The Pentagon’s former policy chief on military relations between Russia and Ukraine — Arizona State University (AUS) McCain Institute Executive Director Evelyn Farkas — is leading an event focused on lobbying for more U.S. support in Ukraine.
The event, “Relentless Courage: Ukraine and the World at War,” will also feature Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, and panelists for a discussion, “One Way Forward: The Vitality of a Democratic Ukraine,” to advocate for continued Western support for Ukraine.
ASU’s McCain Institute and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Cronkite School) will co-host the event. Other featured speakers at the event include Cronkite School Dean Battinto Batts; peacebuilding advisor for Romanian Peace Institute, senior protection officer for Center for Civilians in Conflict, and 2022 McCain Global Leader Maria Levchenko; and photographer Svet Jacqueline.
Join us Sept. 25 in Phoenix for an event marking the opening of a new exhibit featuring photography from the book “Relentless Courage: Ukraine and the World at War.” Registration (in-person or livestream) is now open. https://t.co/iyu3SbXmRqpic.twitter.com/7lW9pnKOHN
The Biden administration has sent over $76 billion in aid to Ukraine since last year, with the president pushing for another $24 billion in the ongoing budget discussions. Last year, Congress approved $113 billion of aid to Ukraine.
While Obama’s deputy assistant secretary of defense to Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, Farkas advised on Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014 and was largely responsible for initiating the admission of Montenegro into NATO, a move that caused an escalation from Russia. Then and now, Russia views NATO as a threat.
Shortly after setting the wheels in motion for Montenegro’s admission to NATO and amid divisions within the Obama administration over the correct approach to Russia, Farkas resigned. Leading up to her resignation, Farkas issued similar calls for increased U.S. involvement in the Russia-Ukraine War.
“As the crisis deepens, our European allies and partners will look to the United States to demonstrate resolve and to reinforce solidarity across the continent,” said Farkas in a 2014 Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting.
Earlier this week, CNN featured Farkas to advocate for additional U.S. support for Ukraine.
Farkas said that it was America’s moral duty to submit to Ukraine President Vladimir Zelensky’s weaponry requests. Farkas characterized reluctance to continue funding to Ukraine as “fickle[ness].”
“If he doesn’t have these things, more civilians will die and more military will die fighting the Russians,” said Farkas. “Politically, certainly, the West can be fickle, and that’s what Vladimir Putin is counting on.”
Farkas upholds the belief that Ukraine’s outcome in this war will determine the “fate of all humanity.”
Caught up with humanitarian @chefjoseandres at #CGI2023 and we discussed how important it is to ensure that America and the world understands what is at stake in the war in Ukraine. The challenges in Ukraine are urgent for all of humanity. pic.twitter.com/qWLFo1327y
Little known fact @TerryMcAuliffe has been multiple times to the Ukrainian front line. He gets that the future of our international system and humanity begins and ends in Ukraine now. pic.twitter.com/OsXIcjWl5B
In February, the McCain Institute hosted the Ukraine Prosecutor General for a meeting with the newly-formed Ukraine Business Alliance (UBA). The UBA coordinates executives from American technology and defense companies, senior U.S. and Ukrainian government and military leaders, and foreign policy experts to strategize public-private partnerships supporting Ukraine. UBA-involved companies include Palantir Technologies, Microsoft, and Amazon.
“We are committed to ensuring that those working to uphold the rule of law & defending Ukraine as a nation state have the software they need for as long as it takes,” Karp told the McCain Institute earlier this year.https://t.co/Ol9DBVuRxw
Palantir Technologies is a Founding Member of the McCain Institute's Ukraine Business Alliance. Yesterday, the Alliance held its first meeting with Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's Prosecutor General, to discuss how leading #tech companies…https://t.co/R031PMMrk4https://t.co/b0trwV2UMV
Even after escaping the turmoil of the Obama administration, Farkas appeared eager to jump back into the fray against Russia. Farkas was one of the first to promulgate the Russiagate conspiracy that former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to fix the 2016 election, and called for an investigation into the president.
“[T]he Trump folks, if they found out how we knew what we knew about their, the staff, the Trump staff’s dealing with Russians, that they would try to compromise those sources and methods, meaning we would no longer have access to that intelligence. So I became very worried, because not enough was coming out into the open, and I knew that there was more,” said Farkas in an MSNBC interview.
Yet, behind closed doors about a month later, Farkas admitted to the House Intelligence Committee that she “didn’t know” whether anyone within the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. She further admitted that her media tour remarks were based on “a strong suspicion” cultivated from other media reports and reporters calling her. Farkas’ testimony, along with others collected by the committee, weren’t released for about three years.
“So I was making a leap that if, indeed, there was collusion, the way we would’ve uncovered it probably would have involved classified means,” said Farkas. “[I know] nothing outside of what’s been reported by the press.”
Farkas also admitted, contrary to her widespread public remarks, that she had no proof that Russians were interfering in elections aside from propaganda, or that Russians were colluding with the Trump campaign. She concurred with the following statement offered by Gowdy:
“I have no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, conspired, or coordinated with the Russians,” read the statement.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Republican legislators are cheering on a recent legal opinion by the state’s top prosecutor.
On Wednesday, Arizona House Judiciary Chairman Quang Nguyen and Vice Chair Selina Bliss announced that they had received an answer from Attorney General Kris Mayes on the 1487 complaint they had filed with her office over “a recently passed City of Phoenix ordinance allowing the illegal donation of 599 unclaimed firearms to Ukraine’s national police force.” The lawmakers shared that the attorney general “issued an investigative report, agreeing with the legislators that the ordinance violates multiple state laws and directing the City to repeal it within 30 days.”
Nguyen and Bliss issued a joint statement, saying, “We appreciate the Attorney General’s report affirming the City of Phoenix ordinance’s violation of state law. It is frustrating that Mayor Kate Gallego and Councilmembers were informed of this as far back as July 3, yet Mayor Gallego then willfully, disregarded state law and rushed the transfer of these firearms abroad. Then, while a pending investigation into the ordinance’s legality was underway, the City attempted to cancel the arrangement altogether to avoid the Attorney General’s report. That’s not leadership, it’s shameful. As public officials, it is imperative that we uphold the rule of law and respect our state constitution. Witnessing Mayor Gallego blatantly neglect this responsibility, especially with full awareness of the law and its implications, is disheartening.”
Mayes’ report looked at a 2017 Arizona Supreme Court ruling to assist with her determination of the matter at hand, finding, “In 2017, the Arizona Supreme Court considered whether a Tucson ordinance providing for the destruction of firearms could coexist with an Arizona statute barring firearms destruction. The Court held that firearms regulation is a matter of statewide concern, thereby precluding cities from enacting firearms ordinances that conflict with state law.”
The Attorney General’s office concluded that this judicial precedent “is controlling here,” adding, “Arizona law requires cities to dispose of unclaimed firearms by selling them in the manner provided by statute, yet the Ordinance provides for Phoenix to dispose of its unclaimed firearms by donating them to Ukraine via an export company. Because a ‘donation’ is not a ‘sale’ – and because the Ordinance conflicts with A.R.S. 12-945 in other related respects – it violates that statute, and therefore also violates A.R.S. 13-3108(A) and A.R.S. 12-943.”
The report from Attorney General Mayes may have sided with the Arizona lawmakers on the legality of the City of Phoenix’s actions, but addressed the motivations behind the City’s efforts, encouraging adherence to the law in future attempts or vehicles. The Office ended its report by stating, “While the Office believes that controlling legal authorities compel this conclusion, this report should not be construed as a rebuke of the public spirit underlying the City’s desire to aid Ukraine or as an endorsement of the policy underlying Arizona’s firearms disposition statutes. Nor should it discourage future support and donations to Ukraine or elsewhere that can be carried out in compliance with Arizona law.”
In a statement, Mayes expressed concern over the existence of the laws that she had just found to be controlling in this situation. She said, “While my office has determined that Phoenix’s ordinance conflicts with state laws concerning firearm disposal, I am deeply troubled by these statutes. These laws are inflexible and frankly offensive to the victims of crime and communities affected by gun violence. The laws essentially mandate that confiscated firearms, most of which have been used in crimes, must be resold and put back on the streets. That is an insult to the survivors and victims of the original gun violence. These laws perpetrate a cycle where weapons are reintroduced into the very communities that have already been harmed by gun violence. The families of people who are murdered or maimed by gun violence should not have to live with the knowledge that those weapons are still on the streets.”
Mayes called for legislators to “focus on passing sensible gun legislation instead of filing complaints against cities like Phoenix.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizona’s Republican legislative leaders are wading into another legal fight.
Earlier this week, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in City of Grants Pass v. Gloria Johnson and John Logan. According to the legislators, the case involves “three homeless individuals in Grants Pass (who) filed this lawsuit to try to stop local and state governments from combating the public safety threats, the public health dangers, and the inhumane conditions associated with these homeless encampments.”
The city has received unfavorable opinions from the federal courts at both the district and appeals (Ninth Circuit) levels, leading to the appeal to the nation’s high court.
In their brief, Petersen and Toma assert that “the Legislature also has a pressing interest in homelessness because it confronts the realities of America’s homelessness crisis every day, including only a few blocks from the state capitol complex. Phoenix, Arizona, is home to one of the nation’s largest homeless encampments, commonly known as ‘The Zone.’ With hundreds of homeless residents, The Zone is a place of intense poverty, frequent crime (including multiple homicides), social instability, and poor living standards.”
The lawmakers opined that “the Ninth Circuit decided it was better at making policy than elected state legislatures and city councils.” They argued that the opinion from the Ninth Circuit “injects the federal courts into a policymaking area reserved for state and local lawmakers, entrenches a plainly incorrect and deeply damaging construction of the Eighth Amendment, and improperly interferes with state and local policymaking on the critically important issue of homelessness.”
President Petersen issued a statement in conjunction with his announcement, saying, “We’re talking about a humanitarian crisis that continues to spiral out of control in our state, thanks to bad court rulings, judicial overreach, and a litany of vetoes by the Governor. Lives and livelihoods are lost every single day that we continue to allow homeless encampments to grow in our communities. We must have clarity from the U.S. Supreme Court in order to holistically address the systemic issues contributing to homelessness, as well as the dire public safety and public health consequences created by allowing these encampments to remain. Once again, the Attorney General is absent, but the Speaker and I are committed to engaging for the betterment of Arizona.”
Senator John Kavanagh added, “Many of the street homeless population are seriously mentally ill, drug addicted or both. It is unconscionable that these vulnerable people are being allowed to live in squalid circumstances on the street where they may abuse drugs and become crime victims. This situation is a result of federal court rulings that some say prohibit the police from enforcing street camping bans even when shelter can be provided to the homeless person. It is imperative that the Supreme Court clarify lower court rulings, so that if homeless persons are offered shelter and refuse, they can be removed from the street by the police.”
One of Arizona’s newest legislators also weighed in on the issue and filing of the brief. Senator Shawnna Bolick said, “Homelessness is one of the top issues impacting Legislative District 2, putting law enforcement and private property owners into the direct fray due to the lack of leadership at Phoenix City Hall. My constituents want safe neighborhoods, not ones littered with used needles and drug paraphernalia often left overnight for their kids to encounter on the way to the bus stop to get to school. There are quite a few civil society groups stepping up, but it’s not enough. I hope the USSC does the right thing. Government exists for public safety, and Arizona’s Governor along with the Phoenix Mayor are failing their citizens.”
The General Counsel for the Arizona House Republicans, Linley Wilson, pointed to a recent post from California Governor Gavin Newsom about the issue of federal courts inserting caselaw into “local efforts to clear street encampments,” stating, “This humanitarian crisis is not a partisan issue. The 9th Circuit’s opinions harm the homeless and the Legislature’s ability to craft effective policies.”
This humanitarian crisis is not a partisan issue. The 9th Circuit’s opinions harm the homeless and the Legislature’s ability to craft effective policies. Read the amicus brief filed today by @RepBenToma and @votewarren in SCOTUS👇🏼https://t.co/7VCv5B3MOMhttps://t.co/QyfE8C8gkd
The weather outside may be cooling in Arizona, but the political heat between the state’s governor and Superintendent of Public Instruction continues to rise.
Last week, Republican Superintendent Tom Horne fired back a response to Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs over his administration’s handling of Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) funds. Horne’s communication followed a letter from Hobbs from the week before.
In the initial letter to Horne, Hobbs accused the state’s schools chief of refusing “to follow federal law and transfer unobligated EANS funds from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act or cooperate with the Hobbs administration to assist in the disbursement.” The Governor’s Office alleged that “if funds are not obligated by September 30, 2023, Arizona schools will lose nearly $6 million that will be forfeited to the federal government alongside an additional $22 million in September 2024.”
Hobbs said, “For months, Superintendent Horne has played political games while my administration has fought to deliver millions of dollars of funding to Arizona schools. This must end. Horne needs to put his partisan politics aside and do what’s right for the education of Arizona’s children. By not following federal law, Horne is sending a clear message that he believes his politics are more important than giving every Arizona student the education they need to thrive. It’s a gross dereliction of duty and it needs to come to an end, immediately.”
The superintendent didn’t see the situation through the same lenses employed by the governor, informing Hobbs that “Section B-5 of the United States Department of Education’s official guidance for the EANS funds states: ‘By accepting an EANS award from the Department, a Governor automatically designates the SEA (State Education Agency, in this case the Arizona Department of Education) to administer the EANS program. The SEA will be the payee or fiscal agent in G5 for purposes of accessing Federal funds on the date of award.”
Horne revealed that his office had been in contact with the Governor’s team since April 2023 “to collaborate on the best way to ensure these monies are spent in accordance with the law and to avoid reversion of funds to the federal government.” The Republican shared that his June 12th proposal was rejected by Hobbs because of her assertion that “it was in violation of federal law.” Horne argued that his office was “following the guidance” from the U.S. Department of Education in delivering a proposal that made the Arizona Department of Education the designated fiscal agent, and that under his proposal, the governor “would have had decision-making power for the $22 million of undisbursed money.”
Superintendent Horne challenged Hobbs to prove that her stipulation was legal, adding, “If you produce something in writing from the federal government that says that your proposal will be acceptable to them, we will gladly agree to it. In that case, it will be your responsibility to administer the program, and we can wash our hands of it. Alternatively, you can still accept our proposal to make the transaction legal and you will still have decision-making power over the $22 million.”
According to the governor, though, her Office has already received some sort of an endorsement of her proposal from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), claiming that “USDOE agreed with our interpretation of federal law and, accordingly, has reverted all EANS funds to our control in the federal grant management system.” Hobbs pointed to a suggestion by USDOE as the path forward to resolving this conflict, which would be “a simple written agreement between our Offices that will enable OSPB to disburse funds to ADE for disbursement to its non-public school grantees.”
Horne ended his letter to Hobbs by expressing dismay over how this situation has deteriorated between the two offices, stating, “There is no reason that a meeting between our staffs could not have worked this out. There is no earthly reason for you to have publicized a personal attack on me over this technical issue that could have been resolved by a meeting of our staffs.”
Last week’s communication from Horne was his second over EANS funds in the past two weeks. After receiving the governor’s letter, Horne issued a lengthy statement to quickly set the record straight. In that statement, Horne said, “Due to her own actions, the governor now needs to take care of this problem, and not pass the buck to the Department of Education inasmuch as she arranged for the federal government to change the fiscal agent from the Department of Education to the governor. The governor arranged with the federal government to be the fiscal agent for this program for private schools. The Arizona Department of Education has no ability to pay anyone for work done, or to authorize further work, because the governor has now become the fiscal agent.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Amid an already historic crisis at America’s southern border, the Border Patrol Union is sounding major alarms about the consequences being foisted upon Arizona communities.
On September 14, the Border Patrol Union “X” account shared insights on the catch and release of thousands of illegal aliens in southern Arizona, writing, “DHS personnel in Arizona are now using the term ‘freedom runs’ when instructing BP agents about mass releases of illegal aliens in Tucson. There is almost no manpower left for enforcement duties as agents’ calls for assistance go unanswered and the vast majority are tied up with huge numbers of surrendering border crashers. Agents have been instructed to prioritize the processing of surrendering illegal aliens instead of patrolling the border.”
DHS personnel in Arizona are now using the term "freedom runs" when instructing BP agents about mass releases of illegal aliens in Tucson.
There is almost no manpower left for enforcement duties as agents' calls for assistance go unanswered and the vast majority are tied up with…
The account added, “And while all this sanctioned lawlessness ties up resources, the murderous cartel thugs continue to run hugely successful border operations while making billions of dollars smuggling missions of illegal aliens, tons of fentanyl and whatever else they want to send here, courtesy of Joe Biden. The Biden Admin will not be satisfied until every last spark of BP agent morale is extinguished.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released official numbers of southern border apprehensions for August late Friday, showing that over 230,000 migrants had been encountered by agents in the field, putting the total number for the Fiscal Year at more than 2,200,000.
A reporter for Fox News confirmed that the “total migrant encounters for FYTD23 have surpassed FY22 total setting a new record” – with one month remaining in the fiscal year.
* RECORD-BREAKING* CBP sources confirm to FOX News total migrant encounters for FYTD23 have surpassed FY22 total setting a new record.
2,388,350FYTD23 so far vs 2,378,944FY22 total.
Fiscal years run Oct to Oct so there is a week left w 9000+ a day averaging @FoxNews
Arizona State Representative Quang Nguyen has also taken to his “X” account to share reports of chaos and lawlessness from the southern border. Earlier this week, he relayed a memo from someone at the border, which read, “It’s out of control down here! the Border Patrol agents were told to cease all law enforcement operations, no arrests allowed! they are all processing and transporting aliens now. They are dropping off aliens all over town at shopping centers. The Tucson Sector is avg 12,000 apprehensions a week, and that is just the give ups. There are no agents in the field, so all aliens not giving up (the bad ones) are just freely walking north because there are no agents working in the field! The trail cameras across the state are going off non stop with groups, and no agents are allowed to respond. It’s gone! we lost!”
I occasionally receive reports from a friend who works at the border. At 8:45 pm this evening, I received a series of texts from him with permission to post:
It's out of control down here! the Border Patrol agents were told to cease all law enforcement operations, no arrests… pic.twitter.com/rEyUd390o1
Representative Nguyen followed up with another post on Friday – this one about what the illegal aliens were leaving behind as they made their way into the United States. He said, “Another text from the border today: ‘Trash left behind by the aliens sneaking into this country… OVER 50+ miles north of the border on Arizona State Trust land. Every wash out here is littered with trash.”
Another text from the border today (10:31 AM):
“Trash left behind by the aliens sneaking into this country… OVER 50+ miles north of the border on Arizona State Trust land. Every wash out here is littered with trash!” pic.twitter.com/F9AaYatJC5
The Border Patrol Union also recently opined on the border cartels’ prowess at the border, saying, “Criminal cartels are making billions dumping illegal aliens at places of their choosing along the border & tying up overwhelmed BP resources with ‘asylum’ claims while moving fentanyl and whatever else they want in other places. They own this border. Biden is their best buddy.”
Criminal cartels are making billions dumping illegal aliens at places of their choosing along the border & tying up overwhelmed BP resources with "asylum" claims while moving fentanyl and whatever else they want in other places. They own this border.
Fentanyl drug seizures have largely increased by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in Fiscal Year 2023, with over 25,000 pounds apprehended in the past 11 months – approximately the combined numbers for fiscal years 2021 and 2022 of encountered fentanyl. According to a December 22 article in the Washington Post, “federal agents estimate that they are seizing about 5 to 10 percent of the drugs coming from Mexico – if that much.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The controversial Drag Story Hour Arizona is led by an Arizona State University (ASU) professor David Boyles.
Boyles established Drag Story Hour Arizona in 2019, a chapter of the national Drag Story Hour organization established in 2015, the same year that the Supreme Court struck down state laws banning gay marriage.
For his drag queen story hour work, Boyles has been featured in several “The Art of Drag” events alongside one of his drag queen storytellers, hosted by various local libraries and Arizona Humanities, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) United We Stand initiative.
The most recent event occurred on Wednesday. In his presentation, Boyles said that the notion that drag shows are harmful to children was a “myth.” He also said that drag queens have been long considered the leaders of LGBTQ+ communities.
In a predictor of what’s to come, Boyles said that the growing acceptance of LGBTQ+ ideologies would allow for more expansive public displays of drag. Boyles cited “Divine” as an example, a drag queen who starred in films purposefully designed to scare “straight society” — in one of his most infamous films, he ate dog poop (not a prop, real dog poop). Boyles hailed Divine as a paradigm.
“[His work was] intended to freak out the straight society in all meanings of that word, of the straights, both the heterosexuals but the squares,” said Boyles. “As queer identity and queer culture becomes more mainstream, kind of comes out of the shadows again, it opens up space for drag to take a lot of different shapes in a lot of different forms.”
Boyles then promoted the practice of drag in minors, referencing 13-year-old Canadian boy Bracken Hanke, who starred for several years in the Disney series “Gabby Duran & The Unsittables.” Boyles said that Hanke should be seen as an authority on valid perspectives of femininity, claiming Hanke is a girl.
“Who better to make fun of all the ideas of femininity than a teenage girl, you know, who has to deal with all these social pressures,” said Boyles.
At one point, Boyles’ counterpart for the event, Patrick Jervis-Stone as his drag queen persona, Felicia Minor, mentioned that Drag Queen Story Hour Arizona did a virtual story hour for Disney during the pandemic. However, Jervis-Stone stopped short of offering further details after Boyles whispered to Jervis-Stone that they “weren’t supposed to mention that.”
According to social media posts, Jervis-Stone conducted a Halloween-themed Drag Queen Story Hour Arizona virtual storytelling event for Disney+ and Hulu in October 2021.
Boyles also dismissed the idea that educators were attempting to recruit students into homosexuality. Boyles describes himself as the “head of recruitment” for “The Queer Agenda” on his Instagram.
It was with his book, “Life is a Banquet,” that Chandler Unified School District board member and Boyles’ friend, Patti Serrano, took her oath of office, rather than the Bible. Boyles’ book focuses on a 17-year-old boy being “indoctrinated” and “radicalized” into progressive beliefs by ASU students out of the values he’d learned from his conservative, Christian parents.
In book drafts posted online, Boyles writes at length about the sexual experiences and fantasies of the boy and his peers.
In another blog post, Boyles said Serrano’s act reminded him of when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac in the Bible. Boyles said that Christian parents resembled Abraham: their obedience to God by refusing to affirm LGBTQ+ behaviors in their children jeopardizes their children’s lives, not unlike how Abraham’s obedience to God jeopardized Isaac’s life. Boyles also accused Christians of viewing their children as “property” through their faith, and declared that every transgender suicide constitutes murder.
“[I]n this story of the original patriarch, we get an almost too on-the-nose description of the toxic patriarchal ideas that infect so much of modern right-wing religion, and white evangelical Christianity in particular,” said Boyles. “If your god is telling you that honoring him is worth slitting kids’ throats, do what Abraham should have done and tell him to f**k off and find a new god.”
Elsewhere on his blog, Boyles encouraged people to advocate for LGBTQ+-inclusive, pleasure-centered sex education for minors.
“[A]busive, patriarchal fundamentalists […] fear the liberatory power of queer sexuality,” wrote Boyles.
Boyles also encouraged people to plant pornographic LGBTQ+ banned books in local libraries, such as “Gender Queer” and “All Boys Aren’t Blue.”
*Warning: the following clip contains explicit sexual language*
John Kennedy reads a passage from p*rnographic novel "All Boys Aren't Blue" which is available in public school libraries. pic.twitter.com/vnCzAnPjRb
Boyles noted in a post that “zines” — noncommercial, self-published, and often unconventional magazines produced at home or online, usually reproduced via copy machines — are an essential component of promulgating LGBTQ+ ideologies.
Several of Boyles’ students were promoted in his Substack for their zines. He recommended a zine on sex toys by one of his former students, Paige Daniel, an “abortion doula” for Planned Parenthood Arizona (PPAZ); Daniel’s other zines discuss sex education and self-managed abortions.
Boyles promoted a popular zine distributor (distro) among Phoenician progressives, Wasted Ink Zine Distro (WIZD), host of the annual Phoenix Zine Fest. The distro specializes in promoting “historically marginalized creators,” specifically the non-white, LGBTQ+, disabled, chronically ill, or neurodivergent. WIZD receives funding from the city of Phoenix’s Office of Arts and Culture, as well as the Arizona Commission on the Arts through the state and National Endowment for the Arts.
Haley Orion — known online as Arizona Right Wing Watch, an account that posts research on “far-right losers and hate politics” — formerly worked for and published her own zines through WIZD.
Orion recently took issue with the fallout prompted by a post issued by her equal opposite, Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok, about the University of Arizona nursing students course engaging with children as young as three about gender identity.
So this article just rehashed that the video was going viral, confirmed the College of Nursing was getting threats and then embedded the LOTT video. You know, the one causing those threats. Fuck you. pic.twitter.com/NfOOHlHThy
— Arizona Right Watch (@azrww.bsky.social) (@az_rww) September 8, 2023
Like Orion, Boyles advocates for other progressive causes in addition to LGBTQ+ issues, such as abortion, gun control, climate change activism, police defunding, and Black Lives Matter (BLM). He formerly served as a board member for NARAL Arizona and the Abortion Fund of Arizona, as well as a research coordinator for White Hat Research & Policy Group.
On his public Instagram page, Boyles posts LGBTQ+ content consisting of gay erotica art, his cross-dressing, drag queens, paganism, witchcraft, advocacy for gender transitions for minors, sex toys, drugs, criticisms of Republicans, and arguments against Christianity.
In a February opinion piece, Boyles declared that LGBTQ+ storytelling to minors was important to “counter the erasure of queer stories.” Boyles also advocated for minors to attend drag shows.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
