Sinema has something to worry about, Kelly's ahead: Arizona poll day

Pointed to the Sinema stuff by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

From a Data for Progress release -

Poll: Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema Set to Be Unseated by Possible Challenger Ruben Gallego in 2024 Primary Landslide

In October 2021, Data for Progress published poll findings that captured the extent of Arizona Democratic primary voters’ dissatisfaction with Senator Kyrsten Sinema: She had the highest unfavorability rating of any elected Democrat tested in the state, and she was poised to lose her 2024 primary by a wide margin.

Since then, speculation has mounted that progressive Representative Ruben Gallego, a Harvard-educated Iraq War veteran, is seriously considering a bid. Meanwhile, Sinema was censured by the Arizona Democratic Party this week for her defense of the filibuster, which came at the expense of passing popular voting rights legislation. 

Data for Progress’ initial polling found Gallego to be in the best position to beat Sinema in 2024. New Data for Progress polling finds that, since October, Sinema’s favorability has dipped even further — and that Gallego’s potential to secure a primary victory has increased.

From the full poll -

[snip]

For Senator Kyrsten Sinema, her next hurdle is going to be her 2024 primary election, where she is going to have to convince Democratic primary voters in Arizona that she deserves to keep her job. Activists who are disappointed with her obstructionism and reluctance to support President Biden’s popular agenda are already organizing to draft other high profile Arizona politicians, like Rep. Ruben Gallego, to run against her in 2024. According to our new poll of likely Arizona Democratic primary voters conducted in October, using the same methodology we used in the recent New York City mayoral primary, we find that Sen. Sinema faces a steep uphill battle to defend her record and convince voters she should stay — as negative sentiment towards her continues to grow.

[snip]

From FiveThirtyEight, also from a Data for Progress poll -

Also from Data for Progress -

Mark Kelly Narrowly Leads in Arizona 2022 General Election Matchup

In recent years, Arizona — a traditional battleground state — has trended blue. Voters elected Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly to the Senate in upset victories in 2018 and 2020, respectively, and in 2020 the state narrowly voted for Joe Biden. But amid surges in Republican voter enthusiasm and turnout, Arizona is once again poised to become a battleground. Kelly, who won his seat in a special election, is running for his first full term, and a crowded slate of Republicans are hoping to replace him. Incumbent Republican Governor Doug Ducey is term-limited and is thus not eligible to run for re-election in 2022. While he has stated he will not be joining his party’s Senate primary as recently as January 20, 2022, speculation about a possible run has mounted anyway.

New Data for Progress polling gauges the state of the 2022 midterm elections in Arizona, analyzing favorability and approval across different candidates and elected officials as well as the issues Arizona voters support. 

Yes, I do wish that Kelly was doing better (and I think he should be), but I'm torn - would he be better off facing Brnovich or Ducey?

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that Sinema better have a corporate lobbying gig already lined up.

Joe Biden insults...stupid sons of a bitch

From CNN -

Why Biden's 'son of a bitch' moment is nothing like Trump's attacks on reporters

On its face, it's not a big deal.

Joe Biden, thinking his microphone was off, called Fox's Peter Doocy a "stupid son of a bitch" after the latter lobbed a question to the President about the political impact of high inflation. Once it was clear he was speaking on a hot mic, Biden quickly called to apologize to Doocy.

And, scene. This is just the sort of tempest in the teapot that Washington obsesses over (Biden said a bad word!) and that the average voter couldn't care less about.

Biden may have apologized, but he wasn't wrong.

I will admit, I was disappointed by one thing.  No, not in that he referred to Doocy as a stupid son of a bitch.

Nope, I'm disappointed that the president didn't come up with a more profane insult.

Credibility, thy name is NOT "Newt"

From a press release touting Newt Gingrich's endorsement of Home Title Lock -

Home Title Lock and Newt Gingrich Join Forces to Educate American Consumers on the Perils of Home Title Theft

Home Title Lock, the nation's leading home title fraud detection service, has announced a new advertising campaign featuring the 50th Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and the former Assistant Director of the FBI's Cyber Division James Finch. The campaign also features Matthew Cox, an admitted mortgage fraudster who at one time was on the FBI's most wanted list for stealing over 150 properties before he was stopped.

More on his endorsement here.

Newt may have a wee bit of a credibility problem and credibility is key for any endorser.

From The Guardian (UK) -

Outrage as Newt Gingrich says Capitol attack investigators could be jailed

Newt Gingrich, a former House speaker and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, stoked outrage on Sunday by predicting members of the House committee investigating the Capitol attack will be imprisoned if Republicans retake the chamber this year.

One of two Republicans on the committee, Liz Cheney, said: “A former speaker of the House is threatening jail time for members of Congress who are investigating the violent attack on our Capitol and our constitution. This is what it looks like when the rule of law unravels.”

In case you missed it: Corruption in Arizona politics

[start sarcasm]

I know, you're as shocked as I am.

[/end sarcasm]

:)

From The Glendale Star -

Ex-school facilities board member indicted

Vernal Lee Crow of Glendale was indicted on four felony counts of conflict of interest in connection with his appointed position as a member of the Arizona School Facilities Board, according to Attorney General Mark Brnovich.

Crow is alleged to have failed to disclose his interest and his son’s interest in Red Tree Consulting LLC, a construction consulting company that benefited from three projects awarded by the SFB while Crow was a participating board member

.

The press release from the office of the Arizona Attorney General is here.

Per their annual reports, Crow was not a member of the Board in 2009 but was in 2010, so I'm assuming that he was appointed by Jan Brewer.

Crow *was* part of Red Tree from its organization in 2015 (docs courtesy the Arizona Corporation Commission)

until mid-2017

But per his bio in ASFB's annual reports, Crow was also part of Dominion Environmental, since at least 1990 (also courtesy the ACC)

until, well, *now* 

Related entities are Dominion Environmental Consultants NV LLC and Dominion Environmental Consultants and he was a director and officer there

at least until late 2019, when it was transferred to another officer

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that this gets better.  He was a member of the ASFB when his entities received money.  I don't know if he disclosed the relationships beforehand.

From the website of the Arizona Auditor General -

From the Arizona State Procurement Office -

[snip]

From a letter to the Glendale Union High School District from 2017 -

[snip]

From the records of the Maricopa County Superior Court -

Based on my reading of this (which is another way of saying that this is unfamiliar), he seems to have entered a plea of not guilty and been released on his own recognizance.

From Arizona Revised Statutes, the section of law that he is alleged to have violated -

If he's convicted on the stated charges, it'll be a class 6 felony conviction.

Legislative schedule - week starting 1/23/2022

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.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4 at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

On Monday, 1/24 -

House Health and Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4. 5 total bills on the agenda.

House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3. 2 total bills on the agenda.

House Military Affairs and Public Safety meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1. 5 total bills on the agenda, including HB2081, a John Kavanagh-proposed bill for the redaction of police videos.

Senate Government meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1. 12 bills on the agenda, all bad, anti-democracy, bills.

Senate Transportation and Technology meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109. 4 bills on the agenda.

On Tuesday, 1/25 -.

House Commerce meets at 2 p.m.in HHR3. 6 bills on the agenda, including HB2099, a Regina Cobb-introduced measure to destroy the Arizona League of Cities and Towns. 

House Education meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4. 8 bills on the agenda, including HB2439, making a list of books in the school's library catalog to parents and a list of books/materials borrowed by their children and HB2595, an attack on the LGBTQ+ community disguised as a ban on sexually explicit materials in schools.

House Natural Resources,  Energy & Water meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1. 8 bills on the agenda.

Senate Appropriation meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  8 bills on the agenda, including SB1175, the legislature's annual attempt to confiscate "non-custodial federal monies" (aka "Community Development Block Grants") and re-appropriate them.

Senate Education meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1. 5 bills on the agenda, including SB1010, a bill to protect "peaceful" protesting at school board meetings (it states that "obvious" threats to persons, but doesn't define that term.  It also would mandate that all school board elections be partisan.

On Wednesday, 1/26 -

House Government and Elections meets at 9 a.m. in HHR1. 17 bills on the agenda, many very bad ones.

House Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. in HHR4. 10 bills on the agenda, including HB2043, making employers financially liable for damages caused by a Covid vaccination if the employer denies a religious exemption for the same, and HB2251, making it a felony to point a "laser-emitting device" at a LEO.  According to the FDA, this designation covers many devices.

House Transportation meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  7 bills on the agenda.

House Appropriations meets at 1:30 p.m.(or upon recess or adjournment of the floor session) in HHR1.  4 bills on the agenda.

Senate Health and Human Service meets at 9 a.m. in SHR1.  3 bills on the agenda, including SB1044, barring the hiring to administer the personal responsibility education program of contractors, or contractors with subcontractors, that perform or have locations that perform abortions.

Senate Finance meets at 9:30 a.m. in SHR109.  9 bills on the agenda, including a couple that seem sneaky bad.

Senate Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  6 bills on the agenda, including SB1166, an anti-union activity bill.

Senate Natural Resources, Energy & Water meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  4 bills on the agenda.

On Thursday, 1/27 -

Senate Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. in SHR1.  8 bills on the agenda; many bad ones, but one good one - SB1215, forming a study committee to examine missing and murdered indigenous peoples.

House Ad Hoc Committee On International Affairs meets at 1 p.m.in HHR4.  No bills on the agenda.

On Thursday, 1/27 at 9:30 a.m., the House Appropriations Subcommittee On Education will meet, in HHR3.

On Thursday, 1/27 at 9:30 a.m., the House Appropriations Subcommittee On Government will meet, in HHR1.

On Thursday, 1/27 at 9:30 a.m., the House Appropriations Subcommittee On Health will meet, in HHR5.

Kuby is on the ballot

 From an email from her campaign -

I looked at campaign finance report (see! It isn't just Rs that I examine!), and I was impressed by two things:

1. The folks who know her best gave her seed money.  As a "Clean Elections" candidate, she needed enough $5 contributions to qualify for CE funding, but she also needed "seed" money to get her campaign started.  And many folks (including yours truly) contributed to her candidacy.  The fact that the folks who know her trusted her enough for that speaks well of her character.

She knows a lot of folks, and the people she knows and who know her gave her money, including colleagues, friends, neighbors, office holders, former office holders, and candidates for office.

2. What I didn't see were contributions from organizations that are regulated by the ACC.  That's been an issue with the ACC in the past.

Kuby's website is listed on the right side of this blog; if you want to electronically sign for Kennedy or to donate a $5 to her, follow the AZSOS E-Qual link below it.

Rep. John Fillmore - a late entry into the race for the Legislative Loon Award

Fillmore may be something of a backbencher in the Arizona Legislature, but he also has checked most boxes on the R hate list; the breadth of his hatred is simply breathtaking.

His quest for the coveted Legislative Loon Award may be rewarded, though he has a *lot* of competition for the award.

So far, his proposals attack education -

HB2276, making legislators the determiners of what is legal or Constitutional in schools

HB2277, giving large property owners in a given change area veto power over school district boundary line changes

HB2279, increasing the total number of students that are in a school district before it can be declared "lapsed" (from eight to 150)

HB2286,  adding an additional layer of parental approval needed for a student's participation in a survey

HB2597, requiring students in grades K - 6 to recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the US and further requiring students in grades 4 - 12 to take a minute to "engage in quiet reflection and moral reasoning" (good luck with that.  It has been <ahem> a while since I was a teenager, but as I remember, telling one that they must do something is a sure way to get one to NOT do that something.)

He also attacks democracy and the administration of elections -

HB2287, barring the establishment of combined voting locations in adjacent precincts

HB2288, barring the establishment of emergency voting centers and emergency voting itself (I think; a lot of language is redlined [deleted] here).  

HB2296, stipulating that government-issued forms of ID are the only forms of ID that are valid for voting

HCR2025,  a proposal to change the state constitution for the same

HCR2011, a proposal to change the state constitution so that legislators decide who the candidates for U.S. Senate are

HB2596, banning early voting and mandating that all votes must be counted by hand and totaled within 24 hours (and other things - there are a lot of additions to language and deletions to language here)

He also attacks the LGBTQ+ community -

HB2285, barring schools from discussing sex ed or AIDS without specific parental permission (to be fair, this one could have been included in the schools section, but this one seemed more like an LGBTQ+ attack) (to be fair2 - this caveat could be included with many of these measures, and not just the anti-LGBTQ+ ones)

HB2292, requiring that birth certificates include a gender of male of female of any child's birth so documented

HB2293, barring public schools from requiring any employee of that school from referring to a student by a gender pronoun of a gender other than what is stated on the student's birth certificate

HB2294, requiring that all government-issued documents that indicate a gender for the recipient have such indication be limited to "male" and "female"

He's not limited to those; he multitasks for Faux News watchers -

HB2291, an anti-CRT measure

HB2282, barring the use of photo radar

HB2280, barring social media websites from controlling the content on their websites

HB2281, an anti-vaxxer measure

Yup, Fillmore is like Mikey in the old Life Cereal ads.

He hates EVERYTHING.

State Committee update

Former member of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) Doug Little was running for another term on the ACC, but his committees related to that have been terminated.  He's now running for the district 2 seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

All anyone needs to know about him is that he's a Trumpkin.

From the website of the Maricopa County Elections Department -

At this point, I don't expect there to many, if any, more candidates for statewide office; as a practical consideration, it takes too long to gather all of the nominating signatures needed (due by April 4th).  I'll update as necessary.

I won't further update races for the legislature until ballots are set.  Too many folks are running for too many seats.

Federal Committee update

From the website of the FEC -

Kutz is a Republican running for CD9.  He appears to be a realtor.

Torres is a Democrat running for CD6.  She appears to be an environmental consultant.

If Dougie likes someone, it may not be a positive character reference for that someone

From Ben Giles, published by KJZZ -

Ducey praises Sinema's steadfast support of the filibuster

Gov. Doug Ducey had high praise for Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema one day after she sided with Senate Republicans to reject a proposed change to the filibuster.

“I want to give Senator Sinema credit for standing up and protecting a Senate rule that she believes in,” Ducey told reporters on Thursday.

Sinema, voting against the minimum wage, from CNN -

Hey, if you don't get your way, just resort to violence at threats of violence

For those of you who are unclear on the concept, that's sarcasm.

The statement isn't true, and I don't believe it.

I *do* believe that Cheeto made this socially acceptable.

From WJLA (in VA) -

Mom charged after threatening to bring loaded guns to Va. school over mask policy

Page County Public Schools in Luray, Virginia will increase police presence at schools Monday after a mother made a perceived threat during a school board meeting Thursday night.

Amelia King was upset about the school mask mandate and said her children would not be wearing masks on Monday and she would "bring every single gun loaded and ready."

or

From NPR -

Texas man faces federal charges for allegedly threatening Georgia election officials

FBI agents on Friday arrested a Texas man for allegedly threatening to kill election and other government officials in Georgia.

Chad Christopher Stark of Leander, Texas, was taken into custody Friday morning after being indicted in the Northern District of Georgia on a single count of making interstate threats.

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.