Short Attention Span Musing

...Late this week, the state elections director announced that she made a "mistake" in the timetable for forcing a recall election of Russell Pearce in November, meaning that any such election is now delayed until March of next year.

Has anyone else noticed that Amy Bjelland, the state elections director made the "mistake" benefitting Senator Russell Pearce, the current president of the state senate, was formerly the legal counsel for the Republicans in the state senate? 

Before she went to work for her current boss, Ken Bennett, who used to be a former Senate president himself? 

That many coincidences strains credibility.

I know a lot of good people (in other words, not people who support Pearce) who truly believe Bjelland made an honest mistake.  However, and maybe this just means that I'm not a good person, or perhaps just simply too cynical, but I don't believe that.

...Now that the latest "rapture" is over, it's time to take stock.  Of the 61 legislative Republicans, most of whom trip over themselves proving their devoutness whenever the opportunity presents itself...in front of TV cameras, anyway...how many are missing?  Surely at least a dozen or so must have been scooped up, right?

...Rumor has it that Sarah Palin is moving to north Scottsdale.  I don't know if it is true, but if it is, David Schweikert, Jeff Flake, and Jan Brewer better watch their backs.  One of them will have a target on it.

...Too funny for any words that I can add to it:  Newt Gingrich, Dancing Queen.


Later...

Pearce recall update: state elections director does what Pearce couldn't - delay his recall election

Arizona has long been a "pre-clearance" state, subject to US Department of Justice oversight of the state's elections and processes.  While the latest "incident" probably won't garner specific attention from the DOJ (read: an investigation and an indictment), it does illustrate the reason why Arizona has spent decades as a pre-clearance state -

These people are morally incapable of simply just doing the job right and letting candidates succeed or fail on their own merits.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Jim Walsh -

Arizona's elections director said she inadvertently gave an incorrect timetable to the organizers of a drive to recall controversial Senate President Russell Pearce, forcing a change in strategy in the historic recall effort.

Elections Director Amy Bjelland said she initially told recall organizer Randy Parraz that if he filed his signatures by May 25, there would be enough time to verify them and schedule a November election.

But Bjelland since has notified Parraz that Gov. Jan Brewer has 15 days to officially call an election if the signatures check out, not five. The difference of 10 days in the recall timetable means Citizens for a Better Arizona already has missed the actual deadline, May 10, to turn in the signatures for a November election and can only hope for a March 13, 2012, election.

{snip}

Parraz said Citizens for a Better Arizona was hoping to force a November election by turning in far more than the required 7,756 signatures by May 25, based upon Bjelland's original timetable.

"We know it was not intentional. We needed more time anyway," he said.

Parraz is far more forgiving, and tactful, than me.

I don't know if Bjelland is taking the blame over this on her own volition or if her boss, Secretary of State Ken Bennett, gave her a little push, but tactics this heavy-handed won't help Republicans in general or Pearce in particular.

Before the "oopsie," the Rs were going to have a year to work with/live down the fallout of the Pearce recall.  In addition, before this, it was all about Pearce and only Pearce.

Now, there will be five more months of stories about Pearce and his depredations, stories that will be prominent during the campaign season (remember, there will be a presidential primary around that time - there's going to all kinds of political coverage going on).


...In other recall news, Pearce is getting a little testy over the recall.  At an anti-recall rally with Joe Arpaio, John Kavanagh and other leading lights of Arizona's nativist subculture, he dropped a really curious quote.

From AZFamily.com (Phoenix TV 3), by Stacy Delikat (emphasis mine) -

..."You take everything seriously, people know who these folks are, they've tried it before," said Pearce. "They're simply open-border anarchists who have no respect for the rule of law, we'll deal with it."

Just a quick refresher for those unfamiliar with Pearce's MO of "do as I say, not as I do," particularly when it comes to the "rule of law" -

Just this year, he's...

...proclaimed that sitting legislators are above the laws that govern the rest of us when it comes to carrying weapons in the public buildings of the legislature

...created a "blacklist" of people he arbitrarily barred from the Senate building for the "crime" of daring to disagree with him on immigration issues

...supported Scott Bundgaard, his ally in the Senate, and his use of "legislative immunity" to avoid arrest because of a domestic violence incident along a Valley freeway

...dissembled, denied, and just plain lied about his involvement with the Fiesta Bowl scandal, where a number of Arizona's lawmakers took gifts and laundered campaign contributions from Fiesta Bowl lobbyists, in violation of many state laws..  Most of the lawmakers involved have now quietly repaid the Fiesta Bowl and amended their financial disclosure reports. 


Many words can be used to describe Pearce and his activities.

"Quiet" isn't one of them.  Neither is "repentant."

As for "law-abiding"?

It's only used by him, his cronies, and his followers, and only to describe him.

Schweikert: Doing what he was born to do

...Pimping for Big Oil Pumping gas...

From the KNXV (channel 15)  -

Tomorrow: 10 stories to watch in Arizona 5/18 2011

{snip}
 
SCHWEIKERT PUMPS GAS

Congressman David Schweikert will meet with constituents and fill up gas tasks as he talks about rising gas prices and energy independence. 8am-9am, Danny’s Family Car Wash, Scottsdale.

FYI, Danny's Family Car Wash is headed up by Danny Hendon, a noted "entrepeneur"/corporateer with bankruptcy issues and a track record of securing taxpayer-backed financing based on a sketchy letter of credit.

Just the sort of "association" that one can expect from the pro-corporate/anti-senior "Foreclosure Dave."

Note:  Green2V, the company in question (re: letter of credit), is incorporated in AZ,  and is Hendon's and a partner's through a series of his other corporate and partnership entities (here, here, here, and here), all registered at the same address, 15509 N. Scottsdale Rd.

Pearce spin machine getting up to speed

Most of the R blogs/press release outlets in Arizona have posted a press release from Russell Pearce.  It touts his new "charity," formed to bring clean water to Haiti.

Sounds like an "awww, geee - isn't that nice" sort of moment except for a few things.  Minor things, really, more nagging sort of details.  But still... -

- The website for the "effort" was registered on April 19, 2011, a few weeks after the Fiesta Bowl scandal blew up in Pearce's face and just about the time that people realized that the Recall Pearce initiative has legs and may just well succeed in forcing a recall election.

- Pearce, and the other Republican senators that chose him to be their leader and face to the rest of the country, earned an "F" from the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club for his "work" on environmental issues during this past session.  This work included SCR1015, which would have referred to the voters an amendment to the Arizona Constitution to remove federal Clean Waters Act protections from waters in Arizona. 

Soooooo...we are expected to believe that Pearce, a man renowned for his antipathy toward people whose skin color is other than lily-white, supports clean water for Haitians while being opposed to clean water in Arizona?

- "Pearce Johnson Foundation" is nowhere to be found in the databases of CharityNavigator.com, Arizona Corporation Commission, or Arizona Secretary of State.  A corporate entity could have been created, either as a non-profit or an outright charity and the paperwork upload is lagging, or it could have been in another state (but why do that?), but so far, I cannot find any independently verifiable evidence that this charity actually exists legally.

- Sort of related to the above point, the website is soliciting contributions from the public, yet there is no contact info on the website.  The only contact method is a web contact form. 

No "bricks and mortar" address, no phone number.  Not even an email.

Most charity watchdog groups, including state attorneys general, encourage would-be givers to check out the so-called charities before they give.  Between the lack of public info and the opaqueness of the website, there's no way to do that here.


Somebody really should sit down with Pearce and the others involved and let them know that forming a charity that doesn't seem to actually be a charity, well, that isn't something that will help Pearce with what ails him in the public relations area.

Nope, not at all.

Huckabee out of race for the Republican nomination for president

I understand the ego involved in making the announcement on his own Faux News program, but if this was a truly momentous announcement, wouldn't it have been made during weekday primetime?

I mean, on cable and on Saturday night?

I love politics and knew that he had some sort of announcement scheduled for today, but even I would rather watch the DBacks beat the Dodgers in LA.

And did.  It was a good game.  :)

Anyway, from AP via Yahoo! News -

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Saturday he won't seek the Republican presidential nomination, choosing to stick with a lucrative career as a television and radio personality over a race that would be both costly and caustic.


"All the factors say go, but my heart says no," Huckabee, the winner of the 2008 Iowa caucuses, said on his Fox News Channel show.

Huckabee's decision further muddies the GOP field as the Republican Party seeks a challenger for President Barack Obama.

I normally don't care about the inner-workings of the Republican candidate selection process, but I have to say this - Huckabee's decision fits perfectly with the Republican meme that public service, even well-compensated public service, takes a backseat to financial self-enrichment.

Of course, certain ones find a way to turn public service into self-enrichment.  We call them members of Congress.  And the Arizona legislature.

Later...

David Schweikert has time for contributors but not for constituents

Cross-posted from Blog For Arizona...

If you are bored and looking for a really expensive drink and some lame conversation tomorrow after helping out the Recall Pearce effort.  :)


First, from Schweikert's House website -

Due to a scheduling conflict, the Listening Sessions with David Schweikert planned for May 16th and May 19th, 2011, have been postponed to a future date to be determined.

However, whatever the "scheduling conflict" may be, apparently it isn't important enough to get in the way of campaign fundraising.

From an announcement for an event on Saturday -

You are Invited to Attend the

Talking With Tempe Event

in support of

U. S. Congressman David Schweikert

House Financial Services Committee
& Vice Chair of the Capital Markets Subcommittee

Hosted by

Honorable Hugh Hallman

Honorable Onnie Shekerjian

Dennis Redmond & Dick Foreman

Saturday, May 14
4:00pm – 6:00pm

$100 Attend
$1,500 Co-Host

The Penthouse at Bridgeview Condominiums

140 E. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe AZ 85281

Host Committee:

Steve Chucri

Jose Esparza

Bettina Nava

Barry and Jody Aarons

Ann and Danny Seiden

The Honorable Laura Knaperek

Umm...yeah. Nice priorities there, Dave.

BTW - think it's a coincidence that Schweikert stressed his particular House committee membership in the notice? Check out the host committee for the event -

Chucri is a lobbyist.

Esparza is a lobbyist.

Nava is a lobbyist.

Aarons is a lobbyist.

Seiden is a lobbyist.

Knaperek is a lobbyist.


Later...

Pearce threatens to lock up workers if they protest

In keeping with his favorite way of dealing with those who disagree with him.  Another reason to turn out to help out the recall effort in LD18...not that we needed yet another.

From Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times -

The latest addition to the Pearce foot-in-mouth disease compendium is a remark he made at a recent Legislative breakfast given by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, where Pearce threatens to lock 'em up, should public sector employees and unions representing them ever follow the lead of their brothers and sisters in Wisconsin.


According to the Yellow Sheet, Pearce made this crack about what he and his buddy Sheriff Joe Arpaio would do if workers stood up for their rights and demonstrated:

"I've spoken with the sheriff, and he has some nice buses that hold a lot of people. We've also got some tents with a view."

Pearce should know. Not only because he used to work for Arpaio, and claims credit for the Tent City idea, but because his 30 year-old son Joshua Pearce has been in and out of stir on probation violations.

His threat brought an immediate response from Rebekah Friend, executive director of the Arizona AFL-CIO.

"Suggesting a police crackdown before a rally has even occurred is just more of the same intimidation, threats and innuendo we’ve come to expect from Senator Pearce and his crony Arpaio."

The Recall Pearce effort is near its goal of gathering enough signatures to force a recall election.  A big push is planned for this weekend, and the need for volunteer canvassers over the next couple of weeks is huge.  If you have even a couple of hours to spare in the near future, consider volunteering.

Anybody up for a game of "Guess the ghostwriter"?

...Anybody have a list of Chuck Coughlin's interns?

From Jeremy Duda and Jim Small of the Arizona Capitol Times -

The spotlight that enveloped Gov. Jan Brewer after she signed the nation’s toughest illegal immigration law is expanding into the publishing world.


On November 1, Broadside Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, will release “Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure America’s Border” The 208-page book is already available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

Lest you think the title of this post is a shot a Jan Brewer, an implication that she couldn't possibly write this on her own because of a lack of intelligence - it isn't.  The simple fact is that most public figures, political or not, don't have the time or skill necessary to write a book, even one as short as Brewer's.

Nope, the title of this post is a shot at the absolute clunkiness of the title of her book.  My guess is that a professional writer wasn't brought in, because no pro, or even a good amateur, would have come up with a title that long and awkward.

Personally, I'd have gone with "'Headless Bodies and Brain Freezes -  Profiles In Terrorizing Voters', By Governor Jan 'We Has Did' Brewer".

Of course, I'm just a wiseass Democrat.  :)

2014 speculation already starting...

Hot on the heels of Jan Brewer's floating of the "term limits don't apply to me" trial balloon, announcing her interest in a third term as governor, Mike Sunnucks of the Phoenix Business Journal put out a 2014 speculation piece.

As should probably should have been expected, it was mostly filler of the  "I'm a political reporter and the legislature is out of session, so I have to come up with *something* to keep my editor happy" variety.

Well, if a trained, experienced, professional journalist gets to do that, so can a lowly amateur blogger (that's my way of saying that it's time for a little filler here :) ).

In his article, Sunnucks mentioned a few names.  Here's my take on those names, plus a few more added for good measure -

Jan Brewer - she may want it, but she is unlikely to get it.  Those pesky term limits will get in the way.

Ken Bennett - as Secretary of State, he's the heir apparent on the R side.  Formed an "exploratory" committee this past week, so should have a large campaign warchest by the time 2014 rolls around.  The presumptive frontrunner in the general election, with the caveat:  it's three years out.

Tom Horne - current AG and has had his eye on the 9th floor for years.  Best shot may be if a D wins in 2014 and he can challenge as the R frontrunner in 2018.  May be too old after that.

Paul Babeu - current Pinal County Sheriff.  I think this one is just pure filler on Sunnucks' part, but given the state of R politics anything could happen.  Still, seems more likely to pursue a Congressional run rather than a statewide run to take advantage of fame/notoriety in a single area of the state.

John Shadegg - former Congressman and current lobbyist "fellow" at the Goldwater Institute.  Could happen, but why would he want the instant and permanent migraine known as the Arizona Legislature?

Scott Smith - current mayor of Mesa.  I don't know enough about him to comment.

Hugh Hallman and Jim Lane - the mayors of Tempe and Scottsdale, respectively.  Both are up for reelection next year and neither is a lock (though Lane is in better shape).  Either one would have to win reelection and then raise his statewide profile.  Hallman has ambitions but probably needs to solidify his wavering base of support in Tempe before even *thinking* of a statewide run.  If Lane runs, the marionette strings will run right back to the Goldwater Institute and Lamar Whitmer.

My adds -

Russell Pearce - current president of the state senate (at least until the recall petitions are certified) and would love to be publicly considered the "top dog," but a move to the ninth floor would be a step up in paycheck size but a step down in practical political power.  And Pearce is all about power.  If he does go for it, however, he could get through an R primary, but may be too polarizing for the general election.

Fife Symington - former governor and pardoned convicted felon.  Makes noises about running again every four years.  Fellow Republicans want nothing to do with him, but Democrats pray that he runs and wins the nomination.  May be why he never follows through on his threats to run again.

Brenda Burns - current member of the Arizona Corporation Commission.  Big Fan of Big Business, and Big Business is a Big Fan of hers.  ACC isn't exactly the highest profile perch from which to launch a high profile campaign, but if the chips fall the right way, could trade in her ACC reelection campaign for a campaign for governor.

Joe Arpaio - currently the rather infamous sheriff in Maricopa County.  Like Symington, makes noises every four years.  Unlike Symington, has more than a snowball's chance in Phoenix of pulling it off on the R side.  Still, even if he avoids federal indictment, come 2014 he'll be, like, 900 years old (actually, 82).  For a lot of reasons, not gonna happen.

New sneaky bad Arizona laws to keep an eye on

People have heard about the high profile laws recently enacted (the anti-abortion measures, school vouchers, attacks on unions, etc.) and even the surprisingly vetoed (loosening the state's already lax gun laws, the scheme by Sal DiCiccio/Frank Antenori to privatize city services in Tucson and Phoenix), but there are a few new laws that have escaped wide notice that have the potential for abuse.

The worst of these, in my opinion, is SB1282, a measure from Sen. Steve Yarbrough, the legislator who has made a fortune from his tuition tax credits law.

The new measure exempts religious entities that engage in political activities from having to file reports as poltical committees.

Pardon my cynicism, but while I don't believe that legitimate churches and other religion-focused entities will abuse the law, I fully expect that certain less-than-scrupulous folks will gleefully form paper churches to launder political expenditures/bribe money through. 

Think "Sheriff's Command Association (SCA) run by Captain Joel Fox," only now calling it "Sheriff's Hallelujah Association run by Pastor Joel Fox."

They didn't get in trouble for what they did with the SCA money, they got in trouble for trying to hide it.

This law sets up a potential shield for like-minded political operatives.

Other laws to watch, in no particular order:

SB1471 from Sen. Ron Gould.  It contains a number of changes to election and ballot laws, many of which I don't fully understand.  One is clear however - it bars anyone who has been "employed by or volunteered for a candidate, campaign, political campaign or political party" in an election from assisting a voter at a polling place.

SB1472 and SB1482, also from Gould.  Under the guise of "increased publicity," erodes the "merit" aspect of the retention of judges.

SB1453, Sen. Rich Crandall's measure to create a "right" for parents to exempt their children from any school material that they don't approve of.  Interestingly, while the restriction applies to public schools absolutely, Crandall's measure carves out an exception for charter schools - they can just seek a waiver from parents.

HB2565, from Rep. Steve Court.  Similar to SB1453 above, this one creates a religious exemption from secondary school and class policies.

SB1412, from Sen. Don Shooter.  Creates a number of new felonies related to early ballots.  Aimed at unions and Democratic candidates and campaigns that collect and deliver early ballots for voters.  Softened by the House, but still ripe with opportunities for mischief by unscrupulous prosecutors and elections officials...not that I'm implying that there have ever been any such in Arizona.

SB1333, Sen. Frank Antenori's (R-I Hate Tucson, Even Though It's The Biggest Part Of My District) scheme to force the deannexation of the part of Tucson in which he resides so it can incorporate as a separate town.  He really hates Tucson.

SB1187, the Center for Arizona Theocracy Policy's measure, via Sen. Linda Gray, to lengthen the amount of time it takes to get a divorce.

SB1167, Yarbrough's measure to restrict people's ability to challenge ballot questions referred to the ballot by the legislature.  Probably not entirely Yarbrough's measure, as this one was the subject of a "strike-everything" amendment in the House, with the amendment fronted by Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, who cited legislative "leadership" as behind his amendment.  Enacted with an emergency clause so it went into effect immediately upon the governor's signature and the new restrictions apply to ballot measures moved by this year's legislature.

HB2303, Rep. JD Mesnard's move to allow counties to establish centralized "voting centers" in place of precinct polling places.  There isn't any provision regarding the placement of such voting centers, rendering it quite easy for those voting centers to be situated in a way to inhibit voting in predominantly minority (presumably Democratic-leaning) areas or to ease voting in affluent (presumably Republican-leaning) areas.  The U.S. Attorney/Department of Justice *could* step in on this one, but I don't expect them to until there has been a stolen election or two.

This list isn't complete by any stretch, but the list of bills signed into law can be found here.  Just select the radio button next to "Signed" and click on "Search."

Republican plans to destroy Medicare run aground; leadership cries "Full steam ahead!" anyway

Republican members of Congress across the country have been getting an earful from constituents on their plan to gut Medicare, the health care plan for America's seniors.

The public expressions of displeasure have even reached Arizona.

From an AP article by Paul Babington, via Philly.com -

Robert Howarth, a Republican-turned-Democrat in Arizona, urged freshman Republican Rep. David Schweikert to find "other ways" besides the House-backed plan.


"We don't have to gut Medicare and go after the poor people on disability and Medicare," Howarth said at Schweikert's spirited town hall in Tempe, Ariz. "The millionaires and billionaires are not paying their fair share, like they used to," he said.

Howarth noted there was a strong economy and federal budget surplus during a time of higher tax rates in Bill Clinton's presidency.

The national pushback was so strong and nearly-universal that the Republicans have, backed off from their plans.  For now, anyway.

While temporarily heartening, the GOP leadership has already reiterated their threats against America's seniors, all in the name of "balancing the budget."

Of course, affirming their intent to gut Medicare only a couple of days after all but two of them voted to protect taxpayer subsidies to the most profitable industry in history only serves to illustrate the authenticity of their interest in "balancing" the budget.

The AP article quoted above, while written and published days before the Protect Big Oil vote, had a rather prescient line -

In an interview, Schweikert said he has talked with "market makers" who told him "we're going to punish you" if Congress doesn't make huge strides in reducing the deficit.

It's clear that Schweikert and his fellow Republicans in Congress may have the job title of "representative."

It's also clear that they have neither intent nor even interest in "representing" the people of their districts.

Jan Brewer starting to think that the AZ Constitution doesn't apply to her

Bill Bertolino of the Arizona Guardian has a couple of interesting stories up. (Because the pieces are behind a subscriber firewall, I'm linking to the general website only)

In the first, he writes of Governor Jan Brewer's consideration of possibly challenging the state's term limits so that she can run for a third term.

From the article -

Only five months into what is widely viewed as her final term in office, Gov. Jan Brewer is already weighing a decision on whether to challenge the Constitution so she can run for a third term.


"At this point, this is something she is looking into but she hasn't made any decision one way or the other," said Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson. "Certainly it's something we've been aware of – that there's been some ambiguity in the Constitution on this."

Bertolino followed up the Brewer piece with a talk with Grant Woods, a Republican and former Arizona Attorney General.

From that piece -

The state's former top lawman and ardent supporter of Gov. Jan Brewer doubts she's eligible for a third term.



Former Attorney General Grant Woods says he believes the Constitution prohibits governors from serving more than two consecutive terms, even if they inherited a partial term like Brewer did.

The relevant part of the Arizona Constitution -

1. Term limits on executive department and state officers; term lengths; election; residence and office at seat of government; duties


(Version amended by 1992 Proposition 107)

Section 1. A. The executive department shall consist of the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction, each of whom shall hold office for a term of four years beginning on the first Monday of January, 1971 next after the regular general election in 1970. No member of the executive department shall hold that office for more than two consecutive terms. This limitation on the number of terms of consecutive service shall apply to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1993. No member of the executive department after serving the maximum number of terms, which shall include any part of a term served, may serve in the same office until out of office for no less than one full term.

I'm not an attorney like Woods, but it seems pretty clear to me.

Of course, I'm not the Governor either, nor am I one of her advisors who want to keep riding the gravy train for as long as possible.

My message to her (not that I'm under any illusions that she actually reads this blog):  You can run for a third term as governor if you want to.  I'll oppose you, but you are free to do so.

In 2018.

High school English teachers rejoice! Something took root in at least one young mind...

...At least, the mind was young a few many years ago.

Regular readers may have noted the "currently reading" line in my profile doesn't change often.  Mostly that's because I read a lot more often than I update my profile.

I enjoyed reading novels long before it became required for various school courses.  Once that happened, I (and the other students) quickly learned that the books required for class were like "Life Cereal" - good for you, but not very tasty -

The works of Shakespeare were interesting to a point...like once.  After the third or fouth of his plays, he was boring.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton?  Unrelentingly depressing.  Not the sort of fare that rambunctious young teens are going to enjoy.

Anthem by Ayn Rand?  Well, at least we realized that an author who created such a purely self-centered "hero" was probably seriously messed up.

To be sure, some of the reading was more enjoyable - I've always loved the works of Steinbeck and Twain, and the other students had their own favorites.

Mostly, though, even those of us who loved reading wanted to read something other than what was on the syllabi for our classes.  I wanted to read the works of Asimov, Bradbury, and Mencken (now there's an unusual combo for ya :)) ).

One of the "good for you" books that *did* penetrate many teenaged minds (and one in particular, an important fact for the purposes of this post :) ) was the new entry under "currently reading" -

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Lush and informative and engrossing and evocative and powerful, it remains the best American novel ever written in the opinion of many, including me.

It's worth of a another read, and I heartily recommend it.

If that book is not to your taste, try one of these.

It's official: Susan Bitter Smith is a perennial candidate

From the Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) -

The first Republican challenger to the Democrats’ “Solar Team” emerged Monday as Scottsdale Republican Susan Bitter Smith filed an exploratory committee for the Arizona Corporation Commission. Smith, former president of the Central Arizona Project board of directors, said she would bring years of water and energy management experience to the board.

I'll leave the discussion of the appropriateness of career industry lobbyist Bitter Smith gaining a seat on the ACC, the group that is supposed to oversee industry for another day.

However, at this point,Bitter Smith is looking more and more like a candidate in search of an office.

In addition to her time with the Central Arizona Project Board of Directors, she's...

...been a member of the Scottsdale City Council

...run for Congress in 2000, coming in third in a five-way Republican primary for the seat that was eventually won by Jeff Flake.

...run for Congress in 2008, coming in second to David Schweikert in a six-way Republican primary for the seat that Harry Mitchell held on to.

...run for Congress in 2010, coming in third behind Schweikert and Jim Ward in a six-way Republican primary for the seat that Schweikert went on to win.

Hmmm...it seems that *somebody* likes running for office.

Thoughts on Bin Laden's death

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr. (source:  HuffingtonPost)

I understand and laud the late Dr. King's sentiment, but I'm nowhere near as good a human being as he was.

My thoughts are closer to this sentiment -

I never wanted to see anybody die, but there are a few obituary notices I have read with pleasure.


Clarence Darrow

Personally, I don't wish for anyone's death, nor do I rejoice in anyone's death.  However, there are certain people whose death I do not and will not mourn.

Bin Laden is one of those.


Having said that I have to ask (back to being a wiseguy) - how many high school athletic teams are going to change their name to the "SEALS"?

I'm guessing the number will be well into double digits.

And this won't be their mascot -