So is it “hopeless??” No. Goddard must work harder than he’s ever worked in his life to overcome the white-right. Hispanic turnout must be mobilized. The real enemies of the working class need to be identified. Arizonans need to understand how the “conservative” elected leaders have repeatedly failed them, how the policies of the right have been tried with disastrous consequences. Good luck finding penetrating, muckraking or balanced coverage from most of the local media, but maybe social networking can get some young people to offset the reliable senior and LDS vote. And start building that bottom-up infrastructure as the right did. Still, I know people such as Kyrsten Sinema and Chad Campbell who have been working at this for years. I’m not telling them anything they don’t know.

The sad reality is that the left has nearly disappeared from America. Barack Obama holds down a center that is far to the right of historic American politics. But further right still are the ever more radical and dangerous cadres of reaction. More states will catch the Arizona syndrome. In November, we’ll see how badly.

Rogue Columnist: The Arizona syndrome.

Solution ideas:

Repeal SB 1070.

Elect Terry Goddard governor.

Throw out the Kook majority in the Legislature.

Raise taxes on the rich and, if the Growth Machine ever revives, enact a real-estate transfer tax and a tax on long commutes.

Stop all residential development outside existing urban footprints (and the extravagant planning maps of Buckeye, Surprise, Maricopa, et al, are not existing footprints). For one thing, there’s not enough water.

Establish a real state commerce department employing best practices to attract high-wage jobs.

Build out the Phoenix Biosciences Campus on a speedy schedule to include a hospital, large med school, pharmacy school and private-sector research facilities. Add a full-court press to lure biomed manufacturing from California.

Eliminate GPEC. Let the cities go their own ways.

Fund the public schools and universities to compete at top levels.

Establish real infill incentives along the light-rail line.

Put a premium on shade, including enhancing and reclaiming the shady oases in central Phoenix.

Reform the tax structure so cities aren’t so dependent on sales taxes.

Create a climate-change emergency plan now and begin acting by, for example, building intercity rail, commuter rail, light rail, streetcars and an integrated, easy-to-use transit system.

Bush’s total, of course, was suppressed by the slowdown he inherited from Clinton and the full-scale meltdown during his last year. But even during the recovery in between, job growth lagged. In only eight of Bush’s 96 months did the economy create as many jobs as the 290,000 it did last month. Clinton exceeded that level 33 times. Reagan exceeded it 24. In all, the economy gained about 1.2 million jobs annually during the six years of recovery under Bush. It averaged about twice that during the expansion from March 1991 to February 2001.

This record suggests two conclusions. One is that there’s no evidence to support the argument from congressional Republicans that tax cuts offer a silver bullet for expanding employment. Job growth boomed after Reagan cut taxes, but expanded even faster after Clinton raised them, and then faltered despite two massive tax cuts under Bush. If tax rates are the critical factor in that record, the relationship is well disguised.

via National Journal Magazine – Repairing The Job Machine.

PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves “important” weigh more heavily and help to make other pages “important”.

via PageRank – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Scottsdale, Ariz., May 6, 2010 — Following a sold-out premiere at the Harkins Valley Art Theatre in Tempe, 9500 Liberty begins its second week with the announcement that director Annabel Park will host special event screenings at the Valley Art on Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday.

The award-winning film documents a Virginia county’s short-lived policy requiring police officers to question people they deemed likely to be undocumented immigrants. It was repealed after two months of implementation due to its negative economic, social, and public safety impact.

Ms. Park is internationally known as the founder and leader of Coffee Party USA, an upstart grassroots movement that in three months has reinvigorated America’s silent majority. Today Park is on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers about financial reform legislation. Tomorrow she will arrive in Phoenix.

“There never would have been a Coffee Party if not for the lessons we learned making 9500 Liberty,” Park said. “I hope to share some of those lessons with the people of Arizona and suggest a way forward.”

Park and Byler will be available to the media from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday May 7 outside Harkins Valley Art Theatre. Show times and tickets can be found at www.harkinstheatres.com. In addition to Ms. Park’s appearances at the Valley Art, Byler and producer Chris Rigopulos will take questions from the audience at:

Harkins Shea (Eric Byler)

Friday and Saturday: at 7:15 p.m. and 9:25 p.m.

Harkins Gateway Pavilions (Eric Byler and/or Chris Rigopulos)

Friday thru Sunday: 1:10 p.m., 3:20 p.m., 5:50 p.m.

via 9500 Liberty | Press Release 4-26-2010 | Immigration documentary 9500 Liberty creating groundswell in Arizona.

Papers Please by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

So I got dragged to 9500 Liberty last night. That’s not true, I saw the trailer for 9500 Liberty the day before and learned that it was a documentary about an anti-immigration bill from Prince William County, VA.

Prince William County is not far from Washington DC but is a very rural area with lots of history. It is an affluent area and like the rest of the country experienced a boom in building in the early 2000′s. In order to meet the demand for houses a new labor force was utilized, much of this labor force consisted primarily of latino workers and some were undocumented, aka illegal aliens.

One group of citizens began to feel intimidated by this new populations customs. They were different from the ones that they lived with. They began to speak out about their fear of this new group and influenced elected officials to act in their interests. The bill was passed unanimously by the Prince William county board to give police officers the power of ‘probable cause’ to ask ethnic minorities for legal documentation. When the illegal immigrants were thrown out foreclosures skyrocketed and local businesses closed as they lost 10% of their business in a matter of months.

The county managed to take the recession pains felt by the whole country and exacerbate them by removing their lower class tax and revenue base. Then the politicians who used the bill as their election platform started to attack the Chief of Police, who had been in the town for over 4 decades, for being a traitor. Turns out money and loyalty are two things that will motivate people to speak out and tell their leaders what they want. Eventually the bill was changed to remove ‘probable cause’ and now all criminals are given background checks, regardless of race, after they have been caught. Basically they remembered that in the US you are innocent until proven guilty.

This was in 2007-2008, and the parallels to present day Arizona are enough to make you have a few stiff drinks. Today we have Jan Brewer, the governor who wasn’t elected into office, using illegal immigration as her election platform cause everything else she has done here has failed, failed, and oh yeah failed in a big ball of flames. We have the same group that wrote the bill in Virgina,  the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), writing the one in Arizona( Arizona SB 1070). It turns out they are listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Lay Center. We have a miserable economy, huge deficits, and a very gullible population that has fallen victim to fear politics.

I have allowed my self to become complacent and indifferent to politics. The 8 years of draconian events under George Bush, put me into the position of throwing my arms up in surrender. However I did get out and support President Obama and I did vote for him even though Arizona went with the other guy. This bill in Arizona however has further awoken my sense of pride in being an America which to me is embodied in one word – tolerance.

The line has been crossed into something I have up till now only experienced in other countries: China, the former USSR, and Poland to cite specific examples. In these countries I experienced first hand what it means to always have to carry Identification and have paramilitary police on every corner. In Poland I visited Auchwizt where the worst of what people can become existed and thrived and still hallows the ground and air.

I understand that people are frustrated about the economy and taking care of their family. I agree that something needs to be done, but this bill simply goes too far. If we want to hit illegal immigration hard why aren’t we looking at the businesses that employ illegal immigrants harder? If there was no demand then economics tells is there would be no need for supply.

If you agree with me on this I suggest a few things: 1) Go and see 9500 Liberty. 2)Start talking about this with every person that you know, but be civil and open to everyones opinion. If it crumbles into an argument find a bar and get a few beers and maybe a shot or two. 3)Find out who your representatives are from the ground up. You may be shocked to find out how many there are. If you dont agree with their stance find out who is running against them in the next election and start talking to them. Turns out politicians are blank sheets of paper and whatever their constituancy tells them is what their stance will be.

If you don’t agree with me thats cool too. I have a comment section just below here and you are welcome to say whatever you want there. I will not edit or delete any comment that isn’t spam. Please remember that all caps means you are shouting, thats cool as long as you realize it…

Here are the sites I linked to above:

http://9500liberty.com/

http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2007/12/11/fair-crossing-the-rubicon-of-hate&splcnewsletter=panewsgen-121107/

• Senator Ken Cheuvront (AZ) – Biography – Email - Website - Voted ‘No’
• Senator Barbara Leff (AZ)- Biography – Email - Website - Voted ‘Yes’
• Representative Kyrsten Sinema (AZ)- Biography - Email - Website - Voted ‘No’
• Representative Eric Meyer (AZ)- Biography - Email - Website - Did not Vote…
• Representative David M. Lujan (AZ)- Biography - Email - Website - Did not Vote…
• Representative Adam Driggs (AZ)- Biography - Email - Website - Voted ‘Yes’

• Governor Janice Kay ‘Jan’ Brewer (AZ)- Biography - Email - Website - Signed into Law

Good job to Senator Cheuvront and  Representative Sinema you have my vote.

Bad job Senator Leff and Representative Driggs you will not be getting my vote.

WTF Representative Meyer and Lujan? I want a good reason for this one.

Oh Governor, I hope you enjoyed your stay but it is time to go, bye bye.

Here is my email to Cheuvront and Sinema:

I am new to your district and wanted to reach out to you and thank you for recently voting no on bill SB 1070. This bill represents the worst of fear mongering politics and needs to be exposed as such. Please keep up the fight.

Here is my email to Leff and Driggs:

I am new to your district and am sorry to say that my first message to you is one of disappointment. Your yes vote to a bill written by a known hate group is quite disconcerting. This bill is merely an election platform of fear and it makes me sad to be an Arizonian. There is no defense you can offer me except for an apology and immediate progress towards repealing this bill from our books.

I suggest you learn more about FAIR and the damage they did to Prince William County Virginia in 2007 – http://www.9500liberty.com/

I wish you the best of luck in the next election. You will be hearing from me.

Here is my email to Meyer and Lujan:

I am new to your district and have learned that you recently registered as a No Vote for SB1070. I am curious to know why you were indecisive on how to vote on this bill.

I will save judgement until after I read your response.

And finally my message for our unelected Governor:

I am disappointed with your recent passage of SB1070. This bill is clearly driven by hate as shown in its authors history and is a tool for driving your political platform on fear. I am ashamed to be an Arizonian because of this bill.

Your acceptable response will be to immediately begin repealing this harmful bill and apologize to the citizens of Arizona for once again making us the laughing stock of the Nation.

The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on the proposed Sonoran Solar Energy Project.

This is the first big solar project on public land in Arizona. The proposal includes construction of a 375 MW electrical generating facility using concentrated solar thermal power on 3,700 acres.

Read more about the project online.

Comments can be submitted via this page or via email to sonoransolar@blm.gov or by mail to Joe Incardine, National Project Manager, BLM Phoenix District Office, Lower Sonoran Field Office, 21605 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85027.

For more information, please contact Sandy Bahr at 602-253-8633 or sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org.

I suggest you attend a hearing if you have anything to say about this proposed budget: Phoenix Budget Hearings

A few things stood out for me but it cascaded into a really long post. Turns out we are cutting a lot of shit out of the budget this year. So here is part 1 of 5:

Page 8 – Community and Economic Development
Eliminate a Building Code Examiner position on the Non-permitted Construction Team. This will reduce investigations of non- permitted construction, further adding to the current backlog of over 5,000 complaints. This may result in unsafe conditions and deterioration in the quality and livability of neighborhoods.
$(151,000)

Yikes!

Page – Environmental Programs
1. Eliminate an Environmental Programs Specialist that supervises the Pollution Prevention Unit. Eliminating this position will adversely impact compliance with state and federal hazardous materials and waste management laws.
$(113,000)

Lets grow three eyes!

I suggest you attend a hearing if you have anything to say about this proposed budget: Phoenix Budget Hearings

A few things stood out for me but it cascaded into a really long post. Turns out we are cutting a lot of shit out of the budget this year. So here is part 2 of 5:

Page – 15 to 18 – Fire
1. Reduce funding for overtime by adjusting and reprioritizing the training schedule for on-going training, High-Rise training, and Specialty Response Teams.
$(1,273,000)

2. Relocate the Ambulance Billing Function to City-owned space. (271,000)

3. Eliminate civilian support positions from the Crisis Response Team, Technical Services, Ambulance Billing, and Administration, Personnel, Operations, Payroll, and Public Affairs Sections. These positions may impact the department’s ability to perform many administrative duties in a timely manner.
(1,307,000) (13.3 Civilian)

4. Eliminate one Assistant to the Fire Chief who serves as the Fire Marshall. This reduction will increase the span of control and potentially impact service delivery.
(210,000) (1.0 Civilian)

5. Eliminate three Fire Prevention Supervisors and nine Fire Prevention Specialists responsible for ensuring compliance with the Fire Code. This reduction will result in scheduling delays as fewer staff will be available to perform inspection-related duties.
(1,014,000) (12.0 Civilian)

6. Eliminate two Fire Battalion Chief*Deputy positions assigned to Fire Prevention and Safety. This reduction will negatively impact the sworn span of control and will require some reorganization.
(519,000) (2.0 Sworn)

7. Eliminate one Fire Captain*40-Hour position assigned to the Fleet Management Division and one Firefighter*40-Hour position assigned to the Health Center. The loss of these two positions will negatively impact the department’s ability to effectively manage the fleet and Health Center.
(307,000) (2.0 Sworn)

8. Eliminate one Media Production Specialist position in the Public Affairs Section. This will reduce the number of public education campaigns related to home and life safety issues.
(112,000) (1.0 Civilian)

9. Eliminate three (of eight) Fire Battalions consisting of nine Fire Battalion Chief*56-Hour positions and nine Fire Captain*56-Hour positions. This will degrade supervisory span of control of fire station personnel and possibly affect response times for command staff.
(3,457,000) (18.0 Sworn)

10. Eliminate one (of two) Shift Command unit, consisting of three Fire Battalion Chief*Deputy 56-Hour positions, three Fire Captains, and one Secretary II position. This reduction will affect span of control and require some reorganization to reduce the impact it may have on incident command response times.
(1,301,000) (6.0 Sworn) (1.0 Civilian)

11. Eliminate two Fire Emergency Dispatchers and one Fire Communications Supervisor in the Dispatch Section. This will affect the department’s ability to maintain staffing standards but will not impact service delivery or response times.
(247,000) (3.0 Civilian)

12. Eliminate three (of 22) full-time One and One Rescue Units that provide supplemental paramedic coverage to paramedic Engine Companies. Also reflected is the elimination of one (of 11) 12-hour part-time paramedic rescue. The loss of these units will negatively affect response times, as fewer units will be available to respond to calls for service.
(3,075,000) (18.0 Sworn)

13. Eliminate six (of 64) Engine Companies that provide fire and medical emergency services in a specific geographic area. This reduction will negatively affect response times, as fewer units will be available to respond to calls for service.
(10,935,000) (84.0 Sworn)

14. Eliminate one (of 13) Ladder Company that plays a critical role in fire support and emergency medical incidents. This will increase response times, causing delayed fire ground and emergency medical activities.
$(1,786,000) (14 Sworn)

Total – $(25,814,000)
(144.0 Sworn)
(31.3 Civilian)

Carry a Fire Extinguisher in your car?