The week ahead...

...As with last week, the week in Congress will be uneventful - they're still in recess.

...In the AZ Lege, things are still fairly quiet in the "official actions" department, at least until the budget logjam breaks up.

- In the House, the only committee agenda that has been posted is for Monday's meeting of the House Rules Committee (1:00 p.m., HHR4). That agenda looks to be mundane, but that is subject to change. The Committee of the Whole agendas (COW) (here and here) look a little more interesting - the nativists have a couple of their measures up for consideration.

HB2331 is a proposal from Rep. Tom Boone to bar "sanctuary city" policies. Specifically it "prohibits cities, towns, and county boards of supervisors from enacting ordinances or resolutions or adopting policies which limit or prohibit the lawful enforcement of United States immigration laws." (from the fact sheet associated with the bill). HB2331 was passed by the Judiciary Committee on March 3 on a party-line vote (Reps supporting, Dems opposing).

HCR2024 is even more "special." Among other things, it demands that -

"all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed."

Wonder why the Republicans want the ability to accept federal funds without having to expend them in the way intended by the feds (you know, for things like education, human services, and infrastructure)?

That's a rhetorical question, folks.

- Over in the Senate, the committee meetings mostly have to do with executive appointments. There is no floor schedule posted as yet.

...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will be holding an "informal" meeting on Monday at 10:00 a.m. and a "formal" meeting on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. The highlight there looks to be Monday's budget-balancing fund transfers. That's an issue that has resulted in litigation (aka - a lawsuit) from some of the agencies that have seen their funds swept up. It's probably no coincidence that an executive session is also on the same agenda.

...The Arizona Corporation Commission has a securities meeting on Monday at 10:00 a.m. Not sure how significant the short agenda is, but something tells me that unless you are part of, or a customer of, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Highline Estates LLC, or Trademark Capital Management LLC, this meeting won't be too interesting.

However, if you *are* in one of those groups, the meeting could be *very* interesting, if not exactly fun.

Those organizations all are part of agenda items that have "cease and desist" and "restitution" in them. :)

...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project, the Maricopa Integrated Health System Board of Directors and the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District are not meeting this week.

...The Scottsdale City Council isn't meeting this week. However, it is possible that one or more members of the Council will show up for the McDowell Road/South Scottsdale Economic Summit on Saturday, April 18 (9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., Granite Reef Senior Center).

The agenda is here; the sign-up/RSVP page is here.

While the "public is invited" it looks as if the city is more interested in the viewpoints of the Chamber of Commerce (and the Goldwater Institute!) than in those of actual residents of south Scottsdale.

While those organizations are well-represented on the various panels, there are no panelists there to specifically address the needs and ideas of the residents of the area.

You know, *residents.* The people who are the driving force of almost any local economy, and the people who will be most affected by any scheme hatched at the summit.

Anybody remember when the City declared that south Scottsdale was “economically blighted” (or somesuch B.S.) to facilitate the use of eminent domain to take property from folks and give it to developers in the name of “redevelopment”?

Don't be shocked if something just as monumentally stupid and contemptuous comes out of this.

...On Thursday, the City of Phoenix and Valley Metro (aka - metro Phoenix public transit) is holding a public hearing on proposed capital projects to be funded by federal stimulus money. (5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Public Transit Department, 302 N. 1st Ave., 4th floor, Phoenix, Arizona. )


...Of course, the political highlight of the week should be the Republicans' version of a budget town hall at the Civic Center Branch of the Scottsdale Library on Thursday, April 16 at 5:45 p.m.
Expect a good turnout, as a number of people who have been adversely affected by the goings-on down at the lege (aka - laid-off teachers) plan to attend.

Contact Eric Kurland for more details at erickurland6[at]aol.com.

...Thursday looks to be the busiest day of the week. In addition to the two previously mentioned events, from 6:30 p.m until 8:30 p.m. Legislative Democrats will be holding a budget hearing of their own at Mesa Community College (Library and High Technology Center (Building 11), Room #145 - 1833 W. Southern Ave, Mesa ) and over at the Love of Christ Lutheran Church (1525 N. Power Rd. Mesa, AZ) there will be a town hall meeting on healthcare reform from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.

While both the Dem hearing and the healthcare forum are highly worthy events (as is the Valley Metro hearing), I'm going to be at the Scottsdale Library - it's closer to home, and has the potential to be high comedy. (Republicans trying to spin the mess that they've made of the state? The Daily Show should do a remote broadcast that night :)) )

Later!!

More 2010 candidate committees

Other bloggers are starting to cover the early filing trend (such as Katie at Democratic Diva), but there are a couple that even they haven't gotten to yet.

- John Paul Mitchell has filed for a run at Governor as an Independent candidate.

- Brenda Burns has filed as a Republican candidate for Arizona Corporation Commission.

- Hugh Kealer has filed as a Republican candidate for Governor.

Mitchell is *NOT* the hair care company; he's the anti-tax blogger.

Burns is the former State Senate President. Greg Patterson at Espresso Pundit has more here. He lists as one of her career highlights the fact that she was President of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). According to Sourcewatch, ALEC "favours big business and rollbacks [of] environmental regulations."

Something tells me that if elected, Burns' priorities won't include protecting the interests of those she was elected to represent.

As for Kealer, I couldn't find out much about him during a cursory internet search. That's actually not much of a surprise, given that he listed his campaign email addy as "hughk[at]steelersfan.net."

Yes, he's running for governor of Arizona as a fan of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Steelers.

Perhaps one of Mr. Kealer's advisors or friends could advise him on how to set up a gmail account. It's free and doesn't scream "Will trade campaign swag for Iron City!!"

:)

Later!

Legislative Republicans - finally realizing that they have lost the PR battle

...And while they are finally taking steps to make up ground, even those belated attempts are making things worse.

For weeks now, the Democratic caucus of the Arizona Legislature has been travelling across the state, talking about the state's budget crisis with literally thousands of Arizonans.

On Thursday, April 16, the Maricopa County Republican Party will playing catch-up. Well, trying to, anyway.

They'll be holding a "Town-hall" regarding the state budget. It will be held in the auditorium in the Civic Center Branch of the Scottsdale Library. The panel will feature well-known Kool-Aid drinkers legislative Republicans such as Rep. John Kavanagh, Sen. Russell Pearce, Sen. Thayer Verschoor, and Sen. Chuck Gray.

The notice for the town hall promises discussion on how illegal immigrants and Democrats are responsible for the state's revenue shortfall. (What did you expect? They're on the receiving end of some serious heat over the devastation they are wreaking upon the state's education and human service infrastructures. They will be pointing fingers at everybody but themselves until November 2010. And after.)

Anyway, the meeting looks to be aimed at shoring up their support among the GOP's true believers.

As mentioned earlier, literally thousands of people attended the Democratic budget events, and the Reps know this. They know that people are seriously pissed, and are looking for ways to make their elected officials aware of their unhappiness.

This apparently presented a dilemma for the organizers of the event - how to encourage the participation of those who already support them while discouraging the "riff-raff" (you know, like those laid-off teachers) from getting in the way of their little blame train.

So some bright-eyed and bushy-tailed type** came up with the following line (emphasis mine) -

"A $5 donation will be taken at the door. "

Yep, when faced with an epic budget crisis, brought on in significant part by their own caucus' slavish devotion to tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, and when faced with a population that is livid over the reckless and heartless "cut, and cut until the patient stops bleeding...and breathing" approach promulagated by the Reps, the Reps want to *charge* Arizonans extra for the privilege of speaking to the people who are supposed to represent them in the lege.

AZ Republicans - people who, when they find themselves in a hole, immediately start digging. Down.

**In this context "Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed type" = "crack-smoking nimrod"

Thousands of teacher layoffs beginning...

and the sad part is that it's *only* the beginning...

From AZCentral.com -

The Scottsdale school board laid off almost 250 teachers, administrators and staff during an emotional board meeting Tuesday that brought some administrators and board members to tears.

It wasn't just Scottsdale losing teachers and other educators, though. Others include -

Litchfield Elementary - 78

Gilbert - more than 400

Tucson - 600

Apache Junction - 49

Mesa - 500

Flagstaff - 300+

There are more, too many more, but you get the point.

There will be *many* more notices going out in the next week or so.


Too reiterate something that has been said before this - votes have consequences.

I attended two rallies at the state capitol in support of education in AZ. Some of the teachers in attendance told me that they were Republicans.

I told them that if this year didn't convince them to give the Democrats a chance, it should at least convince them to become more active Republicans.

By doing so, they would be in a better position to make sure that their party produces candidates who are more interested in protecting the interests of their constituents than they are in imposing an extremist ideology on the state.

State Sen. Jack Harper - Kool-Aid drinker extraordinaire

Ahhhh...Jack Harper...the GOP's gift to every writer in the state...

From AZCentral.com's Political Insider -

When it comes to cutting the budget, tax credits have been the domain of the Democrats. Why, they've even offered up one of their own, so to speak, proposing a suspension of the after-school tax credit which goes to fund extracurricular activities in the public schools. Of course, they also add on the credit for contributions to school tuition organizations, which provide scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools.

Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, wants to take the suspension one step further and eliminate the after-school credit as well as the credit for donations to programs that assist the working poor. But not the STO credit.

Harper claims that his support for the STO tax credit is because it funnels students away from the public schools that the lege has to help pay for.

The fact that at least one of his legislative colleagues has found a way to profit from funnelling students (and taxpayer monies) away from public schools and into private schools and STOs has *nothing* to do with Harper's zeal to protect STOs, right?

Yeah, sure. {said with a tone of cynical sarcasm}

Oh, and the shot at the working poor? Protecting businesses and attacking the poor is just gravy for almost any Rep in their legislative caucus...

Later!

Coleman's desperate moves fail - Franken Widens Lead

From The Hill -

Norm Coleman has just made his appeal more difficult.

Al Franken extended his lead in the Minnesota Senate race to 313 votes Tuesday, after about 350 improperly rejected absentee ballots were added to the ballot pool.

The total is 87 more votes than Franken led by at the beginning of the day and all but assures that Coleman’s current court challenge will fail.

Don't be surprised if the GOPers' appeals and dilatory tactics to last for six years, the entire term of office up for election - as much as the GOP wants to protect one of its own (Coleman), they want to prevent the seating of someone they *despise* - the loudly liberal Franken. They hate him with a fiery passion they once reserved for Hillary Clinton.

- In other ongoing elections news, the race in NY-20 to replace former Congresswoman now Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the U.S. House is still too close to call, with Democrat Scott Murphy and Republican Jim Tedisco swapping the lead in the race on an almost-hourly basis.

Of course, given that the Reps have a more than 64,000 voter registration advantage in the district, the fact that they didn't win this one in a walkover is something of an embarrassment.

- In IL-05, there is a special election today to select a replacement for former Congressman now White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. That one is expected to stay in the Democratic column, though with the events in NY-20, it may be worth keeping an eye on this one.

Later...

You are invited to the political, social, and culinary event of the year...

CHILI FOR CHANGE COOK-OFF

With Special Guests:

Congressman Harry Mitchell and Attorney General Terry Goddard

*Who will make the best chili?*

State Senator Meg Burton Cahill?

State Representative Ed Ableser?

State Representative David Schapira?

Or a mysterious vegetarian with a killer carnivore recipe?

*Enter your own chili in the contest!*

Saturday, May 2nd, 4-7pm

At the home of David and Kathy Schwarz in Scottsdale (need directions? Contact LD17 chair Lauren Kuby - email below)

Winner announced at 5:30!

*Ticket Prices:*

$25
$15 for YDs
$10 for Kids

For Tickets: email laurenkuby[at]gmail.com; or buy online at http://www.d17dems.org/donate.asp

Proceeds to benefit the Maricopa County Democratic Party and LD17 Democrats.


...OK, so it's the "event of the year" if you are a Democrat and like chili... :)

Well, that didn't take long...

In yesterday's post on upcoming political activities, I wrote -

"...Maricopa County Board of Supervisors - no meetings scheduled at this point, though with the constant legal wrangling between the supes and Andrew Thomas/Joe Arpaio, something could pop up on short notice."

So, acting as if they *wanted* to prove my prescience, today the MCBOS posted a notice of a special meeting on Wednesday morning (10 a.m, Sullivan Conference Room, 10th Floor, 301 W. Jefferson in Phoenix).

No agenda for the special meeting as posted as yet, but it wouldn't shock me if the main topic will have something to do with today's development in the ongoing feud between the supes and County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

From AZCentral.com -

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced early Monday that he is turning two controversial cases involving public corruption to an out-of-county prosecutor.

Thomas said that the criminal prosecution against Supervisor Don Stapley and the grand jury investigation into the planned court tower building in downtown Phoenix will be handled by the Yavapai County Attorney's Office.

"I'm trying to bring about a global resolution of the issues between our office and the Board of Supervisors," Thomas said.

AZRep columnist Laurie Roberts has coverage here.

What remains to be seen is if Thomas' move is calculated to allow him to save face when his cases implode (bottom line - with the Stapley case he indicted, then investigated. Never a good sign for a prosecution...) or if he is just prepping for his resignation to run for AG (or Gov??) next year.

Of course, it could be both - it will look better, or at least less bad, if the cases are ultimately dropped by an out-of-county prosecutor instead of Thomas or his hand-picked* successor.

* - That "hand-picked" is just a bit of speculation, but it seems like something Thomas would negotiate in exchange for getting rid of the cases.

Edit on 4/7 to update -

The MCBOS has posted an agenda for the meeting; it lists no subject for the meeting other than to say that the meeting will be of the "executive session" variety, meaning "public not invited."

End edit...

Later!

The coming week...

...All info culled from online sources and subject to change without notice...

...It's easy to cover the expected goings-on in Congress this week - there aren't any. Congress is on its Easter/spring recess.

...In the AZ Legislature, things are still officially "quiet" as the Senate President's "no bills until the budget is done" edict is still in force. However, both the Dems and the Reps have put out proposals for the coming fiscal year (yes, both proposals are wildly divergent and of the "PR fodder" variety, but they are still proposals) so there are some expectations of an imminent thaw on that front. Probably not this week, though.

- In House COW action, the most contentious debate could be over HB2103, a bill to authorize the state treasurer to employ legal counsel other than the state attorney general. Call this the "Dean Martin doesn't like Terry Goddard" bill. The fun part of this is that while Martin is trying to bypass the state AG because the AG's office isn't knowledgeable in the financial area and to "save the general fund a few million dollars." (State Treasurer Dean Martin, at the February 20, 2009 House Government Committee meeting), Martin's saddle partners Andrew Thomas and Joe Arpaio are opposing the Maricopa County supes' move to freeze Thomas out of the County's civil litigation for similar reasons.

Ahhhh..the Golden Rule of Politics - It's Only Hypocrisy When Someone Else Does It.

Unmentioned at the hearing, probably because it hadn't been generated yet, was the lege's fiscal note. A note formulated based on input from the Treasurer's office itself.

The highest specific number listed for the impact was $36,100. That was for the cost of attorney services at the current level utilized (94 hours), charged at the highest estimated hourly fee; however, the note mentions a non-specific savings because the AG's office gets a 35% cut of any monies that are recovered because of their services.

The fiscal note also mentions that this bill would have an unspecified impact on some local governments who invest with the Treasurer's office. They would end up having to cover some of the costs of the Treasurer's outside attorneys in an era when local governments across the state are chopping services and employees.

- The committee side of the lege looks to be fairly quiet (for now, anyway :) ).

Over in the House, the Rules Committee will be meeting at 1 p.m. in HHR4. The agenda there is lengthy, but seems to be fairly uncontroversial at this point.

At 11 on Tuesday morning, there will be a joint meeting of the House Commerce and Health and Human Services committees in HHR 5 to hear a presentation on the " Impact of the Hidden Healthcare Tax on Business (Prepared for the Arizona Chamber Foundation - presented by Randy Haught of The Lewin Group)."

On the Senate side of the complex, the committees that meet will be meeting mostly to consider executive appointments. The most interesting (OK, the one with the most familiar names) of those could be at Tuesday's meeting of the Senate's Commerce and Economic Development Committee (1:30 p.m., SHR1). There, they will considering the appointments of former Corporation Commissioners William Mundell and Jeff Hatch-Miller as Registrar of Contractors and to the AZ State Lottery Commission, respectively.

...Arizona Corporation Commission - no meetings scheduled.

...Maricopa County Board of Supervisors - no meetings scheduled at this point, though with the constant legal wrangling between the supes and Andrew Thomas/Joe Arpaio, something could pop up on short notice.

...Governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District - no meetings scheduled.

...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health Systems - no meetings scheduled, but they'll be involved with a conference at the Phoenician through Wednesday.

...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project - On Thursday, there will be meetings of the Board's Public Policy Committee and of the Board itself in Casa Grande.

...Tuesday night, the Scottsdale City Council will hold a regular meeting followed by a joint meeting with the Budget Review Commission. At the joint meeting, the two groups will hear about the City Manager's plan to address budget issues. The plan includes elimination of 150 more positions (some through attrition, some through layoffs) and the elimination of retiree health coverage for future employees.

Other events -

- Thursday, 9 a.m. - Governor Jan Brewer will attend a "special summit" of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council to discuss budget issues.

Location: Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe


- Also on Thursday...

Sustainability Town Hall with Congressman Harry Mitchell
2 to 3:30 p.m. (registration at 1:45 p.m.)
SkySong, 1475 N. Scottsdale Road (southeast corner at McDowell; enter off McDowell)
Topic: Green jobs today for a strong economy tomorrow.
RSVP: Adralyn, adralyn.wendel[at]mail.house.gov or (480) 946-2411.

Later...

Support the Face Of America bike ride for injured veterans

PSA time, but with a family twist.

An email from my sister Cori -

Help Support World TEAM Sports!

Hello Everyone!

For all y'all who haven't been stuck riding with me on my little "training excursions", I'd like to tell you about an organization worthy of supporting, and of course, ask you to pitch in a few bucks (a $10 can REALLY add up!) to help support their initiatives.

Check out World TEAM Sports: www.worldteamsports.org - the 2009 Face of America ride is coming up in just a few weeks, and yes, I will be riding....(and YES you are INVITED!!!) - and for those who cannot attend, this is when I ask you to help support the ride through donations...I've watched how this event helps newly-injured soldiers regain hope that they can still accomplish great things despite their injuries, and for me personally it helps me learn to appreciate those abilities I do have rather than focusing on those I don't, as well as greatly expanding my appreciation of what these soldiers have personally sacrificed for honor and country.

So, please click on the link below to donate (and thank you!!!)

www.active.com/donate/2009FOA/FOACORI

If you are interested in coming, please shoot me an email as well....

Thanks again!!!!!!!!

She can be reached at corim[at]ecollege.com

The ride will take place over a weekend (April 24 - 26) with the participants riding from Bethesda, Maryland to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. (Full itinerary and more info here)

World T.E.A.M. (The Exceptional Athlete Matters) Sports brings individuals together to undertake unique athletic events throughout the world to encourage, promote, and develop opportunities in sports for people, with and without disabilities. It does a *lot* of work with disabled veterans.

No matter what your political persuasion, this is a worthy cause. Give it a look-see, and if you are able to, donate some time or financial resources (aka - money :) ).

Note: This event has turned into a bit of a family affair. In addition to my sister Cori riding in the event, nephew Liam is riding, sister Patti helping to organize accomodations and with other logistics, and stepmom Sherry is volunteering with the medical team.

Later!

Are Limbaugh, the NRA, Faux News, and the rest of the right wing echo chamber going to send flowers to the funerals???

Or will they just pay for the team of high-priced defense lawyers?

From AP via Yahoo! News -

PITTSBURGH – A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and "lying in wait" opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call Saturday, killing three of them and turning a quiet Pittsburgh street into a battlefield, police said.

Police Chief Nate Harper said the motive for the shooting isn't clear, but friends said the gunman recently had been upset about losing his job and feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns.

Richard Poplawski, 23, met officers at the doorway and shot two of them in the head immediately, Harper said. An officer who tried to help the two also was killed.

{snip}

The three slain officers were Eric Kelly, 41, Stephen Mayhle, 29, and Paul Sciullo III, 37. Kelly had been on the force for 14 years, Mayhle and Sciullo for two years each. Another officer, Timothy McManaway, was shot in the hand and a fifth broke his leg on a fence.

Poplawski had gunshot wounds in his legs but was otherwise unharmed because he was wearing a bulletproof vest, Harper said. He was charged with three counts of homicide, aggravated assault and a weapons violation.

On Saturday, AZBlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona had a timely post on the right wing's steady drumbeat of "they're coming to take away our guns ho ho he he ha ha" and its incitement to violence.

AZ examples of that drumbeat can be found at Sonoran Alliance here and American Conservative Republican here.

Enough already. I'm not calling to restrict the exercise of free speech, or even to abridge the ability of law-abiding citizens to possess firearms, but I will find it interesting to see how the NRA and the other anti-society (but pro-gun! Gotta have dem guns!) groups reconcile their hate speech with Poplawski's heartfelt and deadly application of that speech.


BTW - There's a reason that every professional cop that I've ever known has hated one kind of call for service most of all - domestic disturbances. They literally have no idea what to expect when they arrive at the scene. While Saturday's incident was unusual in its level of viciousness and lethality, it's far from unheard-of for officers to be attacked by suspects or even the victims involved.


My deepest condolences and thoughts go out to the victims and their families, friends, and colleagues.

If Arpaio knows about anything, this is it

From AZCentral.com -

Today the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, citizenship, refugees, border security and international law and the subcommittee on the Constitution, civil rights and civil liberties are scheduled to hold a hearing on "the public-safety and civil-rights implications of state and local enforcement of federal immigration laws."

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has a shorter description for what's going on in Washington.

"It's all a publicity stunt," he told me Wednesday. "A witch hunt."

As he is Maricopa County's resident expert on the subject of witch hunts as publicity stunts, he should know of what he speaks.

You have *got* to be kidding...

OK, I can understand the Reps' joy at one of their own avoiding prison, but that joy seems to be clouding their judgement.


Now the Alaska Republican Party wants to use the fact that the Obama Department of Justice dropped charges against former Senator Ted Stevens to rationalize overturning the results of a legitimately conducted and counted election.


From AP -

The state GOP party says the only reason Begich won is because a few thousand Alaskans thought that Stevens was guilty of seven felonies. Stevens was charged with failing to disclose gifts and home renovations.

Ummm..."a few thousand"???


In 2002, Stevens won reelection with 78.17% of the vote.

In 2008, Stevens lost with 46.52% of the vote.

That's a change of 31.62%.

There were 147,814 votes cast in the 2008 Alaska senatorial race. That makes for a difference of 46,739 votes.


Not just "a few thousand."


And just to reiterate - the DOJ's dropping of the charges doesn't mean that Stevens isn't corrupt, just that the prosecutors of his case stepped over the line of propriety.

...On the other hand, the outpouring of sympathy for the "innocent" (OK, not-so-innocent) Stevens isn't confined to the desolate tundra of Alaska - the Beltway insiders and member of the chattering class is falling over themselves in their rush to proclaim the "innocence" of one of their own. (TPMMuckraker, and thanks to Tedski for the heads-up)

New candidate in LD8

The candidate is a Republican, but since I've had all day to either sleep or be awake and bored and/or miserable, it's worth a post.

According the AZ Secretary of State's website, one Eric Ulis has filed to run for the Republican nomination for LD8 State Representative (filer ID 201000082). He's formed a committee as a non-Clean Elections candidate.

Ulis was the chair of an anti-anti-smoking referendum that failed to make the 2006 ballot (I-17-2006). He's also the founder of something called Continental Poker Championship LLC.

...I'm guessing that he is not a huge fan of anti-online gambling Senator and fellow Republican Jon Kyl.

The highlight of my internet search for info on Mr. Ulis was his Facebook page in which he proclaims that his favorite musical artist is George Michael.

...Probably something that he will play down during his campaign. Especially with Mr. Michaels' penchant for getting arrested in public restrooms...something that the Reps have had their own problems with, and probably don't want to be reminded of. :)

Tedski, Gila Courier (and here), Espresso Pundit, and the Phoenix New Times all have posts up about other 2010 candidates.

Would it be immodest to point out that I was there first?? Well, except for EP's Symington and Gila Courier's McCain primary challenge rumors. :)

BTW - If the Symington rumor is true, that would be manna from heaven for Democrats.


Later...

Feds drop charges against former Senator Ted Stevens

While the right-wing blogosphere is crowing about this, I'd like to point out that while the charges were dropped, it was because of prosecutorial misconduct, *not* because Stevens was exonerated.

And I'd like to point out that it was misconduct by Bush-era prosecutors.

Now I have no doubt that Stevens is dirty, but *everybody*, even people that are thoroughly corrupt, deserve a fair trial. It's a basic tenet of our system of laws that everyone, from the lowest street-level drug dealers to the highest-flying politicians and corporate executives, gets a fair shot in court when they face criminal charges (whether or not those politicians and corporate executives face trial as often as they should is a discussion best left for another day).

The upshot of this is that Attorney General Eric Holder's move today signals a return to the rule of law, something that has been missing from the U.S. for eight years.

And that is bigger news than the dropping of one set of charges.