Gov. Ducey’s magical “fee” is actually a tax

Teacher pay hikes that “wouldn’t raise taxes,” find their funding source: YOU

Remember when Gov. Doug Ducey, vowed he would not be held hostage to teachers’ demands for a 20% pay hike, and then acquiesced, though promising no tax increases would be needed to fund their excessive demands for their part-time jobs?

Surprise!

Beginning Jan. 1, 2019 there will be a new, deceptively named “public safety fee“(notice it’s not called a tax) that will be tacked on to vehicle registrations. The newspaper headline says it takes effect Jan. 1, but the ADOT press release declares Dec. 1.  Which one of these charlatans to believe?

ADOT’s website is full service, providing a choice among 103 languages from Afrikaans to Zulu, and even has a readily accessible Civil Rights Division, in case your feelings were bruised during your work day. If that isn’t enough, it also hawks specialty license plates, “for that person who’s impossible to shop for.”

The $32 fee/scam, originally touted as $18, was projected to raise either $149 or $185 million yearly. The numbers fluctuate wildly depending on the “fee” and who made the projections.  When the word “stakeholders” is used, your suspicion antenna should be on high alert. ADOT itself announced it would actually be $265.6 million! Good luck in finding that news release now. This is the enabling legislation, signed by Gov. Ducey. The purpose of this “fee” is to free up highway safety money tapped into for educrats, according to this revealing news report.

On July 13, 2018 leftist editorialist Linda Valdez wrote, “What’s wrong with Phoenix raising taxes?” one of her loads of drivel passing for a column.  Valdez is a staunch cradle-to-grave advocate. With liberals, having the government provide for you throughout your lifetime is a core belief comparable to the religious fervor she so disdains. Of course, “the government” is us.

The rest of us hold the belief that taxes are our money, necessary for maintaining infrastructure (pipelines, utilities, roadways, bridges, and military preparedness), but often misspent. President Trump’s tax cuts have, in fact, spurred economic growth. Tax cuts, not tax increases, are the means of energizing the economy and empowering Americans.

Tell that to da Dems and da Ducey.

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Higher education reaches its nadir*

Illegal invaders now charity recipients, courtesy of Berkeley

Gone are the days when a university degree was indicative of attaining a higher education. Nurtured in a curriculum of liberal indoctrination from the earliest grades, students are pawns in an ideological crusade. This appalling example from Edina, Minnesota is not an anomaly, but is reflective of teaching throughout the United States.

Is it any wonder that by the time the barely out of wet-diaper toddlerdom, kindergartners are propagandized, matriculating as brainwashed high school students, ultimately reaching institutions such as Berkeley or Princeton, they engage in full-throated lunacy?

The student government at the University of California, Berkeley, “voted to financially fund the migrant caravan in a resolution passed by the student senate,” as Breitbart reported. “US imperialism and white colonialism has been implemented in Central American countries,” said a teary-eyed student, adding that she would be ashamed to see anyone in the student senate vote against funding the migrant caravan. Once again students illiterate of history accuse anyone they disagree with as being “Nazis,” although there are no brutal labor camps with ovens specially constructed for humans or gas streaming from shower heads, killing men, women and children given bars of soap to make the victims more compliant. Janet Napolitano, formerly Arizona’s radically leftist governor and Obama’s appointee as a worthless Homeland Security chieftain, is now the president of the University of California system.

On the East coast, Princeton sophomore Noa Wollstein was so offended by the “toxic masculinity” expressed in the song, “Kiss the Girl,” she was moved to write to the student newspaper, The Daily Princetonian to complain.  She declared the Disney song performed by an all-male a cappella group, the Princeton Tigertones, was misogynistic and dismissive of consent. In the cartoon film, The little Mermaid, it is sung by Sebastian a talking crab, urging him to kiss Ariel, the little mermaid.

“Remove the context of magic and mermaids,” Wollstein wrote, “and the lyrics blatantly encourage a man to try to make physical advances on a woman without her consent.”

FrontPage mag exposed, “Another week of leftist lunacy,” writing, “One worrying illustration of this comes from – none other than – the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) with, chapters at more than 500 universities and colleges throughout the U.S. According to Campus Reform, the AAUP is urging its members to combat legislative proposals meant for “the protection of free speech” on campus.”

Imagine that?

* That’s ‘rock bottom’ for those of you who graduated from an Ivy League school.

Lazy AZ voters willingly vote away their right to vote

 Coconino County: Voting is such a wearying process it deserves to be ditched

In the wake of Arizona’s leftist unionist teachers, led by a 24-year- old, self-avowed socialist veering the November elections into the Democrat column, it was easy to miss this strange election phenomenon.  First, a bit of background:

In 1974 Arizona voters approved a slickly packaged, State Bar contrivance, Constitutional Amendment known as Merit Selection of Judges. Its purpose was to replace election of judges that had served the people well, with a controlled process while letting the voters think they were participating in something far superior, since it carried the key words “non-partisan,” as cover.  The non-partisan aspect is a farce, since the judicial applicants each must designate a political party on their applications, the commissioners are all selected by virtue of their party affiliations by obviously partisan Boards of Supervisors  (on the trial court level) and the governor (appellate level courts). Ultimately the partisan governor makes the final judicial selections from among partisan applicants. When judicial vacancies occur, the 16-member commissions, selected to represent political parties, and each chaired by a voting Supreme Court justice engage in a vetting and interview process.

A 250,000 population component covered the Superior Courts, which originally included just Maricopa and Pima counties. The thirteen remaining counties didn’t reach that population threshold, so they continued to elect their judges, keeping the judiciary closer to the people they serve.  Then wha’dya know?  Suddenly Pinal county hit the magic mark, and the vote was removed from its citizens.  Next to fall into the trap will be Yavapai, Yuma and Mohave Counties.

Coconino County, the home of liberal NAU university town, Flagstaff, is number 7 on the population density list, but its residents couldn’t wait to have their votes confiscated from them by virtue of this imposed constitutional amendment overreach. Proposition 416, was sold by the Coconino County Board of Supervisors — who would now have a direct hand in the process — as representing “transparency.”

It received little notice, but in the recent election, the voters in Coconino County actually voted to give up their right to vote. Our Founders must be reeling in their graves.

Remember the words of Benjamin Franklin when he was stopped by woman at the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787:

“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”

  “A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it.”

Michele Reagan: New P/T gig requires black attire

After a series of blunders, Michele Reagan recently lost her election for a second term as Arizona Secretary of State. The position, known as “a heart beat away from the governor’s office,” has frequently been the line of succession since Arizona has no Lieutenant Governor. The base salary is $70,000.

But never fear. She won’t be showing up at a soup kitchen. Besides being vested in the elected officials retirement plan, she’s following in her Dad’s footsteps, and going the Justice of the Peace route, which pays full time JPs $101,500. No law degree is required. A high school diploma, the ability to speak English, state residency and a pulse suffice. A quickie on-line training course is provided by the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. The Reagan family owned a political sign company after moving here from Illinois in the early 1990’s, and the name Reagan was an asset in jump starting the venture.

According to this report in the San Tan Valley Sentinel, Michele Reagan has been appointed as a Pinal County Justice of the Peace pro tempore, by Superior Court Judge Stephen McCarville. Justice of the Peace Shaun Babeu requested Reagan be appointed as a temporary judge when needed, calling her “highly qualified” for the position. Reagan’s appointment must still be approved by the Board of Supervisors before it becomes effective.

Michele Reagan, who ran as a Republican, served in the Arizona Legislature from 2002 through 2014, voting with social liberals on a wide range of issues from abortion and Common Core to amnesty for illegals.

In January 2018, SRAZ posted, “AZ SOS Michele Reagan seeks voters in Mexico,” which is chock full of information about the soon-to-be-out of elected office Republicrat Michele Reagan.  The links are worth your time, providing a tangible warning of how easy it is to be taken in by an “R,” and legendary, though unrelated, name.

In a stunning example of her disconnect with Republican voters, then-Arizona Secretary of State Reagan resigned her position as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2016, rather than go to Cleveland to vote for Donald Trump.

Facts re: judicial order restricting Trump’s border security

Those of us who pay attention are aware of the Nov.19, judicial decision resulting in a nationwide restraining order barring President Donald Trump from denying asylum to caravans of illegal aliens who cross over the southern border between legitimate points of entry.

After advocates for the thousands of foreign invaders from Central America did some judge shopping, they found their ideal black-robed decider on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California,

How much do any of us know about Judge Jon Steven Tigar? He fits the metric for an Obama appointee. The former San Francisco public defender graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law. And as an immigrant himself, his bias is clearly with  the illegal border crossers. The difference is, he arrived legally from London, England, where his father was a law professor. But when there is an opportunity to constrain the Republican President of the United States, the lines predictably blur.

Michael Cutler, writing for FrontPagemag provides an in-depth report in which he concludes the judge’s ruling “ignores the Constitution, the 9/11 Commission Report and common-sense.”  Cutler’s impressive bio and previous articles can be read here.

“Federal judge blocks Trump’s asylum ban on illegal aliens,“ is highly recommended reading to bring us up to speed on the federal judiciary’s attempts to hamstring President Trump’s efforts to provide security to America’s citizens and expect our sovereign border to be respected.

Previous generations of immigrants came legally — often processed through Ellis Island. They were eager to learn English, acclimate and became proud Americans taking our nation‘s history as their own. Today we are told to “Press One for Spanish.” Using California as a template, these facts from the California Department of Education’s Language Census: Fall 2017 stand out:

A total of 2,637,412 students (English Learners and Fluent English Proficient) speak a language other than English in their homes. This number represents about 42.3 percent of the state’s public school enrollment.

Americanization is now a contemptible goal. We are no longer a “melting pot,” but rather a “salad bowl,” of distinct ethnicities where diversity, rather than unity, is celebrated. Hyphenated Americans have become the norm. And a single Obama-appointed judge like Jon S. Tigar wields more power than our elected president.

Ducey still appeasing educrats with Dem ABOR app’t

After backtracking on his pledge not to reward Arizona’s striking #REDS for ED public school teachers who disregarded their contractual agreements as they abandoned over 840,000  students for a week, Gov. Doug Ducey caved in to their demands for a 20% salary increase for their part-time jobs. His acquiescence emboldened the unionists further as they wielded their new-found influence in the recent Nov. 6, election, turning previously red Arizona a deep purple.

Now easily reelected to his final term as governor by his teacher comrades, Ducey with no further constraints, has appointed Democrat Fred DuVal, his former 2014 gubernatorial rival, to the Arizona Board of Regents. This is the second, non-consecutive, term for retread DuVal, who was initially appointed by Janet Napolitano. His liberal bona fides are exactly what would be expected. During his previous tenure he was a reliable university tuition hike advocate. DuVal was previously an aide to Democrat Gov. Bruce Babbitt and worked as Bill Clinton’s White House Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs.

This is the enthusiastic welcome leftist DuVal received from the Board of Regents. Not to be outdone, Ducey heaped even more praise (via linked press release) on his former foe, then derided as an “arrogant Washington insider and career influence peddler.” It’s easy to be gracious after emerging victorious 53.4% to 41.6% but do you have to be foolish?  Are there no worthy Republicans to appoint to the Arizona Board of Regents?

DuVal is a darling of the educrats, whose gratitude for their taxpayer-funded raise was demonstrated by a colossal slap in the face to Arizona parents. With the support of the increasingly radical, Hillary-endorsing Arizona Republic newspaper, public school teachers led the vote against Prop. 305, which would have expanded eligibility for education empowerment scholarship accounts. The liberal educrats organized to deny parental choice in education. They also united to elect leftist Democrat Kathy Hoffman as Superintendent of Public Instruction. Her background? She was a preschool teacher for less than two years and a school speech therapist for five. Her sole qualification that mattered to them is a “D” after her name.

AZ Nov. 2018 Election: Snafus persist, lawsuit filed

Extreme liberal partisan Adrian Fontes, who squeaked into office by a single percentage point, now oversees Maricopa County Elections

With votes still being counted days after Tuesday’s election, are upsets in the works? In the latest update from the Secretary of State’s Office, Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat, that appeared to be won by Republican Martha McSally is in limbo as far left radical Kyrsten Sinema, posing as an “independent” has now mysteriously surged ahead by 9,163 votes — 49.08% to McSally’s 48.61%.

In the election for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Republican Frank Riggs has fallen behind Democrat Kathy Hoffman — 49.5% – 50.5%. Thank the #Reds for Ed teachers who abandoned Arizona’s 800,000 students for a week during their union organized strike.  Obviously giving in to their 20% salary increase demands didn’t placate them.  With the support of the leftist, Hillary Clinton-endorsing Arizona Republic newspaper, public school teachers also led the vote against Prop. 305, which would have expanded eligibility for education empowerment scholarship accounts. The educrats organized to deny parental choice in education.

Current Secretary of State, Michele Reagan, who lost in the Primary to Steve Gaynor, (both are Republicans) advises 100% of the precincts have reported, raising the question where are the discrepancies arising from? And who is the final arbiter deciding when the numbers have all been tabulated?  Does extreme partisan Adrian Fontes have an overseer?  Gaynor leads Democrat Katie Hobbs by nearly 20,000 votes in a tight 50.5% to 49.5 % race.

Our votes are our voice. These results show with laser beam clarity how crucial it is to be an informed voter.

Democrat Adrian Fontes was elected as Maricopa County Recorder after longtime Republican Recorder Helen Purcell presided over a tumultuous election day after years of flawless handling of the monumental job. Adhering to the far-left party line, he ran on the contrivance of halting “voter suppression.”

A joint lawsuit by the Republican Parties in the counties of Maricopa, Apache, Navajo and Yuma has been filed challenging the signature verification process on mail-in ballots dropped off at polling places on Election Day, rather than being mailed in. Nearly a half million such ballots are still being counted statewide. Another court hearing is set in Maricopa County Superior Court mid-afternoon today.

We can’t allow ourselves to lose sight of who Adrian Fontes actually is. For some background on Fontes, we direct our readers to these posts:

Apr. 3, 2017:  Mail-in ballots should be a choice not a mandate (Puts efficiency ahead of safeguarding ballot integrity)

Apr. 20, 2017: Keep your eye on the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office

May 4, 2017:  MC Recorder Fontes compares voter verification to slavery

Nov. 3, 2017: MC Recorder Adrian Fontes tells voter to F-himself