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Texas Schools See Big Money In Electronic Tracking Of Students

Eric Lach — Wed, 30 May 2012 03:12:32 PDT

Following the lead of two other school districts in the state, San Antonio, Texas' Northside Independent School District is planning a pilot program that tracks students using transmitters inside identification cards. Why? For the money, apparently.

Next year, ID cards outfitted with Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID) technology will be given to students at John Jay High School, Anson Jones Middle School, and all special education students who use district buses -- totaling around 6,290 students, according to The San Antonio Express-News. If the pilot program is successful, the district wants to use the ID cards at all of its 111 schools, with a student population of almost 100,000. The Express-News reports that the district plans to spend $525,065 implementing the pilot program and $136,005 per year to run it. District officials say the the ID cards represent a big potential revenue stream.

State funding for school districts in Texas is tied to attendance numbers, Northside Independent School District Deputy Superintendent Brian Woods told TPM in an interview Tuesday. The ID cards would help keep more accurate figures, and "reconcile" cases when a student is reported absent but is actually present somewhere else on school grounds, like the nurse's office.

"Any increase in weighted average daily attendance comes commensurate with state funding," Woods said.

According to Woods, even a small bump in attendance numbers would mean a lot more money for the district. If the program is implemented system-wide, he said, an increase of .5 percent in attendance levels, along with Medicaid reimbursements for special needs students who ride district buses, it would net the district $2 million to $2.5 million more each year in funding.

Woods said he understood questions about privacy and security that the program has prompted, but he argued that the school already holds, and protects, sensitive information about its students, like Social Security numbers and grades.

"The data itself is maintained on a server that we own," he said. "The system itself is password accessed."

Woods thinks privacy concerns will fade. He emphasized that the ID Cards will only be able to track students on school grounds and, in the case of specials needs students, on district buses. As a result, Woods said the program would have only limited potential use for disciplinary purposes.

"The technology itself is not new, and there is another school district that has used it with a lot of success," Woods said. "But I think as people take the time to understand what we're trying to accomplish, that the comfort level will go up."

The district has contracted San Antonio-based Wade Garcia & Associates to provide the technology. The company "specializes in solutions for identifying, monitoring, tracking and locating any object positioned anywhere - indoors or outside."

RFID in schools isn't new to Texas. The Spring and Santa Fe school districts have been using the technology since 2010.

Northside Independent School District's school board unanimously approved the pilot program last week.

Image from Shutterstock

Are Voters Just Rooting for Clothes?

Dave Berri — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:28:36 PDT

Matthew Yglesias recently noted that the very rich are unhappy with President Obama because he would like to increase the taxes on the very rich. Although this might be true, the number of people unhappy with Obama exceeds the number of people who comprise the very rich. So why are many of the non-rich unhappy with Obama? And why are so many other people quite happy with our current president?

Perhaps the answer is similar to a story frequently told about sports fans.

Back in the early 1990s, a friend of mine declared his hatred of Charles Barkley. At the time, Sir Charles was an All-Star for the Philadelphia 76ers. Sometime after this declaration, though, Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns. As a fan of the Suns, my friend changed his tune. With Sir Charles in Phoenix, my friend was now a fan of Barkley.

More recently, LeBron James was an extremely popular athlete in Cleveland. But when he changed his uniform to something from Miami, his popularity in Ohio plummeted.

These stories are not uncommon among sports fans. In fact, Jerry Seinfeld once observed that fans who behave like this are essentially “rooting for clothes.”

Although many fans – and I am one of these – are essentially “rooting for clothes,” the emotions sports generate are quite real. When one of my teams wins, I am quite happy (at least for awhile). And when my teams lose, I am unhappy (for more than just “awhile”). Sports may just be entertainment, but the power to alter our perspective on life – if only for a short time — is quite amazing.

Such power reminds me of how people react to politics.

A few days ago Brendan Nyhan – a professor of political science at Dartmouth — was interviewed on NPR’s Morning Edition (discussing a paper Brendan wrote with Jason Reifler). This interview noted the following:

When pollsters ask Republicans and Democrats whether the president can do anything about high gas prices, the answers reflect the usual partisan divisions in the country. About two-thirds of Republicans say the president can do something about high gas prices, and about two-thirds of Democrats say he can’t.

But six years ago, with a Republican president in the White House, the numbers were reversed: Three-fourths of Democrats said President Bush could do something about high gas prices, while the majority of Republicans said gas prices were clearly outside the president’s control.

The flipped perceptions on gas prices isn’t an aberration, said Dartmouth College political scientist Brendan Nyhan. On a range of issues, partisans seem partial to their political loyalties over the facts. When those loyalties demand changing their views of the facts, he said, partisans seem willing to throw even consistency overboard.

The NPR story doesn’t provide “a range of issues”. But it isn’t hard to come up with such a list. For example, consider these two issues:

The national debt seems to always trouble the party that isn’t in the White House. When Bush was President (pick your Bush), Democrats were very troubled by the rising national debt. Republicans, though, were relatively quiet. Now that Obama is President, Republicans are extremely worried about the national debt. However, Democrats don’t seem as alarmed.
What about health care? Mitt Romney implemented a plan from the Heritage Foundation while governor of Massachusetts. Barack Obama backed a very similar plan. Somehow, though, many Republicans are very troubled by Obama’s health care plan (even Mitt Romney!). But many of these same Republicans (even Mitt Romney!) were not troubled by Romney’s health care plan.

One might think that in sports fans are rooting for players. But in reality, many fans are just rooting for clothes. Likewise, we might think that voters are interested in issues. But the above examples suggest that many voters are just rooting for parties. The actual issues each party says they care about don’t seem to be very important. What is important is that the party the voter follows actually wins the elections.

And when this doesn’t happen, as it did for Republicans in 2008, voters become very angry. A Gallup poll seems to capture this point.

Voters have been asked over time: “Do you think the federal government poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens, or not?”

Over time, 46 percent of people generally say they believe the federal government poses such a threat. But who voted yes –as the following graph indicates – changed quite dramatically over time.

As Jeffrey Jones noted:

The results suggest that Americans’ perceptions of the government as a threat may be less dependent on broader, philosophical views of government power, and instead have more to do with who is wielding that power. Throughout the Bush administration, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to perceive the government as a threat. Now that a Democratic president is in office, the reverse is true.

One should note that while Democrats and Republicans changed their answer depending on whether their team was “winning”, independents (like me) didn’t change their view very much.

All of this suggests two research questions (and these questions may have already been addressed by someone – in fact, some related research is referred to in a recent New Yorker article by Ezra Klein).

First, it appears that issues may not matter as much as pundits think. So at least (and I am not sure how this can be done) I think we need to see how much voters are rooting for issues and how much voters are rooting for parties. If the latter effect dominates, maybe we need to have sportscasters discuss our elections (and maybe many voters would be happier waving pennants instead of protest signs).

In addition, it would also be interesting to see if sports and politics are treated the same by the human brain. Are these different activities mentally? My sense is that sports and politics really are the same. And again, that suggests the pundits often focus on the wrong issues in discussing why people are angry or happy about election results. Pundits often seem to think it is the actual issues that are driving people’s reactions. But in the end, it might be that the parties – or, following the sports analogy, “the clothes” — that drive people’s reactions.

Let me close with one more observation. If people are just rooting for parties, then efforts to “reach across the aisle” may be quite difficult. Again, think about sports. When LeBron left Cleveland, fans of the Cavaliers suddenly hated LeBron. He was still the same player, but his clothes had changed. The same story seems true in politics.

Regardless of the policies he pursues, many Republicans are not going to be happy with Obama because he plays for “team Democrat.” And the same may be true if Mitt Romney becomes President in November. As long as he persists in playing for “team Republican,” Democrats will not be happy with Romney.

If this is true, then “reaching across the aisle” may be pointless. Fans of the opposite party are not against the President because he doesn’t agree with them on the issue. They are against the President because he plays for the “wrong” team. And unless he is willing to change teams (i.e. change clothes), he can try to “reach across the aisle” all day and he will never make the other team’s fans happy.

VIDEO: Paul Cunningham, Democratic Tucson councilmember, faces sexual harassment allegation

Three Sonorans — Tue, 29 May 2012 23:47:13 PDT

This story was first reported on the Three Sonorans Sunday night. It’s all baloney according to Cunningham… so what did Paul apologize for, and was he so drunk that he really “couldn’t remember” what happened? Oh yeah, and there’s that … Continue reading →

Franks is called a 'bully' for bill on DC abortions

(author unknown) — Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

WASHINGTON - Washington's delegate to Congress called Rep. Trent Franks, R-Glendale, "a big bully" Tuesday for his proposal to restrict abortions in the District of Columbia.

Brewer: Arizona possibly done cutting taxes for now

(author unknown) — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:47:59 PDT

Arizona may have decided to back away from any more business tax cuts for the time being, at least according to Gov. Jan Brewer. The governor is in Germany as part of a state trade mission to Europe, and the East Valley Tribune reported she has said that after a spate of tax cut measures aimed at bolstering business that it might be time to take a rest. Brewer stopped short of saying there would be no more tax cuts, but said it would take a stronger economic turnaround than the state has seen.

Does Trent Franks Need to Stop Worrying About Regulating Abortions in Washington D.C.?

Matthew Hendley — Tue, 29 May 2012 07:59:21 PDT

Congressman Trent Franks -- the "self-appointed Mayor" of Washington D.C., as an area advocacy group calls him -- had his office protested last week, as his new-found "constituents" aren't quite ...

Continue reading "Does Trent Franks Need to Stop Worrying About Regulating Abortions in Washington D.C.?" >

A Good Brewer Veto

Mike McClellan — Tue, 29 May 2012 08:46:10 PDT

Some in the Republic have taken the Guv to task for her veto of the Student Service Learning bill. This was the bill — proposed by a Tempe student — that would provide a governor’s commendation for any student graduating high school who had accrued 200 or more hours of volunteer work (you can read about it here).

In her veto letter, the Guv gave this guff: ”"In this bill, one branch of government is obligating another branch of government to do something it already can do.”

The bill’s sponsor, State Senator David Schapira, smelled politics, believing the Guv nixed the bill because he and the student who suggested it are Democrats.

Whatever.

But the bill should’ve been vetoed. Here’s why:

Too often, too many kids chase those volunteer hours for one reason — to build a resume. In other words, too many of these students have the “What’s in it for me?” attitude.

And giving them a commendation only reinforces that.

Look, it’s great to encourage kids to give back to their communities in some way. But do we have to always attach a reward for something that should be reward enough?

The Governor’s Commendation would only say to the kids, “Do something nice, something helpful, and of course we’ll recognize that effort.”

McSally faces long odds in CD2 run

ADI News Services — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:02:40 PDT

Many mysteries surround Martha McSally, but there is no mystery about her plans for congress. McSally is running hard for the CD2 race, disappointing some of her former supporters and fellow Republicans in the process. While CD8 Special Election primary challengers, Dave Sitton and Frank Antenori , stood down in support of Kelly, McSally and crew are carrying out a full out campaign for the General Election in CD2. McSally’s aggressive run is reducing her already low odds by alienating her fellow Republicans and some former supporters. Those former McSally supporters are now pushing Senator Antenori to stay in the race for CD2. Antenori and Sitton offered their full support for Kelly, the Republican’s nominee, and called for party unity. When asked for a statement in support of Kelly, McSally’s Director of Communications Sam Stone, initially responded that he would get one, and then ignored subsequent requests. However, he did take an opportunity to say that Kelly was down in the polls in an apparent attempt repress Republican votes and push McSally’s claim that she is the only one who can beat Barber. Kelly is currently ahead in recent polling, with a 5 percent advantage over Democrat Ron Barber. The [...]

Jesse Kelly's Stimulus Jackpot Revisited

Jim Nintzel — Tue, 29 May 2012 09:00:05 PDT

The Arizona Republic follows up on a story first broken by Tucson Weekly in 2010: How Don Kelly Construction, the family-owned pipeline company where Tea Party congressional candidate Jesse Kelly works, has received tens of millions of dollars in stimulus funds:

Jesse Kelly, the Republican candidate running to replace Gabrielle Giffords in Congress, argues that President Barack Obama's economic-stimulus program failed to boost the economy through infrastructure projects and that government spending is driving the country to bankruptcy.

But the family construction company where Kelly has worked for about eight years, Don Kelly Construction Inc., has benefited from at least three contracts financed by millions in stimulus dollars and has relied almost exclusively on government-funded pipeline projects for its business.

The Arizona Republic has found that since 2010, additional stimulus and government-funded projects, totaling at least $60.8 million, have gone to the company.…
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Demonizing Mexican-American studies is unjust

Alto Arizona Administrator — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:49:24 PDT

by Roberto Rodriguez - May. 27, 2012 | Source: AZCentral.com

I pick up the phone at my office at the University of Arizona and learn that I have three recorded messages waiting for me. The first one begins with the caller claiming to be half White and half Native American, addressing me as an "(expletive) Mexican" and a "Raza (expletive)." This while injecting a .357 Magnum into his rant.

The second and third calls are similar. The vitriol is inexplicable and virtually incomprehensible, except for the threats of extreme violence.

As a lifelong writer, receiving vicious hate mail is not new to me, including receiving a registered letter to my house from the Ku Klux Klan. But receiving death threats as a professor -- this is new.

Just the week before those calls, a video was placed on YouTube by right-wing elements, accusing me of being the ringleader of the movement to defend Mexican-American Studies (MAS) from being eliminated by the state, via House Bill 2281. In reality, that six-year effort has primarily been a student-led movement.

The funny thing is they invented the things that I supposedly did: standing on top of a table while directing the students to chain themselves to the school boardroom chairs and screaming at my students if they didn't read precisely what I wrote for them to read at the board meetings.

Complete fabrications are indeed funny to me, but I can't say the same thing about death threats.

In April 2011, when high-school students took over the Tucson Unified School District boardroom, within a few days, a YouTube video was posted of the students chaining themselves, with music in the background, referring to them as zombies and imploring viewers to "shoot them in the head."

Just a few months before the threats, 19 people were shot in Tucson by a mentally deranged loner, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Six died. Just recently, a renowned anti-immigrant neo-Nazi, J.T. Ready, killed four people, plus himself, in Gilbert.

This is the poisoned environment we were/are living in. In Arizona, the land of political extremism, racial profiling and political vigilantism, death threats and political violence are no laughing matter, but when the Tucson Police Department investigated the "shoot them in the head" video, the lead investigator concluded that the incitement to violence against the students was but a "joke."

When I received the death threats in May 2011, I decided that I would press charges against the perpetrator, to send the message that death threats have no place in civil discourse.

In early June, the person who issued the threats against me will be standing trial, facing misdemeanors. I would like to believe that my life is worth at least a felony.

The threats, innuendo and slander against MAS educators, students and me are ugly, but that's actually the smaller story here.

What precipitated the six-year battle is the state's insistence that the MAS curriculum is outside of Western civilization, and that the teaching of the maize or indigenous-based curriculum, with an emphasis on social justice, had to be shut down.

The attempt to demonize a discipline, claiming it promotes hate and the overthrow of the U.S. government, and the subsequent dismantling of MAS-TUSD this January, is a threat not to individuals, but a metaphorical attempted assassination against an entire culture, a culture that has been here for many thousands of years. That said, anyone issuing death threats should always be held accountable.

Roberto Rodriguez is an assistant professor in Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona. He can be reached at XColumn@gmail.com.

Romney sticks with Donald the birther

(author unknown) — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:10:32 PDT

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign has been using as a fundraising promotion an opportunity for donors to “dine with Mitt and Donald,” as in Donald Trump, the highest profile ‘birther’ in the land.
Critics have been wondering why Romney so far has refused to criticize Trump for harping on his belief that President Obama was not born in the United States.
In an article in Politico (see it here) Romney says, “You know, I don’t agree with all the people who support me, and my guess is they don’t all agree with everything I believe in. But I need to get to 50.1 ...

read the rest of this post

John McCain set to launch institute at ASU by Dan Nowicki

noreply@blogger.com (Tony GOPrano) — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:00:00 PDT

ASU will be partner in international think tank

by Dan Nowicki - May. 23, 2012 11:17 PM

The Republic
azcentral.com

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain's political legacy is set to be preserved with a high-profile new institute established at Arizona State University.

The McCain Institute for International Leadership will be based in Washington, D.C., but also will have a physical presence on ASU's Tempe campus.

The McCain Institute is expected to formally launch in December, initially funded with the senator's surplus presidential campaign cash, and should be fully up and running by early next year. It's unusual, but not unprecedented, for a sitting senator who hasn't announced retirement plans to get his own institute. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has had a center at the University of Louisville since 1991.

"ASU is the prime mover in setting up the institute to focus on foreign-affairs issues that are important to Arizona," said McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee and the ranking GOP member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. "A big part of it is a (fellows) program for not only Americans but also for foreign students to come and study. I think it's something that really could be important in a very rapidly changing world."

The McCain Institute will stress "character-driven leadership" and provide a forum to vigorously debate the sort of national-security and foreign-policy issues that have shaped McCain's five terms in the Senate. The institute's fellows program will groom budding international leaders from the military, the media, politics and other walks of life. Institute leaders hope to set up an annual Arizona event called the Sedona Forum that would attract foreign leaders and American policymakers to the state.

"The charge of the McCain Institute for International Leadership fits in perfectly with Arizona State University's core mission of having a significant positive impact on the larger community, and we are grateful to Senator McCain for his support of this important university endeavor," ASU President Michael Crow said in a written statement. "It will be guided by the values that have animated the career of Senator McCain -- a commitment to sustaining America's global leadership role, promoting freedom, democracy and human rights, as well as maintaining a strong, smart national defense."

Several elements of the institute remain in the planning stages, such as exactly what form it will take in Tempe, although officials intend to take advantage of the innovative ASU Decision Theater, a high-tech computer center that allows users to visualize solutions to problems. The institute also will have an independent board of trustees that will have no governing authority but will provide guidance and advice.

"For McCain, he thought it was very important to have something that becomes institutional, that will focus on issues and things that he's cared about in his career that goes well beyond his own contribution," said Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO who is the McCain Institute's Washington-based executive director. "He also wants to create a venue where people can gather together at a very senior level to talk about the world we're living in, what we're doing about it and 'Are we building good leadership to deal with it?' ... It's important both to McCain and to ASU that there be a footprint in Arizona itself as well."

McCain is using $9 million of leftover cash from his 2008 presidential campaign to get the institute started. He began transferring the money to ASU through a recently created charitable trust called the McCain Institute Foundation. Charitable contributions are an allowable use of surplus campaign money under federal election law. The $9 million donation is expected to initially generate about $500,000 in interest a year, an amount that ASU will match. The institute also is planning significant additional fundraising efforts.

McCain, 75, said his decision to donate the unused campaign money to his namesake institute should not be construed as an indication that he won't seek a sixth Senate term when he comes up for re-election in 2016. But he made clear the frustration he feels these days as a member of the minority party in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

"We can always raise money," McCain told The Arizona Republic when asked about his future political intentions. "I thought I'd wait a couple of years before we have to address that issue. I'm surrounded by such incompetency that it's very dispiriting sometimes."

The groundwork for the new McCain institute has been laid over the past several months.

In late April, McCain and some of his longtime allies gathered at the Enchantment Resort in Sedona for a "cornerstone meeting" intended to bring the vision for the institute into clearer focus. Besides McCain and Volker, attendees included CIA Director David Petraeus; Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; and Hollywood actor Ben Affleck, who is active in humanitarian efforts in Africa.

Volker is confident the institute will be able to attract a high level of star power and intellectual firepower as it tackles hot-button issues such as human trafficking, the U.S./Mexico border and postwar Afghanistan. He predicted the institute will have a global reach.

"I don't think very many people have the same kind of access around the world that McCain has," Volker said. "When you mention his name, you do get top-tier people wanting to be associated and be helpful."

Volker also vowed that the McCain Institute won't turn out to be just another Washington think tank offering "rubber chicken" banquets. He said an emphasis will be put on following proposals to implementation.

"What a lot of think tanks do is write papers, hold conferences, put out their ideas and that's it," Volker said. "If you have serious, implementable ideas, take another year or year-and-a-half and work on the implementation with the people who have the power to do it."

McCain Institute

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., met with several allies April27-29 to April 29CQ at the Enchantment Resort in Sedona to discuss Arizona State University's new McCain Institute for International Leadership.

On hand at the "cornerstone meeting": were:

CIA Director David Petraeus.

Actor Ben Affleck.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

Former U.S. ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker, now the McCain Institute's executive director.

ASU President Michael Crow.

WES HARRIS TEA PARTY TERRORIST BASHES TEACHERS!

noreply@blogger.com (Tony GOPrano) — Tue, 29 May 2012 12:00:00 PDT

In the nearly 6 years we have run this blog, we receive more e-mails than any other topic on someone we have never done an article on......until now!

WES HARRIS Tea Party 'Leader' from Moon Valley, sends multiple e-mails each day on various topics to hundreds of Arizona Republicans. One he sent last week really hit home:

Affects of Teacher's Unions in Arizona...test scores and political contributions

Date: 5/24/2012 12:51:50 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time
----- Original Message -----

From: WES HARRIS

To: WES HARRIS

Cc: Heather Carter ; Kate McGee ; james.bearup@hotmail.com

Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 12:04 PM

Subject: Affects of Teacher's Unions in Arizona...test scores and political contributions

Hello,

I thought you all would like to know just how effective the various Teacher's Unions have been in Arizona. For openers they have been a total failure in advancing our children's test scores. On the other hand, they have been very effective defending inept teachers and spending their member's dues on political contributions...the vast majority of which goes to Democrats. I would venture to say that that which goes to 'Republicans' are only those disguised as such but are bought and paid for by said Teacher's Unions. Think about who in our State Legislature qualifies for this distinction. Two names come to mind right off the top of my head...Heather Carter and Kate McGee. Where is the money coming from to pay for all of those "Heather Carter" signs that seem to be everywhere? We have to ferret out the others and replace them with legislators that are truly interested in our children's education and a free and open employment of good solid teachers who are not under the thumb of these so called "Unions". These unions are nothing more than money drops for the Democrats.

Let me suggest that you consider electing James Bearup to replace Heather Carter in the State Legislature. He is a family man, a recently returned combat veteran of the Afghan war, a staunch Christian and a dedicated fiscal and social conservative. Go to http://www.jamesberup.org/ for more information. He needs your help, money and talent.
Wes

PS: These two woman blocked an anti U.N. Agenda 21 bill # SB 1507 authored by Sen. Judy Burges under the guise that it was "too broad". Heather offered an amendment that would almost completely gut this bill. Our Federal Forest roads are now being closed or are closed to you...the public and tax payer...by virtue of Agenda 21 (the Sierra Club dictates, etc.). Do you want people in our State legislature that are interested in their own personal agenda and the sacrifice of the common good and our National Security and Sovereignty. I think not!

http://teachersunionexposed.com/state.cfm?state=AZ

Wesley W. Harris
wwharris@msn.com
http://www.originalnorthphoenixteaparty.ning.com/;

Go to http://www.wethepeopleaz.com/; and sign up to be informed.
visit our blog: http://www.harristimes2011.blogspot.com/
Really Mr. Harris? My wife was a highly respected Elementary School Teacher for over 35 years in the WESD #6 School District! She is currently the State of AZ Vice-President for AASRA, the Retired Teacher Group with over 1,000 statewide members. Not going to let you get away with this one Wes!

Speaking of Wes Harris, did you know that he was a Convicted Felon? Bet you didn't?

Wes Harris has a long record of being a troublemaker. He is giving the "Tea Party" and the "Republican Party" battered and bruised brand. He is constantly harassing elected officials plus he is negative on all issues that benefit Phoenix citizens. Berates and castigates Teachers, Police and Firefighters.

http://yarchive.net/gun/politics/mcmillan_family.html

http://www.harrisbarrelworks.com/contact.html

http://yarchive.net/gun/politics/mcmillan_family.html

Criminal Record

http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Criminal/012000/m0094527.pdf

http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Criminal/102001/m0443738.pdf

http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Criminal/032000/m0121947.pdf

Here's the criminal court case #

CR1996-004360

http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CriminalCourtCases/caseInfo.asp

CONVICTION FOR AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

CLICK ABOVE TO SEE LARGER

plus another case in civil court:

http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Civil/092009/m3907039.pdf

Supports the JOHN BIRCH Society

Now in defense of Mr. Harris, he has gotten his voting rights restored, but surprisingly he did NOT Vote in the 2010 Republican Primary! His Gun rights have yet to be restored!

Here is what one long standing Republican State Committeeman had to say about Harris:

"The entire community is "fed-up" with Mr. Harris's, invective remarks targeted at "Elected Officials & Candidates" who do not espouse his views. He enjoys "bullying and threatening " attics. He sends out10-15 daily emails, twitters and Facebook messages condemning Elected Republican Officials and will run a slate of against them should they dare disagree with him! He markets himself as a Registered Republican and Precinct Committeeman, but operates under the North Phoenix Tea Party which he organized and wears "many hats" So what is he? A RINO?

His membership is limited to extreme right wing radicals and fanatical John Birch Society members, all claiming support to the libertarian think tank ,Goldwater Institute, which is "Anti Union", "Anti-everything" including America's Public School System and would prefer a "Charter School System", that requires NO Teacher Certification and is funded by Your tax dollars!

He is if anything, considered a menace, "a knat", even a weasel by many in city hall and the legislature.

He and his group are part of the problem, not the solution.

To attack one of the most admiral and noble professions as "Teachers" if you will, is just a disgrace.

Our public education does need some "fixing" but, the blame should never be placed on the very foundation....our teachers. That's like saying the Nurses are to blame for all the faults with our healthcare delivery system.

He is an individual not capable of sitting down with a reasonable group of people and having an intellectually stimulating conversation, developing a productive plan that will move our city and state forward, instead of backward.

He feels he has all the answers and knows more than the highly qualified, dedicated leadership in city hall, who are responsible for maintaining the quality of life and services provided to our citizens. It does not get any better when our city has a triple A Bond rating, a balanced budget and keeps winning national awards!

Mr. Harris claims to be a Re-born Christian and loves the new saying. "We are all Catholic"...well, he is NOT a Catholic!

Catholics learn from an early age, we are the "gatekeepers" of the elderly, the poor and our children....we are taught to go into our communities and get involved by getting elected to improve the quality of life, aid and comfort the homeless and make a difference..these are called acts of kindness and charity. Charity begins at home, and we would rather see our tax dollar help people and improve our community ,than recklessly give it away as worthless foreign aid to dictators who spend it on themselves!

The evangelical movement is fine and in it's place but, when was the last time you stepped in to one of their many hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, or homeless shelters! Our Catholic History reminds us daily ,of all the Saints we emulate for their acts of charity. We do not tear down a system, we work to improve it.

The Catholic Church is very diverse in race and nationality, we operate our own schools without any tax dollars! We pride ourselves on our Teachers and nurses..St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine Labore, Mother Seaton, Mother Cabrini, St. Thomas Moore and yes our beloved Mother Teresa."

What would they think of Wes Harris and his gang that can't shoot straight? !!

That pretty much sums it up. The great thing is that EVERY candidate that Wes Harris supports, LOSES badly in elections. The 'free ride' is over Mr. Harris. We will be watching.....

CD8 Air War: Barber Touts Endorsements

Jim Nintzel — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:00:31 PDT

Democrat Ron Barber, who is facing Republican Jesse Kelly in the June 12 special election to complete Gabby Giffords' congressional term, has a new TV ad that reminds voters that he's been endorsed by the Tucson Weekly, Arizona Republic and Arizona Daily Star.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Democratic Party sends out a mailer highlighting Giffords' support for Barber:

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Gabrielle Giffords Took in a Musical the Other Night

Dan Gibson — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:13:53 PDT

Not that this is particularly newsworthy on its own, but it's nice to see Gabrielle Giffords out and about and smiling.

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Buckmaster Show 5/29/2012: Tucson Meet Yourself gets financial boost

buckmastershow — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:12:27 PDT

Today on Buckmaster – We talk with State Representative Ted Vogt on his recent success in the legislative session. Then, Certified Financial Planner Shelly Fishman has the Tuesday Money Maker Report. Next, Dr. Mark V. Sykes, head of the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute, reflects on the big win for private enterprise in space. Plus, legendary folklorist Big Jim Griffith and Dr. Maribel Alvarez, folklorist at the University of Arizona Southwest Center, talk about the big news for Tucson Meet Yourself.

House GOP Pushes Ban On Non-Existing Sex-Selective Abortion Problem

(author unknown) — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:55:35 PDT

By Amanda Peterson Beadle - Think Progress

Arizona Rep. Trent Franks is sponsoring the bill.

House Republicans will force a vote tomorrow on a controversial abortion ban that would prevent sex-selective abortions. The bill seeks to somehow protect the “civil rights” of fetuses by banning physicians from performing abortions based on the fetus’ sex. While the woman would be exempt from prosecution, physicians who perform the procedure can be sued for damages.

Before GOP leaders bring up the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) under a suspension of House rules, which will require two-thirds majority for passage, anti-choice organizations have been lobbying for it. In a clumsy attempt to subvert the War on Women meme, the National Right to Life Committee warned members of Congress against supporting a “war on baby girls“:

Of course, pro-life Members will support this legislation. But it is to be hoped that even many Members who deem themselves “pro-choice” will recoil at the notion that” freedom of choice” must include even the choice to abort a little unborn girl, merely because she is a girl. Members who recently have embraced contrived political rhetoric asserting they are resisting a “war on women” must reflect on whether they wish to be recorded as being defenders of the escalating war on baby girls.

Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XIX

(author unknown) — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:11:18 PDT

Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XIX

SB 1070 Challenge by Friendly House to Proceed; Arizona's Motions to Dismiss are Denied

Ray Stern — Tue, 29 May 2012 17:25:29 PDT

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton has denied the state of Arizona's motions to dismiss a legal challenge to SB 1070 by Friendly House, a social-service agency for immigrants.The Friendly House law...

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Arizona Democratic Party waging war against only Native American candidate for Congress

Three Sonorans — Tue, 29 May 2012 17:01:21 PDT

Estimadas/os: The Arizona Democratic Party is waging a campaign against Democrat Wenona Benally Baldenegro—who is on track to make history by being the first Native American woman (ever!!) to be elected to Congress and the first Native American, man or … Continue reading →