Pro-life legislation gets nod from Gov. Brewer

The daily glumly calls them “restrictions on abortion rights.” 

We cheer HB2564, the Abortion Consent Act, signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer, which implements a variety of changes to statutes related to abortion – including modifying the existing parental notification and judicial bypass requirements that apply when a minor is seeking an abortion.

The law sets new requirements that physicians must follow when obtaining written informed consent of patients seeking abortions. It also allows certain health professionals to abstain from having to facilitate or participate in an abortion or provide abortion medication.

Former Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat and abortion advocate, had vetoed all pro-life bills sent to her.

The threat from within

Last month, a Saudi Arabian man named Raed Abdul-Rahman Al-Saif, placed three bags on the Tampa, Florida airport security conveyor belt as he made his way toward his gate to board US Airways flight 1077 to Phoenix, Arizona and Portland, Oregon. He never made it to the gate.

Read the rest of this compelling article titled The County and the School of Hate, by David R. Stokes, a Virginia-based minister and broadcaster.

Earlier this year, Seeing Red AZ posted a video and article on this subject. We urge you to read Rev. Stokes article and revisit our post. This is vitally important information.

The good news comes too late

The latest Rasmussen Reports survey finds that voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on eight out of 10 key electoral issues, including, for the second straight month, the top issue of the economy.

Republicans also narrowed the gap on the remaining two issues, the traditionally Democratic strong suits of health care and education

The percentage of voters trusting the GOP more on economic issues is 46% to 41%,. This is just the second time in over two years of polling the GOP has held the advantage on economic issues. The parties were close on the issue in May, with the Democrats holding a one-point lead.

Voters not affiliated with either party trust Republicans more to handle the economy by a wider 46% to 32% margin.

Last week’s report of 9.5 percent unemployment, the highest since 1983, raised doubts about the economy and the president’s handling of it. Consumer and investor confidence is now down to the lowest levels in three months. Just 39% now say President Obama is doing a good or an excellent job on the economy while 43% rate his performance as poor. Those are by far the weakest numbers yet for the president.

Judge Sotomayor meets the senators: What they said, what they meant

Ron Fournier, AP’s Washington bureau chief, writes an entertaining interpretation of the political lingo being used in the pre-confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor.

Read his piece here.

Politics of personal destruction used to elevate Sotomayor

Opposition research to undermine plaintiff: firefighter Frank Ricci

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s advocates are pulling out all stops in their efforts to have her sail through her upcoming confirmation hearing. As an example, the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way is urging reporters to scrutinize what they called the “troubled and litigious work history” of Frank Ricci, the Connecticut firefighter at the center of Sotomayor’s most controversial ruling.

“To go after so sympathetic a plaintiff as Frank Ricci . . . is a new low in the politics of personal destruction,” said Roger Pilon, the director of the libertarian Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies. “If they were smart, they’d keep a low profile.”

The 35-year-old Ricci was the lead plaintiff in the case Ricci v. DeStefano, challenging New Haven’s refusal to promote white firefighters after black and all but one Hispanic firefighters failed to score high enough on a promotion exam.

Sotomayor and a majority of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the city’s claim that it was justifiably concerned about a potential civil rights suit being filed by the black firefighters.

Last month, however, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 2nd Circuit by a 5-4 vote.

Read the complete McClatchy news report here.

An overwhelming majority of Americans oppose the position that Sonia Sotomayor took on the affirmative action case — with 71 percent favoring the promotion of the white firefightersand the one Hispanic, who scored well on the test. Only 19 percent side with the city — and Sotomayor — in abandoning the test and awarding no promotions.

In addition, a strong public majority — 55 to 36 percent — favors abolishing affirmative action entirely, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.

This brief video explains the 20 firefighter’s reverse discrimination lawsuit.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Channeling Margaret Sanger

CNSNews carries an excellent analysis of  this interview to be published in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine.  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is quoted as saying she thought the landmark Roe v. Wade decision on abortion was predicated on the Supreme Court majority’s desire to diminish “populations that we don’t want to have too many of.”

Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, called those she regarded as inferior, “human weeds,” and advocated for the cessation of charity — referring to “medical and nursing facilities for slum mothers as insidiously injurious,” and urged the sterilization of “genetically inferior races.”

Watch video here.

Unconventional activist bares all

FOX 10’s Steve Krafft exposes tomorrow’s skinny dipping contest to be held at The Shangri La Nudist Ranch north of Phoenix. Owner Horst Kraus says he expects to host 300 to 500 people as they attempt to set a national world record.

According to the report, Kraus, who greeted the newscaster clothed, then removed his garments to show that he’s comfortable in his own skin. For those interested, the KSAZ report provides a pictorial link to the nudist resort.

If you can bear watching Kraus bare all, the video can be seen here.

Kraus, as CNN previously reported also hosts summer nudist camps for youngsters — making him  a most unconventional Republican activist — and a high-dollar campaign donor to such notables as Sens. Jon Kyl, John McCain and Congressman John Shadegg.

Michelle Obama does not carry a $6,000 handbag!

It’s only $875

Italian luxury goods manufacturer VBH was thrilled to report that First Lady Michelle Obama was toting their $5,950 alligator manila clutch-style handbag earlier this week while tooling around Russia.

But the White House vehemently denied the nearly $6000 version, saying that the First Lady was only carrying the cheap $875 VBH patent leather clutch. 

Whew!  That sure beats paying an exorbitant price for a small handbag.

The New York Daily News reports that after sticking to their initial claim, the high-end leather manufacturer is now backing off. “If that’s what the White House is saying, then it’s a patent bag,” tactfully evaded the VBH rep — despite being certain earlier in the morning about the bag being the multi-thousand dollar version. “It’s definitely ours [manila bag],” she said at the time — although she now says that she made an assumption and misidentified the bag.

Ooo-kay.

But don’t forget the fashion conscious Obama served up porridge to the homeless at a D.C. shelter wearing a pair of $540 Lanvin sneakers.  You know the ones.  Gray suede, with grosgrain ribbon laces and metallic pink toe caps.  You gals probably have a pair sitting right there in the closet at home.

The Valley’s building debacle depicted in N.Y.Times

New York Times Magazine runs a pictorial titled Ruins of the Second Gilded Age.  The images by Edgar Martins capture evidence of the real estate collapse throughout the country.

Two of the photographs in the montage are of Arizona properties. The first is Chateaux on Central, a downtown Phoenix project that was to include nearly two dozen luxury homes, priced between $2.8 million and $4.5 million. But by early 2007, the city’s high-end condominium market — which was among the country’s hottest — had become over-saturated. Prices declined, and Chateaux on Central’s developer declared bankruptcy. It is still unfinished and unoccupied.

In Chandler, Arizona more than a dozen subdivisions remain unfinished due to the economic downturn. The developer of Charlevoix Homes, intended to turn a 35-acre former alfalfa farm into a community of 92 luxury houses, with prices starting around $500,000. The developer ultimately filed for bankruptcy protection, listing $118 million in debts.

To those who say Arizonans aren’t worth a spit: Tuba City Krause family brings home the gold

AP’s Michigan news reports on Marlene “Machine Gun” and Rick “Pellet Gun” Krause, a husband and wife duo from Tuba City, Arizona, who braved the wind to bring honors to their home state. The coveted championship title remains with Arizona. Rick has won his 15^th World Championship.

Marlene and Rick, along with their son Brian, “Young Gun” Krause, 30, have dominated the Michigan Cherry Pit Spitting Championship event for 22 of the 36 years of the competition. But it doesn’t stop there. Brian’s sons Morgan Krause, 5, won the Youth 5 & Under Division and his brother Brady, 11, the Youth 9-12 Year-Old Division. In previous years, Cole Krause has also been a contender.

Read the report AP here.  More complete coverage is available at Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm’s site here.