Bizarre Arizona politics: State Sen. Russell Pearce afraid Olivia Cortes will rock the boat - Cortes forced to opt out of recall race

I know that many of you throughout the U.S. are hooked on Arizona politics.  After all, what better way to get a good laugh?  Today is no different. If you are following the recall election of the infamous State Sen. Russell Pearce, the first in Arizona’s history, you know there was a sham candidate by the name of Olivia Cortes.  I say “was” because she pulled out of the race Oct. 6, many say at the behest of Pearce and his gang of thugs.

If you haven’t been watching, Cortes was recruited by Greg Western of the Phoenix East Valley Tea Party to siphon off votes from Pearce’s only other opponent, Jerry Lewis.  Western, the EVTP chairman, has repeatedly said, as has Cortes, that he doesn’t know who is putting up the money for her candidacy.  Cortes had no organization and would not speak to the media.  This was all challenged in court recently by Phoenix attorney Tom Ryan who wanted her off the ballot.

But the ruling by Judge Edward Burke found Cortes did no wrong, thus, no reason to throw her off the ballot.  But when it came to the testimony of Greg Western, who just before backing Cortes professed to be an ardent supporter of Russell Pearce for years, Burke lowered the boom.  He said:

"His {Greg Western} testimony that he has no idea who designed, posted and paid for campaign signs supporting Cortes or who paid the professional circulators is too improbable to be believed.  The court finds that Pearce supporters recruited Cortes, a political neophyte, to run in the recall election to siphon Hispanic votes from Lewis to advance Pearce's recall-election bid."

An Arizona Republic newspaper opinion commented: “There can scarcely be a voter anywhere in the {Maricopa} county, much less {Pearce’s} District 18, who doesn't know that Cortes has been propped up by supporters of recalled Senate President Russell Pearce to draw votes away from his principal competitor, Jerry Lewis.”  Stephen Lemons, who writes the Feathered Bastard blog for the Phoenix New Times quoted Ryan as saying, "The Pearce forces did not want this hearing to go forward tomorrow…”

Lemons continues that Ryan’s co-counsel Micheal Wright said it was all part of a deal he and Ryan had offered Cortes' lawyer Anthony Tsontakis before the first hearing where she was forced to testify: i.e., Cortes pulls out and the lawsuit is dropped.  "This morning, they asked if the offer was still open," added Wright.  Of course there is still the question of whether laws were broken in Cortes’ candidacy and Pearce, his supporters and family will have to answer to this soon.

Laurie Roberts, an Arizona Republic columnist, had some interesting observations on the “Si se puede!” slogan that apparently originated with the mysterious crew that put up the Cortes candidacy signs.  The term is Spanish for “Yes it is possible or Yes it can be done.”  Apparently not in the case of Cortes.  For one thing, Roberts says Cortes didn’t even know what the word “incumbent” meant until last week.  Further, the columnist thinks Judge Burke basically called Greg Western a liar.  Her opinion is that after this fiasco, Jerry Lewis will probably get all the Hispanic vote.

The recall election date is November 8, and it is hard to imagine anything else as bizarre as the events that have already happened that could occur in the next four weeks.  But, then, this election is being held in Arizona and we all know that anything can happen—and usually does—there.

Is “Occupy Wall Street” the real revolution for the real people?

The “Occupy” movement has been called the progressives’ answer to the Tea Party.  There is no comparison between the two factions, obviously in philosophy, but also in substance and intellect.  From some of the TP videos I have witnessed, those poor clods are definitely dealing with double-digit IQs. 

Look at the Wall Street folks and then look at the gun totin’, dimwitted, racist bigots that have been captured on You Tube of the Tea Party demonstrations.  Although not universally representative, this bloc has not been officially rebuked by the organization.  The young, and older, people at Liberty Plaza in New York would make TPers look like boneheads. 

So now that we have this dissimilarity established, what do these people want?  They aren’t quite sure yet but then, the movement is only around a month old.  The one thing they are sure of is they want the power of Wall Street and the financial community diluted.  Some signs screamed "Less is More" and "Capitalism is evil."  Sounds like candidates for a Social Democracy.

But there is a clear-drawn comparison here, and it is with Independent voters.  Not in philosophy but rather in the momentum of the movement.  Independents don’t lay down a partisan creed, but rather stand for a multitude of ideologies.  Today they represent 40 percent of the voting population and they are growing on a daily basis with crossovers from Republicans and Democrats. 

“The group's lack of specificity serves a purpose because it invites outrage over a full spectrum of societal grievances,” says Bill Dobbs, another activist from the 2004 Republican National Convention demonstrations.  But “Occupy’s” thrust is without question directed at the greed of Wall Street and corporations and their accountability.  And they are willing to put their freedom on the line: 700 people were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Some did voice their specific concerns.  One said it was “corporate influence in politics;” another wants the money to be spent on “meeting people’s needs.”  Similar demonstrations have already been planned or carried out in Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston.  During the day Sunday, I heard one news report that shows the “Occupy” concept has gone worldwide.  It will be very hard to contain this movement if the White House and Congress don’t act quickly.

Model airplanes in the hands of terrorists?

Most guys remember building model airplanes, especially if you are in the Senior set.  Maybe even some gals.  It was fun seeing the model come to life as you added the pieces of balsa wood with pins to hold them in place.  You probably had a Xacto knife for the precision work of cutting the pieces.  And when the body was ready, it was time to apply the paper fuselage and administer a liquid covering that would both protect and make the paper taut. 

You were finished, and then many of us hung the plane somewhere in our room so that we could marvel over our accomplishment.  Others put together a rubber band mechanism during construction of the body that, when wound tightly, would keep the model airborne for a short period of time.  Never once did I think that in the later development of this concept, some deranged individual would come up with the idea to place explosives inside to make it a terrorist weapon.

Of course, in those days there was no terrorism, at least as we know it today.  We had wars but they were fought on the ground, in the air and at sea, away from America.  Terrorism has brought the war to the United States, and it is something we are finding hard to come to grips with.  In 2008, Time Magazine reported that George W. Bush had spent $1 trillion fighting terrorism.  I am sure President Obama is currently spending at least at a similar rate.

And then recently some unhinged guy from Boston was arrested and accused of plotting to bomb the U.S. Capitol and Pentagon with a remote-controlled model airplane loaded with explosives.  Just the latest Jihad against America, a mujahid bent on destruction.  These are not the same balsa wood models we’re used to building, according to the FBI.  These are “military-jet replicas, 5 feet to 7 1/2 feet long, guided by GPS devices and capable of speeds over 100 mph.”

The feds have known about this for a while and are keeping their eyes open, obviously.  And some counter-terrorism experts and model airplane hobbyists say it would be near-impossible for Rezwan Ferdaus, the culprit, to do serious damage.  Others say that serious damage is possible but that it would be difficult to achieve.  However, the flying of these models into federal buildings isn’t the only problem here.  The larger challenge is keeping up with the new methods used to wreak havoc by the terrorists.

 The two planes planned for use by Ferdaus were the F-4 Phantom and the F-86 Sabre ranging in price from $6,000 to $20,000.  This proves these people are backed financially, and the meticulous pre-planning using GPS for targeting shows the degree of their organization.  He had planned to stuff 24 pounds of C-4 explosive in the planes and was arrested when trying to buy it.  Explosives expert James Crippin says that much fire-power could do serious damage, but others commented it would have to be a direct hit, like through a window.

The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee says recent advances in model airplane technology could make this even more attractive to the terrorists.  Manufacturers will innocently continue to develop and upgrade their products, playing right into the hands of the radicals.  Just like the gun industry feeds the never-ending avidity for more dangerous weapons.  The only answer to this complex problem is more regulation.

It has been established that terrorists will take advantage of any new technological advances to kill Americans.  They have come up with so many new methods recently that the frightening thing at this point is when they decide to step back and look at their arsenal and determine just how to combine all these channels for maximum effect.

Will the NRA condone blasting human remains out of one of “their” guns?

Yeah, it’s true.  Two yokels from Alabama have come up with a way to stuff the human remains of your loved ones into the gun shells of everything from a handgun to a shotgun.  They say it is the “perfect way for avid hunters to honor their loved ones for eternity.”  These guys are Alabama game wardens, Thad Holmes and Clem Parnell, and Holmes said, "We know how strange it sounds to people who aren't comfortable around guns, but for those who are, it's not weird at all." 

Guns or no guns, this is weird.  It seems to me like you are adding violence to an already solemn situation.  The two men liken it to people who take loved ones’ ashes and spread them from planes or in areas favored by the deceased.  I’m afraid I do not agree with this comparison.  But, then, I am also an advocate of controlling guns and certainly at least partially biased in the matter.

The company started in July and just shipped its first two orders.  If you want to blow your beloved away in a hollow point, it will cost you $850.  There don’t appear to be many restrictions but you can’t use some National parks without a permit.  You can also read the rules of etiquette at this site.  If there are any loved-one-leftovers after loading the shells, the company, Holy Smoke, will return it with your order.  Then you can go on your merry way firing family all over town.

And speaking of stupid gun ideas, watch the following Rick Perry comment:

My intention here is not to dishonor the dead, rather, to point out the fact that the macabre love of guns has taken a new and hilarious turn that does seem to fit the personalities of some zealous gun nuts.  My question is how Wayne LaPierre, Exec. V.P. of the National Rifle Assn., will react to this move.  The NRA has had its share of ridicule and this seems to be just another of those good-ole-boy zany ideas.

Thad and Clem say they have interest from law enforcement, fire departments, the military, even those interested in memorializing their pets in this manner.  Far be it from me to put down a couple of ambitious entrepreneurs, especially when the economy is faltering the way it is.  Particularly when Alabama comes in 45^th in the nation for average income.  Also, you might be interested that Daily Beast ranks the state 10^th in the “most armed” classification.

It begins to look like there is no stopping the appalling love for guns, and the owners and their constant crutch, the NRA, from having them in all settings of our every day lives.  But it is also hard to understand how, with the daily reports of gun violence across the country, these self-centered, unconscious fakers can continue to spout…there aren’t too many guns out there.

Morgan Freeman attack of racism on Tea Party does raise some skeletons

Morgan Freeman was interviewed on the Piers Morgan TV Talk Show calling the Tea Party movement “a racist thing.”  He added, “Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term.  What underlines that?  Screw the country. We're going to {do} whatever we can to get this black man outta here.”  In the Huff Post he commented on how this group has illustrated there is still hate remaining in America.

To be fair, the racism aspect should only be attributed to a low-life faction of the Tea Party.  God knows, the group is already a bunch of certifiable wackos without adding the racial mix.  But it was apparently bad enough that the NAACP voted to repudiate the racist element of theparty in July of 2010.  They said, “We take no issue with the Tea Party movement. We believe in freedom of assembly and people raising their voices in a democracy. What we take issue with is the Tea Party’s continued tolerance for bigotry and bigoted statements…”

I did some research on signs carried by Tea Party racists in their demonstrations and it clearly fits the charge made by Morgan Freeman.  Slogans like, “Cap Congress and trade Obama back to Kenya,” “The zoo has an African and the White House has a lyin African,” and a picture of three monkeys, papa and mama with Obama’s face superimposed over the baby monkey.  I thought I had left this behind when I exited the South over four decades ago.

Ron Schiller, former executive with Nat’l Public Radio joined the melee against the Tea Party.  He was caught on ahidden camera by James O’Keefe, who brought down ACORN, saying the TPers were “scary” and “seriously racist.”  Schiller also called the GOP anti-intellectual saying, “…that America did not have enough "educated, so-called elite" citizens…”  Schiller added about tea partyers, "I mean, basically they ... believe in sort of white, middle-America, gun-toting. I mean, it's scary. They're seriously racist, racist people."

No Tea Party article would be complete without a mention of Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce who is up for recall next month.  It seems that accused scam candidate Olivia Cortes, who was recruited and backed by Arizona TPers to run against Pearce just to dilute the vote against the other candidate, Jerry Lewis, and who was completely discredited under oath in court recently, is in trouble. 

According to a column by LaurieRoberts in the Arizona Republic, Cortes “doesn't know who's behind the "Sí, se puede!" campaign signs - the new slogan, apparently, of conservative Republicans everywhere.”  “She doesn't know who paid for the petition circulators who obtained most of the nominating signatures needed to get her onto the ballot.”  “She doesn't know who designed her website, the one that went up the day the lawsuit challenging her candidacy was filed.”  “She'd never seen one of her two news releases - the "racism is alive" piece, written by a tea-party activist and quoting Cortes as saying Latinos should be outraged at those who question the legitimacy of her campaign.”

There’s more you can read on the Roberts site, above.

The racism comment is completely laughable considering the source, but the whole Cortes affair just shows how far the Tea Party will go to fulfill their mission of bringing down the United States.  Pearce is, of course, an avid tea partyer, and dirty politics are something he thrives on.  Hopefully, Arizona will be getting rid of him in November.  Too bad we can’t do the same with the Tea Party.

Is there a conspiracy in the running and control of the state governments?

This is the first in a series of articles on two ultra-secret organizations that have been accused repeatedly of dictating the laws that govern the United States, the Illuminati and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Are there one or more secret organizations that exert control over business executives, politicians, state legislatures and governors, even the President, wielding enough power and domination by corporations, to literally run the United States?  A very credible organization, The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) says yes. 

For the last several months they have been reporting on an organization by the name of American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and their findings are bone-chilling.  An ALEC whistleblower recently released records that included copies of 800 model bills approved by corporations you can see here.  You will be shocked at the amount of proposed anti-consumer legislation including things like eroding the rights of workers by limiting their union privileges.  Favoring banks and predatory lenders over what is good for the consumer.

There’s more.  Bills from ALEC corporations and their legislative partners that would privatize Medicare, deregulate health insurers, protect negligent doctors, and cut holes in the safety net.  Bills that would decrease the power of the American voter in favor of giving corporations even more power to use their vast financial resources to influence elections in our democracy. 

Bills that would have taxpayers subsidizing the profits of the private prison industry by putting more people in for-profit prisons and keeping them in jail for longer. The bills also would put more guns on streets and interfere with local law enforcement decisions about how best to interact with immigrant communities.  Bills that would privatize public education, crush teacher's unions, and push American universities to the right.

There’s much more and you can see it at ALECExposed.org.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking ALEC is a lobby or even a front group.  It is much more controlling and devious than either.  According to CMD, “Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line.”  To hell with the consumer.  ALEC has its own governing board but “says that corporations do not vote on the board.”  However, corporations do fund almost all of ALEC's operations. 

Legislators, a majority of which are conservative Republicans, birddog these proposals and introduce them to their state legislatures at home as their own dazzling ideas.  No mention is made that ALEC conceived and drafted these laws that are 100 percent pro-business.  The CMD says that there are some 1,000 of these bills introduced every year with one in five enacted into law.  This means that at least 200 laws are passed annually in this country that originate strictly from the viewpoint of big business.

Although ALEC describes itself as non-partisan, according to CMD, “The facts show that it currently has one Democrat out of 104 legislators in leadership positions. ALEC members, speakers, alumni, and award winners are a “who’s who” of the extreme right.”  The organization claims 2,000 legislative members and 300 or more corporate members.  Is it legal?  CMD says “ALEC’s operating model raises many ethical and legal concerns. Each state has a different set of ethics laws or rules.”

NEXT TIME: More about ALEC and CMD’s drive to dump the organization.

FUTURE POSTS: Is there a connection between ALEC and the Illuminati?

Frightening numbers from the U.S. Census on poverty

In 2010 the nation’s poverty rate was 15.1 percent or 46.2 million people doing without food, living on the streets or suffering a multitude of other challenges to their dignity.  That’s a 14.3 percent increase over 2009 and you can bet that this increase includes many of those who are out of work due to the recent economic crisis.  These are current figures from the Census Bureau. 

There are some that have been in poverty for years; a disgrace.  Others are simply homeless and happy on the street; also a disgrace that we allow it to happen.  Child poverty rose from 20.7 percent to 22 percent; clearly the worse disgrace of all.  For those age 65+ the numbers were basically unchanged at 9 percent, but also surging in 2009 during the economic downturn.

Median income was even down 2.3 percent to $49,445, and there are 49.9 million Americans without health insurance.  Health reform was passed by a mixed Congress in 2010 but the major aspects of the legislation don’t take effect until 2014.  One benefit was available last year and that allows young adults 26 and younger to obtain coverage from their parent’s health insurance.

There was some sunshine in media coverage from a local columnist, E.J. Montini, who writes for the Arizona Republic in Phoenix.  Montini met a panhandler called Mr. Lucky on the street who asked him for change and the reporter gave up 57 cents, including two pennies.

Mr. Lucky treasured the pennies because he would place them where others could find them and experience the old saying: “Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you’ll have good luck.”  That’s why he was called Mr. Lucky.  This man’s generosity flies in the face of Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer and the state Legislature refusing to extend federal unemployment benefits to the unemployed.  On top of that, the Arizona Court of Appeals had to overturn a Phoenix ordnance prohibiting panhandling.

Crunching numbers in ethnic groups, Hispanics in poverty increased from 25.3 percent to 26.6 percent.  Blacks, from 25.8 to 27.4.  Whites from 9.4 to 9.9.  Asians were flat at 12.1 percent.  Mississippi had the highest rate of poor followed by Louisiana, D.C., Georgia, New Mexico and Arizona.  A public policy professor at the University of Chicago says the worst may be yet to come due to the increased demand for food stamps this year and the significant numbers of those unemployed more than 26 weeks.

If the American economy continues to spiral down, and unemployment remains high, those affected will eventually come to the conclusion that their future might well be better off in a Social Democracy.