President Obama Speaks at Newtown High School

The video, for those who find the unadorned printed word insufficient...

President Obama's remarks at the interfaith service in Newtown, CT

Obama in Newtown (picture courtesy the White House)

The text of President Barack Obama's remarks in Newtown, Connecticut, Sunday, December 16, 2012, courtesy WhiteHouse.gov -

Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, Governor. To all the families, first responders, to the community of Newtown, clergy, guests -- Scripture tells us: “…do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away…inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

We gather here in memory of twenty beautiful children and six remarkable adults. They lost their lives in a school that could have been any school; in a quiet town full of good and decent people that could be any town in America.

Here in Newtown, I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation. I am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts. I can only hope it helps for you to know that you’re not alone in your grief; that our world too has been torn apart; that all across this land of ours, we have wept with you, we’ve pulled our children tight. And you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide; whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it. Newtown -- you are not alone.

As these difficult days have unfolded, you’ve also inspired us with stories of strength and resolve and sacrifice. We know that when danger arrived in the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary, the school’s staff did not flinch, they did not hesitate. Dawn Hochsprung and Mary Sherlach, Vicki Soto, Lauren Rousseau, Rachel Davino and Anne Marie Murphy -- they responded as we all hope we might respond in such terrifying circumstances -- with courage and with love, giving their lives to protect the children in their care.

We know that there were other teachers who barricaded themselves inside classrooms, and kept steady through it all, and reassured their students by saying “wait for the good guys, they’re coming”; “show me your smile.”

And we know that good guys came. The first responders who raced to the scene, helping to guide those in harm’s way to safety, and comfort those in need, holding at bay their own shock and trauma because they had a job to do, and others needed them more.

And then there were the scenes of the schoolchildren, helping one another, holding each other, dutifully following instructions in the way that young children sometimes do; one child even trying to encourage a grown-up by saying, “I know karate. So it’s okay. I’ll lead the way out.” (Laughter.)

As a community, you’ve inspired us, Newtown. In the face of indescribable violence, in the face of unconscionable evil, you’ve looked out for each other, and you’ve cared for one another, and you’ve loved one another. This is how Newtown will be remembered. And with time, and God’s grace, that love will see you through.

But we, as a nation, we are left with some hard questions. Someone once described the joy and anxiety of parenthood as the equivalent of having your heart outside of your body all the time, walking around. With their very first cry, this most precious, vital part of ourselves -- our child -- is suddenly exposed to the world, to possible mishap or malice. And every parent knows there is nothing we will not do to shield our children from harm. And yet, we also know that with that child’s very first step, and each step after that, they are separating from us; that we won’t -- that we can’t always be there for them. They’ll suffer sickness and setbacks and broken hearts and disappointments. And we learn that our most important job is to give them what they need to become self-reliant and capable and resilient, ready to face the world without fear.

And we know we can’t do this by ourselves. It comes as a shock at a certain point where you realize, no matter how much you love these kids, you can’t do it by yourself. That this job of keeping our children safe, and teaching them well, is something we can only do together, with the help of friends and neighbors, the help of a community, and the help of a nation. And in that way, we come to realize that we bear a responsibility for every child because we’re counting on everybody else to help look after ours; that we’re all parents; that they’re all our children.

This is our first task -- caring for our children. It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how, as a society, we will be judged.

And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we are meeting our obligations? Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children -- all of them -- safe from harm? Can we claim, as a nation, that we’re all together there, letting them know that they are loved, and teaching them to love in return? Can we say that we’re truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?

I’ve been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is no. We’re not doing enough. And we will have to change.

Since I’ve been President, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by a mass shooting. The fourth time we’ve hugged survivors. The fourth time we’ve consoled the families of victims. And in between, there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of victims, many of them children, in small towns and big cities all across America -- victims whose -- much of the time, their only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law -- no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society.

But that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this. If there is even one step we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town, from the grief that has visited Tucson, and Aurora, and Oak Creek, and Newtown, and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that -- then surely we have an obligation to try.

In the coming weeks, I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens -- from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators -- in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. Because what choice do we have? We can’t accept events like this as routine. Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?

All the world’s religions -- so many of them represented here today -- start with a simple question: Why are we here? What gives our life meaning? What gives our acts purpose? We know our time on this Earth is fleeting. We know that we will each have our share of pleasure and pain; that even after we chase after some earthly goal, whether it’s wealth or power or fame, or just simple comfort, we will, in some fashion, fall short of what we had hoped. We know that no matter how good our intentions, we will all stumble sometimes, in some way. We will make mistakes, we will experience hardships. And even when we’re trying to do the right thing, we know that much of our time will be spent groping through the darkness, so often unable to discern God’s heavenly plans.

There’s only one thing we can be sure of, and that is the love that we have -- for our children, for our families, for each other. The warmth of a small child’s embrace -- that is true. The memories we have of them, the joy that they bring, the wonder we see through their eyes, that fierce and boundless love we feel for them, a love that takes us out of ourselves, and binds us to something larger -- we know that’s what matters. We know we’re always doing right when we’re taking care of them, when we’re teaching them well, when we’re showing acts of kindness. We don’t go wrong when we do that.

That’s what we can be sure of. And that’s what you, the people of Newtown, have reminded us. That’s how you’ve inspired us. You remind us what matters. And that’s what should drive us forward in everything we do, for as long as God sees fit to keep us on this Earth.

“Let the little children come to me,” Jesus said, “and do not hinder them -- for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Charlotte. Daniel. Olivia. Josephine. Ana. Dylan. Madeleine. Catherine. Chase. Jesse. James. Grace. Emilie. Jack. Noah. Caroline. Jessica. Benjamin. Avielle. Allison.

God has called them all home. For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on, and make our country worthy of their memory.

May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in His heavenly place. May He grace those we still have with His holy comfort. And may He bless and watch over this community, and the United States of America.  (Applause.)

Reports: Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) to be nominated for US Secretary of State

Multiple media outlets are reporting that President Barack Obama will nominate Sen. John Kerry for US Secretary of State.

Sen. John Kerry, picture courtesy Politico.com

From CNN, written by Jessica Yellin -

President Obama has decided to nominate Sen. John Kerry to be the next secretary of state and could make a formal announcement as early as next week, a Democrat who spoke to Kerry told CNN Saturday.

 

The expected nomination follows U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's decision to withdraw her name from consideration for the post. She dropped out of the running Thursday after weeks of criticism from Republicans about statements she made about the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, which left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

 

The now-expected nomination of Kerry follows weeks of ultimately successful Republican efforts to undermine the potential nomination of Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, to the job.

 

Ambassador Susan Rice, picture courtesy NPR

 

 

Kerry is eminently qualified to be Secretary of State, as is Rice.

 

However, Kerry is a long-time member of a rather exclusive club, and Rice is not.

 

Rice is also a highly intelligent and educated African-American woman, characteristics that have never been used to describe the two biggest names fronting the anti-Rice smear campaign, Sens. John McCain and Lindsay Graham.

 

There are also partisan considerations at work here - by smearing Rice and clearing the way for Kerry to be nominated, a Senate seat from Massachusetts will open up.  Under MA law, a special election would be required to fill the seat for the remainder of Kerry's term (thru the 2014 elections), giving Republican Scott Brown, a soon-to-be former senator (he lost to Elizabeth Warren in November) and friend of McCain and Graham (and Wall Street) an opportunity to vulture another stint in the US Senate.

 

Assuming that Kerry becomes Secretary of State, Obama and his campaign team will need to get behind the eventual Democratic nominee for the MA Senate seat and make that Brown (and McCain and Graham) aren't just defeated, but humiliated.

 

Otherwise, the Republicans, and everyone else, will know that the second term Obama can be rolled as easily as the first term Obama, and that will mark the end of any effectiveness he has as President.

 

And that won't just be bad for Obama and his administration.

2013 Portents: More attacks on public employees

Yeah, I know this one is like predicting a sunny day in Phoenix..

Current Arizona Treasurer and rumored 2014 candidate for governor Doug Ducey sent out a press release in late November touting a new study that says that Arizona has underfunded its public employee pension funds by $13 billion. 

The study was put together by the Pew Center for the States, which is part of a "non-profit" organization founded by the children of the founder of Sunoco.  The organization, The Pew Charitable Trusts, was created to support and promulgate "free market" (read: "pro big-business") public policies.  They've toned down the overtness of their position in recent years, but it is basically the Goldwater Institute with even deeper pockets.

Basically, the "study" seems to be intended to provide cover for more GOP attacks on public employees and specifically, in this case, their pensions.

The first salvo in the latest attack is HB2006, introduced by Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-Date with your Right Hand).

From the measure (blue-colored type indicates that the text is a proposed change to current law) -

 

Section 1. Section 38-711, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE38-711. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

 

{snip}

 

23. "Member":

 

{snip}

 

(g) Does not include any employee of a political subdivision entity who is hired on or after the effective date of this amendment to this section.

 

Yes, that means that if the proposal becomes law, new public employees in Arizona at any level  won't be eligible for a pension.

 

I don't think that this will impact public safety employees or elected officials (of course).

 

Public safety employees and elected officials have their own pension systems (PSPRS and EORP, respectively) and this measure doesn't impact those folks.

 

New teachers and any other new public employees are screwed if this passes, though.

 

 

 

 

Two weeks left to sign up for an independent foreclosure review

I listen to the radio in the morning when I am getting ready for the day ahead (shaving, showering, etc.).  Like most local radio stations, the one that I listen to most often airs advertisements to pay for the rest of the operation.

Many, perhaps most, of the advertisements aired that relate to real estate or to creditworthiness tend to sound like scams (i.e - land "deals" in rural areas of AZ with no water, roads, or infrastructure or "credit improvement" services that involve sending lots of money to complete strangers) and I tend to tune them out once I understand the subject matter of the spot.

One of the spots currently running frequently has a speaker claiming to be from the federal Comptroller of the Currency and involves an "independent foreclosure review".  At first, I ignored the ad, figuring it was a scam like most of the others, but as the spot was played again and again, I kept wondering how they could claim outright to be from a federal agency.

Turns out they can, because they are.

From the website of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board (emphasis mine):

The Federal Reserve Board issued enforcement actions against four large mortgage servicers
--GMAC Mortgage, HSBC Finance Corporation, SunTrust Mortgage, and EMC Mortgage Corporation--in April 2011. Under those actions, the four servicers were required to retain independent consultants to review foreclosures that were initiated, pending, or completed during 2009 or 2010. The review is intended to determine if borrowers suffered financial harm directly resulting from errors, misrepresentations, or other deficiencies that may have occurred during the foreclosure process. The servicers are required to compensate borrowers for financial injury resulting from deficiencies in their foreclosure processes.

 

If you had a mortgage loan on your primary residence and believe you were financially harmed during the mortgage foreclosure process by any of the four servicers in 2009 or 2010, you can request an independent review and potentially receive compensation. The four servicers are required to make the independent reviews available to borrowers as part of their compliance with the April 2011 enforcement actions.

       

A number of servicers supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) are also required to conduct independent reviews. (See below for the full list of servicers.)

 

Eligibility for Review

Borrowers are eligible for an independent foreclosure review if they meet the following criteria:

• the property securing the loan was the borrower's primary residence;
• the mortgage was in the foreclosure process (initiated, pending, or completed) at any time between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2010; and
• the mortgage was serviced by one of the following mortgage servicers:        

America's Servicing Company	Countrywide	National City Mortgage
Aurora Loan Services	EMC Mortgage Corporation	PNC Mortgage
BAC Home Loans Servicing	EverBank/EverHome Mortgage Company	Sovereign Bank
Bank of America	Financial Freedom	SunTrust Mortgage
Beneficial	GMAC Mortgage	U.S. Bank
Chase	HFC	Wachovia Mortgage
Citibank	HSBC	Washington Mutual (WaMu)
CitiFinancial	IndyMac Mortgage Services	Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
CitiMortgage	MetLife Bank	Wilshire Credit Corporation

If you previously filed a complaint with these servicers about foreclosures pending during the review period, you may still seek an independent review of your foreclosure.

       

There are no costs associated with being included in the review; the review is a free program. Beware of anyone who wants payment to assist you in connection with the independent foreclosure review or any other foreclosure assistance program.

The deadline for seeking an independent review is December 31, 2012.  Full details are available at the linked website.

Another horror, this time in Connecticut

Pardon my cynicism, but another mass shooting (in an elementary school this time) and another call by certain folks to turn schools and the rest of society into an armed encampment?

Must be a day ending in "y"...

There are people who are writing about this far more eloquently, far more heart-wrenchingly, than I can.

All I can ask is the same question that I asked in the aftermath of the movie theater shooting -

What's the magic number? 

How much blood has to be spilled before mindless rhetoric takes a back seat to reasoned discussion?  How many innocent people must die before our elected "leaders" stop quaking in fear of/sucking up to the gun industry and its lobbyists/cheerleaders at the NRA?

A couple of observations:

1.  The people who argue that the best way to prevent gun violence in schools is to arm teachers have as much credibility as someone who says that the best way to prevent drug use in schools is to require that meth is on the school cafeteria menu. 

2.  Wouldn't it be ironic if the gun fetishists'/enthusiasts' absolute intransigence in the face of calls for a discussion of reasonable measures to address America's epidemic of gun violence leads to the passage of unreasonable measures?


BTW - It's official; GOP Prez-wannabe Mike Huckabee is an idiot.


BTW2 - As short as this post is, it has taken hours to write; every time I get rolling, the grief, frustration, and yes, anger, well up, and I have to stop writing.

With that, time to stop writing.  For tonight...

Are the 2014 elections over yet? Campaign committee update...

Nah.  It's just started.

Even though the calendar hasn't changed even to 2013 yet, some intrepid souls have already formed candidate or exploratory committees for 2014.

First, however, one last note from the 2012 elections.

In the race to serve out two years of a term as the Arrowhead Justice of the Peace (Maricopa County), Craig Wismer, a former staffer for the soon-to-be retired US Sen. Jon Kyl, emerged victorious from the field of nine write-in candidates.  They all had to run as write-ins because the previous occupant of the office had been removed from office after the deadline for candidates to be on the ballot.  Assuming that he wants a full term in the office, Wismer will have to run again in 2014.


On to the main thrust of this post. :)

Already forming committees are:

Democrat Christopher Campas of Sierra Vista for Secretary of State.  An active Democrat and member of the state party's executive board, but to the best of my knowledge has never held elected office.

Independent Diana Elizabeth Ramseys-Rasmussen-Kennedy of Phoenix for Governor.  Just speculating here, but given the committee's current campaign finance report is a week late, and counting, and the committee's email address is youvefoundme@hotmail.com, this probably isn't a serious candidacy.

Republican Jack Harper, currently a state representative, has an open committee for a run at secretary of state, but he has announced that he will not pursue elected office in 2014.  Things could still change, but at this point, he looks like he is putting his political career on the back burner for a while.

Democrat Sharon Thomas of Phoenix for superintendent of public instruction.  As with Campas above, an active D, including time on the state party executive board, and no elected office experience (again, to the best of my knowledge).

Republican John Huppenthal, currently the state superintendent of public instruction, has an open exploratory committee, no office specified.  Could be for a re-election run, but given that the top two offices on the ballot (Governor and Secretary of State) will be "open", he could set his sights higher.

Republican Michelle Reagan, currently a state senator, has an open exploratory committee, no office specified.  This is a normal practice for her as it allows her to fund raise for her next legislative campaign, but this could be the cycle where she goes for a statewide office.

James Samuelson of Mesa, no party specified, has an open exploratory for a run at governor.  Don't know anything about his, and his name makes for lousy search terms.

A few of the other names sure to be mentioned for 2014, even if they don't have open committees as yet:

Democrats Fred Duval and Chad Campbell are likely to run for governor.  The knowledge of their interest in the job has moved beyond "rumored", thru "worst-kept secret in AZ politics" to "OK, where do we sign?" (as in "sign a nominating petition").

Democrat Felecia Rotellini seems likely to run for attorney general.  She was the Democratic nominee for AG in 2010 and was an impressive candidate.  She was swamped in the Republican wave that year, but given that her opponent that year, eventual victor Tom Horne, may be indicted before the end of his term, she may find the way a little smoother in 2014.

Democrat Rodney Glassman, the 2010 D nominee for US Senate, hasn't announced any specific intentions (at least, not that I've heard), but he just sent out a mailer that announced the birth of his new baby daughter, advised people that he and his wife will be publishing a children's book, that his wife was recently elected to a school board here in Maricopa County (Madison Elementary), and that, oh yeah, he's still serving in the reserves.  The upshot is that either he has so many friends that he qualifies for bulk rate postage when mailing out season's greetings, or he's a politician looking to keep his name in front of people. 

You don't have to be a cynic like me to figure that he's looking at another run for office.  But cynicism helps. :)

I'm sure that there will be more to come...

2013 AZ lege: And the first one out of the gate is...

State Rep. Carl Seel (R-Unthinking and Unrepentant Nativist Before It Was Cool)...

Before each session of the lege, members can "pre-file" bills for consideration in the upcoming session. 

There are some bragging rights that go with having the first bill, but not much more - generally, the first bill filed doesn't pass (though, on occasion, the idea in that first bill will be put into another measure that does pass).

This year, Rep. Seel, a former member of the Minutemen, an anti-Latino "border watch" group, has expanded his repertoire.  Instead of just opposing Mexicans and people of Mexican descent, he's also opposing health care coverage for most Arizonans.

To whit: the new HB2001, which is almost elegant in its simplicity.  Almost.

From the bill, actually, the measure in its entirety -

CHAPTER 23

HEALTH CARE EXCHANGE

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

20-3250. State-based health care exchange; prohibition

THIS STATE MAY NOT ESTABLISH OR ADMINISTER A STATE-BASED HEALTH CARE

EXCHANGE.

The fact that this measure is redundant because Governor Jan Brewer already decided that the state won't establish or administer a state-based health care exchange, leaving it to the federal government, apparently doesn't matter to Seel, nor does the fact that the measure exposes him to charges of hypocrisy - a fervent "states' rights" guy ceding this to the feds?  It will be interesting to see how he will twist his professed ideology to reconcile the conflict if/when the bill is the subject of committee consideration.

Wonder if he had to use a pretzel-shaped pen to write this bill?

It's pretty much official: Jan Brewer has accepted her lame duck status...with the emphasis on "lame"

The governor of Arizona has relatively few things that she can do without approval of the lege.  One of those things is to officially accept the canvass (results) of an election.

The ceremony involved in the acceptance of the canvas also gives her the opportunity to bond with the people who benefitted the most from the election, the new leadership in the lege.

Also known as the people she needs to be chummy with if she wants to have any influence at the lege during her lame duckness (her term expires in 2014 and she can't run again).

So when the canvass was officially accepted on Monday, where was Brewer?

Not there.  Not sure exactly where she was, but it wasn't in Arizona doing her job.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Mary Jo Pitzl -

Brewer out of state; aide won’t provide details

 

Gov. Jan Brewer is out and about this week, but don’t look for her in Arizona.

 

The GOP governor left the state Sunday and doesn’t plan to return until Saturday, according to the notice she is required to file with the Arizona Secretary of State. But beyond that, mum’s the word from her office, other than to note that she is on official state business.

I don't know where she is, but apparently, the definition of "official state business" has been expanded.

Greatly.

From Politico, written by Kenneth Vogel (emphasis mine) -

 

A week after Election Day, three Republican governors mentioned as 2016 presidential candidates — Bobby Jindal, John Kasich and Bob McDonnell — each stopped by the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino to meet privately with its owner Sheldon Adelson, a man who could single-handedly underwrite their White House ambitions.

 

{snip}

 

So, too, did a pair of governors not considered presidential aspirants — Rick Scott of Florida, who is up for reelection in 2014, and Jan Brewer of Arizona, who will be term-limited out of office.

Hitting up big donors for funds for a presidential campaign is "official state business"?  Since when?

As I am writing this, news is breaking that Brewer will be visiting Afghanistan later this week.  My question is this trip something that will benefit Arizona and Arizonans, or is it just a taxpayer-funded pre-presidential campaign photo-op?

Update snipped from Facebook at 8:24 p.m.

Now, I think the thought of a Brewer presidential candidacy is laughable, but we should all remember that Brewer is probably no dumber than George W. Bush, and he ended up buying, blustering, and BS'ing his way into two terms in the White House.

Lester Pearce censured by the Arizona Supreme Court

Lester Pearce, brother of former state legislator Russell Pearce and a former Justice of the Peace in Maricopa County, was censured by the Arizona Supreme Court because of misconduct in office.

The charges against Pearce stemmed from his active involvement in his brother's (ultimately unsuccessful) campaign to fight being recalled from the state senate.

Judges of all sorts, even JPs, are barred from engaging in partisan political activity or campaigned for a candidate other than themselves.

After fighting the charges for months, Pearce stopped contesting the charges to allow the matter to come to a close (he never admitted his guilt).  Based on media reports, in addition to the censure, Pearce will have to pay a small fine/reimbursement for the costs of the investigation (~$1500).

And the money may be the most painful part of this for Pearce. 

The censure itself is little more than the AZ Supreme Court wagging a scolding finger at Pearce (no, not *that* finger :) ).  As he is 67 and his most recent campaign, a run for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, ended with a loss in the Republican primary, it seems likely that he won't be running for public office again. 

Perhaps he will be active in the rumored "Pearce putsch" at the AZGOP's reorganizational meeting in January.  If that is successful, he might be able to give elected office another shot, but if his party signals that it is embracing the Pearce clan's extremeist positions less enthusiastically (i.e. - doesn't support the wingnuts in their intended complete takeover of the AZGOP), he'd have trouble getting through any primary, not just the most recent one.

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors disenfranchising part of their own county

When Ben Arredondo (D-LD17) resigned from the Arizona House of Representatives, it created a vacancy in the legislature, leaving a district, part of Maricopa County, under-represented.

There is a specific series of steps to be followed to fill that vacancy.

Basically, once notified of the vacancy, the elected precinct committeemen of the same party and district as the person who vacated the legislative office meet, and nominate three persons to fill the seat.  The names are then forwarded to the board of supervisors of the applicable county (in the case of Arredondo's Tempe/South Scottsdale district, Maricopa County), and the supes appoint one of the three to fill the seat.

In the case of the vacancy in LD17, everyone has done their part...except for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, who are now refusing to make any appointment at all.  There was a rumor that there was going to be an appointment on the agenda of Monday's meeting of the MCBOS, but that didn't happen, nor is such an item on the agenda for the Wednesday meeting.

Now, state law seems to be pretty clear, once the other steps have been followed, the supes *must* appoint someone to fill the seat.  From ARS 41 - 1202 (linked above to "steps") (emphasis mine)-

4. The state party chairman of the appropriate political party shall forward the names of the three persons named pursuant to paragraph 2 of this subsection to the board of supervisors of the county of residence of the person elected or appointed to the office immediately before the vacancy occurred. The board of supervisors shall appoint a person from the three nominees submitted.

I've heard a few different speculations about the motivation behind the supes' refusal to follow the law here -

- It's a Democratic-controlled seat, and the Republicans on the board are simply playing partisan games.

- Two of the Republicans on the MCBOS are lame ducks, so they know if the Board's failure to do its duty comes back to bite them in the ass, it won't impact them - they're gone anyway.

- A few people have pointed out that the appointment of Juan Mendez, who recently won election to the AZ House from the new LD26, would highlight the fact that for the purpose of term limits, even a partial term counts as a full term.  Something that the Rs may not want highlighted as long an Jan Brewer is trying to argue that she can run for another term as governor, even though the law says that she cannot because of the partial term she held after Janet Napolitano left AZ behind for D.C.

Whether the motivation is one of the above reasons, or is another entirely (though I admit, I'm leaning toward partisan gamesmanship, but I'm a cynic), I have to ask -

What's the hang-up?  This isn't theoretical physics.  It's not difficult.  Get it done.

The people of LD17 want a representative.  The people of LD17 need a representative.  And state law requires that the MCBOS appoint a representative from the list of nominees given to them.

Imagine the uproar if a Democratic-controlled board of supes, say in Pima County, refused to fill a lege seat held by a Republican.  There would outraged calls to mobilize the Arizona National Guard governor's personal vigilante force to invade the offending county and force them to appoint a Republican.

People beyond the list of nominees are watching this all play out (or not) and are voicing their opinions of what is going on, and the most charitable description that I've heard is "frustrating" because not only are the supes not doing their job, they've been sending mixed signals, saying (through surrogates like staffers) that an appointment will be made, and then it won't be, and then it will be, and then it won't be, and so on.

Contact the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and urge them to do their job and appoint someone to represent part of their county at the state legislature.


Steve at The Arizona Eagletarian has more coverage of this here.

AZHouse Democratic committee assignments for 2013

Preparations for the upcoming session of the Arizona Legislature continue apace.  In the latest development, the committee assignments for House Democrats were announced.  Note:  the word "Ranking" next to a representative's name indicates that particular member is also serving as the leader of the Democrats on that particular committee.

From the press release -

Agriculture and Water

• Juan Carlos “J.C.” Escamilla
• Rosanna Gabaldon
• Catherine Miranda (Ranking)

Appropriations

• Lela Alston
• Chad Campbell (Ranking)
• Stefanie Mach
• Andrew Sherwood

Commerce

• Stefanie Mach
• Debbie McCune Davis (Ranking)
• Catherine Miranda

Education

• Eric Meyer (Ranking)
• Catherine Miranda
• Lisa Otondo

Energy, Environment and Natural Resources

• Albert Hale (Ranking)
• Jamescita Peshlakai
• Macario Saldate

Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility

• Lupe Contreras
• Jonathan Larkin
• Bruce Wheeler (Ranking)

Financial Institutions

• Lela Alston (Ranking)
• Rosanna Gabaldon
• Lydia Hernandez

Government

• Andrea Dalessandro
• Lydia Hernandez
• Martin Quezada (Ranking)

Health

• Sally Gonzales
• Eric Meyer (Ranking)
• Victoria Steele

Higher Education and Workforce Development

• Lela Alston
• Jonathan Larkin
• Macario Saldate (Ranking)

Insurance and Retirement

• Debbie McCune Davis (Ranking)
• Juan Mendez
• Victoria Steele

Judiciary:

• Lupe Contreras
• Albert Hale
• Martin Quezada (Ranking)

Public Safety, Military and Regulatory Affairs

• Mark Cardenas
• Ruben Gallego (Ranking)
• Jamescita Peshlakai

Reform and Human Services

• Andrea Dalessandro
• Sally Gonzales (Ranking)
• Juan Mendez

Rules:

• Albert Hale (Ranking)
• Martin Quezada
• Bruce Wheeler

Technology and Infrastructure

• Lisa Otondo (Ranking)
• Andrew Sherwood

Transportation

• Juan Carlos “J.C.” Escamilla
• Victoria Steele (Ranking)

Ways and Means

• Mark Cardenas
• Ruben Gallego (Ranking)
• Bruce Wheeler

Arizona doesn't have the "batshit crazy hypocrite" market cornered...

...not by a long shot.

Though I do think we lead the nation in "crazy per capita"...

h/t to the blog Juanita Jean's - The World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc. for noticing this.

From The Guardian (UK), written by Karen McVeigh -

Michigan Republicans propose tax credit for unborn foetuses

 

Republican lawmakers in Michigan, a state which eliminated tax credits for children last year, have proposed a tax credit for unborn foetuses of 12 weeks gestation.

 

If the measure, outlined in two bills heard by the house tax policy committee on Tuesday, becomes law it would be the first of its kind in the US.

 

{snip}

 

One of the main sponsors of the foetus tax credit bill, Jud Gilbert, a Republican representative of Algonac, said the rationale behind it was to recognise that mothers have additional bills to pay.

 

"You're recognizing the fact that people have additional expenses, another person to take care of," he told told Mlive. "Money saved there could be contributed to doctor's bills and all kinds of things."

 

Gilbert said the move would speed up a tax exemption that parents only get when a child is born.

However, tax exemptions for children and families have been cut in the state, to the extent that another 9,000 children have been forced into poverty as a result, according to policy groups.

The bills in question are Michigan House Bills 5684 and 5685.  Most of the crazy stuff is in 5684, and in this testimony submitted by an anti-woman group in MI.  Warning to anyone who reads the testimony:  Medical studies have shown that saccharin in these quantities may cause cancer, and I don't know if AZ (or MI, for that matter) has a tax credit for chemotherapy drugs.

Look for Cathi Herrod of the Center for Arizona Theocracy Policy to try to "one up" this scheme in the upcoming session of the Arizona Legislature,

Legislative committee assignments: Portents for 2013

Recently, AZBlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona posted the list of committees and their chairs for the upcoming legislative session.  As the Republicans control both chambers of the lege, they get to decide which committees exist and who runs them.

While I can't predict what legislation they will try to slough off on the state this year (though the list of ALEC model legislation should provide a good hint), the list of chairs and committees may provide some insight in what to expect, and not expect, from the 2013 session of the lege.

Don Shooter returns as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  Last session, he refused to allow public input into the state's annual budget.  Given his long record of contempt for his constituents and other Arizonans, I don't expect things to improve in the next session.

Jeff Dial will be the chair of the new House Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee.  Dial is known best as being just bright enough to do what he is told when it comes to legislation to support, no matter how bad the legislation - like his scheme to humiliate poor people, or the bill that he sponsored/fronted for the credit collection industry that allows them to go to court have someone declared as owing a debt simply on the basis of records generated by the collector.  Expect any moves to further eviscerate public higher ed and/or unions to be run through Dial.  Many of the moves will have Dial's name attached, but the fingerprints of others, particularly industry lobbyists, will be all over the measures.

However, the committee to watch in the new legislature may be the Senate Elections Committee, headed up by Michelle Reagan.

During the last session of the lege, the Republican powers-that-be in the lege deemed that economic development and job creation were the priority of the lege, and put her in charge of the committee charged with help AZ recover from the Great Recession.

In the light of the fiasco of Arizona's seemingly never-ending vote counting process, those same powers-that-be have deemed that some sort of elections "reform" will be a priority for the new legislature.  To that end, they've placed Reagan in charge of it, just as she was in charge of their work for Arizona's economic recovery.

Reagan is an experienced and respected legislator, so this is a sign that the Rs in the lege take Arizona's vote counting mess seriously, right?

Perhaps not.

The committee that Reagan ran during the last legislature was ever-so-slightly less than busy -

During the First Session of the 50th Arizona Legislature (2011 to folks like us), Reagan's Economic Development and Job Creation Committee met all of four times (out of 11 weeks available for normal committee meetings) for a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes.

As bad as that sounds, it's still better than the committee's performance during the Second Session of the 50th Arizona Legislature (2012, for those following along on their scorecards at home).  That edition of Reagan's committee met once during the eleven weeks set aside for normal committee meetings.  That one meeting lasted 1 hour and 12 minutes.

None of this bodes well for the possibility that the Rs in the lege plan anything to address the problems with counting votes that were exhibited in Arizona this year.

Of course, Reagan's committee could become active if the federal Voting Rights Act is weakened or overturned by the US Supreme Court during its upcoming consideration of lawsuits against the VRA.

Of course2, any such activity won't be designed to improve democracy, or voting, in Arizona.

AZ Ballot counting update

Full Congressional and state-level race results can be found here, from the Arizona Secretary of State.

In CD2, D Ron Barber has opened up a 943 vote lead over R Martha McSally.  It's not enough to declare Barber the winner, but this is his largest lead thus far.

In CD9, D Kyrsten Sinema has been declared the winner over R Vernon Parker; the margin there is currently Sinema ahead by 7146 votes.

In the race for the 2nd seat from LD28, D Eric Meyer has opened up a lead of 1523 votes over R Amanda Reeve.  This one isn't *quite* over, but this late in the post-election counting cycle, that's a pretty big margin for someone to overcome, particularly in a relatively small area like a legislative district.

The race for US Senate between D Richard Carmona and R Jeff Flake has reached the point where there isn't even a spark of hope left - Carmona is still behind by more than 81K votes.


Full Maricopa County-level results can be found here, and a summary of Wednesday's ballot counting activity in Maricopa County can be found here, both from the Maricopa County Recorder.

In Maricopa County, there are approximately 27K early ballots and 114K provisional ballots remaining to be counted.

All but one race looks to be effectively over - D Paul Penzone trails R Joe Arpaio in the Maricopa County Sheriff by almost 87K votes and Heather Macre leads Jean McGrath for the fifth and final open spot on the board of directors of the Central Arizona Project by more than 3500 votes.

The one race that doesn't look to be decided is the race to serve out the remainder of the term in the office of Arrowhead Justice of the Peace.  Those are all write ballots because the former JP there, Phillip Woolbright, was removed from office after the deadline for candidates to submit nominating petitions.

The official canvass of results is supposed to be reported on Monday, November 26, but unofficial reports (means "stuff people have told me, people who aren't on the Recorder's staff, but are informed about developments in this area") that we may not find out the winner in the race until December.

I have some confidence that we may know the winner here by the 26th, but we'll see.