Tucson Progressive

A Voice for Progressive Thought in Arizona

[tucson-progressive]

Local businesses use 'me me me' squeaky wheel technique to pressure City Council

Is it just me or are local businesses looking more and more like uncaring, greedy bast**ds every day? The constant business friendly drumbeat is getting old. Yesterday, local businesses were whining about Tucson’s sign code on the front page of the Arizona Daily Star. Today, they are whining about bicycle parking on the front page of the Star. A few weeks ago, they were clamoring about mini-dorms…

View On WordPress

[tucson-progressive]

Beer Wars: Free market only works when capitalists make profits. When profits are in peril, they want government help

Cold beer on a hot day. (Photo Credit: Green Living Network) Tucson’s weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately, but we all know what’s coming in a few short months… summer! One of the hallmarks of springtime in Tucson is the 4th Avenue Street Fair. Life is good when you can take a lazy stroll down 4th Ave. with a cold brewski in your hand. Now a group of whiny bar-owners on 4th Ave. want to…

View On WordPress

[tucson-progressive]

Drug Wars: Follow the Money

Immigration, violence, drug policy, and world economics…it may seem odd to lump these four issues together, but I believe they all are connected. In order to regulate drug use, US law defines what is a drug and outlines legal vs. illegal drugs and over-the-counter vs. prescription drugs. Legal drugs happen to be those that are manufactured in first world countries—like the US and Europe. These…

View On WordPress

[tucson-progressive]

You know you're a Baby Boomer when...

>20. You remember dial telephones, five-digit telephone numbers, and party lines—telephone party lines, not political party lines. 19. You remember watching The Lone Ranger, Howdy Doody, the original Mickey Mouse Club, Johnny Carson, and Steve Allen on a black and white television—although you were probably too young to understand the jokes Carson and Allen were telling. 18. You remember when…

View On WordPress

[tucson-progressive]

Is sex becoming too expensive?

Two pills have revolutionized sexuality—The Pill and The Little Blue Pill. Just as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the first birth control pill in 1960 sparked the Sexual Revolution, FDA approval of Viagra in 1998 sparked a second wave of the Sexual Revolution for Baby Boomers. Enovid (FDA approval in 1960) and Ortho Novum (FDA approval in 1962) liberated early Baby Boomer women…

View On WordPress

[tucson-progressive]

Feel Our Pain: Uninsure Congress

The US Congress is moving at its usual glacial speed on health care reform. Proponents of reform are working hard– organizing, rallying, phone-banking, and canvasing– to ensure grassroots support for a meaningful resolution to the debate. Unfortunately, lobbyists are working just as hard to keep the status quo, and they have millions of dollars behind them. Given the overwhelming data, it’s hard…

View On WordPress

[tucson-progressive]

John McCain, Your Constituents Want the Public Option

Wednesday afternoon Move On organized a healthcare reform rally in front of Senator John McCain’s office in downtown Tucson. Fifty or so people waived signs and chanted as commuters headed out of downtown in evening traffic. The protesters were looking for their senator and wondering what happened to that “maverick” and his straight talk express. You know– that guy who talked about campaign…

View On WordPress

[tucson-progressive]

>Is the public option dead? Say it ain't so...

>It seems as if the US Congress has been debating healthcare reform for an eternity. Remember last summer when President Obama was hopeful that Congress would get ‘er done before the August break? Ha! We’ll be lucky if they finish before the Christmas break. The latest wrangling in the Senate sounds like a good idea, but in the long run, it’s probably not. The latest Congressional shell game to…

View On WordPress

[tucson-progressive]

I am editing the video footage that I shot at the May Day union protest at the Amazon Warehouse on Tucson's west side. The speeches were great! My editorial assistant is keeping me company. She has gotten used to listening to random video clips repeatedly. Stay tuned. @palf_aflcio #unionstrong #blueheeler (at Tucson, Arizona) https://www.instagram.com/p/CrwF17pPmSb3ycMB7rVF2vlFXWedsPVPLqg8q00/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tucson-progressive]

One of the brighter points of driving to Phoenix on Sunday afternoon to serve in the Arizona House was listening to Bob Corritore's Low Down Blues on KJZZ as the sun was setting in Phoenix. Now I can listen to Chicago blues on KJZZ on my screened porch, much better than being in Phoenix! @kjzzphoenix @bobcorritore @azhousedems (at Tucson, Arizona) https://www.instagram.com/p/CrZtTZ_LIcd47MZ461X_KZpzDQdH7a8yxEUyus0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tucson-progressive]

Dyna's a little big to be a lap dog, but everyone knows size doesn't matter to dogs. #dogsofinstagram #lapdog #blueheeler (at Tucson, Arizona) https://www.instagram.com/p/CrOHwhDLwdoEmqgESJfHN34Urq6enMFFKI6nXM0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tucson-progressive]

Guess who went to the park in the car today? She LOVED it. Hopefully, if she connects the park with the car, she won't be so afraid of the car. She gets in voluntarily and sits in the seat where the harness latches, but she's pretty nervous when we're driving. She was great at the park. Yay! #blueheeler #dogsofinstagram (at Tucson, Arizona) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq4TG8SL5Ovt0wwnntc4sPfrgXwTpjjBETkFeo0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tucson-progressive]

When I was a waitress, my saving account was a change jar. Some restaurants let the wait staff exchange their coins for bills, but I didn't do that. Every night, I came home and dumped the change from my apron into a restaurant-sized mayonnaise jar and left it there until it was full (unless, of course, I needed money for the laundromat). Back then, we counted the coins and rolled them up in paper sleeves. Now people have these fancy coin counting machines to do the work, but this one has a hitch. It conveniently allows you to choose real money OR choose to throw your coins away and get cryptocurrency instead. What a scam! How many poor people walked into the Safeway store at Campbell and Prince and dumped their change into that machine thinking they would get money to spend on groceries at that store and chose crypto instead? Does Safeway take crypto? This machine is conveniently located next to the shopping carts and the bathrooms. It has heavy, rotating advertising in both Spanish and English telling customers they can get more for their money if they choose crypto. That is a lie. How much does Safeway make of these machines? Hughes Credit Union on Speedway has a change machine that will give you US dollars to buy groceries. Crypto is a corporate scam. Don't buy the lie. #crypto #cryptocurrency #cryptotrading #safeway @safeway @pimadems @athenasalman @mitziepsteinaz (at Tucson, Arizona) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqxw_9IrVPAfZsCgJxVv1UGpxM6x2sfMH4T8Ns0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tucson-progressive]

Guard dog on duty position #2: This is Ding's spot. The puppy trainer suggested that I hang out on the front (with a treat bag) and teach her how to react to passersby. #austrailiancattledog #blueheeler https://www.instagram.com/p/CqmFA_vPHOYfU2WIkg9iSmtkFg0WerhhhvGJMs0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tucson-progressive]

Guard dog on duty: Dyna is sitting in Cali's spot and watching the corner. You'll note that I have "hardened the target" around the flower bed with wire fencing and cement block pedestals with flowers pots. I fortified the area with the penstemon, African daisies, wild petunias, and other plants to protect them from a bounding, two-year-old puppy. (at Tucson, Arizona) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqmDJx4Pp8ZuxreIbW7o7BmVTJFIm8oOGJDi2s0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tucson-progressive]

If you have weeds, Grandpa's Weeder is the tool for you. It works great on London rockets, dandelions and other weeds with some girth. You step on the lever to put the pokey ends into the ground surrounding the main stalk and then lean it over on that level to pluck out the plant, root and all. It loosens out smaller weeds and works best on weeds that are at least 1/2" in diameter because it can grab them. This was from a Garret Wade catalog. They have great tools. #grandpasweeder #tucson (at Tucson, Arizona) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpd6xDuvstFFzgpGw8_TtDsnuz6YVfpQaDHl1I0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tucson-progressive]

Last week's weather: winter to spring in just a few days. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpc831JLbhwIXNEyqp_D9YPx4xaLu0RYwOlE540/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=