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Recent Articles from Guest Opinion
Sen. Barto should reconsider her stance on repealing ACA
As a health care professional caring for medically underserved children and families here in Arizona, I am especially concerned about Senator Barto’s call for continued efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Killing DACA is a ‘violent white supremacist priority’
Nov. 9, 2016, was a day when many people in the United States felt stunned and lost. I was one of those people, but my circumstances were a bit different. As a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, my future and my family’s seemed like a dark cloud of escalated deportations and hopelessness as we imagined everything we had fought so hard for being taken away.
Tough childhood, opportunity to give drives Sinema to run for charities
One week before the race, Gabby Giffords was shot. I immediately knew I had to do something to help. I sent an email to my friends, asking them to donate money or blood to the Red Cross to help the victims of the shooting. The response was overwhelming.
Lawyers help others with free or reduced legal services
The cost of legal services can be daunting, and even in our most urban settings, approximately 20 percent of our residents live at or below the federal poverty level. That percentage is often higher in rural areas. This population, however, is particularly vulnerable when faced with legal issues involving basic necessities of life.
Arizona is ready for repeal and replace as premiums keep rising
We can’t stop now, Arizona. We need to continue the conversation about repealing the disastrous health care system called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare. While dialogue about a bipartisan effort to draft a new bill may be the feel-good news of the moment, it must be known that this kind of effort will end up propping up the current law and further entrench the current failing syste[...]
Immigrants bring entrepreneurial spirit, fill critical health care jobs
One look at today’s U.S. immigration process reveals a broken and outdated system. While I’m encouraged to see that Congress would like to take steps to modernize it, the recently proposed RAISE Act would be a step backward in the efforts of encouraging economic prosperity for all Americans. The bill leaves immigrants with fewer options than they already had and fails to address the economic c[...]
Flake’s cynical attempt to break up the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Don’t be fooled by Flake’s innocuous reasons he professes for splitting up the 9th Circuit. Targeting our courts based on ideological disagreement is profoundly dangerous to this country and a threat to each and every one of us.
Drug defendants are getting a raw deal, facing harsh penalties
Not only has American society come a long way since the so-called war on drugs began during the Reagan administration, but our attitudes toward drugs have changed as well. When harsher enforcement and penalties began during the 1980s, “opioid epidemic” had not entered our lexicon and prescription drug abuse was nascent.
Drug sentencing in Arizona – reality versus rhetoric
The American Friends Service Committee’s (AFSC) recent report, “Drug Sentencing in Arizona: A Prescription for Failure,” relies upon faulty analysis and inadequate research to inaccurately depict Arizona as an incarceration-first state, and blames our sentencing statutes for our substance abuse problems. Arizona’s sentencing statutes are not responsible for our substance abuse problems. P[...]
Sen. Debbie Lesko should seriously reconsider ‘noxious’ voucher bill no one likes
This is an open letter to Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria. My name is Jeff Fortney. I live in Cave Creek. Since 2004 I have been a public school teacher, teaching students to help them progress toward becoming good members of our Arizona society.
Reporter biased, unbalanced, impugns research
A recent piece criticized my being hired to update a report on the Arizona prison system (Ben Giles, "Controversial researcher hired to update prison population study," August 11). I am indeed best known for my work on gun control. But the report, produced by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council (APAAC), has nothing to do with gun control.
Make midterm elections referendum on education
Elections in Arizona from now until 2018 midterms must become referendums on education funding, not on the president. Nearly every candidate in Arizona running for office publishes their stance on education on their website, and multiple organizations have stated goals and deep war chests to push candidates and the electorate in one direction or the other on this very issue.
