A time for choosing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G6yITxq4as
http://www.youtube.com/AmericanRoadmap
http://www.americanroadmap.org
Text of video:
"Are we going to reclaim the American idea - an entrepreneurial economy where you make the most of your life, you can maximize your potential; reinvigorate the principles of liberty, freedom, free enterprise - and defend its morality - or - are we going to abandon the American idea, and become a stagnant European-style cradle-to-grave welfare state, where we drain people of their incentive and will to make the most of their lives, and become more dependent on the government? The President and the people that run Congress are dedicated progressives. They believe that we ought to have the government so much more involved in our lives, with the government - not ourselves - as the determining factor of our destiny. The country must answer the question: do we want an entrepreneurial society that gets the prosperity turned back on in the 21st century, where individual merit and entrepreneurial activity defines the American economy - or - are we going to have more and more people dependent on the government for their livelihoods? That is the fork in the road - and the urgency of the time for choosing is being precipitated by the current direction of our government and the looming debt crisis, driven by the explosion in entitlement spending. We must decide what kind of a country we are going to be in the 21st century."
7/15/10
Incorrect Assumptions
Civil rights diversity groups are also intolerant...
The NAACP condemnation of the Tea Party movement as racist reminds me again of what I've thought for a long time about groups such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), NOW (National Organization of Women) and HRC (Human Rights Campaign).
(Reference: "NAACP passes resolution blasting Tea Party 'Racism'" CNN.com)
All of these organizations have wasted countless hours and money on approaching legitimate problems regarding issues of discrimination with the wrong approach but also hypocritically. They have spent decades pushing for special legislation requesting special rights in the name of reversing discrimination using federal, state and local legislatures. In my mind these grievances should be redressed through legal challenges based on US Constitutional Rights. That, however, is for another blog.
What occurs to me with the NAACP resolution is what has bothered me about all the so-called civil rights groups. They're just as prejudiced as the people they claim to represent that are the subject of prejudice. There is no tolerance for diversity of political views or opinions within these groups, only one point of view is allowed: Liberal. The National Organization of Women claims to defend women against oppression but are oppressive to women who do not follow lockstep into the feminist agenda. You may or may not like Sarah Palin but she is treated by NOW in exactly the manner that organization claims all women are treated. The Human Rights Campaign Fund has no tolerance for any homosexual that does not sign up wholesale for the entire Gay Agenda from A to Z.
Another troublesome thing about the NAACP resolution, is it makes the assumption that the Media and the Political Class like to cast, that the Tea Party is one unified group of people on the fringe. The Tea Party is a movement that comprises many different groups with similar primary goals but differing ideas.
In any case Arizona Congressional District 3 candidate former Paradise Vally Mayor Vernon Parker states that this will backfire on the NAACP. It appears it already has with such old hat luminaries of civil rights days gone by as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson distancing themselves from the resolution. They've been around long enough to know that the black community itself is not unified under one political philosophy and that many African Americans are actually quite conservative.
My blog Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker is Red from 05/21/10 has Vernon Parker discussing the myth that black and ethnic groups are assumed to be Social Democrats and Liberals.
Here is Vernon Parker's statement from yesterday that he has received the backing of Arizona's largest Tea Party group and about the potential for backlash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70lFjeP7wXE
http://www.youtube.com/ParkerForCongress
The NAACP condemnation of the Tea Party movement as racist reminds me again of what I've thought for a long time about groups such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), NOW (National Organization of Women) and HRC (Human Rights Campaign).
(Reference: "NAACP passes resolution blasting Tea Party 'Racism'" CNN.com)
All of these organizations have wasted countless hours and money on approaching legitimate problems regarding issues of discrimination with the wrong approach but also hypocritically. They have spent decades pushing for special legislation requesting special rights in the name of reversing discrimination using federal, state and local legislatures. In my mind these grievances should be redressed through legal challenges based on US Constitutional Rights. That, however, is for another blog.
What occurs to me with the NAACP resolution is what has bothered me about all the so-called civil rights groups. They're just as prejudiced as the people they claim to represent that are the subject of prejudice. There is no tolerance for diversity of political views or opinions within these groups, only one point of view is allowed: Liberal. The National Organization of Women claims to defend women against oppression but are oppressive to women who do not follow lockstep into the feminist agenda. You may or may not like Sarah Palin but she is treated by NOW in exactly the manner that organization claims all women are treated. The Human Rights Campaign Fund has no tolerance for any homosexual that does not sign up wholesale for the entire Gay Agenda from A to Z.
Another troublesome thing about the NAACP resolution, is it makes the assumption that the Media and the Political Class like to cast, that the Tea Party is one unified group of people on the fringe. The Tea Party is a movement that comprises many different groups with similar primary goals but differing ideas.
In any case Arizona Congressional District 3 candidate former Paradise Vally Mayor Vernon Parker states that this will backfire on the NAACP. It appears it already has with such old hat luminaries of civil rights days gone by as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson distancing themselves from the resolution. They've been around long enough to know that the black community itself is not unified under one political philosophy and that many African Americans are actually quite conservative.
My blog Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker is Red from 05/21/10 has Vernon Parker discussing the myth that black and ethnic groups are assumed to be Social Democrats and Liberals.
Here is Vernon Parker's statement from yesterday that he has received the backing of Arizona's largest Tea Party group and about the potential for backlash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70lFjeP7wXE
http://www.youtube.com/ParkerForCongress
7/13/10
Hillary Clinton's Hips
Are looking better all the time in the rear view mirror...
John McCain has been my Congressman and Senator since 1982 and I never have trusted him. He's always fallen into that awful category of "the lesser of two evils" which happens too often in politics; rather like Bush vs. Kerry. I have no idea what shape we would be in if McCain had won the 2008 Presidential election. It's a mind-numbing thought but not nearly as as anesthetizing as thinking about who we have now as President, a man clearly more interested in superficial image than deep thinking and in way over his head.
The absurdity of the White House insisting on "detaching the word Islam from any statement regarding terrorism," for the sake of college-style political correctness, causing military and intelligence personnel to carefully parse their words, is the latest oddity.
Reference: "Obama at odd with Patraeus doctrine on 'Islam'" 07-11-10 The Washington Times
Let's get real...the largest terrorist threat to the US is from the Islamic world. The inanity of "detaching any reference to Islam when referring to terrorists" is enough to cause even non-conspiracist me to wonder what Obama's allegiances truly are.
Hindsight is 20/20. I can't say I trust Hillary Clinton all that much but what the heck...I don't trust Obama at all. Not on one issue for one second. I'm thinking McCain would've been a terrible President and we probably would have been better off with Hillary Clinton.
I mean, how much worse could it be?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQadAAlK9c4
John McCain has been my Congressman and Senator since 1982 and I never have trusted him. He's always fallen into that awful category of "the lesser of two evils" which happens too often in politics; rather like Bush vs. Kerry. I have no idea what shape we would be in if McCain had won the 2008 Presidential election. It's a mind-numbing thought but not nearly as as anesthetizing as thinking about who we have now as President, a man clearly more interested in superficial image than deep thinking and in way over his head.
The absurdity of the White House insisting on "detaching the word Islam from any statement regarding terrorism," for the sake of college-style political correctness, causing military and intelligence personnel to carefully parse their words, is the latest oddity.
Reference: "Obama at odd with Patraeus doctrine on 'Islam'" 07-11-10 The Washington Times
Let's get real...the largest terrorist threat to the US is from the Islamic world. The inanity of "detaching any reference to Islam when referring to terrorists" is enough to cause even non-conspiracist me to wonder what Obama's allegiances truly are.
Hindsight is 20/20. I can't say I trust Hillary Clinton all that much but what the heck...I don't trust Obama at all. Not on one issue for one second. I'm thinking McCain would've been a terrible President and we probably would have been better off with Hillary Clinton.
I mean, how much worse could it be?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQadAAlK9c4
7/8/10
Don't Buy the Conventional Wisdom
Not everything is what it seems...
Pre-packaged agendas are for sissies, of both genders and all races. Buying into a Feminist, Gay, Liberal, Right Wing, Union, Religion, Tea Party, Political Party,Name-Your-Program, is a sign of not having an original thought. Few people fit neatly into boxes and categories.
In this video Willie Nelson (with an appearance by Burt Reynolds) gives stereotypes and as an aside, pre-packaged agendas, a run for the money. Regrettably a lot of people miss the point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u4CXlIYjyE
http://www.youtube.com/draxaxe
Pre-packaged agendas are for sissies, of both genders and all races. Buying into a Feminist, Gay, Liberal, Right Wing, Union, Religion, Tea Party, Political Party,Name-Your-Program, is a sign of not having an original thought. Few people fit neatly into boxes and categories.
In this video Willie Nelson (with an appearance by Burt Reynolds) gives stereotypes and as an aside, pre-packaged agendas, a run for the money. Regrettably a lot of people miss the point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u4CXlIYjyE
http://www.youtube.com/draxaxe
6/27/10
Brewer to Obama:
Warning signs are not enough...
Coming up as a laggard from the rear, Governor Jan Brewer has made the best of an opportunity after signing S1070 the Immigration Bill, using it to push her to the front of the pack in her bid to become the actual elected Governor of Arizona. With her political wits about her she's managed to make people forget, at least for now, that awful sales tax she managed to push the voters to pass.
She did get a meeting with Obama and it's understood she was very direct and clear and he didn't like it too much. Good. His response so far has been these warning signs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzDlN7VLmXQ&feature=player_embedded
The Governor has handled some criticism for her statement that most illegal immigrants smuggle drugs and are drug mules for Mexican organized crime. There actually is a lot of anecdotal evidence, although not necessarily by their choice, that most illegal immigrants crossing well known trails are hauling drugs as part of the price they pay to come here. The Mexican drug cartels demand it of them as well as payment.
The du jour counter charge regarding her statements is the usual "Racism." It's fair to say that the truth is the majority of illegal immigrants are caught up in the web of drug smuggling and all of the other types of crime that go with it. I'm sure many of them never intended nor do they want to live that way.
(Reference: Arizona Capitol Times "Brewer sticks by 'drug mule' remark)
Arizona has been assaulted for decades by the drug cartels, the equivalent of the Mafia in NY and NJ, the Mob in Vegas and the political machine of Chicago. Why should we have to put up with that anymore than those places do with their criminal gangsters?
The fight she is picking is looming much larger than immigration though. It really is about States' Rights and the power the States hold vs. the power the Federal government holds. It is one that needs to happen but on a number of fronts. The Federal Government has grown too powerful and this Congress and Administration have taken it to an extreme that is unconstitutional.
Here is the thing...
Immigration is an important issue to me but my main one has always been the economy. The entire nation, indeed the world, is in an economic contraction that very few people alive have seen and it's getting worse. Arizona, especially Phoenix, is one of the worst hit. The Valley of the Sun is a modern day ghost town...very little traffic in the streets and stores. The dramatic slowdown can't be attributed to winter visitors and illegal immigrants leaving. The real reasons are well known and they're economic.
The next big issue Arizona (and other states) are barreling head on into is insolvency and bankruptcy. The Federal Government can't (or shouldn't) help because the Federal debt level is too high and can't be justified by GDP. Yet, it appears that the Federal Government wants to do just exactly that and float more fiat money, thereby exerting even more control over the states.
Most Arizonans, of all stripes, have one thing in common, an intense dislike for the Federal Government due to the the federal role in creating the state and owning and mismanaging a vast portion of our land.
The trick will be...
Can Governor (by secession) Jan Brewer, as elected Governor, maintain the stamina she will need get the contentious state legislature and other elected major office holders to agree on anything? We are in the budget crisis we are in today, due to the childish bickering of petty partisan politicians in the state legislature, partly because as an unexpected governor she didn't grasp the reins quickly and firmly enough. Has she learned from the lesson?
Looking at how well she is doing in the polls right now and her opposition, as it stands, we probably will get to find out.
Coming up as a laggard from the rear, Governor Jan Brewer has made the best of an opportunity after signing S1070 the Immigration Bill, using it to push her to the front of the pack in her bid to become the actual elected Governor of Arizona. With her political wits about her she's managed to make people forget, at least for now, that awful sales tax she managed to push the voters to pass.
She did get a meeting with Obama and it's understood she was very direct and clear and he didn't like it too much. Good. His response so far has been these warning signs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzDlN7VLmXQ&feature=player_embedded
The Governor has handled some criticism for her statement that most illegal immigrants smuggle drugs and are drug mules for Mexican organized crime. There actually is a lot of anecdotal evidence, although not necessarily by their choice, that most illegal immigrants crossing well known trails are hauling drugs as part of the price they pay to come here. The Mexican drug cartels demand it of them as well as payment.
The du jour counter charge regarding her statements is the usual "Racism." It's fair to say that the truth is the majority of illegal immigrants are caught up in the web of drug smuggling and all of the other types of crime that go with it. I'm sure many of them never intended nor do they want to live that way.
(Reference: Arizona Capitol Times "Brewer sticks by 'drug mule' remark)
Arizona has been assaulted for decades by the drug cartels, the equivalent of the Mafia in NY and NJ, the Mob in Vegas and the political machine of Chicago. Why should we have to put up with that anymore than those places do with their criminal gangsters?
The fight she is picking is looming much larger than immigration though. It really is about States' Rights and the power the States hold vs. the power the Federal government holds. It is one that needs to happen but on a number of fronts. The Federal Government has grown too powerful and this Congress and Administration have taken it to an extreme that is unconstitutional.
Here is the thing...
Immigration is an important issue to me but my main one has always been the economy. The entire nation, indeed the world, is in an economic contraction that very few people alive have seen and it's getting worse. Arizona, especially Phoenix, is one of the worst hit. The Valley of the Sun is a modern day ghost town...very little traffic in the streets and stores. The dramatic slowdown can't be attributed to winter visitors and illegal immigrants leaving. The real reasons are well known and they're economic.
The next big issue Arizona (and other states) are barreling head on into is insolvency and bankruptcy. The Federal Government can't (or shouldn't) help because the Federal debt level is too high and can't be justified by GDP. Yet, it appears that the Federal Government wants to do just exactly that and float more fiat money, thereby exerting even more control over the states.
Most Arizonans, of all stripes, have one thing in common, an intense dislike for the Federal Government due to the the federal role in creating the state and owning and mismanaging a vast portion of our land.
The trick will be...
Can Governor (by secession) Jan Brewer, as elected Governor, maintain the stamina she will need get the contentious state legislature and other elected major office holders to agree on anything? We are in the budget crisis we are in today, due to the childish bickering of petty partisan politicians in the state legislature, partly because as an unexpected governor she didn't grasp the reins quickly and firmly enough. Has she learned from the lesson?
Looking at how well she is doing in the polls right now and her opposition, as it stands, we probably will get to find out.
6/19/10
Reason.tv
3 Reasons The FCC Shouldn't "Touch" The Internets...
The very last thing we need is an analog electromechanical bureaucracy, from the last century, thrusting itself unwanted on a new digital technology for this century.
1. Where's the fire?
2. The FCC F2%#ING SUCKS
3. MISSION CREEP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLyUeiR7djQ
Go to http://reason.tv for downloadable versions of all their videos
Written and Produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie
1. Where's the fire?
2. The FCC F2%#ING SUCKS
3. MISSION CREEP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLyUeiR7djQ
Go to http://reason.tv for downloadable versions of all their videos
Written and Produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie
6/17/10
Yuma Territorial State Prison
Country Club or Hell Hole?...
To say that Yuma is an arid climate would be an understatement, it is one of the hottest cities in the US. It does have redeeming features since, unlike Phoenix, it doesn't have the Urban Heat Island effect. Actually for most of the year, the weather in Yuma is about the same as Phoenix. Yuma has several advantages also, it's the confluence of the Colorado River and the Gila River with water still running in them, the deserts cool at night as well as it has has very mild, pleasant winters.
Detailed forecast: The Weather Channel - Weather Underground - AccuWeather
All of that was moot to the residents of Yuma between 1876 and 1909 when the Yuma Territorial Prison was in operation. Originally built when Arizona was still a territory and county jails were inadequate to keep prisoners, the prison was built mainly for that purpose. Construction was done by the prisoners.
In that era electricity, much less fans and blowers, were not available to the population of the town of Yuma. Not so on the hill where the prison was into a hard rock cliff. The prison had electricity and primitive blowers, a library and hospital and townspeople referred to it as "The Country Club." The prison in reality was an awful place but depending on how hot the day, how deep it was into summer, the view of it depended on which side of The Wall you were on. Inside, prisoners referred to it as The Hell Hole.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pS7BloOA1U
http://www.youtube.com/AZStateParks
To say that Yuma is an arid climate would be an understatement, it is one of the hottest cities in the US. It does have redeeming features since, unlike Phoenix, it doesn't have the Urban Heat Island effect. Actually for most of the year, the weather in Yuma is about the same as Phoenix. Yuma has several advantages also, it's the confluence of the Colorado River and the Gila River with water still running in them, the deserts cool at night as well as it has has very mild, pleasant winters.
86°F | °C
Current: Clear
Wind: SW at 9 mph
Humidity: 14%
Wind: SW at 9 mph
Humidity: 14%
Wed
103°F | 71°F
Thu
103°F | 72°F
Fri
104°F | 73°F
All of that was moot to the residents of Yuma between 1876 and 1909 when the Yuma Territorial Prison was in operation. Originally built when Arizona was still a territory and county jails were inadequate to keep prisoners, the prison was built mainly for that purpose. Construction was done by the prisoners.
In that era electricity, much less fans and blowers, were not available to the population of the town of Yuma. Not so on the hill where the prison was into a hard rock cliff. The prison had electricity and primitive blowers, a library and hospital and townspeople referred to it as "The Country Club." The prison in reality was an awful place but depending on how hot the day, how deep it was into summer, the view of it depended on which side of The Wall you were on. Inside, prisoners referred to it as The Hell Hole.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pS7BloOA1U
http://www.youtube.com/AZStateParks
Video produced by John Booth for AZStateParks.com
6/13/10
Urban Landscape Photography V
In the desert summer (not dead yet)...
Prickly Pear blooms in yard
Desert Coattails on bank of Grand Canal
Prickly Pear blooms in yard
Desert Coattails on bank of Grand Canal
6/8/10
For What It's Worth
Red State, Brown People, Blue State Ideas...
"There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear."
Arizona is on the leading edge of a national discussion on illegal immigration due to it's passage of legislation known as SB1070 or the Arizona Immigration Law. The original law was amended within a week after passage to specifically prohibit racial profiling and stipulate that the request to "show your papers" may only made in the course of enforcing any other law and not solely for the purpose of checking immigration status. This amendment is rarely cited when any mention of the law is made by the media or anyone speaking out against it.
The next step in the State of Arizona's process of attempting to stem the flow of illegal immigration through the porous border on the south, is to introduce into the legislature next year, proposals to deny birth certificates to children born in the state, of parents who are illegal immigrants. This idea is based on interpretation of the original US Constitution, various interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution and the intention of Congress, as well as court rulings. It remains to be seen how that will play out between now and the next Arizona Legislative Session.
Another piece of legislation afoot is to charge students of illegal immigrants tuition for attending public schools. Therein lies another legal conundrum due to the US Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe (457 U.S. 202, 1982) which ruled against a State of Texas statute withholding funds to school districts that allowed the children of illegal immigrants to attend their schools. Over the years this ruling has been cause for much debate regarding the overreaching of the Supreme Court in interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment.
Regardless of what view anyone holds on any of these issues and what opinion someone may have of the motivations of the legislator instrumental in spearheading these pieces of legislation or supporters of them, one thing remains plain, simple and clear. You don't need to go very far back in history to see it either.
All of this is leading up to a confrontation between the State of Arizona (and probably other states who are following suit) and the Federal Government. The last confrontation of significance between states over States Rights and the Federal Government was over school desegregation by primarily Southern States and occurred over decades from the 1940s to the 1970s.
There are other factors involved this time around. We are likely beginning to fully enter an economic depression of a magnitude not seen since the 1930s. Additionally, after thirty years of Affirmative Action there is a resentment, rightly or wrongly, that is seething under the surface. In unfortunate concert we have the first black President of the United States, who seems to operate on the level of a Middle Manager at an ineffective Non-governmental organization (NGO), with his priorities out of order. We also have a Political Class in legislatures and executive branches and Bureaucratic Civil Servants, on all levels of government, who clearly are so entrenched they do not see the people they were originally intended to serve. And then there's that Oil Spill...
The General Population is not happy generally. Make of that what you will. Let me be clear, I am only stating what I observe after careful watching, doing my best to keep an open mind and giving every opportunity to all sides to prove me wrong.
I can only see one result from everything that is building to a crescendo:
Civil Unrest
This video was taken on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend at Alto Arizona, an anti-SB1070 protest. The following day a pro-SB1070 rally was held. I view both events as the last opportunity I will spend time on for several reasons. Mainly I'm not sure what good comes from my attending any of them and I have a sneaking suspicion that any subsequent demonstrations will rival the civil disturbances and riots of the 1960s and 1970s and I experienced some of those.
This video is my own personal social commentary of what I saw at one event.
http://www.vimeo.com/12522769
Red State, Brown People, Blue State Ideas... from JR Snyder Jr on Vimeo.
"There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear."
Arizona is on the leading edge of a national discussion on illegal immigration due to it's passage of legislation known as SB1070 or the Arizona Immigration Law. The original law was amended within a week after passage to specifically prohibit racial profiling and stipulate that the request to "show your papers" may only made in the course of enforcing any other law and not solely for the purpose of checking immigration status. This amendment is rarely cited when any mention of the law is made by the media or anyone speaking out against it.
The next step in the State of Arizona's process of attempting to stem the flow of illegal immigration through the porous border on the south, is to introduce into the legislature next year, proposals to deny birth certificates to children born in the state, of parents who are illegal immigrants. This idea is based on interpretation of the original US Constitution, various interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution and the intention of Congress, as well as court rulings. It remains to be seen how that will play out between now and the next Arizona Legislative Session.
Regardless of what view anyone holds on any of these issues and what opinion someone may have of the motivations of the legislator instrumental in spearheading these pieces of legislation or supporters of them, one thing remains plain, simple and clear. You don't need to go very far back in history to see it either.
All of this is leading up to a confrontation between the State of Arizona (and probably other states who are following suit) and the Federal Government. The last confrontation of significance between states over States Rights and the Federal Government was over school desegregation by primarily Southern States and occurred over decades from the 1940s to the 1970s.There are other factors involved this time around. We are likely beginning to fully enter an economic depression of a magnitude not seen since the 1930s. Additionally, after thirty years of Affirmative Action there is a resentment, rightly or wrongly, that is seething under the surface. In unfortunate concert we have the first black President of the United States, who seems to operate on the level of a Middle Manager at an ineffective Non-governmental organization (NGO), with his priorities out of order. We also have a Political Class in legislatures and executive branches and Bureaucratic Civil Servants, on all levels of government, who clearly are so entrenched they do not see the people they were originally intended to serve. And then there's that Oil Spill...
The General Population is not happy generally. Make of that what you will. Let me be clear, I am only stating what I observe after careful watching, doing my best to keep an open mind and giving every opportunity to all sides to prove me wrong.
I can only see one result from everything that is building to a crescendo:
Civil Unrest
This video is my own personal social commentary of what I saw at one event.
http://www.vimeo.com/12522769
Red State, Brown People, Blue State Ideas... from JR Snyder Jr on Vimeo.
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