 2012-13. His pay increased about 10 percent over the salary he earned as acting city manager from June 24, 2010 though May 11, 2011. Population: 244,081 City employees: 1,541 Annual budget: $804 million El Mirage Spencer Isom Spencer Isom earns an annual salary of $167,648. Former City Manager B.J. Cornwall's annual salary was $202,342 in 2010. Population: 32,700 City employees: 174 Annual budget: $91 million Gilbert Patrick Banger Town Manager Patrick Banger earns an annual salary of $189,625 since May 6, 2013. His salary increased $19,625, or 11.5 percent, over the $170,000 salary he received from Aug. 15, 2011 to May 5, 2013. Population: 227,598 City employees: 1,121 Annual budget: $555 million Glendale Brenda Fischer Brenda Fischer was hired in July 2013 and earns an annual salary of $203,975. Former City Manager Edward Beasley's annual salary was $227,163 before retiring in June 2012. Population: 226,721 City employees: 1,713 Annual budget: $642 million Goodyear Brian Dalke Brian Dalke earns an annual salary of $188,562 as of January. The previous city manager, John Fischbach, was paid an annual salary of $168,000 in 2012. Population: 73,832 City employees: 511 Annual budget: $222 million Litchfield Park Darryl Crossman Darryl Crossman earns an annual salary of $136,526 this fiscal year, up 5 percent from fiscal 2013. Crossman is the longest serving city manager in the Valley and will have been in that position 10 years in November. Population: 5,800 City employees: 72 Annual budget: $11.4 million Mesa Chris Brady Chris Brady earns an annual salary of $225,000, which is $15,000, or 7 percent, more than he earned in fiscal year 2012-13, and $24,084, or 12 percent, more than fiscal year 2011-12. Population: 462,821 City employees: 4,079 Annual budget: $1.34 billion Peoria Carl Swenson Carl Swenson earns an annual salary of $195,732. Last year Swenson received a 2 percent raise after more than three years of pay freezes in Peoria. Population: 162,000 City employees: 1,094 Annual budget: $470 million Phoenix Ed Zuercher Ed Zuercher earns an annual salary of $315,000, retroactive to Feb. 19, 2014. That is an increase of $56,061, or 22 percent, over his salary as acting city manager of $258,939. Zuercher's salary matches that of former City Manager David Cavazos, who received a $78,003 raise before resigning a year later. Population: 1,513,367 City employees: 12,213 Annual budget: $3.5 billion Tempe Andrew Ching Andrew Ching earns an annual salary of $185,748. Ching is a relatively new city manager. He was appointed to the position by the council in April 2013, after serving as temporary city manager for about two months. Ching was Tempe city attorney since 2006. Population: 166,842 City employees: 1,512 Annual budget: $581 million Tolleson Reyes Medrano Jr. Reyes Medrano Jr. earns an annual salary of $180,000, which is a $27,607 increase over his previous year salary of $152,393, an 18 percent increase. Before that, his salary was $145,053. Medrano received no salary increases in 2009 or 2010. In 2007, he earned $132,122. Population: 6,704 City employees: 175 Annual budget: $57 million Scottsdale Fritz Behring Fritz Behring earns an annual salary of $211,150. Former City Manager John Little was paid an annual salary of $219,409 when he left in November 2009. Population: 222,213 City employees: 2,413 Annual budget: $1.17 billion Surprise Bob Wingenroth Bob Wingenroth joined Surprise as CFO and assistant city manager in 2013. Wingenroth replaced former City Manager Chris Hillman, who resigned June 5 after accepting a position in Irving Texas. Wingenroth is paid a $185,000 annual salary. Population: 121,629 City employees: 780 Annual budget: $311 million
Mormon leader outlines opposition to gay marriage A real good reason NOT to mix religion and government. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/2014/04/06/mormon-leader-outlines-opposition-to-gay-marriage/7380957 Mormon leader outlines opposition to gay marriage Associated Press 8:07 a.m. MST April 6, 2014 SALT LAKE CITY — A top Mormon leader reiterated the church's opposition to gay marriage during the church's biannual general conference. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' stance on homosexuality has softened in recent years, but this marks the second consecutive conference in which leaders took time to emphasize the faith's insistence that marriage should be limited to unions between a man and a woman, as God created. "While many governments and well-meaning individuals have redefined marriage, the Lord has not," Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve said Saturday. "He designated the purpose of marriage to go far beyond the personal satisfaction and fulfillment of adults, to more importantly, advancing the ideal setting for children to be born, reared and nurtured." In the October 2013 church conference, Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum said human laws cannot "make moral what God has declared immoral." The church sent a letter to local leaders that includes that message, Andersen said Saturday. "As the world slips away from the Lord's law of chastity, we do not," he said. During the first day of the weekend conference, LDS leaders on Saturday also encouraged missionaries to stay strong amid the inevitable personal abuse they will encounter and parents to shelter their children from the damaging effects of pornography. A demonstration outside an all-male meeting by a Mormon women's group advocating for gender equality was uneventful, despite a contentious lead up to the event. The conference brings more than 100,000 Latter-day Saints to Salt Lake City to find out church news and soak up words of guidance and inspiration from the faith's top leaders. Thousands more will listen or watch from around the world in 95 languages on television, radio, satellite and Internet broadcasts. More than half of all 15 million Latter-day Saints live outside of the U.S., church figures show. The conference is widely followed and analyzed on social media, with many using the Twitter hash tag, "#LDSconf." Gay marriage has been an especially hot topic in Utah since December, when a federal judge overturned Utah's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. More than 1,000 gay and lesbian couples married until the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay on marriages pending a ruling from a federal appeals court in Denver. A hearing is set there for Thursday. Andersen encouraged church members not to buckle under the pressure of a growing movement on social media and elsewhere by advocates who want to make gay marriage legal. He offered the example of a woman who articulated her support for "traditional marriage" on Facebook and refused to take it down despite backlash. Andersen is a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve, which is the second-highest governing body of the church. Modeled after Jesus Christ's apostles, the 12 men serve under the church president and his two counselors. Andersen said church members who "struggle with same-sex attraction" should be of special concern. He said he admires people who confront this "trial of faith and stay true to the commandments of God." "But everyone, independent of their decisions and beliefs, deserves our kindness and consideration," Andersen said. The church teaches that while same-sex attraction itself isn't a sin, succumbing to it is. The church's message on homosexuality has evolved since it was one of the leading forces behind California's Proposition 8, a ban on gay marriage. A website launched last year encouraged more compassion toward gays, implored them to stay in the faith and clarified that church leaders no longer "necessarily advise" gays to marry people of the opposite sex in what used to be a widely practiced Mormon workaround for homosexuality. In May, church leaders backed the Boy Scouts' policy allowing gays in the ranks. Some gay Mormons who left or were forced out of the church say they are now being welcomed back — even though they remain in same-sex relationships. It may seem like negligible progress to outsiders, but Mormon scholars said 2013 was landmark year for the religion on gay and lesbian issues. Jeffrey Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve delivered a message Saturday directed at the faith's nearly 85,000 missionaries, more than any time in church history. He relayed the story of a young woman who was spit on and had food thrown at her during her mission by a man who didn't want to hear their message. He highlighted the fact that she resisted the urge to retaliate. "If you haven't already, you will one day find yourself called upon to defend your faith or even endure some personal abuse," Holland said. "Such moments will require both courage and courtesy on your part." The spike in missionaries was triggered by the lowering of the minimum age for missionaries in the fall of 2012. Men can begin serving at 18, instead of 19, and women at 19, instead of 21. That has led to new, younger missionaries joining older ones. Holland told missionaries that it's worth it to serve and remain faithful despite a world around them where many people are drawn to comfortable gods who demand little of them. "It is obvious that the bumper-sticker query, 'What would Jesus do,' will not always bring a popular response," Holland said. Church president Thomas Monson opened the morning session by talking about the progress of temple construction around the world. He said a new one in Gilbert, Ariz., became the 142nd temple and that there will be 170 when construction is completed on all the current projects. No new temples were announced. Linda Reeves, one of the three highest-ranking female leaders in the church, urged parents and leaders to help prevent children from falling into "Satan's trap of pornography." Reeves is the second counselor in the general presidency of the church's Relief Society, the organization for women. "They need to know the dangers of pornography and how it overtakes lives, causing loss of the spirit, distorted feelings, deceit, damaged relationships, loss of self-control, and nearly total consumption of time, thought and energy," Reeves said. "Pornography is more vile, evil and graphic than ever before." Outside the 21,000-seat conference center, a potentially acrimonious showdown between church officials and a Mormon's women group pushing the church to allow females in the priesthood was avoided. Despite earlier threats to bar the women from entering Temple Square to stand in line for an all-male priesthood session, church officials allowed hundreds of men and women in the square Saturday afternoon, only barring news media that wanted to follow them in. Women went one-by-one to the door of the Tabernacle and asked to be allowed in to the priesthood meeting, reprising a demonstration they did at the general conference last October. They were told no, as expected. The women said they still consider the event a success. Not only did they have double the number of participants, they showed church leaders they are serious about the issue. "We are not invisible," Kate Kelly, the group's founder, told the group before they marched to Temple Square. "We will be reverent, we will be respectful, but we will not be silenced." ___ Follow Brady McCombs at https://twitter.com/BradyMcCombs
Arizona GOP, Democratic Party spend week on ice-cream insults, records I suspect if a these liars and hypocrites running for Arizona elected officers where applying for a private job, the private company after seeing all the BS they are slinging would put off hiring and wait for a new round of applicants to apply for the job. Maybe we should do that in Arizona. On every ballot have a "none of the above", and if "none of the above" wins let the office go unfilled for the term of the office. http://www.azcentral.com/story/politicalinsider/2014/09/28/arizona-political-insider-sept28/16283461/ Arizona GOP, Democratic Party spend week on ice-cream insults, records Political Insider Mary Jo Pitzl and Alia Beard Rau, The Republic | azcentral.com 10:47 p.m. MST September 27, 2014 Signing off...The hopes of tea partiers to brand Rep. Bob Robson as a thief and vandal ended with a whimper, as the Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined to prosecute the Chandler Republican. There was much hubbub the week before the Aug. 26 primary election, when some Chandler residents persuaded the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office that Robson had tampered with campaign signs, a violation of state law. Deputies hit him with two misdemeanor charges. Chandler police had earlier declined to cite the lawmaker, saying they lacked sufficient evidence. Last week, Bill Montgomery's office said there was nothing to prosecute. That's because the signs Robson is alleged to have stolen were not campaign signs, but rather placards printed with an arrow and the words "Voted for Obamacare." The placards were placed in front of the campaign signs of state lawmakers, including Robson, who voted to expand the state's Medicaid program. Montgomery's spokesman, Jerry Cobb, said they didn't meet the definition of a campaign sign because they didn't advocate for a candidate or ballot issue. Sign-gate failed to oust Robson, who won one of two GOP nominations for the Arizona House and advances to the general election. You talkin' to me?....Just who is Frank Cuccia and why is the Republican Governors Association Arizona PAC spending more than a half-million dollars to unseat him? That's the mystery in north-central Arizona, where the little known Democrat is apparently in the crosshairs of the political-action committee. Really? Cuccia, a Prescott resident, said when asked if he had felt the full force of RGA's well-funded fury. He's not heard a peep. Besides, he said, with all due respect to his own campaign, it's a long shot effort for a Democrat to win in the heavily GOP Legislative District 1. Perhaps the $533,885 the PAC reported spending to buy television ads opposing Cuccia is a typo. Or perhaps it was intended for another northern Arizona Democrat. U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick comes to mind. The RGA has not returned calls seeking an explanation. That's all you've got? ... Apparently there were way too many bored politicos this week. The Arizona Democratic Party took to mocking Republican and former Cold Stone Creamery exec Doug Ducey using his favorite topic -- ice cream. They sent daily ice cream flavor names intended to mock Ducey's tenure with the company. There was Pistachio Ponzi Scheme, Corporate Welfare Crunch and Hush-money Hazelnut, among others. Meanwhile, the Arizona Republican Party issued a news release accusing Democrat Fred DuVal of donating to the campaigns of (gasp!) Democrats. Aren't there actual issues to talk about? May Insider suggest the parties spend more time helping their own candidates come up with some ideas to solve a looming state budget deficit that awaits the winner of the race. Shhh, you have a new senator ... With nary a public peep from Senate leadership, Alice Crandell was sworn in behind the closed doors of Senate President Andy Biggs' office last week to serve out the final few months of her husband's term. Sen. Chester Crandell, R-Heber, died in early August when he was bucked from a horse during a ride. It's little surprise that Crandell's widow would be appointed to temporarily fill his seat. She follows in the footsteps of Maria De La Luz Garcia, who in 2010 finished the term of Sen. Jorge Luis Garcia; and Polly Rosenbaum, who in 1949 was appointed toWilliam Rosenbaum's seat after his death - and went on to serve for more than 40 years. What is unusual is the lack of public notice. New senators are typically sworn in on the Senate floor during an event open to the public, and the public is notified that they now have a new representative. While her reluctance for attention is understandable given the circumstances, she is now a public official - with a taxpayer-funded salary.
We're hearing too much about tooth fairy and not real world How are you supposed to vote for the RIGHT guy when all the candidates who are running for office shovel the BS???? Last, maybe if the Republic would start interviewing the third party candidates they would give us some honest answers the Republicans and Democrats won't give us. And of course if the third party candidates got some publicity from the Arizona Republic that might make the Republicans and Democrats lie a little bit less. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/investigations/2014/10/05/tooth-fairy-talk-answers/16757097/ We're hearing too much about tooth fairy and not real world Michael Squires, The Republic | azcentral.com 10:08 p.m. MST October 4, 2014 The candidates for Arizona governor have talked a lot about the tooth fairy. An amazing amount for grown men, actually. The first mention came at a September debate, where Democrat Fred DuVal attacked Republican Doug Ducey's proposal to end the state's personal and corporate income taxes, calling it unrealistic, "tooth-fairy math." DuVal repeated it at a candidate forum last week. This time, Ducey was ready: "At least at my house the tooth fairy delivers a buck or two under my sons' pillows. At your house, they leave an IOU." DuVal shot back, "My 6-year-old lost his tooth last week, and I can assure you he got his money." So the kids are getting their cash, which is lovely and all. But what voters would like to find under their pillows is more information on what the candidates would do to solve problems that the winner will almost immediately face upon being sworn in. The Arizona Republic is trying to get the answers in a series of stories that has so far probed Ducey and DuVal's positions on education, the budget and, in today's front-page story by Ron Hansen, the economy. Social issues, higher education and others will soon follow. Despite our best efforts, I can't say we're getting many satisfying answers, just a lot of talking points. The issue that prompted the tooth-fairy talk is as good an example as any. Ducey says phasing out income taxes would make the state more competitive, attracting new businesses and residents. As Hansen reports today, Ducey hasn't revealed a "pace or schedule" for phasing out those taxes. No matter that the Joint Legislative Budget Committee projects income taxes will account for about $4.3 billion in fiscal 2015, roughly half of the state's $9.3 billion in general-fund revenue. "He doesn't want to negotiate in the media," Hansen reports. (As a member of the media, my fear is that negotiation takes place outside the view of voters.) The same goes for DuVal, who — keeping with the budget — wants to immediately pay for a court-ordered annual $317 million increase in education funding. The first payment would come out of savings: the state's rainy-day fund. But DuVal, like Ducey, has vowed not to raise taxes. So where does the money come after the first year? The details disappear. DuVal talks about seeing what can be done to privatize the lottery and about making some changes to the way state government buys things. Did I mention the state budget will be $282 million in the red on July 1? That is, unless the tooth fairy intervenes. To you, dear reader, I'll say we're trying as best we can to get answers from the candidates to these and other important questions. Truth be told, it's like pulling teeth. Michael Squires is The Republic's government and politics editor. E-mail him at michael.squires@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @mgsquires. ABOUT THE WRITER Michael Squires is The Republic's government and politics editor. How to reach him michael.squires@arizonarepublic.com Phone: 602-444-8517 Twitter: @mgsquires
Hmmm ... Democrat Felecia Rotellini criticized Republican Mark Brnovich are behaving like liars and hypocrites as they run for the Attorney General's office, but we will expect them to stop lying once they get into office. Yea, sure. How do you spell perjury. Oh, that's right, cops don't commit perjury, it's called testilying when cops do it. http://www.azcentral.com/story/politicalinsider/2014/10/05/arizona-political-insider-oct5/16672479/ Liar, hypocrite and more political name-calling 12 News political reporter Brahm Resnik takes you inside Arizona's political scene with a look at who has suddenly gone missing from Doug Ducey's website. Political Insider Mary Jo Pitzl, Alia Beard Rau and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, The Republic | azcentral.com 11:21 p.m. MST October 4, 2014 People who live in glass prisons ... During the attorney general candidate debate this past week, Democrat Felecia Rotellini criticized Republican Mark Brnovich for his time lobbying for the private prison industry as an employee of Corrections Corporation of America. Brnovich responded that at least HE hadn't taken any campaign money from anyone with connections to private prisons. "I haven't taken any money from private prisons, folks," he said. He mentioned Rotellini's contributions from former U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini and businesswoman and former regent Anne Mariucci, both of whom sat on the board of the Corrections Corporation of America. Campaign records show DeConcini donated $900 to the campaign, and Mariucci $500. But not so fast. A search of Brnovich's campaign records show his donors include Paul Senseman and Jaime Molera, both of whom have lobbied on behalf of Corrections Corporation of America. Senseman gave the campaign $250 two weeks ago, according to campaign records. Molera has given the campaign $1,162. In response to questions about the statement, Brnovich spokesman Matthew Benson tweeted that Brnovich "misspoke" and then went on to call Rotellini a "hypocrite." The Arizona Democratic Party was more blunt in its name calling, declaring Brnovich a "liar." Nevermind….The state Democratic Party cranked up the outrage machine last week, sending out a news release with an all-caps headline: BOMBSHELL: TREASURER DUCEY SENT NO EMAILS IN 2013. Surely something fishy, even duplicitous, must be afoot. Why, the Dems asked, would Doug Ducey cut off electronic communication in the year before he announced his gubernatorial run? Was he trying to get cover using a personal e-mail account? If so, "he should immediately release them to the public," D.J. Quinlan, the party's executive director, said in an e-mail. Except, it wasn't so. A day later, the Democrats issued a retraction. Turns out, the 2013 e-mails were stored in a "deleted" file that no one had bothered to look at until a reporter pointed the Democrats to the proper place. Oops! For the record, the party said there were about 260 emails in 2013. And pretty dry material, from the looks of it: updates from the National Association of State Treasurers, trade reports from Bloomberg and other investment newsletters. Quote of the week: "I want to say thank you to Charles and David as well. I have been coming to this conference for years. It's been very inspirational." — Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Ducey speaking in June before wealthy donors at a summit hosted by the billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David. Compiled by Republic reporters Mary Jo Pitzl, Alia Beard Rau and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez. Get the latest at politics.azcentral.com.
Some times I wonder why politicians don't make themselves take drug tests. The last 60 miles of I-19 between Tucson and Mexico the mileage markers and mileage signs are in kilometers rather then miles like they are in the rest of Arizona highways. Of course the speed limit signs are in miles per hours not kilometers per hour. The last time I drove to Nogales, Mexico from Tucson I was real confused when I saw the sign that said the distance to Nogales from Tucson was 100. [That was before they added the KM to the signs. In this article the sign that is shown has KM on it.] I forgot it was 100 kilometers, not 100 miles. The morons at ADOT didn't bother to clarify that the distances are in kilos and the speed limit is in miles. Look, I don't care if the signs are in kilometers or miles, but they should be consistent and either use miles or kilos, not miles for the speed limit and kilos for the distance. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2014/10/04/arizona-highway-signs-in-metric-units-may-change/16724615/ Arizona highway signs in metric units may change Associated Press 3 p.m. MST October 4, 2014 TUCSON — North of the U.S.-Mexico border, a relatively barren stretch of an Arizona highway is lined with road signs that tell drivers how many kilometers they are from their destination — not how many miles. The markers from Nogales to Tucson are a relic of a failed Carter administration pilot program that aimed to convince Americans to adopt the system of measure in use across much of the rest of the world. The roughly 60-mile stretch (or about 100 kilometers) is the only continuous highway in the U.S. with metric signs, and it's the subject of a long-simmering spat over whether they should be changed back to the standard system. "When I'm driving, I definitely can't do that math," said Nick Rodriguez, a 24-year-old who lives in Rio Rico. Some who agree with Rodriguez took a shot at changing the signs four years ago when the state, which oversees them, received $1.5 million in federal stimulus funding. The Arizona Department of Transportation at the time said the signs were outdated and needed to be replaced with ones that are brighter and easier to read. "You get wear and tear on them. Obviously, they're out in the heat in Arizona. Eventually we're going to have to replace those signs," spokesman Dustin Krugel said. They also said the new signs would be in miles. The plan sparked vocal opposition that helped stall the replacement project. Area business owners said new signs in miles would change the exit numbers they advertise. The highway is measured in kilometers, so road markers and exit numbers would change, they said. "It had a lot of opposition because people felt it was something that relates to tourism," Jim DiGiacomo, president of the Green Valley-Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce, said. "The hotels and businesses would have to change all of their info." Mexico also uses the metric system and many in the area consider the signs a hospitality measure for Mexican tourists who visit Tucson and Phoenix. The Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said in August that Mexican nationals spend about $1 billion each year in shopping and tourism in Pima County. The need to change approximately 400 signs still stands, but the state doesn't have the funds to replace them, Krugel said. Next time around, however, the department plans on seeking public comment before deciding whether the new signs will still be in kilometers or miles. "Ultimately we got a lot of feedback from the public that they didn't want the signs replaced. When we re-examine this issue in the future we're gonna get community feedback to find out what the people want through that corridor," Krugel said. There likely will be a significant group that urges keeping things around I-19 just as they are. "Personally, I think it's neat that my guests ask me why (the signs) are in metric," said Jim Green, owner of The Inn at San Ignacio in Green Valley. "All of the tourists we're talking to, there's never been an instance where they were bothered because they weren't in miles." Angel Fernandez, in his eclectic furniture and lighting fixture store, La Cucaracha de Tubac, agreed, using an old Spanish expression: "Si no apesta, no la muevas" or "If it doesn't stink, don't move it."
Arizona Humane Society kills 13 dogs because owner treated them badly???? So if you don't treat you dogs nice the government is going to kill your dogs to punish you for treating them badly??? Sometimes I just don't understand why government works the way it does. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/chandler/2014/10/04/chandler-man-arrested-on-animal-cruelty-charges/16743431/ 13 dogs euthanized in Chandler animal cruelty case Weldon B. Johnson, The Republic | azcentral.com 6:58 p.m. MST October 4, 2014 A Chandler man was arrested on October 2 on charges of animal cruelty and neglect. He said the dogs taken from his residence were not his. Thirteen of the 17 dogs involved were euthanized. A Chandler man arrested Thursday on 13 counts of animal cruelty and neglect told police he did not own the dogs, according to a police report that also says most of the animals found had to be euthanized. The arrest stemmed from a call to Chandler police on August 27 claiming dogs at a home near Arizona Avenue and Chandler Boulevard were being neglected. Officers responded to the call and made contact with Rosario Angel Alvarado, 41, at the home. According to the police report, Alvarado said he lived there but his mother owned the home and he was just taking care of the dogs. In his statement, he said the dogs were vicious and that he could not get near them. He was not sure how many were on the property. He said he just threw food over the fence to feed the dogs. Though the house belonged to his mother he said she had not lived there for the past five years. Alvarado told officers he did not know who owned the dogs but he had spoken to his mother about them. He said he had not contacted authorities because his mother told him he would have to pay a fee to surrender the dogs and he could not afford it. Alvarado voluntarily surrendered the dogs to the Arizona Humane Society. The 13 pit-bull mix adult dogs and four puppies were observed to have been covered with dirt, feces and urine. Some of the dogs were bleeding and had severe wounds. On Thursday, the Arizona Humane Society sent a report to Chandler police on the condition of the dogs. The dogs were described as fearful and difficult to handle and some suffered from sarcoptic mange, a serious condition that is contagious to humans and other dogs. All of the dogs had hair loss as a result of conditions including skin mites, malnutrition and filthy living conditions, according to the report. Due to the contagious nature of their ailments, the 13 adult dogs were euthanized. The four puppies were treated and put up for adoption.
DuVal, Ducey differ on how to revive Arizona economy "Both plans are notably vague on details, and analysts outside their campaigns say both plans are firmly rooted in unrealistic assumptions." Translation - They are both shoveling the BS and will say anything to get elected!!! That line was probably the most important in the article and if you want to avoid the BS and hot air you can stop reading here. One good question is why is the Arizona Republic excluding third party candidates from these articles??? I am sure if they asked these questions to the third party candidates, they would give detailed answers, putting some pressure on the Democrat and Republic running for Arizona governor to give better answers and less BS. http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/2014/10/05/arizona-economy-plans-competing/16759387/ DuVal, Ducey differ on how to revive Arizona economy Ronald J. Hansen, The Republic | azcentral.com 2:07 a.m. MST October 5, 2014 One piece of common ground for gubernatorial candidates Doug Ducey and Fred DuVal is their current view of Arizona's economy: It isn't working. But as they do on most other issues, the two opponents disagree on what to do about it. Ducey, the Republican nominee, believes the state is on the verge of a rapid bounceback, a trend that would accelerate as he implements a plan to slowly phase out Arizona's income tax. DuVal, the Democratic nominee, believes Arizona's economy would revive, in time, after he boosts spending on the state's underfunded public-education system. Both plans are notably vague on details, and analysts outside their campaigns say both plans are firmly rooted in unrealistic assumptions. Issues such as border security and children's safety have intermittently dominated the state's political landscape this year. But there is perhaps no issue that touches voters more directly than Arizona's anemic economy. Only two states have regained a smaller share of the jobs lost in the Great Recession than Arizona. The state's recovery in consumer spending ranks 49th in the country. Most of the jobs that the state's economists expect to be created in the next two years require no more than a high-school diploma. The state has had below-average incomes for decades, and there is a slow-motion depression still eroding construction and defense manufacturing, two traditional pillars of Arizona's economy. Ted Ferris, an economist who was former Republican Gov. Jane Hull's budget director, said Arizona is cut off from its usual economic lifelines. "It's a vicious cycle of things that aren't happening. Construction is staying flat. In-migration is staying low. Job growth is staying low. "We've got a tax structure that's been substantially modified over the last two decades in a way that would be attractive to businesses, but we're not seeing" improvement, he said. Both candidates are far apart on what to do next, Ferris said. "Doug is talking about right-sizing government and further changes to the tax code and going out and being more of a salesman for Arizona," Ferris said. "Fred will say it's investing in education and a talent-based economy and supporting higher education." Some states, including Arizona, have enacted sweeping tax cuts since the recession, with little evident near-term benefit. Still, Ducey remains committed to a tax-cutting plan that could empty $4 billion from the state's coffers. He has declined to spell out the timetable for the phased-in cuts, except to say that it could take two terms. Arizona's education spending is already set to increase because of a court ruling that found lawmakers had unconstitutionally shorted schools $1.6 billion. DuVal would dispense with further legal battles over increased spending on schools, a move that would immediately cost an extra $317 million per year but avoid potentially higher spending that could approach $3 billion. That may leave taxpayers — and the Legislature he would likely work with as governor — unable or unwilling to do more. The other elements to each candidate's vision for the state economy are expected to have less impact than their centerpiece ideas. The Ducey plan Ducey, the state treasurer who helped grow ice-cream franchiser Cold Stone Creamery before selling the company, links the state's weak job climate to overly high and complex taxes. He proposes to cut income taxes to "as close to zero as possible" within eight years, something widely interpreted as eliminating the tax altogether. "When you talk about people trying to climb the economic ladder ... the best thing for them is a help-wanted sign," Ducey said. "I think the most regressive tax you can have on anyone is a stagnant economy." He hasn't identified the pace or schedule for reductions taxpayers could expect under his plan, and few specifics about his economic plans are available beyond the six paragraphs he gives to them on his website. Ducey declined last week to offer more details, saying his tax cuts are an aspirational goal and he doesn't want to negotiate with himself in the media. In addition to cutting taxes, Ducey promotes changes that would put more in-state businesses, such as local banks, in the running for government contracts that could help them grow. He also favors cutting unspecified business regulations and more aggressively recruiting out-of-state businesses to Arizona. While eliminating the income tax may be politically popular, the public may not see it as an economic panacea. In 2013, 65 percent of all Arizona tax filers reported less than $50,000 in federal adjusted gross income, which helps determine their state tax bill. Their Arizona individual income tax bill averaged $257 that year, according to preliminary figures from the state's Department of Revenue. Eliminating the income tax would have saved them $5 per week. Those making $100,000 or more, about 13 percent of filers in 2013, would have saved $94 a week or more. Corporate income tax applies only to companies that had profits after deductions and credits. Most years, two-thirds of Arizona corporations pay no more than the $50 annual minimum, records show. But many wealthier taxpayers would find that eliminating the state income tax means they no longer could deduct those taxes from their federal tax returns. That means a portion of any state tax savings likely would be shipped to Washington instead. Any downsizing of state government is likely to push more Arizonans into the ranks of the unemployed, which also carries a cost. And it could put pressure on counties and municipalities around the state to raise their taxes in an effort to offset possible greater demand for their services. George Cunningham, the budget director under former Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano, said states that have successfully eliminated broad taxes, such as Texas, Montana and Nevada, have other key sources of revenue. Texas has oil, he said; Montana has mining; Nevada has gambling. "Arizona doesn't have that kind of resource," said Cunningham, who heads the Grand Canyon Institute, a think tank. "Unless (Ducey's) going to raise the sales tax to 10 percent, he can't make up the revenue," he said. If a dramatic shift in tax policy is expected to create a torrent of jobs, it hasn't happened in Kansas. In 2013, that state implemented a series of steep income and business tax cuts intended to revive its economy. At the time, Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, likened the tax cuts to "a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy." Instead, job growth remained sluggish and tax revenue plummeted 22 percent through April, leaving the state with a $300 million deficit at the end of its fiscal year. Credit-rating agencies have downgraded the state twice. Since December 2012, the last month before the tax cuts began, Kansas has seen 1.8 percent job growth. Arizona had 3.2 percent growth; the U.S. as a whole recorded 3 percent. Ducey called the results "a snapshot of one year." "If you look at the nine states with a preferrable tax code, they've gone in a better direction," he said, referring to those states without income taxes. The DuVal plan While Ducey offers few specifics in his brief plan, DuVal spends 10 pages outlining his thoughts on luring high-wage work to Arizona. Like Ducey, DuVal doesn't estimate the cost to implement his plan and is vague about how he would pay for it. DuVal supports expanding several tax credits and educational programs. These moves would have the effect of adding to the state's budget, but he rules out tax hikes. "I would not raise taxes," he said. "I think it's important to be predictable and stable." One other challenge for DuVal is the reality that he would likely have to work with a Legislature controlled by GOP lawmakers who don't share his priorities. His signature plan for the economy is the $317 million commitment to increased spending on K-12 education. It likely would add some jobs in public education, but at a cost that could make taxpayers and lawmakers skittish about other initiatives. DuVal also wants to restore all-day kindergarten, a move that the Arizona Department of Education estimates would cost $225 million. Some districts could choose to make that happen using extra cash from the $317 million plan. He acknowledges the emphasis on schools would not reshape Arizona's economy overnight, but it would set it on a better path moving forward and immediately would help make the state more marketable. "It will take years for us to build and fund the new model," DuVal said. "Waving a magic wand and saying things are turning around is not realistic." Dennis Hoffman, director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, said an investment in education would not immediately pay off in job growth. "It will take time to play out, but if you started sending signals that you're investing in education, that message would get out," he said, adding that other states competing for new business "beat us over the head" with Arizona's low per-pupil spending. DuVal proposes a "bridge to work" program intended to connect the unemployed to job training in the fields that employers currently seek to fill. But there is little indication of a structural imbalance where Arizona employers face large-scale shortages of qualified workers for jobs open now. Slack in the labor markets has tightened significantly in recent years, but there still are more than two job seekers for every job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That suggests job training may be helpful for some but unlikely to alter the state's overall job climate. DuVal supports a series of improvements for businesses dealing with the state, from contracting preferences for in-state companies to faster permitting and a tax break for new equipment purchases and new hires. These changes, he said, would make the state more attractive to businesses. Even so, Arizona is already regarded as a business-friendly state, though it hasn't meant stellar job growth in recent years. DuVal wants state facilities to make greater use of solar panels and wind turbines, and make more of the vehicles operate on natural gas, something that would help the state's energy industry. These arrangements, especially under lease agreements, would also cut long-term energy costs. But many of those changes already have happened. DuVal would also like to reinvigorate the state's financial support for Science Foundation Arizona, a non-profit organization intended to help grow and diversify Arizona's workforce. The organization claims to generate $4 in benefits to the state for every dollar it receives. But the foundation, begun during the Napolitano administration, has endured sharp funding cuts in recent years. Conservatives at the Legislature have said the organization essentially doles out corporate welfare, suggesting that DuVal's plan, as on other fronts, would face a frosty reception at the Capitol. Republic reporters Ken Alltucker, Ryan Randazzo and Alia Beard Rau contributed to this article. Competing visions for Arizona's economy Here are some features of Doug Ducey's and Fred DuVal's plans to improve Arizona's economy. ON THE BEAT Ronald J. Hansen covers the Arizona economy. He is focused on the state's job-creation efforts and how Arizona's recovery compares with other states'. He has written about state tax issues for several years. How to reach him ronald.hansen@arizonarepublic.com Phone: 602-444-4493 Twitter: @ronaldjhansen
Border Patrol operation targets cartel look-outs So now sitting out in the desert just watching stuff is a Federal crime??? So what's next, will Uncle Sam's goons start using drone missile strikes to take anybody that is just sitting out in the desert watching stuff??? If you ask me it's time to legalize ALL drugs and have these cops hunt down REAL criminals, not folks that commit victimless drug war crimes. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2014/10/03/border-patrol-operation-targets-cartel-look-outs/16685641/ Border Patrol operation targets cartel look-outs Associated Press 7:18 p.m. MST October 3, 2014 TUCSON, Ariz. — The U.S. Border Patrol is targeting Mexican cartel scouts who get paid to live in the desert for days and help smugglers stay clear of law enforcement with the use of sophisticated technology. A seven-month operation has so far netted 24 suspected "scouts," or look-outs, who live in the Sonoran Desert, with its blistering daytime temperatures and cold nights, for days, sometimes weeks. The scouts use solar panels, encrypted radios and cellphones to warn smugglers when police or agents get close. They live in canyons and other remote areas, keeping a large supply of food, water and weapons on-hand. Many of look-outs are young men in their 20s and 30s, and most of their supplies come from the United States. "The reality is what these scouts are doing — being up on the mountaintops, watching us and watching law enforcement activity — is that their job is vitally important to the cartels," Border Patrol spokesman Pete Bidegain said. "So by targeting these guys and their operations we can make a significant impact on cartel activity in southern Arizona." Agents in most cases must use a Blackhawk helicopter to get to the scouts because they are in treacherous areas and because they are trained to evade authorities quickly. The agents descend from the helicopter using a fast rope. The operation is similar to one earlier this year by the Pinal County Sheriff's Department that also targeted scouts. That operation began in February after sheriff's deputies pulled over a 22-year-old man in Eloy, between Phoenix and Tucson. The man was driving a van carrying 600 pounds of food and other supplies. He told deputies he was being paid $4,000 to pick up the van in a Phoenix suburb and drop it off in the desert. [So what's next??? A law making it a felony to have more then 2 pounds of food per person if your on I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson???] A month later, deputies and border agents arrested seven suspected scouts at a lookout post near Stanfield, about 33 miles west of Eloy off Interstate 8. Although some suspects ran and hid in a cave and behind rocks, all were apprehended.
The Tempe solution to the homeless problem???The Tempe solution to the homeless problem??? Have the police beat the sh*t out of them so they leave town???
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Don't worry, as always the cop who beat this guy up will be found to have done nothing wrong. The Tempe Police will tell us the guy had an AK-47 in his back pocket and had to be beat up to protect the public. Or some other story that is just as unbelievable. Tempe officer under investigation after violent arrest caught on tape Posted: Friday, October 3, 2014 10:16 am Nohelani Graf, ABC15.com A Tempe police officer is under internal investigation after a violent arrest was caught on camera. The incident unfolded in front of the Real Estate Brokers on Mill Avenue. Owner Joseph Lewis has security cameras that captured the incident that show an officer confront a man who had been sitting on the ground. The video shows the officer reach to handcuff the man, who then appears to resist, pushing and kicking at the officer. The officer then punches the suspect in the head four times until the man is seen still on the ground. "I think it's very hard to watch, it's hard to see one human being hitting another human being," Lewis said while remembering his reaction when he first watched the video. Lewis says another officer later explained the circumstances allegedly leading up to the arrest. "The individual is a known problem in the area, he had an open container of liquor and was very intoxicated and verbally abusive to the officer." Lewis has posted the video on the community website TempeThoughts.com . He says it’s not his place to judge right or wrong, but that he simply wants to start a community conversation about police transparency. "Anytime you have debate on an issue as important as this, it's a good thing." Tempe police say they started an administrative review as soon as they learned about the incident Wednesday and Internal Affairs is now handling the investigation. Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3P-nifyEfjE
Prosecutors: Close Loop terror trial as disguised FBI agent testifiesProsecutors: Close Loop terror trial as disguised FBI agent testifies Hmmm ... so we are going to have a secret witness, an FBI agent who helped plot the crime testify in disguise to help the govenrment railroad, oops I mean convict the alleged criminal. Why does it sound like this guy is getting railroaded by the FBI???? To be honest EVERY article I have posted about FBI agents busting up a terrorist bomb plot, the FBI created the bomb plot, then recruited some Arab, Muslims to carry out the bomb plot, and then arrested the Arab, Muslims as they tried to carry out the bomb plot created by the FBI. Gee, something sounds wrong with that!!!! Prosecutors: Close Loop terror trial as disguised FBI agent testifies By Jason Meisner, Tribune reporter contact the reporter Federal prosecutors want an undercover FBI agent to testify in disguise and in a courtroom cleared of the public and news media at the upcoming trial of a suburban man charged with attempting to detonate a car bomb outside a Loop bar. In the court filing Friday, prosecutors cite national security and potential danger to the agent and his family for the unusual — but not unprecedented — proposed safeguards at next month's scheduled trial of Adel Daoud. They also raised concerns of jeopardizing other undercover investigations involving the same agent. Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman to allow the agent to testify under a pseudonym and possibly in "light disguise, such as changing his facial hair, hairstyle or dress style." Only essential courtroom personnel, lawyers for both sides, the defendant and the jury should be allowed to remain in Coleman's courtroom while the agent is on the stand, prosecutors said. Prosecutors would arrange for a real-time closed-circuit broadcast of his testimony to be shown in an auxiliary room but "without the visual image of the undercover employee," the filing said. Prosecutors also asked for permission to digitally obscure the agent's face in undercover videos and to allow the agent to enter and exit the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse and Coleman's courtroom by private entrance. Daoud, now 20, is also charged with soliciting the murder of the undercover agent after he was arrested and jailed in a federal jail in the Loop. Daoud's lawyer, Thomas Anthony Durkin, blasted the government's request and vowed a vigorous challenge. "The government should not be permitted to use a crime it created to declare a state of emergency and stand the right to a public trial on its head," Durkin said by telephone. While open courtrooms have long been a bedrock of the U.S. justice system, judges at Chicago's federal courthouse have on occasion taken measures to protect the identity of witnesses in sensitive cases involving terrorism, international conspiracy and the mob. In asking to keep the FBI agent's identity hidden, prosecutors cited the 2006 federal trial in Chicago of Muhammad Salah and Abdelhaleem Ashqar on charges of providing material support to the terrorist group Hamas. In that case, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve allowed Israeli intelligence agents to testify under similar circumstances to what prosecutors are seeking in Daoud's case, including closing the courtroom to the public and allowing the witnesses to wear light disguises. More recently, a federal judge in Portland, Ore., agreed to nearly identical security measures in the 2013 trial of Mohamed Osman Mohamud, who was accused of plotting to detonate a car bomb at a crowded holiday tree-lighting ceremony. That case also involved an undercover FBI agent who posed as a terrorist and helped Mohamud in the planning of the attack. The agent testified in disguise and away from public view. Mohamud was convicted and sentenced last week to 30 years in prison. In the 2009 trial of John Ambrose, a deputy U.S. marshal in Chicago accused of leaking information to the mob about hit man Nicholas Calabrese's secret cooperation with authorities, U.S. District Judge John Grady had an 8-foot-tall gray partition installed across the width of his courtroom. The wall blocked spectators' view of testimony from three members of the government's secretive Witness Protection Program. Five years earlier, at the height of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, a onetime high-ranking Iraqi intelligence officer testified in the Chicago trial of a suburban publisher of a small Arabic-language newspaper accused of spying on opponents of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The officer was allowed to take the witness stand amid extraordinary safeguards, including testifying under the pseudonym "Mr. Sargon" and a court order barring reporters from describing his physical appearance and sketch artists from drawing his likeness. In the Daoud case, Michael Steinbach, assistant director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, wrote in a sworn statement that public disclosure of the undercover agent's true identity or physical image "would jeopardize other undercover investigations and pose a risk of danger to the undercover employee and his family." Daoud, of Hillside, came under FBI scrutiny in 2011 after posting messages online about killing Americans. FBI analysts posing as terrorists exchanged messages with Daoud and eventually got him to meet with the undercover agent, who was described as a "cousin" interested in waging jihad, according to the charges. Over the next several months, Daoud and the undercover agent met several times in the Chicago area to discuss potential targets for an attack, the charges alleged. In one meeting in Villa Park in August 2012, Daoud allegedly told the agent he wanted to maximize the carnage so he would feel like he "accomplished something." "If it's only like five, 10 people, I'm not gonna feel that good," the charges quoted Daoud as saying. "I wanted something that's ... massive. I want something that's gonna make it in the news like tonight." Daoud, then 18, was arrested in September 2012 as he stood in a Loop alley, moments after punching the trigger of the fake bomb, authorities said. He was also charged last year with soliciting the agent's murder while being held without bail in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in order to keep the agent from testifying against him. Durkin has said the murder solicitation allegations were based on an unreliable "jailhouse snitch." Daoud's trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 10. jmeisner@tribune.com Twitter @jmetr22b
I think we should RE-LEGALIZE all drugs. In this editorial Froma Harrop agrees with me. Sure abusing drugs destroys some people's lives, but putting people in prison for abusing drugs destroys their lives even more. Drugs should be a medical problem, not a criminal problem. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/oct/04/froma-harrop-quit-the-war-on-drugs-and-make-them/ October 4, 2014 in Opinion Froma Harrop: Quit the war on drugs and make them legal Thirty years ago, a college kid in Kentucky was caught growing marijuana plants in his closet. That turned him into a convicted felon, and though he’s been on the right side of the law ever since, he still can’t vote. On any job application, he must check the box next to “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” All this misery for growing a plant whose leaves the past three presidents admit having smoked. We know this story because Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky keeps telling it. That a Southern Republican probably running for president is condemning such prosecutions as unfair speaks volumes on the collapsing support for the war on marijuana – part of the larger war on drugs. Two states, Colorado and Washington, already have legalized recreational pot. And the Colorado Supreme Court has been considering a question no one would have dreamed of asking two decades ago: whether an employer may fire a worker for smoking pot. So what do we do about the rest of the war – the war on heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and the other nastier stuff? The answer is legalize them, too. “What is the benefit, what have we derived from this drug war that even begins to offset the horrors we inflict on ourselves via this policy?” asks Dean Becker, a legalization advocate. He is editor of “To End the War on Drugs,” a collection of politically diverse views published by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Over the past 40 years, the war has put more than 45 million Americans under arrest and cost taxpayers $1 trillion. And what do we have to show for it? Drugs on the street are cheaper, more powerful and more abundant than ever. The war has fueled gang wars in our cities and enriched the criminal foreign cartels. It has created a vile class system, turning millions of poor and working-class Americans into felons while largely turning a blind eye toward users of the same drugs in suburban cul-de-sacs. And again, it’s all been for naught. This summer, counties circling Houston, where Becker lives, have seen eight busts of major marijuana growing operations. Law enforcement just stumbled across them. “There are some indications they were run by Mexicans sent by the cartels,” Becker, formerly a member of the U.S. Air Force security police, told me. And what does the arrest of a drug trafficker do? It creates more business for the other drug traffickers. As the conservative economist Milton Friedman once put it, “If you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel.” Wouldn’t legalizing all drugs set off a new explosion of drug use? Good question. Undoubtedly, some would try drugs for the first time. But regulating the sale could limit the problems. Portugal decriminalized drugs in 2000 and saw little rise in use. Becker is not a big fan of small steps in easing the drug laws, though he thinks that’s better than nothing. He wants full legalization. Just decriminalizing drugs – that is, not arresting people possessing them but keeping their sale illegal – does not take criminals out of the business. And it stands in the way of regulating the drug-making now done by untrained chemists in primitive labs. Furthermore, illegal businesses don’t get taxed. Prohibition of the 1920s was “decrim.” Alcoholic beverages couldn’t be sold legally, but one could drink them at home. A lot of good that did. Make drugs legal; regulate them; and tax them. The final destination for the war on drugs should be oblivion, the sooner the better. Froma Harrop is a columnist for Creators
Please don't confuse Mikel Weisser with U.S. Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema. Mikel Weisser doesn't mind doing a dab now and then. Vote for him. Kyrsten Sinema tried to flush Prop 203 down the toilet by slapping a 300% tax on medical marijuana. It's time to throw Kyrsten Sinema out of office. Prop 203 is Arizona's Medical Marijuana Act. http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2014/09/dabber_in_the_house_yes_if_azs_cd4_voters_elect_democrat_mikel_weisser.php Dabber in the House? Yes, if AZ's CD4 Voters Elect Democrat Mikel Weisser By Ray Stern Thu., Sep. 25 2014 at 12:53 PM Mikel Weisser, Democratic candidate for Arizona's Congressional District 4. The first member of the U.S. House of Representatives who publicly admits to "dabbing" could be Arizona Democrat Mikel Weisser. The odds may be slim of this occurring since Weisser's facing off against incumbent Republican Paul Gosar in expansive and conservative Congressional District 4, which includes Kingman, Prescott and part of Maricopa County. He's a former plumber and middle-school teacher, an ultra-leftie, and the current leader of Safer Arizona, a group that tried unsuccessfully to get a cannabis-legalization measure on the ballot this year. Weisser brings a plethora of personal experience to the national debate over loosened marijuana laws -- in fact, when we last met him, he brought it in an Altoid tin. The 55-year-old candidate shares his interest in marijuana freely, just as Gosar, his competitor isn't shy about praising beer. Weisser had told New Times a few months ago that he'd tried "dabbing" -- that is, smoking resinous, potent hash oil by touching it to glass super-heated with a blowtorch. With the rise of dabbing as a trend in marijuana use, Weisser had been curious to learn, literally, what the buzz was all about. When we saw him on Friday, during a break in a conference in downtown Phoenix he was attending, Weisser mentioned that since the last time he'd chatted with us, he'd tried dabbing "a couple more times to be sure of my opinion." "It's not a big deal," he goes on. "It hits harder than flowers. It's a more intense experience. The THC level doesn't confuse me, but I get some anxiety." Weisser says he prefers to smoke "flowers," meaning marijuana buds. To show us what he means, he pulls out an Altoid tin in his front pocket and flicks it open. Inside is a small pipe and a plastic sandwich bag containing what appeared to be marijuana. He was also happy to show us his Arizona medical-marijuana card, which grants him the freedom under state law to possess and use marijuana. But Weisser, who was attending the Arizona Leadership Forum at the Phoenix Convention Center, didn't seem impaired or on anything stronger than a cup of coffee. He says he doesn't "have the leisure time" to sit around smoking pot all day long, and on a typical day he's out from 8 a.m. to midnight meeting people and groups in District 4. We can vouch for the fact that, in Weisser's frequent calls to New Times, he always seems to be on the road. Besides, the image of the lazy stoner is just another canard put forth by prohibitionists, he says. Weisser lives in So-Hi, Arizona -- naturally, you might say. It's a tiny community near Kingman, in the northwest part of the state. He and his wife, Beth, live on a two-acre ranch property "with chickens." They moved to Arizona in 2000 from Illinois and became active in local politics. Weisser ran unsuccessfully in 2012 for the CD4 spot, losing to Democrat Johnnie Robinson in the primary election. Beth is running as a Democrat this year for the state legislature's District 5. The demographics skew heavily Republican in the district, so Weisser probably doesn't have a chance. He's no moderate Democrat, either, describing his opponent as a "Tea Party Nazi." If he's elected, he'd push for an end to the federal prohibition on marijuana, while trying to streamline the banking system of the current marijuana industry in the short term. Don't mistake him for a one-issue candidate. As a former teacher, he insists his main issue is education. "I want to have limits on class size, and I want to get Howard Zinn back in the classroom," he says, referring to the controversial author of left-leaning history books. (Weisser was wearing a Howard Zinn button on his lapel when we chatted with him last week.) He's "not a champion of Common Core" or tuition vouchers. On immigration, he's for open borders. "We can't be telling people to go away," he says. "The whole world is teeming with refugees right now, and America's xenophobic approach is to say, 'build the damn fence.'" Arizona students aren't getting enough exposure to left-wing historian Howard Zinn (above), Weisser says. If only the government stopped corporations from keeping trillions of dollars in profit parked in offshore accounts where they can't be taxed, the United States would have the resources to pay for services needed by new immigrants in the short term. Over time, "population increases lead to increases in consumption, which leads to increases in the economy," he says. Campaign finance data show Weisser's received several thousand dollars from the Democratic Party, for a total of about $21,000 in contributions as of August. He's also loaned his campaign about $10,000. Having left his teaching job in May, he and his wife, a realtor, are "about as broke as people can be" and are on public assistance. As Weisser raises money for his campaign, he's paying his campaign loan back to himself, making just enough to keep moving down the highway to the next whistle stop. Despite the long odds, Weisser insists his candidacy still has value by "getting people excited" about various issues, like legalized cannabis, and by bringing in Democrats to the polls who will cast votes for gubernatorial candidate Fred DuVal and state Attorney General candidate Felecia Rotellini. If he somehow ousts Gosar, who's getting help for his campaign from the National Beer Wholesalers Association, it'll be one more sign that toleration of cannabis has moved to the mainstream. Got a tip? Send it to: Ray Stern. Follow Valley Fever on Twitter at @ValleyFeverPHX. Follow Ray Stern on Twitter at @RayStern.
Paul Babeu Uses Civil-Rights Lawsuit Against Deputies as a Fundraising Tool Some news about Sheriff Joe's nutty clone, forgot my pants and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2014/10/paul_babeu_uses_civil-rights_lawsuit_against_deputies_as_a_fundraising_tool.php Paul Babeu Uses Civil-Rights Lawsuit Against Deputies as a Fundraising Tool By Matthew Hendley Fri., Oct. 3 2014 at 12:57 PM Two Pinal County Sheriff's deputies were recently sued over the arrest and detention of an immigrant woman, and Sheriff Paul Babeu is using the lawsuit in a bid to raise money for his re-election. "Get this! I'm being sued by the ACLU in federal court for enforcing the law," an e-mail from Babeu's re-election committee states. "[A]ll while 70% of illegals are NOT showing up to court for their hearings -- as we predicted." Two paragraphs later, there's a plea for the recipient to "chip in" $50, $100, or $250, even though he's not even up for re-election for another two years. The lawsuit the e-mail references, filed last week by the American Civil Liberties Union, alleges that two of Babeu's deputies unconstitutionally arrested and detained an immigrant woman who lives in Eloy. According to the lawsuit, the deputies arrested Maria Cortes for civil traffic violations, then transported her to federal immigration authorities, who detained her for five days. The ACLU alleges Cortes' Fourth Amendment rights were violated since there was no criminal activity leading to the arrest. This is the first lawsuit over an arrest believed to have been caused by SB 1070. The embattled sheriff and/or his campaign team apparently see this as an opportunity to raise some money. See the entire fundraising e-mail below: [See the orginal article for the photo of the email] The fundraising e-mail seems to be the product of Dallas-based Beast Digital, which does work for Republican politicians, as well as businesses and non-political organizations. Babeu campaign consultant Mike Noble told New Times that the company does fundraising e-mails for Babeu, but declined to answer more questions. Beast CEO Ryan Cassin tells us, "We're proud to count Sheriff Babeu as a client, but don't discuss details of the work we do for our clients." Sean McCaffrey, the former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, goes under the title of executive vice president of business development at Beast Digital. For what it's worth, McCaffrey says he has nothing to do with Babeu's fundraising e-mails. All of that said, this isn't the first Babeu fundraising e-mail that's a little bizarre. "Barack Obama, Eric Holder and Democrats in Washington have been using me for target practice lately," says one e-mail. "They should be securing the border, protecting American jobs and stopping the drug cartels, but instead they're attacking me for trying to enforce the law." What's he talking about? We couldn't tell you. "A donation of $250, $100, $50, or more can help us share the facts with concerned citizens who want to know what's really happening -- without the liberal spin and rhetoric," says another e-mail. "The President and his allies in Congress would have you believe that ISIS, and our nation's enemies across the world have no interest in entering our country. They're lying to us, and to themselves." Another one includes a photo of President Obama, and says, "Expose his lies!" The stuff apparently works -- Babeu's latest campaign-finance report shows he landed more than $22,000 in individual contributions from June to mid-August.
More on the movie about the worlds worst sheriff - our Sheriff Joe http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2014/10/joe_arpaio_lies_about_raising_cash_off_birther_insanity_as_proven_by_the_jo.php Joe Arpaio Lies About Raising Cash off Birther Insanity, as Proven by The Joe Show (Video) By Stephen Lemons Fri., Oct. 3 2014 at 1:42 PM Does Sheriff Joe Arpaio want people to see Phoenix filmmaker Randy Murray's critically-acclaimed film The Joe Show, which begins a week-long run today at Harkins Valley Art in Tempe and Harkins Arrowhead in Peoria? Certainly, Arpaio helped pimp the flick in Hollywood when it played there earlier this year, clowning around with Wonder Woman and the Cookie Monster on Hollywood Boulevard for the cameras. But as the film lands in his backyard, the octogenarian autocrat seems conflicted. Blogger Mitch Martinson of Arizona's Politics caught Arpaio Tweeting that the doc was "a movie only my critics will love," while at the same time offering, "Hope supporters attend too." Why, Joe, so they can learn what a big, corrupt media-hog you are? Martinson reports that Arpaio deleted that initial sentiment, replacing it with a dismissal of the film as "garbage." Today, the sheriff wished Murray luck with the local screenings. Gee, pick a lane, Joe. No doubt Arpaio is deeply confused. I mean, he's on a big screen for more than an hour and a-half, but that's not a good thing, because anyone with half a brain will come away from Murray's film aghast at the monster both the voters and the press have created. "It's amazing what I say, and what I do and what I get away with," Arpaio tells the camera at one point in the film. Indeed, it is. And the sheriff continues to get away with it. For instance, the court-appointed monitor in Melendres v. Arpaio recently issued a report stating that the MCSO is still dragging its heels on compliance with federal Judge G. Murray Snow's order in the racial-profiling case. Another federal judge just found that Arpaio's jails still are not in full compliance with the court's orders in the long-running Graves v. Arpaio suit, and so must remain under supervision. And this week, local tort titan Mike Manning filed the umpteenth wrongful death lawsuit against Arpaio for an MCSO detainee who was denied proper medical care and as a result, expired. The more things change, the more things remain the same. While Arpaio is in office, that is. Another axiom of Arpaio's rule is that suckers exist to be taken advantage of. Joe's legion of chumps includes members of the Tea Party and the sheriff's posse, loyal ditto-heads for Arpaio's reign of inanity, which includes his ongoing investigation of President Obama's birth certificate. If you thought all right-wing conspiracy theorists had long ago moved on to Benghazi, Ebola, ISIS and the Secret Service, you're wrong. This was evidenced by Arpaio's recent visit to a Tea Party event in Kaufman County, Texas, where he was asked about the delay in bringing the case to a grand jury and getting some charges going. Sensing criticism in the question, which included a reference to money raised for the Birther cause, Arpaio got his back up, answering, thus: "First of all, let me say one thing. I have never raised one penny for my election using the birth certificate. My campaign manager would kill me if I ever mentioned the birth certificate. All that is garbage that you hear from a couple of lawyers. Total garbage. Not one penny did I ever raise for my election. None. and I got the proof. You can check everybody that gave me the money Get that clear." Arpaio concluded with the promise that the investigation, ridiculous as it might seem to those of us not sporting tinfoil caps, continues apace. "You're very aggressive, as you should be, because you want justice," Arpaio told the impudent Birther. "But remember, there's always restrictions when you try to do a case. I can't tell you everything we know that we found out later. I'm not, I can't do it. It's sensitive and you just have to bear with me. And see how I can take this. But we're still working, every day." This second part of Arpaio's answer is correct, though the Birther investigation has since diverted into an even wilder snipe hunt with Mike Zullo of Cold Case Posse fame and an MCSO deputy involved in a probe of Judge Snow and the U.S. Department of Justice, regarding a supposed plot to "get" Arpaio. As I detailed in a June column, this phony plot, according to sources, was dreamed up by a Seattle con artist, who is being paid large sums of money with MCSO's confidential informant funds, at Arpaio's direction. Neither Arpaio nor Zullo deny the story, and since the column first ran, I've had other sources come forward (off the record, natch) to confirm its veracity. But putting this ongoing waste of public funds aside, what about Arpaio's contention that he hasn't raised dime one from the Birther boondoggle? That statement is belied by Arpaio's admissions on camera in The Joe Show, specifically in a clip from 2012, which shows a meeting in a local restaurant, including Arpaio, Arpaio's top flack Lisa Allen, MCSO Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan and Arpaio's campaign guru Chad Willems. Arpaio's 2012 re-election effort was underway at the time, and the topic of the Birther investigation pops up. Both Willems and Allen express doubt over the investigation, telling Arpaio it makes him look like a nut. "There ain't gonna be no damage control," responds Arpaio. "You'll get more money [in campaign contributions] than you'll know what to do with." Willems later reinforces this notion of Arpaio using Quixotic crusades against the Obama administration to raise beaucoup bucks from Obama haters nationwide. "Now, with Arpaio going to battle with Barack Obama," Willems explains at one point in the film, "it's meant literally millions of dollars for his campaign." Indeed, the Birther investigation remains a money-making theme for Joe, along with hatin' on illegal immigrants and general, rhetorical defiance of the Obama administration. For instance, for his upcoming 2016 re-election effort, the 82 year-old has pulled in more than $5 million so far, and has nearly $2 million on hand. Much of it is from out-of-state donors, raised by means of mass fundraising e-mails. Many of Arpaio's donors are retired and give small amounts. Would they think twice of donating to this shyster if they saw The Joe Show? Perhaps. Brian Reilly, one of the original members of the Cold Case Posse headed up by Zullo, has since become a critic of Arpaio and of the investigation into the birth certificate. He's seen The Joe Show, and has been encouraging others to go see it. I asked him about that part in the film where Joe makes his comment to Willems about the Birther charade. "Quite honestly, it was a real eye-opener for me, and it was a real let down for me," he explained to me recently. "Because it appeared to me at that point that the motivation was not to find the truth. The motivation, in my opinion, became publicity and money." Reilly is no longer affiliated with the Tea Party, but he has a message for those who still are. "Every Tea Party member in Maricopa County needs to see this film," he said. "It's an eye-opening experience. Basically, the public persona of Sheriff Arpaio has largely been created by publicity and the media...this is exactly what the film is about." The Joe Show runs October 3 through October 9 at Harkins Valley Art in Tempe and Harkins Arrowhead in Peoria. Tonight's screenings at Valley Art will feature a Q & A with filmmaker Randy Murray following the show.
Religious nuts in government doing the best they can to flush a woman's right to abortion down a toilet. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ruth-marcus-texass-abortion-laws-have-nothing-to-do-with-protecting-women/2014/10/03/7762ad40-4b2a-11e4-b72e-d60a9229cc10_story.html?hpid=z2 In Texas, an undue burden on women seeking abortions By Ruth Marcus Columnist October 3 at 7:03 PM I was in the jittery Supreme Court chamber on a summer morning in 1992 when the right to abortion was on the line. As the justices took their seats, no one except court insiders knew whether the session would end with five votes to overrule Roe v. Wade, or with something more restrained. The answer was the latter. The right to abortion survived, but it was downgraded from a fundamental constitutional right to one that could be infringed so long as the restriction at issue did not impose an “undue burden” on a woman seeking an abortion. This muddled outcome led abortion rights groups to denounce the ruling, along with disappointed anti-abortion advocates who had hoped to see an end to constitutional protection. “Devastating for women,” said Kate Michelman, then president of the National Abortion Rights Action League. “One step closer to the back alleys.” I thought then that this reaction was overstated, and I still do. That’s not to say that the right to abortion remained unaffected. In the two decades since, states have had a field day enacting anti-abortion restrictions. Half the states have waiting periods (most are 24 hours but go as long as 72 hours, in Utah). In addition, 17 mandate counseling about fetal ability to feel pain, mental health consequences or the purported link between abortion and breast cancer, while 12 require that physicians perform sonograms and either show the image to the woman seeking an abortion or offer her the chance to see it. These restrictions are intrusive and unnecessary, but they can be dealt with. Now, however, comes Texas, with characteristic Texas-size subtlety. Last year the state legislature passed, and Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed, a law requiring that doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and that facilities at which abortions are performed meet the hospital-level standards for ambulatory surgical clinics. All this, supposedly, in the interest of protecting women’s health. Hogwash. If anything, the law endangers women by making access to abortion more difficult, leading to later-term — and consequently riskier — procedures. “The fact is that these bills will not help protect the health of any woman in Texas. Instead, these bills will harm women’s health in very clear ways,” the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in an open letter to Texas legislators. “The fact is that abortion is one of the safest medical procedures, with minimal — less than 0.5 percent — risk of major complications that might need hospital care.” But, of course, impeding access to abortion is the not-so-hidden point of the law. In that regard, it promises to be impressively effective. Two years ago, Texas had more than 40 facilities performing abortions. The number is about to be winnowed to seven, at most. In March, a federal appeals court upheld the admitting-privileges part of the law, leading many clinics to close. On Thursday, the same court refused to block the surgical-clinic standards . That provision of the law remains on appeal, but the court said it was likely to be upheld. In practice, these rulings mean that about one in six Texas women seeking an abortion will live more than 150 miles from the nearest clinic. There will be no facilities in the huge swath of the state west and south of San Antonio. Remaining clinics will not be able to handle the resulting demand; they would have to quadruple the number of abortions performed in order to keep up. Tell me again: This is about women’s health? In allowing the surgical-clinic standards to take effect, the appeals court cited language from the Supreme Court’s 1992 ruling that an abortion restriction would be unconstitutional if, “in a large fraction of the cases in which it is relevant, it will operate as a substantial obstacle to a woman’s choice to undergo an abortion.” That the standards would impede access for one in six Texas women was not a large enough fraction to impress the appeals court. If being forced to drive more than 150 miles to obtain an abortion because of a medically unnecessary rule isn’t an undue burden, I don’t know what is. Since that 1992 morning, the Supreme Court has — thankfully — shown no eagerness to revisit the controversial topic, with the exception of its shameful about-face in upholding a ban on partial-birth abortion. In the Texas case, the appeals court got it dangerously wrong. Scarier still is imagining what the justices might do if called on, once again, to rule on abortion and undue burdens.
Marijuana industry makes political donations Me and you call it "bribery", the politicians call it "campaign contributions" I suspect that MPP or Marijuana Policy Project, Andrew Myers and the Arizona Association of Dispensaries or Arizona Dispensary Association know this process very well. If you are going to pretend to legalize recreational marijuana, but really want to create a government monopoly on growing and selling marijuana for the existing medical marijuana dispensaries you have to understand this process, which most of us call government corruption. http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_26627152/marijuana-industry-makes-political-donations Marijuana industry makes political donations Kristen Wyatt Associated Press Posted: 09/29/2014 09:56:50 AM MDT DENVER (AP) — The entrepreneurs of the young U.S. marijuana industry are taking another step into the mainstream, becoming political donors who use some of their profits to support cannabis-friendly candidates and ballot questions that could bring legal pot to more states. The political activity includes swanky fundraisers at Four Seasons hotels and art auctions at law firms. And members of Congress who once politely returned the industry's contribution checks are now keeping them. "We're developing an industry here from the ground up. If we don't contribute politically and get out there with the candidates, we can't help shape what happens," said Patrick McManamon, head of Cleveland-based Cannasure Insurance Services, which offers insurance to marijuana growers and dispensaries. Medical marijuana businesses have been giving to candidates since the late 1990s. With the arrival of recreational pot in Colorado and Washington, the industry and its political influence are expanding rapidly. Pot is now legal for medical or recreational purposes in 23 states and Washington, D.C. More marijuana measures will be on the November ballot in Oregon, Florida, Alaska and the nation's capital, so many contributions are being funneled into those campaigns and the candidates who support them. Compared with the donations of other industries or advocacy groups, the political spending by marijuana businesses is modest. But, said Tripp Keber, head of Denver-based Dixie Elixirs & Edibles, which makes pot-infused soda, food and lotion, "the word is out that the marijuana industry has money to give." Keber attended a summer fundraiser for Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who opposed legalization in 2012 but has promised to regulate the industry according to voters' wishes. "It was interesting to see how he's starting to evolve. I said, 'I'm telling you, I can get 100 people in the room who would be happy to max out,'" or give the state's maximum legal donation of $1,100, Keber said. A few weeks later, in August, Keber threw a fundraiser at the Four Seasons in Denver with a goal of raising $16,000 for Hickenlooper. The event netted $40,000. In Washington state, the industry's contributions are channeled into reforms that include reducing the tax rate on pot and kicking some marijuana revenue back to cities and counties to encourage more communities to allow dispensaries, said dispensary owner John Davis, who also serves as director of the Coalition for Cannabis Standards and Ethics. Not long ago, most marijuana entrepreneurs were "trying to scrape a few dollars together" to get started, Keber said. "Now this industry is becoming profitable, and we're taking that profit and investing it politically. There isn't a week that goes by where we don't make a political donation." The Oregon ballot measure has raised about $2.3 million. A medical-marijuana question in Florida has attracted nearly $6 million. And the Alaska campaign has brought in about $850,000. A recreational pot measure in Washington, D.C., attracted few donations, perhaps because it appears almost certain to pass. Colorado's congressional delegation alone has received some $20,000 this year from the marijuana industry, according to federal campaign-finance data. The true figure is probably much higher because many donors do not mention the drug in campaign-finance disclosures. The largest federal spender on marijuana advocacy is the Marijuana Policy Project, which plans to donate $150,000 to federal candidates this year, up from $110,000 in 2013. The Drug Policy Alliance and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws have also given directly to federal candidates, and tax-exempt industry groups such as the National Cannabis Industry Association can spend an unlimited amount of untracked money. Politicians who used to reject checks from pro-marijuana donors "aren't doing that anymore," said Ethan Nadelmann, head of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance. Still, the same candidates who cash the checks aren't always keen to talk about it. About a dozen recipients of marijuana money declined interview requests or did not return calls from The Associated Press. A Colorado state lawmaker who accepts marijuana-industry donations conceded thinking twice before taking them. "I always worry about what people's perceptions will be," said Rep. Jonathan Singer, a Democrat who is the only sitting Colorado legislator who supported legalization. "But it came down to, I'm on record for where I stood before I ever took a penny from this industry." Todd Mitchem, a Denver marijuana industry consultant, recalled a fundraiser earlier this year thrown by a maker of cannabis vaporizer cartridges for a state legislator. When the company posted photos from the event on its Facebook page, the lawmaker asked that the images be taken down. "They just didn't want to be seen. They were still taking the money," said Mitchem, who declined to name the lawmaker. The only member of Congress who responded to the AP was Colorado Democratic Rep. Jared Polis, a longtime ally of the marijuana industry who has proposed federal legalization. "As long as this industry Is following our state marijuana laws," Polis said in a statement, "their contributions are the same as those from any other legal donors." ——— Associated Press writers Nigel Duara in Portland, Oregon; Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; Ben Nuckols in Washington, D.C.; Gene Johnson in Seattle and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed to this report. ——— Kristen Wyatt can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt .
http://www.azcentral.com/story/claythompson/2014/10/03/religion-atheism-god-iq/16655889/ Are atheists smarter than believers? Clay Thompson, The Republic | azcentral.com 1:45 p.m. MST October 3, 2014 Today's question: I have a friend who claims atheists have a higher IQ than average. Could that be true? Boy howdy. I gave this a great deal of thought before I decided to deal with it. Do I really get paid enough to deal with the aggravation that's going to come with this? OK, I found several references to a paper by psychologists at the University of Rochester and Northeastern University in England who reported in the "Personality and Social Psychology Review" that their studies of 63 other studies on this subject done between 1928 and 2012 found that atheists do have higher IQs than religious people. MORE CLAY: 'Sweater weather?' Oh, stick a sock in it MONDAY: This frog prefers bug light And other studies seem to point to the same conclusion. Does that surprise you? Maybe, maybe not. Critics of these studies say the statistical difference between IQs of believers and nonbelievers is too small to be conclusive. Both sides argue that some socioeconomic differences, such as education levels, birth rates, income, and some other stuff can make a difference. And some people say faith has worked inexplicable miracles. I don't want to go all philosophical on you, but you also could make an argument that there is difference between a religious life and a spiritual life. Can you have one without the other? I think there probably is something to be said for that, but do you really want to go down that road in an old jalopy like this small column? If you do, well, hokey-doke. If it's all the same to you, I'll just hang around here and have some pie and wait for you to come back. Mind the bumps.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/peoria/2014/10/03/religious-symbols-classroom-stir-dispute-peoria-schools/16691101/ Religious symbols in classroom stir dispute in Peoria schools Mary Beth Faller, The Republic | azcentral.com 11:19 p.m. MST October 3, 2014 A debate over separation of church and state is playing out in the Peoria Unified School District, where a teacher was told to remove religious symbols from her classroom after a complaint by the national Freedom From Religion Foundation. That decision prompted a Scottsdale-based non-profit group to warn the district not to overreach by prohibiting teachers from expressing their religious viewpoints. At issue is just where in the classroom a Bible or other religious item is placed. Andrew Seidel, an attorney for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said that Bibles kept inside a teacher's desk for personal reading outside of school hours are acceptable, but that Bibles or other religious items prominently displayed are not. "The line can be hard to draw sometimes," he said. A teacher wearing a cross necklace is acceptable, but a shirt with a religious statement might not be. But he said that in at least two Peoria classrooms, the Bibles and religious symbols were not in personal spaces. "The courts have been pretty clear that teachers don't have First Amendment rights when they're acting as teachers," he said. The Alliance Defending Freedom sees it another way. That group sent a letter to Peoria's governing board members and superintendent on Sept. 30 stating that teachers are allowed to have Bibles and scripture readings on their personal desks. Jeremy Tedesco, an attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said his group received a complaint from a Peoria teacher that employees were told that all religious items must be removed from personal spaces. "We were notified that the district had overreached," Tedesco said Friday. "As we unfortunately see in these circumstances, the schools overreact and restrict more than is necessary. "It's the search-and-destroy separation of church and state we see from secular groups like Freedom From Religion, and it's not the actual state of the law. Schools need to respect the constitutional rights of the teacher and students." Erin Dunsey, spokeswoman for the Peoria district, said no letters were sent to employees from the district about removing religious items from personal spaces. "Whether it came from a school level, we will have to see," she said Friday. "We do train our staff every year on First Amendment protections so they are aware of what's allowed and what's not," she said. Seidel said the Freedom From Religion Foundation has received several complaints from parents in the Peoria district, dating back to 2010. Dunsey couldn't verify Friday that parents had complained to the district about this issue, but said all complaints, whether from parents, community members or organizations, are addressed. Seidel provided copies of two letters his group sent to the Peoria district: A May letter said a first-grade teacher at Parkridge Elementary School had a plaque on the wall reading "Jesus Loves The Little Children." Seidel said Peoria has not responded to that letter. A December letter cited a classroom at Oakwood Elementary School that had Christian symbols on the wall, Bibles on a classroom bookshelf and a Thanksgiving celebration that featured students in the role of preachers. An administrator in the Peoria district responded to the December letter, verifying that he visited the school, saw the Christian symbols on the wall and the Bibles. He said the items would be removed and any holiday celebrations would be vetted for content. Dunsey said that each complaint would be addressed with the individual classroom teacher, and no district-wide letters would be sent. |
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