About a decade ago, while with The Center for Arizona Policy, I drafted a bill, defended its constitutionality in committee hearings, and helped it through the legislature and watched it be signed into law.

The law restricted the hours of operation of sex clubs in order to protect communities from the harmful secondary effects of such establishments. It had the support of neighborhood organizations and business lobbyists, and was modeled on laws enacted and upheld in other states and municipalities.

The sex clubs didn't like this much. One of their owners wanted to start a fight outside a committee room. Another wrote a letter to the editor accusing me of using "intimidation tactics and brutal political hardball" to get the bill through. (He was mad that we said we would tell voters how their representatives voted.)

The sex clubs have a lot of money, and would lose a lot of money if the law went into effect. So they sued. First they tried federal court, but they lost. So they appealed and lost again, and then again.

Naturally, they turned to state court, and finally found one judge in Pima County who didn't like the law and struck it down. That decision was not appealed. But a few years later a Maricopa County judge, and the Arizona Court of Appeals, upheld the law. The Arizona Supreme Court took the case to settle the dispute between two of its lower courts.

On Thursday the Arizona Supreme Court refused to uphold the law. Instead, the Court constructed a new "test" to be applied by lower courts, and sent the case back to its starting point for more evidence to be presented. And so it starts over, 10 years after it began.

Federal courts have already ruled the law is constitutional. This decision was based on the Arizona Constitution's free speech clause. Incredibly, we are asked to believe that Arizona's founding fathers -- in 1910 -- intended to protect pornographic speech to a greater extent than it is protected by the First Amendment.

Meanwhile, the sex clubs and their lawyers keep laughing all the way to the bank, as they anticipate thwarting the will of the people of Arizona for a second decade.

Drudge Report said the debate was "boring." Politico calls it the worst debate ever. I thought Tom Brokaw was horrendous as a moderator.

It made me long for the days when Brokaw in his prime was preparing to announce the death of Gerald Ford. C'mon, how many of you were rooting for him to say "Tragedy today as former President Gerald Ford was eaten by wolves." We need a laugh today -- enjoy:

Dana Carvey SNL Gerald Ford Is Dead - Watch more free videos

I have been asked to serve as a conservative columnist for a fast-growing political website, www.politickeraz.com. My first column -- on the need to support choice in health care through Proposition 101 -- is on-line now:

Americans love choice.

Yakov Smirnov, the comedian who fled the Cold War-era Soviet Union to a new life in the United States, made a career out of examining the myriad choices of consumer products available in America, exclaiming: “What a country!”

Conservatives are particularly supportive of choice – from the ability to choose the schools our children attend to the ability to choose our doctors and health care plans.

Big-government liberals would deprive Americans of choice in education and health care and a host of other areas, replacing them with governmental mandates.

At least with respect to health care, we have a chance this November to prevent the “Hillary-care” style governmental takeover of our health care system in Arizona by supporting Proposition 101, “The Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act.”

READ MORE

I was not surprised to watch some of the Beltway pundits react with horror and dismay to Sarah Palin's performance last night. MSNBC was hilarious -- Chris Matthews insulted her by saying she sounded like she was reciting and spellling out words in a spelling bee; another commentator said she was "inhuman" in her treatment of Biden. Watch the response of these undecided voters to Palin, and you will see why they hate her:

The mainstream media have no idea what just happened, and neither does Joe Biden. Gov. Sarah Palin spoke straight to the heart of America with a common-sense, optimistic, reform-minded populist conservative message. Joe Biden spent all night attacking John McCain, and Palin undercut his effectiveness by pointing out that Biden was more impressed by McCain than Obama until he got the VP slot. Biden's strategy of attacking McCain meant that no one laid a glove on Palin, while she was free to pummel the Obama-Biden ticket mercilessly - but with a smile and a velvet glove.

By the end of the debate, Biden seemed almost punch-drunk -- slurring words, referring to himself in the third person, getting emotional. This was a clear-cut victory for McCain-Palin and you will see a surge for McCain in the polls over the next few days, especially as all of Biden's factual errors are exposed.

Sarah Palin doesn't speak like a typical Washington politician. Joe Biden is the very definition of a typical Washington politician. For a second time, Sarah Palin has injected new life into Republican efforts in the fall, and John McCain's judgment in deciding to pick Palin has been vindicated.

On the eve of the vice presidential debate, some words of caution about the Palin phenomenon from a young conservative:

According to Google’s trend page of worldwide searches, “Sarah Palin” has been the most popular search in the world for the last 30 days. She is 3.4 times more popular than Barack Obama, 6.8 times more popular than Joe Biden, and six times more popular than even Paris Hilton.

So the Republicans have found their celebrity. But what does she mean?

I think Sarah Palin is, for conservatives, at once a compelling danger and a rare opportunity.

I would encourage you to read the whole column even if I didn't know the author.

The free market works. Congress intervened in the free market by forcing banks to make home loans to people who would otherwise not qualify. Democrats, who believe in disrupting the free market to promote social policy, supported this and are largely responsible for today's financial meltdown. Republicans, including President Bush, saw the dangers and attempted to provide accountability -- Democrats blocked them, as this report makes clear:

Given this history, what did Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi do today before failing to pass the proposed economic bailout? Naturally, she blamed President Bush.

It is truly nauseating to watch those who are responsible for this crisis, like Sen. Chuck Schumer or Rep. Barney Frank, attempt to hide their own responsibility by blaming President Bush and Republicans. This sets a new record for shameless cynicism.

Just when you think all of the news is bad, Krispy Kreme returns to the Valley!

It's time to pay the piper for the spending binge Arizona has been on for the past six years.

Our Governor's insatiable appetite for new spending requires new sources of revenue. Since raising taxes directly is unpopular, we are now relying on Big Brother to help out -- new photo radar cameras throughout Arizona:

"Arizona is the first U.S. state to implement a state-wide photo radar system ...".

You know, if government cameras followed all of us everywhere, we could catch every crime ever committed. Is that the brave new world we are heading for?

But more significantly for the moment, our state's spending is now dependent on you doing bad things. Since most of our elected officeholders of both parties seem to enjoy using taxpayer funds to build their own name ID for future elections by producing feel-good public service announcements, I have an idea -- produce a PSA encouraging people to speed more ... so we can fund schools. For the children.

For decades liberals have told conservatives that when it comes to laws protecting innocent human life, defining marriage, or regulating gambling or pornography to protect families from harm -- "you can't legislate morality."

But tonight, in response to a national financial meltdown, the same liberals who argue that law can't influence moral behavior, seem to believe all our financial problems can be solved by more laws regulating moral behavior.

Particularly amusing was Rep. Barney Frank -- a prime promoter of the "you can't legislate morality" crowd who was all over television tonight decrying the immorality of Wall Street and promising new laws to legislate morality in the financial industries.

This is the same Barney Frank who, while a Congressman, had a gay lover running a male prostitution ring from his home. Now it turns out that another former gay lover of the Congressman -- who Frank described as his "spouse" -- was a top executive at Fannie May while Rep. Frank was defending and receiving lots of campaign cash from Fannie May.

All law provides a dividing line between right and wrong conduct. And of course law itself cannot prevent wrong behavior, or else we would have no theft or murder. Debates over the wisdom of legislation on issues from abortion to civil rights to financial fraud are legitimate and welcome, especially as we balance our commitment to individual liberty against the regulatory power of government.

The question on any of these issues is not whether we can legislate morality. The question is: "what moral rules are best for governing society?" With this latest attempt by liberals to legislate morality, perhaps we can have a more honest debate over other issues that liberals try to dismiss as "off limits."

And let's hope the moral zealots of the left, in their desire to punish Wall Street wrongdoers for this latest crisis, don't produce even more rules that stifle economic freedom in a way that is truly destructive to our nation's future prosperity.

Greg over at EspressoPundit is wondering "Where's Janet?"

I wanted to let him know that I just happened to click on Fox News a few minutes ago and saw the Governor -- (she was in front of an Arizona background in the TV studio, so I think that means she is here). I saw her saying, "A number of these things that should have been debated and decided over the last several years, and they haven't been, things have been allowed to fester ..." and I thought "Great - she's finally getting off the Obama campaign jet and dealing with the looming Arizona budget crisis."

But alas, she was simply repeating Obama talking points about the fiscal crisis in Washington rather than dealing with the consequences of her decisions over the past six years that have spent the state of Arizona into bankruptcy.

Then it got funnier, as she went on to insist that Friday's presidential debate go on as scheduled, because "these candidates should both be prepared to debate ...".

That was amusing for two reasons. First, because John McCain has been asking Barack Obama to appear with him at a series of 10 town hall meetings for months now, and Obama has refused. And second, because when I ran against Napolitano in 2006, I had proposed a series of 10 debates. She only agreed to do three, then went back on her promise and canceled the third debate.

Apparently, for Obama and Napolitano, candidates should only be "prepared to debate" when it benefits them politically.

When he's not being slapped down by Barack Obama for his flip-flop on the AIG bailout, serial plagiarist Joe Biden continues to amaze us with his verbal miscues, as reported by Ben Smith:

Biden garbles Depression history

Joe Biden's denunciation of his own campaign's ad to Katie Couric got so much attention last night that another odd note in the interview slipped by.

He was speaking about the role of the White House in a financial crisis.

"When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed," Biden told Couric. "He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'"

As Reason's Jesse Walker footnotes it: "And if you owned an experimental TV set in 1929, you would have seen him. And you would have said to yourself, 'Who is that guy? What happened to President Hoover?'"

It's football season, so we take a brief break from politics. I've noticed that the newspaper stories about my kids are usually more fun to read than the ones about me. I even like the headline.

Munsil looks for even better year

by Katherine Torres - Sept. 22, 2008 11:07 AM
The Arizona Republic

Michael Munsil stands sturdy as a 6-foot-1, 255-pound lineman, and knows how to use that body when it comes to playing football for Phoenix Scottsdale Christian.

"He's a tremendous football player, great knowledge of football defensively and he's got goals to get better each week," said head coach Jeff Fox.

Last season, Munsil led the team with 112 tackles and also recorded three sacks, earning all-state recognition.
"I think I did pretty good last year," Munsil said. "I'm going to try and get a few more sacks this year and I'm going to try to match the amount of tackles I had last year."

So far this season, he has put himself well on his way of accomplishing that goal.

Munsil also shows his versatility by playing on the offensive side of the ball, where his main task is protecting his teammate, quarterback Jacob Storrer.

Now as a senior, he is preparing for what's in store for him after high school.

"I've been talking with several schools, Dartmouth, Air Force, Army. Those are the top ones," Munsil said.

While thinking ahead, Munsil is still focused on his senior year at Scottsdale Christian.

"I'm really looking forward to just getting to play with my friends who are seniors and going out and winning some games and going pretty deep in the playoffs," Munsil said.

Munsil and rest of the Scottsdale Christian team have a good chance of "going deep" in the playoffs this season. Last season, the team went 8-1 and made it to the first round of the Class 2A playoffs before being defeated by Bisbee. The team also won the region championship last year.

In its first two games this season, the team is off to another good start, as it has defeated Tonopah Valley and Phoenix Arizona Lutheran, already showing itself as a dominant force in 2A play.

Fox knows Munsil has the ability to be a force on offense and defense this season.

"He has the ability to be a dominating ballplayer for us and certainly those are things that you need to have to be a successful football team," Fox said.

Oliphant is a Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist. For some reason he thinks its OK to distort and then mock and stereotype Sarah Palin's faith. We don't need to wonder what the response would be if he were to stereotype Barack Obama's ethnicity. But you can count on most of the left-wing media to ignore the only acceptable bigotry in 2008 America -- bigotry against Christians.

... as not only an opponent of traditional marriage, but a slanderer of those who still believe marriage is and always should be the union of one man and one woman.

In comments opposing Proposition 102 in the state's publicity pamphlet, the Mayor of Phoenix writes:

"Let's not permit a hateful few to define us to the rest of our country by painting a target on a specific group of citizens."

Seriously, Mayor Gordon? Do you really believe that everyone who believes we should not let activist judges redefine marriage in Arizona -- the African-American pastors, the Latino families, the Catholic bishops, the soccer Moms, the regular folks who work hard and go to church every weekend -- are you really calling all these people "the hateful few?" That's outrageous.

Much of the 9/11 remembrances today are focused on the victims of that horrific attack seven years ago. But today it is also appropriate to remember the nature of the threat we face from radical Islamic extremists, and the responses each presidential candidate gave to Rick Warren at the Saddleback forum when he asked them about the existence of evil.

John McCain was quick to say we should "defeat evil" and immediately noted the use by terrorists of adults with mental disabilities as suicide bombers as an example of the evil we face.

By contrast, Barack Obama almost immediately talked about the evil inside our own society, and how we should be careful to avoid judging others because of all the evil things America has allowed and even perpetrated in the name of good. As Laura Ingraham pointed out on her radio show this morning, Obama's answer was merely a less offensive way of saying what Obama's mentor and pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has said repeatedly from the pulpit. Wright famously talked about America's "chickens ... coming home to roost" because America bombed other nations in World War II and subsequent conflicts.

Meanwhile, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, today, U.S. Senator John McCain gave a brief but moving speech on the seventh anniversary of 9/11:

"

No American living then should ever forget the heroism that occurred in the skies above this field on September 11, 2001. It is believed that the terrorists on United Flight 93 may have intended to crash the airplane into the United States Capitol. Hundreds if not thousands of people would have been at work in that building when that fateful moment occurred, and been destroyed along with a beautiful symbol of our freedom. They and, very possibly I, owe our lives to the passengers who summoned the courage and love necessary to deny our depraved and hateful enemies their terrible triumph.

"I have witnessed great courage and sacrifice for America's sake, but none greater than the sacrifice of those good people who grasped the gravity of the moment, understood the threat, and decided to fight back at the cost of their lives.

"I spoke at the memorial service for one of them, Mark Bingham. I acknowledged that few of us could say we loved our country as well as he and all the heroes of September 11 had. The only means we possess to thank them is to try to be as good an American as they were. We might fall well short of their standard, but there is honor in the effort.

"In the Gospel of John it is written, 'Greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.' Such was their love; a love so sublime that only God's love surpasses it. I am in awe of it as much as I am in debt to it. May God bless their souls."

Media hordes are descending on Alaska looking under every shrub to find evidence of something Gov. Sarah Palin has done wrong (I'm waiting for the media to track down and interview animal family members of caribous and moose she hunted). Meanwhile, where are the media hordes descending on Delaware to look into:

1) Barack Obama's success in getting millions of dollars of earmarks for Joe Biden's lobbyist son;
2) Joe Biden's huge ethical lapses -- a history of plagiarism and distortion of his own record - that drove him from the presidential race in 1988;
3) Joe Biden's apparently careless and false reference to the other driver being "drunk" in the accident that tragically killed his wife and infant daughter.

Never before in political history has a candidate with so many ethical lapses and misstatements been added to a national ticket and then essentially given a free pass by the national media.

So now the mainstream media has discovered, horror of horrors, that Gov. Sarah Palin is a Christian. That she attends a Bible church and was raised in an Assembly of God church. A team of secular journalists has descended on Alaska to report on this oddity -- a small-town girl who grew up believing in God and praying for her country. To save the media some time, I thought I would share some things that Sarah Palin probably did NOT hear in her church:

In a sermon after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001: "We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."

In 2003: "The government gives [blacks] drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."

Asked Sunday why Sen. Obama does not agree to a series of Town Hall meetings with Sen. McCain, Democratic Party vice presidential nominee Joe Biden said answering that was "above [his] pay grade."

Why he chose to remind voters of Sen. Obama's widely criticized ducking of a question about when babies should receive human rights is beyond me. But in the same interview, Biden also demonstrated why most public policy questions are probably above his pay grade.

He did so with some of the most flawed reasoning imaginable -- on the same issue of abortion. According to the New York Times:

Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic nominee for vice president, departed Sunday from party doctrine on abortion rights, declaring that as a Catholic, he believes life begins at conception. But the Delaware senator added that he would not impose his personal views on others, and had indeed voted against curtailing abortion rights and against criminalizing abortion.

This is the worst and most inhumane of all positions on abortion. Those who argue that what occurs in a mother's womb is nothing but a blob of tissue until, at birth, it magically becomes a human child are wrong as a matter of science, reason and ethics. But at least they are consistent when they conclude that their "blob of tissue" can legally be removed and destroyed.

For someone to conclude that a human life is at stake, as Biden does, but then refuse to prevent the taking of that human life is beyond morally reprehensible. It is the height of political cowardice, hidden under the dismissive, politically correct nod to enlightened tolerance -- being unwilling to "impose his values" on others.

It is cowardly because Biden has reached a conclusion at odds with his Party and with the prevailing culture, and for him to act on that conclusion would be politically costly. If you are wondering how Joe Biden would have stood up to a culture that embraced human slavery, you need wonder no longer - he would have been unwilling to "impose his values" on others.

About midway through Gov. Sarah Palin's speech last night, I experienced something I never thought possible -- I began to feel sorry for Joe Biden.

The self-professed hockey Mom left the Obama-Biden tag team on the mat bruised and bleeding. There were so many great lines, but here was my favorite - her description of Barack Obama:

We've all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers.

And there is much to like and admire about our opponent.

But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed ... when the roar of the crowd fades away ... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger ... take more of your money ... give you more orders from Washington ... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.

For some reason, pundits have made a big deal out of the fact that Sarah Palin had a speechwriter -- my old friend Matt Scully, who worked with me at the State Press in the 1980s. But every public official at this level uses speechwriters - for some reason this was only worth mentioning when Sarah Palin gave a great speech.

Ironically, it is now revealed that the teleprompter malfunctioned during her speech. With that much pressure, with every word being watched by 40 million people live, Gov. Palin delivered the second half of her speech by ad libbing and from memory -- and no one knew. When Obama's teleprompter malfunctioned, in a much less pressure-packed situation, he hemmed and hawed and hesitated until they fixed it.

This will only add to the legend of Sarah Palin, which has already prompted a website of Sarah Palin Facts in the tradition of Chuck Norris. My favorites:

-- Death once had a near-Sarah Palin experience
-- Sarah Palin is the reason compasses point North
-- Sarah Palin’s enemies are automatically added to the Endangered Species List