Short Attention Span Musing

...After watching the now-famous YouTube video of Miss Teen USA - South Carolina, Lauren Caitlin Upton, as she mangled an answer, I was struck by a frightening thought -

George W. Bush and Katherine Harris had a love child, long before the 2000 election fiasco.

:))


...Now the national Democratic Party is taking away Florida's delegates at next year's convention, because the Republican governor and the Republican-controlled legislature moved the date of their primary into January. That conflicts with a national Democratic rule that no primaries can take place before February 5th.

Isn't it time for a national Presidential primary schedule? Move primary season into the spring, make it 10 weeks (or so) long, with the big states spread out evenly across the schedule to keep things interesting until the end. Even let New Hampshire and Iowa go first every cycle, but rotate the rest so no one state or region gains disproportionate influence.

Oh, and what's the big deal about Iowa and NH? Their caucuses/primaries may have the effect of weeding out some of the weaker candidates, but they rarely pick the eventual winner of the Presidential race.


...I'm a big fan of AZ Capitol Television, especially when the lege is actually in session, and even though it is under the direct control of the lege's Republican leadership, that fact is generally *not* apparent (though I have a few questions about the root cause of the poor sound quality when Democratic members speak in committee or in caucus. :)) )

Tonight, though, it was obvious who was in charge -

They ran an infomercial for a shopping center in Glendale called Westgate.

Wonder how big the payoffs....errr..."campaign contributions" were to pull that one off?

Well, at least it showcased a lot of the music of Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. :)


...Thanks to GovExec.com for the heads-up on an interesting website - The ATF's Firearms Trace Data page.

The page details the 'source state' for firearms recovered/confiscated in each state. For each of the states that I checked, including AZ, that state, except for the District of Columbia, was the leading source state for guns recovered in that state. Nothing too earth-shattering there.

Note: D.C. has the tightest gun control law in the country; most of the weapons recovered there came from Maryland and Virginia.

It got a little interesting when looking down the list for numbers of weapons that were traced to other states.

For example, California and Texas are the two leading non-AZ source states for recovered weapons here.

States that should be ticked off at AZ because we are a major source for weapons in their state:

Colorado, California, Nevada, New Mexico

Not surprising that, given that we share a border with each of those states, though the numbers in Nevada were startlingly high.

However, less understandable is that we rank as one of the top 15 source states for 24 U.S. states and territories.

Somehow, I don't think that's the kind of growing national influence that we should be proud of.


Later!

Let's start a pool!!

Other than the FISA vote, there's been some great news for America this month coming out of DC..

First, there was Karl Rove's resignation...

Then, Rick Renzi announced his "retirement"...

Now today, Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation. (Whooo hoooo!)

OK, I admit that Gonzales' departure seems to be less of a "resignation" and more a case of "falling on his sword for his liege at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," but it's still a good thing.

None of these three, or any of the other Republicans caught up in the corruption/abuse of power scandals that *are* the Republican Party theses day, will ever see the inside of a prison cell as long as the Great Obstructor/Pardoner is in office, a few indictments would be nice.

Really nice.


All this begs the question:

Who's next? Who's the next high-profile Republican to announce his/her exit from public service?


While I would love to say Dick Cheney or George Bush (or better yet, both!), my guess is Lurita Doan, the head of the General Services Administration who used her administrative position to help Republican candidates in 2006, a violation of the Hatch Act.

Later!

Bloggers equated to terrorists...

...in the House Judiciary Committee, of all places.

At least, in their bipartisan attack, they've place amateur bloggers on a level with terrorists; bloggers-for-profit are ok.

Earlier this month, I wrote a post, that among other things, linked to an article from The Register (UK) discussing the House Judiciary Committee's markup of HR2102, the Free Flow Of Information Act.

My concern at the time was a segment about an amendment to the bill that narrowed the definition of protected journalist to one that "make financial gain or livelihood from their journalism."

During the post, I expressed concern that the amendment was intended to protect corporate media conglomerates from amateur competition.

It may yet prove to be so, but the committee's discussion was couched in other, less directly commercial, terms.

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), discussing his amendment (starting on page 33 of the markup hearing transcript) -

First, to be a journalist entitled to the protection, the person must engage in journalism for financial gain or livelihood, excluding the casual blogger who could easily create a blog just for the purpose of claiming the benefit of the shield. Genuine bloggers who are regularly engaged in information gathering normally would gain some financial benefit from their activities and would therefore meet the test.

To extend the shield beyond them to casual and non-regular bloggers would create an avenue for virtually anyone to avoid compelled testimony by creating a simple blog that carries the information in question, and it is not our intent to create a coverage that is that broad. The financial gain or livelihood language prevents that from happening.

Now, it's easy to believe that Rep. Boucher's amendment is meant to benefit corporate media; after all, according to opensecrets.org, more than 1/2 of the contributions for his 2006 campaign came from business PACs (approx. $800K out of $1.4 million total). However, it is possible that he simply doesn't understand that, as heretical as it may seem, most people who blog do so for reasons other than money. In fact, many of the most relevant bloggers active today are proudly amateur.

Hmmmm....wonder which Rep. Boucher prefers - being called 'corrupt' or being called 'clueless'?

Of course, things could be worse - Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), normally a voice of sanity, thinks that even the amended definition of journalist is "extraordinarily broad."

From page 38 of the transcript -

I appreciate, for example, the attempt to narrow the definition of a covered journalist, but I think it is still extraordinarily broad. This would not have been an issue 10 or 20 years ago, but I think it is an issue now.

Note: In the plus column for Rep. Schiff, he *did* take issue with the fact that the bill provides less protection to journalists and their sources in civil cases than it does in criminal and national security matters.

From page 39 of the transcript -

A couple other concerns I have about the bill is that it gives more protection in civil cases than in criminal cases. The standard for civil cases is fairly low. The privilege can be pierced if it would help lead to a successful completion of the matter. That is very broadly defined and much more broadly defined than the higher standard you would need to meet to pierce the privilege in a criminal case.

And then, of course, there was the statement by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN).

First, he spoke about how important that any journalists' shield bill not be usable by terrorists, before segueing into the change in the definition of 'journalist' (the financial gain clause), giving in support of the change what is perhaps the most damning fact *against* the change.

From page 44 -

This is similar to the requirement in the Texas shield bill, and I think it a good requirement to tighten up the definition...

OMFG - He wants to pattern a civil liberties protection measure after the laws in Texas, a state that just executed its 400th inmate since the reinstitution of capital punishment there in 1982!!

Even the Society of *Professional* Journalists had a problem with the language of the amendment.

From an SPJ press release -

“While it's important to distinguish responsible journalists from casual bloggers, the more narrow the language defining who is a journalist, the less impact the bill will have,” said Christine Tatum, SPJ's national president and an assistant features editor at The Denver Post. “I encourage Mr. Pence and Mr. Boucher to define 'journalist' as broadly as possible, and I offer SPJ's assistance in crafting this new and crucially important language.”

On page 42 of the transcript, Rep. Pence refers to "many weeks' worth of negotiations."

Obviously, the esteemed members of the Committee didn't feel it was necessary to protect the civil liberties of average Americans, nor did they see fit to listen to the concerns of the *professionals* their amendment was purported to protect. They did, however, protect commercial interests.

Wonder who was actually sitting in on the negotiations?

Time to start contacting our Congresscritters to urge them to amend the bill with a broader definition of journalist.

Anybody have suggestions on language? It'll be easier to gain support if we provide a specific alternative.


Note: The text of the amendment isn't available online as yet. A phone call to the Judiciary Committee elicited the explanation that the delay is due to the recess schedule, and that the amendment language should be posted within a week or so.

Later!

Events Calendar

Upcoming events in the Scottsdale/Tempe area (though I'm a little flexible on that geography :) ) -


Thursday, August 23 (Tonight!) - The LD17 Democrats present the film "In Debt We Trust"

The Big Picture Film Series is showing "In Debt We Trust". This film is a great look at the reality of our wallets and what the trade deficit is doing to our country's economy and more importantly, why.

Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Escalante Center, 2150 East Orange Street, Tempe
Admission: Free


Saturday, August 25 - The Arizona Democratic Party's 2007 Volunteer Awards Dinner

The special guest speaker is Arizona Attorney General, Terry Goddard. Nominees include LD17'ers Genie Zavaleta, Bob Mings, and Angie Crouse. (Congrats to all of the nominees, though :)) )

Time: 6:00 p.m. registration; 7:00 p.m. dinner.
Place: Mountain Preserve Reception Center, 1431 East Dunlap,Phoenix, AZ 85068

Contact Maritza Lopez for tickets and other info at 602-234-6823


Monday, August 27 - Meeting of the Phoenix Chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America

Scheduled guests include Bob Lord, candidate for Congress in CD3, as well as two candidates for Phoenix City Council, Loralei Poll and Jim Mapstead.

Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Sonora Brewhouse, 322 East Camelback Road, Phoenix


Tuesday, August 28 - Official Meeting with Obama Campaign Staff

An organizational meeting with Raul Alvillar, the Obama for America Western Region Political Director. Space is limited, so please RSVP at my.barackobama.com.

Time: 7 p.m.
Place: IBEW Local 266, 1650 N. 36th St., Phoenix


Thursday, August 30 - Meeting of the Arizona chapter of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC)

Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center in Scottsdale (Scottsdale Rd. and Sweetwater)


Friday, August 31 - The LD8 Democrats present the film "In Debt We Trust", also courtesy The Big Picture Film Series.

Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Fountain Hills Community Center, 13001 N. La Montana Drive, Fountain Hills.
Admission: Still free :)


Saturday, September 8 - Governor Janet Napolitano Guest Conducts The Phoenix Symphony

From the email -

"Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano will be the guest conductor of the Star Spangled Banner for the opening of the Phoenix Symphony's 60th season on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at Phoenix Symphony Hall beginning at 8PM. Join the Governor, blues and jazz icon Dennis Rowland and Music Director Michael Christie for a night of fun-filled music sure to bring down the house! This jazzy 60th Anniversary birthday bash includes The Phoenix Symphony swinging to the golden age of Gershwin as it performs An American in Paris and excerpts from Porgy and Bess. It's a party you won't soon forget!"

Phoenix Symphony website here; purchase tickets here.


Later!

Floods and Public Records - Last night's meeting of the Scottsdale City Council

In an unusual occurence, Tuesday's Scottsdale City Council meeting was marked by a lot of agreement -

Public records requests, particularly those that result in lawsuits that the City loses: bad.

Flash floods that damage schools and homes: very bad.

The bulk of the meeting was consumed by a discussion of flood control in north Scottsdale. The item was rooted in the floods that damaged a number of homes and Desert Sun Elementary School in late July.

The purpose of last night's discussion was just that, discussion. There wasn't a motion to be voted on, just information to be gathered.

And information was gathered, as resident after resident stood before the Council to tell of the effects of the flood.

As each resident added to the litany of flooded streets, swamped yards, and mud-filled homes, a couple of significant contributing factors became clear -

1. Building a home in an alluvial fan area in the desert, like building on oceanfront property in a hurricane zone, is an open invitation to disaster; and

2. A pattern of lax code enforcement on 'upstream' builders has exacerbated the problem because each new homesite changes the path of runoff - even when downstream homes have been safely built out of the washes and known runoff paths, many are in jeopardy.

A large part of that pattern is the habit of allowing developers to hire the civil engineers that approve their site plans; as Bob Vairo of COPP noted, that's a "fox in the henhouse mentality."

Without strong oversight, developers have no incentive to do the job right, only to do it quickly and cheaply (and profitably.)

It would be easy to dismiss the concerns of wealthy people foolish enough to build expensive homes in an area prone to flooding, but the loss of a home is emotionally devastating, even for folks who can weather the associated financial burdens.

Personal commentary: Of course, I'd have even more sympathy for the flood victims if this area (Troon) wasn't part of the infamous Christopher Verde School District, formed as a school-less district to avoid paying the same taxes as the residents in real school district.

Funny that Mr. Vairo didn't mention that during his speech, given that he is also a member of the group behind the tax dodge, Citizens for a Unified School District.

[Note: the Verde district has been merged into the Cave Creek Unified School District; however, the original proponents of the scheme are suing to overturn the new law that invalidated their district. Stay tuned.]

Maybe it's irony when a group of citizens that disdain community responsibility when it benefits them later turn around and demand that the community take responsibility for their problems.

Or maybe it's just hypocrisy.


Anyway, the City Council requested that City staff come back by the end of the year with a plan to fight flash floods and protect homes in north Scottsdale.

EV Trib coverage here.

In other business, the Council voted unanimously to not appeal a court decision in a lawsuit brought by the East Valley Tribune that forces the City to release City Charter Officers' self-evaluations to news organizations under a public records request.

What with strip clubs, church schools and newspapers all getting their way in litigation over recent months, perhaps it's time for the City Council to reconsider when to fight lawsuits.

They keep losing.

Personal observation: While as a blogger and a citizen, I absolutely support open and transparent governance as vital to our freedom, as a realist I have to believe that the only real accomplishment of this exercise has been to guarantee that next year's self-evaluations will be written as meaningless pap. If the are written at all.

EV Trib editorial on the court decision here; Trib coverage of the actual self-evaluation of City Manager Jan Dolan here.

Later!

A new website devoted to presidential campaign coverage

PSA time...

Earlier this summer, I participated in beta testing for a new website, Wonkosphere.com. It is a non-partisan site that focuses on presidential candidate ''buzz" in blog postings.

It goes live tomorrow (or perhaps 'today' as you read this, and it's worth a visit, especially for those of you who are interested in tracking the talk about the various presidential campaigns..

From a Wonkosphere press release -

About Wonkosphere
Wonkosphere is designed for bloggers, media, political activists, and political junkies who need to stay on top of the 2008 Presidential race but can't spend all day searching for the hottest and most relevant material. Wonkosphere provides an analysis of the political buzz that is timely and unbiased. Wonkosphere is different from other sites because it tracks over a thousand blogs and web sites per day, more than any human can read. Its patented technology text analysis technology measures each candidate’s buzz share and tone in conservative and liberal blogs, and highlights the most representative and linked posts.

Later!

More on Harry Mitchell's challenger

Hmmm...well, a few days ago, I wrote a post about the first announced challenger for Harry Mitchell in next year's election, Jim Ogsbury. In that rather quickly written post, I listed some of the political campaign contributions that he has personally made.

That list included the campaign of a couple of Democrats, Gabrielle Giffords and Ed Pastor.

Now, in a post picked up by other conservative blogs, az gnat at Sonoran Alliance has used those contributions as evidence that Ogsbury isn't a 'true' Republican.

That's crap.

I don't normally do counterposts, but this needs to be said -

Hey guys, calm down. He's a Republican, but he's also a professional lobbyist. He'd give money to Osama bin Laden if he thought there might be the slightest possible benefit to him or his clients.

There is no more Republican value than "It's all about the money."

If and when he gets the Rep nomination for CD5, we (meaning Democrats) aren't going to criticize him for contributing to Republican campaigns; we're going to go after him for being a lobbyist.

And that's not exactly a secret.

Enough said on the subject.


On to a little more info about Mr. Ogsbury...

I haven't had time to do in-depth research on any of this yet, but knowing where to look is a good start.

...According to the federal lobbyist registration database, he has lobbied on behalf of the following (and the list is nowhere near comprehensive):

Raytheon
GE
Chevron
Stewart Enterprises (funeral home/cemetary mega-corp)
ACS Government Solutions (specializes in profiting from outsourced government functions)
Apogen Technologies (government contractor)
Broward County (FL)
City of Mesa
Northrup Grumman
Lockheed Martin
Tulane University
LSU
University of New Orleans
Petroleum Helicopters
U.S. Oil and Gas Association
Sonoma Entertainment Investors (Tribal Casinos. Hmmm.....this one may bear further examination :) )
CACI (defense contractor)
City of Chandler
City of Sierra Vista
City of Surprise
Charles River Analytics (defense contractor)

Summary: believe it or not, nothing too surprising here. His lobbying activities are big corporation oriented, but they've got oodles of money, and you need a lot of money to hire professional lobbyists.

That "tribal casinos" one could be fun, though. Wonder if he ever crossed bribes...errr...'contributions' with Jack Abramoff. :))

...From the Arizona Corporation Commission -

Ogsbury is a member of Ogsbury Investments LLC (appears to be a family-owned enterprise)

He is not listed on the ACC's info page for it, but the 2007 Annual Report of the Ogsbury Mortgage Company lists him as the treasurer of the company.

On June 29, "James D. Ogsbury, PLLC" was registered with the state; its stated purpose is to provide "professional legal services." It lists a Scottsdale address (aka - it's in CD5)

Nothing incriminating, just a beginning; perhaps the lesson here will be that an early start to a campaign means an early start to opposition research. :)

Later!

Short Attention Span Musing - Special Edition*

*"Special Edition" because it's the second one this week, so that means it is twice as special as usual. ;))

...The latest evidence that the Bush Administration's definition of the word "terrorist" has devolved to mean "anybody we don't like" (from USA Today) -

U.S. moves to blacklist Iranian Guard

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration is moving toward blacklisting Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "terrorist" organization, subjecting at least part of the entity to financial sanctions in a new move against the Islamic republic, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

An unnamed spokesman for the Revolutionary Guard responded with a spirited rebuttal that translators said began "Sticks and stones..."


...The latest evidence that Hollywood needs to create a 'reality' TV show for faded D-list celebrities named "Get a freakin' clue!" (From MSNBC) -

Steven Seagal says FBI probe ruined career

LOS ANGELES - Steven Seagal, whose action movies once were major box-office attractions, believes false allegations by FBI agents ruined his career, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.

The FBI investigation *could* have had a negative impact on his career, though I doubt its impact was more significant than that of the fact that he is a talentless hack.


...The latest evidence that there are occasional outbreaks of sanity in Bush's America (also from MSNBC) -

ACLU: Settlement in anti-Bush T-shirt case

Federal government to pay $80,000 to Texas couple arrested at rally

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A couple arrested at a rally after refusing to cover T-shirts that bore anti-President Bush slogans settled their lawsuit against the federal government for $80,000, the American Civil Liberties Union announced Thursday.

Nicole and Jeffery Rank of Corpus Christi, Texas, were handcuffed and removed from the July 4, 2004, rally at the state Capitol, where Bush gave a speech. A judge dismissed trespassing charges against them, and an order closing the case was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Charleston.

Of course, our elation at this little island of respect for the Constitution should be tempered by the fact that since 'the federal government' is paying the $80K, that means that while the Bushies committed the crime, *we* are paying the fine.


...The latest evidence that Sen. James "Global Warming Is A Hoax" Inhofe (R-OK) is in dire need of a laxative (aka - he's full of ----) (from the International Herald Tribune) -

Arctic ice shrinks to record low, melting faster than computers predicted

WASHINGTON: Arctic sea ice reached its lowest extent on record Friday, and the melting is continuing, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported.

"Today is a historic day," said Mark Serreze, a senior research scientist at the center. "This is the least sea ice we've ever seen in the satellite record, and we have another month left to go in the melt season this year."

Maybe Inhofe will believe when Tulsa is oceanfront.


...And finally, in the latest evidence that karma is still alive and kicking...those that deserve it (from Scientific American) -

Deer hunting may put men's hearts at risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Deer hunting could be a dangerous endeavor for men with heart disease or risk factors for it, research findings suggest.

In a study of 25 middle-aged male deer hunters, researchers found that the activities inherent to hunting -- like walking over rough terrain, shooting an animal and dragging its carcass -- sent the men's heart rates up significantly.

A spokesowl for PETA was coy when asked if his group had anything to do with funding the study, saying "Whooooo? Us???"

And in unrelated news, Disney announced the release of its latest direct-to-home-video sequel, "Myocardial Infarction: Bambi's Revenge."

Later!

First announced challenger for Harry Mitchell

From The Phoenix Business Journal -

Former business lobbyist and congressional committee staffer Jim Ogsbury has announced he will challenge U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., in next year's elections.

Ogsbury, 48, previously worked for Triadvocates LLC, a Phoenix-based lobbying firm. He also served as federal government relations manager with the Salt River Project utility and was staff director for the U.S. House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.

...On the federal level, Ogsbury has contributed to the campaigns of the likes of JD Hayworth, Jon Kyl, Rick Renzi, John McCain, and Katherine Harris (of Florida recount fame). He has also contributed to the campaigns of Gabrielle Giffords and Ed Pastor. (Info courtesy the FEC)

...On the state level, he has contributed to Jay Tibshraeny and Jim Waring. (Courtesy AZ Secretary of State)

...The conservative blog Sonoran Alliance had this to say in an April evaluation of potential Republican challengers -

Jim is well-known and well-liked with insiders. While his career has mostly been in Washington, D.C., he is a native Arizonan and hails from CD 5 where he attended high school and ASU....He will likely be able to raise pretty good money and is rumored to have some of his own that he could put in if need be. However, he also has no name ID.

This one is no surprise as his entry has been a strong rumor for months. He can get a head start as many of the other rumored challengers are in one or another elected office and would fall under AZ's "resign to run" law. They'll put off 'officially' announcing as long as possible

Later!

Short Attention Span Musing...

Catching up on stuff I've been to busy to blog about before this...

...Tuesday night, I attended one of the public hearings that Valley Metro is holding regarding its proposed fare changes. There were perhaps 25 attendees total as various members of the public showed up to learn about or comment on those changes.

The meeting was pretty low-key; it seemed that most of the members of the public present weren't necessarily opposed to the changes, but they were concerned that the changes would reduce access to the valley's public transit system for the poorest users. Of particular concern were the discontinuation of transfers and the increase in price for monthly passes from $34 to $45. Both are expected to greatly impact those riders on a no/low/fixed income, particularly those on SSI/SSDI.

Not mentioned during the official part of the forum, though a few of us did discuss it beforehand, was last week's Phoenix New Times story by Sarah Fenske about the sweetheart deal (of the 'no-bid' variety) that the City of Phoenix gave to the company that runs the bus service, Veolia. The deal results in millions more in fees for the company, even as surveys show that customer satisfaction is steadily declining

Somehow, I'm not surprised that none of the officials present wanted to bring up that particular topic. :))

Note: There is one more hearing scheduled on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at the Maricopa Association of Governments' office, 302 North 1st Avenue Suite 200, Saguaro Room, Phoenix, AZ 85003. The open house starts at 5:30 p.m.; the presentation starts at 6.

Expect a big turnout, especially from members/representatives of the disabled community.

...The Congressional Budget Office has released a report titled "Assessing Pay and Benefits for Military Personnel."

The upshot: They say that military personnel are compensated fairly equitably when compared with their civilian counterparts, with the caveat that "the fact that job conditions in the military are very different—and sometimes much more hazardous - than those in the civilian sector."

Ummm....that's kind of a BIG caveat, isn't it??

Seriously, the report, while dry, is pretty even-handed, as the CBO is wont to be.

...Joe Arpaio is wigging out over the photoshopped pic of him in a Klan get-up, as seen in the Channel 3 (KTVK) video "Sheriff Joe picture causing controversy."

I've seen the pic; it *is* in poor taste, but even worse, it's poorly done. It was obviously a put-up job.

More importantly, it's not even close to the nastiest example of that sort of thing; go to any right-wing blog or 'news' site and check out the images of any of the Clintons.

His self-righteous indignation is only giving the story, and the pic, more legs.

Arpaio needs to get over himself; he's been spewing bile for years. He has no grounds to cry when some of it gets on his shoes.

...Earlier this week, an 18-year old girl killed herself and the 40-year old driver of another vehicle when she lost control of her own vehicle while sending a text message while driving. (azcentral.com)

Think that State Rep. Andy Biggs (R-22), chair of the House Transportation Committee, lost any sleep over the deaths?

HB2129, Steve Farley's (D-28) and Kyrsten Sinema's (D-15) bill to ban texting while driving, died because he wouldn't put it on his committee's agenda.

The interesting part was that the bill had bipartisan support, with Republican reps Crandall (R-19), Driggs (R-11), and Kavanagh (R-8) signed on as cosponsors.

Later!

Clinton goes for economic populist cred; Bush helps her out...

In her new Iowa TV spot, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton tries to carve out a little economic populist cred by talking about how if someone is poor or working class or even military, they are "invisible to this president."

Naturally, the White House objected to this characterization.

From AP via Yahoo! News-

White House criticizes Clinton ad

CRAWFORD, Texas - The White House on Tuesday assailed Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton for criticizing President Bush in her latest television ad, calling her statements "outrageous." The 60-second spot, which began running Tuesday in Iowa, intercuts scenes of the candidate interacting with voters and talking about challenges facing many working people.

In addition to describing the content of the spot as "outrageous", the White House also used words like "absurd" and "unconscionable."

The official transcript of the White House's press briefing is here.

The White House's indignation at Clinton's disparaging comments toward the President's concern for working and military families would have more credibility if he wasn't on vacation in Crawford, Texas yet again.

With almost 80 months in office, he has already taken 14 months off (422 days), a pace of approximately 17.5%. As for a worker who receives 2 weeks vacation per year? Less than 4%. (80 hours out of a 2080 hour work year)

Maybe we should demand a partial refund on the money that he's been paid to do his job.

On the other hand, imagine how bad things would be if he showed up for work all of the time that he is supposed to. :))

Later!

Mitchell to participate in light rail test and facility tour

Courtesy the City of Scottsdale's Community Meetings Notice -

Thursday, August 16 - Light Rail Test and Tour of East Valley Bus Operating and Maintenance Facility with Congressman Harry Mitchell.

Time: 9:00 a.m.

Places:
Light Rail Yard
605 S. 48th St., Tempe
(North of University, just east of Rt. 143)

EV Bus Operating Facility
2050 W Rio Salado, Tempe
(Just west of Hardy on Rio Salado)

Later!

Interesting comparison...

...when you compare the constituent services of a relative rookie (by D.C. standards anyway) like Harry Mitchell with a grizzled veteran Beltway insider like Jon Kyl, it's reasonable to expect that the veteran will show up the rookie.

Sometimes expectations have nothing to do with reality.

Ya know, many people, including me, have contacted Harry Mitchell over his FISA vote, and continue to disagree with that vote even after hearing or reading his explanation of it.

But disagree with him or not, at least he has responded to the concerns raised by his constituents.

Which is totally unlike another Arizonan sent to D.C. to represent us, Senator Jon Kyl.

Last month, July 12th to be precise, Rajan Zed, a Hindu clergyman from Nevada, was invited to give the morning prayer on the floor of the U.S. Senate. That prayer was disrupted by a group of Christian fundamentalists. who were promptly arrested on misdemeanor charges.

After writing a post about the incident, I wrote a letter to Senators Kyl and McCain, submitting it via their websites.

Today, I received a response from Senator Kyl.

Let me quote from the letter; no, actually let me quote the entire letter -

Dear Mr. [cpmaz],

Thank you for contacting me about Rajan Zed's being permitted to deliver the Senate's opening prayer on July 12. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me, and hope that you will continue to keep me informed of your thoughts and concerns.

Sincerely,

Jon Kyl
United States Senator

JK/tjh

This letter is so generic, it could have been sent to people who expressed support for the extremists who nearly caused an international incident with their bigotry!

Say what you want about Harry Mitchell's FISA vote, at least he and his staff are on top of constituent communications; the same cannot be said for Jon Kyl and his staff.

Later!

Municipal elections update...

After last week's LD17 meeting post, I realized that I knew more about Tempe's upcoming municipal elections than I did about Scottsdale's.

Not a good thing for a Scottsdale resident to have to admit. :)

So today, I contacted Scottsdale's City Clerk, Carolyn Jagger, and asked a few questions.

Here are the answers -

When will nominating petitions be available? September 4, 2007.

When are they due? No sooner than May 5, 2008 and no later than June 6, 2008.

General Election date: September 2, 2008

Runoff election date (if necessary): November 4, 2008

The City's website will have complete information available by September 4, 2007. Elections page here.

Contact number for the Scottsdale City Clerk's office: 480.312.2412.


Tempe update:

Petitions/packets are now available.

Due no sooner than November 12, 2007 or later than December 12, 2007.

Primary Election: March 11, 2008

General Election: May 20, 2008.

Tempe's elections homepage here.

Tempe City Clerk's office number: 480.350.8241

Added to the list of people (Mark Mitchell, Corey Woods, Rhett Wilson, and Joel Navarro) who have taken out packets: incumbent Hut Hutson.

BTW - in case you were wondering why Scottsdale's election calendar is so different from Tempe's, it turns out that the new law requiring that municipalities to synch up their elections calendar with state and federal election calendars has a population threshold of 175,000.

Hence, at 216,000 residents (2005 data) Scottsdale is covered by the statute; at 165,000 (also 2005 data), Tempe falls below the threshold.

Thanks to Scottsdale City Clerk Jagger for the info!

Later!

Lefties unite!!

Non-political post ahead (shocking though it may seem, given the title of this post :) )...

What do Bill Clinton, Joan of Arc, Ghandi, JFK, Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill, Billy the Kid, Edward R. Murrow, Mozart, and Albert Einstein have in common with yours truly?

They're all left-handed.

You just knew that such greatness had to have something in common...

:)

Happy National Left Hander's Day!!