POLITICS

October 20, 2004

THE PINK POODLE AWARD

Announcing the First Pink Poodle Award; given to those organizations who display wanton disregard for the well being of the public. Awarded to companies whose mission should be that of the public watchdog, but whose efforts have fallen far short - to salaciously sedated lapdog status.

Unlike a watchdog who is standing guard over the public trust, the Tucson Media is content to be silenced by the prostitution of the advertising dollar. They suborn their status to that of a fat French poodle who does not even need to bark, let alone bite. Afraid of hurting advertising sales they don't cover dissent against those who spend with them.

One used to be able to rely on the media to cover stories which impact the community. Reporters used to dig for stories on their own. Now, owned by major conglomerates that have their own political ax to grind, (Sinclair, Rupert Murdoch etc.) reporters are turned in to nothing more than news readers. Profits and the bottom line are the most important factors in covering events. The media watchdog has lost its edge. They don't inquire, they don't investigate. Like a media cow, they regurgitate what they are fed. They are the quintessential lapdogs of journalism.

GRAND PRIZE - KVOA Channel 4*
FIRST PRIZE - Fox 11
KGUN 9
KOLD 13
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson Citizen
Tucson Weekly

* KVOA's News crew passed us twice during our protest and while they stared not once did they stop to ask questions. Has a frontal lobotomy taken out their natural inquisitiveness? Or was the fact that KVOA was a media sponsor of the SAHBA Home Show the overriding factor in coverage? Fox 11 news crew also passed us by. We'll report the hypocrisy, you decide.

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October 18, 2004

In essence SAHBA is nothing more than greedy white rich business owners that want protection against the consumer. They call themselves an association but in reality they are nothing more than a union. Of course that's a bad word to this association - unions are associated with Democratic principles - an association - now that sounds Republican.

SAHBA insulates themselves from the consumer by achieving SUPER-PAC status and pooling money to donate to legislative initiatives and candidates. SAHBA's contributions to political coffers, buys them influence in the city councils , to the Arizona Registrar of Contractors to the Arizona State House. and all the way up to the Governor. Not content with just pushing legislation, SAHBA also develops a slate of "pro-builder" candidates for each election that have the builder/developer interest at heart. The consumer isn't ever in the election equation.

Pushing for a voice for the consumer is one of the reasons we protested the SAHBA Home Show this past weekend. Over all our protest at the TCC was uneventful. The most exciting event to happen, was a surplus Army Troop Truck decked out in Bush/Cheney paraphanalia. The only things missing from the truck, were a replica of Betty Crocker baking a fresh apple pie laced with Jesus juice, and a picture of Christ manning a 50 caliber machine gun and saying "Hey Boys! Follow me!" Was this truck there just by chance? Or did a SAHBA member sponsor it? If someone knows the answer they can contact us via one of Geroge W. Bush's "Internets."

In the next few weeks our national political commentary will appear on this page. As has been said before, "All politics are local." The presidential election this year, perhaps more than any other in history, will shape everything from the state of our environment all the way to the make up of the supreme court. Never before has our vote meant so much - never before have we as a people been more divided.

So much for Compassionate Conservatism - instead they display such bravado. Why is it that one member of the team was hiding out in Alabama when he had his chance to be a warrior and his side-kick took five deferments rather than serve because he had "other priorities?" Neither one however, will hesitate to send your son or daughter to war. (Unless of course you happen to be really rich) Instead of real solutions to problems they won't even admit they have, Bush/Cheney pander to fear, 9/11, and all the security moms. They should be ashamed at such a vulgar display.

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