Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

Undeniably, one of the biggest issues of the day is how to reform our nation's health care system. It's a colossal task and one that's long overdue. The same can be said for mental health care in Maricopa County.

It doesn't take a DC insider to know that conservatives are in a battle for the soul for the Republican Party. It is a battle for the future of fiscal responsibility in America. It's a battle between the George W. Bush wing of the Republican Party and the Reagan/Goldwater conservatism that made our nation the strongest, most prosperous and freest in the world.

As a lifelong resident of Superior, I resent Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl and U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick for promoting a mine here for two foreign companies, BHP and Rio Tinto.

Some Apache hope they might get jobs from the proposed Oak Flat/Apache Leap Resolution Copper mine. They hope these British/Australian mining companies (BHP and Rio Tinto) will hire Native Americans. In fact, the "block cave" mining jobs are highly specialized and not about truck driving or picks and shovels.

The proposal to end the tribal casino monopoly and allow other businesses to own and operate casinos across Arizona should be thoughtfully considered.

During the past 34 years, nearly 10,000 infants, children and teens have received care necessary to sustain their lives. Hacienda HealthCare touches the lives of more than 1,200 developmentally disabled Arizona residents and their families. A very high percentage of our patients are medically fragile and require constant care by doctors, nurses, therapists and aides.

The article on the new bridge near Isaac Elementary School ("A call to the arts: Phoenix program unites engineers with artists," Sept. 11 issue of the Arizona Capitol Times) gives the impression to anyone who hasn't been by that west side school that all the students have a nice bridge to safely cross over a busy city street.

I recall that in a guest column ("Kyl Overlooks AZ Benefits of Stimulus," Aug. 21 edition of the Arizona Capitol Times), State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema called Sen. Jon Kyl to task for daring to criticize President Obama's stimulus bill as ineffective. She claimed that he was out of touch and that "here in Arizona, we have proof that it is working."

Recent news articles suggest that senior Navy officials are studying the idea of allowing women to serve on submarines. Have we really sunk this low in our clamor to be politically correct?

I must respond to remarks made by Rep. Rick Murphy in the June 5 edition of the Arizona Capitol Times. Murphy castigates Clean Elections as violating the First Amendment "matching funds" rights of candidates, independent groups and citizens - and says therefore it should be struck down.