Tucson Sammy

I’m sorry I did not do this sooner, but happy Patriots’ Day! As some of you older people may recall, April 19 is the date the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” was fired, launching the American Revolution.

Unrest had been brewing for a while, and it came to a head when the British sent troops to confiscate firearms stored at Bunker Hill. It is not clear whether or not the British declared a “state of emergency” or not. The site of the first skirmish was a wooden bridge in Concord, Massachusetts where the famous shot was fired.

Alas, many other events have competed for mind space regarding the nineteenth of April; from the bombing of the federal government building in Oklahoma City, to the execution of the Final Solution by the FBI to solve the Branch Davidian problem, to the Boston Marathon.

While the Main Stream Media (MSM) remains fixated on one or more of these other events, the rest of us can pause, and give thanks for that shot; that shot that changed the world for the better.

If you need help getting into the mood, click here to read the Concord Hymn by Emerson.

God bless America.

Governor Janet Napolitano, whose activity in the Clarence Thomas hearings earned her a place in the Clinton administration, just vetoed Senate Bill 1425. This piece of legislation would have prevented the wholesale confiscation of privately owned weapons when they would be needed most – during “states of emergency”. Remember post-Katrina New Orleans? Remember the National Guard handcuffing citizens on the porches of their homes while those homes were searched and property (firearms) was confiscated without cause?

We all know that New Orleans was founded by the French. Do not expect Arizonans to allow themselves to be handcuffed and sit placidly by while agents of the federal government have their way.

This veto must be overridden. It’s a safety issue. It’s a civil rights issue. It is an issue of who serves whom.

If you do not believe that Governor Napolitano has contempt for the people of Arizona, click here to read her letter to Ken Bennett, President, Arizona State Senate, in which she not only proclaims her contempt, she insults our intelligence.

Have a nice day.

In the movie “Carlito’s Way”, Al Pacino plays a former heroine dealer who is freed from prison on a technicality by his lawyer, Sean Penn – it is actually one of Penn’s best roles. Penn’s lawyer character also represents a mob figure, with whom he has been less than honest. Penn does a superb job of portraying his character’s descent from successful lawyer to a drug-crazed thug. At one point, Carlito (Al Pacino) is thinking out loud, and in reference to his lawyer friend he says, “You’re not a lawyer anymore, you’re a gangster now.”

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) plan and associated tax increase are coming up for a vote next month (click here for the website). An approximately thirty-five-member citizen advisory committee was formed. The committee included the usual suspects, plus the potential leaders of opposition groups; namely, Steve Farley (transit champion), and Carolyn Campbell (environmental champion). Unfortunately for the RTA, it did not include Ken O’Day, president of the Campbell Avenue Neighborhood Association.

Early on in the RTA “debates”, Steve took the lead in supporting the plan, while Ken took on the role of chief opponent. I went to an early one and watched Steve get frustrated at being challenged, and Ken get giddy when he thought he landed one on Steve. My fear was that these things would degenerate into a second rate “Steve and Kenny” drive time radio show. I was wrong. In a way, it’s worse.

I tuned in “Arizona Illustrated”, a locally produced television news magazine broadcast on the government network. The perennial host, Bill Buckmeister, had the Steve and Kenny Show on along with Jim Nintzel of the Tucson Weekly. Both Steve and Ken were dressed nicely (Steve looked quite dapper). Smiles slammed onto their faces as they were introduced in turn. As they spoke, their deliveries were polished, well modulated, and almost always positive. Even when Steve called Ken a liar – of course, he did not use that term, he did it with a smile. They were smooth, long-winded, very up beat and positive. Poor Jim could hardly get a question in edgewise. In every way, they were like two opposing candidates running for office.

Yikes!

Boys, you’re not activists anymore, you’re politicians now.

The Arizona Daily Star ( to which we often refer as the “Red Star”) has filed another story about how Arizona spends less than any other state on “education.” By “education”, of course, the author means government schools. I won’t bother with a link. It’s an old story that gets republished periodically, usually when state budget negotiations are pending.

Actually, to be fair, the article claims we’re 49th based on 2004 data. Which is interesting because, based on the same data, Pennsylvania, Utah, Tennessee, Illinois, Florida, Louisiana, and Idaho also lay claim to position number 49. I suppose it’s harder to shame people when you’re only 37 or 41 or something – 49 sounds like you’re about to fall out the bottom. What I don’t understand is, if you’re going to be…let’s just say “inaccurate”, why not claim 50th? Isn’t that worse? What’s the magic with “49”?

I’m willing to bet that every state is woefully below the national average as well.

Speaking of the budget, Governor Napolitano (to whom Jim Nintzel of the Weekly refers as “The Napster”) has joined the rest of the leftists in pushing for all day kindergarten. This news can be found in the same papers that are running articles about inadequate funding of government schools. These guys need to coordinate a little better. They need to back off of the poor-mouth claims for a while before they advocate for any sort of expansion.

I have an idea. Why don’t we take a pass on the all day child care…um…kindergarten, and spend the money teaching kids stuff. In light of the fact that seventy five per cent of fourth graders in Arizona fail basic skills tests in reading and math, and many elementary school children cannot speak English, it seems like a better place to direct resources. ?Que’ no?

Speaking of speaking English, the Napster let the Republican plan for teaching English to non-English speaking students in the government schools slide into law without her signature. This should prove that she’s not just a political hack, but the powerful, fearless, dynamic Uber-Gov that the main stream media (MSM) has claimed she was all along. (insert smiley face here).