Arizona Politics for Conservatives: Sonoran Alliance
Arizona Politics, News, Commentary and Information with a Blatantly Conservative Worldview Presented by an Alliance of Writers, Activists, Consultants and Government Insiders.
In an effort to ensure better accountability and meaningful elections for members of the Arizona judiciary, former Maricopa County Attorney and Attorney General candidate Andrew Thomas announced today a plan that would require real elections of judges as well as other reforms.
Read the full plan here.
Goldwater Institute News Release
PHOENIX – After a three-year legal battle, Tom and Elizabeth Preston soon will be able to open Body Accents Tattoo and Piercing Studio in Tempe.
The Prestons have settled their lawsuit against Tempe which challenged the City’s refusal to allow the couple to open a tattoo studio near Scottsdale and Curry Roads. Both sides have agreed to dismiss their appeals of a 2009 trial court ruling. Maricopa County Judge Robert H. Oberbillig ruled the City’s revocation of the Prestons’ operating permit was arbitrary and capricious, and ordered Tempe to restore the permit. But Judge Oberbillig determined the Prestons shouldn’t receive monetary damages for more than $20,000 that they had invested in the business before Tempe revoked their permit.
“This lifts such a weight off of our shoulders,” Elizabeth Preston said. “Clearly, we lost money because we couldn’t open the studio three years ago. Now, we can do something that we are passionate about and will allow us to recover our losses in a business that continues to grow.”
“This little studio will be a monument to the triumph of economic freedom,” said Clint Bolick, director of the Goldwater Institute Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation, which represented the Prestons. “No business owner should have to endure what the Prestons went through. After the trial court precedent, we hope no one will have to do so again.”
This case protects the fundamental right of anyone to pursue a livelihood and operate a legal business without a local government shutting it down because of personal, negative feelings not based in fact or the law, Mr. Bolick said.
The Prestons have owned Virtual Reality, a tattoo studio in Mesa, for 20 years with no complaints filed against them. In 2007, the City of Tempe issued a permit for their new studio, Body Accents. But the City Council rescinded that permit after substantial investment by the Prestons based on the “perception” that the studio would harm the neighborhood.
The Prestons received their Tempe operating permit today and hope to open the Body Accents studio in early August. Mr. Bolick plans to fulfill a vow to get “inked” with his first tattoo when the studio opens.
Read more about this and other Goldwater lawsuits to protect individual rights and keep government within its constitutional limits at www.goldwaterinstitute.org/litigation. The Goldwater Institute is a research and litigation organization whose work is made possible by the generosity of its supporters.
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
June 16, 2010
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This installment is to provide more evidence of the same.
In a March 8, 2010 Wall Street Journal article, “ID Card for Workers is at Center of Immigration Plan”, you can see that it is the explicit intent of the leftists (such as Schumer), globalists and RINOs (such as Lindsay Graham) to force anyone applying for a job to present a national id to obtain one.
What do you think e-Verify is? It’s a web front end sitting on top of the US Department of Homeland Security’s national id database which integrates data from the US Department of Labor, the US Department of Health and Human Services, the State Department, pretty much every department, but most importantly and worst of all, from the states.
Why do the feds need the state data on the states’ own citizens so badly? Because otherwise, the feds to not have all of the data they need to track each legal citizen uniquely. Why? Because in the past it’s been ILLEGAL to do so. Not to mention the fact that there is absolutely no authority in the constitution for the federal government to track law abiding citzens, nor to expend sacred tax dollars on doing so.
How does the federal government get data from the states? There are several ways, but here’s a summary of a few relevant ones….
1) 42USC666 (a)(13), implemented under the federal Deadbeat Dad’s law. This federal statute required states to collect SSNs from all drivers’ license applicants and remit them to the federal government. However, this information alone was still not enough to create a water tight data tracking system for citizens (nor to obtain enough information on individuals to tie to legal gun purchases from dealers, but that’s another story.)
2) REAL ID. The REAL ID program was a federal mandate on the states to collect and remit certain information on their citzens in order for the federal government to complete building out their national id database. The cost of compliance on states was very high. Additionally, conservatives opposed this strongly on religious and political grounds and many states, such as Arizona, “opted out”.
3) A state voluntarily hands over the data.
This one is a tricky one. For example, the state of Arizona, has always traditionally resisted handing over data from its law abiding citizens. However, recently under SB1070, the anti-immigration law, SB1070 removes ALL RESTRICTIONS from sending and exchanging license data for ANY LICENSE for ANY PERSON (legal or illegal), with ANY AGENCY of the federal government.
SB1070 does not restrict the sending and exchange of law abiding Arizona citizens’ data with the feds to a police stop. It removes ALL RESTRICTIONS and ALL PROHIBITIONS from the exchange of law abiding Arizona citizens’ license data with the federal government, beginning July 1.
That means any agency that has license data on Arizonans can send all or none, it can send the entire database of license data anytime it wants, beginning July 1, 2010.
You can rest assured that the federal government, especially Janet Napolitano and the US Department of Homeland Security, will amply incentivize the MVD and DPS to do so, so she can get her hands on the data she needs to track your gun purchases, among other things.
So, whereas Arizona opted out of the federal mandate program called “REAL ID” wherein the federal government attempted to pull data from Arizona to complete its national id database data on Arizona citizens, under SB1070, Arizona turns around and hands Janet Napolitano and G_d only knows who else, including the IRS, all data it has on you as a law abiding Arizona citizen.
Hmm… betcha didn’t know that was in the immigration law, did ya?
So, how does that turn Arizona licenses into national ids? Despite the cartoon picture at the top of this post, a national id is not a card, barcode, RFID chip, nor a magnetic strip.
It is the DATA the government has on you, such as your unique identifers, name, domicile, any biometric identifiers such as the digitized MVD photo on your license, which is also in your MVD data file.
So, if Arizona hands the data over to the feds and the feds promptly stick the data in their national id database and all of that data links directly to your drivers license, guess what?!?!?!?
VOILA…. your Arizona drivers license turns into something Clinton always pined for and dreamed of foisting on the country, A NATIONAL ID CARD!
The same card can and will be used to deny birth certificates for your children, unless you agree to a national id card check.
The same card can and will be used to deny you the ability to work, per the WSJ article above, to deny you work. In other words, no citizen may work before the US Department of Homeland Security clears them to work (or doesn’t if you happen to be a political opponent.)
If you do not have your unique identifiers and national id on your mind or in your hand at all times, you will be denied the ability to buy, sell, or engage legally in any commercial transaction, such as banking, buying/selling a home, opening a business (SB1070 does not exempt the exchange of business license data with the feds either.)
Conservatives have ALWAYS opposed national ids, since day 1 when FDR wanted them, in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan was vehemently opposed, in the 1990s the conservatives stopped every Clinton and democrat attempt at creating them.
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NEW VIDEO RELEASED FROM THE GOSAR FOR CONGRESS CAMPAIGN
IMMIGRATION
BEAUCHAMP ENDORSED BY NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL
Bradley Beauchamp, candidate for Congress is Arizona’s First Congressional District, has officially been endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council’s largest sector, Local 2544. Along with their endorsement of Mr. Beauchamp, the Border Patrol Council endorsed Bradley’s plan to secure our border. This endorsement puts the Border Patrol on a long list of Arizona law enforcement leaders that are supporting Beauchamp, such as Mohave County Sheriff Sheahan and Yavapai County Sheriff Waugh.
On Tuesday, Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol Council’s Local 2544, sent an official letter of endorsement to the Beauchamp for Congress campaign. President Judd wrote, “On behalf of the nearly 3,000 rank and file men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol in the Tucson Sector, it is my pleasure to endorse you in the Republican Primary for Congressional District 1 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Your no-nonsense approach and belief that our nation was founded on checks and balances afforded in our Great Constitution will be a refreshing change in a political climate controlled by special interests and the interests of self-serving politicians. We hope you will accept our endorsement and our best wishes in your primary campaign. We are confident you will win the primary and we look forward to working with you in the future.”
Bradley Beauchamp was proud to have the endorsement, saying, “I am honored to be endorsed by the brave men and women who do all they can to protect our borders. In Congress, I will work tirelessly to make sure these great patriots have all the tools necessary to keep our southern border safe and secure.”
A copy of the letter can be found HERE, and a copy of Beauchamp’s plan to secure our border can be viewed HERE.
Bradley Beauchamp was born and raised in Arizona. He worked his way up from washing dishes in a café and laboring in a turquoise mine to becoming a schoolteacher, successful attorney and most importantly, a defender of the Constitution.
Bradley Beauchamp graduated from Northern Arizona University and began teaching government and civics in Globe, Arizona. After several years in the classroom, and desiring to study the Constitution more in depth, he was accepted into the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Upon graduating, he returned to Globe to practice law in the small towns and rural communities of Arizona. He is endorsed by many Republican leaders in Arizona’s First Congressional District, including Andy Tobin, Steve Waugh, Charles Christensen, Bobbi Peterson, John Rhodes, Terri Kibler, and Rick Fernau.
For more information, please visit www.bradleybeauchamp.com.
PHOENIX – For the third year in a row, Arizona Capitol Times readers have selected the Goldwater Institute as the state’s “Best Capitol Watchdog.”
“It’s our job to keep government in check. Too many government actors think they can operate without boundaries and that the Constitution is just a tired slip of paper–and we’re here to set them straight,” said Darcy Olsen, president and CEO of the Goldwater Institute. “We appreciate the peoples’ trust and look forward to advancing liberty even more in the years to come.”
As the state’s premier government watchdog organization, the Goldwater Institute fulfills its role through policy research, courtroom challenges and in-depth investigations. Some of the Institute’s recent successes include:
· Protecting your right to choose the health care you need. The Institute helped craft the Health Care Freedom Act, which will appear on the 2010 general election ballot in Arizona and two other states. More than 40 other states are also considering a version of the Health Care Freedom Act or already have implemented it.
· Defending free speech. A Goldwater Institute lawsuit prompted the U.S. Supreme Court to block the use of “matching funds” for taxpayer-subsidized candidates, enforcing a lower court order that says the scheme violates the First Amendment rights of privately-funded candidates.
· Identifying effective education reforms. Two years ago the Goldwater Institute recommended the adoption of proven education reforms, including: ending the social promotion of third graders who can’t read, alternative teacher certification so non-teachers who are experts in their field can enter the profession, and evaluating schools by letter grades–A through F–rather than the former, misleading “performing” and “excelling” labels. Arizona lawmakers adopted these and other Goldwater Institute-inspired education reforms during this year’s session.
· Upholding the state constitution’s ban on business subsidies. A Goldwater Institute lawsuit objected to a nearly $100 million subsidy for the CityNorth shopping mall which led to a state Supreme Court ruling that forbids corporate welfare schemes in the future.
· Promoting government transparency. The Goldwater Institute has long led the call for a more transparent government. This year Arizona lawmakers adopted a Goldwater idea to make all state and local governments, as well as school districts, post their check registers online.
The Arizona Capitol Times’ “Best Capitol Watchdog” award was presented to the Goldwater Institute Tuesday night as part of its fourth annual “Best of the Capitol Awards.”
The Goldwater Institute is an independent government watchdog supported by people who are committed to expanding free enterprise and liberty.
Phoenix, AZ (JUNE 15) - U.S. Senate Candidate J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) today said he is dismayed by claims that Sen. John McCain does not know McCain’s number one contributor who is now serving 50 years in prison.
Hayworth called on McCain to admit he knows Scott Rothstein, the convicted Ponzi scheme artist, return all the dirty money he received over the years from investment scams, and promise to return and reject contributions from shady characters.
“Sen. McCain likes to talk about how character matters, how political leaders must rise above even the appearance of impropriety,” Hayworth said. “It’s time his actions match his rhetoric. It’s time for him to clean his own house and start acting like a U.S. Senator.”
Over the last week, five known and alleged Ponzi scheme runners who contributed to Sen. John McCain have come to light. Two are in jail. Three have been charged by authorities with profiting from elaborate con operations and some of the money was used to fund McCain and other political campaigns.
Even though Rothstein funneled over $1.1 million to McCain through a bundling loophole, McCain purportedly “could not pick him out of a lineup,” according to the Senator’s spokesman.
“That flies in the face of all logic and is an insult to the intelligence of Arizona voters,” Hayworth said. “Sen. McCain is trying to cover up his relationship with this convicted felon, but the ties are too deep. Rothstein was the number one contributor to the McCain Victory 2008 committee and the number one contributor to the McCain-Palin Victory 2008 committee.
“Sen. McCain is pictured with Rothstein several times, been to his house to raise money, and even instructed his staff to set up a separate accounting system to track Rothstein’s $1.1 million in political contributions,” Hayworth said.
Rothstein’s chief operating officer, who pleaded guilty to involvement in the Ponzi scheme, gave McCain $30,000. McCain was given additional political contributions by at least three other alleged Ponzi scheme artists who are now facing criminal charges.
“The money needs to be returned,” Hayworth said. “If his donors are criminals who swindled money out of innocent victims to McCain’s benefit, McCain should return all the dirty money to help the victims – not just a portion of it.
“And he needs to rise to a higher standard and publically apologize for taking and spending money obtained through illegal activity,” Hayworth said.
Goldwater Institute News Release
PHOENIX – When several new education reforms become law in late July, Arizona legislators and other state officials must seize the opportunity to improve student learning, says a new report from the Goldwater Institute.
“During the 2010 session, the Legislature embraced some innovative ideas that already are improving student learning in other states,” said report author Matthew Ladner, Ph.D., Goldwater Institute vice president for research. “But this is the first step of a journey. Ultimately, the goal of these reforms is to change the culture of public schools so they focus on improved learning for every child, whether they are at the top of their class or the bottom.”
The report, “On the Road to Excellence: Next Steps to Match Florida’s Success in Educating Children,” says Arizona policymakers will have to resist the pressure to weaken these reforms during implementation. After a decade of reform, Florida’s fourth-grade students have improved their reading test scores by 20 points, which is the equivalent of moving up two entire grade levels.
The Arizona Department of Education now will have the chance to carry out similar reforms, such as providing clear descriptions of a school’s performance with letter grades of A, B, C, D, or F; requiring third graders to read before entering the fourth grade; and offering tests for career professionals to teach in public schools.
Dr. Ladner notes there are at least two additional Florida reforms that Arizona lawmakers should consider in 2011. To reduce the number of third-grade students who are held back, Florida has required extensive teacher retraining in the fundamentals of reading instruction. Dr. Ladner recommends that Arizona schools use existing teacher professional development funds to contract with private companies for affordable online training programs to equip teachers with more effective techniques.
Florida also has tied additional funding for schools to improved student performance. As one example, the report explains that Florida schools and teachers earn bonus money for each student who passes an advanced placement exam. Dr. Ladner recommends that funding for K-12 education in Arizona be linked directly to student achievement and sent directly to schools – bypassing bureaucratic school district offices – to improve the chances that the money actually will make it to classrooms.
Read “On the Road to Excellence: Next Steps to Match Florida’s Success in Educating Children” here.
The Goldwater Institute is an independent government watchdog supported by people who are committed to expanding free enterprise and liberty.
Watch LIVE at 11:00am PDT while J.D. Hayworth exposes McCain’s extensive ties to dirty money funneled through campaign finance reform loopholes.
Go to http://grassrootsinterviews.com at 11:00am PDT to watch the press conference in its entirety.
To learn more about THE Consistent Conservative, J.D. Hayworth, running for the U.S. Senate to represent the great state of Arizona, please visit, www.jdforsenate.com.
Tonight while the Yavapai County Republicans were celebrating Flag Day with a US Senate candidate forum, John McCain was in one of the richest areas of Virgina conducting a fundraising event with lobbyists and other Washington, DC insiders to raise more money to produce ads attacking JD Hayworth for being a “lobbyist” and “insider.”
I’d call that hypocrisy.
Let’s not forget that John McCain has been in Washington, DC for 28 years working with and for lobbyists. As the Democrats pointed out last election cycle. John McCain is in no position to label himself as the anti-lobbyist candidate.
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The search for Chris Simcox has taken on a whole new dimension. KFYI has posted this:
KFYI is the radio station that previously employed JD Hayworth. Simcox is the founder of The Minutemen and most recently paid senior advisor to JD Hayworth, his third wife has hired bounty hunters to find her allegedly violent husband in order to have a Court Order of Protection served after she alleges he held her at gunpoint for hours during an incident in November 2009. Simcox, described by Hayworth at his kick-off rallies in March 2010 as a close friend, has reportedly been hiding out from the law with another woman.
Run-ins with the law and alleged acts of violence are not new to Simcox. His first wife accused him of trying to molest their daughter but no formal charges were ever filed or was he ever found guilty of such, his second wife filed an emergency motion for full custody of their son after Simcox displayed bizarre and threatening behavior following the 9-11 attacks, and in 2004 a federal judge found him guilty of a firearms violation.
Speculation as to why JD Hayworth has not called for his “good friend” to make himself available to the authorities remains ongoing.
The Arizona Republic publised this release from Fugitive Recovery Services AZ/DC:
The OOP (Order of Protection) demands that Chris Simcox shall not contact Plantiff Alena Simcox or their children except through attorneys or the court, must stay away from their home and must surrender all firearms to the Scottsdale Police Department. Chris Simcox may still be in possession of a firearm, and should be considered Armed & Dangerous. Mr. Simcox is aware of the OOP and is currently evading any form of proper service, and is now considered in-hiding.
FRS of AZ has been retained by Alena Simcox for the purpose of tracking down and locating Chris Simcox and to report that information to local law enforcement so that the OOP can be served upon him without delay.
FRS of AZ is seeking information that would lead to Chris Simcox’s whereabouts so that local law enforcement may properly serve the Order Of Protection. There are no current active Warrants on this subject, apprehension is not required. FRS of AZ asks all concerned citizens to contact us with any detailed information they may have on his exact location, or contact their local law enforcement agency with those details. All contact will remain strictly confidential. A cash reward of $500 is being offered for any information that leads to Chris Simcox being properly served.
CONTACT:
Fugitive Recovery Services of Arizona / 602.705.7947 602.705.7947
www.FRSofAZ.com
Hospital bed tax proposed? See video at the end of this article.
The heaps of praise from the liberal Democrats continues for this self-proclaimed “Constitutional Conservative”! Even a former McCain campaign staffer took time to leave comments of praise in Mr Konopnicki’s local hometown weekly newspaper. And tomorrow, he’s co-hosting a $2,500/person fundraiser at the Biltmore for the Democrats and his liberal Republican pals.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2010/06/10/20100610thurlets102.html
Ever since we lost former Gov. Janet Napolitano to Washington, we have had nothing but trouble.
Without Napolitano here to veto the ridiculous bills passed by the Republican Legislature, all their foolishness has been signed into law by our Republican governor. It seems everything Republicans do ends up costing the state money we don’t have.
In November, let all good Arizonans vote those Republicans out of office and replace them with people who actually use forethought, logic and intelligence when formulating the future of our great state.
I exclude Rep. Bill Konopnicki from my comments. Of all the Republicans I have spoken to in this state, he is the only one to show a true sense of a path forward for us.
- John M. McKenzie, Sedona
… And there’s more about this Constitutional Conservative from Safford (what’s in the water out there?)
“For a conservative Legislature … we’ve borrowed a huge amount,” said state Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford.
He tried in vain to get the Legislature to consider a budget plan that would have aggressively paid down the debt, retiring most of it in five years instead of the current 20- and 30-year time frames. It would have required tax hikes, but it would have been more honest than saddling future legislatures and taxpayers with tax increases to pay for today’s spending, he argued.
I interviewed Mike Gular, a candidate for the Arizona House in LD 16. Technical difficulties plagued this broadcast so the sound quality is not up to par, but the interview is only about 40 minutes.
I want to remind all Republicans, Independents and Democrats who want Mike to win to ONE SHOT Mike in the House race. Be sure to vote ONLY for Mike or you’ll ensure that LD 16 will continue to have two Democrats in the House. Democrats use this tactic in Republican districts and it’s high time we use the tactic on them! I wish Mike the best of luck in his race!
I know the Maricopa County Community College Board race isn’t a sexy race and voters are more focused on the U.S. Senate race, the Governor’s race, etc., but as is so often said these days, “elections have consequences” and if we don’t pay attention to EVERY race, it will be to our detriment. Jerry Walker is running in the MCCC Board’s 2nd District (Mesa and out east). This is a short video and it should help the voters choose Jerry over the educrat running against him.
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Sunday, June 13, 2010
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Several weeks ago, I posted about how the right, in its vigor to try to stem the problems of illegal immigration, is actually advancing the leftists agenda of national id and north american integration.
