video

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Justice is served - Roth's conviction is overturned!

The Desert Freedom Press reports that Mike Roth's 2010 conviction for "disorderly conduct" has been overturned by the Appeals Court. Congratulations Mikey! Now that's a holiday gift that's truly priceless.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Vederman concurrs with AG on Open Meeting violations

http://www.parkerliveonline.com/2011/12/19/county-attorney-weighs-in-on-quartzsite-open-meeting-laws/

Sure he agrees, after all, who's going to disagree with the Attorney General. But what did Sam do about it back then? He admonished the town council. And the council kept right on breaking the law because there was no repercussions. Just like they're going to do again because Tom Horne is clearly not tough on corruption. With Brewer likely facing recall, AG Horne could make an example of Quartzsite and take the Governor's Mansion, but no. Clearly, he's almost as big an old softie as spineless Sam Vederman.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Quartzsite--Bankruptcy Bomb Town Hall Meeting

Please Forward to Your Friends and Family in La Paz County

Dear Quartzsite Taxpayer:

The Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity welcomes all taxpayers, tea partiers, and other concerned citizens from La Paz County (and beyond) to participate in our “Feet to the Fire” Taxpayer Town Hall in Quartzsite on Friday, December 16. Event details below.

The topic of the town hall will be America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb, a theme we have borrowed from the title of an important new book by entitlements policy analyst Peter Ferrara. We will spend the first hour talking about federal tax and budget issues, and the second hour talking about state and local tax and budget issues--including Gov. Jan Brewer's attempt to set up an ObamaCare/PPACA health insurance exchange (http://tinyurl.com/chamberex). Pasted below is more information about the Bankruptcy Bomb town halls. The town halls are FREE of charge, but we urge you to go to the eventbrite links below and register.

The Bankruptcy Bomb is the Biggest Fiscal Issue Facing Our Country.

Take our quick poll on solving America's fiscal crisis: http://tinyurl.com/crisisafp

If America does not get a grip on its finances soon, the next generation will have to close to $150 trillion in additional taxes over the next 75 years just to balance the nation’s books. On average, that’s over $30,000 a year in extra taxes for 50 working years for every child in the US currently under the age of 18. If America does not get government spending under control, those economy-crushing taxes will have to be paid one way or another: either through actual tax levies or through massive currency devaluations of the kind that plague Third World nations.

The only realistic long-term plan in Congress is Rep. Paul Ryan’s Road Map for America’s Future. The Road Map is a long-term proposal to stabilize federal spending at a sustainable level, keep our promises to Social Security and Medicare recipients who are too old to escape those systems, and allow younger Americans to escape from dependence on government retirement and health care subsidies. In many ways, the Road Map is an agenda for the promotion of freedom, but on the fiscal front, its objective is to create the economic growth and the budget surpluses necessary to pay down our debt and to fund the long-term transition away from inherently bankrupt systems of government-centered retirement and health care.

AFP-Arizona does not agree 100 percent with all of the elements of the Road Map plan. But we do believe that the Road Map must be the starting point for serious bipartisan and multi-generational discussions about the fiscal future of this country. Our Taxpayer Town Hall series is designed to begin that discussion in earnest. We welcome the participation of our federal and state elected officials, but our invitation carries with it a stern warning: We expect them to keep this country from going bankrupt, and we will hold their Feet to the Fire!

December 16, 2011 -- Quartzsite                 

Location: Casa Del Sol Community Center, 400 W. Main St., Quartzsite, AZ
Day/Time of Town Hall: Friday, December 16, 3:00 to 5:00 pm
Legislators Attending: TBA      
Policy Speakers: Tom Jenney, Director, AFP-Arizona; Alan Korwin, Author
Political Districts: CD 2, LD 3 (old maps)
Registration & Directions:         http://qtowntownhall.eventbrite.com/

For questions about the town halls, contact AFP-Arizona grassroots coordinator Judy Hoelscher at (623) 465-4767 / judy@afphq.org.

Invitation to Elected Officials and Candidates

AFP-Arizona welcomes federal, state and local officials and candidates to participate. We will recognize elected officials and candidates, and encourage town hall attendees to ask them questions. But we advise officials and candidates to remember that this is a Feet to the Fire town hall, and to be prepared to answer some tough questions. At this link, we have posted a few of those questions: http://tinyurl.com/hardquest

Preparing for AFP-Arizona’s Taxpayer Town Halls

No advance preparation is necessary, but we recommend that taxpayers, tea partiers, and other concerned citizens obtain copies of America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb, an important new book by policy analyst Peter Ferrara:


A short summary of the long-term Road Map for America’s Future plan is provided here:


To prepare for the discussion of state and local policy, we recommend that participants read Chapter 8 (on “Failed States”) in the Ferrara book.

For Liberty, Tom

Tom Jenney
Arizona Director
Americans for Prosperity
www.aztaxpayers.org
tjenney@afphq.org
(602) 478-0146

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Horne: Quartzsite violated opening meetings law

http://www.kpho.com/story/16315940/horne-quartzsite-violated-opening-meetings-law

Posted: Dec 13, 2011 1:03 PM Updated: Dec 13, 2011 1:13 PM


By Phil Benson - email



Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne

PHOENIX (KPHO) -



The Quartzsite Town Council violated Arizona's Open Meeting Laws in connection with the conduct of meetings and dealings with a member of the public, Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said Tuesday.



Horne cited four alleged violations in a letter to the Quartzsite town attorney:



* June 28: While addressing the council, Quartzsite resident Jennifer Jones was removed from the meeting by a vote of the council, Horne said. She had turned her back on the council and was addressing the audience, which the council reasonably could object to, he said. Public bodies can eject members of the public for disruptive conduct, but they must first give a warning, which the council failed to do, Horne said.

* July 10: The Council convened an emergency meeting at the Town Hall to discuss disruptions during previous meetings. The Council locked the doors to the meeting room and did not allow any member of the public to attend its meeting, Horne said. Excluding the public from the meeting violated the Open Meeting Law, Horne said.

* Dec. 9: In a related violation, the Attorney General said the Council did not fully comply with the posting requirements for emergency meetings. Horne said as of Dec. 9, the minutes of the emergency meeting were not posted on the town's website.

* The final violation involved the failure to comply with posting requirements for notices and minutes, Horne said. The council did not post minutes for the July 10 emergency meeting, according to Horne. The council also failed to post minutes for a number of its meetings labeled as "work sessions," Horne said.



Horne said he was making several recommendations. He wanted the council to discuss his concerns with its legal counsel in open session during a properly noticed public meeting.



He recommended each member of the council and staff to take part in a training session with counsel from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, regarding the requirements of the Open Meeting Laws.



And he wanted the council to be subject to oversight by the Attorney General's Office for 12 months.



Copyright 2011 KPHO. All rights reserved.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Jennifer Jones arrested in Quartzsite Post Office!

The Desert Freedom Press Publisher Jennifer Jones was arrested Friday afternoon in the Quartzsite Post Office by Sergeant Xavier Frausto and Police Chief Jeff Gilbert. Jones states that she repeatedly asked them what the charge was, but they refused to tell her.  Later, she finally learned that she had been charged with felony witness tampering, over an unsubstantiated allegation made by a woman named Denise Florian.

Florian, who admits to having a drug and alchohol problem moved to Quartzsite over the summer and was almost immediately appointed to the town personnel board to oversee the appeal hearings of the Quartzsite police officers wrongfully terminated over the summer. She was subsequently appointed to the town Health and Development Board which then made recommendations to the council about how much money to give the Senior Center, Museum, and Chamber of Commerce.

According to Jones, Florian had assaulted her in a severly drunken state a few weeks earlier at a local restaurant. For obvious reasons, the Jones did not call the police as Jennifer was not injured and the police have not protected them in the past.

In a video conferenced appearance, Judge Karen Slaughter set Jones ' bail at $10,000 Because she had a statement from Florian claiming to be in fear for her life. Jones states that she reminded Judge Slaughter that bail was only to assure your appearance and that tha Constitution prohibited excessive bail, but Slaughter told her that if she didn't like it, she could wait in jail until they found her another judge. Slaughter made headlines for another controversial ruling this summer when she ordered Republican Precinct Committeman Michael Roth's guns taken away for calling Councilman "Machine Gun Joe" Winslow a "turd".

Jones made bail Saturday evening and states that an official press release would be forthcoming. Just remember, you heard it here first!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

The Great Thanksgiving Hoax

The Great Thanksgiving Hoax


by Richard J. Maybury



Each year at this time school children all over America are taught the official Thanksgiving story, and newspapers, radio, TV, and magazines devote vast amounts of time and space to it. It is all very colorful and fascinating.



It is also very deceiving. This official story is nothing like what really happened. It is a fairy tale, a whitewashed and sanitized collection of half-truths which divert attention away from Thanksgiving's real meaning.



The official story has the pilgrims boarding the Mayflower, coming to America and establishing the Plymouth colony in the winter of 1620-21. This first winter is hard, and half the colonists die. But the survivors are hard working and tenacious, and they learn new farming techniques from the Indians. The harvest of 1621 is bountiful. The Pilgrims hold a celebration, and give thanks to God. They are grateful for the wonderful new abundant land He has given them.



The official story then has the Pilgrims living more or less happily ever after, each year repeating the first Thanksgiving. Other early colonies also have hard times at first, but they soon prosper and adopt the annual tradition of giving thanks for this prosperous new land called America.



The problem with this official story is that the harvest of 1621 was not bountiful, nor were the colonists hardworking or tenacious. 1621 was a famine year and many of the colonists were lazy thieves.



In his History of Plymouth Plantation, the governor of the colony, William Bradford, reported that the colonists went hungry for years, because they refused to work in the fields. They preferred instead to steal food. He says the colony was riddled with "corruption," and with "confusion and discontent." The crops were small because "much was stolen both by night and day, before it became scarce eatable."



In the harvest feasts of 1621 and 1622, "all had their hungry bellies filled," but only briefly. The prevailing condition during those years was not the abundance the official story claims, it was famine and death. The first "Thanksgiving" was not so much a celebration as it was the last meal of condemned men.



But in subsequent years something changes. The harvest of 1623 was different. Suddenly, "instead of famine now God gave them plenty," Bradford wrote, "and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God." Thereafter, he wrote, "any general want or famine hath not been amongst them since to this day." In fact, in 1624, so much food was produced that the colonists were able to begin exporting corn.



What happened?



After the poor harvest of 1622, writes Bradford, "they began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop." They began to question their form of economic organization.



This had required that "all profits & benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing, or any other means" were to be placed in the common stock of the colony, and that, "all such persons as are of this colony, are to have their meat, drink, apparel, and all provisions out of the common stock." A person was to put into the common stock all he could, and take out only what he needed.



This "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" was an early form of socialism, and it is why the Pilgrims were starving. Bradford writes that "young men that are most able and fit for labor and service" complained about being forced to "spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children." Also, "the strong, or man of parts, had no more in division of victuals and clothes, than he that was weak." So the young and strong refused to work and the total amount of food produced was never adequate.



To rectify this situation, in 1623 Bradford abolished socialism. He gave each household a parcel of land and told them they could keep what they produced, or trade it away as they saw fit. In other words, he replaced socialism with a free market, and that was the end of famines.



Many early groups of colonists set up socialist states, all with the same terrible results. At Jamestown, established in 1607, out of every shipload of settlers that arrived, less than half would survive their first twelve months in America. Most of the work was being done by only one-fifth of the men, the other four-fifths choosing to be parasites. In the winter of 1609-10, called "The Starving Time," the population fell from five-hundred to sixty.



Then the Jamestown colony was converted to a free market, and the results were every bit as dramatic as those at Plymouth. In 1614, Colony Secretary Ralph Hamor wrote that after the switch there was "plenty of food, which every man by his own industry may easily and doth procure." He said that when the socialist system had prevailed, "we reaped not so much corn from the labors of thirty men as three men have done for themselves now."



Before these free markets were established, the colonists had nothing for which to be thankful. They were in the same situation as Ethiopians are today, and for the same reasons. But after free markets were established, the resulting abundance was so dramatic that the annual Thanksgiving celebrations became common throughout the colonies, and in 1863, Thanksgiving became a national holiday.



Thus the real reason for Thanksgiving, deleted from the official story, is: Socialism does not work; the one and only source of abundance is free markets, and we thank God we live in a country where we can have them.



Reprinted from Mises.org.



November 24, 2011



Richard Maybury writes on investments. This article originally appeared in The Free Market, November 1985.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Redistricting meeting 1:0 pm tomorrow!

NOTICE / AGENDA



PUBLIC MEETING/HEARING



OF THE



LA PAZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS



Pursuant to Arizona Revised Statute § 38-431.02, notice is hereby given to the members of the

La Paz County Board of Supervisors, and to the general public, that the La Paz County Board

of Supervisors will hold a Public Meeting/Hearing, open to the public, on

Monday, November 14, 2011, 1:00 p.m.,

at the Quartzsite Senior Center, 40 Moon Mountain Road,

Quartzsite, Arizona.



Purpose of the Public Meeting/Hearing:

Discussion of proposed re-districting of the La Paz County Board of Supervisor Districts and Community College District

Monday, November 7, 2011

Quartzsite and Bouse to combine schools? Find out tonight!

Tonight at 6:30 pm there's a possibly interesting proposal on the agenda for the Bouse Elementary School board meeting.

It seems that the head of the school board is the wife of the director of the Quartzsite Scholar's Academy. Bouse may not have enough enrollment to keep the school open, so the agenda item "Discuss intergovernmental  Agreement regarding transportation services" is rumored to be over bussing Quartzsite students to Bouse, in exchange for Bouse gifting the new school bus to the Scholar's Academy...

Be there tonight, if you have children potentially effected by this proposal. For More information call 928-851-2986

Public Comment will be allowed before and after the vote, unlike Quartzsite, where the public comment is only on internet blogs!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Sheriff: Fast and Furious Bigger Scandal Than Watergate

http://www.infowars.com/sheriff-fast-and-furious-bigger-scandal-than-watergate/

Over two dozen Republicans call for Holder to resign


Paul Joseph Watson

Infowars.com

Tuesday, November 1, 2011



Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu joined over two dozen Republican lawmakers in calling on Attorney General Eric Holder’s to resign over Operation Fast and Furious, the gunrunning program that saw the ATF deliver some 2,000 guns directly into the hands of Mexican drug gangs, labeling the scandal worse than the Watergate cover-up that brought down the Nixon White House.

Eric Holder



Noting that two of the guns involved in the program were found at the scene where U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was shot to death, Babeu warned that if Holder attempted to stay in power, he could bring down the entire Obama administration.



“I thought it was a telling sign when President Obama embraced him and gave him the Al Capone hug and the Scarface whisper in the ear that I support you. He did this publicly. I thought, `Wow, this is his last hours here, that he’s on his way out,” Babeu told KTAR News.



Holder is set to testify once more on the subject in front of a Democratic-led Senate committee on November 8.



By no means for the first time, if Eric Holder repeats his dubious contention that Fast and Furious only came to his attention when it became public knowledge, he will be knowingly committing perjury.



The head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, Lanny A. Breuer, Holder’s subordinate who first learned of Fast and Furious in April 2010, sent Holder briefings concerning Fast and Furious in July 2010, almost a year before Holder told a Judiciary Committee hearing, “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.”



Holder also received the same briefing from the head of the National Drug Intelligence Center, internal DOJ documents obtained by CBS News show.



“Internal Justice Department documents show that at least ten months before that hearing, Holder began receiving frequent memos discussing Fast and Furious,” states the report.



The CBS News journalist behind the scoop, Sharyl Attkisson, was subjected to verbal abuse by the White House merely for asking questions about the controversy, and was warned not to pursue the story.



Though heavily redacted, the documents directly discuss “Operation Fast and Furious” and how it involves “trafficking firearms to Mexico”.



In addition, Holder himself gave testimony to Congress in May 2009 in which he spoke of efforts on behalf of the DOJ and the DHS to track weapons going from the U.S. into Mexico under Project Gunrunner, which was the umbrella program for subsequent operations like Fast and Furious.



It now appears as though Breuer is attempting to throw himself under the bus in an attempt to take the heat off his boss and be the fall guy for Fast and Furious.



Over two dozen Republican lawmakers have called for Holder to resign over his stonewalling on Fast and Furious, which is the subject of a congressional probe.



As we highlighted last week, Holder is not alone in his willingness to risk charges of perjury by lying in front of elected representatives.



Despite telling a House Judiciary Committee that she only learned of operation Fast and Furious in December last year when the controversy went public, Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano actually helped launch the previous incarnation of the program, Project Gunrunner, at a White House press conference in March 2009.



“Napolitano, at one point likening the questioning to a cross-examination, said repeatedly she only learned of “Fast and Furious” after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in December,” reported Fox News. “She emphasized the operation, conceived and run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, “was an ATF operation,” under the auspices of the Justice Department, not her department.”



However, as the video below illustrates, not only was Napolitano aware of the ATF program to put guns into the hands of Mexican drug lords, she actually helped launch the previous incarnation of it, Project Gunrunner, at a White House press conference alongside Deputy Attorney General David Ogden in March 2009.



*********************



Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.


Similar/Related Articles - key word search for:
1. Napolitano Knew About Fast and Furious In 2009

2. ATF’s Fast and Furious Seems Colored With Shades of Iran/Contra Scandal

3. House Committee to Subpoena Holder in ‘Fast and Furious’ Probe

4. Eric Holder to testify on Fast and Furious

5. Fast And Furious: 22 Shocking Facts About The Scandal That Could Bring Down The Obama Administration

6. Taxpayer Funds Used to Buy Weapons for Fast & Furious

7. ATF Florida Gun Probe Earns Congressional Scrutiny in Wake of ‘Fast and Furious’

8. Was CIA behind Operation Fast and Furious?

9. DEA acknowledges supporting role in Operation Fast and Furious

10. Issa Acknowledges Gun Probes ‘Similar’ to ‘Fast and Furious’ Under Bush

11. New Fast and Furious docs released by White House

12. Congressman says unlikely Holder did not know about Operation Fast and Furious

Monday, October 31, 2011

Quartzsite job stress kills town employee?

This morning, Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Official Gary Howell passed away on the clock (?), of an apparent heart attack(?). Howell was as well liked as any enforcement official could be, and tried to be fair and resonable in his job, under very difficult and stressful circumstances. He was only in his fifties. His widow is a former town employee who was fired recently, while still on probation. Our prayers are with her and the children.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Magistrate Frausto resigns!

Controversial Quartzsite Magistrate/grant writer Terry Frausto, wife of corrupt Police Sgt. Xavier Frausto has resigned , for reasons unknown at this time. This was reported to Mayor Ed Foster by his public defender, Michael Frame this morning. See: http://www.ci.quartzsite.az.us/spcl%20mtg%2010312011.html

In a related story, charges will reportedly be dismissed against Foster for last spring's false arrest related to an incident with Desert Freedom Press Publisher Jennifer Jones, where Foster had picked up Jones car keys in the parking lot behind Quartzsite Town Hall. Charges were dismissed against Jones over that incident last month. Foster's cases have been postponed until the new magistrate is seated, and no, he's not the Larry King from the tv show!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Mayor Ed Foster jailed on warrant!

Yesterday, former Quartzsite Mayor Ed Foster turned himself into the La Paz County Jail commander, and was booked and release on "nonfeasance" in office charges related to the June 14th Town Council Meeting.

Town Attorney/Prosecutor Martin Brannan accused Mayor Foster of not ending the meeting when the remainder of the council walked out on AZCOPS Vice President John Stair.
However, Brannan (sitting to the left of Taft and Walsma in the video below) did not charge the council for the illegal Quorum they held in the adjoining room, or Al Johnson for usurping the mayor's authority and ending the call to the public without the authority to do so.

Monday, October 3, 2011

A turd by any other name

Is still a piece of shit!

According to the Desert Freedom Press:
"Activist Dana Stadler, age 58, was arrested this afternoon on a charges of "harassment, disorderly conduct, interfering with judicial proceedings" relating to an encounter Saturday afternoon outside of the McDonalds in Quartzsite, wherein he told councilman "Machine Gun Joe" Winslow "You're a worthless piece of shit." This is the second warrant-less misdemeanor arrest in a week for Stadler, who many feel is simply being punished by Police Chief Jeff Gilbert for participating in copblock.org 's "chalk the police" day, on October 1st.


Stadler's first warrant-less arrest was for starting his chalking criticism of the Police Chief a few days early, on Tuesday, September 27th, prior to the town council meeting.
Quartzsite Councilman Joe Winslow is becoming infamous for his erratic behavior, bizarre comments, and a string of ridiculous charges against anyone who criticizes him. Winslow filed for a restraining order against Michel Roth, for calling him a "turd", had local videographer Doug Gilford arrested for asking him why he refused to put the police chief on administrative leave, and for ordering town police to forcefully remove Jennifer Jones from a town council meeting over the orders of Quartzsite Mayor Ed Foster. "

Thursday, September 29, 2011

"Two Quartzsite chalk taggers arrested for criminal damage"


http://www.kswt.com/story/15574877/quartzsite

Story by Ruth Castillo, Reporter

Quartzsite, Arizona September 28, 2011 - Town workers in Quartzsite discovered tagging early Tuesday morning.




"Early morning about 7:30, some of the employees from the town of Quartzsite arrived at Town Hall, they discovered some tagging that had been done across the courtyard and the area entering town hall," says Quartzsite Police Chief Jeff Gilbert.



Onsite cameras caught the action.



"In viewing the video surveillance recording, they identified two persons involved in the tagging the night before," says Chief Gilbert.



46-year-old Michael Roth and 58-year-old Dana Stadler of Quartzsite were arrested and booked into La Paz County Jail on 12 counts of criminal damage. Roth says he's fed up with Quartzsite Town government.



"After a long train of abuses, I finally decided that I'm going to exercise my First Amendment rights, which they hadn't allowed me over maybe years now," says Roth. "I've been arrested several times for just simply speaking uncomfortable truths of power and they won't let anybody discuss anything in town hall meetings."



Roth says he wanted to express himself.



"So what I did was took some chalk that I bought from Walmart and I simply put words that they didn't like on the concrete that's leading up to Town Hall and I got arrested for it," says Roth.



Although he admits to the tagging, Roth sees nothing criminal about it.



"There was no damage. I wrote it in chalk. They used a hose to clean it up. It took all of 15 seconds to wash this away and there was no damage," says Roth. "I though this was and still believe this is a perfectly legal way to voice your displeasure with an out of control local government."



However, Chief Gilbert calls it a hate crime.



"Most of it were hate-associated messages," says Chief Gilbert. "One writing said 'Death to the [Town] Council,' another said 'Hang them all.' There's one that says "Hang [Chief] Gilbert.' And most of them contained swastika symbols on the things that written."



Kswt News 13 questioned Roth's use of a symbolassociated with Nazi Germany and white supremicists. When asked what he meant to say when he scribed a swastika alongside the letters QPD, Roth said the Quartzsite Police are out of control.



"Well, I do obviously because I wrote it. I mean, what is more Nazi than to have police departments come out and attack political opponents, to try to silence political opponents, to jail political opponents?" said Roth.



Chief Gilbert questioned Roth's Freedom of speech defense.



"It's interesting that [Roth] didn't come in at 8 o'clock in the morning when Town Hall was open in daylight hours and both these individuals used the cover of darkness, you know, to come in when nobody was there when Town Hall was closed and do this tagging," said Gilbert.

OK, so I admit, it's not a Julian Beever masterpeice, but they're both just as temporary!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Charges dropped against Oldham and Jones'

This morning in Quartzsite Municipal Court, all charges were dropped against former Mayor C. Richard Oldham, Desert Freedom Press Publisher Jennifer Jones, and her husband John. The charges on Oldham relate to a false allegation that permits had not been pulled for work on a storage building, but Oldham's lawyers were able to uncover copies that the town claimed to have no record of. The charges against Mr. And Mrs. Jones began when building official Al Johnson trespassed onto their property and assaulted Mrs. Jones in November of 2010 and culminated in the viral video of Quartzsite police illegally removing her from the June council meeting. Congratulations to all!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

RECALL ELECTION SHOCKER!


Well, it looks like Vigilante Vendor has pointed out what should have been obvious, that elected officials must follow the law.

Quartzsite Town Code States:
Section 2-1-7 Bond
Prior to taking office, every Council Member shall execute and file an official bond, enforceable against the principal and his sureties, conditioned on the due and faithful performance of his official duties, payable to the state and to and for the use and benefit of the town or any person who may be injured or aggrieved by the wrongful act or default of such officer in his official capacity. A person so injured or aggrieved may bring suit on such bond under provisions identical to those contained in A.R.S. § 38-260. Bonds shall be in such sum as shall be provided by resolution, and the premium for such bonds shall be paid by the town.

Mayor-elect Lizarraga did not follow the law and Judge Burke had no choice but to declare him "unqualified" in the Jones v Lizarraga contest of the August 30th mayoral recall election. Apparently, Mrs. Jones also proved that it is illegal to appoint a mayor, as was done with Akin and Huntley, so there will be no mayor at all until the next election cycle in March of 2012. Meetings can be run by the vice mayor until that time. More to come...stay tuned!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Chalk the Police and Protest QPOA officers being terminated - Oct. 1st

http://www.copblock.org/chalkthepolice/


"Chalk the Police is a nation wide campaign to raise public awareness about policing issues. Folks from all over the country will be heading out to their local police station(s) or parks (anywhere that’s public property) to advocate, in solidarity, police accountability.

The idea is to bring signs, fliers and (of course) chalk to their demonstration. While there ask folks passing by if they have something they’d like to say to the police. If they do, hand them some chalk – note, you should check the laws in your area about chalking public property (even though chalk doesn’t damage, some cops get angry over this)."

So, if you've got something to say to Quartzsite Police Chief Jeff Gilbert, write it in chalk on the sidewalk, or other public place on October 1st!

Quartzsite politics makes AZ Repubic again

In small Arizona towns, politics can turn bitter
Rivalries often personal, pit neighbor vs. neighbor


by Dennis Wagner - Sept. 18, 2011 12:00 AM


The Arizona Republic







Small towns are mostly serene places, free of serious political drama.



Council meetings seem anesthetically uneventful.


But, once in a while, all hell breaks loose in America's rural burgs. Residents get their dander up, often over some relatively minor slight. Sides are chosen. Rumors spread. Insults are traded.


It's a political version of "Peyton Place," the novel about intrigue in a fictional town where everybody knows everybody else.


• Quartzsite feud continues
Tusayan still divided


In several Arizona communities, that melodrama is reality: From Quartzsite in the Sonoran Desert to Tusayan in the Kaibab Forest to Safford in the Gila River Valley, locals are all tangled up in lawsuits, voter recalls, criminal allegations and business boycotts stemming from personal and political differences.


Ken Strobeck, executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, said such municipal "volcanoes" are an exception - most tiny municipalities are more like Mayberry R.F.D. than Peyton Place.


But when things go haywire, a basic social dynamic emerges: Life is more intimate, so the rivals have more dirt on one another, more hurt feelings to overcome.


Throw in family ties, a dash of Internet gossip and a pinch of local news coverage and you've got the recipe for a brawl in the boondocks. Or, as Strobeck puts it, "I think we all know about the Hatfields and the McCoys."


Bob Benedetti, director of the University of the Pacific's Jacoby Center for Public Service and Civic Leadership, says democracy is a tricky proposition in rural towns because a handful of dedicated people can determine ballot results.


"These people know each other," said Mike Kryzanek, a political scientist at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. "They're neighbors who see each other at the coffee shop and soccer field. So it becomes personal."


Haywire system

Arizona has 91 municipalities, 15 counties and more than 220 school districts - all with elected leaders and bureaucracies. Given that fact, Strobeck says, the number of political blowups is minimal.


Part of his job is to visit local governments, giving seminars on how to conduct public business effectively and harmoniously. Although disputes inevitably pop up, most get resolved quickly either by those already in office, or by voters who replace them in the next election.


"That's the way they're supposed to operate, and it's the way we teach them," Strobeck says.


But the system has gone haywire in Quartzsite, a desert town on Interstate 10 where opposing factions have accused one another of rigging elections, governing in secret and abusing police powers. Strobeck says he met with town leaders, trying to emphasize cordiality and professionalism. He explained parliamentary procedures, the open-meetings statutes and Arizona public-records laws. But no amount of coaching or coaxing seemed to help in a town that has been in turmoil since it became incorporated two decades ago.


In 1993, the town's second mayor was charged with plotting the assassination of the first mayor in a case that wound up being dropped by prosecutors.


Since then, relations have deteriorated. Quartzsite has been through six mayors and four recall elections in the past three years. About a dozen political activists have been arrested, including now-former Mayor Ed Foster and a local newspaper publisher who was hauled out of a town meeting in handcuffs while advocating freedom of speech.


Most of the municipal law officers say the police chief misused his authority by investigating and jailing political foes, an allegation that is under review by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.


The La Paz County Attorney's Office ruled that Town Council members conducted an unlawful meeting.


The state ombudsman rebuked municipal leaders for violating Arizona's public-records law.


Through it all, at least three rival newspaper publishers continue to spew bile at the politicians and one another.


Foster, leader of a self-described reform campaign against the majority of Town Council members, says state authorities responsible for upholding government integrity are fearful of interfering in local disputes, so they look the other way, empowering those willing to break the law. As a result, Foster says, Quartzsite officials have developed an inflated sense of importance.


"They think they're a kingdom here and, because we're a small town, they've gotten away with it," he says. "Small towns are slipping through the cracks."


Foster's tenure as mayor ended last month, when he was ousted in a recall election by former Councilman Jose Lizarraga.


In a lawsuit filed this month, a third mayoral candidate asked La Paz County Superior Court to disqualify and remove Lizarraga for allegedly violating laws that govern public records and meetings.


If that civil complaint fails, Foster says he's preparing to run in the next mayoral election, scheduled this spring.


"It ain't over," he promises.


Read the rest of the article at: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/09/18/20110918arizona-small-towns-politics.html#ixzz1YQ3MInuB


Thursday, September 15, 2011

Quartzsite fires whistleblower cops

In stunning defiance of Federal Judge Mark Aspey's recommendation to keep "the staus quo" and work it out in arbitration, town tyrants have served Quartzsite "whistleblowers" with notices of termination!
Clearly, Chief Jeff Gilbert wants to show the officers who came groveling back last month who's boss!

Now, this will likely turn the Federal case, from an injunction to a wrongful termination /civil rights suit. Ok folks, scrape up the change from under your sofa cushions, and hit that donate button to help them defeat the "unholy trinity" at Quartzsite Town Hall!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Jones v Lizarraga - Quartzsite election controversy continues

Be careful what you wish for, as the saying goes. Mayor elect Jose' Lizarraga, had barely been sworn in when candidate Jennifer Jones filed a legal chalenge to his eligibility in La Paz County Superior Court.

The civil action requests that Lizarraga be disqualified and Foster, the candidate with the next highest number of votes be declared the winner of the election.

Jones contends that Lizarraga is ineligible because he admits to violating Open Meeting Law. Under Quartzsite Ordinance 2-1-10, candidates are required to adhere to certain legal and ethical standards, and apparently cannot break laws or even code of ethics guidelines.

It appears that the ethically challenged Lizarraga cannot even avail himself of the town attorney without crossing a line, as the case is between private parties, and not against the body politic. Lizarraga must file a legal reply by Wednesday. The case has not yet been set for a hearing.

Looks like Jose' should have just said "no way" to the nomination, but he had to  know the turbulent history of the position of mayor going into it . Who in their right mind would even want the job under the current administration?

Friday, September 9, 2011

QPOA "whistle blower" cops in Federal Court today

According to a post on Facebook:
"All parties have agreed that the temporary restraining order issued by Judge Bartlett has expired and that the Q8 will need to re-file for such restraining orders in Federal Court. The judge also ordered a settlement conference between parties. The judge also stated that this decision does not resolve the matters of contempt of Judge Bartlett's court, which will require additional consideration...The moment Jackson Lewis moved to Federal Court, Judge Bartlett was unable to issue a contempt ruling. Furthermore, that temporary restraining order issued by Superior Court does have a statutory time limit. In order for the Federal Court to assume jurisdiction, the Quartzsite 8 will be required to submit motions for restraining orders with the Federal Court, and Quartzsite's representation will respond to said motions, and the Federal Court will then decide whether to grant that restraining order...A settlement conference is a standard court practice to allow parties an option to negotiate or proceed with litigation. The Judge wants to grant the parties an opportunity to "work it out"...This is actually not as simple as the employer/employee relationship. If it were, Federal Court may not have jurisdiction. We are treading in First Amendment waters here."
http://www.azd.uscourts.gov/azd/callive.nsf/fda5dbb19b274dce07256dac006e5d75/4d2b3597aa9d365b0725790400343a41?OpenDocument&Highlight=2%2CQuartzsite



Proceeding Type:
Motion Hearing
RE: Doc #19, Set Motion Hearing
Type of Case:
Employment

Judge:
Courtroom:
Honorable Mark E Aspey
Flagstaff Courthouse

Date:
09/09/2011
Court Reporter:
Time:
01:30 PM
Courtroom Clerk:
Christina Hurley


Attorneys:
Plaintiffs:
Stephen Frakes
James C Kemp
Reyna Kemp
Michelle Norris
Linda Conley
William Ponce
Herlan Yeomans
Eloina Yeomans
Heriberto Dominguez
Yoami Dominguez
Charles Donald Onofry
Jon D Schneider
Charles Donald Onofry
Jon D Schneider
Charles Donald Onofry
Jon D Schneider
Charles Donald Onofry
Jon D Schneider
Charles Donald Onofry
Jon D Schneider
Charles Donald Onofry
Jon D Schneider
Charles Donald Onofry
Jon D Schneider
Charles Donald Onofry
Jon D Schneider
Charles Donald Onofry
Jon D Schneider
Charles Donald Onofry
Jon D Schneider

Defendants:
Quartzsite, Town of
Alex Taft
Jeffrey Gilbert
Albert Johnson
Rhonda Johnson
Sandy Gilbert
Justin Scott Pierce
Justin Scott Pierce
Justin Scott Pierce
Justin Scott Pierce
Justin Scott Pierce
Justin Scott Pierce