Arizona
Republicans want the Ten Commandments (which they ignore) in Arizona public schools
Opinion: If Republicans want to make it OK for teachers to post them, would it also be OK to talk about politicians who break them?
Republicans who control the Arizona Senate — on a party-line vote — pushed through a bill that would allow the Ten Commandments to be posted in Arizona’s public schools.
Surprisingly, a lightning bolt did not strike the Capitol dome, probably because the Almighty was convulsing with laughter.
The bill was sponsored by Republican Sen. Anthony Kern, who was among Arizona’s fake electors in the last presidential election — a wayward collective of GOP operatives being investigated by the Attorney General’s office —- who boldly broke Commandment No. 9, the one about bearing false witness.
The Good Lord must also find it humorous that those same individuals, as well as all of their MAGA brothers and sisters, daily (and nightly, and all times inbetween) break Commandment No. 1, the admonition against worshiping false gods. At least when it comes to you-know-who.
Teachers get leeway? That’s a new one
All of the Senate Democrats voted against Senate Bill 1151.
One of them, Sen. Mitzi Epstein, said, “Please take a moment to think about how you would feel as the parent of a child who has to be in a classroom who is commanded to do something that you do not believe.”
GOP senators were not swayed.
Kern said, “The progressive slide down in our country right now is because we have taken the Ten Commandments away from our schools.”
He added, “Teachers have full authority to post, to read, or not to read.”
Republicans have tried to ban books
This is interesting, giving teachers a choice.
It seems odd since these same Republicans have worked very hard to restrict what teachers can say about many subjects. Like, for instance, human sexuality, about which several of the Commandments have a thing or two to say.
These same Republicans also have endeavored to restrict the books teachers can assign and read to students. They have attempted to make teachers present a watered down version of history as it pertains to slavery and its ugly aftermath.
State superintendent: PragerU lessons are not racist
These same Republicans don’t want Arizona students to fully and honestly understand the science of climate change and what it may mean to them and their children.
But it’s OK with them if teachers want to post and read the Ten Commandments.
Trump ignores the Ten Commandments
When Donald Trump was running for president against Joe Biden in 2020, he said of Biden, “No religion, no anything. Hurt the Bible, hurt God. He’s against God … .”
I’m guessing that comment sent The Big Guy into hysterics. Particularly given Trump’s record with the Commandments.
According to the fact checkers at The Washington Post, for example, Trump totaled 30,573 untruths during his presidency — averaging about 21 erroneous claims a day.
That’s a whopping 30,573 violations of Commandment No. 9.
Then there’s the fact that Trump cheated on his first wife with his second, and has been indicted over $130,000 in hush money payments to a porn star who has said she had a sexual relationship with him.
Some would consider those fairly significant violations of Commandment No. 7, the one concerning adultery.
Then, of course, there is Commandment No. 10 and, seriously, when it comes to the former president, can anyone think of another person on earth who is more covetous of power, money, fame … everything?
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
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Arizona
‘We are united’: how Arizona’s attorney general plans to manage border chaos
Kris Mayes, the attorney general of Arizona, has vowed to fight the incoming Trump administration over key aspects of its immigration policy, including any attempt to set up deportation camps on Arizonan soil or remove thousands of migrant “dreamers” who came to the US as children.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mayes said that any move by Donald Trump in his second presidential term to unpick the rights of dreamers to remain and work in the US would be a “bright red line for me. I will not stand for an attempt to deport them, or undermine them.”
Arizona, a critical border state that will be on the frontline of the struggle over Trump’s plans for mass deportations, has more than 30,000 dreamers, undocumented migrants who entered the US unlawfully as children but who were afforded rights under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca). The program was introduced by Barack Obama in 2012 but has been under relentless attack by Republicans ever since.
“I definitely will be fighting on behalf of dreamers,” Mayes said. “These folks are firefighters, police officers, teachers – they are part of the very fabric of our state and we will protect them.”
Trump tried to scrap Daca protections during his first presidency and was only stopped by a narrow ruling from the US supreme court. He recently softened his position, telling NBC News that he wanted to find a way to allow dreamers to stay in the country, though his apparent U-turn has left many skeptical of his intentions.
The Daca program is already being challenged by Republican states in a lawsuit that is currently before the ultra-conservative fifth circuit court of appeals. The case is almost certain to reach the supreme court, which has a six-to-three supermajority of rightwing justices.
Despite the hurdles facing dreamers, Mayes said she remains optimistic.
“I think the supreme court will ultimately see the merits of protecting them. We want to give the courts the opportunity to make the right decision here, and we’ll be making very strong arguments on that proposition,” she said.
Arizona’s attorney general also had strong words about any attempt by Trump to construct detention camps in her state as part of his plans to mass-deport millions of undocumented immigrants. She said her army of lawyers were also primed to push back on any move to renew family separation, the policy under which thousands of children were taken away from their parents at the Mexican border as part of a “zero tolerance” strategy.
“If Trump tries to engage in family separation, or build mass deportation camps, I will do everything I can legally to fight that. That is not happening in Arizona, not on our soil,” she said.
Mayes added that family separation – which has left up to 1,000 families still rent apart six years later – was “fundamentally anathema to who Arizonans are”.
Mayes and her team have been preparing for months for the anticipated whirlwind of activity as soon as Trump re-enters the White House on 20 January. They have “scoured”, as she put it, Project 2025, the rightwing playbook for a Trump second term compiled by the Heritage Foundation.
She has also been working closely with other Democratic state attorneys general, noting that between them they filed more than 100 lawsuits during Trump’s first presidency, winning 80% of them.
“One of our strengths is that we are doing this very much together, we are united and we are organized,” Mayes said.
The importance of cross-state cooperation is likely to be all the more critical over border issues.
Mayes said that she was working with her Democratic counterparts Rob Bonta of California and Raúl Torrez of New Mexico – with only the Republican attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, taking a very different, anti-immigrant approach.
“Three of the four border states have attorneys general in Democratic hands and we are going to fight for due process and for individual rights,” she explained.
A complicating factor is Proposition 314, the ballot measure passed in Arizona in November with a resounding 63% of the vote. It allows state police to arrest any undocumented person who crosses into the US other than at legal ports of entry.
Mayes said that the decision would not deter her from resisting Trump’s unconstitutional moves.
“Proposition 314 tells us that Arizonans are fed up with a dysfunctional border,” she said.
“We are facing a serious fentanyl crisis in our state, and there’s no doubt that Arizonans want our border addressed. But when Arizonans voted for Donald Trump they did not vote to shred the Arizona and US constitution – I strongly believe that.”
What was needed at the border was more federal resources to increase border patrol boots on the ground, boost the interception of fentanyl, and enhance prosecution of drug cartels. What was not needed, Mayes insisted, was Trump’s threatened plan to send in the national guard and even the US military to act as a souped-up deportation force.
“There’s nothing more unAmerican than using the military against Americans,” she said. “It’s clearly unconstitutional, and it’s not something Arizonans want to see.”
Since being elected to the position of Arizona’s top law enforcement officer in 2022, Mayes has established herself as a rising star in the Democratic party capable of negotiating the at times fraught politics of a border state. Her most high-profile act came in April when she indicted 18 people including Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former chief of staff Mark Meadows for participating in the 2020 “fake electors” conspiracy.
A similar prosecution of fake electors in Georgia was recently upended after an appeals court disqualified the Atlanta prosecutor in charge of the case, Fani Willis.
Mayes told the Guardian that despite Trump’s victory in November, she had no intention of dropping the fake electors case. “These indictments were handed down by a state grand jury, and you don’t do justice by popular vote. The case is in the courts now, and that’s where it’s going to stay until it’s over.”
Such a prominent prosecution could place her in the crosshairs of Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for director of the FBI. Should Patel be confirmed for the job by the US Senate, he has made it clear he will pursue revenge investigations against those deemed to be Trump’s enemies.
Mayes didn’t want to discuss Patel’s nomination. But she did say: “I’m not afraid of anyone. I’m going to do my job, uphold the law and protect Arizonans. I’m going to do it no matter who is at the helm of the FBI.”
Arizona
Miami Heat convert former Arizona forward Keshad Johnson to two-year contract
Christmas arrived a day early for Keshad Johnson.
The Arizona Wildcats alum has secured a two-year contract with the Miami Heat after beginning the season on a two-way contract. Shams Charania of ESPN was first to report the contract conversion.
Johnson made two appearances for the Heat this month but otherwise has played with the organization’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
He averaged 21.2 points and 8.3 rebounds in the G League. Johnson helped lead the Skyforce to the G League Winter Showcase championship game over the weekend.
Johnson went undrafted after a standout redshirt senior season at Arizona where he averaged 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds. Johnson played his first four collegiate seasons at San Diego State.
Johnson’s promotion to the Heat means he’ll be teaming up with Pelle Larsson. Miami is one of two NBA teams to feature a pair of Arizona players, joining the Indiana Pacers (Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell).
The last time two former Arizona teammates played together in the NBA was 2019-20, when Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson were on the Toronto Raptors.
Before that was the 2018-19 season, when Kadeem Allen and Allonzo Trier suited up for the Knicks.
Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill shared a front court with the Houston Rockets across parts of three seasons (2009-12).
Arizona
Santa and Mrs. Claus deliver adopted Arizona shelter dogs to their new home
MESA, AZ (AZFamily) — It was an exciting Christmas Eve morning for one Mesa girl who received an early (and furry) surprise from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
On Tuesday, Santa and Mrs. Claus teamed up with the Maricopa County Animal Care and Control to deliver adopted dogs to their new homes.
Santa and Mrs. Claus pulled up in a “sleigh” and took out a puppy wearing a cone. They then walked up to a decorated Mesa home, rang the doorbell and gave little Maya her early Christmas gift—a furry four-legged friend named Domino!
“He’s amazing, cute,” Maya said. “I just love holding him.”
Maya said Domino also loves her.
“He has an extra toe, and I think it’s a mistletoe,” she said.
What a sweet surprise from Santa and Mrs. Claus and the team at MCACC!
“It’s a great time to add another family member to join them under their Christmas tree this year,” said Kim Powell, Communications Supervisor for MCACC.
Powell said there are still 650 pets at the shelter looking for their “fur-ever” home. To learn more about adoptable pets at MCACC, click/tap here.
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