Worried
Don, this worries me: First, I heard during the winter that Schwan and cronies wanted to help our infamous developer by building his three-story monstrosity FOR him, with Carefree money, if he were to allow one of the Phoenix museums to take the lower space for $1. I believe this is the article, but not the whole truth.
Now, here's a plan to allow the Desert Foothills Theatre the same benefit. Why is the Phoenix museum not interested?? On who's property may I ask is this and at what cost, hidden most likely, to the Town of Carefree? Is this the latest plan to allow Ed Lewis to financially benefit at town expense?
These municipal clowns seem to be in his pocket and they are seriously trying to enrich him and themselves at the expense of all of the residents. Any way you look at this, in my humble opinion, this building approval, its underlying concept, and the manner in which it continues to try to be built, are all tragic to the town and its future. We need none of this!
This ongoing saga is nothing more than a disgrace that needs the highest level of exposure, as only you can offer.
Sign me a concerned prior resident of Carefree who still care about the dream.
Graham Bousfield
Email
A cunning crisis
Unaccompanied minors (mostly from Central America) arriving on U.S. soil, are nothing short of a human catastrophe. This unfolding tragedy should not have happened at all. The flow of illegal minor children crossing the U.S. border is surging to an estimate of 90,000 by year-end 2014 from 7,000 three years ago.
I blame President Obama for surreptitiously creating this cunning crisis. Turning to his political operatives, they ran an “innuendo campaign” in Central America. The message: unaccompanied minors coming to America could stay in the country. This is a way for President Obama to gain populous favor, and lay the crisis on the U.S. House of Representative Speaker, Boehner and Republican controlled House. As the President has said, if they had passed comprehensive immigration, and had done their job, we would not have this mess on our hands.
Pointing the finger at the Republicans and their failure to address immigration, he now has to dawn his super cape to save the day. In addition to setting out Executive Orders, he plans to ask Congress for billions of dollars to build safe-haven facilities for the women and children illegally in the country, and offer them medical and social welfare assistance. Of course, additional U.S. border agents will be required to apprehend the illegals and to process bureaucratic paper work.
I say the President of the United State is playing a dangerous political game at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer.
Diana Torres
Scottsdale
Airplanes
Don, several years ago there was a big stink about the FAA changing flight patterns over Cave Creek. There was one guy who asked for donations to prevent the new flight patterns. He was to fly to Washington, etc. This guy stated that the flight patterns were right over my house. He said the noise was going to be unbearable. Well it never happened. Who was this guy and how much money did he make?
Love your paper!
Joe Cirincione
Email
Glenn Beck
What's with all the attacks on Glenn Beck?
I think and believe that Glenn Beck has shown Americans can still be compassionate and feeling without committing treason, vacating ones political beliefs or violating the Constitution.
Has a lack of compassion watered down our common sense?
Do you agree that it is rare for you to agree with anyone 100 percent of the time?
We who disagree with liberal policies and stand firmly against the loss of freedoms and against tyranny need to learn that all "internal differences" should not result in acrimony and divorce.
To do so we weaken ourselves while battling for the "higher" ground and a political purity which does not exist.
To do otherwise is a self damaging, losing proposition.
The bottom line is that Glenn Beck is a better man and a better American than Barack Hussein Obama and anyone else in his administration will ever be.
To be clear I am neither a big fan of nor do I stand in opposition to Glenn Beck, this is merely my opinion and I hope you will see the value in it.
Tom Carbone
Cave Creek
Collusion?
In case you have not noticed, our southern border is being penetrated by Mexican military units on probing patrols. Probing for what purpose? It's simple: to find the weakest points through which the horde of civilians may illegally enter the USA. There are two reasons for the invasion:
1. The second source of revenue for México, after petroleum, is the remesas, or remittances from "workers" illegally residing in the U.S. Among the Central American "children" swarming into our country are many Mexicans, ready to enter the welfare rolls in whatever state they choose. (In California, only two percent of so-called "agricultural workers" actually work in the fields. The rest live in garages or hovels, and collect welfare from the government, which they remit to their families in México.)
2. Comrade Dear and Glorious Ruler, Hussein the Magnificent, hopes that the 14 to 18 year-old invaders will enter the Civilian Security Force he promised in 2009. This is nothing new. Hitler had his Hitler Jugend, Peron had his Juventud Peronista, the Castro brothers have the macheteros, and Stalin had his Komsomol, all of which were youthful paramilitary units.
It is interesting that these Central American "children" are passing unmolested through México. The usual treatment, kindly carried out by Mexican officials, is extortion, robbery, mayhem, rape and slavery. And that's only the beginning. Los Zetas and other narcoterrorist cartels induct the remaining youngsters into their ranks, or kill the ones who refuse.
What I see here is a coordinated attempt by the man currently occupying the White House and the government of México to destroy America as we knew it. We must be ready to stage "1776 - Part 2," or we will have to kiss our Republic goodbye.
J-P. A. Maldonado
Prescott Valley
Here they go again
A house divided will not stand. SAAR’s (Scottsdale Association of Realtors) incompetent Board of Directors and CEO Rebecca Grossman have done it again. They are determined to split the membership down the middle by now endorsing candidates for council in city elections.
The city council run of SAAR’s former political guru, John Little, was aborted after taking them down to defeat in the Scottsdale city Bond Election. That mistake cost SAAR $120,000 (not including the $12,000 fine assessed by the city for improper/tardy filing), causing great consternation among its members. Yet SAAR officials continue to display their total incompetence by endorsing candidates for Scottsdale City Council who want to raise taxes and build more apartments up and down Scottsdale Road (that will give additional ammo to the pro light rail forces in the Scottsdale Chamber by increasing height, density and congestion) to the detriment of all who live in Scottsdale.
Last I checked, Realtors cannot sell apartments. But obviously the folks running SAAR don’t care about their members. Their only wish is to be political power brokers in Scottsdale. That’s why these warped thinkers decided to relocate their headquarters’ operation to north Scottsdale and sell their existing (free and clear) building ideally located in downtown Scottsdale only blocks from City Hall. This was done under the pretense every member of SAAR lives in north Scottsdale. There are Realtors living throughout Scottsdale who belong to Realtor Associations other than Scottsdale and SAAR members who live in Phoenix, Tempe etc.
SAAR either has too much money in the coffers (in which case they should have lowered dues for members) or they are accommodating themselves and fellow buddies who live in the northern portions of Scottsdale (unfortunately I suspect the latter is the reason). Ask SAAR’s CEO Grossman, a recent Virginia transplant and current north Scottsdale resident, if she could shed some light on what encouraging role she may have played in this move. As a side note, I suspect the majority of north Scottsdale residents are none too pleased with further encroachment of commercial office buildings into north Scottsdale.
This once great philanthropic Realtor Association has reduced itself to nothing more than an embarrassment for its members. The question lost in the discussion that evidently doesn’t arise in SAAR’s boardroom is: “How will this decision benefit our members.” These shameless individuals have some explaining to do to their membership. I would encourage all citizens and Realtors NOT to vote for any candidate or issue endorsed or recommended by SAAR’s Board of Directors.
SAAR Does Not Speak For ME!
Tom Mason
2004 President SAAR
Lost
Until such time that the U.S. government (i.e. Obama administration) does its job our southern border is as lost as Lois Lerner's emails. What's required is within the power and authority of our elected officials: build a fence, put boots on the ground, surveillance drones and sanction the Mexican government collaborators facilitating the surge of illegals crossing our border. Oh, and sent home the interlopers. Not Barry's proposed three billion dollar daycare budget.
The war between the U.S. and Mexico ended in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. But not the border problems which, after 166 years, are as hot as ever.
At the end of hostilities the Mexican government wanted assurances their border would be secure and that Americans would act responsibly in doing their part. Mexico refused to sign the agreement without Article #11 that guaranteed her border provinces were protected from Indian raids, thieves, smugglers and human trafficking. My, how things have changed. The Native American population has been subjugated and herded onto reservations, but there ends the promise of International border security. Where our government fails the Mexicans flaunt.
Our chief executive has his priorities – during his visit to the great state of Texas he shows his true motives in ignoring the border crisis (no visit, he would be seen as owning the problem), but working tirelessly at fund raising in a continued effort to maintain Democrat power. Mr. O saw fit to trade five terrorists for one deserter, how about 100,000 illegal aliens for Sergeant Tahmooressi; no, handshaking and back-slapping are more important.
Without control of the border the sovereign state is lost, national security lost and ultimately America is lost. He has to see this, but perhaps it's what he wants.
And, don't think for a minute Islamic terrorists aren't taking note of the free-flow of traffic across our border.
Randy Edwards
Cave Creek
Impact of WWI on the Middle East
July 28, 2014 marks the one hundred year anniversary of the official start of WWI.
A local newspaper reader asked me to write about WWI and the impact on the Middle East. The problem in doing this is complying with the typical 200 word limit of many newspapers, but I decided to do it anyway since I owed it to my wife’s father, Alton Jones and her uncle William Howard Jones, both WWI Marines who fought in France and Belgium in Maj. Gen. Lejeune’s Second Marine Division. They fought in many WWI battles, including Belleau Wood, the Verdun operations, Aisne-Marne Offensive, Meuse-Argonne Offensive, St. Mihiel Offensive and the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge. William Howard received the French Croix de Guerre and the U.S. Silver Star for his service at Blanc Mont, France on October 3, 1918. The award stated "by lying down in middle of road using his automatic pistol so effective that he staid the enemy- counter attack until remainder of group could get in line."
The Ottoman Turks, who were aligned with Germany and Austria during WWI, were defeated between 1915 and 1918 by the British and French and an Arab insurgency sparked by "Lawrence of Arabia". In 1919 Britain and France carved up the former Ottoman Empire into various Middle East Arab countries based on geographic parameters and did not take into consideration religious, sectarian or ethnic preferences of the local populations. The countries included Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Additionally, Great Britain enacted the Balfour Declaration which promised a homeland in the Middle East for Jewish people, which came to fruition with the formation of Israel in 1948.
The current warfare and volatility in the Middle East reflects a history spanning almost 1,500 years. The religious and sectarian conflicts have been going on in the Middle East since at least the Seventh century when the Prophet Muhammad died in 632. Some Muslims chose a close friend of Prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakr, to become Caliph, the leader of Islam, and they were titled Sunnis. Other Muslims chose to follow Ali, Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, and they were titled Shias, or Shiites.
The borders established by Great Britain and France after WWI did not reflect the wishes of the Middle East inhabitants and only inflamed their deep rooted animosities based on religious/sectarian and ethnic loyalties. The current fighting in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel are a partial consequence of decisions made by European powers after WWI.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, New Hampshire
Perhaps Gov. Brewer to have big ones like Gov. Perry?
I'm glad that someone of note is speaking out about Obama's obvious attempt to honor his late Communist father by taking down America. Obama is acting like a kid who has pulled off a prank and is now caught in a state of denial.
Thank you, Gov. Perry for taking Obama to task for dereliction of duty in aiding and abetting the invasion of illegal aliens across our border with Mexico.
This is not a matter of not wanting to be compassionate. This is a matter of national security and economic survival.
Between Obama destroying our ability to produce cheap electricity, turning us into slaves of the insurance companies, funding the same terrorist groups that took down the World Trade Centers in 2001, releasing convicted illegal alien murderers and rapists, he is now exceeding the damage caused by Pres. Carter taking in Castro's prison inmates and people in mental institutions.
Obama is bringing in carriers of infectious diseases and dispersing them via Greyhound buses across our nation. This is insane, and sadly most Democrats are in lock step with Obama on every issue.
Although America's economic collapse is looming over our shoulders, can we at least not accelerate with Obama's open border policy. Welcome to the implementation of NAFTA!
Sincerely,
Joseph DuPont
Towanda, Pennsylvnia
Dear Mayor Long
(Written to the mayor of Murrieta, California)
I just wanted to send your community a vote of confidence and support during your ordeal with the busing of illegal immigrants. I'm not going to make political statements but please understand your community is not alone in its concern over this issue. I wish the very best for your community during this difficult time.
Scott Haberman
Cave Creek
Illegal Immigration, how many will the boat hold?
Two thousand, two hundred and twenty-three people desperately tried to escape from the sinking Titanic. One thousand, five hundred and seventeen perished, as they could not escape. Most of them could not escape because there were not enough lifeboats. There were boats for only eleven hundred and seventy-eight people. Sadly, the ship was not properly equipped with enough lifeboats.
Who in their right mind would have preferred the sinking ship to a lifeboat? No one wanted a sinking ship. People who drowned desperately wanted a lifeboat. Escape was impossible because there was no place to escape.
If I lived in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Central America or numerous other countries including Mexico I would be scratching and clawing to find a way out. Who wants to live in such places of violence and poverty? Millions are stuck and will never escape. Millions of people have found a place of safety and freedom in America. People keep coming and coming. Actually there will never be an end to the rush of people storming our borders for safety and freedom, as long there is a magnet to draw them here. Also the best of any lifeboats will sink. Even the Titanic sank. Do we sometimes think we are unsinkable? America is not unsinkable.
I think too much of America sits around glued to social media eating ourselves into the grave while more and more people are coming into our boat. Some of them are hard workers and will do their jobs rowing and keeping the boat afloat. Others are climbing on board staring at us wondering what we are going to do to save them from drowning.
There is room for more people in America, but, how much room do we have? We don't have room for more freeloaders. We don't need more liars filling out claims for social security disability and then working cash only jobs to keep their government check coming. We don't need more people on food stamps and Medicaid getting free food and medical rides at the expense of the working citizens. Unfortunately the boat is already crowded with Americans who have learned entitlements as a way of life. How many of these people can we take on before we sink?
There is room for people who will fill out their paperwork and come into our country documented. We have room for hard workers who will pay their taxes, and keep America strong and secure. Those who cross our border illegally are illegal. They are not going to fight for America's freedom and values, serve in our military and keep America strong. They are lawbreakers and need to become legal.
We have kept the American boat of safety and liberty floating for quite a while. Millions have come here and tremendously contributed. However, how many illegals will the boat hold before we sink?
Glenn Mollette
Columnist and author
