Tuesday, September 11, 2018
I've never used emoticons before, but these angry little guys may be just what I need right now.
"Read my emoticon. Damn right I'm mad! I plan to stay mad through November 6. After that, we'll see."
Republicans are doing everything they can to tell Arizona educators to calm down, there's really nothing to be upset about. It's your own fault the Invest in Ed initiative isn't on the ballot. As for your salary problems, blame your school district, not the legislature or the governor. You educators shouldn't bother your pretty, pedantic little heads about all this complicated governing stuff. Just stay in to your classrooms where you belong. After you vote us back into office, don't worry, everything will be fine.
Republicans hate it when their opponents get mad. Oh, they love to rile up their own base. The Tea Party named itself after a bunch of colonists in Boston who were so pissed about taxes, they threw a shipload of tea in the harbor. Our Liar in Chief inflames his base with a steady diet of hate directed at his growing list of enemies. They know it works.They know it brings their supporters out to the polls.
Which is why they want the opposition to stay calm and quiet. Get sad, not mad. Lose gracefully.
I was surprised to find myself featured in an op ed by Jonathan Hoffman in Sunday's Star. I was the poster child and whipping boy for every educator who is angry at Republican elected officials and their fat cat donors and plans to vote them out of office. Hoffman was complaining about a quote from one of my recent posts, Don't Get Sad. Get Mad!:
“We need to be Red-hot angry over the decision by Ducey’s Supreme Court, backed by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, to take the Invest in Education initiative off the ballot.”Hoffman hated that "Red-hot angry" phrase so much, he repeated it four times. If anyone missed the point about how dangerous it is to be that angry, he warned teachers they're turning into "Antifa thugs" instead of quiet, staid "college-educated professionals."
Your problems are your own fault, he said.
"You created the problems with the Invest in Ed initiative, not the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry or the Arizona Supreme Court. So, be professional, own the screw-up, and do it right next time."Take the blame. Slink away quietly. Lick your wounds. You can try again two years from now.
Tags: Invest in Education initiative , Doug Ducey , Teacher salaries , RedforEd , Image
Tags: comics , politics , cartoons , tennis , Serena , double standard , Image
Monday, September 10, 2018
Tags: comics , cartoons , politics , dictator , New York Times , Image
Friday, September 7, 2018
On this edition of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: I talk with Arizona Daily Star's Dave Fitzsimmons and Tucson Weekly's Rand Carlson about what it's like to be a political cartoonist in such a target-rich environment (and highlight their show of strips at Contreras Gallery this month). Then I talk to Ron Barber, the former Southern Arizona congressman, about his memories of John McCain and his thoughts about this year's race for CD2. Finally, we talk with Alice Hatcher, whose book The Wonder That Was Ours is excerpted in this week's Tucson Weekly.
Young voters can dive into a new semester of political involvement with pool party hosted NextGen Arizona this Saturday at Catalina Terrace (2440 E Hedrick Dr, Tucson, AZ 85719).
NextGen is hosting a pool party to encourage engagement from freshly returning UA students at 1 p.m. There will be free food, drinks, music, water games and the opportunity to get registered to vote.
Over the next few weeks, NextGen will be reaching out to students on over 23 campuses across Arizona and will host several major events, like “Wet n Woke”. They have already registered more than 12,000 voters this year.
If registering to vote is already checked off the to-do list, there is also an opportunity to get signed up to volunteer. Next on NextGen Arizona’s agenda is ensuring young people all over Arizona are informed and empowered to vote for candidates like David Garcia this November.
Tags: UofA , NextGen Arizona , Register to Vote , Pool Party , Things to do , Image
Brnovich must be new to the concept of privatizing government and profiting handsomely from public funding. For instance, he probably doesn't know much about the Arizona's conservative/libertarian Goldwater Institute, which advocates for privatization and deregulation. Wait, check that. He was Director of the Goldwater Institute's Center for Constitutional Government. OK, so maybe he doesn't have any real world experience with for-profit businesses which make big money by performing government services. Wait, check that too. He was Senior Director for the Corrections Corporation of America, the private prison company.
I guess it's possible Brnovich hasn't read or seen the many news stories about charter schools misusing state funds during his years in Arizona, or heard the topic mentioned in the halls of government. Possible, but not likely.
So why this sudden concern about charter schools ripping off the public and his call for "a mechanism . . . to make sure that charter schools . . . are not enriching themselves at the expense of students"? Here are four good reasons.
1. He's running for office in a year Democrats look like they have a shot at winning statewide races.The first three reasons are self explanatory. Number four deserves more explanation.
2. He has an able, hard working Democratic challenger, January Contreras, who has a strong record of serving and protecting Arizonans.
3. Education is the top issue for most Arizonans.
4. He's one of 20 attorneys general who signed onto a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act. If they're successful, insurance companies can refuse to cover people with preexisting conditions. He'd rather talk about how much he loves children and education than how he's working to deny people health coverage.
Tags: Attorney General Mark Brnovich , Charter schools , Goldwater Institute , Corrections Corporation of America , Affordable Care Act , Texas v. United States , Craig Harris , Image
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Tags: comics , politics , Bob Woodward , Trump , Fear , Image
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Across the country, teachers give up some of their earning power when they decide to enter their noble profession. Arizona tops the list in earning losses: 36.4 percent.
We're Number 1! We're Number 1! We're Number . . . Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
According to an analysis in the Money section of Time, on average, teachers earn 18.7 percent less than other college grads working full time, factoring in education, age and years of experience. If you consider teacher's benefits, which are higher than in the private sector, the gap goes down to 11.1 percent.
But all pay gaps are not created equal, as we learn in the article's "Teacher Pay Penalty, State-By-State" chart. Scroll way, way down to the bottom, past Oklahoma, past North Carolina, and you get to Arizona, where teachers earn 36.4 percent less than people of similar education, age and experience.
Do you teach in Arizona? If so, slash a-third-plus-3-percent off your earning power.
Tags: Teacher salaries , Invest in Ed , RedforEd , Arizona Chamber of Commerce. , Image
