Short Attention Span Musing - Presidential Campaigns Edition

...One of the arguments that the Clinton campaign is using to try to persuade the Democratic Party's superdelegates that Senator Clinton is the better candidate is that she has won the primaries in important general election swing states and that if Senator Obama can't win in the primaries there, he won't win in the general election there either.

A bit of research shows that race for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination was not as tight as this year's race (that one was pretty much over after Super Tuesday), but in spite of that, there were 11 primaries/caucuses that weren't won by Bill Clinton -

Iowa
Colorado
Delaware
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Vermont
Arizona
Connecticut
South Dakota

Using the current logic, that must mean that he didn't win those states in the general election, right??

Not so right - he won 9 of those 11 states, the exceptions being Arizona and South Dakota.

Something tells me that isn't a statistic that the Clinton campaign is bringing up to anyone.

The simple fact is that a candidate's primary performance in a given state isn't much of an indicator of his/her general election performance in that same state.


...Other statistics that probably aren't getting brought up by the Clinton campaign is the likely negative down ballot effect of Clinton at the top of the ticket.

From the Kos diary entry (by Kos himself) on the subject of Obama and Clinton in head-to-head matchups against McCain (thanks for the heads-up go out to Lauren!) -

Obama even makes a difference in the "blowout" states, like McCain's home of Arizona.

Rasmussen. 4/15. Likely voters. MoE 4.5% (No trend lines)

McCain (R) 57
Obama (D) 37

McCain (R) 60
Clinton (D) 32

"But", say the Clinton apologists, "what does it matter if we lose by 28 points or just 20? A loss is a loss!" It matters to the two House Democratic freshman running tough reelection campaigns this year (Mitchell in AZ-05 and Giffords in AZ-08). It matters to the Democrats running in our two targeted races in AZ-01 (Renzi's old seat) and AZ-03 (Shadegg's seat). The smaller the margin at the top of the ticket, the fewer ticket splitters they need to win their races.

There's also the legislative races to consider - with McCain topping the Republican ticket, it's going to be tough enough to maintain status quo in the lege, much less gain ground or even win a majority in one or both chambers of the lege. At least with Obama at the top of the Democratic ticket, a lot of the new voters that Obama has brought to the table will stay engaged; if he doesn't head the ticket, particularly if it appears that he lost the nomination unfairly, most of them will stay on the sidelines come the general election.


...John McCain, while pretending to take the high road, sent out an email after the Pennsylvania primary that tried to make a case that Hillary Clinton is the stronger Democratic candidate. Perhaps he hasn't played the race card here, but he did play the class and religion cards in playing up Sen. Clinton's strengths.

I think (I'm really not sure here) that his intended implication to his supporters is that he, McCain, will win with the particular demographic groups come November if Obama wins the Democratic nomination.

From the email, sent out under the name of campaign manager Rick Davis (which I can't link to, but will be happy to forward upon request) -

Subject: Strategy Memo: Democratic Primary Results

{snip}

Hillary Clinton cleaned up with Union households - like she did in Ohio.

{snip}

Clinton did better than Obama with lower income voters.

{snip}

Clinton won Catholic voters.

{snip}

Clinton won Jewish voters.

{snip}

etc.

I suppose McCain could win Union voters if they aren't paying attention to his actual voting record and his economic policies (I think Reagan did, though McCain is no Reagan), but lower income workers? That's asking a *lot* of people to ignore McCain's record.


...Perhaps the McCain campaign really *does* consider Senator Clinton to be the stronger opponent (really!), but the rest of his party isn't on board with that. They're attacking him all over the country.

From the New York Times -

G.O.P. Now Sees Obama as Liability for Ticket

Senator Barack Obama is starring in a growing number of campaign commercials, but the latest batch is being underwritten by Republicans.

In a sign that the racial, class and values issues simmering in the presidential campaign could spread into the larger political arena, Republican groups are turning recent bumps in Mr. Obama’s road — notably his comment that small-town Americans “cling” to guns and religion out of bitterness and a fiery speech by his former minister in which he condemned the United States — into attacks against Democrats down the ticket.

...On a much lighter note, check out the YouTube video of Senator Obama's post-results speech on Tuesday.

Note the three guys in the 2nd row, directly behind the Senator, and ask yourself -

How much did Abercrombie and Fitch pay them for their ability to get A&F logos such prominent placement?

I mean, there's no way that three people in the middle of a throng of campaign workers and supporters stood next to each other, in the one spot most likely to be constantly on camera, all while prominently wearing the same mall-trendy overpriced t-shirt brand, and it was all just coincidence?

Expect the Obama campaign's event staffers to scotch similar moves in the future.


Have a good weekend!

Judge protects status quo, nixes Hanover Project referendum

A Maricopa County Superior Court Judge sided with the developers of the Hanover Project, ruling that the political committee that was formed to force a referendum on the Scottsdale City Council's approval of the project was not a legal committee.

The judge's ruling hinged on the claim by the developer's attorneys that the group in question, Height and Density, didn't state that it opposed the project as required by state law, and that invalidated the petitions.

From the AZ Republic article on the ruling -

A referendum challenging the Hanover downtown redevelopment project was thrown out late Thursday, allowing the project to proceed.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Swann ruled that an activist group calling itself Height and Density was not a legal committee and that made the petitions it filed to put the Hanover project before the voters invalid.

[Note - The EV Tribune's coverage is here.]

At the end of the proceedings, the City stated that it would not appeal the ruling if the developers declined to seek compensation for the attorney's fees that it incurred in the case.

An interesting aspect of the case is that the Scottsdale's City Attorney's office was tasked with defending the petitions and the group; if their defense was successful, it would have set the stage to have a City decision overturned by the voters.

While I can't comment on the technical aspects of the ruling (I'm not sure of the precise requirements of notification in the law), I can state that I never saw the group (Height and Density) try to conceal its opposition to the Hanover Project in any way; in fact, they were totally open, even blunt, about it.

Another interesting aspect of the case, even to those unfamiliar with the technical aspects cited in the ruling - the judge, Peter Swann, and the developer, The Hanover Companies, run in the same circles, as indicated by this flyer for a construction/development industry legal seminar from 2006. Both the judge in this case and a representative from Hanover were presenters on different panels.

So let me sum up -

The organization defending the petitions (the Scottsdale City Attorney's office) had a vested interested in not winning the case, and the judge presiding over the case (Judge Swann) is part of a professional clique that includes developers (such as Hanover) but not average citizens.

Let me be clear here - I am *not* alleging corruption or anything illegal here, just that it's hard to believe that Height and Density, or any citizen group, ever had a chance at a fair hearing.

The system just isn't set up to allow it.

Brilliant idea, that privatization of all government functions

This post will tick off the blindly ideological talking heads at the Goldwater Institute, ALEC, and the like, and will certainly rouse the ire of their elected water carriers like Jeff Flake, but there are *many* governmental functions that are utterly necessary but that the private sector cannot be relied up to perform.

The latest example? Troops that have served their tours of duty in Iraq cannot return home because of a lack of private airline flights.

From The Military Times -

Vermont soldiers who have completed their tours of duty in Iraq cannot get home because of flight delays caused in part by the recent bankruptcy of ATA Airlines, the Vermont congressional delegation said Wednesday.

I suppose it could be part of a wily Pentagon scheme to ratchet up 'stop loss' without doing so officially, but this really just reeks of "let's use our troops as an excuse to funnel defense money to corporate America, and if it gets messed up, who cares? They're only troops, right?"

Regardless of your opinion of the war, everyone should call out the Bush Administration on its never-ending contempt for the welfare of active-duty servicemembers and veterans.

It's despicable.


Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) statement on the troops' plight here; the Vermont delegation's letter to the Secretary of Defense here.

Later!

Senate Republicans take a stand...in favor of discrimination

From the New York Times -

Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a measure intended to overturn a Supreme Court decision limiting pay discrimination suits in a politically charged vote certain to be replayed in the presidential and Congressional campaigns.

The Republicans were worried that the measure's language to ease lawsuit-restricting time limits might result in some companies actually being held responsible for their discriminatory practices.

Can't have that, can we??

The bill is H.R. 2831, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007; today's Senate vote was a procedural vote to invoke cloture, or to limit debate, on the bill. 56 Senators voted in favor, but 60 votes are needed to pass a cloture motion.

As would be expected by anyone familiar with their voting records, Arizona's own Jon Kyl (R-Big Pharma) voted against cloture, and John McCain (R-Cindy. What State Are We In Today?) missed the vote, though he did say that he would have opposed H.R. 2831 if he could be bothered to show up to work.

I supposed I could criticize them for failing to represent the interests of Arizona's working women, but since it's been years since they actually represented the interests of Arizona, none of today's proceedings were unexpected.

It should be noted that McCain's Democratic counterparts in the race for the White House, Senators Clinton and Obama, somehow found ways to take time out of their very active campaign schedules to show up and vote while the unopposed McCain declined to do so.


The New Republic's take on today's vote here.

An ACLU press release on the vote here.

Later!

Mitchell leads main Republican rivals in latest poll

PolitickerAZ has the results of a recent CD5 poll comparing Congressman Harry Mitchell to two of the Republican candidates trying to unseat him, former Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert and former state representative Laura Knaperek.

(Marty at Wactivist.com and Zelph at AZNetRoots already have their takes on the info, at the links)

According to the PolitickerAZ story, in head-to-head matchups, Mitchell leads Schweikert by a 50% to 23% margin and Knaperek by 49% to 26%.

This is great news for Mitchell and his supporters because while this year shapes up to be a horrible year for Republicans in general, they still have a serious registration advantage in CD5 (42% - 28%). For this cycle and the next (2010) CD5 is going to be a tough test for any Democrat, even Harry Mitchell.

In 2012, the effects of redistricting should be felt, but God only knows what those are going to be (and God won't know what those are until the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission tells Him what they are :) ).

Until then, however, CD5 is going to be a tempting target for every Republican who's ever run a campaign (or, like Jim Ogsbury, who's ever just given money to a campaign.)


As for this year's campaign, in Marty's post over at Wactivist, he opines that Laura Knaperek may be the Reps' best hope to defeat Mitchell, but I'm not sure I agree.

She *does* have the organization and the experience to run an effective general election campaign, a fact that CD5 Republican primary voters will remember, but she also has experience in running campaigns that were defeated by Harry Mitchell.

Another fact that primary voters will be sure to remember.

She also has high negatives, in that she is part of the radical right wing segment of her party, and while there are a lot of Republicans in CD5, they tend to be part of the "Chamber of Commerce" wing.

She's probably not getting out of the primary, though with her experience and focus (OK, it's less 'focus' and more 'obsession' on Harry Mitchell) she will make a fight of it.

David Schweikert may not have raised as much money as the RNCC poo-bahs would prefer, he still presents the lower negatives of the two - he's as reliably conservative as Knaperek but hasn't ticked off as many people over the years as she has (her habit of throwing ballot-mates in legislative races under the bus at the earliest opportunity could come back to haunt her.)

And Jim Ogsbury and Mark Anderson? Professional lobbyist Ogsbury has serious name rec problems in the district, as does Mesa state rep Anderson. In addition, Anderson is running on a platform that includes the planks that Congress "has too much partisan bickering" and "too many scandals."

Somebody should remind him that it's not 2006 and he's not running against JD Hayworth.

Anyway, I haven't seen anything that indicates that Anderson or Ogsbury have a real chance to win this year's CD5 Republican primary.

The American Hospital Association, the sponsor of the poll, apparently agree with me - their poll didn't include either Ogsbury or Anderson.

Later!

Stop loss

This story has been around for years, and has been covered many times before, but something happened this weekend that reminded me that while certain stories are well-known to folks who are directly affected by the stories or are politically active, they are still 'breaking news' to folks who aren't directly affected or aren't as politically active.

In short, it's not *new* news, but it rates a post.

While at work this weekend, one of my colleagues (who is as apolitical a person as I know), stopped by and mentioned that he saw the movie "Stop Loss" last week and was surprised to hear about the Pentagon's 'stop loss' policy that forces service men and women to stay in the military even after their terms of enlistment have expired. In addition, the policy forbids affected soldiers from transferring to non-combat units while under 'stop loss' orders.

The policy is used when the affected branch of the military doesn't have enough incoming recruits to replace outgoing veterans.

Not only are the lives of the affected servicemembers disrupted, so are the lives of their families, who don't know when their loved ones are returning home to stay.

It's a policy that has been used by all of the services since 9/11, but only the Army still uses it to any significant extent. According to this article from Stars and Stripes, they expect to use it until at least the summer of 2009.

A 2008 USA Today article on the current ramifications of the policy here.

A 2004 Army press release on the program here.

Later!

Convention 101

The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) has a useful feature on the convention's website, DemConvention.com.

Convention 101 details many of the, well, "details" of the convention in August and the events leading up to it.

Interested folks should regularly visit the site for updates as the convention approaches.

Lesson one covers many aspects that people are already at least vaguely familiar with - the selection of a convention site and delegate allocation and selection (lists of certified delegates here). Lesson one does offer some insights into three standing convention committees - the Credentials Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Platform Committee.

The Credentials Committee "determines and resolves issues concerning the recognition and seating of delegates and alternates to the Convention." It will meet prior to the convention to formulate a report, in a public meeting that is almost certain to generate interest from both party faithful and the general public. (Note: the meetings of all of the standing committees are open to the public.)

Florida and Michigan, anyone??

LOL- should be loads of fun, but unless the meetings are in the Phoenix area, I probably won't be able to attend one. :))

The Rules Committee "recommends the procedural rules of the Convention, the agenda, the officers of the Convention and other matters not covered by the other committees."

The Platform Committee "prepares a document delineating the Party’s position on a variety of issues." The platform is then voted on by the delegates at the convention.

"Decisions concerning the number and locations of Platform hearings and meetings will be made later in the spring. Under the Democratic Party’s rules, any person may submit a written statement concerning the platform to the Platform Committee at any time prior to the Committee’s meeting. In addition, any person may request permission to testify at a public hearing and/or forum. Individuals interested in learning more about the Platform drafting process should e-mail platform[at]dnc.org."

Lesson two covers the convention itself.

The preliminary schedule (think "hint of an idea of an outline of a schedule") for the conventions -

Monday - convention opening, Credentials Committee and Rules Committee reports, and keynote address. (Note - the keynote speaker has not been selected as yet.)

Tuesday - discussion and debate on the platform.

Wednesday - formal nomination of the Party's presidential nominee.

Thursday - nomination of the Party's vice-presidential candidate and the presidential nominee's formal acceptance speech.

Ongoing - the delegates' days will usually start with a state delegation breakfast meeting (probably in the delegate hotels), followed by caucus meetings and training sessions. Convention floor proceedings will generally commence during the late afternoon ("late afternoon" in Denver time is "prime time" in the Eastern Time Zone.)

Chapter two of lesson two covers delegate voting at the convention. There's nothing earth-shattering here - the most salient point is that "pledged" delegates don't actually have to vote for the candidate that they pledged to support.

Alternate delegates step in if a pledged delegate is unable to perform their duties, either temporarily or permanently.

Finally, a candidate secures the nomination when he or she receives 2025 delegate votes. That total does not include Florida's or Michigan's delegates, so the number required could change depending on the Credentials Committee report.

More later!

"5000 Illiterate peasants"

Good freakin' God! The Colorado legislature has, in the person of State Rep. Douglas Bruce, a louder, crasser, and just plain more obnoxious bigot than our own Russell Pearce.

From his speech Monday on the floor of the House, courtesy DenverPost.com -

"We don't need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in the state of Colorado," Bruce,
R-Colorado Springs, said during debate on a bill to speed up a temporary
seasonal worker program.

At least Pearce and his ilk spout the overtly racist speech only on the campaign trail (Operation Wetback, National Alliance emails); once the legislative session starts, their main outlet for hate speech is their bill proposals (their actual speeches in support of their bills tend toward syrupy and smarmy.)

It should be noted that Rep. Bruce, in his short stint in the Colorado lege (took his oath of office in January), has exhibited a, ummm....flair for controversy (read: lunacy) that would earn him a spot in the leadership of Arizona's Republican Party.

In just a few short months, he has...

...ticked off the entire lege by delaying the start of his appointed term to lengthen the limitations on his possible terms (from 6 to 8 years);

...assaulted (kicked) a photographer on the floor of the House (censured);

...ticked off his own Republican caucus by refusing to co-sponsor or even vote for a resolution honoring the military (removed from an influential committee);

...attacked his primary opponent in the upcoming elections in fliers placed on the desks of some of his Republican colleagues (that primary opponent already has more support among the GOP faithful in his district than he does.)


In Colorado, he was kicked off of the podium for his efforts; here in AZ, they'd probably elect him as Majority Leader.


There's consideration of sanctions against Bruce for his speech, with the possiblities ranging from reprimand to outright expulsion from the House.

While his remarks were utterly vile and should be repudiated by the entire Colorado House, he should *not* be removed from office, for two reasons -

1. Free speech is a principle that must apply to *all* speech, not just *speech we like.* If it doesn't, the principle is meaningless.

2. We need this guy and the Pearces of the world to be the public face and voice of the anti-immigrant zealots. Every time they open their mouths, the bile they spew dissolves more of any veneer of civility they once covered themselves with.

Later!

Sunday Morning Crappie Award

I'm writing this a little early because of my work schedule, but we already have a "winner" for this week's award.

John McCain, patriot and veteran and alleged "supporter of our troops," earned consideration for this week's award for his opposition to the modern GI Bill (Senate version here; the Harry Mitchell-sponsored House version here).

Apparently "maverick" McCain is taking his direction from the Bush White House, which is fundamentally opposed to the bills because servicemen and women might choose to leave the service to take advantage of the education benefits instead of re-enlisting.

Desert Beacon's coverage of this issue here.

Coverage from The Nation, via Yahoo! News here.

However, in spite of the "reverse twisting pike" nature of his flip flop, it pales in comparison to the "inward reverse 3 1/2 somersault" special performed by this week's winner, everybody's favorite neo-anderthal and professional bigot, State Rep. Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance).

Relax, he hasn't flip-flopped on the subject of immigrants (still hates 'em), public arts funding (bury it in a mine shaft), or government in general (only reason it should exist is to put people in jail).

Nope, he's still very consistent about all of that.

What he has apparently changed his opinion of is Clean Elections.

Clean Elections is Arizona's program of voluntary public financing for candidates for statewide and legislative offices.

It's very successful - more than 60% of currently declared candidates are participating in Clean Elections so far (that number could change as new candidates enter races and announced candidates withdraw or don't gather enough signatures to get on the ballot.)

Russell Pearce, and most Republicans, hate it with a passion.

He's campaigned on the "hypocrisy" of Clean Elections, and in 2006, Pearce proposed a strike-everything amendment to a bill to get rid of Clean Elections.

So who is shown as a participating candidate on CCEC's list of 2008 candidates?

Pearce, Russell Republican State Senator - District No. 18 Participating

:))

Don't forget to check in with Desert Beacon in Nevada to find out the winner of her "Sunday Deck Bass Award."

Have a good weekend!

Reminder - Early Voting For The Tempe General Election Has Begun

Important dates for the upcoming election in Tempe, courtesy the website of the Tempe City Clerk -

April 21 - Last day to register to vote in Tempe's general election

April 24 to May 16 - In-person early voting period at Tempe City Hall and Tempe Public Library

May 9 - Last day to request a mail in early ballot

May 20 - Election Day!

Candidates Corey Woods and Joel Navarro need your support; visit their websites (linked to their names) to volunteer.


On the topic of important dates for Scottsdale's Council/Mayor elections, courtesy the Scottsdale City Clerk's Elections webpage -

May 5 (8:00 a.m.)- First day that nominating petitions can be turned in

June 4 (5:00 p.m.) - Deadline to turn in petitions.

August 4 - Deadline to register to vote in the primary election

September 2 - Primary election

October 6 - Deadline to register to vote in the general election

November 4 - General Election!

Later!

News Roundup

...That title may be something of a misnomer. How about...

"Bad News For Republicans Roundup"?

Yup, that works much better. :))

All stories courtesy CapitalNews.org...

...Don't the Republicans teach their candidates that they're not supposed to get arrested until *after* they win an election (or two)?

- From AP via Yahoo! News -

House candidate in Pa. charged with burglary, other counts

CLEARFIELD, Pa. - A Republican congressional candidate was charged Thursday with felony burglary and criminal trespass stemming from an encounter last year with an ex-girlfriend.

Derek Walker, a 32-year-old financial planner, called the charges politically motivated because the Pennsylvania primary is Tuesday. The district attorney denied the accusation.

At least the likes of Rick Renzi, Bob Ney, and the others had the sense to accumulate a pension before getting busted.


...Ya see, if Walker had just waited until he was actually in office, the rest of the GOP would have closed ranks to cover for him.

From The Hill -

House GOP opposes Senate’s ‘Coconut Road’ measure

House Republican leadership does not favor a Senate measure calling on the Department of Justice (DoJ) to launch a criminal investigation on a controversial earmark sponsored by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).

Young has come under fire for his involvement with the so-called “Coconut Road” earmark language, which his staff changed after Congress approved it as part of the massive 2005 highway funding bill.


...Of course, the GOP is probably finding it tough to recruit good candidates in what is going to be a rough year for Republicans, what with the continuing corruption scandals and the tanking economy in the news every day.

- From AP via Yahoo! News -

The number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits increased last week after a big decline in the previous week.

I could make a snarky comment about soon-to-be-unemployed Republican politicians and operatives having a tough time finding jobs after the November elections, but something tells me that most of them will land on their feet. Amoral people always seem to...


...Apparently, the Bush Administration isn't as fervently anti-science as previously thought...so long as the research subjects are poor and black...

- From AP via Yahoo! News -

Probes wanted on sludge research in poor neighborhoods

Three more lawmakers are seeking investigations of federally funded research in poor, black neighborhoods that resulted in sewage sludge being spread on several families' lawns in attempt to determine whether it could combat lead poisoning in children.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Rep. Elijah Cummings, both D-Md., wrote to departing Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson on Thursday asking why and how HUD picked nine Baltimore families for the study and whether they got adequate information about the potential harm. Jackson's last day in office is Friday.

{snip}

The Associated Press reported Sunday that the mix of human and industrial wastes from sewage treatment plants was spread on the lawns of nine low-income families in Baltimore and a vacant lot next to an elementary school in East St. Louis, Ill.

Why is it that we never hear of studies like this happening in Greenwich, Connecticut, San Jose, California, or even north Scottsdale?

"Amoral" is too nice a word for the Bushies...


...From the "more evidence that it's going to be a tough year for Republicans" category...

- From Bloomberg via Yahoo! News -

Democratic House Candidates Out-Raise Republicans

Democrats hold a big money advantage in this year's most competitive U.S. House races, including contests for 13 seats held by Republicans, Federal Election Commission records show.

The Democrats have more to spend in 26 of the 38 tightest races, as identified by Congressional Quarterly, the Cook Political Report and the Rothenberg Political Report, three Washington-based publications that track the contests.

In the Senate, Democrats have out-raised their opponents in four of the eight most competitive races, including three for Republican-held seats that are opening up due to retirements.

No, money raised is not the same as votes cast, but still...

Later!

Wow - there's a sheriff out there who's worse than Arpaio

...At least, I think that Arpaio, as vile as he is, isn't as bad as this guy...

From AP via Yahoo! News -

Oklahoma sheriff charged with using inmates as sex slaves

ARAPAHO, Okla. - Authorities have charged a western Oklahoma sheriff with coercing and bribing female inmates so he could use them in a sex-slave operation run out of his jail.

Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess resigned Wednesday just as state prosecutors filed 35 felony charges against him, including 14 counts of second-degree rape, seven counts of forcible oral sodomy and five counts of bribery by a public official.

I just hope that Arpaio views this guy as despicable, not inspirational...

Media coverage for State Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill

Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill's work on behalf of the students and parents of Corona del Sol High School in Tempe has earned some MSM coverage.

From the AZ Republic -

On behalf of the state Legislature, an Arizona senator apologized to teachers, parents, students and Tempe Union High School District governing board members at Wednesday's board meeting.

"I'm sorry. I think we at the Legislature have let you all down," said Sen. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe.

Burton Cahill's presence at the meeting drew applause from the crowd of about 100 people, mostly Corona del Sol High School parents, students and teachers there to ask board members to allow an independent environmental consultant to do new and more expansive air-quality testing at the school.

It seems as it the situation between the school and the parents that are concerned about the health risks facing their children has deteriorated to the point where they *need* someone with the stature of a state senator to intercede.

From another story from the Republic -

Parents barred from Corona air-quality meeting

Parents were barred from a meeting with contractors this week at Corona del Sol High School to address upgrading the school's failing ventilation system and improving air quality, according to Corona PTO representatives.

District officials acknowledged that parents were invited to a previous meeting between district officials and contractors. But because the contractors were not comfortable with parents' questions the district decided to honor the company's wishes and not allow parents into the meeting on Tuesday. It was not "open to the public," spokeswoman Linda Littell said.

More on the Corona del Sol situation here, here, and here.

The website of the Corona del Sol PTO is here.

Later...

Events Calendar

Thursday, April 17 - Dinner and a Movie with the D17 Democrats and The Big Picture Series.

- Dinner at 6:00PM – Green Restaurant 2240 N. Scottsdale Rd in TempePlease join Rep. Ed Ableser and Local Democrats for a meal that taste good, is good for you and is good for the planet we live on.

- Movie at 7:30PM – This month's film is The End Of Suburbia: Oil Depletion & The Collapse of the American Dream. At ASU-Coor Building Room 174


Thursday, April 17 - The D8 Democrats present the film Uncounted, a startling film about election fraud and the '08 elections.

Time - 6:30 p.m. gathering, 7:00 p.m. film time.
Place - Country Inn and Suites, 10801 N. 89th Place, Scottsdale (90th & Shea).


Saturday, April 19 - CD5 Day of Action

9:00 a.m. - (LD8) Please join fellow activists and go door to door, gather signatures, distribute literature and plant the seeds for victory in November.

Pima Park, 8600 E Thomas Rd., Scottsdale (NW corner of Pima and Thomas)

Fountain Park Ampitheater, 12925 N. Saguaro Blvd., Fountain Hills.

Laura Copple's House, 9274 E Desert Trail, Scottsdale.

The Hogan's, 9434 N. 125th Place, Scottsdale.

9:15 a.m. - Join Congressman Harry Mitchell, your local Neighborhood Leaders, activists and other Democrats in your area to help get signatures for your local candidates and talk to voters in District 17 & 20. Meet at Bunna Coffee, 7520 S. Rural Rd. Suite #12, Tempe (NW corner of Eliot and Rural)

If interested in joining the Democrats of LD17, ld20, or LD8, sign up at the above link.


Sunday, April 20 - Join Maricopa County Democrats for a Candidates’ Brunch with special guests Earl and Mary Rose Wilcox on the Farm.

Time - 9:30 a.m.
Location - The Farm, 6413 S. 26th Street, Phoenix (one block south of Southern and one block east of 24th Street).
Tickets - $35, contact the MCDP at 602.298.0503 for details.


Tuesday, April 29 - Monthly meeting of the Arizona chapter of the National Jewish Democratic Council. This month's featured guest: Dan Saban, candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff. The meeting will be held at Country Inn & Suites, 10801 N. 89th Place, Scottsdale (90th & Shea).

Springsteen endorses Obama

I am not normally one to trumpet a celebrity's endorsement of a candidate, mostly because I don't care what Chuck Norris, Barbra Streisand, or any of the Baldwins has to think about anything other than their professional crafts. (And personally, I don't know of anybody else who really cares about celebrity political opinions, either.)


Simply being wealthy and famous enough to have a (metaphorically) bigger soapbox to spout an opinion from doesn't mean that the spouter's opinion is any more valid than yours or mine.

There are, however, a few celebrities whose opinions I *do* respect, partly because they frequently are correct (probably means that they agree with me :) ), but also partly because they don't spout off on every issue under the sun.



Bruce Springsteen is at the top of that list, and he solidified his position there with today's endorsement of Barack Obama.


The letter that was posted on his website -

Dear Friends and Fans:

Like most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."

At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams From My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.

After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.

Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President.

Bruce Springsteen

AP coverage here.

Newsday coverage here.

Washington Post coverage here.


Later!