Arizona: David Safieri

by David Safier

I received an email this morning from a teacher at an Arizona independent school who is planning to ask his students if they were surveyed for the civics test Goldwater Institute used to create 3 separate studies comparing high school students attending public and private schools.

The question is, was the survey ever conducted? The best way to determine the answer is Yes is to find students who can say conclusively they got a phone call and answered the survey between November 21-23, 2008. Since about 10% of all private school high school students should have been surveyed (1350 out of about 11,000 total), it shouldn't be hard to find people who remember taking the survey.

by David Safier

I learned recently that my posts are being used on another site without my permission. The posts aren't simply being quoted from or compiled with other posts from other sites. They are nearly the only original content on the site. They have my name at the top, but no link back to BfA.

The site is My Gay Phoenix. If you think my concerns have any homophobia connected to them, that's not what's going on. I would object to this practice regardless of the ethnic origin, religion, political or sexual orientation of the people ripping off my posts. This is a violation of blog ethics at the very least, and it may be illegal as well.

by David Safier

I don't usually blog about this kind of thing, but the Phoenix connection makes it irresistable.

There have been lots of questions about Bonner & Associates, a Republican outreach firm which apparently uses all kinds of shady tactics to do its clients' bidding. But this is a new one to me: FLS Connect.

According to Talking Points Memo,

Minnesota-based FLS Connect uses low-wage workers to make fund-raising calls for a bevy of prominent GOP clients. And many of those workers -- including those responsible for processing credit-card transactions -- have felony convictions, the former employees said.

Here's the Phoenix connection.

And many workers in the company's Phoenix office are ex-cons, who are paid not much more than minimum wage, lack benefits, and work in squalid conditions.

by David Safier

I'm not one to sympathize with Tom Horne, but I think the guy needs a friend, and a hug, about now. Not only do people like me snipe at him from the left, but the Sonoran Alliance tore him a big ol' new one on his right flank (That's gotta hurt!) in a very long post titled, Scandals, potential investigation, Education Department woes upend Horne campaign for AG.

How many ways does the writer dislike Horne? Let me count the ways. Horne told backers, anyone who made an $840 donation got special access. He got speeding tickets (including speeding in a school zone???) and missed court dates.