Monday, July 04, 2022

ALL THE RAGE CARTOONS: Covid, Covid, Covid (First Dog on The Moon) | Feature in The Guardian

OpinionAustralia news

Covid covid covid, everyone is getting covid covid covid

First Dog on the Moon

Mon 4 Jul 2022 02.25 EDT Last modified on Mon 4 Jul 2022 02.34 EDT

Apparently EVERYONE who is ANYONE is getting the new variant it is all the rage

First Dog on the Moon

First Dog on the Moon is Australia's only Warker award-winning marsupial-based cartoonist and has done all sorts of things including books, radio, stage shows and a lot of lying down

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/first-dog-on-the-moon

LINK >> Cartoon by First Dog on the Moon

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Sunday, July 03, 2022

EVERYTHING DUCEY AMBIGUITY: School Choice or Boondoggle for For-Profit Corporations

Another manipulation of media to influence public opinion, reproduced from the governor's favorite mouth-piece

Hello Tim, ​
The bottom-line message is pretty simple: Our state’s parents have more power to make decisions about their children’s education thanks to the vision of Gov. Doug Ducey and the Legislature.
 
Our state is paving the way for the rest of the nation to allow families access to schools that best fits their needs. This week the Washington Examiner had the opportunity to speak to Governor Ducey on how he led Arizona to be the ‘gold standard of educational freedom.’
 
Check out the article below.

Washington Examiner: 'Gold standard of educational freedom': Ducey to grant school choice for 1M Arizona students

Jeremiah Poff
Washington Examiner
June 30, 2022

Disappearance expression balloon, pof pop art, poof, poof comic art, poof comic bubble icon - Download on Iconfinder

"Arizona is poised to become the first state with a universal school choice program once Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signs legislation he says will "transform" the state and serve as an education model for the nation.

HB 2853 passed the Arizona state legislature last week in a party-line vote with only Republicans backing the effort to grant the state's Empowerment Scholarship accounts to all students. Pending the governor's signature, the bill will provide Arizona students of all income brackets with more than $6,000 annually in education scholarships that can be used to cover any sort of school-related expense, including private school tuition, school material expenses, and private tutoring.

In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Ducey, a longtime advocate of school choice, said he was excited about the opportunities the legislation will provide for families in Arizona.

"Arizona has already been the leading state in the nation on school choice," Ducey said. "This establishes Arizona as the gold standard of educational freedom and puts the power to parents to establish their child's education."

The Empowerment Scholarship accounts, first enacted in 2011 by Ducey's predecessor, Jan Brewer, are currently available to roughly 12,000 Arizona students. The expansion to the program opens eligibility to the state's more than 1 million students.

"This policy can transform our state," Ducey said.

Animated GIF: Poof

 

 



In his State of the State address earlier this year, the governor implored the legislature to "think big and find more ways to get kids into the school of their parents’ choice."

"I think if other governors follow suit, it can transform our country," he told the Washington Examiner. "K-12 education has been flatlining for decades. And this is the innovative improvement that will take it to the level we expect so that our kids get a great education in math, reading, science, American civics, and character formation."

The legislation, Ducey said, will allow parents to "vote with their feet" and take their children out of the public schools that they might otherwise feel trapped in, whether it be because of inadequate instruction or controversial curricula such as critical race theory.

"[This bill] puts the parents in control. The parents have all the power. They are consumers now — and they're pretty good consumers," Ducey said. "And what they're going to do is what's in the best interest of their child, and now, they can take action when necessary."

The state government's push to expand the Empowerment Scholarship accounts was lauded by school choice advocates, including Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, who told the Washington Examiner that Arizona "just cemented itself as the No. 1 state for school choice in the nation."

"Arizona is now the gold standard for school choice. Every other state should follow Arizona's lead and fund students instead of systems," DeAngelis said. "Republicans all across the country are calling themselves the 'Parents' Party.' Republicans in Arizona just proved it."

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a longtime advocate of school choice policies, also cheered the passage of the bill as "a groundbreaking piece of legislation for students in Arizona."

"[This legislation] has huge implications for the 1.1 million K-12 students in Arizona," DeVos told the Washington Examiner. "I am very excited for what this can mean for families there, many of whom have continued to struggle and/or be frustrated following the last couple of years and their experiences in their assigned school."

As for what Arizona's legislative push for school choice could mean elsewhere, Ducey encouraged other states to follow the school choice trend set by the Grand Canyon State.

"Arizona is proud to be a trendsetter in educational excellence and freedom," the governor said. "We're happy to have everyone come along and we're happy to help, reach out, and we'll show you the way."

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TODAY'S AIR QUALITY INDEX + WEEKEND FORECAST

AQI Animation - https://files.airnowtech.org/airnow/today/anim_aqi_phoenix_az.gif

 

Air Quality Hourly Forecast | Phoenix

Updated On: 7/1/2022 - 8:00 AM
Click on each day to view forecast.

Forecast Discussion:

Today through the weekend, a trough of low pressure is expected to develop along the West Coast, with the large ridge of high pressure moving eastward and centering itself over the southeast portion of the United States. This pattern will bring a drier southwest to northeast flow to the region, meaning thunderstorm chances in Phoenix will be minimal today into this weekend. With that said, we may see some storms try to approach the far E/NE Valley this afternoon, with some gusty outflows winds possible as well, but the chance of storms in the Valley will only be slight.

By July 4th into next week, the trough will begin to shift northeast as the high moves back to the west. This shift may set up a more southerly flow allowing for a slight increase in thunderstorm chances by the 4th as moisture increases. This will also increase the risk of outflow winds in the Valley, which may produce blowing dust.

Risk Scale

As for air quality, expecting similar conditions today as yesterday, and with two monitors exceeding the federal health standard for ozone yesterday, it will be very likely again today, so an Ozone High Pollution Advisory is in place. Tomorrow through July 4th, expect enough southwest breezes at the surface and stronger winds just above the surface to help keep ozone below the federal standard, so no High Pollution Watches or Advisories will be in place this weekend.

By Tuesday of next week, with lighter winds as the high moves back westward, expecting ozone values to once again rise, so an Ozone High Pollution Watch will be issued.

The other air quality concern will be July 4th itself. While we do not typically exceed from July 4th festivities alone, PM-2.5 (smoke) levels do normally rise during the evening hours, and that is expected to be the case this year as well. We could also see some outflow winds producing some blowing dust during the late afternoon/evening hours on July 4th. Stay alert to quick changes in weather conditions if you have outdoor plans!

Phoenix Visibility Web Cameras

Phoenix Map

Map points are for location identification purposes only.

PhoenixVis.net brings you live pictures and corresponding air quality conditions from scenic urban and rural vistas in the Phoenix, Arizona region.

This page provides an overview of all Phoenix Visibility Web Cameras. In addition, near real-time air quality data provide visibility information to the public.

Digital images from Web-based cameras are updated every 5 minutes. Images will appear black during the nighttime hours for obvious reasons. If the image is missing, please be patient and try again later.

For more air quality information contact us at Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).


Current Views

  • Camera Image

    South Mountain

    South Mountain is a rugged mountain south of metropolitan Phoenix. The view is from North Mountain looking toward the Phoenix downtown skyline and the South Mountains in the distance.
  • Camera Image

    Estrella Mountains

    The Sierra Estrellas form a jagged skyline southwest of metropolitan Phoenix. The camera view looks southwest from North Mountain.
  • Camera Image

    White Tank Mountains

    The White Tank Mountains lie to the west of metropolitan Phoenix. The camera view looks west from Avondale.
  • Camera Image

    Camelback Mountain

    The distinctive profile of this inner city mountain gives it its name. It is bordered by the cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. The view is from the Capital Mall area of downtown Phoenix looking northeast toward Camelback Mountain.
  • Camera Image

    Superstition Mountains

    The Superstition Mountains are part of the designated Superstition Wilderness Area. The view is looking east from downtown Mesa with the community of Apache Junction between the camera and the mountain vista

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INVESTIGATION OF FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS: AZCC July 7, 2022 Town Hall Joint Notice and Appearance

www.navarrenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/0...

N O T I C E
Notice of a Joint Appearance of a Quorum of Commissioners

Town Hall Meeting(s)
Citizens Telecommunications Company of the White
Mountains, d.b.a. Frontier Communications of the White
Mountains, et al

Investigation of the Frontier Companies ("Frontier") in Arizona
Regarding 9-1-1 Outages and the Adequacy
of Frontier's Equipment and Facilities

Docket No.T-03214A-21-0198 et al

St Johns
Thursday, July 7, 2022
 6:00 p.m.

St. Johns High School Auditorium
360 Redskin Dr.
St. Johns, AZ 85936

This notice is provided as a courtesy to the public that three or more Commissioners may be present at the above location. 

The Commissioners attending this event will not vote on any issue or discuss, propose, or take legal action related to their official duties with the Arizona Corporation Commission.

###

arizona-corporation-commission-logo-sm 

ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION

Arizona Corporation Commission | 1200 W. Washington Street | Phoenix, AZ 85007

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Look Who's Back . . .and the story continues

Elon Musk Breaks Twitter Silence to Post Photo of Himself and 4 of His Sons with Pope Francis

<div class=__reading__mode__extracted__imagecaption>Elon Musk Breaks Twitter Silence to Post Photo of Himself and 4 of His Sons with Pope Francis. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1543050489050402816

(Elon Musk Breaks Twitter Silence to Post Photo of Himself and 4 of His Sons with Pope Francis. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1543050489050402816)

Nicholas Rice
yahoo.com

Elon Musk/Twitter

Elon Musk is back on Twitter.

After last sharing a tweet on the social media platform on June 21, the Tesla CEO, 51, returned to the site on Friday, writing in a message, "Feeling … perhaps … a little bored?"

In a follow-up tweet, Musk then shared a photograph of himself with his sons - including Griffin, and triplets Kai, Damian, and Sax – whose mother is his first wife, Justine Wilson, posing beside Pope Francis.

"Honored to meet @Pontifex yesterday," Musk wrote alongside the photograph, which saw each of the Musk men standing beside the Pope in suits.

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ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty

In a later tweet, Musk shared a throwback image of himself and his ex-wife Talulah Riley in Italy.

"Venice, a site of Great Remembrance," he captioned the shot, which sees him and Riley, 36, posing in black and white attire with face masks covering their eyes.

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Musk also shared one other Twitter message on Friday — a tribute to Technoblade, a YouTube gamer who recently died of cancer at 23.

"Popular Minecraft YouTuber Technoblade with 12 Billion subscribers recently passed away at the age of 23 due to cancer, and this made [me] realize that cancer is [an] absurd piece of literal garbage and death, but also try to live your best life with people who know," he wrote, alongside a quote from video game character Sonic the Hedgehog.

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Imperialst Rhetoric, Tom Horn to Defuse Tensions, Gold Tops $5,000 in Demand Frenzy, . . .Japan Bond Crash

         Stephen Maturen/Getty Images Trump, Democrats Hurtle Toward Shutdown After Minnesota Killing A fatal shooting by Border Patrol agen...