The Red Desert

by Pa Rock
Cactus Correspondent

Our new President has made one cabinet appointment that is almost unforgiveable. He plucked Janet Napolitano out of the Arizona Governor's Office and carted her off to the nation's capitol where she is the new Secretary of Homeland Security. Oh, Janet was a smart choice from Obama's perspective. She is bright and gets things done. As a governor of a border state, she has some unique history dealing with the hate groups that think the rise and fall of the Republic hinges on the Mexicans who walk across the desert to wash our cars and clean our toilets.

But the country's gain is definitely Arizona's loss. For six years she has kept a Republican legislature in line with uncommonly good sense, razor sharp political skills, and a well-oiled veto pen. Unfortunately, Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor to take over when the governor vacates the office, so that honor fell to our Secretary of State, a Republican by the name of Jan Brewer. Governor Brewer, while more enlightened than the scaly desert reptiles who populate the state legislature as Republicans, is certainly more accommodating to the morons than was her predecessor.

Janet Napolitano stood firm for social services and education, never forgetting that none of us are any less deserving than the rest of us. She found ways to get the money to keep necessary programs going. But when the party in the Governor's office changes, the philosophy changes. Now suddenly we are mired in a swamp that is totally due to past spending on programs to help the needy (or so the greedheads whine), and for money to be saved, it is those specific programs that must be gutted. Suddenly the way to raise state revenue is to cut taxes (in Arizona's case, property taxes), and, for that sleight-of-hand to work, muddy the waters with an abortion bill.

Republicans are so predictable. They work for the wealthy, the privileged, the corporations, and the lobbyists - their base - and screw the rest of us. And when they need some heat and noise for a distraction, they crank out an abortion bill or a ban on gay marriages to stir up the conservative rabble. The straw men take the fire, and the rich keep their pocket change. Greed helps the greedy, no one else.

If our rich betters don't feel obliged to contribute their fair share to society through taxes, then perhaps it is time to take their share out of their carcasses. Maybe we need to give serious consideration to eating the rich. Everybody has to do their part - especially during hard times.

Order up!

Support Your Local Food Bank

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

I love our governor! Janet Napolitano is one of the smartest, hardest working, and most caring of individuals serving in American politics today. She is the epitome of what a politician should be. Governor Napolitano will be sorely missed in Arizona when she moves off to Washington, DC, to become the Secretary of Homeland Security. But our loss will be America's gain.

Last week, shortly before Thanksgiving, Governor Napolitano sent out a gentle email reminder about those in our state who are having trouble putting food on the table. Arizona has a good food bank system, and the governor was nudging her supporters to donate money to ensure the system's continued effectiveness. She also put out the challenge for citizens to begin food drives to help stock the shelves of the food banks.

We tend to forget that the poor are among us, and when we do remember those less fortunate, it is sometime with scorn. For most of a generation now we have suffered political leaders who demonized the poor for their own political advancement. Many churches even heaped on ridicule, suggesting that anyone who worked, regardless of the menial nature of the job, would magically become healthy, wealthy, wise. Welfare for the poor was to be cut or eliminated at every opportunity, while tax breaks, tariffs, business deregulation, and other protections for the privileged were viewed as necessary for a healthy economy. The game was welfare for those who didn't need it, and nothing for those who did.

But now that the economy has tumbled into the crapper, we may all get a taste of what it is like to be poor-of-pocket and poor-of-spirit. Hopefully we won't be forced to experience the depths of hell that is the daily life of many of the less-fortunates who live among us.

Did you know that last year, 2007, before this economic "downturn" came upon us, that over 700,000 American children went hungry at some point? The Department of Agriculture said that figure represented a 50% increase over 2006. The number of children going hungry during the economic craziness of 2008 must be staggering!

I'll do my part by donating cans and cash. I don't need a plasma TV, but I do need the peace of mind of knowing that some child is not going hungry while my cupboards are full.

Thank you, Governor Napolitano, for reminding us that we all can be doing more.

Happy holidays - to all!

You Go Girl!

Dear Governor Napolitano,

The news programs have been trumpeting your selection as the next Secretary of Homeland Security all day. I guess congratulations are in order. It’s a great day for the country, but a sad day for Arizona.

The rest of the nation will soon learn what we have known for years – that you are a fierce and determined public servant who is not afraid to wade into the issues and get things straightened out. Right now much of the nation’s security focus seems to be on guarding the border – the southern border – an issue which you, as the governor of one of the four states that border Mexico, understand well. But it will be your common sense and ability to engage your political opponents in positive change that will serve you and our country the most.

And those talents and abilities are the things that the people of Arizona will miss the most. Your tact, laser focus, and popularity have combined to bring progressive changes to this state in spite of having to constantly dance with a Republican legislature. Losing you will be like a ship losing its rudder.

This is an exciting time for the country. My children’s and grandchildren’s future is in the hands of President Obama and the highly creative and capable people that he is bringing to Washington, DC. I know that you will make us very proud!

With Best Wishes for Every Success,

Pa Rock
Goodyear, AZ

P.S. If you can’t get that hateful wall torn down, at least try to get the construction stopped. Maybe the part that is already up could be used as an art project by school children to celebrate international peace and understanding. I’ll donate some paint and brushes. We need to be building bridges, not walls!

Arizona Votes

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

I telephoned the Elections Office in Maricopa County today to ask if there was a way that I could determine if my mail-in ballot had been received and tallied. After ten minutes of listening to recordings and pressing numbers, I finally reached a human. I told the young man that I had mailed in my ballot three weeks ago. Would there be, I asked, a list of voters who had actually voted posted somewhere after the election so that I could ensure that my ballot had been received? "What is your name, sir?" he asked politely. After I told him, there was a pause for a few minutes, and then he came back on the line and told me that my ballot had been received and counted. Mail-in voting is so easy and so convenient!

Estimates are that one-third of the national electorate may have already voted by election day. Thirty states have some sort of early voting process, and I suspect that they will have fewer problems on election day than those states that cram all of their voters into one twelve-hour period. There certainly should be less waiting and hassle in places where citizens have been allowed to vote early. Who knows, election day might be one of the two or three days a year that we have rain in Arizona!

The Obama campaign began doing television advertising in Arizona today, after most polls moved the race from "solid McBush" to "lean McBush." John McBush has homes in several states, and some of the locals feel that he is more transfixed on life in Washington DC than he is on life in Arizona. Some wags refer to Arizona's Senator Kyl as our "workhorse" and McBush as our "showhorse." So long-story-short, McBush is losing ground in his home state and Obama is going to give him a run for Arizona's ten electoral votes. It's about damned time!

MSNBC reported tonight that McBush has a one-point lead in the polls in Arizona, and that Obama is twelve points ahead of McBush in the state's early voting. My call to Maricopa County today ensures that I am part of that twelve-point lead.

John McBush is up for re-election to the US Senate in two years. If he chooses to run again, Arizona's most popular politician, Governor Janet Napolitano, will send him to Sun City for a long-overdue retirement!

I am hoping for a surprise Obama visit to Arizona over the weekend. It's a shame that he doesn't have time to visit Alaska as well!

A Year in the Desert

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Last week marked the completion of my first year in Arizona, and although I bitch about the heat, my landlords, and the blankety-blank cable company, it has been a memorable and eventful twelve months.

I expected one of the best things about relocating here from the Midwest would be my proximity to my little grandson, Sebastian, and that would have been the case had he not moved off to Oregon with his parents in February. I did get in some quality time as one of his very first babysitters, allowing Molly and Scott some brief respite from their 24/7 responsibility.

My job has also been a huge plus. I have been fortunate throughout my working life to almost always land in a good work environment, and the Family Advocacy Program at Luke Air Force Base has been all that and then some. I work with wonderful people. Recently I was offered a chance to relocate to Georgia, but turned it down at the last minute primarily because I would have felt awful bailing on my co-workers here in Arizona.

I have been to a couple of plays out here, and have another one booked. I am also going to attend a Coyotes hockey game. I have discovered some great places to eat, and I am starting to become more involved in the community. One of my more memorable outings was to see Barack Obama, Governor Napolitano, and Caroline Kennedy rock the house at a February campaign event in Phoenix. That was an evening that I will never forget.

The Phoenix Airport (Sky Harbor) has only racked up one incident of homicide by staff during the last year, and with that little transgression aside, it is a remarkably easy airport to navigate with direct flights everywhere that I need to go. This past year training has taken me to San Antonio and Washington, DC, and I have made two trips back to the Ozarks by air.

I have also put some travel miles on my little car. I made a trip to Nogales, Mexico, last February, and in August I drove to Tombstone. I also did two road trips to San Diego, with a third planned for November for Molly and Scott's wedding. San Diego is a little over five hours from Goodyear, but there is a lot to see and do along the way - including the famous date shakes at Dateland, and a wonderful souvenir emporium in Gila Bend.

Today my apartment air-conditioning isn't working - again, and my jerk-wad landlords (Palm Valley Luxury Rentals) have retaliated on my refusal to sign another contract by raising my rent - but hey, every cactus rose is surrounded by a few pricks! It's just part of life in the desert.

Janet!

by Pa Rock

I received the Obama email a few days ago telling me that I would be among the very first to know his running mate selection because the much anticipated announcement would be made through emails and text messages to supporters. What I would really like, however, isn't instantaneous knowledge of who the individual is, but rather some input into the selection.

I realize that a straw poll of supporters would not be practical, especially because the Hillary crowd would flex their muscle and he would be stuck with that mess. And it would hardly be fair to limit the process to just those few thousand who have been with him since before his Presidential announcement - of which I am one. So, If Senator Obama can't really find out what his people are thinking without opening a Pandora's box, I feel obliged just to come out and tell him my thoughts on the subject.

Senator, her name is Janet Napolitano and she is the governor of Arizona. Time Magazine named her one of the five best governors in the nation in 2005. When she ran for reelection in 2006 our democratic governor was so astoundingly popular that her yard signs had only one word: "Janet!" She won that election in the red state of Arizona by 16 points! She is a fireball of a politician, and the smartest and most capable governor in the United States - bar none!

You have said, often, that you are looking for a Vice-President who can step into the role of President. Measured by that criteria, you could do no better than Janet. She is an amazing chief executive who has an astounding knowledge of her state and its workings. And, if you are not adverse to having a running mate with high octane campaign skills, she is a barn-burner of a campaigner. Remember when she campaigned with you last February? The crowd in Phoenix, all 18,000 of us, loved the nostalgia of getting to see Caroline Kennedy, and the inspiration that you provided on what America could and should be - but it was Janet who rocked the house!

Senator Obama, turn that tiger loose! Put Janet Napolitano on your ticket, and put Arizona in play!

Fiat Accompli!

by Pa Rock
Prodigious Political Prognosticator

The Democratic Presidential race ended tonight, and for the first time in my life I had my chips on the winner from the get-go. Barack Obama has defeated Billary, though she has yet to admit it. The hard part of the race is over, and defeating John McBush will be little more than a mop-up action.

Change is at hand, America! It's a new day!

Janet Napolitano for Vice President!

Poisonous

I submitted the following to a blog on the Anderson Cooper 360 website today:

"Billary is absolutely poisonous. Her aim isn't to take this nomination away from Senator Obama, but to ensure that he can't beat McBush in the fall. She hopes to rise from the ashes of the party that she destroyed and become the nominee in 2012. She may well do it, but it will be without my vote.

While Senator Obama stays positive and is occasionally too honest, Billary is all about lying, manipulation, and race-baiting.

I heard a comment a few days ago lamenting that Billary was the only woman "in the pipeline" to become President, and if she didn't do it now, it might be generations before another woman stood a chance. It sounds to me as though the pipeline in need of a good flushing! I submit that any of the following would be more electable and would make a far more honest and reliable Chief Executive for our country than the junior senator from New York: Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Gov. Janet Napolitano, Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator Blanche Lincoln, and even Senator Barbara Boxer.

The curtain needs to fall on the Clinton drama. No third term!"

Sometimes it helps just to spew!

Obama's Mamas

Barack Obama has had some stellar endorsements within the past few weeks, and surprisingly, at least to me, several have come from Hillary Clinton’s strongest demographic: middle-aged and older white females.

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg endorsed the Illinois senator a couple of weeks ago in an editorial in the New York Times. She said that she came to that decision after listening to her three teenage children, Rose, Tatianya, and Jack, who felt that Obama offered America the kind of optimistic challenges that their grandfather had put forth in 1960. Kennedy Schlossberg immediately went out on the campaign trail with the candidate adding the luster of her presence to the vitality of his.

Clare McCaskill, Missouri’s newest U.S. Senator and a rising star in her own right, has endorsed Obama and is featured in some of his national television commercials. McCaskill said that she, too, was influenced by the excitement that his campaign instilled in young people, particularly her own daughter.

Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona climbed on the Obama bandwagon several weeks ago. She helped him campaign in Nevada and Arizona, and has done television commercials for the candidate. Napolitano, a dynamo in her own right, has energized the Obama campaign in the Southwest.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas endorsed Obama, a Kansas native. Sebelius is a strong Democratic political figure in the very red state of Kansas. She is also the daughter of a former governor of Ohio, the popular John J. Gilligan.

Three of Bobby Kennedy’s children endorsed Billary, but Mama knows best. Ethel Kennedy, ignoring her wayward offspring, threw her Camelot clout to Barack Obama.

The Governor of California may have cast his lot with John McCain, but California’s First Lady, Maria Shriver Schwarzenegger, a Kennedy cousin, walked onto the stage at an Obama rally this weekend and announced her endorsement of him. Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the California Governor’s Mansion!

And then there are two other endorsements that, while they do not come from the ranks of middle-aged white females, do bear a significant influence on that particular demographic. Oprah, an enthusiastic Obama supporter, is clearly one of the most influential women in the world, and her opinion matters – especially to women.

The second endorsement of note comes from Garrison Keillor, the creator and host of the radio program, A Prairie Home Companion. Keillor’s radio persona is beloved by millions, especially older Americans – of both sexes. His character hails from Lake Woebegone, Minnesota, where “the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children are above average.” And Keillor’s women are indeed strong, but their hearts (or at least his) belong to Obama.

It must be mentioned that not every notable middle-aged white woman has jumped The Good Ship Billary to endorse Obama. One case in point is the anorexic, hate-mongering hag – Ann Coulter. Coulter has threatened that if John McCain is the Republican nominee, she will campaign for the “more conservative” Hillary Clinton. That should knock Billary down ten or twenty points in the polls!

Go, go! Go, Johnny go!

I'm Fired Up - Ready to Go!

Barack Obama was in town tonight, and he was amazing! As I sit here trying to collect my thoughts of this spectacular event, I am hoarse from shouting and my hands hurt from clapping almost continually for over an hour.

The future President (and after tonight I am certain of that prediction) was accompanied by two very notable women. The first person to speak was Caroline Kennedy, the remaining heir to Camelot, and she talked about how Barack Obama had personally inspired her to become active in this race. She, in turn, introduced Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona. Napolitano is a barn-burner of a speaker, and she stirred almost as much excitement in her home state crowd as did Obama. Here is my second prediction of this paragraph: Governor Napolitano will be his running mate. Their chemistry bordered on being explosive! Prediction number three: Obama-Napolitano will crush McCain-Huckabee, even in McCain's home state of Arizona!

I've seen some world class political speakers - Nixon, Reagan, George Romney, Nelson Rockefeller, Bush Senior - but all of them pale in comparison to Obama! He was electric, and the crowd of 15,000 or more spent most of the evening on their feet cheering him on. He was exciting. He was all about the future, telling us about our potential for making America great again. He was empowering, he was charismatic, and he was ours for the evening!

Hey, I've Voted!

My Arizona Democratic Presidential Primary Ballot arrived in the mail yesterday, and I cast it today at the Phoenix Obama Headquarters. Any guesses as to whom I voted for?

The Obama Headquarters, for all of you living in the Valley of the Sun, is located at 22 East Mitchell Drive. Mitchell is the first block north of Osborne between Central and Third Street. There is some road construction on Mitchell, so you have to come in from Third Street. They have bumper stickers, t-shirts, yard signs, and other assorted Obama gear. I visited with a very polite young man named Ken who was manning the table out front, and I saw a volunteer inside working who appeared to be about my age. Ken said that they always can use more volunteers.

Kudos to our governor, Janet Napolitano, for endorsing Barack yesterday! I have a notion that the really smart office holders are looking for someone to head the ticket who has coattails. We need to be building legislative majorities, not stirring up the same old drama.

Obama '08!