Isn't it great to live in an 'above-average' state?

Of course, as with mortgage foreclosures, violent crime rate and auto theft rate, perhaps being 'above average' isn't a good thing. :)

From the Phoenix Business Journal -

Arizona ranks above national average in STD cases

Arizona ranks 11th among states for having the highest rate of chlamydia cases and 13th for syphilis, according to a new federal report on sexually transmitted diseases.

The article goes on to cite specific numbers -

24,000 cases of chlamydia statewide or 406 per 100,000 population

3.6 cases of syphilis per 100,000, above the national average of 3.3/100,000

100 cases of gonorrhea per 100,000, which is actually below the national average of 121/100,000. However, the article note that actual number of cases "went from 3,800 in 2002 to just under 6,000 in 2006."

That's a roughly 50% rise in the number of cases. A below average infection rate may be a good thing, but the rising trend of actual infections is most assuredly not.

The transcript of the CDC's telebriefing on the STD report is here; its fact sheet is here; the entire 2006 report can be found here; reports from previous years can be found here.


Loathe though I am to make this a partisan issue (because it sure as hell shouldn't be one), I'm sure that a certain segment of the population - for the sake of brevity, let's call them "Republicans" - will blame undocumented immigrants, taxes, or government regulation (or some combination thereof) for increases in STD infection rates, they will be doing the country, the state, themselves, and more significantly, their children, a disservice.

Among the trends noted by the report is that while people aged 15 -24 represent 25% of the sexually active population, nationally that group acquires half of new STD infections.

Those that bemoan the influence of immigrants, taxes or regulations might want to consider the possibility that their dedication to barring sexually active adolescents from access to STD information and education is one of the real root causes of the increase in disease exposure.

Throughout history, ignorance. forced or otherwise, usually has been the culprit behind such increases.

A weak start, but a start nonetheless...

Edit on 11/15 to add a clarification at the bottom of the post...

Well, it's weak at best and virtually toothless at worst, but today, the House of Representatives passed its strongest effort to date to reduce the American presence in Iraq.

HR4156, the Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Appropriations Act, 2008, passed by a vote of 218 - 213, 1 present.

Note: AZ delegation - Pastor, Grijalva, Mitchell, and Giffords voted 'aye'; Renzi, Franks, Flake, and Shadegg voted 'nay.'

Even though the Democrats in Congress are talking up the timeline for withdrawal aspect of the bill (Harry Mitchell's press release starts with the line [emphasis mine]"U.S. troops will redeploy from Iraq by the end of 2008...) the more important parts of the bill might just be the sections of the act that bar torture and give Constitutional protections to detainees.

Those aspects bothered the Republicans that they targeted those provisions for removal in their 'motion to recommit.'

While their motion to recommit went after the timeline language too, they were less worried about it - the language of the bill gives the President the option of ignoring the timeline at his discretion.

In other words, Harry Mitchell's press release should have started with the line "U.S. troops might or might not redeploy from Iraq by the end of 2008..."

However, in spite of its warts, it is, as Rep. Lynn Woolsey said "the boldest step yet..." (CNN)

And providing perhaps the strongest possible endorsement of the bill, the White House has threatened to veto it.

Now let's see what happens in the Senate...

Edit to add clarification -

This morning, I received an email from Seth Scott, communications director for Harry Mitchell, suggesting that by taking the quote from the press release out of context, I changed the apparent meaning of that quote.

The quote that I used -

"U.S. troops will redeploy from Iraq by the end of 2008..."

The entire line -

"U.S. troops will redeploy from Iraq by the end of 2008 under a plan passed today by U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell and the House of Representatives. H.R. 4156, Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Appropriations Act, passed with a 218 to 203 vote. "

I've re-read both the quote in the press release and in my post, and still don't think that my usage misrepresents or changes the meaning of the original line.

However, out of respect to Seth and the fact that if someone as intelligent as he is can read things a certain way, so can others, let me clarify -

The quote that I used was used simply to illustrate the way a certain segment of Congress was/is spinning HR4146 as a mandate for withdrawal when in fact other language in the bill states clearly that it is a "goal" not a "requirement."

In addition, my 'suggested' change to the first line of the press release - "U.S. troops might or might not redeploy..." - was an editorial comment on that, not an actual suggestion.

Hope this dispels any confusion or lack of clarity in my post.

Note - the entire press release can be found on Congressman Mitchell's website here.

Thank you.

End edit...


Later!

Short Attention Span Musing

...Spent yesterday morning with State Rep. Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance), and no, I haven't gone over to the Dark Side.

He held his Legislative Workshop at the Arizona House of Representatives in front of approximately 85 attendees.

A pretty good turnout for a Tuesday morning...until you remember that 270 signed up for it. :)

It went better than expected, but Pearce and his fellow travelers may be benefitting from pretty low expectations there.

They used a video to explain the technical process whereby a piece of legislation moves from idea to bill to law; of course, that video was a 10-year old Horizon episode (aka - PBS), not something useful produced by the lege.

Other than Pearce himself, other speakers included Reps. Rick Murphy and Andy Biggs, House Speaker Jim Weiers, Senate Majority Leader Thayer Verschoor, and KFYI talk-jock Bruce Jacobs.

With that particular cast of characters, is it any wonder that this allegedly 'non-partisan' workshop regularly took potshots at Democrats and liberals?

From Bruce Jacobs' call for everyone to "get involved"...except for liberals, who should "stay home and not participate" to Andy Biggs' criticism of Governor Napolitano's refusal to call the lege into special session over the looming budget deficit, it was open season on non-conservative, non-Republicans.

Of course, that shouldn't have been a surprise after Pearce's warm early (8:15 a.m. or so) welcome of uber-bigot Rusty Childress.

In regard to Pearce's erstwhile primary challenge to Jeff Flake in CD6, he never came out and said that he was running (bringing AZ's resign-to-run law into play), but he certainly sounded like someone who was campaigning for the Republican nomination - dropping Ronald Reagan's name at every possible opportunity, railing against activist judges, and calling himself a "lobbyist for the taxpayer."

Last note on this (for now, anyway) - I won't say that Pearce had home-field advantage, but of the 80 or so attendees, the only Democrats that I noticed were me and Sue Dolphin, a House candidate in LD4. There may have been a couple of others, but the crowd was dominated by Pearce supporters.

The session has aired on AZ Capitol Television and should be available on the lege's website shortly.


...From the "I *really* want to hear their rationalizations for this one" department...

Yesterday, six members of Congress, Reps, Broun (GA), Campbell (CA), King (IA), Marchant, Mica, and Westmoreland voted against HR3315, "To provide that the great hall of the Capitol Visitor Center shall be known as Emancipation Hall."

The only thing that I could find in the record of the debate on the bill was a statement by John Mica expressing a concern that the "monumental spaces" in the Capitol should be named after function, not historical events (like the emancipation of slaves).

Seems pretty lame, doesn't it?

I don't want to assume their opposition was rooted in base bigotry, but when you look at the list of Reps involved and the states that they represent (GA, CA, IA, TX, FL, GA again), one has to wonder.


...When Bush vetoed the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act yesterday, he sent a letter to Congress citing as a reason $3.2 billion appropriated for programs he wanted to kill and another $1 billion for earmarks. He said that overall, the bill had $9.8 billion more in discretionary spending than he wanted.

Now, a billion dollars is a lot of money to the likes of me, and probably to each of the readers of this blog.

And $9.8 billion is 9.8 times "a lot". :)

However, the total of the bill in question was over $600 billion; $9.8 billion is 1.6 percent of that.

Bush thinks that this $9.8 billion over one year will prevent a balanced budget and vetos the bill while pushing a $1.6 trillion war that is funded off of the budget cycle? A war that costs the U.S. $12 billion monthly?

He's a hypocrite when he calls out Congressional Democrats as "fiscally irresponsible."

'Nuff said.


...The House is scheduled to take up HR4156, the Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Appropriations Act, 2008. It funds continued operations in Iraq to the tune of $50 billion; the only concession to the 2/3 of America that believes Bush is doing a poor job with the war in Iraq is a strongly-worded but non-binding suggestion that a troop withdrawal start now and be completed by the end of next year.


My suggestion for Christmas presents for the Democratic leadership in Congress?

A year's supply of wet noodles to replace the ones that they've whipped Bush into shape with this year.

Later!

Can John Thrasher defeat Trent Franks? It's more likely than you might think...

Trent Franks has been getting a lot of visibility recently, but he may learn that a higher profile isn't all that it's kicked up to be...

I know that the CD2 race between incumbent Republican Trent Franks and Democratic challenger John Thrasher doesn't have the visibility that the CD3 race (incumbent Republican John Shadegg vs. the well-funded challenger Bob Lord), but I hope that no one writes it off - there are some significant parallels between the 2008 race in CD2 and the 2006 CD5 victory by Harry Mitchell over JD Hayworth.

1. In CD5 in 2006 the Republicans have a seemingly overwhelming 16-point registration advantage that isn't so overwhelming when you realize that Independent swing voters make up a large and ever-growing portion of the CD2 electorate.

Just like CD5 in 2006.

2. Trent Franks is a one-issue wing-nut. His issue is abortion - just this year, he has voted against SCHIP because it doesn't protect fetuses (or somesuch nuttery; video at the link), argued in favor of torture because Congress hasn't passed any laws protecting fetuses (guess only unborn people have rights; born people can stick their heads between their legs and kiss their butts goodbye - after they've been waterboarded, baked, frozen, beaten, electrocuted, starved, sleep-deprived, etc.), engaged in multiple rants on the House floor on the topic (October 25, July 19, April 18), cosponsored at least nine bills on the subject (HRes705, HR63, HR618, HR1063, HR1295, HR1457, HR3192, HR3442, HR4133), issued press releases on the subject of abortion (October 24), and gives speeches on the topic (November 4).

In short, he's just like JD Hayworth, substituting a hatred for a woman's right to choose with Hayworth's hatred of immigrants.

And by the end of last year's campaign, people were asking Hayworth "ok, enough on the immigration...what else ya got" and finding that he was an empty suit who didn't have anything else to offer the district.

3. John Thrasher has a well-documented track record of community involvement and education. While his 'community involvement' hasn't included a history of elected office that compares to CD5's Harry Mitchell (city council, mayor, state senate), his career as a teacher may be as significant - last year it seemed that at every event, as many people came up to Harry talking about how he taught them, their siblings, or their children, as did those who came up to him with political story.

Bottom line: students grow up into voters in CD2, just like in CD5.

Oh, and did I mention that while *John* Thrasher may not hold public office, his wife *Jackie* knows a thing or two about upsetting an incumbent Republican with a strong registration advantage. She forced Doug Quelland, seatmate of state House Speaker Jim Weiers, out of office last year.

Bet she might have some insights to offer. :)


Ultimately, while John Thrasher may not be the kind of polished corporate candidate favored by the DCCC and Chris Van Hollen (and his predecessor Rahm Emanuel), his candidacy may present a greater challenge for Franks than Bob Lord's does for John Shadegg. Thrasher is the kind of community icon who, even as an underdog, energizes a race, something that's needed for an uphill fight.

Just like CD5 in 2006.

Events Calendar

Friday, November 9 - "La Luz Del Futuro" (The Light of the Future)
You are cordially invited to a Wine & Cheese Fundraiser for La Luz Del Futuro (The Light of Our Future), a foundation to provide needy immigrant students with scholarships and mentoring.

7:00 p.m., 7305 W. Boston Street in Chandler. Please RSVP with Ed Hermes at 480-783-4862 or eward.hermes[at]gmail.com. Suggested minimum donation for this fundraiser is $25. Wine and hor-dourves served.


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.


Tuesday, November 13 - LD17 Democrats' monthly meeting at the North Tempe Community Center on Bridalwreath. Guest speaker Zita Johnson will be discussing school redistricting. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.


Thursday, November 15 - EPA public meeting on the North Indian Bend Wash superfund site.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is hosting a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 15 to update Scottsdale citizens on several items related to the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site. The meeting is at the 2nd floor Training Room of the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7384 E. Second St.

The agenda for the meeting includes a site overview and update on emissions controls at the Central Groundwater Treatment Facility, an update on cleanup of the site by the companies participating in the project, a discussion with a regional representative for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and a discussion with Dr. Jay Gandolfi of the University of Arizona regarding trichloroethylene (TCE) and its health effects.

For more information, contact Vicki Rosen, EPA community involvement coordinator, at (800) 231-3075 or rosen.vicki[at]epa.gov.


Thursday, November 15 - The Big Picture Film Series, in conjunction with the LD17 Democrats and the ASU Young Democrats, presents the film "FAREWELL ISRAEL: BUSH, IRAN & THE REVOLT OF ISLAM." 7:30 p.m., room 170 of ASU's Coor Building, 975 South Myrtle Ave., Tempe. Special guest: Joel Gilbert, the writer and director of Farewell Israel.


Thursday, November 15 - The LD8 Democrats monthly program meeting at the Mustang Library in Scottsdale. This month's topic: "Health Care & Legislation", featuring excerpts from Michael Moore’s movie, SICKO, with comments by representatives from the American Nurses Association (ANA).


Thursday, November 29 - The November meeting of the Arizona chapter of the National Jewish Democratic Council (AzNJDC). 7:30 p.m., Chaparral Suites, Scottsdale Rd and Chaparral. Guest speaker: Jeff Farias of KPHX, 1480 AM.


Friday, November 30 - Join the ASU Young Democrats and Congressman Harry Mitchell at "Harry's Place." 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Mission Palms Hotel, 60 East Fifth Street, Tempe. Click on the link for ticket info.


Later!

It's just one of those days...

...one of those days when the hundreds of thousands of people who put in millions of volunteer hours last year working to get Democrats elected to Congress and other offices have to sit back and wonder -

Was all of the effort - the calls, the walking, the talking, the contributions, the organizing, and more - worth it?

Did it made a real difference, or was the only real effect to change the names of the head porters on the gravy train running from K Street to Capitol Hill?

As of this writing, the House is considering approval of HR3688, the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act. While the final vote won't come until tomorrow morning, it will pass. The resolution that established the rules for debating HR3688 passed by a margin of 349 - 55.

Note: The only member of the AZ delegation to vote against that particular resolution was Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ7). Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ8) did not vote on the rule.

Earlier in the day, Congress *did* pass HR3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007 by a vote of 235 - 184.

AZ delegation: Mitchell, Grijalva, Pastor - aye; Shadegg, Flake, Renzi, Franks - nay; Giffords not voting.

That Act means that gay American workers can't lose their jobs because they are gay.

Of course, the Peru Trade Act means that gay American workers can lose their jobs because they are American.

Not exactly an improvement.


Progressive columnist David Sirota's take on the Agreement is here.

A Teamsters Union press release on the Agreement here.

Edit on 11/8 to update:

As predicted, the Peru trade act passed easily by a 285 - 132 margin. The AZ delegation also voted as expected - Mitchell, Shadegg, Renzi, Franks, and Flake: aye; Pastor and Grijalva: nay; Giffords: not voting.

End edit.

Later!

Press Release of the Day

Courtesy PRNewswire.com -

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis of H.R.3222, the Fiscal 2008 Department of Defense Appropriations Act.

The release went on to list 17 or so earmarks that the group considers to be the most "egregious" before closing with a bit of standard boilerplate (emphasis mine) -

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.

The only problem with the group's assertion that it's "nonpartisan"?

14 of the 17 were sponsored solely or in part by Democrats.

Adding to its credibility problems?

It's a right-wing front group that, among other things, has been used by Jack Abramoff to launder payoffs to Congressmen (Washington Post), served as an industry lobbyist (TampaBay.com), and taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from the tobacco industry to lobby against tobacco regulations (TampaBay.com).

Oh, and Congress.org reports that all of the campaign contributions made by CCAGW's PAC during the 2005-2006 election cycle went to Republicans, including AZ's own Jeff Flake, John Shadegg, and Jon Kyl.

And here I was thinking that Jeff Flake was untouched by even a whiff of the Abramoff scandal.

Guess you learn something new every day. :)

Note: CAGW is the 501c3 charity wing of the non-charity 501c4 Council of the Citizens Against Government Waste (the 'CCAGW' above)

SourceWatch.org has a more complete write-up on CAGW and CCAGW.

Later!

Guns and students? Not a concern. Protest the war? Expel 'em all!

Looks like the Bush/Cheney school of thought on the value of civil liberties has a new convert named Ben Nowakowski.

Mr. Nowakowski is the superintendant of Morton West High School in Berwyn, Illinois. Last week, a number of students held a sit-in in the cafeteria to protest the war in Iraq.

Note: Mr. Nowakowski's district office is in Cicero, IL.

Mr. Nowakowski intends to make an example of the protesters.

Detentions?? That's so 80's.

Suspensions?? That's for sissies.

Nope, he's a tough, law-and-order type.

He wants to expel 25 of them, permanently barring them from school.

Chicago Sun-Times coverage here.

The interestingly ironic part of all this? The anti-war protest was used as an excuse to "lock-down" the school, the same school, where just last month (October 15), Mr. Nowakowski refused to "lock-down" the same school when a student brought a gun to school.

Chicago Tribune coverage of that incident here.

The most ironic quote from that story -

"Most students act very responsible every day, and intruding on their personal freedoms becomes a concern," he said. "We don't want to turn the building into a prison for students."

A press release from the parents of the students, via CommonDreams.org, is here.

A Nowkowski/school district press release on the protest is here.

A follow up article to the gun incident is here.

Kucinich brings resolution to impeach Cheney to the House floor

Edit to update at the end of the post...

The resolution is HRes333. It is available in THOMAS, however, the text of the resolution can be downloaded from Kucinich's House web site here.

The resolution almost certainly won't pass or even be debated - immediately after the motion was read by the House Reading Clerk, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer moved to table the motion. ("Tabling" a motion effectively kills it.)

The vote is currently taking place, and while it is still early, all Republicans are voting to table, as is an overwhelming majority of Democrats.

When will the Democratic leadership stop being afraid of their own shadows?

I'll update with a final vote tally and how the AZ delegation voted (I'll bet that no more than one votes against the motion to table) after the House posts the roll call results on its website.


Update1: In an interesting twist, approximately 80 Republicans who originally voted to table the resolution have switched their votes to 'nay' and as the vote stands currently, the motion to table will fail by approximately 30 votes, though the vote-switching is continuing. End update1.

Update2: The motion to table was defeated; however, a motion to refer the resolution to the Judiciary Committee passed in a mostly-party line vote.

Ultimately, though the House Democratic leadership may be slightly embarassed right now, they ended up in a stronger position, and one that they should have sought from the outset.

They're in a game of hardball with the White House and the House Republicans, and so far, they've been trying to play that game with a wiffle bat. With this resolution now sitting in the Judiciary Committee, ready to be reported out at any time, they've got themselves a Louisville Slugger at the ready. End update2.

Update3: The AZ delegation's votes -

On the motion to table - Aye: Renzi, Mitchell, Giffords; Nay: Shadegg, Flake, Franks, Grijalva; Not Voting: Pastor.

On the motion to refer to the Judiciary Committee - Aye: Mitchell, Giffords, Grijalva; Nay: Shadegg, Renzi, Franks, Flake; Not Voting: Pastor.

End update3.


Later!

Short Attention Span Musing

...Has the entire MCSO gone rogue? Just a couple of weeks ago, they arrested two journalists from the New Times for publishing less-than-flattering stories about Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas. Now they're arresting civil rights/liberties lawyers.

From AZCentral.com -

The legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona on Sunday said his arrest by Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies at a weekend protest was unwarranted and occurred only after he identified himself as a high-ranking officer with the organization.

Daniel Pochoda showed up at a Saturday demonstration in front of Pruitt's furniture store in east Phoenix to observe interaction between protesters and law enforcement officers, he said. He was there at the request of organizer and activist Salvador Reza, who said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio uses the deputies to intimidate demonstrators.

Wonder if there is any overlap between the list of deputies involved in the New Times arrests and those involved in the arrest of Mr. Pochuda?


...Continuing on the same issue (the arrest at the immigrant protest),Arpaio had a couple of lines in the last week that very effectively sum up the real priorities of our not-so-esteemed sheriff (emphasis mine) -

From the AZRep -

...but Pochoda refused, said Arpaio, who wasn't at the furniture store during the arrest, but appeared there later to respond to media questions.

From the the Rep's Plugged In piece about some Arpaio protesters at a meeting of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors -

Arpaio sat in the front row, fidgeting and screwing up his face.

"They're calling me a racist, they're calling me a Nazi," he later said, holding court for the media. "I don't understand what's happening with the activists out there, they're getting nasty. I'm not going to be intimidated."

Cameras and microphones - apparently, those are more important to him than the Constitution and our civil rights.

BTW - The guy who arrests journalists and civil rights attorneys and who regularly demonizes immigrants, is calling someone else "nasty"???

Pot, meet kettle...


...This weekend, the AZRep ran an article on AZ's political blogosphere. It wasn't a great article, but it wasn't too bad, either.

The biggest weakness of the article was its focus on the 'insider' nature of some blogs while minimizing the 'outsider' heart of most real blogs (lefty or righty).

From the article -

They're snarky, biased, bulldoggish, funny, harsh and sometimes, hard to ignore.

Arizona's political blogs are growing in number and significance, helping to transform the way insiders relate to the news and to each other.

One thing that I can't argue with is its selection of Espresso Pundit, Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion, and Sonoran Alliance as the three of the preeminent political blogs in the state. (OK, I think Sonoran Alliance is a little *too* insider, frequently simply parroting AZGOP talking points. Still, it is pretty well written.)

I would have included Eli Blake's Deep Thought in the list of notable liberal blogs; he's the best pure writer in the AZ blogosphere. Michael Bryan of Blog for Arizona is really good, too. However, he's a lawyer, and a lawyer never says in a sentence that which can he can say in a page. :)))


...Jon Kyl's latest column/press release/diatribe against Democrats includes a great line -

The 2008 fiscal year began October 1, and yet, Congress has not sent a single appropriations bill to the President. Congress hasn’t been this late in two decades.

I guess that he thinks that "late" counts as worse than "not doing the job at all," since he says nothing at all about how the Republican-controlled Congress failed to even pass a budget, leaving it to the incoming Democratic majority to cobble together some continuing resolutions to fund the federal government this year.


...Tomorrow, the House is expected to vote on the most important piece of legislation of the entire session, HRes782.

Call your Congressman or woman and urge them, in the strongest possible terms, to support it.

Oh, what does HRes782 do?

It expresses "the sense of the House with respect to the Boston Red Sox victory in the 2007 Major League Baseball World Series."

:)))


...Anyway, tonight I picked up a copy of Molly Ivins' last book, "Bill of Wrongs - The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights" and have some reading to do.

Later!

Guest column - Congressional Timidity

The following was written by Jerry Gettinger, Vice-Chair of the LD8 Democrats and President of the Arizona Chapter of the NJDC. It was originally written for the LD8 newsletter.

While I might have phrased a few things differently, I whole-heartedly agree with the point of his piece, and am grateful that he has allowed me to post it here.


I know I said I would be writing about local politics. But what is there to say about the Thomas mess. The situation speaks for itself. A Hollywood screen writer couldn't have come up with a better story than what has happened. With that in mind, I want to write about something that has obviously been troubling a great many people: that is the Democratic majority in congress. The only ones with lower approval ratings than George is our august body of legislators. That says a lot when you think of it.

I was at a function awhile back where a member of congress spoke. He talked about healthcare, and immigration and civil rights and all the other subjects that are a problem these days. When it came time for questions from the audience, he was asked what he planned on doing about them. His answer is what gave me a subject to ponder for the next few days. He answered that there wasn't much that can be done since we (the Democrats) don't have the votes necessary to override the President's veto. He said he had been at a luncheon with Nancy Pelosi. And she was almost in tears over the situation. That's when I started thinking..I don't know about others, but I am not on the verge of tears. I am mad as hell over the loss of civil rights, the war, the spending, the ignoring of contrary opinion and if I were to think about it there probably are a dozen other reasons. I don't understand why the Democrats in congress are acting as if they are afraid of making someone angry. I don't want Pelosi to be on the verge of tears, I want her to be angry. I want to see the congress make the rest of Bush's term a nightmare. If he vetoes a bill, then send him another two days later and let him veto that. And if he does, then send him another. I want to see Bush having to think about the Democrats when he wakes up in the morning, through the day and the last thing he thinks about when he goes to sleep. I want to see the Democrats in Congress raise hell for the rest of Bush's term. Let him know we know him for what he is and we are not going to let him get away with it. No tears, just plain out and out anger at what that man has done to this country. I want to see the Democrats in congress be the biggest thorn in Bush's foot.

Sadly, that hasn't happened yet. But it's not too late. We must let our congressman (or woman) know how we feel (that is, if you feel the same as I do). We can't allow our representatives to roll over and be George's lap dog. Instead, we must insist the they show Chutzpa and demand that Bush answer for every move he makes.. He won't, but that alone will speak volumes about the character of the man. Even though he will probably veto most of the bills that congress sends him, put the onus on him rather that allow ourselves to be passive. There's a line from the movie Network where the anchorman has flipped out and he stands up and says "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."

Well.. I feel the same way, don't you?

Jerry Gettinger


Have a great weekend!

Events Calendar

Saturday, November 3 - "Congress On Your Corner" with Congressman Harry Mitchell at the Tempe Public Library, 3500 S. Rural Road in Tempe. 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, November 3 - Step It Up 2007 Rally on ASU's Hayden Lawn, featuring Rep. Harry Mitchell at 12:15 p.m. and State Reps. Ed Ableser and David Schapira at 1:45 p.m. RSVP at the rally link.

Saturday, November 3 - Grand Opening of the Obama for America Phoenix headquarters at 22 E Mitchell Drive #100 - Phoenix Az 85012 (One block north of Osborn, between Central and 3rd St .) Doors open at 9:00 a.m., program starts at 10:00 a.m. RSVP here.

Sunday, November 4 - Brunch and Horseshoe Competition for Tempe City Council Candidate Corey Woods at The Barnes House, 1104 S. Ash in Tempe. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. RSVP to Lauren Kuby at laurenkuby[at]gmail.com or Jenny Lucier at jll[at]@djt-enterprises.com.

Thursday, November 8 - House Party/Fundraiser for Corey Woods at the home of Elias and Cecilia Esquer, 1720 E. Palmcroft Dr., Tempe, AZ 85282. 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. RSVP to Christina Rocks at christina[at]coreywoods2008.com.

Thursday, November 8 - Meeting of the Coalition of Greater Scottsdale (COGS) at the Granite Reef Senior Center in Scottsdale. 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, November 13 - Monthly meeting of the LD17 Democrats at the North Tempe Community Center, 1555 N. Bridalwreath in Tempe. 6:30 p.m. Speaker: Zita Johnson, President of Tempe Union High School, District, on redistricting.

Thursday, November 15 - Community Involvement Group meeting regarding the status of the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund site at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, 7384 E. Second St., Scottsdale. 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Contact Vicki Rosen, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator at rosen.vicki[at]epa.gov.

Later!

Congress On Your Corner with Harry Mitchell

Congressman Harry Mitchell will be holding mobile office hours on Saturday, November 3.

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Place: Tempe Public Library, 3500 South Rural Road, Tempe.

From a press release -

Mitchell’s office will also be available to help constituents resolve issues with federal agencies, departments or programs, including passport inquiries.

"These one-on-one listening sessions are incredibly helpful," said Mitchell. "It is important for me to have as many opportunities as possible to hear firsthand what is on the minds of residents in our community."

Later!

Bush's speechwriters must be slipping...

I just love it when they tee one up like this...


Earlier today, President Bush gave a speech to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative "think-tank." They "think" of reasons to support the war in Iraq (in the name of 'national security') and to send American jobs overseas (in the name of 'globalization'.)

In the speech, he equated his justification for war, the perceived threat in a rising "totalitarian Islamic empire" to the rise of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis in the late 1920s and the 1930s.

That may not be an example he wants to cite.

People may make a connection, but not necessarily the one that he wants them to make.

Some points of comparison -


In 1933, Adolph Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by Hindenburg.

In 2000, George Bush was appointed President of the United States by the U.S. Supreme Court.


In 1933, Germany's Enabling Act gives Hitler the power to create laws and ignore Germany's constitution.

In the 2000s, Bush uses executive orders and "signing statements" to accomplish the same ends in the United States.


In 1934, Hitler declares that in the interests of national security he can ignore the courts.

In the 2000s, Bush repeatedly does the same thing.


In 1936, Hitler stated that Germany's only judge is God.

In 2003, Bush stated that God told him to invade Iraq.


There are many (hundreds!) other points of comparison, but the bottom line is this -

In 1938, Hitler's Germany invaded Austria and the Sudetenland (then part of Czechoslovakia); some people objected, but no one did much to stop either one.

In 2002 and 2003, Bush's United States invaded Afghanistan and Iraq; again, there were objections, but no one did much to stop either one.


In 1939, based on false information and a faked Polish attack on Germany, Germany invaded Poland, precipitating the onset of World War II.

In 2007, based on fabricated hysteria and manufactured inevitability, the Bush's United States moved toward an invasion of Iran, precipitating... ????


Any other questions?


AP via Yahoo! News coverage of Bush's speech here.

Press Release Potpourri

I was a little bored and doing a some light reading over at PRNewswire.com and lo and behold, there were a few gems among the usual corporate dreck.

To wit -

...The Department of Justice announced "the Ingersoll-Rand CompanyLimited has agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine as part of an agreement withthe U.S. government regarding charges brought in connection with an ongoing investigation of the U.N. "Oil for Food" program..."

Ingersoll-Rand is a subsidiary of Halliburton. Halliburton reported revenues last year (period ending December 31, 2006) in excess of $22 billion.

Think they'll notice a paltry $2.5 million??


...The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) issued a release criticizing a report from the American Institute for Cancer Research as based on "sketchy" science. The report, Food, Nutrition,Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer, recommends, among other things, that people reduce their intake of red meat.

Earlier in the day, the CCF issued another press release, this one equating the report and its supporters to PETA.

The only problem with CCF's criticisms? The CCF is an astroturf lobbying group fronting for the restaurant, alcohol, and food industries.

Perhaps they should consider that they have a bit of a credibility problem, and a high volume of press release won't make up for their low volume of quality.


...The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) issued a press release blasting presidential candidate John McCain's health care proposal in a Halloween-themed release as "all trick and no treat."

Other prime Hallo-quotes -

"...he presents a health care reform plan that would bring the Bush Administration's failed health care policies back from the dead."

"...The frightfully feeble plan includes a Bush-like tax credit gimmick..."

"...Channeling President Bush, McCain also ignores the plight of the 47 million Americans..."

"...McCain ought to dress up as George W.Bush today, because he's clearly offering the same failed leadership."

No more snarkiness needed; I just wanted to use some cheesy quotes. :)

Note1: The NCSL release is drawn directly from a DNC release.

Note2: The Council for Affordable Health Insurance has a non-partisan summary of the health care plans of the presidential candidates here.


...and in the most poetic public service announcement of the day, Erie Insurance reminded us to

As You Steer, Fear the Deer

It was a gentle reminder that this time of year is the period when the greatest number of car/Bambi collisions occur and that drivers should be alert.

Not really a metro Phoenix problem, but northern AZ folks might find it to be good advice.


Later!