Regulations in Rancho Santa Fe saved area

There was this article from the Arizona Republic today about how strict regulations saved many homes in Rancho Sante Fe, CA. Here is the challenge as I see it. How do you institute good regulations, but balance them with property rights? Is it a false dicotomy to compare the two?

One of the problems that seems constant in this debate has a lot to do with people that are highly skeptical of all government regulation or involvement. I can imagine most people would feel put upon if the government told them which trees they could plant and how often they need to water plants.


Unfortunately, reality seems to frequently trump these arguments. For instance, how long can Arizona be competitive economically if traffic and air quality continues to worsen? What dangers are inherent in not regulating water resources as Arizona grows? I know many people hate government involvement, but how do we insure that Arizona is a good, economically viable place to live when the market is not capable of providing the needed stability?


Sometimes I have the feeling that many people let denial and cognitive dissonance control their decisions. I also feel at times that the sky is falling mentality of the environment community can be counter productive at persuading people. Global warming is a good example of this. I don't think most people understand why a 1 or 2 degree increase in global temperatures is a problem and why it would be a bad thing them.

Beyond all of the political fighting, there is an area of public policy that involves more technocratic decision making than the ideological concerns can address. Government needs to do certain things regardless of the anti-government people think and regardless of pie in sky political theory. The idea that government is not capable cannot be accepted if we want a strong society. Government like anything else works well when managed well.

Maricopa County Sheriff's office misses raves next door put on by pedophile for underage kids

This story falls into the truth is stranger than fiction category. It almost sounds like the plot from a very bad movie. The New Times has this article with the whole story. Basically an old pedophile was having illegal raves downtown with mostly underage kids in attendance. The police and fire department finally busted the place, but it was not the police you might think. One of County Sheriff Joe "Dime bag" Arpaio's offices is next door, but the sheriff was not in on the bust. Good police work Joe!

The Arizona Republic finally gets something right

The Arizona Republic has this editorial about the tempest in a teapot dispute between Joe "Dime bag" Arpaio, Andrew "The Douche" Thomas and Terry Goddard. They pretty much get the whole thing exactly right. Here is my favorite quote:

There simply is too much political baggage between Goddard and Thomas to pretend that Thomas' pursuit of Goddard on "bribery" charges is free of politics. Goddard, a Democrat, defeated Thomas, a Republican, in 2002 for the attorney general position. Both are considered candidates for the Governor's Office in 2010.

It is time to move this investigation to more objective arena. We should quit pretending that Arpaia and Thomas are capable of being unbiased. Just as a side note, I find it interesting that Andy Thomas is letting his political career be damaged by Arpaio. It seems that anyone that gets into bed with Arpaio comes out of the relationship worse off than they started (except maybe Janet). I cannot imagine an politician trusting Arpaio. He is so self-serving and self-centered that he does not care what damage might be done as long as it serves his purpose.

Thomas Watch: How about a little prosecutorial misconduct?

The Arizona Republic has this article about the ongoing tempest in a teapot between Terry Goddard, Andy "the douche" Thomas and Joe "dime-bag" Arpaio. I find myself increasingly speechless when confronted with actions of the modern Republican Party.

Since when did intragovernmental transfers become bribery? This charge is ridiculous on its face. It is funny how Republicans of the Bush variety care so little for insuring the safety of citizens and punishment of criminals (rather than the prosecution of political opponents). If Andy Thomas would stick to aggressive prosecution of criminals and quit being such a douche, he would probably have a good shot at Attorney General or even Governor (as frightening as that may seem).

Why is it that the modern Republican Party has lost all sense duty to our country, our society and our way of life? Prosecutors and law enforcement should strive to be above reproach. If you want to be a political hack, run for the legislature, run for Congress, but stay away Sheriff and County Attorney (that goes for both parties), please...

Thomas Watch: Good idea Andy, no one would abuse that...

Andy "The douche" Thomas has another brilliant idea. Try this on for size, you will be able to anonymously turn-in employers for violating Arizona's new employer sanctions law. Yes, that is a good idea... I can't imagine anyone abusing that.

Good work Andy, if you keep up this pace you will have destroyed much by the time you run for Governor. You can claim rightly that you worked hard at reducing the size of government (or at least further damaging the public trust) through incompetence, political hackery and pure douche baggery.

BTW -- Maricopa is the only county that will accept anonymous tips about employers. Every other county will require a notarized statement. But everyone knows that notarized statements are for chumps.

Thomas Watch: Baby Andy comes unhinged

I think this story is hilarious. I know that finding candidate disclosure forms may not be something everyone knows how to do, but it only take a few minutes to figure out. I can't decide if Andy "the douche" Thomas is really upset about this or just looking to change the story.

In the case that he really is upset, let me give him some advise. Don't run for public office or get a post office box. It is really that easy...

If you want to find a campaign finance reports for any Maricopa county or Arizona state official, they are here: http://recorder.maricopa.gov/CampaignFinanceFilingNet/
http://www.azsos.gov/scripts/cfs_committee.dll

Oddly enough, they have a new system that requires an email address at the county. You used to be able to search on your own. I wonder if this is a reaction to baby Andy's hissy fit?

Thomas Watch: New Times redux

I was about half way through an overview and history of the whole New Times - Andrew Thomas affair when I ran across this entry from Blog for Arizona. Given that the overview was better than mine, I will just give you a link.

Immigrants won't learn English (because they are afraid to go to class...)

I know you have heard about how all of those awful immigrants just will not learn English and will not assimilate. Then there is this from the Arizona Republic. (Pssst, anti-immigrant people, the best people to get people to learn English is to teach them English). Logical people they are not...

Thomas Watch: The emperor backs down

Our good fascist, err friend Andy Thomas has backed down in the arrest of the editors at the New Times. AZ central has the info here. My question is where were you yesterday and how could you not have known this would happen? He is either lying or incompetent.

Let's all hope the Arizona Bar punishes both of them...

Thomas Watch: Andy and Sheriff Joe drunk with power ignore the Constitution

So it has finally come to this... Our good (and apparently latent fascist) friend Andy Thomas has teamed up with Sheriff Joe to arrest people at the New Times for exercising freedom of the press. Last week we had Andy trying to appoint and dismiss judges. Here is what got the New Times in trouble.

The New Times provides the best muckraking coverage in Phoenix. I think they represent the best of what journalism should be, independent and not afraid to take on power. Unfortunately, doing what is right and within your rights does guarantee you protection from persecution (or apparently prosecution).

Can anyone say prosecutorial misconduct? How about profession misconduct? When do the powers that be start looking down those avenues? This is what the Bush era has wrought, public officials who believe they are above the rule law and not subject to the Constitution. Sad, very sad...

UPDATE: Here is the article from the Arizona Republic. Thanks God for these two quotes:

But Wilenchik's actions have created a furor, and the State Bar of Arizona confirms that both Wilenchik and Thomas are the subjects of Bar investigations into ethical conduct over the interaction with Ryan.

AND

But Wilenchik's actions have created a furor, and the State Bar of Arizona confirms that both Wilenchik and Thomas are the subjects of Bar investigations into ethical conduct over the interaction with Ryan.

Calling All Republicans Bloggers!

There are some good Republican/Conservative bloggers in Arizona. Specifically, EspressoPundit seems to be commendable (although, I disagree with him on much). I am calling on all bloggers, left and right, to beat the drum about the assault on the Constitution by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. I know he is one of you and you are probably reluctant to criticize a fellow Republican, but today we have to all be Americans (even at A Democrat's Lament). Please join me in denouncing this assault on the First Amendment.

Thomas Watch: Way to screw the pooch Andy

When will someone start investigating Andy Thomas' office for professional misconduct. We have this today. Isn't lying to a grand jury a crime?

Thomas Watch: The emperor has no sense.

Our good friend Andy Thomas is at it again. It is amazing that the top attorney in Maricopa County understands so little about the law and government. I know it is hard to believe Andy, but you do not get to appoint judges, nor do you get to dismiss them. Not only that, but you cannot get rid of any other elected officials that think you are a kook. Here are the details. Here is a little snippet from the article.

Presiding Judge Barbara Rodriguez Mundell's ruling says Thomas has not
presented any facts to support his contention that all 93 judges on the county
Superior Court are too biased to hear the case.

We all know that Andy does not let facts get in the way. Here is my test for Andy, if you think all 93 Maricopa County judges are biased, you have to be able to name them all in court without a cheat sheet. If you cannot remember a name then they pass the bias test.

How much longer must we suffer under this tool? Is there not a good Democrat (Hell, I would take Rick Romley at this point) to run against him in 2008.

Gangs in Pinal county, who knew?

Apparently the gang problem in Arizona is not limited to Maricopa county. I have written previously about the graffiti and gang problems in Central Phoenix. I find it surprising that gangs are in fairly rural parts of Pinal county. Things are getting so bad in central Phoenix that my wife and I will probably move to a safer (and far less interesting) part of Phoenix soon. It really is unfortunate that we cannot do a better job on crime prevention.

Should this reflect on Hillary?

I am sure many of the you have heard that Mark Penn, Hillary's chief strategist has a bit of a besmirched past from a liberal Democrat point of view. His primary transgression is his consulting firm running union busting campaigns and having Blackwater as a client. Assuming the allegations are true, what should Hillary do?

His connections would be unacceptable to many important parts of the Democratic coalition and should be addressed if she wants to lead our party. I think this highlights her fatal flaw as a candidate. She is at times Bush like in her stubbornness. And before Hillary supporters have me drawn and quartered, I like Hillary and think she would make a good president. Unfortunately, she very cautious and will not jettison Penn partially out of stubbornness and partially out of the belief that only way to win is through triangulation. The difference between Edwards or Obama and Hillary is that I think they are both true believers who would be offended by his behaviour and would likely give him the boot. Hillary is about winning at all costs, but I think at times wanting to win at all cost leads to losing. Candidates need to stand for something...

Superfund sites (or how companies grew to love the Bush Administration)

This story from the East Valley Tribune goes into Motorola's attempt to discontinue a program that filters trichloroethylene from the air in Phoenix. The contamination is the result of their manufacturing polluting ground water. I am trying to not have a knee jerk reaction here, but I kind of feel regardless of the science they should not be able to remove the filters (OK that was knee jerk). Hear me out, they polluted. They permanently damaged a public good and they should be punished for it. I would prefer more severe punishment, but I will take what I can get. If they want to remove the filters then they should have to come up with another equally good way to remove the chemical from the air.

At the end of the day, we have to come up with a better system for pollution control. We need to make pollution much more expensive for companies. Consumers need to understand that higher prices are likely to follow. I have mentioned this before, but this is just a transfer payment from one generation to another. The cost is not born out by the primary beneficiaries.

This sort of pollution does permanent damage and leads to lower home values for the people in the area, higher health care costs, and cleanup costs. Very little of the cost is paid by the people who used the products or the company. We need to correct that...

Romley endores Saban

This is pretty big news from the New Times. I think that Sheriff Joe is still safe, but it is interesting to see Rick Romley endorsing Saban for Maricopa County Sheriff. The state Republicans have a lot of internal conflict at the moment. You have primary challenges from the right in a couple of districts, activist Republicans not playing nice with Saint John McCain, a state Party Chair that much of the establishment hates, the fundies are going after the activist wing over employer sanctions and now Romley endorsing Saban.

There is still a lot of anger at Joe for giving Napolitano cover in 2002.

Hillary's retirement idea interesting, but needs detail...

I ran across this proposal from Hillary Clinton's campaign for setting up 401(k) accounts for everyone and having the government match up to a $1000/year. She would pay for this by reinstating part of the estate tax. The cost would be about $20 to $25 Billion a year.

I don't have a problem with this on principle, but I do have a lot of concerns and questions. First, would you be able to draw money from the account before retirement. Many people do not understand investing, how will the government educate them. What investment options will be available? Will they be private programs or government run? If private will there be limits on fees? Will there be a pension option? Will there be an option to have professionals manage the money?

My biggest concern is that we will spend this sizable amount of money without real oversight and it will become a way for Wall Street to suck on the government teat. I worry about high fees that eat up contributions. I also worry about people getting lump sum distributions from their account the day they retire. If the point of the program is to stabilize retirement and I assume prop up Social Security, it should be designed as such. When public money is utilized, the public should get as much for their money as possible. The last concern I will bring up is general affordability. I think this is a laudable and useful idea, but can we afford it when we are running huge deficits and borrowing from Social Security to pay for things (and have huge unfunded liabilities in healthcare)?

Soldiers do not need protection from free speech: The tee shirt roundup

I am sure I am not the only one who saw the irony in this purely political action. The legislature should be ashamed of themselves for not standing up for the Constitution. The Arizona Republic has the good news here . Here is a previous post about the issue that I did not publish:

There are bills making their rounds of state legislatures to protect dead soldiers names from being reprinted without the family's permission. The EVT has this article. There are so many issues surrounding this action. First, it is fairly inconsequential except to a few families that are actually concerned about this and of course the politicians trying to score political points. These sorts of bills always make me uncomfortable because they seem blatantly unconstitutional. It is sort of ironic that a soldier whose duty is to not only defend and protect his country, but also the Constitution would be singled out for protection that violates the constitution. Now, I know that most people are not a libertarian as I am. I believe that most Constitutional rights are pretty absolute. Among these rights, political speech maybe the most protected. This bill seems to be a clear violation of freedom of speech. Given that, why are so many legislators willing to vote for it. Is it simply political fear? Or is it that they know it is so likely to be overturned? Both? How do we build a culture that tolerates the free exercise of every one's rights? The simple fact is that it is easy to say America is a free country, but it is quite another thing to continue to believe in freedom when you find someone doing something reprehensible (not that company in Flagstaff is doing anything wrong in my book). Having said all of that, I
would be mad as Hell if my son or daughter died in Iraq and someone was using their name for a political purpose that I found offensive. Ultimately, we as citizens have to learn to have a thicker skin when it comes to political disagreement.

Thomas Watch: The big baby returns

The Arizona Republic has this article and this one about big Baby Andy Thomas stomping his feet to get his way. Thomas is the perfect example of a Republican that is willing destroy long standing governing structures to get his way on a narrow issue. Note to Baby Andy, you do not get to appoint judges... Nor do you get to dismiss them.

I wonder if Thomas is getting near professional misconduct that needs to be addressed by the Arizona Bar Association?

Another stupid law

I have talked about the 207 ballot proposition and how bad an idea it is for city planning. Here is the account of the first use of the law from the Arizona Republic. I know all of the arguments about property rights and as a property owner I get that. However, when do the property rights of the many outweigh the property rights of the individual.

For instance, in my neighborhood, if we did not have strong zoning and enforcement by the city, it would continue to be a high crime area. It is in transition for a variety of reasons, but one big reason is the city's ability to force property owners to paint over graffiti, cut down dead trees, cut their weeds and remove their broken down cars. All of these laws are at risk depending on how the courts decide the case. Although, I admit some annoyance when I was turned in by a neighbor for weeds, it is key to making many parts of Phoenix livable.

I understand the frustration with Tempe and Mesa in particular over eminent domain. We should have adjusted the eminent domain laws and not put this stupid law in place.

CORRECTION -- Prop 207