No budget for AZ

Strange weather day in Flagstaff. Thunder, some lightning, dark grey clouds and no moisture. While it did make it to 82° and the 40% humidity made it less than comfortable. Finally about 3pm there was a slight breeze to drop the temp into the low 70’s, but the humidity stayed. I’m ready…bring on the monsoon.

Living in a western state is great. At least until it comes to politics. The Governor has said she won’t play chicken. The House worked till midnight; the senate until 3am to get a budget. Then they held off sending it to the governor. Guess they figured she was sleeping. So now our non-elected governor has said she will use her line item veto on things she doesn’t want. Then she will call for a special session to get a better budget. This means more money to pay all those legislators. We are broke. We are in deep debt. The economy in AZ is down the tubes. So it makes sense to pay the legislators who got us in this mess even more. NOT. Several friends I have, know people who work in state government. They all say that ol’ Jan—our non-elected governor—is in way over her head. I deep hoping they are wrong. But the more I see, the more I understand that she doesn’t even get along with her own party. As the budget crisis continues, it seems some schools may be closing on July 15. These are mostly charter schools. Yet our governor claims to work for kids and education. Banks in AZ did not honor Welfare checks today, but DES says they will soon. What a mess.

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Random Fact
Most burglaries occur during the daytime!

July is…

…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…

Week of July 1
Nat’l Unassisted Homebirth Week

July 2—183 days so far this year…182 days remain in 2009

I Forgot Day
*Curacao: Flag Day [Caribbean Island]
*Bahia: Independence Day [part of Brazil]


BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…

1489
Thomas Cranmer England, archbishop/reformer/martyr
1865
Lili Braun Prussia, feminist/socialist writer (Im Schatten Titanen)
1877
Hermann Hesse Switzerland, novelist/poet (Steppenwolf, Nobel 1946)
1894
Walter Brennan Swampscott Mass, actor
1908
Thurgood Marshall Md, 1st black Supreme Court justice
1916
Ken Curtis Lamar Colo, actor (Ripcord, Festus-Gunsmoke)
1925
Patrice Lumumba Zaire, revolutionary
1937
Polly Holliday Jasper Ala, actress (Flo-Alice, Flo-Flo)
1939
John Sununu US Secretary of State
1937
Richard Petty auto race driver
1932
Dave Thomas fast-food founder: Wendy’s
1964
Jose (Capas) Canseco baseball

IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…

1777
Vermont becomes 1st American colony to abolish slavery
1843
An alligator falls from the sky during a Charleston SC thunderstorm
1850
The gas mask was patented on this day. It was an invention of B.J. Lane of Cambridge, MA.
1862
Lincoln signs act granting land for state agricultural colleges
1863
Battle of Gettysburg (2nd day)
1881
Pres Garfield shot by Charles J Guiteau a disappointed office-seeker
1926
US Army Air Corps created; Distinguish Flying Cross authorized
1927
1st American to win Wimbeldon in 20 years (Helen Wills Moody) then in 1938 she wins her 8th & final Wimbeldon singles
1937 Pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Frederick J. Noonan disappear without a trace in the South Pacific while attempting to fly around the world.
1955
"Lawrence Welk Show" premiers on ABC
1961
Writer Ernest Hemingway commits suicide in Ketchum, Idaho, at the age of 61.
1964
Pres Johnson signs Civil Rights Act
1976
Supreme Court ruled death penalty not inherently cruel or unusual
2002
Steve Fossett became the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world
2005
Live 8 concerts happen in members of the G8 cities around the world

Word Puzzle from NPR Sunday Puzzler…1987

Here are clues for two words. The answer to the first clue has eight letters. Remove the first and last letters and you’ll get a new, six-letter word that answers the second clue.

EX: Make a mess when hitting the floor/ River in Nebraska

Answers: splatter / Platte

1. Complimenting / Dried grapes
2. Kind of conclusion / Beaver state
3. Earthenware / Chair for a grandmother
4. Like a steak that’s black / Actress Gwen of “Damn Yankees”
5. Wearing Hindu headwear / Cosmopolitan
6. Without anything to eat / A great many
7. Least hilly / Starbucks orders
8. Forest plant [2 words] / Illegal cigarette
9. Scrap / Dealers in cloth scraps
10. To cross / People who talk insanely
*Bonus: Tough Problem / To amuse
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Answers:
1. Praising / raisin
2. Foregone / Oregon
3. Crockery / rocker
4. Overdone / Verdon
5. Turbaned / urbane
6. Foodless / oodies
7. Flattest / lattes
8. Tree fern / reefer
9. Fragment / ragmen
10. traverse / ravers
*Bonus: stickler / tickle
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