I will be out of the office paying tribute to some of my favorite former presidents for a few days. I’ll be back on politics on Tuesday, Feb. 19.

Jon Kyl

Jon Kyl is set to discuss presidential politics and the coming 2008 congressional session during a couple of radio interviews Friday, Jan. 11.

Expect Kyl to give extra attention to the presidential prospects of his friend and fellow senator from
Arizona John McCain. Kyl holds a top spot on McCain’s campaign and traveled to New Hampshire to stump for him before that state’s primary election on Tuesday.

Kyl will be a guest on the John C. Scott show at 7:33 a.m. on KVOI 690 AM in Tucson.

Then Kyl will talk for an hour on the Darrell Ankarlo show at 10 a.m. on KTAR 92.3 FM in the Valley.

I’ll be out of the office and not posting anything on “Checking In” until Monday, Dec. 31. See you then. — Paul Giblin

Happy Thanksgiving

I’m checking out for a few days for the Thanksgiving holiday. Alas, unlike members of Congress who get two weeks off to count their blessings, I only get two days. I’ll just count faster.

Speaking of which, thanks for reading the blog. I’ll check in again on Friday, Nov. 23, with more news and notes about the people who want your votes.

Jon Kyl (left)

Sen. Jon Kyl will be an in-studio guest for an hour on the Barry Young show starting at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 20. The program can be heard in the Valley on KFYI 550-AM or online at http://www.kfyi.com/main.html. 

Young was harsh about Kyl’s work on the Senate’s now-failed immigration bill during the summer when Kyl was thousands of miles away in Washington. It will be interesting to note his tact when Kyl is sitting on the other side of the desk.

In the afternoon, Kyl will be a guest on the John C. Scott show starting at 4:30 p.m. It’s heard in
Tucson on KJLL 1330-AM or online at http://www.1330am-thejolt.com/JOLTme.html. 

E-mailer Howard Nute wrote to me today about my use of the word “kerflooey” on the TV talk-show program Horizon on Friday evening. He suggested, as host Richard Ruelas did on air, that kerflooey may not be an actual word. Nute wrote, “Is that damn UA journalism degree getting you where you need to be?”

Sometimes I find that the existing accepted limits of the English language just aren’t wide enough to fully express every nuance in my broad range of critical thinking. Thus, the need to invent words from time to time.

So for the benefit of Nute, Ruelas and anyone who tuned in Friday, here’s a definition:

Kerflooey: n., the consequence of an idea, policy or law devised by Arizona politicians in which the results are sudden, far from their intended purpose, and detrimental to the public good.

Or something like that…

Here