editor: fred miller November 25, 2024 #81/November 2024
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Hello,
Ahhhhh, blessed silence, it's over...the incessant text ads, phone calls, unrelenting social media ads, cable ads, streaming ads, tv ads, billboards, yard signs, intersection signs, hats, tees. Gimme money! Gimme love! Ha! As if!
The post election babble continues unabated with air whooshing around from all the pointing fingers. The talking heads, the pundits, the kibitzers, the right wingers, and the people responsible for charting the democratic party course for the past 15 or so years, are now regurgitating the past several months. How did it happen!!!! Woe is fucking us!!!!
Back in the bubble, the few weeks of gnashing and wailing has subsided, and a sort of miasma and foreboding has settled in.
While many are sitting around in a funk and stewing, the Blitzkreig of the authoritarians has begun in earnest. And it will continue well into next year.
To really understand this war on democracy, the plans for carrying it out as well as some of the key people who will be in positions of authority, it is necessary (really necessary!) to read this valuable New Yorker article.
The author, Jonathon Blitzer, outlines the building of an extreme authoritarian regime. The Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) is at the core and "...an incubator and activist hub that funds other organizations." For the past eight years it has raised about two hundred million dollars and with it bought real estate in DC, hosted trainings for conservatives, brought millionaires and activists together, and much more. They have helped start, and are an umbrella for, eight other affiliated activist groups; the election integrity network, America First Legal, Center for Renewing America, State Freedom Caucus Network, and others.
CPI is the organization that will help staff the thousands of positions that will become open when trump becomes president. He has already named several of the important CPI people and CPI aligned symps.
The most essential public document to understand is Project 2025. It is the blueprint of what will happen and how will be done. Summaries of the 900 page document are here or here. Russell Vought is the key person that links the 2025 project with christian nationalism. He has been appointed to the Office of Management and Budget and will be doing the section 7 activity, 'reclassifying' federal workers and stripping them of job protections so they can be fired more readily." There are replacements waiting to be called, drawn from the hundreds of trainings sessions sponsored or led by CPI over the years. (Mother Jones has a good article/issue on Vought)
This is not a conspiracy, it is a plan of war, talked about publicly and carried out in plain view. Get ready for the 'shock and awe'.
As that bald russian goateed commie once wrote, What Is To Be Done? Plenty. We'll talk about it in the coming months...
In the meanwhile, treat yourself well; get a massage, eat some fine food, take walks along the San Pedro, have peeps over for din-din. And most of all get involved in our many community organizations-all need volunteers, work with other folks, and do stuff-you really will feel better, and you will help in building the future.
Anita and I will be helping out with the community dinner at St. Johns. I will be tending the bar at the Fur Ball Dec.7, a benefit at the Pythian for Friends of the Animal Shelter-details below. Itsa fun event to get your fine clothes out of storage, dress to the nines, strut your stuff, and make sure you stop by the bar and knock a greet.
fred
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...............AROUND TOWN................
THANKSGIVING TRASH COLLECTION
Monday.... Monday + Tuesday pick up
Tuesday...Thursday pick up
Wednesday...Friday pick up
Thursday/Friday no pickup
CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR TRASH COLLECTION
Regular schedule no changes
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THANKSGIVING DINNER AT ST. JOHN'S
November 28, two seatings 11:30 and 1:00 19 Sowels Avenue
Reservations requested email to cactuskate2008@gmail.com or call 815 262-9565. Likely could use some volunteers to help serve etc.
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HOME TOUR AND ART AUCTION
Come see the fabulous home that features this mural entryway. OB is featured with a few hotels amid the former miners cabins that have been converted, over tyhe years, to today's comfortable houses . The chair and art auction will be at St. Pats 100 Quality HIll, featuring chairs, collages, textiles, ceramics, jewelry, and altered furniture. This is an in-person silent auction open for bids on Friday/Saturday at 10 am till 4:30. Buy your tickets now for the Bisbee Woman's Club Home Tour. Online: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1047150464227?aff=oddtdtcreator In Person: On Consignment, Bisbee Books and Music, Sorted Past, Friday and Saturday, November 29 & 30; 10-4 each day
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REMAKE ART SHOW AT CENTRAL SCHOOL PROJECT
Opening Reception is on Friday Nov 22nd 6:00- 8:30 at 43 Howell
Show runs through Dec 8th Central School is holding the annual ReMake Art Show this fall. This exhibition calls for our creative community to work in the art of assemblage, harnessing the power of discarded junk, manufactured items, shiny things, scraps, ephemera, and bereft materials. We ask that the art is made entirely, or in part, of things not intended as art materials. More info here
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THE THIRD ANNUAL FUR BALL IN BLACK AND WHITE
Celebrate their 3rd Annual Fur Ball! hosted by The Friends of the Bisbee Animal Shelter at the Pythian Castle. Saturday December 7, 6:30. Join us for a Live Auction, Nibbles, Cash Bar, Photo Booth, and great company. The theme this year is "Black & White Party" so we'll see you there! Tickets available on Eventbrite and at Poco Market 15 Main St
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COMMUNITY CHORUS CHRISTMAS SINGING AT THE CENTER
The annual Holiday Singalong on December 7 3:00 at the Bisbee Senior Center, with voices aplenty, refreshments and no admission.
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COMMUNITY CHORUS CHRISTMAS CONCERT
The Holiday Concerts for the chorus will be on Saturday, December 14,5:00 and Sunday, December 15, 3:00 at the Covenant Presbyterian Annex, 24 Howell (up a short piece from the Copper Queen Hotel). Admission $15, children under 8 free! If you would like to be a greeter or volunteer, go here: annemoats7@gmail.com, bisbeechorus@gmail.com, or (505) 620-2379 for details.
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WINTER CLOTHES AND BEDDING NEEDED
Goar Park Lunches presents … Winter Warmth Drive To support our houseless population here in Bisbee. Please bring any coats, gloves, scarfs, blankets, sleeping bags, etc. to these Bisbee Saturday market at Vista Park every Saturday in November.
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BISBEE MENTIONS
Quirky
Quirky charm
Xmas
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GOAR PARK LUNCHES SEEKING FUND RAISER
Goar Park Lunches is currently seeking a volunteer with experience in donor development and fund raising to work with us to develop a long-term strategy. If you are able to find and write a grant to make this a paid position that would be a huge bonus
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BISBEE BOOKS AND MUSIC TO CLOSE IF NO BUYER
Bisbee Books and Music will be closing on 12/31 if a buyer of buyers are not found by that time. The owners are moving out of the country. This is an absolutely perfect business for anyone recently retired looking for something fun and important to do. If you value this important store, it’s time to step up and keep it open. The staff is exceptional. CO-OP anyone?. Info here
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OPEN ENROLLMENT BEGUN FOR AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
Affordable Care Act Health Insurance? The open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act health insurance has officially begun, so if you're keen to finally get coverage or change what you have now, it's time to get a plan together and put it into action.
The current open enrollment period began on Nov. 1, 2024, and will last until Jan. 15, 2025. During this time, anyone who is eligible for ACA coverage can enroll in a new plan or change their current one. The official page for this on Healthcare.gov features a drop-down menu allowing you to choose which state or territory you reside in.
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Although to early to tell, the resignation of Lisa Urias, Arizona Tourism director, will have implications for Bisbee tourism efforts. Urias resigned because of suspicions that she influenced the choice of designers for a new AZ tourism logo, that she had ties to a business that employed the designer, and was possibly involved in other contracts that may have been linked to a firm she owns.
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CITY OF BISBEE NOOZ
IT'S OFFICIAL! BISBEE IS AN INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY CITY
The city of Bisbee has been certified as an International Dark Sky Community by Dark Sky International. (formerly the International Dark Sky Association or IDA) This is a culmination of 6 year effort by a dedicated group of volunteers who partnered with the City of Bisbee to achieve this status. When this concept was brought before the city Planning Commission and the City Council with the help of the Mayor and the City Manager it was received unanimously and enthusiastically. All groups concerned are working together to keep what we have.
Dark skies will certainly add to the natural attractions of Bisbee.
More information can be obtained here And a vid here
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CITY SEEKS HISTORIC STATUS FOR WARREN
For the second time, the City of Bisbee will submit an application to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. A $20k matching grant was received to complete the process. The application will be submitted in March 2025. This is the second try for the prized status.
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CITY OF BISBEE ADOPT A TREE
You can adopt a tree! Parks and Recreation of the city of Bisbee, will purchase one of six different trees for planting in a park. A plaque with your designation can be added to be placed at the tree in the park. Email Lorena Valdez at http://lvaldez@bisbeeaz.gov or call 520 432-6002 for more information.
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CITY HALL CLOSER TO COMPLETION
City Hall update; Interior framing is complete, electricians, plumbers, HVAC are all in the building.
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DISCOVER BISBEE GET AUTISM TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE
Heather Andrews and Janet De Acevedo Macdonald of the Bisbee Visitor Center have has officially obtained the Certified Autism Travel Professional (CATP) certification!
With this certification, we are better equipped to assist individuals and families with autism by providing tailored resources, understanding their unique travel needs, and creating a more accessible and enjoyable experience in our beautiful town.
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...............ELECTION WRAP................
This was not an electoral landslide, but a narrowly contested race in which Trump is likely to have benefited as much from who didn’t turn out to vote for his candidacy as who did turn out to vote for him. As a WaPo article states: "Donald Trump swept the swing states, but we now know he failed to win a majority of the popular vote — only a plurality, at just under 50 percent — undermining his claims to an “unprecedented and powerful mandate.”
Republicans flipped the U.S. Senate, but that’s largely because the map was so favorable to them; they lost four of five races in swing states and relied on flipping states that Trump won by double digits." Republicans gained one seat in the House.
That said, in Arizona it seems there was very little ticket splitting (voting for people in a party you are not registered.) and third parties had negligible t effect on any race.
And in Cochise County, all elected government offices will be administered by people in the republican party. Not all whom are ideologues by the way.
But it will be quite a while to figure out just who did/did not vote for Trump/Harris and who did/did not vote. The devil is in the details as they say, and I think there will be some surprises for those who are claiming big backing for Trump among minority groups, and those who think Harris did well with women. In the coming months there will be a ton of analytic stuff coming out showing just who it was that voted, where they voted, and what they voted for. Stay tuned.
COCHISE COUNTY
County complications: In Cochise County, election officials tabulated a batch of 16,000 ballots ahead of election day but were worried they potentially hadn’t followed procedure, so they voided the batch and recounted those ballots. But they didn’t bother to tell anyone, including the board of supervisors, until the Herald/Review’s Terri Jo Neff started asking questions. There was also that bomb scare (exact same email message to three other counties), and machine tabulator malfunctions necessitating importing a different tabulator machine from Nebraska, a failure to count the correct number of random early ballots and poor public information communication. All in all a very stressful election for interim director of elections, the elections staff, and the interim admin Joe Casey. However they seemed to do admirably in miserable conditions for people that had never run an election previously. And remember those conditions are the fault of indicted Tom Crosby-who won reelection and Peggy Judd-who cut a deal and did not run.
COCHISE COUNTY VOTES
Registered Voters - Total 82,242
Ballots Cast - 59,501 Total
Voter Turnout-72.3% Turnout
2024 Voter turnout was 2 percentage points below the 2020 presidential election (74.3%,) with about the same number of registered voters (82,108).
(In the 2022 off year elections there was a 61% turnout)
OFFICIAL TOTAL VOTING RESULTS The elections department has completed counting all ballots and has reported there have there have been 59,501 ballots tabulated. Turnout was 72.5% of registered voters. (go to: https://www.cochise.az.gov/.../2024-General-Election. for ballot info And the canvas has been completed and sent to the State
District 2 Supe (bisbee/douglas), Kathleen Gomez has won with 8,620 votes to Joni Giacomino's 7,952, 51.9/47.9%. Recorder, David Stevens has won over Anne Carl by about 10,000 votes (33,490/23,414, a 17% margin). And in District 1 Tom Crosby-under indictment-defeated Thersea Walsh;' 56.9%/42.7%. District 3 Antenori-R defeated Joy Banks-D. Lori Zucco won County Attorney handily. Most other county offices had incumbents running unopposed, although there were significant undervotes in most of those races indicating displeasure in the single choices.
There are no close propositions, they're either YES by big margins 139, 312, 313, 314, or No 133, or NO by significant margins. 133 & 140, 134 135 & 136 , 137, 138. The voting results are due to be approved by the Supes next week.
COCHISE COUNTY VOTES FOR PROPOSITIONS
Cochise county voted YES/NO the same as the rest of the state, however the margins were different in the county. For instance prop 139, the abortion initiative had 30,649 Yes! and 26,328 No votes, a 37.2% win rate and 32% lose rate countywide while statewide the totals were a 61.6% win rate and a 38.2% loss rate.
YES by big margins
139-(constitutional right to an abortion)
Props 311 (first responder spouse payment)
312 (homeowners right to a tax refund if city does not deal with homelessness)
313 (life sentence for sex trafficking)
314 (local law enforcement has to deal with undocs &more)
NO by big margins
NO on Props 133 & 140 (direct primaries/ranked choice)
134 & 136 (more difficult to pass citizens initiatives)
137 (voters could not choose to retain judges)
138 (cut minimum wage for tipped employees)
NO on 35 (limiting the gov emergency powers)
(TOTAL OF ALL VOTES IN THE STATE FOR PROPOSITIONS)
Prop 133 ...NO 57.8%
Prop 134… NO 58%
Prop 135… NO 56.5%
Prop 136….NO 61.9%
Prop 137…NO 77.7%
Prop 138…NO 74.7%
Prop 139…YES 61.6%
Prop 140...NO 58.7%
Prop 311…YES 64.1%
Prop 312…YES 58.6%
Prop 313…YES 64.5%
Prop 314… YES 62.5%
Prop 315…NO 53.3%
AZ LEGE
Republican lawmakers expanded their majority at the Legislature. The GOP majority went from a two-vote margin in the Arizona Senate and House to a 17-13 edge in the Senate and 33-27 in the House.
The two legislative districts we reside in will continue to have the same representation we have had the past few years.
State Senator Dist 21... D-Rosanna Gabaldón
State Representative Dist 21... D-Consuelo Hernandez D-Stepanie Stahl Hamilton
State Senator Dist 19... R-David Gowan
State Representative Dist 19... R-Gail Griffin, R-Lupe Diaz
Corporation Commissioner.... three republicans elected
NATIONAL
Cochise County voters chose:
trump 35,936, Harris 22,296 a margin of 60.7%/37.7%
Lake 33,184, Gallego 23,347 56.9%/40.1%
Ciscomani 30,620 Engel 14,983 64.8%/31.7%
Grijalva 6,543 Butierez 39.5 62.1%/37.6%
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