Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Franks Clarifies "Enemy of Humanity" Comment

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Bethany Haley or Ben Carnes 202-225-4576


Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) issues the following statement today regarding controversy over his remarks made at the "Take Back America" Conference this last weekend in St. Louis, MO:

"My recent comment regarding President Obama was specifically related to the President's policies on abortion. For that reason I should certainly have said 'UNBORN humanity.'

"To be clear, my impression of President Obama is that of a man with genuine noble impulses. When I first met him in the White House, he was very warm and civil to me and I certainly tried to genuinely return that civility. I handed him an "Open Letter" at the time, published in Human Events on the day of his inauguration, pleading with him as he was sworn in on the Lincoln Bible to consider the plight of the unborn and to realize, as Lincoln did with slavery, the plight of a forgotten portion of our society even if the Supreme Court has labeled them as less than human, as they did with slaves in the Dred Scott decision.

"But the fact remains yet today that President Obama has quickly established himself and his Presidency as the most radically pro-abortion Administration in American history." Franks stated.

"Since his days in the Illinois State legislature, President Obama has established himself who not only passively, but actively, passionately opposed to protecting the innocent unborn. He even took to the floor of the State Senate to speak against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act -- the only Senator to do so -- which would have protected living, breathing, crying babies who were born alive as the result of a botched abortion. President Obama fought against a bill that would have given those children medical care instead of leaving them to die in soiled utility rooms.

"Since then, the now-President Obama has maintained his radical pro-abortion stance. Only three days after taking office, he overturned the Mexico City policy in order to allow taxpayer dollars go to fund overseas abortions. He has subsequently continued to surround himself with the staunchly, overtly pro-choice political appointees, including Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, who had deep ties to the infamous late term abortionist George Tiller, and Science Advisor John Holdren, who has written favorably about forced abortions. The President has also increased funding for the UNFPA, the UN population agency that supports the Chinese 'one-child policy' including forced abortions and forced sterilizations, and the Obama Administration has promoted an unlimited right to abortion at a United Nations meeting.

"These are just a few of the items in President Obama's expanding pro-abortion resume despite his claim that the issue of when life begins is "above his pay grade." Similarly, the President's health care plan, as it stands, will also include hidden taxpayer subsidies of abortion, the largest federal expansion of abortion-on-demand in America since Roe vs. Wade.

"While I absolutely should have made the meaning of my statement more clear, the facts remain that these radical pro-abortion policies do not have place in a government founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights," and chief among those rights is the right to life. Without that right, no others matter."

Note: Congressman Franks' "open letter" to President Obama was published in Human Events on January 20, 2009, on the day of the President's inauguration. The article can be accessed here: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=30329


Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Goldwater Institute: Is your privacy worth $100?

Confidentiality appears to be guaranteed by the Census Bureau when you fill out one of their mandatory surveys. But when it comes to sharing your private information with the federal government, the only real guarantee is that there isn't one.
Census takerThe Patriot Act provides the legal authority for Homeland Security to gain access to confidential Census Bureau data through The National Center for Education Statistics. But that authority isn't restricted to crafting education policy.

The law was amended in 2002 to authorize access by other federal agencies to NCES data for "investigation and prosecution of terrorism," which is broadly defined.

The only thing keeping Homeland Security away from your confidential Census Bureau data in the NCES' possession is the requirement that the Attorney General apply for a court order before it can access it. But the court's only function is to confirm the application shows "the information sought" is "relevant" to "investigating or prosecuting" a laundry list of federal offenses. This is a far lower standard than the test of probable cause required for criminal search warrants. Unless someone botches the application, the court's only real power is to verify it was signed.

The bottom line is that not much stands between Janet Napolitano and your confidential census data. Fortunately, you risk no more than a $100 fine for each question you do not answer; and it is unlikely you will be fined more than once. So the question to ask yourself is whether your privacy is worth $100--or whether the Census should be reformed to ask the only question the U.S. Constitution actually authorizes: "How many people reside in your household?"
Nick Dranias holds the Goldwater Institute Clarence J. and Katherine P. Duncan chair for constitutional government and is the director of the Institute's Dorothy D. and Joseph A. Moller Center for Constitutional Government.
Learn More:
20 U.S.C. § 9573(e): Entire law

Arizona's Health Care Efforts in New York Times

From the Goldwater Institute -

Our Arizona effort to protect the right of Arizonans to choose their health care is featured in this morning’s New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/us/29states.html?_r=2. I know you’ve been following this debate and wanted to make sure you saw this important piece. As you know, Arizona was the first state to put this protection on the ballot, and the Goldwater Institute will provide the legal support and argue before the courts in the event that our state law conflicts with a federal mandate.

For conservatives, federalism like this will be one of the defining issues of the Obama administration, and it will be the key to preserving our freedoms.

Golwater Institute: Can you spare some change for a civics survey in Sweden?

When the Goldwater Institute gave a version of the United States Citizenship Test to Arizona public high school students, only 3.5 percent of Arizona public school students got six or more questions correct, the passing score for immigrants. After seeing the results, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs wanted to know how Oklahoma high school students would fare on the exam, so we gave them precisely the same set of questions.

testPerhaps I was too hard on Arizona students. They passed at a rate that was 25 percent higher than their peers in Oklahoma. That's right: The passing rate for Oklahoma high school students was 2.8 percent. They underperformed Arizona's abysmal performance.

Just for the record, Oklahoma's state standards for civics read:

Oklahoma schools teach social studies in Kindergarten through Grade 12...A social studies education encourages and enables each student to acquire a core of basic knowledge, an arsenal of useful skills, and a way of thinking drawn from many academic disciplines. Thus equipped, students are prepared to become informed, contributing, and participating citizens in this democratic republic, the United States of America.
That all sounds great, except Oklahoma high school students know about as much about American history and government as they know about quantum physics or ancient Sanskrit.

I have an empty metal coffee can in my office marked "Sweden Civics Survey Fund." Please drop by with anything you can afford to give. Once I get a couple thousand bucks, I'll retain the pollster to give this exact same survey on American civics to high school students in Sweden. They couldn't do much worse than kids in Arizona and Oklahoma. Sadly, I suspect they might do much better.
Dr. Matthew Ladner is vice president for research at the Goldwater Institute.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Bill Gates for City Council fundraiser


If you cannot read this email please go to: http://www.gatesforphoenix.com/email/092509.cfm

Bill Gates for Phoenix City Council
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You're Invited:

TO A CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF & ICE-CREAM SOCIAL

Please join Councilman Bill Gates

as he officially kicks off his campaign
for Phoenix City Council.

Saturday, October 3, 2009
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Roadrunner Park
3502 E. Cactus Road, Phoenix
The event is free so please stop by and say hello!

RSVP
Email: info@gatesforphoenix.com
Call: 602-772-9401




Reminder: Moon Valley Grasshopper Bridge 5K in District 3 this Saturday

Come join us for the Moon Valley Grasshopper Bridge 5K in District 3 this Saturday at 7 a.m. This 5K Run and Walk starts at 3rd Ave and W. Betty Elyse in Moon Valley, goes under and over the famous Grasshopper Bridge and finishes in Moon Valley Park.... Proceeds from this race benefit Phoenix Children's Hospital. Hope to see you there.

We will have campaign materials on hand!


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Sheriff Richard Mack (Ret): The States can stop Obama


By now we have all heard the clichets and seen the posters from the "Tea Parties" espousing freedom, less government, and perhaps most of all, how the federal government had better back off trying to shove their national healthcare down our otherwise healthy throats. The truth of the matter is all the slogans of "Don't Tread On Me" or "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death" or "We're Mad As Hell And We're Not Taking It Anymore," don't mean a thing when compared to reality; the real and actual answer to all the protests, marches, and outrage. The answer is in our own backyards! The States can stop every bit of it! That's right, the individual States can stop "Obamacare" and all other forms of out-of-control federal government mandates and "big brother" tactics. If Arizona, Hawaii, New Hamshire, Texas, etc. want nothing to do with National Healthcare as proposed by Barack Obama or Congress, then all they have to do is say "No!"

For you skeptics who think the States could no more do this than fly to the moon, let's look at the law. First, the U.S. Constitution is the ultimate and supreme law of the land. More specifically, the Bill of Rights was established, because some of our Founding Fathers, feared that the Constitution did not go far enough in restricting or limiting the central government. Hamilton was one of a select few who wanted a bigger and powerful federal government. However, several key states and powerful delegates such as Patrick Henry, said they would not support the formation of a new government if the Constitution did not contain a Bill of Rights, a supreme law to establish basic and fundamental human rights that could never, for all future American generations, be violated, altered or encroached upon by government. So the Framers of our Constitution came up with ten; ten God-given freedoms that would forever be held inviolable by our own governments.

The last of these basic foundational principles was the one to protect the power, sovereignty, and the autonomy of the States; the Tenth Amendment. This amendment and law underscores the entire purpose of the Constitution to limit government and forbids the federal government from becoming more powerful than the "creator." Let's be very clear here; the States in this case were the creator. They formed the federal government, not the other way around. Does anyone believe rationally that the States intended to form a new central government to control and command the States at will? Nothing could be further from the truth. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution details what duties the federal government will be responsible for under our new system of "balanced power." Anything not mentioned in Article 1, Sec. 8, is "reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." (Tenth Amendment) Hence, the federal government was not allowed creativity or carte blanche to expand or assume power wherever and whenever they felt like it. The feds had only discrete and enumerated and very limited powers. Omnipotency was the last thing the Founding Fathers intended to award the newly formed federal government. They had just fought the Revolutionary War to stop such from Britain and their main concern was to prevent a recurrence here in America.

In perhaps the most recent and powerful Tenth Amendment decision in modern history, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Mack/Printz v U.S. that "States are not subject to federal direction." But today's federal Tories argue that the "supremecy clause" of the U.S. Constitution says that the federal government is supreme and thus, trumps the States in all matters. Wrong! The supremacy clause is dealt with in Mack/Printz, in which the Supreme Court stated once and for all that the only thing "supreme" is the constitution itself. Our constitutional system of checks and balances certainly did not make the federal government king over the states, counties, and cities. Justice Scalia opined for the majority in Mack/Printz, that "Our citizens would have two political capacities, one state and one federal, each protected from incursion by the other." So yes, it is the duty of the State to stop the Obamacare "incursion." To emphasize this principle Scalia quotes James Madison, "The local or municipal authorities form distinct and independent portions of the Supremacy, no more subject within their respective spheres, to the general authority than the general authority is subject to them, within its own sphere." The point to remember here is; where do we define the "sphere" of the federal government? That's right; in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution and anything not found within this section belongs to the States or to the People. So where does health care belong? The last place it belongs is the President or Congress. It is NOT their responsiblity and the States need to make sure that Obama does not overstep his authority.

Just in case there is any doubt as to what the Supreme Court meant, let's take one more look at Mack/Printz. "This separation of the two spheres is one of the Constitution's structural protections of liberty. Hence, a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other..." What? The Constitution, the supreme law of the land, has as a "structural protection of liberty" that States will keep the federal government in check? No wonder it was called a system of "checks and balances." The States (and Counties) are to maintain the balance of power by keeping the feds within their proper sphere.

So do the States have to take the bullying of the federal government? Not hardly! The States do not have to take or support or pay for Obamacare or anything else from Washington DC. The States are not subject to federal direction. They are sovereign and "The Constitution protects us from our own best intentions." (Mack/Printz) Which means the States can tell national healthcare proposals or laws to take a flying leap off the Washington monument. We are not subject to federal direction!

In the final order pursuant to the Mack/Printz ruling Scalia warned, "The federal government may neither, issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the States' officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program. Such commands are fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty." It is rather obvious that nationalized healthcare definitely qualifies as a "federal regulatory program."

Thus, the marching on Washington and pleas and protests to our DC politicians are misdirected. Such actions are "pie in the sky" dreaming that somehow expects, the tyrants who created the tyranny, will miraculously put a stop to it. Throughout the history of the world such has never been the case. Tyrants have never stopped their own corrupt ways. However, in our system of "dual sovereignty," the States can do it. If we are to take back America and keep this process peacefull, then state and local officials will have to step up to the plate. Doing so is what States' Rights and State Sovereignty are all about.

Rep. Franks Calls on World Leaders to Act Now to Halt Iran's Nuclear Program

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Bethany Haley 202-225-4576

Franks Calls on World Leaders to Act Now to Halt Iran's Nuclear Program

Says Iran must not be allowed to progress one step further in its pursuit of nuclear weapons

September 25, 2009 – Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) gave the following statement today on the House Floor regarding the announcement today at the G20 summit that Iran has been covertly operating a 'new' underground uranium enrichment facility at Qom, Iran, in addition to the enrichment facility at Natanz:

"Mr. Speaker, more than three years ago, I stood on this Floor of the House of Representatives and called on the United States to clearly define its position towards what is now the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism— the Islamic Republic of Iran. I then called upon the IAEA to refer Iran to the Security Council because I believed then what Western intelligence has long suspected about Iran, and what it seems President Obama is just now beginning to realize: that Iran is systematically and relentlessly pursuing the development of nuclear weapons.

"Today's announcement at the G20 summit by the leaders of Britain, France, and the United States revealed that Iran has covertly been operating a 'new' underground uranium enrichment facility at Qom, Iran should remove all doubt in any reasonable person's mind about their inevitable intentions.

"It is disgracefully ironic that today's announcement comes only a week after announcing our abandonment of the European Missile Defense Site which could have protected the homeland against long-range Iranian missiles; and only one day after President Obama chaired a United Nations Security Council session specifically addressing the need to halt the spread of nuclear weapons throughout the world. Unbelievably, the resolution passed by the Security Council, under President Obama's leadership, omitted any mention whatsoever of either North Korea or Iran.

"But regardless of the Security Council's failure to explicitly address the real and present danger the peace-loving world faces because of Iran's nuclear ambitions, the fact is that Iran has already disregarded three previous rounds of Security Council sanctions and has continued to aggressively pursue a nuclear weapons capability, including building this underground facility, and testing the long-range ballistic missiles that would be used to deliver a nuclear payload.

"We have reached a crossroads with Iran, Mr. Speaker, that will result in one of two outcomes: either Iran transforms the geopolitical landscape by becoming a nuclear power that proliferates nuclear and missile technology to terrorists throughout the world, and then threatens the very existence of countries like Israel; or, by the world's inaction we place the tiny country of Israel in the unavoidable position of having to act unilaterally with military force to protect themselves and humanity from the threat a nuclear Iran would represent to the entire civilized world. We must not place Israel in that position, Mr. Speaker.

"President Obama's announcement today also offered no assurance in the fact that it a weaker statement than that given by Prime Minister Brown and President Sarcozy, who rightly said that 'we live in the real world, not the virtual world,' and that the real world requires leaders to make decisions and to act.

"With its languishing economy and literally centuries' worth of natural gas reserves, Iran's claim that it seeks nuclear capability solely for peaceful purposes is ridiculous beyond my ability to express.

"It's now open knowledge that for years North Korea gave false overtures that it would engage in negotiations over its nuclear program, while holding every deliberate intention to continue its covert development of a nuclear program. We are lying to ourselves and the world that similar overtures, if made from Iran, will be any less disingenuous. And the implications for our children and future generations are profoundly significant, Mr. Speaker.

"The world must act. As one former Israeli Ambassador put it, "The game is over." Iran is no longer progressing but has now reached the end game of diplomatic relations.

"Mr. Speaker, I favor every reasonable sanction and diplomatic effort to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear capabilities. However, ultimately I am convinced that there are only two things that will stop Iran from becoming a nuclear armed nation and proliferating nuclear terrorism globally in the future. It will be either a direct military intervention from America or other nations, or the absolute conviction in the minds of the Iranian regime that that will occur if their march toward gaining nuclear weapons continues.

"The world must act, Mr. Speaker. For the sake of freedom and all that free people love, Iran must not be allowed to progress one step further in its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

"Thank you."

Vernon Parker's announcement speech for governor


Vernon Parker 2010 - Announcement Speech


My name is Vernon Parker and I stand before you today, September 23, 2009 to ask for your support to be the next Governor of the State of Arizona.

I am doing so because we in Arizona are in difficult times. I am no stranger to difficult circumstances. I grew up in difficult circumstances. As a child I saw things that no child should have to witness—drugs, violence and their disastrous effects.

As we stand and look at this brilliant sunset, some would say that the sun is setting on Arizona. I see it differently. I see the sun rising and a bright future for Arizona. I have over come many obstacles and together we can overcome the obstacles that we face in this great state.

God has been good to me and my family, and today I live in Paradise Valley, Arizona, with a beautiful wife and family, who are my best friends, the people who helped make me who I am.

I love Arizona. I love its beauty. I love its people. But most of all I love that this is a place where anyone can become anything that they choose. And I stand before you today as an example that anyone, no matter where they began, can become anything they want in this great nation and this great state.

Many of my friends from days past, the people I grew up with, even members of my own family, have not been so fortunate—some are now dead or in prison from drugs, violence and missed opportunities. Maybe that’s why I have such a passion for protecting children, protecting life and promoting opportunity.

I’m now the Mayor of Paradise Valley, one of the most affluent zip codes in America, a far cry from where I came from.

But how did I get here? Education was the key. I learned that grades not graffiti were the path to success. I remember as a child my grandmother asking me to read the Bible to her. She could not read herself, but she was a wise, intelligent woman who taught me a lot. She put all of her hopes and dreams into me becoming an educated, successful person.

Every Grandmother wants this for their grandchild, and every parent wants this for their child.

And while giving parents a choice in education is important, we must look to innovative solutions, to programs such as Teach for America, to help us preserve and strengthen the public school system.

We must ensure that the funds are there to keep classrooms small and empower teachers to teach. Public school served me well.

Helping you help yourself is the role that government should play and I am a direct beneficiary of this role. I was fourteen years old when my mother seized an opportunity to send me to one of the better public high schools in the area where I lived. Because of this opportunity, I saw a different lifestyle, and I knew I wanted more out of life than my neighborhood could offer.

I went to public school for K-12, on to community college, and then to the public University, ultimately ending up at Georgetown University Law School.

Every student in Arizona who wants higher education should be given that opportunity. We must explore expanding the role of community colleges, creating more competition and opportunities, to ensure that the dreams of these students come true. I admire our enterprising universities but I also want to see more enterprising students. That’s why I think we must give every consideration to a higher education system that allows public money to follow students to public colleges or universities of their choosing, including a new state college system. This would ensure that middleclass children, and children in rural areas would have greater access to higher education.

As a Republican, I believe that the role of government should be limited.. Our system works best when we help each other and ourselves. However, there is a role for government, one such role, a crucial role is that of securing our borders.

Every available resource should be dedicated to this effort. This is a safety and security issue. The flow of drugs and violence must be stopped!†
Arizona and America cannot live behind an unlocked door that is open not just to people seeking opportunity, but to people threatening our way of life through violence and drug trafficking which has led to human trafficking and terrible suffering.

Second, Arizona faces a financial crisis not seen since the Great Depression. And, Arizona faces a crisis of leadership. This is a time when all Arizonans must work together to rebuild a strong Arizona.

In difficult times leaders can lose common sense. Raising taxes and selling government buildings, only to lease them back, makes no sense.

I, like all mayors in this current climate, face difficult choices. People think that we in Paradise Valley are immune from the recession. That is not so, we had to cut our budget by 25%, making difficult choices.

But the one choice I fought, and fought hard, was against a proposed increase bed and sales tax here in Paradise Valley. The road to success is not through a massive tax hike as proposed by the current administration. This is a mistake, and a big one.

History has shown that you cannot tax your way into prosperity—Ronald Reagan knew this, Margaret Thatcher knew it, and so does just about every businessperson in Arizona. Taxes hurt businesses and in particular small businesses, the backbone of this state and America.

After years of massive increases in state government some are now frightened to shrink it. I am not. Some have had the opportunity to turn off the spigot and failed to do so.

Third, I believe if we are serious about job creation in this state, we must phase out corporate taxes, ultimately eliminating them. This would send a strong reform message to America and especially to our second border—the one between Arizona and California—that Arizona is the place to do business. California businesses are looking for an escape route and Arizona should roll out the welcome mat. Our motto should be come on over! If we do phase out the corporate tax, believe me, business will flock to Arizona and an upswing in revenue and in jobs will follow. I know one person who would oppose this, his name is Terry Goddard. He would call it a give away, I call it a give-a-job to a person in need.

As I started to explore a run for Governor I have been humbled by the level of support for my candidacy. But I also get asked—Can he do it? Well, when I ran for Paradise Valley Town Council I answered the question. I received more votes than anyone in the history of the town—67%. I was then elected mayor. I said I would serve only one term as mayor. I committed to that because it was the right thing to do for the community. It was not about titles. Exploring the governorship is not about titles, it is about our future.

Now some have called me a novelty. Let’s address that from the start. Let’s not sweep this glaring issue under the carpet. Yes, if elected, I would be the first mayor of Paradise Valley ever elected Governor of Arizona. Help me make history!

Running for governor is a challenge and I have always met challenges head on. I did so as an under privileged kid growing up in California. I did so as a small businessman trying to meet payroll. I did so when I was asked to serve as a pastor of a small church here in the Valley. I did so working on behalf of two good people, Len Munsil and Matt Salmon, who sought the Governor’s Office in years prior.

And I did so when I took on one of the most difficult jobs in the federal government, Assistant Secretary at USDA. People were protesting in the streets, and had taken over government buildings. I brought them together.

The Budget at USDA was nearly $90 Billion dollars. I had to participate in the budget process making difficult choices to cut programs. I have worked with a Congress dominated by a different party, but we got it done. My entire career has revolved around working with those who have not seen eye to eye with me, bringing them together to find common solutions.

Recently, my family and I faced a very difficult and different challenge. But I faced the challenge head on. I fought back when the federal government attacked me in a politically motivated investigation that is now thankfully over. Initiated by a Democratic Congresswoman during an election year when it was big sport to go after anyone associated with the Bush Administration—especially if you can get a New York Times headline out of it, it is an example of government at its worst.

But with the help of former U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton, we fought back to clear my family’s name and to ensure that when government abuses its power, it will be challenged, and defeated.

I believe a weak border is a threat to Arizona. I believe an enormous tax hike is a threat to Arizona. I believe a weak economy is a threat to Arizona. I believe a failing education system is a threat to Arizona. I believe we must take steps to protect Arizona from the very real threat that appears to be Congress’ new recipe for health care. And I believe Arizonans should step away from political clones that come off an assembly line waiting their turn to become Governor. We should not nominate one professional politician to take on another. We need to tell professional politicians to get a real job. Being governor should not be an entitlement. Being governor should be about serving others, not about a paycheck.

Now is the time for a new direction in this state. Now is the time for Republicans to nominate someone who can fight Terry Goddard on his turf, instead of he on ours. Now is the time to nominate someone to unite Republicans instead of dividing them. Now is the time to seize this unique opportunity to revitalize this state and comeback to the sound principles and common sense solutions for which we have always been known. Now is the time to say good-bye to sunsets and hello to sunrises. Now is the time for a new face, a fresh voice, and a passionate advocate for a new direction for Arizona. Ladies and gentlemen, now is the time to shake it up!

Thank you for listening and may God bless you, Arizona and the nation we love.

Visit the Parker2010.com website

CAP: New laws take effect Wednesday




Next Wednesday, September 30, at 12:01 a.m., new laws take effect in Arizona, including several supported by CAP. Our work couldn't be done without God's hand and without your partnership. A partial sampling of the new CAP-supported laws that benefit Arizona families:
  • Public school students, parents, and school officials will have a clear law governing how students can share about their faith because of the Students' Religious Liberties Act.
  • Partial-birth abortions will be banned under state law. Arizona becomes one of a handful of states to ban partial-birth abortions in addition to the existing federal law so that anyone performing this horrible procedure can be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
  • Arizona's charitable tax credit will be clarified and far more user-friendly for all taxpayers who itemize. Married couples who donate $400 or individuals who donate $200 anytime this year now can receive a tax credit for their gifts to charities meeting the needs of the working poor. Faith-based ministries benefiting include pregnancy resource centers, St. Vincent de Paul, Neighborhood Ministries, and Neighborhood Christian Clinic.
  • Patients without a living will and who are unable to express their wishes will not be left for dead thanks to the provisions in Jesse's Law, Part 2. A presumption of life will be made in these cases so that patients are protected when their voice can't be heard.
  • More students will be able to attend the schools chosen by their parents because of the Scholarship Tax Credit expansion. Not only will the corporate tax credit program continue past 2011, the types of qualifying companies will now include insurance companies.

Legal Update

Whether or not the Abortion Consent Act goes into effect next Wednesday depends on the courts. Next Tuesday, at 9:30 a.m., Maricopa County Judge Donald Daughton hears Planned Parenthood's motion to block the law's implementation. Then, at 2:00 p.m., U.S. District Judge David Campbell hears Center for Reproductive Rights' motion to block the law's implementation. Both judges should rule by the next day. CAP attorneys joined our allied attorneys to file motions in both lawsuits setting forth why the judges should allow the law to go into effect as scheduled. We'll be in court on Tuesday. Please pray that the women of Arizona will not face any further delays in being given full and accurate information about the risks and alternatives to abortion, that non-doctors will be prohibited from performing surgical abortions, and that parents' rights to oversee their minor daughter's abortion decision will be secured.
School Choice Programs Under Review
On Monday, State Rep. David Schapira held a meeting to discuss proposed "reforms" to the scholarship tax credit. House Speaker Kirk Adams has established an official committee to review the school tuition tax credit, and CAP is working with legislative leaders and our school choice allies on measures making this great program even better and more accountable through this official legislative process. As a part of the School Choice Working Group, CAP released a statement on Monday that states our support for the tax credits as well as any improvements that make these great programs better. We look forward to working with legislators during the formal legislative process and looking at real solutions.
Upcoming Events!
Oct. 3 Phoenix Truth Project Training, English session, sesión en Español

Friday, September 25, 2009

Goldwater Institute: CityNorth to Supreme Court 9/30 at 9:30 a.m.

Oral arguments in the CityNorth subsidy case, Turken v. Gordon, will he held in the Arizona Supreme Court next Wednesday, September 30th at 9:30 a.m. We hope you will attend.

WHO: The Goldwater Institute’s Litigation Director Clint Bolick

WHAT: CityNorth subsidy case, Turken v. Gordon, oral arguments before the Arizona Supreme Court

WHEN: Wednesday, September 30 at 9:30 a.m.

WERE: Arizona Supreme Court, 1501 W. Washington Street.

Case background:

In July 2007 the City of Phoenix signed a contract with the Klutznick Company to provide a $97.4 million subsidy for the CityNorth project through sales taxes, despite a constitutional prohibition on corporate welfare in Arizona. The CityNorth project is a $1.8 billion high-end retail development on prime real estate in an affluent part of north Phoenix. On August 8, 2007 the Goldwater Institute filed suit against Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon over the CityNorth subsidy.

The Goldwater Institute's Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation, directed by Clint Bolick, will argue that the CityNorth subsidy violates three clauses within the Arizona constitution: the gift clause, the privileges and immunities clause, and the special law clause.

The Goldwater Institute represents six small business owners in Phoenix; Meyer Turken, owner of Turken Industrial Properties, a small real estate development and management company; Kenneth D. Cheuvront, owner of Cheuvront Wine and Cheese Cafe and Cheuvront Construction; Zul Gilliani, who owns an ice cream shop at Paradise Valley Mall; James Iannuzo, who owns Sign-a-Rama; Kathy Rowe who owns Music Together; and Justin Shafer, owner of Hava Java.

Case Timeline:

· August 8, 2007, case filed with Maricopa Superior County Court

· February 11, 2008, oral arguments on motions for summary judgment in the Turken v. Gordon subsidies case before the Honorable Judge Robert E. Miles

· April 2, 2008, Judge Robert E. Miles rules that $97.4 million sales tax deal with CityNorth creates a public good and does not violate the constitution as a corporate subsidy

· April 4, 2008, Goldwater Institute appeals court ruling

· June 9, 2008, Judge Robert E. Miles heard oral arguments on attorney's fees

· November 25, 2008, Court of Appeals heard oral argument on appeal

· December 23, 2008, Court of Appeals rules the deal with CityNorth does, in fact, violate the gift clause

· September 30, 2009, Hearing in the Arizona Supreme Court at 9:30 a.m., 1501 W. Washington Street