Betty White is dead

 I inadvertently deleted the original post on this, so I'm reposting it...

From People -

Betty White Dies: The Golden Girls and Mary Tyler Moore Show Star Was 99

Betty White, TV's perennial Golden Girl, has died. She was 99.

"Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told PEOPLE in a statement on Friday. "I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again." 

2021 has sucked.

Federal Committee update

From the website of the FEC -

Name                   Candidate             Committee ID                Treasurer                Type       Designation      

BEAVER FOR CONGRESS

                            Steven Beaver C00798546

                                                                                                BEAVER, STEVEN MR

                                                                                                                                House

                                                                                                                                            Principal campaign committee

Beaver is a Republican who is running in the new AZ1 Congressional district.

Sen. Kelly Townsend makes her case for the Legislative Loon Award

Senator Townsend is already a full-on trumpkin (displaying the lack of sanity that goes with it) but she's definitely looking to enhance her "nutty" street cred with a Legislative Loon Award.

She's prolific in her insanity, proposing 16 bills for 2022 even before the end of 2021.

Already, this session she has proposed -

SB1052, a broadly-written measure that would bar all requirements for a medical procedure with possible negative complications, including vaccinations.

SB1011, barring school districts from using tax money to pay for membership in a state or national school board association

SB1012, giving access to the state's voter registration database to both the legislature and any entity designated by it; also creating a requirement that county recorders report on voters in their respective counties who can vote only in federal elections

SCR1005, a measure to ask the voters of Arizona to impose a proof of immigration status requirement on federal-only voters

SB1054, a measure to give the legislature the authority to inspect "election equipment security" in counties with more than 500,000 people in them (only Maricopa and Pima counties meet that standard)

SB1056,  invalidating ballots (early and provisional) that are "misplaced" at counting centers and/or polling places.

Covid is still ravaging the U.S.

 From WPLG (FL) -

Florida is breaking pandemic records. Where is Gov. Ron DeSantis?

Florida has been reporting a record-breaking increase in coronavirus cases. The highly-contagious omicron variant is affecting some of the state’s most important industries including airlines and cruise lines.

Despite the situation, Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to go on vacation.

From KSDK (MO) -

'This is really a frightening scenario': Task force reports record number of new COVID admissions

The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force held an unplanned briefing Thursday to provide an update on what leaders called "the rapidly deteriorating COVID situation."

"We felt it was really important to let the community know where we are and what they can do to help prevent a disaster from happening," Dr. Alex Garza said in a recorded briefing Thursday.

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch -

Amid latest surge, Missouri governor won't renew COVID-19 state of emergency

Even as the number of COVID-19 cases is surging, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday that he will let a 22-month-long state of emergency declaration expire on New Year’s Eve.

With more than 15,000 dead in the state from the respiratory virus, Parson said he would not renew the declaration saying “there is no longer a need for a state of emergency.”

Contrast that with what a Democrat does.

From the governor's office in Delaware -

Governor Carney to Issue State of Emergency to Fight COVID-19 Winter Surge

Governor John Carney on Thursday announced a new State of Emergency declaration – effective Monday, January 3, 2022 – to combat the winter surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

The new SOE declaration, which will be formally issued on Monday, will:

• Allow the State additional flexibility to respond to the winter surge of COVID-19.
• Enable members of the Delaware National Guard to work as certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in skilled nursing facilities to care for patients currently in Delaware hospitals.

From KSTU (UT) -

Utah reports a staggering 3,563 new COVID cases Thursday

The Utah Department of Health on Thursday, for the second day in a row, reported more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases since the day before. Including seven more deaths.

Before the holidays, new daily case counts had been trending down, but this week they shot back up by a large margin.

From IndyStar.com -

'Come and count them': Indiana hospital CEO addresses Rokita's COVID-19 numbers comment

Indiana health care leaders and CEOs on Thursday pushed back at comments Attorney General Todd Rokita made during a recent televised interview in which he questioned the accuracy of the state's COVID-19 data and attributed hospital staffing shortages to vaccine mandates. 

That is not the case, said Brian Tabor, president of the Indiana Hospital Association, though it's a claim raised time and time again about the health care sector.

The IndyStar story about Rokita's comments is here.

From KBOI (ID) -

Idaho Covid positivity up, 924 new cases and 1 death

Idaho Covid positivity is up, and the state saw 924 new cases on Thursday, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reports.

Statewide positivity has risen from 5.4 percent to 8.4 percent over the course of the last week.

What do these states have in common?

They're mostly run by Republicans who despise vaccines, masks, and other Covid mitigation efforts.

From Johns Hopkins University -

In the interest of being thorough -

From The Mayo Clinic -

Bad trend.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Moving

No, I'm not moving as in changing addresses, but I am moving as in changing legislative districts thanks to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.

I'm currently in LD27, with Rebecca Rios, Reginald Bolding, Marcelino Quinonez, and (formerly) Diego Rodriguez in the state legislature.  Rodriguez is running for Arizona Attorney General.

Because of redistricting, I'm moving to LD5, which has one state senator, Lela Alston, in it, and four state representatives, Kelli Butler, Sarah Liguori, Jennifer Longdon, and Amish Shah in it.

As there are only two representative slots in each district, I expect something to give here, with one or more of the four to choose to do something else, like run for a seat in Congress.

From Jeremy Duda of the Arizona Mirror -

Who won and who lost with the new legislative districts?

Political fortunes for a number of incumbent lawmakers shifted last week when the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission approved its final legislative map, granting a reprieve to some who were facing trouble and giving others new headaches as they head into their re-election campaigns.

Two of the new districts are shaping up to be intraparty free-for-alls, one for each party, with multiple incumbents pitted against each other.

[snip]

In central Phoenix, four incumbent House Democrats face a similar scenario in the new District 5. The new district combined portions of the old District 24, represented by Jennifer Longdon and Amish Shah, and District 28, represented by Kelli Butler and Sarah Liguori. Now, all four face the prospect of slugging it out for the new district’s two House seats.

Longdon, who serves as assistant House minority leader, said the quartet plans to talk it out and find out what everyone’s plans are, though they haven’t had time to do so since the AIRC finalized the new legislative map last week. Sen. Lela Alson plans to seek re-election in the district, blocking off the Senate as a possible avenue for any of the four. 

“It’s not unknown. Every 10 years some incumbents face this,” Longdon said. “What’s most important for me is that we make sure that, should we all end up running for these two seats, … it’s a very positive campaign on everyone’s part. And I trust the voters of LD5 to make the best possible decision.”

The ride through hell should begin on January 10, 2022

Per ARS 41-1101, 

"A. The legislature shall assemble at the seat of government at twelve o'clock noon on the second Monday of January each year."

In 2022, the second Monday in January 2022 is January 10th, so the Arizona Legislature should be in session/back to working against the interests of all Arizonans.

If they're being consistent (a big caveat with the AZLege; usually the only thing they're consistent about is being nuts), the final day to introduce bills and not have them subject to a 7-bill limit is the close of business on the Thursday of the first week of the session.

House rule 8C (top) and Senate rule 14C (bottom)

There *is* a final day for members of each chamber to introduce bills without the approval of that chamber's Rules Committee.  Each chamber has it own deadline. I think in the House it will be on February 7,2022 and in the Senate it will be on January 31, 2022, but I haven't confirmed those at this point.  Anyway, the deadline will be at the close of business on whatever day (usually, 5 p.m.)

Rep. Walt Blackman: yet another contender for the Legislative Loon Award

I don't expect him to win the award with this much competition, but anyone as pro-Covid as him merits a mention.

He's running for Congress (and if he wins, he'll fit right in with Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs there).

So far, he's proposed just one bill, but it's a doozy.

HB2029 would bar the state, counties, municipalities, and businesses that do business with them from requiring Covid vaccinations or proof of vaccination.

Rep. Mark Finchem - will he have a Legislative Loon Award to show off while campaigning for AZSOS?

In most other states, he would have already locked up the award, but in Arizona?

He is a dark horse; hardly out of contention, but he's going to have to work at it.

On the other hand, he's in a Republican primary in his quest for Arizona Secretary of State.

He's already been endorsed by Cheeto, and he will run his mouth in an effort to show his loyalty to Cheeto/the right-wing of his party.

He's pre-filed two bills (as of this writing) -

HB2023, making ballots public records.  Finchem has already exhibited a self-serving attitude toward public records.

HB2022, repealing the section of law that allows  public health authorities to mandate treatments and/or vaccinations for those infected with a "highly contagious and highly fatal disease".

Something to keep in mind when owners of pro sports teams cry poverty and demand publicly financed stadiums

As has been known to happen here.

From MLBTradeRumors -

MLB Owners’ Net Worth

Whenever a baseball player agrees to a contract, the financials of the deal are quickly reported by various media outlets, including here at MLBTR. What gets discussed much less often, however, are the financial details of the people paying those paychecks. Here is each team’s primary owner, along with their net worth, with source links provided. (Quick caveat that financial numbers of this nature are fluid and subject to change.)

[snip]

• Diamondbacks: Ken Kendrick – $600 million. (L.A. Times link)

Marquette University has compiled lists of pro sports stadiums and how they were financed; the vast majority were at least partially publicly financed.

Apparently, "deadbeat" is now a GOP ideal

The firm that tried to set aside Cheeto's loss in AZ, Cyber Ninjas, is taking a page from Cheeto's book

Like him, they don't pay their bills.

But like him, they want to get paid.

From KTAR -

Lawyer for Arizona Senate election audit firm Cyber Ninjas wants to quit

The attorney representing the private company that oversaw the Arizona Senate’s partisan review of Maricopa County’s 2020 election results is trying to quit after a series of losses in cases brought by groups seeking records of the “audit.”

The move to withdraw by attorney Jack Wilenchik is opposed by American Oversight, a government watchdog group that has for months been seeking records held by Florida-based Cyber Ninjas.

From the Arizona Capitol Times (behind a paywall) -

Cyber Ninjas not paying attorney

Cyber Ninjas’ attorney is seeking to drop out of two audit-related public records lawsuits, claiming his client stopped paying the bills. 

Wilenchik has done work for both the AZGOP and Cyber Ninjas.

At least the AZGOP pays his bill.  From the FEC (and the AZGOP's April filing) -

Updated on 12/29 to add -

From the Arizona Secretary of State (Q1,Q2,Q3 2021 reports)-

Not sure how a law firm qualifies as a "labor organization"; maybe in Republican-speak, a company that does some work for them makes the cut.

It doesn't.

Apparently, the AZGOP hadn't yet gotten the message about being a deadbeat.

A name from the past, one with credibility issues

I generally don't cover individual school board races, but sometimes there should be exceptions to that personal rule.

Dennis Dowling, husband of indicted former Maricopa County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling, is running for a spot on the Litchfield Elementary School District Governing Board.

His organizational paperwork states that he is a "retired educator".

His LinkedIn profile states that he is an "educational consultant".

Not a big discrepancy, in and of itself - many retirees become consultants in their area of expertise.

Nope.  That's not it.

The job title of educational consultant makes him sound like an employee, but records at the Arizona Corporation Commission indicate that he is the agent of the corporation that he "consults" for, The Learning Tree, LLC, and that the only member of that corporation is Sandra Dowling.

Oh, and his alma mater for his doctoral degree, Berkley University, has "problems".  To put it mildly.

From the East Bay Times in 2005 and updated in 2016 -

‘Berkley’ university online diplomas just a tad bogus

The real University of California, Berkeley, is a world-renowned research institution where annual tuition will set you back about $7,000 a year and earning a diploma takes years of dedicated study.

But an Internet search and $5,000 can net you a diploma from the “University of Berkley” with “no studies,” “no attendance” and credit granted for “life experience.”

Except the Pennsylvania Attorney General says the “University of Berkley” is fake, and its Pennsylvania-based owner has made millions from an online diploma mill that is an obvious attempt to capitalize on UC Berkeley’s prestige.

The voters in the district have a choice to make.

Biggs and Gosar: The next knock on their doors may be FBI agents with arrest warrants

Anyone want to speculate on the over/under on how long before they face subpoenas from the January 6th committee?

If so, I will now claim the first week of January 2021, maybe January 6th of 2021 in commemoration of the one year anniversary of Trump's insurrection.

From KJZZ -

Rep. Raul Grijalva says evidence shows coordination behind Jan. 6th insurrection

Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva said the committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has evidence that the Trump White House coordinated with members of Congress to overturn election results.

Grijalva said his fellow Arizona congressmen, Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, were involved.

Is "whereas" Doug Ducey's version of "let them eat cake"?

 Covid is still ravaging the US, and Arizona, but the most Ducey will do is create a PSA urging vaccinations and to issue an executive order about an "Enhanced Surveillance Advisory".

There *are* 51 uses of the word "whereas" in Ducey's order (EO 2021-21)

Maybe he thinks that those can treat Covid.  Like ivermectin can't.

He better hope they can, because, late December PSA notwithstanding, he's been using his office to fight masks and vaccines.

From EO 2021-15 -

From EO 2021-15 -

He appears to be concerned with his legacy, especially since his legacy will almost certainly be all about dead Arizonans.

From Johns Hopkins University -

Also from JHU -

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Note: I would have linked to the executive orders, but I couldn't, so I didn't.

The R disdain for society is not new; Cheeto just made it fashionable for his adherents

Matt Gaetz, Devin Nunes, Ted Cruz, and even Cheeto himself (and others) didn't invent Republican hatred of society; others did it before them.

In June of 2013, in a special session, the Arizona legislature voted to expand eligibility for AHCCCS, what Arizona calls Medicaid.  The vote was not unanimous (not hardly).

The special session bills were HB2010 and SB1009.  HB2010 was later substituted for SB1009 and the AZSenate ended up voting on HB2010.

Every member who voted against it didn't even pretend to represent their constituents (because it helped them) or even Arizonans as a whole (because the expansion benefited them, too), they just argued that "good Republicans" wouldn't vote for it.

In other words, the people opposed to the measure favored their party and ideology over the folks they (allegedly) worked for.

Some of the people are out of the legislature/politics; some are still there; others have moved on to other political positions - Kimberly Yee was the a state senator but is now the state's treasurer and is running for governor, Nancy Barto and Judy Burges are still in the legislature, Michele Reagan was a state senator but then be Arizona Secretary of State and now a Justice of the Peace in north Scottsdale; Kelli Ward was then a state senator and is now chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party; Andy Biggs was then president of the AZSenate and is now a (presumed) treasonous member of Congress; Brenda Barton and Paul Boyer are still in the legislature; Karen Fann is now president of the AZSenate; David Gowan, David Livingston, and Rick Gray are still in the legislature; J.D. Mesnard and Warren Petersen are still in the legislature; Justin Olson was then a state representative and is now a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission; and Kelly Townsend and Michelle Ugenti (now Ugenti-Rita) are also still in the legislature.  Ugenti-Rita is now running for AZ Secretary of State.

Townsend and Ugenti-Rita famously dislike each other, but they are united in their dislike for Arizonans.

In case someone doesn't believe me, or are simply gluttons for punishment, video recordings of previous legislative meeting can be found here.

To watch these meetings, set the dropdown menu to 2013, 51st Legislature, 1st Special Session.

The highlighted vids are the relevant ones.

Arizona"s R members of Congress don't really give a damn about Arizona

At least based on their bill proposals, they don't.  They *do* hate immigrants, government/society, choice, Covid mitigation measures, democracy/election, and, of course, Joe Biden.

From my spreadsheet, data source Congress.gov -

While the total number of bills proposed by each member was easy to determine (than you. Congress.gov); categorization less so, since that was all me.

They proposed only six Arizona-specific bills between them (with Paul Gosar leading the way, but he made up for it) they all hate immigrants with 13 bill proposals between them.

However, that number is next to nothing when compared to their anti-government/society proposals, with 44 of those.

Additionally, they each like Covid, or at least have offered proposals against Covid mitigation measures.

Lastly, it's no surprise that Gosar and Biggs, two of Congress' leading collaborators of the January 6th insurrection have offered bills that are anti-elections/democracy.

Even the fifth, unofficial, Republican member of the Arizona delegation to Congress, Kyrsten Sinema, did better than that -