Phoenix Based SGB Media Group Announces Major Strategic Alliances During 2nd Quarter

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Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) August 14, 2010

Phoenix based SGB Media Group's CEO and Group Publisher Stephen G. Barr announced today the formation of five new strategic business partnerships during the second quarter of 2010. Citing an avalanche of new business orders for social media marketing services and proprietary social network development.

"We've been at the social network development game now for ten years and used to have people say we were crazy and that Facebook, and Twitter were just passing fads but now we've had to outsource some of the specialty tasks to newly formed strategic alliance partners in order to keep up with demand." says Barr. Barr went on to say "Each of the new strategic alliance partners were carefully selected by myself personally as we now will be reflections of each other's brands and reputations within the business community which is something we take very seriously."

Strategic business partnerships we formed with the following entities:

talentPOD, LLC - Scottsdale, AZ - A social media marketing company that specializes in the development and ongoing administration of proprietary social networks for the nonprofit and community focused organization sectors utilizing the full capacity of cutting edge, emerging technologies benefiting local, state, national and international communities. Social relevance and impact are the cornerstones of our inspiration. Formed in 2008 by Bill Stalnaker, CEO and Joe Stalnaker, CTO and Barr now assuming the position of Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO). talentPOD, LLC has over 200 websites currently in development as well as several national accounts to be announced at the end of the third quarter.

The Prowess Group, LLC - Scottsdale, AZ - An e-commerce and venture capital group comprised of industry and community leaders with international associations for manufacturing and distribution of specialty and emerging technology products with special interest give to sustainable, environmentally friendly products. The group is aggressively seeking out "green brands" to develop and market via a state of the art shopping cart software which will also be marketed buy the group. They seek to open up new international product distribution channels to also further promote international economic recovery and cooperation. Barr is a partner and Social Media Director.

SelfSelfless, LLC - Scottsdale, AZ - Self Selfless is a channel designed to help you and your loved one enjoy a deeper level of intimacy through sexual exploration and the increased awareness, ability, and communication that sexual exploration offers. Our desire is to present you with sexual instruction and information in a respectful, sensitive, and serious manner. Think of Self Selfless as your virtual sex therapist, where your questions and concerns will be addressed with the privacy and understanding you expect and deserve. Self Selfless will provide instruction and information aimed at improving intimacy between couples as well as help you feel comfortable with yourself, your body, and your desire for physical and emotional pleasure. We want to empower you with the knowledge, confidence, and ability to engage in sexual self-pleasure and the pleasuring of another without fear or guilt, achieving a level of intimacy and passion that will resonate through all aspects of your life. Barr is a Sexpert, will host the interactive online forum as well as Social Media Director.

Dr. Alex Loyd's "The Healing Codes" - Naples, Fl - Author of the Amazon Bestseller "The Healing Codes".
The Healing Codes activate a physical function built into the body that consistently and predictably removes the #1 cause of illness and disease from the body . . . stress. A key point to remember is that our bodies are designed to maintain optimal health! Every time we have a health problem, we should be asking, “What stress is causing this and how can I eliminate it?”. Stanford University Medical School, and numerous health experts, say the number one killer on the planet is stress. Most physical and nonphysical health problems have long-term, physiological stress as their origin. The CDC also estimates that 80% of all health care dollars are spent on illnesses related to stress. Barr has assumed the position of Publicist and Social Media Director.

Webuildyoursocialmedia.com - Scottsdale, AZ - A full service social media marketing firm located in North Scottsdale. WBYSM provides live webinars and one-on-one coaching to help clients convert their prospects to loyal customers. People are choosing to work with people they are "connected" to.Their goal is to help the small business entrepreneur achieve measurable success in the Social Media era and part of their team is comprised of developers and designers. This gives them the unique ability to develop state of the art blogs, websites, Facebook applications, widgets and more. Barr will be Senior Business Development Officer.

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Journalist Running for U.S. Senate in Arizona - mediabistro.com: MediaJobsDaily

You often hear of journalists looking outside of media for new employment, but rarely do you hear of a writer looking to the electorate for a new job. But that's what John Dougherty has done.

Dougherty, an investigative reporter in Arizona, has decided to enter politics, running for Senate as a Democrat in the Grand Canyon State.

"I'll be 54 next month, and I felt that at this moment in time with the way the senate race was shaping up, that somebody with my background... in Arizona... would be a good candidate to run for the Senate right now," said Dougherty to the Yuma Sun newspaper.

A 25 year vet of the news industry that included stints at the Phoenix Gazette and the Phoenix New Times, Dougherty now works as a freelancer, writing for various organizations including the New York Times and the Washington Post. On Aug. 24, 2010, he'll face former Tuscon City Council member Rodney Glassman, former state Rep. Cathy Eden and attorney Randy Parraz in the Democratic primary.

One of the major issues in the 2010 AZ race will be immigration. Dougherty has actually investigated some of the state's major players on the front lines of immigration, including the controversial Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio.

If he manages to pull off the upset in the Democratic primary, Dougherty will then face the winner of the Republican race, which pits Sen. John McCain and former Rep. and current radio talk show host J.D. Hayworth against each other.

Dougherty told Jilted Journalists that he will even hire investigative journalists if he wins the Senate, in order to uncover corruption within government.

However, Dougherty seems to understand his chances. "A politician has a Rolodex filled with people who owe him favors," said Dougherty to Jilted Journalists. "I have a Rolodex filled with people who are probably pissed off at me."

Will this hurt or help his career, if he fails to capture the Senate nod?

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Xbox Live Banking Billions on Virtual Goods, Twitter 'Mumbles' Big in Japan

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Amplify’d from www.switched.com

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

Nonexistent virtual goods produce obscene revenue for online services. The phenomenon, which even attracts criminal activity, is currently helping Microsoft stave off the effects of diminishing video game sales. Forbes estimates that Xbox Live earns the company more than $1 billion annually, primarily through various account upgrades, and from the sale of avatars, costumes, character attributes and other intangible items. [From: Forbes]

Stumped New York Times writers searching for alternate ways to describe "posted messages on Twitter," may have just found their "tweet" substitute -- by way of a Japanese translation. Now, 16.3-percent of Japanese Internet users "mumble" on Twitter, compared to the 9.8-percent of U.S. Web users. Japanese mumbles also impressively represent 12-percent of total worldwide tweets. [From: The Huffington Post]

WordPress experienced crippling outages earlier this month, but the millions of online pontificators temporarily left blogless may soon forget those past worries. The official WordPress 3.0 'Thelonious' upgrade, inspired by the jazz musician's "improvisational wizardry," apparently now provides subscribers with a variety of exciting features, including bulk updates, customizable style options and a more efficient and navigable interface. [From: Mashable] Read more at www.switched.com

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Horne: Andrew Thomas’ Abuse of Power

Horne: Andrew Thomas’ Abuse of Power

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StateBrief Op-Ed Contributors

Published: June 9, 2010Posted in: Elections, StateTags: Andrew Thomas, Arizona AG, Attorney General, Maricopa County, Republican primary, Tom Horne

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By Tom Horne

Recently, a court found that Andrew Thomas had prosecuted people for personal political advantage and for personal political retribution.  (Court case CR2010-005423-001, February 24, 2010.)  This is worst thing that you say about a prosecutor.  The following provides some of the back ground for this finding.

The first person who seriously criticized Thomas was Don Stapley.  Stapley is a longtime Maricopa County Supervisor, who is known for fiscal conservatism.  He criticized Thomas for financial irresponsibility.  Thomas had raised the expenditures for the Maricopa County Attorney’s office for outside lawyers from $6 million a year to $16 million a year, almost all of which had gone to lawyers that served on a host committee for one of Thomas’ fundraisers.  There was an appearance of repaying political favors with government money.

In addition, Stapley criticized Thomas for wasting $2 million of public money on advertising allegedly to tell people not to use drugs, but actually to promote Thomas’ name and picture.  The Goldwater Institute would later make the same criticism, stating “Mr. Thomas’ massive and continuous promotion of his name and image through official publications and communications cannot possibly be seen as aimed at advancing any legitimate purpose.”

Almost immediately, an investigation started of Stapley, which resulted in his indictment on trumped-up charges, all of which were ultimately dismissed.  But Stapley went through years of hell, spending over $1 million in attorneys’ fees, and having his health and his wife’s health damaged.  The Arizona Republic editorialized that it could see no rational argument for Thomas’ action, other than “raw political payback,” and that “Andrew Thomas is usurping justice.”  (Stapley dismissal followed, Court case No. CR2010-00543-001; Goldwater policy brief, May 12, 2009, p. 8; Editorial December 9, 2009.)

Simultaneously, Russ Jones, a legislator from Yuma, got crosswise with Thomas’ allies in the legislature.  Jones also found himself indicted on trumped up charges, all of which were ultimately dismissed, but not before Jones had hundreds of thousands of dollars of attorneys’ fees as well.  (Yuma Sun, May 21, 2010.)

All of this was a view to intimidation of critics, which worked.  A number of legislators, asked to endorse Tom Horne, said they could not consider it until Thomas resigned, because they saw Jones being indicted and they didn’t want to be indicted.

Thomas then got into a conflict with all five members of the Board of Supervisors.  Being fiscal conservatives, they had saved money for a badly needed new courthouse, so that it could be built without the county incurring any debt.  Thomas wanted them to raid that fund for his budget, and they refused.  This may have been a reasonable disagreement, but Thomas pursued it by investigating them with a view to indicting them.

A judge put a stop to it, stating that Thomas’ actions were unethical.  The judge pointed out that the County Attorney represents the board of supervisors, and one cannot investigate or indict one’s clients, something that every first year law student knows.  Three different judges, in three different cases, would find Thomas’ actions in different circumstances to be unethical.  The judge in this case also stated that Thomas’ actions had “the appearance of evil.”  (Court Case No.  422GJ350, February 6, 2009.)

The supervisors wanted separate counsel to represent them in civil cases, rather than be represented by someone who had been investigating them.  Thomas contested their right to do so.  A separate judge ruled in favor of the board of supervisors, finding that Thomas had acted unethically.  He stated that when Thomas decided to act ethically, he could resume representing the board of supervisors, but not before.  (Court Case No. CR CV2008-033194, August 21, 2009.)

Thomas was losing case after case of these political cases.  He had to undermine the appearance of objectivity of the trial judges, so he started accusing the judges.  He filed a racketeering case against all five members of the board of supervisors, their lawyers, county officials, and four separate judges who ruled against him in four separate cases.  He accused the judges of bribery and extortion, but had not one iota of evidence that any judge had taken a penny in a bribe, or had committed extortion.

When the time came to argue the motion to dismiss, the gunslinger dropped his guns and ran away.  He dropped the case.  As a cover, he made up a story that the federal government had agreed to pursue the investigation, and that is all that he ever wanted.  The next day the head of the Integrity Division of the U.S. Department of Justice said that he was dismayed at what had been stated, in that the federal government had agreed to no such thing.  Thomas had made it up.  (The Arizona Republic, March 14, 2010.)

Once all of the charges against Stapley had been dismissed, Thomas came up with a new set of charges.  He referred these to Sheila Polk, County Attorney in Yavapai County.  He chose her because she was a life-long conservative Republican, law-in-order prosecutor.  In a brave statement, she stated that she could no longer remain silent, because her silence would implicate her in what she saw as wrongdoing by Thomas.  Her words were that she could not longer remain silent in the face of “totalitarian tactics in Maricopa County.”  (The Arizona Republic, December 22, 2009.)

The amount of money wasted on these campaigns against Thomas’ critics, all of which failed, has been calculated by The Arizona Republic to be in excess of $3 million, all taxpayers’ dollars, at a time when there has been talk about the possibility of laying off police officers.  (The Arizona Republic, June 3, 2010.)

The following is a summary showing that Thomas has lost or dropped all of his political cases:

	CASE	DISPOSITION
1.	Prosecution of Don Stapley	Dismissed
2.	Prosecution of Mary Rose Wilcox	Dismissed
3.	Prosecution of Judge Donohoe	Dropped
4.	Prosecution of Yuma State Legislator Russ Jones	Dismissed
5.	Racketeering case against County Supervisors, their lawyers, County officials, and four judges who ruled against Thomas in four different cases	Dropped on eve of arguing Motion to Dismiss
6.	Contesting County hiring its own lawyer because of Thomas’ unethical conduct	Lost
7.	Court Tower case	Lost
8.	Challenging Hispanic court	Lost
9.	Contest of Balanced Budget Act of 2008	Lost
10.	Records request battle with County	Lost
11.	Prosecution of New Times newspaper	Dropped
12.	Prosecution of demonstrators	Lost

Judges are vulnerable, because they have left their law practices, have no clients, and their reputations are everything to them.  Judges have said that when they rule against the county attorney’s office, they worry about being personally investigated.  If an out-of-control prosecutor can intimidate judges, then no one has any constitutional rights. The Constitution sets up an independent judiciary so that there will be somebody who can protect people’s constitutional rights from incursions by government officials.

Among legislation that has been sought by Thomas, is a bill that would provide that business records could be subpoenaed by county attorneys or the attorney general without the necessity of going to court.  Business officials also could be subpoenaed to testify personally, without the necessity of going to court.  One can imagine the amount of intimidation of critics that would be possible under those circumstances.  As The Arizona Republic stated in an editorial:  “But nothing…compares with the abuse of power Thomas is now perpetrating against the Board of Supervisors.”  (The Arizona Republic, December 9, 2009.)

If an out-of-control prosecutor becomes attorney general, businesses will not want to move to Arizona, and Arizona will have no economic future.

Currently in his second term as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne is seeking the Republican nomination for Attorney General. Horne served in the state legislature from 1996 till 2000. He practiced law for thirty years and was a judge pro tem in superior and appeals courts.

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Terry Goddard for Governor - Arizona :: Meet Terry

Meet Terry

Over a lifetime of public service, Terry Goddard has fought to improve the lives of Arizonans.

Keeping Arizona Safe

Since taking the oath of office as Attorney General in 2003, Terry has compiled an unprecedented record of successful criminal prosecutions and civil settlements across a wide range of cases that includes border protection, consumer protection, leading the fight against methamphetamines, protecting Arizona’s environment and fighting mortgage fraud. Because of his strong belief in fiscal responsibility, Terry has directed his office in producing more than $267 million—last year alone—in settlements, restitution, penalties and other recoveries for Arizona.

Among his achievements, Terry successfully prosecuted complex fraud cases, including the one against the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, which cheated 11,000 investors out of more than $585 million. He has scored major victories for consumers, such as a $1 million settlement with WalMart, the state's and nation's largest retailer, for repeated price-posting violations. Terry continues to fight on the forefront against housing fraud. He recently joined together with federal and local law enforcement officials who will be getting an additional $1.7 million in federal funds this year to fight mortgage fraud in Arizona.

Delivering Results for Arizona

Highlights of Terry’s accomplishments as Attorney General are:

A $94 million settlement with Western Union that provides substantial new resources for law enforcement agencies in the four Southwest border states to combat illegal activity and criminal cartels along the entire U.S. Mexico border.

Sharply cutting the number of meth labs in the state and reducing meth use by more than 50 percent in many age groups.

Bringing in the largest environmental recovery in Arizona’s history—a $12 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit over the destruction of the state's natural and archeological resources.

Brokering a settlement to protect Luke Air Force Base from residential encroachment which strengthens Luke's bid for selection as a training base for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the next generation of U.S. Air Force jets.

Leadership on Law Enforcement, Housing, Water Conservation

Terry began his legal work when he was hired by the Arizona Attorney General's Office as a white-collar crime prosecutor. From 1995 to 2002, he served as Arizona Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In 2000, he was elected to the board of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, which manages the Central Arizona Project.

From 1984 to 1990, Terry served as Mayor of Phoenix for four consecutive terms. Under his visionary leadership, Phoenix made significant strides in expanding and modernizing law enforcement and setting up nationally recognized programs in economic development, the arts and historic preservation. He was elected President of the National League of Cities in 1989 and was named “Municipal Leader of the Year” by City and County Magazine.

An Arizona Native and a Navy Veteran

Terry Goddard is an Arizona native, born and raised in Tucson. His father, Sam Goddard, served as Arizona’s Governor in the 1960s. Terry received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his law degree from Arizona State University. He served an active duty tour in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Commander after 27 years in the Naval Reserves. In addition to his passion to protect Arizona citizens, Terry has a long-standing commitment to historic preservation. Terry, his wife, Monica, and their son live in Phoenix.

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Arizona Capitol Times » Blog Archive » AP-Univision Poll: Immigration splits Americans

AP-Univision Poll: Immigration splits Americans

By The Associated Press

Published: May 14, 2010 at 6:44 am

A group of protesters against Arizona's controversial immigration bill march on the State Capitol in Phoenix. A new telephone poll by the Pew Research Center shows that 59 percent of Americans approve of Arizona's new law cracking down on illegal immigrants while only 32 percent disapprove. The polll was conducted on May 6-9 and released Wednesday, May 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Connors, File)

Illegal immigrants are a boon, not a burden to the country, a resounding majority of Hispanics say, according to an Associated Press-Univision Poll that underscores sharp contrasts between the views of Hispanics and others. Most non-Hispanics say illegal immigrants are a drain on society.

In addition, most Hispanics condemn Arizona’s strict new law targeting undocumented immigrants, while only 20 percent of non-Hispanics oppose it.

The survey also found some remarkably similar views between Hispanics and non-Hispanics on the complex, emotional issue of immigration, which has gained prominence this election year. About two-thirds of both groups consider illegal immigration a serious problem, only a quarter of each think the Arizona law will ease the state’s troubles and the largest portion of both populations think current limits on legal immigration should be left alone.

Even so, much of the poll — which questioned 901 Hispanic adults and was compared to a separate survey of the general population — reads as if soundings were taken of two distinct worlds, an impression fortified by follow-up interviews.

“People are not coming to this country to do bad things, people are coming to make money for their families,” said Javier Zurita, 43, a factory worker in Garfield, N.J., a U.S. citizen from Ecuador. “These people love this country, they’ve had sons and daughters in this country.”

William Ryan, 38, a contractor from Elkridge, Md., sees things differently.

“It seems like every working illegal immigrant has four family members who don’t work. And we’re paying for all of them,” said Ryan, who is white and non-Hispanic.

According to the poll, 74 percent of Hispanics said the country’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants mostly contribute to society. Just 35 percent of non-Hispanics agreed, with 60 percent saying illegal immigrants are largely a drain.

Some 67 percent of Hispanics said they oppose the Arizona statute. Just 20 percent of non-Hispanics oppose it, with 45 percent favoring it and 30 percent neutral. The law allows local police to demand citizenship papers from people they suspect of being here illegally and to detain them if they can’t produce the documents.

“If I go to the convenience store for a gallon of milk, I don’t carry those kinds of things,” said Martin Ortiz, 37, a U.S.-born citizen and maintenance worker from San Diego. “I just slap on a pair of shorts. And a police officer notices me? Why should I get detained?”

Countering that viewpoint was Michael Doucet, 25, a technician from Houston who is white and non-Hispanic. He wants existing laws enforced and backs the new Arizona statute.

“Illegals are illegal,” said Doucet. “It’s not a problem with discrimination, it’s not a problem with whites hating Hispanics, it is what it is. Most illegals are Hispanic.”

Underlining the divergent reactions to the Arizona law, seven in 10 Hispanics hope their states don’t enact similar statutes, more than double the non-Hispanics who feel that way.

Nearly nine in 10 Hispanics said a way should be found to help illegal immigrants already in this country become citizens, an idea that wins support from just over half of non-Hispanics. Some 62 percent of non-Hispanics — compared with just 24 percent of Hispanics — think being in the U.S. illegally should be considered a serious crime.

By 73 percent to 46 percent, more Hispanics than others said police crackdowns on illegal immigrants are likely to target Hispanics unfairly. About three quarters of Hispanics said they would consider it a big problem if Arizona police questioned a Hispanic who turned out to be here legally, more than double the non-Hispanics who said so.

“It’s not one of these things where the Left would have you believe the Gestapo will be out there stomping down doors,” said John Wagner, 60, a manager with the Department of Homeland Security from Las Cruces, N.M.

But Jackie Gallegos, 18, a high school student from El Paso, Texas, said she resented intrusions the Arizona law would allow.

“People are living here, working here, why shouldn’t they have rights?” she said.

While both groups agree that illegal immigration is a serious problem, 83 percent of non-Hispanics think the federal government should be doing more about it, while 52 percent of Hispanics voice that view.

Hispanics trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle immigration, while it’s the other way around for non-Hispanics. Still, only 45 percent of Hispanics approve of how President Barack Obama is dealing with the issue — one of the few national issues where they rate his performance relatively poorly.

In other findings:

— Almost nine in 10 Hispanics say illegal immigrants take jobs Americans don’t want, compared with six in 10 non-Hispanics.

— More than a quarter of Hispanics say they would not have had documentation proving their status had they been stopped by police the day they answered the poll, about double the rate for non-Hispanics.

— Most Hispanics say only the federal government should enforce immigration laws, while a majority of non-Hispanics want local police involved.

The AP-Univision Poll was conducted from May 7-12 by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 901 Hispanic adults and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5.3 percentage points.

The findings were compared to a separate poll of 1,002 people from the general population, also by GfK Roper. It involved cell and landline interviews conducted from May 7-11, and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

___

Associated Press Polling Director Trevor Tompson, AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius and AP writers Suzanne Gamboa and Christine Simmons contributed to this report.

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Center For Progressive Leadership - State Offices

Stephen Barr Group Publisher, SGB Media Group "I wish to help support and promote progressive candidates, campaigns and initiatives through the use of social networking, media relations and good old fashioned door knocking!"

Steve is the owner and Group Publisher at Phoenix based SGB Media Group, which was formed in 2006 as the administrative arm of a consortium of smaller internet based companies serving narrowly defined, demographically targeted market segments via several business models. This includes affiliate marketing fundraising initiatives, niche social network development & administration, blogs, discussion forums and eZines focusing in the nonprofit, political and fine arts communities.

Prior to forming SGB Media Group he was in the music and commercial real estate industries in New York, Los Angeles, Palm Springs and San Francisco Bay areas. He also serves as the Director of Social Media at GiveClicks.com, The Icehouse Arts Museum and Alwun House Foundation and is the Executive Director of Code Bule Arizona, The Modern Progressive Network, Rehab Arts Studio and Dad Found Not Lost nonprofit organizations.

 Meet the other 2009 Arizona Fellows

 

 

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