Short Attention Span musing

 ...From the  "who cares": file - Former U.S. Senator (and former Democrat) Kyrsten Sinema is helping R CD1 candidate Jay Feely.

From CNN (emphasis added by me) - 

A growing number of prominent Republicans are endorsing Democrats in 2026

[snip]

Retiring Maine Rep. Jared Golden recently announced he would back New York GOP Rep. Mike Lawler for reelection. Former Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who became an independent before retiring from the Senate, backed GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. And former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who also became an independent, is supporting GOP congressional candidate Jay Feely in her state, Axios reported.

But the GOP crossovers for Democrats are more numerous — and come from more interesting places.

note: Axios' original is behind a paywall, so I won't link to it.  CNN did, though.

...From the "whistling past the graveyard" file - While the official inflation rate has been elevating (the "official" rate is 3.7%, but my unofficial eye says reality is very different and higher...but reality doesn't benefit Cheeto or the other Rs), Cheeto has responded by doing the "bungee campaigning" thing in the lead up to the midterm elections.  

From NPR (emphasis added by me)-

Trump promised a swing district blitz. He's going to a lot of very red states

Early in September, President Trump gathered Republicans running in competitive races for a dinner in the White House Rose Garden. Prime aged beef burgers were on the menu as the president made a pledge to spend the final month before the midterms campaigning for the approximately 30 Republican candidates in attendance.

"I'm going to go to every one of those 35 places and we're going to see if we can get everyone elected," Trump said confidently.

The White House hasn't clarified which 35 places the president was talking about that night. Since then, Trump has campaigned with fewer than a third of those candidates. Rather than focus on swing states and swing districts as the president said he would, his travel schedule has taken him to a lot of Republican territory.

Rest assured though, Cheeto can multitask and help the American people...if he wants to.

Breaking: he has other priorities.

From WRC-TV (the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C.) (emphasis added by me) -

Trump says he will close historic DC golf course for 15 months of renovations

President Donald Trump on Sunday announced plans to close a historic public golf course in the nation's capital for 15 months and redevelop it despite an ongoing court challenge to his long-sought renovation.

Trump posted on social media about his intent to shutter the East Potomac Golf Course, not far from the White House, starting Nov. 15 to make it “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World.”

A judge last week, however, ordered a halt to his redevelopment plans until at least Oct. 26 after scolding the government for starting a large-scale tree removal at the course over a holiday weekend while providing little notice to the court or the plaintiffs trying to stop the makeover.

Gotta have priorities.  

Evidently, the American people aren't among his or the Rs.

...From the "be careful what you wish for" file - a lot of people expect the Democratic Party to do well in the midterm elections, gaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives, maybe the U.S. Senate,  and maybe even one or both chambers of the AZ legislature (not going to predict that until it actually happens, though).

No matter what happens in November, though, the Ds will face some serious political headwinds going into 2028.

1. Voters may (OK, *will*) expect their lives to be perfect after the election  Will they improve?  Certainly.  But *perfect* isn't going to happen.  In 2028, I expect Rs to make campaign pronouncements like "our reality was bad, but our promises are great, so you vote for us."

2. The Rs will still control the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court and will remain in a position  to block any efforts to benefit the American people.

Short attention span musing

...Outsiders *really* shouldn't interfere in primaries.

- An industry PAC tried to influence some AZ legislative races, including the one in my district.

It didn't work.

- A pro-corporate arm of the national Democratic Party helicoptered in and tried to influence the race in AZCD1.

It didn't work.

This phenomenon isn't just limited to AZ.

- A pro-genocide PAC tried to influence the US Senate race in MI.

It didn't work.

Notice a pattern?

...The two major party candidates for Arizona Governor have chosen their running mates - Democratic incumbent Katie Hobbs selected the former mayor of Mesa, John Giles (note: this pick is still unofficial and could change), while her Republican challenger Andy Biggs chose former legislator Sine Kerr.

The best thing that can be said about Giles is that he fulfills the one major requirement for any number 2, be they a lieutenant governor candidate or a vice presidential candidate - if things go sideways and the main candidate can't serve a complete term, people will be comfortable with the running mate stepping up and serving out the rest of the term.

The best thing that can be said about Kerr is that she is considered to be more "likeable" than Biggs.  Of course, he has set the bar kind of low in that regard - anyone involved in AZ politics, is available (aka - not running for another office, and isn't named Kari Lake, is more likeable than him.

... Cyclosporiasis (the "explosive diarrhea" parasite) is killing people now.

It's been linked to lettuce supplied by a large corporation with AZ ties, Taylor Farms.

It's gotten to the point where the company's CEO and executives should retain the services of defense attorneys and ask them if bribing a public official is a predicate act under the felony murder rules in the states where people are dying.

Note: I have not been able to find statewide data on the cyclosporiasis outbreak in AZ, but I was able to find some Maricopa County data.

From the website of Maricopa County -

Short Attention Span Musing: odds and ends edition

...One prediction: Congressman Paul Gosar (R-CD9) not only doesn't run for reelection in 2028, my guess is that he won't make it to 2028 as a member of Congress.

He spoke at a Turning Point USA fundraiser in Phoenix this past week, and he looked distinctly unwell.

This picture is from a video posted to Bluesky. I think the video may be on the website of Fox10 Phoenix, but I won't link to Faux News or any of its affiliates, so I advise readers who wish to view it to look it up themselves.

Assuming readers locate the video, they should ignore the words and focus on the physical and verbal tics (ignoring the words is easy - he's a nutjob.  He opened his speech by equating Cheeto to a god.)

Some folks online speculated that he has Parkinson's and others speculated that he might have been intoxicated.  I don't think he was intoxicated.  As for Parkinson's, I'm not a doctor (and wouldn't trust one who diagnosed someone based only on a video) and won't speculate.

If my prediction proves to be accurate and he doesn't run for reelection in 2028, once he's no longer a member of Congress or even a candidate, his title of "biggest bigot in Arizona politics" will go to someone else.  I'm leaning toward Congressman Eli Crane, but there other contenders for that title (this being AZ, there are *many* other contenders for that particular title.)

The district will almost certainly go to another Republican - the district is overwhelmingly Republican.

Voter registration numbers from the Arizona Secretary of State -

...In the fall elections, at least one Biggs will probably win (no, not Andy Biggs in his quest to defeat incumbent Governor Katie Hobbs).  Mylie Biggs, Andy Biggs' daughter, is running for the State Senate seat in LD14.  As she's unopposed in the primary and while she faces a Democratic opponent in the general, that district is also overwhelmingly R, so she'll almost certainly win the seat.

...Tyler Farmsworth, who may or may not be related current state senator David Farnsworth or former legislator Eddie Farnsworth (I couldn't find any definitive links indicating a close relationship...and "Farnsworth" is a common last name if that part of Maricopa County) is running for a State Representative seat in that same LD14.

While there's a contest in the primary (three candidates for two seats), the district is still overwhelmingly R, and the R primary winners there will almost certainly win in the general.

...In the "RFK Jr. must be so happy" department: Measles hasn't gone away.

From Arizona Department of Health Services -

Actually, the information on the state page is somewhat out of date.  It was last updated on 4/14/2026 and shows Maricopa County as having five cases.  On 4/17, the Arizona Medical Association broke news of a sixth case here.

Get vaccinated.

Short Attention Span Musing

...Yes, AZ teachers underpaid and yes, the fetid minds of the Republicans at the state legislature think the best way to address that problem is to take money away from public schools via ESAs.

Not only that, AZ teachers are woefully underpaid in comparison to their similarly well-educated peers.

From Economic Policy Institute -

The teacher pay penalty reached a record high in 2024

Summary: Over the past three decades, stagnant weekly wages of public school teachers have fallen further and further behind those of college graduates who chose other careers, resulting in an ever increasing teacher pay gap that hit a record high in 2024.

[snip]

[snip]

...Tom Horne has regained the title of the "Worst Human Being to Head a State's Public Schools".

From The Guardian (UK) -

Oklahoma superintendent who put Trump Bibles in classrooms resigns

Oklahoma’s superintendent, who has attracted national attention as he sought to install religion and rightwing viewpoints in Oklahoma schools, will resign to run a conservative education non-profit.

Ryan Walters, who has led public schools in Oklahoma since 2022, has put Donald Trump-endorsed Bibles into classrooms and required teaching 2020 election conspiracy theories.

...Mike Johnson (R-LA) may be the Speaker of the U.S. House but he's showing that he believes his primary job is to protect wealthy pedophiles.

From The New Republic, via Yahoo! -

The GOP Effort to Hide the Epstein Files Just Hit a Disgusting New Low

Recently-elected Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva could deliver the tie-breaking vote to release the government’s files on alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. That is, if House Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t delay her swearing in—and it looks like he’s planning to.

Grijalva, who won 68 percent of the vote in a special election for Arizona’s 7th congressional district earlier this week, is set to tip the scales for Democrats and their few Republican allies hoping to force the government’s hand on the long-awaited release of documents on Epstein. But when exactly she’ll be sworn-in isn’t set, and it’s cause for concern.

...Republicans like to tell everyone that they're "pro-life."

No, they aren't.

From AZMirror, written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, dated 9/25 -

GOP lawmaker calls for Dem congresswoman to be executed for urging Trump protests

An Arizona Republican lawmaker on Wednesday called for the execution of a Democratic congresswoman because she urged people upset with President Donald Trump to protest in the streets.

Kingman Republican Rep. John Gillette wrote on the social media site X that U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, was calling for the the government to be overthrown and should be hanged.

 

Short Attention Span musing

 ...Making official something that was already known, Governor Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and Attorney General Kris Mayes filed Statements of Interest for the 2026 election, seeking reelection to the current offices.

Each has already formed a committee for reelection.

...In the "Arizona Republicans behaving badly" Department, State Senator Carine Werner used her position as a member of governing board of the Scottsdale Unified School District to insult a District employee.

From KJZZ, written by Bridget Dowd -

Scottsdale Unified board member faces backlash after publicly calling employee 'morbidly obese'

A Scottsdale Unified School District board member is facing backlash for calling a district employee "morbidly obese" during a public meeting.

The district’s director of Nutrition Services, Patti Bilbrey was giving a presentation about a program that distributes meals to kids over the summer.

...Speaking of "Arizona Republicans behaving badly", when good ol' reliable Warren Petersen (the President of the State Senate) isn't going after a Democratic Senator, Analise Ortiz, for telling people where ICE is in AZ, he's going after Arizona PBS for the way they handled a debate in 2022.

From KXNV, written by Ben Brown, dated 8/14/2025 -

Arizona lawmaker wants FCC to revoke state’s PBS broadcast license

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke Arizona PBS’s broadcast license over what he claims was “viewpoint discrimination” during the 2022 gubernatorial race between Kari Lake and Katie Hobbs.

In a letter to the FCC, Petersen alleges “Arizona PBS violated legal rules, contractual requirements, and long-standing traditions to improperly put its thumb on the scale of the 2022 Arizona governor’s race.”

Short Attention Span Musing - Wahhh!!! Edition

I could have named this one the "Snowflake Edition", but individual snowflakes are unique, and there's a certain similarity here.

....Maybe, just maybe, it's not a good thing to lie about others...and dressing up as a mythical character will not change that.

From MSNBC -

Giuliani, who has said he’s broke, dresses as Santa to hawk coffee

Rudy Giuliani, who has said that he cannot afford to pay his bills in protracted court proceedings over his assets handover to two former Georgia election workers, has turned to his self-branded coffee line to make some money during the Christmas season.

This week on X, the former New York City mayor has shared multiple Christmas-themed ads touting Rudy Coffee, some of which feature him dressed in a Santa Claus costume and handing it out.

From CBS News -

Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy following $146 million defamation suit judgment

Former New York City mayor and Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy Thursday, according to a court filing. 

Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy less than a week after a jury ordered him to pay $146 million in damages to Fulton County election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who sued him for defamation. He estimates his liabilities are between about $100 million and $500 million. The damage award was originally set at $148 million, but the federal judge presiding over the case later reduced it to $145,969,000.

"This maneuver is unsurprising, and it will not succeed in discharging Mr. Giuliani's debt to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss," Michael Gottleib, a lawyer for the two women, said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered Giuliani to compensate the pair of election workers immediately, expressing concern that he may have been dishonest about his finances and that he might not comply with the judgment.

...Don't say something negative about the Fuhrer-elect - he might sue you.

From AP -

Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster for ‘election interference’ after pre-election poll

President-elect Donald Trump sued the Des Moines Register and its pollster for “brazen election interference” in publishing a survey the weekend before the election that showed Democrat Kamala Harris with a surprising lead of three percentage points in the state.

The Register’s parent Gannett Co. on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit as meritless and said it would vigorously defend its First Amendment rights.

...The tendency of having easily-ruffled tender sensibilities displayed by certain public figures isn't limited to national ones - there are Arizona politicos with similarly tender sensibilities.

From the Fountain Hills Times Independent, written by Howard Fischer, dated 12/19 -

Fountain Hills legislator holding up funds for UofA over Palestinian painting

The head of the Senate Appropriations Committee is holding up the ability of the University of Arizona to borrow millions of dollars over a painting on display supporting Palestinians that he contends is offensive.

But it may end up being a big fuss over nothing: the University of Arizona Museum of Art where the picture is located will be shutting down anyway at the end of the week.

Maybe Cheeto and his acolytes should eschew a limousine when traveling to his inauguration and just travel by Wahhmbulance.

Maybe they can turn up the radio loud enough so that they aren't bothered by any dissent.

Short Attention Span Musing - mixed bag edition

Just a prediction, an observation, and some advice

First up,  the prediction, and NO, I'm not going to make a prediction about Tuesday's results.  I've already done that.

Nope, the prediction is this:

If Cheeto gains a 2nd term as POTUS, he'll only be president for 3-6 months before his VP, J.D. Vance, teaches him all about the Constitution.  

Not all of it, just the 25th Amendment to it.

Observation:  Aside from trumpkins and other bigots, the folks who are most in favor of a Cheeto victory on Tuesday may be the writers of fake news,  The writers for monologues for late night talk shows and shows like SNL's Weekend Update and /or The Daily Show will have nothing to do beyond putting Cheeto's blatherings to paper.  And the writers for Faux News and other conservative outlets will simply be in orgasmic bliss.

Advice, and it's given with the knowledge that it almost certainly won't be heeded: Democratic candidates should neither seek nor accept the endorsement of a police-affiliated organization.  Endorsements of groups of public employees may help.  If those employees are firefighters or teachers (especially in primaries).

Neither of those groups is known for assaulting and/or killing unarmed civilians.

An endorsement from a police organization may serve to suppress the vote of groups who would support Democratic candidates while not delivering the votes of every member of such an organization.

Secondary advice:  All campaigns should forget how to hit the "Send" on emails and mass texts.  Don't send 'em more than once per day.

I've already deleted 48 emails today (and that doesn't include the ones that went directly to my spam folder).  I don't know how many texts were sent to me today because I've had to block so many numbers.

And all of them can be summarized the same way:

Gimme.

I realize that the consultants hired by each campaign are looking only for their next paycheck and will highlight the number of messages they sent and not the number of potential voters for their candidates they turned off.

In other words, this will happen for the next few cycles (at least.)

Short attention span musing

...From the "Is anyone really surprised by this?" file:

From AP -

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia registers as independent, citing ‘partisan extremism’

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Friday he has switched his registration to independent, raising questions about his political plans since the move could help his chances should he seek elected office again in a state that has turned heavily Republican.

Manchin, 76, has often been at odds with the Democratic Party and an obstacle to many of President Joe Biden’s legislative priorities. But he played a central role in helping Biden get a landmark climate change and health care bill over the finish line in 2022.

Maybe he can caucus with Kyrsten Sinema.  Probably not gonna happen though.

Both would want to be considered the leader of that particular caucus, and she may be the one person in the U.S. Senate who is as utterly self-focused as him (and that's saying something in a body that numbers Ted Cruz among its members.)

...From the "It worked so well on January 6, 2021 so it should be done again." file: 

From Reuters -

Trump supporters call for riots and violent retribution after verdict

Supporters of former President Donald Trump, enraged by his conviction on 34 felony counts by a New York jury, flooded pro-Trump websites with calls for riots, revolution and violent retribution.

After Trump became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime, his supporters responded with dozens of violent online posts, according to a Reuters review of comments on three Trump-aligned websites: the former president's own Truth Social platform, Patriots.Win and the Gateway Pundit.

Some called for attacks on jurors, the execution of the judge, Justice Juan Merchan, or outright civil war and armed insurrection.

“Someone in NY with nothing to lose needs to take care of Merchan,” wrote one commentator on Patriots.Win. “Hopefully he gets met with illegals with a machete,” the post said in reference to illegal immigrants.

On Gateway Pundit, one poster suggested shooting liberals after the verdict. “Time to start capping some leftys,” said the post. “This cannot be fixed by voting."

...From the "It's not just the GOPer base." file:

From Axios -

GOP senator aims to block floor action over Trump conviction

Eight Republican senators are vowing to vote against any spending bills, judicial nominees or other Democratic legislation brought to the floor in protest of former President Trump's conviction on 34 felony charges.

[snip]

Driving the news: "Strongly worded statements are not enough," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who led the effort, tweeted. "Those who turned our judicial system into a political cudgel must be held accountable."

• He was joined by two Trump VP contenders — Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Oh.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) — as well as Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) who recently announced a bid for GOP leader.
• Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kans.) also joined.
• Lee plans to keep the letter open for the foreseeable future, and is calling on more Senators to join their pledge of non-cooperation.

...From the "One can be despised by lousy human beings and still be a lousy human being." file:

Also from Axios -

Johnson urges Supreme Court to "step in" on Trump verdict

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called for the U.S. Supreme Court to "step in" to overturn the guilty verdict against former President Trump in his New York hush money trial.

Why it matters: It's one of the starkest examples yet of Republicans, furious about the jury's decision, calling for some form of intervention to protect the ex-president.

Johnson has faced withering criticism from the loons in his caucus who are more right-wing than he is.

...From the "At least in Arizona, 'petty snit' is an accepted partisan position." file:

From AZMirror, written by Caitlin Sievers -

House Republicans who investigated AG Mayes say she should be impeached

A group of Arizona House Republicans is calling for the impeachment of Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes based on allegations that she abused her power, neglected her duties and “committed malfeasance.” 

House Speaker Ben Toma created the House Committee on Executive Oversight in late March, specifically to examine the duties and powers of the attorney general, to investigate allegations against Mayes and to make corresponding recommendations to the House amidst allegations from Republicans that Mayes was unconstitutionally picking and choosing which laws to enforce. 

Mayes, along with all the Democrats assigned to the committee, refused to participate in its meetings, calling the entire undertaking a “sham”. Republicans on the committee chided the Democrats for skipping out. 

In a letter to Toma on May 28, Rep. Jacqueline Parker, the San Tan Valley Republican who chaired the panel, recommended that the House adopt a resolution to impeach Mayes for “malfeasance in office.”  

 The committee's agenda from 4/17 is here.

Speaking of "malfeasance," the fake electors hadn't yet been indicted; if they had been, I'm pretty sure that would have been added to the laundry list of unfounded Republican whines/complaints about Mayes.