Arizona’s first school accountability bill is working its way through the state legislature. SB1444 would base a portion of schools’ state funding on performance, starting at 1 percent the first year and incrementally increasing to a total of 5 percent after five years. The ‘performance funding’ as it’s called, is based on two factors: overall …
Read MoreHave you heard about the ‘Bathroom Bill?’ It’s at the top of the kill list for Phoenix’s City Councilman Sal DiCiccio and Center for Arizona Policy’s Cathi Herrod. Also known as the LGBT Ordinance, this proposal would amend Phoenix’s civil rights policy to include sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and disability in its list …
Read MoreMany of us have concluded that our state Capitol is filled with extremist legislators who value craziness instead of intelligence. And now it seems some of our local reporters agree. This past weekend, Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts published an article requesting help for “an election-year search for a Legislature that actually lines up with …
Read More“The illegals who come here… don’t want to be American, they want to destroy our form of government.” This was part of a speech made by State Senator Sylvia Allen at a Support Russell Pearce rally in October of last year. She spoke about illegal immigration and prefaced the quote above as part of a …
Read MoreThe District 25 senate race was shaping up to be a battle between two moderates and one extremist. Incumbent Rich Crandall, a moderate Republican known for his focus on education, was joined by another moderate, Bob Worsley, a newcomer with an impressive business background and leadership role within the Mormon Church. It could have been …
Read MoreWhen one works for a party that holds a super majority in this state, he/she is entitled to a few benefits. Or at least that’s what some of the Republicans in power believe. Notice that I said when one works for a “party” and not when one works for the “people.” That’s an important distinction …
Read MoreThe world stands with bated breath, anxiously awaiting the results of Sheriff Arpaio’s investigation into the authenticity of President Obama’s birth certificate. Or at least that’s what Mr. Arpaio would like to believe. For the vast majority of Americans, this issue was put to rest a long time ago, but for the tea party extremists, …
Read MoreFast and Furious was a conspiracy by President Obama to destroy the Second Amendment. Fast and Furious was actually the brainchild of the Bush administration, and the ATF simply continued the operation under a new name. These are two of the conflicting conspiracy theories now surrounding the infamous gun-walking strategy dubbed Operation Fast and Furious. …
Read MoreOn Sunday, I had the opportunity to debate several issues currently in the news during a roundtable discussion with 12 News Anchor Brahm Resnik. I was joined by Republican district chairwoman Jeanette Dubreil and former Democratic district chairwoman Laura Copple. To see the discussion, click on the link below. 12 News Sunday Squareoff
Read MoreI sat down the other night to zoom through some of my programs on DVR and came across the Sunday morning news show, This Week with Christiane Amanpour. She ran a special program on ‘God & Government’ and the role religion plays in public discourse. The program had me hooked… religion, politics, civility… who could …
Read More