Just a few weeks ago, the 14 members of the Democratic caucus of the Wisconsin State Senate left Wisconsin in order to block a vote on a bill to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights.
And since then, Republican Governor Scott Walker and the Republicans in their state senate have been throwing a fit, whining about the Wisconsin 14.
Apparently having figured out that threatening fines and the loss of parking places isn't going to intimidate the 14 into returning to the state, Wisconsin's Republicans have authorized the arrest of the 14 Democrats. They have ordered the police in Wisconsin to find, arrest, and bring the Democrats back to the Capitol there.
However, they have a problem - the arrest authority doesn't extend beyond Wisconsin. Even if Wisconsin police wanted to, and thus far there hasn't been any indication that they want to be involved in this mess to the slightest degree, they can't cross into Illinois to chase down the Democratic state senators.
So, the Republicans are bringing in bounty hunters, who don't respect little things like state lines. Or civil rights.
Or sometimes even human life.
One of the 14, Sen. Fred Risser, is 83 years old; another, Sen. Julie Lassa, is almost seven months pregnant. No chance of anything going catastrophically wrong there, right?
I don't know if the Republicans' efforts will be successful, but if any of the Democrats or other innocent bystanders are hurt in any way by the Republicans' escalation here, using force to impose their will on a political minority....?
Let's just say that "hell to pay" will be far too mild a term to describe the aftermath.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Schweikert votes to protect oil companies
Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.J. Res 44, a resolution continuing government operations for another two weeks, by a vote of 335 - 91. As one can see from those totals, support for the measure was bipartisan, even if a lot of that support was of the "I'll hold my nose and vote for this anyway" variety.
Less bipartisan was the vote on a proposal by Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) to add a clause to the measure "prohibiting the use of funds to be used for tax benefit or relief for any major integrated oil company."
What is possibly the single most profitable industry in the world is also one of the most highly subsidized.
Arizona's David Schweikert (R-CD5), a self-professed fiscal hawk, someone who never fails to grab an opportunity to rail about the federal deficit, had an opportunity to vote to cut the federal deficit by BILLIONS of dollars.
So what did he do?
Voted with every other Republican in the House of Representatives to continue the budget-busting (but oh-so-campaign-contribution-friendly) corporate subsidies.
The proposal to end oil company subsidies for as long as the federal government is operating under a continuing resolution (as opposed to an actual budget) went down 176 - 249.
Of course.
Less bipartisan was the vote on a proposal by Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) to add a clause to the measure "prohibiting the use of funds to be used for tax benefit or relief for any major integrated oil company."
What is possibly the single most profitable industry in the world is also one of the most highly subsidized.
Arizona's David Schweikert (R-CD5), a self-professed fiscal hawk, someone who never fails to grab an opportunity to rail about the federal deficit, had an opportunity to vote to cut the federal deficit by BILLIONS of dollars.
So what did he do?
Voted with every other Republican in the House of Representatives to continue the budget-busting (but oh-so-campaign-contribution-friendly) corporate subsidies.
The proposal to end oil company subsidies for as long as the federal government is operating under a continuing resolution (as opposed to an actual budget) went down 176 - 249.
Of course.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
More Bundgaard info getting out there....
Right now, I'm betting the State Sen. Scott Bundgaard (R-LD4) is rueing the day that the internet was invented, because the reports surrounding his domestic violence incident are going viral.
Now, the Phoenix New Times' Stephen Lemons has posted the police reports related to Bundgaard's fight with his now ex-girlfriend, Aubry Ballard, and those reports show that while Bundgaard has been consistent about blaming the fight on Ballard, citing her "jealousy," a witness' independent recounting of the part of the events that he saw corroborates Ballard's story.
In addition to that, the responding officer recommended that Bundgaard face charges once the legislative session is completed.
Note: According to KPNX's late newscast on Wednesday, charges have been dropped against Aubry Ballard.
I wonder if that development has anything to do with the fact the the independent witness' account most closely resembled Ballard's account, not Bundgaard's.
See below.
From the officers' reports.
First up, Officer Patterson (their ALL CAPS, and most of the typos are theirs, too) -
Now, the Phoenix New Times' Stephen Lemons has posted the police reports related to Bundgaard's fight with his now ex-girlfriend, Aubry Ballard, and those reports show that while Bundgaard has been consistent about blaming the fight on Ballard, citing her "jealousy," a witness' independent recounting of the part of the events that he saw corroborates Ballard's story.
In addition to that, the responding officer recommended that Bundgaard face charges once the legislative session is completed.
Note: According to KPNX's late newscast on Wednesday, charges have been dropped against Aubry Ballard.
I wonder if that development has anything to do with the fact the the independent witness' account most closely resembled Ballard's account, not Bundgaard's.
See below.
From the officers' reports.
First up, Officer Patterson (their ALL CAPS, and most of the typos are theirs, too) -
I ASKED SCOTT WHY HE HAD PULLED OVER ONTO THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY AND HE STATED THE FOLLOWING. SCOTT WAS OUT AT A CHARITY EVENT WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND OF 8 MONTHS AP1 AUBRY BALLARD AND DECIDED TO LEAVE. IT WAS LATER FOUND THAT AUBRY SPENDS THE NIGHT AT SCOTTS HOUSE ALMOST EVERY WEEKEND. SCOTT WAS DRIVING AUBRY TO HIS PARENTS HOUSE BECAUSE AUBRY HAD LEFT HER CAR PARKED THERE. SCOTT SAID AUBRY WAS UPSET THAT HE WAS DANCING WITH ANOTHER WOMEN DURING THE EVENT. SCOTT SAID AUBRY WAS MAKING STATEMENTS THAT HE DIDN'T LOVER HER ANYMORE AND BEGAN TO YELL AT HIM. SCOTT STATED THAT AUBRY SAID SHE WAS GOING TO JUMP OUT OF THE CAR INTO TRAFFIC AS THEY WERE DRIVING NORTH BOUND ON THE SR-51. SCOTT SAID AUBRY THREW HIS SUIT OUT OF THE WINDOW JUST AS THEY PASSED SHEA BOULDEVARD. SCOTT ALSO STATED THAT AUBRY HIT HIM SEVERAL TIMES IN THE FACE AND TRIED TO GRAB THE STEERING WHEEL AND CRASH THE VEHICLE INTO THE CEMENT MEDIAN. SCOTT STOPPED THE VEHICLE AND GOT OUT TO RETRIEVE HIS SUIT AND WHEN HE WAS RETURNING TO HIS VEHICLE AUBRY GOT OUT OF THE VEHICLE AND CONTINUED TO THROW ITEMS ONTO THE FREEWAY AND TRIED TO PUT AUBRY BACK INTO THE VEHICLE. SCOTT STATED THAT HE WAS A STATE SENATOR. I SAW SCOTT'S RIGHT EYE WAS BRUISED AND HAD A SMALL CUT UNDERNEATH IT. SCOTT'S LIP WAS ALSO SWOLLEN AND HE POINTED TO WHERE THE TOP BUTTON ON HIS SHIRT WAS BUT SAID AUBRY RIPPED IT OPEN AND THE BUTTON FELL OFF. SCOTT ALSO HAD A SMALL CUT UNDERNEATH HIS NOSE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF HIS FACE.Aubry Ballard's story was somewhat different. From Officer Werner's report -
SCOTT WAS PLACED INTO THE BACK OF A DPS PATROL VEHICLE AND AUBRY WAS PLANCE IN ANOTHER ONE. BOTH PARTIES WERE TRANSPORTED OFF THE FREEWAY TO THE PARK PARKING LOT AT 3500 EAST CACTUS ROAD FOR THEIR SAFETY. I DROVE SCOTTS VEHICLE TO THAT LOCATION AS MY PARTNER FOLLOWED ME IN THE PATROL VEHICLE.
UPON ARRIVAL AT THE PARK I PLACED SCOTT IN THE BACK OF MY PATROL VEHICLE AND TOOK HIS HANDCUFFS OFF. SINCE SCOTT STATED THAT HE WAS A STATE SENATOR AND THAT HE WAS IN SESSION, MY SUPERVISOR SERGEANT RODARME #6999 CONTACTED THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT TO VERIFY THAT INFORMATION. AT 2347 HOURS I READ SCOTT HIS MIRANDA RIGHTS AND ADVISED HIM THAT HE WAS NOT UNDER ARREST BUT STILL UNDER INVESTIGATIVE DETENTION. SCOTT REPLIED "YES" WHEN ASKED IF HE UNDERSTOOD HIS RIGHTS BUT SAID HE WOULD NOT ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS WITHOUT HIS LAWYER PRESENT.
SGT RODARME WAS ADVISED BY OUR ON DUTY LEGAL ATTORNEY THAT UNDER ARTICLE 4 OF THE CONSTITUTION THAT IF THE SENATE WAS IN SESSION AND UNLESS SCOTT COMMITTED TREASON OF BREACH OF THE PEACE THEN HE WAS IMMUNE TO ARREST. IT WAS VERIFIED THAT LEGISLATION WAS IN SESSION.
I CONTACTED W1 RICH MAIOCCO BY TELEPHONE AND HE STATED THE FOLLOWING. RICH WAS ENTERING THE SR-51 NORTH BOUND FROM SHEA BOULEVARD WHEN HE WITNESSED A GOLD COLORED SEDAN PARKED NEXT TO THE CEMENT MEDIAN. RICH SAID HE WITNESSED A MAN PUSHING OR PULLING A FEMALE NEXT TO THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR OF THE GOLD COLORED SEDAN. RICH ALSO STATED THAT THE FEMALE FELL TO THE GROUND NEAR THE PASSENGER DOOR WHILE THE MALE HAD HIS HANDS ON HER. RICH IS WILLING TO TESTIFY AND CAN IDENTIFY THE MALE AND FEMALE.
OUR INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT SENATOR BUNDGAARD WAS IMMUNE FROM THIS CRIME. I REMOVED SCOTT FROM THE BACK OF MY VEHICLE AND HIS INJURIES WERE PHOTOGRAPHED BY OFC GRABER #9448. OFC GRABER ALSO PHOTOGRAPHED AUBRY'S INJURIES. BASED ON SENATOR BUNDGAARD'S POSITION HE WAS RELEASED. HIS GIRLFRIEND AUBRY WAS BOOKED INTO 4TH AVENUE JAIL FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ASSAULT. I AM REQUESTING THAT THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ASSAULT CHARGE BE SUBMITTED ON SENATOR BUNDGAARD WHEN THE LEGISLATION IS NOT IN SESSION. PLEASE REFER TO OFC WERNER #9412 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING AUBRY'S STATEMENT. SCOTT DOES NOT DESIRE PROSECUTION AND WILL NOT TESTIFY AGAINST AUBRY.
ON 022611 AT APPROXIMATELY 2319 HOURS, I RESPONDED AS ONE MAN UNIT RADIO CALL LOCATED ON NORTH PIESTEWA PARKWAY JUST OF EAST CACTUS ROAD ON THE NORTHBOUND SIDE OF THE FREEWAY.New Times coverage here, here, and here.
UPON ARRIVING, I FOUND SP1 SCOTT BUNDGAARD AND AP1 AUBRY BALLARD. FOR THE PURPOSE OF SAFETY, THE TWO SUBJECTS AND THE VEHICLE WERE MOVE TO 11229 NORTH 36TH STREET IN THE PARKING LOT.
UPON ARRIVING, I ASKED AUBRY TO EXPLAIN THE INCIDENT. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT MS BALLARD AND SENATOR BUNDGAARD HAVE AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WHERE MS BALLARD FREQUENTLY STAYS THE NIGHT ON WEEKENDS AT SENATOR BUNDGAARD'S RESIDENCE. THEY HAVE BEEN IN A RELATIONSHIP FOR APPROXIMATELY EIGHT MONTHS.
MS BALLARD STATED THAT ON 022611 AT APPROXIMATELY 2319 HOURS, SENATOR BUNDGAARD WAS IN THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT OF THE VEHICLE AND MS BALLARD WAS IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE SEAT. THEY WERE IN THE CARPOOL LANE GOING NORTHBOUD ON THE I-51 OR THE PIESTEWA PARKWAY JUST BEFORE THE CACTUS ROAD EXIT. SHE SAID THAT THEY VERBALLY ARGUING WHILE SHE WAS DRIVING. DURING THE ARGUMENT, SENATOR BUNDGAARD USED HIS RIGHT ARM IN A SWINGING MOTION AND HIT MS BALLARD OVER HER CHEST. THE STRIKE CAUSED BRUISING ON THE LEFT UPPER CHEST AREA OF MS BALLARD. MS BALLARD STATE THAT HE STRUCK HER TWICE.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT MS BALLARD DENIED ANY MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR HER INJURIES.
MS BALLARD THEN SAID. "YOU HIT ME" AND STRUCK SP1 BUNDGAARD IN THE FACE WITH HER LEFT ARM USING AN OPEN HAND. MS BALLARD ATTEMPTED TO THEN USE HER PHONE TO CALL HER PARENTS FOR SOME HELP. SP1 BUNDGAARD GRABBED HER PHONE OUT OF HER HAND AND THREW IT OUT OF HIS DRIVER SIDE WINDOW. MS BALLARD STATED THAT AFTER 20 TO 30 SECOND, SENATOR BUNDGAARD STOPPED THE VEHICLE IN THE INSIDE SHOULDER OF THE NORTHBOUND CARPOOL LANE TO GO BACK FOR HER PHONE. BOTH SUBJECTS LEFT THE VEHICLE AND WERE ATTEMPTING TO FIND HER PHONE WHEN SENATOR BUNDGAARD RETURNED TO THE VEHICLE, THREATENING TO LEAVE MS BALLARD ON THE FREEWAY. MS BALLARD WENT BACK TO THE VEHICLE AND ATTEMPTED TO OPEN THE DRIVER SIDE DOORS. AFTER A FEW MOMENTS, SENATOR BUNDGAARD OPENED THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR AND PUSHED MS BALLARD TO THE GROUND WITH A TWO HANDED IMPACT PUSH, MAKING HER FALL TO THE GROUND CAUSING A LACERATION ON HER RIGHT KNEE AND A CAUSED A SCRAPE ALSO ON HER RIGHT HAND.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT MS BALLARD HAD DIFFICULTY REMEMBERING ALL THE DETAILS OF THE INCIDENT, BUT SHE STATED THAT HE PUSHED HER DOWN AT LEAST TWICE.
AT THIS TIME, MS BALLARD WAS PLACED UNDER ARREST ON 022611 AT APPROXIMATELY 0046 HOURS. MIRANDA WARNING WAS READ DIRECTLY FROM THE CARD AT 0048 HOURS. MS BALLARD STATED YES TO UNDERSTANDING HER RIGHTS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING MS BALLARD'S STATEMENTS, PLEASE LOOK TO HER RECORDED STATEMENTS WHICH WERE IMPOUNDED AS EVIDENCE ON A CASSETTE TAPE AT DESERT HORIZON PRECINCT.
MS BALLARD THAT SHE DOES NOT WAS PROSECUTION AGAINST SENATOR BUNDGAARD.
MS BALLARD WAS BOOKED ON 13-1203A WHICH IS ASSAULT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. SHE WAS PROCESSED AT DESERT HORIZON PRECINCT AND TRANSFERRED DOWN TO 4TH AVENUE JAIL.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS REPORT, PLEASE LOOK TO THE ORIGINAL REPORT BY OFFICER PATTERSON #9314.
One nullification bill goes down...for now
Today, the Arizona State Senate defeated SB1433 by a 12 - 18 vote. SB1433 would have created a legislative committee with the authority to "nullify," or ignore, any federal law, regulation, or order that they don't like.
This was one of the new Confederacy bills that have clogged up legislative agendas and calendars for weeks.
All nine Democratics senators voted against the measure, as well as nine out of 21 Republican senators.
Democrats who voted against the measure:
David Schapira
Leah Landrum Taylor
Paula Aboud
Olivia Cajero Bedford
Steve Gallardo
Jack Jackson Jr.
Linda Lopez
Robert Meza
Kyrsten Sinema
Republicans who voted against the measure:
Nancy Barto
Rich Crandall
Adam Driggs
Linda Gray
John McComish
John Nelson
Michele Reagan
Steve Yarbrough
Lori Klein
Klein's "no" vote wasn't an expression of opposition to the bill - she was the originating sponsor of it. She just voted "no" today because under the rules of the Senate, only a Senator who voted with the majority in defeating a measure can move to reconsider, or bring the bill back to the Senate floor for another vote.
When it was obvious that the bill wasn't going to pass, she changed her vote from "yes" to "no."
As such, they need three, not four, votes to switch to pass the measure. My guess, and it's only a guess, is that they (meaning R leadership and Klein) will target Barto, Gray, and Reagan and/or Yarbrough. All have weaknesses or ambitions (pet bills, Congressional aspirations, etc.) that could make them vulnerable to entreaties or threats from their caucus' leadership. The others, while thoroughly conservative (though they'll be denounced as "RINOs" or worse in the RW blogosphere, have been pretty consistent about having a line that even they won't cross.
Some serious arm-twisting is going on down on West Washington tonight...
This was one of the new Confederacy bills that have clogged up legislative agendas and calendars for weeks.
All nine Democratics senators voted against the measure, as well as nine out of 21 Republican senators.
Democrats who voted against the measure:
David Schapira
Leah Landrum Taylor
Paula Aboud
Olivia Cajero Bedford
Steve Gallardo
Jack Jackson Jr.
Linda Lopez
Robert Meza
Kyrsten Sinema
Republicans who voted against the measure:
Nancy Barto
Rich Crandall
Adam Driggs
Linda Gray
John McComish
John Nelson
Michele Reagan
Steve Yarbrough
Lori Klein
Klein's "no" vote wasn't an expression of opposition to the bill - she was the originating sponsor of it. She just voted "no" today because under the rules of the Senate, only a Senator who voted with the majority in defeating a measure can move to reconsider, or bring the bill back to the Senate floor for another vote.
When it was obvious that the bill wasn't going to pass, she changed her vote from "yes" to "no."
As such, they need three, not four, votes to switch to pass the measure. My guess, and it's only a guess, is that they (meaning R leadership and Klein) will target Barto, Gray, and Reagan and/or Yarbrough. All have weaknesses or ambitions (pet bills, Congressional aspirations, etc.) that could make them vulnerable to entreaties or threats from their caucus' leadership. The others, while thoroughly conservative (though they'll be denounced as "RINOs" or worse in the RW blogosphere, have been pretty consistent about having a line that even they won't cross.
Some serious arm-twisting is going on down on West Washington tonight...
Redistricting Update: The numbers will be here next week
...and then the real work begins.
From a U.S. Census Bureau press release -
Now there's an Arizona metaphor for ya... :)
From a U.S. Census Bureau press release -
Media Advisory — Census Bureau to Release Local 2010 Census Data for Arizona, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Ohio, Pennsylvania and WisconsinWhile I and many other observers have been caught up covering the bits of drama surrounding the formation of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, those events were nothing more than a few spring training games taking place prior to a long regular season.
What: Next week, the U.S. Census Bureau anticipates releasing local-level 2010 Census population counts for Arizona, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. For each state, the Census Bureau will provide summaries of population totals, as well as data on race, Hispanic origin and voting age for multiple geographies within the state, such as census blocks, tracts, voting districts, cities, counties and school districts.
According to Public Law 94-171, the Census Bureau must provide redistricting data to the 50 states no later than April 1 of the year following the census. As a result, the Census Bureau is delivering the data state-by-state on a flow basis in February and March. All states will receive their data by April 1, 2011.
When: Each state's geographic products and redistricting data are first delivered to the state's leadership, such as the governor and majority and minority leaders in the state legislative body. Upon confirmation of delivery to the state leadership, we will release a news release with five custom tables of data. Within 24 hours, the full set of five detailed tables will be available to the public online at http://factfinder2.census.gov/.
For more information on the Census Bureau's Redistricting Data Program, visit http://www.census.gov/rdo/.
Online Press Kit: For more information about the U.S. Census Bureau, please visit http://www.census.gov/ and http://2010.census.gov/news/press-kits/redistricting.html and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube (/uscensusbureau).
Now there's an Arizona metaphor for ya... :)
Arizona should add a sixth "C" to it's civics curriculum...and maybe a seventh...
It's been sort of a tradition for Arizona's schools to teach about the "5 C's" of Arizona's history - Copper, Cotton, Citrus, Cattle, and Climate.
Recent developments in the state have led some to observe that it may be time to add a sixth "C" -
Crazy.
A list ofpieces of evidence bills, courtesy the Arizona House Democrats (I've been thinking of a post in this vein, but since they did a list before I did, they get the credit :) ) -
However, if "crazy" is the sixth "C," then there is now a strong case for a seventh.
Exhibit A - Senate President Russell Pearce has ordered that the first row of the Senate gallery be closed off to the public, and for Senate security personnel to stand in that area while the Senate is in session.
Exhibit B - Pearce no longer walks across the courtyard between the Senate and House for fear of contact with the general public. If for some reason he needs to visit the House, he utilizes the not-so-secret tunnel between the Senate and House buildings.
Exhibit C - Early in the session, when faced with the possibility that members of the legislature could be brought to heel over their penchant for carrying firearms within the buildings of the Capitol, in violation of state law, Pearce handed down an edict stating the sitting legislators don't have to adhere to that law.
Exhibit D - Pearce has created a "blacklist," while simultaneously denying its existence, barring certain of his critics from the Senate building, even those who have done nothing more "dangerous" than clapping during Senate hearing in a room, away from the hearing itself, that had no senators in it.
Exhibit E - Responding to criticism of that move against his critics, Pearce has now barred the public from attending open press conferences in the Senate building.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby present to you Arizona's seventh "C" =
Control Freak.
The Recall Pearce has a website here. Consider helping them any way you can.
Recent developments in the state have led some to observe that it may be time to add a sixth "C" -
Crazy.
A list of
HB 2675, Shaming struggling Arizonans: Makes food stamp cards safety orange and include in large black print the phase “Government Food Stamp Card,” which profiles food stamp holders. (Dial)I might quibble with that list, but only because it barely scratches the surface of the craziness that has taken hold of the Arizona State Capitol.
HB 2070, State guard: Authorizes the governor to establish the Arizona State Guard for any reason the governor considers to be necessary. (Harper)
SB 1519, Health care annihilation: Terminates the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), which would make Arizona ineligible for $4.8 billion in federal funding and leave thousands of Arizonans without health care. (Biggs)
SB 1610, Declaring an official state firearm: Would make the Colt Single Action Army revolver Arizona’s official firearm, instead of focusing on the real issues – economy, jobs and education. (Gould)
HB 2490, Happy Meal toys: Would bar cities and counties from enacting regulations that limit the ability of restaurant incentives like toys, which restricts local governments’ rights. (Gowan)
HB 2384, HB 2416, HB 2443, Absurd anti-choice bills:
· Prohibits abortions sought based on race or sex of the child, when the sex of a fetus is not known when abortions are performed. (Montenegro)
· Dictates what colleges can teach by prohibiting them from using public funds, tax monies or tuition for medical training that includes abortions. (Lesko)
· Requires a woman performing an abortion to listen to the heartbeat of the fetus before termination. (Yee)
HB 2165, Kicking Arizonans when they’re down: Changes the Unemployment benefits paid to individuals temporarily from 26 weeks to 16 weeks through Oct. 31, 2012, which leave Arizonans stranded. (Olson)
HB 2471, Waste of taxpayer dollars: Prohibits the legislature from enacting any statute that involves a monetary federal mandate, which would be overturned due to federal law. (Gowan)
HB 2191, Benefits only one person: Prohibits any person who is illegally in this state in violation of federal immigration law from being awarded punitive damages by any Arizona court, which is a bill introduced to benefit one rancher. (Weiers)
HB 2313, Waste of taxpayer dollars: Broadens the classification of property to the state’s eminent domain laws by including property possessed by the federal government, which would be overturned due to federal law. (Jones)
HB 2077, Waste of taxpayer dollars: Requires any federal agency that comes into a county to conduct authorized business to register its presence with the county sheriff, which would be overturned due to federal law. (Lesko)
SB 1433, Waste of taxpayer dollars: Asserts that the state is not required to recognize or live under any federal legislation that has been nullified by simple majority vote of the legislature, which will bring the state costly lawsuits, which would be overturned due to federal law. (Klein)
HB 2140, Stops local control: Prohibits property rental agreements from requiring a tenant to waive any fundamental gun right. (Harper)
SB 1115, Eliminates ABOR: Would eliminate the Arizona Board of Regents and scrap the existing funding formula structure for community colleges and universities. (Biggs)
HB 2581, STO alcohol contributions: Would allow a credit for contributions to an STO, which would allow the makers and distributors of alcoholic beverages to contribute to the corporate private school tuition tax credit. (Mesnard)
However, if "crazy" is the sixth "C," then there is now a strong case for a seventh.
Exhibit A - Senate President Russell Pearce has ordered that the first row of the Senate gallery be closed off to the public, and for Senate security personnel to stand in that area while the Senate is in session.
Exhibit B - Pearce no longer walks across the courtyard between the Senate and House for fear of contact with the general public. If for some reason he needs to visit the House, he utilizes the not-so-secret tunnel between the Senate and House buildings.
Exhibit C - Early in the session, when faced with the possibility that members of the legislature could be brought to heel over their penchant for carrying firearms within the buildings of the Capitol, in violation of state law, Pearce handed down an edict stating the sitting legislators don't have to adhere to that law.
Exhibit D - Pearce has created a "blacklist," while simultaneously denying its existence, barring certain of his critics from the Senate building, even those who have done nothing more "dangerous" than clapping during Senate hearing in a room, away from the hearing itself, that had no senators in it.
Exhibit E - Responding to criticism of that move against his critics, Pearce has now barred the public from attending open press conferences in the Senate building.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby present to you Arizona's seventh "C" =
Control Freak.
The Recall Pearce has a website here. Consider helping them any way you can.
Bundgaard domestic violence incident update: Aubry Ballard is no longer with the program
State Sen. Scott Bundgaard was involved in a domestic violence incident Friday night, one that resulted in the arrest of his then-girlfriend Aubry Ballard while Bundgaard invoked legislative immunity to avoid arrest.
Bundgaard, though GOP PR guru Jason Rose, has issued a couple of press releases (like this one) on the matter, as well as speaking about the event on the Senate floor Monday. In the press releases, he tried to paint the conflict as rooted in Ms. Ballard being jealous over Bungaard's participation in a knockoff version of "Dancing With The Stars" for charity.
Until Tuesday however, Ballard had remained silent.
That changed when she gave an interview to KPNX's (Phoenix channel 12) Brahm Resnik.
She cited long simmering "relationship problems" as at the root of the conflict between her and Bundgaard, not anything to do with "Dancing."
Not exactly in keeping with the Bundgaard/Rose script.
Note: I attempted to embed the video in this post, but the code wouldn't work here for some reason.
The Republican blog Sonoran Alliance has jumped in, utilizing a "it must be the woman's fault" tack - mentioning that she may have once posed for pictures in a bikini, and implying that she was intoxicated Friday night.
At least they have the KPNX interview.
Other videos related to this matter:
A YouTube video of a pre-charity event interview with Bundgaard and his dance partner, Rebecca Jowers -
A YouTube video of a practice session -
Both of the above videos were posted by the Arizona Kidney Foundation. There doesn't seem to be anything incriminating in them, but they serve as good background material.
A "night-of" YouTube video of the charity event from Trends Magazine. Bundgaard doesn't appear in the video, except as a cardboard cut-out with a sign that reads "Will Dance 4 Votes." (at the 3:57 mark, approximately)
Given the amount of dancing that is going on over this incident, that's turning out to be rather prophetic...
Given the way that Bundgaard's story is falling apart, and the fact that people, like Laurie Roberts of the Arizona Republic, have noticed that the US Supreme Court has already ruled that "legislative immunity" clauses are invalid, does anyone want to put a number on how much time is left in his political career?
The "domestic violence" angle may not be his undoing - that seems to be coming down to a "he said/she said" tie, but he is getting absolutely ravaged in public opinion over his invoking of legislative immunity so he could spend Friday night sleeping in his own bed while his soon-to-be former girlfriend curled up in a jail cell.
Bundgaard, though GOP PR guru Jason Rose, has issued a couple of press releases (like this one) on the matter, as well as speaking about the event on the Senate floor Monday. In the press releases, he tried to paint the conflict as rooted in Ms. Ballard being jealous over Bungaard's participation in a knockoff version of "Dancing With The Stars" for charity.
Until Tuesday however, Ballard had remained silent.
That changed when she gave an interview to KPNX's (Phoenix channel 12) Brahm Resnik.
She cited long simmering "relationship problems" as at the root of the conflict between her and Bundgaard, not anything to do with "Dancing."
Not exactly in keeping with the Bundgaard/Rose script.
Note: I attempted to embed the video in this post, but the code wouldn't work here for some reason.
The Republican blog Sonoran Alliance has jumped in, utilizing a "it must be the woman's fault" tack - mentioning that she may have once posed for pictures in a bikini, and implying that she was intoxicated Friday night.
At least they have the KPNX interview.
Other videos related to this matter:
A YouTube video of a pre-charity event interview with Bundgaard and his dance partner, Rebecca Jowers -
A YouTube video of a practice session -
Both of the above videos were posted by the Arizona Kidney Foundation. There doesn't seem to be anything incriminating in them, but they serve as good background material.
A "night-of" YouTube video of the charity event from Trends Magazine. Bundgaard doesn't appear in the video, except as a cardboard cut-out with a sign that reads "Will Dance 4 Votes." (at the 3:57 mark, approximately)
Given the amount of dancing that is going on over this incident, that's turning out to be rather prophetic...
Given the way that Bundgaard's story is falling apart, and the fact that people, like Laurie Roberts of the Arizona Republic, have noticed that the US Supreme Court has already ruled that "legislative immunity" clauses are invalid, does anyone want to put a number on how much time is left in his political career?
The "domestic violence" angle may not be his undoing - that seems to be coming down to a "he said/she said" tie, but he is getting absolutely ravaged in public opinion over his invoking of legislative immunity so he could spend Friday night sleeping in his own bed while his soon-to-be former girlfriend curled up in a jail cell.
"Living for 32" - a survivor of the Virginia Tech shooting tells his story
Lost in the tumult of a legislative session that has been even uglier than most observers imagined it would be (throwing hundreds of thousands of Arizona's most vulnerable off of AHCCCS, attacks on a woman's right to choose, scads of anti-immigrant bill proposals, a senator claiming legislative immunity for getting into a fight with his girlfriend, Russell Pearce "blacklisting" critics, barring them from the Senate building, and worse) has been the unrelenting effort of certain members of the lege to loosen the few firearms laws in Arizona.
In spite of the mass shooting in Tucson, where six people were killed and more than a dozen others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, were wounded by a single gunman.
Some of the efforts of those legislators have led to bills like SB1467, barring the state's educational institutions from banning guns on campus, and barring them from enforcing an already existing ban.
On Tuesday, Colin Goddard, a survivor the Virginia Tech massacre in April of 2007, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, spoke at the Arizona State Senate in support of reasonable gun control measures and against proposals like SB1467.
(l-r) Rep. Lela Alston, Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford, Sen. David Schapira, Colin Goddard, and Sen. Steve Gallardo
Goddard spoke of the events that day in Virginia - "10 minutes of Hell, 6 days in the hospital, 3 months in physical therapy."
He is working for the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence and is touring the country promoting the documentary "Living for 32.."
The film tells both his story, his path from victim to survivor to activist, and the story of how easy it still is for unstable people to obtain guns in America.
Gallardo and Goddard
There will be screenings of the film on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 in Maricopa County.
The first will be at Glendale Community College at 2 p.m. in GCC's Performing Arts Center.
In the evening, the film will also be shown at 7 p.m. on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University in the Carson Ballroom, in the Old Main building.
KPHO (Phoenix channel 5) coverage of the press conference here.
Arizona Republic coverage here.
In spite of the mass shooting in Tucson, where six people were killed and more than a dozen others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, were wounded by a single gunman.
Some of the efforts of those legislators have led to bills like SB1467, barring the state's educational institutions from banning guns on campus, and barring them from enforcing an already existing ban.
On Tuesday, Colin Goddard, a survivor the Virginia Tech massacre in April of 2007, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, spoke at the Arizona State Senate in support of reasonable gun control measures and against proposals like SB1467.
(l-r) Rep. Lela Alston, Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford, Sen. David Schapira, Colin Goddard, and Sen. Steve Gallardo
Goddard spoke of the events that day in Virginia - "10 minutes of Hell, 6 days in the hospital, 3 months in physical therapy."
He is working for the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence and is touring the country promoting the documentary "Living for 32.."
The film tells both his story, his path from victim to survivor to activist, and the story of how easy it still is for unstable people to obtain guns in America.
Gallardo and Goddard
There will be screenings of the film on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 in Maricopa County.
The first will be at Glendale Community College at 2 p.m. in GCC's Performing Arts Center.
In the evening, the film will also be shown at 7 p.m. on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University in the Carson Ballroom, in the Old Main building.
KPHO (Phoenix channel 5) coverage of the press conference here.
Arizona Republic coverage here.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Redistricting Update: Colleen Mathis of Tucson selected as fifth member and chair of AIRC
Regardless of how the next round of redistricting turns out, Tucson should have nothing to gripe about.
Three out of the five members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) are from Tucson.
Independent Colleen Mathis joined Democrat Linda McNulty and Republican Richard Stertz on the AIRC today.
Mathis being sworn in by Secretary of State Ken Bennett. Commissioner Linda McNulty is in the foreground with her back to the camera
The first four members of the new AIRC met Tuesday afternoon to appoint the fifth member of the Commission. Last week, they interviewed the five candidates for that last spot but they instead of making the selection at that time, they chose to ponder over the candidates and their responses over the weekend.
After the weekend, the four members, with Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett serving as the non-voting temporary chair, met in the old Capitol building. After a few minutes of public comment, they adjourned into executive session at 1:16 p.m. to discuss "personnel matters."
At 2:39 p.m. they returned to regular session to select, by unanimous acclamation, Colleen Mathis of Tucson as the final member and chair of the AIRC.
While I'm not sure that it was legal for the four to deliberate behind closed doors, and it was obviously inappropriate, it is equally obvious that they did so.
The new Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is (their applications linked to their names):
Chair Colleen Mathis, Independent of Pima County
Linda McNulty, Democrat of Pima County
Jose Herrera, Democrat of Maricopa County
Scott Freeman, Republican of Maricopa County
Richard Stertz, Republican of Pima County
Steve Muratore of Arizona Eagletarian has a report here.
Because the vast majority of the meeting took place outside of public view, it was pretty anti-climactic, and there isn't much to write about it.
However, I did get a few pics. :)
former AIRC candidate Marcia Busching addressing the panel, urging them not to give in to the implied threat issued last week (that the lege could withhold adequate funding for redistricting if the four selected Professor Paul Bender as the fifth member)
State Sen. David Schapira explaining the "bill-to-law" process in Arizona to Christopher Mathis, husband of Colleen (you can see the top of her head in this pic :) )
The post-meeting scrum as members of the media gather around the new chair of the AIRC
The new Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (l-r) - Jose Herrera, Linda McNulty, Chair Colleen Mathis, Scott Freeman, Richard Stertz
Three out of the five members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) are from Tucson.
Independent Colleen Mathis joined Democrat Linda McNulty and Republican Richard Stertz on the AIRC today.
Mathis being sworn in by Secretary of State Ken Bennett. Commissioner Linda McNulty is in the foreground with her back to the camera
The first four members of the new AIRC met Tuesday afternoon to appoint the fifth member of the Commission. Last week, they interviewed the five candidates for that last spot but they instead of making the selection at that time, they chose to ponder over the candidates and their responses over the weekend.
After the weekend, the four members, with Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett serving as the non-voting temporary chair, met in the old Capitol building. After a few minutes of public comment, they adjourned into executive session at 1:16 p.m. to discuss "personnel matters."
At 2:39 p.m. they returned to regular session to select, by unanimous acclamation, Colleen Mathis of Tucson as the final member and chair of the AIRC.
While I'm not sure that it was legal for the four to deliberate behind closed doors, and it was obviously inappropriate, it is equally obvious that they did so.
The new Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is (their applications linked to their names):
Chair Colleen Mathis, Independent of Pima County
Linda McNulty, Democrat of Pima County
Jose Herrera, Democrat of Maricopa County
Scott Freeman, Republican of Maricopa County
Richard Stertz, Republican of Pima County
Steve Muratore of Arizona Eagletarian has a report here.
Because the vast majority of the meeting took place outside of public view, it was pretty anti-climactic, and there isn't much to write about it.
However, I did get a few pics. :)
former AIRC candidate Marcia Busching addressing the panel, urging them not to give in to the implied threat issued last week (that the lege could withhold adequate funding for redistricting if the four selected Professor Paul Bender as the fifth member)
State Sen. David Schapira explaining the "bill-to-law" process in Arizona to Christopher Mathis, husband of Colleen (you can see the top of her head in this pic :) )
The post-meeting scrum as members of the media gather around the new chair of the AIRC
The new Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (l-r) - Jose Herrera, Linda McNulty, Chair Colleen Mathis, Scott Freeman, Richard Stertz
Monday, February 28, 2011
More evidence that Jan Brewer should stay away from open microphones
...She is not having a good month when it comes to interview show appearances...
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer appeared on ABC's This Week. She spent most of last week lobbying and schmoozing in Washington, D.C. with the other state governors.
As part of her visit, she appeared with three other governors on ABC News' This Week.
While most of her appearance was limited to spouting typical Republican talking points (Scott Walker is great, the Wisconsin 14 are despicable, etc. - and no, she didn't use those exact words. I'm paraphrasing), one statement caused my ears to perk up.
* = Officially, anyway. As Governor, she is the official "head of government" here, though in practical terms, Russell Pearce and Joe Arpaio have strong cases for being considered the practical evil-doers in chief.
Huffington Post has complete coverage here, including a video clip from the show.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer appeared on ABC's This Week. She spent most of last week lobbying and schmoozing in Washington, D.C. with the other state governors.
As part of her visit, she appeared with three other governors on ABC News' This Week.
While most of her appearance was limited to spouting typical Republican talking points (Scott Walker is great, the Wisconsin 14 are despicable, etc. - and no, she didn't use those exact words. I'm paraphrasing), one statement caused my ears to perk up.
"I think government is a necessary evil."Doesn't that mean, that since she is Arizona's Governor, she is 'evil-doer-in-chief'* here? Inquiring minds want to know. :)
* = Officially, anyway. As Governor, she is the official "head of government" here, though in practical terms, Russell Pearce and Joe Arpaio have strong cases for being considered the practical evil-doers in chief.
Huffington Post has complete coverage here, including a video clip from the show.
Ben Arredondo, party animal - Who knew?
The Cronkite News Service, a part of the ASU School of Journalism and Mass Communication, recently interviewed State Representative Ben Arredondo of Tempe. Rep. Arredondo is a longtime fixture in education and political circles in Tempe and Maricopa County, and is now in his first term in the state legislature.
The video compilation of the interview is below.
The most interesting question and answer came at approximately the 1:22 mark of the video.
Q: "What would your high school classmates voted you most likely to do?"
Arredondo: "Party."
At first, that answer surprised me, but given his love for his alma mater, the hometown ASU, one of the most famous party schools in the country, perhaps it shouldn't have. :))
Other Cronkite News Service videos can be found here.
Hat tip to the Arizona Capitol Times for the heads up on the video...
The video compilation of the interview is below.
The most interesting question and answer came at approximately the 1:22 mark of the video.
Q: "What would your high school classmates voted you most likely to do?"
Arredondo: "Party."
At first, that answer surprised me, but given his love for his alma mater, the hometown ASU, one of the most famous party schools in the country, perhaps it shouldn't have. :))
Other Cronkite News Service videos can be found here.
Hat tip to the Arizona Capitol Times for the heads up on the video...
First proceeding in the Andrew Thomas, et. al. Arizona Bar disciplinary case on tap for next Thursday
The Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Arizona Supreme Court has set a time for the initial case management conference in the Arizona Bar Association's complaint against former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and two of his former assistants, Lisa Aubuchon and Rachel Alexander.
That conference will take place on Thursday, March 10, 2011 in the Arizona State Courts Building. It shouldn't be too colorful, as it is more to establish a schedule than to make any substantive decisions concerning the complaint against the threesome, but it may be worth keeping an eye on this.
Backgrround info:
The Bar complaint against Thomas, Aubuchon, and Alexander is here.
Thomas' motion to disqualify the Bar's Independent Counsel, John Gleason, from the matter because he isn't admitted to the Arizona Bar, is here. Gleason is an attorney in Colorado, and was appointed by the Arizona Chief Justice to serve as Independent Counsel in this matter.
Thomas' motion to dismiss the complaint, based in no small part on the previous motion, is here.
News coverage:
Phoenix New Times coverage of the complaint here.
AP coverage, via the Arizona Capitol Times, here.
That conference will take place on Thursday, March 10, 2011 in the Arizona State Courts Building. It shouldn't be too colorful, as it is more to establish a schedule than to make any substantive decisions concerning the complaint against the threesome, but it may be worth keeping an eye on this.
Backgrround info:
The Bar complaint against Thomas, Aubuchon, and Alexander is here.
Thomas' motion to disqualify the Bar's Independent Counsel, John Gleason, from the matter because he isn't admitted to the Arizona Bar, is here. Gleason is an attorney in Colorado, and was appointed by the Arizona Chief Justice to serve as Independent Counsel in this matter.
Thomas' motion to dismiss the complaint, based in no small part on the previous motion, is here.
News coverage:
Phoenix New Times coverage of the complaint here.
AP coverage, via the Arizona Capitol Times, here.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Joke of the day: A unionized public employee, a teabagger, and a CEO are seated at a table...
In honor of the public employees in Wisconsin, and everywhere, who are standing strong against the unrelenting attacks on public servants and public servants from Republicans, tea party types, and corporatists.
Stolen from a Facebook friend, who stole it from somebody else. I have no idea who the originator is, but that person deserves some serious wiseass points. :)
On a related note, evidently the police in Wisconsin understand that people cannot be arrested simply on the whim of an elected official. A law has to be broken first.
From AP via Yahoo! News -
Stolen from a Facebook friend, who stole it from somebody else. I have no idea who the originator is, but that person deserves some serious wiseass points. :)
A unionized public employee, a Tea Bagger, and a CEO are seated at a table. In the center of the table is a plate holding a dozen cookies. The CEO reaches across and takes eleven cookies. He looks at the Tea Bagger and says, "Watch out for that union guy, he's going to want part of your cookie".
On a related note, evidently the police in Wisconsin understand that people cannot be arrested simply on the whim of an elected official. A law has to be broken first.
From AP via Yahoo! News -
Police allow protesters to remain at Wis. CapitolLater...
The occupation of the Wisconsin Capitol by protesters fighting efforts to strip public workers of union bargaining rights carried on Sunday after police decided not to forcibly remove demonstrators and end a nearly two-week-long sit-in.
{snip}
Wisconsin Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs said demonstrators who had occupied all three floors of the Capitol would have to relocate to the ground floor overnight. Anyone who left the building was barred from returning until Monday morning, although police did allow union officials to bring food into the building for the protesters.
No demonstrators would be arrested as long as they continue to obey the law, Tubbs said. By late evening, the air smelled of pizza and lemon-scented disinfectant as demonstrators quietly ate dinner and several janitors worked around them to clean the Capitol's marble floors.
"People here have acted lawfully and responsibly," Tubbs said. "There's no reason to consider arrests."
Bundgaard case: And the spin begins
By now, most observers of the Arizona political scene are aware of the fact that state Sen. Scott Bundgaard was involved in a domestic violence incident Friday and invoked his immunity from arrest as a serving legislator to avoid incarceration.
The Arizona Republic has coverage here, written by Connie Cone Sexton, with contributions from Mary K. Reinhart and Kristena Hansen.
The Arizona Capitol Times has AP coverage here.
My intent here isn't to rehash the story - I don't have any facts in this matter other than those in the Republic article.
Nor is it to bash Bundgaard in a partisan manner - Democrats aren't perfect in this regard...though if any had similarly invoked legislative immunity from arrest, I have absolutely no doubt that they'd have been raked over the coals in the RW blogosphere and by the columnists at the Arizona Republic and the Arizona Daily Star for doing so.
In addition, in the interests of fairness to all involved, I am going to wait until more facts come to light before passing judgement, and urge all other observers to do the same.
However, it is evident that all observers aren't of a similar mind.
KTAR.com has Bundgaard's rather self-serving press release on the incident here. Note to Bundgaard: "name dropping" isn't a viable defense.
Republican blog Seeing Red AZ isn't holding back, rising to Bundgaard's defense by attacking the integrity and professionalism of the reporters of the Republic story. The comments section of their post show a similar ideologically-based disregard for the law (no matter if they aren't living together, violence between a boyfriend and girlfriend *is* "domestic violence") or for waiting for more facts to come to light. They've blindly accepted the word of Bundgaard, given through his flack Jason Rose.
Republican blog Sonoran Alliance has a much briefer (and better) press release from Rose over the names of Bundgaard and the woman in the incident, Aubry Ballard. In it, they apologize to everyone, announce that they are going their "separate ways," and ask for privacy. It's still self-serving, but in a lower-key manner.
To be sure, some of the uninformed angst is coming from the other side - the comments on the Facebook posting from 12News on the story are mostly divided into two categories.
1. "If it is a domestic violence case, the man must be 100% at fault." Until we know all of the facts, we don't know *who* is at fault. My initial reading of the story is that both were dishing out the violence, and both should have been arrested. And that the police who responded to the situation *wanted* to arrest both, but couldn't arrest Bundgaard due to his immunity from arrest under the provisions of the Arizona Constitution. Which brings us to...
2. "How did the legislature pass a law granting themselves immunity for their crimes?!?" Actually, they didn't. It's in Article Four, Section Six, of the Arizona Constitution, approved by the voters of Arizona. And even there, it's only immunity from arrest, during the legislative session, except for treason, felony, or "breach of the peace." It isn't immunity from prosecution.
Also, many people are now calling for a change in that section based on this one incident. It shouldn't be.
Such provisions have a valid purpose - they prevent the use of incarceration to harass political adversaries. Given last week's arrest of Sal Reza, a loud critic of Senate President Russell Pearce, at the behest of Pearce, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine Pearce using that tool against recalcitrant legislators if the tool was available to him.
In short, while there are many emotional reasons to jump to conclusions one way or another, this is a situation where rationality should reign - wait until all of the facts are in, and *then* make an evaluation of the situation.
Of course, a rational person won't ignore the fact that Bundgaard has been in and out of court a multitude of times (30+) over the last two decades, ranging from civil cases (both as plaintiff and defendant), traffic cases* (all defendant, some guilty, some dismissed, but he must be paying a fortune for car insurance :) ), and family court (a lengthy divorce that included at least one order of protection). In his favor: nothing popped up on a search of criminal cases using "Bundgaard" as a search term. Also, there doesn't seem to be any indication of violence in his past, with the caveat that I don't know the nature of the order of protection in his divorce.
Stay tuned on this one. I'm betting that the story has legs...
* - His traffic cases show a pattern - he's got a lead foot all over the Valley and extending up to Yavapai County (Payson). Speed was the most frequent reason given for one of his citations, though far from the only reason (unregistered/uninsured, failure to yield, stop sign violation, obscured plate).
And he's probably *really* happy that photo enforcement has been discontinued on Arizona's freeways. They kept nailing him, which probably led to the license plate violation. :)
The Arizona Republic has coverage here, written by Connie Cone Sexton, with contributions from Mary K. Reinhart and Kristena Hansen.
The Arizona Capitol Times has AP coverage here.
My intent here isn't to rehash the story - I don't have any facts in this matter other than those in the Republic article.
Nor is it to bash Bundgaard in a partisan manner - Democrats aren't perfect in this regard...though if any had similarly invoked legislative immunity from arrest, I have absolutely no doubt that they'd have been raked over the coals in the RW blogosphere and by the columnists at the Arizona Republic and the Arizona Daily Star for doing so.
In addition, in the interests of fairness to all involved, I am going to wait until more facts come to light before passing judgement, and urge all other observers to do the same.
However, it is evident that all observers aren't of a similar mind.
KTAR.com has Bundgaard's rather self-serving press release on the incident here. Note to Bundgaard: "name dropping" isn't a viable defense.
Republican blog Seeing Red AZ isn't holding back, rising to Bundgaard's defense by attacking the integrity and professionalism of the reporters of the Republic story. The comments section of their post show a similar ideologically-based disregard for the law (no matter if they aren't living together, violence between a boyfriend and girlfriend *is* "domestic violence") or for waiting for more facts to come to light. They've blindly accepted the word of Bundgaard, given through his flack Jason Rose.
Republican blog Sonoran Alliance has a much briefer (and better) press release from Rose over the names of Bundgaard and the woman in the incident, Aubry Ballard. In it, they apologize to everyone, announce that they are going their "separate ways," and ask for privacy. It's still self-serving, but in a lower-key manner.
To be sure, some of the uninformed angst is coming from the other side - the comments on the Facebook posting from 12News on the story are mostly divided into two categories.
1. "If it is a domestic violence case, the man must be 100% at fault." Until we know all of the facts, we don't know *who* is at fault. My initial reading of the story is that both were dishing out the violence, and both should have been arrested. And that the police who responded to the situation *wanted* to arrest both, but couldn't arrest Bundgaard due to his immunity from arrest under the provisions of the Arizona Constitution. Which brings us to...
2. "How did the legislature pass a law granting themselves immunity for their crimes?!?" Actually, they didn't. It's in Article Four, Section Six, of the Arizona Constitution, approved by the voters of Arizona. And even there, it's only immunity from arrest, during the legislative session, except for treason, felony, or "breach of the peace." It isn't immunity from prosecution.
Also, many people are now calling for a change in that section based on this one incident. It shouldn't be.
Such provisions have a valid purpose - they prevent the use of incarceration to harass political adversaries. Given last week's arrest of Sal Reza, a loud critic of Senate President Russell Pearce, at the behest of Pearce, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine Pearce using that tool against recalcitrant legislators if the tool was available to him.
In short, while there are many emotional reasons to jump to conclusions one way or another, this is a situation where rationality should reign - wait until all of the facts are in, and *then* make an evaluation of the situation.
Of course, a rational person won't ignore the fact that Bundgaard has been in and out of court a multitude of times (30+) over the last two decades, ranging from civil cases (both as plaintiff and defendant), traffic cases* (all defendant, some guilty, some dismissed, but he must be paying a fortune for car insurance :) ), and family court (a lengthy divorce that included at least one order of protection). In his favor: nothing popped up on a search of criminal cases using "Bundgaard" as a search term. Also, there doesn't seem to be any indication of violence in his past, with the caveat that I don't know the nature of the order of protection in his divorce.
Stay tuned on this one. I'm betting that the story has legs...
* - His traffic cases show a pattern - he's got a lead foot all over the Valley and extending up to Yavapai County (Payson). Speed was the most frequent reason given for one of his citations, though far from the only reason (unregistered/uninsured, failure to yield, stop sign violation, obscured plate).
And he's probably *really* happy that photo enforcement has been discontinued on Arizona's freeways. They kept nailing him, which probably led to the license plate violation. :)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The coming week: Legislative edition
As usual, all info gathered from online sources, mostly the website of the Arizona Legislature, and subject to change without notice.
While there are more active committee agendas than last week, they're still short enough for both the Senate's and the House's work to be combined into one post.
Most committees in each chamber, other than the respective chambers' Rules committees, are now considering bills that have passed the other chamber.
Note: an "SHR" prefix indicates that a room is a Senate Hearing Room; "HHR" indicates a House Hearing Room.
All legislative calendars (1st Read, 2nd Read, 3rd Read, COW, and Caucus) can be found here.
House committee agendas can be found here.
Senate committee agendas can be found here.
All legislative bill proposals can be found here.
Capitol events for the week can be found here (courtesy the lege's website) and here (courtesy Arizona Capitol Times).
On the Senate side of the Capitol -
- Rules will meet on Monday in Caucus Room 1 at 1 p.m. Lots of bad bills to be rubberstamped for floor consideration later in the week. However, SB1611, Russell Pearce's latest anti-immigrant measure isn't on this particular agenda, even though many of the other bills that were on the same Appropriations agenda last week *are.* Not sure why not, but it could be related to the hubbub over Pearce's "blacklisting" of certain critics from the Senate building. Or maybe he is getting some flak from his own caucus over breaking his promise not to push his nativist agenda before the state has a balanced budget.
Of course, SB1611 could pop up on a Rules agenda later in the week. Rules is a gatekeeper for the legislative leadership, and all bills must be considered by the committee prior to floor consideration. If a Senate President/House Speaker doesn't want a particular bill to reach the floor, he can just ensure that it never sees a Rules agenda.
At this point in the legislative session, it isn't unusual for the Rules committees in each chamber to meet two or more times each week. Right now, only Monday's agendas are posted.
- Natural Resources and Transportation will meet on Monday in SHR109 at 2 p.m. Relatively quiet. Of possible interest: HB2360, relating to the membership of the Game and Fish Commission Appointment Recommendation Board. Legislative summary here.
- Judiciary will meet on Monday in SHR1 at 2 p.m. Looks quiet thus far, but this committee is chaired by Ron "fly a confederate flag on the Fourth of July" Gould, so that could change at any time.
- Education will meet on Monday in SHR3 at 2 p.m. Looks relatively quiet, but there could be some fireworks over HB2197, barring the establishment or operation of charter schools in "an age restricted community in unorganized territory." Better known as a "keep children out of Sun City" bill. Also: a presentation from AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal.
- Banking and Insurance will meet on Tuesday in SHR3 at 2 p.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Government Reform will meet on Wednesday in SHR1 at 9 a.m. On the agenda: HB2005, loosening the rules regarding subdivisions "acting in concert." Looks like the real estate equivalent of weakening antitrust laws. Legislative summary here. All House Democrats opposed this one.
- Commerce and Energy will meet on Wednesday in SHR109 at 9 a.m. On the agenda: HB2558, giving landlords the ability to collect larger, utility-related, deposits from tenants. All House Democrats opposed this one.
- Public Safety and Human Services will meet on Wednesday in SHR3 at 2 p.m. Quiet so far.
- Water, Land Use, and Rural Development will meet on Wednesday in SHR3 at 2 p.m. One presentation and no bills on the agenda thus far.
- Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform will meet on Wednesday in SHR1 at 2 p.m. On the agenda: HB2443, banning abortions whose purpose is race or gender selection.
- Finance will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in SHR1. Looks quiet so far.
- Border Security, Federalism, and States Security will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in SHR109. No bills on the agenda, so this *should* be a quiet one, but leave it to Sylvia Allen to come up with this agenda item -
On Monday's Third Read (final passage) Calendar:
SB1334, allowing hunting within city limits, and forbidding a municipality from regulating same
SB1388, barring Maricopa County from regulating the sale of consumer fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county
SB1546, declaring that the state can use eminent domain to acquire federally-owned land.
SB1466, giving a justice of the peace control over the prosecution of a case in his/her court, specifically requiring a county attorney to gain a JP's approval before diverting or defering prosecution of an offender. The JP pushing for this, Lester Pearce of the North Mesa Justice Court in Maricopa County and brother of Senate President Russell Pearce, is noted for his belief that the Maricopa County Attorney's Office is too lenient. And that the amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting the right to vote to women is a violation of states' rights.
SB1174, barring the establishment or operation of a charter school in an age-restricted community.
SB1231, decreasing the state's revenue expenditure limit
SB1403, barring conditioning the award of public works projects on the use of union labor
SB1406, allowing the governor to enter into interstate compacts/New Confederacy treaties regarding the creation of a fence along the border with Mexico
SB1465, barring the acceptance of consular-issued identification cards as legally valid identification
SB1525, restricting a municipality's ability to assess development fees
SB1530, creating the most important appointed position in the state, that of "Poet Laureate."
SCR1024, asserting state sovereignty over "intrastate water resources." A "federal government GO AWAY!" postcard to D.C.
SCR1025, a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution to eliminate public funding for candidates for public office (aka - end Clean Elections)
...On the House side of the Capitol -
- Rules will meet on Monday in HHR4 at 1 p.m. Long agenda, lots of bad bills, rubber stamp.
- Energy and Natural Resources will meet on Monday in HHR4 at 2 p.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Education will meet on Monday in HHR3 at 2 p.m. or upon adjournment of the House floor session. Looks quiet so far, but sometime bills are "sneaky bad."
- Banking and Insurance will meet on Monday in HHR5 at 2 p.m. On the agenda: SB1094, "requires a legislative committee of reference to examine data from multiple sources and evaluate effectiveness when considering a legislative proposal regarding mandated health coverage"; SB1122, exempting faith-based "health care sharing ministries" from insurance regulations.
- Government will meet on Tuesday in HHR4 at 2 p.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Employment and Regulatory Affairs will meet on Tuesday in HHR3 at 2 p.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Military Affairs and Public Safety will meet on Wednesday in HHR3 at 9 a.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Health and Human Services will meet on Wednesday in HHR4 at 9:30 a.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Commerce will meet on Wednesday in HHR5 at 10 a.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Technology and Infrastructure will meet on Thursday in HHR1 at 9 a.m. On the agenda (possibly): SB1171, allowing a municipality to force a county to transfer a wastewater treatment facility to the municipality.
- Judiciary will meet on Thursday in HHR4 at 9 a.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Agriculture and Water will meet on Thursday in HHR5 at 9 a.m. Looks quiet so far.
Monday's Third Read calendar hasn't been posted for the House yet, but the calendar (agenda) for the Committee of the Whole, or COW session has been. COW is the last chance to debate or amend bills on the floor of a chamber of the legislature.
There are fourteen bills on the House COW calendar, but two are certain to grab most of the attention, both at the Capitol and in the media.
HB2384 and HB2416, both attacking women's reproductive rights.
From the legislative summary of HB2384: "HB 2384 prohibits the use of public funds for abortion procedures to any person or entity that provides, pays for, promotes, provides coverage of or referrals for abortion and training related to abortion procedures that are paid by tuition or fees for students at an Arizona university or community college.
From the legislative summary of HB2416: "HB 2416 specifies an abortion shall not be performed without voluntary and informed consent by the woman receiving an abortion and prohibits the use of telemedicine to perform an abortion.
Note: Given the length of the floor calendars for Monday, both Third Read and COW, no one should expect Monday's (non-Rules) committee meetings to start on time.
While there are more active committee agendas than last week, they're still short enough for both the Senate's and the House's work to be combined into one post.
Most committees in each chamber, other than the respective chambers' Rules committees, are now considering bills that have passed the other chamber.
Note: an "SHR" prefix indicates that a room is a Senate Hearing Room; "HHR" indicates a House Hearing Room.
All legislative calendars (1st Read, 2nd Read, 3rd Read, COW, and Caucus) can be found here.
House committee agendas can be found here.
Senate committee agendas can be found here.
All legislative bill proposals can be found here.
Capitol events for the week can be found here (courtesy the lege's website) and here (courtesy Arizona Capitol Times).
On the Senate side of the Capitol -
- Rules will meet on Monday in Caucus Room 1 at 1 p.m. Lots of bad bills to be rubberstamped for floor consideration later in the week. However, SB1611, Russell Pearce's latest anti-immigrant measure isn't on this particular agenda, even though many of the other bills that were on the same Appropriations agenda last week *are.* Not sure why not, but it could be related to the hubbub over Pearce's "blacklisting" of certain critics from the Senate building. Or maybe he is getting some flak from his own caucus over breaking his promise not to push his nativist agenda before the state has a balanced budget.
Of course, SB1611 could pop up on a Rules agenda later in the week. Rules is a gatekeeper for the legislative leadership, and all bills must be considered by the committee prior to floor consideration. If a Senate President/House Speaker doesn't want a particular bill to reach the floor, he can just ensure that it never sees a Rules agenda.
At this point in the legislative session, it isn't unusual for the Rules committees in each chamber to meet two or more times each week. Right now, only Monday's agendas are posted.
- Natural Resources and Transportation will meet on Monday in SHR109 at 2 p.m. Relatively quiet. Of possible interest: HB2360, relating to the membership of the Game and Fish Commission Appointment Recommendation Board. Legislative summary here.
- Judiciary will meet on Monday in SHR1 at 2 p.m. Looks quiet thus far, but this committee is chaired by Ron "fly a confederate flag on the Fourth of July" Gould, so that could change at any time.
- Education will meet on Monday in SHR3 at 2 p.m. Looks relatively quiet, but there could be some fireworks over HB2197, barring the establishment or operation of charter schools in "an age restricted community in unorganized territory." Better known as a "keep children out of Sun City" bill. Also: a presentation from AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal.
- Banking and Insurance will meet on Tuesday in SHR3 at 2 p.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Government Reform will meet on Wednesday in SHR1 at 9 a.m. On the agenda: HB2005, loosening the rules regarding subdivisions "acting in concert." Looks like the real estate equivalent of weakening antitrust laws. Legislative summary here. All House Democrats opposed this one.
- Commerce and Energy will meet on Wednesday in SHR109 at 9 a.m. On the agenda: HB2558, giving landlords the ability to collect larger, utility-related, deposits from tenants. All House Democrats opposed this one.
- Public Safety and Human Services will meet on Wednesday in SHR3 at 2 p.m. Quiet so far.
- Water, Land Use, and Rural Development will meet on Wednesday in SHR3 at 2 p.m. One presentation and no bills on the agenda thus far.
- Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform will meet on Wednesday in SHR1 at 2 p.m. On the agenda: HB2443, banning abortions whose purpose is race or gender selection.
- Finance will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in SHR1. Looks quiet so far.
- Border Security, Federalism, and States Security will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in SHR109. No bills on the agenda, so this *should* be a quiet one, but leave it to Sylvia Allen to come up with this agenda item -
4. Presentations
Attorney General Tom Horne -- Update on the Arizona LawsuitAfter the meeting, collectibile Burning Cross keychains will be available in the lobby.
David & Donna Lamoreaux -- Drug & Human Smuggling Route Affecting Farmers
Richard Valdemar -- The Unholy Trinity: American Street Gangs, Mexican Drug Cartels, & Radical Islamic Terrorists
On Monday's Third Read (final passage) Calendar:
SB1334, allowing hunting within city limits, and forbidding a municipality from regulating same
SB1388, barring Maricopa County from regulating the sale of consumer fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county
SB1546, declaring that the state can use eminent domain to acquire federally-owned land.
SB1466, giving a justice of the peace control over the prosecution of a case in his/her court, specifically requiring a county attorney to gain a JP's approval before diverting or defering prosecution of an offender. The JP pushing for this, Lester Pearce of the North Mesa Justice Court in Maricopa County and brother of Senate President Russell Pearce, is noted for his belief that the Maricopa County Attorney's Office is too lenient. And that the amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting the right to vote to women is a violation of states' rights.
SB1174, barring the establishment or operation of a charter school in an age-restricted community.
SB1231, decreasing the state's revenue expenditure limit
SB1403, barring conditioning the award of public works projects on the use of union labor
SB1406, allowing the governor to enter into interstate compacts/New Confederacy treaties regarding the creation of a fence along the border with Mexico
SB1465, barring the acceptance of consular-issued identification cards as legally valid identification
SB1525, restricting a municipality's ability to assess development fees
SB1530, creating the most important appointed position in the state, that of "Poet Laureate."
SCR1024, asserting state sovereignty over "intrastate water resources." A "federal government GO AWAY!" postcard to D.C.
SCR1025, a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution to eliminate public funding for candidates for public office (aka - end Clean Elections)
...On the House side of the Capitol -
- Rules will meet on Monday in HHR4 at 1 p.m. Long agenda, lots of bad bills, rubber stamp.
- Energy and Natural Resources will meet on Monday in HHR4 at 2 p.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Education will meet on Monday in HHR3 at 2 p.m. or upon adjournment of the House floor session. Looks quiet so far, but sometime bills are "sneaky bad."
- Banking and Insurance will meet on Monday in HHR5 at 2 p.m. On the agenda: SB1094, "requires a legislative committee of reference to examine data from multiple sources and evaluate effectiveness when considering a legislative proposal regarding mandated health coverage"; SB1122, exempting faith-based "health care sharing ministries" from insurance regulations.
- Government will meet on Tuesday in HHR4 at 2 p.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Employment and Regulatory Affairs will meet on Tuesday in HHR3 at 2 p.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Military Affairs and Public Safety will meet on Wednesday in HHR3 at 9 a.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Health and Human Services will meet on Wednesday in HHR4 at 9:30 a.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Commerce will meet on Wednesday in HHR5 at 10 a.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Technology and Infrastructure will meet on Thursday in HHR1 at 9 a.m. On the agenda (possibly): SB1171, allowing a municipality to force a county to transfer a wastewater treatment facility to the municipality.
- Judiciary will meet on Thursday in HHR4 at 9 a.m. Looks quiet so far.
- Agriculture and Water will meet on Thursday in HHR5 at 9 a.m. Looks quiet so far.
Monday's Third Read calendar hasn't been posted for the House yet, but the calendar (agenda) for the Committee of the Whole, or COW session has been. COW is the last chance to debate or amend bills on the floor of a chamber of the legislature.
There are fourteen bills on the House COW calendar, but two are certain to grab most of the attention, both at the Capitol and in the media.
HB2384 and HB2416, both attacking women's reproductive rights.
From the legislative summary of HB2384: "HB 2384 prohibits the use of public funds for abortion procedures to any person or entity that provides, pays for, promotes, provides coverage of or referrals for abortion and training related to abortion procedures that are paid by tuition or fees for students at an Arizona university or community college.
From the legislative summary of HB2416: "HB 2416 specifies an abortion shall not be performed without voluntary and informed consent by the woman receiving an abortion and prohibits the use of telemedicine to perform an abortion.
Note: Given the length of the floor calendars for Monday, both Third Read and COW, no one should expect Monday's (non-Rules) committee meetings to start on time.
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