11 minute read
OPINION
For more opinions visit peoriatimes.com
PeoriaTimes.com /PeoriaTimes
Arizona’s most thankless job: school board member
BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Peoria Times Columnist
Most of us like to believe we’re decent people. We give a few bucks to charity, we volunteer, maybe even help a friend move. But be real: There’s being a decent human and then there’s going above and beyond.
Like by serving on your local school board.
If there’s a volunteer role existent in Arizona today that I cannot wrap my head around, it’s that one. And the past year of headlines – full of protests, threats and extreme surliness – have only deepened my confusion. Our state has about 240 school boards and 1,200 board members.
Each of them deserves a medal. Or our prayers.
Because anyone who does that job for $0 a year deserves something in return.
School board members begin their careers by running for election. You speak at public forums, knock on doors, stand in front of Safeway, anywhere you can meet a few voters, most of whom pay attention for 14 seconds before pushing past you like you’re a human turnstile.
Then, say you win. That earns you the privilege of going to 25 or 30 weeknight meetings annually, many of which last for hours and involve a “call to the public.” If you’ve never been to a school board or municipal council meeting, lucky you. I’ve attended many, and trust me: Most members of the public who answer this call do so because no sane human being has ever listened to them for three minutes straight without dialing 911. It’s like open mike at an insane asylum, minus the lithium.
And that was before COVID, before anti-mask protests, and before machinations over Critical Race Theory. Nowadays, your average school board meeting frequently resembles Jan. 6 at
SEE THANKLESS PAGE 12
Joe Biden ‘finishing the job’ for his predecessor
BY J.D. HAYWORTH Peoria Times Columnist
Barack Obama did not go gently into that good presidential retirement.
While most of his predecessors departed once their “lease” at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue expired, Mr. Obama decided to remain.
Now with his “No. 2” elevated to “No. 1,” the former president sticks around with an up-close view and an important role in Joe Biden “finishing the job,” as Mr. Obama put it in an interview with the New York Times. Sympathetic journalists take that to mean that the 46th president will work to complete the progressive policy goals envisioned by the 44th.
Americans with a different political point of view fear the expression conveys a simpler and more sinister goal: the end of the USA as a democratic republic.
While his immediate successor, Donald Trump, was widely viewed as “disruptor-in-chief,” it’s worth recalling that the Barack Obama of 2008 routinely pledged on the campaign trail to “fundamentally change America as we know it.” In many ways, he succeeded.
From the enactment of Obamacare to the politicization of our military and intelligence apparatus, and on through the exploitation of racial disharmony, our 44th president lit long, slow fuses … now set to detonate.
How does Mr. Obama avoid responsibility?
Simple. He employs euphemisms and administers “verbal tranquilizers.” Though his mask may slip occasionally, such an occurrence is usually explained away by an infatuated press corps.
A recent example of Obama speaking softly and sticking it to Republicans can be found in his remarks to the American Library Association in late June. There, he was asked about his biggest concern for the future and responded this way: “The degree to which misinformation is now disseminated at warp speed, in coordinated ways that we haven’t seen before.”
The former president then expounded on his “concern” by quickly adding a political dimension: “And that the guardrails I thought were in place around many of our democratic institutions really depend upon the two parties agreeing to those ground rules, those guardrails. And that one of them right now doesn’t seem as connected to them.”
Call it “accusation by insinuation and omission,” preceded by “indictment through redefinition.” All of it delivered in a calm, “thoughtful” manner.
Translated into conservative context, Mr. Obama is basically saying this: “Let’s call investigative reports and as-
SEE FINISHING PAGE 12
How to get a letter published
250 N. Litchfield Road, Suite 100, Goodyear, AZ 85338
Email: christina@timespublications.com
The Peoria Times welcomes letters that express readers’ opinion on current topics. Letters must include the writer’s full name, address (including city) and telephone number. The Peoria Times will print the writer’s name and city of residence only. Letters without the requisite identifying information will not be published. Letters are published in the order received, and they are subject to editing. The Peoria Times will not publish consumer complaints, form letters, clippings from other publications or poetry. Letters’ authors, not the Times, are responsible for the “facts” presented in letters.
JUDGE’S OPINION — King Features
September 2, 2021
Peoria Times AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN Does ADOT mean ‘Arizona Demons of Traffic’?
BY JUDY BLUHM Peoria Times Columnist
Time flies when you are having fun. Especially when you are stuck for four hours on I-17 on your way out of Phoenix. The hands of time move very slowly.
One hot afternoon I was forced, with a few thousand other motorists, to finally discover what it means to be trapped liked a rat in a vehicle. Just north of Black Canyon City, a big RV tipped over, blocking the entire northbound lanes of I-17 and causing a backup for miles and miles.
These evil traffic snarls seem to happen every weekend. What is the hope here? You try to cope. One long minute at a time. People turn off their vehicles, start milling around, trying to make sense of what is happening, with a backdrop of laughter, small talk and friendly exchanges.
That initial phase is replaced by an almost eerie sense of dismay and helplessness as people begin to realize that sitting in 102 degrees on an uphill grade in a parked vehicle can be downright dangerous.
It was the elderly lady in front of me who had a birthday cake in her backseat — a birthday surprise for a friend in Prescott — who started unraveling first. She became noticeably distraught and started crying after 45 minutes of no information.
Well, she wasn’t alone. Sweltering heat, high humidity and threatening thunderstorms were only part of the misery. Not knowing what was happening was the worse part of the equation.
One disgruntled trucker left his big rig and walked to the site of the accident to talk to the highway patrol officers. He was shaking his head, livid as he marched back to his truck. “What’s wrong?” dozens of motorists asked as he walked by. He would tell the same sad tale again and again. It seems there is an effort to move the RV off the freeway, but it “takes time.”
Does ADOT stand for “Arizona Demons of Traffic”? That was one trucker’s assessment. Yes, in a road closure, there are many victims. There are folks very low on water, many needing to use the bathroom, diabetics out of insulin, babies crying, people who began the road trip sick and who were getting sicker by the minute, and all types of dogs panting and getting anxious. The “tailgate” atmosphere quickly turned to despair and frustration.
Finally, long after the lady’s cake was a melted mess, and all of the babies had cried themselves to sleep, and the dogs stopped barking, we got the blessed message to “start our engines.” Yes, it was true joy to finally feel our tires rolling on the road.
Moral of the story? Dear readers, pack a bag with essentials before you leave home. Bring extra water, snacks, reading material, flashlight, medicine and anything else to make yourself comfortable during a long, treacherous wait. And if you must bring a birthday cake, be sure to have a supply of plates and forks, because eating it with strangers on the road is a lot more fun than watching it melt all over the back seat! Safe travels.
Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local Realtor. Have a story or a comment? Email Judy at judy@judybluhm.com.
Elevate Your Each of us lives a life richly colored by family, friends and personal experiences. At Ridges at Peoria Senior Living, we invite you to live your passions and explore new interests through our platinum lifestyle, which
Everyday offers signature programs, innovative partnerships, and life-enriching activities. Together, let’s put more life into each and every day. AND COME LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE Call Kim at 623-974-5848 today for a tour and learn about our summer specials!
Elevate Your Each of us lives a life richly colored by family, friends and personal experiences. At Ridges at Peoria Senior Living, we invite you to live your • Chef-inspired meals
Everyday passions and explore new interests through our platinum lifestyle, which offers signature programs, innovative partnerships, and life-enriching activities. Together, let’s put more life into each and every day. • • 24-hour on-site staffing Meaningful activities and opportunities to learn, connect AND COME LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE and engage with others
• Serving a range of lifestyle preferences and continuing care needs • A variety of floor plans • Maintenance-free lifestyle • Chef-inspired meals • 24-hour on-site staffing • Meaningful activities and opportunities to learn, connect and engage with others
Call Kim at 623-974-5848 today for a tour and learn about our summer specials!
18170 North 91st Avenue Peoria, AZ 85382 18170 North 91st Avenue 623-974-5848
Peoria, AZ 85382 623-974-5848 ridgesatpeoria.org INDEPENDENT LIVING ridgesatpeoria.org | ASSISTED LIVING | MEMORY CARE
FINISHING FROM PAGE 10 sertions from the right ‘misinformation’ so that they can be immediately discredited.”
“Moreover, Republicans need to know their place! They need to return to the passive, polite people they used to be, accepting election irregularities for the ‘greater good,’ which of course keeps our side in power.”
The left has made it a priority to politicize the pandemic; that continues with the use of government funds following the “Obama Directive.” Check out this headline from the broadcasting trade journal Radio Ink in its Aug. 19 edition: “CPB Targets COVID Misinformation.” “The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is awarding $275,000 in emergency grants to public media stations to address COVID-19 misinformation in their communities,” the article’s lead sentence reads.
While $275,000 is a pittance compared to the trillions the left intends to spend, it does speak volumes about the way government-financed radio and TV stations take their cues from the Democrat playbook.
Of course, 10 days before those government grants were announced, Barack
THANKLESS FROM PAGE 10 the U.S. Capitol. Minus the gunfire – so far.
Down south near Tucson, the April 27 meeting of the Vail governing board required sheriff’s deputies before the meeting even started. About 150 anti-maskers – some armed – stormed the meeting, pushing past school district employees, screaming and berating board members and refusing to wear masks, per Pima County’s mandate.
“There was a handful of people – I don’t know exactly how many – who either don’t have kids in the school district, don’t live in the school district, don’t live in the county, who came with the express purpose of whipping up that group,” Supt. John Carruth told the Arizona Education News Service.
Talk about needing more hobbies.
The Litchfield Elementary School District has degenerated into chaos over the passage of an “equity statement” last December. Since then, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office has been involved and protests have become a regular feature of board meetings.
Last week, Dr. Tara Armstead, the school board’s only Black member, resigned and scorched the 12,000-student district on her way out the door.
“I will not say thank you for the time that I served here,” said Armstead, “or express any gratitude or appreciation because, for the five months I have been here, I have been treated like I’m not an expert in the field and have no idea what I’m talking about.”
The Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board has been equally protest-laden and chaotic. Last week, Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg lost his temper over the distribution of a neo Nazi comic book on some campuses.
Greenburg stage whispered “Jesus (explective) Christ” into a hot microphone.
He later publicly apologized. “I’m very sorry about that,” Greenburg explained. “I have to admit it was done out of frustration in the moment.”
The wonder is, more school board members don’t drop f-bombs. Or outright quit. Because there’s surely no
Obama celebrated his 60th birthday with a lavish party on his $12 million, 29-acre Martha’s Vineyard Estate.
Joe Biden was not invited; presumably, he was focused on ”finishing the job.”
J.D. Hayworth worked as a sportscaster at Channel 10, Phoenix, from 1987 until 1994 and represented Arizona in Congress from 1995-2007.
FREE
CALL602 - 837-4822
