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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.
Trump reaches a new low in vow to sabotage Affordable Care Act
Recent polls indicate that 70-80 percent of Americans support cornerstones of the Affordable Care Act, including incentivizing states to expand Medicaid while concurrently assisting low- and moderate-income people in obtaining affordable health coverage, and prohibiting insurers from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
Modernizing NAFTA will preserve benefits to Arizona consumers
The North American Free Trade Agreement has been a critical component to Arizona’s economic success over the last nearly 25 years. The deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico has allowed businesses to boom and fueled tremendous job growth.
Thanks to McCain for vote that protects Arizonans over age 50
Let’s drop the attempts to penalize people over 50 years of age for being older or sicker. It’s not fair to charge them disproportionately more for coverage just because of their age. And it’s not fair – or right – to scale back or eliminate the tax credits and subsidies that help low-income older Americans afford health insurance.
Battle over health care continues, but children are still at risk
Moving forward, we hope to see states take a leadership role in reforming our nation’s health care. Bipartisan efforts by the nation’s governors give us hope that the lessons states have learned regarding Medicaid can be applied to the national debate.
Congress should heed McCain’s advice in dealing with health care
Many political pundits have suggested that after last week’s ill-fated vote, the health care debate in the United States is over. We do not believe that this is the case.
Services, not prison, the answer to getting at root causes of addiction problem
After spending 25 years in law enforcement as a sheriff’s deputy, a sergeant, and a federal security adviser, reading the new American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) report on Arizona drug sentences brought some painful memories back.
McSally: Now is the time to stabilize individual insurance market
The facts are that the individual insurance market, where about 7 percent of Americans get their health insurance, is not healthy.
The CEOs speak
Arizona business leaders speak out on education and how best to prepare the nation's youth.
Conservation accord is progress toward much-needed Colorado River deal
Overall, the agreement represents incremental progress – but even more significant may be the much-needed spark it provides to re-energize drought contingency discussions within Arizona and across the entire Colorado River Basin.
