Short attention span musing - not quite riding off into the sunset (and more, and worse) edition

...Most of this post will focus on the goings-on/bad behavior of some of Arizona's Republicans, but I have to lead off with one positive note:

Congratulations to Randy Keating, friend and immediate past chair of the LD26 Democrats (Tempe and West Mesa) on his election as 2nd Vice Chair of the Maricopa Democratic Party!  His energy and smarts will help guide the MCDP in its quest to restore some rationality to Maricopa County politics.  Plus he's a hell of an organizer and knows a lot about what LDs here want and need to do to make gains.

...Apparently, outgoing AZSOS Ken Bennett has no desire to drift back from whence he came (aka - Prescott).  He's the newly-elected chair of the LD24 Republicans (mostly east and central Phoenix) -

...Perennial candidate Vernon Parker also isn't fading away.

From the website of the Maricopa County Republican-

Don't be shocked if Parker (or a proxy) goes after Rep. Eric Meyer (D-LD28) in 2016.  The Rs in that district absolutely *hate* the fact that there is a Democratic legislator from that district and go after him hard every cycle.  I expect Parker to use his deep-pocketed contacts to fund a run at Meyer.


...Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio may not be feeling too festive this holiday season.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Sean Holstege -

U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow was telling him [Sheriff Joe Arpaio] Thursday that there was "a very real possibility" he would refer the popular sheriff to the U.S. Attorney's Office for criminal prosecution on contempt-of-court charges, later noting, "I fully intend to."

It was the latest showdown in a class-action civil-rights case that has dragged on since 2007.

That case, brought on behalf of Latinos who said immigration sweeps by the Sheriff's Office violated their civil rights, ended with a settlement and the imposition of a federal monitor to ensure it doesn't happen again.

...The unofficial title of the chief of staff for Governor-elect Doug Ducey (R) should be "Director of Dark Money".

From the Associated Press, via ABC15.com - 

Governor-elect Doug Ducey has chosen former Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams to be his chief of staff when he takes office next month.

Adams is already serving as co-chair of Ducey's transition committee and will continue in that role.

The "dark money" part?

From an op-ed published by the Arizona Republic in 2012, written by David Berman, a senior researcher at the ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy -

Americans for Responsible Leadership, an obscure Arizona-based 501(c)(4) non-profit headed by former Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams and with no history of political activity in California, contributed funds to two political action committees there. One committee supported an anti-union initiative and the other opposed a tax increase, both on the California ballot in 2012.
 
The money, ultimately spent on political advertising, came to Americans for Responsible Leadership through a convoluted network of dark-money non-profit groups in Virginia and Iowa associated with the Koch brothers.

...The Arizona House of Representatives announced the committee assignments for the upcoming session.

From a press release -

Agriculture, Water and Lands (Thursday morning)
Chair – Brenda Barton, Vice Chair – Darin Mitchell, Regina Cobb, Karen Fann, Steve Montenegro, T.J. Shope, Jennifer Benally, Rosanna Gabaldon, Lisa Otondo

Appropriations (Wednesday afternoon)
Chair – Justin Olson, Vice Chair – Vince Leach, John Allen, Russell “Rusty” Bowers, Rick Gray, Warren Petersen, Tony Rivero, David Stevens, Michelle Ugenti, Lela Alston, Mark Cardenas, Stefanie Mach, Eric Meyer, Andrew Sherwood

Banking and Financial Services (Tuesday afternoon)
Chair – Kate Brophy McGee, Vice Chair – Jeff Weninger, John Allen, Eddie Farnsworth, Jill Norgaard, Diego Espinoza, Rosanna Gabaldon, Debbie McCune Davis

Children and Family Affairs (Monday afternoon)
Chair – John Allen, Vice Chair – Kate Brophy McGee, John Christopher Ackerley, Regina Cobb, Phil Lovas, Kelly Townsend, Sally Ann Gonzales, Juan Jose Mendez, Rebecca Rios

Commerce (Wednesday morning)
Chair – Warren Petersen, Vice Chair – Jill Norgaard, Jay Lawrence, Tony Rivero, T.J. Shope, Diego Espinoza, Charlene Fernandez, Stefanie Mach

County and Municipal Affairs (Monday afternoon)
Chair – Doug Coleman, Vice Chair – Tony Rivero, Paul Boyer, Karen Fann, Rick Gray, Lela Alston, Reginald Bolding, Rosanna Gabaldon

Education (Wednesday afternoon)
Chair – Paul Boyer, Vice Chair – Jay Lawrence, Doug Coleman, Jill Norgaard, Bob Thorpe, Reginald Bolding, Lisa Otondo

Elections (Tuesday morning)
Chair – Michelle Ugenti, Vice Chair – J.D. Mesnard, Heather Carter, Jeff Weninger, Ken Clark, Jonathan Larkin

Energy, Environment and Natural Resources (Monday afternoon)
Chair – Frank Pratt, Vice Chair – Russell “Rusty” Bowers, Brenda Barton, Heather Carter, Mark Finchem, Vince Leach, Ken Clark, Macario Saldate, Victoria Steele

Federalism and States’ Rights (Wednesday morning)
Chair – Kelly Townsend, Vice Chair – Noel Campbell, Mark Finchem, Darn [sic] Mitchell, Bob Thorpe, Rebecca Rios, Ceci Velasquez, Bruce Wheeler

Government and Higher Education (Thursday morning)
Chair – Thorpe, Vice Chair – Ackerley, Phil Lovas, Justin Olson, Warren Petersen, Kelly Townsend, Lela Alston, Jonathan Larkin, Macario Saldate

Health (Tuesday afternoon)
Chair – Heather Carter, Vice Chair – Regina Cobb, Paul Boyer, Jay Lawrence, Randall “Randy” Friese, Eric Meyer

Judiciary (Wednesday morning)
Chair – Eddie Farnsworth, Vice Chair – Sonny Borrelli, Anthony Kern, J.D. Mesnard, Randall “Randy” Friese, Albert Hale

Military Affairs and Public Safety (Thursday morning)
Chair – Sonny Borrelli, Vice Chair – Mark Finchem, Noel Campbell, Eddie Farnsworth, Anthony Kern, Frank Pratt, Richard Andrade, Mark Cardenas, Stefanie Mach

Rules (Monday afternoon)
Chair – David Stevens, Vice Chair – Steve Montenegro, David Gowan, David Livingston, Bob Robson, Bob Thorpe, Albert Hale, Ceci Velasquez, Bruce Wheeler

Rural and Economic Development (Tuesday afternoon)
Chair – T.J. Shope, Vice Chair – Russell “Rusty” Bowers, Brenda Barton, Vince Leach, Frank Pratt, Jennifer Benally, Sally Ann Gonzales, Juan Jose Mendez

Transportation and Infrastructure (Tuesday afternoon)
Chair – Rick Gray, Vice Chair – David Stevens, John Christopher Ackerley, Sonny Borrelli, Noel Campbell, Karen Fann, Richard Andrade, Charlene Fernandez, Victoria Steele

Ways and Means (Monday afternoon)
Chair – Darin Mitchell, Vice Chair – Anthony Kern, J.D. Mesnard, Justin Olson, Michelle Ugenti, Jeff Weninger, Mark Cardenas, Andrew Sherwood, Bruce Wheeler

 - No commentary on these yet...


...Finally, the LD26 Republicans seem to have established a new holiday season tradition.

Honor the massacre of 27 people by Adam Lanza (his mother, 6 school staff members, and 20 children) in Newtown, CT by giving away an AR15, a higher-end version of the weapon used in the massacre.

From the announcement webpage for their holiday "party" -

For those who can't quite make out the small print -

Not the first time that they've done this.  From 2013 -

And doing this in a school?  Kind of craven, even for this bunch.

Short Attention Span Musing: Primary Upsets and Petition Challenges

OK - this is mostly about primaries and petition challenges, but there will be some other material...

...First, the big news, and it's out of Virginia, not Arizona:  Ultra-conservative Republican Congressman Eric Cantor, Majority Leader in the U.S. House, lost in the R primary in his district to a tea party type.  Who didn't think Cantor was conservative enough.

The district, Virginia's 7th, is a heavily Republican one, and seems likely to remain in their control.

However, the upset of Cantor means that Jack Trammell, the Democratic nominee in the district, just went from having no chance at all to having a snowball's chance in hell of winning.

Note: in Arizona, there are three Democrats in tough races - Ann Kirkpatrick, Kyrsten Sinema, and Ron Barber - and they need your love (aka - $$$), but if you have anything to spare, consider helping out Trammell.

...Steve at Arizona Eagletarian has been providing outstanding coverage of challenges to candidates' ballot status so I won't go into depth here, but I will comment on one, because it was embarrassingly inept and amateurish.

Earlier this week, a "supporter" of Mary Rose Wilcox, a Democratic candidate in CD7, filed a lawsuit challenging the candidacy of Ruben Gallego, another Democratic candidate in CD7 (and the frontrunner in the estimation of most observers, including me).

She...errr..."he" (Mike Snitz, a former legislative candidate and part of the Wilcox machine), claimed that Gallego was using a name that wasn't his own in an attempt to deceive the voters of the district.

The only problem?

Gallego had legally changed his name years ago, not in an attempt to deceive anyone, but to honor his mother.

She was a single mom who raised him and his siblings alone after his father abandoned all of them.

She did that well, and to honor her, he legally changed his name to her maiden name.

Snitz' lawsuit claimed that the name change wasn't done legally, but his allegations were refuted quickly (whoever did the research into court records did so in a slipshod manner) and the lawsuit was dropped, almost immediately.

However, that action may have come too late for Wilcox - she has been almost-universally criticized for the abortive attack on Gallego.


 - The full list of state-level (including Congressional) candidates who have withdrawn/been removed from the ballot is here.  The full list of state-level challenges can be found here.


...In non-ballot related news, but definitely falling into the category of "elections have consequences", Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery announced that he isn't going to bring charges against a deputy with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office who killed someone in a car accident.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Megan Cassidy -

Maricopa County sheriff's Deputy Sean Pearce will not be held criminally responsible in the death of Glendale resident John Edward Harding, despite traveling more than twice the speed limit moments before the fatal crash.

County Attorney Bill Montgomery delivered the long-awaited announcement Wednesday morning, saying he weighed the specific circumstances of the crash, which occurred while Pearce was on duty.

Sounds somewhat straightforward, except for a few *other* circumstances -

1.  Sean Pearce is the son of Russell Pearce, the disgraced, but still influential, former president of the Arizona State Senate.

2.  He works for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a long-time ally of Russell Pearce.

3.  In 2010, between illegal campaign expenditures and fines for the expenditures, Arpaio dropped approximately three-quarters of a million dollars to put Montgomery in office.

Montgomery is developing a credibility problem; he's taken to squawking that his critics are "amateurs".

Well, I *am* an amateur, in that I am not paid for this, but even an unpaid amateur like me knows that if something waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck, and smells like a duck, that something may be a duck.

And this situation smells...reeks...of favoritism and corruption.

- Wouldn't it be poetic justice if Bowe Bergdahl - a POW for five years, tortured, returned to American authorities only to face withering criticism from fellow service members and others - moved to Arizona and ran against John McCain?  Would love to see McCain and his handlers/hangers-on try to spin that resume into something that disqualifies Bergdahl for office...

Short attention span musing: AZ political news and notes

...Just a few things...


...The AZ House and Senate have each passed slightly different versions of a state budget.  It's now in conference committee where Rs from the House and Rs from the Senate will hash out their differences.  There are Ds assigned to the committee, but don't expect them to be allowed to have much say.  At this point, it's just about determining how ugly the budget will be - will it be "Tobin Ugly" or will it be "Biggs Ugly".

My money is on "Biggs Ugly"; as bad as Tobin is, no member of the current lege does "ugly" as enthusiastically as Biggs (though a few do try).

...In a (somewhat) budget-related development, the House slowed down final consideration of Senate bills.  The original plan had been to keep working on the measures while the budget negotiations take place, but it was pointed out that if that happened while the Senate sat on the remaining House bills, the House would lose all leverage with the Senate.

After that "observation", the House "caucused" the remaining Senate bills that they have, but haven't moved them to final consideration since.

Now the Senate has 16 House bills on its COW calendar on Monday (COW1, COW2) and 29 House bills on its Rules Committee agenda for Monday (1 p.m., Caucus Room 1), setting them up for floor consideration.

According to sources, the member of the House who made that observation?  Ethan Orr.

The southern AZ Republican may lose his bid for reelection (in his D-leaning district, he likes to portray himself as a moderate, but his brand of "moderation" reeks more of "triangulation" than anything more significant), but in terms of intra-organization politics, the tactic is spot-on.

...Sources predict the lege will adjourn sine die within the next couple of weeks.  My sources are Democrats, so their information may not be the most current, but that prediction fits with the usual practice of early adjournments in even-numbered years so members can go out and campaign.

...In addition to the legislative membership changes (both pending and already occurred) due to term limits and runs for Congress, a ripple effect will be seen as members choose to seek the offices of people who are seeking Congressional seats.

Latest example:  Senate Democratic leader Anna Tovar has filed for an exploratory committee to run for the seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors vacated by Mary Rose Wilcox, who is running for the Congressional seat held by the retiring Ed Pastor.

Assuming that there are no further developments, that means that she will not be returning to the Senate.  As of this writing, no other D has filed to run for the LD19 Senate seat that she currently holds.  However, four Ds are running for the two House seats from that district, so don't be shocked if one of them switches over.

Also filing for a run at the MCBOS, so far anyway:

Marie Lopez Rogers, mayor of Avondale

Short Attention Span Musing

Just a mish-mash of stuff that doesn't really fit into its own post.  For now anyway...

...Republican former legislator Mark Thompson is looking for a return to elected office; he's filed to run for the justice of the peace seat in the University Lakes district (east Tempe).

...Rumors are running rampant that Democratic Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema is mulling the option of leaving her current CD9 (a competitive district) for a run at the CD7 seat (a safe D district) that will be vacated by the about-to-retire Ed Pastor.  I don't think that it's a good idea, and don't think that ultimately she'll do it, but whatever she does, she needs to make the decision quickly - being a carpetbagger is only slightly worse than looking like a carpetbagger-wannabe.

...Rumors are also swirling that Shana Ellis, member of the Tempe City Council and nominally a Democrat, has hired HighGround Public Affairs as a consultant to her reelection campaign.  This is significant for two reasons:

1.  HighGround is arguably the most influential consulting/lobbying firm in Arizona (for good reason), but it is also unabashedly Republican.  Having said that, consulting firms are modern politics' version of hired guns, and candidates care primarily about winning.  And the city council race is non-partisan.  The rumor is as yet unconfirmed, but the relationship, assuming it exists, should be an amicable one. So long Ellis wins and her checks don't bounce.  Which brings us to...

2.  HighGround ain't cheap.  Either she expects to spend a serious amount of time fundraising, or she already has someone in mind, ready to pick up the tab for HighGround's services.


...Republican former legislator and former candidate for Congress Rusty Bowers has filed for a return to the legislature.  He's seeking one of the Republican nominations for a House seat in LD25.

...Republican state representative John Kavanagh may have learned a lesson the hard way, one that many politicos before him have learned, also the hard way.

Don't tell jokes, especially those that make fun of anybody but the joke teller.

Video of him surfaced, video of his performance at a "roast" of his friend and ally, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

His jokes were putatively about Arpaio, but they all seemed to put down Latinos and other groups that have been targeted by Arpaio (and Kavanagh, and Russell Pearce, and many other current and former members of the anti-breathing while brown caucus of the AZGOP).

The Southern Poverty Law Center has more here.

Short attention span musing

...What do Anthony Weiner, Bob Filner, and even Congressman Trey Radel have in common as we approach Thanksgiving?

They are all glad that Toronto mayor Rob Ford is around to distract everyone from their own "issues".

Ford is the gift that keeps on giving in his apparent quest to explode the stereotype held by Americans that Canadians are "boring, but really nice".


...Speaking of exploding that particular stereotype ("boring, but really nice"), New Mexico, via its state police force, have accomplished the same thing.

In late October, an officer of the New Mexico State Police pulled over a minivan with a mother and her four children for speeding.

The stop didn't go smoothly.




The above video shows that the mother, Oriana Farrell, was completely in the wrong...up until the point where the officers got violent toward her and her children, including an attempt to kill them all (starting at approximately the 12:35 mark).

The prosecutor in NM has filed a number of charges against Farrell, most of which she apparently deserves.

However, she has also been charged with child abuse because the police officers shot at her and her family.

While she was completely wrong for most of the encounter by the side of the road in New Mexico and should be held responsible for her bad acts, she should NOT be held responsible for the bad acts of the officers involved.

Nothing she did during the encounter, including driving away from the police officers, endangered the officers or anyone else.  The use of lethal force was not warranted.

Period.

...For the "responsible gun owners" file:

From the Austin American-Statesman, written by Claudia Grisales -

Texas State Rep. Drew Darby is facing a felony charge after he attempted to take a weapon through a security screening at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport this month, according to court documents.

Darby was shown as booked into Travis County Jail at 7:22 a.m. on Nov. 14 after he was found to be carrying a .38 caliber Ruger and six rounds of ammunition in a magazine during the security screening that morning, the affidavit said.

Don't be surprised if the NRA ponys up funds to cover his "legal fees"...even though he is an attorney (hey, he could bill himself for services rendered, then pay himself, the be reimbursed by the NRA for money that he paid...to himself).

Cynicism is charming, right?  :)

...Lesson learned today:  Arizona's term limits law does not cover all state-level offices equally.

Joe Hart, the current State Mine Inspector, has filed for another run at the office.  Since he was first elected to the office in 2006, and term limits in AZ are eight years, this was a little surprising.

Then I read the section of the Arizona Constitution that covers term limits.

From Article 5, Section 1 (emphasis added) -

Section 1. A. The executive department shall consist of the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction, each of whom shall hold office for a term of four years beginning on the first Monday of January, 1971 next after the regular general election in 1970. No member of the executive department shall hold that office for more than two consecutive terms.

Not to worry though - we aren't stuck with Hart forever.

From Article 19, Section 0 of the state constitution (emphasis added) -

No mine inspector shall serve more than four consecutive terms in that office.

Whew!!! :)

...OK, so who had "before the end of the year" in the George Zimmerman Arrest Pool?

From CNN, written by Steve Almasy -

George Zimmerman was charged Monday with felony aggravated assault after allegedly pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend, according to Dennis Lemma, chief deputy with the Seminole County, Florida, Sheriff's Office.

Zimmerman, who was acquitted earlier this year of murdering teenager Trayvon Martin, was arrested after the incident at the home of Samantha Scheibe, Lemma said. He also was charged with two misdemeanors -- domestic violence battery and criminal mischief -- in connection with the same incident, Lemma said.

I just hope he ends up in prison before he adds to his body count...

Short attention span musing

...Congressman Darrell Issa and the Republicans have been conducting a major witch hunt into the attack on a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012.

If I thought that they were legitimately interested in preventing the unnecessary loss of American lives or addressing the safety of American diplomatic personnel, I could actually support the "inquiry".

However, given the huge number of attacks on US embassies during the Bush Administration that took place with little more than a peep from the Rs, the thousands of Americans (and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis) who have died in Halliburton's Wars for Enhanced Profits with nothing more than drumbeats for higher body counts from the Rs, and the 14 dead and 200 or so injured when a Texas fertilizer plant exploded after decades of neglect of safety measures without any interest in finding the root cause of the disaster and prevent future disasters expressed by the Rs, well, it's obvious that saving lives or preserving safety isn't the primary goal of Issa and the rest.

Smearing the current administration and presumed 2016 Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is.

Wonder if the witch hunt would be so...so...so...*enthusiastic*...if instead of the American taxpayer footing the bill, the actual beneficiary, the Republican National Committee had to pay for it?


...On this week's edition of Sunday Square Off on Phoenix channel 12, political consultant Chip Scutari predicted that current AZSOS Ken Bennett, who is "exploring" a run for governor next year, will instead challenge fellow Republican Paul Gosar for the CD4 seat and current AZ House speaker Andy Tobin (R-Paulden) will challenge Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick in CD1.

Couldn't find any open committees yet, but each prediction, if accurate, makes a bit of sense.

Bennett faces a Republican primary regardless of the office he goes after.  The race for governor is a statewide race and his power base is in Yavapai County; 75% of the state's population is in Maricopa and Pima counties.  The CD4 race is a "district" race where not being from Maricopa or Pima county might actually help him win against Gosar, who is still viewed as a bit of a carpetbagger in the district.

Tobin is termed-out of the House and has to run for something else.  There were a few whispers that he was looking at a run for governor, like Bennett above.  However, like Bennett above, while he has a strong base of support in Yavapai County, that may not be a strong or broad enough foundation for a statewide run.  On the other hand, that base could set him up well for a run at a northern AZ Congressional district.

...The biggest story of the last week was news breaking out of an IRS office in Cincinnati that certain groups may have been targeted for extra scrutiny if the name of the group included words like "tea party" or "patriot".  Unsurprisingly, Republicans are outraged at the idea that conservative groups are subject to scrutiny because they are politically conservative. 

However, lost in their histrionics is the outrage of liberals, from the President down to the humblest of bloggers.  We all have seen liberal groups targeted for "special" treatment, from J. Edgar Hoover "investigating" everybody who was to the political left of Adolph Hitler to the recent partisan jihad against ACORN.  We know how abhorrently un-American and how damaging such ideologically-motivated witch hunts are.

If it turns out that there was some deliberate malfeasance, a deliberate violation of the American ideal of freedom of expression here, the IRS employees involved and everyone in their chain of command who knew of their misdeeds should lose their jobs.  At a minimum.

...Another story, perhaps one that may more genuinely represent a serious violation of an American ideal, this one of the freedom and independence of the press, broke Monday.

From the Associated Press, written by Mark Sherman - 

The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for the Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.

The records obtained by the Justice Department listed incoming and outgoing calls, and the duration of each call, for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and the main number for AP reporters in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP.

In all, the government seized those records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown but more than 100 journalists work in the offices whose phone records were targeted on a wide array of stories about government and other matters.

 

The AP letter protesting the Department of Justice's unprecedently broad intrusion is here.

Ummm...I don't know what to say about this that hasn't already been said, and far more eloquently than I'm able to, but let me advise any member of the DOJ who was a party to this to take a refresher course on the American Constitution and civil rights.

MIT offers one here.

Harvard Law School offers a number of related lectures here.

There are others out there if you think that MIT and Harvard aren't good enough.

 

 

Ummm2...OK, so it isn't going to be eloquent, but let me say this: the people at DOJ who were a part of this should join the IRS employees above in the unemployment line.  At a minimum.

Short Attention Span Musing

...Just a few things to think about on this, Labor Day 2012...

...Thank you unions for all the hard work, sweat, and sacrifice needed to get things like bans on child labor, overtime, sick time, vacations, holidays, safe working conditions, and more made a standard part of American culture.

While I've summed up their contributions in a single sentence, that's because there just aren't enough words in the English language to pay proper homage to those that truly deserve the title of "hero".


...During the Republican primary, Mitt Romney famously declared that he "likes firing people". 

Well, my guess is that he is going to particularly enjoy firing the political consultants who stage-managed last week's Republican convention in Tampa, whoever they might be.

Not because his acceptance speech hasn't been well-received, nor has he received the traditional post-convention "bounce" in public opinion polls.

Nope.  The managers of the show called the Republican National Convention (and yes, the Democratic Convention will be just as tightly-plotted and controlled) allowed their boss to be upstaged by an old guy talking to a chair.

On national television.

On the biggest night of his political life.

Probably not the sort of epic failure that any political operative wants on his/her resume.


...One of the big media memes today was the question "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" 

First made famous more than three decades ago by Republican Ronald Reagan while he was campaigning for president against Democrat Jimmy Carter, the Republicans have started trotting it out against President Obama.  Mostly in hopes that the American people have forgotten who actually presided over the cratering of America's economy.  They haven't.

The Republicans reacted with glee, however, when MD Governor Martin O'Malley and a couple of other Obama surrogates fumbled when faced with that question.

Well, let me be unequivocal -

I, and we, are better off today than four years ago.

While the economy is far from perfect, four years ago, the reality was poor and the outlook worse, with no end (recovery) in sight.  An Arizona-focused report on the economy, courtesy the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) is here. 

Today, the recovery is ongoing, even if stunted somewhat by Republican obstructionism in DC and elsewhere. 

The best chart in support of that is this one, courtesy The Maddow Blog -

...Maybe America's unemployed and underemployed should follow the lead of one of the Republican Party's standard-bearers and just "massage" their resumes. 

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer -

Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan has been described as dazzling, but several fact checkers say his words aren’t exactly that.

 

After his convention speech Thursday, a Fox News writer described it as deceiving and distracting. A Mitt Romney pollster, Neil Newhouse, told buzzfeed.com “we’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers.”

 

{snip}

 

In a radio interview last week with conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt, Ryan said his personal best time for 26.2 miles was “Under three [hours], high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something.”

 

{snip]

 

Turns out Ryan didn’t come anywhere close to the 3-hour mark in his only marathon, according to Runner’s World, who looked into his bogus claim.

Based on Ryan's habitual lying and his continued veneration by the R establishment, I should be able to claim that I was there taking pictures when the late Neil Armstong walked on the moon in 1969, and be able to do so without repercussion, right?

I mean, I was all of three years old when Armstrong made his historic walk, but that just means that I was a prodigy, right?*

Armstrong on the moon.  Pic courtesy NASA.

* In case you couldn't tell, I did NOT take pictures on the moon, in 1969 or any other year.  Us writer-types have an arrow in our literary quiver called "hyperbole."  I used it here.

Short Attention Span Musing

...Guess the GOP has decided that it doesn't need the votes of women...

By now, everyone with a TV, access to the internet, or simply has a pulse has heard of GOP Rep. Todd Akin's remarks that women who are the victims of a "legitimate rape" cannot get pregnant as a result of that rape.  He supports a total ban on abortion and he used his assertion to rationalize his opposition to carving out an exception to the ban in the case of a rape that results in a pregnancy.

He's been getting heat from all over, even from Republicans looking to distance themselves from his remarks (even as a GOP committee added Akin's position to their 2012 platform).

Perhaps wanting to show solidarity with Akin's ignorance and misogyny, his colleague, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) chimed in today by announcing that he has never heard of victims of statutory rape or incest "getting pregnant" as a result of the statutory rape or incest.


...Guess the GOP has decided it doesn't need the votes of Latinos, either...

Exhibit 1 - They're bringing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to their convention in Tampa next week to speak to delegates.  From KPHO (Channel 5), written by Sean McLaughlin -

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio will speak to Republican National Convention delegates in Tampa this month. He won't be speaking at the convention hall but at a special reception at the city's zoo.

According to a news release from the state's Republican Party, the self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in the country" will address delegates from western states at the Lowrey Park Zoo on Aug. 30.

Exhibit 2 - They've added many of the provisions of the infamous SB1070 to the party platform mentioned above.  From The Hill, written by Cameron Joseph -

The Republican Party has officially endorsed its backing for Arizona-style state immigration laws, adding into its platform language that such laws should be "encouraged, not attacked" and calling for the federal government to drop its lawsuits against the laws.

That language and other provisions were widely approved by the party after being introduced by the co-author of the Arizona law, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R).

...Guess the GOP has decided that they can make up the lost votes by appealing to the "overgrown drunken frat boy" demographic.

From Reuters, via the Chicago Tribune (emphasis mine) -

A group of Republican lawmakers and staff jumped into Israel's Sea of Galilee last year after a night of dining and drinking, and one freshman congressman swam naked, Republican aides confirmed late on Sunday.

The incident, first reported by Politico on Sunday, was investigated by the FBI and led Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to reprimand the 30 lawmakers on the privately funded trip.

{snip}

Representatives Steve Southerland, Tom Reed, Ben Quayle, Jeff Denham and Michael Grimm were among the more than 20 lawmakers and staff that jumped into the Sea of Galilee, Politico said.

To be fair to Arizona's Ben Quayle, while he was there cavorting on some private lobbyist's dime, he kept his clothes on, more or less (at least, not as "less" as Rep. Kevin Yoder, the "au natural" swimmer).

Still, probably not the image that Quayle, whose biggest (non-papa Quayle-purchased) career accomplishment prior to winning a seat in Congress was writing for gossipy/near-porn site "Dirty Scottsdale", wants to project.


BTW - for this post, I think I deserve extra points for not going for a "tried walking on water" joke.  It was too obvious.  It was too lame.  It was...OK - who am I kidding?  I couldn't think of one on short notice that was good enough.

Short Attention Span Musing: "What They Shouldn't Have Said" Edition

AKA "The Dumb, The Bad, and The Ugly"...

...First up: The Dumb -

From the Arizona Capitol Times, written by Evan Wyloge -

One of Andrei Cherny’s top campaign volunteers took to Twitter on Thursday to criticize the Democratic congressional hopeful’s opponents for running in a district where they don’t live.

From the Twitter feed of Dennis Kavanagh, a Cherny campaign co-chair -

The problem?  Kavanagh's candidate, Cherny, is like Parker, Sinema, and most of the major candidates in CD9.  With the exception of State Sen. David Schapira (D-Tempe), none of the major candidates, and few of the minor candidates, actually live in the district.

Oopsie.


...Still, that one is only "dumb".  Falling well into the "ugly" category is State Rep. Debbie Lesko's assertion that the religious values of people who own businesses carry more weight than the civil rights of people who don't.  It's not a direct quote, but it's the end result of her anti-contraception bill in the lege and her statements and efforts in support of it.

From AP, via the Arizona Republic, written Michelle L. Price -

A state representative who introduced legislation that would let more Arizona employers drop coverage for contraceptives defended her proposal at a rally Friday in Phoenix, responding to critics who say it intrudes on women's private lives.

Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko says her bill protects the religious rights of employers who do not wish to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives because it violates their religious or moral beliefs.

"I am proud to stand up and fight for the millions of Catholics and other faiths across this nation to protect our religious freedoms," Lesko said at the rally.

Lesko's bill, HB2625, would allow employers to refuse to pay for contraceptive medication/medical procedures that are intended to be contraceptive in effect.

It also requires employees to inform to inform their employers why the employee is receiving contraceptive-related medical treatment.  I'm not a lawyer, but I'm guessing that there's a HIPAA violation in there somewhere.

That's just a guess though. 

Of course, the cynic in me wonders if Lesko's game is less about protecting the religious freedom of a few and more about protecting the ability of those few to impose their personal religious beliefs on others.


...However, Fox News' Geraldo Rivera has claimed the Ugly category all for himself.

From Media Matters for America, written by Solange Uwimana -

Fox News contributor Geraldo Rivera is standing by remarks he made today regarding the killing of 17-year-old black teen Trayvon Martin. On Fox & Friends this morning, Rivera claimed that "the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin's death as George Zimmerman."

An unarmed kid who wasn't threatening anybody is gunned down by a self-appointed vigilante, and all Rivera can do is blame the victim?  Rivera has always been more of a performer than a journalist, but he never seemed to be evil.

Apparently however, he's been drinking the Fox News Kool-Aid for too long.

However2, the effects of that Kool-Aid don't seem to be genetic - even his own son is "ashamed" of Rivera's remarks.

Still, I can almost understand Rivera's attitude.  There have been documented instances of some rather scary people wearing hoodies -

This pic is rather popular on the internet right now.  Not sure who originally had it, but it's a perfect illustration of the ludicrous nature of Rivera's attitude.

Short Attention Span Musing...

OK, so this one is mostly about picking on AZ Republicans...mostly.

...In case one was sure that the Rs in the lege hadn't regressed to a third-grade mentality, what with their recent fascination with/fear of "girl parts", comes a mature and intellectually incisive tweet from your favorite and mine, Rep. Jack Harper (R-Surprise!) -

"Arlene"??  Time to grow up Jack.

...Remember Jerry Walker?  The former member of the Maricopa County Community College District was well-known for his bigoted comments, arrogant attitude, and his bullying demeanor in office before he was defeated in 2010.

He's basically Russell Pearce without the pretense of affability, a man so extreme in his worldview and absolutely sure of his rightness that he frightens even other Republicans.

Well, he's baaaaaaaaack...

He's formed a committee to run for the North Mesa Justice of the Peace office.  Not sure if he has been hand-picked by Lester Pearce, the incumbent who is looking at a run for a seat on the Board of Supervisors, but he may be the one candidate who could burnish Pearce's legacy as JP.

Pearce is known as pretty extreme himself (going around the country lecturing that women's suffrage, aka right to vote, is a violation of states' rights, will earn that reputation), but compared to Walker, he's a voice of enlightened reason.

...Former state senator Jonathan Paton is making another run at a seat in Congress.  I won't say he is *completely* in the pocket of the payday loan/legalized loan shark industry, but I admit to being a little surprised that his campaign paperwork didn't list his campaign bank accounts as being at The National Money Store or similar operation (he reports his bank as the Bank of Tucson).

...Normally the Twitter feed for GS Elevator Gossip (GS = Goldman Sachs) documents a fount of 1% arrogance, but it turns out that even the GSers get one right on occasion -

I don't know if the Congressional pension plan is quite that good, but it is much better than that offered to members of the armed services, and that's not right.

Period.

Short Attention Span Musing...

...Attended a public hearing of the Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review on Wednesday.  They were meeting to solicit public input/feedback on the judges who will be on the retention ballot in November.  Full list appended to the end of this press release.

All of one member of the public showed up to speak about a specific judge.  It was kind of disheartening.

Hope the turnout is better at the upcoming meetings in Pima and Pinal counties -

March 14, 2012 - Tucson

4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

West Side Police Service Center

1310 West Miracle Mile

Rillito Room

March 21, 2012 – Florence

4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Pinal County Justice Center

971 Jason Lopez Circle

Building A

...Since the meeting was "noticed" as being an hour long, by law, the commissioners had to remain there for an hours.  When the one speaker from the public was done, the commissioners and a few members of the general public who showed up simply to observe spent the rest of the time talking about some general issues involving judges and the judiciary.

One of the people who showed up to observe did speak briefly.  She's associated with a campaign (SOS filer ID 201200392) to vote out the two members of the AZ Supreme Court who are up for retention this cycle.

Her main specific objection seemed to be over the decision in the case of the governor's move to fire the independent chair of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, Colleen Mathis.  Mathis' biggest offense?  She was and is actually independent, just as the voters intended when we created the independent redistricting process.

The AZ Supreme Court overturned Brewer's move and reinstated Mathis.

While the person who appeared at the meeting appeared to be a member of the lemming branch of the GOP (or the parrot branch, if you prefer), and this all appears to a continuation of the GOP's temper tantrum over a redistricting process that they didn't have absolute control over, it's worth keeping an eye on.

...In another example of "it's not what you know, it's who you know", the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the nomination of Paul Senseman to the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments.

In case you've forgotten (or just weren't paying attention in the first place), Senseman was and is one of the private prison industry's primary lobbyists in AZ and used to be a senior staffer/handler for Governor Jan Brewer.

It'll be "Senseman Family Car Pool Day" at the lege - his wife Kathy's nomination to the State Board for Charter Schools will be heard at the same time in the meeting of the Senate Education Committee.

Like her husband, Kathryn Senseman is a professional industry lobbyist.

Note: this nomination was scheduled for committee consideration a couple of weeks ago.  Not sure why it was delayed.

...If Tempeans need yet another reason to vote for Mark Mitchell for mayor, they need look no further than the endorsement of Michael Monti by Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane.  Lane has turned Scottsdale City government into an ideological petri dish for the lobbyists at the Goldwater Institute.  After three-plus years of Lane's administration, Scottsdale's hallmarks are a senior city staff whose job security depends more blind loyalty to Lane than on professionalism, a heavy concentration of liquor licenses near residential areas, and development standards that cater to the whims of deep-pocketed developers while ignoring the concerns of residents.

And Lane thinks Monti is a chip off of the ol' Lane/GI block.  'Nuff said.

...On the other hand, instead of seeking the endorsement of *mayor* Jim Lane, Monti should seek the help of *accountant* Jim Lane when filling out and filing his campaign finance reports.  Monti *really* seems to have issues with campaign finance reporting.  As the now-former lieutenant governor in South Carolina learned this week, campaign finance rules can be annoying, especially when they aren't followed.


...Wendy who?  Wendy Rogers, failed 2010 candidate for state senate and a soon-to-be failed candidate for the R nomination in the new CD9, is claiming that "the Left" vandalized her house on the day she made her official announcement that she is a candidate for Congress.

Not to rain on her parade, but while *I* know who she is because of blogging, most of the Ds that I know, and for that matter, most of the Rs that I know, heard about the announcement and responded with "Wendy who?"

Which may be the entire point of her cries about "vandalism".  She already an afterthought in the primary race, and it's still early enough for other candidates to jump in.

That's gotta rankle...

Really Short Attention Span Musing

...The big "news" today was Jan Brewer's announcement on NBC's Meet The Press that she is endorsing Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination for president.

Umm, if the endorsement was supposed to matter to R voters, wouldn't she have issued the thing a few days before early ballots went out, rather than a few days before the close of voting?

I couldn't find the statewide numbers for the 2008 GOP presidential primary, but in Maricopa County in 2008, approximately 63% of all GOP primary votes were cast early, and as of 2/16 (approximately 1 1/2 weeks ago), more than 163K mail ballots had been returned in Maricopa County.

Short Attention Span Musing...

...I don't often make predictions about Republican primaries (mostly because I'm usually wrong - something about not being a Republican :) ), but I don't think that it's going too far out on a limb to predict that Pinal Sheriff Paul Babeu is toast in the R primary in the new CD4.

One thing that I won't predict is whether the information in the linked article from the Phoenix New Times was planted by the Gould campaign or the Gosar campaign, but I'm guessing that both campaigns spent Friday night toasting to the fact that Babeu is toast.

Babeu held a press conference Saturday where he admitted that he is gay, but he denied all of the other allegations in the article.

In a Democratic primary, the fact that he is gay wouldn't be relevent; in a Republican primary...well, R primary voters hate gay people (and brown people, and poor people, and women, and...) even more than they love nativists and "Joe Juniors". 

And Babeu is a Republican.


,,,Seems we have a two-fer in the category of "certain messengers shouldn't carry certain messages":

- Regardless of what one thinks about the Catholic Church's opposition to the recent rule changes published by the Obama Administration (requiring religious employers that provide health insurance for their employees to cover birth control measures, with the exception of direct employees of a church), is the hierarchy of the Church the best choice to carry a message based on moral credibility?  Really?

- Back here in AZ, the legislator who is fronting bills to bar improper language from teachers and barring the teaching of partisan doctrine in the classroom is not the best judge of what is improper behavior or the inappropriate use of a position of public trust to disseminate partisan propaganda.

That last would pretty much bar the teaching of anything mandated by the state lege (while the measure is mostly targeted at the supporters of Tucson's ethnic studies program, it is written so broadly that many of the mandates that the lege has added or will add to AZ's classroom curricula fall under the measure's rubric).  As for the first, barring teachers from using profanity and other "inappropriate" material, the measure would ban the reading aloud in class (or at least the watering down) of the following books, some of which you may have heard of:

Catch-22
1984
Romeo and Juliet
As I Lay Dying
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Bible
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A Clockwork Orange
The Great Gatsby
The Catcher in the Rye
Of Mice and Men

The full list is much too long for inclusion here, but the list of books with "offensive" material includes many of the classics of Western literature and even some volumes to which the Rs profess near-absolute devotion.

...Later...

Short Attention Span Musing...

...Jan Brewer may yet be inducted into the Arizona Governor's Hall of Fame.  Unfortunately for her, it's looking more and more likely it will be in the Mecham/Symington wing.

From the Phoenix New Times, written by James King -

Federal authorities spent more than a year investigating Governor Jan Brewer's role in collecting Social Security benefits intended for her mentally ill son, Ronald, who currently is in a state hospital after being found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1990 on kidnapping and sexual assault charges.

The federal government, according to the Arizona Republic, which broke the story, was trying to determine whether $75,000 in benefits were improperly paid to the governor on behalf of her son.

Yes, Brewer is the same governor who earlier this year cut healthcare benefits for an estimated 135,000 poor Arizonans.

As of right now, the feds have chosen not to file charges.  However, given this, her close ties to industry lobbyists (i.e. longtime advisor/friend Chuck Coughlin, et. al.) and her predilection for pronouncing that she is above the laws and constitution of Arizona (i.e. the her effort to hijack the independent redistricting process), nobody will be shocked if she finds herself indicted before the end of her term.

...Do Brewer et. al.'s lawyers get paid extra every time they receive a slap-down from a judge?

I as that question because the best explanation for the continuing efforts to use the legal system to overthrow the AIRC is bill padding.  On the heels of a separate decision by the AZ Supreme Court overturning the Rs' removal of the AIRC's independent chair, a judge at the Maricopa County Superior Court derailed another of the R efforts to take over the redistricting process when he ruled against their move to say that the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) violated the Open Meeting laws. 

...The constant stream of losses isn't dissuading the Rs from continuing their attacks on the independence of the commission.  The Arizona Capitol Times has a story about a number of changes the Rs in the legislature want to foist off on the commission and the process.  However, they all seem to be ignoring one basic fact - the voters wanted an independent redistricting commission, so we set one up.  If we wanted to set up an elected officials job security commission, we'd have done that, instead.

...Yeah, education is her number one priority, but doesn't say if *supporting* it or *eviscerating* it is what she most wants to do.

From the Yuma Sun, written by Chris McDaniel -

“We have to get our population educated,” said Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday at the University of Phoenix Yuma Learning Center.

The ceremony marked the grand reopening of the Student Resource Center. It was recently upgraded to include 23 high-speed computers, two interview rooms, a faculty room, and printing and copy services.

{snip}

Education is my No. 1 priority."

To be fair to Brewer, I think that Brewer's actual target is *public* education.  As documented by the article ("University of Phoenix Yuma Learning Center"), she's been pretty consistent in her support of "for-profit" education companies (private and charter K-12, and private post-secondary), while cutting hundreds of million of dollars from public education.

...Joe Arpaio spent Saturday going after people with brown skin.  Perhaps he'd have left them alone if they were dressed up as rapists and child molesters...

...From the "deja vu" department:  State Rep. Jack Harper (R-Surprise!) has reintroduced one of his regular bills, a proposal to repeal the restriction on former legislators that makes them wait a year after leaving the legislature before they can return to lobby the legislature.  This time around it is HB 2022.

Look for the measure to NOT pass, for at least two reasons:

1.  It's an election year, and even AZ's Republicans don't want to be seen as that blatantly self-serving, especially because...

2.  Most former legislators find ways around that particular restriction anyway, often by simply not registering as lobbyists.

Later...

Short Attention Span Musing - housekeeping edition

Just a quick hit...

Spent some time on Saturday talking to Ted McLaughlin, a blogger and friend from Texas.  I was doing some research into a possible piece.  It didn't work out for that piece, but it was great to talk to someone whose blog I've read for years.

Oh, and he's from a state where the politics and politicians are as crazy as they are in Arizona (though I think we've got Texas beat on a "crazy per capita" basis :) ),  It's kind of hard to explain the politics here (and in TX) to someone who hasn't experienced them directly.  People in other parts of the country hear about the "high points" (SB1070, Russell Pearce, Rick Perry) but have no clue what life out here is like on a day-to-day basis.

Anyway, while the conversation was easy - even though we had never actually spoken directly before, we didn't have to explain a lot to each other - the story I was going for just wasn't there.  Hey, it happens.

However, the conversation was far from a total loss.  I learned a couple of things.

1.  Ted is as big a fan of the writing of the late Molly Ivins as I am.  (Good taste, Ted!)  Ivins blended humor, facts, and bluntness into a mix that tickled her readers' funny bones while stoking their outrage at injustice.  Her voice is missed.

2.  Per his recommendation, I checked out the Texas blog Juanita Jean's | The World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc.  It's Texas-centered, but not exclusively so, and most importantly, when he said that Juanita Jean's was the closest thing to Molly that could be found, he was right.  The site has been added to the blogroll at the right, and I recommend checking it out.

Later...

Short Attention Span Musing...

...From the "good things happening to good people" department -

It's taken more than six months, but one of the victims of Jared Lougher's shooting rampage in Tucson finally made it back to work.  With the aid of a cane, but under his own power.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Amanda Lee Myers -

A staffer for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned to work Tuesday for the first time since being seriously injured in the Tucson mass shooting nearly six months ago.

Ron Barber, 65, was shot in the cheek and thigh during the Jan. 8 attack that killed six people and injured 13, including Barber and Giffords. The shooting killed Barber's colleague, Gabe Zimmerman, and John Roll, Barber's college buddy and a federal judge.

Barber has spent the past six months undergoing extensive physical therapy and coping with the trauma of the shooting and the loss of his friends. He returned to work at Giffords' Tucson office on a part-time basis Tuesday as he continued rehab and his struggles with fatigue and pain.

...From the "they should have just reprinted the phone book" department -

With the announcement from Hugh Hallman that he won't seek reelection, the speculation about who will run for the job is revving up.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Dianna M. Nanez -

The 2012 race for Tempe mayor could prompt a state legislator to resign his seat and pit current and former council members against each other.

But potential candidates and their supporters are hopeful that an early vetting of candidates will narrow the field to include a strong, but collegial bunch committed to improving their city's standing.

Mayor Hugh Hallman's surprise announcement last month not to seek re-election sparked a political buzz.

The story went on to list possible candidates:

Ed Ableser, a current state representive (LD17)
Neil Giuliano, a former mayor
Shana Ellis, current Tempe City Council member
Onnie Shekerjian, current Tempe City Council member
Corey Woods, current Tempe City Council member
Mark Mitchell, current Tempe City Council member
Robin Arredondo-Savage, current Tempe City Council member
Joel Navarro, current Tempe City Council member (he stated he was NOT running.  The others didn't answer the question or left open the possiblity)
Linda Spears, former member of the Tempe City Council and community activist
Laura Knaperek, former LD17 state representative and current lobbyist-for-hire (like Navarro, she stated that she was not running)
Dick Foreman, a lobbyist for Southwest Gas
Michael Monti, a restaurant owner
Cliff Jones, retired Tempe fire chief (also a "no")
Ross Robb, Kyrene school board member and a real estate developer (also a "no")


In fact, about the only person they didn't name was me.  And I don't actually live in Tempe.


...From the "good things happening to bad people" department -

From the Arizona Republic, written by the AP's Kyle Hightower -

Casey Anthony's eyes welled with tears and her lips trembled as the verdict was read once, twice and then a third time: "Not guilty" of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

Outside the courthouse, many in the crowd of 500 reacted with anger, chanting, "Justice for Caylee!" One man yelled, "Baby killer!"

Somebody needed to remind the jurors that the standard of proof is "beyond a reasonable doubt," not "beyond ALL doubt."  And that is all I'll write about this topic.

Short Attention Span Musing

...Is Frank Antenori angling for a promotion...or just another electoral beat-down?

H/T to The Range at the Tucson Citizen (Mari Herreras and Dan Gibson) , AZBlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona and Tedski at Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion for spotting this...

State Sen. Frank Antenori (R-Tucson)  has all but announced that he will run for Congress next year by posting a faux-poll on his Facebook page asking for "advice" from readers.

He wanted to know if they thought he should run for Congress or stay in the Arizona Legislature.  Maybe someone should remind him what happened the last time he ran for Congress.

In 2006, he came in fourth in a five-way R primary in CD8, looking to replace the retiring Jim Kolbe, a spot eventually won by Democrat Gabrielle Giffords.

He received 4.12% of the vote.


...It looks as if Hugh Hallman is getting out of Tempe while the getting is good...

From the East Valley Tribune, written by Garin Groff -

Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman said he’ll stay involved in civic issues and is open to seeking another office after stepping down next June.


Hallman announced he won’t seek a third term while decrying the state of politics in Arizona. He’d like to address challenges he sees at the state and federal levels, though he hasn’t decided just how yet.

It's long been rumored that Hallman has his eye on higher office.  It appears as if he is setting up a statewide run for 2014, though run for Congress or Fulton Brock's seat as a Maricopa County supervisor next year isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Note: Neither Hallman nor Antenori has an active campaign committee at the federal, state, or county levels that I can find, as of this writing.


...Russell Pearce may not be toast yet, he's definitely feeling the heat.

Word has gotten out that the Maricopa County Recorder's Office has unofficially validated more than enough petition signatures to force a recall election.  Most electeds in his position would at least pretend to care about their images, but not Pearce.

Nope.  He went on KAET's Horizon on Thursday and started spouting outrageous, and more importantly for the people who have united to unseat him, easily disproven lies about those people.

This on top of a week spend dealing with criticisms over his handling of the "special session to nowhere," the special session called to change a single word in Arizona law that would have allowed 15,000 Arizonans to continue receiving federally-funded unemployment benefits?

The "special" session where the Republicans in the legislature refused to act to help average Arizonans who need the help, unless the corporate benefactors of those Republicans got another big tax cut?

Not a good week for Pearce.


...Not a good week for John Huppenthal, either.

To great fanfare, the man who is Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction pronounced that Tucson's Mexican American Studies program is illegal and must be changed or shut down.

As part of his supporting "evidence" he cited an audit conducted by a private firm.

The problem?  The audit he cited actually found that the program didn't violate the law.

Though as Huffington Post's Jeff Biggers points out here, Huppenthal may have done so himself.

Oopsie.

Later...

Short Attention Span Musing

...Late this week, the state elections director announced that she made a "mistake" in the timetable for forcing a recall election of Russell Pearce in November, meaning that any such election is now delayed until March of next year.

Has anyone else noticed that Amy Bjelland, the state elections director made the "mistake" benefitting Senator Russell Pearce, the current president of the state senate, was formerly the legal counsel for the Republicans in the state senate? 

Before she went to work for her current boss, Ken Bennett, who used to be a former Senate president himself? 

That many coincidences strains credibility.

I know a lot of good people (in other words, not people who support Pearce) who truly believe Bjelland made an honest mistake.  However, and maybe this just means that I'm not a good person, or perhaps just simply too cynical, but I don't believe that.

...Now that the latest "rapture" is over, it's time to take stock.  Of the 61 legislative Republicans, most of whom trip over themselves proving their devoutness whenever the opportunity presents itself...in front of TV cameras, anyway...how many are missing?  Surely at least a dozen or so must have been scooped up, right?

...Rumor has it that Sarah Palin is moving to north Scottsdale.  I don't know if it is true, but if it is, David Schweikert, Jeff Flake, and Jan Brewer better watch their backs.  One of them will have a target on it.

...Too funny for any words that I can add to it:  Newt Gingrich, Dancing Queen.


Later...

Short Attention Span Musing...

Mostly because I need to decompress after yesterday's events...

....Part of the AZGOTP's "dream" society - "2nd Amendment remedies" for business disputes

From the Arizona Republic -

An argument between a Phoenix homeowner and a roofer regarding the quality of the work left the roofer with a life-threatening gunshot wound, Phoenix police said.

At about 1:15 p.m., a three-man crew was working on the roof of a home near 59th Avenue and Encanto Boulevard. The homeowner, a 68-year-old man, was not satisfied with the work that the crew had done, police said. The homeowner began to argue with the crew's 42-year-old foreman, said Sgt. Tommy Thompson, spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department.

...There's a little justice in the world, no matter how much certain people want to downplay that fact.

From The Independent (UK) -

A jury has sentenced the leader of an anti-immigrant group to death for the murder of a young girl and her father, in what prosecutors said was an attempt to steal drug money to fund the group's activities.


Shawna Forde, the leader of the Minutemen American Defence, has become the third woman on death row in the state of Arizona. The 43-year-old was convicted earlier this month of first-degree murder and other charges related to a raid on a home in Arivaca, a desert community about 10 miles north of the Mexican border, in May 2009. Raul Flores, 29, and his nine-year-old daughter, Brisenia, were killed in the raid.

I should be clear here, I am opposed to capital punishment, for a variety of very rational reasons, and could never have imposed the death penalty on her (or anyone else.

However, I'm human, and humans have emotions. 

And the emotional side of me isn't bothered by the verdict or the sentence.  Not in the least.


...Daniel Scarpinato, late of the AZ Daily Star and Jonathan Paton's abortive 2010 campaign for Congress, is now the press guy for Kirk Adams' Congressional campaign communications director for the AZ House Republican caucus, is known for his interesting press releases, where "interesting" means "gets creative with the facts."

The latest release distributed by Scarpinato crowing about HB2718, a bill earmarking $5 million for "border security operations" to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, headed by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.

Among other things, the reasons for earmarking the money to Pinal County listed in the press release include "...its unique border security operations and because it receives less federal funding than areas directly on the border."

Pinal County must have some truly "unique" border security operations - at no point does it border Mexico. another country, or even another state.

Arizona has 15 counties, and four of them have a border with Mexico - Yuma, Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise.


If Adams and the other Republicans are so concerned with border security, why no funds for those counties? 

Could it be because three of the counties - Yuma, Pima, and Santa Cruz - had the audacity to elect Democrats as sheriff?  Could be, but...

While as much as I'm sure the partisan factor played a part in Adams' decision to send "border security" money to a non-border county, the fundamental reason behind Adams' move to siphon $5 million in public funds to one specific county may be far more base than that.

Most Capitol watchers believe that Adams is running for Congress next year, and as a rising star in Republican circles, Babeu is being wooed by R candidates from all over the state.  The candidates will come looking for his endorsement next year. 

$5 million makes a helluva "quid" in a "quid pro quo" arrangement.

...On a related note, Scarpinato may have spent a little too much time at the Daily Star.  The last line of his press release (emphasis mine) - 

For more information or to schedule interviews, contact Daniel Scarpinato at 602-926-3233 or dscarpinato@azstarnet.com

Just for giggles, I sent a test email to that addy.  It bounced back almost immediately.  :(

I *so* wanted to write something about the Daily Star no longer bothering to hide its "in the pocket status," but all I can do is poke a little fun at him over the typo. :)

...Finally, look for a run on brown shirts at your local Wal Mart.

Today, House Appropriations passed HB2070, creating an armed force answerable only to the Governor and outside the National Command Authority, and funded by money siphoned from the Arizona National Guard.  You know, the organization that answers to the President.


Just another day in Sand Land...