The Hot Dog Guy
What a shame, for the Hot Dog Guy made you smile. Here we are in recession, the job market is bad and a fellow citizen gets laid off. But instead of heading to unemployment, he gets some equipment and a license and provides a service.
It was a happy sight seeing people line up to buy his product and watching him grow. I am not a hot dog fan, but tried his and they were GOOD. The product was fresh, relish delicious, the buns and hot dogs were excellent quality and he was friendly and provided a nice service. He just made you feel good.
We live off School House Road and he always cleaned up and at Christmas after the Christmas tree lot closed and left, he cleaned up that mess.
Talking about the Christmas tree lot, what about that vendor or is it okay for them to be there for they are connected to CCUSD, but not the hot dog guy who has a license and everything he needs.
When he was gone a week, the Town Hall said he was on vacation so they knew and the school told me they had been looking for him for they missed him.
Frison sounds like a small minded person who wasn’t aware of this and had to exert his power and thus booted the hot dog guy and now is searching for a legitimate reason to hide behind now that he acted out. Surely someone at CCUSD can step in and admit they didn’t understand he had a license and could provide liability insurance and allow the hot dog guy to go to the location in Cave Creek where he can make the biggest amount of income.
He isn’t hurting anyone, he isn’t collecting unemployment or sitting at home feeling sorry for himself. He got out and did something like sell good hot dogs to people who enjoy them at a reasonable price and as I said the beginning he makes people feel good.
Lynn Bartlett | Cave Creek
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John McCain, you’re no Barry Goldwater
Sen. McCain is lucky that he did not do jail time during the last "Keating" banking scandal. Why hasn't McCain called Obama a liar for telling the American people that he (Obama) was against mandatory health insurance just to get elected? It was obvious to me that Obama and McCain were working for the same people during the presidential election. That is why I voted for Ron Paul, a real American hero! But I should talk – I have to work on getting rid of Sen. Arlen Specter and Robert Casey and Congressman Chris Carney who sold out my constitutional rights by voting for Obama Care, health care at Gun Point! Sen. McCain, give it up and retire with some kind of dignity!
Joseph DuPont |
Towanda, Pennsylvania
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Progressives must be stopped
What is it about totalitarian governments that enthralls the progressives, liberals and socialists? Their policies achieved no utopias in Russia, Cuba, Nazi Germany, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, neither created nor produced any advancement for humanity but poverty, despair and a desire to escape to man’s last best hope for freedom, America. The progressives have promised to “fundamentally transform America” so they must be stopped because we have no where to run.
Progressivism, aka socialism, runs counter to the nature of man. History teaches us that free men like Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, Henry Ford, et al, and not government bureaucracies, created the highest standard of living on the planet. The world’s shortest book would be titled “Government’s Greatest Achievements.” The progressives seek a return to feudalism and serfdom when monarchs and lords were omnipotent, confiscated the wealth and redistributed it as they saw fit. They claim they can eradicate poverty, illness even control the weather because they are better suited to govern. If the wealth of the world was divided evenly among all the people in the world, within a few days there would again be rich men and poor men, diseases and disorders, hot and cold weather.
It is intellectually dishonest to ignore history and reality. The facts are that all totalitarian governments fail, free men in a free market create and produce prosperity; so who in their right mind would want to increase governmental power, limit freedoms, and stifle the free market?
Could it be progressives are mentally disordered?
Ed Konecnik
| Flushing,New York
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U.S. Navy SEALs
Stop the insanity!
Our U.S. Government is defending the rights of one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq - Ahmed Hashim Abed. The terrorist was a key character in killing, mutilating and burning four U.S. contractors in Fallujah in 2004. U.S. Navy SEALs who secretly captured this terrorist now face criminal charges because the terrorist claims he was abused during his capture. Nonsense! Who has defended the human rights of the U.S. contractors who were brutalized and hung in display on the bridge? Who risked their lives to capture and bring to justice the master mind responsible for those deaths? Navy SEALs.
It’s insane to think a terrorist’s allegation carries so much weight that the three Navy SEALs were offered administrative punishment if they admitted wrongdoing. This is judicial prejudice! Rather than accept the reprimand, they chose to fight the charges in a military court. Now the sailors are facing court-martial for accusations of abusing a terror suspect arrested for an ambush killing of U.S. contractors in Iraq.
With so many other ways in the military system to handle this issue short of court martial, I wrote my Congressmen and Senators to support Congressmen Dan Burton, R-Ind. and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif, who are seeking to have charges dropped against these three Navy SEALs. I urge others do the same. Stop the insanity!
This ludicrous judicial proceeding reminds me of the two U.S. Border Patrol agents, who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for shooting an illegal alien, drug-smuggling suspect in the buttocks as he fled across the U.S.-Mexico border back in 2006. At trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Kanof told the court that the agents had violated an unarmed illegal alien’s civil rights; and the U.S. government filed charges against agents after giving full immunity to the illegal alien and paying for his medical treatment at an El Paso hospital.
Total insanity!
Ray Torres | Scottsdale
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Selective enforcement of Election laws
To be fair and honest, my Campaign Committee was 2 days late in filing the Pre-Election Finance Report, which was due on 2/25/10. I get it, I'll pay the $20 penalty.
I was with Election Clerk Betsy Wise for over 10 minutes on the 25th, discussing why a Replacement Ballot must be voted and filed on the spot in town hall, instead of in the privacy of home and mailed in the postage paid envelope she provides. She didn't have the decency to give me a simple reminder that the report was due. Still my responsibility, I get that too.
However what I don't get is why the very same Betsy Wise did not impose any fine on Susan Vanik in April 2009 when Vanik was two months late filing several reports! Vanik's fine should have been at least $450 (the maximum limit, based upon $10 per day penalty). Her problems could have been substantially worse had a formal complaint been filed; she was operating with an illegal campaign committee. Just to be certain, I'm going to request a copy of any paid receipts the Election Clerk has on file from April 2009 relating to filings.
I have vowed to make Carefree Elections 'Clean' and I will continue to work on that vow. I was able to encourage extending the voting timeframe from 15 days to 26 days. My concern is that with all the same people in positions of control, clean elections will remain elusive.
John Traynor
| Carefree
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Your Friend Ray Brolley
I read your article about your friend Ray Brolley. I'm sorry that you have lost him in this physical realm. I respect your loving him for who he was and honoring and sharing him with us in print. It says to me that you are faithful to those you love and you have the ability to look beyond someone's behavior and appreciate their heart.
Sharon Patterson | Via e-mail
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Now Cave Creek?
Sometimes I find it difficult to believe what comes out of the mouths of our elected officials.
While I didn't hear it myself I have it on the best authority that during the last Cave Creek Council Meeting there was a plug for what a great job they did by reducing the rent the Town charges the MCSO by about 9 percent, theoretically based on some countywide survey of rents. Of course the Town doesn't have most of the expenses that competing private owners have and they don't seem to mind tilting the playing field.
Then from the Council seat of Councilman Ernie Bunch comes a very strong recommendation that Cave Creek private landlords reduce their rents. This after said Council spends the Town into oblivion with the most reckless spending in decades ... for which they hand citizens the bill; they impose a property tax after they blow off Home Depot, handing the taxpayers the bill for yet another screw-up. They built a sewer system that wasn't wanted or needed by most of the people that got stuck with the bills, that was built so poorly that to this day it doesn't work and literally stinks (now we need another new one). Then they release the contractor from his lousy work. They buy an out of Town water company loaded with liabilities that served no useful purpose to those that had to pay for it. They blow a deal with Jay George after many years of "negotiation"; then they blow 19 million on the same company they could have bought for a quarter of that before Global recognized how inept they were. They tripled the water/sewer bills to start paying that back.
Occasionally they wonder why there are so few commercial (read: income and tax producing) building projects in Cave Creek. The current impact fees will kill all but the Walmarts, who bought residential property and were granted commercial zoning. That stroke of a pen more than balanced out any development fees. Anybody remember the Basham / Kite 26 acres that changed to commercial in a heartbeat? What a great development plan that turned into. We'll have to wait and see if Walmart can produce the expected annual 3 million+ in sales tax, of course if it doesn't we'll need another property tax (Carefree calls it "predictable income") to bankroll more ineptness. Every time these amateurs blow it, they hand citizens the bill.
So after creating some 60 million in mostly unnecessary debt and handing the bill to the folks that have to compete with the Town for tenants, Ernie Bunch says private business should lower their rents.
That sounds like an instruction to fix prices. Isn't that illegal?
Ernie Bunch needs to resign.
Name withheld by request
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The incredible ending
The Desert Arroyo Middle School cheer team has had quite the record the past few years. In total they have won: numerous regional titles, numerous state all girl stunt top three finishes, five state all girl stunt titles, five state team titles, and three national titles. Two National titles were won in the past three years. These 6th, 7th and 8th grade girls have so much heart for their sport and everything that comes along with it, they deserve it. The closure of DAMS only created more determination to win. They truly are not a team, they are a family.
I’ve noticed in other teams, some girls are just there to be called a cheerleader. That doesn’t happen on this team. All 25 girls on the mat are willing to put in the hard work, some injuries and bruising and almost all of their spare time to get what they deserve, the National title. To them it’s more than just a title. It’s respect and pride. Cheerleaders are often stereotyped but when these girls come back to school with a national championship under their belts their classmates think highly of them.
When the closure of Desert Arroyo came back on the table these girls might have just given up on cheer but they put 100 percent more into practice just because of it. They worked harder then ever to accomplish something for their school. Just before competing at USA Junior Nationals in Anaheim, California Coach Michelle Wetzel said, “Show them how hard we’ve worked. And what we’ve got to show. Let Desert Arroyo go out with a bang, not a sizzle!” And they did just that, competing against five other teams for the title of 2010 National Champions.
Their performance at Nationals had more enthusiasm, desire and fight than in any previous competition. They truly, “Left it on the Mat.” Though there were a few mistakes during their routine, the judges let everyone breath a huge sigh of relief when they announced, “And winning the title of National Champions at the USA Junior Nationals 2010 … DESERT ARROYO MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!” Screams from the coaches, audience and team burst into the venue, the water works turned on and you could tell they deserved it.
At the Arizona State Cheer and Pom competition on March 5, the Desert Arroyo Cheerleaders gave it their all one more time knowing this would be the very last time they would compete together as Desert Arroyo Cheerleaders and the last time Desert Arroyo would compete at all. With an outstanding performance with only a few touchdowns in standing tucks the girls again experienced the hold-your-breath moment before they announced Desert Arroyo as 2010 State Champions. The last time Desert Arroyo won State was in 2005 long before this team came about. “They won the year it really mattered,” says a proud mom.
You never really understand modern middle school cheerleading unless you take a hard look at this team, though it’s more of a family. Stepping off the bus after State every single girl was crying. It really hit us that we wouldn’t be together anymore. Girls are changing schools, the season is over, Desert Arroyo is most likely not coming back next year and for the past 11 months all of us have sacrificed so much for this team and to earn the respect we deserve as athletes not just cheerleaders it finally kicked in – we are the closest family all of us could ever have and its over.
Earning the State and National titles for their school, Desert Arroyo was more than an award. The cheerleaders worked hard at practice everyday of every week for the past year and earned what they set out to do. I would like every single 2009-2010 Rattler Cheerleader to remember: Where ever we go and where ever we end up, you will always have this team at your back. Once a Rattler always a Rattler.
Shelby Brown | Cave Creek
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Cries of racism
We live in a nation that has a black president. His election was made possible due to a large number of white voters who chose to vote for him. In fact, without the white vote, Obama could not have been elected. This should have put to rest the constant cries of racism in America. But, it hasn’t. If we disagree with our president we are immediately labeled racist.
There is an old saying to the effect that if you can’t stop the message, then shoot the messenger. When people come up with legitimate objections to our present administration’s policies, there are those who will shoot them down with the cries of racism.
Martin Luther King’s most famous dream was that there would come a day when people would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the quality of their character. The policies of an administration represent the character of that administration. The constant cries of racism are doing more to destroy King’s dream than to bring it to reality. In fact, if we are not allowed to disagree with someone’s policy because of his race, then King’s dream has died. It has been shot down by the very people who will support a person because of his race with no consideration of his character.
Steve Casey | Stonewall, Louisiana
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Sprawl - Ode to Pinal County
Citizens of Pinal County hold up your right hand
Swear to the state of Arizona you’ll try and save your land
To keep it dear to yourself from the disease we call sprawl
Your neighbor (Maricopa County) Is seriously contagious and terminal
Greed and Growth (with capital Gs), is like a locusts feeding in a field of crops
The Sonoran desert will be consumed forever and lost
Indigenous splendor Mother Natures creation
Will soon be exposed to a brutality that’s blatant
The dust cloud we call progress is at your border
You’re the next corridor
For the path of destruction to your arid voiceless desert
It’s coming no longer a guess
You’re the next sacrifice to the mess
The masterminds who want to continue building their Empires
You’re their untouched desire (virgin land)
This Ode is a warning don’t believe their lies
Just look to the west (Phoenix Metro), “open up your eyes.”
If you love your lifestyle and slow pace
And want to keep it from over development, “the perpetual race.”
(Developers on Going Scenario – DOGS)
Ballots, propositions, referendums and pleads
Your voice needs to be heard
The future will appreciate the lobbying deeds.”
Pinal County (the land) doesn’t have a voice
The residents of it will have to make a choice
For natures way to flourish and thrive
From mans oblivious demise
"Modern man is inclined to regard nature not as the environment in which we live out our lives, but as enemy territory to be conquered and occupied." - Max Picard
"If people destroy something replaceable made by mankind, they are called vandals; if they destroy something irreplaceable made by God, they are called developers." - Joseph Wood Krutch
Lyle Anderson | Apache Junction
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Food safety act, my rear!
This is purely a traitor act. McCain needs to pack his bags and move to a foreign country.
McCain’s phone toll free 877-851-6437 at the capitol. His damn mailbox is full (from the snow?). The Arizona number is 480-897-6289. Let them know the traitor’s mailbox is full. Please call your Senators every day and ask them if we have “Stupid” on our foreheads.
On Feb 3, Sen. John McCain, (R) AZ sponsored a Bill in the senate, Diet Supplement Safety Act of 2010 (DSSA) based on the CODEX Alimentarius. You probably never even hear of CODEX but it is a "Commission" based in Europe for the sole purpose of controlling supplements such as fish oil, probiotics, quercitin, omega-3's, etc. They had 181 nations hooked into this and just added Somalia to make it 182 and fully expect the US (thanks to McCain) to be 183! In 1994, a law was passed in the US identifying all supplements as "food" since they are made up of organic edible plants. The pharmaceutical industry is not happy with this situation because so many of these supplements are better and safer for preventing and treating all kinds of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, respiratory problems, joint issues, etc than the chemical pharmaceuticals sold at ridiculously high prices in the US. There is arguably room and a need for both industries and things work best when people have options about their health choices. You may not take supplements or care about them. But this is one more freedom being taken from those who do care and after that, what freedom will we lose? We surely all care about that.
The DSSA bill will remove your freedom to make your own choice about whether and which supplements to take, just one more of our freedoms to be co-opted by our government. There is ample evidence of the efficacy of supplements and NO evidence that they are harmful if taken according to directions listed on each container. On the other hand, you cannot turn on the TV on any day that you will not see some law firm advertising a class action lawsuit against some pharmaceutical due to dangerous side effects, even after these drugs have undergone years of studies and scrutiny by the FDA (a corrupt organization in itself!).
Please go to www.mccain.senate.gov and click on the Contact button on the upper right side and tell him to withdraw this bill. Preserve your rights to make your own health choices. Please pick up the phones to your Senators and tell them you are sick of McCain and his traitor actions.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
"You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts." – Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Dina Rose | Via e-mail
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Here are my thoughts
When Obama was running for president there was a lot of stuff put out there about his mom having him in the airport in Kenya and then putting her on the plane and sending her to Hawaii so he could be born supposedly on U.S. soil. Well no one did anything about it before he won and it’s been a year and no one has done anything now.
I do believe the story I read about him being born in the airport in Kenya so if they find out he wasn't so be it.
I thought all birth certificates had to be stamped no matter where you’re born for it to be legal.
I was born in Connecticut and now live in Florida. Mine is stamped and registered with a number so it would be easy to find out I guess.
This will be very interesting to say the least.
Come to the sun and have some fun.
Jan Paulus | Via e-mail
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