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Obama Dumps More Money Into Arizona

June 9, 2009 By 4 Comments

Here are two headlines you may not read:

“Stimulus funds for weatherization on way to Yuma families” – Yuma Daily Sun

Western Arizona Council of Governments is being allocated $5.9 million over the next three years through the stimulus program to ramp up the weatherization assistance the agency has been providing for the last 30 years in Yuma, La Paz and Mohave counties, said Gina Whittington, human resources director for WACOG.

Currently, the agency weatherizes about 85 homes a year in the three counties. With the additional funding, the agency expects to be able to provide the service to 600 homes by the third year, she said.

She didn’t have a breakdown on how much of the funding would benefit Yuma-area families. However, she said that typically 50 percent of the clients served by the WACOG weatherization program are in Yuma County, with 10 percent in La Paz County and 40 percent in Mohave County.

“The weatherization money really targets the low income who often live in the oldest and least energy efficient homes,” she said. “These are the very people who are least able to pay high energy costs.”

The program’s goal is to provide the clients with the most cost-effective measures, she said. That may mean a new air conditioner, sealing duct work, installing window screens, adding insulation or white-coating mobile home roofs.

“Some of these simple measures provide the biggest return for the clients,” she said.

“This will help the environment because of the greater energy efficiency,” she said. “Long term, with the cost savings, it could help people build wealth over time by being able to pay their utility bills.”

“Southeastern Arizona Community Action Program gets funds to weatherize” – Nogales International

Arizona will receive more than $63 million in ARRA funding over the next three years, reported the Southeastern Arizona Community Action Program Inc. (SEACAP). About $4.6 million will benefit low-income residents in Graham, Greenlee, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties through the SEACAP program.

Weatherization means adding insulation, sealing leaks and modernizing heating and air conditioning equipment. It can reduce home heating bills by an average of 32 percent, according to SEACAP.

Money well spent? The voters will have to determine that. Something tell me that after all the money is redistributed, all the work has been done, that some lives may be improved in the short-term but things will return to “normal” and the cycle will begin all over again.

 

Filed Under: Human Condition, Spending, Taxation, Welfare

Bruce Jacobs Out, Mike Broomhead In

June 9, 2009 By 31 Comments

JD announed this afternoon that Bruce Jacobs will no longer be hosting the early moring show at KFYI-550.

Bruce has always been outspoken and brash on the issues and with political personalities. We certainly hope that did not factor into any decision regarding Bruce’s departure.

Here is a clip from one of Bruce’s YouTube clips. Ironically, listen to Bruce’s comments about being on Phoenix’s #1 radio talk show.  

Temporarily replacing Bruce will be weekend sensation, Mike Broomhead – another outstanding favorite conservative talk show host.

We wish Bruce the best in whatever endeavor he embarks on and will even extend an invitation to write right here on Sonoran Alliance if he seeks another medium.

We also welcome Mike Broomhead to the weekday lineup and hope you will continue to set your clocks early to get your morning dose of conservatism.

Filed Under: Personalities, Talk Radio

Sinema Selected to Help Destroy American Health Care

June 9, 2009 By 13 Comments

House Democrats announced today that ULTRA-LIBERAL Democrat, Kyrsten Sinema has been selected to serve with 31 other lawmakers from around the country, to remake the American health care system in the image of the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats.

In case you’re wondering who Kyrsten Sinema is, she is the young shrill liberal Democrat from Central Phoenix. Here is what Wikipedia says about Kyrsten:

 

In 2006 she chaired Arizona Together, the statewide campaign that defeated Proposition 107 which would have banned the recognition of same-sex marriage and civil unions in Arizona.[4] In 2008, she also led the campaign against Proposition 102, a narrowed down version of Proposition 107.[5] Proposition 102 was passed with a wide margin by voters in the general election on November 4, 2008.

A supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, Sinema was a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.[6]

She is openly bisexual[7] and serves alongside four other openly LGBT legislators…

Todays’s press release states:

Sinema selected for President Obama’s Health Care Reform group

STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – Assistant House Democratic Leader Kyrsten Sinema has been selected as one of 32 state legislators nationwide to help President Obama reform health care.

In a conference call today, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, told Sinema — the only state lawmaker chosen from Arizona — that real health care reform will come from Democrats and Republicans alike from across the country.

As a former state legislator himself, the President of the United States appreciates legislators’ unique perspectives on this issue, Jarrett said.

Sinema will work with other state legislators in the President’s health care reform group to share best practices and lessons learned from their respective states, which will help shape national health care reform. They will also work to create a dialogue between state leaders and the U.S. Congressional delegation and have weekly conference calls with the White House until the reform is implemented.

“I’m so grateful and honored for this amazing opportunity to truly reform our nation’s health care,” Sinema said. “Our health care system is broken and families and businesses are being crushed by high health care costs. The American people, including right here in Arizona, deserve better.”

Obama’s plan does three things:

Reduces costs to make health care affordable
Protects a patient’s choice of doctors, hospitals and insurance plans
Assures quality affordable health care for all Americans
 
Health care reform is one of Obama’s top priorities and he is committed to enacting health care reform this year, Jarrett said. 

State legislators are able to see firsthand in their states and communities how rapidly escalating health care costs are hurting family, business, and government budgets, which is why President Obama is looking forward to working with the group, Jarrett said.

For more information, please visit www.healthreform.gov.

Filed Under: Health Care, Press Release

Arizona GOP responds to Americans for Tax Reform

June 9, 2009 By 16 Comments

It has to be a difficult task to publicly respond when one of your friends and allies calls you out in front of everyone.  You want to be nice and treat a friend like a friend, yet at the same time a real friend wouldn’t have put you in this situation in the first place.  You can’t respond in anger but you shouldn’t let yourself be bullied either.  So we were fairly impressed with the response that the Arizona Republican Party sent to Grover Norquist at ATR.  Norquist had “written” to Randy Pullen at the AZGOP, which is to say that rather than actually communicating personally with Randy Pullen and talking about the issue, he and his group sent out a press release to the world taking a slap at the State Party.  Below is Pullen’s response:

Dear Mr. Norquist,
 
I am in receipt of your open letter, signed but not dated, and transmitted on June 4, 2009 by email. I will respond in kind. For the record, your letter is, at best inaccurate, and at its worst an attempt to defame and discredit our Republican Governor and me. In short your letter displays what is most often described as what is wrong with the conservative movement – an insatiable desire to eat its own.
 
You begin your letter by setting up a straw man. You state, “As you know, it has recently been announced that the firm High Ground Inc. (sp), a group that advises Governor Jan Brewer, will launch a $225,000 media campaign against legislators who oppose Gov. Brewer’s call for a multi-billion dollar tax increase in the middle of a recession.”  Well, there is no media campaign, and as I have stated numerous times over the past ten days to numerous reporters and legislators, I would not support such a campaign if it existed.  

I was indeed copied on the draft plan that was attached to your letter and which I have reattached to this response. On asking Mr. Coughlin about the draft plan, I was assured that there was no plan to target legislators and in fact there was no media campaign planned.  His letter presented a general approach on how to support the Governor’s proposed budget assuming that the legislature did not pass out a budget, all very speculative.
 
Asking me as chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, to unequivocally and publicly announce my opposition to and repudiation of this campaign to be waged by Gov. Brewer is like knocking the stuffing out of your straw man; therefore, I will respond hypothetically as follows:
 
If there were a media campaign (which there isn’t) targeting (unnamed) legislators who (may or may not) oppose Governor Brewer’s proposed budget, then I would be unequivocally opposed to such a plan (if it existed, which it doesn’t).
 
What is of more concern to me in your letter is your continued effort to misstate Republican principles with regard to spending and taxes. The Republican platform is quite succinct on taxes and government spending. I will quote from page 15 of the 2008 Republican Platform, “Spend only what is necessary, and tax only to raise revenue for essential government functions.”  It does not say anything about being in opposition to higher taxes or demanding that our elected officials sign a Taxpayer Protection Pledge.
 
What the platform does take considerable space to elaborate on are the wasteful spending and the inherently redundant and inefficiency of government. I quote from the Platform, “The entrenched culture of official Washington – an intrusive tax-and-spend liberalism – remains a formidable foe, but we will confront and ultimately defeat it.” What is key to the debate is the need for balance.  Cutting taxes without cutting spending can be just as detrimental as the liberal tax and spend mentality. Senator McCain had it right earlier this decade when he questioned the Bush tax cuts on the grounds that there were no corresponding spending cuts.  We were in essence borrowing from our children.
 
The Arizona Republican Party Platform passed in January 2008 is closely aligned with the national platform in stating, “The AZGOP believes reducing taxes not necessary to pay for essential government services creates jobs and economic growth, encourages new businesses to come to Arizona, and ultimately increases public sector revenues in our state.”  I have yet to see anything proposed by Governor Brewer to be in opposition to either the national or state platforms.
 
I applaud your mission at Americans for Tax Reform. We are in dire need of tax reform nationally as well as here in Arizona. What is even more critical though is a plan to control spending. Republicans are out of power nationally, because we were unable to rein in spending.  We spent eight years passing budgets that increased the national debt.  The 2008 Republican Platform recognizes this problem and is very clear about replacing current budgetary procedures with simplicity and transparency, balancing the budget and planning for long-term costs of pension and health care programs.  Unfortunately for us, this recognition came too late.
 
Warmest regards,

Randy Pullen 

Filed Under: State Budget, Taxation

PR: Governor Shuns Largest Stakeholder: Arizona Taxpayers

June 9, 2009 By 1 Comment

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Governor Shuns Largest Stakeholder: Arizona Taxpayers

Today’s meeting with “Budget Stakeholders” doesn’t include general public

Phoenix, AZ – Steve Voeller, president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, a pro-growth advocacy group, today questioned why Gov. Brewer didn’t notify the general public about her budget review meeting today until late Monday when the governor’s office sent out a press release.

The governor’s media advisory late Monday night announced a meeting with “stakeholders” to review the legislature’s FY2010 budget. The subject areas being discussed at the meeting include K-12 and higher education, health and human services, public safety, local governments, and transportation. The meeting is being portrayed as an opportunity to build support for her budget, which thus far has no legislative support.

“What’s clear is that the governor is still trying to generate support for her budget,” Voeller said. “And she’s trying to do it from people who feed off of government.”

“We have yet to find a lawmaker – Republican or Democrat – who supports the governor’s budget.”

The most glaring difference between the governor’s budget outline and the recently passed legislative budget is the fact that the legislature’s did not include a billion dollar-a-year tax increase as called for by Gov. Brewer.

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The AZFEC is a 501(c)(4) advocacy group and is not affiliated with any other organization. For more information visit www.azfec.org.

 

Filed Under: Press Release, Spending, State Budget, Taxation

Student testing system a farce

June 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

by Matthew Ladner, Ph.D.
Goldwater Institute
 
The performance of every public school in Arizona gets judged under two sets of standards: the state system (AZ Learns) and the federal (No Child Left Behind). Under the federal system, schools failing to make yearly progress over a prolonged period of time face sanctions such as paying for private tutoring and even closure and reconstitution with a new staff.

Arizona school administrators need not worry about any of that too much, however, as the powers that be have rigged the game in their favor.

Previously, we have written about AIMS suffering the largest dummy down in the country. We have also documented that Arizona’s version of the Terra Nova exam produces entirely implausible results. Now a recent study by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation shows that state policymakers have taken further steps to take the bite out of No Child Left Behind.

“Accountability Illusion” chose 18 elementary and 18 middle schools from around the country, and applied the varying No Child Left Behind accountability rules of 28 different states to see which schools would make “Adequate Yearly Progress” under which set of rules.

They were trying to figure out which states jimmied the details to make it easier to meet AYP. They found that seemingly minute details like how many students were required to make up a subgroup and adopted “error margins” make a big, big difference.

Fordham determined Arizona had the second-lowest overall standards of the 28 states studied.

Arizona’s student testing accountability system is profoundly off track. We have a dummied down AIMS test, an obviously flawed version of the Terra Nova, and a system of accountability under No Child Left behind that favors the school system’s interest in the status quo over the public’s interest in transparency. State lawmakers should become far more aggressive in guaranteeing a quality system of transparent student testing.

Dr. Matthew Ladner is vice president for research at the Goldwater Institute.

Filed Under: Education