Monday, January 18, 2016
The 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. March and Festival arrived at Reid Park for a celebration after walking three and a half miles from the newly dedicated ML King Jr. Way and 36th Street at the UA Tech Park on Monday, Jan. 18. Tucson became the 731st city in the United States to have a street named after Rev. Martin Luther King.
Tags: mlk day , martin luther king jr. , mlk committee , reid park , ua tech park , civil rights , activism , black lives matter , tucson , Slideshow
It seems like the barbecue scene in Tucson is starting to take off. With the opening of the high-concept bourbon, beer and BBQ joint, Brother John's, in the old Wildcat House space just before the New Year, the Old Pueblo got a taste of serveral different 'cue-ing regions in the U.S. Around that same time, Pasco Kitchen owner Ramiro Scavo threw his hat into the BBQ ring by opening up Red's Smokehouse and Taproom (943 E. University Blvd., #125) across from his other UA-area restaurant.
However, with his smoked brisket ($9.50 for 5 ounces) and chicken ($7 for half), pulled pork ($7 for 5 ounces), baby back ribs ($9 for half) and more, Scavo isn't looking to offer a taste of some place else. Instead, Red's is successfully serving up something oft-talked-about in the local culinary scene: a taste of Tucson barbecue.
With meat at the forefront and a Myron Mixon smoker prominently displayed in the exhibition-style kitchen, Red's uses wet rubs, spice blends, peppers, slow roasting, smoking, citrus brining and more to accomplish flavorful, moist and tender cuts that don't need the assistance of sauce. With a moderate dose of underlying heat, the barbecue is spicy enough to satisfy Sonoran palates, without dominating the flavors of either the meat or the cook on the meat.
Tags: red's smokehouse , taproom , tucson , barbecue , bbq , craft beer , ramiro scavo , pasco , brisket , Image
Okay, so I'm a little late to the party on this one. Then again, I wouldn't have found out about this at all if I hadn't been on David Cross' IMDB... so maybe the rest of the internet just forgot to throw a party?
If you don't know: The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret was a silly 2009 show, which you should absolutely watch if you're into David Cross and Will Arnett being ridiculous together (of course you are). It's got everything: overfed cats, North Korea, suggestively named energy drinks. You'll love it.
Todd Margaret is the new-ish, under-promoted "third season" of the show. It kicks off with (spoiler) David Cross' titular character waking up from the "dream" of seasons one and two. The sassier, harrier, more successful Margaret goes on to revisit jokes and basic plot from the original series.
Why watch the new season if it's just the old series + wig? I was asking myself that during the few episodes, but the series pulls through—and it's only six episodes, so its not much of a time-suck if you wind up disappointed. If you're a fan of what you've seen of Margaret give it a go... but not before lowering the standards.
Tags: david cross , will arnett , todd margaret , The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret , new todd margaret , david cross in a wig , ninja please , Video
January 17th, 2016 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo.
On this week's episode of Zona Politics: Democratic congressional candidate Tom O'Halleran, who hopes to win the open seat that U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick is giving up to challenge Sen. John McCain, visits the set. The former state lawmaker talks about why he jumped from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, what he thinks of President Barack Obama's executive action on guns, and his thoughts on immigration.Then former state lawmaker Jonathan Paton and former Pima County Democratic Party chairman Don Jorgensen unpack Gov. Doug Ducey's State of the State; debate whether the state should be investing more in programs to help at-risk kids; assess Ducey's threat to withhold state-shared revenues from cities and towns that raise the minimum wage or otherwise require businesses to offer benefits to employees; and talk about whether the city of Tucson will move forward with plans to require businesses to offer sick leave to workers.
Tags: Tom O'Halleran , Obama , state of the union , executive action on guns , executive action on immigration , Jonathan Paton , Don Jorgensen , Doug Ducey , state of the state , Tucson news , Arizona news , Video
You know technology has come a long way when astronauts can now appear on the late-night talk shows while still in space. Stephen Colbert and Scott Kelly, who is spending (nearly) a year in space, had a great chat about life in space, the dangers of space madness and much more. Be sure to pay attention to the captions.
Tags: nasa , scott kelly , live from space , stephen colbert , space travel , milky way to broadway , living in space , lets go to mars , year in space , mark kelly , bragging rights , major tom to ground control , you wouldn't need your bones to hold your meat , Video
President Barack Obama is very much against taxing tampons and pads as luxury items, and urges women living in the 40+ states where these products have a sales tax to organize and demand an end to the so-called "tampon tax."
Obama spoke with YouTube personality Ingrid Nielsen, known in the web as MissGlamorazzi, where, according to the online publication Mic, Nielsen brought up how much money women have to spend on pads and tampons.
Nilsen asked Obama, "Recently, I was shocked to learn that pads, tampons and other menstrual products are taxed as luxury goods in 40 states. And I don't know anyone who has a period that thinks it's a luxury."Nielsen said she wondered how the tax even came to be, to which Obama answered: "I have no idea why states would tax these as luxury items. I suspect it's because men were making the laws when those taxes were passed."
Obama responded, "I think that's fair to say. [First lady] Michelle [Obama] would agree with you on that."
Obama urged women in states with tampon taxes to organize to change the laws, explaining that because they were not federal, he did not have jurisdiction. He proposed that activists target governors and state legislatures.The YWCA in Tucson launched Project Period this past December, as part of the beginning stages of its efforts advocating for tampons and pads to become more affordable, especially for women living in poverty, and homeless women. By the spring, the organization hopes to collaborate with state legislators to eventually introduce a bill that would make tampons and pads exempt from any taxation.
Tags: obama , ingrid nielsen , tampons , pads , tampon tax , period , menstrual cycle , ywca tucson , project period , #helpasisterout , Video
The U.S. Supreme Court still hasn't decided whether it will take up on a lawsuit challenging President Obama's executive actions on immigration, leaving two programs that have been blocked for nearly a year—one for undocumented youth and another for parents—still on hold.
The Obama Administration asked the Supreme Court in November to hear their appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal's decision to continue blocking the programs, hoping for a decision on the lawsuit by this summer. But, even though the justices discussed the lawsuit behind closed doors, they did not issue an order for the case, according to Politico.
In November 2014, President Obama issued an extension to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—which grants undocumented youth brought here as children a three-year renewable work permit—and DAPA, which offers a similar relief for parents of U.S. citizen and legal resident children.
Two months later, Texas, and 25 other states including Arizona, filed a lawsuit claiming Obama had overstepped his constitutional authority. In February, a federal court ruled to temporarily block DACA II and DAPA, while the suit was reviewed in court. Both programs could benefit at least 4 million people, according to the Immigration Policy Institute.
From Politico:
The court could take the case next week and still schedule it for argument this term under normal procedures. If the justices don't decide fairly soon after that, they might have to take some unusual steps to get the case heard and decided before they customarily wrap up decisions in late June.Obama's 2012 DACA is not affected by the lawsuit, or the temporary injunction. However, Politico says, if the Supreme Court agrees that Obama did not have the authority to expand the immigration reliefs, "the administration would likely have to shut down the earlier program," which has granted a renewable two-year work permit and temporary permission to remain in the country to about 788,000 people.
If the court does decide to take up the case, Obama will have a chance to revive a key legacy item that has been in limbo for nearly a year, since a federal judge in Texas issued an order halting the immigration moves the president announced just after the 2014 midterm elections.
Should the court rule in Obama's favor, his administration will have a relatively short, seven-month window to try to roll out the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the new initiative called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans. While advocacy groups are eager to have illegal immigrants apply for the programs, there are questions about how many will do so if they're rolled out so close to the end of Obama's presidency.
Tags: supreme court , 5th circuit court of appeals , obama , dapa , daca , immigration , executive actions
The Tucson Jazz Festival is treating Tucsonans to an awesome lineup of free jazz today, including two outdoor stages and shows inside a bunch of clubs. There's really no reason not to go, unless you're stuck working. Check out the full lineup of today's MLK Jazz Fiesta here.
This is part six of a journal I’m keeping during my month working at a refugee camp in Greece. Part five, covering working at a distribution tent and finding a full-time translation job, is here.
Jan. 4
Today was my first full day as a Farsi interpreter at a medical clinic at Camp Moria, Lesbos Island’s biggest refugee camp. Afghans or Iranians who speak clear English are a rarity on the island, so I’ve handled a handful of different translation jobs. They all left me feeling meh. The medical clinic was different though. Working with needy people, avoiding egos, and having a uniquely needed skill set were all improvements over my previous jobs. Working in a warm building with the majority of the cute volunteers on the island was a nice bonus as well.
Working at the medical clinic finally felt like my calling.
Most of the cases today were fevers and colds. It was a good way to ease into a language that I studied 10 years ago and haven’t used again until a week ago. Hot, cold, fever, cough, and vomit were the most common words. I had prepared a long list of medical terms over the weekend and was very grateful that I didn’t have to consult it often today.
One of the rafts had hit a rock near the shore and popped that morning, leading to everyone on the raft walking the last 20 feet to the shore. While there were no drownings or hypothermia from it, one particular injury kept popping up.
"Please stop making me laugh about people getting sea urchins stuck in their feet," I giggled to S, a doctor from a medical team from Vermont. He wasn’t trying to make me laugh. He wasn’t trying not to either. I was fortunately able to hold it in while around patients.
Sobriety came quickly as a visibly pregnant woman came into the clinic. She wore tears on her cheek and her hands on her stomach. She had fallen out of the raft and crashed into a rock, stomach first. She was panicked that her baby was hurt and told us repeatedly that she was 8.5 months pregnant. It was a big relief for everybody when we found that she had “only” broken a rib. The baby would be fine.
Tags: IntoTheMild , ISIS , War , Refugees , Crisis , Immigration
Friday, January 15, 2016
Linda, who I've known for a few years, comes to education from a different place than I do. She's a retired Air Force Colonel. She has served as the director of Wingspan and helped organize four of their charity golf tournaments. She serves on the Oracle School District Governing Board and is very involved in the Arizona School Boards Association.
You can look over her backlog of blog posts here or check in at Blog for Arizona now and then, where there's always plenty going on.
Tags: Education , Blogging , Linda Lyon , Blog for Arizona
