Prefiling bills, or the AZ lege's way of getting an early start..

...Hey, it may be getting an early start on cravenness and insanity, but an early start is an early start, right?

State Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-Bigot) has proposed three measures, and two are related to banning the use of photo radar to enforce traffic laws, one proposed bill and one proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution.

This public hatred for photo radar that the legislature has is something that they've had for a while.

Mostly because they keep running into it.

The other bill (for now, I'm sure she has more nuggets of ugly to propose) is SB1004.

This one seeks to bar foreign ownership of agricultural land in AZ, but this appears to be meaningless Republican nativist propaganda.

While we've had our issues with that, specifically Saudi Arabia depleting groundwater in rural AZ, this proposal impacts neither water nor Saudi Arabia.

From Rogers' bill proposal -

There are other issues here that lead me to believe that is just nativist propaganda (e.g. - it's sloppily written) and isn't going to go anywhere, but it's an early sign that the AZ legislature intends to produce lots of garbage, and not much that will help the average Arizonan.

Hope Governor Hobbs has kept her veto pen close at hand.

It's a dry hate

Welcome to Arizona politics.

It's not like any of this is breaking news, but every so often, a reminder is called for.

From CNN -

Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate appears with Nazi sympathizer and QAnon-linked activists at campaign events

Kari Lake, the Arizona gubernatorial candidate recently endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has embraced fringe far-right figures in her campaign events, including publicly thanking a Nazi sympathizer for his support and appearing with figures linked to the QAnon conspiracy, a CNN KFile review of her appearances has found.

At a campaign event in late August, Lake posed for a photo and video with far-right personalities Ethan Schmidt-Crockett, the founder of the AntiMaskersClub, who harassed a store specializing in wigs for cancer patients this summer because it required customers to wear masks, and Greyson Arnold, a Nazi sympathizer who has a history of making White nationalist, racist, antisemitic and pro-Nazi statements, including once calling Adolf Hitler "a complicated historical figure which many people misunderstand."

Arizona dodges the "late night monologue punchline" bullet for once*

* - Well, maybe; the people behind the state's latest embarrassment don't seem like that they have gotten the "Wait, people have heard about this.  Never mind" message.

From the Arizona Capitol Times, written by Hank Stephenson -

America’s civil rights legacy has been “hijacked” by blacks, and revisionist history unfairly denigrates “English-speaking white citizens” even though they freed the slaves and ended segregation, according to a group planning a “civil rights conference” on the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives later this month.

The American Unification Movement is an anti-immigration group headed up by Los Angeles-based activist Ted Hayes, who has teamed up with local conservative activist Ron Ludders to host the all-day event at the statehouse on May 21.

Shortly after the original story was published, this update was appended to the story -

UPDATE: About a half-hour after the story below was published, the Arizona House of Representatives said that the American Unification Movement event had been canceled.

Sounds good...but the American Unification Movement doesn't seem to have gotten the message.

Their latest post on their Facebook page -

From the front page of their website -

Hmmm...yes, it's possible that the webmaster/communications folks at AUM are a little slow (and to be fair, this whole thing exploded in the face of David Gowan, the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives and the person who approved this wasteful use of public resources, just this afternoon) but it is also (very) possible that the Speaker's office said whatever they thought would make the controversy go away.

In other words, keep an eye on the Capitol on May 21.

It's "Demonize The 'Other' Time" at the Arizona legislature

...Not that it's ever *not* "Demonize The 'Other'' Time" down at the state capitol...

In this week's schedule post, I warned that strikers (strike everything amendments) could pop up at any time.

Turns out, I was being prescient - many committee agendas were updated on Monday...and the week is still young.

What may be the most nativist measure proposed by this bunch (and that's saying something) is a striker now added to Wednesday's agenda for the House Judiciary Committee.

That meeting was already scheduled to start at the painfully early (by legislative standards, anyway; for normal people, it's early, but not outrageously so) of 8 a.m. because of the long and ugly agenda.

And with Monday's changes to the agenda, it is now longer and uglier.

Committee chairman Eddie Farnsworth has agendized a striker proposal to SB1452 -

A proposal to demonize refugees and organizations that aid them.

The text of the proposal -

A.  For five years after RESETTLING a refugee, A refugee resettlement agency is liable for both of the following:

1.  The indemnification of this state or any political subdivision of this state for the cost of prosecuting a refugee received by the refugee resettlement agency for resettlement in this state.

2.  Damages or injuries suffered by a victim that are proximately caused by any criminal act committed by a refugee received by the refugee resettlement agency for resettlement in this state.

B.  This state, a political subdivision of this STATE or a victim of a criminal act committed by a refugee may commence a civil action against a refugee resettlement agency for any damages or injuries that are proximately caused by the refugee's criminal act.

C.  On or before July 1 of each year, a refugee resettlement agency shall report to the department of insurance on a form prescribed by the department its financial capacity to meet any obligations imposed under this section in an amount up to twenty-five million dollars. 

D.  If a refugee resettlement agency fails to make the report prescribed in subsection C of this section, the department of insurance shall impose a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars per refugee relocated in this state by the refugee resettlement agency in the previous five years.  Each day after July 1 that a REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT agency fails to comply with subsection C of this section is a separate violation.

E.  For the purposes of this section:

1.  "HIGH-RISK COUNTRY" MEANS ANY COUNTRY OR TERRITORY THAT IS either of the following: 

(a)  DESIGNATED AS A STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

(b)  IDENTIFIED AS HIGH RISK BY A UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AGENCY, INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION or THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE.

2.  "Refugee" means any person who is a citizen of a high-risk country and who has been granted either of the following:

(a)  refugee status pursuant to 8 United states code section 1157.

(b)  ASYLUM pursuant to 8 United states code section 1158. 

3.  "refugee resettlement agency" means any nongovernmental agency that RECEIVES refugees for resettlement in this state. 

Sec. 2.  Emergency

This act is an emergency measure that is necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety and is operative immediately as provided by law."

I don't know which is worse - Farnsworth et. al. trying to use their positions to turn their private hatreds into public policy, or their unmitigated gall in adding a declaration that their hatred (and yes, fear) constitutes an emergency.

Oh, and I think that we have the front-runner for the award for most shameless two-step of the legislative session -

In a lege notorious for it anti-federal government sentiments and actions, Farnsworth uses sections of federal law to define which groups of people will be affected by his hate missive.

The calendar may be about to turn to 2016, but State Sen. John Kavanagh has his hate on for Phoenix like it is still 2013

In 2013, Phoenix passed a non-discrimination ordinance that protects LGBTQ people.

This so ruffled the tender sensibilities of many of the Rs at the lege (and their puppeteers at the Center for Arizona Theocracy Policy) that State Senator John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) proposed a change to Arizona law that would have made it illegal for someone to use a public restroom that's intended to be used by people of the gender that is different than the gender listed on the person's birth certificate.  He clearly targeted the state's transgender population with his proposal, and he and his proposal were widely denounced.

Kavanagh's proposal to criminalize the state's transgender population ultimately failed, but not before bringing yet another wave of ridicule down upon Arizona.

And while that measure has gone away, Kavanagh has not.


Fast forward to 2015 (almost 2016) and Phoenix is still rousing the ire of Kavanagh, this time in his nativist wheelhouse.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Dustin Gardiner, and dated on the evening of December 16, 2015 -

Phoenix will continue exploring a proposal to create a city photo-identification and service card, which could provide IDs to undocumented immigrants and other residents who struggle to get valid government ID.

The City Council voted 5-4 Wednesday night to issue a "request for information," inviting private-sector companies interested in managing the program to come forward with their ideas.

Interestingly, Kavanagh submitted SB1017, a measure to override anything that the city of Phoenix does with municipal IDs by imposing certain conditions upon them (essentially rendering them useless).

And when did he file the measure?

In other words, he knew this was coming and was trying to get ahead of the curve, a little anyway.

2016 will be an even-numbered year.  An election year.

The Rs in the legislature, in addition to their usual mischief-making, will be pushing measures to try to rouse their base.

Basically, we should all expect more measures to counter anything that even resembles simple human decency.

Maybe it's all part of the marketing plan for the new Star Wars movie: AZ Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema embraces the Dark Side...

...Fellow blogger Bob Lord has written on this very topic here, far more eloquently than I can.  However, I hope can make up in brevity what is lacking in eloquence...

OK, I'm done.  No more "holding my nose" and voting for the "less bad" option in Arizona's 9th Congressional District.

Former progressive icon (and current member of Congress) Kyrsten Sinema announced her complete renunciation of the pretense of working to serve the interests of her constituents (but damn, she's always serving her own interests), or even exhibiting the most basic humanity in her conduct in office, with her vote (along with 47 other Democrats) demonizing Syrian refugees for the terrorist attacks in Paris (and, as of this writing, no Syrians, refugee or otherwise, have been shown to have been part of the attacks).

This is not the first time she has done something like this, and to be blunt, I don't expect it to be the last time.

However, I can state unequivocally that the general election in 2014 will go down in history as the last time that I will ever vote for her.

 The worst case scenario for her here is that she truly believes that demonizing people of a specific ethnic background is good for the US.

The best case scenario for her here is that she truly believe that demonizing people of a specific ethnic background is good for her.

Either way though, it's evil.

And is something that I cannot, and will not, support.

Now, I almost certainly won't vote for the R in whatever race she is in - the next time Arizona Republicans nominate an honorable public servant for any office will be the first time they do so since former state senator Carolyn Allen and former corporation commission member Kris Mayes won their primaries (2008, I think).

However, I can skip any race on the ballot.

And in 2016 (and going forward), that is what will happen in any race where Kyrsten Sinema is a candidate.


Prediction: While it is getting late in the cycle for a Democrat to mount a credible primary challenge to her in 2016, the only way she avoids a Democratic primary in 2018 is to join State Sen. Carlyle Begay tomorrow and just change her partisan affiliation to Republican.

Incoming state rep looking to write a sequel to "The Scarlet Letter"

In high school (for me, anyway; I don't know what's on the high school reading lists currently), one of the books that everyone had to read and study was "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

It was (and remains) as classic piece of American literature (not to be confused with the other-than-classic 1995 movie based on the book).

Written in the middle of the 19th century, it was set in the middle of the 17th century in Puritan-era Boston. 

There are many themes to explore in the book, not least of which is ineffectiveness of the use of ostracization as a punishment.  And the pettiness and hypocrisy of its advocates.

Which brings us to early 21st-century Arizona.

From the Associated Press, via the Arizona Republic -

A newly elected Arizona state representative says he's drafting legislation to add a "non-citizen" designation on driver's licenses issued to young immigrants participating in an Obama administration program enabling them to avoid deportation.

Rep.-elect Jay Lawrence, R-Scottsdale, said he wants to protect the integrity of the voting system, while Democratic state Rep. Catherine Miranda, D-Phoenix, said Lawrence's proposal spells trouble for Arizona in the wake of past controversy over a 2010 immigration-enforcement law.

The 17th century Puritans in Hawthorne's novel wanted to ostracize, even demonize, anyone of whom they didn't approve and use that fear of the "other" to bolster their position of authority.

And Lawrence, perhaps trying to make a "splash" with his new colleagues in the lege, seems to be running plays out of that 17th century playbook.

Perhaps it's time to add a new clause to AZ law to require sitting legislators to wear a henna tattoo in the middle of their foreheads, kind of like

pic found at Democratic Underground.  Not sure where the poster there found it.

Using henna because it is temporary (like legislative terms), but because it is temporary, the "L" tats would have to be refreshed periodically.  Since henna tats usually last 2 - 4 weeks, let's go with requiring refreshers twice a month, perhaps at the beginning of each legislative pay period.

Vent time: False equivalency

...Not that I've ever been accused of being overly eloquent or tactful, but this is definitely not going to be a post for those with tender sensibilities...

When it comes to assessing bad behavior, one of the favorite rhetorical conceits of two major political demographic groups in the US, the politically conservative and the politically lazy, is that of equating bad behavior by individual Democrats with the bad behavior of Republican elected officials, party apparatchiks, and their base.

The politically conservative do it because they understand that using the bad behavior of individual Ds to tar Ds as a group might serve to diminish the impact of the tarring of individual Rs with the bad behavior of Rs as a group.

The politically lazy do it because it's easier than actually observing and analyzing actions and policies for themselves.  You know, actually being civically engaged.

Early this past week, former president George W. Bush went into a hospital for a heart-related procedure (he had a stent put in to unblock an artery).  He received well wishes from people across the political spectrum and across the world (Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin chimed in...just not at the same time :) ).

However, many of the online stories received comments that were something other than "well wishes".  Most of the comment threads contain postings that wish continued ill health or even death upon Bush.  Other postings are milder, but indicate a distinct lack of sympathy for him.

One person who I deeply respect and care for, someone who is highly intelligent and (usually) highly perceptive, took in all of this on Tuesday morning and whipped off an email expressing outrage, and...wait for it...that the hate-filled expressions of anonymous individuals on the internet is proof that Democrats as a group are as filled with hate as Republicans as a group.

I spent the rest of Tuesday morning trying to come up with a response that was appropriately reasoned and thoughtful.

Then Tuesday afternoon hit, and nothing I could come up with was going to top the reality that is the state of "discourse" among the Republicans.

From Talking Points Memo, written by Perry Stein -

As President Barack Obama spoke in Phoenix Tuesday about responsible home ownership, hundreds of people stood outside protesting his policies, many shouting and carrying racially charged chants and signs.

"Bye Bye Black Sheep," the protestors shouted at one point, a reference to the president's skin color, according to the Arizona Republic.

Another protestor carried a sign that said "Impeach the Half-White Muslim!"

“He’s 47 percent Negro,” one protestor shouted.

“We have gone back so many years,” Judy Burris told the Republic. “He’s divided all the races. I hate him for that.”

Just a couple of points here, and this is where things get a little blunt.

1.  There are those who will try to claim that the bigotry shown by the protesters at the President's appearance in Ahwatukee was an isolated event that is hardly reflective of the demeanor and actions of Republican elected officials.  They will be lying.

2.  The anonymous rantings of morons on the internet don't reflect upon the entirety of Democrats in America any more than they reflect upon the entirety of Republicans.

3.  We (meaning Democrats) have our share of, oh, what's the technical term?  Oh yeah - freakin' loons at the fringes, as well as officeholders who bring great shame to their offices.  So do the Republicans.  The difference being that where we marginalize our loons and power abusers, they lionize theirs.

And when one (or more) of ours steps out of line, we call them on it - witness the sexual harassment complaints lodged against Democrat Bob Filner, mayor of San Diego, and the growing calls, by Democrats, for him to resign from office.

Compare this to the thunderous silence from the Right over the revelations surrounding AZ Attorney General Tom Horne and his pattern of giving his girlfriends taxpayer-funded jobs.

4.  Enough already.  I consider myself to be a pretty even-keeled kind of guy, but the next person who pontificates on how Democrats and Republicans are the same is going to hear three words from me. 

Bullshit.  Prove it.


And when they don't prove it, and they won't, I'm going to look them in the eye, call them a liar, turn my back upon them, and walk away.

Arizona Legislature: jokers leave, yet it is still a national punchline

The latest edition of the Arizona legislature is missing the names of some of the nuttiest of the nuttiest (Frank Antenori - lost in the general election; Russell Pearce - lost a Republican primary; Sylvia Allen - chose not to run for reelection).

However, the "crazy caucus" of the AZ lege didn't have to rebuild.

It just reloaded.

Now it is names like Carl Seel, Steve Smith, and Jeff Dial, "leading" a new generation of neo-Cons (short for "Confederates") in pushing the worst of the worst legislation.  And pushing to keep Arizona in its now-accustomed place, as the centerpiece of the monologues of late night comedians.



State Rep. Carl Seel (center, in the striped shirt), "hangin' with his crew" at a pro-gun rally at the state capitol this past weekend.  Picture republished with permission of Dennis Gilman.

For example, and this is just a sampling -

HB2467 - adding another requirement for high school students to meet before they can receive a diploma - they have to swear an oath that is substantially the same as oaths of office for elected officials and for people joining the armed services.  Sponsors/co-sponsors: Seel, Smith, Dial, Reps. Bob Thorpe, Sonny Borrelli, David Livingston, T.J. Shope and Sen. Chester Crandell.

HB2475 - Barring from polling places election observers from national or international organizations.  Sponsors/co-sponsors: Seel, Borrelli, Livingston, Adam Kwasman, David Stevens, Debbie Lesko, Warren Petersen, and Kelly Townsend (a name to watch.  A tea party muckety-muck in the SE Valley.  She should be the source of a never-ending supply of embarrassing legislative proposals.)

HB2434 - Barring the use of any "public resource" by anyone who may not be in the state legally.  I say "may" because the standard of evidence in the bill is rather low.  Essentially, it would turn "breathing while brown" in AZ into a Class 1 misdemeanor, and a second "offense" into a Class 6 felony.  Sponsors/co-sponsors: Seel, Townsend, Lesko, and Ethan Orr.

HB2431 - Allowing anyone who is "eligible for membership in the Arizona State Guard" to ignore any (possible) pending assault weapon, extended magazine, or ammunition measures if those things are purchased for the purpose of "maintaining proficiency of arms" within Arizona.  Under the section of AZ law referenced in the proposal, nearly everyone is eligible for membership in the AZ militia.  Sponsor: Seel.

HB2318 - Exempting from federal rules and standards, and state standards stemming from federally-funded programs, any schools, particularly charter schools, that don't accept federal funding under a specific section of the US Code.  Sponsor:  Eddie Farnsworth

HB2284 - Making a daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance mandatory for students in public and charter schools, unless a parent specifically request that their child be excused from doing so.  Current law allows time for reciting the pledge of allegiance for those students who "wish" to do so.  Sponsor: Farnsworth.

HB2283 - Mandating that when a state agency that publishes material in a language other than English, that material can only be published on the internet.  Sponsor: Smith.

HB2291 - Making it a Class 6 felony to enforce or attempt to enforce federal firearms regulations within AZ.  Sponsors/co-sponsors: Smith, Kwasman, Seel, Stevens, and Thorpe.

AZBlueMeanie of Blog for Arizona offers his take on this measure here.

And my personal "favorite" (quotes denoting the use of sarcasm, just in case you couldn't figure it out for yourself):

HB2293 - Turning hospitals and emergency rooms into immigration checkpoints, round two (or is it three?).  Sponsors: Smith, Kwasman, Seel, Thorpe.


For now, the House seem to be most active on the "crazy", but it's early.  Andy Biggs is now in charge of the Senate, and with fellow travelers like Al Melvin, Judy Burges, and Don Shooter around, the Senate Rs are sure to make their howls at the moon heard, and soon.  I expect them to catch up by the first week of February.

With a move calculated to stave off imminent lame-duck status, Jan Brewer only gets lamer

The Obama Administration is rolling out a "deferred action" policy, affecting undocumented immigrants.  Under the policy, eligible undocumented immigrants can apply for a deferral of removal proceedings (aka - deportation) for a renewable two-year period.

Approval for the program will not confer "legal" status upon the affected immigrants, though they may receive authorization to legally work in the US during the deferral period.

Naturally, the nativists have wigged out.

Arizona's highest-ranking nativist, Governor Jan Brewer (in comparison to Arizona's rankest nativist, Russell Pearce) weighed in with her two cents' worth, issuing an executive order to make sure that undocument immigrants can't get any public benefits, something which they *aren't* granted by the President's new policy.

Yes, this means that Brewer issued a meaningless executive order to counter President Obama's meaningful one.

Now, it could be that Chuck Coughlin (aka - the person who really controls the Ninth Floor) may have taken a day off, and this is completely the product of Brewer's intellect, but it seems likely that this order is really intended to remind legislative Republicans that she is still the governor. 

A reminder that she hopes finds its mark, because she is rapidly approaching political irrelevance.

Once the new legislature is seated, she will be viewed mostly as a bystander by the Rs in the lege, as they jockey for position for the 2014 race for the office she currently holds.  Each and every one of them will be focused on throwing elbows as they position themselves for a run at the office or to ally themselves with the person they consider to be the strongest candidate.  Since she's term-limited, she cannot be that person, hence she is totally meaningless in their world (this part isn't a dig at Brewer, it just *is*.  She's not the first officeholder this could be said about, and she won't be the last).

So, Jan Brewer thinks that her path to continued relevance is to issue an irrelevant order?


Personally, I actually hope that Coughlin was out of town or getting a root canal or something, anything, that left a Nurse Ratched wanna-be in charge of the asylum for a day.

And only a day.

Arizona is in bad enough shape with Brewer as the titular head of Arizona's government; if she actually runs things (say...if Coughlin moves on to the next puppet "client" before the 2014 election), there may not be much of an Arizona left for the winner of the 2014 election to govern.

OK, this last part *is* a dig at Brewer.  As if you couldn't tell. :)

NY Times coverage of the deferral program here.
CBS News coverage of Brewer here.

Maricopa County school board candidates: time is running short

School board candidates have until Wednesday at 5 p.m to turn in their signatures, so there is still time, but it doesn't look like there will even be enough candidates to fill all of the seats up for election, much less enough for the elections to be contested.

Note: The Arizona School Boards Association has information on school boards and members here.

Per the Maricopa County Education Service Agency (a watered-down name for the county school department, much like public education has been watered in Arizona), there are 170 school board seats up for election in Maricopa County this year.

However, as of Friday, only 74 candidates had even submitted nominating petitions.

One race worth keeping an eye on is that for Mesa Unified #4.  It has three seats up for election and only two people have submitted sigs.

And one of them is Jerry Walker.

Walker was once a member of the governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District, where he was most noted for his use of his office to at a platform for pushing his bigotry upon the College community, and for using his office to intimidate and harass any student, staff, or faculty member who dared to disagree with him.

He makes Russell Pearce look like a cuddly "puddy tat". 

I haven't had a chance to look at the other candidates yet and won't do so until the ballots are set, but some of the candidates/potential candidates in the southeast valley area of Maricopa County look to be more than a little sketchy.

Later...

The Pearce emails: the deeper you dig, the more nuggets you find

I know it's been a few weeks since they came out, and this is a bit of "old news", but the hundreds of pages of Russell Pearce's bigoted emails are still turning up nuggets.  In this case, he is thoroughly willing to misuse quotes and science to serve his bigoted ends.

To whit:  on page 20 of the linked .pdf file, Pearce quotes a Democrat, President Harry S. Truman -

I think that the line was actually first used in the 1948 presidential campaign, but to be fair to Pearce, that issue of Look magazine may have contained an interview or quote from Truman.  Given that Pearce was born in 1947 (or so says his Wikipedia bio), he was probably too young in 1948 to pay attention to presidential candidates, and by 1956, if he was soaking up wisdom at the (metphorical) knee of any "Democrat", it was probably Bull Connor.

But whether it was 1948 or 1956, either way, Truman wasn't talking about immigration or immigrants.

To whit2:  On page 45 of the same file, Pearce forwarded material that admits the reality of global warming and other environmental concerns, matters that Republican orthodoxy either minimizes or calls an outright hoax -

Now, it seems as if the phenomena cited were meant to serve as points arguing against all immigration (not just the undocumented variety that Pearce claims is all that he is concerned with), but hey, it's a start.  :)

Lester Pearce the subject of an ethics investigation

Lester Pearce, a former Justice of the Peace in North Mesa and current candidate for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, is best-known as the older brother of ethically-challenged nativist blatherer Russell Pearce.

Like his brother, he tends to hold some rather extreme political views.

Like his brother, he is quite willing to use his position of public trust to promulgate those views.

Now, like his brother, he is facing an ethics investigation.

Perhaps it's only fitting that (alleged) ethical transgressions are related to his brother.

During his brother's recall election last fall, Lester Pearce allegedly campaigned for Russell Pearce, including helping to put a sham Latina candidate on the ballot in order to split the anti-Pearce vote, and publicly endorsed his brother.

Things that judges are specifically barred from doing (actually, the whole sham candidate thing goes beyond a violation of standards of judicial conduct; that sort of behavior is frowned upon for all of us).

From Canon 4 of the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct -

RULE 4.1. Political and Campaign Activities of Judges and Judicial Candidates in General

(A) A judge or a judicial candidate shall not do any of the following:

{snip}

(2) make speeches on behalf of a political organization or another candidate for public office;

(3) publicly endorse or oppose another candidate for any public office;

{snip}

(5) actively take part in any political campaign other than his or her own campaign for election, reelection or retention in office;

Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times has an article here regarding Lester's apparent violations of all of the above.

Now, the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct is investigating a complaint against Pearce.  They won't post the complaint on their website until the matter is resolved.

The ethics investigation may not be the worst thing facing Lester and the Pearce clan -

I wonder if the ethics investigation will be a topic of conversation at the Pearce family fundraiser scheduled for Saturday, July 21 in Fountain Hills?

It will be that, or talk about how desperately poor the Pearces have been at fundraising this year.

During the five months between January 1 and May 31, Russell raised ~$2800 in his race for the LD25 Senate seat.

During the same period, big brother Lester raised $100,223.87.

Sounds good, even great...until you notice that $100,000 came from a loan from the candidate himself.  Meaning he actually raised $223.87.

Many words will probably be written about the fundraiser, both before and after the event (it's possible my post-event write-up will include the words "klavern meeting".  Just sayin' :) ).

I'm just guessing here, but the Pearces won't care what anyone writes about the event so long as one of the words used after the event is "lucrative".

The week that was...

Because of work, posting has been light.  Apologies to regular readers, and thanks for your patience.

...Health care reform, SB1070: A good week for President Obama.  Not a perfect week, but definitely one that will go in the "good" column...

First, the US Supreme Court overturned three of the four sections of Arizona's SB1070 anti-immigrant law that the Obama administration challenged in court.  The downside is that the USSC left in place (for now, anyway) the section that allows/requires law enforcement officials to demand to see "the papers" of anyone they suspect may be in the country illegally.  However, the justices declined to rule on that because it hasn't actually been implemented yet.  

The Republicans/nativists have been spinning this as an unequivocal victory for them but this cartoon from Clay Bennett of the Chattanooga Times Free Press best sums up that school of "thought" -

Then, the USSC upheld President Obama's signature initiative, the Affordable Care Act.  Democrats were overjoyed; Republicans were apoplectic.  Especially since one of the justices who voted to uphold the law was Chief Justice John Roberts, heretofore a Republican hero.  However, he seems to have realized that the USSC's main strength is its credibility and and years of deciding cases on a partisan basis instead of their merits is pissing away the credibility of the Court.

At roughly the same time that the Court released its decision on health care reform, the Republicans (aided and abetted by a few spineless Democrats, including AZ's Ron Barber) in Congress snapped-to and voted to find US Attorney General in contempt of Congress when gun industry lobbyists at the NRA crooked their little fingers.

Not a good thing for the president (and certainly not for Holder himself), but not as bad as it could be, if the vote wasn't a purely political stunt/hatchet job.  Even the Republicans realize that this one could come back to bite them in the ass, which may be why the vote was deliberately scheduled so that it would be lost in the hubbub surrounding the USSC's ruling on health care reform.

...Still, while the focus this week was on Washington, not all of the political news came out of DC this week.

- Former AZ state representative Daniel Patterson, who resigned his office earlier this year after some allegations of domestic violence arose, withdrew his application for membership on a municipal planning and zoning board in New Mexico after it became known that the "D.R. Patterson" on the application was the disgraced former AZ lawmaker "Daniel R. Patterson."

Left unexplained is how someone who is supposedly a resident of Arizona (one of the requirements to be a member of the AZ legislature) could also be a resident of New Mexico (one of the requirements to be on a municipal board there).  I'm not a lawyer, so I can't say for certain, but his withdrawal from consideration in NM may allow him to avoid fraud related charges (or something similar).  On the other hand, he has hinted that he will run for office again in 2014 (in AZ, as of last hint); expect this matter to come up again if he chooses to do so.

- Not wanting to be out-"get-a-clued" by Patterson is his former legislative colleague, former state senator Scott Bundgaard. 

Like Patterson, he resigned from office before he was expelled from the lege over domestic violence issues.

Like Patterson, he has a history of domestic violence allegations, both involving an ex-wife (past divorce matter) and a girlfriend (the more recent case).

Like Patterson, he blamed the victim rather than taking responsibility for his actions..

Like Patterson, he said his troubles were part of a conspiracy to destroy his political career.

Unlike Patterson, however, he's not going away to New Mexico; he's going to court.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Mary Jo Pitzl -

Former state Sen. Scott Bundgaard is seeking $10 million in damages from the city of Phoenix, alleging the city bungled his arrest and investigation stemming from a freeway fight with his ex-girlfriend 16 months ago.

In a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, Bundgaard, a Peoria Republican, alleges Phoenix police withheld reports of the February 2011 event and colluded with the state Senate's Ethics Committee as it examined a complaint against him. That left him with little choice but to resign rather than be expelled from the Legislature, Bundgaard said in an interview Friday.

Truth be told, I'm not sure which one is more pathetic...

...Related to the first item above (SB1070 ruling) - news broke this week that the costs to Arizona's taxpayers aren't limited to just the costs of defending Russell Pearce's (and Jan Brewer's) bigoted legislation in court.  After the bill passed in 2010 and Brewer signed it.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez -

Gov. Jan Brewer's office paid about $98,000 in fees after she canceled the Border Governors Conference scheduled to take place at the Arizona Biltmore in September 2010, The Arizona Republic has learned.

Brewer canceled the annual conference between the governors of U.S. border states and their counterparts in Mexico after the Mexican governors refused to attend because of immigration law Senate Bill 1070.

Guess that in Jan Brewer's world fiscal responsibility takes a back seat to nativist posturing...or making sure that her "friends" in the private prison industry have plenty of bodies filling their revenue generators.

...Later...

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...

Kavanagh amendment targeting universities

...at first glance, it appears he may be serving as the hatchet man for the Goldwater Institute, but to give Rep. John Kavanagh his due, he's a smart man and could have thought of this all on his own.

On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills), will consider a strike-everything amendment (aka - "striker") to SB1116.

That proposed amendment reads, in part -

...universities under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents may not:

1. Provide taxpayer funded programs, scholarships or courses if the purpose of the program, scholarship or course is to advocate public policy.

2. Allow taxpayer funded organizations, institutes or centers to operate on the campus of the university or on behalf of or in association with the university if the purpose of the organization, institute or center is to advocate public policy.

Based on a cursory examination of the websites of ASU and U of A, at least two possible targets of the measure seem obvious -

U of A's Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy

ASU's Morrison Institute for Public Policy


The Udall Center focuses on immigration and indigenous peoples, while Morrison tends to focus on economic and governance issues.

The institutes serve as a reasoned counterweight to both the Goldwater Institute and the nativists in the lege (of which group Kavanagh is a leading light).

And neither of those groups like the competition.


Other institutes that could also be targeted, or at least caught up as collateral damage include:

The National Institute for Civil Discourse at U of A

The Global Institute for Sustainability at ASU


I'm guessing neither one of those is the main target here, but none of the Rs in the lege will complain if they go away.

Anyway, the meeting will be Wednesday (tomorrow as of this writing) at 2 p.m. in HHR1 at the state capitol.

Klein, Pearce, and letters

Last week, State Sen. Lori Klein uttered one of the most bigoted speeches in the history of the Arizona Legislature, which is saying something.  As near as I can tell, the only bit of nativist stereotyping and propaganda that she didn't trot out was "headless bodies in the desert."

Here's the video, courtesy blogger Three Sonorans of the Tucson Citizen -





Apparently, the phenomenon purportedly witnessed by the author of Klein's letter (because she read it, I'm calling it "Klein's" even though copies of the letter that were released to the media show that it was addressed directly to Senate President Russell Pearce, who has a documented history with bigoted missives) isn't confined to public school classrooms in the West Valley.

In the aftermath of Klein's speech, an anonymous reader sent me the following, recounting his/her (it's anonymous, remember?  :) ) own eerily similar, yet different, experience* -

Dear Senator Pearce,

I am compelled to write to you about a recent event that occurred to me.

I currently work as a substitute teacher in private schools in the East Valley area of Scottsdale, Mesa and Chandler.  I was called upon to teach history and language arts for 8th grade at a Scottsdale private school. The number of students I had in each class ranged from 8 to 18 children, which were almost all White Republican and a couple of Athletic Scholarship/Quota children.   The day started out as usual turning on the television listening and watching the announcements on Fox News and saying the Pledge of Allegiance.  During the Pledge of Allegiance I notice the vast majority of students refusing to stand and say the pledge to the Flag of the United States of America.

I asked the students why they refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance and they responded by saying, “we are Arizonans and the U.S. government won't keep Brown People off of our properties and the properties in the same time zone as our properties.”  They finally rose and recited the tea party pledge when one of the students stood in front of the class holding the morning's issue of the Wall Street Journal over his head.

The teacher’s instructions were for the students to read a few pages and answer the questions regarding Mark Twain in their history textbook and to finish their final drafts to you, Senator Russell Pearce, thanking you for your position on Illegal Immigration rights. Their teacher apparently had showed them a video with you and Lou Dobbs.

Most of the students came unprepared for class, yelling that Twain was a commie pinko radical RINO, and their parents objected to all course material pertaining to him.  They texted messages to their nannies, demanding their chauffeurs come to the school to smack me around for even thinking that Twain was worthy of study.  They then held an informal debate over who was the greatest American writer of all time, settling on a choice of two - Ayn Rand and William L. Pierce.

The students’ final drafts to you that I read were basically the same. Most of them stated they were in the country only until their parents could send them to boarding schools overseas, poor and middle class Americans are lazy, and that they deserve everything that their parents and grandparents earned.

I mentioned that I and my wife are "middle class" and we both work, so how could we be lazy?  The students retorted that meant that in addition to being lazy, we were also stupid - we should have inherited wealth like any real American.

I asked them to stop texting in class, that it was impolite to ignore the teacher.  Their response was to advise me to learn to like it, because in a few years, I would be working for them.

When it came to completing the Mark Twain assignment only 2 students (the Quota students, naturally) completed it out of all my classes. Most of the students refused to open the book, tore the pages out of the book, or threw the textbooks at me. I thought are these the students we are trying to educate with STO tax credits?  I have found that substitute teaching in these areas most of the spoiled students do not want to be educated but rather grow up to be banksters and cross-burners. They hate America and are determined to turn our democratic republic into a feudal aristocracy.  Removing the brats from our schools would reduce our class sizes and the students who wanted to learn would have a better chance to do so and become productive citizens.

I urge you to make efforts to stop this destruction of American society.

When the citizens of a country are forced to kiss the brats' rear ends, adopt their customs, and forced to support them, are we not a conquered  nation?  I do not want to see our state and nation turned into something out of the Dark Ages. Thank you for standing up to this intellectual and spiritual virus.  You may contact me by phone, e-mail, or mail.


Thank you, again.

Sincerely,

 * - Not really.  This is just satire.  No such letter was sent to me.  Not all Hispanic children are gang members or wannabes.  Not all children of Republicans are spoiled arrogant snots. 

This was made up just to make a point - The letter to Pearce has no place in public discourse, and Senators Klein and Pearce should apologize for spouting that hate-filled drivel, and pledge to never utilize a taxpayer-funded platform to so spout ever again.


BTW - I don't have any direct evidence that the original letter wasn't genuinely sent to Pearce/Klein by an outside writer, but any teacher who writes that poorly, well, the college that awarded him/her a degree should have its accreditation revoked.  This whole thing reeks of a plant.

Arizona Legislature week in review -

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

OK, so that's a little overwrought, and more than a little unoriginal.  :)

It was definitely a "mixed bag" sort of week, with some genuinely horrible legislation moving forward while some equally horrible legislation was (surprisingly) defeated.

Oh, and the Senate majority leader lost his position as leader, though not his seat, due to a domestic violence incident. 

On the bad side, in fact, the UGLY side, of the ledger:

- The Republicans in the Arizona Senate, led by Senate President Russell Pearce, gathered behind closed doors and crafted a draconian budget proposal.  Once that was done, they suspended all rules regarding public notice and railroaded it through the entire Senate process in a single day.

The package of bills -

SB1612, general appropriations - passed by a party line vote, 21 - 9
SB1613, capital outlay - party line vote
SB1614, state budget procedures - party line vote
SB1615, consolidation of certain state agencies
SB1616, revenue budget reconciliation bill, or BRB (making changes to law to make the budget work) - party line vote
SB1617, K - 12 Education BRB - passed 20 - 10, 1 R crossing over
SB1618, higher education BRB - passed 20 - 10, 1 R crossing over
SB1619, health BRB - party line vote
SB1620, welfare BRB - party line vote
SB1621, criminal justice BRB - passed 19 - 11, 2 Rs crossing over
SB1622, general government BRB - party line vote
SB1623, regulation BRB - party line vote
SB1624, environment BRB - party line vote

The Democratic caucus of the Arizona Senate has a statement on the passage of the package of bills here.

All of the bills have been transmitted to the House for consideration, but they haven't been assigned for committee consideration as yet.

- Sen. Lori Klein (R-Anthem) infuriated and insulted people from all over the state when she read an "anonymous" letter, purportedly from a substitute teacher, stating that Hispanic students only want to be gang members and gangsters.

The letter was a mish-mash of various nativist propaganda and stereotypes, and both reads and sounds like a desperate attempt by Pearce and his fellow travelers to salvage the nastiest of this session's anti-immigrant measures from defeat.

Blogger Three Sonorans of the Tucson Citizen has the video of the bigoted speech here.

Note: Senator Klein gained some notoriety early in this year's legislative session when news broke that she carried a pistol in her purse on the floor of the House during the governor's state of the state address.


On the good side of the ledger:

- Five of Pearce's most stridently nativist measures went down to defeat on Thursday -

SB1308, an interstate compact/new Confederacy bill "birther" bill went down 12 - 18, with all nine Democrats joined by nine Republicans in opposition. One of the Republican "no" votes is Sen. Frank Antenori, and given his heretofore absolute adherence to the Pearce line, I'm guessing that he is the R designated to "move to reconsider" the measure on Monday. In addition to Antenori, Rs Barto, McComish, Driggs, Crandall, Yarbrough, Reagan,, (Steve) Pierce, and Nelson voted against the measure -
SB1309, a birther bill, went down 11 - 19. Same list of Rs against the bill, with the addition of Bundgaard. Another designated reconsiderer?

SB1405, turning Arizona's hospitals into immigration checkpoints, went down 12 - 18, with pretty much the same list of Rs voting no, except Antenori voted for it, while Linda Gray voted no.

SB1407, similar to SB1405 above, except it would have turned school teachers and administrators into immigration enforcement agents, went down 14 - 16, Gray remaining a "no" vote, but Barto, Yarbrough, and Antenori voting "yes."

SB1611, Pearce's attempt to out-SB1070 last year's SB1070, went down 11 - 19, with Sylvia Allen joining the same list of "no" votes as for SB1405, above. She could be the designated "reconsiderer," but I think her "no" might be legit - she voted against the measure in committee, too.

While some are trying to portray the defeat as a triumph of moral and legal sense over extremism, the fact is that the Chamber of Commerce finally weighed in on Pearce's agenda, coming out in opposition.

Having spent a significant amount of time watching the denizens of 1700 West Washington in action, I feel safe in saying that issues of morality and legality have no importance to the majority there.

Money does.

Any or all of these bills could come back via a "move to reconsider" or as a strike-everything amendment to a previously harmless measure, so don't exhale yet.

- Glenn Spencer, the leader of a hate group who had been publicly invited to speak before a Senate committee was "uninvited" when the planned visit started to garner some harsh attention.  However, the "powers-that-be" in the Senate seem to be aiming for "clever" and "sneaky" - next week's agenda for the same committee includes an uncredited item -

4.  Presentation
Border Security

Other bills of interest that went before the Senate ("party line vote" means that all members of a party voted the same way on a given measure, number not casting a vote noted only when there were crossovers):

SB1322, requring cities with a population greater than 500K (read: Phoenix and Tucson) to put out to private bid any service that costs more than $75K, passed 18 - 10, 2 Rs crossing over, and 2 Ds not voting

SB1339, repealing ALL agency rules and requring that future rules be enacted as statutes by the legislature, FAILED 11 - 17, 10 Rs crossing over, 2 Ds not voting

SB1345, limiting the number of employees that Phoenix and Tucson may have, and how much they may conpensate those employees, FAILED 12 - 16, 9 Rs crossing over, 2 Ds not voting

SB1380, mandatory "random" drug testing for recipients of public assistance, party line vote (even if this one goes nowhere in the House, its clauses are part of the Senate's budget package)

SB1453, granting parents the right to pre-censor any school course material that they feel is objectionable or possibly "harmful" to their children, passed 22 - 6, 1 D crossing over, 2 Ds not voting

SB1467, barring educational institutions from enacting or enforcing a policy or rule against carrying a firearm in a "public right of way" (aka - most any place other than a building), party line vote

SCR1028, a proposed amendment to the Arizona constitution barring payroll deductions for political purposes without an annual written authorization, passed 22 - 6, 1 D crossing over and 2 Ds not voting.  The one D crossover, Sen. Steve Gallardo, did so as part of a deal to gain support for his amendment to the measure adding "corporations" to the list of organizations barred from taking payroll deductions for political purposes.

SB1222, requiring that applicants for public housing present proof of citizenship before public housing assistance can be offered to them, and requiring the public housing authorities evict any residents who allow any undocumented persons to live in their units, party line vote

SB1538, prohibiting texting while driving, PASSED 18 - 12, 9 Rs crossing over

SB1589, privatizing most ADOT/MVD functions, party line vote

SCR1035, a proposed amendment to the Arizona constitution expanding Arizona's "English is the official language" law. party line vote

SCR1016, calling for a constitutional convention to amend the US Constitution to require that Congress gain the approval of a majority of state legislatures before raising the federal debt limit, failed on a 15 - 15 tie, on reconsideration (it had failed once before).  6 very conservative Rs crossed over on this one


Other bills of interest that went before the House:

HB2154, relating to the privatization of correctional health services, passed with 3 Ds crossing overr

HB2636, creating a flat income tax rate for Arizona, including the repeal of certain "normal" exemptions and deductions for things like being blind, over 65, or a dependent, while permanently enacting certain deductions and exemptions for business and the wealthy (summary prepared by lege staff here), party line vote


HB2706, school vouchers, under the name "Arizona empowerment accounts," party line vote

HB2301, placing restrictions on the way that school districts can spend their budgets, but "makes up" for it by allowing districts to take money from "soft capital" (books, desks, etc.), party line

HB2313, stating that the state can use eminent domain to take federally-controlled land, party line vote

HB2070, creating an "Arizona State Guard" military force whose activation isn't contingent on the AZ National Guard being busy first.  Rep. Ruben Gallego amended the measure to include a provision that members of the state guard take an "oath to uphold the United States' Constitution," party line vote

HB2089, banning, with certain exceptions transporting minors (<18 years old) in the open bed of a pickup truck, PASSED with 16 Rs crossing over to vote with all of the Ds

A preview of next week coming up tomorrow...

A glimmer of sanity: Five nativist bills go down to defeat in the Arizona Senate

I really enjoy the idea of having a new job (and I really enjoy the job itself, but that's irrelevant to this post), but it does have one downside - I miss all the good stuff that happens during the day.

And today, there was some actual good stuff going down at the Senate.

Five, count 'em - FIVE - of Russell Pearce's pet nativist measures went down to defeat in the Senate today, Thursday, March 17, 2011 -

SB1308, an interstate compact/new Confederacy bill "birther" bill went down 12 - 18, with all nine Democrats joined by nine Republicans in opposition.  One of the Republican "no" votes is Sen. Frank Antenori, and given his heretofore absolute adherence to the Pearce line, I'm guessing that he is the R designated to "move to reconsider" the measure on Monday.  In addition to Antenori, Rs Barto, McComish, Driggs, Crandall, Yarbrough, Reagan,, (Steve) Pierce, and Nelson voted against the measure.

SB1309, a birther bill, went down 11 - 19.  Same list of Rs against the bill, with the addition of Bundgaard.  Another designated reconsiderer?

SB1405, turning Arizona's hospitals into immigration checkpoints, went down 12 - 18, with pretty much the same list of Rs voting no, except Antenori voted for it, while Linda Gray voted no.

SB1407, similar to SB1405 above, except it would have turned school teachers and administrators into immigration enforcement agents, went down 14 - 16, Gray remaining a "no" vote, but Barto, Yarbrough, and Antenori voting "yes."

SB1611, Pearce's attempt to out-SB1070 last year's SB1070, went down 11 - 19, with Sylvia Allen joining the same list of "no" votes as for SB1405, above.  She could be the designated "reconsiderer," but I think her "no" might be legit - she voted against the measure in committee, too.

Many of the "no" votes may have been influenced not by morality or public opinion, but instead by the fact that one of the biggest GOP benefactors, the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, has *finally* weighed in on the goings-on at the Capitol, sending Pearce a letter advising him to cool it with the bigoted stuff - it's seriously cutting into their bottom lines.


There was other good news at the Senate today - Glenn Spencer, the leader of the hate group American Border Patrol, was "uninvited" from an appearance before the Senate Border Security, Federalism, and States Sovereignty Committee.  I wrote about this scheduled appearance last week, and this week, a number of MSM outlets also shed some light on Mr. Spencer and his nativist and anti-semitic acts and rants. 

Enough pressure finally mounted to force Pearce and his close friend, committee chair Sylvia Allen, to alter course.


Of course, these failed bills could come back as soon as Monday (move to reconsider) or could come back via a strike-everything amendment at any time before sine die (the end of the legislative session).

And Mr. Spencer could be invited back at any point in time when Pearce, Allen, and the others think that no one is paying attention.

However, for now, we all get to enjoy one weekend this spring - ASU baseball has a three game set against Oral Roberts University on tap, and the Cactus League is in full swing (and this late in the spring, some of the regulars are playing almost 2/3 of a game! :) ).  If baseball isn't your thing (for shame!  :)) ), the Arizona Renaissance Festival is still going strong this weekend.

And if you just can't stay away from politics, at least do something that will let you enjoy the weather - volunteer to join the effort to Recall Russell Pearce in Mesa.

Monday will be here soon enough.