CitizenSugar -- Breaking News, Together.

Bad Times Keep Us Put: Migration to South and West Slows

CitizenSugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:00:23 -0800

The intuitive trend in America to move to where the land is open and the climate warm has hit a road bump. Thanks to the housing crisis, which makes the idea of taking on a new mortgage scary and risky, people are staying put.

The population slowdown specifically hit the western and southern states, which had seen huge growth and migration over the last decade. While this trend could mean less traffic and more space for those already living there, it could also lead to less political influence. Based on current projections, California might lose a seat in Congress for the first time ever following the 2010 Census.

Still, a population slow down in the South and West doesn't mean other regions are growing faster. In 2008, Utah was the fastest growing state, followed by Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. And Michigan and Rhode Island actually lost population.

Have tough times made you shelve any plans for moving?

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Gay Marriage Goes Down, But Not Without a Fight

LibertySugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:25:00 -0800

California county registrars may have stopped issuing licenses to same-sex couples, but not all Californians are ready to accept the newly approved marriage ban. The city of San Francisco filed lawsuits challenging Prop. 8's passage, and California Attorney General Jerry Brown says he will fight to defend the legality of the marriage licenses already issued to 18,000 same-sex couples.

Last night at a West Hollywood rally, 2,500 joined a protest of Prop. 8, which eventually clashed with the LAPD. Seven protesters were arrested. In San Francisco's Castro neighborhood the rainbow flag is flying at half-staff, and last night gay marriage supporters held a candle light vigil at San Francisco's City Hall. Rallies of support for gay marriage were held in other parts of the state, too.

Gay marriage bans also passed in Arizona and Florida on Tuesday, along with an Arkansas ban on adoption by anyone except a married man and woman. How long do you think the struggle for gay marriage will go on before it is completely successful? Will it ever be?

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Obama and McCain Compete For Unlikely Swing State: Arizona

LibertySugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:30:00 -0800

Barack Obama hasn't been directing many resources to Arizona all along, but the campaign still thinks they have a good chance of winning McCain's home state. The last candidate to lose his state was Al Gore; Tennessee didn't go blue for its native son.

This past weekend the Obama camp asked supporters to donate money to help expand efforts in "new battlegrounds" including Georgia, North Dakota, and Arizona. But with surely enough money to get started before new funds came in, Obama began airing ads in Arizona on Saturday. In addition, Howard Dean is spending his last day before the election campaigning in McCain's home turf.

As of now, polling shows McCain ahead in Arizona by anywhere from five points to as close as one point. During the last few days before the election both candidates have been campaigning hard in states their parties lost in 2004. Do you think there could be some surprises tomorrow?

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Election Parties: Chicago Obamafest, McCain on Hotel Lawn?

LibertySugar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:00:16 -0700

The Mayor of Chicago estimates that the Obama election night party could cost the city as much as $2 million. The free and open-to-the-public lakefront party at Grant Park will require the city to beef up security; but the Obama campaign has agreed to reimburse seriously cash-strapped Chicago.

Down in Arizona, rumor has it that McCain might not even show up to his soiree. Supporters will be gathering at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, but McCain plans to deliver remarks to a small group of reporters and guests on the hotel lawn, while the speech is broadcast to the party inside. Aides haven't ruled out a McCain cameo inside.

After Obama's impressive acceptance speech before almost 80,000 in Denver, I'm not surprised by his election night plans for himself and the public. What do you have planned for election night?

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States, Provinces to Cap and Trade Sans Federal Governments

LibertySugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Seven western US states and four Canadian provinces have agreed to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 15 percent before 2020. Proud of the Western Climate Initiative, Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asserted:

We’re sending a strong message to our federal governments that states and provinces are moving forward in the absence of federal action, and we’re setting the stage for national programs that are just as aggressive.

So how will Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec curb climate change? To find out,

Three States Consider Banning Affirmative Action: Right Move?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:45:47 -0700

With one comment John McCain made Sunday that he supports an Arizona initiative that would ban hiring practices that favor one group over another McCain has brought attention to similar calls in two other states. He said that the initiative gives "the people of Arizona the opportunity to end preferential treatment based on race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin by state or local governments." Arizona, Colorado, and Nebraska are all considering ballot initiatives that ban affirmative action hiring practices. Sunday's comment combined with one 10 years ago where McCain called affirmative action "divisive" shows the anti-affirmative-action campaign is gaining steam toward their ultimate goal of getting "either the Supreme Court or the Congress to get the policy changed at the national level."The crux of the argument being debated in the initiatives is whether it's a ban on discrimination or an attack on programs that help women and minorities. Which do you think it is?Source

Three States Consider Banning Affirmative Action: Right Move?

Right move! It is a form of discrimination. We should all just be people, not quotas.

Step backward. Getting rid of programs that help minorities is detrimental to everyone.

Other. I'll tell you in the comments.

Got $12 Million? John McCain's Arizona House Is For Sale!

CitizenSugar — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:00:35 -0700

Would you pay a "celebrity premium" to scoop up the former Phoenix house of John and Cindy McCain? The current owner is selling the abode (Cindy's childhood house, and the McCain's residence for 20 years) for a cool $12 million — four times more than the current owner paid Cindy for it in 2006. That's a lot of air conditioning. Though the decor has been updated from the McCains' time, the jungle bedroom is . . . specific. If it's your taste, you're in luck: the furniture (including leopard-print dining chairs) is included.

The 14,000-square-foot home, with 13 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms, could leap in value if the senator is elected. Not to mention, the McCain family handprints in the cement outside are pretty precious. What do you think — would you move in?

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Arizona Lawmakers Want Ethnic Studies Out of Classroom

LibertySugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:15:01 -0700

Ethnic studies curriculum may be under siege in Arizona. Some state lawmakers want to pass a bill (SB 1108) preventing public schools, including community colleges and universities, from teaching lessons that "denigrate American values and the teachings of Western civilization." The backers oppose curriculum that "overtly encourages dissent" from democracy, capitalism, pluralism, and religious tolerance. Hm . . . not sure how you have a thriving democracy without dissent.

Tucson Unified District's Raza Studies sits at the center of this controversy. The bill's author, Republican State Representative Russell Pearce, calls the curriculum — which includes text book entries about a 1915 Mexico plan to reclaim the Southwest — "hate speech." Pearce has been known to call babies born in the US to foreigners "anchor babies" or "jackpot babies."

A temperate critique of Tucson's ethnic studies, as espoused by the National Review, maintains that Hispanic students do not benefit from an education predicated on their ethnic identity. Yet I think even this line of thinking does not require that the Hispanic perspective be stricken from Arizona academia. Instead it should be part of an inclusive, diverse, and very American education.

Some Arizonans view the bill and rhetoric as xenophobic. Do you agree, or do think ethnic studies could spawn hate or revolution?

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Will There Be a Madame Vice President Not Named Hillary?

LibertySugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:00:00 -0700

Three women, none named Hillary Clinton, are on Politico's short list of potential Barack Obama running mates. They include: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

They all bring red state credentials, have avoided focusing on gender during their campaigns, and are not considered polarizing figures by Republicans in their home states.

For some background info on each potential running mate,

53 Immigrants Held For Ransom in Phoenix, 300 in Raid in Iowa

CitizenSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:00:58 -0700

We talk a lot about illegal immigration around here, but this story really puts a human face on the situation and shows the extent of the problem. It doesn't look good for anyone involved. Arizona authorities recently found 53 illegal immigrants being held prisoners in a Phoenix home by suspected smugglers holding them hostage for more money.

Among the group of rescued immigrants were two 13-year-old girls and a mentally disabled man. There were three women, and the rest were men, according to officials. The group had all had their shoes confiscated and were packed in with very little food or water. It's thought that smugglers wanted an average of $2,500 for the release of each person. To see the huge raid in Iowa,