Is there such a thing as a "reverse endorsement"?

 Oh, the email lists that I'm on. :)

Certain endorsements don't speak well of the characters of the endorsees.

[snip]

[snip]

Truth: At one point, Hallman was mayor of Tempe.

More truth: he's got some interesting friends.

From the Arizona Republic in 2014 (emphasis added by me) -

Outside spending in treasurer's race gets dark

[snip]

Earlier this week, Preserve America's Future started putting up signs questioning the backgrounds of state treasurer candidates Jeff DeWit and Randy Pullen. The group is run by political operative Nathan Sproul, a supporter of candidate Hugh Hallman.

What's the Texan word for "karma"? "Paxton".

From The Texas Tribune -

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has fought vaccine mandates, tests positive for COVID-19

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has tested positive for COVID-19, his office said Wednesday.

The communications staff at the attorney general's office told The Texas Tribune in an unsigned statement that Paxton had tested positive.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

How to get it wrong about Covid, Florida style

From WKMG (FL) -

Orange County health officer Dr. Raul Pino on leave, under state inquiry involving vaccines

Dr. Raul Pino, the director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County who has been so visible during the pandemic, is on administrative leave pending an inquiry, the Florida Department of Health confirmed to News 6 Tuesday.

“As the decision to get vaccinated is a personal medical choice that should be made free from coercion and mandates from employers, the employee in question (Pino) has been placed on administrative leave, and the Florida Department of Health is conducting an inquiry to determine if any laws were broken in this case,” FDOH press secretary Jeremy Redfern said in a statement.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Don't get arrested in Fayetteville; they may poison you

From CNN -

ACLU sues on behalf of inmates who say they were given Ivermectin to treat Covid-19 without consent

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of four inmates who claim they were given the drug Ivermectin to treat Covid-19 without their consent.

The suit accuses the Washington County Detention Center, Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder, jail physician Dr. Robert Karas and Karas Correctional Health of administering Ivermectin to the inmates without prior informed consent as to the nature, contents or potential side effects of the drug.

Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington county in Arkansas.

From the FDA -

Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19

COVID-19. We’ve been living with it for what sometimes seems like forever. Given the number of deaths that have occurred from the disease, it’s perhaps not surprising that some consumers are turning to drugs not approved or authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

One of the FDA’s jobs is to carefully evaluate the scientific data on a drug to be sure that it is both safe and effective for a particular use. In some instances, it can be highly dangerous to use a medicine for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 that has not been approved by or has not received emergency use authorization from the FDA. 

There seems to be a growing interest in a drug called ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in humans. Certain animal formulations of ivermectin such as pour-on, injectable, paste, and "drench," are approved in the U.S. to treat or prevent parasites in animals. For humans, ivermectin tablets are approved at very specific doses to treat some parasitic worms, and there are topical (on the skin) formulations for head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.

However, the FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical attention, including hospitalization, after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for livestock.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

3. Don't use animal drugs.

U.S. or worldwide, it doesn't matter. The poor may be dying, but the rich get richer

From ABC -

Wealth of 10 richest men doubled in pandemic as 99% of incomes dropped: Oxfam

The 10 richest men in the world doubled their fortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic, a report published Monday by advocacy group Oxfam said, highlighting how the global health crisis has deepened the divide between the haves and have-nots as well as the need for policy intervention to address these "deadly" inequities.

While the wealth of the world's 10 richest men more than doubled -- increasing from approximately $700 billion to $1.5 trillion between March 2020 and November 2021 -- the incomes of approximately 99% of people around the globe fell during that time, and more than 160 million people have been forced into poverty, the Oxfam report added.

The full report is here.

From the report -

The wealth of the world’s 10 richest men has doubled since the pandemic began. The incomes of 99% of humanity are worse off because of COVID-19. Widening economic, gender, and racial inequalities—as well as the inequality that exists between countries—are tearing our world apart. This is not by chance, but choice: “economic violence” is perpetrated when structural policy choices are made for the richest and most powerful people. This causes direct harm to us all, and to the poorest people, women and girls, and racialized groups most. Inequality contributes to the death of at least one person every four seconds. But we can radically redesign our economies to be centered on equality. We can claw back extreme wealth through progressive taxation; invest in powerful, proven inequality-busting public measures; and boldly shift power in the economy and society. If we are courageous, and listen to the movements demanding change, we can create an economy in which nobody lives in poverty, nor with unimaginable billionaire wealth—in which inequality no longer kills.

Read the entire report.

So who wants to tell them?

From Politico -

Trump superfans dream of a run again, and of JFK Jr. on the ticket

Ray Kallatsa is a die-hard Trumper who “definitely” wants to see former President Donald Trump run for office again in 2024.

So it was natural that he’d travel from Tucson to see Trump’s first rally of 2022. But as Kallatsa stood there on Saturday, pondering whom he would like to see as Trump’s next veep — from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to onetime national security adviser turned ardent conspiracy theorist Mike Flynn — an unorthodox idea came to him.

“JFK Jr.,” he said, referencing the son of the 35th president who died in a plane crash in 1999. Kallatsa realized he might have come off a bit odd with the suggestion. “I don’t want to sound too much like a conspiracy theorist, but he’s coming back,” he explained. “He’s supposed to reveal himself on the 17th if he’s truly alive. I think we’ll see him.”

It's not just Politico that thinks JFK Jr is dead.

We all do.  "All"...except for QAnon types.

From History.com -

JFK Jr. killed in plane crash

On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy, Jr.; his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and her sister, Lauren Bessette, die when the single-engine plane that Kennedy was piloting crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr., was born on November 25, 1960, just a few weeks after his father and namesake was elected the 35th president of the United States. On his third birthday, “John-John” attended the funeral of his assassinated father and was photographed saluting his father’s coffin in a famous and searing image. Along with his sister, Caroline, he was raised in Manhattan by his mother, Jacqueline. After graduating from Brown University and a very brief acting stint, he attended New York University Law School. He passed the bar on his third try and worked in New York as an assistant district attorney, winning all six of his cases. In 1995, he founded the political magazine George, which grew to have a circulation of more than 400,000.

From The Smoking Gun -

Yee is out of the R primary race for governor

According to the stories, at least in part because of the fact that she raised significantly less money than the other R frontrunners in the race (I still think she would have lost the R contest for the nomination, but I've been wrong about R races before :) ).  There *was* a difference between her fundraising totals and those of the others, particularly Steve Gaynor, but it's not what many folks think.

From Yee's report covering 2021 -

From Gaynor's report, of the same period -

The stories like to state that Gaynor is the "money leader," but he's mostly self-funded/trying to buy the job - he injected $5 million of his own money into the campaign.

Given that the job he's seeking would pay ~$380K over 4 years, it seems like a bad investment.

In the interest of being thorough, from Kari Lake's report covering the same period -

In short, Yee seems to have made the correct decision, but not because she's behind Gaynor.

Yee out of the governor's race. Will run for re-election as treasurer instead.

From KJZZ -

Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee drops out of governor's race to focus on reelection

Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee announced Saturday that she will drop out of the race for governor and focus on running for reelection for her current position. 

Yee, a Republican, said in her announcement that there is “more work to be done” as treasurer, but did not offer any additional explanation.

Cheeto trashes a future running mate

From Axios -

Trump dogs "dull" DeSantis ahead of potential 2024 matchup

Donald Trump is trashing Ron DeSantis in private as an ingrate with a "dull personality" and no realistic chance of beating him in a potential 2024 showdown, according to sources who've recently talked to the former president about the Florida governor.

Why it matters: The two are among the most popular Republicans in the country, and as the former president eyes another run in 2024, he's irked by DeSantis' popularity and refusal to rule out running against him.

• DeSantis is a favorite of Republican voters when pollsters remove Trump from the hypothetical 2024 field.
• The governor also hasn't been beyond tweaking his fellow Floridian.

I'll just make two predictions here:

1. DeSantis will run for POTUS in 2024. (Which every watcher expects to happen)

2. If Trump runs, DeSantis will ultimately be part of the ticket. (You heard it here first, folks! :) )

And for a third prediction:

3. DeSantis will feel about Trump the same way that Trump feels about DeSantis.  The only real difference between them is that while DeSantis will *hope* Cheeto dies, Cheeto will do something to get rid of DeSantis.  And then defend the (would-be) killers.

Cheeto: Tell a lie often enough and people will believe it

At least, the gullible people.

Well, the ones gullible enough to support him and send him money, and that's all he wants, anyway.

Of course, he didn't invent the concept.

From Psychology Today, dated 1/2022 -

Illusory Truth, Lies, and Political Propaganda: Part 1

Repeat a lie often enough and people will come to believe it.

Many of us are familiar with the quotation, “Repeat a lie often enough and people will eventually come to believe it.”

Not ironically, the adage — often attributed to the infamous Nazi Joseph Goebbels — is true and has been validated by decades of research on what psychology calls the “illusory truth effect.” First described in a 1977 study by Temple University psychologist Dr. Lynn Hasher and her colleagues, the illusory truth effect occurs when repeating a statement increases the belief that it’s true even when the statement is actually false.¹

[snip] [referring to the novel 1984]

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

Needless to say, “doublethink,” along with Orwell’s description of “newspeak,” gave rise to the modern term “doublespeak” defined by Merriam-Webster as “language used to deceive usually through concealment or misrepresentation of truth.”

Cheeto hasn't just embraced the idea.  He's living the idea. 

From The Hill (emphasis added by me) -

Trump slams Biden, voices unsubstantiated election fraud claims at first rally of 2022

Former President Trump held his first rally of the midterm year in Arizona on Saturday, taking the opportunity to hit President Biden and continue to voice his unsubstantiated claims about election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. 

In an address from Florence, Ariz., Trump covered a plethora of issues, including the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, foreign policy and crime

He *does* whine like a baby..an absolutely vindictive baby...when one of his acolytes doesn't wholeheartedly support his lies.

From KPNX -

Trump says he will never endorse Ducey for Senate ahead of Arizona visit

Former President Donald Trump is again ridiculing Gov. Doug Ducey, more than a year after he criticized him for certifying Arizona's 2020 election results that declared Joe Biden the state's victor.  

The day before his scheduled visit to Pinal County, Trump released a statement Friday announcing he'd never support Ducey's possible ambitions to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

 

In short, the 2020 election didn't turn out how he'd prefer, and the Arizona fraudit didn't go his way either, and Cheeto is pissed.  And showing it.

Legislative schedule - week starting 1/16/2022

A relatively quiet week at the lege as bills are still being read (introduced in each chamber) and assigned to committees.  Things will pick up as the session goes on.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to propagate propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority.  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

The Joint Appropriations committee (the Appropriations committees of both chambers) is meeting in HHR1 at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, 1/18 to hear about the governor's budget proposal.

There will be a joint meeting of the House Commerce and House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs committees in HHR1 at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 1/18 to hear from lobbyists about Arizona wines.

On Tuesday, 1/18 at 2 p.m. in HHR4, House Ed will meet.  There are 6 total bills on the agenda, including HB2112, an anti-CRT/Pro-red meat for Faux News watchers bill.

On Tuesday, 1/18 at 2 p.m. in HHR1, House Natural Resources, Energy & Water will meet.  5 total bills on the agenda.

On Tuesday, 1/18 at 2 p.m. in SHR109, Senate Appropriations will meet.

On Tuesday, 1/18 at 2 p.m. in SHR1, Senate Ed will meet. 3 bills on the agenda, but 2 seem bad - SB1011, barring local school districts from using tax monies to pay for a membership in a state or national school association, and SB1068, adding to a charter school's funding.

On Wednesday, 1/19 at 9 a.m. in HHR4, House Judiciary will meet.  On the agenda: HB2043, making employers liable for damages for denying a religious exemption for a Covid vaccination where the recipient claims a significant injury from that. 5 total bills on the agenda.

On Wednesday, 1/19 at 10 a.m (or upon recess or adjournment of the base committee). in HHR4, House Judiciary Committee of Reference will meet to conduct sunset reviews of the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections and the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.

On Wednesday, 1/19 at 1:30 p.m . in HHR1,  House Appropriations will meet.  4 total bills on the agenda.

On Wednesday, 1/19 at 1:30 p.m . in HHR3,  House Transportation will meet.

On Wednesday, 1/19 at 9 a.m. in SHR1, Senate Health and Human Services will meet. 

On Wednesday, 1/19 at 9:30 a.m. in SHR109, Senate Finance will meet. 4 total bills on the agenda.

On Wednesday, 1/19 at 2 p.m. in SHR1, Senate Commerce Committee of Reference will meet for sunset reviews of the Arizona Office of Tourism and the Arizona State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers.

On Wednesday, 1/19 at 2 p.m. in SHR109, Senate Natural Resources, Energy &Water will meet.

On Thursday, 1/20 at 8:30 a.m in. SHR1, Senate Judiciary Committee of Reference will meet to conduct a sunset review of  the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.

On Thursday,1/20 upon recess or adjournment of the floor session, the House Appropriations Subcommittee On Education will meet, in HHR3.

On Thursday,1/20 upon recess or adjournment of the floor session, the House Appropriations Subcommittee On Government will meet, in HHR1.

On Thursday,1/20 upon recess or adjournment of the floor session, the House Appropriations Subcommittee On Health will meet, in HHR5.

On Thursday, 1/20 at 9 a.m in. SHR1, Senate Judiciary will meet. 12 bills on the agenda; most are bad, too many to list here.

On Thursday, 1/20 at 10 a.m in. SHR109, Senate Transportation and Technology will meet.

Federal Committees update

 From the website of the FEC -

Couldn't find out much on Republicans Morgan and Smith in a quick search.  Both appear to be attorneys, but I couldn't confirm that.  They are running for CDs 4 and 5, respectively.

I've already posted about Townsend's run.

State committee update

From the website of the Arizona Secretary of State -

Rivas filed with the IRS nearly 5 months ago but finally established a committee with the AZSOS for a run; this post is just housekeeping.

Townsend makes it official; she's running for Congress

As has been rumored/known for a while....

If she wins, she'll be the next Congress' version of Lauren Boebert - a GQP nut who exhibits no redeeming value as a public servant.

She's running in the new CD6, which takes in a big chunk of eastern AZ, according to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.

Rep. Jake Hoffman may have been democratically elected by the voters in LD12, but he's using his position to get his hate on for both voters and democracy

He's been heavily involved with efforts to overturn the 2020 election and install Cheeto against the will of the voters of the US, as AZ BlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona has documented here and here.

But that doesn't qualify him for the Legislative Loon Award.

Nope, only stuff that he does and says while the lege is in session does that.

Rest assured, though, he's accomplished a lot there, 

Already he has proposed (with a rogue's gallery of co-sponsors) -

HB2236, Barring the registration of voters unless the voter specifically asks to be registered.

HB2237, Barring same-day voter registration and making it a felony to so.

HB2238, Barring the use of ballot drop boxes.

HB2239, Barring electronic vote "adjudication".

HB2240, Barring centralized voting centers.

HB2241, Requiring voters to present ID to deliver an early ballot.

HB2242, Making it a felony to not "validate" the registration information of a new voter.

HB2243, Adding to the verbiage required to be on voter registration forms (to be fair to Hoffman, this one seems like it may be the least bad of all of his proposals).

HB2491, Requiring that an as yet to be determined number of factors be used to verify each signature on an ealy ballot.

HB2492, Mandating that proof of citizenship be provided when registering to vote with a non-federal form, and making it a felony to fail to do so.

HB2493, Appropriating money from the state's general fund for an "election integrity fund".

HB2494, Requiring that the AZSOS  and county recorders document any attendance at voter registration events that they attend and work, and do so on their websites.

His fans shouldn't worry - while there's a definite pattern to his lunacy and hatred, he's something of a Renaissance Man (though he and his fans may long for serfdom and despise the renaissance).

He's also proposed

HB2235, In only counties with 500K people or more (In AZ, that's the counties of Maricopa and Pima (both of which Biden/Harris won in 2020..[start sarcasm} but I'm sure that's just a coincidence {/end sarcasm]), beginning in 2025, making county supervisors the lowest-paid county-level elected officials.

HB2495, An anti-LGBTQ+ measure, banning the use of "sexually explicit materials" in public schools.  Basically, all sex-ed classes would banned under this measure.

HB2496, Creating a list of exemptions for student activity fees at public universities.

HB2497, the latest attempt to thwart the will of the voters on income tax rates.

HB2498, Banning Covid vaccine mandates.

Yup, Rep. John Kavanagh may be the early favorite for the Legislative Loon Award, but Hoffman is a definite contender for the title.