Short Attention Span Musing

...Is state Sen. Jack Harper (R-Surprise!) trying to move up? Right now, most of his blog coverage is limited to "That's our Jack! Isn't he a nut?" posts, but a bill that he has proposed for the looming session of the Arizona lege may support moving him from the "loon" category of coverage into the "follow the money" category.

If passed and enacted, his SB1042 would remove from state law the provision that a privately operated toll road is allowed "only if a reasonable alternative route exists."

In other words, it would allow the creation of 'sole option' toll roads. Such roads would compel members of the public, without consideration to their financial status, who wanted to travel to a destination served by that road to pay a toll because they would have no other options.

When someone who is elected as a public servant does something that seems to only screw over the public that he was hired to serve, it raises some questions about his motivations.

So far, anyway, I haven't any direct financial links between Harper and the toll road industry. The closest link that I could find in a few hours on a Saturday was a number of campaign contributions to Harper over the years from lawyers with the national firm Greenberg Traurig, a firm that has worked with PBSJ Corporation, an engineering consulting firm that specializes in, among other things, toll roads. Both Greenberg Traurig and PBSJ have offices in Phoenix.

That link is *not* strong enough to start throwing around corruption allegations. However, it is strong enough to serve as a guide to further investigation.

It should be noted that Jack Abramoff is a former employee of Greenberg Traurig.

Edit on 12/30 to clarify - I suppose a better way to put it is that there is smoke here, but that doesn't mean there is fire, just a very good reason to look for fire.

End edit.


...Is protecting Iraq's finances the primary motivation behind Bush's latest veto?

George Bush is set to 'pocket veto' HR1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. He objects to a provision that allows victims to sue state sponsors of terrorism (the relevant section, 1083, starts on page 334 of the .pdf file linked above.)

He believes this could unfairly penalize the current government of Iraq for crimes committed under the rule of Saddam Hussein.

The vast majority of Hussein's victims were Iraqis; in fact, the only Americans that I could find that could be reasonably considered to victims of Hussein were American soldiers captured during the Gulf War in 1991. According to the VA, there were 47 American POWs during the Persian Gulf War.

The provision at issue was proposed by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Iraq doesn't seem to be the primary target of his proposal.

From the New York Times, via the SF Chronicle -

"My language allows American victims of terror to hold perpetrators accountable - plain and simple," Lautenberg said in a statement.

Consider this -

- Left unsaid is the likelihood that as a senator representing New Jersey, a number of Lautenberg's constituents were victims of the 9/11 attacks; a number significantly larger than 47.

- Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11; in fact, Osama bin Laden, 14 of the 19 hijackers, and a significant part of the financing for the attacks were Saudi, not Iraqi.

- And Saudi Arabia has far more money than Iraq these days.

Combine those considerations with the Bush Administration's well-documented predilection for protecting its Saudi friends and the fact that there has never been an unfettered investigation into the events of 9/11.

Is Bush really protecting Iraq, or is he using Iraq's interests as a front for his real reason for the veto?

The transcript of the White House press briefing where the veto was announced is here.

I have one question (of the non-snarkily rhetorical variety) - A pocket veto takes place when the President doesn't sign a bill within 10 days and the Congress is adjourned, and that seems to be the situation right now, with all of the members of Congress home for holiday break.

However, the Senate has been holding 'pro-forma' sessions every few days to block the president from utilizing 'recess appointments' to get around the confirmation hearings required for most of his nominees.

Do those session obviate the effectiveness of the pocket veto? Do they in fact mean that the Congress is legally in session, so that instead of vetoing the bill after 10 days, it actually becomes law without the President's signature?

Does anybody with a better knowledge of Constitutional law than me know the answer? Thx.


...One of the few good points in the aftermath of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been that many of the presidential candidates from both sides of the aisle are waking up to the need for a cogent foreign policy campaign plank.

So why isn't the MSM talking to and about the candidate with more nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize (3) than all of the other candidates combined (0)?

Why are the media pundits inviting the likes of Clinton, McCain and Edwards (or their reps) to pontificate on the assassination of Bhutto and its effects on Pakistan and stability in the region?

Why are they ignoring the only one among the entire gaggle of candidates that has real diplomatic experience?

Why aren't they shoving a microphone in the face of Bill Richardson?


The Patriots are on national, non-premium cable, TV in a little while. Should be fun... :)

Later!

Top stories of the year

It's something of a tradition for various media outlets to publish year-end lists recounting the most significant stories of the year. This will be just one of many such lists...


Anyway, here's my list of the top Arizona-related stories of the year (and not-too surprisingly, this list has a political bent to it) -


...In April, Arizona prisoners who were sent to a private prison in Indiana rioted, injuring at least two staff members and causing serious damage to the facility.

My original post on the topic is here.

I've got a phone call out to the Arizona Department of Corrections asking for an update, but called too late in the day for their PR folks to obtain an answer; I'll update tomorrow.

Edit to update: According to Bill at the DOC's media relations office, the contract with the Indiana prison is still active and prisoners are still being rotated through it.

End edit...


...In March, State Rep. Trish Groe was busted for a DUI in La Paz County. After various twists and turns to the case (including a stint in rehab shortly after the arrest, an abortive plea deal in May, and a felony indictment in September), Dennis Wilenchik, personal fixer for Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, arranged for Groe to pay a fine and to serve 10 days in the Maricopa County lockup.


...Also involving Wilenchik was the story of the County Attorney and the Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, leading a jihad against the New Times, resulting in a grand jury inquisition of the New Times, led by Wilenchik, and the arrests of two of the New Times' journalists/publishers, ordered by Wilenchik.

The charges against to New Times' employees were dropped after the ensuing public outcry and criticism from all directions.

Don't fret about Wilenchik, though - his firm has received over $220K from the County Attorney's office since the whole New Times debacle.


...The economic slowdown has caused the state to have a revenue shortfall with the resulting budget deficit growing to more than $1 billion. This has led to plans for a 'pre-session' session of the Legislature in order to deal with the budget crisis.

The idea that the Republicans in the state senate have proposed to address the revenue shortfall? Among other things, reduce revenue...

Anyway, we're coming into an election year; expect any legislative proposals to deal with the deficit in a responsible way to be beaten back by the "any government is too much" clique in the Republican caucus. (Don't believe it? Read the already-submitted SB1002, a bill to repeal the state equalization property tax, a source of revenue for public education. It already has 17 primary sponsors, Republicans one and all.)

BTW - I wonder if Tim Bee is reconsidering his decision to only 'explore' a run against Gabrielle Giffords in CD8? Something tells me that stumping around Tucson and southern AZ is going to be more fun than running the state senate in Phoenix this coming year.


...John McCain's campaign for the Republican nomination for President was moribund and all but DOA this summer, but with the decline of Mitt Romney in the face of Mike Huckabee's rise has unexpectedly given McCain's campaign new life. His candidacy may fall eventually fall by the wayside, but at least for the next six weeks, he's back to being a contender.


...Of course, perhaps the biggest local political story was the passage and implementation of Arizona's employment sanctions law. The law would suspend then revoke the business licenses of businesses that hire undocumented immigrants. While overly draconian, the law was written skillfully enough to withstand lawsuits.

As expected, the nativist wing of the Republican Party is rejoicing in the broken lives and shattered families.

Note: Immigration in general was a hot topic all year; Man Eegee does a great job covering immigration issues in Arizona and beyond.


Stuff to watch in 2008 -

...Of course, one of the biggest stories of next year will be the elections...

- Who will win the presidential nominations for each party, and who will win the general election? When a Democrat wins the White House, will they offer Governor Napolitano a cabinet slot? And if one is offered, will she take it?

- Who will come out of the crowded Republican field in CD5 to challenge Harry Mitchell in November?

- Who will succeed the soon- (but not soon enough!) to-be-departed Rick Renzi in CD1? Things have been relatively low-key so far, but are certain to start heating up early in the new year.

- Will Dan Saban defeat Joe Arpaio for the Sheriff's job? Has Maricopa County finally had its fill of Arpaio after 16 years?

...Next year's state budget cycle looms as a far more contentious one than this year's, with the inevitable Republican demands to balance the state budget by cutting corporate taxes deep and public services even deeper. Who among the Reps will step up and place the fiscal future of the state above partisan bickering? And which among those Reps will pay for their apostasy by facing a primary challenger?

...What kind of legislative torture will Russell Pearce and his ilk try to inflict upon immigrants in 2008?

...Lastly, my deepest condolences go out to the friends, families, and loved ones of Benazir Bhutto (former Prime Minister of Pakistan) and those murdered in the suicide bombing in the aftermath of her assassination.

Important dates - Presidential primaries

Courtesy the Arizona Secretary of State's website and the Maricopa County Recorder's website -


Presidential Preference Election (aka - the primary) - February 5, 2008

Voter registration closes - January 7, 2008

Note: By Arizona law, voters must be registered in a party to vote in that party's presidential primary.

Early voting begins - January 10, 2008

Early voting requests end - January 25, 2008

Early ballots due - 7:00 p.m., February 5, 2008

Maricopa County early ballot request form here

State of Arizona voter registration here


Hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Clement Moore said it simply and perhaps said it best, almost 200 years ago -

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

Democratic Ballot for AZ's Presidential Preference Primary

Edit to add - OK, so I was a little bored on Christmas Day, and decided to do a little research on the *ahem* 'lesser-known' candidates on the ballot. Some of the names were all but useless as search parameters and I couldn't find any information that was clearly pertinent to the presidential candidates. Others, however, were useful. A number of the candidates are participants in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies' Project White House. One candidate has even announced that he is on the presidential primary ballot by mistake; he's actually running in CD6 against Jeff Flake (or Russell Pearce, if Pearce can actually pull of the political upset of the century.) Information at the links; however, given that few of the candidates have actual campaign websites, some of the info could be inaccurate.

End edit.

DSW at Sonoran Alliance put up a post detailing the Republican ballot; here's the listing of the Democratic one.

The list of candidates on the ballot for Arizona's Democratic Presidential Preference Primary taking place February 5, 2008 (courtesy the Arizona Secretary of State's website) (major candidates in bold; Arizona-based candidates noted with an 'AZ') -

WHITEHOUSE, SANDY (AZ) - president of the Santa Rita Foothills Community Association.

RICHARDSON, BILL

LYNCH, FRANK

KRUEGER, KARL - truck driver/radio personality

OBAMA, BARACK

EDWARDS, JOHN

BOLLANDER, PETER "SIMON" (AZ)

MONTELL, LELAND (AZ) - real estate agent

SEE, CHUCK (AZ) - ran for President as a Republican in 2000

HUBBARD, LIBBY (AZ) - artist

GEST, LOTI (AZ) - counselor at an addiction recovery center

DALEY, ORION - author

CAMPBELL, WILLIAM (AZ) - this is a lousy name for web searches.

TANNER, PHILIP (AZ)

KUCINICH, DENNIS J.

CLINTON, HILLARY

DOBSON, EDWARD (AZ)

HAYMER, TISH (AZ) - The Abbess of Costello?

LEE, RICH - another name provides lousy internet search terms

OATMAN, MICHAEL (AZ) - IT Guru

GRAVEL, MIKE

VITULLO, EVELYN L. (AZ) - a Democratic candidate for President in 2004

DODD, CHRISTOPHER J.

GRAYSON, RICHARD (AZ)


Notes:

The biggest surprise? No Joe Biden on the ballot.

Worst draw for a 'top-tier' candidate? Hillary Clinton; 15 candidates, including Richardson, Obama, and Edwards are listed higher on the ballot.

Is there something in Tucson's water? Of the 17 'anybody can run for President' candidates, 12 list a Tucson address. Maybe somebody should tell them that they are more likely to win a Powerball jackpot than the President's job.

Later!

A little perspective...

Yesterday, I was very ticked off at the failure of the Congressional Dems to do anything to bring Bush's war in Iraq under control and for their surrender on deficit reduction.

I'm *still* very ticked off.

However, in this post, Desert Beacon in Nevada lends some much-needed perspective to the Democratic record in the 1st Session of the 110th Congress.

A year and a half ago, the Democrats announced their "Six for '06" agenda.

This included (courtesy CNN) "national security, jobs and wages, energy independence, affordable health care, retirement security, college access for all."

Well, as DB noted, the Democrats in Congress passed, and got Bush to sign into law, "a minimum-wage increase, implementation of the homeland security recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, college cost reduction, and an energy measure that requires conservation and the expanded use of renewable sources of energy."

Stem cell research was passed but vetoed by Bush.

And as DB also noted, 4 out of 6 gives you a damn good batting average.

I just hope that next year, the Congressional Dems can add a couple of home runs to the four singles of this year.

Later!

Definitely *not* a proud day for Congressional Democrats

Let's see...

Today, the House, by a vote of 272 - 142, gave Bush $70 billion to continue his war in Iraq, and they gave him the money unconditionally, with no strings attached.

No accountablity...

No timelines for withdrawal or even simple draw downs...

No benchmarks for success, not even the faux benchmarks that were used to rationalize a continuation of funding last spring.

78 Democrats, including AZ's Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords, crossed over and sided with the Republicans to issue the blank check to Bush.


Today's roll over on the Iraq war alone would normally be enough to make this a shameful day for the Democrats in Congress, but they kept on giving Bush and his cronies gifts....


...The House also passed S2499, the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 by a vote of 411 - 3. The fact that every Democrat present voted for the bill represented a unamimous capitulation in the fight to improve SCHIP.

...The House also approved a Senate amendment to HR3996, the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 (aka - Alternative Minimum Tax [AMT] relief) by a vote of 352 - 64. That amendment is a symbol of the Democratic leadership's abject surrender in its stated quest for a fiscally responsible Congress.

The AMT is slated to impact approximately 23 million middle- and upper-income households this year, which is approximately 22,999,845 households more than it was originally targeted towards.

Democrats in Congress proposed a relief package that would have protected middle-class taxpayers (something that everyone in Congress supported) while compensating for the lost tax revenue by closing a tax loophole that allowed managers of offshore hedge funds to hide their incomes, well, offshore.

Did I mention that top hedge fund managers make more than $100 million per year? Virtually tax-free?

Needless to say, the Republicans in Congress were aghast at that idea, and today were joined by 157 Democrats (including the entire AZ delegation, except for the absent Ed Pastor) in approving a fiscally-irresponsible Senate amendment that expanded the budget deficit but protected ultra-wealthy hedge fund managers.

Bloomberg.com coverage of the AMT vote here.


Looking at events of this week, combined with the year-long collaboration with the Bushies, perhaps it's time for the Democratic Party to establish a new caucus within the party, one that someone can gain membership to simply by getting elected to Congress (House or Senate).

Call it "The Vichy Caucus."


Note - Here I was, feeling all clever and witty with the "Vichy" reference/insult, only to find that someone else beat me to it, almost two years ago. Damn, there goes the potential licensing income. :))

Later!

A case of early document destruction getting out of hand?

From Reuters, via Yahoo! News -

Fire damages Cheney's ceremonial office

A fire damaged Vice President Dick Cheney's ceremonial office in a building overlooking the White House on Wednesday and forced hundreds of government workers to evacuate.

Fortunately, no one was hurt this time, but perhaps the Vice President and his staff should realize that they are in an old and rather historic building, so next time, they should take care to remember -

Don't burn; shred instead.

Is Jon Kyl getting 'creative' with his press releases?

Blogger ThinkRight has the text of a press release that Kyl's office issued today, lauding the Senate's passage of an SCHIP extension (S2499).

From ThinkRight's post -

Senate Extends Children's Health Care, Averts Medicare Physician Payment Cuts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate today approved legislation that will avert a scheduled 10 percent payment reduction to doctors who provide Medicare services and temporarily extend funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

When I first looked into this, I couldn't find any evidence that the Senate had even considered an SCHIP bill today, much less passed one. The only recorded votes concerned the omnibus appropriations bill and a judicial appointment.

I started salivating at the thought of catching the good Senator in a fib, but continued to research, and found this article in the Hartford Courant that indicated that the measure was approved by unanimous consent.

Still, while Kyl's press release may not have been an outright lie, he was rather creative with it.

First, and I give him (or more likely, whichever staffer was relegated to writing the press release) credit for not saying that Kyl voted for the bill, because no Senator actually did vote for it. "Unanimous consent" simply means that none of them expressed an objection to it.

Second, while the press release sort of implies that Kyl supported the bill, it never comes out and says so.

Which is a good thing, because he has never supported the extension of SCHIP.

To whit:

- when HR1591 was passed by the Senate on March 29, he was one of 47 Senators to vote against it. That bill was later vetoed by President Bush and died when the House failed to override that veto.

- when HR976 was passed by the Senate on September 27, he was one of 29 Senators to vote against it. Again, Bush vetoed the bill and the House failed to override the veto.

- when HR3963 was passed by the Senate on November 1, he was one of 30 Senators to vote against it. The bill was vetoed and is awaiting a January override vote.

So with that kind of consistent track record of opposition to SCHIP, why didn't he derail the unanimous consent on the new SCHIP renewal?

Because it protected Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors and health care corporations.

From the press release -

"This legislation prevents a scheduled cut in physician payments..."

Note: I don't actually have a problem with ensuring that physicians receive reasonable compensation for their services, but I find it rather telling that Kyl opposed health care for poor children until his campaign donors in the health care industry* got something.

This does not speak well for Sen. Kyl's character and humanity.

Of course, he's a United States Senator; his 'character' won't be an issue until his next reelection campaign. In 2012.

After all that, I've come to the conclusion that Sen. Kyl needs to give a raise to whoever wrote the press release - it's not just creative, it's a work of art. While never actually presenting an actual lie, the release nimbly avoids actual truth.

Of course2, the ability to give credit where it's due requires a little character, and it's already obvious what I think of Sen. Kyl's character.

* - According to OpenSecrets.org, Kyl received more than $1.2 million in campaign contributions from the health care industry during the 2005 - 2006 election cycle.

Good night...

Here and there...

A quick roundup of stuff...

Yesterday, the House spent a significant chunk of its day debating one or another aspect of H.R. 2764, the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2008 (aka the omnibus appropriations bill), a 3500-page, $516 billion behemoth that funds pretty much all domestic spending for the fiscal year that started October 1.


During most of the debate, the Republicans spent their debate time wagging their fingers and spouting phrases like "pork-laden". "fiscally irresponsible", "where's the Iraq war funding?", "under cover of darkness" (the completed bill was posted on a House website on late Sunday evening/early Monday morning), etc.

What they (the Republicans) seemed to be doing was criticizing Democrats for things that the Republicans had done for years when they controlled Congress and ignoring the fact that it has taken a Democratic majority to actually pass a budget, since the Republicans didn't pass one at all last year.

That was pretty fiscally irresponsible then, and rather hypocritical of them to now criticize the Democrats for performing their duty.

It has been said that "operating without a budget is like steering without a wheel."

So what does newly-converted fiscal conservative George W. Bush have to say on the topic?

From The Hill -

“If the Congress can’t get the job done … then I’ve got a suggestion for them, and just pass a one-year continuing resolution,” he said. “That’s all they’ve got to do. If they can’t get the job done, like I’m hopeful they will, then all they’ve got to do is just take what’s called a continuing resolution, get the people’s business done that way and go on home."

The thing about a lack of a budget is that it brings with it a lack of fiscal control. This may sound cynical of me, but in the sphere of government, that is the kind of environment that allows fraud and misuse of public monies to go undetected or unpunished.

Why am I not surprised that Bush and the Republicans favor continuation of that environment?

I won't be shocked if Bush finds a way to rationalize a veto of the bill.


...In the resolution of her DUI case from earlier this year, State Rep. Trish Groe (R-LD3) pled guilty to a misdemeanor DUI count and was sentenced to 10 days in jail (to be served in Maricopa County) and a nearly $3000 fine.

While I am (happily) ignorant of the sentencing nuances of AZ's DUI laws, that sentence doesn't actually seem to be unreasonable - she didn't hurt anybody, and that *does* make a difference to me.

What I have a problem with, however, is the fact that the special prosecutor in the case, Dennis Wilenchik, is the same one who, while doing contract work for Andrew Thomas' office (Maricopa County Attorney), ordered the arrest of two New Times' publishers/journalists for writing uncomplimentary stories about Thomas and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Why is this clown still allowed to dip into the public trough? More than $220,000 just since the New Times case was dropped? Even if he was just following the orders of Thomas and/or Arpaio, what he did was inexcusable.

At the very least, he and any firm that he is associated with should be permanently barred from ever working for a public entity.

Ever.


...Hmmm. Somebody from the U.S. Department of Justice has been reading my posts (here, here, and here) on the EPA announcement of "incomplete remediation" of contaminated groundwater that was later added to the drinking water supply in Scottsdale. The user's Google search was for the terms "epa superfund nibw arizona press releases".

It's interesting, but what's the motivation for the DOJ's interest? This one has me stumped. Anyone have an idea?


...On Friday, Randy Pullen, chair of the Arizona Republican Party, demanded that Harry Mitchell (D-AZ5) apologize for a comment by the Speaker of the U.S. House, Nancy Pelosi.

Apparently, at her morning news conference, she was quoted as saying that the Republicans "like" the war in Iraq.

This begs two questions -

1. Why is Pullen upset with a true statement?

2. I thought the Republicans billed themselves as the party of 'personal responsibility.' Why should Harry Mitchell apologize for Speaker Pelosi's comments? Hell, not only did he not make the comments himself, he wasn't even present when they were said.

Note: Later that same day, during an interview on PBS' Newshour, Pelosi clarified her earlier comment. From the transcript -

GWEN IFILL: You said this morning at your news conference that Republicans like this war, that this is the Republicans' war.

REP. NANCY PELOSI: Well, when I said "like," I used a poor choice of words. The fact is: They support this war. They support the president's execution of it, even though any objective observer of it would say that a war that we've been in much longer -- more than a year longer -- than we were in World War II, going in on a false pretense without a strategy for success, without a reason to stay, against the wishes of the American people does not deserve the support of the Congress of the United States.

She was fine until she softened it; the war in Iraq really is the Republicans' war.

If anything, her original comment was soft to begin with (courtesy The Moderate Voice) -

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out at Republicans on Thursday, saying they want the Iraq war to drag on and are ignoring the public’s priorities.

“They like this war. They want this war to continue,” Pelosi, D- Calif., told reporters.

"Like" is a gentler way of putting it than I would have chosen.

"Revel in" is a far more accurate way to phrase it.

Anyway, back to the point, Le Templar of the East Valley Trib puts Pullen in his place in Templar's own blog entry when he suggested (writing as Harry Mitchell could have) that if Pullen believes that Mitchell should apologize for Pelosi, then "Pullen can live up to his own standards and apologize for George Bush" for Bush's various crimes and misdeeds.

Later!

Lieberman endorses McCain

Lieberman endorses McCain for President.

So what?

It's not as if any self-respecting Democrat would welcome his endorsement, so what's left for fading politician with fading influence?

Who else would want the endorsement of a deluded former Democratic nominee for VP?

As for the evidence of delusion, from the article linked above -

"I know it's unusual for a Democrat to be endorsing a Republican,'' Lieberman said at an event in New Hampshire today.

Apparently, Sen. Lieberman still thinks that he is a Democrat; that's pretty damn deluded, don't you think?

Harry Mitchell lays some smack on Tedski

I'm sure that Congressman Harry Mitchell had a certain Sonoran blogger (and New England Revs fan) in mind when he agreed to his latest bill cosponsorship in the House.

H. Res. 867 reads -

RESOLUTION

Commending the Houston Dynamo soccer team for winning the 2007 Major League Soccer Cup.

Whereas the Houston Dynamo soccer team won the 2007 Major League Soccer Cup, defeating the New England Revolution by a score of 2-1 at RFK Stadium on November 18, 2007;

Whereas as the Houston Dynamo came back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Revolution;

Whereas as Dwayne De Rosario, assisted on the tying goal to Joseph Ngwenya, scored the winning goal and was named the game's MVP;

Whereas as the Houston Dynamo were playing without Brian Ching, the MVP of last year's MLS Cup due to injury;

Whereas as the Houston Dynamo has won the Major League Soccer Cup for the second consecutive year;

Whereas as the Houston Dynamo is the first team to win back-to-back MLS Cups in 10 years;

Whereas as the Houston Dynamo have won the MLS Cup in their first 2 years of existence in Houston;

Whereas Houston Dynamo Coach Dominic Kinnear has guided the team to 26 wins, 20 draws, and 16 losses in his first 2 seasons in Houston; and

Whereas Houston Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson and midfielder Dwayne De Rosario were named to the 2007 MLS Best XI all-star team:

Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) commends the Houston Dynamo soccer team for winning the 2007 MLS Cup; and

(2) congratulates the team for back-to-back MLS Cup wins in their first 2 seasons in Houston.

Tedski can take heart in the fact that while there are 53 other Representatives who attached their names to this bill, including one other Arizonan, his own Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, has not signed onto H. Res. 867.

Yet. :))

PSA time - Medicare Enrollment Forums With Harry Mitchell's Office

Edit on 12/16 to add the date of the forums.

Oops. :)

Thanks to Angie C. for noticing.

Congressman Harry Mitchell's office will be holding Medicare enrollment forums in Tempe and Ahwatukee Foothills.

Note: He won't be able to attend due to the unusual pre-Christmas-week session in the House in D.C.

The first forum will be held on Monday, December 17 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. at the Pyle Center, 655 E. Southern in Tempe (SW corner of Rural and Southern) and from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Pecos Community Senior Center, 17010 S. 48th Street , Ahwatukee Foothills.

From a press release -

The open enrollment period, which extends through December 31, is the only time people can enroll or switch Medicare programs, including Medicare Part D prescription drug plans.

"The timing is critical," said Mitchell. "It is important for our folks to know that there are people and resources available to help them make the best decisions about their choice of Medicare plans."

{snip}

...Congressional staff and counselors from the Area Agency on Aging, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, and the Social Security Administration will be on hand to give presentations and answer constituent questions. Computer access will be available at the Ahwatukee location to assist with enrollment.

Later!

Short Attention Span Musing - Burning Questions Edition

...You know, I'm not minimizing the significance of the Mitchell (former U.S. Senator George, not current U.S. Rep. Harry :)) ) report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, but in light of the country's ongoing budget deficit, economic decline, war in Iraq and Afghanistan, trashing of the Constitution and Bill of Rights and more, why is every politician under the sun jumping in on this?

Congresscritters and elected officials from Maine to California are weighing in, whether it's Reps. Waxman and Davis inviting Bud Selig and Donald Fehr, respectively the MLB commissioner and players' union chief, to appear before a Congressional hearing looking into baseball's steroid use to George Bush's spouting off about the possible effect on "America's young."

- - - Is it too much to ask the people that were elected to lead the country actually focus on their jobs?


...The Senate overwhelmingly passed HR6, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 *after* the Senate Democrats surrendered to a filibuster threat from Senate Republicans and a veto threat from George Bush and stripped out aspects that would have ended some tax breaks for Big Oil and compelled the development and use of renewable energy sources.

- - - I know that the Democratic leadership in both chambers is used to surrendering by now, but maybe they should have realized that this one would have been the perfect opportunity to call the Republicans' bluff?

At a time when gas is over $3.00 per gallon and oil company profits are at record levels, when the northeastern part of the country is digging out from one winter storm with another nor'easter bearing down, all the while dealing with home heating oil prices that have risen more than 250% since George W. Bush took office, pictures of Republican Senators going to the mat, not for insuring sick kids or even funding government operations, but for *oil companies,* would be the perfect cover photos on Christmas cards sent to their constituents.

The Republican senators could consider it a Christmas gift from the DSCC. :))


...Department of Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff thinks that Congressional oversight of his agency has "run amok" and wants less Congressional involvement in operations there.

- - - Does Secretary Chertoff really think that he's going to get more than $40 billion dollars and the authority to peer into the lives of American citizens without someone peering over his shoulder?


...The Associated Press ran a piece today about Democratic presidential contender Bill Richardson, the Governor of New Mexico. The thrust of the piece was a rhetorical question, wondering if Governor Richardson was "too real" to win the nomination and the presidency.

The point of the question is that while Governor Richardson has become a little more polished as the campaign has progressed, he is considered something of an "unmade bed" - an openly, enthusiastically, friendly man who can be described at "the ultimate diplomat who can be incredibly undiplomatic."

- - - In this era of candidates who don't wake up in the morning without convening a focus group to decide if they should have milk or cream in their coffee, isn't it time for a candidate who is just a normal guy with a normal personality?

[OK, OK - a highly intelligent, well educated, vastly experienced, and supremely qualified "normal guy." :)) ]

Maybe America is ready for a candidate who hasn't been prepped, primped, made-up, and blow-dried to within an inch of their human-ness. I know that I am.

The article was actually a pretty good one, with a fair career bio of the Governor. It's worth a read.

A couple of quick notes -

Full disclosure time - I'm a Richardson supporter (like that wasn't obvious :) ).

Also, for a brief period, the AP article was published, in of all places, foxnews.com. Somebody over at Fox must have realized they published an article that was complimentary of a Democrat, though, and took it down, because I can no longer find it on the Fox site.


...Most people (at least, most of the active Democrats that I've spoken to) believe that Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has his eye on higher office, such as Arizona Attorney General or Governor.

In light of his recent policy change allowing Phoenix police officers to engage in the enforcement of immigration laws (and past things, like endorsing Republican Jim "we don't need no steenkin' Democrats" Weiers for State Rep), the question is this -

- - - Will Gordon be running as a Democrat or a Republican?

Later!

Brief progress report on last month's EPA meeting

Edit on 1/17/2008 to add: For those readers looking for info on the January 2008 incident affecting drinking water in parts of Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, my post on that is here. That post includes links to news reports, the City of Scottsdale's press release on the subject (with a link to a map of the affected area, and a link to Arizona American Water's press release.

End edit...

At a meeting of the Community Involvement Group of the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund site (NIBW) last month, it was announced that one of the groundwater treatment facilities, the Miller Road Treatment Facility (MRTF) had experienced a period of "incomplete remediation" and had pumped water with unacceptably high levels of TCE into Scottsdale's drinking water supply.

Coverage of that meeting and announcement here and here.

Earlier today, I called Jamey Watt, the EPA's Remiedial Project Manager for the NIBW, to follow up.

The results of the phone call -

The investigation into the incident is ongoing; while the participating companies (PCs) have some ideas as to the case of the problem, those ideas have not been verified. The EPA has asked the PCs to conduct a complete engineering assessment of the facility and treatment tower.

There are three treatment facilities in the area beside the one in question - the Central Groundwater Treatment Facility (CGTF), operated by the City of Scottsdale, and the Area 7 and Area 12 facilities, operated by the PCs directly as those two facilities treat source contamination and do not produce drinking water.

Note: Area 7's outflow is reinjected into the ground; Area 12's is discharged to irrigation.

All of the sites regularly sample the results of their cleanup efforts, though Areas 7 and 12 are tested less frequently because they are not involved with drinking water.

Most of the samples are tested at the same lab, Transwest Geochem, though the City of Scottsdale does some of its testing in-house. While equipment problems at the lab led to a delay in testing an MRTF sample in August, leading to a delay in public notification of bad test results (the source of much of the anger at November's meeting), no problems have been reported with the samples from the other facilities, either with testing timeliness or the results themselves.

The test results are not readily available to Scottsdale residents in a timely manner; I suggested creating a website or email listserv to regularly update folks, with all results and not just abnormal ones.

A press release from Congressman Harry Mitchell's office advised that the EPA is requiring the PCs to change the operating procedures of the treatment facilities.

When asked for details on those changes, Watt advised that the EPA was still working on a response to the incident; short-term measures include asking for a complete engineering evaluation (mentioned above) and shutting down the treatment tower involved in the incident ("tower 3") and requiring more frequent sampling.

He closed by saying that the next Community Involvement Group will probably be sooner than the usual one year interval, but he's not sure when that will be because the situation is still being assessed.

Any questions should be directed to Vicki Rosen, Community Involvement Coordinator (rosen.vicki[at]epa.gov) or Jamey Watt, Remedial Project Manager (watt.jamey[at]epa.gov). Both can be reached at 1-800-231-3075.

Be gentle with them if you call though - right now, and probably through the holidays, they are absolutely swamped with the fallout from this. :)

Have a good night!