Take a Moment to Salute our Fallen Heroes

Take a Moment to Salute our Fallen Heroes
By Frank Antenori





As many of you know, Memorial Day is tomorrow. Memorial Day has symbolized the sacrifice of those many brave men and women who have fought and died so we could enjoy freedom.

I hope many of you will take a few moments from your day off of barbequing and watching baseball to appreciate what Memorial Day really stands for.

It’s an especially sacred day to those of us that have served in the military, particularly those that have served in combat and have lost close buddies in war.

Our prayers are with those families who have lost a loved one to war, but our thoughts are with our buddies that have given the ultimate sacrifice.

We remember you, not for how you died, but for how you lived; as Patriots, as great Americans, as our brothers and sisters in arms who took up the noble cause of defending freedom and bringing liberty to those oppressed.

Tomorrow, those of us that made it home from war will bow our heads in prayer, shed some tears and honor the fallen and those who knew them. We should continue to share the stories, their stories, so that they will never be forgotten.

Below is the seldom heard third stanza of “America the Beautiful;” a fitting tribute to the spirit of Memorial Day. I hope all of you will take a few moments to quietly thank those heroes that allow us to celebrate the blessings of liberty on this sacred day.

“O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.”
“Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!”


Frank Antenori is a retired Special Forces Soldier that saw combat in Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Joe Higgins Mystery Unraveled

As it turns out, Al Melvin is exonerated as the accused spoiler in Joe Higgins challenge of Ann Day for District 1 County Supervisor. An insignificant party member known for similar tactics in other races attempted to undermine both campaigns simultaneously by casting Higgins and Melvin as conspirators and taking advantage of a left-wing blogger in the process.

Joe Higgins real support is coming from the Pima County business community looking for relief from the County Board of Supervisors that have frustrated them for years.

This race could get very interesting considering Higgins' support and the attention he is getting from the humorous allegations surrounding his decision to run.

Saddlebrooke GOP Club Hits 500

Congratulations to the Saddlebrooke Republican Club which surpassed its goal of 500 members. At today's meeting, the club awarded member 500 with an elephant statue reporting the club's total now at 518.

Round, Round, Round She Goes...

Now that Obama appears to be edging out Hillary for the nomination, speculation about Governor Janet is heating up. It's widely speculated that Janet will get some sort of appointment from Obama should he win the presidency. Some have even speculated that she would get the VP nod. I don't see that happening for a variety of reasons. But, assuming an Obama presidency with Janet in the cabinet, Jan Brewer steps in to fill the vacancy. Who, then, runs for governor in the next general election? Does Jan who ran before want the job for another term? Or will Dean Martin, JD Hayworth, Randy Pullen or someone else step into the race?

On the other hand, assuming a McCain presidency, the U.S. Senate seat would be vacated and filled according to Arizona Revised Statutes which states: "For a vacancy in the office of United States senator, the governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy. That appointee shall be of the same political party as the person vacating the office and shall serve until the person elected at the next general election is qualified and assumes office." No doubt, Janet would appoint a Grant Woods now-I'm-a-Republican,-now-I'm-not-politician who would step aside for his friend, Janet, in the general election. Janet has made no bones about coveting the seat, so barring a D.C. desk, she would jump for this chance. On the Republican side, John Shadegg was long expected to go after the senate seat. Now that he has resigned and un-resigned for his House seat, it's unclear where he will want to spend his future years.

Put the Money In the Classroom FIrst

A letter from Robert Rice, head of the Arizona School Boards Association, bemoans the loss of tax revenue to pay for school utilities. There's no question that the loss of revenue could have a devastating effect on schools if the legislature and school districts aren't smart about the use of funds. It's time to do some real soul-searching and decide what's most important for kids to learn.

If reading is still the biggest learning obstacle for most Arizona kids, let's direct resources there. Instead of an all-day kindergarten that is costing $250 million and already proven across the country to yield no sustained results, let's take our money and invest some of it in materials to teach reading. Let's set up a volunteer corp and train them to work with teachers and teach every child to read. It only takes a matter of weeks at 30 minutes a day to teach a child to read. With a fraction of the all-day kindergarten resources this problem could be solved and free up money for other school needs.

As Trent Humphries says, "Put the money where it most matters: with the kids and the teachers. And let the principals be the ones out selling candy bars."

Southern Arizona's Health Care Crisis

I'll leave it to the Citizen reporter to provide the full story on Trent Humphries' health care forum. KGUN-9 made it their lead story on the 5 o'clock news. For those who missed it, it was quite enlightening. Here are a few memorable quotes from doctor-panelists at the forum:

"Orthopedics is required in every emergency room, but we don't have coverage for the whole month."

"You're living in a dream if you think the public health department can take care of you in an epidemic. Just look at the measles problem."

"We couldn't staff another trauma center even if we had one."

"Arizona is short over 2200 doctors."

"The national average is 293 doctors per 1000 patients. Arizona has 211 per thousand."

"Malpractice insurance in other states costs half of what it does in Arizona."

"We have only one neurosurgeon trying to cover all of the emergency rooms in Tucson."

"There are only five ears, nose, and throat specialists in all of Southern Arizona."

"The Bishop died because of the twelve hours it took to get him to Phoenix as a result of not having a neursurgeon to treat him here."

"The Border Patrol drops them off to be treated. The time that the illegals are being treated, they are in the custody of the hospital, and the feds don't pay for any of the treatment they get."

"When the Border Patrol doesn't come back to pick them up after we treat them, we have to pay to transport them to wherever they need to go."

"We don't have the sub-specialists we need in emergency. It takes six hours to locate a specialist and complete all the paperwork. It takes 8 to 12 hours to transport the patient to another facility. Sometimes we transport them to Phoenix, Texas, or New Mexico. Some patients won't make it."

Trent Humphries Hosts Health Care Forum

On Tuesday, May 6, at 7 PM Trent Humphries, Republican candidate for Arizona House of Representatives, and a panel of medical experts are gathering in a public forum to discuss the healthcare crisis facing seniors and families in Southern Arizona. The forum will be held at 13101 N Oracle Rd inside the Northwest Rancho Vistoso Outpatient and Urgent Care Facility.

Confirmed forum panelists include David Schwartz, Medical Director of Northwest Medical Center, Shawn Strash, CEO of Northwest Oro Valley Medical Center, Dale Pelton, Executive Director of Valley Health Care and Rehabilitation and Arizona Healthcare Association board member, and Fred Fiastro, a prominent pulmonologist and Pima Medical Society board member.

When asked why he was hosting this forum Humphries said, "Southern Arizona is losing doctors. This is a fact that goes largely unreported. It’s important because all of the health insurance in the world is useless if there is not a doctor available to treat you when you need it."

Southern Arizona is rapidly becoming a place where finding good medical care is difficult if not impossible. Tucson currently has a severe shortage of neurosurgeons, OB/GYNs, and emergency room doctors. Tucson has only one remaining trauma center and dangerously long wait times at emergency care facilities. One doctor said it this way, “Don’t become seriously injured in the city of Tucson because there might not be doctor to treat you."

Seating is limited, so please plan to arrive a few minutes early. If you would like further information about the forum please call Kevin Herring at 520-465-8594.

Spotted in the Northwest

It was Nancy Young Wright herself who showed up at tonight's big homeowner's association meeting gathering signatures to run for office and get on the ballot for the LD26 state position she temporarily holds. Speculation continues as to whether or not she can get enough to qualify.