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PR: Wendy Rogers Announces for LD-17 Senate

July 24, 2009 By 31 Comments

For Immediate Release: July 24, 2009

Wendy Rogers, Lt Col USAF (retired) announced her run today for State Senate in District 17 which is comprised of most of Tempe and south Scottsdale.

Currently Rogers and her family own a small business in Tempe which has 11 employees and has been in business since 1997. She also owns a commercial office building on Rural Rd with 7 other tenants. Rogers has lived in the Valley for the past 12 years. She came here after retiring from a 20-year career in the Air Force and was one of the first 100 women pilots in the Air Force, having undergone Air Force Pilot Training at Williams AFB AZ which is now Phoenix Gateway Airport. She also served as Development Director for Tempe Preparatory Academy.

Rogers is running on a platform of “Work hard. Follow through”. Her priorities are to

  1. Create jobs
  2. Improve schools
  3. Reduce crime.

As a small business owner she will work hard to reduce government regulation now stifling small business productivity. For schools she believes in follow-through with more local control and better financial stewardship of funds. Rogers says working harder to incentivize small businesses to create more employment opportunity would go a long way to promoting personal responsibility and thus reducing crime.

Rogers and her husband have two children, both ASU scholarship recipients, the older of whom was just commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and will soon be off to Pilot Training.

Her campaign website is www.WendyRogers.org for those interested in getting involved.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Press Release

County Supervisors: Do as we say, not as we do

July 23, 2009 By 28 Comments

Here are some excerpts from the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors’ latest million dollar “CLEAN AIR MAKE MORE” advertising campaign.  They are sending people these email messages even though they are in the process of building a $347 million dollar court tower downtown, which will send regional courts downtown creating more driving for people coming from Mesa who would have formerly only driven to the Mesa court, increasing congestion and pollution downtown. Wasting your tax dollars on useless environmental campaigns they defeat by ignoring themselves.

Take Action
• Refuel after dark
• Eliminate all unnecessary driving and/or combine trips
• Carpool or ride the bus
• Do not use gas powered lawn or garden equipment
• Learn more about air pollution at www.CleanAirMakeMore.com
• To find a carpool or vanpool visit www.ValleyMetro.org or call 602.253.5000

Trip Coordinators
Due to unhealthy levels of Ozone, Trip Coordinators are encouraged to email employees and activate your HPA plans. The Maricopa County Air Quality Department encourages the use of alternative modes of transportation, especially when pollution levels are expected to be on the rise.

Remind employees that they are encouraged to make more clean air. By taking small, simple steps every day, we can all make a difference. Additional tips on how to reduce air pollution can be found at www.CleanAirMakeMore.com.

Filed Under: County Government, Spending, Taxation

What is Natural Law and How Does It Effect Handguns?

July 23, 2009 By 8 Comments

by Judge Gerald A. Williams
North Valley Justice of the Peace

The concept of natural law has returned and become a part of public debate. In its most basic form, a belief in natural law is a belief that everyone is entitled at birth to a set of natural rights that guarantee their personal safety and property. Such rights are fundamental and cannot be restricted by individuals or even by governments. Not surprisingly, this idea is not without controversy.

In the United States, the best known declaration of natural law theory is in our founding document. Our Declaration of Independence states simply and poetically: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

The U.S. Supreme Court relied heavily on natural law concepts in the recent case of District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (2008). That case concerned a gun ban in Washington, D.C., that was extreme by any definition.

The D.C. handgun ban made it a crime to carry an unregistered firearm and the registration of handguns was prohibited. Mr. Heller was a court security officer at the Federal Judicial Center. He was required to have a handgun at work; but was not allowed to have one at home.

In Heller, the Supreme Court adopted a natural law argument and agreed, by a 5 to 4 vote, that the Second Amendment, like the First and Fourth Amendments, restated pre-existing rights and that those rights exist with or without the Constitution. The majority believed that the Second Amendment protects an individual fundamental right to keep and to bear arms, including handguns, for lawful purposes.

But what about the “well regulated Militia” language in the Second Amendment? Doesn’t that limit individual rights? The short answer is no. The Second Amendment guarantees rights to “the people,” not to an army. If it is a collective right, then what would that right be? Some have argued that the right guaranteed in the Second Amendment really means that individuals have the right to join the military. Such an argument is absurd in part because military members neither pick their own weapons nor need a Constitutional right to carry them.

Others have claimed that the militia language really refers to the modern national guard; but a militia and the national guard are not the same thing. Many states have militia statutes that basically make everyone a member. Arizona’s Constitution declares that everyone between the ages of 18 and 45 is a member of the state militia. In contrast, the Arizona Army National Guard is a uniformed armed force that has both a federal and state mission. A guard unit generally reports to its state’s governor; but it can be mobilized and placed under federal control.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it is perhaps no accident that the right to life, which includes the inherent right of self-defense, is first on this list. While many modern day Americans might find natural law arguments troubling, they were certainly clear to the gentlemen who founded our great nation. John Adams reportedly stated the following.

“Many of our rights are inherent and essential, agreed on as maxims and established as preliminaries even before parliament existed. We have a right to them, derived from our Maker. . . . Liberty is not based on the doctrine that a few nobles have a right to inherit the earth. . . . It stands on this principle, that the meanest and lowest of the people are by the unalterable indefeasible laws of God and nature as well entitled to the benefit of the air to breathe, light to see, food to eat and clothes to wear as the nobles or the king. That is liberty and liberty will reign in America.”

Judge Williams is the presiding justice of the peace for the Northwest Regional Court Center. His column appears monthly in The Foothills Focus

Filed Under: 2nd Amendment, Constitutional Law, Judicial

Update: Change is still waiting

July 23, 2009 By 6 Comments

Sonoran Alliance received a threatening letter regarding a post by “Josey” way back on Sunday, November 18, 2007. Although the letter is confidential and we cannot share the exact details with you, we would like to hear from our attorney readers as to the legal nature of citing the image of the blue dog of artist George Rodrigue even as a news report. As you can see, we have cropped the image of the orginal post at the request of Mr. Rodrigue.

Filed Under: Freedom of Speech

Fix Arizona Now Takes Swipe at Sonoran Alliance

July 22, 2009 By 7 Comments

One of our astute readers pointed out that the WordPress Fix Arizona Now blog took a swipe at Sonoran Alliance in their recent post, “Other things that need to be fixed.” The quote came as:

Sonoran Alliance
Once a great blog full of really interesting information, the site is now bloated with hack writers and full of Republican bashing and attacking their own.  Since when did they start letting lobbyists pipe off about their paying clients – gambling clients no less.  Which is it Sonoran Alliance, do you hate lobbyists or love them?

Let me set the record straight.

While there are a few novice writers who contribute to the blog, the majority of our writers are seasoned politically astute consultants, insiders and activists who have worked in government, on many political campaigns and/or been involved in the political process for years. I would even venture to say that the combined political experience of our writers far exceeds the entire staff of consulting firms such as High Ground.

(By the way, we are always looking for talented conservative writers so please feel free to make a request to contribute.)

Since its beginning, Sonoran Alliance, has been a forum for conservative thought and activism of diverse conservative opinions. Not all of our writers agree on issues of immigration, education, taxation, style, messaging, etc. In fact, without naming names, several current high profile Arizona blogs got their start right here on Sonoran Alliance.

While we were not the first conservative blog in Arizona (Greg Patterson’s Espresso Pundit earns that title), we have developed a large following over the years. One could say that that our longetivity, style and content has certainly qualified us as one of the mose read and influentual blogs in Arizona (even by outsiders).

To the question of “loving lobbyist.” If Fix Arizona Now is who I suspect it is, a statement like that would be the “pot calling the kettle black.” Some of Sonoran Alliances are or have been lobbyists but that is beside the point and irrelevant.

The link associated with Fix Arizona Now’s most recent post, ““Racino:” A Key Budget Option for the Arizona Legislature” was a commentary written by Jay Heiler submitted to Sonoran Alliance for reprint. It actually went out in the form of a press release but we decided to post it as a discussion item anyway. Sonoran Alliance does this all the time. In fact, we oftentimes post the Governor’s press releases or press releases of candidate campaigns. The last time I checked we still had a First Amendment and a right to free speech. We don’t take any tax dollars so we are not subject to any government censorship. We can post anything we want within the spirit of the blog. 

If the writer(s) or Fix Arizona Now does not like what we write here on Sonoran Alliance, too bad. He/she/they can go start their own blog and write what they want – and they obviously have.

In addressing the swipe at Sonoran Alliance, I have clearly given some credence and search engine exposure to Fix Arizona Now. More importantly, I hope I have cleared up the inaccuracy presented by our fellow blogger(s) who seem to think we are all lock step inexperienced shills for the political hack of the day.

Filed Under: Blogs, Freedom of Speech

Republican Professionals Event With SOS Ken Bennett A Success

July 21, 2009 By

Secretary of State Ken Bennett was informative and entertaining at the Republican Professionals event held last week at the FireSky Resort in Old Town Scottsdale. Other elected officials in the audience were Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker, Corporation Commissioner Bob Stump, Scottsdale City Councilman Bob Littlefield. Numerous candidates attended as well, including Corporation Commission candidate Brenda Burns, and CD-7 hopeful Ruth McClung.

Here are some pictures from the event. Stay tuned for details to be announced soon for next month’s event!




Filed Under: Pol-parazzi, Special Event

Meeting Growing Energy Needs Requires Improved Electricity System

July 21, 2009 By 3 Comments

Phoenix–Consumer demand for electricity is projected to increase by 50 percent in the next 20 years and Arizona’s existing power infrastructure cannot meet those demands.

A new report from the Goldwater Institute, “Opening the Grid: How to Recharge Arizona’s Electricity System for the 21st Century,” lays out a clear path for meeting increased energy needs.

“If Arizona doesn’t restructure its electricity system, it will have lasting consequences on the economy. Having access to relatively inexpensive energy to power businesses and homes is a key component to future economic growth,” said Nick Dranias, constitutional policy analyst with the Goldwater Institute. “Fortunately, there are no constitutional impediments to restructuring Arizona’s electricity market for free and open competition.”

“Opening the Grid” was written by Stanley S. Reynolds, professor of economics and the SRP Professor of Technology, Public Policy and Markets at the University of Arizona and Andrew N. Kleit, professor of energy and environmental economics at Pennsylvania State University.

The report explains how electricity restructuring has worked in Britain, Texas and Pennsylvania and how it can work in Arizona. As a result of restructuring, Texas increased generation capacity by 35 percent between 1998 and 2006 with much of that increased capacity coming from renewable sources that consumers are choosing to purchase. In Britain, restructuring lowered utility rates by 30 percent.

The report also explains how to avoid the pitfalls of failed restructuring efforts that have taken place around the country. California’s experience in particular raised questions about the viability of competitive electricity markets. The primary cause of the California’s failed effort at restructuring can be avoided in Arizona. California’s effort failed because long-term contracts between power generators, suppliers, and consumers were prohibited or discouraged, allowing for vast changes in prices.

To restructure Arizona’s power system, this report recommends:

· Eliminating the monopolies on retail electricity where consumers are assigned an electricity company based on their address and opening up the market to competition. This would allow consumers to choose their utility company. 

· Breaking electricity bills out into separate charges for transmission, generation, distribution and system operations. This would provide consumers with the information they need to make an informed decision about how they buy and consume electricity.

· Lifting price controls on wholesale electricity and stopping cost guarantees to generating companies. Instead generating companies should operate like other non-monopoly companies and keep the profits they make and be responsible for losses they incur. The paper also recommends lifting price controls on retail electricity after a transition period.

The report details the interim steps that would have to be taken to protect consumers while the transition away from an electricity monopoly is occurring. “Restructuring isn’t something that will happen overnight, but it must happen if Arizona’s electricity industry intends to meet the demands of the 21st-century consumer,” said Mr. Dranias.

“Opening the Grid” is available online or by calling (602) 462-5000. The Goldwater Institute is a nonprofit public policy research and litigation organization whose work is made possible by the generosity of its supporters.

Filed Under: Energy, Press Release, Regulations

“Racino:” A Key Budget Option for the Arizona Legislature

July 21, 2009 By 11 Comments

By Jay Heiler

We have now completed a 2009 legislative session which was dominated by work on a balanced state budget, and yet failed to produce one. Or, if you prefer, failed to produce one that Gov. Jan Brewer would be willing to sign. This is in part the fault of the Legislature, in part the fault of the governor.Of course, many in those provinces will tell you that it’s mainly the fault of the Secretary of Homeland Security. Janet Napolitano may now be keeping the nation safe, but she did not leave the state fiscally sound.

Having said that, the matter is no longer about assigning blame but charting a way out. And it’s also true that given the state’s revenue shrinkage amid the current recession, the budget would be under stress even if it hadn’t been grown too quickly. It would just be under less stress, and the solution set would be less painful. The state’s politicians are now about the business of distributing that pain, not a job most of them relish.

It’s against this fiscal backdrop that the subject of the Arizona’s gaming policy has come due for review. Briefly expressed, that policy holds that some number of the state’s Native American tribes shall be allowed indefinitely to reap billions of dollars from gambling receipts, and everyone else shall reap precious little.

Now for a time and up to a point, that policy has been worthy of some support. In fact I was there, working for then-Gov. Fife Symington, when that policy was born. During Symington’s first term the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) imposed upon states the obligation to allow tribal casino operations, although limited in size, scope and place. And the idea that through their casino operations Arizona’s tribes might gain some overdue relief from persistent poverty was appealing to most Arizonans.

It’s worked out that way too, as nearly two dozen tribes have capitalized well on the exclusive franchise. Across 15 years they have collectively realized s billions of dollars in gaming profits, and they are now aggressively building new destination resorts around their casinos. One tribe has now boldly asserted its right to build such a place not on reservation land but right in the heart of Glendale. Despite the city’s resistance, they will most likely pull it off.

So here comes the point: Casino gambling is here to stay in Arizona. Already embedded in the community, it is going to become more so and it is going to grow. The only remaining public policy question is how effectively we are going to regulate and tax it for the benefit of all Arizonans.

When the state is $3.5 billion and more than 30 percent short on its budget, this question ought to be called by the state’s political leadership. It hasn’t been. Arizona’s racing industry has therefore called it, seeking permission to operate casinos on its existing racetrack properties and give the state 45 percent of the profits.

In the early going this would provide the state with a hundreds of millions in additional annual revenue, to spend on schools and universities, law enforcement and transportation, indigent care and other essential state responsibilities. If the state so chose, it could securitize that revenue and reap an enormous sum to help close the current budget shortfall, or it could simply enjoy the revenue going forward on an annual basis.

There are only two rational objections against allowing the tracks to open so-called “racinos,” which already exist in many states. The first is from gambling opponents who see it as an expansion of something they don’t like, but as noted above that expansion is going to happen anyway. Some people get this. Mike Huckabee was the featured speaker at the Center for Arizona Policy’s most recent annual event. He has already backed racinos in his home state of Arkansas.

The second objection, from the tribes and allied voices who might fear competition, is similarly flawed. The tribes will be fine; their operations will always have a long head-start and first-mover advantage, and they will be qualitatively different from the offerings at horse and dog tracks. They will continue to realize handsome profits for the benefit of their people. They have enjoyed an exclusive franchise for a long time and paid a tiny tax rate, a small fraction of what is paid by gaming operations in neighboring Nevada and elsewhere.

I grew up in the Thoroughbred racing business, tromping through the summer mud and across the frozen winter pastures of rural Cincinnati to feed and water the carefully-bred horses my dad hoped would hit it big. Today the industry — and it is a real industry with real jobs, real intellectual capital and long tradition that exist outside and beyond the wagering on races — has come under tremendous pressure from multiplying casinos. Arizona is actually well-positioned for a prominent place in Thoroughbred breeding and racing and the considerable economic benefits that would bring, but it will not happen without the racinos that have been permitted in other states.

Arizona’s gaming policy is untenable. Time and circumstances have predictably passed it by, like stakes horses dusting a $5,000 claimer on the backstretch. At the same time, the governor and the Legislature remain locked in a bitter dispute over how to balance the budget (they haven’t yet but must) and whether doing so will require new revenues (it will). A long list of vital state interests from education to law enforcement are hanging in the breach. The state’s gaming policy must be revised for the benefit of all Arizonans.

Jay Heiler is the former Chief of Staff under Governor Fife Symington. Currently, Mr. Heiler is a public affairs consultant representing the Arizona Racetrack Association.

Filed Under: Gaming, State Budget, State Government

Goddard expects to run for Governor after laying off 49 employees & attorneys while bringing on 3 political hacks?

July 21, 2009 By 12 Comments

It is so sad that Attorney General Goddard would lay off 49 employees, including several seasoned attorneys, so he can hire three political hacks at inflated salaries. First, he laid off 20 employees in January including seasoned prosecutors like nationally renowned cybercrime expert Gail Thackeray.  Then, after he got those employees out of the way, he brought in Phoenix City Councilman Democrat Greg Stanton as a lobbyist for $119,000/yr, who didn’t need a job but in fact had to resign from the City Council in order to take the job. Next, Goddard brought on failed County Attorney candidate Democrat Gerald Richard in February as a “special policy advisor” making $97,000/yr.  Last month, he hired the other failed Democrat County Attorney candidate, Tim Nelson, as his Chief Deputy in a blatantly transparent attempt to set him up in a position to run for Attorney General after Goddard leaves. Monday, he laid off 29 more employees, including 12 more attorneys.

Under Goddard, the office was mismanaged and run without consideration as to costs. Even though the economy was tanking over the past couple of years, Goddard continued to hire additional attorneys and support staff instead of tightening his budget. Now, Goddard is letting staff and attorneys go who have been with the office for years – so much for seniority. Goddard thinks that he can get away with this, and get elected as governor in 2010. This is a brutal way to treat your employees and Arizonans will remember this when they go to the ballot box. Mismanaging an office then hiring political operatives while you cover for your mismanagement by ruining people’s lives is a nasty way to run Arizona.

Filed Under: Political Parties, Spending, State Budget, State Government

QUIT RUNNING FROM THE BATTLE!

July 20, 2009 By 12 Comments

I hate to say it but there is no group of people more incapable of fighting and winning a battle than Congressional Republicans. In fact, I think that “doormat” and “weakness” could be descriptive planks in our party platform. This is especially true of my Republican colleagues in the United States Senate. If we ever hope to get any part of a Conservative agenda enacted our side needs to learn how to stand up to the Democrats—including using some of the same dirty tactics employed by Democrats. But fighting won’t get the job done if it isn’t accompanied by a desire to actually defeat, and sometimes punish, the Democrats—just like they do to us. “Elections have consequences.” 

Unfortunately, too many Republicans (Moderates and McCain types mostly) are more interested in getting along with Democrats. There have been plenty of recent examples of our side fleeing the field of battle at a critical moment. Does anyone remember how McCain wouldn’t let his campaign staffers utter Obama’s middle name? Or how Bush quashed investigations into Clinton’s criminal conduct with his “New Tone”? And who could forget how Republicans in the senate wouldn’t fight to hold a proper impeachment trial of Bill Clinton? We meekly back down every time. 

To the above list Senator Jeff Sessions is about to make another contribution. Last week during the Sotomayor confirmation hearings he said: “I will not support, and I don’t think anybody on this side will support a filibuster.” He followed up with: “I’ll look forward to you getting that vote before we recess in August”. To round out the niceties Senator Patrick Leahy, the Democrat who chairs the Judiciary Committee, responded: “Thank you, Jeff, I appreciate that.” In that short exchange we have summarized the prevailing Democrat-Republican behavior pattern of the last three decades. Why say something so stupid? Maybe Sessions should give him his lunch money too. 

What reasons would persuade our side not to filibuster Sotomayor’s nomination vote? Are they the same reasons that caused the Democrats to filibuster Bush’s judicial nominations? Have Sessions and the other Republican senators forgotten how radical, bigoted and thoroughly unfit for judicial duty Sotomayor truly is or are they that fearful of cloture? Regardless of how Al Frankenized the U.S. Senate has become it does not relieve Republicans of their duty to exert every possible means to keep a person as dangerous as Sotomayor far away from the Supreme Court.  

Quit running from the battle! 

The constant weakness and retreating by top Republicans has demoralized our party’s base and cost us the last two elections. We need to get some backbone. Republicans need to get into the fight. We need to fight Democrats every single step of the way. 

Hopefully the next health care plan will included testosterone therapy for Republicans in Congress.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Culture, Ethics, Government, Judicial, Personalities, Political Parties, Political Science

Taxpayer Town Hall This Thursday in North Phoenix

July 20, 2009 By 2 Comments

Calling All Northeast Valley Taxpayers and Tea Partiers!

(Please forward this to your friends in the NE Phoenix-Scottsdale-Anthem-Cave Creek-Carefree areas and in Legislative Districts 6, 7, and 8!)

Will the national government complete its takeover of American health care? What will bureaucratic decisions made in Washington mean for elderly patients? What will happen to the quality of health services in the US? What will happen to doctor-patient relationships? Is there any way to stop the march of socialized medicine?

Closer to home, will Gov. Brewer succeed in getting the Legislature to put a billion-dollar sales tax increase on the Arizona ballot? What would that mean for taxpayers? What would that mean for recipients of government services? What will that mean for education reform? How will Arizona taxpayers respond?

You have lots of questions for your state legislators and for policy experts. And we’ve got some answers. Thursday night, July 23, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, the Arizona Chapter of Americans for Prosperity Foundation is sponsoring a Taxpayer Town Hall meeting in the Fairway House at the Grayhawk Golf Club, near Hayden Road and Thompson Peak Parkway, north of 101 and east of Scottsdale Road.

Map and directions for Grayhawk: http://www.grayhawkgolf.com/locationmap/  

Confirmed speakers will include AFPF Arizona director Tom Jenney and medical policy expert Dr. Byron Schlomach of the Goldwater Institute. We have made room in the schedule for more than an hour of Q&A from the public.

All legislators from Legislative Districts 6, 7, and 8 have been invited to participate in this nonpartisan event: Senators Pamela Gorman, Jim Waring, and Carolyn Allen, and Representatives Sam Crump, Carl Seel, Ray Barnes, Nancy Barto, John Kavanagh, and Michele Reagan.

If you have not done so already, RSVP to infoAZ@afphq.org, and let us know you’re coming. The room at Grayhawk seats about 100 people, so we need to know as soon as possible if we will need to make accommodations for more persons. There is no charge for this event.

It is very important for Tea Partiers and other Northeast Valley taxpayers to come to this event. Much is at stake in the national health care policy battle, and in the budget battles down at the Arizona state Capitol.

For Liberty,

Tom Jenney
Arizona Director
Americans for Prosperity Foundation
(Arizona Federation of Taxpayers)
www.aztaxpayers.org

Filed Under: Health Care, Special Event, State Budget, State Government, Taxation

Warding Off A GOP Challenge in CD-5

July 20, 2009 By 17 Comments

Sonoran Alliance has learned that recent transplant from the Bay Area, Jim Ward, has no record of voting in a primary election in Arizona or anywhere else for at least the past 10 years.The lack of primary election voting history in Arizona isn’t surprising given that Ward has only been in the state less than a year and was a California resident during last year’s primary.

However, our sources tell Sonoran Alliance that going back several years in California voter history reveals that Ward never bothered to vote in a primary while a resident in California.

Now some can and will make the argument that whether or not you bother to vote should have no bearing on your fitness for office. That certainly is fair enough.

But it does appear strangely awkward for a candidate running in a primary to ask voters to turn out and vote when they don’t make the effort or can’t be bothered to do it themself.

We would suspect that the primary voting history of Sonoran Alliance readers would be fairly high and they should be congratulated for doing what so many don’t – exercising their right to participate in the political process.

Should our candidates for office be expected to do the same thing?

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Voter Registration

TARP Treasury Secret 24 Trillion Dollar Question

July 20, 2009 By 2 Comments

by Gayle Plato

Another Inspector General best get ready to ‘retire’ as The Hill  is reporting that Neil Barofsky, an IG overseeing the workings of the asset relief nightmare known as TARP, says the United States is being kept in the dark about the bailout.  He has repeatedly recommended that the US Treasury provide more transparent actions, but to no avail.

I’ve written at Sonoran Alliance  of the quantitative easing going on, the credit-default swaps loss backing scams of AIG as related to Goldman Sachs.  Today’s news is nothing less than an economic global killer if this turns out to be true. Our Treasury Department along with apparent complicity of the Federal Reserve Bank, has committed bailout funds of exponentially more amounts than approved by Congress.  If the IG is accurate,  this is completely unconstitutional and we are not obligated to this debt commitment that’s twice the size of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

We, along with teetering European Central Banks, the International Monetary Fund working overtime to bailout entire countries, and the Chinese paper torture of the often crooked and manipulative Chinese fiscal practices,  cannot back the dollar on faith.  The deus ex machina Obama and his economic advisers are losing all credibility. We then pay the price.

“Barofsky said that while the TARP program that Congress passed amounts to $700 billion, the total federal government support since 2007 for the economy and the financial sector could reach a far higher figure of $23.7 trillion. The government has committed significantly more money through a variety of other federal agencies and programs.”
(http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/watchdog-treasury-has-failed-to-adopt-bailout-safeguards-2009-07-20.html)

Filed Under: Economics, Ethics, Federal Budget

Open Letter to President Obama: Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl Deserves A Leader

July 19, 2009 By 36 Comments


“Soldier who was captured in Afghanistan and then seen in a Taliban video posted online is identified as 23-year-old Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl from Idaho.” (http://www.foxnews.com/)

Dear President Barack Obama,

I will get right to my point. Sir, your decisions astound me. I am in awe of you. I am in awe of your abject cruelty and disregard for our people. Every day I see examples of your flippant attitude, and wimpy reactions to strife. You encourage the Congress to hurry up legislation worthy of deep thought and debate; you allow top economic advisers to run wild with fringe theories of extremist liberal spending. You allow your staff to stomp on the system of Checks and Balances, sacred to the Constitution, making sweeping policy change without even an Executive nod. Our families are going broke, while you push more taxes. Legislation is being pushed through without ANY light of day, no debate, and total secrecy. Where is the transparency sir? I am amazed by your indifference.

But today I see you in the Huffington Post, images from yet another ‘date night’ or celebrity party. Time with your family I understand, but the rest of the world cannot take night after night to party. Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, captured and with the Taliban, is not getting to party. He’s begging God to stay alive, and you are having a cocktail. Mr. President, I do not want to see one more luau, image of you shooting hoops, hugs and snuggles with Hollywood Celebrity sycophants, nor you taking a breather. You are heartless to blatantly party when our men and women in uniform are being held hostage.

What exactly are you doing for this family, for this young man who just wants to come home?

I can see through your drink glass to the other side that you do not see. The world is watching this young man, sitting in wait for YOU. The world loves you and listens to your every word. So Mr. Obama, where is your pressure and charm? The citizens of this country see you dancing with the stars, voting present on all matters, allowing advising trolls to run the government. We hear your silence rising.

But this boy who’s more a man than you, he’s just trying to get home. He’s out there defending you! Where ARE YOU? He’s been held since June 30th, and you’re throwing out the first All-Star pitch? You get Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl home; get on TV tonight NOT to peddle socialized medicine. Get on TV and let the Taliban know that either he’s released or the United States is coming. No games, no meadow muffin policy. Get up, stand up! FIGHT FOR US! Have just a momentary twinkle of integrity and a blink of the bravery of Bowe; tell him you’re going in and getting him home.

Mr. President, if you cannot take lead, you must resign. Otherwise, I can promise you Mr. President, every one us us that’s a mom or dad, that’s watching you dance, we will remember this horror come election day. Waffling cowards are not fit to lead the greatest nation on earth.

Sincerely,

Ms. Gayle Plato, M. Ed.
Phoenix, AZ
platobesley@gmail.com

Filed Under: Freedom of Speech, Military

Code Blues? Give Liberty Its Due

July 18, 2009 By 6 Comments
by Gayle Plato

After the Code Blue rallies, protesting Obamacare and the sweeping costs, many may decide that none of this citizen activism matters. It feels hopeless in view of the crazy designs by liberal architects.  But remember the men and women who face battle every day as soldiers; remember the freedom-loving young people dying in the streets of Tehran.  Remember that all honest underdogs feel the desperation of lost cause just before the win.  It’s lonely and deflating; especially when dripping under the Arizona Sun.  Know though, that each voice deserves it’s sound, words of limitation rise up to a collective guttural yowl of STOP.  Success is in the numbers: Arizonateaparty.com tracked conservatively, 2000 people across 14 congressional offices, during one of hottest days of the year. Running full steam ahead makes sense.
Freedom is NOT about running amok; it’s about choosing a path, choosing to walk the less traveled road, or to take the beaten path. Freedom is about personal best not group think; it’s local, home grown values tailored to our families and friends.  Drive-thru politics and drive-by legislators that take out our ways and blast our family values are machines. What you say matters.

Attack of the Machines

Cyborgs of machine driven biologicals, under group think mind control are like swarming bees. Remember the Borg of Star Trek the Next Generation fame; their tag line is “Resistance is Futile”  This is the way of the Obama Administration.  The proof is in the collectivism politics, the sweeping control of the democrats, the wooing of the young, plugging them in to the mindset with simple cola ad platitudes like ‘Hope and Change’.  But the Borg have already metastasized. The Obama Czars, the Drone Democrats in Congress move like Transformers. Decepticons shape-shifting into attack dogs, with all loyalty of the underlings and power emanating from the Cube.

Megatron Obamacratic Control Requires a Stand of Freedom

We are the thin Red, White, and Blue line. We are not trying to get our way but make a stand for what is right.  This is not a game to win; it’s our home and out way of life being yanked away in a sweeping tsunami of change.  You may not convince everyone, but we can shine the light of liberty on the lies. You can also thank the few elected officials left who are fighting out there on the front lines of political battle against the gyrating whirly gig spin masters at the helm.
Czar staffers are extremist esoterics with deeply disturbing views. This week, emphasis is being placed on Science Adviser, John Holdren.  No matter the complaints against our protests, the facts about one like this man cause alarm. His 30-plus year position of the zero population growth seeds includes forced abortions if needed, or people seen as ones who “contribute to social deterioration” (i.e. undesirables) “can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility” — in other words, be compelled to have abortions or be sterilized [http://zombietime.com/john_holdren/].  This is a top adviser.  Obama surrounds himself with Ivy League liberals, who have long paper trails of extreme.
Barack Obama Promised Transparency

President Obama is lying. The Democratic party leadership is lying. At the witching hours, around three a.m. in Washington D.C., Harry Reid and other Congressional leaders pushed through the committee level approvals of the Obamacare plan. I sat in Republican Representative John Shadegg’s Phoenix office yesterday as he spoke to us via teleconference.  Mr. Shadegg told us that the Democrat leaders want to push through this bill in the next two weeks.


United We Stand

Congressman Shadegg did not lie.  Running to catch a plane home from the crazy of Washington, he stopped, told us his truth, and he thanked us. Mr. Shadegg is leading Congressional Republicans with a bill offering health care choice, and competitive options.  [See previous article http://tinyurl.com/rightwoman-GOP-plan]

He is not giving up nor storming out. Mr. Shadegg is taking a stand, knowing full well his bill, this length of a term paper, up against the Obamacare plan, over a foot thick, with sweeping amendments plopped in,  is outgunned.

Nonetheless, Congressman John Shadegg signed this, and gave every Code Blue protester one as a pledge of faith, and out of respect to us:

Filed Under: Federal Budget, Freedom of Speech, Health Care

Something to Say about SCA

July 17, 2009 By 40 Comments

I couldn’t help but comment on the post by Ray Stern on “Valley Fever” at the Phoenix New Times. Stern believes that Sonoran Alliance “doesn’t have a word to say about Steve Ellman, Dave Hendershott and the SCA.”

Speaking for myself, I have not had a chance to read up the connections between the aforementioned. It was not until today’s Googe alert that I was prompted to read Stern’s take on why conservative blogs like Sonoran Alliance are silent. So I might as well break any perception of silence.

At the heart of the controversy is an ad that was created during the 2008 election cycle in the race for Sheriff between Joe Arpaio and Dan Saban. The ad was a very personal attack on Dan Saban over misconduct and included a video clip of a deposition and questions regarding sexual activities.

Prior to the 2008 General Election a group called The Sheriff’s Command Association raised over $100,000. SCA then donated that money to the Republican Party which in turn, handed it over to another group which sponsored the attack ads against Dan Saban. (Does anyone know the name of this group?)

SCA’s involvement was questioned and challenged. The County Election Department interpreted SCA’s activities as those of a poltical action committee. That means that SCA should have filed a Statement of Organization and campaign finance reports with the County. My understanding is that that never occurred. According to an article written by Yvonne Wingett in the Arizona Republic on Wednesday, SCA’s Treasurer (was that title self-assigned or given by the Republic?) Joel Fox, never acknowledged his group as a political action committee. He therefore argued against any disclosure of the names of donors to SCA.

This last Monday, Fox reached a settlement with the County Elections Department which included the release of the donors’ names. On that list of donors was Sheriff Joe’s second in command, David Hendershott, Vice-Chairman of Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold, Inc, B.M Rankin, Phoenix real-estate developer, Steve Ellman and several others. (read Phoenix Business Journal article). Incidentally, if the ad was really an independent expenditure, anyone close to either candidate who gave to the effort for or against either of the candidates could be interpreted as violating campaign finance law. I’m not sure if any of the articles above even mentioned that.

Now it’s my turn.

First my credentials. I’ve sat on several political action committees and consulted many a candidate about the do’s and don’ts of campaign finance reporting and disclosure. Yes, I’ve even had to learn the hard way when it comes to filing deadlines and what to file. Independent expenditures are especially serious and sensitive and candidates and committees can get into a lot of trouble if certain people know about an “IE.” I am also on the record as opposing taxpayer-funded so-called “Clean Elections” which has included a legal challenge to the law (but doesn’t apply to County elections). But I also believe that as long as the system is in place, committees should use it to the best of their ability without breaking the law. Ultimately, I advocate for immediate and full disclosure with no limits on how much an individual gives. If Jim Pedersen wants to give $500,000 to Terry Goddard in his race for Governor, go ahead and let him but let’s make sure that the public know all about it the moment it happens. We have the technology to do that in 2009. And what makes this most important is that the media and alternate media reports it when it happens.

In early 2008, the Ellman company sought to fill a media relations position. I was told that it would have actually been broader than media relations. Nevertheless, as a recently unemployed county worker, I applied for the position. As you can guess, I did not land the position. End of story = no further connection. However, let me just say that if I had been in the position to say something about funding a borderline sexually-explicit political attack ad, I would have stood up and opposed it.

Dan Saban is a friend of mine. His family attends and works at my church – Cental Christian Church of the East Valley. The ad that was run against Dan was disgusting. As a political consultant, I adamantly opposed any form of ad that attacks a candidate’s personal life or family. If you recall, I was very vocal about the mail pieces that attacked Russell Pearce and his family. I even named names and one of the names was a major contributor to the pro-life and pro-family movement.

If Ray Stern seems to think that all the writers at Sonoran Alliance are “strangely silent” over SCA’s revelation, this one just spoke up.

Filed Under: Blogs, Freedom of Speech

Goldwater Institute Appeals Ruling in Mesa Impact Fees Case

July 17, 2009 By 8 Comments

Goldwater Institute News Release
July 16, 2009

Phoenix–The Goldwater Institute announced today that it is seeking an appeal in its legal challenge against Mesa’s cultural facilities impact fee. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Douglas Rayes gave the Goldwater Institute an opening-round defeat in its challenge to the fee, which is imposed on all new homes. Cities have limited authority to impose impact fees so that development pays its own way. However, Mesa used the fees to pay for museums and performing arts centers, rather than the necessary public services strained by the impact of new development.

“No matter how desirable, cultural facilities are not a ‘necessary’ public service as required by the impact fee statute,” said Clint Bolick, Director of the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation. “The City did not show that new development created a need for new cultural facilities.”

Despite that, Judge Rayes deferred to the City’s judgment. The Goldwater Institute believes it has a very strong and factual case, and after consultation with its client, the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, decided to appeal the ruling.

More information about the case can be found at http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/case/63. The Goldwater Institute is a nonprofit public policy research and litigation organization whose work is made possible by the generosity of its supporters.

Filed Under: Arts, City Government, Constitutional Law, Culture, Economics, Judicial, Press Release, Taxation
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