Greetings Open Thread fans, wherever you are.
It’s Sunday again, time for another Baja AZ Kos Open Thread. Click through for some stuff relating to news and politics in Tucson and Greater Baja.
News, as in newspapers.
If you read this series at all, you know that many of the news items I post include links to the Arizona Daily Star, Baja’s paper of record. I subscribe to the Star and have for years. However, I have a bill from them stating that they want $344.85 for next year’s subscription. That price includes extra charges for five so-called “Premium Editions”. I think that’s outrageous but I’ve decided to sign up for one more year. I’m old- fashioned and set-in-my-ways. I like to read the morning paper with my first cup of coffee even though lately I finish reading the paper before said cup of coffee has even stopped steaming. I know newspapers are dying. A lot of people think television news is enough to keep them informed, it’s not, or they get their news online. It seems to me that punishing their few remaining print subscribers with outrageous price hikes every year is not the best policy for a newspaper. Where is their loyalty to long-time customers, are they trying to drive us away ? An article about dying newspapers came up last week at naked capitalism (HERE) and in her introduction Yves Smith mentioned one factor in the death of print: classified ads. The classified section in the Star is nothing like it used to be. At one time classifieds were the way people bought and sold cars, rented apartments and looked for jobs. No longer. Thanks Craig’s list.
Events
We went to Borderlands Brewery for an Our Revolution launch event. Borderlands is a small taproom, nicely decorated but even closer to the tracks than Barrio or Nimbus. (Why are so many breweries located near the railroad tracks ?) They have an IPA that’s drinkable but no kitchen. About fifty people showed up to watch Bernie’s speech and network. Janice Porter was there to announce the founding of a new Democratic club, the Progressive Democrats of Southern Arizona. You can email them at ClubPDoSA@gmail.com if you’re interested. If you haven’t yet seen the Sanders speech, you can watch it here ☛ YouTube. Our own Raúl Grijalva made two brief appearances in Bernie’s video and was cheered each time by the hometown crowd. There will be a Primary watch party at Brother John's Barbecue on Tuesday night. Raúl will be there as will both Matt Heinz and Victoria Steele. I think we’ll skip that event and watch the results at home like we always do. Brother John’s has delicious barbecue but the food and drink there is kind of pricey and it’s the end of the month.
More from John Anderson
I think this may be his best song.
In other news …
The University of Arizona Wildcat football team will open their season on Sep. 3 with a game against BYU at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. What ? Won’t the University of Phoenix be needing that stadium for their home opener ? No, of course not. The “University” of Phoenix doesn’t have a football team, it isn’t a university at all. It’s a for-profit diploma mill like ITT Tech which has been prohibited from offering federal financial aid by the US Dept. of Education ☛ Arizona Daily Star. The government says, “Not to Worry” about lack of choice at the Obamacare Marketplace, they’ll work something out ☛ The Star. Tucsonan Todd Miller has a very good piece at Mother Jones in which he reminds us that Basically, Donald Trump's Border Wall Already Exists. State utility regulator Bob Burns has subpoenaed the records of Arizona Public Service and its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital in regards to “dark money” spending on races for Corporation Commission in the last election ☛ The Incredible Shrinking Star. And, finally, “dark money” from a group promoting school vouchers is pouring into the Republican primary for state legislators in LD14 ☛ Tucson's Overpriced Fishwrap. School vouchers, like for-profit colleges and charter schools, are part of an ongoing effort by Neoliberals in both parties to privatize public education. Here’s John Oliver’s rant on charters for those who haven’t yet seen it:
OK …
That’s all I got for this Sunday. What’s going on where you live, is anybody out there?