On Monday, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake requested that Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs have an “open invitation” for a debate. Even if the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission (AZCCEC) allows an open invitation and extends their deadline, it’s unlikely Hobbs would agree to a debate.
That’s because Hobbs again rejected a traditional debate offered by the AZCCEC on Sunday, after a previous rejection last month. The AZCCEC decided during a meeting last Thursday to grant the two gubernatorial candidates another week to come to an agreement on a debate format. Hobbs’ campaign manager Nicole DeMont responded to the AZCCEC that she couldn’t agree to any debate format featuring Lake, accusing her opponent of using the debate platform inappropriately.
“Unfortunately, debating a conspiracy theorist like Kari Lake — whose entire campaign platform is to cause enormous chaos and make Arizona the subject of national ridicule — would only lead to constant interruptions, pointless distractions, and childish name-calling,” wrote DeMont.
If the AZCCEC doesn’t grant an extension and Hobbs doesn’t change her mind, then Lake will have a televised 30-minute Q&A session with Arizona Horizon host Ted Simons on October 12 instead of a debate.
In her letter petitioning the AZCCEC for an open invitation for Hobbs, Lake claimed that Hobbs had a “paralyzing fear” of debating her.
“It’s disturbing that Hobbs, who currently serves as our Secretary of State and administrator of our elections, thinks so little of the voters and the democratic process that she would rob them of their one chance for a fair and informative debate,” wrote Lake’s campaign. “Kari Lake will not protest if Hobbs agrees to show up for the debate in the 11th hour — even if it’s the day of — and it is our hope that the Commission won’t either.”
Hobbs is the first candidate to refuse a Clean Elections debate since the AZCCEC’s inception in 2002.
Rather, Hobbs carried on with her campaign activities, which included a visit to Flagstaff to meet with Mission AZ, an organization that helps elect Democratic candidates, as well as Northern Arizona University’s (NAU) chapter of the Arizona Education Association (AEA) and Young Democrats.
Standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see… it’s the future Governor, my lord, slowing down to take a picture for me pic.twitter.com/Mo5NqV5M8j
The University of Arizona (UArizona) announced this week that it would establish a Center for East Asian Studies. East Asia includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. UArizona is the only higher education institution in the state with an East Asia NRC.
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) awarded UArizona $5.9 million to launch the program under its Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) Title IV National Resource Center (NRC) grants.
The purpose of Title VI NRCs is to instill understanding of the countries featured by the center and teach one or more of those countries’ languages. Additionally, these centers maintain relationships with foreign higher education institutions and other organizations that contribute to each center’s teaching and research.
Other East Asia NRCs are located at Columbia University, Stanford University, Ohio State University, University of California – Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Hawaii, University of Kansas, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, University of Washington, and University of Wisconsin – Madison.
For the 2022 fiscal year, OPE appropriated over $25.5 million in funds to NRCs.
The establishment of a center focused on East Asian studies comes about two years after the mass forced closures of Chinese government-backed Confucius Institutes: a trio consisting of the Chinese government, a Chinese higher education institute, and an American higher education institute.
Confucius Institutes pushed Chinese propaganda without academic freedom under the guise of teaching Chinese language and culture. In all, the Chinese government had a foothold in 118 higher education institutions.
Along with UArizona, Arizona State University (ASU) once had a Confucius Institute. Under changes to federal law under the Trump administration, both universities closed their institutes.
Lecture, “For Study and for the Dao: Explaining the Principles of Taiji Training,” 《为学与为道：解说太极拳的训练原理》 pic.twitter.com/RgOT9jbvAL
However, both universities have maintained their ties to China through other avenues. UArizona continues its relationship with China and their Confucius Institute partner Shaanxi Normal University through other departments, such as the Center for Buddhist Studies. Likewise, ASU continues its relationship with China’s Sichuan University.
While it had a Confucius Institute on campus, UArizona shared a comfortable relationship with the Chinese government. Three years into the institute’s founding, the university shared a news feature on their institute from CCTV: the Chinese government-controlled news station.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Cards Against Humanity (CAH), the popular entertainment company, is forcing Arizonan customers’ hands on the abortion debate. If Arizonans buy from the company online, 100 percent of the proceeds go to the two abortion fund providers within the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF); if the Arizonan discloses that they’re pro-life, the company slaps them with a $5 surcharge.
The entertainment company informs Arizonan buyers online that Arizona is one of 22 “theocratic hellscapes” that have abortion restrictions or bans. The company claimed on their checkout page that Arizona abortion law would imprison “pregnant people.”
“100 percent of profits from orders to forced-birth Republican hellholes will be donated to the National Network of Abortion Funds,” reads a disclaimer at the top of the website.
Today we’re releasing some new packs. We're donating 100% of profits from all orders to forced-birth Republican hellholes to @abortionfunds. We’re also donating an extra $100k right now. https://t.co/KZK4hD7Yea
In addition to all proceeds, CAH donated $100,000 to NNAF. As AZ Free News reported, the two NNAF abortion fund providers in Arizona are the Abortion Fund of Arizona (AFAZ) and the Tucson Abortion Support Collective (TASC). The latter abortion fund provider is also receiving funds from the acclaimed playwright and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton” fame.
In late July, the company partnered with Dynata to conduct a survey of 2,920 people’s abortion knowledge and awareness in the 22 “dystopian forced-birth hellscape” states with abortion restrictions and bans. 169 respondents (5 percent) were from Arizona.
“If you’re unfortunate enough to live in one of these forced-birth hellholes, 100 percent of profits from your order on the CAH store will be donated to the NNAF to help the people most f****d over by Republicans in your state government,” wrote the company. “And for the love of God, don’t forget to vote this fall. Okay, time for some casual sex.”
The company has been involved extensively in politics since its founding about a decade ago, but it appears that Donald Trump’s campaign and election triggered the company’s activism against Republicans.
In August 2016, CAH released limited edition “Vote for Hillary Pack” and “Vote for Trump Pack,” with each pack containing 15 jokes about the featured candidate. Proceeds for sales of both card editions went to Clinton’s campaign.
Today, we’re letting America choose between two new expansion packs about either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. https://t.co/AXUh3zE2tZ
Additionally, CAH launched a political action committee (PAC) called the Nuisance Committee, which put up billboards opposing Trump’s campaign. They relaunched the PAC briefly in 2017 to oppose the election of Republican congressional candidate Pete Roskam.
After Trump won, the company sold survivalist bags that came with gas masks, a can of beans, and a locket containing Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.
In February 2017, one of the company’s founders, Max Temkin, sent a Hitler-themed board game to all 100 U.S. senators. In the game, one team plays a liberal group working to defeat the other team playing a secretive fascist group attempting to put a “cold-blooded” leader in power. In a since-deleted tweet, Temkin shared a copy of the letter accompanying the board game gift.
“We thought you and your staff might find our game relevant as you negotiate the balance of power with the Trump White House,” read the letter. “To achieve his evil ends, Adolf Hitler required the cooperation of well-meaning men who hoped to appease and control the Nazis. Our game explores that relationship and highlights the difficulty of recognizing your own manipulation before it’s too late.”
In April 2017, the company mailed over 2,000 potatoes to Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) for refusing to hold a town hall on health care. Johnson donated the potatoes to a local church’s network of food banks.
In December 2017, CAH bought a plot of vacant land on the southern border and retained a law firm specializing in eminent domain to thwart Trump’s attempt to complete the border wall. It was part of a greater campaign, Cards Against Humanity Saves America, where CAH collected $15 from 150,000 people.
We purchased a plot of vacant land on the US/Mexico border and retained a law firm specializing in eminent domain to make it as time-consuming and expensive as possible for Trump to build his stupid wall.
CAH was founded by eight high school friends: Max Temkin, Josh Dillon, Ben Hantoot, David Munk, Daniel Dranove, Eli Halpern, Eliot Weinstein, and David Pinsof.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Thursday, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) claimed that he doesn’t engage in stock trading. Yet last year, Kelly was fined for violating the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act.
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) reportedly violated the Stop Trading in Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, a law to dissuade insider trading. https://t.co/AZKPtmuxpF
The stock trading that earned Kelly his fine was with Boom Technology (previously known as Boom Aerospace, or Boom Supersonic): a Chinese-partnered company designing supersonic aircrafts on whose board Kelly served from 2015 to 2019. Kelly failed to file a disclosure on exercising that stock option for four months. The STOCK Act requires legislators to disclose that action within 30 days of notification or 45 days of the transaction.
In January, Kelly introduced legislation to ban members of Congress and their families from selling stocks while in office: the Ban on Congressional Stock Trading Act. It hasn’t moved out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee since then.
Other Democrats introduced similar bills after Kelly’s was introduced, also fated to wait in committees: Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) with the Bipartisan Ban on Congressional Stock Ownership Act of 2022, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA-45) with the STOCK Act 2.0.
Kelly currently uses the motionless bill to fundraise for his campaign through ActBlue. The fundraising page also alleges that Kelly rejects corporate PAC money.
Kelly’s claim is technically true — corporate funds to his campaign don’t come from a PAC, but they do come from corporate executives. According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, Kelly’s campaign receives a majority of its major donations from his PAC called the Mark Kelly Victory Fund. That fund, in turn, receives money from major corporate executives. From January 2021 through June 2022, the fund’s biggest donations were nearly a dozen $20,800 donations from individuals directly in or closely associated with the corporate world.
For example: in June, Kelly received $41,600 from Michael Michelson and his wife, Georgia Taylor Michelson. Michael serves on the board of directors for Zimmer Biomet, a medical device corporation.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Phoenix City Council gave $5 million of the city’s COVID-19 recovery funds to the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) Foundation.
The millions will be distributed to around 400 students with financial need through a newly-launched tuition assistance program, the Phoenix Promise Program. However, the program won’t end once the $5 million of American Rescue Plan Action (ARPA) funding is spent. The city stated last month that they would partner with the MCCD Foundation, along with other, unnamed education institutions, the business community, nonprofits, local governments, and philanthropic organizations to perpetuate the program.
One of the nonprofits that assisted the city of Phoenix and MCCCD in developing the Phoenix Promise Program was Aliento, an illegal immigrant activist organization. The Arizona House awarded a proclamation to the organization for its service to “mixed-document” backgrounds in June.
Phoenix Promise Program will benefit historically marginalized students, low-income, BIPOC, single parents, and returning students who are residents of Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/G9NoFfVaXQ
The city first approved this initial $5 million allocation in early June, followed by a contract with MCCD Foundation at the end of August. The first tuition assistance payments will be awarded for the upcoming Spring 2023 semester, and will be awarded each semester through Spring 2025. About $280,000 of the $5 million will go to administrative costs.
🎓NOW: Council unanimously approves a $5M Phoenix Promise Program that my office developed in partnership with @AlientoAZ, @MCCCDF & @PhxDistrict4.
Now, we work to provide 400 students with tuition assistance & wraparound support to any @mcccd. https://t.co/GOX0KUKhj6
— Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari (@District7PHX) August 31, 2022
Each Phoenix Promise Program recipient will receive $965 each semester. In addition to tuition, recipients may use their funds to pay for books, fees, technology, supplies, transportation, food, and childcare.
The program will also provide recipients with an academic advisor; exclusive access to workshops, boot camps, tutoring, counseling, and other support services; and personalized assistance from MCCCD’s career services.
During Wednesday’s city council meeting, Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari lamented that illegal immigrant students with deferred deportation — namely Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, also known as DREAMers — don’t qualify for the funding. Ansari disclosed that city and county officials are researching how to secure funding for them.
“Because this is federal funding, we are unable legally to support our DACA students with it but something we’re looking to do very soon, now that we’ve launched the program, is bringing in other partners,” said Ansari.
The application deadline for Phoenix Promise Program’s Spring 2023 awards is October 31.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
