Brewer's Commerce Authority has barely started, but it is already wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars...

The Arizona Commerce Authority, created by Governor Jan Brewer to replace the state's Commerce Department, was touted as a "public/private partnership" dedicated to bringing economic growth back to Arizona, and with it, jobs for all Arizonans.

The Commerce Department, with its trained and experienced professionals, was deemed to be a failure because of the cratering of Arizona economy.

The Commerce Authority is made up of corporate CEOs and bigwigs.  The line of BS spouted in support of thinking behind the change was that the CEOs "spoke the same language" as their counterparts in other parts of the country and could convince them to bring operations to Arizona.

While some (like me!) were skeptical of the group's likelihood of success, it turns out that Commerce Authority has benefitted Arizonans.

Well, at least a few Arizonans, like those associated with the Commerce Authority.

From the Phoenix Business Journal, written by Mike Sunnucks -

...The Commerce Authority had its first official board meeting Tuesday and was successful in creating one high-wage job. The ACA board approved a $300,000 salary, $50,000 signing bonus and a vehicle allowance for new CEO Don Cardon.

Cardon was Brewer’s guy at the Department of Commerce before it got a private label and board. He made $183,000 as Commerce director, according to the Associated Press.

So Cardon, who was a failure as a political hack ("Brewer's guy") heading a publicly-funded government department, is now worthy of a huge pay raise as head of a publicly-funded "partnership?  Niiiice....

That story was followed by more news of how the new Commerce Authority is spending the public's money for the benefit of the public

Also from the Phoenix Business Journal, also written by Mike Sunnucks -

The Arizona Commerce Authority is moving into new private offices in downtown Phoenix and will pay $40,000 per month in rent and utilities to lease space at the Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold.

That translates into $480,000 per year.

Not that I'm saying that there is a "cause and effect" relationship here (OK, that might be something of a fib :) ), but it's a rather interesting development in light of the fact that one of the directors of the Commerce Authority is Richard Adkerson, president and CEO of, you guessed it, Freeport McMoran.

So the state that doesn't have enough money to adequately fund education...or infrastructure maintenance and improvements...or health care for Arizona's most vulnerable citizens...or anything that even hints of being part of a social safety net has plenty of money available to funnel some to political hacks and cronies?

The "Recall Brewer" effort may have flamed out, but it seems that the problem was more a matter of timing than appropriateness. 

And before somebody starts whining that "policy differences" aren't grounds for recall, this isn't about policy differences. 

It's about abuse of office and misuse of public funds.

Pics from Saturday's meeting of the Redistricting Commission

...The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) met Saturday in Tempe.  It was a relatively low-key meeting, with perhaps two dozen people in attendance (not a surprising number given that this is a holiday weekend).  Tea party types showed up but were only mildly threatening and obnoxious.  Steve at Arizona Eagletarian was there today and will do a full write up soon.

A few pics...

Commissioner Linda McNulty and AIRC Chair Colleen Mathis listen intently during a presentation from Strategic Telemetry, the AIRC's mapping consultant.  Commissioner Scott Freeman almost made it into the left side of the frame.  :)

State Rep. John Kavanagh and Willie Desmond of Strategic Telemetry talk during a break in the meeting.

Mohur Sidwa of Pima County speaking about the issue of prisons being used to increase the political influence of areas with prisoners and to reduce the political influence of areas that the prisoners are from.  She's a wise woman.  OK - she likes the works of Isaac Asimov as much as I do.  :)

Wes Harris, a Phoenix tea party type.  In addition to harangueing the AIRC, he tended to play a little fast and loose with the facts.  Harris: 68% of the people in Arizona live in Maricopa County.  US Census Bureau: 59.7%, and the percentage is shrinking.

Redistricting commission meeting in Tempe on Saturday

Apologies for the short notice, but I didn't notice the agenda posting until Friday.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) has scheduled a meeting for Saturday, September 3 (tomorrow as I write this) in Tempe.

Pertinent info:

Date:  September 3, 2011



Time:  1:30 p.m.
 
Place:  Fiesta Resort (Galleria Ballroom), 2100 S. Priest Dr., Tempe, AZ 85282
 
Agenda: here
 
 
The Fiesta Resort is located on the SW corner of Priest and Broadway in Tempe. 
 
- From Tucson or Phoenix or other points of interest in the state, take I-10 to Broadway and follow Broadway east to Priest Drive.
 
- From the East Valley, take US60 west to Priest and follow Priest north to Broadway.
 
- From Scottdale and other parts of the northeast Valley, take Loop 101 south to Loop 202.  Follow Loop 202 west to Priest.  Follow Priest south to Broadway.

The Pima GOP gun raffle: just some good ol' boys dancing on a few graves

Just when you think that Arizona's Republicans can't get any more tone deaf or shameless, they find new ways to embarrass the state.

From the Pima County Republican Party's August newsletter -

HELP PIMA GOP GET OUT THE VOTE AND MAYBE HELP YOURSELF TO A NEW GLOCK .45

Get yourself a new Glock 23 .40 cal handgun for just 10 bucks - if your name is drawn.  That's right, for just 10 dollars this gun could be yours.  TIckets will be for sale at your Pima GOP Headquarters, 5447 E. 5th Street, suite 100, from 9 AM to 5 PM Monday thru Friday.  You can also purchase tickets at Pima GOP events.

Pic of the newsletter's blurb courtesy Blog for Arizona

For those with short memories, Pima County was the location of January's mass shooting by Jared Loughner.  Loughner used another Glock to kill six people and wound 13 others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

The Pima GOP's scheme has raised a furor.

From Rep. Chad Campbell, Democratic leader in the Arizona House of Representatives (full statement here) -

“I am gun owner myself, a supporter of the Second Amendment and I also believe in common sense. Their raffle is not common sense; it is sick, and the Pima County GOP should call off the raffle in respect for the Arizonans who died and were injured in the Tucson shooting.

From Brian Miller, the recently ousted chair of the Pima GOP (full story here) -

"There's a woman who has a bullet in the brain and who everybody is wishing a full recovery," Brian Miller, the immediate past chair of the Pima County GOP told TPM. "I don't think that raffling off a firearm right now is probably the right way to go."

To be sure, the Pima GOP has defended its fundraising scheme.

From Mike Shaw, interim chair of the Pima County Republican Party (full story here) -

[W]e'd like to point out the Glock is not responsible for what happened at the Tucson shooting. Jared Loughner is responsible for what happened at the Tucson shooting."

However, what Mr. Shaw didn't say, but I will, is this -

Just as Loughner was responsible for his actions, Shaw and his associates are responsible for theirs.

Their scheme has brought shame to Arizona, and while Shaw and his associates may be emotionally incapable of feeling that shame (or any other shame, for that matter), the rest of the state does.




A list of those whose graves the Pima GOP is dancing on in order to raise money -

Christina Taylor Green, age 9

Judge John Roll, 63

Dorothy  Morris, 76

Phyllis Schneck, 79

Dorwan Stoddard, 76

Gabe Zimmerman, 30, a staffer for Congresswoman GiffordsAs far as that goes, Mr. Shaw is correct - Loughner is responsible for his actions at the massacre.

Phoenix Elections 2011: Is the Arizona Republic already slanting news stories for the November runoff election?

The numbers aren't quite final yet, but it is evident that Greg Stanton and Wes Gullett will face each other in a November runoff election for mayor of Phoenix.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Lynh Bui -

Former Councilman Greg Stanton is headed to a fall showdown against newcomer Wes Gullett in a runoff election that will determine the next mayor of Phoenix.

Unofficial results in the Phoenix election Tuesday night showed Gullett and Stanton as the top two vote-getters in the six-way race, with no one earning the more than 50 percent needed to win the mayor's seat outright.

"[N]ewcomer Wes Gullett"?!?!  Wes Gullett may not have held elected office before this, but he's hardly a "newcomer" .

From the bio page on Gullett's own campaign website -

Gullett has extensive experience in government. He was Chief of Staff for Arizona Governor Fife Symington from July 1993 to April 1996. In addition he served as Administrative Assistant to U.S. Senator John McCain. He also served as Senator McCain’s 1992 Campaign Manager. Gullett’s tenure with McCain was seven years and included Administrative Assistant, Community Relations Director and Northern Arizona/Maricopa County Field Director for McCain for Senate (1986).


{snip}

In addition to working on political campaigns, Gullett has worked in the consulting world for the past 14 years. He was a partner in the Phoenix public affairs firm of HighGround, Inc. Prior to his current venture, Wes Gullett formed Integrated Web Strategy, LLC, a company that provides Internet consulting services for business, organizations and political campaigns.


Gullett served three years on Capitol Hill working for the U.S. Senate Republican Conference (1983-86).

I met Ms. Bui when she covered Scottsdale City Hall for the Republic.  She's a good and experienced reporter.  However, I have to say this -
 
If she was alive when Gullett's political career started in 1983, she was still in diapers.
 
Gullett only qualifies as a newcomer by the standards of his mentor, John McCain.
 
By contrast, Stanton is the relative newcomer.

From Greg Stanton's bio page -

Following high school, Greg attended Marquette University and earned the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, a national award for students committed to pursuing careers in public service. While at Marquette, he and a classmate founded an after-school program at the Downtown Milwaukee YMCA helping fourth and fifth grade students with homework and basketball. He also was awarded a grant from the Milwaukee Foundation to study inner city hidden unemployment.

After earning his law degree from the University of Michigan, Greg returned to Phoenix where he practiced education law at Jennings Strouss & Salmon and later Quarles & Brady LLP. In 2001, he left private law practice to serve on the Phoenix City Council, where he represented the sixth district for nine years. This district includes the Biltmore, Ahwatukee Foothills, Arcadia and North Central neighborhoods. With a staunch commitment to creating high-wage jobs in Phoenix, Greg was the lead councilman bringing the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), the ASU downtown campus and the U of A medical school to the city.

Greg Stanton may not be a "newcomer" but Gullett has nearly 20 more years' involvement in politics, though Stanton holds the experience edge in public service -

Gullett has spent most of his career as a lobbyist, working for special interests and not for public interests.

Of course, the editors (and editorial board) of the Republic know that this is a bad time to be viewed as a career politico, hence the lede in their story.

Does the Rep have to report the money they spent on crafting, publishing, and distributing their stories on the election as campaign contributions?

Early election results from Phoenix

Based on the results of early voting, and things could change somewhat after election day ballots are counted, Greg Stanton and Wes Gullett will face off in a November run off election for mayor of Phoenix, while Thelda Williams (District 1), Jim Waring (District 2), Bill Gates (District 3) and Michael Nowakowski (District 7) are on their ways to winning seats on the city council outright.  Daniel Valenzuela in District 5 is on track to face a run off election against Eric Sloan or Brenda Sperduti.

Updates tomorrow when final numbers are announced...

Courtesy the City of Phoenix election results page -

REGISTERED VOTERS - 646,995



Votes Percent


VOTING CENTER TURNOUT 4,724 0.73%


EARLY VOTING TURNOUT 88,437 13.67%


Total 93,161 14.40%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


MAYOR


Votes Percent


ANNA BRENNAN 4,580 5.00%


WES GULLETT 18,973 20.73%


CLAUDE MATTOX 11,195 12.23%


PEGGY NEELY 11,624 12.70%


GREG STANTON 34,514 37.70%


JENNIFER WRIGHT 10,241 11.19%


Write-In* 419 0.46%


Total 91,546 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


COUNCIL DISTRICT 1



Registered Voters 93,703


Voter Turnout 11.23%



Votes Percent


BILL BARKER 1,591 15.11%


ERIC FREDERICK 3,448 32.76%


THELDA WILLIAMS 5,411 51.41%


Write-In* 76 0.72%


Total 10,526 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


COUNCIL DISTRICT 2


Registered Voters 110,444


Voter Turnout 13.68%


Votes Percent


BRYAN JEFFRIES 5,792 38.33%


DAVID JONES 1,438 9.52%


JIM WARING 7,796 51.59%


Write-In* 86 0.57%


Total 15,112 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


COUNCIL DISTRICT 3

 Registered Voters 90,014


Voter Turnout 15.09%


Votes Percent


BILL S GATES 9,962 73.32%


STEVEN GROSS 3,520 25.91%


Write-In* 105 0.77%


Total 13,587 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


COUNCIL DISTRICT 5

 Registered Voters 58,547


Voter Turnout 13.53%


Votes Percent


CHARLIE ELLIS 619 7.82%


ERIC SLOAN 2,025 25.57%


BRENDA SPERDUTI 1,999 25.24%


DANIEL VALENZUELA 3,250 41.04%


Write-In* 26 0.33%


Total 7,919 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


COUNCIL DISTRICT 7

 Registered Voters 86,680


Voter Turnout 9.26%

 Votes Percent


JANET CONTRERAS 2,222 27.69%


MICHAEL NOWAKOWSKI 5,144 64.10%


''EL TUDY'' ARTHUR OLIVAS, JR 594 7.40%


Write-In* 65 0.81%


Total 8,025 100.00%



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


PROPOSITION 1 - EXPENDITURE LIMIT

 Votes Percent


YES 58,596 71.73%


NO 23,089 28.27%


Total 81,685 100.00%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


PROPOSITION 2 - ZONING REFERENDUM

 Votes Percent


YES 33,690 38.32%


NO 54,229 61.68%


Total 87,919 100.00%

Republicans and messages from God...

R presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann was quoted widely Monday saying that the recent natural disasters (earthquake and hurricane) along the east coast are a "message from God" to American politicians telling them to cut spending (on things like disaster relief and management services perhaps?).  She later backtracked, saying her statement was a joke, but based on the video (below, courtesy the Washington Post) of her delivery of her "message from God" claim, her backtrack is the joke.



Her statement made me wonder.  There are seemingly two consistent trends when it comes to Republicans and their conversations with God -

1.  God always seems to say what the Rs want to hear anyway.  It would have been incredibly surprising if Bachmann stood up and said "the hurricane and the earthquake are God's way of telling us that there is a real purpose for government and the constant drive to cut government to pay for tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy undermines that purpose."

2.  The "messages" usually involve the suffering of others, but never themselves.  It's not as if Bachmann (or any other R, for that matter) will view her next electoral loss as a message from God telling her to find a new career. 

BTW - claiming that her statement was a "joke" really doesn't help her cause much - that means she thinks that a storm that killed 42 people (and counting!), left millions of people in darkness, and caused billions of dollars worth of property damage from North Carolina to northern New England is something to *laugh* about.

Committees update...

Edited on 8/28 to reflect information emailed to me from Abraham Hamedah, who is part of the 2nd item, below...

Not a lot of changes to document, but there are a few items of note -

...Arizona Republicans (three of them, at least) have started a federal PAC named Arizona Entrepreneurs to funnel corporate money to candidates.  They've got some paperwork issues to clear up with the FEC, but I have no doubt that they will do so.

...I missed it earlier this year, but the Goldwater Institute has formed a PAC.  The person who signed the paperwork, Abraham Hamadeh, now lists his employer as FreedomWorks on his LinkedIn page (not exactly a step away from the Dark Side of the Force there, Abe).  Perhaps related to the change in employment, this PAC has paperwork issues, too.  Or maybe it's just a Republican "rules are for the little people" thing...

According to an email from Mr. Hamadah, the PAC was not affiliated with the Goldwater Institute, that would be illegal since GI is a 501(c)3 organization, and it has been disbanded anyway.

In a (perhaps) related note, the Arizona Entrepreneurs PAC above lists as one of its founders one Shawnna Bolick, wife of Clint Bolick, GI's chief lawyer.  Note:  I am NOT saying that Mrs. Bolick is helping her husband, but the timing of the formation of the two committees (Goldwater PAC: late May; AE: late June) is rather curious.

...Walter J. Williamson (aka W. John Williamson) of Scottsdale has formed a committee for the Democratic nomination in CD5.  In 2010, he was briefly a candidate for the AZ House in LD8, until his candidate petitions were challenged.

...Anthony Prowell of Tucson has formed a committee for the Democratic nomination in CD8.  I don't know much about him, but apparently, many Tucson Democrats do.

...Justin Winters of San Tan Valley has formed a committee for an Independent run at the CD6 seat.  Don't know much about him, but since he was "proud" to announce that Ron Paul is following his Twitter feed, I'm guessing he's an Independent of the "Republicans are too d@mn liberal" variety.

...Wil Cardon of Mesa has formed a committee for the Republican nomination for US Senate.  He's a big-money self-funder, but it remains to be seen whether that will be enough to defeat Jeff Flake for the nomination.

...Kelli Ward of Lake Havasu City has formed a committee for the Republican nomination for the LD3 State Senate seat.  Current occupant Ron "the South will rise again!" Gould is term-limited and is rumored to be mulling a run for Congress.  She's a doctor of some kind.  Based on her Facebook page, she looks like she will fit in perfectly with the R caucus if she wins the election.

Things look fairly quiet in terms of Maricopa County, City of Scottsdale, and City of Tempe committees.

However, Mesa (home of noted bigots) may be getting more colorful.  The Arizona Republic is reporting that a white nationalist who lists infamous neo-Nazi JT Ready as one of his Facebook friends has taken out paperwork for a run at Mesa City Council.

Note:  All committees that specify a district number will change after redistricting.

Later...
...

Terry Goddard and Paul Johnson tell Tom Horne: Enough already

Former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and former mayor of Phoenix Paul Johnson wrote an op-ed published in Saturday's edition of the Arizona Republic.

In it, they criticize Arizona's current AG, Tom Horne for using his office to bolster the efforts by his fellow Republicans to intimidate the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC).

Some choice quotes from the piece (and you really should read all of it) -

...Attorney General Tom Horne recently announced an investigation of the commission - breaking a longstanding attorney general protocol of never discussing pending investigations before a lawsuit is filed or a grand jury has returned an indictment.

...The power of the Attorney General's Office must not be or appear to be subverted for partisan purposes.


Members of this commission are volunteers who have stepped forward to serve the people of Arizona. They deserve our thanks, not constant attacks. But more important, it was Arizona voters who took redistricting out of the hands of politicians when they approved Prop. 106. Voters went to great lengths to ensure this commission was truly independent, insulated from pressure from politicians who care most about staying in office.

...In all this furor, one thing is certain: If the commission does its job right, neither Republicans nor Democrats are going to be completely happy - exactly what Arizona voters wanted when they passed Prop. 106.

...We call on Attorney General Horne to end his part in the intimidation campaign and allow the commission to focus on the important duties entrusted to it by Arizona voters.

Goddard and Johnson were far more eloquent and tactful than I would be if I was sitting across a table from Horne.

My take, or what I would say to him in such a situation:

Mr. Horne, you are a man who wants to be governor of a state that's ever more purple (note: outside of Maricopa County, Arizona voter registration leans slightly D, and even more importantly, there have been major increases in Independent voter registration levels in all parts of the state) and most residents, even some partisans, are thoroughly disgusted with elected officials brazenly using their offices for personal and partisan gain.

Your bullying tactics may help you in the 2014 Republican gubernatorial primary, but they will hurt your chances of winning the general election, something that is open to *all* voters, not just Republicans.

To sum up - cut the crap, quit worrying about your next job, and just do your current job right.  Doing that will increase your chances at getting that next job.

Later...

BTW - Am I the only one who noticed that the Republic buried the Goddard/Johnson piece on Saturday, perhaps the lowest circulation day of the week?  Could it be they're quietly (quietly for now, anyway) siding with those who are working to undermine the independence of the "Independent" Redistricting Commission?

Instead of apologizing for his bigoted comments regarding the Wallow Fire, John McCain is doubling down...

In June, to widespread criticism, Arizona Senator John McCain blamed unnamed illegal immigrants for the large wildfires that burned hundreds of thousands of acres in Arizona this summer, including the Wallow Fire, the largest in AZ history.

There was no evidence at the time that undocumented immigrants set the fires, but that lack of evidence didn't stop McCain.

The furor over his remarks died down somewhat as the summer wore on, but people didn't forget McCain's broadly bigoted statements.

That became obvious yesterday, when two cousins from Arizona, both with the last name "Malboeuf", were arrested for starting the Wallow Fire with a carelessly handled campfire.

The arrests, definitive evidence that McCain was simply wrong in June, brought forth renewed calls for McCain to apologize.

McCain's response?

A robust denial that the arrests in the Wallow Fire mean that his comments were wrong, only that immigrants didn't start that single fire.

Guess McCain and his cohorts think that people with a name like "Malboeuf" are still from Mexico, only the most northern part.

The part that the rest of us call "Canada."


Note:  I'm just guessing at the ancestral ethnic background of the suspects.  "Malboeuf" sounds French or French-Canadian.

Later...

Yup - Jan has did it. She's blaming President Obama for her inability to write.

The Republicans have blamed President Obama for everything bad (or even remotely less than positive) happening in the U.S., from Acts of Bush like the economic mess and the never-ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to even Acts of God like the earthquake on the east coast today.

Now Arizona's governor, Jan Brewer, is blaming him for one of her personal failures.

From the Capitol Media Services via the East Valley Tribune, written by Howard Fischer -

If Jan Brewer does not get her book done in time for a Nov. 1 planned rollout, it will be the president's fault.
The governor told Capitol Media Services Monday she essentially had completed her writing of "Scorpions For Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure the Border.'' And then, "something came up.''

"I'm working away, trying to get this all done on the weekends and late at night, trying to get it done, and all of a sudden, here we go: He starts it all up again,'' Brewer said.

{snip}

"She [co-writer Jessica Gavora] hears me and I hear her, and we write it, and I write and she give me a copy of what we've all come up with,'' the governor explained. "And then I rewrite it and re-edit it and then have got to check all the facts and make sure that everything is correct -- and colorful -- and that I don't slam anybody too hard.''

Note: If I could italicize the "Jan has did it" part of the title of this post, I would do so.  I know it's grammatically incorrect.  However, that's the Governor's speech pattern, which is why I used that construction.

Most Arizona-based readers will be aware of that, but readers from all over the globe find their ways here.

Later...

Guest Column: Sieg heil, Perry

Written by recurring contributor, friend of the blog, and friend, Jerry Gettinger -

In the late 1920's to the early 1930's a political movement called "The National Socialist Party" formed in a Germany that had been defeated and humiliated from a war and then economically torn asunder by inflation. The Nazi's, as they were to be called, promised prosperity and stability. An Austrian house painter named Adolph Hitler soon emerged as its leader.


Hitler's obsessive hatred of Jews soon translated into an explanation of the economic turmoil gripping the country. Soon the Nazis gained political recognition and began a systematic dehumanizing of Jews and other minorities. Laws were passed preventing Jews from owning businesses and denying citizenship to Jews. The torching of the Bundestag gave Hitler the excuse to declare martial law. The rest is history.


It is most interesting that there are similarities between the Tea Party and the rise of National Socialism. The Tea Party has come about from frustration of the middle class with the economic situation. The fact that we have been at war for such a long period adds to that emotion. There is the promise of prosperity from its leaders if the country takes a simple approach. (Reduce spending, cut taxes) Illegal immigration is identified as the root of many problems. The tea party has systematically dehumanized Latinos by calling them "aliens." The words "fathers, sons, mothers, daughters" are not heard. An additional stigma is placed by denying them the basic services we citizens enjoy. (Sound familiar?)


There are differences. Germany had a homogeneous population, ours is not. Hiter's anti-Semitism was met with almost unanimous acceptance. The tea party is not accepted by a unanimous population. The rush to do the Tea Party's bidding by our politicians is distressing. The signing away of our representatives' vote to an unelected person is comparable to the rush to join the Nazi party by the general bureaucracy. That similarity is chilling. The Tea Party is far from becoming a rerun of Germany. However, the framework is there. When viewed objectively, the similarities cannot be ignored.


The reaction of non-Party members is either denial or the it-can't-happen-here mantra. Maybe so, but....from my perspective, I think we should double the guard at the Capitol.


Later...

In case you missed it...

...Last week, embattled Senate president Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) appointed freshman Sen. Don "Tequila" Shooter as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  The position opened up because Sen. Andy Biggs, now the former chair, ascended to the position of Senate majority leader when now-former majority leader Sen. Scott Bundgaard was ousted from his job as a result of a "domestic violence incident" by the side of a Phoenix freeway (OK, he attacked his girlfriend.  No need to be tactful).

Some were surprised by the elevation of a freshman member to the head of the most powerful committee in the Senate.

Most observers, including me, expected the post to go to one of the more experienced R members of the committee, which include Sens. Sylvia Allen, Rich Crandall, Ron Gould, and Al Melvin.

Evan Wyloge of the Arizona Capitol Times speculates that Shooter got the promotion because in some unnamed way, Shooter is in a position to help Pearce with his looming recall election.

Personally, I think he simply passed his audition in June by proving he was one of Pearce's "good ol' boys."


...Mitt "just folks" Romney has followed up his recent declaration that "corporations are people" with plans to expand his home...a spare house, a $12 million, 3000 square foot beach home in La Jolla, California.

Just a guess here, but he probably isn't going to run on a "populist" platform.

...Finally, something that really *did* escape my notice last week, the Arizona Republic's Political Insider noticed that Arizona's top law enforcement official has a very interesting friend on Facebook -

Noted Arizona neo-Nazi (and Russell Pearce buddy) J.T. Ready.

I freely admit that I didn't have a high opinion of Horne to begin with, but he actually found a way to lower my opinion of him.

Thanks, Tom.  Now I have to figure out what's lower than "pond scum". 

GOP: Tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations: Bad; tax hikes on the poor and middle class: Good

From AP, via MSNBC.com, written by Charles Babington -

News flash: Congressional Republicans want to raise your taxes.


Impossible, right? GOP lawmakers are so virulently anti-tax, surely they will fight to prevent a payroll tax increase on virtually every wage-earner starting Jan. 1, right?

Apparently not.comm

Many of the same Republicans who fought hammer-and-tong to keep the George W. Bush-era income tax cuts from expiring on schedule are now saying a different "temporary" tax cut should end as planned. By their own definition, that amounts to a tax increase.

They're not even bothering to pretend that they are working for the interests of the average American, are they?

BTW - I am not necessarily opposed to letting the temporary payroll tax cut expire (as much as it would hurt), but it has to be paired with making the tax burden more fairly distributed by also allowing the Bush-era tax cuts, mostly focused on the wealthy and corporations, expire.

However, look for the GOPers to push for higher taxes on the poor and the middle class while at the same time insisting on lower taxes on the wealthy.

They'll call it their "jobs creation" initiative or some such line of BS.

And unfortunately, look for the Obama administration to surrender to the R extremists yet again.

Brewer touts federal grant...

...and does it without acknowledging the feds or even the fact that it fills in a gaping hole in the budget priorities of her and the legislature...

Earlier this week, Governor Jan Brewer issued a press release touting the receipt of an $11,894,000 grant from the federal Centers for Disease Control, (CDC) money intended to buttress Arizona's ability to respond to a public health emergency.

In her press release, she glossed over the fact that the CDC is a federal agency...OK, she totally ignored that fact...and is now officially called the "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

But this post isn't meant to point out the deceptive, petty, and yes, lazy aspects of her press release.

Nope, it's meant to point out a sad fact.

The nearly $12 million that the feds just sent AZ to help it respond to and communicate about public health emergencies outstrips the money that Arizona spends on (from SB1612, this year's General Appropriations, aka "budget", bill) -

- the entire appropriation for the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs ($5.169,300)

- the appropriation for the AZ Department of Administration's appropriation for public safety communications ($542,000)

- the Department of Health Services appropriation for poison control centers ($990,000)

- the Department of Economic Security's appropriation for "community and emergency services" ($3,724,000)

- even the entire allowed "Governor's emergency funds" authorization in ARS  35-192, which is capped at $4,000,000 (not an appropriation. If she deems it to be necessary, she can expend up to that amount of unrestricted general fund monies per fiscal year.  For example, she just authorized the expenditure of $50K to aid Tombstone as a result of some flooding issues there.)

There aren't any budget line items specifically for public health emergencies or communications related to the same.


I'm sure that any Brewer administration or legislative insiders who read this will protest that money currently designated for other uses could be reappropriated in the event of an emergency, but the fact remains that they refuse to adequately prepare for emergencies.

My question is:  What does it say about the priorities of Arizona's electeds when the feds put more money toward addressing public health emergencies than the people who are supposed to be dedicated to Arizona do?