The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch
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Friday, February 3, 2012
Politics / News Political Roundtable: The Race for Gabby's Seat, Union Busting & Special Guest Margaret Kenski
Posted by Jim Nintzel on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 7:06 PM
Tonight's Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable: Lots of talk about the Antenori-Kelly-Sitton match-up on the GOP side in the CD8 special election, plus the latest on whether Gabrielle Giffords' district director, Ron Barber, will get into the special election to fill her seat. Plus, guests Jeff Rogers and Sam Stone talk about what's up with Carmona, Flake, Bivens and Cardin in the U.S. Senate race and the union-busting bills at the Arizona Legislature and pollster Margaret Kenski talk about the voters in CD8.
Politics / News CD8 Special Election: Who's Martha McSally and Why Are People Saying She Might Run for Congress?
Posted by Jim Nintzel on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 5:54 PM
After a week that saw the expected entries of Republicans Frank Antenori, Dave Sitton and Jesse Kelly into the CD8 special election to fill Gabrielle Giffords' empty seat, there's buzz that a fourth Republican might get into the April 17 GOP primary: Martha McSally.
The name didn't ring a bell for us, but she's got an impressive bio on her Facebook page:
Colonel Martha McSally was a pilot in the United States Air Force. She was the first American woman to fly in combat since the 1991 lifting of the prohibition of women in combat. McSally is also the first woman to command a USAF fighter squadron, the 354th Fighter Squadron (354 FS) based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. McSally is an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot.Military career
McSally graduated from St. Mary Academy - Bay View and then the United States Air Force Academy in 1988. She earned a Master's degree from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She earned her wings at Laughlin AFB, Texas and was initially assigned as a First Assignment Instructor Pilot (FAIP) in the T-37. She was selected for Lead-in Fighter Training (LIFT) in 1993, completed the Replacement Training Unit for the A-10 Thunderbolt II, was assigned to an operational A-10 squadron and was deployed to Kuwait in January 1995. During that deployment, she flew combat patrol over Iraq under Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the no-fly zone. In 2000, she reported to Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for a temporary assignment in support of Operation Southern Watch. In July 2004, she took command of the A-10 equipped 354th Fighter Squadron, and was subsequently deployed to Afghanistan under Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, where she employed weapons in combat for the first time. In 2005, McSally and her squadron were awarded the David C. Shilling Award, given by the Air Force Association for the best aerospace contribution to national defense.
McSally is not a household name and time is short: Signatures for the race are due by Feb. 27. Money will be hard to raise. (We hear Dave Sitton is doing well in that department, while Antenori is struggling to pull in dollars.) On the other hand, getting into a race like this could do wonders for your name ID and maybe even put you in a position in the upcoming regular election later this year...
Here's part of a story about McSally challenging the requirement that she dress in Muslim garb while serving in Saudi Arabia from 60 Minutes:
TW Maintenance and Miscellany We Have a Pinterest Board Now
Posted by Dan Gibson on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 5:00 PM
Who knows what we'll actually do with Pinterest, other than share some photos from our website and maybe some that didn't make the paper, but we're on there and we'll be adding stuff as we get around to it. So, if you want to follow us, we'd be happy to follow you and we'll let the Pinterest magic wash over us together.
Do This! / Music Fred Eaglesmith to Play Plaza Palamino
Posted by Michelle Weiss on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 4:00 PM
Deep vocals, fast guitar strumming and a top hat describe Fred Eaglesmith, the singer/songwriter who publishes his own albums. He makes his way to Tucson on Saturday with the Fabulous Ginn Sisters for a show at Plaza Palamino. Though Eaglesmith's music is often classified as alternative country, his songs also seem to have a mix of blues, rock, folk and salsa styles.
And he's not just a talented musician, he's also a painter!
Here's what Tucson Weekly's Stephen Seigel said about Eaglesmith in 2010:
In many ways, Fred Eaglesmith is like a Canadian James McMurtry: Eaglesmith writes story-songs focusing on the travails of the common man living in the heartland. His early work is, in fact, reminiscent of the Texas songwriter tradition from which McMurtry springs, even in its instrumentation. But somewhere along the way, Eaglesmith got a bit more sonically interesting than that.
For more information, visit the Rhythm and Roots website.
Politics / TV / News Super PAC: "A Frothy Mix of Lube and Campaign Funding That Is Sometimes the Byproduct of Politics"
Posted by Jim Nintzel on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 3:00 PM
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Slate's Dahlia Lithwick thinks Stephen Colbert has done an admirable job of focusing attention on the spending machines known as Super PACS:
When President Obama criticized Citizens United two years ago in his State of the Union address, at least three justices came back at him with pitchforks and shovels. In the end, most court watchers scored it a draw. But when a comedian with a huge national platform started ridiculing the court last summer, the stakes changed completely. This is no pointy-headed deconstruction unspooling on the legal blogs. Colbert has spent the past few months making every part of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion in Citizen United look utterly ridiculous. And the court, which has no access to cameras (by its own choosing), no press arm, and no discernible comedic powers, has had to stand by and take it on the chin.
Arts and Culture / Do This! "Madama Butterfly" Flutters Into Town This Weekend
Posted by Michelle Weiss on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 2:00 PM
- Arizona Opera
- Flower Duet
The opera comes to Tucson this weekend. Arizona Opera describes in a press release:
Arizona Opera’s production of “Madama Butterfly” features sopranos Shu-Ying Li and Jill Gardner sharing the title role of the trusting geisha abandoned by her American naval officer husband. One of the most challenging parts in the opera repertoire, Butterfly or Cio-Cio San is on stage for nearly the entire opera’s duration and sings some of Puccini’s greatest and most emotive music, including the popular aria “Un bel dì.”
Matthew Erikson, the public relations manager with Arizona Opera, describes the storyline as follows:
The basic storyline is that ugly American military officer abandons trusting geisha. Even after a 3-year absence, Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San) faithfully awaits the return of her beloved Pinkerton, holding onto her dreams of passionate love and their child, whom she has named Sorrow. When at last he arrives, Butterfly discovers he has married someone else. Her heart shattered, she must find a way to soar above disgrace and restore her honor. With sets that evoke a Nagasaki village, the Arizona Opera production includes one of the most sought-after interpreters of “Madama Butterfly,” Chinese soprano Shu-Ying Li.
When:
February 4, 7:30 p.m. and
February 5, 2 p.m.
Where:
Tucson Music Hall
For tickets, call the Arizona Opera Box Office at 520-293-4336 or visit Ticketmaster.
For more information, visit the Arizona Opera website.
Below the cut, a video preview of the show from Arizona Opera:
Politics / News Political Roundtable: The CD8 Special Election, More From the AZ Legislature & AZ Presidential Primary Predictions
Posted by Jim Nintzel on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 1:30 PM
Tonight on Arizona Illustrated's Political Roundtable: Jeff Rogers, chairman of the Pima County Democratic Party, and Sam Stone, the former spokesman for the Pima County Republican Party, discuss the special election to fill the seat recently vacated by Gabrielle Giffords, as well the union-busting bills at the Arizona Legislature and the Arizona presidential primary. Plus, pollster Margaret Kenski stops by to talk about the voters in CD8 with Andrea Kelly and me.
Tune in at 6:30 p.m. tonight on Channel 6 or stop by here later when we post it online.
Do This! / Music Andrew Collberg Release Party at Borderlands Tonight
Posted by Michelle Weiss on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 1:00 PM
Andrew Collberg has lived in Sweden, New Zealand and Arizona, so it's safe to say his music has been influenced by different cultures and musical styles. With a blend of acoustic guitar, raw vocals and slower tempos, Collberg offers songs and performances that create a "feel-good" effect on his listeners.
The release of his 7-inch record kicks off Friday with a show at Borderlands Brewing Co. with fellow Fort Lowell acts Tracy Shedd and Young Mother and an after party at Plush. For more event and album information, check out the Fort Lowell Records website.
TV / Music Finally, Michael McDonald Sings the "Saved by the Bell" Theme
Posted by Dan Gibson on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 12:30 PM
I had no idea that they did these 30 Rock animated webisodes, but anytime you can get Donald Glover, Ryan Adams and Michael McDonald together, I'm in.
Media / Music Goodbye Bob FM, Hello i97.5
Posted by Dan Gibson on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 11:58 AM
While I'm sure their 56 Facebook friends will be devastated, 97.5 "Bob FM" will be no more in a few minutes, as Cumulus Media flips the station to "i97.5", which I guess is supposed to make you think of iPhones or something. Cumulus has other stations with the "lower case letter I" theme, including Indianapolis' WRWM, so if you're looking for a station that plays The Fray, Adele, Katy Perry, Gavin DeGraw and Selena Gomez (WRWM's top five artists over the last five days) another place to hear the KRQ playlist, you're probably in luck. If you're looking for some sort of local presence or personality, you're still going to need to look elsewhere. But, hey, they're playing N*SYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" now, so there's that.
UPDATE, although probably no one cares: They're going to play 10,000 songs in a row without a commercial break, kicking off with LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem", a song you certainly CAN'T HEAR ANYWHERE ELSE. Sigh.
