Arizona Progress ACTION

Rick Santorum Can Eliminate Mitt Romney In Arizona...Just Use A Gun

Arizona Progress — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:53:03 +0000

By Nasty Jack - Nasty Jack's Progressive Critical Commentary

It’s all but guaranteed. Mitt Romney supports the 2nd Amendment but his more moderate politics may lead some to believe it is also where he stands on gun rights. Even if not true, his conservatism is not quite fanatical enough for Arizona Republicans, some of which think a middle-of-the-roader is a bleeding liberal. Rick Santorum, on the other hand, goes all the way with his views, so far to the right that he almost circles the political globe back to the left.

All the polls report that Santorum and Romney are close in the latter’s home state of Michigan leading into Wednesday’s debate in Arizona, and the Christian Science Monitor reports that a new CNN/Time poll announces that Santorum may now be closing the gap in Arizona. Romney does still have a lead prior to Wednesday.

But all Ricky boy has to do to get the majority’s attention in Arizona is to swagger into the debate wearing a Glock 19 at his side, an AK-47 over his shoulder. I can see it now. With a tumultuous applause including standing ovation, Santorum tells his loving audience, I feel your pain and one of my first acts as President will be to pass a law that will make it legal to shoot illegal immigrants as they cross the border. Forget the fence; just work on improving your aim.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Targeted By Arizona Recall Leader Randy Parraz In Ad

Arizona Progress — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:36:23 +0000

By Andrea Stone - Huffingnton Post

The Arizona community organizer who led a successful recall campaign against the architect of the state's controversial immigration law SB 1070 unveiled a new ad Wednesday aimed at ousting another divisive figure, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Randy Parraz -- president of Citizens for a Better Arizona, a rising figure in progressive circles and an occasional HuffPost blogger -- visited The Huffington Post newsroom in D.C. Wednesday, the day of the Republican presidential debate in Arizona. Arizona will hold its primary Feb. 28.

Parraz, who ran for Senate in 2010, talked about his new campaign against Arpaio, whose alleged abuse of undocumented immigrants has earned him a rebuke from the U.S. Justice Department and charges that he has mishandled more than 400 sex-crime cases in his county.

More Arizona Kids Growing Up In Poor Neighborhoods

Arizona Progress — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:23:30 +0000

By Doug Ramsey, Public News Service - AZ

A new KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot from the Annie E. Casey Foundation released today shows the number of children living in high-poverty communities has increased by 25 percent over the last decade. Arizona is ranked fifth-highest for kids living in areas of concentrated poverty.

Laura Speer, associate director of policy reform for the Casey Foundation, says the report also shows that even if a family is not officially "in poverty," according to federal standards, it still harms children when a lot of other people in the neighborhood are under that line.

"Living in an area of concentrated poverty limits the opportunities families have available to get a better job to make sure the health and the welfare of their children is taken care of."

Speer notes that about 75 percent of children living in an area of concentrated poverty have at least one parent working. An area is considered high-poverty if 30 percent or more of its residents are below the poverty line.

Joshua Oehler, a research associate with Children's Action Alliance, says the limited job opportunities found in high-poverty areas also limit the quality of available health care for families.

NAACP Opposes Mass Incarceration, Private Prisons

Arizona Progress — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:26:40 +0000

By Dianne Post

For years Arizona has relied on mass incarceration as its primary criminal justice response. That reliance is ineffective, inefficient, inhumane and discriminatory. The NAACP opposes the continuance of mass incarceration and the building of prisons, especially private, for-profit prisons, as the lynchpin of Arizona’s criminal justice policy.

The State has spent millions and wants to spend millions more for prisons. In 2009 the legislature passed a law to build 5,000 more private, for-profit prison beds that would cost taxpayers $640 million by 2017 though the inmate population and crime is decreasing. The Department of Corrections (DOC) budget is $1 billion or 11% of the state’s total budget. While other states are bringing their budgets down in this time of austerity, Arizona’s keeps going up.

The increasing criminalization of our society by these policies means that one in one hundred persons is arrested; more teens are tried as adults, we incarcerate at a higher rate and more people than any country including China and Russia, and the majority of those inmates are Black and Brown. The highest imprisonment rate is Black males. Counting men over 18, for white’s the rate is one in 106 is arrested, for Hispanic one in 36, for Blacks one in 15, for Blacks ages 20-34, it is one in nine.

The discrimination crosses gender lines as well. For white women, the rate is one in 355, for Hispanic one in 297, and for Blacks it is one in 100. The states with the most prison inmates, the highest rate of and the highest growth of private for-profit prisons is in the South and Arizona.

8 Rules No One Told Sheriff Paul Babeu

Arizona Progress — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:23:55 +0000

By Laurence Watts - Huffington Post

You've heard the one about the closeted "tough-on-immigration" sheriff who was running for Congress and got outed by his Mexican ex-lover, right? If not, you should really get to grips with the story of Paul Babeu. A good place to start is the New Times exclusive that broke the story, alongside a picture of his Adam4Adam profile.

For the benefit of Paul and any other closeted, Republican law-enforcement officers out there contemplating a Congressional run, I would like to share with you eight rules he would do well to heed.

Rule 1: The Truth Will Get Out

Like, OMG, Paul! Everyone lies about their age on online dating sites, but if you're going to be a "public figure," you'll need to learn to lie consistently. Having an Adam4Adam account that says you're 37 and a Wikipedia entry that reveals you're actually 43 is a no-no. I know what you're thinking: the hot, young Mexicans you want to f*ck won't hit you up if they see you're on the wrong side of 40, but you're wrong! Some of them dig the wrinklies! Just be sure you don't cross them, though; young gays can get nasty if you burn them.

Rule 2: Tats Are Facts

Oh, Paul! I can see your dilemma. You've got a hot little body, and you know you'll get 10 times as many people viewing your profile if you include a shirtless pic. But you wouldn't want anyone to be able to identify you from your profile, would you? So what do you do? Well, you take a photo of your torso that doesn't show your face. Genius! Well, almost. See, I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, Paul -- they might have mentioned something about it at the Arizona Law Enforcement Academy where you graduated in the top of your class -- but tattoos are a key means of identification these days, and you have them on both your arms. Sadly, they're visible in the photo you took. The good news is they're nice. The bad news is you're screwed.