Category Archives: Arizona Politics

Katie Hobbs Interview — Podcast July 20, 2015

Frustrated with an Unresponsive Government? How About Running for Office? Democratic Perspective interviews Arizona State Senator Katie Hobbs (Dem., 24th District). What happens when a social worker realizes that the needs of her clients are being ill-served by local and state … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona Politics, Child Protection, Democratic Governance, Demographic Trends, Education Policy, Elections, Health Care Delivery, Health Insurance, Interviews, Podcasts, Social Services, Social Work, Taxation, Welfare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Katie Hobbs Interview — Podcast July 20, 2015

The State of Public Education in Arizona: It’s Getting Worse — Podcast June 8, 2015

Not-So-Great Expectations: Arizona Is Now Dead Last in Per-Pupil Education Spending.  Democratic Perspective  talks to Jim Ledbetter, Verde Valley Attorney and Past President of the Mingus Union High School District Governing Board and Ann Shaw, District Director of the New Visions Academy charter … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona Budget, Arizona Politics, Education, Education Policy, Housekeeping, Interviews, Podcasts, Public Education, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The State of Public Education in Arizona: It’s Getting Worse — Podcast June 8, 2015

Religion As an Excuse for Bigotry — Podcast May 11, 2015

Are State-Sponsored Religious Freedom Restoration Acts Simply a Fig Leaf for Anti-Gay Discrimination? Democratic Perspective reconsiders the Establishment Clause of the Constitution’s First Amendment, the history of religious conflicts in Europe and elsewhere in the world, and more generally, the relationship of religion … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-Gay Discrimination, Arizona Politics, Bigotry, Civil Rights, Conservatives and Reactionaries, Constitutional Issues, LGBT Community, LGBT Issues, LIberals and Conservatives, Podcasts, Racial Discrimination, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Religion As an Excuse for Bigotry — Podcast May 11, 2015

Alessandra Soler Meetze Interview — Podcast April 20, 2015

The ACLU in Arizona, 2014/15: Some Good News for a Change. Democratic Perspective’s Gary LaMaster and Steve Williamson discuss some recent civil liberties litigation victories with Alessandra Soler Meetze, Executive Director of the ACLU for Arizona. Dreamers got their driver’s licenses, Joe Arpaio was enjoined from … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-Gay Discrimination, Arizona Law Enforcement, Arizona Politics, Civil Rights, Constitutional Issues, Corrections Policy, Education Policy, Immigration, Interviews, Justice System, Law Enforcement, Penology, Podcasts, Policing, Private Prisons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Alessandra Soler Meetze Interview — Podcast April 20, 2015

The Arizona Legislative Lunacy Report: Spring 2015 Edition — Podcast April 30, 2015

The March of Ideology and Incompetence Continues in Phoenix: Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino and Gary LaMaster take a detailed look at the Arizona Republic’s recently published docket of bills pending in the Legislature. Listen as our intrepid analysts subject the moderately acceptable, the irredeemably awful, and the crazy ugly to the test … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-Federalism, Arizona Budget, Arizona Economy, Arizona Politics, Budget Negotiations, Campaign Finance, Child Protection, Citizens United, Constitutional Issues, Corporate Welfare, Corruption, Dark Money, Education, Education Policy, Elections, Federal Lands, Firearms Legislation, Fiscal Policy, Gun Control, Immigration, Industrial Policy, Nullification, Podcasts, Political Contributions, Public Education, Regulatory Agencies, Special Interest Legislation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Arizona Legislative Lunacy Report: Spring 2015 Edition — Podcast April 30, 2015

Peg Bowden Interview — Podcast March 23, 2015

The Quality of Our Mercy: Peg Bowden Speaks from Experience on the Militarization of the U.S.-Mexican Border. Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson talk to Peg Bowden about the experiences that impelled her to write her 2014 book, A Land of Hard … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona Law Enforcement, Arizona Politics, Bigotry, Child Protection, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security, Immigration, Law Enforcement, Legal Issues, Podcasts, Racism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Peg Bowden Interview — Podcast March 23, 2015

The Confederate State of Arizona — Podcast March 16, 2015

The Payback for Dark Money in Arizona: More Corporate Tax Cuts, Continued Defunding of Public Education, and Yahoo! a Secessionist Republican Legislature. Gary LaMaster and Steve Williamson dissect the results of the 2014 election in Arizona: a seemingly endless stream of bills from both houses of … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona Budget, Arizona Economy, Arizona Politics, Budget Negotiations, Conservatives and Reactionaries, Constitutional Issues, Dark Money, Education, Education Policy, Housekeeping, Jobs and Employment, Podcasts, Political Contributions, Privatization, Public Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Confederate State of Arizona — Podcast March 16, 2015

David R. Frazer Interview — Podcast March 9, 2015

Ethical Meltdown: a Question of Values? Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino and Steve Williamson welcome David Frazer, respected Arizona attorney and author of Ethical Meltdown: the Need to Recover Our Vanishing Values, for a discussion about the current decay of legal and professional ethics in the United … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona Law Enforcement, Arizona Politics, Corruption, Ethics, Interviews, Justice System, Law Enforcement, Legal Issues, Morality, Podcasts, Regulatory Agencies | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on David R. Frazer Interview — Podcast March 9, 2015

Terry Goddard Interview — Podcast March 2, 2015

Dark Money: How Industrialized Lying Poisons the Well of Democracy. Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino and Gary LaMaster welcome Terry Goddard, former Mayor of Phoenix, Attorney General of Arizona, and twice Democratic Party candidate for Governor, to another in our series of discussions on the … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona Politics, Citizens United, Constitutional Issues, Corruption, Dark Money, Democratic Governance, Elections, Government, Interviews, Media Campaigns, National Politics, Podcasts, Political Action Committees, Political Contributions, Propaganda, Special Interest Legislation, Supreme Court | Tagged | Comments Off on Terry Goddard Interview — Podcast March 2, 2015

2014: Democratic Perspective’s Year in Review — Podcast December 29, 2014

Looking Back AND Forward: Democratic Perspective’s 2014 in Review. Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson review the most prominent themes of Democratic Perspective’s broadcasts in 2014. From the growing inequality in income and wealth in the U.S. to dark money and phony Republican scandals in national … Continue reading

Posted in Affordable Care Act, Anti-Federalism, Anti-Gay Discrimination, Arizona Economy, Arizona Politics, Bigotry, Capital Accumulation, Capitalism, Citizens United, Civil Rights, Class Conflict, Conservatives and Reactionaries, Constitutional Issues, Corruption, Dark Money, Democratic Governance, Department of Veterans Affairs, Domestic Extremism, Economic Policy, Economic Theory, Government, Immigration, Income Inequality, Jobs and Employment, Journalism, Law Enforcement, LGBT Issues, Localist Movement, Marriage Equality, Mass Incarceration, Middle East, Middle East Policy, National Politics, National Security, Nullification, Paul Gosar, Podcasts, Political Action Committees, Political Contributions, Political Lies, Political Polarization, Racism, Scandal Mongering, Supreme Court, Unemployment, Veterans' Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 2014: Democratic Perspective’s Year in Review — Podcast December 29, 2014