“The illegals who come here… don’t want to be American, they want to destroy our form of government.” This was part of a speech made by State Senator Sylvia Allen at a Support Russell Pearce rally in October of last year. She spoke about illegal immigration and prefaced the quote above as part of a

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“Illegal immigrants chose to come here against our laws and proceeded to choose which laws they would follow and which they would ignore, demanding rights to which they are not entitled.” This was taken from a recent letter to the editor in the Arizona Republic. The woman, Alice Wilson, goes on to say, “Legal citizens

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The list reads like a Who’s Who of Sheriff Arpaio’s nearest and dearest allies: Former MCSO Chief Deputy David Hendershott Former MCSO Deputy Chief Larry Black Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas Former Deputy County Attorney Lisa Aubuchon One by one, those responsible for helping Sheriff Arpaio take revenge on his enemies or silence his

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Corruption is the topic of the day on this week’s 12 News Sunday Square Off. Two political heavyweights, Attorney General Tom Horne and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, are the subject of investigations, while fellow Democrats push for state legislator Daniel Patterson’s removal from office.  

SB1070 was sold as a way to “do the job the federal government refused to do.” Presumably, that meant “secure the border,” a catchall phrase by Republicans that has yet to be defined as anything other than “the opposite of what Obama does.” But SB1070 doesn’t secure the border, nor does it offer any real

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The District 25 senate race was shaping up to be a battle between two moderates and one extremist. Incumbent Rich Crandall, a moderate Republican known for his focus on education, was joined by another moderate, Bob Worsley, a newcomer with an impressive business background and leadership role within the Mormon Church. It could have been

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Nine children, some just babies, were slaughtered by an American soldier. The 38-year-old father of two put on his night vision goggles, walked a mile to a nearby village, and gunned down 16 Afghan civilians. But why? What would drive an American soldier to commit such a heinous crime? We may never completely understand what

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When one works for a party that holds a super majority in this state, he/she is entitled to a few benefits. Or at least that’s what some of the Republicans in power believe. Notice that I said when one works for a “party” and not when one works for the “people.” That’s an important distinction

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The world stands with bated breath, anxiously awaiting the results of Sheriff Arpaio’s investigation into the authenticity of President Obama’s birth certificate. Or at least that’s what Mr. Arpaio would like to believe. For the vast majority of Americans, this issue was put to rest a long time ago, but for the tea party extremists,

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College athletes have earned their way into college, but veterans have not. Those aren’t my words but rather the sentiment of House Republicans such as John Kavanagh who refused to give military vets an exemption to the minimum tuition bill that recently made its way out of committee. Mr. Kavanagh said, “I’m a veteran and

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Arizona’s legislators have certainly made education reform a top priority at the Capitol. Unfortunately, their “fixes” do more harm than good. Let’s start with Senator Ron Gould’s guns on campus bill. Here’s a classic example of a legislator determined to fix something that isn’t broken. I speak about this bill in detail in an earlier

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“Coercion and intimidation are the tools of mobs and tyrants…” This was the final, stinging line in conservative editorialist Kathleen Parker’s article on the Susan G. Komen controversy. Her message to the women responsible for the Komen reversal was this: using your voice to express opposition is considered to be an act of intimidation, a

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Fundamental to American life is the idea that if one works hard, studies hard, he/she can overcome a life of poverty and realize the American Dream. But these days, the American Dream is virtually impossible without a college degree, and while President Obama works to make college tuition more affordable, Arizona’s Republican legislators take the

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Less than two years ago, Arizona’s reputation was scarred by the signing of SB1070. Businesses, particularly those in the tourism industry, lost millions of dollars while the world listened to the harsh rhetoric of former State Senator Russell Pearce and learned of the discriminatory practices of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Many residents wondered aloud

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For the last decade, many Arizonans have come to believe “charter” is synonymous with “better.” Our public education system has consistently ranked among the worst in the nation, while media reports have highlighted some successful Arizona charter schools bucking the trends. But now we learn that a large percentage of Arizona’s charter schools aren’t so

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When my oldest son was in preschool, the teachers had a daily ritual where they would gather the kids in a circle and ask what each child was thankful for. After hearing a story about Martin Luther King, Jr., my son said, “I’m thankful I’m white.” Though shocked to hear my four-year-old make such a

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Though university administrators, student leaders, professors, and other stakeholders have made it known they do not want guns on campus, state Senator Ron Gould and company have made it known they intend to overrule them anyway. Why? Well according to Gould and other Republican legislators, guns on college campuses will protect students. The argument goes

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I sat down with Channel 3′s Frank Camacho on his show, Politics Unplugged, to discuss civil discourse, Sheriff Arpaio and the decriminalization of marijuana. We also spoke about some of my predictions for 2012.

In 2012, we should “expect the unexpected.” How do I know that? Well, according to numerologists, 2012 is a number five year (this is based on the sum total of the numbers: 2+0+1+2=5). And the only thing one can predict in a number five year is that it is unpredictable. Taking that into consideration, I

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That’s what Jack Harper, the Republican Representative from Surprise and chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, wants you to do. Mr. Harper believes the current law, one that allows homeowners who are underwater in their mortgages to walk away from their loans, is hurting banks and should be repealed. He’s quoted as saying,

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