Finally!
I have been an advocate for securing our border and protecting the American public from criminal aliens since 2008. For those who don’t remember, those were the good old days of illegals lining the streets of Cave Creek. Back then, the Good Shepherd of the Hills Church was providing not only sanctuary but Christmas parties for our visitors that were in our country without permission. Back then, little old Cave Creek became the center of a crap storm that stirred the illegal immigration pot throughout the Southwest. To its credit, the town council acted, there were ordnances, lawsuits, ACLU, television coverage, newspaper coverage and ultimately, the heavy hand of the 9th Circuit Court. Cave Creek made a statement that was ignored by the vast number of Americans, but our streets remain vagrant free to this day.
While I was pleased with the effort of committed people in Cave Creek, the last seven years have produced nothing constructive on border security. It is disheartening to see Americans continue to die. It was depressing to see a halt to border enforcement and prisoner releases. I was shocked when the President of the United States waved his hand over the land and announced his Executive Orders. We were even forsaken by McCain and Flake.
But now I have some hope. And the hope is coming from an unlikely source, Donald Trump. Yes, Trump, the P.T. Barnum of 2015. When I heard he was about to announce his candidacy for the presidency, I rolled my eyes. “Just what we need” I said to myself. But a funny thing happened, he made sense! He said the words many have thought but dared not say. He put the whole issue of illegal immigration on the front page with all of the showmanship of P.T. himself. Finally, a person running for office, who has the guts to tell the emperor he has no clothes. His critics, both Democrat and Republican, are tongue tied. The big money people cry that he shouldn’t be in the debates! Screw them; it’s not supposed to work that way in this country. Trump appears to be a candidate who is asking for my vote, not my contribution. I like that. How Trump will fare as the election draws near is yet to be determined. He has his flaws. But until election day, I’m going to enjoy the fact that a man in this country finally stepped forward and spoke the truth. Political Correctness be damned!
Scott Haberman
Cave Creek
George Ross’s comment
George, the neighbors think you were referring to me in your recent negative comment to Don about a certain Air Force Combat Pilot. Well, I just had to reply as they are probably correct. The only other AF pilots around avoided combat.
In my two volunteer yearlong tours in Southeast Asia (SEA) I flew 566 combat missions in VN, Laos, Cambodia, and “Points North.” And I worked with and in support of the Army, Navy and Marines as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) in the then new armed OV-10 Counter Insurgency aircraft. Also, as a Fighter Pilot in the F-100.
As a FAC I lived with and supported the Army’s 1st Infantry and 1st Air Cavalry Divisions for half of that tour. I had high regard for our young Army men in the field and also flew missions with my M-16 in the Army OH-6 light helicopter in support of platoons and teams on the ground.
Volunteering, I then moved north and flew from Thailand into Laos attacking the “Blood Road,” the infamous “Ho Chi Minh Trail.” Interdicting the supplies and troops moving south out of N. Vietnam, I directed many Navy and Marine fighter aircraft, as well as Air Force. I also flew in support of the Royal Laotian Army on occasion with their Army observers in my back seat to communicate with their troops on the ground.
You see George, the Marines and Naval Aviators always had nice things to say about me. Even the Captain of the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany invited me out for a 4 day stay on “Yankee Station.” Navy chow aboard ship is great.
During my fighter tour flying the F-100D fighter, I flew close air support missions with our Army, the Cambodian Army and numerous Interdiction missions into Laos. One day my flight was diverted to assist a Marine unit under heavy artillery fire from a cave in a very mountainous area. With a low overcast to boot, I led my wingman through a hole in the thick clouds and found the target. With ordinance intended for high altitude dive bombing, we were able to release at low angle and pull off hard to avoid the peaks. The artillery was silenced and I like to think I saved the pinned down Marines. George, I don’t think those Marines called us any names.
Now George, you well know I Fly the Red, white, and blue “Lady” from my flag pole, and on a rotational basis also fly the flags of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and command units I flew for and with during my combat tours.
Does any of this make me stupid, George? I don’t think so, but I do remember one of your view pieces on the U.S. conduct of war. You made the statement that in regard to the Vietnam War you, “hang your head in shame….” Well, I am just the opposite, George. When our forces were withdrawn and the conduct of the war was turned over to the South Vietnamese, our government promised to assist South Vietnam in the event the North intervened again. When the Democrats gained control of Congress after Nixon left the White House, it was announced that not another dime would be spent to support the South Vietnamese. You know the results of our reneging on our nations promise. I guess we are seeing it again under Obama.
I served my country with pride in what I was asked to do and I successfully accomplished that endeavor. I proudly hold my head high and always will. Having served with most of our nation’s services in one form or another, I admire and respect every man I served and fought with. God Bless them all.
Harry C. Brown
Lt. Col. USAF, Ret.
Carefree’s Future Matters
Friends of Carefree, there were two meetings of the Town Council on July 7. The first was a Special Meeting to enter Executive Session followed by the usual monthly meeting.
Special Town Council Meeting, July 7, 2015, 3 p.m.
Item 1, Enter Executive Session. The Council was to enter Executive Session.
Item 2, Adjournment: At the time of this writing, no preliminary report of the Special meeting was posted.
Town Council Meeting, July 7, 2015, 5 p.m.
Items 1 – 8, Consent Agenda: All 8 items were related to routine town business (meeting minutes, bills, financial reports, a liquor license, and event permits). Councilwoman Price requested that Item #6 be withheld for discussion. Remaining items were approved 7–0. There was apparently a typo in the Cash & Disbursements report. After discussion, Item 6 was approved 7–0.
Item 9, Call to the Public: No one requested to speak.
Item 10, Current Events: None noted. The Mayor asked Gina Kaegi (Marketing) to prepare an overview of events planned for October.
Item 11, Presentation by the town attorney regarding Executive Sessions: Michael Wright provided an overview of Arizona meeting laws, specifically the permitted uses for Executive Sessions. Executive sessions are not open to the public but no actions are permitted within the sessions. They must conform to specific guidelines and are restricted to certain attendees. The subjects discussed, as well as the official minutes and/or recordings are confidential. With rare exception, public records requests are not permitted. [Linda Bentley’s article in the July 8th issue of Sonoran News covers this topic in greater detail.]
Item 12, Discussion relating to a vacancy on the Planning & Zoning Commission: A previously used procedure to fill vacancies will be employed and will be outlined in a COINS notice. Interested parties may submit Bios by mid-August. Submissions will then be reviewed by Council members and candidates may make a public statement at the September Council meeting. The vacancy will be filled at that meeting.
Item 13, Discussion regarding upgrades to the Audio / Video equipment: The much needed [and long overdue] overhaul of the Council Chambers A/V environment was discussed. Microphones, display monitors, the projector, and related equipment will be replaced with current technology components; certain ceiling speakers may be relocated. Two bidders were considered although details for only one bid were included in the public meeting packet. The winning bid from Technically Integrated came in at $22,451; the second bid was in the area of $24,000. The equipment will be relocatable in the event that Council Chambers are moved in the future to some other facility. We were assured that Audio recordings of future meetings will be much better quality. [One can only hope.]
Item 14, Discussion regarding design for Town Center Gateways: Town Administrator Gary Neiss presented the design(s) for both the larger gateways (facing the arterial roadway(s) as well as the interior or secondary gateways (8 feet tall by 4 feet wide). The design(s), which blend a Spanish Colonial and Contemporary appearance, will have out-facing faux gas lamps (similar to the existing lamps within the core) and will provide LED backlighting where appropriate for readability at night.
Other steps lie ahead prior to construction, but neither cost nor the number of Gateways was discussed in public. The designs were approved 7-0.
Items 15, Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at approximately 5:38 p.m.
Late breaking news:
I’ve just been advised that a very high density building project is being proposed for the location of the old Carefree Studios property (9.5 acres) on Cave Creek Road just west of Pima (8601 Cave Creek Road). 40 Proposed homes would be situated on ? acre or less. A Public meeting [was] scheduled for Thursday, July 9 at 5 p.m. at Carefree Town Council Chambers, 100 Easy Street, Carefree, AZ 85377. The notice letter will be posted on our website CarefreesFutureMatters.com by morning.
Special Note:
Did you happen to notice that the recent Town Newsletter ‘Carefree Today’ sent from Town of Carefree <[email protected]>, borrowed very heavily from our tagline, the one you see on our website as well as on every issue of these CFM Newsletters? Very disconcerting indeed!
Ours: Carefree, what life should be!
Copyright ©2015, CarefreesFutureMatters.com - All rights reserved
Theirs: Carefree Today
Life as it should be...
Don’t forget to visit CarefreesFutureMatters.com
Respectfully submitted by
John Traynor and Jim Van Allen
Donald Trump's tone, problem and wussies
Donald Trump has one problem. He is not a career politician.
Career politicians have learned the art of being big wussies. They know how to talk out of both sides of their mouths. They know how to keep the special interest groups happy while making backroom deals with lobbyists loaded with campaign fund cash. Career politicians know Muhammed Ali's rope a dope trick that Hillary Clinton recently used on some journalists.
Although Ali used that trick to whip the snot out of George Foreman in Zaire, Hillary used the rope to dodge, run and hide from nasty journalistic blows in Gorham, New Hampshire.
Trump can't rope a dope. He doesn't know how. All Trump knows how to do is to stand toe to toe and throw, well, uh words. Don't let that make you withdraw from your ringside seat. Trump is extremely capable of rendering punishing blows with words that deliver one sting after another. "You're fired," and "Rapist" are just a couple of stinging zingers.
Donald Trump is not the smooth talking, teleprompter reading Barack Obama. Trump is not the Bush Boy raised in wealth, political aristocracy and who will feel like a failure if he doesn't make President like his dad and brother. Trump is not a slob like Chris Christie who pushes his weight around like a mafia boss, closing a lane on the George Washington Bridge.
Actually I have never been a Trump fan. I rarely watched the Apprentice, thought he had made some personal mistakes in the past and that his ego was bigger than a Marriott hotel ballroom. However, Trump is not a career politician. He has been one of America's very successful businessmen and television entertainers. He is not stupid. He communicates even though his rant about Mexican illegals did not come out the way his Republican competition would have liked. To that I say, too bad for them because a large number of Americans are sick and tired of wussy talk and even worse, wussy politicians. Our country is at a serious juncture in our history. Look at Greece. We are headed in that direction rapidly. Something radical must be done or we will become like Greece, hungry, poor and with very little hope for the future.
Trump means business when he talks about the border, bringing jobs home and illuminating ISIS's money flow. Maybe he has not articulated the way the republicans want him to. They want him to tone it down. Interesting, illegals are running us over in this country. Jobs are flooding to Mexico and China and Americans become poorer and poorer. ISIS is on the move recruiting everybody they can via Twitter. Thus, they are asking Trump to tone it down. How can anyone running for office seriously be running a relaxed, calm and low intensity campaign? I think it's time for someone to get mad about this mess that is drowning our nation and like Howard Beale in the movie Network, get mad as hell and not take it anymore! We also need a few million Americans to wake up, get mad and stop electing wussy politicians who just want to build their legacy, get a government paycheck and then dodge dealing with issues such as illegal immigrants who have broken the law. They have invaded our nation illegally. They are working illegally. They have been employed illegally. Both the employer and the immigrants are criminals. We need a President who will crack down on these people. So, for the Republicans who are worried about tone I say, yell louder Trump. Stomp your feet and wake up the wussies. Time is not on our side.
Glenn Mollette
Columnist and Author
Consultant Report: Too difficult for Carefree?
In a recent letter to the Sonoran News editor, I stated that the Carefree Michael Baker “Village Center Master Plan” report did not mention a splash-pad. I was mistaken and apologize for this error.
A splash-pad does, in fact, receive a single mention as one idea among five other actions contained within a single paragraph deep into the Baker Study document. It appears that the splash-pad and the five other actions are couched within the context of ideas suggested by Carefree citizens and/or members of Carefree’s council or administrative staff.
In addition to a well described Carefree history and mostly accurate current state of the town, the Baker Study presents a quite large section titled “The Master Plan.” It is in this section that a huge number of possible actions, or initiatives, are mentioned and, in some cases, a basis for the listed action is briefly described. That stated, it is interesting to note that nowhere is it mentioned in the Study that the town has a high percentage of part-time, or seasonal, residency – a condition, I would think, is relevant to determining the effectiveness of future economic development plans.
With the prodigious number of ideas presented, one would conclude that the Baker Study authors appeared to believe that Carefree maintained town reserves and a budget the size of a Scottsdale or even a Phoenix fiscal plan. It will be a quite daunting task on the part of the town council and staff to conduct a sound fiduciary analysis to sift through all the ideas offered, if they take the time to conduct such scrutiny.
The “Master Plan” section (that doesn’t appear to be a “plan,” but rather a loose cache of assorted, top-of-mind thoughts) consists of five top level strategies. Each strategy has an introduction and then a “Recommendation” section.
Under each Recommendation section, there are sub-headings followed by sub-sub-headings. Both sub- and sub-sub- sections mention ideas, actions, or initiatives possibly worth investigating by the town (note the context of these ideas is within a framework of “investigation,” as opposed to an outright recommendation to initiate the action).
Overall, there are 30 sub-headings and 138 sub-sub-headings in the “Recommendation” sections. In some cases, there are multiple ideas mentioned within each sub-sub-heading. The Study does not list the immense number of ideas in any sort of priority, but rather leaves it up to the town council members and staff to sift through the 180-plus discrete ideas in order to select a very few that might adequately serve to move the proverbial peanut of town economic development forward. (This enormous number of suggestions is not mentioned in the town’s propaganda machine, the “Carefree Truth” blog. Rather, the town’s decisions regarding installation of fireplaces and a splash-pad are presented as though these were a part of a very few prime suggestions offered by the Study.)
Choosing the fireplaces and splash-pad projects as the first economic development initiatives to be initiated appears to represent the town’s frustration regarding the lack of the Study’s firm direction and identification of just a few meaningful projects that should be implemented. Given the intimidating task of finding the three or four excellent possibilities for solid payback returns within the Study is a needle-in-the-haystack endeavor and one for which I can sympathize with the council members. The town did, indeed, get their money’s worth from commissioning the Baker Study, only perhaps not the definitive result they anticipated.
Fred Groszkruger
Carefree
Trump on the stump
First of all, let me state I consider Donald Trump a brash, self-serving, toupee-wearing horse's arse. A rich one, for sure: he started off with his daddy's millions, and built it into a real fortune.
However, as Ugly American as he may be, he has been denied his rights under the First Amendment. Trump committed the unforgiveable act of speaking out against a protected voting minority! Never mind that Jesse Jackson referred to New York as "Hymietown," and Al Sharpton incited a mob riot that ended up in the stabbing murder of Yankel Rosenbaum, a Yeshiva seminarian. The inciters against Judaism were from still another protected and untouchable minority.
In what fruity FatAlBore would call "an inconvenient truth," Trump correctly stated México is not sending its productive citizens to El Norte, but rather its criminal class. Multi-billionaire Carlos Slim Helu doesn't want to come here. This Arab-Mexican (a minority in México's mostly Mestizo population!), Slim has been a productive Mexican investor. None of his class is coming into Obama's USSA, but rather murderers, rapists, child molesters, drug smugglers, gangbangers and criminals whose only offense is invading a foreign country, a non-violent crime – but still a crime.
Maricopa County claims its so-called "Hispanic" population amounts to 30 percent, but that is based on census data; the real percentage is about 35 percent, including the uncounted invaders hidden in El Barrio. Yet, crimes committed by Hispanics, most of whom are Mexican invaders, range to about 86 percent of felonies and misdemeanors in the county. Some disparity here, eh?
In short: Trump dared recognize the five-ton brown elephant in our living room, which seems to be an offense worthy of the pillory in our ultra-sensitive, feminized, largely ignorant PC society.
J-P. A. Maldonado
Lafayette, Colorado
The EPA running amok!
With a field of more than 20 candidates running for President from the Republican and Democrat parties, you’d think they would try to speak to issues concerning the economy, national security and specifically how they plan to make our country better; however, most of the candidates are either talking over each other, disparaging other candidates or patting themselves on the back for what they’ve done.
To date, I’ve not read one thing about the run-amok EPA or about how they are destroying any hope of expanded manufacturing in the US because of new proposed ozone regulations. While candidates promise to bring jobs back to the US, the EPA is adding even more strenuous regulations that will stifle new manufacturing and strangle existing manufacturing. This is a very serious problem for our future, and the candidates aren’t speaking about it.
If you are one of the millions who work for a small manufacturing organization, your future is on the line as of October 1st. because the expense of meeting the complicated new ozone standards are completely out of reach.
Meanwhile you can listen to Presidential candidates give their opinions about income inequality, symbolic flags, reduced spending and blah, blah, blah but you won’t hear how the EPA is destroying whole industries with their proposed ozone regulations.
John Munoz
Cave Creek
