It's still early and provisional ballots haven't been counted, but it seems that most EV races and ballot questions are going as expected.
In Scottsdale, results from early ballots show the amendments to the City's charter passing by a roughly 4-1 margin and that Proposition 200 (bed tax hike) is comfortably ahead (12%+).
As for ballots that include actual races for office, it's too early to know if run-off elections will be needed. In most jurisdictions, a candidate has to be named on more than half of the ballots cast in order to avoid a run-off, and until those numbers are released, we won't know for certain which candidates achieved the necessary vote totals.
From the website of the Maricopa County Recorder's Office -
In Tempe, there are 4 candidates for the three open seats on the City Council. It appears that Robin Arredondo-Savage, Shana Ellis, and Onnie Shekerjian are all at least 2300 votes ahead of fourth-place candidate Mark Ortiz. In addition, Proposition 400 (bed tax hike) is ahead by more than 40 percentage points.
In Carefree, it looks as if Mayor David Schwan has successfully fought an attempt to recall him (>17%).
In Fountain Hills, Councilwoman Ginny Dickey in on her way to reelection, leading all vote-getters with 2363 votes for City Council.
Lastly, most (but not all) of the school-budget override related questions look to be passing, including Kyrene (by >17%) and Tempe Elementary (>23%).
Look for finalized results by Friday.
Updates as they become available.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Celebrity sues company over TV ad
I don't normally comment on pop culture happenings, mostly because ultimately they are utterly meaningless to anyone other than those people who are directly involved.
Occasionally though, something so jaw-droppingly inane crops up that even I take notice.
One such item has hit the wires today and it thoroughly merits some ridicule.
From Yahoo! -
I've seen the spot. Thought is was cute and worth a chuckle. Did *not* think "Why, they're making fun of Lindsay Lohan!" when I saw it.
A few points here -
1. Lindsay/Lindsey ranks between 277 and 380 (depending on spelling) on the list of most popular baby names (according to the Social Security Administration, anyway). As recently as 1999, it ranked in the top 100. It's a popular name.
If the baby's name in the spot had been "Lohan", there might be grounds for a suit.
However, it's wasn't and there isn't.
2. Last time I heard (and since I don't follow this stuff, my info may be a few years out of date), Lindsay Lohan isn't interested in boyfriends. That's her choice to make, but it kind of undercuts her point in the suit. No if the baby girl had been stealing the recurring character's girlfriend, there might be grounds for a suit.
However, she wasn't and there isn't.
3. Could the fact that Lohan's fame is fading fast be behind this lawsuit? A little senseless ranting to let people know she is still around, trying to get a little attention? Well, if it is, it worked.
She's earned a little attention from a mostly obscure blog in Arizona.
Her PR team has certainly earned its pay this week.
Occasionally though, something so jaw-droppingly inane crops up that even I take notice.
One such item has hit the wires today and it thoroughly merits some ridicule.
From Yahoo! -
Lindsay Lohan is no milkaholic.Ummm...yeah.
And that's likely why the 23-year-old star is suing financial company E-Trade for $100 million for using her name in its latest commercial about a boyfriend-stealing "milkaholic" baby.
I've seen the spot. Thought is was cute and worth a chuckle. Did *not* think "Why, they're making fun of Lindsay Lohan!" when I saw it.
A few points here -
1. Lindsay/Lindsey ranks between 277 and 380 (depending on spelling) on the list of most popular baby names (according to the Social Security Administration, anyway). As recently as 1999, it ranked in the top 100. It's a popular name.
If the baby's name in the spot had been "Lohan", there might be grounds for a suit.
However, it's wasn't and there isn't.
2. Last time I heard (and since I don't follow this stuff, my info may be a few years out of date), Lindsay Lohan isn't interested in boyfriends. That's her choice to make, but it kind of undercuts her point in the suit. No if the baby girl had been stealing the recurring character's girlfriend, there might be grounds for a suit.
However, she wasn't and there isn't.
3. Could the fact that Lohan's fame is fading fast be behind this lawsuit? A little senseless ranting to let people know she is still around, trying to get a little attention? Well, if it is, it worked.
She's earned a little attention from a mostly obscure blog in Arizona.
Her PR team has certainly earned its pay this week.
Election Day Today - Remember to vote!
Many municipalities and school districts in Arizona are holding elections today, be they regular or special elections.
In Tempe, they're holding a regularly scheduled election for three seats on the City Council with a ballot question about raising the City's bed tax (sample ballot here).
In Scottsdale, the election concerns a number of proposed updates to the City's charter and also a hike to Scottsdale's bed tax, too (sample ballot here).
In addition, many school districts are holding override elections.
Whether you live in Scottsdale, Tempe, or another part of Maricopa County, you can find your polling place here, courtesy the Maricopa County Recorder's Office. If you live in another part of the state, contact your local county's elections department for polling place info.
Later!
In Tempe, they're holding a regularly scheduled election for three seats on the City Council with a ballot question about raising the City's bed tax (sample ballot here).
In Scottsdale, the election concerns a number of proposed updates to the City's charter and also a hike to Scottsdale's bed tax, too (sample ballot here).
In addition, many school districts are holding override elections.
Whether you live in Scottsdale, Tempe, or another part of Maricopa County, you can find your polling place here, courtesy the Maricopa County Recorder's Office. If you live in another part of the state, contact your local county's elections department for polling place info.
Later!
Monday, March 08, 2010
And so it continues - the gutting of Arizona's future
Cross-posted at Blog for Arizona...
I and others will do a more complete analysis of the bills that the lege is pushing as its budget "solution", but here is a brief bit on each, mostly from the factsheets prepared by legislative staff. I'm using the House bills here, but the Senate has an identical version of each bill posted, too.
HB2001, general appropriations (fact sheet here) - Many lowlights, too many to list all of them, but here's one - the lege expects to save almost $100 million by eliminating KidsCare, taking away health care from 47,000 Arizona children, but have no fear, they will be spending more than $98 million of that on 6000 new prison beds.
As an aside, they're budgeting almost $40 million for 2000 private prison beds (@$20K per) but $58 million for 4000 new beds in state prisons (~$14.5K per). I thought the rationale behind privatizing prisons was to save money?
HB2002, capital outlay appropriations (fact sheet here)
HB2003, budget procedures; budget reconciliation (fact sheet here) - among other things, mandates a reduction in the pay of all state employees, except for electeds (of course) and 13 unpaid furlough days over the next 2+ fiscal years.
HB2004, regulation; budget reconciliation (fact sheet here)
HB2005, general government; budget reconciliation (fact sheet here)
HB2006, criminal justice; budget reconciliation (fact sheet here) - among other things, eliminates the state Department of Juvenile Corrections. Also pawns off a number of short-term state prisoners onto county jail systems and eliminates the state's Sex Offender Monitoring Fund.
HB2007, environment; budget reconciliation (fact sheet here)
HB2008, K-12 education; budget reconciliation (fact sheet here) - increases assistance paid to charter schools, reduces soft capital (books and other classroom supplies) allocations if the sales tax increase passes in May, eliminates soft capital funding if the tax increase fails, eliminates full-day K, bars new school construction.
HB2009, higher education; budget reconciliation (fact sheet here) - eliminates capital outlay funding for community colleges, reduces the amount of money that the state has to provide to fund financial aid at the state's universities.
HB2010, health; budget reconciliation (fact sheet here) - the list is long and ugly here.
HB2011, welfare; budget reconciliation (fact sheet here) - here, too.
HB2012, revenues; budget reconciliation (fact sheet here) - all sorts of fund sweeps and fee and license hikes.
HB2013, accounting expenses tax credit; repeal (fact sheet here)
HCR2001, early childhood development; health; repeal (fact sheet here) - if approved by the voters, would repeal Prop 203 (related to the title of the measure) and sweep any funds into the state's General Fund.
HCR2002, land conservation fund; reversion (fact sheet here) - Sweeps voter-protected funds from the Land Conservation Fund ($123 million dedicated to preservation of open spaces) into the state's General Fund.
The House Appropriations Committee will meet on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. to consider the bills; Senate Approps will also meet at 9:30 to consider their chamber's package of bills.
If this all seems rushed, it should - they're trying to fix this year's budget and pass next year's by Wednesday or Thursday. They seem to be attempting to push this stuff through before anyone can really analyze what they're doing and what the real impacts on Arizonans are.
In short, they (the Rs) want to railroad the budget through before anyone can organize an effective response.
More later...
Harry Mitchell puts his money where his mouth is...
CD5 Congressman Harry Mitchell has been unwavering in his opposition to Congress' automatic pay hikes. Beside annually introducing and pushing bills to forego that raise, he donates those pay hikes to local charities when the pay hikes go through anyway.
This year has been no different.
From a press release -
This year has been no different.
From a press release -
U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell today announced the local Arizona charities to which he will donate his 2008 and 2009 Congressional pay raises. Mitchell made the announcement at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale Hartley & Ruth Barker Branch while examining challenges the current economic downturn is creating for nonprofit and charitable organizations.Later...
“With more and more people in need of assistance and local charities stretched to
their limits, it is unconscionable to think that Congress is considering giving itself a pay raise this year,” Mitchell said. "Since I took office, I've been proud to donate my pay raise to charities and organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs with the hope that it will improve life in our community."
{snip}
While there were many worthy charities, Mitchell chose the following organizations.
The new recipients are:
Arthritis Foundation - Greater Southwest Chapter. Arthritis Foundation works to improve the lives of those suffering from arthritis through prevention, control and cure of arthritis, and related diseases. The Arthritis Foundation Greater Southwest Chapter helps more than 1.5 million people, including nearly 8,000 children, in Arizona , New Mexico and El Paso , Texas , who are affected by arthritis. Arizona State Senator Carolyn Allen is the immediate past Chair.
New Global Citizens. This initiative helps young people form New Global Citizen
(NGC) teams on their high school campuses. These teams select one of NGC's global partner projects and chose one of three objectives offered by the initiative: 1) to educate their community about the challenges faced by their partner project, 2) to advocate on behalf of a pressing global issue, and/or 3) to raise the financial resources necessary to effect real change on the ground for their partner project. In turn, NGC provides education, training, and support to these teams through staff, trainings, resource materials, site visits, and a vast network across the country.
Tempe Community Action Agency’s “Shower Power” Project. Headquartered in Tempe’s Escalante Neighborhood, TCAA is a non-profit social service organization helps the working poor, seniors, the homeless and others in need achieve sufficiency. Tempe Leadership Class XXV is heading the Shower Power Project, which will provide showers to homeless individuals who participate in the Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program (I-HELP).
*Last year, Mitchell donated to the Tempe Community Action Agency. This year, he is proud to specifically support the “Shower Power” Project.
In addition, Mitchell will again donate to the local charities he supported last year. They are:
Paz de Cristo. Paz de Cristo provides community service and justice-minded volunteers with an opportunity to directly serve people in need with a daily meal service, food boxes and empowerment programs. Each month, nearly 1,000 individuals from more than 60 faith communities, civic groups, businesses and schools work together to fulfill the Paz de Cristo mission.
Sojourner Center. Sojourner Center provides shelter and support services to thousands of individuals affected by domestic violence. As the nation's largest domestic violence shelter, Sojourner Center is a tireless advocate for domestic violence victims and survivors.
Arizona Women’s Education and Employment, Inc. AWEE is a workforce development organization, offering a full range of evidence-based training and support services to women, men and their families by helping them reclaim their lives by moving from welfare to the workplace.
St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance. St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance, the world's first food bank, is a non-sectarian, nonprofit organization that alleviates hunger by efficiently gathering and distributing food to sites that serve the hungry. Serving 13 of Arizona 's 15 counties, the organization is committed to volunteerism, building community relationships and improving the quality of life for Arizonans in need.
Friends of Tempe Center for the Arts. Friends of Tempe Center for the Arts promotes the artistic activities of the Tempe Center for the Arts by supporting a system of funding through public, private and philanthropic sources to encourage and foster appreciation of the arts for future generations.
The Arizona Animal Welfare League. The League is Arizona ’s largest and oldest “no-kill” animal shelter, co-founded in 1971 by Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty on TV’s “Gunsmoke."
The Arizona Chapter of Sentinels of Freedom. The local chapter of this national veterans organization helps wounded soldiers restart their lives. Sentinels of Freedom scholarships have helped returning soldiers – with injuries such as amputations, blindness, deafness, paraplegia and burns – to pay mortgages, undergo physical rehabilitation and adjust to civilian life.
Audubon of Arizona. Started in 2002 under the leadership of former Scottsdale Mayor Sam Campana, Audubon Arizona has grown to be a premier conservation and environmental education program.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale. With nine branches in Scottsdale and
the northeast Valley, the Club has served well over 100,000 children and teens with quality after-school and summer programs in a safe, supervised environment.
Childsplay. Childsplay is an award-winning professional theatre company for young audiences and families. Since 1977, Childsplay has achieved a national reputation in the field. Mitchell is a longtime supporter of Childsplay and sits on its board of trustees.
The East Valley Crisis Center. The Center is committed to preventing child abuse and neglect, and its shelter and programs have aided and comforted nearly 12,000 children since 1981.
Prostate Checkup All Sports Foundation, aka prostatecheckup.com. Founded in 1998 by former football coach and prostate cancer survivor Gene Felker, this
organization saves lives by educating and screening men for prostate cancer. Mitchell is also a prostate cancer survivor whose life was saved by a PSA blood test in 1999.
Tempe Impact Education Foundation. Volunteers from TIE provide help to some of the neediest children in Tempe Elementary Schools, including clothing, musical instruments and scholarships. Mitchell and his wife, Marianne, taught in Tempe schools.
Welcome to America Project. This East Valley-based organization helps refugees from Africa and other war-torn and oppressed regions settle into their new lives with donations of furniture and household items.
Live Blogging Senate Appropriations - Regular Session
4:01 - Passing SB1419, correcting a dental hygienist bill from last session. I am out of here.
3:38 - Voting on measure. Aboud expressing doubts about measure's vagueness, votes no; Aguirre votes yes, hoping language is clarified; S Allen thinks this is a great bill, votes yes; Braswell also thinks this is "excellent" and votes yes; Gould votes yes but thinks that Senate won't obey the measure anyway; Harper votes yes; Melvin votes yes; Pearce thinks this is great, votes yes. Passes 7 - 1, 1 not voting.
3:35 - It's apparent that the Senators don't know how this bill would apply, or don't want to talk about it. Sen. Aguirre is worried about school districts; Sen. Aboud is concerned with unclear language in the measure. Burns' doubletalk pace is increasing.
3:31 - Rs on the committee using this measure as an opportunity to decry the use of any debt instruments to fund government, yet don't mention how their never-ending quest for corporate tax cuts has forced the state and its agencies to turn to debt.
3:27 - Clarification from staff - the measure would not apply to "political subdivisions" (counties, etc.) but would apply to higher ed.
3:25 - Burns' measure is meant to reduce the state's debt level for all sorts of debt instruments (bonds, etc.). Includes K-12.
3:24 - Burns says that state has $4.3 billion in debt right now; c0unties, municipalities, school districts, etc. have more.
3:20 - SCR1060 - fact sheet here. Bob Burns speaking in favor of his proposal.
3:19 (later in the same minute) - meeting gavelled into order. SCR1060 (changing the state's debt limit) up first.
3:19 p.m. - The meeting is about to start - most of the senators are here and in their seats.
3:38 - Voting on measure. Aboud expressing doubts about measure's vagueness, votes no; Aguirre votes yes, hoping language is clarified; S Allen thinks this is a great bill, votes yes; Braswell also thinks this is "excellent" and votes yes; Gould votes yes but thinks that Senate won't obey the measure anyway; Harper votes yes; Melvin votes yes; Pearce thinks this is great, votes yes. Passes 7 - 1, 1 not voting.
3:35 - It's apparent that the Senators don't know how this bill would apply, or don't want to talk about it. Sen. Aguirre is worried about school districts; Sen. Aboud is concerned with unclear language in the measure. Burns' doubletalk pace is increasing.
3:31 - Rs on the committee using this measure as an opportunity to decry the use of any debt instruments to fund government, yet don't mention how their never-ending quest for corporate tax cuts has forced the state and its agencies to turn to debt.
3:27 - Clarification from staff - the measure would not apply to "political subdivisions" (counties, etc.) but would apply to higher ed.
3:25 - Burns' measure is meant to reduce the state's debt level for all sorts of debt instruments (bonds, etc.). Includes K-12.
3:24 - Burns says that state has $4.3 billion in debt right now; c0unties, municipalities, school districts, etc. have more.
3:20 - SCR1060 - fact sheet here. Bob Burns speaking in favor of his proposal.
3:19 (later in the same minute) - meeting gavelled into order. SCR1060 (changing the state's debt limit) up first.
3:19 p.m. - The meeting is about to start - most of the senators are here and in their seats.
Quick update - special and regular session
...Right now, we are waiting for the beginning (actually the restarting) of last Friday's meeting of Senate Approps. Due to the fact that a number of members couldn't be in town last Friday, they didn't achieve the quorum necessary to conduct business and will do so after a meeting of Senate Rules.
...The schedule isn't posted as yet, but sometime tomorrow (Tuesday, March 9), the 7th Special Session's Senate Approps will meet to discuss the bills that are being posted as I write this. The text of the bills *should* be posted on the lege's website shortly.
...Word just came down to the staffers setting up the Approps meeting that they may be going back to a floor session first.
I'll post any updates as soon as they become available.
...The schedule isn't posted as yet, but sometime tomorrow (Tuesday, March 9), the 7th Special Session's Senate Approps will meet to discuss the bills that are being posted as I write this. The text of the bills *should* be posted on the lege's website shortly.
...Word just came down to the staffers setting up the Approps meeting that they may be going back to a floor session first.
I'll post any updates as soon as they become available.
Special Session #7 underway
The regular session Senate floor session took over an hour - and it was fairly non-controversial (any bills that were borderline between passing and failing, like the texting while driving ban, were pulled from the agenda for Third Read (final passage).
They are organizing the session right now (rules and such). The lege's staff is currently in the process of posting documents for the session. No text for bills has been posted yet, but a couple of titles have - SCR1001 (early childhood development; health; repeal) and SCR1002 (land conservation fund; reversion).
And so the ugliness begins.
Later...
They are organizing the session right now (rules and such). The lege's staff is currently in the process of posting documents for the session. No text for bills has been posted yet, but a couple of titles have - SCR1001 (early childhood development; health; repeal) and SCR1002 (land conservation fund; reversion).
And so the ugliness begins.
Later...
Senate Session, Monday March 8, 2010
1:17 p.m. - They've been going through "points of personal privilege" (introductions of guests, personal comments, or in Ron Gould's case, reading an editorial that he agrees with) for approximately 10 minutes. Highlight so far -
It's Senator Meg Burton Cahill's (D-LD17) birthday!
Whoooo hoooo!
It's Senator Meg Burton Cahill's (D-LD17) birthday!
Whoooo hoooo!
Sunday, March 07, 2010
The Coming Week - Everybody Else Edition
As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice...
...In Congress, most of the MSM attention will be on health care reform but there are other matters on the agenda this week.
- In the House of Representatives, their agenda includes many of the usual memorial, congratulatory, building naming and similar "window dressing" motions.
However, there are also a few items that could generate some heat.
- H.R. 4621, the Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act. This one is targeted at groups and organizations that have sent out fundraising mailers that look like official Census documents. Like the GOP.
- H. Con. Res. 248, a privileged resolution by Dennis Kucinich to compel the President to remove American troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year. It won't pass, but it will take hours of debate to not pass it. Unless leadership decrees that is should just be tabled. Only the most progressive Democrats will support this one and all Rs will oppose it. Where things could get cute is if there is a move to table the resolution or to refer it to committee, the Rs could vote to keep it on the floor. As a privileged resolution, the measure takes precedence over almost everything else so they will have to deal with it before any other measure (like HCR) can be considered.
- H. Res. 1031, to impeach federal judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana for ethics breaches. More info here.
...The Senate's committee schedule is here.
...Here in Arizona:
...The Arizona Board of Regents will meet on Thursday and Friday at U of A in Tucson. The agenda includes setting tuition and fees (there are other items related to tuition, but the link is the big one).
...The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have a full meeting this week. Their hearing schedule is here, however.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System don't have a meeting this week, but they are scheduled to be at MIHS' employee picnic on Friday.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a joint meeting with the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association on Friday in Phoenix.
...The Scottsdale City Council isn't meeting this week. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.
...The Tempe City Council also isn't meeting this week. The Council Calendar for the week is here.
Also not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Election Commission, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
...In Congress, most of the MSM attention will be on health care reform but there are other matters on the agenda this week.
- In the House of Representatives, their agenda includes many of the usual memorial, congratulatory, building naming and similar "window dressing" motions.
However, there are also a few items that could generate some heat.
- H.R. 4621, the Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act. This one is targeted at groups and organizations that have sent out fundraising mailers that look like official Census documents. Like the GOP.
- H. Con. Res. 248, a privileged resolution by Dennis Kucinich to compel the President to remove American troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year. It won't pass, but it will take hours of debate to not pass it. Unless leadership decrees that is should just be tabled. Only the most progressive Democrats will support this one and all Rs will oppose it. Where things could get cute is if there is a move to table the resolution or to refer it to committee, the Rs could vote to keep it on the floor. As a privileged resolution, the measure takes precedence over almost everything else so they will have to deal with it before any other measure (like HCR) can be considered.
- H. Res. 1031, to impeach federal judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana for ethics breaches. More info here.
...The Senate's committee schedule is here.
...Here in Arizona:
...The Arizona Board of Regents will meet on Thursday and Friday at U of A in Tucson. The agenda includes setting tuition and fees (there are other items related to tuition, but the link is the big one).
...The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have a full meeting this week. Their hearing schedule is here, however.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System don't have a meeting this week, but they are scheduled to be at MIHS' employee picnic on Friday.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a joint meeting with the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association on Friday in Phoenix.
...The Scottsdale City Council isn't meeting this week. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.
...The Tempe City Council also isn't meeting this week. The Council Calendar for the week is here.
Also not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Election Commission, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
Dean vs. Rove at ASU
On Saturday, March 6, the ASU Undergraduate Student Government presented a debate between Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont and chairman of the Democrat Party, and Karl Rove, formerly an aide to Dick Cheney and a confidant of George W. Bush.
The debate was part on an ongoing tour with Dean and Rove visiting college campuses to discuss political issues.
It was political theater at its purest - there were obviously pre-planned laugh lines (barbs about Dean possibly posing for Cosmo, a la Scott Brown, the newly-elected R Senator from Massachusetts), pre-planned applause lines (pretty much any reiteration of current partisan political dogma), the expected finger-pointing ("it's all Obama's/Bush's fault," etc.), and so on.
No one's mind was changed, nor was there any real attempt to change anyone's mind.
Still, it was a highly-entertaining evening for the hundreds in attendance.
And the various volunteers who spent a couple of hours at the entrance to the Gammage Auditorium registering voters and talking to attendees (not too surprising that the crowd for this event was mostly registered to vote already).
And the various candidates for statewide and local offices who worked the crowd right along with the volunteers.
In short, it was a night for political geeks (Hey - who else would be willing to spend their Saturday evening listening to two people who aren't in office or likely to be running for office any time soon, and be willing to *pay* for the privilege? LOL ).
There should be a full write-up of the event in ASU's State Press by Monday. It turns out that when covering events like this, one can focus on taking notes (and thereby miss much of the goings-on) or can instead focus on paying attention to the event (and thereby take lousy notes). Guess which I did? :)
The one downside to the event was the heckling from the crowd. Much of the time, I couldn't hear the two speakers, and I was seated in the center of the third row.
The rudeness wasn't from just one side of the political spectrum either - both Rove and Dean were each shouted down at various times.
If anyone reading this was one of the hecklers, I have this to say -
The event wasn't a political rally, a basketball game between ASU and UA, or a bunch of drunks in a bar pounding down pitchers of beer BS-ing about the issues of the day. Whether or not you agreed with either speaker, you should have shown them, and your neighbors in the audience, some basic courtesy.
Never mind the fact that you embarrassed Arizona in general and ASU in particular (obviously, you didn't care about that anyway), you undermined the credibility of your own positions with your shameless disregard for those around you.
Later...
The debate was part on an ongoing tour with Dean and Rove visiting college campuses to discuss political issues.
It was political theater at its purest - there were obviously pre-planned laugh lines (barbs about Dean possibly posing for Cosmo, a la Scott Brown, the newly-elected R Senator from Massachusetts), pre-planned applause lines (pretty much any reiteration of current partisan political dogma), the expected finger-pointing ("it's all Obama's/Bush's fault," etc.), and so on.
No one's mind was changed, nor was there any real attempt to change anyone's mind.
Still, it was a highly-entertaining evening for the hundreds in attendance.
And the various volunteers who spent a couple of hours at the entrance to the Gammage Auditorium registering voters and talking to attendees (not too surprising that the crowd for this event was mostly registered to vote already).
And the various candidates for statewide and local offices who worked the crowd right along with the volunteers.
In short, it was a night for political geeks (Hey - who else would be willing to spend their Saturday evening listening to two people who aren't in office or likely to be running for office any time soon, and be willing to *pay* for the privilege? LOL ).
There should be a full write-up of the event in ASU's State Press by Monday. It turns out that when covering events like this, one can focus on taking notes (and thereby miss much of the goings-on) or can instead focus on paying attention to the event (and thereby take lousy notes). Guess which I did? :)
The one downside to the event was the heckling from the crowd. Much of the time, I couldn't hear the two speakers, and I was seated in the center of the third row.
The rudeness wasn't from just one side of the political spectrum either - both Rove and Dean were each shouted down at various times.
If anyone reading this was one of the hecklers, I have this to say -
The event wasn't a political rally, a basketball game between ASU and UA, or a bunch of drunks in a bar pounding down pitchers of beer BS-ing about the issues of the day. Whether or not you agreed with either speaker, you should have shown them, and your neighbors in the audience, some basic courtesy.
Never mind the fact that you embarrassed Arizona in general and ASU in particular (obviously, you didn't care about that anyway), you undermined the credibility of your own positions with your shameless disregard for those around you.
Later...
The Coming Week - Legislative Edition
As usual, all info gathered from the website of the Arizona Legislature, except where noted, and subject to change without notice (and given the activities expected for this week, short-notice changes are likely)...
As noted earlier this weekend, a special session (#7!!) is on tap for the week. Look for more updates as details of that become available.
As for the regular session, committee work is again at a near standstill. The respective chambers' Rules committees will meet on Monday so that the chambers will have something to talk about during floor sessions later in the week.
House Rules' agenda here; Senate Rules' here.
The calendars for Monday's floor sessions are already posted.
The Senate has a Third Read calendar up; highlight there include SB1324, requiring the state Department of Administration to "MAKE IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION OR PREVENTION SERVICES AVAILABLE TO ALL FULL-TIME OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THIS STATE AND ITS DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES" (their caps) and SB1334, a bill to ban texting while driving.
SB1334 has been in the news lately. It died on a tie vote in a Senate COW session and then was revived. This one may pass, but it will be close.
As for SB1324, well, the only citizen listed in the record as in favor of it is James Hamilton, a lobbyist for LifeLock, a company that provides "identity theft and prevention services." Given the state's budget crisis and the recent and impending budget cuts to all of AZ's state agencies (except for the lege, governor, treasurer, and all other offices controlled directly by R elected officials), mandating that ADOA spend some of its rapidly dwindling resources to pay for something that only the lobbyist for the primary corporate beneficiary of the expenditure likes seems unwise.
To put it tactfully.
The CEO of LifeLock, Todd Davis, has contributed to R politicos in the past (Brewer, McComish, Robson in just the last three cycles, and no Ds)...not that I'm suggesting that this apparent payoff is anything more than a coincidence.
:)
The House's Third Read Calendar is here; COW calendars are here, here, and here. There are a number of moderately bad to completely horrible bills up for consideration, too many to list here. Expect those to pass on party line votes, the worse the bill, the deeper the divide (yes, my cynicism in running rampant today). Visit the lege's website for more details.
More later...
As noted earlier this weekend, a special session (#7!!) is on tap for the week. Look for more updates as details of that become available.
As for the regular session, committee work is again at a near standstill. The respective chambers' Rules committees will meet on Monday so that the chambers will have something to talk about during floor sessions later in the week.
House Rules' agenda here; Senate Rules' here.
The calendars for Monday's floor sessions are already posted.
The Senate has a Third Read calendar up; highlight there include SB1324, requiring the state Department of Administration to "MAKE IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION OR PREVENTION SERVICES AVAILABLE TO ALL FULL-TIME OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THIS STATE AND ITS DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES" (their caps) and SB1334, a bill to ban texting while driving.
SB1334 has been in the news lately. It died on a tie vote in a Senate COW session and then was revived. This one may pass, but it will be close.
As for SB1324, well, the only citizen listed in the record as in favor of it is James Hamilton, a lobbyist for LifeLock, a company that provides "identity theft and prevention services." Given the state's budget crisis and the recent and impending budget cuts to all of AZ's state agencies (except for the lege, governor, treasurer, and all other offices controlled directly by R elected officials), mandating that ADOA spend some of its rapidly dwindling resources to pay for something that only the lobbyist for the primary corporate beneficiary of the expenditure likes seems unwise.
To put it tactfully.
The CEO of LifeLock, Todd Davis, has contributed to R politicos in the past (Brewer, McComish, Robson in just the last three cycles, and no Ds)...not that I'm suggesting that this apparent payoff is anything more than a coincidence.
:)
The House's Third Read Calendar is here; COW calendars are here, here, and here. There are a number of moderately bad to completely horrible bills up for consideration, too many to list here. Expect those to pass on party line votes, the worse the bill, the deeper the divide (yes, my cynicism in running rampant today). Visit the lege's website for more details.
More later...
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Special Session #7 on tap for Monday
The Governor has called for a 7th Special Session of the 49th Arizona Legislature to address the state's current budget deficit (~$700 million) and to formulate a budget for next year.
According to the AZRep article on the matter, the basic framework of the package worked out among the Rs in the lege and the Governor's office is the budget proposal she unveiled in January.
The one that includes imposing a 5% pay cut on state employees (well, those that don't get laid off), closing the state's Juvenile Corrections department, shutting down KidsCare, and forcing more than 300,000 patients off of Medicaid.
Those cuts, as horrible as they are, are expected to be dwarfed by massive cuts to K-12 education.
Also, according to the Rep article, R legislators have responded to fiscal concerns expressed by the counties, who will assume responsibility for juvenile corrections, by telling the counties to raise their property tax rates.
Apparently their oath of fealty to Grover Norquist allows them to compel others to raise taxes, so long as they don't do it themselves.
And things will be that good only if voters approve the sales tax increase in May; if not, the Rs have prepared a "Plan B" containing even more severe cuts.
Thus far, nothing has been posted on the lege's website and at this point, nothing should be expected before Monday.
The reasons for the early work on next year's budget appear to be two-fold (normally, work on this stuff doesn't ramp up until late May or early June) -
1. Many of the proposed budget cuts are based on ignoring voter mandates. Expect a plethora of lawsuits to be filed the moment the Governor puts pen to paper to sign this stuff into law. An early start on the budget means an early resolution to any legal actions arising from same.
2. It's an election year. The Rs would rather spend June and July campaigning for reelection than fussing over the budget.
Even though the jobs they want to keep are supposed to be *all* about crafting a workable budget for the state.
Note: The Ds would rather be out campaigning in June and July, too, but they would rather be campaigning on "we passed the best budget possible" while the Rs would rather campaign on "we* didn't raise your taxes."
* = "Just don't ask us about what we are forcing counties, municipalities, and school districts to do."
Time to get ready for the Dean vs. Rove debate. Later...
According to the AZRep article on the matter, the basic framework of the package worked out among the Rs in the lege and the Governor's office is the budget proposal she unveiled in January.
The one that includes imposing a 5% pay cut on state employees (well, those that don't get laid off), closing the state's Juvenile Corrections department, shutting down KidsCare, and forcing more than 300,000 patients off of Medicaid.
Those cuts, as horrible as they are, are expected to be dwarfed by massive cuts to K-12 education.
Also, according to the Rep article, R legislators have responded to fiscal concerns expressed by the counties, who will assume responsibility for juvenile corrections, by telling the counties to raise their property tax rates.
Apparently their oath of fealty to Grover Norquist allows them to compel others to raise taxes, so long as they don't do it themselves.
And things will be that good only if voters approve the sales tax increase in May; if not, the Rs have prepared a "Plan B" containing even more severe cuts.
Thus far, nothing has been posted on the lege's website and at this point, nothing should be expected before Monday.
The reasons for the early work on next year's budget appear to be two-fold (normally, work on this stuff doesn't ramp up until late May or early June) -
1. Many of the proposed budget cuts are based on ignoring voter mandates. Expect a plethora of lawsuits to be filed the moment the Governor puts pen to paper to sign this stuff into law. An early start on the budget means an early resolution to any legal actions arising from same.
2. It's an election year. The Rs would rather spend June and July campaigning for reelection than fussing over the budget.
Even though the jobs they want to keep are supposed to be *all* about crafting a workable budget for the state.
Note: The Ds would rather be out campaigning in June and July, too, but they would rather be campaigning on "we passed the best budget possible" while the Rs would rather campaign on "we* didn't raise your taxes."
* = "Just don't ask us about what we are forcing counties, municipalities, and school districts to do."
Time to get ready for the Dean vs. Rove debate. Later...
Friday, March 05, 2010
The Center for Arizona Policy: The Shadow Legislature
They probably will consider the title of the post to be a compliment, even though it really is intended to merely point out that it is considered to be the most influential lobbying group working a legislature that is renowned for its willingness to be swayed by well-funded lobbyists.
From an article on AZCentral.com -
They don't mind selling out Arizonans to one group or another; they just don't want the voters to know about it, especially during an election year.
Later...
From an article on AZCentral.com -
The Center for Arizona Policy has impacted the daily life of nearly every Arizonan in some way or another over the past 14 years.The money quote (though the whole article is worth a read) -
The Scottsdale-based conservative non-profit group has had a hand in banning same-sex marriage and raising the minimum gambling age to 21, requiring elementary-school students to recite from the Declaration of Independence and prohibiting late-term abortions.
Yet most Arizonans likely have never heard of it.
Kelly Damron of Phoenix said she got a lesson on the inner workings of the Legislature when she went up against the center and its bills to add regulations to human-egg donation and the use of human embryos. Damron is co-chairwoman of the Arizona chapter of the infertility group Resolve.The article is actually pretty fair (not a hatchet job, not a puff piece), but you can be sure that one group won't like it - the legislature itself.
"It just appears that citizens have no say and that the legislators are being swayed by lobbying groups," she said. "And if you're not savvy enough, there's nothing you can do to stop bad legislation. I didn't feel like I had a voice."
They don't mind selling out Arizonans to one group or another; they just don't want the voters to know about it, especially during an election year.
Later...
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Technical issues
Due to a virus, I am in the middle of reformatting my computer and upgrading my firewall/anti-virus software. As such, blogging will be very light for the next few days.
I recommend surfing over to Blog for Arizona, Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion, or any of the other blogs listed in the blogroll for the latest information and insight into AZ's political scene.
I recommend surfing over to Blog for Arizona, Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion, or any of the other blogs listed in the blogroll for the latest information and insight into AZ's political scene.
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