Dec 022011
To no one’s surprise, Republican State Sen. Ron Gould has opened a congressional exploratory campaign. The Legislative District 3 small business owner from Lake Havasu City is termed out. With redistricting lines yet to be finalized, Pinal Sheriff and McCain’s aide de camp, Paul Babeu, who has also opened a congressional exploratory campaign, could face a tough primary challenge from Sen. Gould. The senator has evidenced a strong conservative voting record during his years in office – consistently faring well in the PAChyderm Coalition ratings.
Babeu’s plans for a move to Washington may also be short circuited if San Tan Valley is drawn into Congressman Paul Gosar‘s district, as posited in this article in the morning newspaper – which included this stand-alone sentence regarding changing boundaries: “Moving Apache Junction, the San Tan Valley area and Florence into CD 1.”
Stay tuned. Arizona’s Congressional races are guaranteed not to be humdrum affairs.
Hat Tip: Seeing Red AZ
Nov 132011
Within our own country, the Founders and Framers understood that there has to be a balance between individual rights and the rights of the community. They were under no illusions that in a country this large that everyone could hold the same beliefs and goals. They wanted to create a place where, to the largest extent possible, people could be free without imposing on others. You could say their end goal was freedom. In creating the U.S. Constitution, they created a document that would maximize freedom and minimize conflict. For example, rather than elevate one religion over others by sponsoring it by the state, they included the First Amendment, which reads:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof?”
What is meant by this is that the FEDERAL government will not become involved. They knew better than to tell the states to what level they become involved in religion or whether or not the states should even sponsor any particular religious practice. By the same token, if one religion imposed its beliefs on others, this would be abridging the free exercise of a faith and that would not be acceptable. Remember, the idea is to maximize freedom and minimize conflict.
The US Constitution was based on the philosophy of government laid out in the Declaration of Independence, which declares:
“All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Read the rest.
Nov 172010
The lame duck session, which began on Monday and is expected to last until mid-December (with a week-long Thanksgiving break), is the Democrats’ last chance to pass legislation while commanding majorities in both the House and Senate. And with plenty of defeated Democrats risking little by casting controversial votes, there’s a chance some liberal legislation might be able to squeak through. Here’s a rundown on some bills Congress will likely consider in the upcoming weeks:
The Bush tax cuts. Both parties want the tax cuts, set to expire at the end of the year, extended for those couples making under $250,000 a year; the point of contention is whether to extend them for those making more. President Obama is scheduled to meet with Democrat and Republican congressional leaders on November 30 to discuss the cuts. Potential compromises include extending the tax cuts for the wealthy for just a couple of years, while making the other tax cuts permanent, and extending the tax cuts for those who make under, but not over, $1 million a year.
Unemployment benefits. If Congress doesn’t act, federal unemployment benefits – which kick in after the 26 weeks of benefits most states provide, and can help the unemployed get as many as 99 weeks of benefits – will start expiring November 30. Some Democrats, including Illinois senator Dick Durbin, have suggested that Democrats agree to pass all the Bush tax cuts if the Republicans agree to extend unemployment benefits.
The DREAM Act. It’s back. The bill, various forms of which have been considered by congress for nearly a decade (most recently when Reid attempted to attach it to a defense-authorization bill in September), would allow illegal immigrants younger than 35, who came to the U.S. when they were 16 or younger, to gain legal status if they agreed to spend two years in college or the military. Opponents object that the legislation could serve as backdoor amnesty (if the youth eventually gain citizenship, they can sponsor their relatives for immigration), while proponents say it’s unfair to penalize these young adults didn’t choose to illegally enter the country. Politico reported that President Obama spoke to congressional Democrats yesterday and pushed for passage of the bill, calling it a “down payment” on comprehensive immigration reform.
Read the rest.
Feb 062010
by William Watkins, Jr., The Independent Institute
James Madison once observed that “it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad.” Fear of foreign perils, Madison realized, can easily persuade a freedom-loving people to voluntarily part with liberties they would otherwise consider indispensable. In Thomas Jefferson’s words, the people are “made for a moment to be willing instruments in forging chains for themselves.”
In making such statements on the forfeiting of precious rights during times of foreign danger, Madison and Jefferson were speaking from experience. In the 1790s, a number of Americans feared that the democratic excesses of the French Revolution would be exported to the U.S.
They believed French agents were plotting to destroy the Constitution and overthrow the federal government. Wild rumors spread that Jefferson, Madison, and other members of their Republican Party planned to offer assistance to a French invasion force supposedly sailing across the Atlantic. To make matters worse, an undeclared naval war soon erupted between the U.S. and France.
This environment of fear and distrust led to the passage of the most illiberal legislation of the early national period: The Alien and Sedition Acts. Enacted by Congress in the summer of 1798, the Acts prohibited criticism of the federal government and gave President John Adams the power to deport any alien he viewed as suspicious. This legislation made a mockery of the First Amendment and deprived aliens of basic due process of law.
Feb 012010
Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker will announce his run for Congress Saturday with support from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Parker had been running for governor but opted to switch to a U.S. House bid after Congressman John Shadegg said he would not seek another term.
Read the rest.
PHOENIX – On Monday, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) appointed David Braswell to represent District 6 in the Arizona Senate, filling the post vacated by Republican Pamela Gorman, who resigned to run for the U.S. House of Representatives following Rep. John Shadegg’s announcement that he would not be seeking reelection.
