Raul Grijalva: Good Friend of Communists

Raul Grijalva is a long-time Southern Arizona congressman running for re-election in November. 

By Trevor Loudon, Contributing Writer, The Epoch Times

December 26, 2018

Long-time Communist Party USA ally Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is to chair the critical House Committee on Natural Resources. This position will give Grijalva significant influence over key economic and environmental decisions.

In this position, he will be able to stall and otherwise influence legislation and create major uncertainty for potential infrastructure, natural resource, and energy investors.

Grijalva is so excited about his new post that he has even opted to resign from his influential position as co-chair of the far-left Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Allowing a man with Grijalva’s radical record to wield such influence could have disastrous implications for American jobs and economic growth.

The Early Years

Grijalva foreshadowed his legislative strategy in 2013 when he revealed to In These Times, a Democratic Socialists of America affiliated publication, that “I’m a Saul Alinsky guy,” referring to the “community organizer” who mentored Hillary Clinton and inspired Barack Obama.

But even the Marxist Alinsky wasn’t Grijalva’s most radical influence.

According to a 2009 Center for Immigration Studies memorandum, as a young activist in Tucson, Arizona, Grijalva became a leader in several Marxist-leaning groups including the Chicano Liberation Committee, which pressured the University of Arizona to implement affirmative action for Chicano staff and establish a Mexican-American Studies program.

Grijalva was also active in Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), which agitated for the return of the “Chicano” areas of the U.S. Southwest to Mexico. The group’s motto was “Por la raza todo, fuera de la raza nada,” which translates to “For the race, everything; outside the race, nothing.”

Grijalva further joined the radical Raza Unida Party. After losing a school board race in 1972, Grijalva dropped some of his revolutionary posing and sought to involve himself in more “mainstream” Democratic Party politics.

In 1993, Grijalva, identified at that time as a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, wrote an anti-NAFTA article headlined “North America Needs ‘Fair’ Trade” for the Nov. 13 edition of the Communist Party USA’s newspaper People’s Weekly World (which has since changed its name to People’s World).

Through the 1990s, Grijalva used his Pima County position to assist Communist Party USA-affiliated organizations, such as the Southern Arizona People’s Law Center and the Tucson Tenants Union.

By the early 2000s, Grijalva was ready for the big time, and the Communist Party USA was eager to help.

Communist Party Assistance

According to Tucson Communist Party USA leader Steve Valencia, his mentor—the late Arizona Communist Party USA chair Lorenzo Torrez—was a pioneer in the “struggle” for Mexican-American political representation.

Valencia told People’s World newspaper in 2012, “I always say: Before [Communist Party USA-aligned Democratic Rep.] Ed Pastor and Raul Grijalva, there was Lorenzo Torrez.”

The article continues: “Pastor and Grijalva are Arizona’s first two Mexican Americans [sic] members of the U.S. Congress. But Torrez ran for Congress before they ran, and also boldly ran against Republican Senator Barry Goldwater.

“‘Lorenzo told us it is time for these majority Latino districts to be represented by a Mexican American,’ said Valencia. ‘He wanted voters to see a Latino name on the ballot.’

“When Pastor declared his candidacy, Torrez rallied the Tucson CP [Communist Party] club to join in the effort. Pastor’s victory in 1991 set the stage for Grijalva’s election in 2002.”

On Sept. 21, 2002, the People’s World published an article headlined “People Gain in Arizona Primaries” by local Communist Party leader Joe Bernick. It dealt mainly with Grijalva’s victory in the recent Democratic Party primary:

“The tireless efforts of hundreds of grassroots volunteers dealt a blow to the corporate establishment here and their attempt to dominate Southern Arizona politics in the Sept. 10 primary election.

“Long-time progressive Raul Grijalva routed seven other candidates to win the Democratic nomination for CD-7, one of Arizona’s two new Congressional seats. …

“As a Pima County Supervisor and Tucson School Board member Grijalva consistently fought for working people’s interests.

“The Grijalva campaign was a textbook example of how to conduct a people’s campaign, beginning with its name: ‘A whole lot of people for Grijalva.’ Hundreds of people came out seven days a week, sometimes twice on Saturday, to wear out tons of shoe leather.

“Grijalva thanked labor for its key support and for ‘putting the union label on me.’ He promised the Southern Arizona Central Labor Council, at its Sept. 12 meeting, to become ‘an extension of the voice of labor in the U.S. Congress.’”

At a meeting of the National Board of the Communist Party USA in South Chicago, on the last weekend of January 2003, an Arizona activist boasted, “Using street heat tactics, all of labor worked to back one candidate Raul Grijalva in Tucson … And we won!”

Tucson Communist Party USA supporter Susan Thorpe confirmed this narrative in an article covering the 2002 Grijalva campaign in an article in People’s World on Nov. 7, 2003, titled “Arizona: Grassroots Can Beat Big Bucks”:

“Nevertheless, here in Tucson, we are gearing up for local elections in 2003 and the presidential election ahead in 2004 by using the same tactics we did in 2002 to get Raul Grijalva elected to Congress. …

“Congressman Raul Grijalva is proving to be a wonderful voice for the people of Arizona. And our movement and those important connections made during his campaign are still alive in Tucson.”

In Congress, Grijalva worked to help the Communist Party USA where he could.

Returning the Favor

According to a 2005 statement by Latinos for Peace (an anti-Iraq War front for the Communist Party USA) published in the Communist Party USA theoretical journal Political Affairs on Oct. 4, 2005: “On Monday September 26 we participated in the peace movement lobby day at the capitol. We met with Rep Raul Grijalva who said he would work to help build our campaign.”

On July 13, 2006, Communist Party USA member Carolyn Trowbridge addressed 14 fellow black-shrouded members of the “peace” group “Raging Grannies” along with 40 supporters. Trowbridge’s speech was followed by “a reading of an antiwar speech” by Grijalva. They then marched to the late Sen. John McCain’s office to “deliver a petition on Iraq demanding an immediate end to the U.S. occupation, the closing of all U.S. military bases and the removal all U.S. mercenaries and corporate involvement,” according to People’s World.

Later that same year, on Nov. 7, Arizona voters became the first in the nation to reject a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The campaign was led by activist group Arizona Together. Both Arizona state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema and Congressman Grijalva assisted the campaign.

According to Arizona Communist Party leader and Arizona Together activist Joe Bernick, who wrote it up in the People’s World:

“Why Arizona? How come voters in more liberal states have voted for similar hateful laws while conservative Arizona voted no?

“So how did we do it? The answer is: educating, organizing and mobilizing.

“As soon as proponents started circulating petitions to put 107 on the ballot, opponents brought out their own clipboards, signing up thousands of volunteers. Arizona Together emerged as the campaign committee, chaired by progressive state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.

“Congressman Raul Grijalva appeared on radio ads calling Prop. 107 an attack on working families. The Grijalva campaign worked closely with Arizona Together, using its literature in their extensive door-to-door canvassing.”

Sinema, now the newly elected U.S. senator from Arizona, also has close ties to the Communist Party USA.

On March 29, 2003, Grijalva sponsored and addressed the Third Annual Cesar Chavez Day March and Rally for Peace.

The rally was organized by Tucson Communist Party member and high school teacher Ray Siqueiros, one of the most militant teachers in Tucson. In 2006, Siqueiros was involved in organizing a mass walk-out by Tucson high school students protesting proposed legislation that would classify illegal immigrants as felons. Some of the students waved Mexican flags.

In June 2015, Siqueiros received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Grijalva for “valuable service to the community.”

Border Security

In September 2015, the late Sen. John McCain from Arizona introduced legislation (S750) to exempt certain projects from environmental protection laws, in order to better enhance border security.

S750, if passed, “would exclude new surveillance installations and other border patrol activities from environmental protection laws. The bill would apply to federal lands within 100 miles of the U.S.–Mexico border in Arizona and parts of California,” according to People’s World.

Grijalva was apparently willing to work with the Communist Party USA to stop legislation designed to keep America’s borders secure.

Then the senior Democrat in the House’s Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulations, Grijalva fought back against the proposal.

Grijalva spoke at a forum co-sponsored by the Communist Party USA-led Arizona Peace Council, and the Communist Party USA-run Salt of the Earth Labor College, saying he was “confident regarding the ability to defeat S750 provided people stay aware of it and speak out against it.”

According to People’s World, Grijalva said in part: It’s a two pronged agenda. … Part of the agenda … [is] to end any legislative hope … that we would end up with something semi-rational in terms of comprehensive immigration reform because this bill is about enforcement only—only enforcement. …

“The other agenda is about attacking bedrock environmental laws that have been on the books for 50, 40, 45 years. … It’s both about immigration and the environment and citizen accountability and participation in decision making.”

As today’s Communist Party USA is loyal to Cuba, China, and Venezuela, Grijalva was effectively attempting to aid and abet enemies of the Republic.

The Communist Party USA is the sworn enemy of American capitalism.

Houston Communist Party leader Bernard Sampson wrote only this past September: “We aren’t like other parties. We are a party dedicated to the overthrow of the capitalist class in this country.”

Yet Grijalva has worked with these people for more than 30 years. He is clearly fully on board with the Communist Party USA agenda.

Imagine the damage Grijalva will be able to do to America’s economy, environment, and national security as Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources. Communist Party USA leaders must be rubbing their hands in revolutionary glee.

Americans likely do not realize that elected officials such as Grijalva are not required to undergo any form of background security check before serving on sensitive committees. If they were, Grijalva would certainly fail.

America’s enemies are aware of this loophole and are using it to their advantage.

Trevor Loudon is an author, filmmaker and public speaker from New Zealand. For more than 30 years, he has researched radical left, Marxist, and terrorist movements and their covert influence on mainstream politics.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch

Tipirneni is Big Abortion Advocate

If you support Big Abortion then former doctor Hiral Tipirnini is your vote for Tuesday’s special election in Arizona’s Eighth Congressional District. Here’s her view on Big Abortion:

I fervently believe our elected representatives should support policies reflecting clearly established women’s reproductive health rights. In short, abortions should stay safe, legal, and rare. And, for the record, no one is “pro-abortion” – one is essentially either pro-choice or anti-choice.

Tipirnini is a firm supporter of Planned Parenthood, even though that corrupt organization has been:

  • Sued in 10 states for refusing to report the rapes of underage girls and protecting their abusers;
  • Found to have defrauded the government and you the taxpayer by unethical billing in more than half the states;
  • Illegally profited off the sale of dead baby body parts;
  • Lying about performing mammograms.

The former doctor’s TV commercials show her joyfully consulting with patients in a hospital, but this is a dishonest portrayal. She admitted to Channel 15 News that she has NOT treated a patient since 2007. Still the commercial is airing on TV, deceiving the voters.

She settled in a malpractice lawsuit brought against her leaving her medical practice.

The malpractice lawsuit was filed by a Phoenix woman, Belen Carrillo, before her death.  Carrillo claimed that Tipirneni and a physicians employee group failed to give her a medically necessary tetanus immunization while treating her for a leg wound in 2001. According to the plaintiff’s lawyer and son, Carrillo, then 72, contracted tetanus, ended up in a coma for weeks, and suffered kidney failure. The lawsuit says Carrillo sustained “permanent injury and disability.”

During a debate, Tipirneni announced her agenda to push Medicare for All – a program that will bankrupt Social Security, leaving one in six Arizonans without benefits. As a former ER doctor, she should know better. Hiral Tipirneni’s disingenuous commitment to healthcare simply to win an election will end up harming thousands of Arizonans.

RNC Spokesperson Renae Eze said:

“Hiral Tipirneni has demonstrated a blatant disregard for the well-being of Arizonans, first hiding her malpractice lawsuits and now prioritizing  Medicare for All to the detriment of Social Security. Medicare for All will completely bankrupt the Social Security program, and as a former ER doctor she should know that. You would think an ER doctor would fight to protect people’s benefits, but Tipirneni seems only concerned with winning an election.”The Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, claimed to “not be about party lines,” but then said “the real fight is with the GOP agenda.”

  • Tipirneni showed she was anti-border security when she called the idea of a border wall “not appropriate” and said she did not support spending “even a fraction” of the estimated costs associated with building it.
  • Tipirneni called The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act “absolutely wrong” and claimed money “would not trickle down to anyone.”
    • Yet, contrary to the doctor’s diagnosis, many Arizonans have received bonuses and other benefits thanks to the tax cuts, and at least one business in the 8th District has already given their employees a wage increase because of the tax cuts.
  • Despite Obamacare premium increases of 116 percent statewide, Dr. Tipirneni said Obamacare has “helped” and she supports “strengthening and stabilizing [Obamacare].”
  • Dr. Tipirneni has taken liberal, out-of-touch positions on abortion and gun control, among other issues.

This Big Government Democrat socialist supports free education for illegal aliens and opposes strong border protections and the wall.

This candidate is a fraud and her campaign is a complete charade portraying her as someone she is not. But now you who she really is.

It’s clear that Debbie Lesko is the deserving candidate for Congress.

The Reign of America’s Most Corrupt President Comes to an End

A list of Obama’s Scandals

Abuse of power — using the IRS to punish political opponents

Abuse of power — using the Department of Justice to protect wrongdoing by his administration

Fiscal malfeasance — adding $8 trillion to the national debt

Performance malfeasance — playing golf on average every nine days, exorbitant mis-use of public funds by exceeding vacation allowance all eight years in office

Clunker presidency — he used your tax dollars to attempt to take old inefficient cars off the roads, but the term “clunker presidency” describes his incompetence in eight years as president

Dishonesty — lying and deceit are the hallmarks of his failed presidency

Obamacare — you could not keep your doctor, your premiums rose substantially, your premiums did not guarantee that you actually received medical treatment

Enemy of the people — the Obama State Department was an enemy of the people at the United Nations, where it opposed the sanctity of human life, marriage and religious freedom

Campaign finance violations — Obama, like Clinton before him, accepted illegal foreign contributions for his election campaigns

Billions of taxpayer dollars gambled on “green” companies like Solyndra, NextEra, Ener1, Solar Trust and many others — all of which went bankrupt.

An intentional refusal to enforce federal immigration laws.

Destruction of the economy — bad business policies discouraged 14 million Americans from participating in the work force; the number of Americans out of the work force under Obama increased an astounding 17.5 percent, to 94 million; Obama threatened to close down businesses and private charities for refusing to provide health insurance coverage of abortion-inducing drugs

Stimulus — Obama gave billions of your tax dollars to union friends who in turned gave it back to him in the form of campaign contributions

Food stamp America — 15 percent of Americans are now on food stamps, an unprecedented figure

Weakened the U.S. military and damaged morale by threatening dishonorable discharges for chaplains and service personnel who wanted to exercise their First Amendment religious freedom

Weakened the military by interjecting the radical homosexual agenda onto the armed forces

Operation Fast and Furious — supplied guns to Mexican drug cartels who in turn used these weapons to kill an American border patrolman

Drugs — Obama’s open border allowed illegal drugs into the United States, damaging the lives of Americans and perpetuating drug addictions

Endangering Americans by flying foreign children with communicable diseases into the U.S.

Intervened our military in Libya without consent of Congress

Changed laws through executive order, circumventing the separation of powers

Ran weapons illegally out of Bengazi and left four Americans to die during a terrorist attack and then lied to their families about the actual cause of the attack

Wasted millions of your tax dollars on Solyndra and other failed companies.

Fined oil companies for causing the death of eagles and hawks, but refused to fine wind turbine companies for causing the deaths of many times more raptors

Gave away $800 billion in tax dollars to “shovel-ready” jobs that did not exist

Gave away millions of tax dollars for stimulus jobs in non-existent congressional districts, such as the non-existent 15th Congressional District in Arizona

America’s credit rating was downgraded due to his incompetence

Appointed numerous czars to positions without any oversight or accountability to government agencies, including the communist Van Jones

Appointed Kevin Jennings, a radical leftist who supported pedophilia, to be “safe schools czar”

Sued states and law enforcement officials for attempting to uphold federal immigration laws

Befriended Islamic terrorists

Endorsed Planned Parenthood, an organization under investigation for defrauding the government of millions of taxpayer dollars, refusing to report the sexual offenders of underage girls and illegally selling baby body parts

Damaged relations with long-standing American allies

Interfered with elections in Israel and obsessed on pressuring Israel to make concessions to Islamic terrorists

Appointed Tim Geithner, who had evaded paying taxes, secretary of the treasury

Fired government investigator Gerald Walpin for uncovering scandals by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a friend of and donor of Obama

Compiled from staff and news reports, including The Investment Watch blog

Phoenix Mayor Blinded by Dust Storm; Progressivism is Business Killer

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton claims progressivism is the better plan for business. That’s what he actually told the Phoenix Business Journal.

It seems that ever since the last time a haboob passed through Phoenix area, the mayor’s vision and ability to reason have been severely clouded!

Obviously, the mayor has not been able to see the moving trucks coming in from California and heading for Texas. They’ve left the socialist state for a state that welcomes businesses and doesn’t overburden them with excessive taxation and regulation.

It is evident the mayor doesn’t know that where the minimum wage has been raised — to the lofty heights of $15 an hour in some locations — some have lost their jobs. Many small businesses cannot afford that exorbitant rate, which also means fewer part-time jobs are available.

Stanton also fails to acknowledge that America’s Socialist In Chief, B.H. Obama, has threatened to put out of business those who refuse to provide abortion coverage in their health insurance plans. Through his Obama abortion mandate, the prez would rather harm the business community and the economy, putting families out of work, raising money for Planned Parenthood. He’d rather stand in the way of small businesses, religious colleges and faith-based organizations than allow the economy and the business market to thrive. That’s astounding, mayor.

Progressives have long been strangling businesses in red tape, over-regulation and interference with their ability to survive. This is why we hear about American workers forced to train foreigners to take their jobs and why we lose business to other nations. Think Government Motors moving auto plants to Mexico — where Mexicans gain employment and Americans lose employment.

Progressivism is socialism, which means Big Government, small citizen, small private business.

Obama actually once told businesses, “Now is not the time for profits.” But that’s not surprising for a socialist progressive who prefers that government keep its all-powerful thumb on business.

And that leads us right to unions. Progressives reap huge campaign contributions from unions because they are downright anti-business.

Progressives are also bullish on illegal aliens — future Democratic voters and underminers of the American worker.

Furthermore, progressivism has damaged our public education system for decades, eroding America’s ability to train the workers we need for an efficient business climate and economy. Foreign nationals are getting engineering and doctor’s jobs here because the schools are not preparing enough Americans for those high-paying jobs.

So, bottom line, Mayor Stanton: stop dreaming and stop lying. Clear out your vision and admit the truth. Progressivism is a detriment to business. Conservatism, capitalism create the optimal business climate and represent the best interests of the American worker and the families they feed.

Remember this as election time nears and as you vote. Vote smart. Vote against progressivism, which is the perfect recipe for economic and business failure. Remember also: it was progressive socialists who forced the housing market fiasco that cost many a good American his/her retirement.

Mrs. Bill Clinton: ‘We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good’

Now that Mrs. Bill Clinton has wrapped up the Democrat Party nomination for the presidential election, it’s time to examine her past and who she really is:

As U.S. Senator from New York, Mrs. Bill Clinton’s chief accomplishment was winning a debate against her Republican election opponent.

As secretary of state, she intentionally lied when she insisted America’s consulate in Benghazi was attacked because of a Youtube video that was critical of Islam.

Mrs. Clinton is currently under investigation for using a private server to store classified government documents.

Also, Clinton is a member of the “National Organization for Women Who Approve of Elected Male Officials Who Have Abused Women but Support Abortion Rights.”

Clinton supports Planned Parenthood, which is on defense in several courts for refusing to protect under-age girls from rapists, under investigation for defrauding the government of millions of dollars and under investigation for illegally selling baby body parts. She says abortion should be safe, legal and rare.

She said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in favor of Hobby Lobby’s religious freedom is a slippery slope for women – even though the nation has no history of forcing employers to violate their consciences and provide abortion drugs.

Fought in 1993 for the U.S. to fast-track government approval of RU-486, a dangerous drug which has killed several women and girls and caused complications for many more.

She supported the grisly, barbaric practice of partial-birth infanticide.

She supposedly supports women’s rights, but paid her women staffers at the Department of State less than men.

She is a big fan of the late Saul Alinsky and practices his Rules for Radicals – the book he dedicated to Lucifer — in all of her political activities. He invited her to work for him as a community agitator. Clinton says she believes in tactics over principles.

As First Lady, Mrs. Clinton attempted – in secret meetings — to force socialism and government medical insurance on the nation, but failed.

She made up lies to try to justify the firing of White House Travel Bureau employees, allegations which were proven false.

She said the unborn have no rights.

Mrs. Clinton enabled her husband’s rampant womanizing by trashing the women who were used and abused by himd – rather than sympathizing with them and acknowledging  a very serious problem.

Clinton wanted the U.S. to apologize for slavery.

She supported the Defense of Marriage Act, then said she “evolved” on same-sex marriage.

Also, she supports “hate” crimes laws. Even though all crimes are commited with contempt for the victim.

She wrote an op-ed claiming Common Core was recycled Clinton policy from the 1980s and 1990s. She opposes school vouchers.

Clinton believes in so-called manmade “global warming” and supports the Kyoto Treaty and cap and trade policy.

Plagiarized the title of the book “It Takes a Village.” Author Jonah Goldberg said of the book: “No more thorough explication of the liberal fascist agenda can be found than in Hillary Clinton’s best-selling book, “It Takes a Village.” All the hallmarks of the fascist enterprise reside within its pages.” Clinton learned from Marian Wright Edelman how to use children as propaganda tools for her ideological agenda: childhood is a crisis, and the government must come to the rescue. “I cannot say enough in support of home visits,” Clinton said.

Big government advocate.

Clinton said Wall Street donates to me because I rebuilt them after 9/11.

She voted against voter ID, though the Democrats require photo ID to attend their national conventions.

Clinton wants tough gun control and says gun manufacturers should be subject to lawsuits (for individuals’ behavior).

She says that because she is a woman she is a political outsider.

If elected president, Mrs. Clinton says Bill Clinton will advise her and represent the U.S. abroad.

She considers herself a member of the “Christian Left.” It’s a religion whose “god” is government.

She voted against the confirmation of John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

Clinton is proud of the controversial nuclear agreement with Iran in which the U.S. got taken for a ride.

As a U.S. Senator, Mrs. Clinton delivered a half-billion dollars in earmarks to 59 corporations. Then 64 percent of those corporations donated to her campaign.

She said she flew into Bosnia in 1996 and ran through sniper fire on the ground. Video showed a calm, peaceful deplaning, and Clinton later called the lie a “minor blip.”

The Clinton Foundation has accepted millions of dollars in exchange for political favors by Hillary and Bill Clinton, and it is still happening today. The Clintons have accepted illegal campaign cash from convicted criminals like Mauricio Celis, of Mexico, and Norman Hsu, of Hong Kong. They pardoned Mark Rich after his wife gave them a huge donation

In his book, “Liberal Fascism,” Jonah Goldberg wrote: Clinton “is a representative figure, the leading member of a generational cohort of elite liberals who brought fascist themes into mainstream liberalism. … What follows, then, is a group portrait of Hillary and her friends – the leading proponents and exemplars of liberal fascism in our time.”

She was offered an internship in the Berkeley office of attorney Robert Truehaft, a communist who fought for the Stalinist faction the California labor movement.

As an attorney in Arkansas, Mrs. Clinton wrote articles in favor of children’s “rights” to divorce their parents. Goldberg wrote: “Hillary Clinton’s writings on children show a clear, unapologetic, and principled desire to insert the state deep into family life – a goal that is in perfect accord with similar efforts by totalitarians of the past. … She condones the state’s assumption of parental responsibilities … because she is opposed to the principle of parental authority in any form.” She believes families hold children back and the state sets them free. “Hillary Clinton’s ideas are, in general, fascist.”

Hillary’s guru was Rabbi Michael Lerner, who authored The New Socialist Revolution. He wrote of the coming socialist take-over.

One of Hillary Clinton’s most outrageous statements: “We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”

 

State Moves for Pension Reform; Voter Approval Needed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 16, 2016

PHOENIX – Governor Doug Ducey today signed bipartisan legislation that will preserve the state’s pension system for police and firefighters, lower the financial burden on public employers and bring needed predictability for hardworking, tax-paying Arizonans. Key elements of the plan require voter approval, and will go to the ballot on May 17.

“It’s been a long process, but the result is a bipartisan, well-informed and meaningful plan that will protect our taxpayers while providing a sustainable pension system for the women and men who risk their lives every day to keep us safe,” said Governor Ducey. “I’m grateful to Senator Debbie Lesko – who has been working closely with stakeholders and lawmakers to come up with a workable plan – as well as all the legislators who’ve stepped up to support it.  Today, we are one step closer to setting our pension system on a path to financial stability while improving the way it serves our brave cops and firefighters.”

The pension reform package, sponsored by Senator Lesko in SB 1428 and SB 1429, makes several changes to the current Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, which has long been seen as financially-strained and unsustainable for members and taxpayers alike. Key reforms, which affect new hires only, include:

  • Requiring new public employees to serve until the age of 55 before being eligible for full pension benefits, which will reduce costs to states and cities (taxpayers) and improve the sustainability of the fund;
  • Placing a hard cap on pension benefits for new hires to crack down on “pension spiking” and ensure predictability and accountability for taxpayers;
  • Splitting the cost of pensions 50/50 between employers and new employees to bring the system more in-line with other state retirement plans, ensure both sides have skin in the game and reduce risks to taxpayers;
  • Providing new hires the option of a 100-percent defined contribution plan, similar to a 401K, which allows for increased flexibility and portability of the employee’s funds (e.g. if they move out-of-state);
  • Tie cost-of-living adjustments for retirees’ to the regional Consumer Price Index, with a cap of 2 percent. In order for this change to apply to current members of PSPRS, it will require voter approval on May 17.

“Pension reform has been a crucial issue in Arizona for several years, and it’s become a huge passion project for me over the last year in particular,” said Sen. Lesko. “So, to see it pass through the Legislature with the bipartisan support of not only lawmakers, but also a broad coalition of stakeholders who once stood on opposite sides of the issue, is a huge victory. I’m thankful to my fellow legislators, for the police and firefighters who’ve worked tirelessly and collaboratively on this smart and sustainable solution, and for Governor Ducey’s vocal support along the way.”

Former State Senator Blasts Washington Cartel

By former Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce
Phyllis Schlafly’s statement about the Omnibus Spending bill passed by Congress, “This is a betrayal of the grassroots and the Republican Party,” she said of the omnibus bill. “We thought we were electing a different crowd to stand up for America, and they didn’t. We’re extremely outraged by what Congress has done.”
I firmly believe there are only two presidential candidates that have the courage and conviction in them to take back America, “To Make America Great Again.” That would be Cruz and Trump.
I am sick and tired of the Washington Cartel and their loyalty to the K-Street Lobbyist, the Chamber of Corruption instead of loyalty to America, the Constitution, the Rule of Law as they continue to betray our trust and their Oath of Office.
Here we go again as they pass a spending bill that violates the trust asked for by Congress as they ran for office. They “promised” us, “Put me in charge and we will fix things, we will stop Obamacare, we will stop the Unconstitutional orders by this president, i.e. Amnesty in violation of law, excessive spending, stop excessive debt, reform entitlements, stop waste and fraud, eliminate pork projects.” NONE of that has happened as they continue to fund all of what they promised they would stop.
The Washington Cartel continues to betray our trust. Promise after Promise broken as they continue to fund this corrupt and incompetent president. I cannot wait until we put an “American” back in the White House. This bi-partisan Congress continues to legally plunder from hard working Americans as they reward the lazy and the abusive. They ignore the trillions of dollars in cost as a result of this illegal invasion they refuse to secure our border and enforce our laws. Deportation is not a bad word, it is our obligation and the TRUTH they will leave on their own and most won’t come it they knew the laws will be enforced.
They continue to mount debt that is inconceivable and perhaps impossible for our Grandchildren and perhaps their children will be able to pay off.
I do believe this election to be “the last hope for America”
We must take action NOW. If we do not confront this invasion of illegal aliens, policies that allow terrorist, drug cartels, out of control spending, ever expanding debt, and the attack on basic freedoms, traditional values, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Religion, 2nd Amendment, Illegal search and seizure, states’ rights and limited federal power, judicial abuse of power, illegal executive orders and protect and preserve those basic God-given rights that our Founders recognized and placed into our Constitution thus placing the responsibility of the government including the courts to safeguard at all cost. Americans have fought and died for these basic Freedoms. We must guard these basic rights and Freedoms against all enemies “foreign and domestic” and those that would do harm to America NOW.   We must protect these basic liberties for our children and grandchildren and make America great again.
Our grassroots voters are “mad as hell” and are not going to take it anymore as they are outraged over this continued betrayal of trust.
This Omnibus spending bill brokered by Speaker Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is a clear example of betrayal to all Americans. Christmas is alive and well in Washington, as Congress gives Obama a bag of goodies in this bill by funding all of his illegal pet projects and throwing Americans under the bus.
I love the Donald’s condemnation of this betrayal.
“If anyone needed more evidence of why the American people are suffering at the hands of their own government, look no further than the budget deal announced by Speaker Ryan. In order to avoid a government shutdown, a cowardly threat from an incompetent President, the elected Republicans in Congress threw in the towel and showed absolutely no budget discipline.
The American people will have to absorb higher deficits, greater debt, less economic liberty and more corporate welfare. Congress cannot seem to help itself in bending to every whim of special interests. How can they face their constituents when they continue to burden our children and grandchildren with debts they will never be able to repay? Our government is failing us, so we must do something about it. Who knows how bad things will be when the next administration comes in and has to pick up the pieces?
The only special interest not being served by our government is the American people. It is time we imposed budget discipline by holding the line on spending, getting rid of waste, fraud and abuse, and by taking on our debt. To do these things, we need a President who can lead the fight to hold Congress and the rest of government accountable. Together, we will Make America Great Again.”
It is clear both parties have betrayed America. Enough is enough. I believe America is ready for a change and Congress keeps proving why we need a change. Maybe most of Congress should be changed out. “At least a good start would be those who voted for this Omnibus Spending bill.
As so eloquently stated by others, “The Omnibus disaster was a $1.1 trillion in-kind campaign donation to Donald Trump” or perhaps Senator Ted Cruz.
Senator Ted Cruz’s liberty score is 97 percent; Speaker Paul Ryan’s liberty score is 56 percent and that is generous; I warned about Paul Ryan’s agenda and his devotion to the Washington Cartel, his contempt for fixing the problems, his support of Amnesty and failure to address border security and his failure to honoring America and Americans with his failed leadership and his failure to restore sanity in Washington and he has proven me right.
In fact the establishment has gone after the Tea Party Patriots who want to take America back and restore our Founding Principles. Power has an uncanny ability to corrupt and Washington is a clear example. We need Warriors in defense of liberty, to protect America and Americans.
As they continue their attack on Tea Party Patriots, on outsiders like Trump and Cruz, they continue to prove these two guys are right and why they are needed. Washington will never fix itself and especially if we keep returning those to power that have proven their contempt for we the people. The power brokers in Washington continue to try and convince you Trump or Cruz cannot beat Hillary. First of all it is a lie and secondly if were true there would be no little or hope for America continuation of a liar and corrupt politician in the White House.

 

Former Senator Russell Pearce, author of SB1070, Employer Sanctions, former Chief Deputy of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, President of the Arizona Senate and former Judge.

Leftists Know so Much that isn’t True Part I.

You’ll frequently hear leftists say that conservatives and Christians are taking America backwards. The facts don’t support them. Here’s a list of how leftists are corrupting the culture and taking America down.

 

LEFTIST CAUSES                                               RESULTS

Abortion Nearly 59 million children dead/women killed in abortion clinics/women injured in abortion clinics/abortion increases likelihood of breast cancer and cervical cancer/women suffer psychological harms
Cohabitation More women and children injured and killed by live-in boyfriends/city governments subsidizing through domestic partner benefits/undermines marriage culture/training for divorce/more women and children end up in poverty/problems associated with fatherlessness
Homosexuality AIDs and HIV/shortened life spans/increased domestic violence/anonymous sex spreads disease through communities/unresolved psychological pain/pedophilia/problems associated with fatherlessness/people with same-sex attraction not encouraged to go to counseling to discover the root of the problem/instead they’re encouraged by activists to seek special rights that don’t bring happiness and well-being
Big Government More government control/less individual freedom/more government corruption/people encouraged not to work, but to depend on confiscation of the wealth created by others
Nondiscrimination laws First Amendment to the Constitution usurped
Hate crime laws Special classes created at the expense of others/all crime is committed with contempt for the victims, regardless of victims’ identity
Expanded welfare Cycles of dependency on government/loss of dignity and human flourishing
Secular humanist government Hostility toward Christians/inadequate worldview to cope with social problems and governance/loss of free speech and religious freedom/judicial activism and judges making up new laws, undermining the legislative process and Constitutional freedom
Secular humanist schools Hostility toward Christians/children taught that life doesn’t matter/leftist political indoctrination/liberal cocoon/plummeting quality of education/America near bottom of developed nations in scholastic achievement/children not taught the basics/children not taught American history or civics/declining quality of American work force/Planned Parenthood’s school sex education resulted in more teen pregnancy, more early sex and more STDs/teaching of evolution is teaching that life doesn’t matter, creating culture of death/humanity dehumanized as mere animals resulting by chance/dumbing America down/unemployed and underemployed graduates paying huge debts for substandard college education/increased number of foreign doctors and engineers in America doing what many Americans unable to do
Crime Soft punishment/more concern for perpetrators than victims/short terms for rapists
War on Poverty Poverty increased/dependency on government
Moral relativism Decadence/increased crime/crisis of ethics and honest/people encouraged to make their own morality
Entertainment culture Decadence, debauchery, violence, harmful messages/garbage in, garbage out/amorality and dishonesty encouraged/drug use glorified
Democratic Party Corrupted by unions and radical special interests/stolen elections/
Immigration Laws ignored/border dissolved/drug smuggling/human smuggling/Americans injured, raped and killed by illegal aliens/children with TB brought into the nation with Americans exposed to them/Democrats looking to increase voter rolls/Mexico dumping its welfare dependents and criminals on American taxpayers/radicalized Muslims abusing the system to gain entry into the nation
Religious freedom Americans punished by government for their beliefs/Constitutional protection of churches from government twisted to government hostility toward churches/churches corrupted by homosexual activists/religious schools and colleges threatened with loss of accreditation over biblical beliefs/criminalization of scripture
National defense Compromised/America viewed as weak by Islamic terrorists and many nations/citizens at risk/border invasion/president’s tepid responses to terrorism, world events
Personal well-being Everyone suffers from left-wing policies and practices: leftists, conservatives, independents/lefties have the government, the schools, the media, corporations and their cups are still empty and they are still angry/be careful of what you lefties wish for
Gun control Criminals breaking numerous gun control laws which failed to protect innocent lives from being destroyed/Americans left defenseless against deranged shooters/guns are demonized instead of criminals/problem of mental illness overlooked/deranged criminals committing atrocities in places where they know there will be no armed resistance/Oregon community college security guard unarmed/political correctness is getting people killed

A Sign of Hope for the Navajo Nation

 

It was a small sign of hope: a member of the Navajo Nation switching over to the Republican Party. It may or may not represent something big.

Native Americans, long beholden to the party of socialism, may cast him out of the Arizona State Senate in 2016. They may seem him as an outcast, a renegade. We will see what happens come election season.

Carlyle Begay made his decision based on fiscal reasons. Reasons of fiscal sanity. The Republican Party is, with a few exceptions on the state and national levels, the party of fiscal responsibility.

Republicans welcomed Begay to the party and said he is now better positioned to serve his legislative district, including in areas of education and the economy.

The GOP is right, and Legislative District 7 is now in the hands of a state leader who has their better interests in mind.

After all, the socialists are the people of Big Government and Small Citizens with less freedom, the party that refused to even create a budget in recent years when they held power in the U.S. Senate. They are the party that spends more money than the government actually has, and the party that — without resistance — will always call for deficit spending.

You and I can’t operate our personal finances like that, or we’d soon be broke and wouldn’t be able to live within our means.

Hopefully other Navajos will see the wisdom of Began and state leaders who demand the state keep its financial affairs in order.

Hopefully, they’ll realize they’ve been duped by the Democrats for as long as they can remember.

Hopefully they’ll realize you can’t tax yourselves into prosperity, that socialists eventually run out of other people’s money.

Hopefully Navajos and other Native Americans will come around on social issues as well.

They have to, some day. The socialists have led them down the path of destruction. Reservations have been pockets of poverty. Socialists have done them no favors. The socialists are the purveyors of a culture of death, social deconstruction and family disorder. They preach a sexual anarchy that only destroys.

Socialism hasn’t improved employment on reservations. It hasn’t ended social problems. It has not the capacity to do anything to positively impact Native American society. Or any other part of society, for that matter.

Being served by an elected official who understands that is a positive step forward for the Navajo people. We hope they understand that and will re-elect Begay again next fall. Many of his fellow citizens would do well to follow his courageous lead.

Lite Rail a Trainwreck, Derails Rationale for Prop 104

The contention that light rail is a good investment because “it serves nearly as many people as SR 51” is a ludicrous distortion of reality.

Even if we allow for the absurd comparison of the ridership for the ENTIRE light rail system to be compared with this single freeway we can observe that SR 51 carries over 150,000 vehicles per day at its busiest point near the junction with I-10 to over 80,000 at its least busy point near the outer loop. This is 100 percent more than the  touted 43,000 riders per day for all light rail routes combined.

Light rail is, and forever will be, a tiny contributor to the region’s mobility. Its less than 100 million passenger miles per year pales in comparison to the Phoenix freeways’ 11 billion vehicle miles of travel and the street system’s 30 billion vehicle miles of travel. Yet, Prop 104’s allocation of funds plans to spend only 7 percent of the revenues on roads–3 percent to add lanes and 4 percent to remove lanes to make way for bike paths, pedestrians, and light rail trains.

In contrast, Prop 104 plans to spend 40 percent of the revenues on a light rail system that will accommodate only three-tenths of one-percent of travel. This is an unbalanced allocation that compels the 99 percent who drive to heavily subsidize the less than 1 percent who use rail transit. Lest we think that these subsidies to light rail are aimed at helping the poor, Valley Metro boasts that rail is attracting more higher income riders.

Here’s the deal: if Prop 104 passes or if it voted down–either way–99 percent of travel in the city will continue to take place in automobiles. Light rail will play an insignificant role in how people move about the community. Is this insignificant impact worth taking on all the burdens of deficits, debt, and higher taxes that Prop 104 will impose?

John Semmens, retired transportation economist
Chandler