Community – Powers For the People

Labor Unions Protest Amazon on May Day (video)

Posted on May 6, 2023May 5, 2023 by Pamela Powers

Protesting outside of an Amazon warehouse on May 1, International Workers Day, has become an tradition for Tucson labor unions. Organized by the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF), the 2023 event drew about 50 protesters on a blustery day. AFL-CIO Organizing Specialist Ryan Kelly highlighted many union organizing accomplishments in the past year.

This video includes the speeches from several Tucson union leaders. It was heartening to see so many young people rising in the ranks of a revived union movement in the US. (My apologies for the wind and the street noise.)

10 Props in 14 Minutes: What You Need to Know About Arizona’s Ballot Propositions (video)

Posted on October 17, 2022October 18, 2022 by Pamela Powers

Election Day, Nov. 8, is fast approaching.

Early ballots are arriving in mailboxes all over Arizona.

Signs are popping up on street corners, in front yards and on vehicles around town.

Social media is abuzz with clever memes and video pop-ups to snag your attention and sway your vote on candidates and issues.

Traditional television advertising is carpet-bombing living rooms across the nation with negative messages fueled by special interest groups, billionaires, and dark money.

This tsunami of mixed messages from random sources with questionable credentials leaves many voters overwhelmed and wondering which messages are true and which messengers are trustworthy.

This is where constituent education comes in …

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Podcast: Blog for Arizona Authors & Rep. PPH Breakdown AZ Primary Races

Posted on July 29, 2022September 13, 2022 by Pamela Powers

Season 2 Episode 12 of A View from the Left Side focuses on Arizona’s primary election races — from the Legislature to Statewide, Corporation Commission and Congressional races.

Joining me today for this podcast are three long-term colleagues of mine at Blog for Arizona Michael Bryan, Larry Bodine and David Gordon. Mike is the founder and managing editor of Blog for Arizona. He is a local attorney and served as a prosecutor for the City of Tucson. Larry has been a writer and editor at Blog for Arizona for many years. Larry is also an attorney by profession and a former newspaper reporter. David is a prolific blogger who has interviewed many Democratic candidates for Blog for Arizona. He’s also an accomplished science fiction author.

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Unintended Consequences Will Follow Loss of Abortion Care in Arizona (video)

Posted on July 25, 2022September 13, 2022 by Pamela Powers

“Parental choice!” is the rallying cry for Arizona Republicans who promote spending state tax dollars to pay for private and religious schools.

Republicans shout “My body! My choice!” on the Floor of the Arizona House when they rail against wearing facemasks to prevent the spread of COVID.

They cry for the freedom to be unvaccinated — against COVID, measles or anything else.

They exercise their power to protect their right to carry assault weapons to the grocery store and to keep guns cheap and plentiful in Arizona.

BUT when it comes to reproductive rights and body autonomy for women, Republicans insist on government control over family planning choices that are NONE of their business. This is the height of hypocrisy. Government has no right to insert itself into private medical decisions.

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Podcast: As Gun Violence Rocks US, March for Our Lives Calls for Action

Posted on July 12, 2022July 21, 2022 by Pamela Powers

Season 2, Episode 9 of a View from the Left Side focuses on our country’s epidemic of gun violence.

My opening commentary, recorded on June 1, 2022, refers to the mass shootings at a Buffalo, New York grocery store and at the Uvalde, Texas elementary school. Unfortunately, there have been more since then, most notably the Highland Park, Illinois Fourth of July Parade mass shooting. There have been more than 300 mass shootings in the US in 2022, according to the Washington Post. (Mass shootings are defined as events in which four or more people — besides the shooter — are killed or injured.) Mass shootings are averaging one per day in 2022, and there have been no weeks in 2022 without a mass shooting, according to the Post. This is not a well-regulated militia. This is a country with more privately owned weapons than people.

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Arizona Reacts to End of Abortion Rights (video)

Posted on July 7, 2022September 13, 2022 by Pamela Powers

Planned Parenthood & Dems Press Conference

Planned Parenthood of Arizona (PP) and the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) held a joint press conference at the Arizona Capitol on June 24, 2022, the day the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade, the landmark abortion rights case from 1973.

At the press conference, PP President and CEO Brittany Fonteno said that Planned Parenthood stopped all abortion care services and canceled appointments in Arizona that day, due to multiple conflicting state laws on the books.

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