PAN Needs Full-time Lie Detector to Shadow Mayor - Dry Up Mothers' Milk? (Prop 200)

PAN Would Confiscate Library Cards? Dry Up Mothers' Milk?

– Keep Talking, Mr. Mayor.

How Can Mayor Gordon Be Serious?

– Misinforms/Tries to Scare Public About PAN

Protect Arizona NOW (PAN) State Chairman, Kathy McKee, is urging Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon to go lie down until he feels better. States McKee, "I hate it when elected officials say things as asinine as the statements attributed to Phil Gordon in The Arizona Republic's 8/3/04 article, Gordon urges 'no' vote on Protect Arizona Now. It puts us in the difficult position of trying to decide whether he's really that clueless or is deliberately underhandedly employing disinformation and scare tactics – or a combination of those things . . . none of which leaves us with very kind options."

"It reminds me of last year when Janet Napolitano vetoed the voter photo I.D. bill that the legislature had passed with overwhelming public support. Gov. Napolitano vetoed it in front of the National Conference of Latino Elected Officials (no pandering or show-boating with that, was there?), stating her purported belief that the bill would impede poor people from voting and was also illegal under the Motor Voter law. When interviewed about PAN's reaction to the veto, I was put in the uncomfortable position of trying to decide whether she didn't know poor people have to have I.D. to cash their welfare checks, didn't know that 11 other states (now 13) require photo I.D. when voting (so there's obviously no conflict with Motor Voter), whether she deliberately chose to try to mislead the public, or again, some combination thereof."

"Do you think when public officials see the huge margins with which PAN qualifies for ballot status, they'll stop insulting 75% of the state like this?" The facts–as opposed to the fiction of Phil Gordon's propaganda–about our initiative, once again for those who care about facts and truth, are these:

1. Gordon's assertion that our initiative will "bloat and burden local governments, adding millions to our annual budgets . . . force cutbacks in . . . police, fire, water . . . ." sounds a lot more like his pet trolley/light rail project than Protect Arizona NOW. His perfidious statements conflict with not only our initiative but also the Joint Legislative Budget Committee's report stating the PAN initiative "may result in state and local government savings depending on the number of illegal immigrants determined to be currently receiving state and local public benefits . . . ."

Considering AHCCCS (Arizona's Medicaid) alone admits giving at least 65,000 illegal aliens AHCCCS cards (for reasons that are also not true–the federal government does not even suggest that state governments give Medicaid cards to illegals), anyone with basic arithmetic skills can figure savings will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars – especially since welfare workers are already trained and ready to report fraud, but intradepartmental policies prohibit employees from reporting illegal alien fraud. The official Analysis by Arizona Legislative Council doesn't agree with Phil Gordon either.

2. Gordon's statement that "every library in the state would have to have a system where everyone's legal status is verified" is so ludicrous, it's frightening. LET'S GET THIS STRAIGHT, Mr. Gordon: Section 6 of The Arizona Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act – the part dealing with proof of eligibility to collect welfare in Arizona - only amends ARS § 46-140 and it only adds a (.1) paragraph under § 46-140. § 46-140 is only an enforcement section pertaining only to the welfare programs under ARS Title 46. ARS Title 46 is the welfare statute and deals only with welfare programs – not public safety services like police and fire protection, utilities like water and garbage (unless a person's utilities are paid by a welfare program under Title 46), and certainly not library cards which, I hate to have to inform Mr. Gordon, are FREE. What welfare programs under ARS Title 46 is Gordon suggesting provide police services and library cards? No matter anybody else says about our initiative in the coming months, who could beat this statement of Gordon's for being preposterous?

"Want access to our parks using swings and slides throughout the state? Does that mean that every city and every county has to provide a controlled access point to (check) status before you can go into" city and county parks?

What welfare program under ARS Title 46 – again, the only statute/programs mentioned in the benefits part of our initiative – is Phil Gordon suggesting pays for poor people to use swings and slides in our parks? Gives new meaning to the internet slang, LOL, doesn't it?

This intellectual dishonesty is further promulgated by a newspaper that uses Protect Arizona Now in its headline, refers to Protect Arizona Now multiple times in its article, but never talks to one person with Protect Arizona NOW. Using an organization to front an article but never talking to a representative of that organization defiles journalistic ethics. The American Journalists' Association Code of Ethics accompanies this news release. Will someone, anyone, please explain what's so hard about complying with any of these guidelines, or have journalistic ethics become passé? Did our brave patriots die in vain to guarantee America a free press that's more concerned with pushing its personal agenda than pursuing and reporting news/facts? Are news and the pursuit of truth just something to fit between ads? If these are a new reality, the only thing newspapers are going to be good for is providing a forum for peo ple like Phil Gordon to make laughingstocks of themselves . . . and for cat litter.

AJA CODE OF ETHICS

Respect for truth and the public's right to information are fundamental principles of journalism. Journalists describe society to itself. They convey information, ideas and opinions, a privileged role. They search, disclose, record, question, entertain, suggest and remember. They inform citizens and animate democracy. They give a practical form to freedom of expression. Many journalists work in private enterprise, but all have these public responsibilities. They scrutinise power, but also exercise it, and should be accountable. Accountability engenders trust. Without trust, journalists do not fulfil their public responsibilities. MEAA members engaged in journalism commit themselves to

Honesty

Fairness

Independence

Respect for the rights of others

1. Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis. Do your utmost to give a fair opportunity for reply.

2. Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.

3. Aim to attribute information to its source. Where a source seeks anonymity, do not agree without first considering the source’s motives and any alternative attributable source. Where confidences are accepted, respect them in all circumstances.

4. Do not allow personal interest, or any belief, commitment, payment, gift or benefit, to undermine your accuracy, fairness or independence.

5. Disclose conflicts of interest that affect, or could be seen to affect, the accuracy, fairness or independence of your journalism. Do not improperly use a journalistic position for personal gain.

6. Do not allow advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence.

7. Do your utmost to ensure disclosure of any direct or indirect payment made for interviews, pictures, information or stories.

8. Use fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material. Identify yourself and your employer before obtaining any interview for publication or broadcast. Never exploit a person’s vulnerability or ignorance of media practice.

9. Present pictures and sound which are true and accurate. Any manipulation likely to mislead should be disclosed.

10. Do not plagiarise.

11. Respect private grief and personal privacy. Journalists have the right to resist compulsion to intrude.

12. Do your utmost to achieve fair correction of errors.

GUIDANCE CLAUSE: Basic values often need interpretation and sometimes come into conflict. Ethical journalism requires conscientious decision-making in context. Only substantial advancement of the public interest or risk of substantial harm to people allows any standard to be overridden.

HOW TO COMPLAIN

If you feel a journalist is in breach of the Code of Ethics you can complain by following this procedure.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon

"Every library in the state would have to have a system where everyone's legal status is verified."

Another fine example of POLITICIANS PUTTING SELF AND VOTES BEFORE THE REAL NEEDS AND DESIRES OF THE PEOPLE! This has become a disease amongst politicians, especially when it comes to worrying about all the voting Mexicans they have let into this country...it is sickening when you realize that Vincente Fox and his ilk, are loving every minute of this since it allows the Mexican government to directly influence American political policy.

Thank You Washington, DC, again, for your fine efforts to dismantle America....

Make sure Geraldo Rivera gets a copy of this. And Alan Combs, Dan Rather, Chris Mathews...

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