More news on medical marijuana, Barbara LaWall, and prohibition

Here is a sequel to my earlier story about Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall's crusade against Prop 203 which would legalize medical marijuana.

LaWall continues campaign against medical marijuana

That story and an anti-Prop 203 blog post also in yesterday's Tucson Citizen raised a number of comments about the origins of marijuana prohibition, so I posted this story today. It's amazing how many times in our history xenophobia has been used as a wedge issue to control the US population.

Alcohol and marijuana: The origins of prohibition

My new blog link on the Citizen is here: Tucson Progressive.

I love Paul Krugman

Yes, there I said it, "I love you, Paul Krugman."

Why am I in love with a NY times columnist? Because he's not afraid to tell it like it is.

In a column entitled Now That's Rich in Sunday's NY Times, Krugman called for an end to the Bush tax cuts, which will sunset at the end of 2010-- unless the Congress votes to extend these budget-busting give-aways to the rich.

Several weeks ago, Republican lawmakers-- like our 2 Arizona Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl-- started the spin to save the tax cuts for their rich cronies. Earlier in the summer, they voted to deny extension of unemployment benefits because paying these benefits would increase the deficit; at the same time, they were promoting extension of the Bush tax cuts. (It is blatantly obvious whose side they are on.)

The Faux News spin on the sunset of the Bush tax cuts is that Obama is a tax-and-spend liberal who wants to push through the largest tax increase in history-- or some such drivel.

The truth is that Obama wants to extend the miniscule part of the Bush tax cuts that benefits the middle class, while ending the tax cuts for the richest 0.1% of the US population.

According to the Tax Policy Center, full extension of the Bush tax cuts-- originally instituted in 2001 and 2003-- would add $3.7 trillion (with a T) to the budget deficit over the next 10 years. (Click on the link for the full sobering report.)

I say, let's finally give up on trickle down economics and end the give-aways to the richest 0.1% of Americans. Bush and his Republican-controlled Congress (including John and Jon) wrote each of them a check for $3 million. Enough is enough. Don't buy the lie. End welfare to the rich.

Immigration reform: the rest of the story, part 2

Xenophobia will continue to re-surface in our [state] unless and until government finds long-term solutions to this very serious problem which seems to be a result of some of the poor, the desperate and the unemployed taking matters of government into their own hands.

Given the anti-immigrant fervor sweeping Arizona and the US this quote could have been uttered by a local politician or activist. In actuality, this is a statement by African Christian Democratic Party Gauteng leader Lydia Meshoe as quoted in today's Times Live from Johannesburg, South Africa. The online newspaper goes on to say, "Sixteen people, mostly foreign nationals, were attacked at Kya Sands informal settlement north of Johannesburg in the past few days."

Hmmm... this is not unlike actions of the neo-Nazis vigilantes patrolling Pinal County, is it? (OK, they haven't shot anyone that we know of, but they're armed and ready.) Why are we as a country sliding backward from racial equality and tolerance for "the other"?

I blame extremist politicians and media personalities who twist the facts.. and sometimes just plain lie (1, 2). I'm not going into how irresponsible and destructive Faux News celebrities like Glen Beck, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly are but instead will focus on Arizona politicians' lies and the related facts.

Arizona's Republican politicians-- particularly those running for office-- have been fanning the flames of xenophobia to further their political careers. Unelected Republican Governor Jan Brewer, septuagenarian Senator John McCain and his senatorial sidekick Joh Kyl, and Arizona Legislator Russel "Father of SB1070" Pearce are four politicians who obviously do not employ fact-checkers.

A few weeks ago, Brewer made headlines when she accused most border crossers of being drug dealers and talked about beheadings in the desert. (For a video, try this link.) Presented with the facts, she tried to mumble her way out of it. Although McCain flip-flops on multiple issues with impunity, recently he and Kyl have been beating the border enforcement and fear drums, along with Right-Wing Anchor Baby Pearce, who has no need for facts in his rhetoric.

So where is the truth? In yesterday's part 1 on The Rest of the Story, I quoted several polls that show most Americans favor comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship. Today, I'll offer some statistics to debunk the lies being told by politicians who hope to capitalize on your fear.

40 people have died in the desert since July 1, 2010. Pima County's Medical Examiner is quoted as saying, this could be "the deadliest month of all time." These people are not ranchers or drug dealers; they are undocumented border crossers-- los desconocidos-- the unknown dead who come to the US everyday for work and a new life. According to the No More Deaths website, 153 have died in the desert since October 1, 2009.

Ironically, although more people are dying in the desert this year, fewer people are crossing the border illegally. According to the Arizona Daily Star, "Apprehensions in the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector have decreased each of the past five years; remittances to Mexico have declined and anecdotal reports show the economic recession has slowed illegal immigration. Yet more people are dying than ever."

Brewer, McCain, and others have blamed undocumented border crossers for beheadings, home invasions, murders, and kidnappings. In actuality, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the violent crime rate in Arizona has been decreasing since it peaked in 1993. (It will be interesting to see if Arizona's violent crime rate increases after the new "Constitutional" Carry law goes into effect next week.)

Again, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics, Tucson ranks 38th in crime-- far behind heartland cities like Columbus, Ohio and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Many US citizens are heavily armed, and people get shot everyday. As this blogger points out, when someone is shot in DC, no one calls for thousands of troupes to be deployed.

Unfortunately, in US politics, facts don't matter much, and according to a research study reported by National Public Radio (NPR), people don't generally change their minds-- even when presented with facts. Sigh.

Brewer, beheadings, and those pesky facts

You're entitled to your own opinions but not your own set of facts.
-- Senator Harry Reid, during the televised bipartisan healthcare negotiations.

Those pesky facts. We don't like facts in Arizona-- or science for that matter.

Arizona Legislator Russel Pearce's penchant for making up facts about undocumented workers has catapulted him and his baby (SB1070) to national notoriety.

Not to be outdone, unelected Republican Governor Jan Brewer has started ginning up fear-mongering sound bites about beheadings and drug-smuggling illegal immigrants to keep ahead of her fellow reactionary ideologue Republican challengers in the governor's race.

Although right-wingers would like to blame convention cancellations and a tourism slump on Congressman Raul Grijalva's call for an Arizona boycott, Brewer is doing her part to further destroy the state's economy by signing SB 1070 and continuing to tell blatant lies about undocumented border crossers, the drug trade, and violence in Arizona.

Rather than rehash the facts -- or lack of them. Here are a few well-written blog posts on the subject:

Follow the Yellow Brick Road… “Gun-Fighting, Drug-Smuggling, Be-Headings, Oh My!”

Beheadings & Tourism. That's the Ticket.

Gov. Jan Brewer and Sen. John McCain lying with impunity
This one includes a video link to Brewer lying about illegals beheading innocent Arizonans.

Quick Thought of the Day

And here are 2 stories about the $250,000 public relations campaign-- started by Governor Brewer to combat the boycott Arizona fervor. Now it looks as if the PR folks also will be battling Brewer's own negative campaign tactics. (And this woman is somehow ahead in the polls???)

AZ battles negative image

JAN BREWER GETS $250K TO COUNTERACT HER OWN RHETORIC.

I hope Brewer enjoys the protest rallies at the governors' conference this coming weekend.

Send 3-year-olds to school? The French do...

All-day kindergarten was one of the victims of Republican budget cuts this year. Ignoring the scientific research on the benefits (1,2) of early education, right-wingers in the Legislature and the Goldwater Institute said there was no data to prove it. (Ironically, this "no supporting data" argument was ignored when they funded abstinence only education, but that's a story for another time.)

Repeatedly Arizona's short-sighted Legislature has chosen to ignore our most vulnerable citizens by cutting education funding and thus forcing teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, shorter school years, and school closings. Arizona actually spends less per student than it did in 1987.

The crux of the problem is that Arizona's Republican Governor and Legislature see public education as an unnecessary expense-- not an investment in the state's future.

When compared to other states, our rugged individualism has earned us the #50 slot in education funding and the #5 slot in jobs that don't require a high school education. When compared to European countries, Arizona's public education efforts are paltry, at best.

Today, National Public Radio (NPR) aired a story about early childhood education in France, where all 3- and 4-year-olds attend public school.

"Society as a whole [not just students and parents] benefits from this," said one French education official. Early childhood education is "not an expense but an investment."

France's Ecole Maternal -- a nationwide, state-supported preschool-- gives all French children the same start in life-- regardless of income, gender, race or religion. According to the NPR reporter, the French view the Ecole Maternal as a symbol of their Republican Revolution, which toppled the French monarchy and brought equal rights and equal treatment for all citizens (including women).

In the US, preschool is a patchwork, and the determining factor is money. People who can afford it send their children to high-priced preschools (which offer a variety of stimulating experiences), hire in-home nannies, and/or have at least one stay-at-home parent.

Children growing up in middle and lower class homes have limited choices-- low-cost preschools and day cares; preschool scholarships; care by family members or unlicensed baby-sitters; Head Start. For these families, all-day kindergarten helped their children catch up, and now it's gone.

I know that the do-it-for-the-children, pro-education argument falls on deaf ears in the Arizona Legislature, but let's look at this as capitalists. How can the US -- and particularly Arizona-- compete economically inn the global marketplace with an uneducated workforce?

Don't get me wrong. I am not promoting a government requirement that would force parents to send all 3- and 4-year-olds to school. I am advocating for equal opportunities in education -- and life. Arizona needs an attitude adjustment; we need more "liberty, equality, and fraternity" and less "I got mine; screw you."

Arizona voters approved a new sales tax to fund education in May. We need to make sure the Legislature spends these funds wisely.

Community residents want more time, more inclusiveness in charter change process

At Thursday's combined Wards 1 and 5 public hearing, the message was loud and clear: The city should take more time and include more stakeholders in the process to change the city's charter.

Approximately 50 community residents and neighborhood leaders attended the hearing hosted by City Council members Regina Romero (Ward 1) and Richard Fimbres (Ward 5). Although she hosted her own public hearing earlier in the week, City Councilwoman Shirley Scott (Ward 4) also came to listen to south and west side residents.

The evening began with presentations by Pima County Democratic Party chair Jeff Rogers (above), who talked about forms of government and the need to update Tucson's charter; Southern Arizona Leadership Council consultant Jim Kaiser, who reviewed SALC's proposed changes to the charter; and City Attorney Mike Rankin, who reviewed the specific charter text changes.

Following these formal presentations, several neighborhood leaders, political activists, and residents took to the microphone.

Former City Councilman Steve Leal led the public comment portion of the evening by admonishing the current City Council to retain the system of checks and balances in city government and not relinquish their power to the city manager. Among other things, SALC's proposed charter changes would strengthen the role of the unelected city manager by eliminating civil service protection for several upper-level city positions and giving the city manager the power to hire and fire key personnel without the consent of the City Council.

Leal warned that concentrating power under an unelected manager would weaken the city's elected government and distance it from the voters.

Who holds the power of government, dissatisfaction with the lack of inclusiveness in the charter change process, and a general distrust of the business leaders who comprise SALC were three themes that echoed throughout the evening.

"This whole thing is about power-- who has it, who doesn't, and who wants it," said Angie Quiroz, president of the Santa Rita Park neighborhood.

"This is not about governance. It's about the balance of power," said Mark Mayer, Ward 6 resident. Mayer and several other Ward 6 citizens attended the Ward 1-5 meeting because Ward 6's Steve Kozachik, the City Council's sole Republican, decided not to hold public hearings on the charter changes.

"We know the relationship that the SALC business leaders have with their workers and the unions," remarked Jim Hannley, president of the El Rio Neighborhood and political activist. "And they wonder why we don't trust them?"

"Be careful that we are not privatizing city government through the back door," warned community activist Delores Grayam, who likened this process to the gradual privatization of education in Arizona.

"We're spending an enormous about of money [to put this on the ballot], and the question is: Is this going to improve the city?" asked Ward 6 resident Bob Clark. He and others suggested having the charter change to increase the mayor and council's salaries and the proposed 1/2 cent hike in city sales tax on the ballot together could torpedo both measures. Even though the salary increases are budget neutral, voters may think the two initiatives are linked and vote both down.

Repeatedly speakers told the City Council to slow the process down, gather more community input, and delay the charter changes beyond the November 2010 election. Unbundling the four charter changes also was suggested several times by residents and by Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez, who manages the local election process.

Rodriguez warned that if voters don't like one item in the bundle, they will vote "no" on the group of charter changes. Indeed, this was evident in last night's public testimony; people liked some suggestions but not others. For example, most speakers acknowledged that the mayor and council positions should be full-time and earn full-time pay, but many disliked giving the city manager more power. The pros and cons of a strong mayor vs strong city manager form of government also was discussed.

According to the Arizona Daily Star, the Ward 3 Councilwoman Karin Ulich heard much the same messages at her charter change public hearing the night before.

For a recap of the Ward 1-5 hearing, check Tucson Channel 12 who interviewed community residents and taped the public event.

On Wednesday, July 7 the Tucson City Council will decide whether to put the City Charter changes on the November 2010 ballot.

This article originally appeared in my Progressive Examiner column.

Tucson May Day March draws 1000s supporting human rights

Thousands of people marched through Tucson's south side to Armory Park to commemorate May Day and show their support for human rights and immigration reform.

The multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural crowd of an estimated 7000 marchers snaked through neighborhoods chanting and waving homemade signs. The crowd, which was approximately 30% non-Hispanic, was so large that it was impossible to see the beginning or the end until it dispersed at Armory Park to hear speeches and music.

Although May Day Marches have commemorated workers' rights for more than a century, they have evolved into celebrations of human rights in recent years. With the passage of Arizona's new strict anti-illegal immigrant bill a week ago, May Day Marches across the country focused on civil rights for everyone in the US--regardless of status. The march in Los Angeles was the largest.

Several speakers, including Dolores Huerta, Congressman Raul Grijalva, and singer Linda Ronstadt addressed the marchers in both Spanish and English.

Huerta, who organized migrant farm workers in the 1960s with Cesar Chavez, urged the audience to forget petty differences and work together for comprehensive immigration reform-- now. A life-long activitist, Huerta told everyone not to leave Arizona but to stay and vote Governor Jan Brewer and her cronies out of office.

Grijalva, who came under attack for his call for a boycott of Arizona due to SB1070, said that when reporters asked him who they would see at May Day March, he replied that they would see America-- a diversified country.

Across the street from the May Day rally, a small but noisy, all-white group of SB1070 supporters gathered. From behind the police line, they tried to provoke the May Day Marchers by flipping the bird and jeering, but their voices were drowned out by the Aztec drummers and dancers.

Pictures speak louder than words. Please check out the attached slide show and the KVOA video.

This article originally appeared in my Progressive Examiner column. To see the slide show and great video coverage from KVOA, click on the link.

May Day March gains new momentum after passage of SB1070

Worldwide, May 1 is celebrated as International Workers' Day. Originally, the workers' holiday commemorated the struggle for an eight-hour work day in 1856 and later, marked the anniversary of the Haymarket affair in 1886. The Haymarket affair, also know as the Haymarket massacre, began as a rally in support of striking workers and ended in violence with the deaths of workers and police.

In Tucson, the May Day March not only promotes workers' rights, a living wage, and fair workplace practices but also the rights for other oppressed people, including immigrants.

Immigrant workers--legal and illegal--often work under substandard conditions in the fields, factories, and kitchens of America. It's understandable that their struggle would become part of this demonstration of worker solidarity. After the passage of the anti-illegal immigrant bill SB1070, this year's May Day March will most likely be large and boisterous.

The May Day March will begin Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at El Casino Ballroom and end with a rally at 11 a.m. in Armory Park. For details, check the Derechos Humanos website.

This article originally appeared in my Progressive Examiner column.

SB1070 becomes law in 3 months-- maybe

As thousands of protesters chanted outside the state capitol in Phoenix yesterday, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed SB1070. The controversial legislation would require law enforcement officers to stop people whom they believe are in the US illegally and ask for identification such as a birth certificate or passport. Moreover, it gives citizens the right to sue local law enforcement if they believe they are not implementing this law.

With stories in the New York Times and on CNN, MSNBC, the Colbert Report, and local television and radio, Arizona has been under the media microscope since this bill passed both houses of the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Now that it has passed, Arizona is under the legal microscope, according to National Public Radio (NPR). President Obama has asked his legal advisors to review the civil rights implications of the legislation. Multiple civil rights groups are planning legal challenges.

If SB1070 survives these legal challenges, it will go into effect in 3 months, according to NPR.

Economic implications aside, I personally don't see how this legislation can be fairly implemented. Thirty percent of Arizona residents are Hispanic, and many more are mixed race. By far, most are legal, but under this law they will be treated differently because of the color of their skin. Not all illegal aliens are Hispanic. There are undocumented Filipinos, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indians-- you name it-- in the US. Will the police be stopping them also? Where will it end?

It is my hope that passage of wrong-headed legislation like SB1070 will push the US Congress into finally passing comprehensive immigration reform.

This article originally appeared in my Progressive Examiner column. Click on the link to see the Colbert video.

Governor expected to sign SB1070, as statewide rallies and walkouts continue

Arizona residents are literally up in arms over the Arizona Legislature's passage of SB1070. Protest rallies have continued throughout the week, and more are planned for today and this weekend in Tucson and Phoenix.

The New York Times, The Arizona Republic (not exactly the bastion of liberal thinking), Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva, Stephen Colbert, and now President Obama have all come out against this legislation which would require Arizona law enforcement officers to ask people for proof of citizenship during legal contacts. If they don't have proof of citizenship on their person, they are presumed to be illegal.

Saturday, April 24, is Governor Jan Brewer's deadline. If she doesn't sign by then, it will become law without her signature. The Derechos Humanos website announced that she will sign the bill Friday morning-- while they protest outside.

Will this legislation have the dire economic and social consequences predicted by The Arizona Republic and others? Only time will tell.

This article originally appeared in my Progressive Examiner column. Click on the link and see the video of students chained to the state capitol building.

Healthcare reform anyone?

Today is "the day" in a year of landmark votes on healthcare reform. As I write this on Sunday morning, National Public Radio is predicting the vote on reform in the US House of Representatives will come within hours.

This has been a week of arm-twisting, media hype, dueling polls, rallies, e-mail blasts, and facebook posts from both pro- and anti-reform camps. My personal survival strategy was to not watch television and limit my talk radio listening. Ed Schultz spent much of the week pushing for passage of the reform legislation but vowing to fight for more reform until a single payer system is achieved. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now aired several stories throughout the week, including an nterviewed Congressman Dennis Kucinich after he agreed to vote for reform. Kucinich also vowed to keep pushing for a single payer system, saying this bill is just the first step.

I was impressed with President Obama's use of social media to get the pro-reform word out to supporters. Move On and Organizing for America sent thousands of e-mails urging reform advocates to call their representatives and senators and to rally for reform.

On Friday, March 19, several of us from the local Drinking Liberally club joined other progressives for a Move On rally in front of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' Tucson office. Approximately 150 reform advocates waved signs, cheered, and chanted. (They were joined by 3 anti-reform protesters.) Earlier in the week the Arizona Daily Star reported that Giffords and Congressman Raul Grijalva would both vote for reform today.

Hundreds of lunch-hour motorists cheered and honked as they passed the marchers. If honks were votes, I'd say that there is strong support for reform in Tucson. What will happen today? Who knows, but since Barack is one of my friends on facebook, I'm sure he'll post the news on his wall.

This article was originally published in my Progressive Examiner column. To see a slide show from the Tucson rally, click on the Examiner link.

Campaign financing: First Amendment used to change laws in US and in Arizona

In two days, six judges have altered decades of campaign finance reform to favor the rich and well-connected.
Two court rulings this week--one by the US Supreme Court and another by a US District Court Judge--have left progressives reeling. Ironically, both decisions are based upon the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

On Thursday, January 21, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision ruled that limiting campaign contributions from corporations limits their freedom of speech. This decision is based upon the legal precedent of corporate personhood, which gives corporations the same rights as "natural persons" (AKA real people). To learn more about corporate personhood, check out this movie-- The Corporation.

President Obama said this ruling gives "a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics" and has instructed the Congress to work on revised campaign finance reform legislation.

On Wednesday, January 20, 9th District Court Judge Roslyn Silver ruled that state matching funds given to Clean Elections candidates limits the freedom of speech of their opponents who are not running as Clean Elections candidates. The rationale is that the candidates who are running traditionally would somehow limit their fundraising because it would essentially give their Clean Elections opponents more matching funds. Silver did not strike down all of the Clean Elections legislation--just the matching funds section that brings "clean" candidates coffers up to the funding levels of their opponents. Silver has given the proponents of Clean Elections 10 days to appeal her ruling.

Arizona's Clean Elections law was created by the voters in 1998. According to the Clean Elections Commission, close to 90 individuals--including several in Pima County--have qualified as Clean Elections candidates for the 2010 elections cycle. Some are suggesting that implementation of this decision be delayed until after the 2010 elections.

Where do we go from here?

This article was originally published in my Progressive Examiner column.