You live in mediocre Arizona….because?

Left cites numerous studies attesting to  “mediocre” Arizona 

Those who read the local news might wonder what they’re doing here in Arizona. Monday’s  Page One headline tells us “Trauma common for kids in Ariz.” And the answer? According to the state‘s newspaper of record, “Several Arizona leaders say the data are the latest alarm bell indicating that the state should focus more resources on child welfare.”

“Resources” are your tax dollars that educrats never have in sufficient enough supply. 

The report is based on data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente, which looked at “adverse childhood experiences” nationwide. Results found 31.1 percent — nearly one-third — of Arizona children have dealt with two or more adverse childhood experiences, which is significantly higher than the national average of 22.6 percent.

In the same edition, the Business section headlines a report on another study —  the results of which conclude, ”Arizona is mediocre at luring corporate facilities.”

Other headlines in the newspaper?

“Arizona: Where mediocre education is good enough.”

“The Arizona Department of Transportation recently launched a study which indicates that 52 percent of Arizona’s roads are in poor or mediocre condition.

Student journalists at ASU’s Cronkite News have caught on to the tactic and report “Arizona city parks receive mediocre scores in study.”

No doubt it’s merely coincidental that the Leftwing Arizona Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) which claims to “stand up to powerful interests,” uses the same terminology, declaring, “Arizona receives mediocre grade for enforcement of job-creation measures in subsidy programs.”   

Though there are numerous such headlines testifying to Arizona’s abyssmal mediocrity, we provide this small but convincing sample which appears to indicate the lefties want the state to themselves.

AZ Republic’s hit pieces: Have you noticed a pattern?

Conservatives repeatedly slammed, mischaracterized

It’s no secret the Arizona Republic is a leftward-lurching, agendized newspaper.  Most often the struggling daily concentrates its energies on promoting legalization of America’s illegal invaders and normalizing homosexuality. But superseding all else is its cause célèbre — advancing the Democrat party and its candidates.  It is via that method, after all, that the other issues move forward.

A couple of weeks ago a multi-page, fabricated exposé of Republican political consultant Sean Noble was Page One material. If disinterested readers skipped past it, they saw all that was needed to get the daily’s nefarious point across.  Accompanying his mega-size photo was the sinister title, “The Dark Money Man: Sean Noble, Koch cash and Politics.” 

Suddenly Noble transmogrified into evil personified. Despite the Republic’s usage of a ProPublica cut and paste smear passing as a “report”— actually containing nothing of substance, Noble didn’t  appear less than his name implies. What was missing was such disclosure from the Republic and the omission that ProPublica is a recipient of a massive funding stream from billionaire leftist George Soros with tentacles to radical Media Matters. Yet ProPublica innocently calls itself “an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.”

Hogwash.

On Sunday it was Cathi Herrod’s turn to be eviscerated. Herrod is the president of the conservative Center for Arizona Policy which promotes and defends the foundational values of life, marriage, family, and religious liberty. She is also an effective lobbyist for those issues. That makes her ripe for a barrage of attacks by the daily. Her above the fold, Page One portrayal was titled, “A Political Force Behind the Scenes; Activist wields influence on Ariz. Laws.”

Let’s hope so.

The newspaper is now shining its high beam distortion campaign on state Rep. John Kavanagh, (LD-8).The conservative lawmaker has been the subject of articles, columns and even an editorial which actually employed the word “Yuck” throughout — regarding his participation in a roast of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Kavanagh’s participation — he was one of several “roasters” —  at the  private dinner wrapping up the Western Conservative Conference in Phoenix, is obviously the lynchpin.  The newspaper despises Arpaio. A banquet room full of his friends and admirers poking fun at him, would bring on teeth gnashing at the Republic. So now the well respected John Kavanagh is being savaged.

The leftist newspaper became emboldened after contributing to the bogus upheaval playing out in tandem with suspect redistricting that resulted in Russell Pearce’s loss of his district seat and the senate presidency. He was defeated by a one-termer, but that was of no consequence to the Republic.  They simply wanted Pearce, the architect of SB 1070, out.

Attorney General Tom Horne is now in the daily’s sights. While Superintendent of Public Instruction, he successfully fought the racist and anti-American MAS program in Tucson Unified School District. As Attorney General he has been a standout, but not one of their choosing. Conservative Horne urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Ninth Circuit ruling, arguing that Arizona has a right to deny Medicaid funding to abortion providers. Planned Parenthood is scheduled to receive more than $1.5 billion in Medicaid subsidies

What do Noble, Herrod, Arpaio, Kavanagh, Pearce and Horne all have in common? They are independent thinking, conservative Republicans, who don’t take their marching orders from the editorial board of the dying newspaper or the squishy party establishment elites, earning them attacks from the daily — which wants to see all of the top offices led by Democrats. When they endorse a Republican it will be a RINO or the weakest candidate, positioning the Democrat to win the general.

This isn’t rocket science.

McCain, Flake approve Obama’s federal judges

Not many Arizonans are aware there is a dire emergency due to a dearth of judges in the state’s federal courts. Fortunately for us, the Senate Judiciary Committee is taking steps to rectify the problem by approving six candidates nominated by Barack Obama to fill judicial vacancies at the U.S. District Court for Arizona.

These lifetime appointments* are intensely political and usually accompanied by partisan wrangling at the highest levels.

But according to Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), typical spirited partisan debate took a backseat thanks to the bipartisan efforts of Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake.

“I expect that this diverse group of judicial nominees will be confirmed now that they have been reported out of Committee and have the support of their home state Senators,” Democrat Leahy complimented.  ”The progress we made today in the committee to move these nominations forward would not have occurred without the support of Senator McCain and Senator Flake. I thank them for their support today and I hope the Senate quickly confirms these nominees who are urgently needed in the state of Arizona.”

Such actions are nothing new for McCain and his junior senator. Previously, McCain and then-Sen. Jon Kyl endorsed and voted for a rash of extreme liberals to the courts as well as to other key posts.

The six latest candidates on the Democrat-heavy list nominated Feb. 27, for the U.S. District Court for Arizona are Steven Paul Logan, John Joseph Tuchi, Diane J. Humetewa, Rosemary Marquez, Douglas L. Rayes and James Alan Soto.  (Notice can be read here.)

The nominees will require confirmation by the full senate.

*Once a judge meets age and service requirements he or she may retire and will then earn his or her final salary for the remainder of his or her life, plus cost of living increases

More here: 28 U.S.C. § 371 : US Code – Section 371: Retirement on salary; retirement in senior status.

SB 1062 Veto: Brewer’s finger to the wind leadership

Caving to pressure exerted by loud special interest groups and mass demonstrations, Gov. Jan Brewer has exhibited her cowardly leadership skills by vetoing SB 1062, the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

Brewer’s letter to Senate President Andy Biggs justifying her veto can be read here.

Though nearly a dozen prominent law professors from prestigious schools across the United States have urged Brewer to take a deeper look at a bill that has been “egregiously misrepresented by many of its critics,” she has bowed to threats from  a more vocal minority — homosexual activists and the leftwing media who have relentlessly pressed for a veto.

Read the letter signed by eleven legal scholars — Democrats and Republicans — here.

“As these legal scholars rightly point out, the misrepresentations about the bill have been egregious,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Douglas Napier. (Listen to his sound bite.) “It has nothing to do with refusing someone a sandwich. It has everything to do with making Arizona a safe place for people to freely live out their faith. The falsehoods need to be exposed for what they are.”

Another Dem income redistribution $cam

Working Americans provide baby gifts

Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat wants to create legislation designed to set up universal savings accounts for all children born in the United States. Under his plan, every newborn would get a $500 savings account — part of the wealth transfer favored by Barack Obama.

Wyden said universal savings accounts would “really put a dent in the poverty rate.”

This deep thinker is new chairman of the Senate Finance Committee — the top Democrat on tax policy.

Although the federal legislation has not yet been written, Wyden cites a 2009 proposal by Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, as a blueprint for his scheme. The $500 could be put toward the cost of college, buying a home or even used toward retirement.

The city of San Francisco, represented by Nancy Pelosi, in nearly bankrupt California, currently offers these college savings accounts to every kindergartner in its school district. Each student receives $50 deposited into a trust fund under the city’s name. Low-income children qualify for more — up to $100 in the trust account. ‘Kindergarten to College’ is one of a raft of such programs offered by the city. 

McCain: If election were tomorrow, Hillary would win

John McCain, whose good fortune has not included winning the White House, has now predicted that if the 2016 presidential election took place  tomorrow, his good friend Hillary Clinton would win.

Appearing with the liberal host of “Piers Morgan Live” on CNN,  McCain  lurched back into his chummy address form, saying, “I would bet, my friend, as much as I hate to admit it, that right now — this is why we have campaigns (heh, heh) — if the election were tomorrow, Hillary Clinton would most likely be president of the United States.”

While McCain disingenuously claimed, “She wouldn’t be my candidate,” he said that Clinton currently has the best chance of winning due to her popularity, adding it’s a good thing the 2016 election is still three years off, giving Republicans some time.

Hillary‘s husband, Bill, has previously declared, “She and John McCain are very close. They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they’re afraid they’d put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other,” the former president said.

Piers Morgan’s ratings have hit new lows. Our prediction is he’d have a better chance at an uptick with a more compelling guest than the disgraced John McCain.

Exorbitant US debt hobbles our children’s future

Conservative efforts toward restraint are ridiculed by establishment 

Heritage Foundation has done a masterful job of illustrating the 2014 federal budget in pictures. Today debt stands at an unsustainable $17 trillion, yet projections point to a relentless $205 trillion facing American citizens.

The Congressional Budget Office shows very clearly something we’ve known for a long time: America’s spending and debt are out of control. Now reaching $140,000 per American household, the national debt is bigger than what the entire U.S. economy produces in a year. U.S. public debt — what the nation has borrowed in credit markets — has doubled, as a share of the economy, since before the recession to levels not seen since around World War II. Read more about why debt matters.

Under the heading, ‘Federal spending and debt are out of control,’ a series of charts detail the incalculable crisis.  If America does not change course, the future will dramatically worsen.

Now more than ever, it is crucial that Americans understand what our nation’s spending, taxes, and debt mean for them and their families. The Heritage Foundation’s Federal Budget in Pictures offers a unique tool to learn about the federal budget in a clear and compelling way.

Educate yourself. Each of these charts can be enlarged by clicking them on individually. Then check out these vital links: CUT SPENDING. FIX THE DEBT. REDUCE THE TAX BURDEN.

Federal spending per household is projected to grow by 22 percent over the next decade, after adjusting for inflation. Federal spending per household more than doubled from 1962 to 2003. Spending grew by 17 percent just over the past decade.

“I knew I was being fed a line of BS when…”

Arizona República’s latest con 

E.J. Montini is a left-wing columnist often appropriately residing on the left side of the front of the Valley Section in the Periódico de la República de Arizona (Arizona Republic). His pieces tend toward sappiness, but always slinging the radical party line of his agendized employer and often in unison with his cohort columnist Laurie Roberts, illusory illustrator Steve Benson, open-borders editorialists and the crew of pro-amnesty hacks posing as journalists at the newspaper. Amid the axing of long timers and the staff cutbacks, those looking retirement squarely in the eye are doing their level best to carry the República’s water until the last light is switched off.

In Sunday’s edition, the desperation is both inane and palpable. Online Montini’s column is titled, “I knew Arizona was home when…”

It is accompanied by this odd EDITOR’S NOTE: 

“Many of us are transplants from other places. We might live here, but someplace else is home. That is, until that moment when our copper-colored state becomes part of our identity. We’re launching a new A-section page in The Republic at the end of March that will feature stories that are uplifting, local, inspiring and empowering. And we need your help. Send us your moments, 300-word essays on the topic “I knew Arizona was home when …”

It might’ve been when your first child was born. When you voted for local elections for the first time. When a spectacular sunset made you stop in your tracks. We want to know what it was for you. E-mail your 300 words and a photo of yourself, if you’d like.”

The unnamed editor promises to “feature some of the best essays on our upcoming good-news page” in the hardcopy edition of the newspaper, as well as online and on its social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

Initially the scheme sounds suspiciously as though the editorial board is eliciting the daily’s few remaining readers to do the work paid staff previously handled — possibly signaling another round of layoffs? Then reality hits. This topic reeks of a setup ‘enlightenment piece’ featuring ‘Aha! Moments’ to instill in readers the idea that they have a lot in common with illegal aliens.

“Awesome!” declares the editor’s imaginary deadhead. “You’re from Chihuahua? I’m from Pittsburgh!  And look, we both have children born in Phoenix and we’re voting here in Arizona’s elections for the first time!”

Get it?  Or should we say, “Comprende?”

 

Huppenthal urging parents to remove kids from Common Core?

After receiving negative responses from Arizona parents concerned about Obama’s Common Core “standards” infiltrating their children’s schools and indoctrinating their young minds, Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal has responded.  In fact, the Republican who actually escorted Obama’s radical Education Czar Arne Duncan around the state, is now busying himself with auto-dialers, sending this confusing audio to parents. The 30-second messages in Huppenthal’s voice opens with these words:

“This is John Huppenthal, Arizona Superintendent of Public instruction….and I have great news for you!

I want you to know about a state program that provides money for parents to offer alternate education choices for their children, including….private school.  That’s right, you may be able to send your child to private schools for free! ”

Huckstering Superintendent Huppenthal, a public education insider now on the campaign trail seeking reelection, obviously knows what countless parents suspect. Why else would he angle to deceive them with a swift name change for this radical curriculum? In an instant, colluding with Gov. Jan Brewer to pull off the sleight-of-hand scam, “Common Core” magically morphed into “Arizona College and Career Ready Standards.”

Nationally syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin, a concerned mother and outstanding conservative thinker, devoted this past year to exposing the educational disaster and federal data-mining that is Common Core. Acquaint yourself with her treasure trove of informative “Rotten to the Core” articles.

As he campaigns and is met with voices raised in opposition, flim-flamming Public Schools chief Huppenthal realizes the consequences of this fed-ed scheme and has begun pushing private education.  

Solid conservative Diane Douglas offers a first-class alternative. Arizona’s children deserve much better than what they are being offered by the vacillating and deceptive antics of John Huppenthal. 

What? Obama places partisan calculations above duty

Today we bring you an interesting bit of amnesty related information you are unlikely to read on the pages of the Periódico de la República de Arizona (Arizona Republic). The Daily Caller carries the facts and substantiating links.

Barack Obama’s 2012 unilateral legalization of 500,000 young illegals helped him win the 2012 election — at the cost of splitting 500,000 innocent, law-abiding American families for months on end, according to a New York Times article.

The ruthless political calculation was buried deep in the low-key article, which was published on page 20 of the local “New York edition” of the national newspaper. Obama directed officials to award work permits to the illegal immigrants, preventing them from preparing green cards for Americans’ foreign-born spouses and children.

Page Two of the report contains the most shocking of the revelations.  Make sure you read the entire Daily Caller piece, “Obama split 500,000 American families to legalize illegals before 2012 election,” by Neil Munro.

Arizonans have learned not to expect much from the state’s newspaper of record. Actual news in the anorexic, agenda driven, daily is the exception. As an example, the Republic Media Research Department emailed the following retch-inducing message Monday afternoon:

“In order to better tailor our products to your information needs, we’d like to ask a few questions about your cooking and dining habits. The survey will take approximately 6-8 minutes to complete. As a thank you for your time, you can enter to win a $50 Visa Gift Card at the end of the survey.

Thank you in advance for your participation. Your insights and feedback are extremely valuable to us!”

The newspaper’s own words betray the vacuous organ it has become, as it insults its few remaining readers.