It is early Sunday morning here in the Valley of the Sun, and true to its name, the day is going to be bright, warm, and beautiful. As I sat out on the patio watching the hummingbirds come and go, and the snakes slither along the flower bed (not really, honey, but it made a good picture of a great morning), I came to a sudden realization about my adopted home state. It is totally messed up!
Now, I lived in Illinois for about 54 years, and I saw just about every governor during my lifetime be indicted for something related to his office. (I'm pretty sure that Gov. Ogilvie escaped with his integrity.) Blago was the last straw, though.
When I moved to Arizona, I thought that all that would be left behind. Here, I thought, are people with common sense and who know what the law means. I thought things here would be above board, and truthful and laid back. Man, was I wrong!
Arizona was the last of the 48 contiguous states. It once was part of the Confederacy and its boundary with New Mexico once ran along the Gila River, and the two shared an east/west boundary, not a north/south one. Abe Lincoln changed all that. The capital of the territory/state was moved about five times before deciding on Phoenix. And Arizona was one of the first states to give women the right to vote and hold office...about eight years before the US Constitution. Arizonans, it seems have always been forward thinkers and people who value law and order (ala Wyatt Earp and his brothers).
They never did value education very highly, although the first governor of the state, George W.P. Hunt, got a law passed for mandatory education of 12 days a year for kids up to fourteen years of age! Arizonans do like their guns, and the idea that they vote on just about everything. Coming up in May, we will vote on a sales tax that will be in effect for three years and help fund education and just about everything else. How much? One cent per dollar! That would bring our state sales tax up to 6.6 cents per dollar. Now I know there are places that have less than that, but in Illinois, with all the various taxes, some places were as high as 9 percent. The 48th state ranks 48th in education, but then again, they don't spend money on it. Arizona spends about 6600 dollars per pupil, while Illinois spends close to 8800 dollars.
Now, AZ is in the forfront again when it comes to immigration enforcement! I don't think I have to go into that, as I covered that in previous blogs. Suffice it to say that I approve of the measure, and hope this kicks the Feds in the butt and gets the national debate open. Arizona has gone out on a limb here, and we'll see if other states help out, or if they handle the saw.
Remember the hubbub when President Obama was running for President? The contention that he was not born in the US? AZ is taking the lead again when it comes to stepping on federal toes. It will require all people running for president to give a notarized copy of their birth cetificate to our Secretary of State to be on the ballot. No other candidates will have to do this, just those running for President. So if the Pres wants on the AZ ballot for re-election, he will have to present a notarized birth certificate. But, John McCain and JD Hayworth do not (I question the last one's sanity.).
Now, Sheriff Joe is contemplating running for governor and he has said that if elected, he will not run again. One term and done. At 78, he better get someone strong to run with him for Secretary of State, because that person will surely be governor sooner than expected.
OH, by the way. Everyone over 21 in Arizona can now carry a gun concealed.
And my wife is worried about that snake in the backyard! LOL
Dougnnut
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