[Note from Dan Gibson: In December of 2010, we published a series of stories by University of Arizona journalism students who traveled to New York to see the lives of immigrants living far from the border itself. This week, we have an additional multimedia feature from the Beyond the Border project by Austin Counts and Clayton Norman focusing on Staten Island.]

AP reports that a ludicrous GOP plan to eliminate AHCCCS in Arizona—supported by Republican Sen. Al Melvin, who rules over the Catalina Foothills and Oro Valley—would cost the state $7 billion, cause unemployment to skyrocket and drive doctors from the state:

Arizona's economy would be devastated and roughly one in every five residents would be left without health care if the state ends its Medicaid program and loses $7 billion of federal funding, the state program's director said Wednesday.

Under a bill approved by a Senate committee, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System would be abolished to help close a state budget shortfall.

The bill would replace AHCCCS with a greatly reduced system that would serve only a small fraction of the 1.3 million people now enrolled.

If that happens, unemployment would skyrocket and the state's network of hospitals and other health care providers would be irreparably damaged, choking any growth of the state's economy, said AHCCCS Director Tom Betlach.

A state-only system couldn't even cover all of the 50,000 elderly and physically and development disabled people now enrolled, Betlach said.

"This bill does not even provide sufficient funding for our most frail citizens," he said. "How do we care for these citizens? Where would they go?"

Doctors and other care providers would flee the state as the level of uncompensated care becomes untenable, Betlach said.

Mr. Betlach, Al Melvin doesn't care about this state's most frail citizens. He just cares about tax cuts and ensuring that children are born, not that they're cared for once they're alive.

It's possible to have legitimate policy differences—say, as to whether the state should cut back the expansion of AHCCCS as a result of the Healthy Arizona proposition. But arguing that Arizona should dump Medicaid altogether is nothing short of lunacy masquerading as conservatism. And those who support it—we're looking your way, Al—reveals themselves to be utterly unserious ideologues who should be laughed out of office.

It's the shame of the state that, at a time when we need sober people to make smart decisions for the state, we have Russell Pearce and Al Melvin instead.

The people of PBS are likely aware that the audience that's likely to stand up for their continued funding also loves infographics, and this one makes a solid argument for why the network matters:

[PBS]

I'm not going to pretend I've heard of South African producer Spoek Mathambo, photographer Pieter Hugo, or cinematographer Michael Cleary, but their collective re-imagining of the Joy Division track "She's Lost Control" featuring a neighborhood dance troupe is disturbing enough that you'd think Tony Wilson and Ian Curtis would approve:

[HT: Dangerous Minds]

As far as I know, the Reid Park Zoo doesn't practice animal escapes using people in adorable costumes, but they should.

From Pink Tentacle:

Yesterday's dramatic simulation involved a Siberian tiger that escaped its pen following an earthquake. The mock animal wandered freely through the park, attacking zoo workers and visitors before it was surrounded with nets, shot with a tranquilizer dart, and transported back to its cage.

Theatrical exercises involving people in animal costumes are conducted each year in Tokyo at either Tama Zoo or Ueno Zoo. In addition to providing hands-on experience with capturing escaped animals, the drills force zookeepers to administer first aid, usher visitors to safety, and coordinate with local emergency services.

Also, people do not seem prepared for the two guys in the rhino suit:

On Feb. 3, The Range wrote about the CAP-supported legislation. The Center for Inquiry's Gil Shapiro, in his own Feb. 7 Star guest column, examined the CAP's right-wing ideological influence over the state Legislature and governor's office.

In Herrod's column, she wrote that her organization “promotes and defends foundational principles impacting Arizona families.”

“The fact is it's easier for people like Dr. Shapiro and the Center for Inquiry to make baseless claims than to debate us on the merits of the issues.”

In response, Shapiro sent a letter to the Star on Feb. 20 with a letter attached that he sent to Herrod on March 29, 2010 asking to do exactly that—sit down with Herrod and her staff to talk about their differing views.

Shapiro asked the daily to consider moderating such a debate.

“As I mentioned to you previously, according to a state senator, Gov. Brewer and leaders of Arizona’s House and Senate contact the Center for Arizona Policy before making any legislative moves. This strengthens the claim that CAP is widely acknowledged to be one of the most influential lobbying organizations in Arizona,” Shapiro wrote.

In the March letter to Herrod, Shapiro made it clear where the Center for Inquiry comes from, with a mission to “…foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values.”

Reason? Remember that? Almost brings The Range to tears.

Herrod's perspective of being a pro-family organization is interesting during a time when Gov. Jan Brewer is getting ready to drop 280,000 people off the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), the state's Medicaid program. I mean, if your organization touts a mission to support and care for Arizona families, then why not put pressure on the governor to protect those losing health care, and those dying because they can’t get the transplants they need?

After the jump, read Shapiro's letter to the Star and the letter sent to CAP in March 2010.

Tucson Real Estate agent and Asian-American community leader Shiraz Ali Peera recently shared a personal story about U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in reaction to the Jan. 8 shooting:

I first met the Congresswoman in the late 1990s at a social event for our Alma Mater, Thunderbird Graduate School of Global Management in Glendale, Ariz. and we have remained good friends with her and an ardent supporter of her career ever since.

In 2005, when Gabrielle threw her hat in the ring to run for the Rep. Jim Kolbe’s Dist 8 seat, my wife and I were naturally ecstatic to support her. We had planned on holding several fundraisers for the Congresswoman to gain support within the Asian Community.

At the time, my wife was battling breast cancer and was in remission for 8 months, only to have her health quickly dwindle in 2006. Her cancer came back with a vengeance. Soon After she caught pneumonia and her respiratory system completely shut down and she was hospitalized at the Tucson Medical Center.

When the news reached Gabrielle’s campaign headquarters, her staff called to inform me that Gabrielle would be in touch with me shortly. Two hours later, at the end of her campaign, Gabrielle stopped by the Tucson Medical Center to visit my wife, bringing chocolates, as we talked about my wife’s serious condition. She spent two hours with my family, giving me hope and conveying her good wishes.

As she left, I was flabbergasted at her surprise visit—I wasn’t expecting it. The fact that Gabrielle took time from her campaign to come to visit my wife at the hospital spoke volumes of her humility, compassion, and empathy to the mankind. At that point, I knew that she wouldn’t just be a Brilliant Public Servant, but a Congresswoman of all people and a true friend. That day, that visit, has been etched into my memory and defined my immense respect for our Congresswoman.

Congressional Republicans, in their zeal to slash the federal budget (without cutting the military, Social Security or Medicare), have voted to cut back on border security:

With both chambers in recess until the week of Feb. 28, Senate Democrats are mounting a public relations blitz this week highlighting specific cuts in the House bill that may be unpopular with the public, such as funding for cancer research. Democrats are also seizing on some line-item cuts to paint Republicans as "schizophrenic" in their "indiscriminate budget cutting," a senior Democratic leadership aide said.

For instance, the bill would cut at least $272 million in border security and immigration enforcement, including fencing and surveillance technology. A Democratic analysis shows this would scale back the number of agents patrolling the Mexican border from 21,370 to 20,500.

"For gosh sakes, we've had everybody talking about secure the borders, secure the borders, secure the borders, and then instead of making some reasonable adjustments in checks we write to oil companies, they're cutting border security," Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said on "Fox News Sunday."

That can't possibly sit well with Arizona Republicans. Details here.

TNR's Jonathan Chait notes:

A couple points here. First, Republicans almost surely made cuts like this (and others to things like cancer research) in the assumption they wouldn't come to pass. Democrats control the Senate and White House, there will be negotiations, so Republicans can make cuts they don't want to actually take place and still retain support from their base.

But second, this shows again how utterly at odds with reality the conservative view of the budget is. There just is not a lot of waste to be found. Republicans like to say they've just made a first step, but if the first step means weakening the government function they've been demanding to strengthen, then you have to wonder how many other steps there could be.

Most of what government does is either necessary, popular, or both. Now, people don't understand that — they think there are huge savings in foreign aid, welfare, and useless bureaucracy. Republicans can win power by appealing to popular misunderstandings of the budget, but actually implementing a program on the basis of a misunderstanding of reality is quite hard.

No one does "angry" like Nicolas Cage:

You've seen him drink angry, switch faces angry, train magicians angry, now see him Drive Angry...in 3D!

The screening is tomorrow night and quantities are limited, so you'll have to hurry over, but here's the info:

Summit Entertainment Invites You and a Guest to a Special Advanced Screening
When: Thursday, February 24th
Where: Cinemark El Con 20 at 9 pm.

Pick Up Admit Two Pass (between 8 am and 5 pm) at:
Territorial Newspapers
3280 E. Hemisphere Loop, Ste. 180
Tucson, AZ 85706

DRIVE ANGRY 3D opens in theater everywhere on Friday, February 25th; and is rated “R” for strong brutal violence throughout, grizzly images, some graphic sexual content, nudity, and pervasive language.

Here's the trailer:

We're not talking about just scaling back the expansion of health-care to 100 percent of federal poverty level that Gov. Jan Brewer supports. We're talking about the entire health-care support system for the indigent in the state.

From the Arizona Republic:

Biggs, R-Gilbert, said the state can't afford the program and the taxpayer-funded program makes people dependent on "socialized medicine."

Sen. Rich Crandall, R-Mesa, said the reality is that if the state ended the program as of Oct. 1, "by Christmas, there won't be any rural hospitals."

He urged a more deliberate study if the state is serious about such a move. "You don't replace your entire health-care system with a couple of urgent care centers inside a Wal-Mart." However, in a 1:30 a.m. vote, the committe voted 8-5 to move the bill to the full 30-member Senate.

Read the whole thing here.

As the Republic noted earlier this year, dumping AHCCCS entirely would mean the loss of $7.5 billion in federal matching funds for the state, which would pretty much cripple the hospitals that we all depend on.