2:29 HB2001, pertaining to state monuments, passed 7 - 0. Meeting adjourned.
2:27 SB1407, sponsor by LD17 State Rep Ed Ableser pertaining to military members and health club contracts, passes 7-0.
2:26 Bill held to give Gowan time to come over from the House; if he doesn't make it, I think this one is going down.
2:23 Harper states that the bill's language is from freshman state Rep. David Gowan.
2:21 Melvin - "During an election, the more signs the better." He could *never* get elected in Scottsdale.
2:19 Burton-Cahill, Alvarez, and the Cities and Town guy are pointing out that the striker is poorly written (overly broad). Melvin defending it.
2:15 I was in error when I wrote that Sen. Hale was here; it's actually Sen. Alvarez. Hale walked in while I was typing this.
2:14 Meeting gavelled into order. No votes yet because not all sens are here yet. Taking public testimony on bills. AZ League of Cities and Towns opposing the Melvin political sign striker.
2:10 The meeting hasn't started, but senators and staff are starting to trickle in. Harper, Melvin, Hale, and Burton-Cahill are here.
1:38 The Senate floor session is still going, so the committee meeting hasn't started yet. One development is that Harper's strike that I discussed yesterday has been withdrawn from today's agenda. Instead, another striker has been offered by Al Melvin, this one to SB1445 relating to political signs in public rights-of-way. A quick perusal of the language shows that it is intended to override any local ordinances that ban political signs (candidate or ballot measure) in public rights-of-way.
If this passes, Scottsdale's gonna be p!ssed. :))
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Mitchell outraged at VA's careless "care" of veterans
Ya know, I like Congressman Harry Mitchell, I respect him greatly, and I wholeheartedly wish he were more liberal than he is. There are certain issues where I've strongly disagreed with his votes.
However, speaking as someone whose father spent decades utilizing the VA as his primary provider of medical care, I've got absolutely no problems with the work he has been doing for America's veterans.
As chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Veterans Affairs Committee since 2007, he has been tirelessly holding the VA accountable for the quality of the care (or lack thereof) it provides.
Tuesday was no different.
From the LeafChronicle (TN/KY) -
A video clip from the hearing, courtesy USA Today, here.
Tuesday's hearing became necessary when, earlier this year, it came to light that some VA facilities were improperly cleaning (or not cleaning at all) medical equipment, exposing their patients to diseases like HIV and hepatitis. A number of patients were later found to be infected with HIV or hepatitis, but thus far the cause of those infections has not be officially determined.
Mitchell's entire opening statement is here; the prepared statements of the witnesses can be found here (click on the name of the witness). That page should eventually have a video of the entire hearing, but I'm not sure what the timeframe is on that.
Later...
However, speaking as someone whose father spent decades utilizing the VA as his primary provider of medical care, I've got absolutely no problems with the work he has been doing for America's veterans.
As chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Veterans Affairs Committee since 2007, he has been tirelessly holding the VA accountable for the quality of the care (or lack thereof) it provides.
Tuesday was no different.
From the LeafChronicle (TN/KY) -
House lawmakers blasted Veterans Affairs officials on Tuesday after hearing testimony the VA still wasn't following procedures for handling endoscopes, months after discovering that improperly cleaned endoscopes may have exposed veterans to hepatitis and HIV.
"I'm outraged that any of our nation's heroes were potentially infected or that they even have to worry about the possibility," Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., chairman of the Veterans Affairs subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said.
A video clip from the hearing, courtesy USA Today, here.
Tuesday's hearing became necessary when, earlier this year, it came to light that some VA facilities were improperly cleaning (or not cleaning at all) medical equipment, exposing their patients to diseases like HIV and hepatitis. A number of patients were later found to be infected with HIV or hepatitis, but thus far the cause of those infections has not be officially determined.
Mitchell's entire opening statement is here; the prepared statements of the witnesses can be found here (click on the name of the witness). That page should eventually have a video of the entire hearing, but I'm not sure what the timeframe is on that.
Later...
IOKIYAR
It seems that Republican bigotry is getting worldwide notice.
From The Times (UK) -
The specific situation that the article refers to is that of Sherri Goforth, a legislative aide to Republican State Senator Diane Black of Tennessee. She sent the offensive email from a legislative email account. Ms. Goforth wasn't fired for her deed, she was reprimanded.
Apparently, her defense of "I sent it to the wrong email list" was heart-rendingly compelling enough that her immediate supervisor (Sen. Black) found that leniency was appropriate in this situation.
I mean, it's not as if she told a joke about the 18-year old daughter of a former candidate for Vice-President that was in poor taste and worse, just wasn't funny.
Then the Republicans would be out for blood.
From The Times (UK) -
An e-mail sent by a Republican aide, entitled Historical Keepsake Photo, features portraits of the first 43 American presidents in a variety of dignified and statesmanlike poses. The succession of white faces, however, comes to an abrupt halt in the final and 44th panel which displays just a pair of cartoon eyeballs set against an entirely dark background.
Little more than six months since the US elected its first black president and Barack Obama declared “change has come to America”, hopes that the country is finally overcoming a racist past are being tempered by evidence that parts of it — sections of the Republican Party in particular — remain aghast at the notion of a black First Family.
The specific situation that the article refers to is that of Sherri Goforth, a legislative aide to Republican State Senator Diane Black of Tennessee. She sent the offensive email from a legislative email account. Ms. Goforth wasn't fired for her deed, she was reprimanded.
Apparently, her defense of "I sent it to the wrong email list" was heart-rendingly compelling enough that her immediate supervisor (Sen. Black) found that leniency was appropriate in this situation.
I mean, it's not as if she told a joke about the 18-year old daughter of a former candidate for Vice-President that was in poor taste and worse, just wasn't funny.
Then the Republicans would be out for blood.
Lesson for the day: always keep an eye on Jack Harper
You know, other than a letter to the editor published in the Arizona Capitol Times that displayed more than a little contempt for poor and working people who have been disproportionately affected by the economic downturn in AZ, state Sen. Jack Harper (R-Surprise!) has been rather quiet this year.
However, as I've learned, "quiet" is not synonymous with "well-behaved."
On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., Harper will chair a meeting of the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee in SHR2. Part of the agenda for that meeting is a hearing on Harper's strike-everything amendment to SB1055. The striker would create a "homeland security force" of anti-immigrant vigilantes operating under the auspices of the state government.
As bad as that sounds (and I've made it clear before - I think this is a *really* bad idea), the part of Harper's proposal that caught my eye in this year of fiscal crisis is how he plans to pay for it.
From the striker (amended language in BLUE AND CAPITALIZED) -
As shown above in the unamended language, the current section of law (ARS 26-152) stipulates that all monies received for the storage of commodities Camp Navajo shall be used for the operation and maintenance of Camp Navajo.
Camp Navajo is a DOD facility located near Flagstaff that is designed for and used for the storage of various "commodities." Though specific items aren't listed, the list of their customers suggests that the site contains (but is not limited to) ammunition, rocket propellants, and missile components. Least bad: Toys for Tots.
Though something tells me that they wouldn't be so concerned for safety and security (it *is* a military base, after all :) ) if all that was stored there were excess Tickle Me Elmos and the like.
Harper's proposal begs a few questions -
Does his specific citing of *nonnuclear* commodities, which is not part of the current law, mean that he wants Camp Navajo to accept all commodities up to and including chemical and biological "commodities" to pay for his team of vigilantes?
Does the change in the language mean that Camp Navajo doesn't currently accept commodities of a nuclear, biological, or chemical nature, and this would now allow the Camp Navajo to do so?
If so, does Harper plan to hold public hearings in northern AZ so that the folks most likely to be exposed to danger from this scheme (in the event of an accident) can weigh in on the matter?
How much money would Harper's amendment siphon away from Camp Navajo's operations in order to subsidize his vigilantes?
Would the loss of that money impact the safety of operations at Camp Navajo? Safety is a concern here, because even if the commodities that are stored at the camp aren't of the nuclear, biological, or chemical variety, the items that are stored there tend to go "boom." Hell, most of them are *designed* to go boom.
Does Harper realize that, regardless of the nature of the commodities stored at Camp Navajo, most of us would never have heard of it until he decided to use it to funnel money to his vigilante force? And that any uproar from this is his own fault?
And does Harper want to start a statewide campaign as the guy who reduced funding for a National Guard operation to fund one of his pet projects?
Right now, I have more questions than answers.
Calls to Camp Navajo and an AZ National Guard PIO didn't clear up much in terms of these questions. I got the impression that the PIO had never been asked questions about the financing of operations. I also got the impression that he hates political questions (he wasn't rude or anything, but military officials have to tread a fine line when discussing the activities of the civilian authorities who oversee military operations.)
A message left at the office of Sen. Harper hasn't been returned yet.
Another lesson for the day - always read the fine print. I almost skipped the payment part of the striker after reading what I thought were the "guts" of the proposal.
Later...
However, as I've learned, "quiet" is not synonymous with "well-behaved."
On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., Harper will chair a meeting of the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee in SHR2. Part of the agenda for that meeting is a hearing on Harper's strike-everything amendment to SB1055. The striker would create a "homeland security force" of anti-immigrant vigilantes operating under the auspices of the state government.
As bad as that sounds (and I've made it clear before - I think this is a *really* bad idea), the part of Harper's proposal that caught my eye in this year of fiscal crisis is how he plans to pay for it.
From the striker (amended language in BLUE AND CAPITALIZED) -
Sec. 2. Section 26-152, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
{snip}
E. A camp Navajo fund is established for the operation, maintenance, capital improvements and personal services necessary for the national guard to operate a regional training site and storage facility at Bellemont. The fund consists of monies received from storage of commodities and services provided as approved by the adjutant general, EXCEPT THAT THE ADJUTANT GENERAL SHALL ACCEPT ANY NONNUCLEAR COMMODITIES OFFERED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR STORAGE. MONIES RECEIVED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR STORAGE OF THESE COMMODITIES SHALL BE ACCOUNTED FOR SEPARATELY IN THE CAMP NAVAJO FUND AND SHALL BE TRANSFERRED FOR DEPOSIT IN THE HOMELAND SECURITY FORCE FUND ESTABLISHED BY SECTION 26-128.
As shown above in the unamended language, the current section of law (ARS 26-152) stipulates that all monies received for the storage of commodities Camp Navajo shall be used for the operation and maintenance of Camp Navajo.
Camp Navajo is a DOD facility located near Flagstaff that is designed for and used for the storage of various "commodities." Though specific items aren't listed, the list of their customers suggests that the site contains (but is not limited to) ammunition, rocket propellants, and missile components. Least bad: Toys for Tots.
Though something tells me that they wouldn't be so concerned for safety and security (it *is* a military base, after all :) ) if all that was stored there were excess Tickle Me Elmos and the like.
Harper's proposal begs a few questions -
Does his specific citing of *nonnuclear* commodities, which is not part of the current law, mean that he wants Camp Navajo to accept all commodities up to and including chemical and biological "commodities" to pay for his team of vigilantes?
Does the change in the language mean that Camp Navajo doesn't currently accept commodities of a nuclear, biological, or chemical nature, and this would now allow the Camp Navajo to do so?
If so, does Harper plan to hold public hearings in northern AZ so that the folks most likely to be exposed to danger from this scheme (in the event of an accident) can weigh in on the matter?
How much money would Harper's amendment siphon away from Camp Navajo's operations in order to subsidize his vigilantes?
Would the loss of that money impact the safety of operations at Camp Navajo? Safety is a concern here, because even if the commodities that are stored at the camp aren't of the nuclear, biological, or chemical variety, the items that are stored there tend to go "boom." Hell, most of them are *designed* to go boom.
Does Harper realize that, regardless of the nature of the commodities stored at Camp Navajo, most of us would never have heard of it until he decided to use it to funnel money to his vigilante force? And that any uproar from this is his own fault?
And does Harper want to start a statewide campaign as the guy who reduced funding for a National Guard operation to fund one of his pet projects?
Right now, I have more questions than answers.
Calls to Camp Navajo and an AZ National Guard PIO didn't clear up much in terms of these questions. I got the impression that the PIO had never been asked questions about the financing of operations. I also got the impression that he hates political questions (he wasn't rude or anything, but military officials have to tread a fine line when discussing the activities of the civilian authorities who oversee military operations.)
A message left at the office of Sen. Harper hasn't been returned yet.
Another lesson for the day - always read the fine print. I almost skipped the payment part of the striker after reading what I thought were the "guts" of the proposal.
Later...
Monday, June 15, 2009
Instead of ending Clean Elections, perhaps it should be expanded
Today, the Judiciary Committee of the AZ Senate approved, by a 4 - 3 party-line vote, SCR1025. That measure, if ultimately placed on the ballot and approved by the voters, would end financing for the Clean Elections system of publicly-financed elections in AZ. (East Valley Tribune)
Over on AZCentral.com, however, is a story that illustrates why the system should be expanded to municipal and county elections, not abolished.
From the story -
According to the article, some of the developers and Republican activists and donors involved with the event include Five Star Development, DMB Associates, Lynne Lagarde (a zoning attorney who has worked for *many* developers appearing before the Scottsdale City Council over the years), Fife Symington (yes, the disgraced Republican former Governor is helping Lane with his money issues), State Representative Michelle Reagan, and it will be held in the offices of PR firm Kyle Moyer and Co. (Moyer was a McCain donor; also Renzi, Hayworth, Kyl, and Bush, among others, according to the FEC).
Lane, as would be expected, assured those concerned about the propriety of soliciting big contributions from developers and their representatives who are appearing before him - "It's part of the system and . . . we're certainly well within all those guidelines (of the law)".
Pardon me if I'm not reassured by Lane's protestations in defense of his integrity.
Given that the law he is talking about was written by politicians and is designed to guarantee politicians' continued income, not their continued integity.
That's kind of like having the Mob write racketeering laws, and expecting that the final product will guarantee mobsters' good behavior.
Oh, and if you didn't notice, the line-up of Republican heavyweights supporting Lane, who won an allegedly "non-partisan" municipal election gives lie to the whole ideal of "non-partisan" municipal elections promulgated by the Republicans in the lege when they approved SB1123 on a party-line vote. The measure, if enacted into law, would ban partisan municipal elections in Tucson.
Wonder if they're going to serve up a little shameless hypocrisy with their hors d'oeuvres at Lane's fundraiser?
Over on AZCentral.com, however, is a story that illustrates why the system should be expanded to municipal and county elections, not abolished.
From the story -
Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane is still working to pay off the campaign debt that helped usher him into office.
A fundraising reception for Lane will be held on Thursday, with the money going toward the Lane 4 Scottsdale committee.
The host committee for the event includes former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington, local developers, zoning attorneys and active members of the Arizona Republic Party.
According to the article, some of the developers and Republican activists and donors involved with the event include Five Star Development, DMB Associates, Lynne Lagarde (a zoning attorney who has worked for *many* developers appearing before the Scottsdale City Council over the years), Fife Symington (yes, the disgraced Republican former Governor is helping Lane with his money issues), State Representative Michelle Reagan, and it will be held in the offices of PR firm Kyle Moyer and Co. (Moyer was a McCain donor; also Renzi, Hayworth, Kyl, and Bush, among others, according to the FEC).
Lane, as would be expected, assured those concerned about the propriety of soliciting big contributions from developers and their representatives who are appearing before him - "It's part of the system and . . . we're certainly well within all those guidelines (of the law)".
Pardon me if I'm not reassured by Lane's protestations in defense of his integrity.
Given that the law he is talking about was written by politicians and is designed to guarantee politicians' continued income, not their continued integity.
That's kind of like having the Mob write racketeering laws, and expecting that the final product will guarantee mobsters' good behavior.
Oh, and if you didn't notice, the line-up of Republican heavyweights supporting Lane, who won an allegedly "non-partisan" municipal election gives lie to the whole ideal of "non-partisan" municipal elections promulgated by the Republicans in the lege when they approved SB1123 on a party-line vote. The measure, if enacted into law, would ban partisan municipal elections in Tucson.
Wonder if they're going to serve up a little shameless hypocrisy with their hors d'oeuvres at Lane's fundraiser?
Just when you think that another state had overtaken AZ for the title of "Most Dysfunctional"...
...good ol' Jan Brewer comes through like the trooper that she is...
Up in New York, the Reps and Dems in the state senate there are creating all sorts of havoc over who is in charge of the state senate - the Dems were in charge, then two of members of their caucus switched sides, giving the Reps control, and now at least one of the Dems has switched back, leaving the body tied and without a lieutenant governor to break ties (they had one, but he's governor now).
Yup, it's gotten pretty bad there, so bad that they came within a hair's-breadth of dethroning Arizona's government as the most dysfunctional in the country.
They failed in that quest (as if that title is something anyone would "quest" for) because of three things -
1. They have a state budget. We've got 15 days between us and a government shutdown.
2. They may have some silliness going on, but at least it's bipartisan. Unlike AZ, both Democrats and Republicans are heavily involved.
3. We have Jan Brewer, Bob Burns, and Kirk Adams, and simply put, they don't.
To whit, from an AZCentral.com piece -
Up in New York, the Reps and Dems in the state senate there are creating all sorts of havoc over who is in charge of the state senate - the Dems were in charge, then two of members of their caucus switched sides, giving the Reps control, and now at least one of the Dems has switched back, leaving the body tied and without a lieutenant governor to break ties (they had one, but he's governor now).
Yup, it's gotten pretty bad there, so bad that they came within a hair's-breadth of dethroning Arizona's government as the most dysfunctional in the country.
They failed in that quest (as if that title is something anyone would "quest" for) because of three things -
1. They have a state budget. We've got 15 days between us and a government shutdown.
2. They may have some silliness going on, but at least it's bipartisan. Unlike AZ, both Democrats and Republicans are heavily involved.
3. We have Jan Brewer, Bob Burns, and Kirk Adams, and simply put, they don't.
To whit, from an AZCentral.com piece -
Gov. Jan Brewer blasted legislative leaders for their refusal to send her a series of budget bills, and threatened to file a lawsuit if she doesn't have the GOP spending plan by 5 p.m. Monday.Stay tuned...
Senate President Bob Burns and House Speaker Kirk Adams, meanwhile, were caught off guard by Brewer's demands. They said they have no plans to send Brewer the budget, and contended that the threat of legal action would only slow negotiations.
“Frankly, what it does is raise the specter of a government shutdown,” said Adams, R-Mesa.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Public workshop on the future of Papago Park
On Monday, Discover Papago Park, a joint project of the Salt River-Pima Indian Community and the Cities of Tempe, Phoenix and Scottsdale will hold two sessions of the same workshop on the future of Papago Park (located in Tempe and Phoenix and bordering on Scottsdale).
Those sessions will be held:
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Desert Botancial Garden
Dorrance Hall
1201 N. Galvin Parkway
Phoenix
and
6 to 8 p.m.
North Tempe Multi-Generational Center
Gymnasium
1555 N. Bridalwreath Street
(McKellips Road and Scottsdale Road)
Tempe
The goal of the project is to fashion "a vision and series of recommendations to guide the future of Papago Park as a premier regional park serving Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale and the larger region." The end product of the process will be the Papago Park Master Plan.
I don't have much more on this (I'll try to attend the evening session), but given that developers have had their eyes on the Park for years, so this process should be watched closely to ensure that the Park stays a public park.
Those sessions will be held:
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Desert Botancial Garden
Dorrance Hall
1201 N. Galvin Parkway
Phoenix
and
6 to 8 p.m.
North Tempe Multi-Generational Center
Gymnasium
1555 N. Bridalwreath Street
(McKellips Road and Scottsdale Road)
Tempe
The goal of the project is to fashion "a vision and series of recommendations to guide the future of Papago Park as a premier regional park serving Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale and the larger region." The end product of the process will be the Papago Park Master Plan.
I don't have much more on this (I'll try to attend the evening session), but given that developers have had their eyes on the Park for years, so this process should be watched closely to ensure that the Park stays a public park.
The coming week - everybody but the AZ lege edition
As usual, all info culled from the websites of the respective political bodies and agencies and subject to change without notice.
...The U.S. House has an agenda this week that is dominated numerically by memorials and post office namings and the like, but the debate is likely to be dominated by money issues.
Among the items to be considered -
- H.R. 2661, the Court Security Enhancement Act of 2009. Proposed by Texas Republican Louie Gohmert, it changes the penalty for violations of Title 18, section 119 from 5 years to 10 years.
- H.R. 403, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2009. Seeks to improve veterans' access to HUD programs and homeless assistance programs.
- H.R. 1674, National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act Amendments of 2009. From the CRS summary - "National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act Amendments of 2009 - Amends the National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act to declare that a nonprofit corporation (established to succeed the abolished Office of Self-Help Development and Technical Assistance) shall be deemed to be a community development financial institution, unless the National Consumer Cooperative Bank or any of its affiliates participates in certain depository institution incentives under the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994."
- Yet again, possible consideration of the conference report for H.R. 2346, the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act.
- H.R. 2847, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 and H.R. [Unknown], the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010.
There are 23 other measures on the current agenda, but these last two should generate more controversy and debate than all of those others combined.
...Moving the focus to central AZ...
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has an informal meeting scheduled for Monday that is mostly employee service awards, but there is an executive session scheduled to be part of the agenda for that meeting. They have a formal meeting scheduled for Wednesday. That agenda is long, but it looks to be boring.
OK, maybe not so boring to political/government ops geeks -
Item 35 is a hiring freeze for the coming fiscal year;
Item 36 is a capital purchasing freeze for the same period;
Item 40 is the premium pay rates schedule applicable to county employees for the same period;
Items 42 and 43 involve all sorts of fund transfers;
Item 86 is an appeal of a trial court ruling in the case of Braillard v. Maricopa County (background here)
Items F-3 and F-4 are the FY2009-2010 hiring freeze and capital purchasing freeze for the flood control district;
Items L-4 and L-5 are the same, but for the county library district;
Items S-4 and S-5 are the same, for the stadium district.
Yup, they're getting ready for an ugly fiscal year.
...The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has cancelled the meeting that it had scheduled for June 18.
...The Arizona Board of Regents will be meeting at NAU on Thursday and Friday. Items of interest include approval of a five-year contract for Sean Miller, UA's new men's basketball coach ($1.6 million/year), approval of a contract extension for Clinton Myers, ASU's Softball coach ($104K/year), and approval of the reappointment of and new contract with Dr. John Haeger, the President of NAU (no $alary listed).
Ummm...why aren't they publishing the NAU president's salary? And while the variance between the salaries of the basketball coach and the softball coach are eye-opening (which one has won a championship recently and sees most of his players graduate? Hint: not the higher-paid one.), at least the money for the hoops guy comes out of Athletic Department revenues, not ABOR.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System and the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District are not scheduled to meet this week. The Tempe City Council and the Directors of the Central Arizona Project aren't meeting, either.
...The Scottsdale City Council is meeting on Tuesday at 5 p.m. The agenda there includes setting the FY2009/2010 property tax levees (combined rate of 0.74/$100 of valuation, a reduction of .06); setting the FY2009/2010 streetlight property tax levees (the city's 355 street light districts will each have different rates, depending on the circumstances of each district); and Mayor Jim Lane's proposal for the City of Scottsdale to withdraw from Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (aka light rail).
Of interest to political geeks is the .pdf of the legislative update to be presented to the city council by Scottsdale's Intergovernmental Relations Director, Bridget Schwartz-Manock. It includes a municipalities'-eye view of the state budget mess and presents a legal opinion (from an attorney at Perkin, Coie, Brown and Bain) that at least one part of the Republicans' scheme to balance the state's budget with municipal revenue is either illegal, or needs a 2/3 majority to vote for it in each chamber of the lege. It's couched in that CYA-sort of attorney-speak that protects the attorney in the event that a judge disagrees with the opinion, but that's the basic meaning.
AKA - a little light reading to start your week. :))
Note: if COS pulls the full lege update from its website, leave your email in a comment. I'll send you a copy.
...Folks, we're getting closer to the opening of the freak show known as "Fiscal Year 2010 - Arizona Edition." It's scheduled to start on July 1st, but with legislative shenanigans (such as playing "budget chicken" with the Governor) and court cases looming on the horizon, this pre-show could have an extended engagement.
Later...
...The U.S. House has an agenda this week that is dominated numerically by memorials and post office namings and the like, but the debate is likely to be dominated by money issues.
Among the items to be considered -
- H.R. 2661, the Court Security Enhancement Act of 2009. Proposed by Texas Republican Louie Gohmert, it changes the penalty for violations of Title 18, section 119 from 5 years to 10 years.
- H.R. 403, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2009. Seeks to improve veterans' access to HUD programs and homeless assistance programs.
- H.R. 1674, National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act Amendments of 2009. From the CRS summary - "National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act Amendments of 2009 - Amends the National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act to declare that a nonprofit corporation (established to succeed the abolished Office of Self-Help Development and Technical Assistance) shall be deemed to be a community development financial institution, unless the National Consumer Cooperative Bank or any of its affiliates participates in certain depository institution incentives under the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994."
- Yet again, possible consideration of the conference report for H.R. 2346, the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act.
- H.R. 2847, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 and H.R. [Unknown], the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010.
There are 23 other measures on the current agenda, but these last two should generate more controversy and debate than all of those others combined.
...Moving the focus to central AZ...
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has an informal meeting scheduled for Monday that is mostly employee service awards, but there is an executive session scheduled to be part of the agenda for that meeting. They have a formal meeting scheduled for Wednesday. That agenda is long, but it looks to be boring.
OK, maybe not so boring to political/government ops geeks -
Item 35 is a hiring freeze for the coming fiscal year;
Item 36 is a capital purchasing freeze for the same period;
Item 40 is the premium pay rates schedule applicable to county employees for the same period;
Items 42 and 43 involve all sorts of fund transfers;
Item 86 is an appeal of a trial court ruling in the case of Braillard v. Maricopa County (background here)
Items F-3 and F-4 are the FY2009-2010 hiring freeze and capital purchasing freeze for the flood control district;
Items L-4 and L-5 are the same, but for the county library district;
Items S-4 and S-5 are the same, for the stadium district.
Yup, they're getting ready for an ugly fiscal year.
...The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has cancelled the meeting that it had scheduled for June 18.
...The Arizona Board of Regents will be meeting at NAU on Thursday and Friday. Items of interest include approval of a five-year contract for Sean Miller, UA's new men's basketball coach ($1.6 million/year), approval of a contract extension for Clinton Myers, ASU's Softball coach ($104K/year), and approval of the reappointment of and new contract with Dr. John Haeger, the President of NAU (no $alary listed).
Ummm...why aren't they publishing the NAU president's salary? And while the variance between the salaries of the basketball coach and the softball coach are eye-opening (which one has won a championship recently and sees most of his players graduate? Hint: not the higher-paid one.), at least the money for the hoops guy comes out of Athletic Department revenues, not ABOR.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System and the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District are not scheduled to meet this week. The Tempe City Council and the Directors of the Central Arizona Project aren't meeting, either.
...The Scottsdale City Council is meeting on Tuesday at 5 p.m. The agenda there includes setting the FY2009/2010 property tax levees (combined rate of 0.74/$100 of valuation, a reduction of .06); setting the FY2009/2010 streetlight property tax levees (the city's 355 street light districts will each have different rates, depending on the circumstances of each district); and Mayor Jim Lane's proposal for the City of Scottsdale to withdraw from Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (aka light rail).
Of interest to political geeks is the .pdf of the legislative update to be presented to the city council by Scottsdale's Intergovernmental Relations Director, Bridget Schwartz-Manock. It includes a municipalities'-eye view of the state budget mess and presents a legal opinion (from an attorney at Perkin, Coie, Brown and Bain) that at least one part of the Republicans' scheme to balance the state's budget with municipal revenue is either illegal, or needs a 2/3 majority to vote for it in each chamber of the lege. It's couched in that CYA-sort of attorney-speak that protects the attorney in the event that a judge disagrees with the opinion, but that's the basic meaning.
AKA - a little light reading to start your week. :))
Note: if COS pulls the full lege update from its website, leave your email in a comment. I'll send you a copy.
...Folks, we're getting closer to the opening of the freak show known as "Fiscal Year 2010 - Arizona Edition." It's scheduled to start on July 1st, but with legislative shenanigans (such as playing "budget chicken" with the Governor) and court cases looming on the horizon, this pre-show could have an extended engagement.
Later...
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The coming week, legislative edition
As with last week, the calendar of the AZ legislature is so full that it merits its own post.
Note: This post doesn't even come close to being a comprehensive listing of all of the bad (and not-so-bad) bills that the lege will consider this week. If you have a specific area of interest, I strongly recommend determining which committee covers that area, and perusing that committee's agenda.
There's all sorts of noise over the budget - a deal is imminent, they're not even close, the Governor is making plans to shut down the state, a budget is going to the Governor this week, etc.
We'll know that the budget is done when it is done.
Of course, it won't actually be done at that point - anything produced by this legislature is likely to end up in court anyway, so even after the governor signs a budget, we're going to have to wait until a few judges have their say.
Until then, however, both chambers of the lege have shifted into overdrive, trying to cram five months of legislative work into three weeks.
Over in the Senate this week, so far only the floor schedule (specifically, a Third Read, aka Final Passage, calendar) for Monday is posted so far. Lowlights here include SB1113 (Guns in Bars), SB1175 (requires all government officials to enforce federal immigration laws and makes trespassing by an undocumented immigrant a crime), SB1280 (making harboring an undocumented immigrant a felony) and SB1444 (allowing the lege to seize and reappropriate non-custodial federal monies granted to entities in Arizona). This is *not* a complete list by any means; if you are interested, I recommend reading the entire calendar linked above.
In Senate Committee action...
...On Monday at 1:30 p.m., the Committee on Natural Resources is meeting in SHR109. The agenda includes a striker to SB1118 from Sen. Sylvia Allen (R-"mining companies are our friends") that would ease some construction-related pollution standards; SB1147, barring state agencies from adopting fuel economy or greenhouse gas emission standards; and a striker to SB1256 from Sylvia Allen that looks like it could be ok, though since it has to do with mining, I could be missing some of the nuances. They have placed some House bills on the agenda tentatively, pending processing (passage by the House, and Senate First Read, Second Read, and assignment to committee).
...Also on Monday at 1:30 p.m., the Judiciary Committee is meeting in SHR1. Gems on that agenda includeState Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne's Sen. Jonathan Paton's striker to SB1069 that would outlaw ethnic education courses (wanna-be AG Horne is targeting some Mexican studies courses in Tucson with this. Apparently, he is trying to appeal to the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other nativists in his party.); SCR1025, a proposal by Paton and Sen. Steve Pierce to end Clean Elections' public financing of elections (aka the "return to wholesale corruption act."); and SCR1026, the Republican caucus' proposed anti-Employee Free Choice Act amendment to the AZ constitution.
...On Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. (or upon adjournment of the Joint Committee on Capital Review), the Government Institutions committee will meet in SHR1. That agenda has already been discussed.
...On Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., the Commerce Committee will be meeting in SHR1. As would be expected from a committee chaired by everyone's favorite nativist winger Russell Pearce, this agenda is chock full of chunks of rancidness. The committee will be considering HB2103, a bill to exempt the State Treasurer from having to use the Attorney General's office for legal services. AKA the "Republican Dean Martin doesn't like Democrat Terry Goddard" bill; an anti-immigrant striker to SB1024 from Russell Pearce. Also, Pearce striker to SB1038 relating to revenue sharing with Native American tribes; and a slate of proposed amendments to the AZ constitution that have one thing in common - if enacted, they would have the effect of making Arizona a slightly worse place to live. They include SCR1006, a proposal to inflict some TABOR-like limits on AZ government, SCR1009, the lege's attempt to break the protections of the Voter Protection Act; and SCR1031, the anti-affirmative action measure championed by Ward Connerly.
...On Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., the Public Safety Committee will be meeting in SHR3. On the agenda: HB2610, the lege's plan to protect manufacturers of police equipment from product liability issues; and two measures from Cap'n Al Melvin that look almost (I can't believe I'm saying this :) ) responsible legislation. His SB1440 would ban smoking in a vehicle if there are minors in the vehicle and his SB1443 would ban texting or use of a cell phone (without a hands-free device) while driving.
...On Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., the Healthcare Committee will meet in SHR1. Carolyn Allen chairs this committee, so the agenda looks to be free of the little nuggets of rancidness that Pearce brings to his committee.
...On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m, the Veterans Committee will meet in SHR2. The highlight here is a Jack Harper amendment to SB1055 relating to the creation of a Homeland Security Force. No text available online as yet, but if this is anything like his previous proposals in this area, he is trying to create an anti-immigrant vigilante force and have it chartered (and armed!) by the state.
...On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., the Finance Committee will meet in SHR3. This agenda includes a striker to SB1321, related to "job training tax suspension" (no text available as yet).
...On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., the Education Committee will meet in SHR1. The ugly here includes SB1172, Pearce's proposal to compel school districts to monitor the immigration status of their students. There are a number of other bills on this agenda, but some of them are awfully technical and I don't understand the nuances of those bills.
...On Thursday at 8:00 a.m., the Government Committee will meet for the second time during the week, again in SHR1. The agenda includes Pearce's SB1173, another one of his anti-immigrant bills; Ron Gould's SB1348, making it a class one misdemeanor to knowingly give false information to a public official, commission, or board; and Steve Pierce's SB1269, making it more difficult for citizens of an area that is the subject of a proposed rezoning to object to that rezoning.
...On Thursday at 9:00 a.m., the Retirement Committee will be meeting in SHR3. Any committee meeting chaired by Ron Gould (R-Flies a Confederate flag on July 4) is certain to have some color, and this one is no exception. Among other items, they'll be considering Gould's SCM1003, a letter to the U.S. Congress begging them to let AZ out of the U.S. interstate highway system.
Over in the House, things look to be quieter. So far, anyway.
Monday's third reading calendar appears to be pretty mundane; the only item of interest thus far should be HB2369, to allow the lege to appropriate non-custodial federal funds.
Tuesday's COW calendar (and here) is similarly quiet so far. The only seriously controversial measure appears to be HB2099, which would force cities and towns to treat charter schools in the same way as public schools for zoning purposes.
Later...
Note: This post doesn't even come close to being a comprehensive listing of all of the bad (and not-so-bad) bills that the lege will consider this week. If you have a specific area of interest, I strongly recommend determining which committee covers that area, and perusing that committee's agenda.
There's all sorts of noise over the budget - a deal is imminent, they're not even close, the Governor is making plans to shut down the state, a budget is going to the Governor this week, etc.
We'll know that the budget is done when it is done.
Of course, it won't actually be done at that point - anything produced by this legislature is likely to end up in court anyway, so even after the governor signs a budget, we're going to have to wait until a few judges have their say.
Until then, however, both chambers of the lege have shifted into overdrive, trying to cram five months of legislative work into three weeks.
Over in the Senate this week, so far only the floor schedule (specifically, a Third Read, aka Final Passage, calendar) for Monday is posted so far. Lowlights here include SB1113 (Guns in Bars), SB1175 (requires all government officials to enforce federal immigration laws and makes trespassing by an undocumented immigrant a crime), SB1280 (making harboring an undocumented immigrant a felony) and SB1444 (allowing the lege to seize and reappropriate non-custodial federal monies granted to entities in Arizona). This is *not* a complete list by any means; if you are interested, I recommend reading the entire calendar linked above.
In Senate Committee action...
...On Monday at 1:30 p.m., the Committee on Natural Resources is meeting in SHR109. The agenda includes a striker to SB1118 from Sen. Sylvia Allen (R-"mining companies are our friends") that would ease some construction-related pollution standards; SB1147, barring state agencies from adopting fuel economy or greenhouse gas emission standards; and a striker to SB1256 from Sylvia Allen that looks like it could be ok, though since it has to do with mining, I could be missing some of the nuances. They have placed some House bills on the agenda tentatively, pending processing (passage by the House, and Senate First Read, Second Read, and assignment to committee).
...Also on Monday at 1:30 p.m., the Judiciary Committee is meeting in SHR1. Gems on that agenda include
...On Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. (or upon adjournment of the Joint Committee on Capital Review), the Government Institutions committee will meet in SHR1. That agenda has already been discussed.
...On Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., the Commerce Committee will be meeting in SHR1. As would be expected from a committee chaired by everyone's favorite nativist winger Russell Pearce, this agenda is chock full of chunks of rancidness. The committee will be considering HB2103, a bill to exempt the State Treasurer from having to use the Attorney General's office for legal services. AKA the "Republican Dean Martin doesn't like Democrat Terry Goddard" bill; an anti-immigrant striker to SB1024 from Russell Pearce. Also, Pearce striker to SB1038 relating to revenue sharing with Native American tribes; and a slate of proposed amendments to the AZ constitution that have one thing in common - if enacted, they would have the effect of making Arizona a slightly worse place to live. They include SCR1006, a proposal to inflict some TABOR-like limits on AZ government, SCR1009, the lege's attempt to break the protections of the Voter Protection Act; and SCR1031, the anti-affirmative action measure championed by Ward Connerly.
...On Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., the Public Safety Committee will be meeting in SHR3. On the agenda: HB2610, the lege's plan to protect manufacturers of police equipment from product liability issues; and two measures from Cap'n Al Melvin that look almost (I can't believe I'm saying this :) ) responsible legislation. His SB1440 would ban smoking in a vehicle if there are minors in the vehicle and his SB1443 would ban texting or use of a cell phone (without a hands-free device) while driving.
...On Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., the Healthcare Committee will meet in SHR1. Carolyn Allen chairs this committee, so the agenda looks to be free of the little nuggets of rancidness that Pearce brings to his committee.
...On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m, the Veterans Committee will meet in SHR2. The highlight here is a Jack Harper amendment to SB1055 relating to the creation of a Homeland Security Force. No text available online as yet, but if this is anything like his previous proposals in this area, he is trying to create an anti-immigrant vigilante force and have it chartered (and armed!) by the state.
...On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., the Finance Committee will meet in SHR3. This agenda includes a striker to SB1321, related to "job training tax suspension" (no text available as yet).
...On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., the Education Committee will meet in SHR1. The ugly here includes SB1172, Pearce's proposal to compel school districts to monitor the immigration status of their students. There are a number of other bills on this agenda, but some of them are awfully technical and I don't understand the nuances of those bills.
...On Thursday at 8:00 a.m., the Government Committee will meet for the second time during the week, again in SHR1. The agenda includes Pearce's SB1173, another one of his anti-immigrant bills; Ron Gould's SB1348, making it a class one misdemeanor to knowingly give false information to a public official, commission, or board; and Steve Pierce's SB1269, making it more difficult for citizens of an area that is the subject of a proposed rezoning to object to that rezoning.
...On Thursday at 9:00 a.m., the Retirement Committee will be meeting in SHR3. Any committee meeting chaired by Ron Gould (R-Flies a Confederate flag on July 4) is certain to have some color, and this one is no exception. Among other items, they'll be considering Gould's SCM1003, a letter to the U.S. Congress begging them to let AZ out of the U.S. interstate highway system.
Over in the House, things look to be quieter. So far, anyway.
Monday's third reading calendar appears to be pretty mundane; the only item of interest thus far should be HB2369, to allow the lege to appropriate non-custodial federal funds.
Tuesday's COW calendar (and here) is similarly quiet so far. The only seriously controversial measure appears to be HB2099, which would force cities and towns to treat charter schools in the same way as public schools for zoning purposes.
Later...
Friday, June 12, 2009
Sen. Pam Gorman: working to sell off/out Arizona
Perusing next week's committee schedule and agendas at the AZ lege, I came across this gem. Normally, I would wait until the weekly schedule post to cover this, but this one is worthy of a post of its own.
There's a bill, SB1466, on two separate Senate Government Institutions Committee agendas (they must *really* want to push this one through!) with the rather innocuous-sounding title of "council on efficient government."
That couldn't be too bad, right?
At least, that's what I thought at first.
Then I saw the names of the sponsor (Pam Gorman) and cosponsor (Jack Harper).
Those two don't merely drink far-right wingnut Kool-Aid; they mainline it.
Note: for those of you who aren't up on the latest writing techniques, that "mainline it" reference is a metaphor. I do not mean that Gorman and Harper inject actual substances into their bodies.
Turns out the title is the only "innocuous" thing about it.
SB1466 would create a Council on Efficient Government, an entity whose function would be to drive the privatization of government and public services.
This bill starts ugly and goes downhill from there.
...It defines the composition of the council as 1 government agency head appointed by the Governor, and six private business people, with the Governor, President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House appointing two each.
Nothing like stacking the deck there, folks.
...It requires the council to review privatization of a good or service at the request on a government agency head or a private enterprise.
...What it doesn't require is for the council to hold public hearings on privatization proposals, using the word "may" (as opposed to "shall") in regard to public hearings.
...The council will always work from the perspective that government providing a service or good is bad, and that private enterprise providing a service or good is always good.
...The language of the proposed law would define any government agency competition with a private enterprise as a violation of the act. At least in regards to complaints from private businesses about government agency competition, public hearings are required ("shall" instead of "may.")
...Requires state agencies to support a proposed outsourcing with a business case, and that business case cannot be protested or challenged.
Must stifle dissent. Must stifle dissent. MUST STIFLE DISSENT.
...Sets a sunset date for the council of July 1, 2019.
Apparently, Gorman and Harper plan that within 10 years, there won't be any part of Arizona's government left to privatize.
Of course, if we don't elect some responsible people to the lege (i.e. - not the Gormans and Harpers of the state), there won't be any Arizona left to govern.
What's sad here is that this could have been a decent bill - efficient government actually is a laudable goal.
A more balanced council (perhaps three agency heads appointed by the Governor, and four private business folks, one each to be appointed by the Speaker, Senate President, House Minority Leader, and Senate Minority Leader), tasked to look into the best way to provide a good or service, not to reflexively privatize, would be a good start.
However, given the nature of this year's lege, "good" is something we shouldn't expect in anything the lege produces.
There's a bill, SB1466, on two separate Senate Government Institutions Committee agendas (they must *really* want to push this one through!) with the rather innocuous-sounding title of "council on efficient government."
That couldn't be too bad, right?
At least, that's what I thought at first.
Then I saw the names of the sponsor (Pam Gorman) and cosponsor (Jack Harper).
Those two don't merely drink far-right wingnut Kool-Aid; they mainline it.
Note: for those of you who aren't up on the latest writing techniques, that "mainline it" reference is a metaphor. I do not mean that Gorman and Harper inject actual substances into their bodies.
Turns out the title is the only "innocuous" thing about it.
SB1466 would create a Council on Efficient Government, an entity whose function would be to drive the privatization of government and public services.
This bill starts ugly and goes downhill from there.
...It defines the composition of the council as 1 government agency head appointed by the Governor, and six private business people, with the Governor, President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House appointing two each.
Nothing like stacking the deck there, folks.
...It requires the council to review privatization of a good or service at the request on a government agency head or a private enterprise.
...What it doesn't require is for the council to hold public hearings on privatization proposals, using the word "may" (as opposed to "shall") in regard to public hearings.
...The council will always work from the perspective that government providing a service or good is bad, and that private enterprise providing a service or good is always good.
...The language of the proposed law would define any government agency competition with a private enterprise as a violation of the act. At least in regards to complaints from private businesses about government agency competition, public hearings are required ("shall" instead of "may.")
...Requires state agencies to support a proposed outsourcing with a business case, and that business case cannot be protested or challenged.
Must stifle dissent. Must stifle dissent. MUST STIFLE DISSENT.
...Sets a sunset date for the council of July 1, 2019.
Apparently, Gorman and Harper plan that within 10 years, there won't be any part of Arizona's government left to privatize.
Of course, if we don't elect some responsible people to the lege (i.e. - not the Gormans and Harpers of the state), there won't be any Arizona left to govern.
What's sad here is that this could have been a decent bill - efficient government actually is a laudable goal.
A more balanced council (perhaps three agency heads appointed by the Governor, and four private business folks, one each to be appointed by the Speaker, Senate President, House Minority Leader, and Senate Minority Leader), tasked to look into the best way to provide a good or service, not to reflexively privatize, would be a good start.
However, given the nature of this year's lege, "good" is something we shouldn't expect in anything the lege produces.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Nothing like putting off until next year that which you should do today.
From AZCentral.com's Political Insider -
Ignoring for the moment the fact that his proposal is only for a temporary increase to the state's sales tax, the most regressive and unstable source of revenue available to the state, this is his idea of a sound fiscal fix for the state's woes?
We're trying to fix a yawning maw in the FY2010 budget, and Burns wants to wait until halfway through FY2011 to shore up the state's revenues?
And before someone accuses me of being in favor of a hike to the sales tax, I'm not. A sales tax hike is irresponsible and short-sighted (two words which, not-so-coincidentally, describe the Republican caucus of the AZ lege).
However, given the Rep caucus' desire to permanently cripple the state with its reflexive corporate tax cuts, a sales tax hike is the only possible revenue enhancement that has a chance of getting through the lege and onto the ballot.
Of course, Burns makes it clear that he doesn't support any tax hike, and he is going to work to make sure that any such proposal that makes it to the ballot is worded in a way to ensure that the state's voters won't support it.
From the Political Insider piece -
Yeah, there's nothing like making sure that the new revenues won't go to the areas that voters support to make sure that they don't vote for the tax hike.
Later...
Senate President Bob Burns said there is a tentative agreement to ask lawmakers to refer a sales-tax hike to the 2010 ballot.
The agreement has emerged from ongoing budget talks between himself, House Speaker Kirk Adams and Gov. Jan Brewer.
Ignoring for the moment the fact that his proposal is only for a temporary increase to the state's sales tax, the most regressive and unstable source of revenue available to the state, this is his idea of a sound fiscal fix for the state's woes?
We're trying to fix a yawning maw in the FY2010 budget, and Burns wants to wait until halfway through FY2011 to shore up the state's revenues?
And before someone accuses me of being in favor of a hike to the sales tax, I'm not. A sales tax hike is irresponsible and short-sighted (two words which, not-so-coincidentally, describe the Republican caucus of the AZ lege).
However, given the Rep caucus' desire to permanently cripple the state with its reflexive corporate tax cuts, a sales tax hike is the only possible revenue enhancement that has a chance of getting through the lege and onto the ballot.
Of course, Burns makes it clear that he doesn't support any tax hike, and he is going to work to make sure that any such proposal that makes it to the ballot is worded in a way to ensure that the state's voters won't support it.
From the Political Insider piece -
Burns also said there is no plan to put "trigger language" in the measure that would direct the money to specific budget items, such as education.
Yeah, there's nothing like making sure that the new revenues won't go to the areas that voters support to make sure that they don't vote for the tax hike.
Later...
A Black Man Dies Defending The Holocaust Museum
pic courtesy CBSNews.com
At today's shooting at the Holocaust Museum by James W. von Brunn (left), security guard Stephen T. Johns (right) gave his life in defense of the museum and its patrons.
There's a certain karmic balance (not the best phrase, but it's the best that I can come up with right now) in a black man giving up his life to defend the Holocaust Museum against an attack from a strident white supremacist/anti-Semite.
The African-American and Jewish communities have had their differences over the years, but today's tragedy should serve as a reminder that they have far more to unite them than to divide them.
Shared enemies being at the top of the list.
My deepest condolences go out to the wife, family, friends, and colleagues of Mr. Johns.
On a personal, even selfish, note, my sister had already made plans to visit the museum this weekend with her son. As such, my deepest thanks go out to Mr. Johns and the other security guards who stopped Mr. von Brunn. Their quick and courageous actions, and sacrifice in Mr. Johns' case, helped to safeguard my family members and all of the museum's visitors.
Breaking: Shooting at the Holocaust Museum in D.C.
From CNN -
News reports have named the suspected shooter as one James W. Von Brunn, a a long-time (born in 1920) white supremacist with a police record. (Wikipedia entry here. I normally don't link to Wikipedia, but I refuse to link to the white supremacist/neo-Nazi/anti-Semitic websites that he has written for. Note: the Wiki entry looks as if it was written by Von Brunn or one of his supporters.)
More later...
Gunfire at the entrance of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum wounded at least two people Wednesday, emergency officials said.
A private security guard and another person were wounded, according to officials of the D.C. police and fire department. A police official said one of the wounded was the shooting suspect.
News reports have named the suspected shooter as one James W. Von Brunn, a a long-time (born in 1920) white supremacist with a police record. (Wikipedia entry here. I normally don't link to Wikipedia, but I refuse to link to the white supremacist/neo-Nazi/anti-Semitic websites that he has written for. Note: the Wiki entry looks as if it was written by Von Brunn or one of his supporters.)
More later...
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Congratulations to Kyrsten Sinema
From a press release -
Seriously, while all I've done here is to publish a press release, this is a great honor for both Rep. Sinema and Arizona. It's nice to see somebody from AZ being recognized for their ability to contribute to the dialogue and planning for America's future, dialogue and planning that is taking place far from Arizona.
BTW - when they ask her what lessons can they learn from AZ's healthcare model/disaster, she can reply simply "Don't elect Republicans."
She could say that, but she won't. She's a lot more tactful than I am. :)
Assistant House Democratic Leader Kyrsten Sinema has been selected as one of 32 state legislators nationwide to help President Obama reform health care.
In a conference call today, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, told Sinema — the only state lawmaker chosen from Arizona — that real health care reform will come from Democrats and Republicans alike from across the country.
As a former state legislator himself, the President of the United States appreciates legislators’ unique perspectives on this issue, Jarrett said.
Sinema will work with other state legislators in the President’s health care reform group to share best practices and lessons learned from their respective states, which will help shape national health care reform. They will also work to create a dialogue between state leaders and the U.S. Congressional delegation and have weekly conference calls with the White House until the reform is implemented.
“I’m so grateful and honored for this amazing opportunity to truly reform our nation’s health care,” Sinema said. “Our health care system is broken and families and businesses are being crushed by high health care costs. The American people, including right here in Arizona, deserve better.”
Obama’s plan does three things:
Reduces costs to make health care affordable
Protects a patient’s choice of doctors, hospitals and insurance plans
Assures quality affordable health care for all Americans
Health care reform is one of Obama’s top priorities and he is committed to enacting health care reform this year, Jarrett said.
State legislators are able to see firsthand in their states and communities how rapidly escalating health care costs are hurting family, business, and government budgets, which is why President Obama is looking forward to working with the group, Jarrett said.
For more information, please visit www.healthreform.gov.
Seriously, while all I've done here is to publish a press release, this is a great honor for both Rep. Sinema and Arizona. It's nice to see somebody from AZ being recognized for their ability to contribute to the dialogue and planning for America's future, dialogue and planning that is taking place far from Arizona.
BTW - when they ask her what lessons can they learn from AZ's healthcare model/disaster, she can reply simply "Don't elect Republicans."
She could say that, but she won't. She's a lot more tactful than I am. :)
And the terrorists learn that violence works
From AP via Yahoo! News -
Anyone have a pic of Randall Terry and Trent Franks dancing on Dr. Tiller's grave?
Slain Kansas abortion provider's clinic to close
WICHITA, Kan. – The Wichita clinic of slain abortion provider George Tiller, one of only a handful of clinics in the country that provides third-term abortions, will be permanently closed, his family said Tuesday. Operations at Women's Health Care Services Inc. had been suspended since Tiller's death last month, and the clinic's future was uncertain.
In a statement released by his attorneys, Tiller's family said it will close permanently, and relatives would honor Tiller with charitable activities instead.
Anyone have a pic of Randall Terry and Trent Franks dancing on Dr. Tiller's grave?
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