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Council Votes 4-3 To Retain Police Current Reporting Relationship

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Let Oro Valley Excel

--- The Oro Valley Town Council voted 4-3 to retain the current reporting relationship of the Chief of Police.  Chief Sharp does and will continue to report to council and not to the town manager, as is the practice in most communities. The vote was split along the same 4-3 lines as many other council votes: For:        Hiremath, Hornat, Snider and Waters.                              Against:


Street Heat: Progressives Protest Against Food Stamp Cuts Nationwide

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Blog For Arizona

SNAP-Waxmanby Pamela Powers Hannley

For weeks, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) has been turning up the heat on Congressional Democrats in an effort to stop the proposed $20 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, AKA food stamps).

On Monday, June 17, PDA members nationwide protested athigh-profile Congressional officesfrom California to Florida to Illinois to Massachusetts.  (At right is the PDA protest outside of Congressman Henry Waxman's office. PDA Advisory Bo...

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McCain told it’s past time to go

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Seeing Red AZ

Republican Gabriel Gomez, a proven American leader with a remarkable personal bio is running for the U.S. Senate Massachusetts previously held by John Kerry. The election is next week.

 Gomez’ commitment to term limits has led him to challenge John McCain’s decades in Washington, D.C., an idea that invigorates voters. Listen as Gomez articulates his term limits position.

The Daily Caller reports that Republican Gomez told McCain that after nearly three decades in Congress, he should have l...

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Re Syria: An Open Memo to Our Friends, the Europeans

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Western Free Press

Thanks to President Obama’s clumsy “redlining” and John McCain’s agitating, America may soon be drawn into war again in the Middle East.

On February 23, 2013, The Economist magazine published a cover-story article entitled “Syria — the Death of a Country”.  In that article, Economist editors admonished America to get engaged in Syria.  They wrote:

Syria is more dangerous today than it was in October, when this newspaper called for a no-fly zone in orde...

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Eco-news from PEER: NM Petroglyphs win, CA Sonoran Desert dunes, MI wetlands

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under The Arizona Eagle (Daniel Patterson)
Algodones Dunes, Sonoran Desert, SE Calif.
TUCSON -- Recent news from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER.org), where I serve as Southwest Director & Ecologist.

NEW PETROGLYPH PACT BETTER PROTECTS MONUMENT
National Park Standards and Management Extended to City of ABQ-Owned Lands

BIG ROLLBACK OF CALIFORNIA DESERT PROTECTION 
BLM to Open 49,300 Acres of Algodones Dunes Plan to Off-Road Vehicles

EPA AND MICHIGAN FACE SHOWDOWN ON WETLAND PROTECTIONS
Pending Bill Violates Feder...

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Governor Brewer signs the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Blog For Arizona

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The era of bipartisan good will over the passage of the Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration/expansion plan did not even last a full week. Today Governor Brewer demonstrated her partisan hackitude by signing the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305.

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Brewer signs election overhaul bill:

Gov. Jan Brewer signed a far-reaching elections bill that will help weed inactive voters from the Permanent Early Voter List, prohibit political...

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Boehner: Border Security & Majority of GOP Essential to Pass Immigration Reform in the House

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Western Free Press

WASHINGTON, DC – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) made the following remarks on immigration reform at a press conference earlier today:

“Listen, I think this immigration issue’s been kicked around this town now for 15 years.  That’s why I said the day after the election it was time for Congress to do its work.

“ I’m increasingly concerned that the White House and Senate Democrats …would rather have this as an issue in the 2014 election, rather than to resolve it.  It was the ...

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Uncertainty at the Fed Over Stimulus Is Spreading

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Western Free Press

Spending Daily | June 19, 2013

“Senator: IRS to Pay $70 Million in Employee Bonuses”

The Associated Press reports, “The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa says his office has learned that the IRS is executing an agreement with the employees’ union on Wednesday to pa...

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U.S. House passes H.R. 1797: Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Sonoran Alliance

Arizona Right to Life

Yesterday, by a vote of 228/196, the U.S. House passed H.R. 1797. The bill bans abortions from after 20-weeks of pregnancy up to the day of birth. “We are proud that Arizona’s own Trent Franks (AZ 8th) sponsored this bill and that Representatives Gosar (AZ 4), Salmon (AZ 5) and Schweikert (AZ 6) voted in support of it,” noted Jason Walsh, Executive Director of AZRTL.

The House Republican conference summary of H.R. 1797 stated, “Medical advances in recent decades have pro...

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More Political Backlash from the Arizona Medicaid Expansion Vote

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Sonoran Alliance

A Maricopa County delegation from Arizona’s first legislative district recently voted to condemn their state senator for his vote on Medicaid expansion.

In a unanimous vote, the LD-1 Republicans precinct committeemen issued the following strong rebuke:

On June 17th, Republican Precinct Committeemen at Legislative District 1 MC voted unanimously to condemn Senator Pierce’s actions regarding the Medicaid Expansion, a vote of “No Confidence” as follows: 

We move that LD1 express a vote...

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The real IRS Scandal: Legal challenge to 1959 IRS regulation re: 501(c)(4) tax exempt status

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Blog For Arizona

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It looks as if MSNBC host of the The Last Word, Lawrence O'Donnell, tax analyst David Cay Johnston (and I) finally have the attention of someone in Congress about The real IRS scandal: the ease with which political organizations have been abusing the 501(c)(4) tax exempt status.

Paul Blumenthal writes at the Huffington Post, Chris Van Hollen: IRS Rules To Be Challenged In Court:

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Tuesday that he and two campaign finance watchdog groups wo...

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Shawnna L.M. Bolick opens up exploratory committee for LD 28 House

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Intellectual Conservative Arizona

“We need conservative, free market leaders willing to step up and put their constituents first over politics. As a policy person that would come easy to me.” Phoenix, AZ- June 18, 2013- Last night, Shawnna L.M. Bolick opened an exploratory committee “Elect Bolick for Arizona” for Arizona House Legislative District 28 (LD 28). There has been a drumbeat of support for me to step up from


Rep. Paul Gosar’s Legislation to Protect Coconino Property Rights Passes U.S. House of Representatives

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Western Free Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, the Mountainaire Relief Bill (H.R. 862), introduced by U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar, D.D.S (R-AZ) and Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), with a vote of 395-1. This legislation settles a federal land boundary dispute by correcting a decades-old surveying error that put part of some people’s private property inside the boundaries of the Coconino National Forest.

Rep. Gosar issued the following statement:

“I ...

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‘ObamaCare’ is bending the cost curve on healthcare costs

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Blog For Arizona

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

More good news on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (aka "ObamaCare") -- it is bending the cost curve on healthcare costs, just as it was designed to do, which also bends the curve on federal deficits.

The latest good news come from the Federation of American Hospitals, which represents for-profit hospitals, and PwC’s Health Research Institute. Both argue in new studies out today that a big chunk of the slowdown is structural — and won’t disappear as th...

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Bankrupting America’s New Video: Super Accountant

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Western Free Press

Bankrupting America’s New Video: Super Accountant

It’s A Bird! It’s A Plane!…No…Wait… It’s An Accountant!

Arlington, Va. – Super League today announced the arrival of its newest superhero…wait for it…. Bob the Accountant.

In a world where the IRS wastes millions on conferences, the national debt is nearly $17 trillion and reckless spending threatens to wreak havoc on the sleepy village of America, one man has come to save us all from debt and over...

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Tucson civil unions ordinance on the agenda tonight

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Blog For Arizona

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

EqualOn the Consent Agenda of the Tucson City Council Agenda for Tuesday, June 18, at 5:30 p.m. is the proposed city ordinance for civil unions, following in the footsteps of the City of Bisbee last month.

TUCSON CODE: AMENDING (CHAPTER 17) RELATING TO DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS AND CIVIL UNIONS

a. Report from City Manager JUN18-13-262 CITY WIDE

b. Ordinance No. 11088 relating to Human Relations; amending the Tucson Code Chapter 17, Human Relations, Article IX, Registered domesti...

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More on my “Games Mark Stegeman plays” post

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Blog For Arizona

by David Safier

Lots of people have opinions about the "Games Mark Stegeman plays" post I wrote yesterday and put comments at the end of the post and more comments on Facebook. Some agreed with me, others disagreed and a few staked out positions somewhere in the middle.

I received an interesting comment from Jana Happel -- actually two comments -- that I'm reproducing here. She expands on some of the points I made and adds one possibility that I know little about: that one reason Pedicone decide...

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READ: AHCCCS Expansion Referendum Application Filed Today; The Heat Is On!

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Arizona's Politics

Only two days after signed into law, former State lawmakers Frank Antenori and  Ron Gould have filed their referendum on Arizona's Medicaid expansion.  The application and text of the referendum is reproduced below. The United Republican Alliance of Principled Conservatives (URAPC) has until September 11, 2013 to filed at least 86,405 valid signatures in order to put the expansion to a


Arizona budget process was not ‘democracy in action’

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Western Free Press

Some obnoxious comments near the end, but worthy of note . . .


Reps. Schweikert And Amash Introduce Bill To Block Federal Gun List, End Second Amendment Discrimination

by on Jun. 19, 2013, under Western Free Press

Washington, D.C. – Tuesday, Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ) along with Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI), introduced H.R. 2408, a bill to stop the Department of Justice from targeting, tracking, and cataloguing citizens in the southwest who purchase multiple rifles and shotguns.

For two years, the Department of Justice has been targeting gun owners in the southwest by tracking any purchase of rifles and shotguns along the southwest border. This DOJ scheme, called ‘Demand Letter 3’ and ...

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