LD17 Dems meeting, 9 January 2007

Highlights of last night's meeting, held at the Pyle Center in Tempe:

Randy Camacho (thanks to Tedski for the heads-up on Mr. Camacho's website), candidate for chair of the ADP, stopped by. He spoke to people before the meeting, and was introduced to a round of applause.

All three of our elected legislators, Senator Meg Burton-Cahill, Representative Ed Ableser, and Representative David Schapira, attended and gave brief updates on their activities at the lege.

Senator Burton-Cahill spoke about the "sense of change" that is permeating the Capitol - 45% of the House members and 43% of the Senate membership are now Democrats. The days of Jim "Fundraiser" Weiers wholly ignoring the Democrats and their constituents are over.

[Personal note: But not as over as they will be in 2 - 4 years when the Republicans become the minority party in the Legislature. ]

Her focus will be on health care issues, including prescription drug prices. Unrelated to that, she currently has co-sponsored bill HB2092, a bill that would excuse active duty military personnel from jury duty.

Representative Ableser spoke about his trip to Washington state last week, noting that Arizona is fortunate to have had the foresight to enact Clean Elections.

He is working on a mental health parity (for insurance purposes) bill, as well as increasing financial aid to students. As a member of the House Environment committee, he is also working on a number of environmental issues.

Representative Schapira talked about he and Ed and other legislators fighting the massive tuition increases proposed by the state's universities, a fight that took place even before they took their oaths of office.

The fight was partially successful - tuition is increasing, but not nearly as much as the management of the universities wanted.

He also spoke of two of the bills that he is working on that address issues near and dear to him -

Teacher minimum salary and teacher loan forgiveness.

Under his proposal, a teacher's minimum salary would be $33,000.

The teacher loan forgiveness program would forgive the student loans for teachers that agree to teach in 'shortage' districts (i.e. - districts that really need the help) on a year-for-year basis. Each year worked in such a district would result in the forgiveness of one year's loans.

The program is expected to cost $1.5 million per year for 300 participants.

He thinks that the bill has a good chance of passage - it has bipartisan support because it's a "forgiveness" program, not a "grant" program; in addition, at $1.5 million, it's relatively inexpensive.

Other highlights:

The new chair and vice-chairs gave short presentations about themselves (bio-type stuff) as a way of introducing themselves to the district in a non- "campaigning for a district officer" sort of way.

New chair Doug Mings also gave a presentation about the election results that makes a good case for considering LD17 a "Blue" district in spite of the Republican registration advantage -

Congressman Harry Mitchell won every precinct in LD17. Even Laura Knaperek's. :))

Governor Napolitano won every precinct in LD17. Whooo hooo!

Attorney-General Goddard also won every precinct in LD17. Not a shock here - he took every one in 2002, too.

If LD 17 decided things (and maybe our Reps should propose an amendment to the state constitution for just that. :)) ), Jim Pederson would be our U.S. Senator, Rano Singh would be our state treasurer, Jason Williams would be our Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Mark Manoil and Ric Boyer would be Corporation Commissioners.

It was a very illuminating presentation, to say the least.

Anyway, the next meeting is Tuesday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m in the Escalante Community Center in Tempe.

Other stuff:

Tonight, the Scottsdale Planning Commission is considering two proposals to restrict temporary political signs, including one that places severe limits on signs placed on private property.

It should be a...ummm...."colorful" meeting. Hope to see you there.

5:00 p.m., City Hall Kiva.

Later!!

TV recommendations, Baseball Hall of Fame, and other non-political stuff

...First, I have two words for anyone who has BET on their cable or satellite TV lineup -

The Wire.

Simply put, it's the best-written and -acted show on television today.

It follows a police investigation of a narcotics operation in Baltimore's housing projects, but the show is much more than a "Law and Order"-style characterless police procedural - it's a great drama, with eloquently raw writing that rivals that of any "Great Novel" that has ever been published and acting performances that should be taught in every film and acting school in the country.

Originally aired on HBO and with the language, violence, and nudity toned down for basic cable, this show is finally accessible to a wide audience.

If you can tear yourselves away from "reality television" and "Desperate Housewives" and the like, tune in to BET on Thursday nights at 9 E/P (10:00 AZ time) and give it a try.

...The Baseball Hall of Fame announced its latest inductees on Tuesday.

Congrats to Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken. Unquestionably, they were both among the best players of their generation, and among the best ever. Both deserve the honor.

Notable by his absence on the list of 2007 inductees is Mark McGwire. Apparently, many of the voters, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, felt that the possibility that he may have used performance-enhancing drugs (steroids?) during his career means that 583 career home runs doesn't merit enshrinement.

At least not in his first year of eligibility.

I can't say that I disagree with that part, but as he didn't break the rules of his era (there weren't any to break), the mere possibility that used steroids shouldn't be enough to keep him out of the HOF.

I hope that he gains entry next year.

The truly unjust news? Jim Rice was denied entry again.

I may be a little biased (I'm a huge Red Sox fan), but he was easily the most dominant and feared hitter of his time, hitting for both power and average, and he turned himself into a more than adequate left fielder. The only thing he didn't do was steal bases, but that's something that has never been part of the Red Sox' offensive repertoire.

Edit to add: more baseball news. I was tired last night, and forgot this -

Randy Johnson is back with the Diamondbacks.

Welcome Back Randy!!

Now MLB should rescind the trade, on the grounds that a pitcher of his stature should only be in the AL East.

What am I talking about? Three things -

7.17.

1.97.

.306.

Respectively, his ERA, WHIP, and BAA against the Red Sox last year.

Welcome back Randy, but please go back to New York - the Red Sox...err...the Yankees need you!

:)

End edit.

...In bigger news (to me anyway) MOLLY'S BACK!!

It's been a month and a half, but Molly Ivins' most recent column is here. There are plenty of writers that qualify as "progressive", but none can make the reader feel indignant and outraged while causing them to laugh heartily the way that Ivins does.

Welcome back Molly!

Went to the LD17 Dems meeting tonight, but I'll write it up tomorrow.

Good night!

Harry Mitchell bill cosponsorships, and other stuff

Congressman Harry Mitchell is one of the cosponsors of the following bills (OK, one of the many cosponsors :) ):

HR1: To provide for the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.

HR2: To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage.

HR3: To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for human embryonic stem cell research.

HR4: To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower covered part D drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.

In other Mitchell news, Stacy at AZCongresswatch has a couple of pieces that involve Harry.

One highlights the disagreement, covered in the East Valley Tribune, between Rep. Mitchell and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ6) have over allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Flake, in a somewhat surprising position for someone who wants to be known as a "fiscally responsible" Republican, opposes negotiation, saying it could lead to "government price controls."

Mitchell's take: “We mean business. We’re trying to show people there is a change here and the change is good. And we’re going to deliver on our campaign promises.”

The entire EV Trib article is here.

The other piece highlights a Business Journal of Phoenix article about his involvement with efforts to increase federal funding for stem cell research.

See: his cosponsorship of HR3, noted above.

Lastly, EJ Montini has a good column about Harry's move to D.C. available on the AZ Rep website.

Later!

Jack Harper, Renaissance Jerk...errr...Senator?

Sen. Jack "Culture of Corruption" Harper is busy in a wide variety of areas these days, annoying wide and varied swaths of the electorate. With the new session of the lege starting, he has his normal slate of proposed laws and a number of amendments to the state constitution.

First, in a swipe at all of us, (as noted by Tedski at R-Cubed last week) he wants to take the power of initiative petition and binding referendum away from the people of Arizona, or at least to place complete control of it in the hands of the legislature.

His SCR1001 (cosponsor Huppenthal) would still allow citizens to propose laws and amendments to the state constitution via the petition/referendum process, but would require that any such proposed measures "must first be introduced in the legislature and is subject to legislative consideration and enactment."

In addition, the text of the proposals in question must "consist only of the full text of the proposition as introduced in, or as amended by, the legislature pursuant to subsection (2). " Note: subsection (2) is the section that requires that proposals must have been considered by the lege first.

This one is an abominable attempt to take away the most effective way the citizens of this state have to rein in the legislature.

We need to build a woodshed on the grounds of the State Capitol.

Any Democrats who vote for this bit of lunacy get taken out behind it.

"Nuff said on that.

His SCR1005 (cosponsors Pearce, Johnson, L. Gray, Waring, Barnes, Gould, Johnson and Miranda) would would require that all candidates for the legislature would have to submit to a "drug screening test that measures the presence of unlawful or controlled substances."

The results of the drug test would not disqualify someone for office, but the results would be public knowledge.

Not sure who this is a swipe at, but I can't see the likes of Gould or Pearce peeing in a cup, nor Johnson either. Of course, there wouldn't be any testing for alcohol (it's a legal substance), so they probably wouldn't be worried about failing the test.

This one's not that far off-base. It may not have much of a chance of passing (though I firmly believe that the Governor would sign the bill if the lege passes it - if only for the comic material it would provide :) ), but it's worthy of serious consideration.

Bottom line: if it is ok for private employers and government agencies to require drug tests of their employees and prospective employees (the public), it's ok to require drug tests of the public's employees and prospective employees.

I could actually support this proposed amendment, if three other provisions were added:

1. It was tied to the legality of employer drug tests; no more employer drug tests would mean no more tests for candidates.

2. No test results, whether for legislators or for the public, could ever be obtained or used by the government without the express permission of the person taking the test.

3. The tests include screening for alcohol; consumption may be legal, but if private employers can screen for it, we can.

I'm enough of a realist to understand that SCR1001 is far more likely to pass than SCR1005 - the lege is more willing to take power away from us (SCR1001) than to require themselves to meet the same standards of behavior that the rest of us have to meet, and to require themselves to prove it the same way (SCR1005).

I should note here that while I could support such an idea under certain circumstances, the fact that the list of cosponsors includes Russell "National Alliance" Pearce, Karen "UFOs and Black Helicopters" Johnson, and Ron "Confederate Flag: Good; Mexican Flag: Bad" Gould makes me question my own beliefs.

I fully expect that at tomorrow night's LD17 meeting, somebody is going to tell me that I'm "freakin' nuts!"

:))

An EV Trib article on SCR1005 here.

Among other things, highlights of Sen. Harper's other proposals include:

Immunizing public employees and public entities from liability for the injuries to the driver of a motor vehicle if "if the driver is found to have any degree of fault"; [a swipe at anyone injured in a car accident with a government employee] (SB1022)

Repealing the state equalization property tax, and with its removal from the books, take away a source of dedicated funding for public education; [a swipe at public school students and their parents] (SB1027)

Discouraging the state's community colleges from holding courses that provide both high-school and college-level credit in high schools physically - the proposal cuts state aid for such courses by 50%; [a swipe at community colleges and HS students taking college-level courses in high school] (SB1068)

By contrast, LD17 state reps David Schapira and Ed Ableser have submitted two proposals so far:

HB2086, which would require that health insurance issued in AZ cover cancer screenings, and

HB2087, which would require school boards to set some standards for the employment of noncertificated employees, including specific probationary periods and other employment policies. Right now, there is no such requirement for school boards. They can specify employment policies for their non-certificated employees or not, as they so choose.

This just requires school boards to put their employment policies in writing; it doesn't infringe on the turf of school boards by setting specific standards that they have to meet.

No 'swipes' at anyone, unless you think that requiring school boards to put their policies in writing is a 'swipe.' Or that cancer screenings aren't a necessary part of a patient's health care regimen, and are ultimately a good investment for insurance companies - early detection and treatment are less expensive than late detection and radical, desperate treatment.

Nope, their proposals just help people and improve their lives.

Which, ideally, is what our legislators should focus on.

Some other stuff, tealeaf-reading/utterly wild speculation style:

Does anybody know if money raised for a state legislative campaign can be transferred to a federal campaign?

Rep. Michele Reagan has already formed "Reagan2008" for her LD8 State Rep seat (filer ID 200893551 ) and filed the paperwork with the AZ Secretary of State (search page here), and, according to the AZ Rep, is already holding fundraisers for the next cycle.

As noted in a previous post, former Scottsdale City Councilwoman Susan Bitter Smith is involved with a newly-active business and community group in south Scottsdale. Given that she ran for the Republican nomination for Congress in the old CD1 in 2000, it's not unreasonable to think that in addition to advocating for businesses (and residents) in south Scottsdale, she is using the group CASS to raise her profile in the district in preparation for a CD5 run in 2008.

Good night!

New group advocating for South Scottsdale

From the East Valley Tribune:

Two prominent Scottsdale insiders are helping to launch a group that will provide support and a forum for south Scottsdale residents and business owners.

Citizen Advocates for Southern Scottsdale, which is being led by former Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce president Virginia Korte and former City Councilwoman and political consultant Susan Bitter Smith, will host its first community forum Tuesday at the Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Road.

CASS has a website, a Wordpress blog really, here. It hasn't been updated since September, but based on the Trib article, the information it contains still appears to be accurate.

With Virginia Korte and Susan Bitter Smith running the group, expect it to take at least part of its mission statement seriously:

Support the major business corridors of Southern Scottsdale.

What that means for the actual residents of Scottsdale remains to be seen. This isn't a criticism - both Mrs. Korte and former Scottsdale City Council member (and current CAWCD board member and professional lobbyist) Bitter Smith have a long record of involvement in south Scottsdale (and Scottsdale as a whole, for that matter.) I'm just reserving judgment until it becomes clear if the group is focused on all of south Scottsdale, or just the members of the Chamber of Commerce.

I won't be able to attend tomorrow night's forum due to the LD17 Democrats' meeting, but I'll email the group for more info.

Updated Mitchell contact info - district edition

Called the Congressman's D.C. office and asked about the location and contact info for a field office.

It's not open yet, so this is still a little tentative, but here it is:

7201 E. Camelback
Suite 335
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

480.946.2411 (phone)
480.946.2446 (fax)

When grand opening info is available, I'll post it.

If there are any changes, I'll update.


Assuming this location is finalized as the home of the district office, I think it's a good location.

An office that's centrally-located within the district sends the right message: Harry is the Congressman for all of CD5, not just one area.

As a point of comparison, former (YES!!) CD5 Rep JD Hayworth had his district office in north Scottsdale (Northsight Blvd); it was close to his home, and certainly was convenient for his partisan support base in the area, but the location also served as a metaphorical "up yours!" to the residents of Tempe, south Scottsdale, and the rest of CD5.

Harry is striking the right note here - this area of the district is perhaps the most easily accessible for his entire district, not just a single favored portion of it.

Simple directions to the area:

Take Loop 101 to Indian School Rd., exit to Indian School westbound. Follow Indian School to Scottsdale Rd. Turn north (right) on Scottsdale (stay in the right lane) and proceed 1 mile to Camelback Rd. Turn right onto Camelback. The parking area should be right there.

You can also take Loop 101 to Chaparral, follow Chaparral to Scottsdale, and turn south on Scottdale to Camelback. There is a lefthand turn signal at Camelback, so access is fairly easy, even with the left turn across Scottsdale Rd. However, traffic on Chaparral Rd. is frequently a problem, so that route should be avoided if possible.

Note: traffic in the entire area can be a little congested - the location of the office is a heavy retail/restaurant/office area. For instance, Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall is diagonally across the intersection from the CD5 field office.

I hope that more info will be available at tomorrow night's LD17 Dems meeting.

Later!

Ableser preaching the gospel of publicly-financed elections

LD17's own State Rep. Ed Ableser was in Everett, Washington on this week as part of a group discussing the virtues of Clean Elections.

It didn't get a lot of local coverage, but a local blogger shoephone at Evergreen Politics was there, and wrote it up. Progressive national writer David Sirota was on the panel (he was the marquee name there), and he wrote about it, comparing the impetus for change in Washington state with the business-as-usual attitude in Washington, D.C.

Which is how I found out about the forum. :)

Clean Elections is not perfect yet (and probably never will be), but a system of publicly-financed federal elections are all but inevitable. The current system basically allows only the very wealthy (think: Jim Pederson) or those who suck up to the very wealthy (think: Jon Kyl) to run for office.

"Good Job!" to Representative Ableser (actually, he's still "Senator Ableser" for a few more days) for spreading the word.

Have a great weekend!

Note: some background on Rep. Ableser here. (AZ Rep)

Mitchell contact info at the House

Mailing address, from the House website's "mailing label" link (in MS Word):

The Honorable Harry E. Mitchell
2434 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-0305

Phone number, from the "member info" page:

(202) 225-2190

Note: of the AZ delegation, only the most senior member, Ed Pastor, has his office in the Rayburn building; the rest of the delegation is housed in the Cannon or Longworth buildings.

Thank you, JD, for being petulant and not conceding the election until after the office lottery had been held and the only open office was your old one.

Later!

Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Bigot) is slipping...

[I was inspired to look into this by something I heard today while watching the opening of Congress on C-SPAN.]

He's been so focused on going after Muslim Rep. Keith Ellison for not having "Judeo-Christian" values, he's ignored a far more insidious threat - there are now 2 Buddhists in Congress!!

Any religion that forbids killing, stealing, lying, inappropriate sexual activity (outside of marriage or harassment), and the consumption of alcohol and other drugs is totally unprecedented in America!!

Certainly it's totally unlike Christianity, isn't it??

:))

The two Buddhists are both Democrats - Reps. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Hank Johnson of Georgia. Rep. Johnson is better known as the Democrat who unseated controversial former Rep. Cynthia McKinney in the primary.

Given that Reps. Hirono, Johnson, and Ellison are all Democrats, expect some kind of whispering campaign from far right-wing talk radio and Fox News hosts. Not that I'm a cynic or anything.

Good night!

Vote summary for Harry Mitchell's first day

Vote 1, Call to quorum: Present

Vote 2, Election of the Speaker: Pelosi (Pelosi wins, 233 to 202 for Boehner, vote along party lines.)

Vote 3, Ordering the previous question, allowing for the consideration of HRes 6 (rules): aye(passed 222 -197, votes along party lines.)

Vote 4, Motion to commit HRes 6 to committee with instructions: nay (motion fails 199 - 232, vote along party lines.)

Vote 5, Agreeing to the resolution HRes 6: aye (motion passes 235 - 195, vote mostly along party lines.)

Vote 6, Adopting Title I of the resolution: aye (passed unanimously.)

Vote 7, Adopting Title II of the resolution: aye (passed with one nay vote.)

Note: the rest of the AZ delegation voted along party lines. No rebels today.

I won't do this kind of a summary every day; that would be infringing on Stacy's turf over at AZCW.

Plus it's more work than it looks like. :))

The U.S. House of Representatives elects its first...

Italian-American Speaker.

(What did you expect? My maternal great-grandparents are from Florence and Naples. And I don't mean Florence, Arizona and Naples, Florida.)

Nancy Pelosi's election marks a lot of other firsts, including the first time the House has elected a woman as Speaker, but all of those pale in comparison.

:))

Note: all times given are MST.

The vote, announced at 11:43 a.m. , went as expected: 233 for Pelosi and 202 for John Boehner of Ohio.

The Speaker took her oath of office at 12:30 p.m.; the members-elect took theirs at 12:33.

The press release concerning today's events from Congressman Mitchell's House website can be found here. Please note that Congressman Mitchell's website is currently just a placeholder; there isn't any CD5 info on it yet.

[Not to suggest the election of the Speaker was a foregone conclusion, but the press release was available even before the House was gavelled into order today.]

Let it be noted that the first official vote in the House by newly-elected Congressman Harry Mitchell was cast at 11:13 a.m. MST in support of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker.

Other impressions and images from opening of Congress:

...Tony Bennett was in the gallery. Turns out he was there with Speaker Pelosi's family from Maryland (she's a native of MD).

...Former Speaker Tom Foley was present, too.

...During the Speaker's election, the Republicans looked like they were at a wake.

...During the same period, the Democrats looked relaxed and comfortable.

...During much of the call to quorum, John Shadegg stood next to former speaker Dennis Hastert.

In what may be an appropriate metaphor, they were on the fringes of the chamber.

...Didn't get to see Harry Mitchell on TV, but CD8's Gabrielle Giffords was shown a few times.

More later!

GOP hypocrisy continues...

Michael at Blog for AZ wrote about this last night, and today I came home from an errand to watch a press conference on CSPAN about this.

It seems that after 12 years of running Congress in a manner that totally disregarded Democrats, the newly-in-the-minority Republicans have been bitten by the "bipartisanship" bug.

With that, they are sponsoring a "Minority Bill of Rights" for the new session of Congress. It's patterned after a similar proposal from Speaker-Designate Nancy Pelosi, then the House Minority Leader.

In the letter announcing this proposal, they talk about the "abusive" ways of the Democrats during their 40 years in the majority prior to 1994.

Of course, there's no mention of the last 12 years.

Acknowledging that their conversion could be genuine, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and watched the press conference with interest.

The benefit of the doubt vanished during the Q&A portion of the conference when the Republican representatives danced around questions of whether they supported the Minority Bill of Rights when it was proposed by Nancy Pelosi or if they would continue to support it if the Republicans regain control of the House in two years.

I have no doubt that the Republicans will be treated with more respect by Speaker-designate Pelosi and her staff than they accorded to Democrats for the last 12 years; the Republicans are still going to whine about how badly they are treated.

...In a separate yet similarly hypocritical statement, President Bush has called for the Democrats in Congress "to set aside politics and look to the future".

Mr. President - what if "looking to the future" means reining you in? What's more important to you? Congress rubberstamping the initiatives that you want, or safeguarding the future of generations of Americans? When there's a conflict between what you want and what the country needs, what should the Democrats in Congress do?

Later!

Here and there for January 2, 2007

While writing the post last week that concerned early bill submittals for the coming session of the AZ lege, I thought there was something familiar about Rep. Michele Reagan's SCR1002. I didn't have time to look into it at that time though.

Well, I had the time today, and I was right. Perusing the website of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), I found something very similar.

Note: ALEC purports to be a bipartisan organization of state legislators dedicated to advancing "the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism and individual liberty."

People for the American Way (PAW) has a slightly different idea of ALEC and its purpose:

Founded in the early 1970s to promote right-wing policies at the state level, the American Legislative Exchange Council’s focus has shifted to favor the promotion of state legislation and regulation that benefits its corporate sponsors. A fact that should come as no surprise given its funding by right-wing foundations and corporate membership fees ranging from $5000 to $50,000.

ALEC offers its members "model legislation", but since I'm not a member, I don't have access to that part of their website. However, they do offer summary statements of their positions on different topics.

From the ALEC website:

Quality Education and Teacher and Principal Protection Act. This legislation discourages baseless lawsuits against school districts, principals, teachers, and administrators and other school personnel when those officials try to enforce discipline in schools...

From SCR1002 (proposed additions in blue):

Section 31. No law shall be enacted in this state limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the death or injury of any person, except that:
1. Public school teachers are not subject to punitive damages for any act or failure to
act related to classroom discipline.
2. Public schools are not subject to punitive damages but are subject to compensatory damages in an amount that does not exceed the economic injuries sustained.

The membership list of ALEC is not publicized, but the similarities between their position and Rep. Reagan's bill certainly supports the idea that she is a member. Well, that and her strongly pro-business/corporate stances.

Note: while the membership list isn't public, it's open knowledge that Sen. Bob Burns is the state chair of ALEC. It's noted early on in this speech by U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, given at the ALEC meeting in Phoenix on December 9, 2006.

Anyway, I'm sure that this won't be the only example of ALEC and its corporate lobbyists submitting legislation with elected legislators fronting for them; this is only an early example.

Keep your eyes open. Maybe we can start an AZ blogosphere game of "ALEC Bingo" or something. :))

...The report on Scottsdale's "experiment" with photo radar on Loop 101 should become available on Wednesday, to be reviewed by the City Council on January 16. (EV Trib)

Interesting note about that January 16 meeting: While the consideration of the report is the only item on the Regular Agenda of the meeting, there are 37 items tentatively scheduled for the Consent Agenda, 2 presentations, and some board and commission appointments to go through before the photo radar report comes up.

Now, the cynical among you might believe that the agenda has been manipulated to suppress dissent; after all, a meeting that's this busy could last five hours or more, longer than most people who have families and jobs could give to the discussion of this issue.

Fear not, though, I'm sure the Council is just trying to have a productive meeting to kick off the new year. There's never any disagreement over millions of dollars in contract awards, easement abandonments, pay raises for city officials, and General Plan Amendments (zoning changes.) The Consent Agenda will go quickly.

Really. Trust me.

...Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA), poster boy for the bigot wing of the Republican Party, continued his attack on Muslim Congressman-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN). In an op-ed piece in USA Today, he blamed illegal immigration for, well, everything. Including, I think, the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Let us remember that we were not attacked by a nation on 9/11; we were attacked by extremists who acted in the name of the Islamic religion. I believe that if we do not stop illegal immigration totally, reduce legal immigration and end diversity visas, we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to infiltration by those who want to mold the United States into the image of their religion, rather than working within the Judeo-Christian principles that have made us a beacon for freedom-loving persons around the world.

Umm, Congressman? The 9/11 hijackers entered the country legally.

Umm2, Congressman? Fundamentalist Muslims are no more extreme or less "freedom-loving" than fundamentalist Christians. Or "fundamentalists" of any religion, for that matter.

...Rep. Goode isn't alone on the far right edge of the lunatic fringe, though. Appropriately timed for the arrival of the first full moon of the new year, Pat Robertson released his predictions for the coming year.

He's gone out on a limb and predicted a terrorist attack on the United States sometime this year.

X4MR at Sustainability, Equity, Development has a good take on this story.

U.S. Representatives-elect Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords are scheduled to be sworn in on Thursday. As soon as their member pages go up, I'll provide links to them. Also, as soon as I know the official location of the Mitchell field office, I'll list it.

Stacy at AZ Congresswatch has the details on Giffords' field offices here.

Later!

Can anybody verify this?

This seems a little goofy, even for the Bush Ministry ...errr... Administration.

Tip of the hat to CJ's Bullhorn in Colorado for this.

From a press release from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility:

HOW OLD IS THE GRAND CANYON? PARK SERVICE WON’T SAY — Orders to Cater to Creationists Makes National Park Agnostic on Geology

{snip}

"In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “It is disconcerting that the official position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is ‘no comment.’”

{snip}

In August 2003, Park Superintendent Joe Alston attempted to block the sale at park bookstores of Grand Canyon: A Different View by Tom Vail, a book claiming the Canyon developed on a biblical rather than an evolutionary time scale. NPS Headquarters, however, intervened and overruled Alston.

The book exists; find a review here. The way the book is characterized in the press release seems to be accurate.

The book *is* on the website of the Grand Canyon Bookstore. For a mere $16.99 (plus, I assume, tax and shipping charges), it can be yours.

If I have time, I'll look into this later this week.

Good night!

Cheney drops a BIG hint to Bush

From ABCNews.com:

Cheney Hails Ford's Pardon of Nixon

Cheney said "Gerald Ford was almost alone in understanding that there can be no healing without pardon."

He couldn't have made it clearer to the President, short of saying "Don't forget George - no pardon, no silence." My only question is if he was talking about a pardon for just himself, or if he is pushing for pardons for the whole gang.

Later!