Here are my observations and opinions of my selected news of the day.

SOME PEOPLE GET IT – Three out of four writers to the Arizona Republic understand the scourge of socialism. Not bad. I was delighted to read Frank Laudonio’s letter in which he quashed the left’s belief that Social Security and Medicare are socialistic, as he reminded that we taxpayers pay into these programs.

Marvin Wirth challenged the call for everyone to pay their fair share. “When do they reach that point?” he asks, and adds, who decides what amount is a fair share for a business man, considering risk/reward and energy expended? And he reminds readers of those who pay little or no taxes (45 percent of the U.S.); “What is their fair share?”

Dorde Cedic’s letter appeared under a headline, “Socialism should scare the wits out of all of us in this country,” in which he reflected on the amount of taxes upper income individuals already contribute.

SNOW IN ARIZONA – Every other year or so, sunny Arizona gets a dusting of snow, but over a couple of recent days parts of Scottsdale had two inches of the white stuff, but as you headed north it piled up even deeper; up to four feet in Flagstaff.  The mountains were gorgeous. The road was closed at the familiar Sunset Point.

HERE’S MY LAST WORD ON AMAZON ABANDONING New York. I hope. Peggy Noonan’s comments in her weekend Wall Street Journal column caused me to respond. Logically, she opens with the reality that the loss of 25,000 Amazon jobs really means “maybe 40,000 when all is said and done.” She expands with the loss of coming affluence, construction, busy sidewalks, shops and restaurants humming, hiring.

However, she then asks, “Should corporations, especially big, megarich ones (like it makes a difference) be given tax benefits for locating a city or state?” And answers, “No, actually.” She believes “They should come in simply as grateful and eager new citizens in a place like New York, since there’s nothing like us.” Really? Peggy. New York? Even low tax, business friendly states, like Florida and Texas offer incentives.

The key to creating new jobs is the investment. It was estimated that Amazon’s move would generate $186 billion in economic impact over the next 25 years, not bad for an offer by the city and state’s tax break of $3 billion.

Then there was the issue of unionization. Amazon wouldn’t promise to unionize. Surprisingly, Noonan says, “I favor private unions.” Adding that “people more than ever need to belong to something.” OMG!

Regarding negotiations with Amazon, she referred to New York’s progressives as weak, not knowing how to play the game. “You want to be tough and mean, get what you want, and keep those jobs for constituents.”

She berated New Yorkers for the demonstrations against Amazon. “You don’t insult and belittle their representatives,” she said. Then she offered New York style advice, saying, “You quietly vote yes, go to the groundbreaking, and welcome our new partner in prosperity. Then you wait. And as soon as the new headquarters is fully built and staffed, you shake them down like a boss. You move on local issues – high rents, crowded subways.”

Then, Noonan writes, “To help on unionization you get the next Democrat in the White House to sic the National Labor Relations Board … (and) you go to your friends in the big New York papers and say, Amazon’s cruel (to employees). What’s he going to do, leave? The place has been built, billions have been spent. That’s real left-wing hardball.”

“After Amazon’s withdrawal, no major American company will open a new headquarters here for a least a generation,” Noonan correctly assumes while referring to “a town whose political life is dominated by a wild and rising progressive left.”

Blame for Amazon’s pullout is conveniently being heaped on Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, but Mayor Bill deBasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are responsible for New York’s woes.

THE REACH OF THE DEEP STATE – If you think the Deep State only operates within the confines of the Washington DC Beltway, you are mistaken. John Fry, an investigative analyst with the IRS in San Francisco, has been charged with the unauthorized disclosure of suspicious activity reports (SARS).

Fry leaked confidential government reports that described financial transactions made by President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, according to the Washington Post.

The criminal complaint alleges that Fry had no valid work-related reason to be looking at SARS involving Cohen. Further, a search of Fry’s phone revealed text messages between Fry and New Yorker reporter Ronan Farrow. During questioning, Fry admitted to providing SAR information to attorney Michael Avenatti.

MORE ON HILLARY’S mishandling of highly classified information has come to light. “She (Hillary) should have been prosecuted,” according to a transcript of former FBI general counsel James Baker in his closed-door testimony before Congressional committees last October, reports PJMedia.

Former disgraced FBI Director James Comey, you will recall, said “no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.”

SHARYL ATTKISSON, a former CBS reporter whom I frequently quote on journalism standards, has written in American Thinker about her computer intrusion lawsuit against the U.S. Government. “It seems to intersect more clearly with current events every day,” she says, “And it points to an even larger story.”

“How widespread is improper government surveillance of journalists, politicians and other U.S. citizens in the name of the fight against terrorism” she asks. “A few of us found out we were targeted only because we were lucky enough to be alerted by inside sources or other unique ways. How many others were targeted, monitored and watched by government officials but still have no idea it happened?

“Who is behind the move to use government surveillance tools against innocent Americans? Were some of them the very same officials now implicated in alleged surveillance abuses during Campaign 2016?”

Attkisson writes about the high cost of filing a civil suit. She has been fortunate that her appellate attorney gave her a discount and law students have generously donated time to her case, but still the costs to date totaled over $100,000.

If you would like to assist her, you can by contributing to her GoFundMe account, Sharyl Attkisson 4^th Litigation.

THERE WAS A CELEBRATION OF LIFE Saturday for John P. Dietrich, who passed away on January 27, 2019 at the age of 85. “Deke” was a friend and colleague of my days with Sperry Flight Systems in Phoenix.

When he wasn’t marketing helicopter avionics on his “day job,” he captained numerous rafting ventures down the Colorado River at the bottom of Arizona’s Grand Canyon. He was a gentle giant of man, a character, who was always ready with a tale of his experiences in either profession.

In his last years, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to a start up a niche business devoted to repairing Prius automobiles in Prescott, Arizona. “Deke” will be missed.

ANOTHER GLORIOUS INSULT: He is a self-made man and adores his creator.” – John Bright, speaking of Benjamin Disraeli

                                        May God bless the United States of America.