So remind me again -

Why was bailing out bankers to open up credit markets was good (even though it hasn't worked!) and helping out auto workers so they can keep working and support their families bad?

Note: the links to 'good' and 'bad' are from the website of AZ Senator Jon Kyl. He makes it so easy sometimes...

From AP -

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wells Fargo & Co., which received $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money, is planning a series of corporate junkets to Las Vegas casinos this month.

Wells Fargo, once among the nation's top writers of subprime mortgages, has booked 12 nights at the Wynn Las Vegas and its sister hotel, the Encore Las Vegas beginning Friday, said Wynn spokeswoman Michelle Loosbrock.

The economy is so bad that hundreds of people stood in line (some overnight) for a shot at one of 35 openings in the Miami (FL) Fire Department, and these clowns are turning around and taking taxpayer money on a Vegas spree??

What happens is Vegas sure as hell isn't going to stay there...

The Goldwater Institute Proves That The Cuts To Education Are Devastating Arizona

The Goldwater Institute released an article yesterday declaring that the vast majority of Arizonans didn't protest and don't oppose the cuts to education, yet their own article served to highlight the drastic impact a lack of education can have on people.

The headline of the article (emphasis mine) -

99.999999999999 percent of Arizonans choose not to protest spending cuts

Ummm...the federal government (the USDA, to be specific) estimated AZ's 2007 population at 6,338,755.

Some basic math -

If, as the Goldwater Institute claims, 99.999999999999% of Arizonans didn't protest the cuts to education, that would mean that 0.000000000001% of Arizonans *did* protest them.

Based on their mathematical calculations, that would mean that out of over 6 million Arizonans, all of 0.000006338755 people showed up to protest the cuts at the legislature last week.

As the pictures of that rally show, significantly more than six millionths of a person were there.

I suggest that the authors of the article, Matthew Ladner and Byron Schlomach, look into registering for MAT082 at any Maricopa County community college (MAT082 - "Basic Arithmetic - Primary emphasis placed on fundamental operations with whole numbers, fractions, decimals, integers, and rational numbers; proportions, and percentages. Other topics include representations of data, geometric figures, and measurement. Prerequisites: None. ")

That is, if the education cuts that they've championed haven't necessitated cancellation of that class.

Note: at the end of the article, the authors state that the article itself "celebrates the long history of satire in American politics". If that is the case, then they do satire as well as they do math.

Later!

Short Attention Span Musing - Legislative Edition

...Geez, I guess this means that State Sen. Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) doesn't think that the readers of this blog are worthy of his 'copy and paste' skills.

And on behalf of my readers, I thank Sen. Pearce for that attitude. :)

Zelph at AZNetRoots found this post from BallotAccess.org about AZ's SB1158, a bill to compel presidential candidates will have to prove both their citizenship and their residency in the U.S. of 14 years before their names can be placed on the ballot. It's clearly directed at President Barack Obama (who was elected in spite of the debunked claims that his birth certificate is a forgery) though it could also serve to attack fellow Republican John McCain, who also twigged the Reps' lunatic fringe radar because he was born on a military base in Panama...and he isn't a fellow loon.

Now I wouldn't normally try to "steal the thunder" from Zelph's post (he's earned some for spotting this) but one of the comments on BallotAccess.org's post deserves comment itself -

It's a 3000+ word copy and paste special from Russell Pearce himself.

I call it a "copy and paste special" because of that 3000+ word comment, over 2600 of the words were copied and pasted articles from the Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-immigrant group masquerading as a neutral, "non-partisan" think tanks. (SourceWatch profile here)

You know, in spite of all the times that I have written so glowingly, Sen. Pearce has never taken the time to grace this blog with his brand of lazy but verbose nativist b.s.


...In more Pearce news, he has filed SB1170, a.k.a. the "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" Act.

That bill sets out some specific rules for parties in a justice court action who wish to seek a change of venue because they feel they cannot receive a fair trial in a particular court. Under current law (ARS 22-303), the defendant just has to file an affadavit to the effect that he cannot receive a fair trial in order to move the trial. Under Pearce's bill, a defendant would also need the affadavits of "two other credible persons of the county that they have good reason to believe, and do believe, that the party cannot have a fair and impartial trial before the justice..."

This could also be called the "Lester Pearce is sick of getting noticed for cause" bill.

"Noticed for cause" is court-speak for the change of venue motion, and Russell Pearce's brother Lester is known as one of the most "noticed" JPs in the system.

He tends to be rather umm... "set in his views" (hey, what else would you expect from a Pearce? :)) ), so much so that there is a possibly apocryphal story going around about him. And apocryphal or not, the story goes a long way to illustrate Lester Pearce's tendencies.

Apparently a while back, another judge (called a 'pro tem') was substituting for Lester Pearce on his bench in the North Mesa precinct. After a trial where the defendant was acquitted by the pro tem, the clerk who was working in the court turned to the pro tem turned to the substitute and advised him that they didn't know how to record that because they had never needed the code for acquittal before.

As I said, the story could be apocryphal (I mean not even a Pearce could convict every defendant without exception, right?? Right???????), but it totally jibes with what I've heard about his court.

Stay tuned...

...Jon Kyl is operating like he is not up for reelection next year, which, of course, he isn't.

From ABS-CBN News (Philippines) -

World War II veteran Celestino Almeda will turn 92 in June. He relies on a small scooter to move around. He has been living in a daughter’s house, but now that she’s about to marry, he and a grandson are hunting for a new home.

He insists on paying his way and is counting on the $15,000 lump sum payment to Filipino World War II veterans – that is, if US Congress votes to give it to him and about 16,000 of his aging comrades.

{snip}

In another Fox Channel program, Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, a critic of the stimulus bill, claimed "there are so many things you can make fun of in this bill."

"Let me just mention one, millions of dollars to World War II Filipino veterans in the Philippines. Now, that may be a good thing to spend money on, but not in a stimulus bill. It doesn’t stimulate anything," he said.

But Almeda pointed out the lump sum payment will not add a single cent to the $800 billion stimulus bill.

"They thought this money to be given to Filipino veterans is an allotment from the stimulus bill package. It is not. The intention of Senator Inouye is just to use the stimulus bill as a vehicle so the $198 million approved in the 110th Congress and known as the Filipino Veterans Compensation Fund would be released to us," he added.

Yup, Jon - go ahead and pick on poor, elderly veterans.

Because while *you* may not be on the ballot next year, plenty of other Rep senators will be.


Later!

Letter from Harry Mitchell regarding H.R. 1

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a letter to Congressman Harry Mitchell about the economic stimulus package that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week and will be voted on in the Senate this week.

Today, I received a reply -

Dear Mr. [cpmaz]:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, H.R. 1. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me on this important issue.

I strongly believe that something must be done to bolster the flagging economy. We are not only struggling with a recession, but also an alarming rise in home foreclosures and unemployment. As of December 2008, the unemployment rate in Arizona was up to 6.9 percent - up from 4.2 percent in December of 2007. Making matters worse, Arizona, like many other states, is facing a serious budget deficit.

I believe that we need an economic recovery package that contains both fast-acting tax cuts as well as timely, targeted investments that will create jobs and help spur much-needed economic growth.

I am not happy with everything in the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, H.R. 1, but I believe it is a good start, and that we must allow the legislative process to continue. The risk of inaction at this time is simply too great.

The American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, H.R. 1, contains $275 billion in tax cuts, which would provide approximately 95 percent of taxpayers with relief. H.R. 1 also makes important timely, targeted investments in transportation and infrastructure.

If enacted, states like Arizona would receive funding for planned highway, bridge, transit, and other infrastructure projects that are ready to go. Nationwide, these investments in transportation infrastructure would stimulate the economy in the short-term by creating approximately 1.5 million jobs and would help keep the economy growing in the long run by providing infrastructure that encourages commerce.

As we've seen in Arizona, the right kind of transportation investments can generate economic benefits far beyond that associated with construction. For example, the initial investments we have made at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport are already sustaining 4,500 jobs and, according to a recent study by Arizona State University, generating an economic impact of nearly $500 million.

H.R. 1 would also provide tax incentives for renewable and alternative energy. This investment would immediately create more than half a million green jobs dedicated to moving our country toward energy independence.

Like transportation, we have seen the benefits of these types of investments in Arizona, as well. With the help of solar tax credits, Abengoa Solar and Arizona Public Service are developing the world's largest solar energy plant outside of Gila Bend. The Solana solar generating station will create an estimated 1,500 jobs and provide clean, emission-free energy for 70,000 homes. Solana is expected to ultimately spur $1 billion in local economic development.

Additionally, H.R. 1 would assist states like Arizona which are facing severe budget cuts by investing in education, health care, and unemployment benefits.

H.R. 1 would significantly increase the number of jobs in Arizona and around the country. According to Mark Zandi, a leading independent economist, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would create a minimum of four million jobs by 2010. This would include approximately 125,000 jobs in Arizona, which would decrease the unemployment rate by 2.3 percent by 2010.

To ensure that funding approved in H.R. 1 is spent effectively and appropriately, the legislation would establish a Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board tasked with the oversight of the implementation of the legislation. Additionally, H.R. 1 would establish a new web site, www.recovery.gov, where all funding information including grant competitions and allocation of formula grants would be made available to the public.

I offered two amendments to try to improve H.R. 1, and I am disappointed that they were blocked from reaching the House floor for debate and a vote. The first amendment would have stopped Congress from taking a pay raise. At a time like this, when so many Americans are struggling to make ends meet, I believe it is unconscionable for Congress to raise its own pay. The second amendment would have made recent tax cuts to capital gains and estate taxes permanent. If Congress does not act, these cuts will expire next year. At a time when we need to encourage growth and investment, I believe it is wrong for us to let these taxes increase.

Despite these shortcomings, I voted for and the House passed H.R. 1 on January 28 by a vote of 244 to188. This legislation is now pending before the Senate, where I hope it will be further refined.Please be assured that I will continue to work in a bipartisan manner to help Congress enact an effective stimulus package that our nation urgently needs.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write to me about this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if you have additional comments or concerns.

If you would like to receive email updates about how I am working on behalf of Arizona's 5th Congressional District, I invite you to sign up for my newsletter at http://www.mitchell.house.gov.

Sincerely,

Harry E. Mitchell
Member of Congress

HEM/PS

Later!

It must be nice for the lege's Republicans to have priorities...

...even if those priorities don't include the best interests of the people of Arizona...


Much has been written about the package of bills that the AZ lege passed and Jan Brewer, the newly-minted governor, signed into law to address the state's budget deficit.

I'll leave the observations to other writers, both wiser and more eloquent, on how damaging to Arizona's long term vitality that the attacks on healthcare, education, and infrastructure will be.

I'd say that the meat cleaver-wielding Republicans were indiscriminately attacking programs, but they knew *exactly* what they were going to decimate once Janet Napolitano left the Governor's office and ascended to her new job in D.C.

The drool was just flowing out of the Rep caucus rooms in the House and Senate buildings...

I will, however, cover some interesting details in the bills that were just signed by Jan Brewer. Here are a couple -

...In HB2001, the main budget cutting bill, there was an amendment added by the House Appropriations Committee led by Fountain Hills Republican John Kavanagh. In that amendment, $1.6 million of a $10 million dollar appropriation for GIITEM (Gang & Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission ) was earmarked to "the sheriff's office of a county with a population of more than two million persons for human smuggling and immigration enforcement."

If that's not clear to some of you, that provision is earmarked specifically for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio - Maricopa County is the only county in Arizona with more than 2 million residents. Hell, it's the only one with more than half that number.

Almost a month ago, Arpaio's fellow traveller on the nativist path, State Sen. Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) promised to deliver money for Arpaio's anti-immigrant jihad in spite of the state's budget crisis.

And with the enthusiastic assistance of Pearce's good friend Kavanagh, Arpaio got his money while students all over the state face drastic cuts to their educations.

For the record, K-12 education and the state's universities took a nearly $300 million hit so that the likes of nativists Arpaio, Kavanagh, and Pearce can continue their witch hunts.

...HB2004 includes a provision that recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) take and pass a drug test before receiving any funds.

Ummm, I must have missed the study that shows that the state's budget crisis is a result of bad decisions made by intoxicated poor people instead of rampaging ideologues drunk on power.

Maybe a provision mandating drug tests for legislators would be more effective.

Other budget reconciliation bills and summaries of their effects -

HB2002 (capital outlay) - the bill and its legislative summary
HB2003 (revenue) - the bill and its legislative summary
HB2005 (criminal justice) - the bill and its legislative summary
HB2006 (education) - the bill and its legislative summary

Anyway, this is just the beginning, as the bills passed and signed last week only impact the state's budget shortfall for the current fiscal year. The devastation to education, human services, and the state's employees will be worse in next year's budget with its projected deficit of $3 billion.

The scary part is that as bad as the state's revenue outlook appears, we can count on the Republicans to work to make it worse.

They've proposed at least six bills to decrease state revenue, including HB2361 (to raise the state's personal property tax exemption from $50k to $10 million), SCR1011 (TABOR, aka "the cripple government and government services permanently" Act), SB1007 and HB2073 (repeal of the state's equalization property tax, the revenue of which is reserved for education funding), SB1181 (repeal of the state's motor vehicle fuel tax, money reserved for the Arizona highway user revenue fund), and SB1324 (a move to cut corporate income tax rates by more than a third).

This is only the beginning; if the Republicans get their way, by the close of the 2010 election cycle Arizona government and public services will be limited to cops, courts, and corrections.


The AZ Rep's coverage of this year's budget patch is here; the Arizona Guardian's coverage is here.

David Safier at Blog for Arizona has been doing a great job of covering the budget crisis' impact on education; State Rep. Daniel Patterson offers his take on the budget patch here.

Another take:

Dave Wells, writing in the EV Trib, offers his view here.


My take:

In the interests of full disclosure, we should change AZ's state motto from "God Enriches" to "Republicans Impoverish".

The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award

For the first time in the history of this distiguished award for spectacular political flip-floppery, the Crappie Award is going to bestowed rather reluctantly.

There were a couple of serious contenders for the award this week (for example, the House Republicans' faux show of bipartisanship with President Obama before abandoning bipartisanship, and the American people, when all of them voted against the Economic Stimulus plan), but there was one clear "winner" this week -


Congressman Phil Gingrey of Georgia.


Gingrey is one of the most conservative members of Congress, usually ranking among the ten most conservative. Normally, he's among the group of Republicans that is most in the pockets of the "culture warrior" type of conservative bullies, those more interested in fanning the flames of ideological conflict and polarization, furthering an agenda that doesn't include constituents or people.

Earlier this week though, even the normally faithful Gingrey had had enough, He called out some of the limo-riding, microphone-wielding talk show ranters and ravers that pass as conservative intellectuals these days.

From Politico on January 27 -

Responding to President Obama’s recommendation to Republican congressional leaders last week that they not follow Limbaugh’s lead, the conservative talkmeister said on his show that Obama is “obviously more frightened of me than he is Mitch McConnell. He's more frightened of me, than he is of, say, John Boehner, which doesn't say much about our party."

Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., did not take kindly to this assessment in an interview with Politico Tuesday.

“I think that our leadership, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, are taking the right approach,” Gingrey said. “I mean, it’s easy if you’re Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks. You don’t have to try to do what’s best for your people and your party. You know you’re just on these talk shows and you’re living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of that thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn’t be or wouldn’t be good leaders, they’re not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell."

Have no doubt - Gingrey was and is still *very* conservative. His positions haven't changed one iota, probably since Fred Flintstone lived in Bedrock. :)

However conservative he remains though, he did one of the things that even a dyed-in-the-wool liberal like has to respect anyone for - he stood up to the unrepentant bullies that are dividing the country.

While most, if not all, of his political positions were and are wrong, his stand actually generated a spark of hope that perhaps we can start having an honest public dialogue on issues in this country.

Of course, as is the norm for such intraparty dustups, not too long after his statement, Gingrey backed off of his criticisms.

In and of itself, that fact wouldn't warrant a Crappie Award.

However, the fact that his "backing off" was of a spectacularly groveling nature does.

Gingrey actually called in to Limbaugh's radio show to verbally genuflect and make amends for his temporary apostasy.

From Politico on January 28 -

“Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, and other conservative giants are the voices of the conservative movement’s conscience. Everyday, millions and millions of Americans—myself included—turn on their radios and televisions to listen to what they have to say, and we are inspired by their words and by their determination,” Gingrey said.

He was so cravenly obsequious that *I* was embarrassed for him, and partisan hack that I am, I normally *revel* in any Republican's embarrassment.

And so for his incredibly spineless'flexible' twisting flip flop on bended knee, this week's John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award goes out to Congressman Phil Gingrey

Who knew???

On Saturday, the AZ Republic ran a piece with quotes from various Arizona luminaries regarding the Cardinals and the Super Bowl.

Most were lame and evidence of the fact certain politicos *really* shouldn't try to talk about sports -

- Congressman Jeff Flake's (R-CD6) "...Win or lose though, I think most Cards fans are just happy they aren't in need of a bailout, not that that would stop the federal government from giving them one."

Hey Jeff - It's a football game, not a dead-in-the-water amendment against some public service project! Lighten up and let loose a little!

The likes of Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne and State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema fell into this group. Tempting though it may always be for an elected official to do so, sometimes working politics into every situation is just annoying.


Some were just plain insipid, and evidence of the fact that certain politicos shouldn't try to talk, period -

- Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas' "Because coach Ken Whisenhunt runs a strict meritocracy..."

Hey Andy - Quit speaking like a lawyer! You could give the Arizona desert lessons in 'dry'!

Perhaps not too surprisingly, Joe Arpaio fell into this group.


Some were good examples of fun smack talk the way it's supposed to be - a little brash and over the top and supportive of the home team without being overly mean to the opponent -

- Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon's "...the Cardinals are better than the Steelers. Our offense is better than their offense, our defense is better than their defense, our coaching is better than their coaching, and our fans are better and louder than their fans. (In a couple of days, our parade will be much, much better than their parade)."

That's more like it Phil!

However, the most eye-opening quote was from, of all people, CD5's Congressman Harry Mitchell (emphasis mine) -

"...Because nobody outside of Arizona thinks they can do it, and everybody loves an underdog. And besides, it will be fun to make the whole state of Pennsylvania cry, not just the Philadelphia half..."

That is AWESOME! Pointed yet subtle, it hurls jabs at more than one target in a single sentence. Turns out that Harry has some serious wiseass chops (and that's high praise indeed from someone who prides himself on his own wiseass chops). :))

Harry Mitchell - Husband, father, teacher, leader...wiseass???


Who knew??


Later!

Today's Education Rally At The State Capitol

Earlier today, thousands of Arizona's students and supporters of education rallied at the Wesley Bolin Plaza next to the State Capitol.

Starting with chants like "1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - we can't take these cuts no more...5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - save our schools, save our state!", "Don't hate, educate!" and more, the rally also featured the student body presidents from the state's universities and a number of education-friendly legislators (like D17's own State Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill and State Reps. Ed Ableser and David Schapira), including a few of the more responsible Republicans, today's rally was a call to action.

If you want to help fight for Arizona's future, surf over to Arizonans Taking Action and sign up for their grassroots organization.

My favorite sign, and unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of it as the holder of the sign was gone into the crowd before I could bring my camera to bear -

"ANOZIRA is backwards on education"

Contact your legislators and let them know that busting the budget by giving tax cuts to their wealthy friends and then balancing by destroying Arizona's future won't be accepted.

The crowd...

Marching on the Capitol...

The powerful voice of Students United...

Anyway, the rally seemed to go off without a hitch. Even though the area was packed with thousands of students and dozens of heavily armed and armored cops from the Capitol Police, DPS, City of Phoenix and MCSO, no arrests were reported as of the time the rally broke up (at least the police officers I spoke to hadn't heard of any).

A number of legislators and staffers did the whole "rubbernecking" thing and watched the protesters as they walked through the courtyard between the House and Senate buildings. Some stepped outside into the sun to observe; some remained safely ensconced in the 2nd floor lounge while looking out the windows.

Wherever they were, I hope they were all listening.

Anyway2, ASU State Press coverage here; AZ Republic coverage here.

Later!

Arpaio showing his true colors...yet again

From AZCentral.com -

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio unveiled a plan Tuesday to avoid airport parking fees by transporting inmates on the Metro light rail, but officials claim that parking is already free.

Arpaio said he planned to transport extradited inmates using the light rail from 44th and Washington streets to the Fourth Avenue Jail in order to eliminate parking fees at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. MCSO estimates that the new system can save about $72,000 in transport fees.

Ummm...yeah.

A couple of points here -

- The MCSO doesn't actually pay parking fees when transporting prisoners.

From later in the article linked above -

"If they need to come to the airport and pick up or transport a prisoner, they can still do that for free,” Sky Harbor spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez said.

- "$72,000"??? The first time a prisoner gets loose and injures a civilian on a light rail car (or the first time that one of Arpaio's deputies goes Rambo in his zeal to subdue a prisoner and shoots up a light rail car and a few civilians), it's going to cost Maricopa County taxpayers one hell of a lot more than $72,000.


A couple of questions -

- Does Arpaio owe a favor to some of the anti-light rail folks? Because as heavily used as it is, nothing will destroy light rail's popularity more thoroughly than turning it into an MCSO shooting gallery.

- If Arpaio's $72,000 figure on how much he spends on airport parking is accurate, and the airport staff is accurate when they say that law enforcement agencies can park for free when transporting prisoners, what is MCSO spending the $72K on? Longterm parking for its junkets to Honduras?


Anyway, time to go to a rally. Hope to see you all there!

Favorite Bill Of The Legislative Session (so far)

In this context, "Favorite" means "vile, but at least it's honest about it."

We knew it was going to be bad, what with the Reps' gain of a few seats in the lege, the rightward shift of the Rep caucus as a whole, and the move of Janet Napolitano to D.C. and the ascension of Jan Brewer to the ninth floor.

We knew the annual three dozen or so anti-immigrant bills would be joined by anti-choice, anti-government (aka - TABOR), and anti-democratic (and anti-Democratic) bills, and they have.

Those will be covered in the coming weeks during the "Legislative Loon" competition and evaluation.

During one of my periodic perusals of bill submittals (766 and counting so far!), I came across SB1268.

It's an open declaration of war upon organized labor.

Sponsored by newby state senators Steve Pierce, Sylvia Allen, and "Cap'n Al" Melvin, along with veteran legislators Pam Gorman and Jonathan Paton, it would bar labor unions from using dues or membership fees to fund political activity, including "supporting or opposing any candidate for public office, political party, referendum, initiative, political issue advocacy, political action committee or other similar group."

Given that unions were the primary organizers behind last November's Prop 201, the Homeowners' Bill Of Rights, which was stridently opposed by the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (HBACA) and various realtor and developer groups, it should be no surprise that legislators who benefitted from the campaign largesse of such groups are leading the effort to ensure that unions can never try that again.

Of course, the fact that this bill would also cripple unions' abilities to help out (what turns out to be mostly Democratic) candidates is just gravy.

Call the bill "The Home Builders Retaliation Act."

Wow! A whole post about a wingnutty bill in the AZ lege, and not one mention of Russell Pearce, Jack Harper, John Kavanagh, or Ron Gould to be found anywhere.

I must be slipping. :))

Secretary Bennett, somehow, I'm not reassured...

Somebody needs to tell Ken Bennett, the newly-minted AZ Secretary of State, that being frugal with taxpayer dollars is a good thing, but that using that erstwhile frugality as an excuse to take bribes contributions from lobbyists is *not* a good thing. In fact, it the badness of that idea trumps any good that might come from the saving of the public's money.

From Mary Jo Pitzl at AZCentral.com's Political Insider (emphasis mine) -

Ken Bennett was sworn in Monday as Secretary of State in a half-hour ceremony in the old Capitol. Chief Justice Ruth McGregor did the honors, making her third trip in as many weeks to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony.

(Week One: Swear in new lawmakers. Week Two: Swear in Jan Brewer as governor. Week Three: Bennett. What's up for next week? Oh yeah, there's going to be a new lawmaker from District 13. See item below.)

After the ceremony, there was the reception, a nice little cookies-punch-and -ice-cream affair in the old Capitol's ice-cream parlor. The event didn't take any tax dollars, the new Secretary of State said; the money came from various lobbying groups, such as Veridus and John Mangum's shop.

To Secretary Bennett - Keep on keepin' on. Every little bit helps toward the goal of sweeping Republicans from statewide office in 2010.

Yeah, yeah - you just *knew* that I was going to work a broom reference into this post. :)

Here comes the stimulus package...

Edit later on 1/27 to add the results of Tuesday's House Rules Committee hearing...

I am *such* a geek sometimes.

As I type this, the House is debating H. Res. 88. the resolution governing the rules of debate for H. R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Being somewhat bored with the debate points that are meeting stereotypical expectations ("the economy sucks, government action is needed" vs. "the economy sucks, the free market and tax cuts for corporations will cure all"), I decided to check out some of the amendments proposed for H. R. 1.

I don't have time to go into all of them (over 200 were submitted!), but here are the AZ delegation highlights -

From the ever-reliable CD6 Republican Jeff Flake ('ever-reliable' = consistently opposes pretty near everything that might benefit average citizens) -

Amendment 128, "Would indicate that Members shall not influence discretionary funding by agencies or state and local officials on behalf of campaign contributors."

That actually sounded almost reasonable, until I read the actual text of his proposal.

From the .pdf linked above -

Members of Congress shall not provide executive agencies or State and local officials with recommendations, either directly or indirectly, concerning agency decisions to commit, obligate, or expend funds made available pursuant to this Act for a specific project on behalf of a potential funding recipient that is associated with a contribution to a Member's principal campaign committee or leadership political action committee.

Ummm...that language is broad enough to bar Congressfolk from talking to other government agencies and officials about projects that benefit Americans because some of those who benefit may have given to one or another campaign. For instance, I can personally testify to the fact that at least one contributor to Harry Mitchell's campaigns has utilized the light rail system in Tempe and Phoenix.

Would that fact then bar Congressman Mitchell (and his staffers) from discussing the allocation and use of some stimulus money with Valley Metro and local and county officials? That lack of communication would make for a lousy planning process.

Now, I admit that I'm not a lawyer and may be reading too much into this, but Jeff Flake has consistently opposed the idea of the public benefitting from the expenditure of public funds.

Just something to keep in mind if Flake decides to make official his long-rumored interest in the AZ governor's office.

Other Flake amendment highlights (with my comments) -

#129 would "prohibit funds from being used for any duck pond, museum, skate park, equestrian center, dog park, ski hill, historic home, ice rink, splash playground, or speaker system" (even I don't think that stuff belongs in an emergency stimulus package),

#130 would "strike funding in the bill for the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts" (Flake is consistent - he goes after anything resembling arts funding whenever an opportunity presents itself),

#131 would "strike $6 billion in funding for construction, alteration or repair of federal buildings to improve energy efficiency and conservation" (why is the "fiscal hawk" Flake opposing short term spending with long-term benefits??),

#132 would "strike funding for Amtrak" (sacrifice the already woefully inadequate support for public transit? Go after something that benefits non-corporate-jet-owning Americans? Classic Flake...),

#133 would "strike funding for the National Mall Revitalization Fund" (there's a reason that the Reps have latched onto this one as they attack the stimulus package - it's a waste of money. How does giving Congressfolk a prettier walk to work help the country as a whole?),

#134 would "strike funding for Americorps" (Cutting Americorps, an organization that fights illiteracy, helps build affordable housing, cleans parks and streams, provides disaster relief, and more? Maybe Flake would leave it alone if it agreed to help build opulent office buildings or set up training programs for minimum wage janitorial jobs.)

Jeff Flake was not the only member of the AZ delegation to submit an amendment for consideration.

Gabrielle Giffords (D-CD8) submitted #167, which would "extend the eligibility through 2012 of Section 1011(a)(1) of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003." In English, this would extend federal reimbursement of emergency health services provided to undocumented aliens. (A decent idea that would help keep many AZ hospitals solvent, but I'm not sure that it's stimulus package-worthy) and #75, which would "revise the grant program for eligible renewable energy property so that projects would be eligible for grants based on when they commence construction, rather than when they are placed in service" (not quite sure what this one does, other than to possibly get some reimbursement funds back into circulation quickly.)

Raul Grijalva (D-CD7) submitted #96, which would "increase Workforce Investment Act funding from $4 billion to $4.1 billion; increase funding for youth literacy under Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act by $500 million; and provide $250 million for the Adult Education State Grants under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act" (while this isn't the infrastructure spending that I tend to prefer, it is spending "now" that has long-term benefits.)

Harry Mitchell (D-CD5) submitted #60 which would "make current capital gains and estate tax cuts permanent" (OK, Harry and I disagree on this one, but more importantly, it seems unlikely that Congress will approve a measure that almost exclusively benefits the wealthiest 1% of Americans when the working and middle classes in this country are suffering so much) and #61, which would "prevent the automatic pay adjustment for Members of Congress from going into effect in 2010" (a great idea that probably wouldn't have a snowball's chance in Phoenix of passing as a stand-alone measure. It may have a chance here though.)

Note: Mitchell's press release on the anti-pay raise amendment is here.

Now there's no guarantee that all or even any of these or the other proposed amendments to H.R. 1 will be considered by the full House. The House's Rules Committee will meet in less than an hour (3:30 p.m. Eastern, 1:30 p.m. AZ time) to determine which amendments will be in order.

BTW - looking at the amendments and the underlying bill, there's a *lot* of pork attached to this bill that doesn't seem to be "stimulating", and before you ask, it's from both parties.

It would be nice if these folks could focus on the task at hand; "business as usual" (as much as that itself should be changed) can wait until after the heavy lifting of addressing the economic crisis is done.

...In other Mitchell-related news, The Arizona Guardian reports that Seth Scott, Harry Mitchell's spokesman since his first run for Congress, is moving on and will announce his future plans shortly.

I've known Seth since 2006 when I first walked in to the Mitchell campaign office to volunteer. His intelligence, friendliness and calm perspective will be missed, and I wish him well (and expect him to *do* well) in his future career wherever that may take him.

Later!

Edit to add -

Well, I was right - most of the proposed amendments weren't found to be in order (only 11 out of over 200 were so found, in fact). The only AZ delegation submittal that will receive floor consideration was Flake's anti-Amtrak one.

A number of the other amendments were simply added to the bill by the Rules Committee, including Flake's move to strike funding for the National Mall Revitalization Fund.

Expect a Flake press release touting that one. :)

I'm pretty sure (though not absolutely sure, given the disregard for public and mass transit by the bill's authors) that Flake's anti-Amtrak amendment won't pass, but the underlying bill will pass. The only question will be how many Dem members representing Rep-leaning districts will be released by the Majority Whip to vote against the measure.

End edit...

The lege's plan for education in AZ...in pictures

Call this one the "before" pic, as in "before" the likes of Russell Pearce and John Kavanagh get their hands on it

(Pic of the ASU campus courtesy the blog Ten Car Train. BTW, the blog entry it's attached to is funny as hell. :)) )

Call this one the "after" picture.

(Pic courtesy of Visitors Memories, this one is of an abandoned one-room schoolhouse in Canada [I think])

For anyone who might think this is a little over the top, the word of the day today is "metaphor." Look it up, but do it quickly before they can add dictionaries to their 'banned books' list.

At noon on Wednesday, there will be a noon rally at the State Capitol to protest the plans to gut education funding in AZ. In addition to students from all over the state, there will be a large contingent of East Valley Democrats in attendance.

Democrats To Hold Public Hearings On State Budget

There will be a series of public hearings across the state so that members of the public talk to their legislators about the state's budget crisis and the proposed solutions to it.

From a joint press release from both the House and Senate Democrats -

Legislative Democrats to hold budget hearing in Phoenix

STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX (Jan. 26, 2009) – Legislative Democrats invite members of the public to a budget hearing in Phoenix, the second of five hearings that will be held statewide.

Members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees will be in attendance to hear citizens’ concerns of the deep cuts in the state’s budget.

When: Thursday, Jan. 29, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Grace Lutheran Church, 1124 N. 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004

Legislative Democrats will also hold hearings in Yuma on Feb. 2, 7 to 9 p.m. at Arizona Western College, 2020 S. Ave. 8E, Yuma, Ariz., in the College Community Center, in Tucson on Feb. 4 (location to be announced) and in Flagstaff on Feb. 9 (location to be announced).

I'll try to attend the Phoenix meeting (schedule permitting) but urge everyone who is concerned about the draconian budget cuts proposed by the Republicans in the lege to attend the meeting closest to you. It is vital for all of us to let our legislators know that sacrificing the future of Arizona on the altar of blind ideology is *not* an option.

Congratulations to the new officers of the Arizona Democratic Party

Lost amid the many accounts of the surprise ascension of Paul Eckerstrom to the state chair's seat was the fact that an entire slate of officers was elected.

Congratulations go out to -

CHAIR: Paul Eckerstrom
1st VICE CHAIR: Harriet Young
VICE CHAIRWOMEN: Josephine Kelleher, Bree Boehlke, Mohur Sidhwa
VICE CHAIRMEN: Vince Rabago, Ruben Gallego, Matt Capalby
SENIOR VICE CHAIR: Ken Smith
SECRETARY: Lois Pfau
TREASURER: Rick McGuire
EDUCATION COORDINATOR: Anne Greenberg
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COORDINATOR: Gerald Richard

The future of the ADP is in the hands of smart, dedicated, and energetic leaders as we work toward a future Arizona led by professional, responsible, and Democratic elected officials.

Later!