FilibustAZ

Three Trials For Renzi

2009-12-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Former Arizona representive Rick Renzi was charges of fraud and now instead of only one trial a judge from Tuscon has requested that Rick renzi is charged seperatly for all three different accounts of fraud. The first account is that he alledgly swaped federal land to benifit him and a buisness partner James Sandlin. the second account is that Rick Renzi alledgly raided his family insurance companys funds to fund his campaign. The third account is that Rick Renzi alledgly has been laundering money, insurrance fraud and rackateering. Rick Renzi has pleaded not guilty on all of these charges but the judges are still trying to prove him guilty.

-Norma Jean

Mexico: Drug War Grows More Intense

2009-12-14T08:34:00.002-07:00

     Over the last few months, almost every TV news station did not forget to mention the Drug War in Mexico. Even though drug cartels have existed in Mexico for quite some time, they did not pose a serious threat to Mexico until three years ago, when the violence was brought to the streets and homes of innocent hispanic families. Drug cartels from Mexico now control the drug market in the United States and are planning to move into Europe soon, too. The drug cartels are in a war with Mexico's government. Innocent people are being killed in the fight to stop drug traficking.
     More recently, Obama has stepped up to help Mexico. Helicopters that were scheduled to be flown into Mexico were delayed as a result of the U.S. red tape. Five helicopters are due in Mexico this month, but another fifteen might not arrive in Mexico until 2011. The total aid package planned out for Mexico costs the United States $1.3 billion U.S. dollars. Since President Felipe Calderón ordered troops to fight drug cartels in December 2006, more than 13,000 people have been killed. In addition, the smugglers are getting stronger as they acquire high-tech weapons including submarines, rocket launchers and even anti-aircraft guns are being added to their arsenals. The delay of U.S. help is really hurting Mexico, but what can the United States do.
     Will this war ever end? Mexico is fighting a war on the borders of the United States. Does this not pose a threat to the U.S.? President Obama has a lot on his plate, but a war overseas is nothing like a war next door. The founding fathers of this nation swore to protect the United States against domestic and foreign violence. The drug cartels could just walk into U.S. soil at any given time, but a terrorist from over seas isn't just gonna "walk" into the U.S. My message to President Obama - don't forget to keep domestic violence on your "to-do list."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/12/14/20091214aircraft1210.html

~zippy92

Obama Urges Stimulus, Jobs Spending

2009-12-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Today Obama announced a way to reduce unemployment. He stated, "We must spend our way out of this recession." More than 7 million people have lost our job since the recession started since two years ago. Some of Obama's proposal new spending for highway and bridge construction, for small business tax cuts and for retrofitting millions of homes to make them more energy-efficient. He said he wanted to extend economic stimulus programs to keep unemployment insurance from expiring for millions of out-of-work Americans and to help laid-off workers keep their health insurance. He proposed an additional $250 apiece in stimulus spending for seniors and veterans and aid to state and local governments to discourage them from laying off teachers, police officers and firefighters.

I think Obama has the right intentions on getting our economy stronger, but spending more money is not what we need.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/money/job_news/obama_urges_stimulus%2C_jobs_spending_

muscle car

Payday

2009-12-07T08:45:00.004-07:00

Pima County Superior Court in Tucson is filing complaint against QC Holdings Inc. of Overland Park, which is in charge of the Quick Cash facilities.

QC Holdings Inc. Of overland Park is dispatching hundreds of collections suits, though the law states that small claim suits must be filed where the defendant lives or the area where the loan was taken. The lawsuit seeks $5 million in restitution and asks QC Holdings Inc. of Overland Park to stop doing business in Arizona.

Payday loan companies pry on the desperate and charge them a high interest rate. There are twelve states currently ban payday loans, and several states have enacted usury laws that prevent payday companies from operating. Previously, there was a ballot initiative to ban the Payday companies, but it did not pass. There will not be another Payday loan initiative because Jan Brewer dismissed the proposal.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmcOJovVij4H3WTl0Arkfipmn45AD9CCQ9UO0

http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2009/12/06/news/state/state7.txt

http://www.kfsm.com/news/sns-ap-az--paydayloans-distantcourts,0,4304036.story

-Bolt

Black Friday

2009-12-06T22:17:00.002-07:00

Black Friday retail discounts began before the official Black Friday this year. Across the valley, the first of November marked the celebration of lower prices. Retailers in Arizona experienced a 0.5% mark-up in profit.
I had the pleasure of watching over hundreds of people wait outside a WalMart on Bell Road, in North Phoenix. My father is the overnight stocker at store #1598 and he arrived for work at 10:00 pm to find around 50 people waiting by the sliding doors. By midnight, the line had grown to form a circle around the store. The store was originally scheduled to be open for 24 hours but the store had to close down for about an hour while WalMart called for more associates to work. WalMart offered laptops, cameras, school supplies, food, books, and other merchandise for dirt cheap prices. Once the doors opened at about 1:00 pm, WalMart was packed. The story went crazy and my dad was forced to clock out because he couldn't finish his work
because of the situation.
How is it that with the nation's economy, people are continuing to buy and buy? Although it was good for WalMart, the crazy scene prevented the overnight stockers from doing their job and many WalMart associates were forced to give up their Thanksgiving to work. Is there a better way to handle Black Friday?

~zippy92

Sheriff Joe Arpaio could be next Arizona governor?

2009-12-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

Polls have shown that Sheriff Joe Arpaio is the strongest republican canditate for Arizona's new govener. With voted polls already showing Sheriff Joe is in the lead as running a 51% percent compared to Attorney General Terry Goddard whos current voting puts him at a 38%. Sheriff Joe has not made any negative comments stating that he is not interested in becoming governer, but said, "I cannot ignore the results of this latest Rassmussen Poll..."

So Sheriff Joe Arpaio is stating that he might or might not run we will just have to wait and see. His biggest worry is if he becomes govener that he will have to resign from his current position. His final decision won't be untill May or June.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/politics/Sheriff-Joe-Arpaio-could-be-next-Arizona-governor-72102302.html

muscle car

Waiting list for state child care in Arizona swells to 10,000

2009-12-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Children have been denied child care and placed on a waiting list since earlier this year from the Department of Economic Security from the response of budget cuts. Even withh all these budget cuts next year few children will be able to get admitted to the program. Then in that duration many parents are unemployed and have been staying at home with their children.

To become eligible for this program children have to be the age 12 or younger and can stay until the age of 13 years old.The child-care program began in the early 1980s and expanded in the 1990s as federal subsidies became available. It was budgeted at $200 million this year.

I understand that companies are cutting back, but child care is not something that should not be cut back on. Children are our future and need support on health.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/12/03/20091203childcare1203.html

muscle car

Pipeline in Prescott?

2009-11-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

On November 3rd voters approved an inicitave that will cost an extra $40 million towards the pipeline that is being built to pump water from the Big Chino aquifer to the tri-city area (Prescott, Prescott valley, and Chino valley.) As of now it is estamated that this pipeline project will cost over $170 million. Now just because this was approved does not mean the pipeline has been approved yet because the fate of the pipeline will be decided soon but as for now they are just getting the budget together so that when and if the pipeline does get approved they will have funding to get it going asap.

The Big Chino aquifer lies under Chino Valley and the surrounding area and is quite massive but we have drawing water out of it for so long that is is drying up. This pipeline will increase the amount of water the Prescott area is pumping out of the aquifer by a lot but Prescott is also a growing town and the tri-city area is growing like crazy. So is this really a bad idea to draw more water from the aquifer?

-Norma Jean

$3.1 million on the I-17

2009-11-17T19:45:00.001-07:00

On Friday November 13th the Arizona DPS found $3.1 million after stopping a comercial vehicle. The vehicle was moving paper products via the I-17 after it was pulled over the officer suspected some kind of criminal activity and called for a canine unit to come search the vehicle. The canine found no drugs but when the officers searched the back of the vehicle they found four unmarked boxes that looked nothing like the others. There were 61 bundles of U.S. dollars and each bundle coutained around $50,000. The truck driver was questioned and realeased until further investigation.
Arizona DPS has been cracking down on truck drivers and other drivers for drug and people smuggling along the I-17. This is a very good thing and hopefully will stop this from hapening in our backyard. Hopefully this preasure that the DPS is going to make these major durg and other smugglers slow down or stop.
-Norma Jean

White supremacist strangles fellow inmate

2009-11-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

White supremacist Pete Van Winkle strangled inmate Robert Cotton as seen on a surveillance tape at in Phoenix at 4th Avenue jail. Van Winkle testified that it was self-defense because Cotton had made the first hit but the judge still found him guilty. Van Winkle is sentenced to death on Tuesday. Van Winkle supposedly killed Cotton for snitching on a member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. Cotton was in jail for being alleged that he stole a vehicle and Van Winkle attempted to kill a man in 2008. Before trial of
Cottons murder another jury found he attempted second degree murder and misconduct with weapons.

-Boing 123

13 Maybe Arpaio's Lucky Number

2009-11-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

On Monday evening November 16th, Sheriff Joe Arpaio carried out his thirteenth crime sweep. He and 200 deputied plus a posse managed to arrest a sizeable ammount of illegal immigrants. These sweeps occur in heavily latino areas in Phoenix. Sheriff Arpaio claims that all of the illegal immigrants were originally stopped for other crimes and then found to be illegal. Now this may seem like racial profiling and.... wait yep its profiling. Sheriff Arpaio believes himself to be some sort of Arizona hero by finding loopholes through the federal placed laws to restrict his unlawful acts against latinos. Since the federal government took away Arpio's power to make federal immigration arrests he decided to make his own law so he can continue these sweeps.

I know these sweeps may seem like a huge waste of time when police officals should be combatting actual crime not the crime of having dark skin and living within Arpio's juristiction. Unfortunatly there are many in the state of Arizona who love his enthusiasm against Latinos. Maybe somebody should let Arpio know that no many how many of these sweeps he carries out that there will always be Latinos in America. If Arpio had his way he would be investigating Sonia Sotomayor. Sheriff Arpio is just fueling racism and racial tensions in the state of Arizona and the state would be better off is he was removed from any sort of authority position.
-StrangeBru

Arizona's crisis

2009-11-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday November 17, 2009 more than a third of Arizona's Legislators from both parties will meet to discuss the future of the state.

The economic crisis has affected Arizona, as it has many other states. It has impacted public education, public safety, law enforcement, transportatio and other services provided by the government.

One of the solutions that the government has decided on is to lower taxes. Their motto is, "lowering taxes will lead to more jobs." This has proven false time after time. Lowering taxes will cut back on government help.

The population of the state of Arizona has increased by 26.7%, which means that there is more financial pressure on the budget for government services, like education and public safety.

Arizona is going through the same budget crisis that happened back in the 80s with Reagan. He tried to cut taxes, but the public was objected to it. The public was not going to allow the budget and public services to be reduced in order to pay for tax cuts.

-Bolt

Grocery Strike at Fry's and Safeway - Good for Both Sides

2009-11-15T00:30:00.001-07:00

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/11/13/20091113GroceryStrike13-ON.html#comments

This past Saturday, I visited the Fry's store located on the corner of Hatcher & Cave Creek in North Phoenix. I have been shopping at this Fry's for seven years now and this past summer, I worked for this Fry's store, but when I walked in Saturday morning, there was something different about the people I had known for so long. Looking dazzled, I found the manager and asked why everyone seemed quite down. He explained to me that Fry's was waiting for a strike outside its doors. Fortunately, the grocery strike was averted. I talked to some of the workers and one of them even mentiones that, "There is no reason for people to be doing this to the store. We [the workers] have families we have to feed and go home to and this is not a problem we need when we come to work." Another employee stated, "We [the workers] come to work every day just like those people who want to go on a strike." I left the store feeling happy that those hard-working Fry's employees did not have to deal with a strike. They work extremely hard and with tons of motivation to make shoppers happy. Next time you go to a store, thank the employees. Having been emplyed at Fry's myself, I know how hard the job can be dealing with different faces every day.

~zippy92

Photo-enforcement issues

2009-11-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Photo-enforcements have been established for the last couple of years and have raised many issues. The state says they are put up for safety purposes, but a huge proportion of Arizona citizens think otherwise stating that the bright flash is very unsafe for the driver and a huge distraction on the road.
Citizen Dave Vontesmar is an example of someone out raging against the photo-enforcements. Some people consider him as a hero; he was speeding down Valleys freeways with a monkey mask strapped to his face. Dave’s arguments against the photo-enforcements are that they are a cash grab for the state. These ticket violations have collected around $40 million dollars.

Yes, I agree with Dave Vontesmar’s point of view,in my opinion he his showing his opinion in an unsafe manner and could show his opinion in a better manner. By speeding down the freeway is just unsafe for the drivers around him. If Dave is so against the photo-enforcements he could just start a petition.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/11/13/20091113monkeyfolo1113.html

muscle car

Pheonix makes it easier to go solar at home

2009-11-10T20:25:00.001-07:00

Pheonix has developed a new program that will allow 1,000 Arizona Public Service Co. custumers and low-income famalies to be able to have solar panels put into their homes to cut the costs of power bills without putting any money up front.
Also since it depends on the sun at night custumers will be able to depend on APS. A solar panel can cost from $30,000 through $70,000. Although it is very expensive it you calculate throughout the years it saves money.
Many programs like this has already taken place, such as in California since April of 2008.

I think the idea of the solar panel is very environmentaly friendly and we should have done this years ago.

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/11/10/20091110biz-solarphoenix1110.html

muscle car

Proposed parkway threatens to split Sun City Festival

2009-11-09T12:42:00.002-07:00

Residents of north Buckeye are scared that their living situation would become threatened by a parkway development which would bisect everything. What there development was going to do was to cut through Sun City which has failed and minimal progress has been made. The transportation of Maricopa County Department has proposed a 32-mile thoroughfare west of White Tank Mountains connecting to Interstate 10 to Arizona 74. Residents outraged and have suggested and alternate route.

Making this development would make driving alot more convient, but should not be done since it distructs Sun City.

www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/11/09/20091109swv-parkway1107.html

muscle car

52 illegal immigrants arrested

2009-11-08T23:17:00.000-07:00

Sheriff Joe's deputies arrested 52 illegal immigrants Tuesday after making two traffic stops on the I-17 and raided two drophouses in the Valley. Deputies stopped a van with three illegals on the I-17 which the vans driver led them to a drophouse in Phoenix. Officers founds three illegal immigrants and a .45 caliber handgun and business ledgers relating to human smuggling. Around the same time deputies arrested 35 illegals at another drophouse and found another handgun. The other I-17 stop was by Anthem and they arrested eight illegals in two vehicles. All the 52 people were arrested and were charged with state felony immigration charges. I feel safe now... I realize that 52 in one day is 52 more people then there should be. Imagine how many come in a week. Arpayo is smart for keeping his deputies on the lock with these illegals. We can't afford to have more people.. They are stealing our jobs as it is.. They need to stay in Mexico or wherever they came from they have no business in Arizona and why be stupid enough to have a .45 caliber around and on the I-17.. They should take a back way at least if they smuggle immigrants.. Don't they know what they are dealing with when they come here?

-boing123

Possible Reform for AZ

2009-11-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

Recent town hall meetings have shown that many citizens and representatives of the state would like to see a large scale reform on certain issues such as the sate's largley screwed up finances. When the buget was supposed to finally be organized the state found itself in large defecit. The setbacks have have finally started to anger citizens which has been showing in the intense calls for change during town halls. One person was quoted saying "The state needs an enema". Others have actually called for change in the Arizona constitution. Besides any other form of orginization and grammatical corrections people want to see a way to deal with finances. The legislature in place was only designed to make a short term solution for the budget but is now being asked to create a long term plan for the situation. There have been many suggestions such as raising taxes and ending term limits. Whatever suggestions are acted on, whether it is an enema for the state an actual budget plan,it is apparent that something needs to happen.

-the dude-

ICE Police Training In Mesa

2009-11-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

After three years of considering Mesa has finally decided to come to an agreement with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They are planning to train police officers so they will be able to properly handle the illegal immigrants in Mesa. One lawyer Mark Egan debated witht the city council about the training. He believes that the law enforcement is meant to arrest dangerous criminals and not focus on people whose only crime is illegal immigration. Doing sweeps to catch illegal immigrants like the justice driven Sheriff Joe Arpio may become a huge waste of money and time. Mesa's crime rates have actually gone down without the ICE trained officers. This program is most likely going to not do any real justice or good. The continual efforts to just remove every illegal immigrant is not going to work. Sheriff Joe's solution is going to fail and just further already tense racial issues in the Phoenix area. The Arizona government should not waste money and time training officers to solve the problem and just put its efforts towards a reasonable solution.
-strangebru

Neo-Nazis Rally in Phoenix to Stop Illegal Immigration

2009-11-08T09:48:00.005-07:00

During this past weekend, the National Socialist Movement, a group of neo-Nazis, marched through the streets of Phoenix with a number of the national flag and various signs against illegal immigration. Although the neo-Nazi group came out of Detroit, members came out to Phoenix to increase support. While the neo-Nazis marched down Jefferson Avenue, they encountered groups of Arizona residents who opposed their rally.
Is it not the different ethnicities, backgrounds, and colors that represent what America is about? Diversity and cultural enrichment are vital to this country.
To give you a little background information, the National Socialist Movement was founded in 1974 by Robert Brannen and Clifford Herrington. Since then, the NSM established headquarters in Detroit, Michigan under the leadership of Jeff Schoep. The NSM, since 1974, has created a mission dedicated to denying citizenship to Jews, nonwhites, and homosexuals- a mission the NSM believes will ultimately result in a "greater America." Since 2006, the group has experienced many setbacks, but immigration rallys are to remain strong. Back in the spring of 2007, the NSM purchased a website, New Saxon, to spread their ideology.
We cannot deny a human being the right to enter this beautiful country we call our home. As U.S. citizens travel around the world for business meetings, vacations, getaways, etc., think about how easy it might be for you to pick up your passport and fly to another country why people from accross the globe have a harder time to enter the United States.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2009/11/07/20091107neonazi.html

http://www.adl.org/Learn/Ext_US/nsm/default.asp?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=3&item=nsm.html

-zippy92

Obama preserves the West

2009-11-05T12:35:00.002-07:00

There has been a long fight over the public western lands to be harvested and preserved for future generations. Since Obama has been in office he has made a huge impact in Western land-use policy. Obama's team has funded the expansion of the Petrified Forest National Park and by the Grand Canyon has increased wild life such as mustangs. Then in 2009 he signed into law the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 which preserved and protected many recreational trails. For example the 807-mile AZ National Scenic Trail which is designated for over 2 million acres. Obama has established other plans such as to make solar power development as a top priority for public land. He has reversed the environmental policies that the Bush administration set up since being in office in January.
I agree with Obama's acts and views on preserving our environment. For the past couple generations we have not been environmentaly aware of what our actions do to our earth. Which has resulted in pollution and global warming. So it is very much needed that we have someone take control and better our environment.

azcentram.co,/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/11/05/2--91105azenviro11

muscle car

Parking ticket rates

2009-11-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

Parking tickets in Phoenix are expecting to increase from $31 to $57. The proposal would increase fines for disabled parking - spot violations from $250 to $460 which would be the highest in the valley. A Phoenix police officer stated downtown congestion have created more problems with parking scofflaws.Because of increased construction police hace also noticed more illegal parking. We need more parking in Phoenix maybe expand the streets some. Its not the peoples faults they cant find a parking spot to fit their need we are just limited in room. There should be a proposal to add more parking space.

-Boing123

Was Debt The Real Killer?

2009-11-02T08:37:00.001-07:00

The murder case between Steve DeMocker and Carol Kenedy has been going on for more than a year now. DeMocker allegedly went to his ex wifes house on the night of July 2nd 2008 and beat her to death with a golf club. At first prosecuters believed he killed her because of the devorce that had just recently happened and had been very hard on both DeMocker and Kenedy but new evidence suggests that even tho DeMocker was a Financial Advisor Kenedy and him were in massive debt. The night before the murder Kenedy sent DeMocker an email asking for the second alimony payment of $6,000 which he was late on paying and Kenedy could not afford that months mortgage. So now prosecuters say that DeMocker killed her to avoid paying Kenedy $6,000 a month which in total would add up to $576,000. DeMockers income had decreased by 30 precent in 2008 and that was putting him in even more debt than he was already in.

-Norma Jean

Bribery At The Border

2009-11-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Arizona Mexico border is a place of corruption and inefficency. There have been reports of unfair treatment towards Mexicans and murder and in this case accepting bribes. Former Border Patrol agent Yamilkar Fierros of Tucson was recently arrested for accepting bribes from drug traffickers. He gave them maps and information on how to avoid Border Patrol when trafficking illegal drugs into Arizona. He has been charged with three counts of bribery all of which are liable to fiffteen years in prision each. The Border Patrol has many issue and defects. They also have become a joke due to the vast number of illegal immigrants and to the Minutemen. The Minutemen are generally concieved of a group of very patriotic but not necessarily intelligent or racial bias men. The Arizona Mexico border is not guarded well enough. The Arizona government needs to make Fierro an example so other Border Patrol agents will feel less inclined to accept bribes and aid drug traffickers. The heroic Minutemen should be removed or tightly governed by a power so racial motivated crimes do not occur. Despite putting thousands of agents and millions of dollars into border protection one greedy unethical man can allow drugs to be easily brought into Arizona.
-strangebru

Border Drug Smugglers

2009-11-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

México produces three of the most abused drugs used in the United Sates: marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine. Cocaine, which is made in South Africa is imported to México, then exported along with the other three drugs into the United States.
The main routes from México into the U.S. are: Tijuana to San Diego, Sonora to Phoenix, Arizona; Chihuahua to El Paso, Texas; and the states of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, which covers the remaining south of the border, to the Texas cities of Laredo and Brownsville.
The multibillion-dollar fence diving the United States and Mexico near Sells, Arizona is now being used by the drug dealers to their benefit. A pickup truck in México pulls next to the fence and using a retractable ramp for a bridge over the fence. Then, a second pickup truck with the drugs drives over the ramp and into the United States.
The United States spent $2.4 billion to build an extra 600 miles on the border fence, increased their Border Patrol by 8,000, and funded United States Customs and Border Patrol $8.1 billion.
And will all this money and effort stop drug cartels from smuggling drugs into the United States? No. It might delay and make it difficult for the drug cartels, but there will never be a complete halt to the smuggling of drugs. It’s simply a part of the American culture. Perhaps, instead of spending all this money on something that will never be resolved, the United States should inform their citizens to be more sensible when it comes to using these drugs.

Arizona Residents Take Control of Their Own State

2009-11-01T15:02:00.001-07:00

The current U.S. economic crisis has left more than a thousand Arizona residents without a job but there is hope for the nation's economy. Economists predict that by the end of 2010, new jobs will be created and old ones restored to help decrease the unemployment rate. In Arizona, the rate of hiring is quite slow but experts believe the nation's economy is on the rise again and jobs in Arizona will slowly but surely pull residents out from the ongoing recession.
Arizona residents recognized this economic situation and decided to take matters into their own hands. Since 2009 when Arizona representatives cut local non-profit activities, charity work from valley volunteers proved vital to Arizona. Since January of this year, over a thousand volunteers participated in churches, neighborhood groups, parks, food banks, jails, and libraries doing services Arizona's budget could no longer afford. Volunteers did little things like picked up trash in neighborhoods and parks, cleaned off graffiti, organized local activities, and distributed food at the local food banks to bring communities together and inspire hope. Charity work in Arizona has now created a mission dedicated to increasing citizen engagement at the local level to remind Arizona residents that it is never too late for optimism. Through volunteerism, a sense of "community" is coming back to Arizona.
Children, students, and even senior citizens are coming together to give Arizona hope, as President Obama gave hope to all of America since his campaign. Keep an eye on Arizona's budget Arizonians!

~zippy92

Is the swine flu over-exaggerated?

2009-10-26T12:49:00.001-07:00

During the month of October, local clinics and businesses in Maricopa County remained extremely busy while hundreds of Arizona residents waited hours to receive a swine-flu shot. Dr. Bob England, Maricopa County's director of public health, stated that around 52,000 H1N1 vaccines were to be distributed but the valley is demanding more. The amount of vaccines presented above only covered 1% of Maricopa County's population and, thus, those in high-risk groups (pregnant women and children ages six months to four years) recieved the vaccine first. Many residents throughout Arizona are frustrated and grow worried with the lack in amount of swine-flu shots. Local clinics and stores such as Bashas or Safeway ran out of the vaccines before their schedules for the day came to an end.
Why are residents so preoccupied with protecting themselves from the swine-flu when statistics prove more people die each day from the regular flu than of the swine-flu? Researchers worry because the swine-flu is something "new" they haven't seen before. In my opinion, the swine-flu has been blown way out of proportion. Despite the fact that the number of cases of swine-flu in Arizona continues to grow, what are we doing to prevent the swine-flu, or even the regular flu, in the first place?

For more information check out these links:
(http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/10/24/20091024flu-ON.html#)

(http://www.abc15.com/content/living/yourhealth/story/Officials-Arizona-swine-flu-cases-now-at-49/4EVm0RiXS0qG64K2EqDMmg.cspx)

~zippy92

I’m not an ATM machine

2009-10-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

In order to fix Arizona’s midyear budget shortfall of $2 billion, the Legislative has opted cutting government spending, increase taxes, and raid voters mandated programs. Revenue made on the real estate boom has been depleted, and now the citizens of Arizona are faced with a budget deficit. Cutting government spending and raiding voters mandate programs that are not utilizing their funds seems to be tactful, however, raising taxes during a recession is political suicide. Jan Brewer governor of Arizona is just about ready to pull the trigger. Two-thirds of the Legislative is needed in order to raise taxes, but Brewer is seeking to propose the tax raise in a special election. Senator Paula Aboud agrees with the governor and supports the tax increase, “When we're in flush times we give tax cuts and when we're in need we reach out to our citizens so we don't decimate the state of Arizona. To only cut will decimate Arizona," she said. "The governor is right." But if the tax payers are losing their jobs because businesses are closing, and their homes due to the property taxes, and are already cutting back on their budgets, how does Brewer expect the tax payers to come up with this extra $2,000? It’s just not feasible. Legislative leaders have developed a budget plan that does not require tax increases, but has slightly more spending cuts than Brewers proposal, which seems to be the better choice.

-
Bolt

Feeding the Homeless is Wrong (in certain areas)

2009-10-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

In Northern Phoenix it is now being determined whether feeding the local homeless at Cross Roads United Methodist Church is legal or not. This decision is to be made by zoning hearing officer because it depends if the charity is classified as proper use of a place of worship. All of this should be over next month when the officer makes a final decision. Many people are opposed to the idea so hopefully the right decision will be made and the church will continue to help those in need. It seems ridiculous that charity zoning should even be questioned at any level of government. I'm sure that the church will be allowed to feed the homeless and this was just a question of paperwork rather than rights, but it must have been funny to see over 250 church goers quoting their constitutional religious rights and scripture at a protest. However, the lesson to be learned from this situation is if you have to be homeless at least live in area that won't question giving you food.

-the dude

Toughest Sheriff This Side of The Mississippi

2009-10-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Arizona may just have one of the most locally loved and hated sheriffs. Sheriff Joe Arpaio arrests a large amount of supposed criminals. The majority of these people are infact illegal immigrants. Sheriff Joe is loved by many for arresting illegal immigrants. But his shady tactics of using loopholes and net sweeper teams to catch those illegal immigrants. Sheriff Joe definitly has a predjudice against Mexicans escspecially illegal ones. Homeland Security recently took one of Sheriff Joe's favorite toys away. They took away his Task Force Model program. This was Sheriff Joe's weekend activity, he would send this task force to arrest as many illegal immigrants as possible. Homeland Security obviously does not share Sheriff Joe's ethusiasm for justice. They have this crazy idea that spending tax payer's money on catching this criminals of no other crime then being in the country illegally should not be the main focus of law enforcement. Someone needs to tell Sheriff Joe that he will not be able to arrest every single illegal immigrant out here in his wild west. But the west is not all his he ofcourse has his big bad tough number two, David Hendershott. It is hard to tell which man thrives more on intimidation. Homeland Security despite Kyl and McCain's efforts has the right and thankfully the intellegnce to limit the crime fighting duo from wasting officers time and Arizona's money. But we all know that Sheriff Joe will find another loophole and yet another day will be saved by holding the evil illegal immigrants at bay.

                                     - StrangeBru
http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2009/10/25/20091025hendershott1025.html
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/10/25/20091025nowicki1025.html

Joe Arpaio

2009-10-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

Joe Arpaio pushes for publicity by discriminating against illegal immigrants by calling them diseased and dirty. I don't think by using that type of public shout out he is able to stop the future "reconquista." His criteria for choosing who to target are people that look like they come from Mexico? Why can't he focus on real crime instead of torturing the illegal immigrants who have been here for years? Oh wait he can he is just too self-centered and media addicted.He abuses his authority and someone needs to stop him soon...

-Boing123

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dawn-teo/az-sheriff-calls-illegals_b_326728.html