Archive for February, 2010
Ninety-one years ago today, Woodrow Wilson signed legislation designating the Grand Canyon as a national park.
I have been to the Grand Canyon many times, and each time the experience is a little different. Yes, I’ve had the Clark Griswold experience of taking five seconds to look at the view and then tell the kids, “Wow, isn’t that cool? Now let’s go get lunch.”
But I’ve also had the experiences of the solitude of taking in the awesome beauty and the totality of the size and grandeur of one of the true wonders of the world.
Happy Birthday Grand Canyon.
Just for kicks, here is the clip from the 1983 film Vacation.
The first question Republicans should ask Obama when they meet at the Blair House for the health care summit on Thursday is this: “If we turn to a government-run health care system like Canada, where will the Canadians go for their health care?”
As you may already know, Newfoundland’s Premier chose to come to the United States for surgery on his heart, rather than have it done in Canada.
Isn’t that everything we need to know about why we should have government-run health care?
Did that headline get your attention? It should have. It’s true, by the way. I’m not pro-illegal alien; I’m pro-freedom, and in the current party philosophy, that makes me a libertarian-Republican. While I have serious concerns with the spending addiction demonstrated by many Republicans over the last 15 years or so, I still believe that the Republican Party is better for America than the Democrat Party.
So, I want what’s good for Republicans, and that means the news that Arizona has seen a drop in illegals by more than 100,000 people is bad news.
Wait, wait… let me explain.
In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act as a part of the legislative push for civil rights. It was intended to make sure states didn’t discriminate against blacks through poll taxes, literacy tests, etc. The federal government determined which states or jurisdictions had a history of such discrimination and essentially took control of the electoral process through a process call “pre-clearance.”
What that means is that if a state makes any kind of change that affects elections, that change must be approved by the U.S. Justice Department. The absurdity of the law, now more than 40 years later, is that a local election panel (in a pre-clearance state) can’t change even a polling site without the Fed’s blessing.
Arizona is a pre-clearance state, purportedly because the state elections process at some point discriminated against Native Americans.
The biggest impact pre-clearance has in Arizona is on redistricting. Before any new boundaries go into effect, the Justice Department must approve.
Without getting into the nitty gritty of the legal jargon and process, the way that this works in Arizona is that districts (both Congressional and Legislative) currently represented by a minority are protected to maintain their “majority-minority” status. That is, the majority of voters in that district must be minorities, which in this day and age is mostly Hispanic.
For example, during the 2001 redistricting process, the first Congressional district drawn was Rep. Ed Pastor’s, because it needed to have a sufficient number of Hispanics in order to pass DOJ muster. Because Hispanics have low turnout in elections compared to others, Pastor’s district had to be “packed” with a larger number of Democrat voters to “ensure” he could be re-elected.
The 2001 redistricting produced two new Congressional districts as a result of population growth. One of the new districts was a majority-minority district in Southwestern Arizona, which Raul Grijalva won. The other was the creation the sprawling 1st Congressional District, originally won by Rick Renzi.
So, what does this have to do with illegals fleeing the state being bad for the GOP?
According to a number of reports, the number of illegal aliens in Arizona is down more than 100,000 in the past year or so. Until last year, it was conventional wisdom that the next census would result in Arizona again gaining two Congressional seats. But with a loss of 100,000 people (yes, the census counts illegals, the census is not a count of citizens; it is a count of people – it’s plainly in the Constitution), Arizona is likely to only gain one Congressional seat.
Because of the need to protect Pastor and Grijalva in the newly-drawn districts, the majority of the Hispanic population would be gerrymandered into one of those two districts, leaving too few minorities to populate a third majority-minority district.
Which means that Republicans, who could have added two seats to their delegation, can only add one. As a Republican, that frustrates me, particularly as we go into a couple of election cycles that will be very good for Republicans. Democrats already hold three seats that should be Republican (CD1, CD5 and CD8), and there is a good chance that all three will be recaptured by Republicans this fall. With Congressmen Jeff Flake and Trent Franks running for reelection, and since CD3 will certainly stay Republican, the shift in the Arizona delegation could go from three Republicans and five Democrats to six Republicans and two Democrats.
If we had those 100,000 illegals back, 2012 could see an 8-2 GOP-Dem delegation.
That’s pro-Republican and pro-Freedom.
“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in humble and enduring scenes of private life. Pious, just humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform dignified, and commanding; his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting; correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence and virtue always felt his fostering hand. The purity of his private charter gave effulgence to his public virtues.” –John Marshall, official eulogy of George Washington, delivered by Richard Henry Lee, 1799
My argument that Ron Paul has outlived his usefulness enrages many a Paulite. What they don’t know, is that I was a Paulite long before most of the current Paulite’s had ever even heard of Ron Paul.
You have to know a little about my past to understand this. I grew up in Show Low, Arizona, a small ranching and timber town in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona. There is a lot less ranching and almost no timbering now, it’s mostly vacation homes and tourism.
I was reared by very conservative parents. My first political memory is seeing tears in my mother’s eyes in 1976 with Carter beat Ford and her saying, “We’re going to be beaten by the Soviets now.” Anti-communism was a staple in our household growing up. The two political magazines that showed up in the mailbox were The New American and National Review (I didn’t learn until years later the massive battle between the John Birch Society and William F. Buckley).
When the U.S. Olympic hockey team beat the Soviets, you would have thought I had won the lottery. I was a kid running around the living room with my fists pumping and you would have thought that we had just defeated Communism in one, fell swoop.
I made phone calls for Reagan in 1980, passed out literature for him in 1984 and then reality hit me in 1988 when I realized that Reagan would no longer be the President.
My parents were very skeptical about George H.W. Bush. His history as a Washington insider was a stark contrast with Ronald Reagan’s populism. As the campaign between Dukakis and Bush went on, I felt more and more that Bush would NOT carryon the Reagan legacy.
I turned 18 in the summer of 1988, and the first vote I cast in my life was for Ron Paul for President in November 1988.
For you younger folk, Ron Paul was the Libertarian candidate for President in 1988. I had read up on him in The New American, and read a couple interviews with him. I didn’t really know much about the Libertarian Party platform (I was registered Republican, as I always have been) but his comments about the role of government, monetary policy (yes, I was an early proponent of getting us back on the gold standard – and I still am), and tax policy were music to me. I glossed over the drug legalization stuff and proudly cast my vote for Ron Paul.
I couldn’t tell whether my mother was proud of me or not. She said Paul was more principled but that it was a “wasted vote.” Was it? Probably. But it had an impact on me, because at the first opportunity I had to participate in this great republic (it’s not a democracy) I cast a vote on principle. And I think it set the tone for every vote I have cast since – including my wasted vote for Ross Perot in 1992, and my wasted vote for the Libertarian Harry Browne in 1996. In fact, I was 30 years old before I cast a vote for a Republican for President.
When I was a Congressional staffer I had a lot of fun chiding Ron Paul’s Congressional staff for not being “true” Paulites. For the 14 years I work in Congress I am the only staffer that I know of that actually voted for Paul for President in 1988.
But his time has passed. If there was anything that struck me coming out of CPAC 2010 this last weekend, it was a feeling that Ron Paul’s fans need to focus less on a 74 year-old mediocre Congressman, and more on how to actually affect real change in the political process.
Ron Paul won the CPAC2010 presidential straw poll thus immediately diminishing the impact that CPAC could have on providing conservatives with some direction on who some of our future national leaders might be. Ron Paul certainly won’t be. I’m not saying that to be critical, it’s just a fact.
More and more average Americans are getting involved in the political process through the Tea Party Patriots and other movements. They are real people, with real lives and most have never been involved in the political process beyond voting. The more they learn about Ron Paul, the less he will appeal to him. His dovish stance on the war on terror and his support for earmarking (the gateway drug to huge spending) won’t wear well with newly inspired activists worried about federal spending and the debt. Either you are a fiscal conservative, or you’re not. Unfortunately, Ron Paul is not at the most basic level.
So, conservatives, tea partiers, libertarians… Americans, let’s find those who stick to fiscal conservatism, limited government and less spending and then support them like the future depends on it, because it does.
Back in 2004 Dr. Tom Coburn, who had been a member of the revolutionary class of 1994 and then left Congress under a self-imposed term limit pledge, decided to run for the U.S. Senate. In early September I got a call from Congressman John Shadegg saying that my help was needed in Coburn’s Senate race.
A couple days later I flew to Tulsa and then drove to Muskogee, Dr. Coburn’s hometown and where the campaign headquarters was located. For the next eight weeks I lived in the Holiday Inn Express while I worked on the campaign.
The Muskogee Chamber of Commerce recently produced a video to Merle Haggard’s classic “Okie from Muskogee.” It brought back memories of the good ol’ days.
Thanks to Curt Price for passing it along.
In my previous post I pointed out that in the TV show Lost, John Locke is now evil personified.
But a friend of mine pointed out that this is the real evil personified.
MARJAH, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters holding out in Marjah are increasingly using civilians as human shields, firing from compounds where U.S. and Afghan forces can clearly see women and children on rooftops or in windows, Afghan and U.S. troops said Wednesday.
The intermingling of fighters and civilians also has been witnessed by Associated Press journalists. It is part of a Taliban effort to exploit strict NATO rules against endangering innocent lives to impede the allied advance through the town.
These animals are sick and they must be stopped. Our efforts in Afghanistan have never been more important. Pray for our troops as they look evil in the eye and make sacrifices so that we don’t have to.
The hit TV series Lost continues to wow me. This week’s episode actually answers more questions than it raises, much to my enjoyment and relief.
Now we know where the lists of names comes from and we have a better understanding of what Jacob was up to. The challenge is whether we believe that Jacob is evil or the man in black, now personified as John Locke.
Whereas previous seasons nibbled around the edges of good versus evil, this season has overt religious overtones. It is sure to keep Lost fans buzzing about what it all means, and I am guessing that the Lost writers are good enough to throw some major twists into the plot in this final season.
The John Locke-centered episode this week we learn a lot more about Locke, but we also catch glimpses of a different side of Ben and Hurley. Ben is much less confident and the Hurly that lands in L.A. continues to act as if he’s the luckiest guy in the world – a stark contrast to the Hurley on the island that believes he is cursed.
It is a rare moment for me to get to the end of a TV show and actually feel enriched for having watched it. I’m crossing my fingers that the rest of the season of Lost will have some big payoffs.
This is tragic, and hits close to home. I’ve known Tom Stewart for a number of years, and was always impressed by his commitment to the American Dream. He was a guy who put his money where his mouth was, walked the walked, talked the talk. He was a freedom fighter.
No one will ever know how much of an impact he had on conservatism in America, because no one person knows all the different things in which he engaged. What small part I saw in that world was impressive by itself, but I know it was just a smidgen of his influence.
Tom Stewart was a “great American” before being a great American was cool. Not only did he create thousands and thousands of jobs, he worked hard at protecting the system that allowed him to be successful. He didn’t just take his piece of the pie, he made sure there was a bigger pie left behind.
When I learned of his death, it rattled me. Bad. I realize now it is because it is not just the passing of a man, but the passing of era.
Our prayers go out to the families of Tom and Madena Stewart. RIP.
UPDATE
An updated story here. The official statement from SGA below.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Feb. 15, 2010) – Services Group of America (SGA) has announced that Chairman & CEO Thomas J. Stewart was killed in a helicopter accident yesterday (Feb. 14) north of Scottsdale at approximately 3 p.m.
The company helicopter was en route to Scottsdale Air Park from the Flagstaff area when it crashed in a desert wash.
A total of five passengers were aboard the helicopter when it departed from the Flagstaff area. Authorities conducted a thorough ground and air search of the crash area Sunday afternoon and into the night. They are certain there were no survivors. Authorities are advising that it will take some time to identify all of the passengers.
The cause of the crash is not known at this time and the company is working closely with the investigating agencies.
Stewart, 64, was a long-time philanthropist who supported education and the arts; a community activist championing free enterprise; a life-long adventurer; and a foodservice industry leader.
Services Group of America is a $2.7 billion company which is ranked 157th on the Forbes’ Largest Private Companies in the U.S. list. The company is the parent company of a number of companies including Food Services of America, Systems Services of America, Amerifresh, Ameristar Meats and Development Services of America. The roots of the company go back 40 years when Stewart was building Stevedoring Services of America in Seattle.
He moved the corporate headquarters from Seattle to Scottsdale in 2006.
The company is privately-held and family-owned, a structure that will not change despite the accident, according to Peter K. Smith, president and COO of SGA.
“Tom was first and foremost a visionary,” he said. “He had a clear and concise continuity plan for the enterprise in place and was completely confident in the current leadership team.”
“With our people, our processes and our technology, we will continue our current operations without missing a beat,” said Smith. “That’s how Tom planned it and that’s what he wanted. We continue to be a privately-held, family-owned business that offers the highest level of service in our industries. That will never change.”
Stewart was known for being a deft financier and a calculating risk taker. During his career, he formed or acquired 45 companies; sold or spun-off 22; merged 18 into other companies and closed 79. He is legendary for his epic adventures including a horseback trip with his family riding the 2,600-mile Pacific Crest trail from Mexico to Canada and a jeep safari across the continent of Africa. He was an avid golfer, horseman, rancher, fisherman, skier, scuba diver and team roper.
The Stewart family is currently making memorial service arrangements which will be announced at a later date.
For more historical information on SGA and Tom Stewart, go to www.servicesgroupofamerica.com
