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Press Release from Keep AZ Drug Free

September 30, 2010 by 15 Comments

BREAKING NEWS — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept 28, 2010

The Glaucoma Foundation warns patients of dangers of using marijuana.

In their newsletter released late on Sept 27, 2010, the Glaucoma Foundation
warned patients with glaucoma not to use marijuana. They specifically
criticized efforts by pro-marijuana forces to use incomplete evidence in
their quest to make marijuana acceptable. Although marijuana does decrease
intraocular pressure, it is very short-acting and would have to be smoked
every few hours day and night to be effective. Otherwise, people will suffer
rebound spikes in intraocular pressure which could trigger glaucoma attacks.
Marijuana can also decrease blood supply to the optic nerve, also worsening
glaucoma.

The American Glaucoma Society has already warned against using marijuana to
treat glaucoma, but highlighted their concern in a February editorial in the
Journal of Glaucoma warning patients not to use marijuana. This came after
their position statement of August 2009, also saying that marijuana was not
recommended for glaucoma. However, the warnings are getting stronger as more
evidence comes in.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has also warned that marijuana could
be harmful for people with multiple sclerosis. And the American Cancer
Society has said there is not enough evidence to recommend marijuana for
anything.  The Institute of Medicine, an independent agency, did the most
complete review of the research on marijuana and came to the conclusion that
marijuana is not medicine.

Ed Gogek, M.D. is an addiction psychiatrist and steering committee member of
Keep AZ Drug Free, the committee opposing Propositon 203, the so-called
medical marijuana law on November¹s ballot in Arizona.

Dr. Gogek says, “The demand for medical marijuana is not coming from doctors
or patient care organizations. It’s coming entirely from pot-smokers.
They’re running a million dollar ad campaign in our state trying to convince
people that marijuana is medicine, and that is simply not true.  Based on
almost no evidence, they’ve been pushing the idea that marijuana is good for
glaucoma, but now the evidence is coming in that it’s actually dangerous.
That’s one more reason these medical marijuana laws are so harmful. You
don’t prescribe a medicine on one person’s story or wishful thinking; you
have to look at all the research. That’s what the FDA does and that’s why we
should trust the FDA instead of a bunch of pot-smokers.”

From their website: The mission of The Glaucoma Foundation (TGF) is to fund
groundbreaking research and to educate the public about the disease and the
importance of early detection to prevent blindness. Founded in1984 by Dr.
Robert Ritch, TGF is one of the premier not-for-profit organizations
dedicated to eradicating blindness from glaucoma through vital research and
education.

Newsletter release 9-27-10  http://www.glaucomafoundation.org/newsletter.htm

Warning not to use marijuana:
http://www.glaucomafoundation.org/UserFiles/File/TGF_Summer_10_Web.pdf

February 2010 Journal of Glaucoma
http://journals.lww.com/glaucomajournal/toc/2010/02000

American Glaucoma Society Position on Marijuana
http://www.glaucomaweb.org/associations/5224/files/Marijuana%20and%20Glaucom
a%20august%2030_BOD%20Approved%2010.23.09.pdf

Website for Glaucoma Foundation
http://www.glaucomafoundation.org/about_tgf.htm

Here’s the Marijuana Policy Project, still claiming marijuana is good for
glaucoma despite statements from the American Glaucoma Society from over a
year ago. (Also note, they say IOM supports them but they just took one
sentence from the complete report. The IOM’s conclusion is that marijuana is
not medicine.)
http://www.mpp.org/library/research/medical-marijuana-briefing.html

Contacts at Keep AZ Drug Free, a ballot opposition committee registered with the Secretary of State to oppose Prop 203

Ed Gogek, M.D.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Guest Opinion, Press Release, Voters Guide

Real taxpayer groups holding press conference tomorrow to denounce sham AZ Taxpayers Association

September 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment

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

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Americans for Prosperity holding press conference at the Goldwater Institute

Real taxpayer leaders to speak and denounce Democrat Party Chair and union boss behind sham taxpayers organization

Beware of fake taxpayer group pushing left-wing agenda

Sign from fake taxpayer group

Sign from fake taxpayer group

Join us for a news conference this Friday, October 1

Dear AZ Taxpayer,

Please let your friends and neighbors know that a fake taxpayer organization, the “Arizona Taxpayers Association,” has been created to defend Big Government policies in the November 2 ballot proposition battles. The group (if it can even be called a group), which has been set up by Democratic political consultant Bob Grossfeld and labor union officer Jim McLaughlin, opposes several propositions that will actually BENEFIT Arizona taxpayers, producers, and consumers, and increase our freedom.

The so-called Arizona Taxpayers Association has no members and no history of ever lobbying on behalf of taxpayers, and appears to have been operating in possible violation of Arizona campaign finance laws (the organization placed campaign signs but apparently did not file with the Secretary of State prior to conducting its political activities, as required by Arizona law). A photo of one of the signs is posted at http://www.aztaxpayers.org, under What’s New.

Three of the propositions opposed by Grossfeld and McLaughlin and their fake organization are especially vital to the future well-being of Arizona taxpayers, producers, and consumers:

Prop 106 – The Arizona Health Care Freedom Act
Prop 107 – The Arizona Civil Rights Initiative
Prop 113 – Save Our Secret Ballot

In order to expose this leftist sham perpetrated by Grossfeld and McLaughlin, the Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP Arizona) is holding a news conference this Friday, October 1, at 11:30 am, at the Goldwater Institute, at 500 E. Coronado Road (one block north of McDowell, just west of 7th Street).

AFP Arizona, which has served the taxpayers of Arizona since 2007, grew out of the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers Associations (AFTA), which served from 1980 to 2007, producing an annual “Friend of the Taxpayer” legislative scorecard every year from 1984 to 2006. Representing the “old guard” of AFTA at Friday’s news conference will be former AFTA chairmen Rep. Rick Murphy (R-Peoria) and Mr. Bob Burges. Also present will be spokespersons representing several of the propositions attacked by the fake organization.

Please support your REAL Arizona taxpayer watchdog, Americans for Prosperity. AFP Arizona asks all of its members to invest at least $10 a year in our efforts. You can invest in AFP Arizona by clicking on the Contribute button in the upper righthand corner of our homepage,http://www.aztaxpayers.org. Or, you can send checks to:

Americans for Prosperity, AZ
One East Camelback Road, Suite 550
Phoenix, AZ 85012

Thank you so much for all you do to fight for the Arizona taxpayer!

For Liberty, Tom

Tom Jenney
Arizona Director
Americans for Prosperity
www.aztaxpayers.org
tjenney@afphq.org
(602) 478-0146

Read more: http://americansforprosperity.org/092910-beware-fake-taxpayer-group-pushing-big-government-agenda#ixzz1137azWyy
Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Crime and Punishment, Ethics, Special Event

Brown Baggin’ with Mike Broomhead!

September 29, 2010 by 4 Comments

Here’s a special event you’ll want to make!

Arizona Republican Party Presents,
Brown Bag Lunch with
KFYI Talk Show Host, Mike Broomhead
Wednesday, October 13th
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Arizona Republican Party Headquarters
3501 N. 24th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85016
RSVP to Carolyn Leff at cleff@azgop.com
or call (602) 957-7770 by October 11th

Filed Under: Personalities, Special Event

Yes on 107 Campaign Challenges U of A President to Sacrifice his Position for “Diversity”

September 29, 2010 by 13 Comments

University of Arizona President Robert Shelton stated in a recent interview with the Arizona Daily Star that he opposes Proposition 107, which would ban race and gender preferences in government, including in higher education. Mr. Shelton further stated that, if 107 is adopted by voters, he “will not back off one bit” from the university’s efforts to promote “diversity” and recruit more women and minorities.

The university’s diversity goals, which are posted on their website, include hiring specified percentages of women and minorities. These hiring quotas include goals for women to comprise 63% of new Assistant Director Administrators, 73% of Animal Technicians, and 56% of the Faculty in Fine Arts. Goals for minority hires include 53% of General Maintenance positions and 59% of Supervisors in Service/Maintenance.

“President Shelton appears concerned that if Prop. 107 passes, the university won’t be able to put ‘diversity goals’ ahead of ‘most qualified’,” said Proposition 107 campaign chair, Rachel Alexander.  “I bet there’s a woman or a ‘minority’ that meets the minimum

qualifications to be president of the University. I challenge President Shelton to walk his own talk and step down for the sake of ‘diversity’. His $549,400 position could be given to an affirmative action applicant. Or perhaps he believes that discriminating quotas should only apply to other people, but not to him?”

# # # #

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Race Relations

Health care bill creates ‘Obamacare University’

September 29, 2010 by 9 Comments

by Diane Cohen
Goldwater Institute

The program is unassumingly titled the “United States Public Health Sciences Track,” and it’s among the many items hidden inside the massive, 2,000-page health care reform package adopted earlier this year. But it is anything but innocent. Instead, it is a first-of-its kind, federally funded and federally administered civilian medical school that grants advanced degrees (post-graduate, post-doctoral and technology) in medicine, dentistry, nursing and pharmacy, among others.
 
It will be run by Obama administration officials, namely, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who will determine the number of students who can enroll, and the Surgeon General, who will decide how to admit students, to recruit instructors and to write the curricula, among other tasks. Administration officials will act like college deans with the Surgeon General in charge of operations and the HHS Secretary in charge of funding.
 
Like the grants and contract sections of the health care reform law that require the use of race-based criteria for awarding federal money to hospitals and schools for medical training programs, the Surgeon General is required to create race-based selection procedures for admitting students into what I’ve named “Obamacare University.”
 
The more we know about the health care reform bill, the more unconstitutional and problematic it gets. The establishment of Obamacare U and its race-based provisions reinforce the importance of the Goldwater Institute’s efforts to strike down this law.
 
Diane Cohen is an attorney with the Goldwater Institute Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation.

Filed Under: Constitutional Law, Government, Health Care, Legislation

Janet Contreras on “Her Politics”

September 28, 2010 by 1 Comment

One of my clients, Janet Contreras, was on Her Politics on Monday evening. In case you missed the show, here is the video featuring Janet Contreras and hosts, Shawnna Bolick and Sophia E. Johnson.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Interview

Is Raul Grijalva the “sleeper candidate?”

September 27, 2010 by 5 Comments

Here is a brief video sent in to Sonoran Alliance in which Congressman Raul Grijalva catches himself falling asleep during a candidate forum in Tucson.

This sorta gives new meaning to the term “sleeper candidate” which we believe actually belongs to Ruth McClung who is about to snatch this seat away from Raul Grijalva in the coming weeks.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections

Democrats create fake taxpayers group; post signs opposing ballot initiatives

September 27, 2010 by 8 Comments

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

Monday, September 27, 2010


Former Arizona Democrat Party chairman Sam Coppersmith and union boss behind fake taxpayers organization

Sham organization posts signs all over Arizona pretending taxpayers oppose the ballot initiatives

submitted by a reader from the website http://arizonataxpayersassociation.com/


A couple weeks ago the Yes on Prop 107! Campaign (end “affirmative action”) in Arizona had someone attend a National Organization for Women (NOW) meeting because the opposition group to 107, Protect Arizona’s Freedom which is led by ultra-left state representative Kyrsten Sinema, was presenting their plan of attack at the meeting.

The PAF representative, Sarah Luna, told the group that they were working on a plan with opponents of other Arizona initiatives to run a “Vote No on Everything” campaign.

Because of this, it was not all that surprising that Arizona started to see “Vote No on All Ballot Propositions” signs popping up.

What was surprising, however, was the headline, “Save our Constitution” and that the group sponsoring the signs is the so-called “Arizona Taxpayers Association at 2600 N Central Ave Phoenix, AZ.”

The disclaimer jumped out at me because it was written in larger font than what is typical for a required campaign finance law disclaimer.

First, Propositions 106 (healthcare freedom), 107 (End Affirmative action), 113 (Save the Secret Ballot), all typically enjoy support from taxpayer and tea party organizations.

The messaging “Save our Constitution” and the name of the organization are clearly meant to confuse voters.  Since the left’s ideas are not popular with the public (especially this election cycle) this appears to be a national trend amongst leftist organizations.  For more on the national trend seehttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/08/days-decide-activists-claim-tea-party-imposters-infiltrating-elections/

Second, finding information on this so-called “Arizona Taxpayers Association” was difficult at first because the address that is printed on the signs has one digit wrong.

There is actually an Arizona Taxpayer Association at 2800 (not 2600) N. Central Phoenix, AZ.  This organization was founded by two individuals who push the extreme left agenda.

Bob Grossfeld is one of the founders – he also started the left’s internet news source, “The Arizona Guardian.”   Jim McLaughlin is the other individual listed – he is the President of Arizona’s UFCW Local 99.  (Note: that UFCW Local 99’s logo is printed on the signs)


  • Jim McLaughlin tells his union membership to be careful believing advertisers, little do they know that they should actually be careful of what their president says:http://www.ufcw99.com/president.htm


  • Also, you’ll note that 2800 N Central Phoenix houses labor law attorneys, a newly formed Arizona Hospital and Healthcare group, and former Democrat party chairmen –  Jim Pederson and  Sam Coppersmith.


Finally, after searching the Arizona Secretary of State’s campaign finance database an organization named “Arizona Taxpayers Association” cannot be found which makes the disclaimer on the sign utterly useless.  Because a statement of organization and campaign finance reports have not been filed, concerned citizens (and average voters) cannot visit the Secretary of State’s website and see who has organized and is funding this group. The organization has filed paperwork instead as an independent expenditure committee.

Liberals have proven once again that they will say and do anything to push forward their radical Obama Agenda.

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Filed Under: Campaign Finance, Campaigns & Elections, Constitutional Law, Taxation

Something’s Rotten in LD 8

September 26, 2010 by 31 Comments

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, September 26, 2010

Something’s Rotten in LD 8

In a move reminiscent of the Obama administration, LD8 Chairman Jim Burke informed the membership at their monthly meeting on September 9, 2010, that all the campaign finance reports had been filed and the fines paid. He even donated the money for the fines from his failed 2006 bid for the AZ House. However, all is not well.

Truth is the only thing filed 9/9/10 with the SOS was a new Statement of Organization (note “Last Amended Date”), naming Burke as Chairman and Rex Routh as Treasurer. This should have been done in January 2009. The campaign finance reports (see previous link) were finally filed 9/20/10 with the Secretary of State, a delay costing an additional $275 and bringing the total fines for the State to $1,570.

The initially filed reports were grossly different from information contained in the monthly finance reports to the LD8 membership and have been amended. However, numerous questions remain. For example, over $3,200 is unaccounted for on the June 30 Report. The ending cash balance for the June 30 report was $5,349.34 whereas the amount reported in the newsletter was $8,572.14. That’s quite a difference. And how can you list over $3,000 in cash contributions with no identifying names attached (i.e. pages 3 & 6, “Breakfast” $1,560 and $842 and $423)? These could be from corporations or labor unions, both of which are prohibited.

The County campaign finance reports are the same story, only worse. NONE of the country reports were filed until 9/21/10 with fines totaling $1,300 and they reflect the same discrepancies as the State reports. All told, this district paid over $2,800 in unnecessary fines and can’t account for over $6,000 ($3,000 in contributions, $3,200 on reports).

This administration only had to continue what should have been a routine task. Obviously, the current treasurer could not meet his fiduciary responsibilities and should have been removed after the first report deadline was missed by more than 30 days. But the chairman refused to step up to his responsibilities either and is ultimately to blame.

Given the multiplicity and severity of the financial reports’ discrepancies, swift action is indicated. The executive board doesn’t appear troubled by any of this ineptitude and deceit.  Just like Obama, the strategy is to deny, lie and ignore until people get tired and move on to something else.  It is up to “we the people,” represented by the district PCs, to insist on accountability. The membership of LD8 should demand an immediate audit by an independent, outside party because something is rotten in this district.

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Filed Under: Campaign Finance, Economics, Ethics, Liberals, Press Release, Spending

Harry Mitchell lies about David Schweikert in act of desperation!

September 25, 2010 by 14 Comments

By Intellectual Conservative, Arizona

Democrat House incumbent Harry Mitchell is so desperate to save his seat in Congress he is spreading a smear campaign about Republican challenger David Schweikert. In video ads, he claims that Schweikert preyed upon victims losing their homes to foreclosure. He claims that Schweikert even bought a home that an owner was in the process of saving. All of these accusations are FALSE. Schweikert has NEVER bought a property from a homeowner in foreclosure. He has never even owned someone’s mortgage or deed of trust. He has never loaned money to anyone. He buys property from BANKS and trustees. The banks have already foreclosed on the homes he buys. After Schweikert purchases these properties, he fixes them up and rents them. This is standard practice for any typical real estate investor.

Mitchell can’t get his facts straight on business because he doesn’t understand it. Apparently he would rather prohibit investors from buying foreclosed homes from banks? Just let the properties sit with weeds growing as the banks own them? It makes no sense. We NEED investors to purchase these properties. Especially investors who will fix them up instead of just letting them sit deteriorating. Schweikert actually fixes them up and puts them back out on the market for people to rent, he doesn’t just sit on them and wait to sell.

We hear Mitchell is the one with real estate problems. Apparently something is about to come out regarding his rental property. Maybe the Democrats should have checked Mitchell’s properties first before they launched this bogus attack on Schweikert.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Guest Opinion
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