Tucson Sammy

I am writing not from the “hot zone”, but from the smaller “red hot zone” of West Nile Virus cases here in the Old Pueblo. In fact, last year I received a written warning, with the threat of a fine, for having some tufts of grass over seven inches tall in my yard (gasp!). I also noticed the installation of a mosquito trap across the street from my house. This, apparently, all related to West Nile outbreaks in the area.

In the interest of finding out what the heck was going on, I went to a presentation regarding the West Nile Virus at the Ward VI office yesterday evening. I was all set to be frustrated over the lack of effort regarding mosquito eradication, but I was pleasantly surprised.

As it turns out, mosquito eradication is the focus of governments’ approach to battling the disease. The governments include both the City of Tucson and Pima County. Their approach is to eliminate standing water and tall grass (and other “lush” vegetation) from government property, then enforce similar standards on private properties. Pesticide will also be used in some areas.

Hold it, I know what you’re thinking, “Does this mean that they’re going to pour used motor oil on puddles in the washes?” No, contrary to what the Luddites think about technology, it has provided us with a really cool new chemical for killing mosquitoes. It’s hard to imagine a pesticide being “cool”, but this new stuff really is.

This new stuff is called BTI, and no, I do not know the chemical for which the acronym stands. It kills mosquito larvae in the water by disrupting the inner digestive track. The beauty of the stuff is that it only dissolves and becomes effective only when exposed to the precise ph of the mosquito larvae’s guts; thereby presenting no threat to dogs, cats, children and other living things (including other insects). That’s cool!

There was, of course, a laundry list of things one ought to do to help one’s self and the community:

1. Remove all standing water – even minute amounts. In ideal conditions, mosquitoes can go from egg to adult in three days.

2. Cut back “lush vegetation”, including tall grass. They do not breed here, but the adults like to hang out there.

3. Continue to maintain the chemical treatment of swimming pools. The government folks have a technical term for poorly maintained pools, it is “green pools”.

4. Assist your neighbors with all of the above.

I don’t know how effective this will be regarding the disease, but it sure would be nice to be able to sit outside in the evenings again.

Note to fans: There is a new column entitled “What Magna Carta?” in the “Articles” section

Many Libertarians, as well as others, refer to the Democrat and Republican parties as the Evil Party and the Stupid Party respectively.

Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat, New York, is trying to force the resignation of Alberto Gonzalez, Attorney General of the United States. Why is he doing this? Answer: because he can. Anytime he thinks that he might destroy a Republican, he’ll take the shot.

Here’s the ploy. Schumer is running around suggesting that there is something highly unusual about the firing of a eight or ten Justice Department attorneys. He claims that the firings were “politically motivated”. The implication is that these positions are some sort civil service jobs – they are not. All the attorneys “serve at the pleasure of the president.” That means that if the president or the attorney general does not like your cologne, you can be fired.

Justice Department lawyers come and go with each administration. It is standard procedure for an administration to begin replacing attorneys from the old administration from the “git-go”, replacing them gradually over time.

Now, there are unethical ways to do this. The Clintons, for example, fired all of them – all at once, immediately upon taking office. This not only caused a certain amount of chaos, in some cases, plaintiffs found themselves with new lawyers who switched sides and worked against them! That sort of thing is a heap big breach of legal ethics. Where was Senator Schumer then?

Schumer knows all this stuff, yet he lies and cheats in the hope of ruining as many innocents as possible. So it is not a hyperbole to say that Schumer, the Democrat, is evil – but I repeat myself.

So what does Gonzalez say in defense of himself and the president? Well, he should have said something like the following:

“Senator Schumer knows full well that there was nothing unusual or unseemly concerning these terminations. He knows that these are not career positions, and that Justice Department lawyers serve at the pleasure of the President. I can only speculate as to Senator Schumer’s motivations regarding this attack on this administration, but it does appear to be politically motivated.” He might then add, “I have said before that I take full responsibility for the actions of people under my authority, unlike Senator Schumer who distanced himself from his workers who attempted to smear candidate Michael Steele after stealing his personal financial information. Might Senator Schumer’s complaints be a similar smear attempt, but without any information, financial or otherwise?”

Instead, Gonzalez stated that, gosh, mistakes might have been made, and it probably could have been handled better, I accept responsibility, blah, blah, blah. Of course, what he said was consistent with President “Can’t we All Just Get Along” Bush’s make-nice-with-the-Democrats approach to governing – an approach which encourages more bad behavior, weakens the administration, is terrible for the morale of administration employees, and is generally…well…stupid.

Any questions?

In Kelo vs. City of New London, the Supreme Court dealt a huge blow to property rights. A horrified citizenry affected remedies at the state level. In Arizona, the governor vetoed the remedial legislation. Undeterred, a ballot proposition, number 207, made it to the ballot, and was passed overwhelmingly with sixty five per cent of the vote.

Arizona may be an example of the new front in the war for property rights.

Last November a property rights initiative, Prop 207, was passed by an overwhelming sixty-five per cent of the Arizona citizenry. After being betrayed by the courts, then thwarted by a Napolitano veto of corrective legislation, the people took direct action through the initiative process. This is right, fitting, and proper. Remember, it was not an opinion poll. Prop 207 is the law.

Now, no one expects the cities and counties of Arizona to be happy about it. After all, they did spend millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to defeat it. Yet, the less cynical among us might expect that, since it is the law, and the citizens overwhelmingly support it, they might start thinking about how they will comply. The rest of us wondered how the local governments would get around it. Citizens (as opposed to subjects) are truly a thorn in the paw of the government bureaucracy beast.

Well, in mere months, the rest of us have our answer. Many Arizona cities now require property owners to surrender their Prop. 207 rights in order to receive zoning changes and other land use permits. They are required to sign a waiver to that affect.

This little gem of an idea came from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, a lobbying organization representing ninety local governments, and paid in tax dollars. Now, the notion that cities need to hire lobbyists with tax money to promote their interests (as opposed to those of their constituents) is an argument for another day, though I do believe that if these cities were as enthusiastic about the interests of their constituents as they are of their own, the State of Arizona would be a better place.

Apache Junction requires these waivers for all land use transactions, and the cities of Gilbert and Chandler require them for all zoning requests. With its City Council’s recent lurch to the left, will Tucson be far behind?

Some may scoff and say, “C’mon, everyone knows that you can’t sign away rights. Those waivers are not legal under the State or Federal Constitution, and will not survive the first court challenge.” Oh yeah? What court? Remember, the highest appellate court in the land said that the City of New London’s seizing of Mrs. Kelo’s home and giving it to the Pfizer Corporation was a “public use.” That decision, by the members of the Supreme Court, is the court equivalent of the cities’ waivers.

With Governor Napolitano (also known as “JANET”) keeping the pantywaist legislators in check, there is no branch of government left to whom we may turn. That’s right, there is no knight who will ride in on a white horse and slay the beast. We have to do this, fight for the rule of law, and our rights. It has always been that way.

How, you may ask, do we “fight” the evildoers? Try these: Set up a web site where people can pledge to deny support, financial or other forms, to any elected official who allows this lawlessness in his city. Promise a serious primary challenge to any elected official who allows this lawlessness. Generate a list of such officials, and pledge support to their opponents. Ask all candidates for elected office to sign a pledge to seek compliance with ARS 12-1131 (Prop. 207), broadcast the names of those who refuse.

These are just a few ideas. There are many political operatives out there who can conjure up tactics far more juicy than these. Bureaucrats are not the only ones who can play hardball.

We have two choices. We can tame the beast, or give up, and live to feed it.