Take Two Aspirin And...: The Doctor Is In...

WebMD doesn't  have info on your ailment?  Not enough time or insurance coverage for a visit to a flesh and blood doctor?  No problem.

Dr. R. Musings is here for you with the AZBlogRadioM.D. radio show.  The phones are now open.

...The first caller is Dave from Fountain Hills. 

Dr. Musings: Hi Dave, what are your symptoms?

Dave from Fountain Hills: Doctor, I've got this stiff neck and a headache, and I'm having trouble sleeping.

Dr. Musings:  OK, Dave.  What have you been doing recently?

Dave:  Well, recently I've been sleeping in my office at work...

Dr. Musings:  If you've been sleeping on a couch, that could certainly contribute to your symptoms.

Dave:  At first, I thought that too, but I've been doing that since the beginning of the year and the problem just popped up this week.

Dr. Musings:  Hmmm.  What has happened this week?

Dave: Well, this meddlesome watchdog group has been calling for an investigation of my sleeping arrangements and wants me to pay taxes on the benefit I am receiving from the use of my office as a hotel room.

Dr. Musings:  Stress from that could certainly contribute to your symptoms.

Dave:  I thought that too, but I've been planning to sleep in my office since even before I was in the office and am kind of immune to the objections of the little people, and anyway, let's face facts - I'm a Republicans, so the rules don't apply to me anyway.

Dr. Musings:  OK, so what else did you do this week?

Dave: Well, on Thursday, I was at the White House having my picture taken with the President as he signed a bill naming a new federal courthouse after Judge John Roll, one of the victims of the mass shooting in Tucson in early January.  It was funded by economic stimulus funds.

Dr. Musings: Uh-huh....

Dave: After that, I went back to my hotel room...errrrr...*office* and pumped out a press release, criticizing the stimulus package as a complete failure...

Dr. Musings: Stop right there.  It's obvious that you are suffering from a strong case of whiplash.  Take two aspirin, wear a foam neck collar, and for at least the next four weeks, no twisting yourself like a pretzel to pat yourself on the back while stabbing public employees, women, and poor people in the back.

Dave: I'll have nothing to do for a whole month?!? [muffled cursing]  Doctor, that will put a serious crimp in my fundraising for the 2012 election cycle.

Dr. Musings:  I know it will be difficult, but better that than getting so twisted up you need surgery.

Dave:  Surgery?!?!?

Dr. Musings:  Cranio-rectal dislodgement surgery.

Dave:  What?  Would that really be necessary?

Dr. Musings:  Well, to be honest, that's only a recommendation, not a necessity.  Many of your colleagues live long and profitable, though not very productive, lives with their craniums firmly lodged in their rectums.  The condition makes driving more difficult, but as an Arizona driver, nobody will notice any thing out of the norm.

Dave:  Whew!  My lobbyists....errr....constituents need me to be at full speed.  Thank you Doctor!  I don't know what I'd do without you.    Tell you what, I'm going propose a bill declaring that we replace that socialist Medicare program with cards with your phone number on them.  Anyway, thanks again Doc!  Gotta go foreclose on....errrr...."meet with" a constituent.

Dr. Musings: Umm, OK Dave.  Glad to help.  Next caller.  Jack from Surprise, are you there?

Jack from Surprise: Doctor, I've been experiencing this stinging sensation on the top of my head since Tuesday.

Dr. Musings:  What happened on Tuesday?

Jack:  One of my strike-everything amendments was heard in committee in the Arizona House of Representatives.

Dr. Musings:  Oh?  How did that go?

Jack:  Not well, Doctor.  It was this harmless little idea to mess with Indian tribes to keep them from opening a casino near my district while messing with cities and towns' state-shared revenue, and NOBODY supported it.  Industry opposed it, the Center for Arizona Theocracy Policy opposed it, the Attorney General opposed it, members of the committee picked on me, even the committee chair, my seatmate, opposed it.  Even some uppity wiseass blogger from Scottsdale opposed it.  It was unanimously voted down.  That NEVER happens.  I'm so embarrassed, Doctor.  It's as if even my fellow crazy Republicans think that I'm too crazy for the legislature.

Dr. Musings:  Jack, you are clearly suffering from the after effects of a total smackdown.

Jack: Oh.  What do I do for that, Doctor?

Dr. Musings: Take two aspirin.  After that, pull out a jar of peanut butter, at least 16 ounces, and a full box of saltine crackers, and eat them.  Don't drink anything while you are doing this.

Jack:  But...but...but, Doctor, if I do that, I won't be able to speak!

Dr. Musings:  That's kind of the point Jack.  Thank you for your call.  Next caller, you're up.  Ron from Lake Havasu, are you there?

Ron from Lake Havasu:  Hi Doctor Musings.  Yes, I am.

Dr. Musings:  How can I help you today, Ron?

Ron:  Well Doctor, for the last few weeks, I've had this burning sensation in my throat and a rumbling sensation in my stomach.

Dr. Musings:  What's been going on in your life for the last few weeks?

Ron:  It started when I tried to ram through a couple of anti-birthright citizenship bills in my own committee.  The bills are part of my plan to rid the country of those sneaky children who were born here but whose parents were not.  My committee, my own freakin' committee!, heard nearly 90 minutes worth of testimony from some ringer I had schlepped in for just this occasion, but then I had to pull the bills before a vote because I was stabbed in the back by some of my own fellow Republicans.  They were so worried about looking bad over attacking children that they wimped out, citing Constitutional concerns.  ARRGGGHHH!

Dr. Musings:  Go on, Ron.

Ron:  Then this past week, I got screwed over twice.  First I couldn't get another anti-immigrant bill through my committee, one that would turn hospitals into immigration checkpoints, and had to pull that one too.  The next day, my "birther" bill, which would have required presidential candidates to produce paperwork that doesn't even exist for most of them, was actually defeated but traitorous Republicans and and wussy Democrats who were more concerned with not violating the U.S. Constitution than with keeping a black man out of the White House.

Dr. Musings: Hmmm....  OK Ron.  It seems as if you are suffering from a severe case of ego-initiated acid indigestion, brought on by abject failure.

Ron:  Sounds bad, Doc.  What is the treatment?

Dr. Musings: Take two aspirin, drink a bottle of Pepto, and try again.  There's no salve for failure that's more effective than success.

Ron:  Doc, I can do that.  On Tuesday, Senate Appropriations will meet and consider my bills.  For good measure, there are going to be a LOT more bad bills on the agenda, just to serve as a warning to backsliders - no more wimpy protestations about "the Constitution" or other crap.  Wonder if they'll let me fly my Confederate flag over the Capitol on Tuesday...

Dr. Musings:  On that rather bizarre note, we are out of time and have to go for now.  Thank you callers.  Thank you listeners.  Tune into our next show where we interview a follicly-challenged Senate President about treatments for male pattern baldness.

Talk to you all next week!  Dr. R. Musings, for AZBlogRadioM.D., signing out.

Legislative weekly wrap up, with a quick preview of next week

The Arizona legislature's activity, week of February 14. 2011, in review -

- The big news this week was the passage of a massive corporate tax cut bill in a special session.  The bill, HB2001, is "massive," both in terms of its impact on the state's fiscal situation (blowing a $538 million hole in the annual state budget by fiscal year 2018) and in sheer size (it's 214 pages long).

Legislative summary of the package here; fiscal note, prepared by the state's Joint Legislative Budget is here.  House Democratic caucus press release on the bill here; Jan Brewer's press release praising her signing of the bill into law is here.

- Failed to pass committee: SB1526, a "birther" bill from Sen. Ron Gould.  Three Republicans, Adam Driggs, John McComish, and Rick Murphy, joined the two Democrats on the Senate's Judiciary Committee, Kyrsten Sinema and Steve Gallardo, in defeating the measure.  Their main objection was that the bill as written would create a stricter standard of citizenship for presidential candidates than is in the U.S. Constitution (Arizona:  candidates must be born of two American citizens; U.S. Constitution: candidates must be a 'natural born" citizen, with no mention made of parentage)

This one isn't completely dead yet - a House version this could still move forward, or it could be reintroduced as a "strike everything" amendment to another bill proposal.

-A lot of very bad bills gained committee approval this week.  A very brief list:

SB1467 (barring educational institutions from enacting or enforcing a policy that bars possession of concealed weapons on campus);

SB1216 (imposing a copayment on obstetric services for AHCCCS patients; illegal under federal law, and the committee knows that, but seven Republicans voted for it anyway);

SCR1032 (a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution to require 60% of the voters in an election to support a tax hike for said hike to pass);

SB1390 (placing geographic restrictions on abortion services - a doctor performing an abortion must have clinical privileges at a hospital that offers ob/gyn services and is within 30 miles of the location of the abortion services.  Would all but eliminate the availability of abortions in rural Arizona);

SB1548 (tying school funding in Arizona to the establishment of a nuclear waste dump here)

SB1433 (creating a "nullification" commission to oversee state legislative nullification of federal laws and regulations that state legislators don't like)

HB2077 (mandating the federal agencies report to a county's sheriff and pay a fee before engaging in activities in that county; also ordering that all money collected as a result of fines, fees, or penalties collected by the federal agency be transferred to the state's General Fund)

HB2675 (as introduced, would have defined "unlawful use of food stamps" as use of a food stamp care after the unlawful transfer of a food stamp card and would have mandated that the cards be bright orange and state in large black print "Government Food Stamp Card."  The version that passed committee didn't contain the part about the design of the cards.)

HB2313 (saying that the state can seize federal property under eminent domain)


Too many bad bills passed committee this week to list them all here.  Suffice to say, any anti-union (worker), anti-Union (federal government) anti-abortion, and anti-fiscal responsibility/good governance measures are still alive. 

Most committees are winding down work on their own chambers' bills, and now the focus will be on the floor passage of bills so they can be transferred to the other chamber for consideration.


Among the measures receiving final passage in one chamber and now ready to the other this week were:

SB1187 (lengthening the waiting period before a divorce becomes final)

HB2230 (exempting a corporation's commercial leases with itself from sales tax requirements)


In other legislature-related news:

Republican former state senator Chuck Gray of East Mesa announced his candidacy for Congress in 2012.  Note:  While he states that he will be running for the 6th District seat currently held by Republican Jeff Flake (who has announced that he is running for the U.S. Senate next year), because of redistricting and the addition of a ninth Arizona Congressional district next year, the actual district he runs for may be very different than the current 6th District.

Non-incumbent campaign committees opened for legislative seats (while all list a district, that district's designation and layout will change after redistricting):

Republican Bob Blendu, LD12 State Representative

Republican Tom Murray, LD12 State Representative


Coming next week at the legislature:  Senate Appropriations is scheduled to hear two anti-birthright citizenship bills (SB1308 and SB1309), a bill to turn hospitals into immigration checkpoints (SB1405), and a bill to end AHCCCS (SB1519) (that schedule is subject to change at any time).

Otherwise, most of the focus now turns to floor action on bills that have already been through committee consideration.  However, floor calendars (agendas) haven't yet been posted for next week.

The Democratic Senators of the Wisconsin Legislature: Heroes For Our Time

By now, everyone has heard of the developments in Wisconsin - the Republican governor and legislative majority in Wisconsin is railroading through legislation to bust the public employee unions in Wisconsin, the affected workers - teachers, firefighters, and more - are protesting, and now the entire Democratic caucus of the Wisconsin State Senate has left the state to block the Republicans from achieving the quorum needed to vote on the union-busting measure.

In honor of the 14 Democrats who are standing up for working Wisconsans by standing up and leaving their home state, here's the list -

Tim Carpenter, Milwaukee

Spencer Coggs, Milwaukee











Timothy Cullen, Janesville (no photo available)

Jon Erpenbach, Middleton

Dave Hansen, Green Bay

Jim Holperin, Conover

Robert Jauch, Poplar











Chris Larson, Milwaukee (no photo available)

Julie Lassa, Stevens Point

Mark Miller, Monona

Luther Olsen, Ripon

Fred Risser, Madison

Lena Taylor, Milwaukee

Kathleen Vinehout, Alma

Robert Wirch, Pleasant Prairie










An open invitation to any or all 14 of the Wisconsin Senate Democrats -

On March 26, Arizona's District 17 Democrats are holding our annual "Chili Cook-off" and you are invited.  If necessary, I'll pay the admission fees for all of you, though the blogging budget can't cover airfare.

If you are still people without a home, or even a state, at the end of March, the Democrats of South Scottsdale and Tempe will welcome you with open arms and even feed you.  The quality of the chili recipes is generally very good, even the vegan, but there are probably going to be a couple of entries that you might want to avoid if you don't want your taste buds seared off.  :)

It never stops: the birthright citizenship and turning hospitals into immigration checkpoints coming back already...

While this will be covered as part of the regularly scheduled "Coming Week" post that will go up on Saturday or Sunday, but we need to get out a heads up on this to as many people as possible.

The two birthright citizenship bills (SB1308 and SB1309) and the hospitals/immigration checkpoints bill (SB1405) may have failed to gain committee approval the last two weeks (getting pulled from each agenda they were on before the committees voted on them), however, Russell Pearce, Ron Gould, and the rest of the nativists in the lege haven't given up. 

Not by a long shot.

While most Senate committees have completed their work on Senate bills for the session and aren't meeting next week (once the House passes some bills and sends them over to the Senate, committee meetings will start up again), Appropriations will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in SHR109 to consider those three bills, as well as SB1519, a measure from Sens. Andy Biggs and Ron Gould that would end Medicaid (AHCCCS) in Arizona.

Note for Thursday, 2/17/2011 - nine House committees are meeting, including many that don't normally meet on Thursdays.  It looks as if the House is trying to cram through as many bills as possible before the deadline for the chambers of the legislature to consider bills originating in their own chamber.

I didn't see anything that truly stood out as *bad*, but I only did a quick scan and could have missed something.  Check out the list here.

When you find yourself in a hole, the first rule is: QUIT DIGGING!!

However, we all know what the Republicans in the Arizona legislature think about rules...

Winged Victory is the weathervane atop the old State Capitol building (actually, it was the territorial capitol building first) and legend has it that as the desert winds changed, it would turn toward Arizona's future*.

With the Arizona lege's special session passage of HB2001, the massive tax windfall for corporations (and a $538 million hole in the state's finances), Winged Victory has assumed a new pose, one that illustrates the direction the legislature is moving the state toward...

* = Actually, while there is a legend or three surrounding Winged Victory, I don't know what they are.  Let me be clear, this line was crafted for this story.  But it sounds right. :))

Deepest thanks go out to Vince Palermo, a photographer and graphic designer, for his help with turning a concept into the above picture.  His website, Vinceisvisual.com, is here.

Later...

Redistricting update: Redistricting Commission scheduled to select fifth member February 24

The four members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) who have been appointed by the leadership of the Ariizona legislature will meet next week to select a fifth member, an Independent, to fill out the membership of the AIRC and to serve as chair.

The agenda was emailed to me by Jim Drake of the Arizona Secretary of State's office.  Here's a summary:

Date: Thursday, February 24, 2011
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: State Library Conference Room, Ste. 200, 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix (go to the Old Capitol and ask for directions to the office of the Director of the State Library; it's on the 2nd floor.)

Once the meeting is gavelled to order, Secretary of State Ken Bennett will administer the oath of office to the four members.  After that, they will interview the five independent candidates individually.  The planned order -

3 - 3:30 p.m. - Kimber Lanning

3:30 - 4 p.m. - Colleen Mathis

4 - 4:30 p.m. - Ray Bladine

4:30 - 5 p.m. - Paul Bender

5 - 5:30 p.m. - Margarita Silva

After the interviews, public comment will be accepted, after which the members will make their selection.  An executive session is possible/likely.

If the four members who have already been appointed cannot agree on the selection of a fifth member, the responsibility for that reverts to the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments.  Given that the current membership is split between two Republicans and two Democrats, that possibility isn't a remote one.  However, not personally knowing any of the current appointees, I cannot speculate on the likelihood of that occurrence.

The section of the Arizona Constitution covering this is here.

Later...

Governor gambles on cuts to AHCCCS, and is told by the feds that she won the bet...

...but the voters are standing in the way of her collecting on the bet...

On Tuesday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a response to Governor Jan Brewer's request for a waiver of federal "maintenance of effort" (MOE) standards for Arizona's Medicaid program, called AHCCCS.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Mary K. Reinhart -

Arizona doesn't need federal approval to eliminate 250,000 people from its Medicaid rolls in order to continue to receive federal matching dollars, health officials said Tuesday.

Lawmakers had sought to eliminate coverage for low-income Arizonans to help close a huge budget shortfall, but recently passed federal health reform mandates that states maintain their level of coverage.

In a letter to Brewer today, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the state's entire program comes up for federal reauthorization Sept. 30, and Arizona could simply choose to stop covering the childless adults who Gov. Jan Brewer and legislative Republicans are seeking to drop from the rolls.

In other words, the feds didn't grant a waiver so much as tell Brewer if she waited until the end of the federal fiscal year, she could just make changes without the need for federal action.  Brewer's almost-gleeful press release on the announcement is here.

Now Brewer faces two related problems with her effort to kick poor people off of AHCCCS -

1.  The affected population (people with an income of up to 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) isn't covered by a federal dictate or because of a decision by Arizona politicians, but because the voters *overwhelmingly* approved Proposition 204 in November 2000.  The income eligibility standard is voter-protected and cannot be overridden by Brewer or the legislature.  Historically, voters in Arizona have been loathe to overturn measures that were previously approved by the voters themselves, especially when a proposal to do so is pushed by the legislature.

2. If she convinces the legislature to refer this to the ballot, she (and they) will have to deal with the PR nightmare of explaining how the state cannot afford to help Arizona's poorest residents at the same time they're railroading through a bill to give tax gifts to corporations and the wealthy that will eventually cost Arizona taxpayers more than $500 million per year. 

Jan and her clan are going to have to some serious tapdancing on this one if they hope to cash in on the bet that they've made against the lives of Arizona's most vulnerable.

2012 Congressional Speculation

With Senate candidate speculation running wild across Arizona (Flake in, Shadegg out, Arpaio flirting, Democrats waiting until summer to see what happens with Gabrielle Giffords' recovery), now folks are starting with speculation regarding possible Congressional runs.

Some of the names so far, mostly in a run for Jeff Flake's seat (CD6) sort of way, but not really, since redistricting could make the current CD6 a totally different district (with a couple of other committees thrown in for good measure) -

Republican Kirk Adams, speaker of the Arizona House, from East Mesa

Republican Russell Pearce, president of the Arizona Senate, from Central/West Mesa

Republican Scott Smith, Mayor of Mesa

Republican Chuck Gray, former state senator from LD19 (East Mesa), close to Pearce so probably won't jump into the race if Pearce actually runs

Republican Jay Tibshraeny, current Mayor of Chandler,  former state senator, and previously considered an heir-apparent for Flake's seat if Flake moved on/out.  Redistricting could affect his decision to run/not run (that caveat could apply to almost every possible candidate, so consider it applied for each one)

Republican Rich Crandall, current state senator from East Mesa.  Crandall, Adams, and Gray are all from the same district, LD19, but they aren't close friends by any stretch and could easily end up knocking each other off, helping Smith (if he jumps in)

Republican Gabriela Saucedo Mercer has opened a committee to run against Democratic incumbent Raul Grijalva in CD7.  Haven't heard of her before this and don't know much about her.  However, if she's a serious candidate (and not just a fringe tea party type), we'll know more later in the year
Republican David Schweikert has opened a reelection committee for his seat

Democrat Harry Mitchell hasn't ruled out a run for a rematch with Schweikert, looking to reclaim the seat he formerly held

Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, like Mitchell a former member of Congress, may also run again

Republican Hugh Hallman, Mayor of Tempe, has ambitions for higher office, but any run for Congress will depend on redistricting and which other candidates jump in

Democrat Neil Giuliano, former Mayor of Tempe and former Republican, could also jump in, especially if Mitchell decides against a run.  I don't know how close he and Giuliano are, but Mitchell is the political force of nature in Tempe, so his decision will affect that of the other potential candidates

Democrat Phil Gordon, current Mayor of Phoenix whose term expires this year.  Noted for his ambition and his Phoenix-based campaign machine, if he doesn't go for the Senate seat, is seen as likely to pursue a Congressional run.  Of course, he could go for Governor in 2014, or for McCain's Senate seat in 2016, or...? :)

Republican State Senator Rick Murphy, a former (and future?) Congressional candidate, has opened a $500 Threshold Committee for a run at the Peoria Unified School District Governing Board.  Someone like Murphy standing for a public school committee slot is like someone like me standing for chair of the AZGOP.  Except that I don't want to kill off and bury the AZGOP, just help defeat them at the ballot box


There will be other names out there once the new district maps are drawn, and once the field for the soon-to-be open U.S. Senate seat sorts itself out.

Later...

Redistricting Update: Linda McNulty, lawyer from Tucson, appointed to AIRC

Senator David Schapira, leader of the Democratic caucus in the Arizona Senate, today announced his selection for the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) via Facebook -

... I am pleased to announce I have selected Linda McNulty as the final legislative appointment to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Linda is an exceptionally qualified individual, and Arizonans will be well-served by her appointment to the IRC.

McNulty's application for the AIRC is here.

Special Session hiccup

Nothing major, but the special session hasn't gone totally smoothly for the Republicans.  Instead of completing passage of their corporate tax giveaway bill today, they're only going to go through Committee of the Whole (COW) today (for proposed amendments).

The bill is still expected complete passage tomorrow...

Birther bill rebuffed; bill to turn hospitals into immigration checkpoints held

Monday wasn't a "good day" at the legislature (too many bad bills *did* pass committee), but it could have been far, far worse.

On the negative side - Center For Arizona Theocracy Policy bills targeting the judiciary passed committee (SB1472, SB1482, SCR1047), as did SB1466, a Lester Pearce-pushed bill to give a JP control over prosecutions in his/her courtroom (he's Russell Pearce's brother and a Maricopa County Justice of the Peace).  Also passed were SB1467 (barring educational institutions from enacting or enforcing a policy against carrying a concealed weapon on campus) and SB1469 (expanding the justifications for using deadly force).  Also passed:  SB1471, SB1473, and SB1412, changes to election laws that would serve to suppress the vote (especially 1412).

And that was all before I left the meeting, after more than three hours.  There were more bad bills on the agenda.

However, on the positive side -

SB1526, Sen. Ron Gould's "birther" bill, was defeated on a 3 - 5 vote when three Republicans on the committee expressed strong reservations with the bill, especially with clauses in the bill regarding ballot eligibility for presidential candidates that are far more stringent than those in the U.S. Constitution.

SB1481, Gould's plan to expand the size of the Arizona Supreme Court to seven justices (from the current five) failed when Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch testified that she was surprised by the bill, not least because no one had spoken to her about the scheme.

SB1405, the plan to turn hospitals into immigration checkpoints, was held/pulled when committee chair Gould realized that the 75+ members of the public present in the hearing room were there to oppose the bill, and like the anti-14th Amendment bills last week, he may not have had the votes to pass a bill that is this extreme.

Lastly, the two anti-14th Amendment bills, SB1308 and SB1309, have been reassigned to the Appropriations Committee and were scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, but that agenda was revised Monday, pulling the two bills.

Not a perfect day, not by a long shot, but for the first time in a while, it was only a "bad" day, not a "shameful" one.

Little victories...


Pics from the day -



Chief Justice Berch at the Judiciary Committee meeting

Sen. Steve Gallardo at the SB1405 press conference

Arizona "Copper Chopper" in honor of Statehood Day

Dr. George Pauk at the formal press conference on SB1405, speaking on behalf of the Phoenix Urban Health Collective

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Sen. Ron Gould speaking before the Judiciary Committee meeting

Dr. George Pauk, speaking at an impromptu press conference outside the legislature on the effects of SB1405

WOW - birther bill dies in committee

Quick hit-

The first bill heard in Monday's Senate Judiciary Committee, SB1526, was a "birther" bill.  Sponsored by the committee chair, Sen. Ron Gould, it looked to have easy sailing through committee, but led by Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Steve Gallardo, the committee turned the bill back.

Republicans John McComish, Adam Driggs, and Rick Murphy joined Sinema and Gallardo in questioning the expansiveness of the bill and voted against it.

The bill isn't "dead" until the end of the session (it can come back as a strike-everything amendment to another bill at any time), but this is a stinging defeat for Gould.

I'd say he has a sour look on his face, but that's normal for him.  :)

Seriously though, he doesn't look happy.

More later...

Special Session called for later today

Nothing has been posted on the Governor's website and no bills have been posted on the legislature's website, but a special session will "organize" at 1:45 p.m.

The scope of the call for a special session only includes corporate tax cuts, but nothing that addresses the deficit (other than making it bigger).

More later...

Giffords update: She's talking!

From AP, via Yahoo! News -

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords can walk while holding onto a cart, mouth the lyrics to easy songs and have simple conversations, according to family, staff and her doctors.
Mark Kelly said in an interview broadcast Monday on NBC that he can ask his wife questions and she can respond.

"The communication is coming back very quickly," he said.

She has progressed from speaking single words to short conversations in just a few days.  This is GREAT news for her and for anybody who cares about her.

Stay tuned...

Republicans running wild in D.C. - IOKIYAR rules the day

If you have a few minutes (50 or so) and appreciate subtle farce, take a look at this video of Congressman Anthony Weiner taking U.S. House Republicans to task for failing to follow their own rules when introducing new legislation.

When the GOP took over the House of Representatives earlier this year, they made a big show of enacting a rule that requires that a member who introduces legislation must cite the section of the Constitution the specifically grants to Congress the power to legislate in that area.

When the Republicans introduced H.R. 358, one they have named the "Protect Life Act," they were in such a rush to appease a certain segment of their base that they sort of neglected to make the proper citation.

And Congressman Weiner didn't give them a free pass on their hypocrisy.  :))



Later...