Traditionally, war is a messy business– all that blood, sweat, and tears– not to mention danger, death, destruction, dismembered bodies, human suffering, nightmares, guilt, wasted taxpayer dollars, mounting deficit spending… you know the drill. (Pun intended.)

In recent years, the US military-industrial complex has made war less messy and less dangerous, at least for a select group of American soldiers. Drone pilots sit in secure bunkers and, armed with banks of sophisticated computer hardware, “fly” unmanned killing machines.

Drones– killing machines aimed at faceless targets– AKA fellow human beings– thousands of miles away.

No-muss, no-fuss drone warfare is no less deadly, destructive, or perverse than traditional war. It’s just easier and cleaner– just like playing the same violent video game day after day.

Although you hear about drones in the news, there is never any real analysis or detailed reporting of what the US is doing. Recently, Code Pink co-founder and author of the book Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control Medea Benjamin gave an eye-opening talk to an audience of about 60 Tucson activists. Personally, I was shocked how deeply entrenched in drone warfare Tucson already is. Davis-Monthan, The University of Arizona, Raytheon, and Fort Huachuca all have ties to the drone business. According to Benjamin, Fort Huachuca trains more drone pilots than any other facility in the world.

Last winter, Mayor Rothschild, then Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ office, and the  Davis-Monthan 50 held a press conference promoting Tucson and DM as a drone warfare center. (You can see the Tucson Sentinel’s raw raw footage here above and in KVOA’s edited news footage here.) We already have a dearth of good-paying jobs in Tucson that are not connected to the military industrial complex. Why court more? Sadly, when I posted the poll on this story from December, most readers said they’d take a drone job.

Click here for a USTREAM video of Benjamin’s entire one-hour talk. Below is a Loneprotestor video of the event.

Down with drones.

Give peace a chance.

The Arizona Daily Star’s banner headline on Sunday was “Luxury for students”.  The article by Carli Broseau focused on a run-down (no pun intended) of the development that is in full swing or being planned in and around downtown Tucson and The University of Arizona.

For a few years now, UA officials have been predicting a stampede of future college students coming to Tucson. This rosy forecast has caused developers, restaurateurs, bar owners, and local politicians to salivate like Pavlov’s dogs at the mere thought of 1000s of frolicking students flooding downtown and 4th Ave., armed with Daddy’s credit cards. Regardless of political party, the Mayor and City Council members– eager to see downtown revitalization before their next elections– have vigorously promoted student housing as a panacea for what ails downtown.

Historically, The Tucson Progressive has been highly skeptical of this purported cure-all for Tucson’s sluggish economy– particularly in light of the high rental vacancy rate and the UA’s ever-increasing tuition. I have questioned the wisdom of knocking down historic homes and destroying our city’s character to speculatively build mini-dorms for future students. Republican and Democratic city officials alike told me not to worry; if we build it, they will come.

Brosseau’s article about speculative maxi-dorm development has moved me from skeptical to being scared. She details the astonishing amount of maxi-dorm development being planned or constructed in and around downtown; 2092 student housing “beds” — in three large developments– are under construction, with another three projects (consisting of 342 beds) poised to start soon. Just a year ago, the Arizona Daily Star reported that the new influx of students may result in an additional 1200 students living downtown. The District on 5th alone– that collection of ugly, giant boxes on 6th St, just off of 4th Ave– offers 756 “beds”. (Seriously, couldn’t they have hired an architect with some sensitivity to the historic character of the neighborhoods nearby?)

You’ll note the use of the term “beds” and not rooms or apartments. I foolishly thought that when UA officials and politicians talked about privately funded student housing development downtown they meant apartments– that could be rented by students or others wanting to live where the action is. But no. The District and other maxi-dorm developments are dormitories– not apartments. From the Star…

Student housing is different from traditional apartment living.

Students rent by the bed, not the unit, [I wonder what the square footage is?] and complexes have far more common space for amenities than would pencil out financially for an apartment complex.

The rooms typically are furnished, and each bed generally is paired with its own bathroom and shared space. Amenities like pools, fitness centers and study spaces are expected – the most valued extra, a 2009 University of Arizona market study found, is tanning beds.

After that study concluded that 2,000 to 5,000 more beds were needed, local developers and national powerhouses have rushed to put together deals. They’re motivated by typically higher profits than traditional apartment complexes, long-term population growth and student enrollment projections and the modern streetcar, now under construction, that will link the UA to downtown. [Emphasis added.]

In other words, if the students decide not to rent the bedroom/bath units in these complexes or if students don’t come here in the predicted droves, these buildings could have lots of empty bedrooms. No adult in their right mind would rent a bedroom downtown for the price of an apartment or small house elsewhere in the city ($350-1027/month). In fact, about 20 inches into Brosseau’s story, she quotes a 2009 UA market study that says close to half of the UA’s students don’t rent units in large complexes like the maxi-dorms. Imagine that.

To make the situation even more disturbing, Brosseau says that the UA is now “backing away from earlier enrollment projections of a 12.5 percent increase over the next five years.” Uh, oh.

Is downtown going to be dotted with hulking, empty dormitories… or worse… more dirt lots waiting for development?

Post script: I don’t mean to dis Broseau’s well-crafted and informative article, but wasn’t there any real news to print on the front page with a four-column, full-color photo and 80 point headline?

The Arizona AFL-CIO has organized a Day of Action for March 1. Four bus-loads of union members and supporters are descending upon the state capitol in Phoenix on Thursday.

But will this Thursday be Arizona’s “Wisconsin moment” or will union members politely wander the halls of the Legislature and ask the wingnuts  legislators to play nice?

Annually, the AFL-CIO has a lobby day when unionists meet with lawmakers, but this year’s lobby day will have a twist– thanks to six anti-worker bills winding their way through the Arizona Legislature. After the four bus-loads of unionists go the capitol and say to people like Senator Frank Antenori (who wants to be our Congressman), “WTF?”, they will have a rally at 1 p.m. on the Arizona State Capitol, House Lawn, 1700 W. Washington St.

From Rebeka Friend, executive director of the Arizona AFL-CIO.

Corporate politicians are pushing these bills to scapegoat working families and fulfill their extreme, right-wing agenda—to the detriment of our schools and the health and safety of our communities.These bills are not about the budget and they’re not about jobs. They’re about satisfying deep-pocketed donors and right-wing organizations like the Goldwater Institute and the American Legislative Exchange Council to further their political agenda to help the 1%.

For background on the status of the anti-worker bills check this link.

This is not just a union fight. This is a worker fight, since four bills attack unions, one attacks civil servants, and another attacks people who make tips and those 20 years old and under. And, let’s not forget the anti-college student bill that would require all college students– regardless of income– to pay at least $2000 of their tuition. No free rides.

This collection of abominable bills is an onslaught against all Arizonans. Be there. If you can’t be there, call and/or e-mail your state representatives or senators.

Is it time to finally say, “I’m mad as hell and not going to take this anymore?”

The Arizona Legislature (and other Republican-led Legislatures around the country) are attacking the citizens with anti-work bills and anti-student bills.

Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich and Congressional Republicans are attacking women, immigrants, gays and Lesbians, unions, teachers, college students, the poor, reproductive health, public education, healthcare… the list goes on. They want to take away basic rights that we have taken for granted– like the minimum wage and collective bargaining.

FIVE people have donated 25%– $14 million– to super pacs to elect more Republicans– particularly a Republican President.

Are you tired of government against the people and for the corporations?

If you are “mad as hell”, then join Occupy Tucson, PDA Tucson, and others for a demonstration against corporate rule.

Tucsonans– and others around the world– will be demonstrating against corporate control of our lives, big-money politics, and specifically against the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)– the folks who gave us SB1070 and the anti-worker legislation in Wisconsin, Ohio, Arizona, and elsewhere.

Tomorrow, Feb. 29, come to the downtown public library at 4 p.m. for the demonstration. Bring your signs, noise-makers, and friends. Here’s more information from Occupy Wall Street…

This Wednesday, Occupiers in New York, Oakland, Mexico City, and over 80 other cities [including Tucson] will take part in a coordinated National Day of Action to Shut Down the Corporations. Occupations have been preparing a variety of decentralized actions in response to Occupy Portland’s call to target the American Legislative Exchange Council:

We specifically call on people to target corporations that are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The biggest corporations in America, like ExxonMobil, Bank of America, BP, Monsanto, Pfizer, and Wal-Mart use ALEC to buy off legislators and craft legislation that serves only the interests of corporations and not people. They then duplicate and spread this corporate legislation in Washington, D.C. and in state legislatures across the country. The anti-labor legislation in Wisconsin and the racist bill SB 1070 in Arizona are two recent and destructive examples of what corporations use ALEC to do.

See here for more about why we protest corporate power and how ALEC seeks to erode our democracy, undermine workers rights and attack unions, destroy our environment, obstruct efforts to address climate change, undermine public education, pursue destructive agricultural practices and fuel the prison industrial complex. You can also RSVP for the Occupy Wall St/NYC Facebook event. For national coverage, follow @F29PDX on Twitter.

Simultaneously, European trade unions have declared Feb. 29th a European Day of Action against austerity, following massive demonstrations against budget cuts in Greece, Spain, Belgium, and elsewhere. Decentralized actions in all 27 European Union nations and beyond will be “sending a clear message to the EU leaders: this imposed austerity is going to plunge Europe into a recession!”

The effects of the financial, economic and social crisis have reached unbearable levels in several countries. Faced with the extreme seriousness of the situation, European leaders are making the race for austerity their priority response. The crisis serves as a ready-made pretext to attack the European social model, justify cuts in wages and public services, weaken social protection, make the labour market hyperflexible, and attack trade union rights.

Thus, at a time when the European summit has to adopt a treaty plunging Europe into recession and job insecurity for the long haul, the European trade unions are saying “enough is enough” and putting employment, recovery, social justice and solidarity at the forefront of the discussions.

If you are not “mad as hell,” check out the ALEC Exposed website here.

John Nichols, well-known writer for The Nation and author of Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest from Madison to Wall Street, will speak tonight, Feb. 27 at the IBEW Hall in Tucson.

Nichols comes to Arizona as our state faces its Wisconsin moment. With six anti-labor bills being considered in the Arizona Legislature and protests have been planned for the State Capitol in Phoenix on Thursday, March 1.

Although the Arizona AFL-CIO is busing union members from around the state to the capitol for the Day of Action, the bills in the Legislature go beyond union-busting. Four bills attack collective bargaining, union dues collection, and organizing. One bill– promoted by Republican Governor Jan Brewer– would strip civil service protections from non-union employees and pave the way for the appointment of political cronies. The last bill would put a measure on the 2012 ballot to reduce pay for tip workers and people 20 years old and under.

What a fitting time in Arizona history to hear from someone who was on the ground in Wisconsin a year ago when workers rose up against union-busting and corporate control of government. This free event is sponsored jointly by the Progressive Democrats of America Tucson Chapter (PDA) and the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF) and will be at the IBEW Hall, 750 S. Tucson Blvd. from 6-8 p.m.

End corporate personhood. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Today– January 20– is a date that has gone down in infamy. Today is the anniversary of the landmark Citizens United case.

To commemorate the Supreme Court case that struck down campaign finance reform, ruled that money is speech, and paved the way for obscene amounts of money to flood our elections, Occupy Tucson, MoveOn.org, and other groups nationwide will “Occupy the Courts”.

In Tucson, there will be protests all day in front of the federal court house. Here is basic information from the Move to Amend group that wants to amend the Constitution and fix campaign financing.

 LOCATION: Evo A. DeConcini United States Courthouse
405 West Congress Street at Granada (southwest corner)
Tucson AZ 85701

8am-5pm

Protesters are being asked to simply display relevant signs, support petitions to amend the U.S. Constitution, or register to vote early.

Planned activities include:
10:00 a.m.: press conference
12:00 noon: march though downtown Tucson
4:00 p.m.: rally with music & speakers
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: open microphone for comments and local entertainers

CONTACT: Danielle Rushford, dani7117@aol.com, Diane Dvoskin, ddvoskin@cox.net

Traditionally, war is a messy business– all that blood, sweat, and tears– not to mention danger, death, destruction, dismembered bodies, human suffering, nightmares, guilt, wasted taxpayer dollars, mounting deficit spending… you know the drill. (Pun intended.)

In recent years, the US military-industrial complex has made war less messy and less dangerous, at least for a select group of American soldiers. Drone pilots sit in secure bunkers and, armed with banks of sophisticated computer hardware, “fly” unmanned killing machines.

Drones– killing machines aimed at faceless targets– AKA fellow human beings– thousands of miles away.

No-muss, no-fuss drone warfare is no less deadly, destructive, or perverse than traditional war. It’s just easier, cleaner– just like playing the same violent video game day after day.

Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, and the Davis-Monthan 50 held a press conference recently touting Tucson’s magnificent good fortune to be included on a short list of three possible locations for a drone warfare base at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Oh, the joy.

In the Tucson Sentinel’s raw raw footage above and in KVOA’s edited news footage (here), Rothschild, Ron Barber from Giffords’ Office, and D-M 50 business boosters croon about job creation attached to the drone facility.

Of course, in the cheery news coverage, there is no mention of the moral implications of drone warfare or the inherent danger to any city that houses not only a major air force base but also a bomb-making factory and a drone command center. Is this old hippie, liberal Tucson? Really?

We already have a dearth of good-paying jobs in Tucson that are not connected to the military industrial complex. When Rothschild said job creation was going to be one of his top priorities, this is not what I had in mind.

Down with drones.

Give peace a chance.

Marisa Muro of Occupy Tucson was taken into custody on Nov. 30, 2011. (Image Credit: Alex Maldonado)

As police and local governments begin major crackdowns across the US, the Tucson Police Department and Occupy Tucson continue their nightly dance of citations, arrests, and resistance at Veinte de Agosto Park downtown.

From Alex Maldonado, Occupy Tucson Peacekeeper and Veteran For Peace…

Tonight [Wednesday, Nov. 30], eight Tucson Police Department cruisers, one SUV and another unmarked SUV encircled Veinte de Agosto Park for the nightly issuing of citations for staying in the park after hours for Occupy Tucson.

As citations were being issued, Marisa Muro, peacefully refused her citation and was taken into custody without incident.  Muro is basically deaf with only 20% hearing in each ear.

Since Thanksgiving evening, nine occupiers have been taken into custody for refusing their citations.  Occupiers spend the night at the Pima County Adult Detention Center, have their arraignment hearing in the morning and are then released.

Tucson’s newly-elected Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will be sworn in next Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Will the police change their tactics then? Only time will tell.

Joan Zatorski Puca was arrested by Tucson Police on Friday, November 25, 2011. Above is the video of the arrest. Her powerful statement below details her rational for submitting to arrest at Occupy Tucson.

This statement below, is read in the video by Joan’s husband Dr. Christopher Puca as she is being dragged into a TPD cruiser.

Friday, Nov. 25, 2011

After much personal introspection, I came to the decision today that this evening I will place myself in position to be arrested at Pancho Villa Park downtown (Veinte de Agosto Park) and jailed in relation to my involvement in the OCCUPY MOVEMENT in Tucson.

I’ve been carefully studying and meditating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s most erudite essay, his “Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963)” this past week. I am convinced that it is essential for deliberate, immediate attention be refocused on the issues of economic injustice which initially galvanized the OCCUPY MOVEMENT world-wide (as opposed to issues related to local city curfew, park ordinances, or even this issue of First Amendment Rights).

I have come to this conclusion not as a leader of any movement or group but as a singular individual desperately concerned about the profound suffering presently experienced by millions of human beings across every economic and social class, generation, gender, sexual orientation, political persuasion, religious or spiritual belief.

In good conscience, I simply cannot let Mary DeCamp (recent Mayoral candidate, Tucson Peace Activist) be the lone Tucsonan willing to enter jail (as she did in the wee hours of November 25th) as a means of drawing attention to our country’s blatant issues regarding economic injustice.

As an educated white woman, legally disabled by illness, a civil servant with almost 20 years of service to children who were living at or below the poverty line, a mother, grandmother, spouse, avowed Christian, registered and consistently-participating voter, American citizen by birthright, granddaughter of immigrants, who has never been arrested, much less walked into a jail, I believe I am the most “common” example of the “common person” impacted by the devastatingly serious economic issues that thousands upon thousands of people are demanding be addressed.

I am you… we are all one and we are suffering. Only by uniting with one another can our most egregious issues be solved.

Look in my eyes and see the reflection of your own face, your own pain… Look again and see, as well, the possibility for redemption, for resolution, for renewal of all that is good within the soul of America.

In closing, I ask you to surround me with your personal prayers this evening. That I may stay committed to my decision to display non-violent behavior, speech, and attitude in the face of (what may be) a physically and medically challenging experience for me tonight (and beyond).

Joan Zatorski Puca
Tucson, Arizona

Occupy Tucson protester: Are permits required to exercise your right to free speech? (Image Credit: Pamela Powers)

For six weeks– through heavy rain and nightly disruption by the Tucson Police Department (TPD)– Occupy Tucson has maintained a peaceful encampment protest in downtown Tucson. TPD has issued more than 600 curfew citations and, recently, physically arrested protesters for civil disobedience in not signing their citations.

On Saturday night, four peaceful protesters were arrested; on Sunday night, TPD came to the encampment with significantly more force– six cruisers and an SUV– but made no arrests. (See eye witness reports below.)

This show of muscle by TPD is out of step with at least three of the Tucson City Council– Karin Uhlich, Richard Fimbres, and Regina Romero– and former city officials George Miller and Molly McKasson.

As the situation is escalates, one has to ask: Who’s in charge? Is it City Manager (and former police chief) Richard Miranda? If so, someone needs to tell him his tactics of harassment are– at the very least– exacerbating the situation and making the movement stronger in its resolve and– at worst– could escalate the peaceful protest into a violent clash.

Tucsonans are behind the Occupiers– as is evidenced by the food and other donations and this totally unscientific poll, which has been running at 65-70% in favor of the Occupation since it was posted a few days ago.

Where do we go from here? My vote is for letting the Occupiers stay in the park– without police interference, further arrests, or curfew citations. We are the 99%.

November 26 report

From Alex Maldonado, Occupy Tucson Peacekeeper and member of Veterans For Peace…

From 10:40pm, Saturday night to 12:10am, Sunday morning, Tucson Police Department cited and released demonstrators of Occupy Tucson for staying in the park after hours, except for four who were taken into custody.

Michael (Mike) Migliore was taken into custody after chaining himself onto one of the poles at Veinte de Agosto Park in making a stance for his First Amendment right. TPD handcuffed Migliore and then proceeded to cut the chains, and escorted him to a police cruiser, where he was led away.

Mary DeCamp was taken into custody for the second time in three nights as she refused her citation. DeCamp was walked from her tent to a general area, where occupiers were being cited. DeCamp was then taken to another police cruiser where she was handcuffed, seated and then led away.

William (Billy) Lolos, who also refused his citation, was also taken into custody as he was handcuffed before taken to the general area. Lolos was then taken to yet another police cruiser and seated, and led away.

One unidentified male was also handcuffed and taken into custody, and was seated in the same police cruiser as Lolos.

All four were peacefully taken into custody without incident as fellow occupiers and supporters gave encouragement to those taken into custody for the third night in a row.

November 27 report

From Alex Maldonado, Occupy Tucson Peacekeeper and member of Veterans For Peace…

‎10:30pm to 11:30pm, TPD bull-rushed the encampment with six police cruisers and one SUV. Ten occupiers were sitting on the U-Turn curb, as there is a possibility of mid to high-teen numbers in citations. TPD’s mood tonight was not as amiable as previous nights. No one was taken into custody.

For those of you who have forgotten why the Occupiers are out there– or never understood the movement. Here is Occupy Tucson’s Declaration…

On Saturday, November 12, 2011, participants of the General Assembly of Occupy Tucson came to consensus and passed the following Declaration of the Occupation of Tucson as a working document. This is a living document and will be updated with new additions as the process continues.

Declaration of the Occupation of Tucson
As we gather in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what has brought us together.As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality that the status quo is unacceptable, and that our political and economic institutions, both corporate and governmental, are failing us; that the corruption of our system has undermined our rights, and it is now up to us, the people, to re-found those rights, and expand upon them. We assert that legitimate institutions derive their power from the people, and, therefore, as the people overwhelmingly reject the monopoly of power exercised by both government and transnational corporations, and in particular large financial corporations and the military-industrial complex, that their power is illegitimate; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by political and economic power, or when the rule of power trumps the rule of law.We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known:

We will not tolerate discrimination in the workplace, or in our governmental institutions, or within our own movement based on age, race, sex, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, developmental ability, physical ability, religious belief, and non-belief.

We condemn and consider illegitimate the acquisition of houses through an illegal foreclosure process by banks and other financial firms.

We condemn and consider illegitimate the massive bailouts that have been passed by Congress on terms unacceptable to the majority of Americans.

We condemn the media’s performance in keeping people misinformed and fearful. We condemn governmental and corporate manipulation of the media for the purpose of spreading disinformation and concealing incriminating or embarrassing information.

We recognize that financial corruption and failure are practiced with impunity under the slogan “Too Big To Fail.” In the midst of their devastating failures, we condemn the rewarding of massive bonuses to financial executives and elites.

We condemn the pressure to limit workers’–including migrant workers’–pay and access to healthcare in order to inflate profits, and overcompensate managers and executives. We demand the recognition of workers’ rights as human rights.

We oppose the systemic orientation of outsourcing more and more jobs, and condemn its use to exert further pressure on workers.

We condemn the scapegoating of the poor, and in particular the scapegoating of immigrants, including those who enter the US, often out of desperation, illegally.

We will not tolerate the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of nonhuman animals, and we condemn those who actively hide these practices.

We condemn the “structural adjustment” policies of the IMF, WTO, World Bank, et al. which have disrupted and degraded developing economies throughout the world. Consequently, we demand the forgiveness of the crushing debts imposed by the above bodies.

We condemn the use of legal teams, lobbyists, and other means to circumvent the spirit of our laws.

We condemn the universal commodification of our culture.

We condemn the practice of blocking generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.

We condemn the execution of persons, and oppose the privatization of prisons.

We condemn colonialism in all its forms.

We condemn torture, and we condemn dismissing the killing of civilians as “collateral damage”.

We condemn the creation of weapons of mass destruction, and the profits derived from their creation.

We demand accountability to the people and will not tolerate corruption in government and transnational corporations.

We demand the dissolution of the legal absurdity of corporate personhood.

We demand deeper investment in alternative, renewable forms of energy, and condemn policies that keep us unsustainably dependent on oil and other fossil fuels.

We demand the conversion of the perpetual war economy into an economy that supports peace and sustainability.

We demand accountability of transnational corporations that have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and faulty products—endangering lives and health—in pursuit of profit.

We demand the recognition of a worker’s right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions, and the right to negotiate in association with other workers.

We demand a reevaluation of the food supply—including a reevaluation of agribusiness and federal food policies and subsidies—with an emphasis on correcting negligence and dissolving monopolies.

We demand the end of all privatization of the commons such as water, seeds, genetic materials, et al.

We demand education as a right, and we condemn massive student debts as an abridgment of that right.

We demand publicly-financed campaigns, and condemn the use of money to buy disproportionate and undue influence in government.

We demand the end of the revolving-door lobby system between Congress and corporations.

We demand instant-runoff voting to supplant the winner-take-all system in elections.

We demand transparency in the tabulating of ballot returns.

*This list is not all-inclusive and may be amended at any time by consensus of the General Assembly.

We, the Occupy Tucson General Assembly, are asserting our first amendment rights, as well as our power as citizens. We are peaceably assembled; occupying public space; creating a process to address the problems we face, and generating solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support and resources.

Join us and make your voices heard!