- ACLU wrong — military commissions are not unconstitutional
- March 19, 2010
- Only weeks ago, President Obama appeared to have made up his mind to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow 9/11 co-conspirators to New York City for trial in civilian courts. Now, however, news reports suggest that the president may be poised to abandon the civilian court trials altogether and try the 9/11 plotters in military commissions.
- Economic recovery starts with creating jobs
- March 12, 2010
- The effects of the economic downturn have been severe and affected all Americans in some way. Some people have lost jobs or suffered reductions in pay that now make it difficult to pay their bills. Some bought homes they could afford a few years ago, but now find themselves upside down in their mortgages.
- Grateful that voters showed kids count in Payson
- March 12, 2010
- On behalf of the Payson school district governing board, teachers, staff, leadership, and most importantly, our students, thank you voters for your support. In passing the Maintenance and Operations Override, you have ensured that catastrophic cuts to schools and programs will not take place.
- A year of putting Americans to work to improve our national forests
- March 12, 2010
- During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt called on the Forest Service for help. Through the Civilian Conservation Corps, we engaged millions of unemployed citizens, helping to rebuild lives and provide a lasting service to the nation through fire control, reforestation, and early construction of roads, trails and facilities.
- Proposed bills provide health care insurance, but not health care
- March 9, 2010
- The currently proposed health care legislation will have a severe impact on rural Arizona. While the goal to provide equal health care insurance coverage to every American seems worthy, health insurance does not equal health care. The delivery of health care in the United States has evolved in a very complex way. Any legislation with a goal of “fixing” American medicine needs to take into account not only the payments for services, but also the allocation of services.
- Health care reform can only possible with bipartisanship
- March 5, 2010
- President Obama has argued recently that the failure of Congress to pass the Democrats’ health care bill is a sign that our legislative process no longer works. Alluding to the legislation during a campaign event in Denver, the president complained about a “broken” system, accused those who disagree with him of trying to “gum up the works,” and claimed that the Senate “doesn’t get anything done” because Republicans “say no to everything.”
- Entire community came together to help those in need
- February 26, 2010
- A successful and historic food drive was recently completed by the Payson Area Food Drive organization to keep the food banks’ shelves from being emptied. This food drive was historic because of the severe economic recession and job losses that affected so many families in the Payson and surrounding areas. It was also historic because of the wide and effective participation of many sections of the community to reach the very high goals of collecting 50,000 pounds of food and $20,000.
- President’s budget cuts funding for border security
- February 26, 2010
- While Washington is focused on the “health care summit” and the treatment of terrorists, there are a couple of other issues on the minds of Arizonans — as I found while I was in the state over the week of Presidents Day. Jobs and border security always come up. In this column, I’ll address the border issues, with a focus on how the administration would deal with these issues under its proposed budget.
- Town can’t maintain services fixed at 1980 prices
- February 24, 2010
- It is that time again, when the citizens of Payson have their opportunity to speak out on how their money is spent by the powers that be at town hall.
- Who says dreams can’t come true? Part II
- February 19, 2010
- Last week I was talking about how much I always wanted to own a microscope, knowing the chances of it were very slim. A decent one cost a year’s pay. Let me put that in perspective for you.
- Taking one step toward nuclear power … but two steps back
- February 12, 2010
- United States energy policy shouldn’t make it more expensive for American families to heat their homes or drive to work and school. Some lawmakers, however, advocate policies — like “cap-and-trade” — that would have dramatic, harmful effects on family budgets.
- More federal spending is not the answer
- February 12, 2010
- I am always proud to represent a district where folks know the value of a hard day’s work. In Greater Arizona, we all learn from a young age that you have to earn every opportunity you get, and that’s the lesson we teach to our kids. Even during one of the worst economic downturns in decades, people don’t ask me for handouts or for the government to take care of everything. They want to know what I am doing to help them provide for themselves and their families.
- You can’t spend what you don’t have
- February 5, 2010
- The president recently announced he would freeze certain types of federal spending in an effort to save approximately $250 billion over the next 10 years. Over that period, deficits are projected to accumulate to $9 trillion. So, with this “spending freeze” in place, we will only spend $8.75 trillion that we don’t have.
- Putting a bull’s-eye on Payson schools’ budget
- February 2, 2010
- For the last two fiscal years, developing a school district budget with recommendations for Payson Unified School District’s Governing Board has been an exercise in hitting a moving target. As a Navy pilot, I got pretty good at delivering ordinance on practice targets that were fixed. Trying to get close to something on wheels was a whole different challenge. The actions and/or inactions of our state government are reminiscent of my old flying days. Those were practice targets though and our budget has real consequences for our students.
- Standing up for my constituents in rural Arizona
- February 2, 2010
- As state revenues continue to nosedive, the state Legislature is once again turning to rural Arizona to carry a large part of the burden of the state’s fiscal mismanagement. Whether it be counties having to absorb judicial salaries and health funding or state parks being closed across the state, rural Arizona is once again disproportionately impacted by many of the proposals being considered to balance the budget this fiscal year.
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