http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/category/analysis analysis news from TucsonSentinel.com - Tucson's independent nonprofit online news en Copyright 2012 2012-05-21T07:23:05+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051812_rubio_immigration_op/bill-raises-questions-rubios-immigration-positions/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051812_rubio_immigration_op/bill-raises-questions-rubios-immigration-positions/ 17:59:00Z Marshall Fitz Immigration advocates were surprised this week when the Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill that was not his promised DREAM Act-like proposal, but rather a bill that attacks “blameless” low-income American children. 2012-05-18T17:59:26+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051812_scotus/how-supreme-court-ruined-your-childs-civics-education/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051812_scotus/how-supreme-court-ruined-your-childs-civics-education/ 14:10:00Z Jimmy Zuma You might be shocked to learn what your child believes about free speech. 2012-05-18T14:10:04+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051712_middle_class_op/middle-class-income-inequality-and-strength-our-economy/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051712_middle_class_op/middle-class-income-inequality-and-strength-our-economy/ 17:50:00Z Heather Boushey For most economists, the concepts of “middle class” or even inequality have not had a prominent place in our thinking about how an economy grows. But that is beginning to change. 2012-05-17T17:50:08+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051512_acs_gop_op/killing-community-survey-bad-govt-and-business/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051512_acs_gop_op/killing-community-survey-bad-govt-and-business/ 17:21:00Z Kristina Costa Last week’s House vote to end the American Community Survey defied the advice of conservative think tank experts, the interests of the business community, and, most critically, common sense. 2012-05-15T17:21:21+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/051512_romney_gay_marriage/do-most-americans-agree-with-romney-gay-marraige/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/051512_romney_gay_marriage/do-most-americans-agree-with-romney-gay-marraige/ 17:10:00Z Eugene Kiely The Republican party chairman claims “most Americans” agree with Mitt Romney “that marriage ought to be defined between one man and one woman.” Americans are closely divided on the issue. 2012-05-15T17:10:00+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051412_population_op/on-population-us-remains-full-denial-mode/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051412_population_op/on-population-us-remains-full-denial-mode/ 18:33:00Z Craig Gurian Of all the fantasies indulged in by a society speeding toward self-destruction, none is as consequential as the idea that continuing growth — both in population and size of our economy — has a happy-ever-after ending.  Yet, when overpopulation is discussed at all, it is discussed as a problem limited to the developing world. 2012-05-14T18:33:52+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051412_palin_death_panel/palins-death-panel-rhetoric-torpedoed-medicare-savings/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051412_palin_death_panel/palins-death-panel-rhetoric-torpedoed-medicare-savings/ 18:02:00Z Wendell Potter We’ll be hearing a lot from politicians this summer and fall about the urgency of dealing with Medicare spending. If we’re fortunate, some courageous candidates will call for renewed debate on a provision of the health care reform bill that had once enjoyed bipartisan support. 2012-05-14T18:02:07+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051412_military_pay_op/top-10-things-know-military-compensation/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051412_military_pay_op/top-10-things-know-military-compensation/ 17:51:00Z Lawrence J. Korb The Pentagon’s personnel budget is composed of three major items: pay, retirement, and health care. These costs have nearly doubled in the past 10 years and now consume one-third of the baseline defense budget. If they continue growing, these costs will begin to divert funds from other critical national security initiatives such as training and modernization. 2012-05-14T17:51:26+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/051412_chamber_health_care/us-chamber-continues-mislead-health-care-law/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/051412_chamber_health_care/us-chamber-continues-mislead-health-care-law/ 17:07:00Z D'Angelo Gore The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s latest onslaught of television ads continues to miseducate voters about the potential impact of the health care law. 2012-05-14T17:07:58+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051112_reagan/charting-rise-stupidity/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/051112_reagan/charting-rise-stupidity/ 12:18:00Z Jimmy Zuma Smart v. Stupid: As America grapples with a long-term decline, we have only Ronald Reagan to blame. 2012-05-11T12:18:52+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/051012_romney_hrc_factcheck/romneys-gross-exaggeration-obamacare/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/051012_romney_hrc_factcheck/romneys-gross-exaggeration-obamacare/ 19:40:00Z Eugene Kiely Mitt Romney claims government will “constitute … almost 50 percent” of the U.S. economy when the new federal health care law takes full effect. That’s nonsense. 2012-05-10T19:40:59+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/050712_rubio_immigration/sen-rubios-immigration-plan-under-inspection/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/050712_rubio_immigration/sen-rubios-immigration-plan-under-inspection/ 17:04:00Z Marshall Fitz U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s plan to introduce a bill to provide legal status—but not citizenship—for undocumented youth ran into an obstacle when Speaker Boehner announced that such a proposal would not pass his chamber. 2012-05-07T17:04:14+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/050712_hc_quick_fix_potter/false-quick-fixes-american-health-care/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/050712_hc_quick_fix_potter/false-quick-fixes-american-health-care/ 16:36:00Z Wendell Potter You’ve heard it before. Let’s deep-six ObamaCare and replace it with sure-fire free-market solutions: tort reform, allow insurance to be sold across state lines and encourage people to set up health savings accounts. Here’s the problem: there is mounting evidence that all three of these strategies not only are ineffective but may actually be making matters worse. 2012-05-07T16:36:50+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/050412_obama_romney_medicare/qa-obama-vs-ryan-controlling-medicare-spending/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/050412_obama_romney_medicare/qa-obama-vs-ryan-controlling-medicare-spending/ 18:05:00Z Marilyn Werber Serafini Looking at Paul Ryan and Barack Obama’s plans in detail shows that practical effects are likely to be very different when it comes to restraining federal spending and impact on seniors. 2012-05-04T18:05:27+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/050412_stimulus_jobs/stimulus-money-jobs-overseas/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/050412_stimulus_jobs/stimulus-money-jobs-overseas/ 17:50:00Z Robert Farley An ad from the conservative Americans for Prosperity distorts the truth about stimulus money for “green jobs” going overseas. The ad, titled “Wasteful Spending,” introduces some new wrinkles to this well-used line of attack. 2012-05-04T17:50:49+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/050312_jjt_ready/the-ignoble-death-arizona-racist-jt-ready/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/050312_jjt_ready/the-ignoble-death-arizona-racist-jt-ready/ 21:45:00Z Jimmy Zuma Last week I offered Russell Pearce’s anti-Mexican jihad as an example of the kind of overt racism that is no longer tolerated in politics. Now just a few days later we learn that J.T. Ready, Arizona’s leading white supremacist, appears to have committed a murder-suicide. 2012-05-03T21:45:18+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/043012_taxes_press/taxmageddon-no-just-reprise-giving-hostage-takers/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/043012_taxes_press/taxmageddon-no-just-reprise-giving-hostage-takers/ 18:20:00Z Craig Gurian Despite a Times story that features the potential impact on the middle class — look, we’re all in this together — it is entirely clear that no one is looking to raise taxes on the middle class. What is at issue, just as it was in 2010, is whether the era of enormous tax cuts for the wealthy will continue. 2012-04-30T18:20:19+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/043012_health_insurance_rebates/putting-our-premiums-into-medical-care-not-profits/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/043012_health_insurance_rebates/putting-our-premiums-into-medical-care-not-profits/ 16:58:00Z Wendell Potter The Rockefeller provision of President Obama’s health care reform law will require consumer rebates from insurers who didn’t spend enough on care. 2012-04-30T16:58:03+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/042712_latino_ed/latino-education-gap-threatens-azs-economic-future/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/042712_latino_ed/latino-education-gap-threatens-azs-economic-future/ 16:44:00Z Morrison Institute New data and projections point to a future fiscal and economic crisis for Arizona unless the state’s Latino educational attainment gap is addressed in a concerted and sustained manner, according to a report released Friday. 2012-04-27T16:44:56+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/042712_liberalism_think_again/how-classical-liberalism-morphed-into-new-deal-liberalism/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/042712_liberalism_think_again/how-classical-liberalism-morphed-into-new-deal-liberalism/ 14:42:00Z Eric Alterman The path of American political thought, from Teddy to Franklin: “For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world.” 2012-04-27T14:42:17+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/042612_college_costs/college-costs-will-soar-if-student-loan-interest-allowed-double/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/042612_college_costs/college-costs-will-soar-if-student-loan-interest-allowed-double/ 17:00:00Z Jennifer Mishory Interest rates on student loans are set to double in July if Congress fails to act. At a time when tuition is rising at 8.3 percent a year and median wages for young people are falling, young Americans and their families can ill afford more Washington inaction. 2012-04-26T17:00:57+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/042512_mexico_immg_op/mexican-migration-down-now-what/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/042512_mexico_immg_op/mexican-migration-down-now-what/ 16:12:00Z Dan Wagener Let’s get serious about resolving the status of our undocumented population. 2012-04-25T16:12:51+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/042312_sb1070_scotus/primer-sb-1070-heads-supreme-court-this-week/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/042312_sb1070_scotus/primer-sb-1070-heads-supreme-court-this-week/ 19:17:00Z Marshall Fitz The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this week in State of Arizona v. United States, which challenges the authority of a state to enact its own immigration enforcement laws. 2012-04-23T19:17:12+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/042012_bible_bill_op/a-peek-between-pages-bible-bill/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/042012_bible_bill_op/a-peek-between-pages-bible-bill/ 17:41:00Z Ed Perkins You’d think lawmakers and the governor are tiring of controversy as they approach the end of this year’s legislative session. But in what is widely seen as a contentious move in secular society, Brewer signed a measure allowing schools to offer a high school course on the Bible’s influence on Western culture. 2012-04-20T17:41:39+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/041912_nugent_ammo/ted-nugents-dirty-little-secret/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/041912_nugent_ammo/ted-nugents-dirty-little-secret/ 22:46:00Z Jimmy Zuma Smart v. Stupid: Ted Nugent sounds crazy—until you understand who he’s working for. He has a very important reason to get himself in the news; he’s launching his own line of Ted Nugent brand ammunition. 2012-04-19T22:46:22+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/041612_obama_americas_op/cuba-policy-costs-obama-summit-americas/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/041612_obama_americas_op/cuba-policy-costs-obama-summit-americas/ 16:04:00Z Nick Miroff Forget the horny Secret Service agents and their Colombian hookers. It was U.S. diplomacy that really got screwed at this weekend’s Summit of the Americas in Cartagena. 2012-04-16T16:04:41+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/041312_communities_of_color/minorities-still-feeling-pain-3-years-into-economic-recovery/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/041312_communities_of_color/minorities-still-feeling-pain-3-years-into-economic-recovery/ 18:46:00Z Christian E. Weller Minorities are less likely than their white counterparts to enjoy the opportunities that come from having a good job, owning a home and having a financial safety cushion. 2012-04-13T18:46:34+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/041112_budget_lgbt_op/the-federal-budget-and-gay-and-transgender-families/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/041112_budget_lgbt_op/the-federal-budget-and-gay-and-transgender-families/ 18:02:00Z Crosby Burns House Republicans last week passed House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s proposed budget, which would shred the safety net for gay and transgender families to tatters. 2012-04-11T18:02:34+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/040312_gop_women/house-gop-opens-new-front-war-women/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/040312_gop_women/house-gop-opens-new-front-war-women/ 20:26:00Z Katie Wright House Republicans have made it clear that they aren’t finished with their war on women. Now they’ve leveled an attack on women’s economic security. 2012-04-03T20:26:28+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/040212_scotus_potter/scalias-jokes-mask-grim-reality-american-health-care/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/040212_scotus_potter/scalias-jokes-mask-grim-reality-american-health-care/ 19:40:00Z Wendell Potter The Supreme Court Justices might take a lesson from “The Hunger Games” when deciding on ObamaCare. 2012-04-02T19:40:36+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/033012_merit_system_op/gutting-states-merit-system-return-boss-tweed/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/033012_merit_system_op/gutting-states-merit-system-return-boss-tweed/ 16:21:00Z Ed Perkins There is little doubt that the public would benefit from a modernized state personnel system that yielded more capable employees. But critics of Gov. Brewer’s proposed overhaul worry that reliance on private-sector tactics will backfire and re-invite cronyism — something the current system was designed to prevent. 2012-03-30T16:21:53+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/032912_rubio_endorsement/marco-rubio-gop-make-pain-stop/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/032912_rubio_endorsement/marco-rubio-gop-make-pain-stop/ 07:01:00Z Jimmy Zuma The Republican primary is killing any GOP chance to win the presidency. Marco Rubio wants to stop the madness. 2012-03-30T07:01:48+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/032912_media_money_op/money-talks-media-walks/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/032912_media_money_op/money-talks-media-walks/ 19:56:00Z Eric Alterman Three related phenomena are today combining to strangle American democracy: Economic inequality, floodgates that have opened to the influence of outsized wealth — and the media’s failure to put these changes at the center of their election narrative. 2012-03-29T19:56:12+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/032712_supremes_health_care_tues/supreme-court-grills-administration-health-care-reform/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/032712_supremes_health_care_tues/supreme-court-grills-administration-health-care-reform/ 18:25:00Z Kaiser Health News The second day of the historic Supreme Court hearings on the health reform law focused on these questions: Does Congress have the power to require Americans to purchase health insurance? Is the individual mandate constitutional? (with video) 2012-03-27T18:25:37+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/032712_supremes_health_care_guide/health-care-reform-your-supreme-court-guide-day-1/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/032712_supremes_health_care_guide/health-care-reform-your-supreme-court-guide-day-1/ 16:36:00Z Kaiser Health News The first day’s arguments focused on the Anti-Injunction Act and whether the court can rule on the case before a penalty is imposed on those who do not have health insurance. KHN’s reporter inside the court, Stuart Taylor, tells Jackie Judd that all the justices, except one, seemed eager to ask questions. (with video) 2012-03-27T16:36:51+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/032612_undocumented_immigrants/life-as-undocumented-immigrant/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/032612_undocumented_immigrants/life-as-undocumented-immigrant/ 18:19:00Z Angela S. Garcia What happens to undocumented immigrants after the passage of anti-immigrant state laws such as Arizona’s SB 1070? Many studies have focused on the economic ramifications of such legislation, but little has been done on the effects these laws have on everyday life. 2012-03-26T18:19:42+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/032612_obama_blame/obama-campaign-film-car-ditch-blame/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/032612_obama_blame/obama-campaign-film-car-ditch-blame/ 17:11:00Z Eugene Kiely We’ve already written about the 17-minute Obama campaign film. But did you notice how narrator Tom Hanks portrays the president as being above finger-pointing politics, claiming Obama “would not dwell in blame” for inheriting a huge economic mess? We did. 2012-03-26T17:11:56+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/032412_newspapers_decline_op/the-end-newspapers-and-decline-democracy/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/032412_newspapers_decline_op/the-end-newspapers-and-decline-democracy/ 18:39:00Z Eric Alterman If newspapers were a baseball team, they would be the Mets—without the hope for “next year.” 2012-03-24T18:39:21+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/032312_obama_oil/obama-wanted-higher-gasoline-prices/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/032312_obama_oil/obama-wanted-higher-gasoline-prices/ 15:14:00Z Robert Farley Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have repeatedly lifted several quotes out of context to allege that President Barack Obama and his administration actually wanted to drive up the price of gasoline, and have succeeded. 2012-03-23T15:14:43+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/032212_right_to_murder/trayvon-martin-and-floridas-right-murder-law/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/032212_right_to_murder/trayvon-martin-and-floridas-right-murder-law/ 18:54:00Z Jimmy Zuma Florida’s Stand Your Ground law is so bad you have to wonder whether it was written accidentally by idiots or on purpose by morons. 2012-03-22T18:54:07+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/032012_taxes_prudent/taxes-how-fiscally-prudent-lower-rate-and-broaden-base/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/032012_taxes_prudent/taxes-how-fiscally-prudent-lower-rate-and-broaden-base/ 20:40:00Z Craig Gurian The corporate tax reform mantra these days — at least on the Democratic side of the aisle — is “lower the rates and broaden the base.” An alternative way to proceed would be to close unwarranted loopholes first. 2012-03-20T20:40:03+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/031912_accountability/study-corruption-risk-huge-state-governments/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/031912_accountability/study-corruption-risk-huge-state-governments/ 05:01:00Z Caitlin Ginley The tales are sadly familiar to even the most casual observer of state politics. Officials make lofty promises when it comes to ethics in government. But these efforts often fall short of providing any real transparency or legitimate hope of rooting out corruption. 2012-03-19T05:01:45+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/031912_az_corruption/arizona-gets-d-corruption-risk-report-card/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/031912_az_corruption/arizona-gets-d-corruption-risk-report-card/ 05:01:00Z Maureen West Arizona, like most states, tends to initiate reforms after scandals. The state may need more good government laws: Arizona landed 27th with a grade of D+ and a numerical score of 68 in rankings by the State Integrity Investigation. 2012-03-19T05:01:26+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/031712_afghan_bales_analysis/the-lessons-staff-sgt-robert-bales/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/031712_afghan_bales_analysis/the-lessons-staff-sgt-robert-bales/ 23:50:00Z Charles M. Sennott Staff Sgt Robert Bales’ odyssey began just over 10 years ago when he joined the military in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks 2012-03-17T23:50:04+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/031512_limbaugh_corporatocracy/democracy-lost-unraveling-limbaugh-from-his-boycott/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/031512_limbaugh_corporatocracy/democracy-lost-unraveling-limbaugh-from-his-boycott/ 17:04:00Z Jimmy Zuma In today’s America your most powerful vote is in your purse or back pocket. 2012-03-16T17:04:35+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/031512_recall_goalposts_op/time-stop-moving-goalposts-recall-elections/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/031512_recall_goalposts_op/time-stop-moving-goalposts-recall-elections/ 16:17:00Z Ed Perkins If you can’t beat ‘em, change the election laws. This old political saw appears to be the sentiment among conservative lawmakers still smarting over Sen. Russell Pearce’s defeat in a recall election. A bill would replace the current winner-take-all system with one requiring partisan primaries. 2012-03-15T16:17:20+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/031312_bipartisan_claims/gops-bogus-bipartisan-bill-claims/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/031312_bipartisan_claims/gops-bogus-bipartisan-bill-claims/ 18:22:00Z Ben Finley In a mailer to constituents, a Republican congressman claims 27 “bipartisan bills” have passed the House but “hit a brick wall” in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But most of the bills are in fact not very “bipartisan.” 2012-03-13T18:22:30+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/031212_super_pacs_masked/super-pacs-masked-by-nonprofits/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/031212_super_pacs_masked/super-pacs-masked-by-nonprofits/ 17:55:00Z Daniel Stone Super PACs are the perceived demons of the 2012 campaign, but associated nonprofits, which don’t have to disclose their donors, are far more troubling. 2012-03-12T17:55:34+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/031212_syria_intervene/syria-intervene-or-not-intervene/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/031212_syria_intervene/syria-intervene-or-not-intervene/ 17:17:00Z Stephen Starr As the Syrian revolt approaches the 12-month mark, divisions between Syrians over whether or not to support foreign military intervention to curtail government attacks on civilians and rebels are becoming more pronounced. 2012-03-12T17:17:20+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/031212_potter_cost_shifting/the-ripple-effect-unpaid-medical-care/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/031212_potter_cost_shifting/the-ripple-effect-unpaid-medical-care/ 16:37:00Z Wendell Potter Without a mandate for health insurance, hospitals and taxpayers can get stuck with the bill. 2012-03-12T16:37:27+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030812_mccain/mccain-reminds-us-why-we-voted-obama/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030812_mccain/mccain-reminds-us-why-we-voted-obama/ 06:43:00Z Jimmy Zuma On Syria, John McCain reveals why he would have been a terrible president. In a McCain presidency we might have had upward of two million tired and over-rotated U.S. troops now engaged in shooting wars in the Middle East. 2012-03-09T06:43:14+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030812_militita_op/state-guard-or-arizona-five-0/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030812_militita_op/state-guard-or-arizona-five-0/ 18:45:00Z Ed Perkins With the high costs of maintaining and potential legal ramifications of arming an autonomous militia to combat threats that are at best nebulous, lawmakers and the governor could find themselves in deep drama for something resembling reality TV – until, that is, reality itself steps forward. 2012-03-08T18:45:28+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030812_unions_think_again/labor-and-civil-right-organize/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030812_unions_think_again/labor-and-civil-right-organize/ 17:39:00Z Eric Alterman It’s no wonder that organized labor finds itself on the ropes in almost every respect these days. Labor has not only found itself buffeted by economic winds and relentless attack but also been forced to fight back with arms tied behind its metaphorical back. 2012-03-08T17:39:03+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/030712_pac_spending/super-tuesday-brings-super-pac-spending-milestone/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/030712_pac_spending/super-tuesday-brings-super-pac-spending-milestone/ 18:46:00Z Michael Beckel Heading into Super Tuesday, spending by super PACs aligned with presidential candidates surpassed spending by all super PACs in the 2010 mid-term election. 2012-03-07T18:46:51+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/030712_obama_emails/reverse-engineering-obamas-message-machine/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/030712_obama_emails/reverse-engineering-obamas-message-machine/ 17:16:00Z Lois Beckett How different are a campaign’s emails to different voters? President Obama’s re-election campaign tried at least six different messages sent on behalf of campaign deputy manager Julianna Smoot in an email blast last week. 2012-03-07T17:16:53+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030712_super_tuesday/romneys-super-tuesday-wins-half-hearted/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030712_super_tuesday/romneys-super-tuesday-wins-half-hearted/ 17:16:00Z Jean MacKenzie Turnout was so light for Super Tuesday, the vote appears less than convincing. 2012-03-07T17:16:21+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030712_health_care/the-end-health-care-as-we-know-it/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030712_health_care/the-end-health-care-as-we-know-it/ 17:04:00Z Wendell Potter Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini caused quite a stir when he said at a Las Vegas conference a few days ago that the insurance industry as we know it is, for all practical purposes, a dinosaur on the verge of extinction. 2012-03-07T17:04:54+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030612_veterans_poverty_op/veteran-poverty-by-numbers/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030612_veterans_poverty_op/veteran-poverty-by-numbers/ 20:41:00Z Kevin Hawryluk Our veterans have a lot at stake this year in the debates over the deficit and budget cuts. 2012-03-06T20:41:15+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030512_syria_options/thinking-through-our-options-syria/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030512_syria_options/thinking-through-our-options-syria/ 21:15:00Z Peter Juul Syria’s complicated situation has defied efforts to formulate solutions that would end the bloodshed there while removing the Assad regime from power. It is not enough for one player to develop a plan—it should consult and coordinate with its partners to push it forward. 2012-03-05T21:15:36+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030112_primary_exit_polls/inside-primary-exit-polls-rise-moderates/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/030112_primary_exit_polls/inside-primary-exit-polls-rise-moderates/ 16:49:00Z Jimmy Zuma Exit polls from the recent Republican primary reveal Arizona Republicans who are much more moderate than their oddball leaders. 2012-03-02T16:49:07+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/022912_conservative_think_again/is-america-getting-more-conservative/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/022912_conservative_think_again/is-america-getting-more-conservative/ 16:40:00Z Eric Alterman What does it mean to be “conservative” — a word that has different meanings in different places. To say we are becoming more conservative provides a comforting narrative to mainstream journalists who like to reassure people that all is hunky-dory. 2012-02-29T16:40:37+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/022812_arizona_demographics/facts-azs-changing-demographics/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/022812_arizona_demographics/facts-azs-changing-demographics/ 17:51:00Z Vanessa Cárdenas Here are some startling facts about how Arizona’s emerging communities of color have impacted the political electorate and influenced the local economy. 2012-02-28T17:51:16+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/022712_santorum_religion/santorums-twisted-take-jfk-religion/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/022712_santorum_religion/santorums-twisted-take-jfk-religion/ 20:40:00Z Brooks Jackson Rick Santorum misrepresented what John F. Kennedy said in 1960 about church-state separation. 2012-02-27T20:40:05+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/022712_potter_high_deductibles/seeking-truth-high-deductible-health-plans/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/022712_potter_high_deductibles/seeking-truth-high-deductible-health-plans/ 16:47:00Z Wendell Potter Studies of the population at large, and conducted by nonprofit organizations that don’t sell insurance have found that high-deductible plans often are the wrong kind of coverage for many Americans.  2012-02-27T16:47:11+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/022612_racial_stereotypes/moving-away-from-racial-stereotypes/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/022612_racial_stereotypes/moving-away-from-racial-stereotypes/ 18:57:00Z Joy Moses Various factors point to the declining significance of this divisive race-baiting strategy in creating poverty policy—progress that should continue in the decades to come. 2012-02-26T18:57:44+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/022212_immigration_laws_effects/immigration-staying-put-but-still-shadows/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/022212_immigration_laws_effects/immigration-staying-put-but-still-shadows/ 16:23:00Z Leah Muse-Orlinoff Have state anti-immigration bills led to an exodus of unauthorized migrants from the United States as restrictionists have promised? 2012-02-22T16:23:05+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/022212_gop_health_care/gops-job-killing-whopper-health-care-law-again/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/022212_gop_health_care/gops-job-killing-whopper-health-care-law-again/ 15:49:00Z Lori Robertson The exaggerated Republican claim that the new health care law “kills jobs” was high on our list of the “Whoppers of 2011.” But the facts haven’t stopped Republicans and their allies from making an overblown “job-killing” claim a major theme of campaign 2012. 2012-02-22T15:49:29+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/021712_republican_bar_joke/the-gops-worst-enemy-its-candidates/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/021712_republican_bar_joke/the-gops-worst-enemy-its-candidates/ 18:36:00Z Jimmy Zuma The GOP’s worst enemy is its candidates. Santorum may be the slightest, but all the remaining Republican contenders come up short. Even so, the anti-sex constituency is very, very small. 2012-02-17T18:36:25+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/021412_goldwater_centennial/goldwaters-predictions-2012/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/021412_goldwater_centennial/goldwaters-predictions-2012/ 17:04:00Z Bill Hart Predicting the future and invoking the past are both tricky propositions. This is nicely illustrated by a 1962 newspaper article written by conservative icon Barry Goldwater, in which he tried to imagine the Arizona of 2012. 2012-02-14T17:04:02+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/021312_things_about_arizona/things-arizona-100/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/021312_things_about_arizona/things-arizona-100/ 01:34:00Z Jon Talton It’s centennial week in Arizona, and the local media are doing their part to play it up. The Rogue Columnist tells you what you really need to know about our state. 2012-02-14T01:34:44+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/021312_cd8_funds/taking-names-running-numbers-cd8-campaign/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/021312_cd8_funds/taking-names-running-numbers-cd8-campaign/#When: 20:02:000 Will Seberger Updated: Here’s a look at the envelopes and paper bags full of money from Christmases, ahem, elections, past and present; and what what it’s cost to win a seat in the big House on the Hill, in the CD8 and CD2 elections. 2012-02-13T20:02:14+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/021312_kansas_immigration/kansas-welcoming-undocumented-workers/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/021312_kansas_immigration/kansas-welcoming-undocumented-workers/ 20:32:00Z Bill Hart Major business groups in Kansas want to allow undocumented immigrants to work in dairies, feedlots, landscaping, construction and other industries facing labor shortages, to the likely chagrin of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who has helped guide Arizona’s campaign against illegal immigration. 2012-02-13T20:32:21+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020912_bishops_veto/us-constitution-bishops-dont-get-veto/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020912_bishops_veto/us-constitution-bishops-dont-get-veto/ 03:52:00Z Jimmy Zuma While Catholic bishops try to steamroll the Constitution, Republicans gleefully follow behind. 2012-02-10T03:52:58+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020812_epa_mercury_rules/dont-believe-hype-against-epa-mercury-rules/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020812_epa_mercury_rules/dont-believe-hype-against-epa-mercury-rules/ 23:55:00Z Daniel J. Weiss The House Subcommittee on Energy and Power plans a hearing misleadingly titled “What EPA’s Utility MACT Rule Will Cost U.S. Consumers.” But the Republican majority is playing with words and the health of our children. 2012-02-08T23:55:50+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/020812_santorum_wins/santorum-sweeps-tuesday-contests/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/020812_santorum_wins/santorum-sweeps-tuesday-contests/ 20:15:00Z Jean MacKenzie In a race that has had more dizzying turns than a Wild Mouse carnival ride, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum triumphed in three Republican races on Tuesday, gaining convincing victories in the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and the Missouri presidential primary. 2012-02-08T20:15:16+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020712_deficit_op/what-caused-this-years-deficit/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020712_deficit_op/what-caused-this-years-deficit/ 18:13:00Z Michael Linden The federal budget deficit will again exceed $1 trillion this fiscal year, the CBO reported. That news is sure to trigger another round of condemnations from politicians and pundits who have a political or ideological interest in pinning these deficits on the domestic spending policies of President Obama. 2012-02-07T18:13:17+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/020612_debt_deceptions/dueling-debt-deceptions/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/020612_debt_deceptions/dueling-debt-deceptions/ 17:43:00Z Brooks Jackson Factcheck: How much has the federal debt gone up under Obama? During his first three years in office, it rose $4.7 trillion, an increase of 45 percent. Partisan graphics circulating via email and Facebook are both incorrect. 2012-02-06T17:43:46+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020612_understanding_mormons/understanding-mormon-faith/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020612_understanding_mormons/understanding-mormon-faith/ 17:03:00Z Sally Steenland An interview with scholar Joanna Brooks about the Mormon faith and politics, political coverage of religion, history of the LDS Church, and the progressive Mormon tradition. 2012-02-06T17:03:03+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020112_obama_brewer_op/how-gov-brewer-actually-helped-president-obama/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020112_obama_brewer_op/how-gov-brewer-actually-helped-president-obama/ 16:48:00Z Sam Fulwood III With a waggle of her right index finger last Wednesday, Gov. Jan Brewer erased the question of whether black voters will be enthusiastic about going to the polls in support of President Obama. Now, you can count on it. 2012-02-01T16:48:36+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/012612_students_contraception_insurance/contraceptive-coverage-rule-big-win-students/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/012612_students_contraception_insurance/contraceptive-coverage-rule-big-win-students/ 19:06:00Z Lucy Panza Students need affordable contraception as much as other young adults do, and starting this August, they will have it with no cost-sharing, regardless of whether their university has a religious affiliation. 2012-01-26T19:06:01+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/012112_evangelicals/thats-wrap-evangelicals/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/012112_evangelicals/thats-wrap-evangelicals/ 03:26:00Z Jimmy Zuma In a post-Citizens United world, has unlimited money ended the need to pander to evangelicals? 2012-01-22T03:26:25+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011812_stateofstate_op/state-state-drifts-into-uncharted-waters/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011812_stateofstate_op/state-state-drifts-into-uncharted-waters/ 19:07:00Z Ed Perkins “Arizona has been saved.” With that bold declaration, Gov. Jan Brewer proclaimed that Arizona now boasts a budget surplus. But it may take some fancy dead reckoning to leverage the estimated fiscal surplus—$416 million to $650 million—while keeping things ship-shape. 2012-01-18T19:07:18+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011712_defense_research_development/is-defense-rd-spending-effective/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011712_defense_research_development/is-defense-rd-spending-effective/ 21:08:00Z Eric Alterman If we are to get our deficits under control, then we no longer have the luxury of throwing countless billions of dollars at Pentagon research and development and hoping they land somewhere else. 2012-01-17T21:08:19+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011612_romney_health_potter/opinion-only-romneys-dream-world/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011612_romney_health_potter/opinion-only-romneys-dream-world/ 21:21:00Z Wendell Potter Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s naïve suggestion that anyone but him and his rich friends could actually fire a health insurer on a whim and hire another one that might provide better service isn’t realistic.  2012-01-16T21:21:02+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011312_class_warfare_taboo/shattering-class-warfare-taboo/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011312_class_warfare_taboo/shattering-class-warfare-taboo/ 00:01:00Z Jimmy Zuma A new poll from Pew Research Center confirms that Americans are thinking a lot about class disparity. And now that they are talking, it turns out that most Americans think the deck is stacked in favor of the rich. 2012-01-14T00:01:14+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/010712_mex_cartels_power/which-cartel-king-mexico/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/010712_mex_cartels_power/which-cartel-king-mexico/ 14:35:00Z Sarah Childress The guilty plea of the Tijuana cartel boss in the United States on Thursday marked the official waning of that drug network. But it also raised an interesting question: which cartel is now on top? 2012-01-07T14:35:02+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/010612_religionwar/the-republican-religious-war/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/010612_religionwar/the-republican-religious-war/ 21:35:00Z Jimmy Zuma Are Christians planning a last ditch effort to prevent a Mormon takeover of the Republican Party? 2012-01-06T21:35:06+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/122611_sopa_op/avast-sopa-threat-free-speech/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/122611_sopa_op/avast-sopa-threat-free-speech/ 16:44:00Z Bill Macfadyen When I first heard talk of SOPA, of course I thought of Mexican food. But the more I’ve learned about the Stop Online Piracy Act working its way through Congress, the more of a bad taste it leaves. The law would open a porthole to censorship, online disruption and more expensive Internet connections. 2011-12-27T16:44:42+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/122611_medicare_op/the-ryan-plan-when-medicare-isnt-medicare/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/122611_medicare_op/the-ryan-plan-when-medicare-isnt-medicare/ 21:02:00Z Wendell Potter Let’s say you have a Ford and decide to replace everything under the hood with Hyundai parts, including the engine and transmission. Could you still honestly market your car as a Ford? That question gets at the heart of the controversy over who is being more forthright about GOP Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to “save” Medicare, Republicans or Democrats. 2011-12-26T21:02:42+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/122311_boehner_dead_man/john-boehner-after-dead-man-walks/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/122311_boehner_dead_man/john-boehner-after-dead-man-walks/ 18:00:00Z Jimmy Zuma Republicans are destroying their brand in part because of naked ambition. But no one is more responsible for making Republicans look like nattering nabobs than “Weepy-John” Boehner. 2011-12-23T18:00:00+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/121911_kimjong_next/whats-next-north-korea/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/121911_kimjong_next/whats-next-north-korea/ 21:03:00Z Bradley K. Martin Kim Jong Un, the heir apparent of Kim Jong Il, is left with a legacy that he may not be able to fulfill. But can he top is father’s brother-in-law? 2011-12-19T21:03:56+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/121711_zip_it/hey-democrats-zip-it/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/121711_zip_it/hey-democrats-zip-it/ 03:34:00Z Jimmy Zuma The best course of action for Democrats is to sit back and let Republicans wound their own. Increasingly, the GOP nominating process is serving Democrats—peeling back the layers of obfuscation and exposing the weaknesses and inadequacies of its likely nominees. 2011-12-18T03:34:07+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/121111_republican_polls/republican-polls-summary-its-gettin-ugly/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/121111_republican_polls/republican-polls-summary-its-gettin-ugly/ 16:25:00Z Jimmy Zuma The Republican nominating process is shining light in some dark places. It’s a little embarrassing. 2011-12-12T16:25:40+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/120511_tea_party_occupy_op/why-do-mainstream-media-favor-tea-party-over-occupy-wall-street/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/120511_tea_party_occupy_op/why-do-mainstream-media-favor-tea-party-over-occupy-wall-street/ 15:44:00Z Eric Alterman Support for the Tea Party is in a free fall. Now that so many voters have discovered that they apparently purchased a defective product in Tea Party governance in the 2010 elections, perhaps a similar recognition on the part of the mainstream media will not be so far behind. 2011-12-05T15:44:55+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/120211_dying_middle_class/stocks-point-dying-middle-class/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/120211_dying_middle_class/stocks-point-dying-middle-class/ 19:00:00Z Jimmy Zuma The stock market tells us the middle class is dying. But we can still save it. Nick Hanauer knows how. 2011-12-02T19:00:41+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/113011_sec_citigroup/why-federal-judge-trashed-secs-deal-with-citigroup/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/113011_sec_citigroup/why-federal-judge-trashed-secs-deal-with-citigroup/ 17:56:00Z Marian Wang When the Securities and Exchange Commission struck a deal with Citigroup over a failed security that the bank sold to investors, we asked whether regulators had handed Citigroup too sweet a deal. 2011-11-30T17:56:23+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112811_potter_health_care/us-health-care-nowhere-near-best-world/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112811_potter_health_care/us-health-care-nowhere-near-best-world/ 16:46:00Z Wendell Potter Last week, the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) released the results of its most recent study of the health care systems in its member countries, including the United States, plus six others, for a total of 40. And those results are illuminating. 2011-11-28T16:46:32+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112811_perry_analysis/as-presidential-candidate-perry-no-bush-or-clinton/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112811_perry_analysis/as-presidential-candidate-perry-no-bush-or-clinton/ 16:15:00Z Ross Ramsey In the array of governors who turned to national politics — a collection that includes four of the last six presidents and a horde of contestants who didn’t make it — Rick Perry looks a lot more like Sarah Palin than like George W. Bush. And not just in his politics. 2011-11-28T16:15:18+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112211_occupy_think_again/billionaire-media-moguls-vs-occupy-wall-street/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112211_occupy_think_again/billionaire-media-moguls-vs-occupy-wall-street/ 18:48:00Z Eric Alterman Hundreds of police officers, many wearing riot helmets, marched into lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park last week. The first thing the police did was clear out the journalists so that they could not see what was going on. Ironically, the owners of at least three New York newspapers could not have been happier. 2011-11-22T18:48:02+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/111911_republican_ticket/the-republican-ticket-that-democrats-want/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/111911_republican_ticket/the-republican-ticket-that-democrats-want/ 15:43:00Z Jimmy Zuma Do you think Democrats are behind the recent Republican scandals? Think again. 2011-11-19T15:43:56+00:00