The City of Phoenix is redesigning downtown Copper Square with a new theme after only 8 years of its Copper Square theme. According to an article in the Phoenix Business Journal, last year SHR Perceptual Management was hired to conduct a marketing and branding survey, which it still has not finished. So far it has recommended that the Copper Square moniker be rebranded. They are determining which colors, logos and messages to replace the old ones with. The downtown kiosks, printed materials, and orange-shirted downtown ambassadors will all be replaced with a different theme.

This is a hugely wasteful expenditure. Phoenix is undergoing severe budget problems resulting in layoffs and scrapping various programs. Government should not be “redecorating” every 8 years. How much is the marketing and branding study cost, and how much will it ultimately cost taxpayers to redo downtown?

   Unleaded: $4.25; mid-range: $4.45; premium: $4.75; diesel: $29.25.

OK, that last one was just to grab your attention.

But seriously, folks, why do we continue to pound on “Big Oil” as being primarily responsible for the skyrocketing price of the fuel we pump into our cars and trucks?  And does anyone with an IQ over 60 really believe that if we “punished” every single “Big Oil CEO” by seizing 100% of their salaries and year-end bonuses, it would have any effect at all on the pump prices we are now bearing? 

BH Obama, Patrick Leahy and Nancy Pelosi likely believe as much and, if those actions could somehow be constitutionally carried out, would no doubt savor the political endorphin rush.  But would that impact the price at the pump?

Get a grip.

No, if you really want to know what is causing the run-up, study worldwide supply and demand, study oil futures speculation, study the Fed’s monetary policies and…. and…. ummm, what the heck was that other thing…?  Oh, yeah, study Congress’ complete refusal to effectively address the issue. 

In an insightful blog summarizing Congress’ abject ineptitude on the topic, one Alex Epstein lays it out in plain English.  Epstein correctly notes that, through its enactment of laws placing the interests of caribou and dolphins before the interests of this nation, Congress has effectively blocked development of our most promising and plentiful sources of oil. 

He also notes that Congress should publicize these facts, prepare an inventory of how many oil-rich areas they have blocked off, and bring in economists to estimate how much all of this raises gas prices.  But don’t wait for that report while the Democrats control Congress.  And Epstein’s comments about the Federal Reserve’s role in the mess makes interesting reading too.

Moreover, had William Jefferson Clinton not vetoed legislation originally passed by the Republican Congress (when they were still in the majority), oil might now be flowing from a two thousand-acre site out of the 19.2 million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  

Ummm…. that’s an area constituting, like, one ten-thousandths of the total refuge. Caribou droppings have a smaller “carbon footprint,” but not much.

And yet Mr. Clinton, bowing to the threats of the environmentalists and the “save-the-caribou” crowd vetoed the legislation.  Memo to file: when the Alyeska Pipeline was completed, the population of the caribou herds - which, we were assured, would be decimated by the project - exploded.  

And, yes, much as he “re-evaluated” his stance on illegal immigration, John McCain should re-evaluate his position on sensible development in ANWR as well as the outer continental shelf and domestic oil shale reserves.

So, class, unless and until the Democrats and their handmaidens are held accountable for the damage that they have wrought upon the economy by their “energy” policies - maybe as soon as November 4 - look for the price of fuels to keep rising.  

And who knows, if BH Obama is elected president and the Democrats achieve “cloture-proof” control of Congress, prices might rise even as high as that diesel number tossed out in the first paragraph.

   Telecommunications companies in Arizona are choosing up sides in a battle over burdensome government regulation.

It’s Qwest against all the rest.

And Qwest should win this one.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 established a means whereby the FCC could allow a company such as Qwest to compete freely — if and when it could be demonstrated that there is sufficient competition for services to free the company from being required to subsidize its competitors. 

Qwest is currently laboring under a federal requirement that it keep its wholesale services below cost. Now that Qwest has filed for relief in the Phoenix area, the time has come for the FCC to acknowledge the obvious: Telephone competition is vigorous and widespread.

Clearly, Qwest’s competitors enjoy seeing the company hamstrung with unnecessary and burdensome regulations. But it is obvious that the telecommunications landscape has changed dramatically since 1996 with the long distance business — once a monopoly market controlled largely by AT&T — now enjoying numerous competitive alternatives.

Similarly, local telephone services are available from a range of providers, including competitive telephone companies as well as cable-based carriers, wireless companies and Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) providers. 

A simple review of the current Phoenix telephone directory shows many providers other than Qwest ready and able to provide competitive local telecommunications services, including Cox Business Services, Cox Communications, Comcast, Sprint, Arizona Dialtone, AT&T, Charter, Integra, Mountain Telecommunications, McLeodUSA, Eschelon, Electric Lightwave, Teleport Communications Group, OnePoint Communications, XO Communications and others. 

In fact, Cox has a major presence in the Valley as the predominant cable service provider, and Cox has moved beyond simply providing TV, internet and telephone service to residential customers and is now serving the commercial business market.  In fact, Cox Business Services, as mentioned above, is listed separately in the Phoenix telephone directory in an apparent attempt to create convenience for Phoenix business customers wishing to contact Cox for business telephone service.

Looking for a wireless provider? Take your choice: AT&T, Verizon, Cricket, Sprint, T-Mobile and others. 

Further, many people are using their cellular telephones as a substitute for traditional, land-based telephone service.  One recent national survey reported that 16 percent of households in the country now use only cellular service in their homes, and an additional 13 percent report that they rely primarily on cellular service for making and receiving telephone calls. 

It is abundantly clear that competition for Qwest’s services in the Phoenix area has thrived, providing numerous alternatives through a vast array of competitors. It is time for the FCC to grant Qwest’s forbearance request for its operations in the Phoenix area and let the free market work its magic to the benefit of Phoenix consumers.

The Economic Stimulus Payment is a very exciting new program explained using the Q and A format:

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?

A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?

A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?

A. Only a smidgen.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?

A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China?

A. Shut up