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The Tea Party faction in control of the Gilbert AZ school board lost its bid for re-election.

There has been some huffing and puffing on both sides about what it might do before the new board takes control in January.

The AP Biology text is more symbol than substance.

The state of Arizona doesn't require sex education, which means that a general biology textbook is as close as a Tea Party controlled board will let students get to a serious discussion of sexual reproduction in humans, standards of sexual behavior, homosexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, contraception, abortion and so on.

Arizona law requires that districts that do offer sex ed must teach a preference for childbirth and adoption over abortion and inform students about date-rape drugs, dating violence, AIDS and other dangers.

State law requires textbooks that mention abortion to state that childbirth and adoption are preferable alternatives.

Sex ed controversies in Gilbert, Tempe an anomaly

[In Tempe, debate over a proposed two-week course in sex education] derailed when board Vice President Moses Sanchez challenged a section of the curriculum that explains birth-control devices. Sanchez asked whether an intrauterine device, or IUD, should be called an abortion method instead of a birth-control device because it works by preventing implantation of fertilized eggs.

Arizona law and board policy say a sex-ed curriculum must:

Emphasize the power of the individual to control one's own behavior.
Instruct students on how to say no to unwanted advances and peer pressure.
Teach students about the prevention of dating abuse.Stress that sexually-transmitted diseases have severe consequences.
Discuss the consequences of pregnancy.
Promote respect.
Stress abstinence until the students are mature adults.
Promote childbirth and adoption over abortion.

Instructional materials may not:

Promote a homosexual lifestyle.
Portray homosexuality as a positive alternative lifestyle.Include tests with questions about students' or their parents' beliefs regarding sex, family life, morals, values or religion.

Tempe Union High district still debating sex-ed program

The Tea Party faction in control of the Gilbert AZ school board lost its bid for re-election.

There has been some huffing and puffing on both sides about what it might do before the new board takes control in January.

The AP Biology text is more symbol than substance.

The state of Arizona doesn't require sex education, which means that a general biology textbook is as close as a Tea Party controlled board will let students get to a serious discussion of sexual reproduction in humans, standards of sexual behavior, homosexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, contraception, abortion and so on.

Arizona law requires that districts that do offer sex ed must teach a preference for childbirth and adoption over abortion and inform students about date-rape drugs, dating violence, AIDS and other dangers.

State law requires textbooks that mention abortion to state that childbirth and adoption are preferable alternatives.

Sex ed controversies in Gilbert, Tempe an anomaly

[In Tempe, debate over a proposed two-week course in sex education] derailed when board Vice President Moses Sanchez challenged a section of the curriculum that explains birth-control devices. Sanchez asked whether an intrauterine device, or IUD, should be called an abortion method instead of a birth-control device because it works by preventing implantation of fertilized eggs.

Arizona law and board policy say a sex-ed curriculum must:

Emphasize the power of the individual to control one's own behavior.
Instruct students on how to say no to unwanted advances and peer pressure.
Teach students about the prevention of dating abuse.Stress that sexually-transmitted diseases have severe consequences.
Discuss the consequences of pregnancy.
Promote respect.
Stress abstinence until the students are mature adults.
Promote childbirth and adoption over abortion.

Instructional materials may not:

Promote a homosexual lifestyle.
Portray homosexuality as a positive alternative lifestyle.Include tests with questions about students' or their parents' beliefs regarding sex, family life, morals, values or religion.

Tempe Union High district still debating sex-ed program

It may be illegal to be off-grid but there's no law against opening the main house breaker.

They'll still make it illegal because, you know, you could always turn the breaker back on. ;) They'll remove the meter, and you won't care until city officials show up and condemn your house because solar panels or no, without a grid connection you 'can't sustain a quality of life there'. Never mind that the alternative had her sleeping in her car... I'd take my house unheated over trying to sleep in my truck, even in an Alaskan winter.

WTF, do you get all your "facts" from FOX news? ...

Stuck on stupid, aren't you?

Did you see how the Obama White House pressured the Veteran's Affairs IG to water down the report on VA wait-list misconduct that resulted in deaths (Yay single-payer health care!):

A top Department of Veterans Affairs official and a White House appointee successfully pressed for changes in an inspector general's report on the Phoenix VA medical center.

According to newly released documents, the report was amended to add a finding that there was no conclusive evidence that delays in care resulted in veteran deaths.

In recent congressional testimony, acting VA Inspector General Richard Griffin adamantly denied that changes in the final report, which downplayed links between delayed care and up to 40 veteran deaths, had been "dictated" by VA headquarters.

But e-mails released Friday by the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs show that Sloan Gibson, who had been acting VA secretary, personally corresponded with Griffin in early August, asking him to amend the report.

Specifically, Gibson asked the inspector general to add findings about a Phoenix whistle-blower's claim that up to 40 veterans died awaiting care.

E-mails show White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors, appointed by President Barack Obama this summer to monitor the VA scandal, also urged the change. The e-mails also asked the OIG to share its planned "message" to the media about veterans' deaths.

Once the report was revised to include new language, records show,Assistant Inspector General John Daigh sent an e-mail to a VA administrator, asking, "Was the message on the deaths well received by leadership?"

Later, Gibson sent a note to Griffin, whom he addressed as "Griff."

"Thanks on all counts!" for changes in the Phoenix report, he wrote. "I appreciate the focus on the 40 deaths ..."

Funny, except for all those sex crimes that he left uninvestigated. http://www.azcentral.com/news/... He is big on every hot-button issue that can get him elected whether it's part of his role (actual crime) or not (immigration). He is a grandstander with an ego the size of Montana.

My only issue with PV is that I could never get my money back on them. Considering we get golf ball sized hail once every 3 to 5 year. I have had to replace my roof three times in the 15 years I have lived in my house.

Eh?
Well then.

I mean, the concern seems plausible, but is it borne out by reality? Perhaps you could *protect* your roof by installing PV panels.

THIS is why people of my political persuasion are teaching our nine-year-olds how to handle machine guns.

Good job, there.

http://www.azcentral.com/video...

The law said it was okay to steal people's labor if they had a certain skin color, once. Was the law right then? No, it violated unalienable rights, no matter what the Supreme Court of the time said. The law was morally wrong.

The law now as you interpret it says that the recent surge in children crossing the border should be met with indifference. Is it ethical to turn your back on a 6-year-old caring for a 4-year-old, send them back into violence and disease?

No. We have a humanitarian obligation to provide for the children. It comes from the General Welfare clause. How is it in the General Welfare to turn away hundreds or thousands of minors who need help?

The economic argument is simply wrong. The US is not "out of money". The Fed has proved that stimulus works for the stock market and the banks and corporations sitting on trillions. Fiscal policy can expand dramatically because, as Reagan proved, deficits don't matter. Saying that figures in a ledger book are more important than peoples' lives is to worship a golden calf. Money is a tool we invented to serve us, not the other way around.

Probably the best thing to do to mitigate this humanitarian crisis is to legalize drugs. Drug violence, caused by its illegality, is the primary cause of the children trying to get across the border. Legalize drugs and take the violence out of them.

You might actually want to look up that McCain claim as you are wrong on it.

Of course if you did that, you might appear as if you know what you are talking about. But then your racism argument falls apart until you invent something else.

Here is a hint, McCain's eligability was challenged at the same time Obama's was by a hillary supporter.

The first hint was that you posted no citation backing up your claim - are you just repeating the talking points? Here's a citation, about two people who filed lawsuits - one's an idiot who says he "just wanted to get into the mix". The other, Hollander, is a REPUBLICAN, and says he did it to forestall suits challenging McCain's legitimacy after he won the election.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/...

"Hillary supporter" - that's rich. Even if either lawsuit were filed by someone who supported Hillary Clinton, private citizens can do whatever dumb shit they want. And McCain's case is a matter of law, not of fact, and the law is ambiguous, as you would know if you had looked at it. A case could be made that McCain was ineligible. Not so with Obama.

So, no serious challenge to McCain by Democrats, years and years of racist shit by the loony right. I have to say, you certainly earned your handle with that one. Got anything better to show than I posted?

Oh, one more thing: "In 2008, the Senate passed a bill by unanimous consent declaring John McCain to be a "natural born citizen" and thus eligible to run for President. Ironically, this bill was co-sponsored by both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton."

Could you look any "dummer"?

Law changed in AZ back in 2008 where license pate frames now have to clearly show the "ARIZONA" that's on top of all of the specialty plates.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/...

...but you're right. It's a mind-blowing menagerie of custom plates out here.

Why should I need insurance to pay for a $100 bottle of anti-venom?

When I was growing up, my parents didn't have insurance. They didn't need it. They paid out of pocket. Why the fuck do you think everyone needs insurance now, asshole? Until you've been charged $83K for a bug bite, you to shut the fuck up. Obamacare didn't do a damn thing about hospitals constitutional right to commit fraud against people who will die without their $100 bottle of medicine.

Solar home for 20K per house? Closer to 30K, and only if your house happens to be conveniently situated.

You can get in for $5000, if all you want to heat is the pool or maybe some hot water.

Most of the figures you see for solar home additions are for auxiliary heat (usually for hot water), they
make no attempt to cover a house's whole electrical load. With air conditioning, that load can be
pretty high, and you never get off the grid.

There are a couple articles on this recently on AZ Central.
http://www.azcentral.com/business/consumer/articles/20130726arizona-solar-costs-high.html
and also
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2012-12-27/news/solar-eclipsed-why-the-sun-won-t-power-phoenix-despite-an-industry-boom/

This plant has at least an chance of lasting long enough to pay for itself, which, unfortunately is not
always the case with with roof top solar. The rude awakening in that industry is that the equipment
often doesn't last to the payout period.

Economies of scale, and the probability actually seeing maintenance make large installations more
efficient than rooftop solar.

Flood? [...] Tornados?

Yes. and Yes.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/05/20110105arizona-second-patient-denied-coverage-dies.html

Republican death panels at work.

You got a tank-style water heater in your basement? How often do you check the safety valve to make sure it's not going to explode? How often does the government come in and mandate that you do so?

Oh, I see, that's different because people don't get all hysterical over hot water heater explosions. http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2008/08/14/20080814kpnx-waterheater.html Never forget Thunderbird Road! Ban water heaters! Publish a list of everyone who doesn't have a modern energy-efficient tankless water heater!

Actually, theres sufficient evidence that shows they make the roads more dangerous...

And there's at least as much evidence to the contrary.

No, they are instead moving them to smaller airports

This isn't about leaving money on the table. This is about gaming the system. I walked into the Doctor's Hospital emergency room with my wife. She had an infected horsefly bite. It had turned black and was about the size of a 50 cent piece, so I was worried. I was referred to that emergency room by my boss at the time who was a surgeon. He looked at it for free. So we waited 2 hours before we were seen. Then we waited another two hours with my wife sitting on a gurney in the hall. She was given an IV drip and after running some lab tests, she was given 2 prescriptions for anti-biotics.

I'm not explaining this because I think you care. I'm explaining it because the IV, labs, and two prescriptions is what bumped us up from a 99281 - Bug Bite, to a 99284 - severe blunt trauma. We left that emergency room with two prescriptions an a $4150 bill. Thanks Dr. Edwin Hsu. And thanks Doctor's Hospital of Coral Gables. They're a non-profit ya know. That means they aren't paying taxes for treating $4K bug bites.

My wife requested an itemized bill explaining the charges twice. They said it was 'in the mail' but we never received it. The closest we ever got was the original billing statement of $80 for the labs, ~$550 for the 99284, and the rest was evidently for the use of the gurney. I called back while she was in Asia requesting the itemized bill twice again. They hid behind HIPAA despite the fact that I paid the bill and my wife had requested the information twice already. When she returned, we moved out of state, but not before we called several government answering machines seeking justice. No response their either. They just don't give a fuck.

But it could have been much worse. This is what we call health care reform in the US... $100 bottle of antivenom for $40000 at a 'non profit' hospital.

No, we have to get pictures every 12 years..

In Arizona, U.S. citizens with clean driving records don't need to renew their licenses until their 65th birthday. Drivers do need to renew their photos every 12 years,

Quoted from http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/06/14/20110614arizona-driver-license-test-failure.html

I'd say it's more of a cartel. If it was just licensing than anyone could go to city hall fill out a form and become a taxi driver. But they keep a cap on how many taxis there are. Then they have price controls on the fares to prevent competition.

You've got it backwards - the price controls are there to keep fares from rising too high, they prevent gouging. That's a danger whenever you limit competition by restricting who can perform a service. It's like how every country in the world (except the US) which allows drug companies to patent drugs also sets limits on how much the companies can charge for those drugs. It's there to prevent abuse of their monopoly.

If they removed the state granted monopoly on taxis, then they could also remove the price controls and the fare price would likely fall. The reason they don't do this is probably mostly because of the company lobbyists, but there's some good reason to believe that this scenario wouldn't work out as well as you'd hope. Just a few years ago pedicabs (bicycle taxis) were completely unregulated in New York. There were tons of them and it was rather difficult to make a living that way, particularly if you weren't a very good salesman: the largest pedicab company in the city was (still is) run by a turkish man who would bring in people from turkey on a three month visa with the promise that they would be able to pay their way, and pay their way back home, as pedicab drivers. Since their English wasn't very good in general they had a lot of trouble getting rides, they would fall deeper and deeper into debt since there was no other way (legal way) for them to make money here and no way to get back home, etc. Just a bad scenario.

Anyway, the point is that they limit the number of cabs in order to keep rates high enough that drivers can make a living wage, and they restrict what the cabs can charge in order to keep the drivers from gouging people. It's not ideal, but a simple solution based on ideals rather than facts is not going to improve the situation.

There's a lot of drivel there that doesn't deserve comment ("very few decent places to eat"? are you old or broke?), but this is ridiculous:

It's been rated by several places as the worst city in America to drive in, mainly because it's so chaotic and because there's no consistent driving style (the frequent road-rage shootings don't help).

What's the problem, does the square NS-EW street grid confuse you? You're going to need to back up that claim, because Phoenix is nowhere near the worst cities to drive in:

http://fillmyemptyblogspace.com/2010/12/24/10-worst-american-cities-to-drive-in/
http://www.businessinsider.com/cities-with-most-car-crashes-2010-10?op=1
http://autos.yahoo.com/news/15-dangerous-cities-for-driving.html
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/05/22/going-nowhere-10-worst-u-s-cities-for-traffic/

In fact, if you look closely, you can see Chandler listed by Allstate as one of the safest cities to drive in.

violent home invasions are common

Define "common". The police claimed that for 2008 there were "over 300" home invasions and kidnappings (fewer than 1 per day, in an area with 4.2 million people), and that claim was investigated by the feds to see if it was exaggerated to get more funding:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2011/01/26/20110126phoenix-crime-stats-federal-audit.html

You can't bicycle here (one of my favorite outdoor activities) because of the heat most of the year

People bike here year round, Facebook posts from other people doing just that are proof. You choose not to, that doesn't mean other people don't do it also. There are people enjoying the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, Dreamy Draw, and South Mountain year round.

They used to have Mill Avenue in Tempe that was kinda fun to walk along, which used to have a bunch of quirky little independent shops, but the Tempe government drove all those out of business to make room for a bunch of mall stores and high-rises, which of course went south when the economy crashed, so most of the place is boarded up now.

Really? The main recreational area next to the largest university by enrollment in the country is boarded up now, huh? That's weird.

This place sucks, and I can't wait to move out in a couple of months.

Neither can I. Let me know if you need help leaving.

Above all: I realize we are all participating in a thought exercise in the comments today. My thoughts are with the people harmed in this incident and their families.

Now...
Can we please begin blaming the perpetrator and NOT the tool they used to commit their crimes?

Can we craft laws that give family members the ability to report troubling behavior to authorities, possibly forcing a doctors' consultation? How is it that in the U.S., you can be jailed and forced to take treatment for Tuberculosis, but persons who walk around month after month, year after year exhibiting a dozen classical red flags for behavioral illness are left to their own devices? - Maybe they'll never harm anyone. Maybe they'll shoot up a movie theater.

Please stop blaming guns. Where are all the guns in Western Europe, where Britain has a violent crime rate higher than the United States, or for that matter even South Africa?

SOURCE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196941/The-violent-country-Europe-Britain-worse-South-Africa-U-S.html
SOURCE: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/696036-britain-more-violent-than-us-and-europe

10 killed - 63 seriously injured - CLEARLY we need a background check and 30 day waiting period to buy AUTOMOBILES. What happens when a tragedy like this is intentional and not an accident? What could a sick person do with a Chevy Suburban in a crowded parking lot?

SOURCE: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,222924,00.html
SOURCE: http://articles.cnn.com/2004-01-05/justice/farmer.market.crash_1_movsha-hoffman-molok-ghoulian-brendon-esfahani?_s=PM:LAW

I'd rather gamble my life rushing a gunman to grapple their weapon away. The Tueller Drill / 21 Foot Rule says I'd probably win:
SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tueller_Drill
SOURCE: http://www.policeone.com/edged-weapons/articles/102828-Edged-Weapon-Defense-Is-or-was-the-21-foot-rule-valid-Part-1/

According to a number of sources, gunshot wounds - with access to medical treatment - are survivable nearly 95% of the time. Fate is cruel; survivability has everything to do with where you are shot and what is damaged internally.

SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/nyregion/03shot.html?_r=1

This just in!
Another human being can pick a fight with you, or sucker punch you in the head, AND KILL YOU BARE HANDED.

SOURCE: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Man__bleeding_in_brain__after_club_fracas-139265238.html
SOURCE: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/02/27/20120227california-girl-dies-after-fight.html
SOURCE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9PoXH_-tUE
SOURCE: http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2011/04/teen-killed-in-fistfight-near.html/
SOURCE: http://abcnews.go.com/US/TheLaw/fist-fight-left-miami-tourist-dead-caught-video/story?id=11445914#.UAnc_oa-zUY
SOURCE:

At present the injunction banning enforcement of this law is still in place.

Other legal challenges are expected so it is unknown if/when enforcement will begin.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/2012/06/03/20120603arizona-immigration-law-supreme-court-opinion.html

In addition the DHS is terminating it's partnership relationship with various Az police organizations which will effectively make enforcement impossible.

More than you, apparently:

http://azstarnet.com/news/blogs/senor-reporter/emissions-tests-required-in-mexico-but-not-catalytic-converters/article_330c6e04-1f92-11e1-a900-001871e3ce6c.html
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/04/11/20110411arizona-mexico-truck-pollution-regulation.html
http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/04/us-pays-to-put-catalytic-converters-on.html

If your idea of a weekend's recreation is to go to a bar, get drunk, and get into a frontier fight, yes, if you kill somebody with an unlucky punch and you can't establish self-defense, you might be convicted of homicide or murder, in Australia or the civilized parts of America. That's what homicide is.

You made the point that unarmed people had been shot and that you didn't consider it self defense if someone else used a gun. You consistently want to avoid the implications of your arguments. For many people a gun a reasonable tool to defend themselves from an attacker, even an unarmed one.

The reason stand your ground laws have so much support is because they are just. Self defense is an inalienable right.

Why is the TSA whose mandate is to keep aircraft safe looking for drugs?

Having a joint is of no threat to the aircraft and they shouldn't be wasting their time.

If you factor out the super-loyal Toyota Prius buyers, ...

Simple translation:

"if you factor out the hybrid car which actually delivers its estimated EPA to its buyers...

The government needs to come down on these manufacturers harder with respect to their fakey-fake estimated EPA numbers. I have driven a Prius and I can tell you it gets 50 MPG just like it says it does if you simply refrain from driving like a 16 year old.

Honda's claims for their hybrids, on the other hand, are lawsuit worthy:

http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2012/02/01/20120201woman-wins-suit-honda-hybrid-mpg.html

And if you RTFA on the website of the "researchers" , you have to wonder if they included in those "hybrid" owners people who bought "flex-fuel" vehicles, which are are pretty useless according to owner's I've talked to (they just allow you to use ethanol if you can find it) .

Finally the research on the reasercher's own site is opaque. It doesn't specify the study's methods were, what questions they asked , To whom they were asked and how those people were selected, what constitutes "a hybrid" or what even what their raw data was. It's just a results table.

Results without methods tells us nothing except what the "researcher" wants us to hear. Sorry, I am not sure this is even news or newsworthy as opposed to some propaganda piece designed to be put into some lobbyist firm or senator's mouth at some televised hearing or debate on whether Americans want hybrids or EVs or even cares about fuel efficiency.

Not to be pedantic: The State of Arizona had little to do with one school district canceling Mexican-American studies. That was a course taught at a few schools in Tucson, and the school district shut it down. There are reasonable arguments both ways on that call.

Huh? You are completely wrong. Maybe you are trolling and this is meant to be "meta", but here are the actual facts.

It was a popular Tucson program that was ruined by Republican state lawmakers from outside Tucson. There was a state law passed that specifically targeted Mexican-American studies at TUSD. You can read more here. There were 1400 kids in Mexican American studies in Tucson before the state started targeting it. The state threatened to withhold 10% of TUSD's budget - millions of dollars for a cash-strapped school district - unless they cancelled Mexican American studies. TUSD appealed the decision and lost a court case, and only then voted to end the program.

An audit the state commissioned found that the program was successful and not illegal, but the Republicans ignored their own audit and insisted the program was illegal.

but I thought he had actually just come from Mexico

Tempe Arizona to San Diego.

Speaking of green jobs; since the recession began I have heard many politicians and pundits say something along the line of "Our district will create jobs and prosperity by leading in the green business revolution"

How has that worked out? I think that our politicians are under some assumption that no other country in the world has engineers working on this problem. That China will sit idly by as we make efficient and lucrative clean energy products. The fact is that we cannot become proffitable just by changing industries, we need a climate where businesses are able to to succeed in any industry. We need less regulation, more efficient regulation (ie; less paperwork for compliance), and more efficient taxation. We also could do with a little tort reform and maybe some tarrif reform mixed in there.

If politicians (many of whom are lawyers and assume people like filling out pages and pages of EPA forms) took one minute to realise negative impact of the procedural overhead caused by all of these convoluted and redundant regulations perhaps we would have a chance at a business revolution. Many of these agencies use violations of these regulations as a revenue gathering device, this only serves to discourage business expansion and job creation.

To recap, I am not saying that we need to kill all business regulation, but we need to cut it down to the point where any person of average intelligence could understand them and reach compliance easily while still having time left in the day to run a business. Same general thought applies to tax law.

But don't underestimate the psychological barrier that merely being told "you can't quit" amounts to when you're already in a situation of powerlessness.

Here's another good example of the same phenomenon -- in this case, the people who were told "you can't quit" bravely stayed in the game until they earned their own Darwin award.

People who criticize Zimbardo's experiment on the grounds that it was 'unscientific' or 'unethical' are missing the whole point. It may have been both unscientific and unethical, but it damned sure wasn't irreproducible.

before you become excitedly aware of the stupidity in arizona realize first that arizona is the home of...

open carry gun laws, for any of the numerous allowable gun types including assault rifles
recently, no more permits to conceal a weapon (careful when you google this, you will probably find outdated info)
legalized fully-automatic assault rifles for weapons made before 1986 (at least you have to register these!)
driver licenses that don't expire for 36 years, after which a mail-in renewal (read: no new testing) will have you looking 16 again at 52 yrs young
renegade sheriff Arpaio who feels like he is immune to federal investigation
average summer heat waves of 110 F (think what this does to your brain and your car, and both at the same time)
highest rate of methamphetamine use in the country

... and of cultural significance, no ports of entry via sea

hopefully, knowing what is par for the arizona course helps put the article's issue into perspective.

Everyone on slashdot under 30 is having a crisis right now, having never seen such a thing. Many under 20 have probably never even heard of a record player.. OMFG how does it make sound without electricity?!?!?! Ahhhhhh.

The interesting thing is that this isn't necessarily true. In 2010 sales of vinyl records reached their highest level since 1991, and grew by 14% last year, while overall industry sales were down 13%. You can buy turntables and LPs in youth-focused places like Urban Outfitters, and club and party DJs are far more likely than 6 or 7 years ago to have actual vinyl on their decks rather than just a couple of CD players and a laptop. An American 20-year-old today is, strangely, more likely to own a turntable than is a 35-year-old, who came of age in the 1990s, when LPs were supposed to be a dead form.

And it makes sense, in a way. We're in a post-physical era, in which most people don't see a lot of point to owning your music in a physical format. So owning physical music is a luxury, a quirk, even an affectation. In that case, why not vinyl? It has bigger cover art, more space for liner notes -- if you're going to do something unnecessary like purchase physical music, why not get the package that most highlights the advantages of consuming music in a meatspace package?

In the 1990s there were endless arguments about the "fidelity" of CDs vs. the "warmth" of vinyl. At this point people are so conditioned to listening 192 Kbps mp3s on their crappy iPod earbuds that the sound quality arguments sound quaint, and the advantages of CDs seem a lot less relevant. Vinyl certainly sounds better than an mp3 on an iPod. So why not?

Arizona resident here. Downtown Phoenix, no less, about eight blocks from the capitol.

I don't know WTF this has to do with news for nerds, but I'll bite.

Looks like we are becoming the new Floriduh here. Some of the bad attention is well deserved. Some of it not.

Maybe if they had not given that huge tax break to University of Phoenix, they would not have to do stuff like this;

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2011/04/04/Arizona-Legislature-OKs-tax-break.html

Also, I would be negligent if I didn't point out that republicans here went and made their own FUD true: Death panels!

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/12/09/20101209Montini1209.html

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/02/25/20110225montini0225.html

Arizona resident here. Downtown Phoenix, no less, about eight blocks from the capitol.

I don't know WTF this has to do with news for nerds, but I'll bite.

Looks like we are becoming the new Floriduh here. Some of the bad attention is well deserved. Some of it not.

Maybe if they had not given that huge tax break to University of Phoenix, they would not have to do stuff like this;

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2011/04/04/Arizona-Legislature-OKs-tax-break.html

Also, I would be negligent if I didn't point out that republicans here went and made their own FUD true: Death panels!

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/12/09/20101209Montini1209.html

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/02/25/20110225montini0225.html

They think that this is a good idea because showing up in crowded areas and making a disturbance is an excellent way to remain anonymous.

Your post seems to suggest that Anonymous is smart enough to not show up in person, and that HBGary is only using this as a scapegoat. You seem to think that Anonymous is logical and believes that staying online is the best course of action to preserve their anonymity.

I think you have some reading to do.

Of course abuse is, in principle, no more or less horrific than stabbing or shooting. While the later is unlikely to walk the street again, I suspect the former will be out in 10 years, free to attempt to murder another child.

Among the issues here in the valley(registration may be required):

Mesa has spent $100,000 this year replacing wiring in parks and rec areas.

These idiots were caught stealing from a home, among other things, wiring. Vacant homes get stripped regularly, taking even the internal wiring.

And there was a story this spring of a daycare center that shut down for a daty because their windoww-mount air conditioner was stolen. These get sold as salvage for the copper coils.

Despite having to sign for stuff, the thieves are doing well. And it's not a problem of illegal immigrants stealing copper to feed their familes - plenty of regular everyday residents are in on this. This moron got caught stealing the wire out of freeway lights. Nice.

I'm not hopeful that we'll see any letup in this here. More homes going empty. Not enough jobs returning. Scrap dealers can't do much more.

Land of opportunity, baby!

Like all modern journalism sources, Slashdot isn't very useful for the official writing in the articles, what's useful is the comments (which of course you have to wade through to find interesting info).

It's like that for my own hometown paper, the Arizona Repugnant. The articles are horribly biased, missing obviously-needed information, etc., but it's worth reading the website (not the paper version) for the comments, where you'll sometimes find the real story.

Decided not to moderate and simply prove you wrong. One idiot making stupid comments doesn't mean the tea party are racists as a group no more than some leftist anarchist looting stores makes all liberals into whackjobs. Frankly, I call anyone who says otherwise a racist themselves.

http://www.bvblackspin.com/2010/04/15/black-tea-party-member/
http://www.theroot.com/views/black-tea-partiers-speak
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/09/black_tea_party_express_tour_t.html
http://www.theroot.com/views/should-black-folks-give-tea-party-second-look?page=0,1&hpid=topnews
http://www.theroot.com/views/who-you-callin-uncle-tom
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2009/08/17/20090817obama-scene.html (this is the article that MSNBC cut apart to show gun-toting crazies at tea party rallies - except that it was a black man carrying that weapon freely and nobody thought he was a danger, kinda shoots your theory down doesn't it?)

Certain groups are terrified of what the Tea Party stands for, and they've played the race card in order to try and stop it. The fact that you believe it and espouse this shit means you're just a mindless patsy that can't think for yourself.

Kind of? More like supremely...

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/08/22/20080822grammarcops0822.html

On March 28, while at Desert View Watchtower on the South Rim, they used a white-out product and a permanent marker to deface a sign painted more than 60 years ago by artist Mary Colter. The sign, a National Historic Landmark, was considered unique and irreplaceable, according to Sandy Raynor, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix.

"Please dont display US propaganda as being real." O Rly?
http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/0822gunsketch22-on.html - Student suspended for sketching gun

http://www.crystalair.com/story.php?id=200912008 - Boy Suspended For Drawing Jesus Shooting Santa With Gun

http://guyism.com/2010/03/kindergarten-student-suspended-for-making-gun-with-fingers.html

http://guyism.com/2010/02/fourth-grader-punished-for-2-inch-lego-gun.html

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=12519 - The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal filed on behalf of a New Jersey boy suspended from school almost four years ago after a playground game of cops and robbers.

Once these are bred in large numbers they can be released and will push the normal mosquitoes out by sheer numbers. If we are really lucky and this is a dominant gene, we can release them and they will gradually spread the trait through the wild population.

The limiting characteristic is dominance of the gene, without it the malaria strain can be reduced but not eliminated in the wild. The intent to place the gene in the wild is mentioned in the Arizona Republic article, and by the BBC.

Now compare that with the number of special needs kids and higher insurance costs for schools.

Now compare state to state, I grew up in Vermont so I'll put it against say North Carolina which is still better than Arizona. With such a disparate range of spending I don't see how you can make your statement with a straight face. Even in VT they've been cutting spending removing sports and music and paying teachers less which meant forcing out older teachers to make room for cheaper younger teachers.

Hell, here in Arizona the problem is probably the worst as they've cut lots of teaching positions. They are even cutting Kindergarten. The cuts don't end there.

The article didn't make it clear... The largest loan was to the spanish company to build a solar plant in AZ, that is in fact thermal solar and it will be the largest trial of hot sodium storage so it can produce after dark until the end of the normal daily peak around here. Obviously the local press has a bit better coverage of the details: http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2010/07/03/20100703biz-abengoa0704-ONL.html As to your main contention, each style of solar has it's place, reducing demand from the grid will be less efficient but won't require expansion of transmission infrastructure, especially if it can be done during the peak demand times.

You may have overestimated the problem, here. While it's true that not everybody has a garage in America, there are simple solutions for most people. For the apartment dwellers, they probably park in a parking lot of some sort. The apartment complex can provide (metered) charging stations there. Some employers already provide electric vehicle charging stations. If EVs become more popular, they'll likely add more.

Coulomb Technologies is installing charging stations in the streetlights in San Jose, CA:
http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2010/05/13/20100513arizona-companies-charge-charging-electric-cars.html

Not everyone will be able to switch over to electric cars all at once, but that's okay. We don't have the capacity to make them or charge them set up, anyway. One great thing about EVs is that the charging stations are incredibly cheap compared to what it costs to build and operate a gas station. You could put an EV charging station on every street corner of a small city for less than the cost of a single gas station.

"Further, the bill contained language that specifically says state and local law-enforcement officers "may not solely consider race, color or national origin" in implementing the law "except to the extent permitted by the United States or Arizona Constitution."" ""There is absolutely nothing in the bill that could be construed as legitimizing racial profiling," Kobach said. "On the contrary, such profiling is prohibited."" http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/04/25/20100425immigration-bill-jan-brewer-arizona.html

There are a couple key points here that are missed without context that essentially everyone is missing it.
Maricopa Counties Sheriff has been on a 'arrest all the mexicans!' bender for some time; he's currently under investigation by DOJ for a variety of things, including civil rights violations, racial profiling, using department resources to wage war on political rivals/basically anyone who disagrees with him and this in turn caused ICE to strip him of his authority to arrest illegal immigrants (By federal law, only ICE has this authority).

So the response? Okay we'll make a state law and make it sufficiently vague that we are essentially legitimizing his practices (a prior quote of his was telling AZ citizens to arrest any mexican they saw driving with a cracked windshield [horrible advice, citizens arrests are just asking for lawsuits/charges]).
Some interesting reading:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/08/politics/main6071928.shtml - Sherrif Joe Arpaio Facing Investigation

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/16/AR2008071602636.html - Ariz. Sheriff Accused Of Racial Profiling

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/03/15/20090315arpaio-politics0315.html - Feds' new tone puts Arpaio in hot seat

http://www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights/sheriff-arpaio-sued-over-racial-profiling-latinos-maricopa-county - Sheriff Arpaio Sued Over Racial Profiling Of Latinos In Maricopa County

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arpaio - series of articles concerning the sheriff's activities .. like 15 years worth.

http://crooksandliars.com/logan-murphy/ice-strips-sheriff-joe-arpaio-immigra - ICE Strips Sheriff Joe Arpaio Of Immigration Enforcement Powers

et cetera, just hit google.

Also, while you're correct that the feds have the ability to throw up checkpoints, its *supposed* to only be legal within 100 miles of an international border; although in practice they just do what they want anyways. (i.e. on a bus trip from Seattle to Phoenix the bus was stopped by ICE in far northern Utah, everyone white was allowed off without much of a question, everyone who appeared mexican was in turn given the 'royal treatment')

Let's see. His treatment of prisoners has been ruled unconstitutional on multiple occasions. He has raided an office of his own county without a warrant of any kind in order to seize emails that are to be used against him in court. His destruction of records has netted him a contempt sanction, and the FBI is investigating him for civil rights violations, intimidation of witnesses, etc.

These aren't idle accusations. They're at least serious enough to get the justice department involved. Even judges aren't immune from this mans corruption.