Mail Call

The first "mail call" post of the 2008 election season will be a brief one.

Official candidate publicity pamplets are starting to reach voters across the state.

...The first to hit mailboxes in Scottsdale was the City of Scottsdale's candidate information pamphlet (.pdf available here). That one showed up late last week, and it's pretty straightforward.

...Reaching town today was the Clean Elections Commission's "2008 Statewide & Legislative Candidate Statements - Primary Election" brochure (.pdf available here).

That one was a little more interesting. Where the Scottsdale candidates used their statements as a platform for a "why you should vote for me" message, Mark Thompson, one of the Republican challengers, spent most of his statement attacking the Democratic incumbents, David Schapira and Ed Ableser. He criticized them for being young (no children or grandchildren), for being teachers (not business owners) and for, of all the crazy things for a Republican to criticize someone over, for being too fiscally responsible.

From his statement -

"Government should not be allowed to indebt future generations to avoid being responsible and accountable today."

Of course, Thompson may only be worried about Democratic measures to balance a budget, something that George Bush and his fellow Republicans obviously don't worry about. Thompson gives Republicans a free pass for creating the deficits both state and federal in the first place, with their tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.

Another curious aspect of the statements of Thompson and Wes Waddle, the other Republican running in the district, is that neither one mentions Tempe, Scottsdale, or LD17 in the statement.

You know, the place that they allegedly want to represent.

Both Schapira and Ableser, as well as the incumbent State Senator Meg Burton Cahill (D), did write about their efforts in representing the district down at the state lege.

Her challenger, Republican Jesse Hernandez, didn't make the same omission in his statement.

Of course, that's only because he didn't submit any statement at all.


Later!

Mark Anderson - short on campaign $ or victim of dirty trick?

I wish I'd had a camera with me, but didn't, so I can't post a pic (but hope that someone else does), but today I passed a couple of yard sign-sized signs for Mark Anderson. I'm not sure if they were old signs, but all they had on them was his name ("Mark Anderson" of course), his party ("Republican") and his website ("markandersonaz.com".)

Nothing else, like one important detail - the office that he's running for (U.S. Congress, for those of you reading this from some place not named Arizona.)

BTW - "markandersonaz.com"?? That comes back as a dead website.

I didn't recognize that site; I thought Anderson's campaign site was "letsmakecongressbetter.com" or something like that.

Well, that didn't take long to check, and it turns out that his current campaign site *is* www.letsmakecongressbetter.com.

It didn't take long to check out the website on the sign, either. Turns out that "markandersonaz.com" is his old campaign site from the 2001 - 2006 era.

Hmmmm....either someone found some of Anderson's old signs and decided to "help" him out by putting them up with a bad website on them, or the Anderson campaign is short on cash and it trying to stretch its available resources.

Given that his most recent campaign finance report showed that his cash on hand was at less than $70K (PDF of the report at the link), I'm leaning toward "stretching resources".

Even if he makes it through the Republican primary (which admittedly doesn't look very likely at this point), he may not have the resources for the general election campaign against Harry Mitchell.

Later...

House Republicans -showing their true colors...yet again.

Here I was, preparing to do a post on the indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens (R - the 'Internet is tubes' guy) for failing to disclose services he received from a company that benefitted from legislation that he championed. It wasn't going to be much, just a little wiseass-ery to tide us over until tonight's debate between Gerald Richard and Tim Nelson, the Democratic candidates for Maricopa County Attorney.

Note: that debate will be held at Central High School, 4525 N. Central Ave, Phoenix at 7 p.m.

Then I happened to surf by C-SPAN, which was airing the House's debate on H. Res. 194, a measure "apologizing for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans".

The resolution is sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and was brought to the floor by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI).

The Republicans didn't openly oppose the measure (they wouldn't dare during an election year), but they expressed their contempt for it and for slaves and their descendants by sending one of their favorite nativist pit bulls, Steve King of Iowa, to lead their "support" of it.

He spoke at length on the resolution, but rarely talking about the abominable part of America's history that was slavery. However, he did use his time to bring up many topics that were tangentially related (or at least could be made to seem related, perhaps by using a rhetorical shoe horn, hammer, and can of WD-40). He likened post-civil war tribunals targeting KKK members (King even referred to them as "terrorists") to military tribunals for terrorist 'suspects' held by the Bush Administration. He went on to complain that 4th Amendment considerations (aka - habeas corpus) destroyed the effectiveness of the post-Civil War tribunals and that such considerations will do the same to modern military tribunals.

King also used his time -

- to express support for the anti-affirmative action referendums pushed by Ward Connerly and supported wholeheartedly by John McCain;

- to object to the use of the term "African Americans" in the bill because that term might apply to modern immigrants from Africa who never had an ancestor who was a slave in the United States;

- to talk about the Bible carried by his 5-times great uncle who fought during the Civil War (no indication as to which side he fought for);

- to tell a perhaps apocryphal story about Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation that highlight his (King's) support for a President that goes his own way without regard to the opinions of others (or, by extension, the rules or laws that even apply to others). King even admitted on the floor that the story might be an "urban legend";

- to generally blather on about many topics that weren't slavery in America.

One thing he didn't do? He didn't bother, as is traditionally done in the House, to ask his colleagues to vote for the bill, even though he spoke in "support" of the resolution.

Passage of the bill will be considered by a roll call vote later this evening.

Edit1 - The House passed H.Res. 194 by voice vote at 6:40 p.m. EDT.


Rep. King didn't limit his racial dismissiveness to just this one measure - he had plenty dismissiveness left when the House debated H. Res. 1357, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act that apologized for the blanket internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

His prime quotes in 'support' of the commemoration (and the original act)?

He said that when FDR ordered the internments, he "had the best interests of America in mind" and that he was "worried about lost intelligence," harkening, perhaps, to a certain current President and his habit of ordering the detentions of "terrorism suspects" and "intelligence sources."

That resolution will also be voted on later today.

I've written about King before (here, too), and nothing has changed - he's still a stone bigot who represents an extreme faction of his party at the expense of his constuents, state, and country.

The best part of it all? King (and his local Republican analogues, Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) and Jack Harper (R-"Rules? We don't need no stinkin' rules") is a *typical* Republican.

You know, my first instinct was to title this post "Steve King (R-IA): Always a reliable source for subject material." He *is* a reliable source for material, but I decided that didn't really express the actual issue here - the average Republican elected official's disdain for anybody who isn't rich, white, and a fundamentalist Christian.

When the Congressional Record posts today's debate, I'll update this post with a link to it.

Edit on 7/31 - the link to the Congressional Record's documentation of the debate is here.

End edit...

Anyway, hope to see you at tonight's debate...

Time for some counter-posting

I don't normally do this, but the denizens of AZ's Republican blogosphere went a little goofy on the AZ Republic yesterday, mostly keying on the Sunday edition's Political Insider column.

And for once, most of the criticism was unfair to the Republic.

...Over at Seeing Red AZ, they complained that the Insider column falsely described former state GOP communications director Tony Reinhard as currently "leading the Maricopa County GOP."

They complained that the writers of the Insider column had "waged an ink-driven coup, removing Maricopa County Chairman Tom Husband from his leadership position."

In their righteous indignation, they forgot one minor detail - Reinhard became *executive director* of the Maricopa County Republican Party in early June.

An "ED" job title sounds like "leader" to most people, folks.


...Over at Sonoran Alliance, they called the column a "cheap shot" at State Sen. Jack Harper (R - Surprise!) and gave Harper a forum to respond. In that response, Harper asserted that he was misquoted in the column where the authors wrote "Why don't you come visit me?" Harper crooned any time he saw a member of The Republic's Capitol Bureau. "Do I have to do something crazy again?" "

What Harper claims that have said to Amanda Crawford, allegedly for the sole purpose of making polite conversation, was that he and the other Senators [his EMPHASIS] "missed her in the Senate and she only seems to come over when “SOMETHING crazy” happens."

Ummm...ignoring for the moment Harper's wanton violations of Senate rules and decorum to railroad through a same-sex marriage ban referendum that earned him the ethics complaint that further earned him the mention in this week's Insider column, there are still these factors to consider -

- Harper's involvement in a scheme to shield Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas from professional sanctions for any of his unethical actions in office;

- Harper's use in May of high-handed tactics to suppress debate on the Senate floor to kill a certain-to-pass anti-texting-while-driving bill from State Rep. Steve Farley (tactics similar to those used during the consideration of the same-sex marriage ban; guess he was just warming up for the main event a month later :) );

...His bill to open up Arizona's presidential primaries to...Republicans. Under his failed plan, Republicans could have voted in any primary they chose; members of other parties could have only voted in their own primaries;

...His "guns in restaurants" bill;

...His refusal to hold a confirmation hearing to confirm Gen. David Rataczak as commander of the Arizona National Guard because he was miffed that Governor Janet Napolitano hadn't deployed more troops to the state's border with Mexico;

...His continuing efforts to blame U.S. Congressman Harry Mitchell for the substandard conditions at the *AZ* veterans' home (here and here);

...His proposal to limit citizen-based ballot initiatives to those first considered by the legislature;

...I could go on all night posting dozens more citations like this, but I have to work in the morning, so here's the point -

Harper's response has no credibility because he is one of the major sources of crazy at the legislature in general and in the Senate in particular.

He doesn't add to his credibility by responding to a perceived slight, and Sonoran Alliance didn't do him any favors by giving him an outlet for his whining about Amanda Crawford and the Republic.


Later!

Headlines...

Still have the whole "short attention span" thing going on...

Today, though, it seems to be combined with a fascination with betting... :)


...From AZCentral.com -

Gunman suspected of shooting 3 apologizes to 'innocent' victims

The 22-year-old Phoenix man suspected of shooting three people at South Mountain Community College confessed and apologized to victims Friday during his initial court appearance.

Anyone want to start a pool on how long it takes a Republican legislator to use Thursday's incident at SMCC as justification to propose another "guns in schools" bill?


...From AP -

Pa. teens charged in fatal beating of immigrant

PORT CARBON, Pa. (AP) — Three white teens were charged Friday in what officials said was an epithet-filled fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant in a small northeast Pennsylvania coal town. Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, and Colin J. Walsh, 17, were charged as adults with homicide and ethnic intimidation in the July 12 attack on Luis Ramirez.

Assuming that the defendants and their families seek donations to pay for their legal fees, anyone want to start a pool on how much money they receive from the Pearce/Ready/Childress crowd here in AZ?


From AP -

It's the law: No sagging pants in Chicago suburb

LYNWOOD, Ill. (AP) — Be careful if you have saggy pants in the south Chicago suburb of Lynwood. Village leaders have passed an ordinance that would levy $25 fines against anyone showing three inches or more of their underwear in public.

Anybody want in on a pool based on the number of Lynwood cops signing up for their new "Ruler Patrol"? I've got dibs on "0"... :)


From Politicker.com -

Arizona Dems use Heller's statement in ad knocking Republican incumbent

The Arizona Democratic Party has released an Internet video ripping U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), and the ad's main message comes from Republican Congressman Dean Heller (R-Carson City).

The video features a photo of Heller with remarks he made earlier this month to the Las Vegas Review Journal, saying the 1994 GOP Congressional freshman — famous for seizing the U.S. House from Democrats for the first time in decades — had been changed by the culture in Washington.

Anyone want in on a pool on how loudly Shadegg tells Heller to "shut the Heller up! Bob Lord doesn't need your help!"? (Sorry - couldn't resist that one. :)) )

Note: the full video is at the Politicker link.


...And in the "certain to generate headlines" department, according to next week's House schedule (courtesy The Weekly Leader from Steny Hoyer's office), the House will be considering H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act. The bill would accord women faced with gender discrimination some of the same legal remedies available to victims of racial discrimination (think: lawsuits for both compensatory and punitive damages). The bill passed the House Education and Labor Committee this week on a party-line vote after Republicans trotted out "trial lawyers" and "gas prices" as among the reasons that they opposed the bill. (Workforce Management)

Anybody want to bet against more of the same when the bill reaches the House floor on Thursday or Friday?

Didn't think so. Hell, they'll probably add "ANWR," "offshore drilling," and "terrorism" to the list just to spice things up. :))

Democratic press release on the bill here.

Republican press release on the bill here.

Note: all four Democratic members of AZ's Congressional delegation - Harry Mitchell, Gabrielle Giffords, Raul Grijalva, and Ed Pastor - are among the 230 cosponsors of the bill.


...Finally, in a 'non-headline' item, the AZ Republic has posted the responses to its candidate questionnaires online here. The list of respondents is incomplete. In some cases, it's obvious by the presence of one or another opponent in a given race that some candidates were asked but simply didn't respond. In other cases, there is only one unchallenged contender so they may not have even been asked to complete a questionnaire.

Later!

More odds and ends (like some canvasses this weekend)...

...This being the last full weekend before ballots start getting sent out to voters who are voting early/by mail, there are a number of canvasses planned for Saturday. All start at 8:30 a.m.

In Tempe, volunteers should meet at the Tempe Coordinated Campaign office, 123 W. Baseline (SE corner of Mill and Baseline). For more information, contact Devon Canode, 336-287-9923.

In Mesa, volunteers should meet at the GEMDEMS office, 7141 E. Main St. Join House candidate Tammie Pursley and Senate candidate Judah Nativio, among others, as they work to turn LD18 Blue. For more information, contact Ben[at]electjudah.com or kweatherford[at]azdem.org.

In Phoenix, volunteers have a couple of different options - meet at the campaign office of CD3 candidate Bob Lord (4736 N 44th St.) or at the AZ Dems' HQ (2910 N Central Ave.). For more info, contact the AZ Dems at (602) 298-4200.

On Sunday, Ed Hermes, candidate for County Supervisor, will be joining forces with Phil Hettmansberger, candidate for LD21 State Representative, to walk and knock in LD21. For more info, contact Bob and Kirsten, Ed's volunteer coordinators at 616.283.9362.

There are other canvassing opportunities in other parts of the valley and the state; contact the ADP or your county party for more details.


...In Democratic primary news, Gerald Richard and Tim Nelson, candidates for Maricopa County Attorney will meet twice next week in candidate debates/forums.

- On Tuesday, July 29, the League of Women Voters will hold a debate at Central High School in Phoenix (4525 N Central Ave). The event starts at 7:00 p.m. For more info, contact the MCDP at 602-298-0503.

- On Thursday, July 31, the Foothills Democrats will be holding a candidate forum in Scottsdale at the Legend Trail Community Center, 34575 N Legend Trail Pkwy. The event starts at 7:00 p.m. For more info, contact the Foothills Democrats at 602-234-6590.


...Another dispatch from the "all politics is local" field office -

Mike McClellan of Mesa regularly writes for the AZ Republic. On Thursday, a piece he wrote on Republican State Rep. Andy Biggs went up on the Rep's website.

Turns out that Biggs, one of the most ardently conservative members of the lege, screwed over his own constituents in Gilbert during a recent controversy over fire protection services for unincorporated county islands. (Read the whole piece at the link above for details.)

Wouldn't it be ironic if Biggs was bounced out of his seat in the lege not because of partisan considerations (though Democrat Glenn Ray will be waiting for him if Biggs makes it through the four-way primary for two seats), but because he forgot one of the basic rules of retaining elected office - don't get caught stabbing your constituents in the back when you need to run for election again.

It'll be interesting to see if one or more of Biggs' challengers in the Rep primary use the fire district issue against him.

Stay tuned...


...Is the political tide beginning to turn on nativists? At least, one of the wings of the Republican Party is turning on them...

In LD18, an independent expenditure political action committee, Judgment Matters, has been formed with the stated intent to oppose Russell Pearce's (R - National Alliance). (PolitickerAZ) candidacy for state senate.

The group is seeking donations to mount an advertising campaign against Pearce's candidacy. According to the group's filings with the AZ Secretary of State, it is headed up by business attorney J. Mark Ogden and apparently has political consultant Farrell Quinlan as its spokesman. Quinlan is the former vice president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The fun part is that none of the people involved seem to be Democrats - Ogden represents businesses in conflicts with labor, and Quinlan is a long-time Republican. Just read his blog, Willet Creek Dam.

OK, so now it's official - the 2-way LD18 State Senate Republican primary is more contentious than the 6-way fight in the CD5 Republican primary. (Though this Knaperek-supporting blog is doing its best to change that.)

Anybody got some popcorn?? :))


...As I type this, C-SPAN is broadcasting a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee hearing on executive power and the Bush Administration.

Watching this has made something very clear -

Bush and/or Cheney are not going to be impeached, no matter how much it's justified. While the House could pass articles of impeachment by a simple majority (50% + 1), it takes a 2/3 vote in the Senate to convict; that will never happen.

As is clear from the Republicans on the committee, led by Mike Pence of Indiana, this president could walk out on the Capitol Mall at high noon, put a match to the Constitution, and dance around it while it burns in front of the throng of tourists, and all they would do about it is to hand Bush a bag of marshmallows and a stick.


Later!

Odd and Ends

...Courtesy an email from MCDP...

Two new candidates have stepped forward to run for office in the West Valley.

- Out in Sun City, Leigh Strickman, a small business owner and PC, has filed to run for the District 4 County Supervisor seat currently occupied by Max Wilson. She is running as a write-in candidate and will need 600 people to vote for her in September to make it on to the ballot in November. If you want to volunteer, you can reach her campaign at strickman08@gmail.com or call 623-698-8004.

- And in Litchfield Park (also District 4), educator Randolph Lumm is running for the Maricopa County Community College Governing Board. He needs to collect 2500 sigs to qualify for the ballot, so anyone interested in helping him should contact the West Dems office at (623) 249-7407 to volunteer.


...In a sign that perhaps certain Republicans don't really get the whole "politics is about people" thing, as in "real people with real concerns", CD5 candidate David Schweikert is following up his June fundraiser at the Scottsdale Gun Club with a fundraiser in a gated community in north Scottsdale at the end of this month.

By contrast, Harry Mitchell (D-CD5) spent much of the same period either working for or honoring people for whom weapons and protective walls are more than a conspicuous assertion of social status.

On Sunday, July 13, he participated in the unveiling of a "permanent display" that serves as "a visual reminder of the sacrifices members of the military and their families are making." (EV Tribune). He followed that up on Tuesday, July 15 by chairing a hearing of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Veterans Affairs Committee into the Department of Veterans Affairs' outreach efforts for veterans who are at risk for PTSD and/or suicide. (AP via SF Chronicle coverage here.)

A quick perusal of Schweikert's campaign website finds rhetoric that is heavy on Club for Growth/Republican neo-con talking points and light on any concerns for CD5 or the people who live here. In fact, other than pro-forma mentions of Barry Goldwater and "Arizona values," this website would serve for any GOP candidate from Maine to California, and serve with very few changes (mostly on the contact information pages.)

And he's the presumptive Republican front-runner here. The other candidates are worse.


...Over in California, Der Governator is proving that he's a true, dyed-in-the-wool Republican - he's ticked off at the California legislature for its failure to pass a budget (as well he should be!), so does he vent his anger at the legislators who are failing to do their jobs? Of course not - that's not the Republican way.

Nope, instead he is trying to cut the pay of every state employee to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour. (SF Chronicle)

Given that most of the affected employees are covered by contracts (union or personal), don't expect this one to go far. On the other hand, picking on working people, especially people who work for the government, will surely endear Schwarzenegger to the radical corporatist wing of his party.


...On Tuesday, the 11 candidates for municipal office in Scottsdale met in two separate forums sponsored by the East Valley Tribune. Trib coverage of the Mayoral forum here; coverage of the Council forum here.

The forums will be replayed on Scottsdale's City Cable 11 on the next two Sundays from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

I'm not going to do a full write up of the event (a bit of dozing off during the mayoral portion of the program and a format with a lightning round combine to make that an overly ambitious idea), but I do have a couple of quick observations -

- Lisa Borowsky did better Tuesday than she did at last week's COPP-sponsored forum. She wasn't spectacular by any means, but her voice didn't get drowned out this week, either.

- Joel Bramoweth needs to learn the meaning of the word "succinct." After watching his performance, one sharp-tongued observer opined that if Bramoweth is elected to the Council, the rules that dictate a three-minute time limit for public comments may need to be expanded to Council members, too.

Yes, I was that observer. :))

- Ron McCullagh is running a campaign straight out of the Republican playbook. Right now, he's reading from the page labeled "When in doubt, scare 'em." However, this being Scottsdale, instead of citing the usually boogeymen of illegal immigrants and terrorists to engender fear among the audience members, he went with "payday loan businesses" and "massage parlors."

Hey, it *is* Scottsdale after all. :))

- The biggest disappointment, and this applies to the entire cast of council candidates, was their lack of original ideas on addressing Scottsdale's traffic crunch. When asked about when they thought was the best solution available, they all paid obeisance at the "light rail is dead" altar before advocating for more buses and existing transit options.

While their answers varied a bit in length and vocabulary, they could all be summed up thusly -

"Let's close our eyes and click our heels together three times while saying 'let's do more of the same things that aren't working now and hope that the problem will go away before we have to do something substantial.' "

Given that early ballots go out at the end of next week, time is getting short for any epiphanies on the part of the candidates; don't expect any improvement between now and the election.

Note: I called CityCable11's Dennis Grzelak (the manager). According to him, at this point in time, there are no plans to make the video of the forums available online; if you want to view them, catch one of the Sunday rebroadcasts.


...Sometimes bloggers can make an impact... (thanks to Jobsanger in Texas for the heads-up on this) -

It seems that blogger TxSharon of Bluedaze has been keeping track of the environmental damage caused by energy giant Chesapeake Energy and similar companies. with nice, full-color pictures of some of their pollution.

Chesapeake Energy has responded to her diligence by referring to her as a "radical" and stating that "free speech" is all fine and dandy, but it shouldn't apply to people not directly affected by a given issue. (TxSharon doesn't live in the area of Ft. Worth most directly affected by Chesapeake's actions.)

In other words, they apparently believe that witnesses to a crime shouldn't say anything about it, only direct victims should.

Yeah, right.

Anyway, as near as I can tell, Chesapeake doesn't have much, if any, presence in AZ, but this situation still calls for attention.

It's ok to go viral with this. (hint, hint :) )

Later!

Lord Sparring With Shadegg On Education...

The problem, for Shadegg anyway, is that it's a one-sided fight.

Let's start with the basics - while Shadegg's campaign site touts the fact that he is married to a public teacher which helps him to "understand" the importance of education and teaching-related issues, that "understanding" hasn't been transformed into real-world support for students or teachers.

A quick comparison -

On math and science instruction:

Lord (courtesy his education plan/position paper unless otherwise noted) - "Every grade level should have a robust science and math curriculum, and the recruitment of math and science graduates into the teaching profession should be a priority."

Shadegg - voted against the 21st Century Competitiveness Act, which strengthened math and science instruction.


On early childhood education:

Lord - "We must make an increased investment in early childhood education, like early Head Start and Head Start, and help states enact universal pre-school programs and all-day Kindergarten."

Shadegg - voted against passage of the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act (H.R. 1429), an act to update and extend the Head Start Program.


On access to higher education:

Lord - "Any child who works hard, does well in school, and wants to attend college should have the opportunity to do so. Affordable student loans with low interest rates give children the chance to go after their dreams. Increased Pell Grants also will expand college access to thousands of students."

Shadegg - voted against the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H.R. 2669), an act that included language that lowered student loan interest rates, increased the maximum amount for Pell Grant awards, and increased support for those students who choose to become teachers. (You know - the career that his own wife chose, a choice that he believes grants to him an insight into the educational needs of the country.)


On health care for young students:

Lord (from a press release on Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) expansion) - "Vetoing this bill puts tens of thousands of Arizona's most vulnerable children at risk of losing their health insurance," said Bob Lord. "It is not just President Bush who is to blame. John Shadegg has stood against this program since its creation and he continues to stand against offering basic health insurance to our poorest children."

Shadegg - Rationalized his opposition to SCHIP by calling the program a "fraud". (Page H10873 of the Congressional Record)


Perhaps the best summary of the relative positions on education of Lord and Shadegg comes from the National Education Association (NEA) -

Shadegg earns an "F" or its equivalent from the NEA, year after year - 2007 - F, 2006 - F. 2005 - C (must've backslid that year :) ), 2003-2004 - 15%, 2001-2002 - 0%.

Lord earns the NEA's endorsement.


If there are any other questions -

On Friday, Bob Lord will be meeting with Arizona educators for a "Back to School Education Roundtable Discussion" at the Phoenix Public Library Mesquite Branch, 4525 Paradise Village Parkway North, Phoenix from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. The public is invited.

Next week, John Shadegg will be hobnobbing in D.C. with lobbyists and other ultra-conservatives to raise money for conservative candidates for Senate.

OK, so there probably aren't any other questions. I just wanted to throw that out there. :))


Later!

Jack Harper - brazenly hypocritical or cluelessly ironic?

You know, I was going to write a couple of quips (succinct but witty ones, of course :) ) about the Phoenix New Times' piece on Russell Pearce's history of domestic violence. Turns out that in 1980, his wife filed for divorce, citing among other reasons, that Pearce has "...a violent temper and has from time to time hit and shoved his wife..." (courtesy the New Times' upload of the court documents).

I'm certain a crack that pondered the possibility that Pearce has sublimated his documented anger toward women into a hatred of Mexicans (more socially acceptable in LD18, that) was imminent, but it turns out that Jack Harper (helped along by Democratic senator Ken Cheuvront) is around to save Russell Pearce from some biting sarcasm (for now anyway :)) ).

Turns out that while the legislative session is over, it isn't *over.*

From the Arizona Republic -

An end-of-session maneuver that cut short a Democratic filibuster and paved the way for lawmakers to refer the same-sex marriage ban to the fall ballot is now the subject of a rare formal ethics complaint.

Democratic Sen. Ken Cheuvront of Phoenix has asked the Senate ethics committee to issue a formal reprimand against Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise. Cheuvront accuses Harper of conspiring with other Republican leaders to intentionally break the rules of the Senate by turning off microphones and allowing the Republican majority leader to make a motion in the middle of a debate between Democratic senators.

Harper, a previous winner of (and permanent contender for) the annual Legislative Loon Award, bemoaned the complaint as "partisan," while ignoring the fact that it was his own partisan maneuvers on the last day of the Senate's session that precipitated the complaint.

I'd say that his pronouncement on his latest troubles, whether rooted in hypocrisy or simple cluelessness, gives him a leg up on another Legislative Loon award, but there's no guarantee that he will return to the next session of the lege - he's facing a strong opponent in the person of Robert Boehlke.

Anyway, the complaint will be ruled on by Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, who admonished some of his senate colleagues for their "loss of decorum" during the final moments of the legislative session.

It should be noted, however, that Tibshraeny's concern over his colleagues' antics wasn't so strong that he couldn't vote for the anti-same sex marriage measure that Harper was so intent on railroading through that late night/early morning.

In short, while there might be a faux reprimand discussed for appearances' sake, nothing significant will come of this. Even if Tibshraeny finds merit to the complaint, it would take a majority vote of the senate to issue a reprimand, and the senate isn't scheduled to meet until the new lege is seated in January.

Later!

John Washington, candidate for Mayor of Scottsdale

A third candidate has responded to my invitation to submit a statement regarding his candidacy.

Today, it's the statement of neighborhood activist and write-in candidate for mayor, John Washington.

From his email -

Craig,

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to your readers.

You can read muchmore extensive information about my positions and the elections atwww.ScottsdaleCitizen.com.

You asked that I tell you why I am the best choice for Scottsdale. I have to say emphatically that I am NOT. However, we couldn't get anyone better to run for Mayor!

There is not enough interest among better-qualified potential candidates. Elected office in this City pays poorly, requires a lot of work, and has very little dedicated staff support. I have advanced several proposals to fix all that.

Disinterest among real citizens leaves us career politicians and those who want to be. I, on the other hand, am no politician at all. I'm a citizen who has been frustrated at every attempt at positive input into the public process. We've seen public process and public policy hijacked for the benefit of the wealthy. We are selling the soul of our community -- the legacy we should be leaving to our children -- to developers.

Frustrated citizens are expressing their outrage, and folks who normally don't follow the process closely are getting engaged. The more this happens, the more the citizens are greeted with arrogance. This must stop. We MUST restore TRUST between the citizens and their government.

My primary objective is reinvigorating citizen involvement and maintaining it through openness, receptiveness, and honesty. I intend to initiate a conversation about community identity and the necessity of civic character to our quality of life. Only then can we address the many individual issues that face us, including financial health in the context of a struggling national economy.

Many of these issues are directly related. Growth, height, and density must be balanced against quality of life and civic character. Since civic character is directly related to tourism, revenue from development fees reduces revenue from tourism.

Hidden costs of development must be considered honestly and accurately. Development strains infrastructure like water, sewer, power, and roadways. It also dilutes public safety services like fire and police protection.

Only the citizens can best say how we balance growth against character. Other stakeholders should remain part of the process, but it is job of the Mayor and Council to make sure special interests do not dominate the processfor their own benefit, at the expense of our future.

We should respect the process, but we must also recognize when it is failing us. At that point, the Mayor and Council have responsibility to step in and fix the process.

It is clear to anyone who pays attention even a little that we are at such a point. Never in my history in Scottsdale have I seen such City-wide turmoil and citizen outrage. We need leadership to improve dialog through positive outreach and engagement, not by squashing it with arrogance and ridicule.

I want to lead that change.

John Washington
www.ScottsdaleCitizen.com
480.229.1831
john@reactionresearch.com

Have a good night...

The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award

It's time for another tribute to political flip-floppery.

The competition for this week's edition of this dubious yet apparently highly-coveted honor (well, there always seems to be many contenders for the Award, so they must covet it, right?) was fierce. Two old pros and one relative rookie fought tooth and fin over this week's award like it was a minnow on a hook.

First, let's be clear up front - if the award hadn't already been named after McCain, he would have won the award going away for first criticizing Barack Obama for not having visited Iraq (May 2008) but then criticizing Obama for this month's visit to Iraq and Afghanistan (June 2008).

As if that wasn't enough, in his latest campaign ad, McCain also criticized Senator Obama for not holding hearings on Afghanistan in the Senate subcommittee that he chairs (European Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) while blithely ignoring the fact that McCain, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, hasn't attended any of his own committee's hearings on the same subject.

However hard he strove for the award though, out of fairness to the legion of other contenders, he has been retired from consideration.


Also in the running was John Shadegg, who, in a shamelessly cynical election-year ploy, voted to override the President's veto of a Medicare bill that he originally voted against anyway. However, I already wrote about that move, so I won't add to his embarrassment by awarding him another Crappie.

Have no fear though - he's got plenty of time between now and when he loses his job in November to Bob Lord to earn many more Crappies.


This week's winner is a first-timer, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.


The AZ Republic broke a story about how a Thomas staffer at the County Attorney's office, paralegal Phillip Quihuis, is one of the leaders of a group seeking to force a recall election of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, a political adversary of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Thomas' political mentor.

When asked about Quihuis' convenient (for Thomas) side project, Thomas didn't criticize or question it, he simply stated "I'm not involved in it. He has constitutional rights. "

Yes, this Andrew Thomas who is so concerned with civil liberties and constitutional rights is the same one who ordered an investigation into the Phoenix New Times. critics of he and Arpaio, an investigation that led to the false arrests of two of the New Times founders.

For this back one-and-a-half twisting tuck of a flip-flop (lackeys have Constitutional rights, journalists don't), Andrew Thomas is the winner of this week's John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award.

This may be Thomas's first Crappie, but like Shadegg, he has plenty of time to win more before losing his position to either Gerald Richard or Tim Nelson.


Later today, travel over to Nevada's Desert Beacon for her latest edition of the always entertaining, informative, and pointed Sunday Deck Bass Award. And if you're feeling really adventurous and want to take a road trip that won't burn up any of that $4.00+ gas that is the Bush Administration's legacy to the American people, journey up to Minnesota's Extemperaneous Discourse to see if a rare but tasty Sunday Eel Pout Award is on the menu.

Have a good weekend!

Hope I beat Tedski to this one...

I never seem to beat him on political tidbits, but maybe I can on this gratuitous soccer reference... :))

From AP via the San Francisco Chronicle -

An American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles was diverted to Oklahoma City on Friday after a passenger stripped, put his clothes back on and then tried to open an emergency exit door before being subdued by members of a pro soccer team and others, the FBI said.

{snip}

Members of the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer were among those who grabbed the passenger near an exit door, Johnson said.

The Revs have travelled well all season - they're the best road team in MLS. :)

Later!

Candidate Forum For Scottsdale Mayoral And Council Candidates

Back to boring (i.e. - content that's only relevent locally)...

Thursday evening, all three of Scottsdale's mayoral candidates (incumbent Mary Manross and challengers Jim Lane and John Washington) and 7 of the candidates for Scottsdale City Council (incumbents Betty Drake and Ron McCullagh and challengers Nan Nesvig, Tom Giller, Lisa Borowsky, Joel Bramoweth, and Suzanne Klapp) gathered for the candidate forum sponsored by the Coalition of Pinnacle Peak (COPP).

None of the candidates did a bad job there, though the one who didn't participate, council candidate Oren Davis, didn't do his candidacy any favors by not showing up.

While there were some differences in their positions, all of the candidates showed a grasp of the main issues facing Scottsdale.

Their positions, shown by their responses to a COPP candidate survey, can be found on this page.

Impressions -

Of the candidates who did participate, Lisa Borowsky had the weakest night - she was all but drowned out by the gaggle of candidates on dais. It's not entirely her fault (COPP should have split the forum based on office sought - 10 on the stage was just too many). In addition, after the first couple of questions that had been prepared by COPP, a series of audience questions were presented to the candidates, but in a move that was unique compared to the other candidate forums that I've attended over the last few years, those questions were directed at specific candidates, not the entire panel. The 'free-form' format of the debate might have worked with a smaller panel, but not here.

On the other hand, the other candidates faced the same conditions, too. If she wants to run for office, Borowsky needs to learn to adapt her presentation style on the fly.

The strongest presentation was from council candidate Nan Nesvig. She was prepared, spoke clearly, definitively and intelligently on a variety of issues. The only flaw in her presentation that I could find (and it's a technical one!) was that she spent a little too much time reading from her prepared notes.

Joel Bramoweth, as has been noted here before, tended to go on a little too long and sometimes made his answers more of a project than was necessary. However, he also was the funniest of the candidates, frequently connecting with the audience poking fun at his own speaking style. Overall, he probably helped himself a little.

Tom Giller (council) and John Washington (write-in candidate for mayor) did a good job of delineating their differences with the status quo, and did so strongly but without being strident.

Incumbent council members Drake and McCullagh stressed the need for a return to civility in Scottsdale politics (Drake) and that they were running to represent the entire city, not just one neighborhood or single section of the city (McCullagh).

In addition, all of the incumbents, including Mayor Manross, pointed out that the city is in decent shape (and to be fair, while there *are* problems here, as in any other city, Scottsdale really *is* in good shape overall).

On the other hand, most of the challengers, including current council member Lane, cited distrust between the City government and the citizens of Scottsdale as one of the big problems facing the city, and used that to call for a change in city goverment.

Anyway, the forum went fairly smoothly, other than some of the format issues cited above. It was not recorded on video, so anyone who couldn't make Thursday's event should plan to attend the EV Tribune Mayoral forum on Tuesday, July 22 in the City Hall Kiva from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. It will be broadcast live on CityCable11 and repeated at various times.

Later!

So, will it get 80% support, or 90%?

Thanks to my sister Patti for the heads-up on this...

Last month, the folks over at Seeing Red AZ were almost apoplectic over the idea that a proposition to rename a San Francisco sewage treatment plant after George W. Bush *could* be on the ballot there this fall.

They'll probably have a stroke when they find out that the measure qualified for the ballot on Wednesday. (SF Elections Department)

Naturally, GOPers in SF have vowed to fight the measure with any means they have available to them; however, something tells me those "means" won't include trying to win at the polls.

According to the SF Elections Department (via a phone call), there are 430,061 registered voters in SF.

43,183 of them are Republicans.

For those of you who are math-challenged, that's 10.04%.

(For the record, there are 241,013 registered Dems in SF (56.04%).)


The website of the organizers behind the measure is here.

SF Chronicle coverage here.

CNN coverage here.

MSNBC coverage here.

I looked for a press release on this from the SF GOP, but couldn't find one.

Later!

Short Attention Span Musing

Responding to some criticism that my posts have been boring recently (lacking in 'wiseass' content), so how 'bout this????


...From the "they probably expect us to ignore the irony" department -

A U.S. attorney has issued a report decrying the conditions in a jail, citing beatings of prisoners by staff, poor medical, and dangerous building conditions as among the reasons that he found that "the jail had systematically violated the constitutional rights of inmates." (NY Times)

Where is this den of brazen brutality located?

Abu Ghraib? Nope, not even the right hemisphere.

Guantanamo? Much closer, but not close enough.

No, the jail that the feds find so objectionable is the Cook County Jail.


In Illinois.


Apparently, the "do as we say, not as we do" gang is still running the show...


...From the "It must be an even numbered year" department,,,,

On Tuesday, both the House and the Senate voted to override Bush's veto of H.R. 6331, The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. All four of Arizona's Democratic congressmen voted to override the veto, which wasn't a surprise. However, they were joined by a Republican, and it wasn't Rick Renzi, who occasionally (*very* occasionally :) ) crosses party lines on a specific vote.

Nope, it was John Shadegg (CD3).

The same John Shadegg who scored a 100 in the American Conservative Union's rankings and tied for the most conservative in the House in the National Journal's rankings.

One might think that this vote illustrates Shadegg's (new-found) concern for plight of those of his constituents who rely on Medicare, whether as patients or physicians (and we should expect a press release or 5 trumpeting his "heartfelt" concern). However, there is one point that every one of his constituents should remember - on June 24, he voted against the original bill.

And not only did he vote against the bill on its first trip though the House, he tried to prevent even its mere consideration by twice voting to adjourn the House during debate on H.R. 6331. (here and here)

In other words, Tuesday's vote was just for show, not substance - he's only concerned with his own plight.

Possible unemployment after November.

Yep, Shadegg is definitely hearing Bob Lord's footsteps...

Note: The Senate also voted to override the President's veto of H.R. 6331, by a vote of 70 - 26. Arizona's senatorial delegation voted as is their pattern - Kyl voted against Medicare, and McCain skipped the vote.


...and from the "See! I occasionally pick on Democrats, too!" department -

From the AZ Republic -

Could Sky Harbor soon become home to an army of one-armed bandits?

It might, if Mayor Phil Gordon has his way. Gordon wants to explore the possibility of partnering with a Native American tribe to bring slot machines to the airport.

Good freakin' God! Don't we drop enough money on air trips already?? What's next? Bingo tournaments on the Red Line (the bus route through the airport? Video poker machines on Supershuttle vans??

Later!