Republican State Treasurer Dean Martin under investigation

Bob Haran - This one's for you...

WOW! It took less than a year into his term of office for Dean Martin's 'creative' campaign and personal accounting tricks to warrant official investigation.

Yesterday, the East Valley Tribune broke the story of an investigation by the State Attorney General's office into Dean Martin's financial statements, both personal and campaign.

From the story -

A special agent in Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard’s office is gathering financial records on state Treasurer Dean Martin — the chief witness in a separate criminal probe of Goddard’s agency, according to e-mails obtained by the Tribune.

Robert Brunansky of the attorney general’s office last month obtained Martin’s personal financial disclosure statements from the Arizona Secretary of State, according to Brunansky’s public records request sent from his attorney general’s account.

Brunansky also asked for tutoring in how to review Martin’s campaign finance statements, which are available online, according to Kevin Tyne, assistant secretary of state.

Now, to avoid a possible conflict of interest, the investigation has been handed over to the FBI. (Whoooo hooooo!)

From the EV Trib story on that development -

Information on Treasurer Dean Martin obtained by the state attorney general’s office was forwarded to the FBI Friday, according to a spokesman for Attorney General Terry Goddard.

The referral was made the same day the Tribune reported that a special agent in Goddard’s office was collecting financial records on Martin, the chief witness in a separate criminal investigation of Goddard’s agency being conducted by Maricopa County officials.

Steve Wilson, a spokesman for Goddard, said the referral to the FBI was made to avoid any conflict of interest in the agency regarding Martin and his role in the investigation being conducted by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

A quick perusal of the original article (linked above) has quotes from Martin and various Republican flacks calling the AG's investigation "retaliation" for the ongoing "investigation" of Goddard by Martin, Republican Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and Republican Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

The only problem with that assertion?

As can be seen from my posts and posts by others (including the aforementioned Bob Haran, who, while definitely a hardcore Republican, has been all over Martin's misdeeds), the investigation of Martin is legitimate and overdue.

As for the sham 'investigation' by the troika of Arpaio, Thomas, and Martin? Well, let's just say that at least two of the three have their eyes on the Governor's race in 2010.


...Ummm....I don't really mean to toot my own horn here (really!! ;) ), but a little over a year ago in September 2006, I wrote three posts on the very topic of Mr. Martin and his funnelling of campaign contributions into personal businesses.

On September 1, September 4, and later on September 4, I chronicled my research into the 2006 race for Arizona State Treasurer between Mr. Martin and Democrat Rano Singh.

On December 1, I asked 'Anybody want to start a "Dean Martin Indictment Date Pool"?'

Wonder if there are any takers now??? :)

Have a great weekend!

Public appearances by Harry Mitchell this weekend

Edit to add time and location info for the appearance at the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce...

First, on Saturday, he will be speaking at the Arizona Green Building Expo in Scottsdale.

From a press release:

MITCHELL TO SPEAK AT GREEN BUILDING EXPO
Congressman to Highlight Sustainability Efforts

SCOTTSDALE – U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell will highlight his efforts to boost energy efficiency and create more sustainable communities at the Arizona Green Building Expo Saturday, October 6 at 11 a.m. at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

"Arizona has long been a leader on promoting 'green' and sustainable environments," said Mitchell. "Now, we're focusing on promoting sustainable communities in Congress."

Further information about the Arizona Green Building Expo is available at http://www.greenbuildingexpo.com/.

WHO: U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell

WHAT: Arizona Green Building Expo

WHEN: 11 a.m., Saturday, October 6

WHERE: Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
7380 East Second Street , Scottsdale


...Then on Monday, he will be speaking to the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce.

From the Phoenix Business Journal -

U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell and the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce are hosting a forum Monday on the Tempe Democrat's plans to make federal capital gains and estate tax cuts permanent.

The forum will be held at the Chamber's offices, but no other details are currently available (like times! :) ). I'll post them when they become available.

Edit to add info -

Courtesy the East Valley Tribune -

The meeting of financial advisers and business community leaders is set for 10:30 a.m. at the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, 4725 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 210, in Scottsdale.

The discussion will feature Jan Boughty, an independent insurance agent and financial adviser; Ken Lako, a financial adviser with Wells Fargo; Alan Langston, president of Arizona Real Estate Investment Association; Erik Pedersen, a financial adviser with AXA Financial Advisors; and Rick Rives, an accountant and business owner.

For information about the round-table discussion, call (480) 946-2411.

End edit...

Later!

Short Attention Span Musing

Two items in the "The Good News Keeps On Coming...For Democrats, Anyway" Department -

...Another Bushie is under investigation for corruption and influence-peddling, and the best part is he's already confessed.

From Govexec.com -

In April last year, Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson traveled to Dallas to deliver a speech to a group of minority real estate executives. The event should have been pretty routine stuff. But Jackson -- and these are his words -- shot off his mouth by describing how he believed contracts should be awarded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The secretary recalled, for instance, how he once had killed a contract award because the contractor had disparaged his friend President Bush.

{snip}

In September 2006, Donohue rendered his verdict in a lengthy report: Although Jackson had, in fact, urged senior aides to consider the political views of contractors in doling out department business, "no direct evidence" linked political favoritism to such awards. Jackson, it seemed, had dodged a bullet.

But perhaps not, because federal investigators are once again on Jackson's trail. And this time, the investigation seems more serious. Donohue's investigators are now working with the FBI, a federal grand jury in Washington, and prosecutors from the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section. The investigation appears to focus, in part, on whether Jackson misled Congress when he testified earlier this year that he had never intervened in awarding HUD contracts. "I don't touch contracts," the HUD boss told a Senate panel on May 3.

Don't really have much to add here. I just enjoy highlighting the travails of those that think they are above the law...a group that seems to include all Bushies these days.

...and in the other item that Dems should be rejoicing over, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) has decided not to resign as planned, even after a judge denied his move to vacate his guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge. He faced the charge after propositioning a police officer in an airport men's room in Minneapolis.

From his statement, courtesy the Idaho Statesman -

"I will continue to serve Idaho in the United States Senate, and there are several reasons for that. As I continued to work for Idaho over the past three weeks here in the Senate, I have seen that it is possible for me to work here effectively.

Over the course of my three terms in the Senate and five terms in the House, I have accumulated seniority and important committee assignments that are valuable to Idaho, not the least of which are my seats on the Appropriations Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee. A replacement would be highly unlikely to obtain these posts.

In addition, I will continue my effort to clear my name in the Senate Ethics Committee - something that is not possible if I am not serving in the Senate."

As of right now, he is not running for reelection next year, but that's ok.

If he had gone through with his resignation, he'd be 'out of sight and out of mind' during next year's campaign; however, with his choice to remain in office, his hypocrisy will remain in the fore, weighing down any Republican candidate.

And in a state as red as Idaho, that could help the Democratic challenger, a lot.


...Even though the response from both the Democratic and Republican leadership teams in Congress has been tepid at best, Rep. Jim McGovern's idea of a surtax to pay for Bush's occupation of Iraq may be the best way to end the war.

The surtax plan would generate funding for the war by imposing a tax based on someone's income tax liability, with low-income taxpayers paying a smaller percentage than higher-income taxpayers.

The proposed plan would also basically exempt combat zone servicemembers, their spouses, and the families of fallen soldiers from paying surtax.

Instead of funding the war on the backs of America's poor children, all Americans would pay for it.

More importantly, it would be paid for *now* as opposed to the current funding scheme of using debt to finance it, making future generations pay for it later. You know, 'future generations' as in those children that Bush and the Republicans are throwing under the healthcare industry bus.

Another important effect would be to spread a little of the needed sacrifice around. Right now, the only people really affected by the war (other than the invaded Iraqis themselves) are our servicemembers and their families.

Want to make the surtax plan really interesting? Have a surtax attached to every war funding bill where the surtax must be large enough to cover the appropriations in the bill.

My guess is that the war would be over 5 minutes after the war had to be funded on a "pay-go" basis.


...I had a post planned for tomorrow concerning the sometimes colorful excuses that people come up with to get out of jury duty, in honor of my scheduled jury duty at the University Lakes Justice Court, but when I checked tonight, I found out that there is no need for jurors there tomorrow. :(

OK - How about one?

January 20, 2006, Superior Court in Phoenix, during jury selection for a case -

"Your honor, don't you think it's inappropriate for someone as famous as me to serve on a jury?"

- Dennis Green, then the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

The judge's response?

"But *I* don't know who you are."

The 60+ people in the courtroom just lost it.

It was easily the highlight of all of my stints with jury duty.

Note: the statements in quotes are actually paraphrases; I wasn't blogging then, so I didn't take any notes.

Have a great weekend!

With a single stroke of the pen, Bush screws poor children and Republican incumbents

...Of course, I'm sure his real target was the poor children; the Republican incumbents in Congress are just 'collateral damage.'


As expected...as threatened...George Bush vetoed HR976, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007.

The House will probably uphold the veto, as the bill originally passed with a bipartisan 265 - 159 majority. While that's a solid majority, it's still significantly less than the 2/3 required to overturn a veto.

However, there's very little joy in GOPland tonight.

Now the Republican Congresscritters must either go against a Republican President and override the veto, something that they have never done, or are going to have to vote to uphold the veto and choose to sacrifice the health care of poor children (all in the name of 'fiscal responsibility') while supporting Bush's unpopular, immoral, and expensive occupation of Iraq (not only is the war wrong, it sure as hell isn't 'fiscally responsible').

And the Democratic leadership in the House is doing what they can to help the Repubs with their little dilemma - by a 222 - 197 vote, the House postponed the veto override vote until October 18.

That's right, the Republican Congresscritters will have two weeks of arm-twisting from both parties (and not all of the Republicans doing the arm-twisting want to uphold the veto - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has already said that he will be calling House members to garner support for an override).

However, Arizona's own John Shadegg (R - CD3) staunchly defended the President's veto in the Hill's Congressblog -

American people deserve to know that the bill isn’t limited to uninsured poor children and should have been vetoed.

BTW - that's his entire defense of the veto; that's the posting in its entirety.

Shockingly (OK, not really :) ) Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) supports the veto, too. His letter to the editor in support of the veto, printed in the AZ Republic is here.

Besides the arm-twisting from the White House and their own colleagues, House members will also have two weeks of their office staffs getting swamped with with calls, letters, and emails (hint hint :)) ).


My favorite line during the debate on postponing the veto override vote (courtesy the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) -

"President Bush is a one-man axis of evil," said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., chairman of one of the House subcommittees that helped write the bill. "I am disgusted by his veto of a bipartisan compromise that would have provided care to nearly 4 million uninsured children."

I have to disagree slightly - Bush is not a *one-man* axis of evil, but as evidenced by the unwavering support from watercarriers like Kyl and Shadegg, he may certainly be a leader of one.

Columnist Froma Harrop of the Providence Journal made an observation about the arguments in favor of the veto that others (including me!) have also noted - it always comes back to the profits of private insurers.

Harrop, via the Houston Chronicle -

You see, the writers of the SCHIP legislation worked on the simple-minded idea that the taxpayers could help uninsured children by just picking up their medical bills. They didn't understand the subtle thinking of the Bush administration, which can't support a government program that doesn't also enrich private interests.

Kyl made the argument in his letter to the editor, Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) used it in his op-ed piece in the Kansas City Star, and the President even cited it in his veto letter to the House.

How is it that the Republicans who, almost to a man, profess piousness and devotion to their particular religion-du-jour, think that no one will notice that they've sold their souls?


Congressional Budget Office analysis of the bill here.

An NPR summary of the issue is here.

AP analysis here.

Blog analysis from AZ blogger and activist Eli Blake here (he's an insightful and skilled writer. I recommend bookmarking his blog, Deep Thought.)

Later!

P.S. - when contacting the offices of the various Congresscritters, be polite.

The interns and low-level staffers answering the phones and reading the letters are *NOT* the Congresscritter that they work for. They don't get paid anywhere near enough for the sh__storm that's coming their way.

Senior staffers and elected officials? Give 'em an earful.

Damn am I going to get grief for that line. :)))

Today's weather forecast for Phoenix - Sleet, freezing rain, and snow

In other breaking news, I'm about to say something complimentary about an Arizona Republican.

From AP, via the San Jose Mercury News -

PHOENIX—Federal designation of swaths of Arizona and Southern California as a critical electric transmission corridor could open the door for a California utility to build a major cross-desert power line that Arizona has rejected, a state regulator said Tuesday.

"This is a step in that direction," said Kris Mayes, an Arizona Corporation Commission member.

{snip}

Saying the project would benefit California at Arizona's expense, the Arizona Corporation Commission in May denied Southern California Edison's application to build a 200-mile line between the Phoenix area and Palm Springs, Calif.

{snip}

Mayes said the Energy Department's designation of the corridor was a "a backdoor attempt to subvert our decision" and that there wasn't evidence to support the designation because Arizona previously approved numerous other projects.

Wow! An Arizona Republican, elected to statewide office, who is actually interested in looking out for Arizona's interests!!

Could this be a burgeoning heresy in the party of Jon Kyl (R-Big Pharma) and John McCain (R-Self)?

More importantly, could it be the start of a trend?

Could it be that the Republicans, seeing the looming electoral disaster coming in 2008 (and for perhaps the next generation or two!), have come to understand the key to keeping office once elected is to take seriously their oaths of office?

Could it be that the Republicans, attempting to stave off electoral irrelevance, are going to try to govern *responsibly* instead of *ideologically*?

Nah - Commissioner Mayes is the exception to the rule; the Republicans hate her.

From an August post in the Repub blog AZ Political Heat regarding potential Republican candidates for Rick Renzi's (R-Mantech) CD1 seat in Congress - "Kris Mayes can be dismissed quickly; no one takes her seriously, as a friend of Napolitano's who doesn't even pretend to be Republican other than the party registration, she could never make it out of a Republican primary..."


A post from blogger ADemLament concerning the ACC decision in May is here; I would have linked to the AZ Rep article on the decision, but it has been pulled down from their website.

AZ Corporation Commission press release on the May decision is here.

Back to my normal Republican-bashing during my next post.

That post will be about Bush's veto of SCHIP.

Grrrrrr.......

Later!

Unity at last!

At last, the true progressives and the hardcore cons in Congress are united!

Well, united in their opposition to HR3087, if not united in their reasons for said opposition.

By a 377 - 46 vote, the House passed the benighted HR3087, the Iraq redeployment plan discussion bill that I griped about in my last post.

Voting against the bill was a politically diverse group that included ardent conservatives/war hawks Steve Buyer (R-IN), Tom Tancredo (R-CO) and Chris Cannon (R-UT) and devout progressives Barney Frank (D-MA), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).

This unusual unity even landed close to home, with three of Arizona's own, Raul Grijalva (D), Jeff Flake (R), and Trent Franks (R) all voting against the bill.

Does anyone know the last time when that combination was on the same side of a non-fluff bill?

Anybody?

Short Attention Span Musing; Raging Cynicism Edition

...Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in an interview with USA Today, after repeatedly ripping into former colleague-turned-accuser Anita Hill (in case you were wondering if he is the type to hold a grudge, the answer is "yep"), he dropped this quote - "We are allowing ourselves to be governed by cynical people. … "

I can't say that I disagree with that sentiment, not at all as a matter of fact, but I think that it would be more accurate to say that "the people that make up the government make it very easy for us to be cynical about them..."

During the interview, and within the new book that he was shilling, he blames racism for the controversy surrounding his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1991.

The NAACP opposed his appointment.

So apparently, Justice Thomas is one of the people that he (and I!) complained about.

Not that I'm cynical.


...Those of us opposed to the war in Iraq should be jumping for joy. Later today, the U.S. House of Representatives is supposed to consider HR3087, a bill that is supposed to "require the President, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior military leaders, to develop and transmit to Congress a comprehensive strategy for the redeployment of United States Armed Forces in Iraq."

One minor problem - the bill, even if passed, has already been watered down so as to be utterly meaningless.

As introduced, section 2 of the bill included the following section -

SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR THE REDEPLOYMENT OF THE ARMED FORCES IN IRAQ.

(a) Strategy Required- Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act , the President, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior military leaders, shall develop and transmit to Congress a comprehensive strategy for the redeployment of the Armed Forces in Iraq.

However, that has been amended ever so slightly -

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that--

(1) nothing in this Act shall be construed as a recommendation by Congress that any particular contingency plan be exercised;

Had to make sure the "non-binding" language got in there; wouldn't want to the President or his water-carriers on the Hill to worry about the Congressional Democrats growing a spine.

The original section 2 is still in the bill in section 3, to be sure, but paragraph 4 of the new section 2 provides cover if the President wants to keep forces in Iraq -

(C) describe the possible missions, and the associated projected number of members, of the Armed Forces which would remain in Iraq, including to--

(i) conduct United States military operations to protect vital United States national security interests;

(ii) conduct counterterrorism operations against Al Qaeda in Iraq and affiliated terrorist organizations;

(iii) protect the Armed Forces, United States diplomatic and military facilities, and United States civilians; and

(iv) support and equip Iraqi forces to take full responsibility for their own security.

And the title has been amended, too (emphasis mine) -

Amend the title so as to read: 'A bill to require the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress reports on the status of planning for the redeployment of the Armed Forces from Iraq and to require the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and appropriate senior officials of the Department of Defense to meet with Congress to brief Congress on the matters contained in the reports.'

In essence, a bill that would have originally required the President and his staff to come up with a plan to deploy U.S. troops out of Iraq, but not require that such redeployment actually occur, is now a bill that requires the President and his staff to discuss a plan for such redeployment, and to then tell Congress about it.

HR3087 may not pass as it is being considered under suspension of the rules and will need a 2/3 majority to pass, but it should give the Republicans a great opportunity to 'patriotically' preen while aligning themselves with the President and it should give the Democrats in Congress a chance to proclaim that they are doing *something* to force the President's hand over the war.

And the members of Congress wonder why their poll numbers are so low at 11% approval.

I wonder how the approval rating got so high.

Not that I'm cynical.


...Later this week, the House will consider HR2740, the MEJA Expansion and Enforcement Act of 2007. ("MEJA" is "Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act.")

If enacted, the bill would expand the laws covering misconduct by private contractors and mandate that the FBI create units tasked to investigate such wrongdoing, a truly necessary Act in light of the recent killing/murders of a large number of Iraqi civilians by private contractors working for Blackwater USA.

The bill was sponsored and cosponsored by a number of Democrats, including AZ's own Raul Grijalva.

So what do the Republicans think of all this?

Well, first, seven Republicans are calling for a postponement of a Congressional inquiry into the matter. Seems they think that the investigation would be better conducted by Bush's State Department.

Did I mention that Blackwater's Chairman, Erik Prince, has given over $250K to the Republicans?

Oh, and the second Republican response to the bill, one that truly illustrates where their priorities lay?

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) is offering an amendment to the bill that goes after contractors that hire undocumented immigrants.

Killing innocent and unarmed Iraqi civilians? That's ok, or at least worthy of nothing more than a wristslap from the State Department.

Hiring Mexicans? That's a *real* crime.

Why would anyone, even Clarence Thomas, think that Rep. Brown-Waite or one of her seven cohorts were one of the "cynical" people in government?

Not that I'm cynical.

Note: AP, via seattlepi.com, coverage of the bill's consideration is here.


...Read a shocking story from the NY Times - a Texas oilman, Oscar Wyatt, was prosecuted and pleaded guilty in a case stemming from the now-infamous "Iraqi oil for food" UN corruption scandal.

From the story -

In an unexpected midtrial reversal, Oscar S. Wyatt, Jr., the Texas oilman accused of corrupting the United Nation’s oil-for-food program, pleaded guilty today to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2001 to gain access to lucrative Iraqi oil contracts.

A Texas oil man? Prosecuted? By a Bush-controlled Justice Department?

What's this? Could the Bushies be growing some integrity and professionalism in the waning days of the his Administration?

A quick check of the FEC's records disabused me of that notion.

Turns out Oscar Wyatt Jr. has given nearly $400K in campaign contributions, almost 75% of which has gone to Democrats or Democratic causes.

Partisan prosecutions??

Now *that* the Bush Justice Department that we've all come to know.

Not that I'm cynical.

:)


Later!

Whoooo hoooo!

Totally non-political post ahead...

After the ticked-off rant of my last post, I thought it would be nice to close out the week with something positive -

Congrats to the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs for winning their respective division titles, and to the Arizona Diamondbacks for securing a playoff spot.

...The Red Sox had built up a significant lead through the spring and early summer over their scuffling rivals, the New York Yankees, only to see the Yankees get hot and close the gap in recent weeks.

However, a Friday night win over the Minnesota Twins and a Yankee 10-inning loss to the Baltimore Orioles gave them the division title, knocking the Yankees of that particular perch for the first time in 12 years.

...With a 6 - 0 victory over the Cincinatti Reds, the Cubs, a woeful team at the All-Star break (8 1/2 games out and fading fast), came back from the brink of being a $300 million laughingstock and won the NL's Central division.

...And in a development that no one outside of certain offices at Chase Field could or would have predicted this past spring, the Diamondbacks' 4 - 2 victory over the Colorado Rockies combined with the New York Mets' loss to the Florida Marlins guaranteed that the DBacks will earn at least a wildcard berth in the playoffs.

Congrats to all, and even though I'm a die-hard Red Sox fan, special kudos to the Diamondbacks. Before the season started, the Red Sox, Yankees, and Cubs were all expected to be playoff contenders, if not actually pennant-winners.

The Diamondbacks? ...Nah.

Somehow, though, with 2 games to go in the season, they have the best record in the NL.

I don't want to get ahead of myself, if only because the AL playoff bracket has four teams with at least 92 wins (no pushovers there, certainly), but I would love to see a Red Sox v. Diamondbacks World Series.

Purists might want the Cubs there, but I'm not a Cubs fan. Or a purist. :)

GO RED SOX!! GO DIAMONDBACKS!!

Whoooooo hoooooo!

State workers get screwed yet again...

The state's current revenue shortfall is causing the Arizona Department of Administration to call for minimal or even no pay raises for state employees next year. (AP via AZ Daily Star)

While the trend has gotten better over the last few years (it's amazing what a Democratic governor can do, even in the face of an actively hostile legislative leadership!), historically, Arizona state employees are woefully underpaid compared to their private-sector counterparts. In addition, they are the last to benefit from economic (and tax revenue) growth periods, and the first to take a hit when the economic cycle inevitably turns.

Or as with the fiscal issues currently facing Arizona, when the ideologically - (and campaign contribution - ) driven and jaw-droppingly stupid tax cuts of the last couple of budget cycles kick in.

With their constant undermining of the effectiveness of government through underfunding both the organs of government as well as the people who are tasked with making it all work, the Republicans have set up a vicious cycle of complaining about how the taxpayer shouldn't fund ineffective government leading to budget cuts leading to ineffective government leading to more complaints about the ineffective government and so on...

And trust me, one of the best ways to make an organization, any organization, ineffective, is to set it up so that the staff of the organization is in a constant state of turnover, not allowing the organization to grow, sustain, and retain its institutional knowledge.

One could say that the Republicans behind the huge tax cuts don't know what they're doing, but they do know.

They just don't care.

Better to mindlessly fund tax cuts for the wealthiest Arizonans and for corporations than to *ever* stand accused of the conservative heresy of "governing responsibly."

This issue deserves much more consideration than I can give it tonight, but Michael Bryan at Blog For Arizona has a much more lucid and eloquent take on the subject here.

Later!

Some Democrats stepped up during Wednesday's debate...

...and others were eliminated from contention (with a couple of others treading water)...

All this happened on one question. :))

Warning: sarcasm ahead...

Governor Bill Richardson, former Sen. John Edwards, former Sen. Mike Gravel, and Sen. Chris Dodd showed that they are intelligent, wise, and undeniably classy; any would be fine choice for the Presidency.

Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Joe Biden showed that they are morally, intellectually, and mentally unfit for the Presidency.

Sen. Barack Obama and Rep. Dennis Kucinich showed that the jury is still out - they didn't show the wisdom of Richardson, Edwards, Gravel, and Dodd, but there were extenuating circumstances.

How can we arrive at these conclusions, with months of campaigning ahead before the first primaries and caucuses?

The candidates were asked if they rooted for the Red Sox or the Yankees.

Richardson, Edwards, Gravel, and Dodd expressed support for the beloved Olde Towne Teame. (Whooo hoooo!!)

Clinton and Biden professed fealty to The Evil Empire. (Hiss boooo!!!)

Obama (IL) and Kucinich (OH) proclaimed their loyalty for the respective hometown teams. Not as good as rooting for the Red Sox, but wayyyyy better than being a Yankee fan.

Oh, those poor poor Clinton and Biden supporters - the primaries are months away, and their candidates have already committed a candidacy-killing gaffe.

:))

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

and nary a glimpse of Eastwood, Van Cleef, or Wallach... :)

The news from D.C. was a decidedly mixed bag - good news on the Patriot Act front; bad news on continued funding for Bush's war in Iraq, and profoundly ugly news regarding the march to war with Iran coming out of the Senate.

First the good - A federal district court judge in Oregon ruled that two parts of the Patriot Act regarding seaches and intelligence gathering violated the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

From the CNN article on the ruling -

A federal court on Wednesday struck down two provisions of the Patriot Act dealing with searches and intelligence gathering, saying they violate the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures with regard to criminal prosecutions.

"It is critical that we, as a democratic nation, pay close attention to
traditional Fourth Amendment principles," wrote Judge Ann Aiken of the U.S.
District Court for the District of Oregon in her 44-page decision. "The Fourth Amendment has served this nation well for 220 years, through many other perils."

Then the bad - by a 404 -14 vote, the House passed a continuing resolution, H. J. Res. 52, to fund continuing government operations for the fiscal year. The bad parts? The CR included funding for the Iraq war, an issue that the Democratic leadership gave in on with barely a whimper, and also included a provision that condemned the MoveOn.org "General Betray-us" ad. The MoveOn.org condemnation provision passed as an amendment to the CR by a vote of 341 - 79.

Of the Arizona delegation, only Raul Grijalva (D-AZ7) voted against the provision.

As for the ugly, the U.S. Senate passed, by a disgustingly overwhelming margin of 76 - 22, the Kyl-Lieberman amendment to the Defense appropriations bill, HR1585. The amendment includes language telling the President that the Congress approves of using military force against Iran.

The passage of the Kyl-Lieberman amendment totally outstrips the import of the earlier passage of the Biden amendment to HR1585. Biden's amendment supports the creation of a federalist system of government with a strong regional component. It's a toothless 'sense of Congress" bit of fluff, but it is the first significant legislative departure from the Bush Party line, which wants a powerful central government in Iraq.

Of course, it may be possible that one of the reasons that the Biden amendment passed is that Big Oil loves it.

Of course2, I may just be thinking like a typical cynical lib... :))

Later!

Events Calendar

Thursday, September 27 – Arizona for Richardson Planning Meeting, 7:00 p.m., Saguaro Branch Library, 46th St. and Thomas in Phoenix.

Thursday, September 27 - Meeting of the Arizona chapter of the National Jewish Democratic Council at 7:00 p.m., 6991 E. Camelback Rd. in Scottsdale. Contact njdcphx[at]cox.net for more info.

Friday, September 28 - The LD8 Democrats present the Big Picture Film Festival. This month's film, "Plagues & Pleasures On The Salton Sea", will be shown at the Fountain Hills Community Center, 13001 N. La Montana Drive. Contact the D8 Dems at (480)596-8350 for more details.

Tusday, October 2 - The Obama for President campaign will be holding its Rally For Change, 6:00 p.m. at the State Capitol, 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix.

Friday, October 12 - Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector and author of "Target Iran" will speak at the New Vision Spiritual Growth Center, 9659 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. Contact number: 480.650.0746.

Saturday, October 20 - Fundraiser for Dennis Kucinich at the Peace Tree House in Tempe. Contact local coordinator Rick Romero at 602.515.9844 (cell) for details.

Tuesday, November 13 - Legislative Workshop discussing the procedures and processes of the legislature. It will be held at the Arizona House of Representatives. Check in at 7:30 a.m.; the program runs from 8:00 a.m. until noon. To register (and pre-registration is required; no walk ups or "day-of" registrations will be allowed) go to http://www.legislativealerts.sirbarratt.com./ The event is free of charge.

The event is run by Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) and was publicized by him in the conservative blogosphere; however, the event is open to the general public, not just 'his' people.

Pleasepleaseplease don't let me be the only Democrat there; register today. :)

Later!

Governor Napolitano part of online poll

The political website Campaigns and Elections has one of those unscientific internet polls up on its frontpage, asking readers who they think should be the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President.

The listed choices are Bill Richardson, Ted Strickland, Tom Daschle, Wesley Clark and our own Janet Napolitano.

Governor Napolitano is currently leading all candidates with 2/3 of the votes cast.

Of course, that's 2 votes out of a total of 3 votes, and a certain unnamed blogger accidently voted twice. (BTW - It really *was* an accident.) :))

Now, this isn't a call to 'Pearce-ify' the poll, but stop by and show a little support for the Governor.

Edit to add -

Well, that didn't take too long (less than 2 hours).

The poll now looks like it has been 'Pearce-ified' as Governor Bill Richardson now leads the poll with 91% of the vote and counting.

Thing is, I'm not sure if the person/persons skewing the poll are doing it because they like Richardson, or because they want to insult his candidacy for President.

End edit.

Later!

Press Release Of The Day

Inspired by last week's post on the press release of the astroturf lobbying group, the American Consumer Institute, I've decided to add a new feature on the ol' blog -

The Press Release Of The Day.

This intermittent series (No, it won't be an everyday thing :) ) will shed light on some of the ummm...."finer" examples of misleading flackery that are foisted off on an unsuspecting public every day.

Today's example is from the grossly misnamed 'Department of Justice," courtesy PRNewswire.com -

Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Massachusetts

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Justice Department today announced that on Sept. 25, 2007, it will monitor special preliminary elections in Boston, Mass., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act.

While I'm sure that the partisan hacks that comprise the legion of Bush appointees that run the DOJ love the idea of monitoring a state as wholeheartedly Blue as Massachusetts, there is one part of the exercise that must gall them, and the Republican Party, to no end.

Especially the Russell Pearce wing of the party.

Also from the press release -

The city of Boston has an obligation to provide all election information, ballots and voting assistance information in Spanish pursuant to Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act.

Left unmentioned in the press release is any election monitoring in areas with much more well-documented election fraud issues.

What about Ohio? ...Florida? Hell, what about just keeping an eye on the activities (not just election-related) in Jena, Louisiana?

Later!

Ahmadinejad proves that more than one country can have an idiot as President

In a little over an hour, Iranian President Ahmadinejad did more to unite Americans than U.S. President George "I'm a uniter, not a divider" Bush has done in more than 6 1/2 years in office.

Left-wing, center, right-wing - it doesn't matter.

Hell, his host today at Columbia University called him out, saying that he showed "all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator."

In short, everybody thinks he's a loon.

From AP, via Yahoo! News -

"In a December 2005 state television broadcast, you described the Holocaust as the fabricated legend," [Columbia University President Lee] Bollinger told Ahmadinejad said in his opening remarks. "One year later, you held a two-day conference of Holocaust deniers."

Bollinger said that might fool the illiterate and ignorant.

"When you come to a place like this, it makes you simply ridiculous. The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history," he said.

{snip}

But Ahmadinejad went on to say that he was defending the rights of European academics imprisoned for "questioning certain aspects" of the Holocaust, an apparent reference to a small number who have been prosecuted under national laws for denying or minimizing the genocide.

"There's nothing known as absolute," Ahmadinejad said. He said the Holocaust has been abused as a justification for Israeli mistreatment of the Palestinians.

Many public figures from across the political spectrum had condemned Ahmadinejad's visit, even before his comments; now, those "public figures" have something solid to criticize - his actual words.

CD5's Congressman Harry Mitchell issued a press release with this statement -

"President Ahmadinejad's twisted denial of the Holocaust and refusal to distance himself from his repeated calls for the destruction of Israel only makes clearer to the American people and the thinking world that he is indeed a madman."

"Iran is one of the world's greatest abusers of human rights, the world's chief state sponsor of terrorism, and continues to defy the international community by actively working to develop a nuclear weapon. While President Ahmadinejad may have hoped that his speech today would earn him praise in the United States, he will quickly learn otherwise. The American people have no tolerance for evil dictators and terrorist thugs."

Expect more comments from various public officials before the end of Ahmadinejad's visit to the U.N.

About the only thing Ahmadinejad accomplished with today's speech was to make it tougher for the folks working to slow or stop Bush's march to war with Iran.

While the speech itself won't cause a war, it does give the warmongers (see: Kyl-Lieberman Amendment, page S11911 of the Congressional Record) another stick to beat the war drums with.