Today’s Wall Street Journal carries a thought-provoking and highly recommended column by Pat Toomey.
His personal knowledge of this topic provides insights others surely lack During his own 2004 senatorial bid in Pennsylvania’s Republican primary, Senator Rick Santorum (R. PA), with more than a bit of help from President Bush, derailed principled conservative Toomey’s campaign in favor of the liberal Democrat, Arlen Specter.
For his betrayal, Santorum paid the ultimate political price, losing to Democrat Bob Casey, Jr., the first Democrat elected to a full term in the Pennsylvania senate since 1962.
Toomey is a former Pennsylvania Republican congressman and current president of the Club for Growth.
Taking a moment to remember a Democrat we can admire. Never one to stick his finger in the air or rely on popular opinion for direction, he proudly displayed a sign on his desk indicating, The buck stops here.”
Assuming office after the death of President Franklin Roosevelt during World War II, and with limited previous interaction with FDR, he told reporters, “I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me.”
And a wild “Yahoo!” to Pinal County Superior Court Judge William O’Neil. In a ruling yesterday the judge ended a nearly two-year legal battle over dancing at San Tan Flat, the family owned restaurant located south of Queen Creek.
Amazingly, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors and a county hearings officer found father and son, Dale and Spencer Bell, in violation of a 1960s dance hall ordinance subjecting them to a $700 fine for every day someone dances there. The ruling overturned their decision, the East Valley Tribune reports.
The Arizona Republican Party has announced that Michael Reagan will be the keynote speaker at the 2008 AZGOP Victory Dinner to be held on May 9, at the Phoenix Marriott in Mesa. The state convention will be held the following day.
The latest weekly update to the Republican Legislator ratings has been released and sent to us by Howard Levine, Policy Committee Chairman Read this week’s report.
The Pachyderm Coalition Policy Committee publishes legislator evaluations based on legislative actions taken as of last Friday. Evaluations are updated weekly throughout the legislative session.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has come up with an novel idea for prom night festivities that would win praise from most parents. The students seem to like it, also. More than 200 teens have already signed up.
Targeted at upperclassmen, the May 3, event is open to any Valley high school student ages 16 - 18. And the cost including food and photos is a mere five bucks.
Read the interesting East Valley Tribune account, including the ‘rules,’ here.
Under questioning by the defense attorney representing accused serial shooter, Dale Hausner, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas gave cogent and practical reasons for his authorization of an emergency wiretap on the apartment of the suspects in a 14-month long terror spree. A search warrant to install the wiretap was obtained from then-presiding criminal court judged, James Keppel,
In his testimony, Thomas effectively summarized his decision with these words: “I felt it was necessary to act quickly to stop the killing. And in fact, the killing stopped.”
Hausner’s roommate, Samuel Dieteman, has already pleaded guilty to two murders in the random shootings that left 8 people dead and wounded 17. The pair also killed seven dogs and three horses and set fires in two Wal-Mart stores. Dieteman is expected to testify against Hausner.
The defense attorney wants the damaging evidence obtained through the wiretap kept out of Hausner’s trial.
The daily reports that Dieteman and Hausner are heard quibbling with a TV broadcast about the number of dead. Hausner describes the two as “pioneers” in serial killing and says, “It feels good, doesn’t it?” They compare themselves with the “D.C. Sniper” serial killers, two men who were accused of killing 10 on the East Coast in 2002.
In one exchange, the two men talk about their preferences in shooting. “I love shooting people in the back,” Hausner says. “That’s so much fun.”
.Bravo! Judge Olszewski gives defendants the best advice of their lives
A Pennsylvania judge known for creative sentencing has ordered three Spanish-speaking men to learn English or go to jail.
The men, ranging in age from 17 to 22, facing prison for criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, can remain on parole if they learn to read and write English, earn their GEDs and get full-time jobs, Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said.
Luis Reyes, Ricardo Dominguez and Rafael Guzman-Mateo, plus a fourth defendant, Kelvin Reyes-Rosario, all needed translators when they pleaded guilty Tuesday, Fox News reports.
“Do you think we are going to supply you with a translator all of your life?” the judge asked them.
Wouldn’t it be nice to hear those words repeated in Arizona courtrooms?
Legislative report, including summaries, of bills to be heard today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1:30 PM.
This is the time for you to contact your local representatives and let your voices be heard.Email and phone numbers, as well as committee assignments, are included.
David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the federal General Accounting Office, has a terrifying message for Americans:
“The survival of the nation is at stake—we are mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren at record rates—with catastrophic consequences for our country.”
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Elections, Integrity, We have a voice | 
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