From an email to his constituents -
The news reports of the destruction and devastation that continue to come out of Haiti have been sobering. My deepest sympathies and prayers are with the victims of this catastrophe that has toppled homes and building, split up families, left countless injured and taken untold lives.
Many people have asked me how they can help with the recovery efforts. I am proud that so many people in our community have recgonized the need to pull together and reach out in critical times like these.
There are a variety of ways Arizonans can provide assistance. Working together, we can help aid the recovery and rebuilding of Haiti. If you want to help take part in the earthquake relief effort I encourage you to visit the State Department's website, http://www.state.gov, or InterAction at www.interaction.org to find a list of verified and secure charities and organizations to learn what steps you can take. While Many agencies are accepting donations for the relief effort, InterAction’s website also outlines other ways to help the relief effort, such as volunteering, as well as what material donations are currently being accepted.
The State Department is also encouraging individuals wishing to help with relief efforts to use their mobile phones to text “Haiti” to 90999, which will send a $10 donation to the Red Cross, charged to the mobile phone user’s bill. Additionally, the American Red Cross is currently sending money, supplies and staff to Haiti to support earthquake relief efforts. The Red Cross is accepting donations to the International Response Fund at www.redcross.org or at 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767).
In Arizona, local businesses are doing their part. The Phoenix Business Journal is reporting that the Scottsdale Jean Company is collecting non-perishable food donations at its store and will match every donation collected. The store is located at14747 N. Northsight Blvd. Suite 106 in Scottsdale. The Phoenix Mercury, along with Carl Hayden High School, are also holding a canned food drive at the US Airways Center.
It is also important to beware of potential fraud from people looking to take advantage of your generosity. Forbes Magazine recommends that when donating, you:
--Avoid charities you've never heard of.
--Ignore unsolicited e-mail solicitation.
--Go to the charity, not the other way around.
--Ignore telemarketers.
--Do not send money to a foreign bank account.
--Stick to established brand names, such those listed on the State Department’s website, www.state.gov.
--Make sure the charity applies your donation to the specific cause.
--Do your own due diligence and research the charity.
The State Department has also set up the following phone number for missing U.S. citizen family members, 1-888-407-4747 and asks for you continued patience, as the line has been experiencing a high volume of calls.
For up to date information about the relief efforts visit: www.state.gov.
Sincerely,
Harry
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Indications are that State Sen. John Huppenthal doesn't appreciate irony
Cross-posted at Blog for Arizona...
Wednesday afternoon, State Sen. John Huppenthal chaired a meeting of the Senate Education Committee.
Much of the meeting was an exercise in campaign positioning (he's running for state superintendant of public instruction this year). That positioning included inviting Matthew Ladner of the Goldwater Institute to give a presentation on the "wonderful" statistical results of education reform in Florida.
After that, the committee considered a couple of bills, proposed by Huppenthal himself. One of those was SB1039, a bill to remove certain info from the "report cards" that public schools have to issue about themselves to the public. The info he wants removed from public scrutiny includes (from the lege summary sheet) per pupil expenditures, available social services, available transportation services, class size, and teacher/student ratios.
His objection is that such info is "self-reported" and not subject to verification. As such, it is suspect and shouldn't be disseminated to the public.
The ironic part is that while Huppenthal was blunt in his criticism of public schools as deceptive, his praise of Ladner and GI, an organization known for fudging numbers and taking shortcuts (apples to oranges comparisons) with statistical analyses, was effusive to the point of being overtly obsequious.
Yes, it's an election year, with all of the expected posturing and preening, but it isn't unreasonable to expect a little intellectual honesty out of someone who want to oversee the state's education apparatus, is it?
Wednesday afternoon, State Sen. John Huppenthal chaired a meeting of the Senate Education Committee.
Much of the meeting was an exercise in campaign positioning (he's running for state superintendant of public instruction this year). That positioning included inviting Matthew Ladner of the Goldwater Institute to give a presentation on the "wonderful" statistical results of education reform in Florida.
After that, the committee considered a couple of bills, proposed by Huppenthal himself. One of those was SB1039, a bill to remove certain info from the "report cards" that public schools have to issue about themselves to the public. The info he wants removed from public scrutiny includes (from the lege summary sheet) per pupil expenditures, available social services, available transportation services, class size, and teacher/student ratios.
His objection is that such info is "self-reported" and not subject to verification. As such, it is suspect and shouldn't be disseminated to the public.
The ironic part is that while Huppenthal was blunt in his criticism of public schools as deceptive, his praise of Ladner and GI, an organization known for fudging numbers and taking shortcuts (apples to oranges comparisons) with statistical analyses, was effusive to the point of being overtly obsequious.
Yes, it's an election year, with all of the expected posturing and preening, but it isn't unreasonable to expect a little intellectual honesty out of someone who want to oversee the state's education apparatus, is it?
Harry Mitchell: Pelosi Puppet? Not so much...
I love it when the various Republican contenders/pretenders in AZCD5 try to paint Democratic Congressman Harry Mitchell as an "out of touch DC liberal" or to tie him to Nancy Pelosi or something similarly untrue.
It was with slightly mixed feelings that I read this CQPolitics.com Eye on 2010 blog post (emphasis mine) -
It was with slightly mixed feelings that I read this CQPolitics.com Eye on 2010 blog post (emphasis mine) -
During his year in Congress as a Democrat, party-switching Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.) posted a 70 percent party unity score, according to CQ's 2009 vote study released this week.
That sum is certainly well below the Democratic party average but only good enough for ninth lowest among all Democrats.
{snip}
Other Democrats who ranked lower than Griffith during the 2009 session when it comes to party unity are Reps. Gene Taylor (Miss.) at 59 percent, Harry Mitchell (Ariz.) at 63 percent...
Note: the study by CQPolitics mentioned in their blog post is here.
In other words, Democrat Harry Mitchell votes with the Ds less than Republican Griffith.
As a liberal, one of the things that ticks me off about Harry is that he is nowhere near liberal enough to suit me. I would prefer that his speeches and votes were more like those of Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ7) or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
However, that is more than counter-balanced by my respect for his loyalty to his constituents and his love of the district. Unlike many of his R colleagues (sadly, like some of the Ds, too), his district is his heart and soul, not just a conduit to a job.
He's not a conservative, at least not in the way that the current GOP (mis)uses the term.
He's just someone who tries his best to do right by his district and his constituents. I may not always agree with his votes, but I've never questioned his motivations.
Yes, I do truly love it when his would-be challengers start pointing fingers at Harry and shout "out of touch liberal!" and the like, because Harry is neither.
So, to all of the Republicans lining for a run at Congressman Mitchell's seat:
Calling him "out of touch" and "liberal" only shows how out of touch with reality that you are.
Legislative invocations are non-political and non-denominational, right?
Gawd, I hate being scooped by Tedski on matters that my own D17 legislators are involved in, but he got to this one before I did. :(
On the other hand, the Republican hypocrisy involved is too juicy to *not* cover it here. :))
One of the traditions at the AZLege is to open each floor session with a brief prayer offered by a member or an invited guest. Such prayers are usually (but not always*) non-political and relatively non-denominational.
*OK, so it isn't exactly unheard of for an R member or invitee to thank God for small government, low taxes or to pray for fewer immigrants...but I digress... :)
While most of those folks offering prayers before the lege are Republicans or present at the behest of a Republican member, on many days, Democrats offer their fair share of invocations.
Tuesday was one such day.
From Tedski's post at Rum, Romanism, Rebellion -
Apparently, prayers offered for the benefit of R and their benefactors like corporations are OK, but prayers offered for the benefit of society are inflammatory rhetoric or something similar.
IOKIYAR is still the rule of the day in Arizona politics. Look for another long year at the lege. The only factor that might make the session shorter will be the desire of members to start campaigning for reelection as soon as possible (it's an election year, in case anyone has forgotten :) ).
Note: the video of Tuesday's House session isn't posted yet, but once it is, it will be available here.
Later...
On the other hand, the Republican hypocrisy involved is too juicy to *not* cover it here. :))
One of the traditions at the AZLege is to open each floor session with a brief prayer offered by a member or an invited guest. Such prayers are usually (but not always*) non-political and relatively non-denominational.
*OK, so it isn't exactly unheard of for an R member or invitee to thank God for small government, low taxes or to pray for fewer immigrants...but I digress... :)
While most of those folks offering prayers before the lege are Republicans or present at the behest of a Republican member, on many days, Democrats offer their fair share of invocations.
Tuesday was one such day.
From Tedski's post at Rum, Romanism, Rebellion -
Ed Ableser invited a guest onto the floor to give a the opening prayer at the House today: Rabbi Andrew Straus who presides at Temple Emanuel, a five hundred member Reform Jewish congregation in Tempe. Straus’s prayer dealt with social justice, and at the end of it it so angered Andrew Tobin that he confronted the Rabbi, questioning its appropriateness. It caused quite a stir among some of the other Republican members as well, who felt it was overly political.Rep. Ableser is a representative from Tempe in D17, and Temple Emanuel is a congregation in Tempe (as noted by Tedski).
Apparently, prayers offered for the benefit of R and their benefactors like corporations are OK, but prayers offered for the benefit of society are inflammatory rhetoric or something similar.
IOKIYAR is still the rule of the day in Arizona politics. Look for another long year at the lege. The only factor that might make the session shorter will be the desire of members to start campaigning for reelection as soon as possible (it's an election year, in case anyone has forgotten :) ).
Note: the video of Tuesday's House session isn't posted yet, but once it is, it will be available here.
Later...
Monday, January 11, 2010
They're not ready
Today's opening of the 2nd Session of the 49th Arizona Legislature was marked by many things that we have seen before -
...House Speaker Kirk Adams promising to listen to Democratic proposals...before standing idly by, watching the Governor snub Democratic Attorney General Terry Goddard after her speech...
...Governor Jan Brewer,in her stump speech in the State of the State address, to the resounding cheers of the members of her caucus of the lege, promising to balance the budget on the backs of Arizona's poorest citizens...
...The Governor using her State of the State speech to move to the right, positioning herself as the anti-government (and anti-immigrant, anti-poor people, and anti-fiscal reality) Governor...
...The Governor sounding Presidential...if you consider George W. Bush a good example to follow. She touched upon privatizing government, deregulating industry and funnelling resources to "faith-based" charities. Bush started spouting that stuff in early 2001, and enhanced corporate bottom lines at the expense of effective government and a healthy society for the next eight years...
...The Governor challenging listeners with "if you have a better plan, produce it" while blithely ignoring the fact that the Democrats did "produce" one, nearly a year ago...
...State Senator John Huppenthal using a point of personal privilege to hijack the Senate floor for a speech supporting his run for State Superintendent of Public Instruction (when every other senator was introducing friends and family, he introduced Don Covey, the Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools, and raved about they work that they had done together)...
...State Treasurer Dean Martin, perhaps in preparation for the announcement of his own run for Governor, using the exterior of the old Capitol building as the backdrop for an "unplanned, candid" run-in with Rep. Frank Antenori (R-Don't say I represent Tucson, even though I do"). The reason for the quotes around "unplanned, candid"? The TV cameraman and the photographer that he kept waiting outside until the crowds passing through the doors thinned out enough for their purposes...
- It may come to pass later this year that the Republicans in the legislature and the Governor will finally take the state's budget issues seriously.
- It may come to pass later this year that the Republicans in the legislature and the Governor will finally engage with their Democratic colleagues to discuss solutions for the state's problems.
- It may come to pass later this year that the Republicans in the legislature and the Governor will finally step away from their ideological talking points and knuckle down to doing some real work to address the state's fiscal crisis.
But it hasn't come to pass yet, and it may never - they're not ready.
They're not ready to be professional government officials and anti-government panderers second.
They're not ready to be public servants first and partisan ideologues second.
They're not ready to be Arizonans first and Republicans second.
They're just not ready.
AZRepublic coverage here and here.
EV Tribune coverage, courtesy Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, here.
Arizona Capitol Times and Arizona Guardian have coverage behind subscriber firewalls.
...House Speaker Kirk Adams promising to listen to Democratic proposals...before standing idly by, watching the Governor snub Democratic Attorney General Terry Goddard after her speech...
...Governor Jan Brewer,
...The Governor using her State of the State speech to move to the right, positioning herself as the anti-government (and anti-immigrant, anti-poor people, and anti-fiscal reality) Governor...
...The Governor sounding Presidential...if you consider George W. Bush a good example to follow. She touched upon privatizing government, deregulating industry and funnelling resources to "faith-based" charities. Bush started spouting that stuff in early 2001, and enhanced corporate bottom lines at the expense of effective government and a healthy society for the next eight years...
...The Governor challenging listeners with "if you have a better plan, produce it" while blithely ignoring the fact that the Democrats did "produce" one, nearly a year ago...
...State Senator John Huppenthal using a point of personal privilege to hijack the Senate floor for a speech supporting his run for State Superintendent of Public Instruction (when every other senator was introducing friends and family, he introduced Don Covey, the Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools, and raved about they work that they had done together)...
...State Treasurer Dean Martin, perhaps in preparation for the announcement of his own run for Governor, using the exterior of the old Capitol building as the backdrop for an "unplanned, candid" run-in with Rep. Frank Antenori (R-Don't say I represent Tucson, even though I do"). The reason for the quotes around "unplanned, candid"? The TV cameraman and the photographer that he kept waiting outside until the crowds passing through the doors thinned out enough for their purposes...
- It may come to pass later this year that the Republicans in the legislature and the Governor will finally take the state's budget issues seriously.
- It may come to pass later this year that the Republicans in the legislature and the Governor will finally engage with their Democratic colleagues to discuss solutions for the state's problems.
- It may come to pass later this year that the Republicans in the legislature and the Governor will finally step away from their ideological talking points and knuckle down to doing some real work to address the state's fiscal crisis.
But it hasn't come to pass yet, and it may never - they're not ready.
They're not ready to be professional government officials and anti-government panderers second.
They're not ready to be public servants first and partisan ideologues second.
They're not ready to be Arizonans first and Republicans second.
They're just not ready.
AZRepublic coverage here and here.
EV Tribune coverage, courtesy Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, here.
Arizona Capitol Times and Arizona Guardian have coverage behind subscriber firewalls.
The Governor's State of the State address, 2010 version
The full text of her speech, as prepared for delivery, is here.
Go ahead and read it, but here's my summary -
Her campaign for election is in full flight and she has a stump speech down pat; today she just called it "The State of the State."
Her main campaign plank:
Arizona's mess is not her fault - it's Janet Napolitano's, Terry Goddard's, the federal government's, and the voters' (for approving social spending by referenda).
All can be fixed with corporate tax cuts, fewer regulations, and cuts to social services and education. Oh, and get rid of all of those gosh darn immigrants.
I'll go into more details later, but I'm heading home - turns out that the budget presentation that is scheduled to take place in a committee hearing is the same one that is on the governor's website, and has been for approximately three weeks.
Later...
Go ahead and read it, but here's my summary -
Her campaign for election is in full flight and she has a stump speech down pat; today she just called it "The State of the State."
Her main campaign plank:
Arizona's mess is not her fault - it's Janet Napolitano's, Terry Goddard's, the federal government's, and the voters' (for approving social spending by referenda).
All can be fixed with corporate tax cuts, fewer regulations, and cuts to social services and education. Oh, and get rid of all of those gosh darn immigrants.
I'll go into more details later, but I'm heading home - turns out that the budget presentation that is scheduled to take place in a committee hearing is the same one that is on the governor's website, and has been for approximately three weeks.
Later...
The Dawn Of A New Era
OK, not really - just the start of a new session of the Arizona State Legislature...
Not much going on right now.
I'm sitting on the third floor of the Senate building. It's a lot like a class reunion...of a class that last met last month, which most of these folks did.
There are current and former legislators, family members, friends, and, of course, lobbyists.
Currently, sitting across from me are three lobbyists working the phones and the crowd, trying to get legislators to drop ("drop" is lege-speak for "offer for consideration") their favored bills as soon as possible.
Anyway, waiting for the open of the Senate session. After that, the plan is to attend the Governor's State of the State speech, a Dem press conference immediately after that, and depending on the length of that, attend a committee hearing. The committee meeting includes a presentation on the state's budget situation. Things are pretty dire, even after last month's "fix."
Anyway, time to do some of my own "meeting and greeting" and maybe snap a few pics...
Later
Not much going on right now.
I'm sitting on the third floor of the Senate building. It's a lot like a class reunion...of a class that last met last month, which most of these folks did.
There are current and former legislators, family members, friends, and, of course, lobbyists.
Currently, sitting across from me are three lobbyists working the phones and the crowd, trying to get legislators to drop ("drop" is lege-speak for "offer for consideration") their favored bills as soon as possible.
Anyway, waiting for the open of the Senate session. After that, the plan is to attend the Governor's State of the State speech, a Dem press conference immediately after that, and depending on the length of that, attend a committee hearing. The committee meeting includes a presentation on the state's budget situation. Things are pretty dire, even after last month's "fix."
Anyway, time to do some of my own "meeting and greeting" and maybe snap a few pics...
Later
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Word of the day: Irony
A quick hit, because this was just too good to pass up on...
From AZCentral.com's AZ/DC blog -
This stuff won't help either one in the general election - few Independents and fewer Democrats listen to Hayworth's gabbing, and fewer still are actually influenced by it. Of course, at this point both are focused on just winning the R primary.
Rodney Glassman for Senate. He'll work for the entire state, not just the teabaggers.
From AZCentral.com's AZ/DC blog -
Sen. John McCain this week launched his first re-election radio ads of the 2010 race, declaring that he is "Arizona's last line of defense" in the battle against President Barack Obama's liberal agenda.So who wins the irony war here? McCain because he is using his putative challenger's own soapbox to get out his message? Or Hayworth because his potential target is providing revenue to his radio show and by doing so, creating even more buzz about the possible race than there had be previously?
{snip}
Not lost on any observers is the fact that McCain's paid political announcements inject his point of view onto the airwaves of conservative Phoenix radio station KFYI
(550 AM), where former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., attacks him on a seemingly constant basis. Hayworth, who hosts an afternoon drive-time program, repeatedly has said he is considering a challenge to McCain in the Aug. 24 Republican primary.
This stuff won't help either one in the general election - few Independents and fewer Democrats listen to Hayworth's gabbing, and fewer still are actually influenced by it. Of course, at this point both are focused on just winning the R primary.
Rodney Glassman for Senate. He'll work for the entire state, not just the teabaggers.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
The word today: Focus
Judging from the "output" of Russell Pearce's mind, during the coming session of the lege, he and his caucus won't be putting forth any more real effort to address the state's fiscal crisis than they did during the last session.
From Pearce's SB1028, cosponsored by his fellow travelers Sen. Chuck Gray and Rep. Judy Burges:
Umm...perhaps one of Sen. Pearce's friends should remind him that the is chair of the Appropriations Committee of the Arizona State Senate, and that under his leadership of that committee (and House Approps before he started his current gig), Arizona has turned into the fiscal laughingstock of the country.
As is the case with the legislature, the salaries of local and other elected officials are set by the voters. When they think that their elected officials deserve a raise, they can grant one; when they think that their elected officials don't deserve one, they can deny a raise.
It isn't Sen. Pearce's place to usurp local control of local organs of government.
His focus should be and needs to be on state-level issues. Local voters don't need his help, and in fact, his history of contempt for the constituents even in his own west Mesa district proves that no one should expect his help.
However, he should show enough courtesy to at least stay out of the way.
From Pearce's SB1028, cosponsored by his fellow travelers Sen. Chuck Gray and Rep. Judy Burges:
Notwithstanding any other law, beginning on the effective date of this act, a city, town, county, school district or special taxing district in this state shall not spend public monies to increase the salary of any of its elected public officials during fiscal year 2009-2010 and fiscal year 2010-2011 until after this state has enacted a balanced budget for those fiscal years.
Umm...perhaps one of Sen. Pearce's friends should remind him that the is chair of the Appropriations Committee of the Arizona State Senate, and that under his leadership of that committee (and House Approps before he started his current gig), Arizona has turned into the fiscal laughingstock of the country.
As is the case with the legislature, the salaries of local and other elected officials are set by the voters. When they think that their elected officials deserve a raise, they can grant one; when they think that their elected officials don't deserve one, they can deny a raise.
It isn't Sen. Pearce's place to usurp local control of local organs of government.
His focus should be and needs to be on state-level issues. Local voters don't need his help, and in fact, his history of contempt for the constituents even in his own west Mesa district proves that no one should expect his help.
However, he should show enough courtesy to at least stay out of the way.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Priceless...
Non-political spleen vent ahead...continue reading at your own risk... :)
...Ride to the airport via Supershuttle: $20 (Good price because I live close to Sky Harbor)
...Flight to New York for father's funeral service: $450 (Decent price. Doesn't make up for the reason for the trip, but you find the silver linings where you can...)
...Departing Phoenix one hour late because a flight attendant missed the van ride from the hotel (bad), arriving in Philly just after my connection to Albany had taken off (really bad), getting booked on the next flight to Albany without any hassles (actually getting better), and then arriving in Albany only to find out that my luggage had never left Philly:
Freakin' priceless.
I'm never flying on U.S. Airways again. Let me be clear - all of the rank-and-file airline personnel that I dealt with today were uniformly polite and friendly (though that tardy flight attendant is *not* on my Christmas card list :) ), but US Air has a bad reputation for things like lateness and lost luggage and it lived right down to that reputation. I ignored it this time because the flight worked for me (not a red-eye, but the original itinerary had me getting into Albany at a decent hour), but I won't repeat that mistake.
They have systemic issues that are rooted in a management culture that sacrifices customers and employees on the altar of higher profits and executive bonuses.
So to sum up -
Arrgghhh!
Ahhhh...I feel better now. Time to go over to US Air's lost luggage website to give them the address to deliver the bag to later today...otherwise, I am going to be woefully underdressed at the service.
Later...
Edit on 1/6: A number of typos have been corrected without notation to maintain readability. I should know better than to write while I'm both utterly ticked off and exhausted. :(
...End edit...
...Ride to the airport via Supershuttle: $20 (Good price because I live close to Sky Harbor)
...Flight to New York for father's funeral service: $450 (Decent price. Doesn't make up for the reason for the trip, but you find the silver linings where you can...)
...Departing Phoenix one hour late because a flight attendant missed the van ride from the hotel (bad), arriving in Philly just after my connection to Albany had taken off (really bad), getting booked on the next flight to Albany without any hassles (actually getting better), and then arriving in Albany only to find out that my luggage had never left Philly:
Freakin' priceless.
I'm never flying on U.S. Airways again. Let me be clear - all of the rank-and-file airline personnel that I dealt with today were uniformly polite and friendly (though that tardy flight attendant is *not* on my Christmas card list :) ), but US Air has a bad reputation for things like lateness and lost luggage and it lived right down to that reputation. I ignored it this time because the flight worked for me (not a red-eye, but the original itinerary had me getting into Albany at a decent hour), but I won't repeat that mistake.
They have systemic issues that are rooted in a management culture that sacrifices customers and employees on the altar of higher profits and executive bonuses.
So to sum up -
Arrgghhh!
Ahhhh...I feel better now. Time to go over to US Air's lost luggage website to give them the address to deliver the bag to later today...otherwise, I am going to be woefully underdressed at the service.
Later...
Edit on 1/6: A number of typos have been corrected without notation to maintain readability. I should know better than to write while I'm both utterly ticked off and exhausted. :(
...End edit...
Monday, January 04, 2010
State Lege sweeps bequest to State Parks system
...But so long as Pinnacle West, the homebuilder associations and the other corporations that hire Republican lobbyists get their tax gifts cuts, who cares about the dying wishes of a generous woman?
From AZCentral.com -
"Shameless."
Mr. Travous is far kinder and more tactful than I am when it comes to describing the leaders of the lege.
The new session of the lege is schedule to start in a week, and according to Mary Reinhart of The Arizona Guardian (subscription required to read the story), they have looked at the gaping maw of a deficit remaining in this year's budget and the absolute fiscal abyss projected for next year's budget and are working on a package of tax cuts to further reduce the state's revenues.
Welcome to Arizona, where the Republicans have never seen a hole that they didn't want to make deeper...
From AZCentral.com -
In their latest effort to solve Arizona's budget crisis with cuts, lawmakers turned to a woman who couldn't make a fuss. After all, she has been dead for eight years.
Asta Forrest, a Danish immigrant who fell in love with Arizona after moving to Fountain Hills with her husband, left nearly $250,000 to the Arizona State Parks Board when she died of cancer at age 82.
{snip}
While parks officials considered what to do with the money, Arizona's budget deficit ballooned into the billions. Last month, when the Republican-led Legislature met in special session to cut $140 million from the budget, it swept up half the money in the parks system's donations fund, which included most of Forrest's donation.
"It was like they had kicked me in the stomach," [Former State Parks Director Ken] Travous said. "Surely, I thought, they have some shame. But they're shameless."
"Shameless."
Mr. Travous is far kinder and more tactful than I am when it comes to describing the leaders of the lege.
The new session of the lege is schedule to start in a week, and according to Mary Reinhart of The Arizona Guardian (subscription required to read the story), they have looked at the gaping maw of a deficit remaining in this year's budget and the absolute fiscal abyss projected for next year's budget and are working on a package of tax cuts to further reduce the state's revenues.
Welcome to Arizona, where the Republicans have never seen a hole that they didn't want to make deeper...
Sunday, January 03, 2010
The coming week...
...Due to some sad and sudden family issues, there won't be much blogging this week.
As far as this weekly calendar post goes, there isn't much to write about anyway - it seems that Congress is still not in session, the Arizona lege has only a couple of intersession makework committees meeting (the new session of the lege starts next week), the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a special meeting on Thursday and the City Councils of Scottsdale and Tempe have meetings this week.
Other than that, most political bodies/agencies seem to be quiet this week.
Talk to you next week!
As far as this weekly calendar post goes, there isn't much to write about anyway - it seems that Congress is still not in session, the Arizona lege has only a couple of intersession makework committees meeting (the new session of the lege starts next week), the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a special meeting on Thursday and the City Councils of Scottsdale and Tempe have meetings this week.
Other than that, most political bodies/agencies seem to be quiet this week.
Talk to you next week!
State Sen. Russell Pearce opposed to financial oversight of elected officials
...or at least, financial oversight of elected officials who he is close personal friends with (or related to)...
From AZCentral.com (the money quote is italicized) -
Pearce's bill is SB1017. It would require the county supervisors to allocate the budgets for the other county elected officials by lump sum only. The other county elected officials would then have complete discretion in how those budgets are expended. It would also sever the county officials' from responsibility to adhere to any employment, contract, or acquisition standards other than their own.
Perhaps Pearce's bill should be named the "Joe Arpaio/Andrew Thomas Immunity From Responsibility To Society" Act, or perhaps the "Joe Arpaio/Andrew Thomas 'Just Hand Over Your Money And Shut Up' " Act...
And in a "he ain't heavy, he's my brother" moment, as written, Pearce's bill would add a county's justices of the peace to the list of county officers covered by this bill.
Sen. Pearce's brother Lester is a justice of the peace. Hmmm...
Anyway, Pearce proposed the same bill last year, minus the lump sum budget allocations and the JP stuff, as SB1467. Last June, the bill died for lack of a hearing in committee.
Based on this, one could surmise that Pearce's personal motto is "if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again."
From AZCentral.com (the money quote is italicized) -
There's bound to be a sense of deja vu when legislators reconvene next week and some familiar bills pop up again at the statehouse, thanks to the budget crisis that dominated last year's session.
Mesa Sen. Russell Pearce's proposal to "codify the constitution" when it comes to the powers of elected county officials could be near the top of the list of familiar bills that failed to go anywhere.
{snip}
The goal of the bill is simple, according to Pearce:
Once a county board of supervisors allocates a budget to an elected official's agency, that's where the board's financial oversight will end.
"The board of supervisors' responsibility is the budget, not to micromanage an elected official," Pearce said.
Pearce's bill is SB1017. It would require the county supervisors to allocate the budgets for the other county elected officials by lump sum only. The other county elected officials would then have complete discretion in how those budgets are expended. It would also sever the county officials' from responsibility to adhere to any employment, contract, or acquisition standards other than their own.
Perhaps Pearce's bill should be named the "Joe Arpaio/Andrew Thomas Immunity From Responsibility To Society" Act, or perhaps the "Joe Arpaio/Andrew Thomas 'Just Hand Over Your Money And Shut Up' " Act...
And in a "he ain't heavy, he's my brother" moment, as written, Pearce's bill would add a county's justices of the peace to the list of county officers covered by this bill.
Sen. Pearce's brother Lester is a justice of the peace. Hmmm...
Anyway, Pearce proposed the same bill last year, minus the lump sum budget allocations and the JP stuff, as SB1467. Last June, the bill died for lack of a hearing in committee.
Based on this, one could surmise that Pearce's personal motto is "if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again."
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Just remember...
...there's only 356 shopping days until Christmas - 357 if you consider Circle K and the like to be viable shopping venues... :))
Friday, January 01, 2010
Top stories in Arizona politics in 2009
...To Tedski and the writers at Blog for Arizona - because of proximity (I *live* in Maricopa County), this one is going to be Maricopa-centric. Folks looking for insights into political developments in southern AZ should visit those sites; they do a far better job of covering that part of the state than I do.
On to the stories, in no particular order of importance. Other than the last one listed, which is the biggest, imho, one of the year.
...Radio gabber and former Congressman JD Hayworth sidling toward a challenge of fellow Republican, Senator John McCain. Some believe that Hayworth, a darling of the teabagger crowd, is using the possible challenge to raise funds to pay down the legal bills incurred during his scandal-marred terms in Congress. Others believe he is serious about challenging McCain.
I think it is both - he wants to pay off the legal fees associated with his relationship with imprisoned Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff *and* he wants back in elected office. "Radio talk show host" doesn't have quite the same cachet on the ol' resume as does "United States Senator."
Nor does it have the same perks - the current incarnations of Abramoff, whoever they might be, don't have much use for, or reason tobribe "contribute to," people who aren't in office.
...Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas waging what amounts to a war (for the most part, a bullet-less one thus far, but a war nonetheless) against most of the County's other elected officials and the County judiciary. And the lawyers in the County. And anybody in the County who fails to kiss the rear ends of Arpaio and Thomas. And anybody with brown skin. And...
With the state AG's office effectively defunded by Arpaio's cohorts in the legislature, it has fallen to the federal government to rein in the Nativist Twins' excesses. The investigation is ongoing.
...On its surface, not a political story per se, but the continuing decline of newspapers, both in circulation and quality of reporting. The Tucson Citizen closed in 2009, and the East Valley Tribune is on life support. Neither one had a presence at the State Capitol any longer, but will be missed for their abilities to cover local political developments and to push larger outlets to cover the Capitol. Now, most print MSM outlets utilize the services and writings of Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services. Fischer is good, really good in fact, but he is only one man with one man's perspective. There are a couple of other outlets covering the Capitol, but their reach is limited.
The Arizona Capitol Times is written for Capitol insiders. While it is available in some locations outside of downtown Phoenix, its core market is concentrated in and around the Capitol and other government complexes located between Central Ave. and 19th Ave. in Phoenix.
The Arizona Guardian is on "online-only" outlet started and staffed by journalists who were laid-off by the EV Trib. While they do some great work there, the facts that they are limited in their exposure to the web and then only behind a subscription firewall limits their influence.
Other than those outlets, the Arizona Republic will assign a couple of young reporters to the Capitol beat, keeping them there until they become too experienced/expensive, then they will be laid-off in favor of folks who are cheaper.
In short, Arizona's eyes on the lege have gotten fewer as the atmosphere at the Capitol has worsened.
That's not a coincidence. As long as they think no one is paying attention to what they are really doing to AZ, the denizens of the Capitol will continue to do their worst.
...The growing rift in the state GOP between the anti-government/taxes/Mexicans (and other minorities)/science teabaggers (ascendant), the Chamber of Commerce types (declining) and the actual public servants (heading for the hills, or becoming Democrats). 2010 could, and probably will be, a tough year for Democrats nationally, but much like AZ bucked the pro-D trend in 2008, it is set up to buck any anti-D trend in 2010.
If only because the Rs have so totally made a mess of things at all levels in Arizona.
...The never-ending quest of certain legislators to protect, for reasons of personal ideology and financial gain, tax credits that siphon money from the state's general fund to "school tuition organizations." The STOs then direct those funds to private schools and preferred charter schools. While some of the STOs are legitimate and trying to do good work, too many play fast and loose with federal laws. In this era of massive cuts to public services, including public education, the funnelling of public revenue away from public uses only exacerbates the problems.
These tax credits are so important to Republicans, they held a special session of the legislature to ensure that they could continue without oversight or significant restriction.
MSM investigations of STOs and their use of the tax credits spawned not one, but *two* committees to investigate and evaluate the entire program. One was a bipartisan task force, one was a rubber stamp formed to approve whatever was presented to them by the Republican leadership in the lege.
Guess which one will see its recommendations take the form of proposed legislation in 2010?
...The one part of AZ's public education system that was in decent shape came under attack from the board members elected to protect and guide it. The Maricopa County Community College District, the nation's largest, saw its accreditation endangered because of the games played by the ideologues elected to its governing board. Things like micromanaging, misuse of resources by board members, intimidation of District employees and students, personality conflicts and more have led to a district known more for the antics of the board than for the quality of the education that it provides.
...Of course, the 600-pound gorilla of Arizona politics in 2009 was the state's budget meltdown.
The budget deficit dominated activity at the Capitol this year. We saw...
- A special session to implement cuts and accounting gimmicks to fix the deficit in the FY2009 budget.
- Bob Burns, the Republican President of the Arizona State Senate, vowing that no legislation would be considered until they had a balanced budget. This led to months of legislators sitting around, doing nothing other than during special sessions. Or when the NRA convention came to town (apparently getting guns in the hands of drunks was more important than even balancing the budget).
Followed by a mad rush in June when Burns lifted his self-imposed moratorium on legislation. Committees literally considered hundreds of bills in a matter of a few weeks.
- In March, the Governor strolling over to the lege to give a speech on her "plan" to address the state's revenue issues. One of her ideas was a referendum on a temporary sales tax increase. Sen. Ron Gould (R-No) walked out of his own governor's speech.
That was the most cooperation with his own caucus that Gould showed all year - he thinks that government should be shut down completely, and that his fellow Rs are slackers.
- The lege passing a budget in early June but the leadership refusing to forward it to the Governor in a game of high-stakes fiscal "chicken." They hoped that by waiting until the last possible moment to send her the budget, she would be forced to sign it.
- A crazy overnight session that extended from June 30 (the end of the fiscal year) into July 1 (the beginning of the new FY). They shut off the clocks on the Senate floor to maintain the pretense that they hadn't violated the state constitution by failing to craft a budget by the start of the fiscal year. Then they locked the doors of the lege so that in the event that Jan Brewer vetoed all or part of the budget that they did pass, she couldn't return it to them before they adjourned sine die.
- An August special session on the budget.
- A November special session on the budget.
- A December special session on the budget.
- None of which worked, because AZ still faces a still-unbalanced budget at the start of the calendar year, with less than half of the fiscal year left to fix it.
Expect more to the same in 2010, because until the voters of Arizona hold their elected officials accountable for their unwillingness/inability to do their jobs properly, those officials will continue to do them poorly.
Later...
On to the stories, in no particular order of importance. Other than the last one listed, which is the biggest, imho, one of the year.
...Radio gabber and former Congressman JD Hayworth sidling toward a challenge of fellow Republican, Senator John McCain. Some believe that Hayworth, a darling of the teabagger crowd, is using the possible challenge to raise funds to pay down the legal bills incurred during his scandal-marred terms in Congress. Others believe he is serious about challenging McCain.
I think it is both - he wants to pay off the legal fees associated with his relationship with imprisoned Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff *and* he wants back in elected office. "Radio talk show host" doesn't have quite the same cachet on the ol' resume as does "United States Senator."
Nor does it have the same perks - the current incarnations of Abramoff, whoever they might be, don't have much use for, or reason to
...Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas waging what amounts to a war (for the most part, a bullet-less one thus far, but a war nonetheless) against most of the County's other elected officials and the County judiciary. And the lawyers in the County. And anybody in the County who fails to kiss the rear ends of Arpaio and Thomas. And anybody with brown skin. And...
With the state AG's office effectively defunded by Arpaio's cohorts in the legislature, it has fallen to the federal government to rein in the Nativist Twins' excesses. The investigation is ongoing.
...On its surface, not a political story per se, but the continuing decline of newspapers, both in circulation and quality of reporting. The Tucson Citizen closed in 2009, and the East Valley Tribune is on life support. Neither one had a presence at the State Capitol any longer, but will be missed for their abilities to cover local political developments and to push larger outlets to cover the Capitol. Now, most print MSM outlets utilize the services and writings of Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services. Fischer is good, really good in fact, but he is only one man with one man's perspective. There are a couple of other outlets covering the Capitol, but their reach is limited.
The Arizona Capitol Times is written for Capitol insiders. While it is available in some locations outside of downtown Phoenix, its core market is concentrated in and around the Capitol and other government complexes located between Central Ave. and 19th Ave. in Phoenix.
The Arizona Guardian is on "online-only" outlet started and staffed by journalists who were laid-off by the EV Trib. While they do some great work there, the facts that they are limited in their exposure to the web and then only behind a subscription firewall limits their influence.
Other than those outlets, the Arizona Republic will assign a couple of young reporters to the Capitol beat, keeping them there until they become too experienced/expensive, then they will be laid-off in favor of folks who are cheaper.
In short, Arizona's eyes on the lege have gotten fewer as the atmosphere at the Capitol has worsened.
That's not a coincidence. As long as they think no one is paying attention to what they are really doing to AZ, the denizens of the Capitol will continue to do their worst.
...The growing rift in the state GOP between the anti-government/taxes/Mexicans (and other minorities)/science teabaggers (ascendant), the Chamber of Commerce types (declining) and the actual public servants (heading for the hills, or becoming Democrats). 2010 could, and probably will be, a tough year for Democrats nationally, but much like AZ bucked the pro-D trend in 2008, it is set up to buck any anti-D trend in 2010.
If only because the Rs have so totally made a mess of things at all levels in Arizona.
...The never-ending quest of certain legislators to protect, for reasons of personal ideology and financial gain, tax credits that siphon money from the state's general fund to "school tuition organizations." The STOs then direct those funds to private schools and preferred charter schools. While some of the STOs are legitimate and trying to do good work, too many play fast and loose with federal laws. In this era of massive cuts to public services, including public education, the funnelling of public revenue away from public uses only exacerbates the problems.
These tax credits are so important to Republicans, they held a special session of the legislature to ensure that they could continue without oversight or significant restriction.
MSM investigations of STOs and their use of the tax credits spawned not one, but *two* committees to investigate and evaluate the entire program. One was a bipartisan task force, one was a rubber stamp formed to approve whatever was presented to them by the Republican leadership in the lege.
Guess which one will see its recommendations take the form of proposed legislation in 2010?
...The one part of AZ's public education system that was in decent shape came under attack from the board members elected to protect and guide it. The Maricopa County Community College District, the nation's largest, saw its accreditation endangered because of the games played by the ideologues elected to its governing board. Things like micromanaging, misuse of resources by board members, intimidation of District employees and students, personality conflicts and more have led to a district known more for the antics of the board than for the quality of the education that it provides.
...Of course, the 600-pound gorilla of Arizona politics in 2009 was the state's budget meltdown.
The budget deficit dominated activity at the Capitol this year. We saw...
- A special session to implement cuts and accounting gimmicks to fix the deficit in the FY2009 budget.
- Bob Burns, the Republican President of the Arizona State Senate, vowing that no legislation would be considered until they had a balanced budget. This led to months of legislators sitting around, doing nothing other than during special sessions. Or when the NRA convention came to town (apparently getting guns in the hands of drunks was more important than even balancing the budget).
Followed by a mad rush in June when Burns lifted his self-imposed moratorium on legislation. Committees literally considered hundreds of bills in a matter of a few weeks.
- In March, the Governor strolling over to the lege to give a speech on her "plan" to address the state's revenue issues. One of her ideas was a referendum on a temporary sales tax increase. Sen. Ron Gould (R-No) walked out of his own governor's speech.
That was the most cooperation with his own caucus that Gould showed all year - he thinks that government should be shut down completely, and that his fellow Rs are slackers.
- The lege passing a budget in early June but the leadership refusing to forward it to the Governor in a game of high-stakes fiscal "chicken." They hoped that by waiting until the last possible moment to send her the budget, she would be forced to sign it.
- A crazy overnight session that extended from June 30 (the end of the fiscal year) into July 1 (the beginning of the new FY). They shut off the clocks on the Senate floor to maintain the pretense that they hadn't violated the state constitution by failing to craft a budget by the start of the fiscal year. Then they locked the doors of the lege so that in the event that Jan Brewer vetoed all or part of the budget that they did pass, she couldn't return it to them before they adjourned sine die.
- An August special session on the budget.
- A November special session on the budget.
- A December special session on the budget.
- None of which worked, because AZ still faces a still-unbalanced budget at the start of the calendar year, with less than half of the fiscal year left to fix it.
Expect more to the same in 2010, because until the voters of Arizona hold their elected officials accountable for their unwillingness/inability to do their jobs properly, those officials will continue to do them poorly.
Later...
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