LD 25 GOP votes to censure Governor Brewer and legislators who voted for Medicaid expansion

June 20, 2013

·       Tonight “A Resolution Of The Arizona LD25 Republican Precinct Committeeman To Censure The Governor And 15 Arizona State Legislators”  passed with two dissenting votes.  An Amendment to add the Governor to the Resolution passed unanimously. 

·       LD25 Resolution to Censure Gov. Jan Brewer and 15 legislators: Whereas, Governor Brewer and 15 Republican state legislators formed an alliance with Democratic elected officials for the express purpose of thwarting the will of the Republican majority in the legislature and violating Republican Party principles and the Republican Party Platform, including but not limited to the following:

o   They implemented the passage of Medicaid expansion.

o   They implemented government healthcare.

o   They approved taxpayer funding for abortion and increased funding for abortion services.

o   They expanded eligibility for welfare benefits, and invited 300,000+ new people into the welfare system.

o   They raised taxes.

o   They voted against tax relief & kept Arizona as the state with the 2nd highest tax rate in the nation.

o   They voted against auditing the hospital bed tax.

o   They increased property taxes.

o   The only tax relief they offered was for special-interest industries who could afford to hire lobbyists

o   They rejected a balanced budget and voted for one with a structural debt of $400 million.

o   They removed government oversight for special interests.

o   They voted against verifying citizenship as a requirement for Medicaid benefits.

o   They removed funding for English immersion for non-English-speaking students, thus ensuring the continuation of the failed, Democratic-Party-supported, bilingual programs.

ü  Whereas, they corrupted the legislative process by suspending the rules and depriving the public of the opportunity to scrutinize and comment on the proposed legislation.

ü  Whereas, they stymied the legislative process, dishonored American legislative traditions, stifled democratic notions of fairness and openness, and violated decorum by refusing to debate.

ü  Whereas, they violated the wishes of the vast majority of Republican precinct committeemen in the state of Arizona who had overwhelmingly opposed the passage of Medicaid Expansion, making their wishes known in formal resolutions.

ü  Whereas, they voted in favor of national health care, disregarding the will of the voters of Arizona who amended the Arizona Constitution via Proposition 106 in 2010 to oppose national health care.

ü  Whereas, they violated the separation of powers defined in the Arizona Constitution by voting for a budget amendment originated by the executive branch of government.

ü  Whereas, they violated the Arizona Constitution by surrendering the legislative authority to tax to an unelected bureaucrat in an Executive branch agency, and made such taxes subject to approval of the federal government.

ü  Whereas, they forced passage of a tax increase by a mere majority vote instead of the  constitutionally required 2/3 vote.

ü  Therefore be it Resolved, that we, the precinct committeemen of Legislative District 25, do censure the following Arizona State legislators:

Governor Jan Brewer

LD1 Senator Steve Pierce         

LD16 Senator Rich Crandall

LD18 Senator John McComish

LD23 Senator Michele Reagan

LD 25 Senator Robert Worsley

LD28 Senator Adam Driggs

LD5 Rep.  Doris Goodale

LD6 Rep.  Thomas “T.J.” Shope

LD8 Rep.  Frank Pratt

LD9 Rep.  Ethan Orr

LD15 Rep.  Heather Carter              

LD16 Rep.  Doug Coleman         

LD18 Rep.  Jeff Dial       

LD18 Rep.  Bob Robson

LD28 Rep.  Kate Brophy McGee

Shawnna L.M. Bolick opens up exploratory committee for LD 28 House

“We need conservative, free market leaders willing to step up and put their constituents first over politics. As a policy person that would come easy to me.”

Phoenix, AZ- June 18, 2013- Last night, Shawnna L.M. Bolick opened an exploratory committee “Elect Bolick for Arizona” for Arizona House Legislative District 28 (LD 28).

There has been a drumbeat of support for me to step up from members across all factions of the Arizona Republican Party since the beginning of this calendar year after key failed votes, from reforming paycheck protection to expanding Education Savings Accounts. Bolick’s “fire in the belly” was ignited last week when her fellow Republican state legislators did not allow public input or civil discourse among their colleagues and closed off debate over the Medicaid-expansion budget bill that was crafted in closed door meetings.

“As a proponent of a full transparent, limited government this rubbed me the wrong way. My knees wouldn’t bend at the will of the powers-that-be while bypassing an important part of any public policy budget process through civil discourse.”

“Both elected Republican legislators representing LD28 voted with the Democrat also serving in the Arizona House failed to give reasons why they supported Governor Jan Brewer’s Medicaid-expansion bill during Brewer’s special session. I believe the voters in LD 28 deserve not only a voice from a common sense citizen legislator but one who sides with full transparency and I want to give our voters that choice.”

In the weeks ahead, the Elect Bolick for Arizona exploratory committee will launch its website www.BolickforArizona as well as focus on its social media strategy.

Shawnna and Clint, her husband, have two children, Ryne (11) and Kali (8 ½), plus their five year old rescued greyhound, Beary Goldwater. Bolick has worked on behalf of school choice for more than 17 years and continues to help in elevating key education reform ideas both at the state and national level. As an undergraduate at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School she worked in an inner city magnet high school where her true passion for education reform caught fire. During graduate school, she worked at The Heritage Foundation on its “No Excuses” campaign which focused on elevating high-performing principals whose practices allowed children to excel regardless of income level. She also spent time working for conservative leaders as U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) and now Governor Rick Perry. As a school choice supporter she organized the BASIS Phoenix’s Boosters program during its inaugural year raising more than $30,000 to help support teachers and classroom activities and presently serves on the BASIS Scottsdale School Board.

Shawnna L.M. Bolick can be reached via email at slmbolick1@gmail.com

Liberal State Bar Spends Three Years Going After Lawyer For Being Conservative Blogger

by John Hawkins
Reprinted from Right Wing News

Everyone has now heard stories about conservatives who’ve been punished by “non-political” agencies like the IRS for their beliefs, but it happens at the state level, too. Back in 2011, I wrote about Rachel Alexander, who was targeted by the liberal State Bar of Arizona for having the audacity to work with other conservative lawyers to fight corruption in the state.

Rachel Alexander was collateral damage in a liberal fight to ruin her former boss, then-Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Thomas attempted in 2009 and 2010, with the help of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, to stop corruption by some judges and county supervisors in Arizona by filing criminal charges and a racketeering lawsuit against them. Alexander, a Deputy County Attorney, performed some research and writing on the racketeering lawsuit after it had been filed. However, since she was one of the best known conservative bloggers in Arizona, running Intellectual Conservative and IC Arizona, she was dragged into the court even though she was a minor player in the case.

The supervisors filed bar complaints against Thomas, Alexander, and another prosecutor. The left-wing Bar ran with the charges, demanding to know everything Alexander had ever blogged, anonymously or not, within the past five years and the corrupt liberal judiciary rubber-stamped the charges. That’s not surprising considering the judiciary is under the Bar and can be disciplined by the Bar; so there is no way the judiciary would not do the Bar’s bidding.

Thomas and his other deputy prosecutor were disbarred and Alexander was suspended for six months plus one day, requiring her to retake the Bar exam again and reapply to the Bar. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice, which the Left had asked to investigate Thomas and Arpaio over abuse of power for going after the judges and supervisors, dropped the case, stating it had found no evidence. This completely refuted the Bar’s case against the three, exonerating them, but the Bar would not budge. Thomas remains disbarred and his other deputy is appealing.

The supervisors refused to pay for Alexander’s appeal, which was unprecedented for a merit-protected Maricopa County employee. Alexander wrote up her appeal herself (A lawyer would have charged $60,000, to give you an idea of how much work this was). The Arizona State Supreme Court sat on her appeal for eight months; then just one week after Thomas announced he was running for governor, it issued the opinion which essentially upheld most of the suspension.

The Arizona Supreme Court based most of its ruling upon statements of a former supervisor of Alexander’s who was her supervisor in name only. He said he’d heard complaints about Alexander’s performance in the office, but provided no evidence of these supposed complaints. The Supreme Court said this was evidence she wasn’t competent enough to work on the racketeering complaint. The court ignored the fact that Alexander had never received a poor review in her entire five years at the County Attorney’s Office and Thomas testified during the trial that he’d never received a complaint about her. At the same time, the Court stated several times in its opinion that it found no evidence of political bias by Alexander against the judges or supervisors. So essentially, Alexander is being suspended because liberals want to stick it to a conservative blogger.

At this point, Rachel Alexander is being left with little recourse other than to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The problem is the Supreme Court only accepts about 80 of the 10,000 petitions it receives every year. Alexander has no attorney and cannot afford one, having been forced out of the legal profession into journalism, where she doesn’t even make enough money to make payments on her law school loans. Alexander also has a federal claim against the Bar for selective prosecution. Several attorneys familiar with her case have told her she has a slam-dunk case, considering the Bar reached down through several layers of supervisors to single her out for discipline without even targeting her immediate supervisor, who was in charge of the racketeering case and who performed the bulk of the work on it. Worse yet, the Bar is trying to force her to pay $128,203 for the cost of its prosecuting just her.

The Left targeted her because she may have been well known on the Arizona political scene, but she didn’t have the connections or money to fight back. She is a weekly columnist for Townhall, The Christian Post, and Right Wing News, but not someone with enough star power to make this a huge story. This story of corruption at the state government level is no different than the corruption that is now coming out about the Obama Administration, but because it is on a smaller scale, it is more difficult to get people interested in it.

Meanwhile, Alexander’s reputation has been dragged through the mud and the abuse that she has had to endure is appalling. She has been smeared non-stop by liberal websites in Arizona. Her main website was hacked by an IP address associated with the county supervisors, but no law enforcement agency would investigate it even though it destroyed her traffic, got her website banned from Google –and she finally had to rebuild her website from scratch using a different platform in order to get back into Google. Her traffic has never recovered because she lost thousands of articles; she went from 5,000 unique visitors per day down to less than 1,000. Her bankruptcy business fell apart because potential clients would not hire her once they’d googled her. She lost her home to foreclosure last summer and moved in with her parents.

This is even worse than the IRS’s targeting of Tea Party groups because she’s one person, without the resources to fight, without the national attention, without lawyers coming out of the woodwork to help her out.

If anyone can help Alexander find legal counsel or provide more exposure for her plight, please contact her at rachel@intellectualconservative.com. This case needs all the sunlight it can get. The liberals have been doing this to many bloggers and if we don’t stand up to them and stop this, they’ll be coming for us next. Michelle Malkin has covered it here.

Governor Brewer Betrays Conservatives, Forces Through Huge Obamacare Medicaid Expansion

Brewer is wagging her finger at Arizonans now

Once considered a conservative governor due to signing SB 1070, which toughened up illegal immigration laws, Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer has now destroyed that reputation. Last week, she called a surprise special session of the legislature, and allying with Democrats, bullied through Obamacare's massive expansion of Medicaid, known as AHCCCS in Arizona. The bullying tactics she used to coerce Republican legislators into voting for it were so appalling, they made national news and have prominent Republicans all over the state speaking out in outrage.

Brewer called legislators into the State Capitol at 5 p.m. last Tuesday, and kept them there until they passed the bill at 3:40 a.m. According to Arizona State Rep. Kelly Townsend (R-Mesa), a Tea Party leader, the 600-page bill was presented at the last minute to legislators, who were told they would be voting on it within a few hours – not enough time to thoroughly examine it. Legislators were instructed not to answer any questions, nor vote yes on any amendments. One of the amendments they were forced to turn down would have created a Pat Tillman license plate to benefit veterans and their families (fortunately it was added to another bill a couple of days later and passed).

Kelly sent a mass email to Republicans around the state after the debacle, blowing the lid off Brewer's underhanded tactics, which included this appalling story, “One Republican legislator whom I won't name told me that when they were in the Governor's office, they were offered help on their next reelection campaign and an assurance that they would win if they voted for the expansion.”

Read the rest of the article at Townhall

Statements by Arizona's brave legislators who stood up on the House floor to oppose Brewer's Medicaid expansion

Arizona legislators who voted for Medicaid expansion betrayal

Rep. Kelly Townsend exposes betrayal at the legislature over forced Medicaid expansion

My experience this week at the Legislature

  

One of the most offensive things about this week wasn't the fact that some R's are really D's and want more socialism, (we already knew that) it was that they voted to use the rules in a way that has never been done before.  The suspend rules applies to emergency legislation that we couldn't have foreseen earlier in the session. If you need to submit a bill after the deadline, then vote to suspend the rules with the blessing of the leadership. However, this caucus voted to suspend as many rules as possible in spite of the leadership. In fact, they threatened to vote out the leadership and replace them with theirs if they didn't cooperate. Although Doris Goodale claimed it was a crazy rumor put out by the far right and an example of what they had to put up with on a daily basis from us, the Arizona Capitol Times verified this on their website. Apologies are generally accepted, Doris. The Governor thought that by threatening leadership and suspending the rules, she would get her expansion Tuesday night by making us work into the wee hours. She later found out that there are AZ Constitutional rules she must follow and all we could do was the first read Tuesday and she had to wait three days by law for the entire process.  And so began a drama of errors. When normally a bill is introduced and goes through the process of debate, public comment/scrutiny, and rules committee to see if it is Constitutional, a set of brand new bills with a brand new budget and medicaid expansion was set on our desks after a long wait for a repaired printer. I was told it was more than 600 pages and we would be voting on it in a matter of hours. No committees, no public scrutiny, no rules committee, no ability to truly see what went into this new budget and whether it was structurally sound or not. Well, we figured we could at least ask the new coalition to tell us about it on the floor. Brace yourselves. These Representatives were told to not answer any questions. Not vote yes on any amendments. Even amendments they had supported in the pass. No matter the merit, vote no. We were accused by the Governor of not getting to the "people's business." As if it were we who were trying to screw over the people of Arizona. I asked one of them why they didn't answer a question on the floor about it. He shrugged his shoulders. I asked if he knew HOW to answer a question about it. Did he know what was in the bill? He said no. They were told, "Here is a bill, now go vote yes for me and don't answer any questions." Sounds like the Mafia.  Why were they so obedient? Why were these people whom I once held in high regard even though I disagreed with them, why would they yield to mafia-like tactics? Who had THAT much power over the human beings I thought were honorable? One person whom I won't name told me that when they were in the Governor's office was offered help on the campaign and an assurance that they would win. They regrettably didn't have a recording of it and so didn't want to go on the record because it was their word against hers. I asked if it was okay if I told about this if I didn't mention the name and was given permission. This, folks, is the only logical answer I can wrap my head around as to why the "Honorable Representatives" would sit silent and not answer one question, nor vote yes on amendments like the Pat Tillman plates that would benefit veterans and their families. Oh, they voted yes on that bill to pass it Friday morning when it was amended onto another bill unrelated to the budget or Medicaid expansion. But not during the special session. Because they were instructed not to do so, they were willing to take orders from a puppet master. I cannot imagine myself being in a position to take someone else's orders on how to cast a vote. I was asked by a certain person the other day to PLEASE, PLEASE vote yes on a bill as a personal favor to them. They will not ask me to do that again, I promise. What is it in the moral fiber that causes someone to think it is okay to vote in a certain way that is contrary to the good of the people? Is it "We the People," or We, the Politicians?" I was behind a Dem staffer Friday morning after Sine Die, and she not knowing I was there told her colleague that although she didn't understand the rule process, it didn't matter because they got the job done, right? I said to her surely I must have just heard her wrong. Surely she didn't just say forget any rules, let's just get what we want however we can. This, however, is the new culture of American, and now Arizonan politics. Get it done, or else. By the way, when did that cancer infect our State? Seems Governor Brewer was opposed to Obamacare at one point. Was it after she went back to DC to see Obama? Seems like it to me, but I cannot be for sure. I will have to go back and look at the dates. After witnessing what this Governor is capable of when she wants something, I will not be surprised if her support of Medicaid expansion came soon after her trip back east. Doesn't matter at this point... I have been largely silent about Governor Brewer. As a matter of fact, I was told by her that she didn't mind if we disagreed, just don't do it before the media. I watched her veto bills of those who went public before I did and was very thankful that my bill got through before this all came up. I don't expect to get anything else signed by my Governor next year, but I will submit bills just the same. Like one that says you must have X amount of time to read a bill for every 50 pages. I would like that in the AZ Constitution, because apparently it isn't safe or matter much if it isn't there. Will she sign that one? I bet you she does not. It wasn't so much the fact that these folks wanted Medicaid expansion. It was the lengths they went to to get it. It was the fact that we have a House majority willing to sit silent, ignore the rules, and vote no on good legislation that they previously supported because someone TOLD them to.  The Governor stated that some of her coalition had their political careers threatened, as if that was something subversive. It is not, and as a matter of fact, she can consider this a PROMISE that I will do all in my power to make sure these people who sold out to Mafia tactics are replaced, for the good of "We, the People!" I encourage you to do the same.   Rep. Kelly Townsend    Visit Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots at: http://phoenixteaparty.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Statement from Senate President Andy Biggs and House Speaker Andy Tobin on the Governor’s call for a Special Session

“This evening, Governor Brewer summoned legislators to convene a special session to address the FY14 budget and Medicaid expansion. The special session was called without any consultation with Senate or House leadership, and was designed to commence at the precise moment it was conveyed. We are disappointed and stunned that the Governor and her staff would resort to such an unnecessary, impulsive and unprecedented tactic.

Since the beginning of the session, Senate and House leadership have made the budgetary process a top priority. Additionally, the debate regarding the full implementation of Obamacare in Arizona was already fully under way. In fact, these two specific items have not only consistently been a top legislative focus, but the other essential bills of the legislature have also been moving through our respective chambers. Instead of allowing the process to proceed in an orderly manner, the Governor made the impetuous decision to intercede and collude with the democrat minority in order to force an expedited vote on her sole legislative priority of Obamacare.

We are frustrated and bewildered by her overt hostility and disregard for the budgetary process which was already well under way. The blatant disrespect and reckless practices exhibited by this Executive are less than what was expected of her and more than should be tolerated.”

I will be on the Austin Hill Show tomorrow morning to explain to women everything they need to know for concealed carry of firearms

If you're a gal and interested in the concealed carry of firearms, tune in Friday morning at 6:30 a.m. PST (9:35 a.m. EST) to Austin Hill's Idaho show where I will discuss as the editor of Western Shooting Journal everything women need to know about getting a concealed weapons permit and shooting. If I can do it, anyone can :-) Click here to listen to NewsRadio KINF 99.1 FM live. Click here to check out Western Shooting Journal and subscribe (only $1.89/mth online, $29.95/yr print subscription).

PHOENIX GUN BUY-UP SCHEME EXAMINED

By Alan Korwin

First of two parts.
[The Arizona Republic has decided against running this story.]


To provide balance to the constant promotional drumbeat the media has supplied for the inaccurately named Phoenix gun buyback (you can't buy back something you never owned), this two-part series will examine what's really occurring in the mysteriously funded city-supported gun buy ups in Phoenix.

A handful of close associates saw an early version of this piece while the Arizona Republic was deciding against publishing it; now it goes out statewide. Next, it goes out with Part II nationally soon, with the criminal questions at the forefront -- who actually owns the collected guns (no one is saying); did the money come from out of state (a federal crime); was it in essence a straw purchase with funds laundered through a grocery chain (very possible); will any of this be investigated (by trustworthy BATFE); is there any assurance these guns won't "walk" and is there any other accountability (we're working on it); and the two really big questions... stay tuned.

by Alan Korwin
The Uninvited Ombudsman


A publicity stunt has given the impression that mayor Greg Stanton and other Phoenix officials are "doing something" about psychopathic murderers. It claims to have spent $200,000 -- with no audit trail -- buying up rusted, inoperable, obsolete and other firearms from residents for $100 grocery cards last month.


The only reason these gun buy ups took place was because a madman slaughtered innocent kindergarten children 2,400 miles away. If it weren't for that insanely criminal act, this buying program would not have run. The motivation was essentially irrational -- even the sponsors admitted this had virtually no chance of preventing a similar atrocity which, after all, should be our goal. New "goals" materialized as justification.


When similar programs first appeared after tragedies years ago, organizers believed if they offered bags of groceries criminals would respond by turning in their guns. That was so absurd it was abandoned because it made the promoters look like abject idiots (and gangbangers stayed home, furthering that impression). Because tax money was used the legislature banned this for the future.


Untethered officials now figure they can use donated funds instead, and using a "loophole" (which they usually detest), destroy guns they collect, despite the law. If you still have doubts about what gun haters want to do with your guns, fuggetaboutit -- they've announced they'll abandon even this program if they can't destroy the guns.


And even that's a lie. Earlier reports said police will selectively destroy the guns. Guns they can use, or with historic value will be saved, which is only common sense. Only trash will be destroyed (including inexpensive guns only poor people can afford). With no audit trail.


So what's really happening, is police are buying guns from the public (or somebody is buying them) at a deep discount. For quality guns, you get way below market value and no destruction. You would have done far better selling your property at a store. In the next article, we will reveal the inventories, if the police and the mayor come clean (they are stalling on this).


As plain observation showed, this guns-for-groceries scam worked two ways. A letter published by the Arizona Republic confirmed what observers there all saw -- but reporters and columnists deliberately omitted:


"I spent an hour going from car to car as people waited excitedly to turn in their firearms... most people were actual gun owners taking advantage of the opportunity to get something for their garbage. Almost every gun I saw or learned about was either old, damaged or obsolete or worth far less than even $100. The beauty of these events is you have anti-gunners donating money that benefits gun owners... I'm sure the police will boast about what a success it was..." (5/6/13, C. Johnson)


One savvy entrepreneur reportedly turned in ten pieces of junk and walked away with a cool thousand dollars. Another one I personally know (whose name you know) turned in six. Promoters called this a success. One widow turned in a $700 new-in-the-box stainless-steel sidearm that some cop will end up with. She lost $600 in value, won't get the promised destruction, won't know it, and the media bragged about more success.


 




Caption: Ambitious Arizonans did what they could to buy valuable firearms, give folks fair value, and save precious guns from the controversial plan of people who hate guns seeking to destroy perfectly good constitutionally protected private property. Hoplophobes and others running this scheme, backed by the media, held out a vain hope that destruction would "do good," or take guns off a street they were never on. The guns came from peoples' homes in closets and drawers, not from streets, a complete fabrication incessantly repeated by the mindless "news" media.


Entrepreneurs on the street meanwhile were buying everything they could for cash and cleaning up. You're hearing this here for the first time. The media calls this fair and balanced. They are not doing their job. In fact, they are becoming one of the greatest enemies of an informed public we face. They have a chance to correct this, by running this story, or following up on their own. Hundreds of them are getting this article.


Officials act as if the Second Amendment authorizes them to destroy firearms. Ed Montini's column mentioned Tucson councilman Kozachik spouting deceptive silliness about a right to dispose of firearms. In fact, firearms are the only private property specifically protected by the U.S. Constitution. Honor has fled our system. Oaths have been abandoned.


When firearms police accumulate are sold (through background checks to legitimate buyers), this public asset provides critical funding for law enforcement. Destroying guns only makes hoplophobes (people with morbid fears of weapons) feel good. In essence, lunatics are running the asylum. These same people are the ones who screamed about blood in the streets when life-saving carry-permits were issued nationwide. Nothing happened then because that... was... a... paranoid... delusion. No corrections were ever issued. Guns save lives.


People who need treatment are getting legislation. The "news" media is aiding and abetting this destruction of the American system by promoting (not reporting) one side of a story only, thus deceiving you. It's as if reporters and editors are as deluded and hoplophobic as the people they are promoting. This must stop.


You are encouraged to send this article to your local reporters. If you don't keep a list of them, you could be doing more to protect your freedoms. Even if they toss it out, they need to look at it to do so.

###


Scottsdale resident Alan Korwin's 14th book is Your First Gun: Should you buy one and join 60 million safely armed American homes? The author of The Arizona Gun Owner's Guide, his website is GunLaws.com.

Support my work -- and save your bacon
all at the same time:


It doesn't make sense to own a gun and not know the rules.
The Arizona Gun Owner's Guide
http://www.gunlaws.com/agog.htm

In Part Two, with the Phoenix Police and Mayor's office cooperation, we will examine exactly what police collected during the buy-ups. How much was valuable and how much was pure junk? What is the net value planned for destruction and how does that help who exactly? Can any be returned to rightful owners as recovered stolen property as promised? What about the ballistic tests being conducted -- for guns that will be destroyed? Rational examination of this expensive public program demands more scrutiny than the media has provided.

Don't end up in more trouble than the crook:

After You Shoot: Your gun's hot. The perp's not. Now what?
http://www.gunlaws.com/AYS.htm




For your gunless friends:




Your First Gun --
Should you buy one and join
60 million safely armed American homes?
http://www.gunlaws.com/YourFirstGun.htm
(Use the Amazon link there to read some for free!)


Every gun owner should have at least one of these around.
It will convince someone you know, who needs it.






Get trained
http://www.trainmeaz.com

Suspicions Confirmed: Academia Shutting Out Conservative Professors

Conservatives have long suspected there is discrimination against conservative professors in academia, and now there is evidence to prove it. Sociology professor Neil Gross, a self-described liberal, reveals the results of surveys showing this bias in his new book, Why Professors are Liberal and Why do Conservatives Care?  

Sociologist George Yancy asked professors if they would be more or less likely to hire someone if they were a Republican, evangelical or fundamentalist. Three-quarters said political affiliation would not affect their hiring decision. But the one-quarter that did say it would influence their decision virtually all said they would favor a Democrat over a Republican. Almost half of the sociology professors surveyed said they would look unfavorably upon evangelicals and fundamentalists trying to get a job in their department!

In a 2005 survey, researcher Gary Tobin asked professors how favorably or unfavorably they felt about various religious groups. Fifty-three percent of academics responded that they regard evangelicals unfavorably. The next highest unfavorable rating was 33 percent regarding Mormons. 

Professor Gross performed his own “audit study,” sending in fake applications to upper academia at universities around the country. One set of applicants, the control group, had nothing political listed on their resumes. The other two sets of applicants indicated they had either worked on the McCain or Obama 2008 presidential campaigns. He found, “On average, the DGSs (directors of graduate studies) responded less frequently, more slowly, and less enthusiastically to the conservative applicant.” 

The average professor is three times as liberal as the average American, and academia is even more liberal now than it was in the 1960s. Gross provides evidence indicating that feminism greatly increased the drift of college faculty to the left, in every field except engineering. Today, 63 percent of female academics describe themselves as feminists. Seventy-three percent of academics describe themselves as moderates, liberals or radical leftists. Gross admits, “…it would be foolish for anyone with truly antifeminist sensibilities to become a sociologist,” due to how liberal that field has become. The Sex and Gender Section is the second largest section in the American Sociological Association. New departments have emerged like Women’s Studies where conservatives would not even bother applying.

Read the rest of the article at Townhall

The Perfect Father's Day Gift!

If you love your dad….

He deserves Western Shooting Journal.

This year, instead of socks, deodorant or another ugly tie, give Dad the gift he wants to get every month: a brand new issue of Western Shooting Journal! Packed full of entertainment and information, vibrant pictures; Western Shooting Journal is the gift that he’ll look forward to every single month.

Start, extend, or renew today at over 60% off the cover price. Call 800-332-1736 or go to http://westernshootingjournal.com/ and click on the Father’s Day Special and enter promo code DAD.

$19.95 gets dad 12 issues of his favorite magazine!

Offer good for Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, Brother, or any man in your life!

CAP: Rally outside Phoenix abortion clinic Thursday

We're expecting a large crowd for this event. As mentioned below, CAP will be announcing our next legislative priority as well. RSVP on Facebook here.

MEDIA ADVISORY
Inhuman: Stop the Killing Rally

Phoenix, AZ: — Live Action and Center for Arizona Policy will be hosting a rally outside of the Phoenix abortion clinic Family Planning Associates to discuss the findings of Live Action’s latest investigation into the abortion industry, specifically the grotesque and shocking activity perpetrated at this facility. As is illustrated in the investigative findings, even when performed according to legal standards, the abortion procedure itself is inhumanly brutal and gruesome. Even worse, Family Planning Associates said in no uncertain terms that should a baby be born alive after a failed abortion, "they will not resuscitate."

 

At the rally, Live Action, Center for Arizona Policy and state lawmakers will call upon the legislature to pass legislation allowing for the Department of Health Services to perform unannounced inspections at abortion clinics. Currently, abortion clinics are the only medical facilities in the state that are not allowed to have these types of inspections.

 

Live Action's latest investigation, Inhuman, has incited a rising tide of alarm and disgust at how our country treats its women and its weakest children.  This rally will call for true protection and empowerment of women, and the revocation of Family Planning Associates Medical Group’s license.

 

What: Rally outside Phoenix abortion clinic Family Planning Associates  

Who: Live Action, Center for Arizona Policy, and state legislators

            Speakers will include:

·      Lila Rose; President and founder of the pro-life group, Live Action.

·      Cathi Herrod; President of Center for Arizona Policy

·      Senator Nancy Barto, Legislative District 15

·      Melanie Pritchard; Executive Director, Foundation for Life and Love

·      Vanessa Tedesco, Post-Abortive speaker with Silent No More

·      Jason Walsh, Executive Director of Arizona Right to Life

 

Where: Family Planning Associates Medical Group, 1331 North 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85006

 

When: Thursday, June 6, at noon.

Media Contact: Drew Belsky, media@liveaction.org and 856.535.1635

                            Aaron Baer, abaer@azpolicy.org and 330.219.1792

 

Live Action is a new media movement dedicated to ending abortion and building a culture of life.  We use new media to educate the public about the humanity of the pre-born children and investigative journalism to expose threats against the vulnerable and defenseless.

 

Center for Arizona Policy promotes and defends the foundational values of life, marriage and family, and religious liberty. For more information visit azpolicy.org.

Aaron Baer
Communications Director

O: 602.424.2525, Ext 242 | C: 330.219.1792 | F: 602.424.2530
abaer@azpolicy.org | www.azpolicy.org

New Organization of Leading Women for Shared Parenting May Finally End Courts Favoring Mothers

80 percent of both men and women now support shared parenting, and even those on the left, such as a former president of the National Organization of Women, agree with splitting child custody after a divorce 50/50. Yet State Bar associations around the country are stopping the legislation from passing, eager to help greedy family law attorneys continue making millions on custody battles.    

A new group is emerging that may finally change the way Family Courts treat mothers and fathers. Currently, the default in most states is to award the lion's share of the time with the children to mothers, and require the father to pay child support. This is unfair to fathers, and has resulted in massive abuses within the system, leading to fathers committing suicide and being imprisoned. A new organization I am a part of, Leading Women for Shared Parenting, seeks to remedy this inequality by having women and mothers speak up in favor of shared parenting. When legislators realize that women themselves are in favor of reversing this bias, they should finally change the laws to make the default a presumption of 50/50 equally shared custody.  

Fathers' rights organizations have tried for years to change the status quo, but have not quite pulled it off, no doubt due to the growing stigma against men in society. They have been marginalized by being called sore losers and deadbeats who only want to lower their child support.  

Continually, between 78 and 87 percent of both men and women support shared parenting – and there is no statistical difference between the sexes. Dr. William Fabricius, an Associate Professor of Psychology of at Arizona State University, discovered these results when polling residents in Pima County, Arizona. He also found that polls taken in Canada and a vote in Massachusetts revealed very similar results. But sadly, Fabricius writes, “there is a very sizable gap between current popular views strongly favoring equal custody, as reflected in polls and votes on custody allocation, and actual legal outcomes.”  

Read the rest of the article at Townhall

 

Sal DiCiccio: An unsustainable problem

	Pension Spiking – Reforms Needed Now "For example, in one instance, a former assistant fire chief increased his lump-sum retirement check by roughly a quarter of a million dollars, to $795,983, and he increased his annual pension benefits by more than $40,000 – to $130,046 a year." – The Arizona Republic, May 28, 2013 Today's Arizona Republic article by Craig Harris is a must read. When you have 10 upper level employees walk away with close to $1 million and THEN start their pensions – we have an unsustainable problem that needs to be fixed today. It is also why people in my district have been getting nasty mailers that are clearly not true. It is because I am pushing to protect you and your families and am the only one standing in their way of getting more from you. The nasty mailers are being sent by the same union bosses wanting to stop my reforms. It clearly points out why I have been pushing important pension reforms at City Hall and why it is currently unsustainable. I am the only council member to return $40,000 in city pension and perks. "According to records provided by DiCiccio's office, the councilman has for the last three years returned any city money he received for an auto allowance or retirement benefit. DiCiccio's payments back to the city total more than $40,000." – The Arizona Republic, May 3, 2013 Here are some other abuses I am trying to reform: A clerk in their first year gets 40.5 days off.   The average compensation for over 15,000 employees is $105,000.   All pension and retirement costs in 2010 were $180 million. In 2013 they are now $247 million – forcing cuts to after school programs, senior services, parks, library hours and police on the streets.   Food Tax for Pay Raise Scheme – The food tax has brought in $145 million since it was forced on the public, and from that $145 million, the City of Phoenix has doled out over $137 million in pay raises. This is the same food tax that was promised to go to Police and Fire.   According to a city staff report, Phoenix could have hired over 350 new police officers for our neighborhoods if the pay raises in the current budget were not there.   Too many other examples of why WE NEED REFORM TODAY and why I am pushing hard to protect the taxpayer. You have my commitment that I will continue to do all I can to protect you and your family. – Sal
	Paid for by DiCiccio for City Council