A new cable channel that's already paying dividends...

...at least for one blogger.

Confession time...

I have a new addiction - Arizona Capitol Television (channel 123 on Cox Cable's Scottsdale line-up).

It's certainly not perfect:

...it's nowhere near as polished as C-SPAN - for some reason, they played a feed of a radio station over the beginning of one committee meeting (to be fair, C-SPAN has lot more experience and a much larger budget);

...the sound quality is lousy in some of the hearing rooms - frequently, viewers can't hear a member's statement or vote;

...and their programming choices are very limited - during off-hours, they keep re-running a movie, "A More Perfect Union: America Becomes a Nation". It beats the filmstrips we had to watch when I was in school, but not by much. Especially after the 3rd or 4th viewing within a few days.

However, since most of us can't visit the lege on a daily basis, even with its imperfections, it's a great tool for seeing things that before were only written about, and then only if they caught the attention of a professional reporter or an intrepid amateur, such as a blogger. :)

For instance, it aired last Thursday's House floor session where Rep. Robson upbraided Rep. Schapira for describing a bill as "terrible" after he himself described Rep. Steve Gallardo as someone who doesn't "know what truth or fiction is in certain respects." It was great to actually see the events that inspired this great post from Tedski at Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion.


I have learned at least one thing from my limited viewing so far - nothing that I have ever written about Republican Sen. Jack Harper even comes close to conveying what an arrogant ass he is.


During the 3/19 meeting of the Senate Government Committee, he regularly snapped at, cut off, and derided members of the public who spoke in opposition to his position on any bill.

I've heard about this behavior pattern from him before, but had never actually witnessed it. It was eye-opening.

It was, at best, unprofessional; at worst, it showcased a public official who possesses an utter contempt for the public that put him in office.

To be fair, he wasn't alone in his contempt for dissent from the public. His tag-team partner, Sen. Robert Blendu, was just as bad.

Maybe they reasoned that while one jerk would stand out, the presence of two jerks would go unnoticed??

If that was the plan, they need to think about Plan B, because Plan A didn't cut it.

Something tells me that the Republicans in the lege are going to question their own wisdom in starting up this channel.

Hope someone at MCDP and/or ADP has a recorder running. [Hint, hint. :) ]

Later!