(Originally posted on But I Could Be Wrong)   There are moments when you get the chance to say…Wow, she really gets it! Through all her eye rolling, and foot stomping, she is listening to my advice and actually turning out to be a fabulous human being! Hey MYP crew! My name is Dani Kaye and I’m up here, well, because i’m running for Vice President. Middle years, I’m here because I care. I really want to acknowledge everyone...

It’s been almost two years since my life was turned upside down.  Two years ago this month, my wife of 8 years turned to me and said she wanted out of our marriage.   This news came as a complete surprise and as you could imagine the news was devastating.  I spent much of the following weeks trying to understand why this person I had shared so many great moments with all the sudden wanted out.  I wasn’t getting much of an...

Dear California, Remember the outrage a few years ago over a thing called Prop 8? Remember how your state voted on the issue of gay marriage, twice, and twice the people of California voted to keep gay marriage illegal? Even though your own citizens voted in favor of Prop 8, there was no call to boycott  California or to limit travel to California. There was no effort to halt conventions in California. GLAAD and the HRC didn’t label...

As many of you know, I recently spent a couple of weeks touring Turkey as a guest of the Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue (a marvelous group, by the way – check’em out: www.fid-az.org). I traveled hither and yon in style with a group of Arizonans – elected officials, college professors, activists. It was a life-changing experience that left me exceedingly grateful and eager to see more of our glorious little planet. Upon my...

There are a variety of social struggles present daily. Many people ignore it, and worry about themselves, and some choose to do something about it. I am here to encourage you to do something about it. After mediating on a few events that happened recently, I realize how many others were either involved, or were also witness to certain issues and didn’t lift a finger to help. At First Friday, for June, myself and my significant other were...

I have an economics degree from ASU and my professors drilled into me that competition is always better than state sanctioned monopolies. However, those professors were employed by a state sanctioned monopoly known as ASU. For many years ASU has had a disproportionate influence in the Valley and lately has begun to expand its empire while keeping costs high and decreasing quality. (I learned this theory from my Goldwater Institute...

I was on Twitter the other morning, and saw a tweet saying “Arizona’s Gov. Brewer Signs ‘Ethnic Studies Ban’ Into Law”.  That sounded too weird to believe, so I clicked on the attached link and read the article that gives the Arizona state government veto power over what kind of “ethnic studies” classes can be taught. I’m looking at an online copy of the law.  Here’s what Section 15-111 states: 15-111. Declaration...

Arizona is known for a few things – deserts, the Grand Canyon, Governors… However, the most common thing people associate with Arizona is heat. Yes, the dreaded 100+ degree temperature doom looms over the heads of the citizens of Arizona, every year. The thought of no air conditioning in any capacity is a foreign thought for many of us that have lived here most or all of our lives. Arizona also has had reports of people dying, or...

By:  Brittany Conklin Cancer. The ‘C’ word. I couldn’t believe I was hearing that I had cancer. I was only 27 years old. Hearing the words “you have cancer” is horrible, but making it even worse was knowing that I could have prevented it. Growing up in Arizona meant growing up in the sun. We had a pool in the backyard and in the summer there wasn’t a day that I didn’t spend swimming. Looking back, I don’t remember my mom...

By: Wendy Coneybeer Most of us set goals, objectives that we see as better than our present situation, to work towards in our lives. When we reach these goals we feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction of completing what we were working towards. But what is the opposite of a goal? Not the opposite in the sense of not actually having a goal, but rather a low point. Something that you are fighting to avoid, like swimming against a ...