Author: Man Eegee

From the DFA group in Tucson:

Action Needed!

Contact Gov. Napolitano to VETO SB1342.  With the recent developments in the Arizona legislature, you have every reason to be concerned that your vote may not count in the 2006 election and beyond. Unfortunately our Secretary of State, Janet Brewer, and her Republican colleagues in the legislature have blocked all legislative efforts at amending a voting equipment and procedures bill (SB 1342) that would require a voter verifiable ballot from electronic voting machines.  This unfortunate bill goes a step further and gives Jan Brewer the power to authorize the use of uncertified voting equipment! Despite valiant and at times passionate attempts by Representative Ted Downing and his Democratic colleagues in the Arizona House this bad bill is on its way to the Governor’s desk.

More below…
Please take action as soon as possible, by Sunday  4/17 at the latest, and contact Governor Napolitano’s office to urge her to VETO SB1342 and send it back for the legislature for reconsideration. At this time there are not enough votes in the legislature to override the veto.

Calls can be made by dialing the toll free number: 1-800-253-0883

if busy, call 520-628-6580 in Tucson

Fax number: (602)542-1381

E-mail form: http://www.governor.state.az.us/post/feedback.asp (this is not preferred due to the urgency of the issue)

Back Ground: As you might be aware, under the requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, electronic voting machines will be in place by the 2006 election primarily for the disabled but not exclusively.  To conduct transparent and verifiable elections, our neighboring states of California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico have instituted the requirement that all electronic voting machines used in their state produce a voter verifiable paper record that could be reviewed by voters before they cast their vote and by election auditors during and after the election process. Manufacturers of election equipment, such as AutoMark (see website: www.automarkts.com), have responded by providing equipment that both support the disabled needs’ of access and privacy and also provide a verifiable paper record. These machines have been successfully tested in Arizona and were met with great enthusiasm as described by the Secretary of State herself ( see her Memo:

http://www.automarkts.com/Documents/PR%20-%20AZ%20post%20election%20AutoMARK.pdf

Sadly, the same Secretary of State who extolled the virtues of these equipment has now decided, along with her Republican colleagues in the legislature, to block attempts at requiring their use. It’s time to act before its too late. Please contact Governor Napolitano to urge her to VETO SB 1342 and require voter verified paper records here in Arizona.

Once upon a time I dabbled with the idea of pursuing a career in politics.  Motivated by a Junior High trip to Washington, D.C. and the honor of attending Boys State in High School, I had big dreams for myself.  

Being young and ignorant, I didn’t grasp the idea that there were real differences between Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals; so my senior year of high school I jumped at the opportunity for a Job Shadow experience set up by my School Counselor.  I would get to spend two solid days at the side of an elected representative.  Who would I get the honor to shadow?  No other than J.D. Hayworth, former sportscaster turned Wingnut Republican.

<<insert noise from Psycho shower-scene here>>

Those two days were very eye-opening for me.  I remember thinking to myself, “this guy is a total jerk!” and “hey, wait a minute, I don’t agree with what he just told that group of old people regarding Social Security!”

Needless to say, my eyes were starting to be opened and I discovered my Democrat(ic) roots.  Since that time, I have been active in community-based efforts within the various Latino groups of Arizona.  To me, being a Democrat involves fighting for the equality of all people, helping the poor to lift themselves up from hardship and remaining committed to the global environment.

I guess the reason I wrote this is because I saw an article today in the Arizona Republic regarding J.D.’s nepotism in action.  He hired his wife to head up his P.A.C.  The article also mentions the shady-dealings of Jeff Flake, the winger-in-chief from Az.  Reading it boils my blood; yet on the other side of my anger, I’m transformed back into that young idealistic high school senior who remains committed to changing the world.  What they’re doing is fundamentally wrong and I refuse to give up the fight.

“Si, se puede”  –Cesar Chavez

It’s almost comical to watch the local Tucson news coverage of the Minuteman Project.  I keep asking myself, “Are these people serious?”  Sadly, the answer is yes.

It took this armed militia less than a week to be the target of an investigation by authorities.  From an ABC news report:

Border Patrol agents called in deputies from the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday afternoon to report that an immigrant was detained by three men who identified themselves as project volunteers.

Carol Capas, a sheriff’s office spokeswoman, said the 26-year-old Mexican man told agents he was physically restrained and forced to hold a shirt while his picture was taken and he was videotaped.

The shirt read: “Bryan Barton caught an illegal alien and all I got was this T-shirt.”

What raises my blood pressure to a boiling point even more is that many of these wackos will claim to be Christian.  Last time I remembered, the Bible taught that every person is created in the image of God and deserves dignity.  

I lay the blame directly at the feet of President Bush for our political and religious climate.  He has co-opted the Christian message in a way that motivates right wing activists to sell-out the poor of our country in the name of patriotism, pseudo-morality and freedom.  It’s hypocrisy at the highest level.

It will only a matter of time before there is an “international incident” referenced at the end of the article above.  I pray that it doesn’t happen, but I remain skeptical as long as these Minute (read Militia) Men feel empowered.  It’s time to raise a stink in the local papers about their extremism.  Here are the Letter to the Editor emails for the Tucson papers, I hope you’ll join me in pointing out this group’s wacko behavior:

The Iraq invasion marks its second anniversary today and I still beg the question:  what’s it going to take for the Warmonger in Chief to publicly acknowledge the elephant in the room?  I’m not referring to the Republican Elephant minions he surrounds himself with; I’m talking about the fact that we’re fighting his never-ending war.

Commentary and rant below…
From a recent CNN article:

“Our troops will come home when Iraqis are capable of defending themselves,” Bush told a news conference.
…

More than a dozen countries have withdrawn troops over the past year, complicating efforts to keep the peace while Iraq’s new government builds up its own police and military units.

Bush said he understood the desire of countries to bring their troops home. “What you’re going to find is that countries will be willing, anxious” to leave — but only when Iraqi police and security forces are capable of taking over the work now done by coalition forces.

I wonder what it’s going to take for the rest of the country to finally call “Bullshit” on the lies.  The reality on the ground tells us that violence is increasing across Iraq; yet the spin-masters claim that “freedom is on the march”.  I’m hopeful that our collective consciousness is starting to wake up.  The strain is finally starting to surface in the polls as well as in military recruitment.  

According to a USA Today article published two weeks ago, the Army missed its enlistment goal for February by 27%.  This is despite the fact that the Pentagon raised incentives for new recruits.

The February shortfall is especially worrisome because it comes as the Army is trying to lure recruits with the largest enlistment bonuses it has ever offered: up to $20,000 to some recruits willing to sign on for four years. The Pentagon has also been adding thousands of recruiters for the Army and other branches.

Doug Smith, a spokesman for U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox in Kentucky, attributed the shortfall in part to competition from the improving economy and parents’ fears that their children could be injured or killed in Iraq.

Obviously.  It doesn’t take a load of common sense to understand that if you sign up for military service, you are guaranteed a tour in the war zone.  Rather than make a real effort to build bridges worldwide with our allies, Bush continues to mock the progress of the past.  John Kerry was correct, with Bush we are getting more of the same.  It’s dangerous and it’s wrong.

Our brave soldiers have lived up to their expectations, and exceeded them honorably, by honoring the oath they pledged at their enlistment ceremony.  It is time for President Bush to do the same.

This weekend patriotic Americans all over the United States and the world will exercise their democratic rights to denounce the lies that were told.  We raise our voices together despite the name calling and demonizing that the Republicans are so good at spewing.  We do it because we refused to allow history to be re-written in the name of democracy and freedom.  We do it because we’re calling “Bullshit”.

“No drop in migrant flow or death” was the headline that greeted me while I read the Tucson Citizen’s lead article online today.  It reminded me that while Congress tries to figure out a way to discuss Immigration Reform in a civilized fashion, people are still dying in our desert.

More below…

The Arizona Border Control Initiative (ABC) is marking its one year anniversary today.  President Bush claims he doesn’t like to use Band-Aids to fix problems yet he doesn’t have the guts to tackle Immigration Reform in a way that provides any solutions.  He is using his old tactic of allowing Homeland Security to provide political cover for his failed initiatives.

Arizona Border Control Initiative is the largest effort to control illegal immigrants through Arizona since the state became the most popular crossing point in the late 1990s. For the first time last year, Arizona accounted for more than 50 percent of all apprehensions along the southern border, more than California and New Mexico combined.
The initiative included 260 more agents, 28 Humvees and two new helicopters, as well as a pilot drone program and $1 million in underground sensors. The initial six months was budgeted to cost $10 million, but eventually cost $28 million, $13 million of which went to voluntary repatriation flights to Mexico during the summer.  [Emphasis mine]

This is yet another example of the Bush Administration’s failure to give the American people the facts regarding their program costs.  They spent 280% more than was budgeted.  The problem with programs like ABC is that it doesn’t actually solve anything, it merely shuts down a part of the border, funneling people to other areas that are remote and treacherous during the summer months.

Not even original supporters of ABC see the benefits.

“I don’t think you could label the ABC a success,” said U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., who supported the idea but criticizes the implementation. “It certainly has not reduced by any measurable amount that anybody can determine the number of illegal immigrants coming across the border.”

As long as Immigration Reform continues to enter into the public discussion under the premise of Homeland Security, we are never going to “fix” the problem.  It’s time we Democrats start making noise about the economic and human-rights issues that are involved with respect to the US-Mexico border and immigration.  Until real dialogue happens on our terms and not the President’s, people will continue to die.