In this instance, the business that previously occupied this building was Planned Parenthood. Every time I drive past and see that “AVAILABLE” sign, I feel a bit of pleasant satisfaction.

They will definitely not be missed in the neighborhood.

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He should learn that sometimes simple is better, as Congressman Jeff Flake showed us with this statement:

On the one-year anniversary of the Tucson shooting, we mourn those who were lost, continue to pray for those who were wounded, and take solace in the fact that out of tragedy, our spirit as a community, a state, and a nation has been made stronger.

Montini might have learned not to condemn as complicit individuals who had no connection to the event what-so-ever. He chooses instead to refocus the blame on political ads, which is exactly the muddy thinking that lead to Sarah Palin being demonized as making Gabriel Giffords a target. Instead, despite the preponderance of evidence that has come forward to show Jared Loughner was neither politically motivated nor aware of Palin’s “target map”, Montini chooses to stick with the meme that fits his political agenda. An agenda that finds any words of disagreement from the Right to be “inflamatory”, and the most vile and threatening words & images from the Left to simply represent “impassioned speech”

He might have learned that in the name of civil rights, we have failed the mentally disturbed and those who may eventually fall victim to them. Instead he dismisses Loughner’s illness and points instead to the “ugly discourse over immigration”, something that had no bearing on the shooter or his life.

He might have learned that public officials, particularly those who try to have an open communion with their constituency, would be well served by some sort of personal protection*.

He might have learned that when law enforcement is tasked with being the only line of defense, a Sheriff who fails to act despite repeated warnings & inquiries needs to be removed from his post. Particularly when the sherrif then proceeds to also blame rhetoric and newly minted laws, despite knowing that his office had willfully dropped the ball on stopping Loughner BEFORE he took 6 lives and altered so many more.

He might have learned that, when a person has shown an undue & uncomfortable fascination with another human (whether ‘famous’ or not), we do them no favors by brushing it off. Better Gifford’s staff had reacted to his letters & videos rather than believe him to be harmless.

Gabriel Giffords was shot for the same reason Rebecca Schaeffer was shot, some screwed up kid from Tucson got fixated on her.

In Giffords’ case, though the fixation was not romantic, the trigger was the same. He reacted violently when she did not respond as he hoped to his perceived relationship with her. He felt she disrespected him and made her pay.

* There was a mention after this shooting that Pamela Gorman, at that time a Phoenix area politician who made national news with a volunteer produced YouTube video showing her firing a plethora of firearms, would not likely have been the victim of such an act. Though there is no doubt a working knowledge of firearms goes a long way to protecting life in the event of threat, sometimes there is no time to act.

From the accounts I heard at the time, Lougher approached Giffords with the gun under his coat. When he was in very close proximity, he pulled it out and fired, first at her head, then at the rest of the crowd. When he ran out of bullets and attempted to reload, he was tackled and subdued. Had that exact scenario played out at a Gorman event, neither she not her constituents would have had time to act prior to that first shot.

What would surely have been different is what happened next, as her crowd would more likely be armed – and more likely practiced with their weapons. No one is suggesting a bunch of folks would have, or should have, started firing at Loughner immediately. That sort of reaction might have made an already chaotic situation even worse. However, responsible gun owners who carry for self-defense practice scenarios that require an intelligent assessment of the environment – for instance, in the midst of a crowd.

What likely would have been different is the ability of an armed man to get through the crowd and close to the candidate. A group of 2nd Amendment enthusiasts would also be more likely to be aware of their surroundings, more likely to be alert for threats, more likely to notice a gun, and more likely to be willing to act to stop someone before the day turns deadly.

{Still need to find some links for the facts in this post, if you have ‘em handy, drop them in the comments}

UPDATE: Warner Todd Huston takes NPR to task for the same offense: Falsely Blaming Giffords’ Shooting on Uncivil Political Rhetoric

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Tried to stop at the Chase Bank at 19th Ave & Northern, but they had apparently just been robbed. Building wrapped in caution tape, police cars, crime response unit, TV news crew.

Tried to stop at the Chase Bank at Christown. As I turned onto Bethany Home, a firetruck came barreling towards me ~ responding to a big accident in front of the mall.

Wrong clothes, wrong place, wrong time. Not real excited to see what is coming next….

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This is how their visit went:

*crash*
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”

A few more steps, *crunch*
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”

A bit farther, *crinkle*
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”

Over and over, all around the store. Step, step, step – *crinkle, crunch, crash, boom*
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”

I wanted to go up to her and say, “Lady, he clearly knows you said it – perhaps you should explain what it MEANS!”

Lately, we are being harassed regarding former employees. There has to be some way to stop that – they are relentless and obnoxious.

Anyone with insight into the practices of collection agencies that can give me some pointers?

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The City of Glendale has spent millions of dollars fighting for the right to give millions of dollars to an outside “investor” so the Coyotes will stay in town. Because, apparently, at some point somewhere down the road, having a hockey team in the area will be a financial boon for the city, providing jobs and revenue they desperately need. The fact that the magical dollars falling from the sky have not yet materialized, and the city already having multi-BILLION dollars in sports related debt, seem not to enter the equation at all. Giving a private business or enterprise taxpayer dollars violates Arizona’s constitution – but Glendale doesn’t care.

The City of Glendale has spent millions of dollars fighting to keep the Tohono O’odham Nation from building a casino on land they own that is virtually across the street from the hockey arena. Because….? Not sure why they are fighting it. After all, casinos in Arizona have proven to bring in jobs and revenue, and they are not asking for any handouts from the city’s taxpayers. Forbidding lawful construction on privately owned land violates the Constitution also – but Glendale doesn’t care.

Now let’s take a look at a recently local news item:

CITY HALL — Glendale could see roughly $4 million in cuts to city programs and services as the City Council on Monday began wading through options for balancing a roughly $18-million budget shortfall for next year.

It is the fourth consecutive year the City Council will be forced to fill a major gap in the General Fund — which supports basic services like police and parks — as the city continues to weather stagnant tax- and construction-related revenues during the protracted recession.

The projected deficit was previously pegged at $16 million.

Spending yourselves further into debt in losing battles at the expense (in more ways than one) of your citizens is incompetence that borders on the criminal – but Glendale clearly does not care.

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…there’s a pro sports bubble, baby, enabled by free and reduced-price money being pumped into the system by every idiot city and state willing to do whatever it takes to keep a franchise around.
~ Why The NFL Labor Dispute is Like Battleground Wisconsin (& Statehouse Stand-Offs Across the Country) ~

As Nick says, the only reason there is so much money to fight over is that pro sports have cajoled & extorted municipalities into forking over tax dollars.

Here in Arizona, the Goldwater Institute is ‘standing athwart’ a plan that would have the city of Glendale throwing massive piles of cash at a money pit of a losing team, in the hopes of keeping said money pit in town – where it can suck up even more of the people’s tax dollars. Coyote Blog does a great job at breaking down the whole crazy deal.

I personally would love to see amateur football players take the field for whatever they are willing to take, pay-wise. I would especially love it if it meant reduced ticket prices and a chance to see men who just want to play the game they love. Those poor millionaire pro players are employees who have no “right” to their employers profits – no matter how obscene those profits may or may not be. If Adrian Peterson feels that a $10.2 million dollar salary = slavery, let him go get a job elsewhere.

I also don’t care whether the Coyotes stay or go, as long as they don’t get MORE of our money to do it. If there were a market here for a professional hockey team, you wouldn’t have to try so hard to find a buyer – or bribe any buyer you find to keep them here. They don’t sell tickets because we just don’t care. Even when they were winning, the seats were empty. Hockey in Phoenix was ill-advised, continuing to shovel money at the problem, money that could be better used elsewhere, is insane.

“By minimizing the state, we maximize peace, or at least we allow people to pick and choose their battles.“

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Wells Fargo sent me a list of their requirement, many of them ridiculous but none more so than this:

BORROWER TO PROVIDE A SATISFACTORY EXPLANATION OF THE INTENDED PURPOSE OF THE CASH OUT REFINANCE.

To which I was forced to reply with the following, which may interfere with the (heretofore completely unhelpful) agent’s willingness to help me.

Wondering why this is necessary? Is there a purpose that would be unsatisfactory? If I have clean credit, property that is valued above what I intend to borrow and the means to make the mortgage payments, what difference does it make if I have no intended purpose – or one that would not be deemed “satisfactory”?

I was trying to be diplomatic, but seriously – none of your damn business unless you think you won’t get the money back. If you think you won’t get the money back, don’t loan it to me.

To those California companies: I hope you are giving Arizona some consideration

To the Arizona voters: I hope you are giving California some consideration. We really don’t want to end up like them.

And, to voters across the United States, the reasons businesses are leaving California are the same reasons businesses are leaving the USA. Keep that in mind when the next elections roll around.

(Hat Tip to Moonbattery)

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As Gregory Sullivan states in The Top 10 Steaming Heaps Of Eco-Friendly / Frugal Living Horse Dung:

You can build a tricked-out nuclear power plant for about ten billion dollars. If we’d spent the trillion or so of “stimulus” on 100 nuclear power plants, instead of on signs by the side of the highway telling us they’re thinking of paving the road again to fix the recession, the price of electricity would plunge, we could all afford to heat our house with electric baseboard heat, tell the Saudis to eat sand, and read our puny utility bills by incandescent light before we dropped them in the fireplace. And the 200,000 power plant construction jobs would have been, well, 200,000 more jobs than we got for the trillion.

“There’s ice on the inside of the windows, but don’t worry –- every room has a ceiling fan!”

* Yes, the title is a musical reference. I remember it clearly from my awesome brother’s awesome album collection

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