PETA is demanding that San Francisco change the name of the slummy Tenderloin District to some kind of cruelty-free food product. This is a shocking request, mostly because I didn’t know there was a far leftist group trying to hijack the acronym of the well-known People Eating Tasty Animals group. This trademark thieving group would like everyone to eat Tofu and other synthetic foods, like Soylent Green.

In an effort to help make this ghetto area of San Francisco more appealing to tourists, I’ve assembled a list of suitable alternative names, in no particular order:

1. The Bacon District – Vegans can claim it’s named after Kevin Bacon, the rest of us can appreciate the cured pork goodness of an area named after America’s favorite meat.
2. Foie Gras District – Renaming the area the Foie Gras District will lend an air of French sophistication and appeal to those who wish to remake America using Europe’s failings.
3. The Veal District – This name would create a vibrant image for a younger crowd.
4. Tuna Safe Dolphin District – This could become the hub of great sushi in the San Fran area, while making a statement against dolphin fisherman who don’t care about how many tuna die in the cove. Think of the tourist dollars this would bring to the area!
5. Can’t Lift Heavy Objects District – A name accurately reflecting the fruitopian reality they seek.
6. Youthanasia – A name that reaches the core of PETA’s mission to eliminate pet ownership, while feigning care.
7. Kobe Beef District – Named for a pampered breed of cattle that is fed lots of beer and receives daily massages. It doesn’t get anymore ethical than that!
8. Bob Parsons District – Bob Parsons, the charismatic CEO of GoDaddy.com, recently created a controversy by stopping a rogue elephant, while feeding the village he saved from the trampling beast. This would be a great way to recognize a man who spared a large number of people from starvation.
9. TurBaconEpic District – Words cannot describe the beauty of TurBaconEpic, just watch the video at the link (Rated ER – viewer discretion advised, watching may cause a coronary) .
10. Feel free to leave your best suggestion in the comments below!

Hat Tip to Sea to Shining Sea aka on Twitter, DesertGardens

Shelly Rae at Gun Nuts Media has a great post up detailing her recent experience open carrying inside an Apple store in the Seattle area.

One of the most amazing outdoor events is happening at the beautiful and award winning Ben Avery Shooting Range in Phoenix this weekend, the AZ Game and Fish Outdoor Expo. Two years ago, I discovered my passion for all things shooty at the Expo, and if you’re curious about hunting, fishing, archery or competitive shooting, there is no better (or cheaper) place on earth to get a taste of these challenging and rewarding sports.

So what does the FREE Outdoor Expo have to offer?  Here’s a list of just some of the great things to do there, courtesy of the AZ Game and Fish Outdoor Expo Website:
This crowd-pleasing event offers dozens of exciting, hands-on outdoor recreational activities:

* Test your skill at archery;
* Take your kids to the huge catch-and-release fishing tank;
* See live wildlife demonstrations (hawks, owls, snakes, more);
* Hike a nature trail/field course;
* Try target shooting with different firearms on the range;
* Learn about outdoor skills, firearm safety and more;
* View exciting shooting demonstrations by the cowboy mounted shooters, cowboy action shooters and more;
* Attend informative workshops on fishing, hunting, wildlife conservation;
* See off-highway vehicle and boating exhibits;
* Visit with more than 100 exhibitors— sportsmen’s organizations, conservation groups, shooting clubs, wildlife agencies, and commercial vendors and exhibitors of outdoor products and services.

The event and parking are free, as well as almost all of the demos. A few of the local shooting clubs do charge a small fee (a few bucks) to cover ammo costs, but it’s still a fantastic value for anyone looking at trying out the shooting sports.

History Channel’s Top Shot put out a slick video that answers the question that hundred of thousands of competitors around the world and myself already know. If for some odd reason, you’re still on the fence regarding this question, watch and learn:

h/t to one of the most amazing competitive shooters in the world, Julie G for sharing this video on Facebook

On Friday, Congressman Raul “Boycott Arizona” Grijalva sent a letter to the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding Arizona’s efforts to balance the budget by proposing cuts to AHCCS, the state’s Medicaid program.  In his letter, Grijalva states

This will devastate our economy in several ways, and the public deserves a chance to make its voice heard before any action is taken by the state of Arizona.

This is rich coming from the man that led the charge against Arizona and used his political clout to ask the country to refrain from spending their dollars in Arizona.  There is still plenty of time for the public to comment on these proposals as they move through the legislature, but Mr. Grijalva doesn’t let facts get in the way of a possible political score.

Today, Speaker Adams responded to Mr. Grijalva’s letter with a letter of his own.  And it’s good.  In addition to Speaker Adams, 35 members of the House Republican Caucus also signed the letter.

Below is the text of the letter from Speaker Adams (I know, it looks long.  Don’t be scared, it’s worth the read):

Congressman Grijalva:

We have read your letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding the proposed reductions in Arizona to our Medicaid program as well as your comments in the Arizona Daily Star. At the least, your statements demonstrate limited comprehension of the magnitude of the economic crisis facing your home state. Either you do not understand the issues surrounding Arizona’s Medicaid program – or you just chose to ignore the facts. Whatever the case, your efforts to delay and sideline our important progress of balancing the state’s budget will continue to leave many Arizonans with the false impression that we can provide services for which, in reality, there is no revenue source. To date, you have failed to provide any solution to that mathematical problem.

You apparently are not aware that Arizona faces a $543 million shortfall in the current year and a $1.15 billion shortfall in fiscal year 2012. Already, we have cut $2.2 billion from Arizona’s budget since 2008 due to plummeting revenues. Over the same period of time, you and your colleagues have increased spending by more than 30 percent on the federal level. Unlike Congress, we do not have the ability to spend money we do not have – nor do we believe that is a responsible way of conducting business.

Meanwhile, over the past decade, our Medicaid program has expanded at a record and alarming rate. In 2002, membership was just under 800,000 people. Today, it has spiked to nearly 1.4 million. That’s 1.4 million people on government subsidized health care in Arizona. Our general fund obligation over that time has increased from $675 million to $1.5 billion per year. That means that today, Arizona provides more generous Medicaid coverage than 44 other states in the country. More than 20 percent of Arizonans are covered by government subsidized care – a growing and unsustainable weight of responsibility given our current budget crisis.

Faced with this crisis, Governor Brewer had the courage and leadership to put forward a bold proposal in January that seeks to reduce our Medicaid rolls by approximately 250,000 people. Given the massive expansions in the system over the last decade, even with these significant cuts, more than 1 in every 6 Arizonans will still be covered by Medicaid. This remains a responsible and generous level of care.

In your letter to Medicaid and State Operations Director Cindy Mann, you allege that Arizona has “considered using cuts to Medicaid eligibility to pay for tax cuts.” That is flat out false. We are considering reductions to our Medicaid program in order to balance our budget – an exercise you have demonstrated no experience with given the aforementioned information.

You also state in your letter to Ms. Mann that the “recession has taken a heavy toll on our society.” That is very much true, especially here in Arizona. That’s why we as legislators have taken steps in Arizona that Congress has been unwilling to take, including rightsizing state spending to align with revenues. We also passed an historic and significant Jobs Bill, which you appear to criticize in your letter even though you do not have your facts right. As far as we can tell, your only contributions to impacting Arizona’s economy have been calling for a dangerous national boycott of our state and voting for Obamacare, which will further obligate our state to spend money we don’t have on Medicaid requirements. We believe our pro-growth measures are more productive than your inflammatory and destructive approach.

Despite your grandstanding attempt to jump into this process at the 11th hour, this issue has received extensive vetting and debate and will continue to receive hearings and opportunities for public input and discussion in the appropriate venue. It’s unfortunate that you did not participate in this discussion earlier. It’s also unfortunate that you have decided to criticize our governor’s proposed solution to our budget crisis, but failed to offer any alternative solutions. Arizonans deserve more from their elected officials.

Sincerely,

Kirk D. Adams
Speaker of the House
District 19

Like many other states, Arizona is broke. The cuts to our state health care system are an unfortunate necessity, and contrary to what the left would have you believe, these cuts will not kick granny out of her wheelchair and on to the street. For the real story on the ACCHS budget cuts, check out Papa Todd’s interesting facts about Arizona’s AHCCS budget cuts.

Anti-gun group, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, rolled into Arizona this week, along with their latest tool paid poster boy, Colin Goddard.  Mr. Goddard was wounded during the 2007 Virginia Tech Shooting, and is now using his cred to assist the Brady Campaign with their efforts to take guns out of the hands of lawful citizens.

Arizona Senator Steve Gallardo (D-13)* has teamed up with the Brady Campaign and another local anti group to host a series of “forums” on college campuses, and to voice their opposition to AZ Senate Bill 1467, which prohibits college and university governing boards from creating or enforcing a policy or rule that prevents CCW permit holders from possessing a “concealed” weapon on campus.  Currently, law abiding CCW permit holders must leave their constitutional rights at the door when entering college and university campuses.

I am very sorry that Mr. Goddard ended up in the middle of the Virgina Tech mess, but I must question his logic.  The idea that the nightmare he endured has motivated him to fight against a person’s right to defend them self is just astonishing to me.  Virgina Tech was a gun-free “safe zone” when the shooting occurred, and Mr. Goddard is advocating that the colleges and universities in Arizona stay that way.  Wouldn’t that mean that others are doomed to suffer the same fate (or worse) as Mr. Goddard if these misguided policies are allowed to stay in place?

I was thinking about attending one of the “forums” this week, and asking Mr. Goddard in person about his decision to fight to continue to be a victim, but fellow blogger Tam’s recent post on the subject reminded me why I generally stay away from the anti-gunners, either in person or on the interwebs:

I don’t really care about the statistics or the efficacy (or lack thereof) of gun control laws. My right to own a gun (or anything else, for that matter) is not contingent on what other people do with that right. It wouldn’t matter if everybody else on the planet misused their firearms every day, that doesn’t have a thing to do with me or mine

Or, as Uncle Ted says: “To keep” means it is mine, you can’t have it.

* Senator Gallardo is the sole sponsor of AZ SB 1586, which would require federal background checks on all firearm sales (including private) at any “firearm show” (broadly defined to include almost any gathering where firearms might be sold).  Another “we’ve got to do something” bill that does nothing but restrict the freedom of law abiding citizens.

The folks in Northern Arizona and Arizona Game and Fish have been working their tails off for fifteen years to build a proper range in Northern Arizona, and with the purchase of the private 160-acre Foster Ranch in Coconino County (about 30 minutes outside of Flagstaff), Northern Arizona is closer than ever to having a safe, modern shooting facility, where the public and law enforcement can safely shoot and train.

Unfortunately, a few people with ties to left-leaning and anti-gun organizations*, are making an 11th hour attempt to block the development of the Foster Ranch shooting range by voicing their opposition to the Coconino County Board of Supervisors.  If we don’t speak up in support of the range, it is quite possible the Board will assist the opposition and try and bring a halt to the development of this much needed range.

Northern Arizona needs the development of this range to continue without further delay, so we are asking everyone in support of the range (ESPECIALLY those that live in Northern Arizona) to please contact the members of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors and kindly let them know that you support the development of a shooting range on the Foster Ranch property and do not want to see any further delays.

Here are the Supervisors phone numbers.  You can also use the Coconino County Board of Supervisors Contact form, and select “Board of Supervisors” from the drop down menu to send your message through the web.

District 1 – Carl Taylor (928) 679-7151
District 2 – Liz Archuleta (928) 679-7152
District 3 – Matt Ryan (928) 679-7163
District 4 – Mandy Metzger (928) 679-7154
District 5 – Lena Fowler (928) 679-7751

*The Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of Flagstaff’s Future and the National Parks Conservation Association are the “big” backers of the very small opposition group, Friends of Walnut Canyon.