Katie Hobbs talks some smack/truth to Cheeto

 And her ability, and willingness, to do so is among the reasons why I support her in her run for governor of Arizona.

From The Hill -

Arizona secretary of state to Trump before rally: 'Take your loss and accept it and move on'

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) said that her message to former President Trump before his visit on Saturday is to “take your loss and accept it and move on,” referring to the ongoing partisan audit of the 2020 election results.

Trump is heading to Phoenix on Saturday for a “Rally to Save Our Elections!” event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action. He is likely to touch on his baseless claims that widespread voter fraud occurred during last year’s election.

She's nicer than I am - I would have added a suggestion that Trump pull his thumb out of his mouth (or other orifice).

Hmmmm. There seems to be a pattern here.

Whatever could it be?

From MainePublic.org -

Maine Lawmaker Who Opposed Coronavirus Restrictions Reportedly Has COVID-19

Rep. Chris Johansen, a Republican legislator from the Aroostook County town of Monticello who has been an outspoken opponent of coronavirus restrictions, has reportedly contracted COVID-19.

In a recording shared by Mainer News contributor Crash Barry, a man alleged to be Johansen said, “Listen up, I’ve got COVID and I’m really, really sick and I just don’t have time to talk to you today.”

From CNN -

Vaccines are a 'personal decision,' Hillsong Church founder says after congregant refuses shot and dies of Covid-19

The founder of the multinational Hillsong Church told CNN that Covid-19 vaccines are a "personal decision for each individual to make with the counsel of medical professionals" after a congregant who publicly refused inoculation died of complications from the disease.

Hillsong Church global senior pastor Brian Houston had announced the death of Stephen Harmon, who attended Hillsong in California, on social media this week.

Harmon had said on social media that he would not receive the vaccine, even when he was fighting Covid-19 in a hospital this month.

From Fox News -

Missouri AG plans to sue St. Louis over reinstatement of mask mandate

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said he plans to file a lawsuit against St. Louis and St. Louis County for reinstating a mask mandate for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people over the age of 5.

Local leaders announced the new requirements on Friday citing the rising number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. The requirements were to take effect on Monday in indoor public places and on public transportation. 

Yes, unsurprisingly, Schmitt is a Republican.

From USA Today - 

'He’s regretful': Radio host who doubted vaccines hospitalized with COVID, family says

A conservative Tennessee-based talk radio host has changed his previously skeptical messaging on vaccines after being hospitalized with COVID-19, his family said.

Phil Valentine, who has posted on social media dissuading his audience from getting vaccinated if they aren't "in danger of dying" from COVID, has been hospitalized in the critical care unit and is receiving supplemental oxygen, but is not on a ventilator, according to his brother.

Also from CNN -

 

Unvaccinated nursing instructor in Missouri is hospitalized with Covid-19 and urging everyone to get the vaccine

Christy Henry had played it safe during the pandemic.

Wearing a mask in public and rarely coming into contact with others, the 56-year-old former nurse, who now works as a nursing instructor, resides in southern Missouri with her retired husband and children.

However, after Covid-19 vaccines became widely distributed in the spring, Henry and her family chose to not get inoculated. Henry said they felt because of their rural location and lifestyle, their risk of exposure was low.

Someone may not believe that vaccines won't help them or others, or that Covid won't hurt them or others, but Covid doesn't care.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated.

Apparently Ken Bennett has had his fill of Kool-Aid

 From Newsweek -

Arizona GOP Audit Director Barred From Recount After Sharing Data Supporting Trump Loss

The Republican overseeing the controversial GOP-backed election audit in Arizona has 

reportedly been banned from entering the building where the recount process is ongoing, 

after he shared some data with experts that showed the results match the officially 

certified numbers in Maricopa County.

The Arizona Republic reported on Friday evening that Ken Bennett, Arizona's former 

Secretary of State who has been described as the audit's "director," was barred from 

entering the building on the state fairgrounds where the audit is moving forward. The 

newspaper reported that Bennett had shared some of the audit data with outside 

experts showing that the ballot recount was tracking "very closely" with Maricopa 

County's certified results.

With the fraudit's barring of Ken Bennett, a former AZSOS and president of the Arizona Senate, this particular threat to Arizona's democracy is now all on Karen Fann, the current president of the Arizona Senate.

Want evidence that Cheeto still is the spiritual center of the GOP?

 Like lemmings going over a cliff, trumpkins have to show their fealty to Cheeto.

From KJZZ -

Most Arizona GOP Candidates Will Attend Trump's Phoenix Rally On Saturday

Most Republicans running for statewide office in Arizona are expected to attend a rally with former President Donald Trump on Saturday.

With few exceptions, GOP candidates for governor, secretary of state and U.S. Senate are scheduled to attend. Many have confirmed they’ll speak at the day-long event, dubbed the “Rally To Protect Elections.

How many seconds will elapse before Cheeto takes credit for the rain in central AZ?

What?!? Cheeto listened to someone named "Barrack"? There's a first

 1. Yes, I know his name is spelled differently that the former President's.

2. $250 million?  You just know that Cheeto's first thought was "Yeah, but he wouldn't be in trouble without me, so where's my cut?"

From NBCNews -

Tom Barrack, former Trump inaugural chair, released on $250 million bond

Former Trump inaugural committee chair Tom Barrack on Friday was released from federal lockup in California on a $250 million bond ahead of his scheduled arraignment in New York on charges that he acted as an agent of the United Arab Emirates and obstructed justice.

As part of the terms of his release, Barrack, 74, is subject to electronic monitoring and will have to foot the bill for his GPS ankle bracelet, Judge Patricia Donahue ordered, signing off on an agreement that had been worked out between the government and Barrack's attorneys.

[snip]

A longtime friend of former President Donald Trump, Barrack had been behind bars since his arrest Tuesday on charges that he and two co-defendants were "acting and conspiring to act as agents" of the UAE between April 2016 and April 2018, but without registering as foreign agents.

The only real question left is does he get Epsteined before the arraignment on Monday or before a trial?

I'm guessing before a trial, but either way, if he physically cannot appear, the bond will be returned to his estate.

Per GOP-think, speaking the truth is a crime

 

From The Hill - 

GOP Rep. Cawthorn says he wants to 'prosecute' Fauci

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) says he wants to “prosecute” Anthony Fauci should the GOP regain control of the House in 2022.

Cawthorn's remark underscores how Fauci has become central to GOP attacks on the Biden administration and the government's handling of the coronavirus, even as the delta variant sweeps through unvaccinated communities and it becomes clearer and clearer that vaccinations are a key to stomping out the disease.

State (AZ) committee update

 From the website of the Arizona Secretary of State -

Lindberg is running for Congress (isn't it amazing how I picked up on that :) ); don't know much about either one.

Interestingly though, on both the websites of the AZSOS and the IRS, is a local recall committee.

On the IRS paperwork is a statement of the committee purpose -

"PURPOSE IS TO RECALL GILBERT MAYOR BRIGETTE PETERSON AND ELECT CANDIDATES TO LOCAL AND STATE OFFICE THAT ALIGN WITH VIEWS AGAINST THE BOOMING APARTMENT TREND''

The chair of the committee is Brandon Ryff and the treasurer is Stacia Ehlen.

Turns out both are homeowners in Gilbert who are upset over the fact that denser zoning may be enacted there.

Disclosure time: While I have no opinion on this effort, I make a living as an analyst of multifamily real estate.

Federal committees update

 From the FEC's website - 

Both are Republicans.

Crane is looking to run in CD1 against Tom O'Halleran; Winn is looking to be the R nominee in CD2, currently held by the retiring Ann Kirkpatrick.

The interesting part is that while Winn is running for Congress in a Pima County-based district, she's currently an at-large member of the governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District.

The switch is legal, but I can already hear the cries of "carpetbagger!" emanating from the R primary field there.

Turns out the "Big Lie" is just that, a lie.

From BloombergGovernment, pointed to this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire - 

Sparse Voter-Fraud Cases Undercut Claims of Widespread Abuses

Prosecutors across the country found evidence of voter fraud compelling enough to take to court about 200 times since the November 2018 elections, according to a 50-state Bloomberg canvass of state officials.

Republican and Democratic election and law enforcement officials contacted in 23 of the states were unable to point to any criminal voting fraud prosecutions since the November 2018 midterm elections.

[snip]

Republicans hold 26 state attorneys general posts and control 28 secretary of state offices. The states controlled by Republicans in both of those offices reported roughly 59 prosecutions in their states during this period.

Democrats reported 102 prosecutions in the states where they held both of those offices. States where control between these offices is split between Republicans and Democrats—Arizona, Iowa, Maryland, Nevada, and New Hampshire—accounted for 35 prosecutions.

GOP mantra, apparently: If at first you don't succeed, hide it all from the public2

 

From Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, published in the Arizona Capitol Times -

Attorney argues courts can’t force lawmakers to follow open meeting laws

An attorney for the Arizona Legislature is arguing to the state Court of Appeals that lawmakers – and not the courts – decide when they have to have open meetings. 

In new legal briefs, Tom Basile said the state Constitution gives the House and the Senate “an unalloyed authority to determine its own rules of procedure.” And that, he said, makes it impossible for a court to determine whether either has acted wrongfully or unlawfully by excluding members of the public from its proceedings. 

The arguments are similar to those his law partner, Kory Langhofer, made to a different judge in contending that lawmakers are within their power to determine, without judicial interference, whether they have to comply with other laws regarding which records are public. 

Langhofer's argument was covered here.

Oh, and I'm not an attorney so take this with a grain of salt, but the last time I checked, laws outrank rules of procedure.

Even pediatricians think kids in school should wear a mask, but Doug Ducey disagrees

 The American Academy of Pediatricians guidance is here.

From NPR -

Everyone Should Wear A Mask In Schools, Vaccinated Or Not, U.S. Pediatricians Say

The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated guidance for schools Monday, recommending that all students over 2 years old, along with staff, wear masks, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The new AAP guidance comes less than two weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its own recommendations, calling for indoor mask-wearing for unvaccinated students ages 2 and up, as well as staff. (Children under 12 are not yet eligible for vaccination.) The CDC notes, however, that schools might find universal masking necessary in areas with low vaccination rates, increasing community transmission or a number of other factors.

Health professionals may say one thing, but Doug Ducey (et. al.) knows better.

From Cronkite News -

Arizona’s ban on mask mandates in schools criticized by health experts

Health experts are concerned that Arizona’s recently approved budget, which bans public schools and universities from enforcing mask mandates and COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated students, is endangering public health across the state.

[snip]

Ducey’s executive order stated that students could not “be mandated to take the COVID-19 vaccine or submit COVID-19 vaccination documents.” Under the order, students also cannot be required to be tested or wear masks to participate in learning.

“Public education is a public right, and taxpayers are paying for it,” Ducey said on his website. “We need to make our public universities available for students to return to learning.”

Ducey's executive order in question is 2021-16.

Dougie may think he knows better than folks who do this all day every day, but he doesn't have a medical license. From the website of the Arizona Medical Board -

Got the same (lack of) results when looking for an osteopath's license or a PA's license. :)

Two things:

1. Wear a mask

2. Get vaccinated

Does Mark Brnovich plan to campaign for US Senate on the backs of two dead people?

 

From KJZZ - 

AG Submits Brief In Supreme Court Appeal Seeking To Overturn 9th Circuit Rulings On Death Penalty Cases

The Arizona attorney general is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse decisions from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in two death penalty cases.

[snip]

Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a petition with the Supreme Court in January arguing the 9th Circuit violated federal law by basing the decisions on claims of ineffective counsel.

The brief is here.

Yes, Kyrsten Sinema is in trouble

From Data For Progress (pointed to this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire) - 

WHO IS KYRSTEN SINEMA REALLY REPRESENTING?

Halfway through her term as Senator of Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema is finding herself seemingly at odds with the members of her party. Her dedication to preserving the filibuster has stood as a significant obstacle to enacting a number of important bills and to more general Democratic governance despite the party’s trifecta in Washington, DC. Most recently, her unwavering stance on the filibuster enabled Republicans to block the For the People Act, a sweeping voting rights bill that is popular with the Democratic base, leadership, and her constituents back home in Arizona. In a recent poll by Data For Progress, we found strong majority support for this bill and a number of others that are high on the Democrats’ policy agenda. We also found that Arizona voters from across the political spectrum are displeased overall with her performance as Senator. Taken together, this begs the question: if her policy stances are alienating leadership and voters alike, who exactly is Kyrsten Sinema representing in Congress?

Even if she makes it through a primary, in a general election, she'll have problems.

I expect that many of the folks who, like me, held their noses and voted for her in 2018, will skip the race if she's on the general election ballot in 2024.

It also may be why Doug Ducey is letting Mark Brnovich take on Mark Kelly in 2022 for his seat in the US Senate; in 2024, he wants to be the Republican nominee for POTUS, and may settle for being the R nominee for VPOTUS.  Depending on how that works out, he may accept the consolation prize of challenging Sinema for a spot in the US Senate.

The best thing for Sinema may be if the R nominee is someone who is utterly nuts; say a Gosar or Biggs.

On the other hand, they're in safe Congressional districts so they may not run for a Senate seat..

Ducey allegedly tries to deplete the state's budget to aid an ally

Why isn't this a bigger story here?

From KJZZ (it's a USA Today story, and I'd link to that one, but the USA Today story is behind a paywall) - 

USA Today Investigation Links Ducey With Efforts To Extract $100M In Tax Refunds

Gov. Doug Ducey has long been seen as having ambitions beyond the Governor’s Office, perhaps even for the United States presidency. And to get there, he would need powerful and wealthy allies.

In his latest piece, Craig Harris, a reporter with USA Today who formerly worked at the Arizona Republic, investigated why Ducey and a handful of his top staffers supported a multi-year effort by a powerful Texas businessman and Republican donor to extract millions of dollars in tax refunds from Arizona’s Department of Revenue, despite alleged conflicts of interest.

The Urban Institute has a pretty good backgrounder on Arizona's budget here.

Some of the illustrations a quite eye-opening.

Arizona seeing increased Covid cases as Ducey misuses pandemic relief monies

Get vaccinated people!

From KTAR -

Arizona reports 980 new COVID-19 cases, 3 more deaths Sunday

Arizona public health officials on Sunday reported 980 new COVID-19 cases and three additional deaths from the virus.

The latest documented totals were 908,248 infections and 18,117 fatalities, according to the department’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Total cases, from AZDHS' Covid tracker -

Better than the peak, but still a bad trend.

But not to worry, Doug Ducey has the backs...of his friends in the hospitality business.

From AP -

Ducey uses federal pandemic cash to promote Arizona tourism

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday announced he’s using $101.1

 

million of federal relief funding to launch a new program to encourage

 

more tourism spending in the state and help the hospitality industry

 

recover from the pandemic.

 

The Visit Arizona Initiative will use the American Rescue Plan money to

 

help the tourism sector of the state’s economy to prosper and “continue

 

to recover from the effects of the pandemic,” Doug said in a statement.