Goldwater Institute

Republican legislative leaders earned only marginal marks, and no Democrat received higher than a D-grade, from the Goldwater Institute in its analysis of 191 votes during the 2003 Arizona legislative session.

Archimedes "Archie" Fraijo still considers Franklin D. Roosevelt a personal hero for trying to soften the blows of the Great Depression.

In 1998, Arizona voters narrowly approved a measure called Clean Elections. After all, who wants "dirty elections"? Only 8 percent of voters knew the measure would force taxpayers to pick up the tab for politicians' campaigns. Fortunately, Arizona voters will get a second chance. This week, the aptly named committee "No Taxpayer Money for Politicians" started gathering signatures to qualify a proposal for the 2004 ballot to end this unjust law. Where do we sign up?

So, some of our politicians want a new state law against price gouging. While I'm not arguing that consumers who paid $3.99 per gallon a couple of weeks ago to fill their tanks didn't pay a pretty penny, my guess is that those station owners will pay dearly in the weeks and months to come as motorists with long memories of that hot day in August just drive on by that particular station.

There seems to be plenty of finger-pointing going on, but ultimately, little is being said about the actual reason for the current gas shortage in Phoenix. Everyone seems to be aware that a pipeline broke and we have to wait for federal approval before gas can begin flowing. But, isn't anyone wondering why this problem is confined to the Phoenix metropolitan area?