editor: fred miller July 1, 2022 #33/June/22
Hello,
It is an interesting historical time. If the Jan. 6 hearings haven't shown you, and the many Arizona legislative initiatives haven't shown you, and the scores of candidates running on a trump platform haven't shown you; then you are clearly not seeing clearly. See the rant below.
Also note that the family of every K-12 student in Arizona can now receive a voucher to spend on, very loosely defined, school supplies and tuition to charter schools. A program that has been rife with fraud now has an open cash register for tax payer money. It truly is disgraceful.
The farkakte court has made reproduction mandatory. Of course the logical extension of their position (no traveling for abortions, no available contraception, sex for reproduction only, absolving men of all responsibility) is to make male masturbation illegal. I mean, lets not waste the depleting sperm count right?
It really is a time for you to get busy. It is not a tennis match where you sit courtside with swiveled head looking at one side and the other, amazed at the volleys. You are either on one side or the other. Your life is going to be affected in some way. The middle has whithered.
I'm looking for someone(s) to possibly make tik tok vids. Gotta be fluent in tiktok. Lemme know at bisbeewire@gmail.com.
An excellent gallery opening this week at Artemizia. Wonderful photos, lotsa peeps, with the babble of chatter. Thanks to the Artemizia Foundation.
fred
...............THE RANT.............
The republican party should be feared. They continue to lie about the 2020 election; they are the brazen thieves trying to steal that election and 2022. Cowards who can't win legitimately now try to stack the deck by limiting voting any way they can. They believe in conspiracies and ignore factual truth. They run some candidates that are the worst anti-Semites, white supremacists, and misognysts. They want to indoctrinate young people by privatizing the educational system. This ignorant party accuses teachers, teachers! of pedophilia-'grooming' children. They are pro birth but anti-life support. They uphold the supremacy of men over women by absolving men of contraception and reducing womens' lives to baby makers and inequality. They are puritans, embarrassed with, and vindictive about, the wide range of human sexual experiences.
These are not faceless people. Some are neighbors. Cochise County Senator David Gowan lives in Sierra Vista, Rep. Gail Griffin lives in Hereford, Rep. Lupe Diaz lives in Benson. All have voted for private school vouchers, election restrictions, more legislator power, election denying, and more.
David W. Montgomery the head of the Cochise County Republicans lives in Hereford. He, who was arrested in the late 90's for violent sexual assault, signed a totally false declaration to a government entity that he was a electoral delegate from Arizona.
They are the red faced men and women at school board meetings ignorantly accusing board members of teaching racism and homosexuality.
This and more is really what the once Grand Old Party has become. Not all Republicans are repugnicans, but those that control the party apparatus are the ugly public face and loud scurrilous voice. Those traditional republicans have let their party be taken over and have barely spoken in opposition to the hard right politics that have emerged.
This is the party of ideas that are not viable in the long term because they don't respond to actual needs of the majority of people. They will be defeated. Their views do not reflect the majority of people, certainly not working and middle class people. They are so far behind what is really needed for our state; their authoritarian ideology will be pummeled by cold truth and concerted action.
BISBEE
The city council meeting had an agenda item about the city hall building project. The three bids came in substantially higher than budget. And even after consulting the architect and modifying plans, the bids were still to high.There was no information about the bid amounts in the background info. Sooo back to square one about a city hall. Check the vid channel at cityofbisbee.com to see the discussion.
...If you are interested in seeing what the city's plan for PSPRS, go to the background.
...And the library has developed a policy of dealing with controversial material.
...Background for the 6/21 council meeting:
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CORRECTION
Erratum... I was wrong about the Douglas water management district. You can sign petitions for the Douglas water management area if you are in Old Bisbee, Lowell, or Saginaw. (Do it soon, they get submitted in early July)
But I was right that other areas in Bisbee cannot sign. You can reference a map of the Douglas Basin on their website arizonawaterdefenders.com under Initiatives to see the boundaries. I had a miscommunication with someone in that I assumed since I couldn't sign because I lived in Warren, that all of Bisbee was excluded. Thanks for pointing it out, MaryAnn, Cado, Tricia,and Ben.
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CLARIFICATION about 57 Subway
In issue #32, I mentioned that the former American Legion building was for sale. Turns out it was a kind of trial balloon by owner MIke Lignon. He sent me an email clarifying the sitch.
"I am not selling the American Legion and our plans to open up are still moving forward albeit a combination of challenges. Suffice to say we are shooting for Labor day. I put the property up for sale more for curiosity to see what the market would bear in light of all what’s going on economically and in Bisbee. That said, my family loves Bisbee more and more and are super excited to be a permanent fixture here sooner than later."
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BISBEE in the NEWS
OLD BISBEE BREWING
BISBEE SOAP AND SUNDRY
BEST 4TH OF JULY
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SURPLUS PRODUCE? GOAR PARK LUNCHES
The good folks churning out healthy meals to homeless can always need donations of fresh produce to incorporate into meals. Consider donating excess produce or growing an extra row for Goar Park Lunches.They can always use peeps to help out too. Call for info: (520) 255-5219, https://www.healthybisbee.org
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JULY 4TH SCHEDULE of CITY ACTIVITIES
Coaster races- have been cancelled
11 am...Parade Starts at Cole in Warren goes down Bisbee Road and then up Arizona St.
1 pm...Mucking (how quickly a hand car full of rocks can be unloaded) and Drilling Using a heavy drill to make a hole in a large rock in a short time) in the Gulch
2 pm...vintage baseball at the Warren ball park.
Dusk...fireworks fired from atop the slag pile overlooking Vista Park. Oooohs and aaaahs appreciated. Watch your dogs.
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BLUES IN BISBEE
Wanna listen to excellent moosic and watch booty shakin dancing? They need volunteers for the blues fest. Go here to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0d4fafa829abfb6-blues2
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WANNA GET A LUMP IN YOUR THROAT?
The trailer for a doc about the shooting and recovery of Gabby Gifford is out. Premiered at SXSW will release July 15. She coulda been our Senator, she coulda been the cabinet or speaker of the house or even prez. Instead she was shot in the head by some stupid white conspiracy loving schizophrenic punk at a campaign stop in a Tucson supermarket parking lot.(He killed 6 people and injured 13). It is sad but it is a very personal depiction of courage. And she never stops inspiring me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FhlFKwE45Y
...............THE LEGE................
Amid whiffs of teargas wafting into the AZ senate chambers from police firing on supreme court decision protesters, legislators finished the most backward and crude legislative session in modern Arizona history. Before they left they passed a budget that few legislators saw before voting and certainly wasn't shown to voters. That is standard for the past 8 years of the weak and craven Ducey. The repugnicans had to stoop to include democrats (7 in the Senate, 27 in the House) because the knuckle draggers in their party would not budge. Boo! Tax help for poor and low income? unh unh-no earned income credit for you. But there are goodies for the wealthy...surprise, surprise! Other details...
$1 billion dedicated to 53 road projects
10% pay raise for state workers with corrections officers. Department of Child Safety case workers and highway patrol officers will get more on top of that.
Elimination of the state equalization tax, which is levied against properties. That will save property owners a collective $300 million.
implementation of the 2.5% flat tax that will benefit higher income people. It will reduce state revenue by about $3 billion when fully phased in.
bigger write-off for people who donate to qualified charities and foster care organizations.
$425 million into the rainy day fund
20 staff members to the Border Strike Force within the Department of Public Safety, and the $200 million-plus for border security includes: $20 million for a jail in Cochise County, $10 million for the Arizona National Guard, $53 million to retain and hire sheriff’s officers, $15 million to transport asylum seekers outside of Arizona, as well as other priorities
Several hundred million for 'border security'.
$1 billion for education with plenty of roadblocks for spending it.
And their session wouldn't be complete if they didn't thumb their trump-browned noses at voters opinions. In this case they passed a bill that would give every student a taxpayer voucher that can be spent on anything including tuition, homeschooling and supplies. This will literally cost millions of taxpayer dollars flowing to private 'charter' schools. Repugnicans want to indoctrinate your kids and grandkids and this is a big step towards that goal. The long session enabled dead bills to be resurrected. Consequently they passed legislation that:
bans schools from teaching any material that is “sexually explicit,”
banning filming of police from 8' or closer when they are involved in police activity,
allowed county recorders to cancel a voters' registration if they receive information the voter is not qualified,
allows any AZ resident to request a recount,
allotted $25 million for tax credits for any film utilizing Arizona for production and post production,
agreed to spend $1 billion in the next three years to find water.
AN EXPLANATION OF THE STATE BUDGET...USING EMOJIS https://arizonaagenda.substack.com/p/an-emoji-budget-breakdown?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo1NzkwMjM3NiwiXyI6ImNMaklCIiwiaWF0IjoxNjUzNjY0NzQxLCJleHAiOjE2NTM2NjgzNDEsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0zNzM1MjEiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.-1niPymBClEmiSrqX-nDZmUmuf4-CKqCMJOe0ALWrDI&s=r
HOW TO DO RESEARCH I'm not one of the peeps who have accepted the current political environment as a fait accompli and given up on making political/social change. In fact, I'm cautiously optimistic. Contrary to the miasma of pessimism among the talking heads, liberal elite democrats, and those republicans that haven't drank the kool aid, I continue to think real substantial differences can be made; in candidates, about corporate policies, legislation, and most of all, attitudes. Underpining my optimism is the staunch belief that factual information does make a difference. We can find out who are dark money candidates, where the dark money coming from, what corporations speak with forked tongues, who is tracking our online behavior, who are lobbyists, which companies pay no taxes, and much more. Research can provide the information substructure for policies and actions that aim to influence decisions and people. There are several reasons why research is important, no matter what you are researching. It is a tool for building knowledge and facilitating learning; a means to understand issues; and a process to understand business.It allows us to disprove lies and support truths and is a mechanism to find, gauge, and seize opportunities. The following is but a brief, incomplete overview of where you can find information that may be helpful in understanding some current conditions. RESEARCH POLITICIANS Utilizing research is one of the very few ways to really influence politicians. For instance exposing who is supplying money and support to a politician can help build a loose grouping of individuals to a point that there is coordinated opposition or support. For mass movements, political research is key to determine the direction of the organization. Differing sources can be utilized to examine politicians in, or running for, federal office, but one of the best is OPEN SECRETS for finding the source of funding and lobbying interest.(has both AZ and national politicians)To use: go to website>click on 'search campaign finance'>top of the page type in candidate name> https://www.opensecrets.org/states/donors.php?cycle=2020&state=AZ. There is also info on lobbying: A PRIMER ON LOBBYING; WHO, HOW MUCH, WHEN https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/primer And see this article: DARK MONEY GETS DARKER https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/05/dark-money-gets-darker-with-less-disclosure-in-the-2022-election/?utm_source=Website+Newsletter+Sign-Ups&utm_campaign=fcf6ae3ce6-5_20_DarkMoneyDonorDrive&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6de008214b-fcf6ae3ce6-212428769 ................. As all candidates for federal offices are required to file campaign reports at prescribed intervals, the Federal Election Commission is the repository of campaign finance reports for all elected offices throughout the country. For researching candidates and elected officials. https://www.fec.gov/ ................. FOR STATE OF ARIZONA POLITICIANS This is a very easy to use site with campaign financing reports easily available. go here....https://seethemoney.az.gov/Reporting (state) ................. HOW TO FIND LOBBYING SPENDING https://www.senate.gov/legislative/Public_Disclosure/database_download.htm ................. TRACK STOCK TRADES OF LEGISLATORS A paid database of congressional stock trading. https://www.congresstrading.com/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& RESEARCH CORPORATIONS There are many sources to research various public and private corporations. This is what used to be known in leftie circles as power structure research. A wealth of public info is available, the problem is seperating the wheat from the chaff. Some of these sites can help. This is the long time premier work on how to do power structure research, https://whorulesamerica.ucsc.edu/ Another site worth going to although the info and links are dated: https://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~vburris/whorules/index.htm This is one primer that can help you hone what you want to do; https://libguides.utsa.edu/c.php?g=548922&p=3769265 This is one of the better sites: https://gijn.org/researching-corporations-and-their-owners/ A few other sites that publish findings...The Intercept .....They publish in-depth investigations and analysis focusing on politics, war, surveillance, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media, and more. https://theintercept.com Popular Info...Politics/corporate donations/wrongdoing...one of the most informative newsletters. https://popular.info/ This is a sample from Popular Information:HOW PUBLIC OPINION IS MOLDED This article from Popular Information illustrates the way in which a few very wealthy conservative people mold opinion through the use of funded front groups. Koch Industries funds many conservative groups. It continues to do business in Russia ignoring calls to stop. From the article... "But there are people arguing that American businesses like Koch Industries should continue to do business in Russia, even as it targets civilians in Ukraine. An investigation by Popular Information has uncovered a network of pundits and groups publicly arguing against the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia. What often goes unmentioned is that many of these individuals and organizations receive funding from Charles Koch. Stand Together is an umbrella non-profit organization founded by Charles Koch. It supplies funding to a slew of other groups to advance Koch's public policy vision." https://popular.info/p/as-koch-industries-continues-business?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo0NzkwODIsIl8iOiJjTGpJQiIsImlhdCI6MTY0NzQ0Njk3MywiZXhwIjoxNjQ3NDUwNTczLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMTY2NCIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.c6EdIup8lK2lHbW6oaVOeXOAjv5pcqDX3DZ9GC33omU&s=r Mother Jones https://www.motherjones.com/ ............. HOW TO FIND A CEO EMAIL ADDRESS There are a couple good sites that will get you the direct address of a CEO. Often when wanting to comment about a corporate decision it is best to try to get to a honcho otherwise the publicity people will be the respondents. www.ceoemail.com https://contactnumbersdetails.com/att-headquarters/ CORPORATE DISCLOSURE https://www.politicalaccountability.net/ This is 2020 report: https://politicalaccountability.net/hifi/files/2020-CPA-Zicklin-Index.pdf .......... CHECK MY ADS The focus is on ad exchanges that buy ads for the companies. Check there to see their work and what to do: https://checkmyads.org/fox/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& RESEARCH TECH SITES There are a great many sites that track all of us as we use the internet. Accumulating huge amounts of personal information, those companies then slice and dice the info in various ways to package and sell it to companies that want to market to you as well as know who you are. They say that the data is anonymized and in some cases is, but it is likely that your name is attached to a ton of personal data. DATA BROKERS These are the people who buy and sell your information that you willingly give most internet sites for free. https://themarkup.org/privacy/2021/04/01/the-little-known-data-broker-industry-is-spending-big-bucks-lobbying-congress GOOGLE TRENDS A guide to using the info in Google Trends which looks at searches on Google that are anonymized (no one is personally identified), categorized (determining the topic for a search query) and aggregated (grouped together). This allows them to display interest in a particular topic from around the globe or down to city-level geography. https://support.google.com/trends/answer/4365533?hl=en CHECK FACTS ONLINE If you would like a reputable site that can check facts as well as websites, here it is. https://factsparrow.repustar.com &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& RESEARCH PRODUCTS It drives Anita batty, but I tend to research most products that we buy because there are scads of poorly designed, constructed, and sold products in the huge US marketplace. And there is tons of stuff to eat that is crappy and bad for you. I really don't like spending dough on inferior products because if I do, I always feel capitalists beat me once again. Between these three excellent review sites you'll be able to get em sorted. CONSUMER REPORTS (paid, some free) https://www.consumerreports.org/ WIRECUTTER (free) https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/ CNET (free) https://www.cnet.com/[ And don't forget Amazon... if you buy from Amazon, sign up for 'smile.amazon' on their site. You can designate a nonprofit that Amazon will then pay some teeny amount when you buy a product. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&& RIGHT SITES, WRONG THINKING There are also sites on the Right that track what liberal and left groups and individuals are doing. Go here for a taste of who is doing what: https://politicalresearch.org/ The Southern Law and Poverty Center has long tracked hate groups. Go here for more: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch Astroturf is a term used to describe organizations that are industry front groups posing as citizen grass roots groups . Center for Organizational Research and Education (CORE) Is the parent group that was originally funded in 1995 by Phillip Morris to denigrate opponents of smoking. It now has several websites demeaning legitimate groups such as the Humane Society, PETA, MADD, and others. Hold your your nose and go to this right wing site tracks left wing activists. One of their sites is this. https://www.activistfacts.com/ This site, https://conservativeusa.net/ritelink.htm, is copendium of conservative sites of all kinds.
............... WORD...............
Lotsa groaners....
Not every thought in your head needs to be written.
I don't want buns of steel. I want buns of cinnamon.
I live in California, and my watch is three hours fast, I can't fix it, so I'm moving to New York
I had amnesia once - maybe twice.
Originality is the art of concealing your sources
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.
Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun.
You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.
A fool and his money can throw one hell of a party.
Quantum mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of.
Time is a great healer, but a terrible beautician.
He was deader than a shrunken head at a Hackey Sack festival
I was more nervous than a ceiling fan storeowner with a comb-over.
Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?
Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
Red meat is not bad for you. Fuzzy green meat is bad for you.
If you think there is good in everybody then you obviously haven't met everybody.
If you can't convince them, confuse them.
All power corrupts. Absolute power is pretty neat, though.
If your feet smell and your nose runs, you're built upside down.
The statement following is true. The statement prior is false.
I'm busier than a one-legged Riverdancer.
A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered drawer.
Treat each day as your last; one day you will be right.
Follow your dreams, except for that one where you're naked at work.
Which one of these is the non-smoking lifeboat?
Marriage is not a word. It's a sentence.
All I ask is a chance to prove money can't make me happy.
How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.
Two can live as cheaply as one, for half as long.
Is Marx's tomb a communist plot?
Birthdays are good for you - the more you have the longer you live.
Letting the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back in.
In an argument, a woman always has the last word. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.
If you think you're a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else's dog around.
I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with "Guess" on it. So I said "Implants?"
Most nudists are people you don't want to see naked.
I'm busier than a one-toothed man in a corn-on-the-cob eating contest.
If you're cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you see perfectly?
Money isn't everything but it sure keeps the kids in touch.
He was hairier than Chewbacca dipped in Rogaine.
Am I ambivalent? Well, yes and no.
He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.
I like cats too. Let's exchange recipes.
Confession is good for the soul but bad for your career.
Gun Control: Use both hands.
Remember: First you pillage then you burn.
To err is human. To forgive is against company policy.
If at first you don't succeed, redefine success.
Xerox and Wurlitzer will merge to market reproductive organs.
Half the people in the world are below average.
Arkansas State Motto: Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Laugh
I just got lost in thought, and it was unfamiliar territory.
You have the right to remain silent, anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.
Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
I intend to live forever - so far so good.
Capital punishment isn't for making examples, it's for making bad people dead.
My mind is like a steel trap - rusty and illegal in 37 states