Let me guess - Mark Brnovich is doing his version of a happy dance right about now

From CNN -

Supreme Court makes it more difficult for prisoners to argue they had ineffective counsel

The Supreme Court said Monday that state prisoners may not present new evidence in federal court in support of a claim that their post-conviction counsel in state court was ineffective in violation of the Constitution.

The ruling is a major defeat for two inmates on death row who said they had compelling claims that their state lawyers failed to pursue.

In addition, it will make it harder for inmates across the country to prevail on claims that they received ineffective counsel at the state court level in post-conviction proceedings.

The 6-3 opinion was penned by Justice Clarence Thomas.

[snip]

Barry Jones, one of the inmates, argued there was compelling evidence of his innocence for a charge of murder and won relief from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. He is now seeking either to be released or retried. Another inmate, David Ramirez, did not argue his innocence, but he said there was compelling evidence that his state counsel did not explore his claims of intellectual disability. 

"...penned by Justice Clarence Thomas..."

Of course it was.

The actual decision is here.

But I digress.

As expected, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich crowed about the decision in a press release.

[snip]

To sum up the complicated case, both Ramirez and Jones have been sentenced to death for their respective criminal convictions

[snip]

With today’s ruling, SCOTUS has protected our justice system by enforcing proper and timely convictions. General Brnovich is proud to have worked on such an important case and applauds the Supreme Court’s decision.

Sentenced to death for "convictions" but not "crimes"?

Interesting priorities that Brnovich is showing.

It wouldn't be surprising if Brnovich tries to hurry one or both executions so that it/they take place before the primary in August so that he can stand on a dead body or two while giving a campaign speech.

Markie right about now:

From YouTube -

As an aside, am I the only one who's noticed that as primary season heats up so has Brnovich's penchant for issuing press releases?

 

Legislative schedule - week starting 5/22/2022

Another week of "hurry up and wait" at the legislature, but there will be more excitement this week than at last week's Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament mentioned in last week's post.

At least people could attend the tourney, though.  There's a *lot* of secrecy going on this week at the legislature.

One might think that a public body like the legislature doesn't want the public to see what it's doing.

One would have to watch the legislature in action often to think that. 

First, the stuff the public CAN view/attend -

On Monday (and probably Tuesday and Wednesday, but those calendars aren't posted yet) many anti-democracy and anti-education bills will receive floor consideration.

On Wednesday, 5/25 at 9 a.m., the Joint Legislative Audit Committee will meet in HHR1.

On Thursday, 5/26 at 2 p.m., the Ombudsman-Citizen Aide Selection Committee will meet in SHR1.

Now for the stuff that will be held behind closed doors.

On Tuesday, 5/24 at 9.a.m., the Joint Legislative Budget Committee will meet in SHR109.  Two items on the agenda, one that's the approval of minutes, and one that's clouded in secrecy -"EXECUTIVE SESSION - Arizona Department of Corrections - Review of Inmate Healthcare Contract per to A.R.S. § 38-431.03A2."

On Wednesday, 5/25 at 1 p.m., the Senate Ethics Committee will meet in SHR1.  Three "interesting" items on that agenda.

The complaints about Otondo and from Shope seem to be the very epitome of petty.

Shope is complaining about Sen. Juan Mendez (D-Tempe) and his desire to protect his newborn daughter from Covid by not being around Shope and the other unmasked anti-vaxxers at the Capitol.

From Ben Giles at KJZZ -

AZ GOP senator wants to investigate lawmaker with newborn who is avoiding the Capitol

Republican Sen. T.J. Shope filed an ethics complaint against a fellow lawmaker who’s avoided the Arizona Capitol out of concern for the health of his newborn daughter.

Sen. Juan Mendez and Rep. Athena Salman, a married pair of Tempe Democrats, welcomed their daughter in January, days before the beginning of a new legislative session. They’ve since avoided the Capitol — which rid itself of most COVID-19 mitigation policies this year — out of an abundance of caution.

I will say this much - Shope is consistent in his disregard for human life.

He supported Sen. Wendy Rogers in her quest to remain in the state senate over her comments about the mass murder of people in a Buffalo supermarket.

Full disclosure time: I have given money and support to Mendez in the past, and would do so again except that I no longer live in his district.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to propagate propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority.  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4 at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language into the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one. 

Federal Committee update; 2024 has started already

From the website of the Federal Election Commission -

Republican Olkowski is running for president and reports an address in Gilbert.

Gee, and I thought that Republicans were supportive of Big Business...profits

Apparently, that's crap.

Of course, they also claim to be supportive of free speech.

We already knew that was crap.

At least, sometimes they multitask.

Their tender sensibilities and easily ruffled feathers are more important to them.

From CBS News -

Barnes & Noble pressured to restrict sales of 2021's most banned book

A Virginia legislator is suing Barnes & Noble to block the book chain from selling two "obscene" books to minors without parental consent. The move comes as conservative lawmakers across the country seek to ban schools and libraries from offering books with content they find objectionable. 

Tim Anderson, a Republican lawyer who serves in the Virginia House of Delegates, said he filed a lawsuit on behalf of his client, Tommy Altman, who is running for Congress. Altman, who describes himself as a disabled veteran, states in a cmpaign video on his website that he is running to protect freedom, including the right to free speech. 

My only question is, when this scheme comes to Arizona (and it surely will), is will it be done by Cathi Herrod directly or will it be fronted by one of her water carriers in the legislature?

Ginni Thomas: albatross

And not just around Clarence Thomas' neck.

From CNN -

Ginni Thomas pressed Arizona state lawmakers to upend Biden's win by choosing Trump electors instead

Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pressed two Arizona state lawmakers after the 2020 presidential election to upend Joe Biden's popular vote win in that state by ensuring "a clean slate of electors" was chosen, according to emails released Friday.

The emails -- which started with what appear to be pre-generated form letters from conservative activist Ginni Thomas to Arizona state representatives Russell Bowers and Shawnna Bolick -- show that she encouraged both lawmakers to "fight back against fraud" and exercise what she characterized as their constitutional authority to unilaterally choose the electors rather than accepting those based on popular vote results.

The article *did* raise a couple of questions (aside from the obvious one of why is Clarence Thomas still a member of the Supreme Court when his wife is a traitor) -

1.  Why didn't the article mention the fact that Rep. Russell Bowers is, in fact, Rusty Bowers, and is Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives?

2.  Why didn't the article mention the fact that Rep. Shawnna Bolick is, in fact, married to Clint Bolick, a member of the Arizona Supreme Court, and is also a candidate for the Republican nomination for Arizona Secretary of State, the person who oversees Arizona's elections?

3.  Pardon my cynicism, but I have a sneaking suspicion the Senate president Karen Fann has a similar email from Ginni Thomas.  Of course, Fann has email issues of her own.

Vlad must have hurt feelings - the Senate's pro-Putin caucus is smaller than the Senate's pro-Covid caucus

From NBC News -

After delay, Senate sends $40 billion Ukraine aid package to Biden

After a weeklong delay, the Senate voted Thursday to pass a $40 billion military, economic and humanitarian aid package for Ukraine as its bloody war with Russia neared the three-month mark.

The vote was 86-11, with Republicans casting all of the no votes. The Senate also voted to confirm Bridget Brink to be the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine on Wednesday night, shortly after the State Department announced it was reopening its embassy in Kyiv.

The Senate's vote summary is here.  All 'no' votes were from Rs.

But even Rs have their priorities

Also from NBC News, dated 3/31/2022 -

Senate negotiators reach 'agreement in principle' on slimmer Covid aid package

Congressional negotiators said Thursday they have “reached an agreement in principle” on a Covid relief package they think will garner enough Republican support to make it through the Senate.

The $10 billion funding proposal, which follows days of intense talks, is about $5 billion less than what was being discussed earlier this week. The eventual legislation is expected to draw from previously allocated Covid aid, meaning it wouldn't consist of new spending.

And going home while ignoring the pandemic is among those priorities.

From Politico, dated 4/7/2022 -

Senate punts $10 billion in Covid aid until after Easter amid stalemate over border policy

Multiple senators confirmed Thursday that they are delaying voting on a bill to pour $10 billion more into pandemic programs until after their two-week spring break, a decision top administration health officials have said further threatens the country’s ability to fight the virus and prepare for potential surges and variants.

The move came days after Senate Republicans stopped the legislation from advancing because they weren’t guaranteed an amendment vote on reinstating Title 42, the Trump-era policy that allows for the expulsion of migrants at the border during the pandemic.

Even after they got back, they'd still rather see boarded up restaurants and stores.

From The Hill -

Senate blocks $48 billion aid package for restaurants, other small businesses

The Senate on Thursday blocked a bipartisan bill to provide $48 billion to restaurants, gyms and other small businesses hit particularly hard by the pandemic. 

Senators voted 52-43 to hold a vote on the bill, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to move forward. Just five GOP senators voted for the motion to proceed, with the bill’s opponents citing its impact on the federal deficit and inflation.

The Senate's vote summary is here.

Yup, the Senate's pro-Covid caucus is 43 strong while it's pro-Putin caucus is only 11 strong.

But both are all Republican.

Maybe the next song he writes will be titled "Karma Sucks"

For the record Covid kills people and I don't wish it on *anyone*.

Having said that, I'm not going to lose sleep over an example of "what goes around, comes around."

From the Associated Press, via NPR -

Eric Clapton cancels shows after testing positive for COVID-19

Eric Clapton, a critic of coronavirus vaccines and pandemic restrictions, has tested positive for COVID-19 and canceled two upcoming European gigs.

Clapton's upcoming shows in Zurich on Tuesday and Milan on Wednesday will be rescheduled, he announced on his Facebook page and official online site. The 77-year-old rocker tested positive following his concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on May 8.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Maybe Wendy Rogers can bring her time machine to her ethics hearing

Of course, if she actually had one, she could go back and prevent the white supremacist from murdering lots of people at the supermarket in Buffalo.

Oh, who am I kidding?

If she had one, she would probably give the shooter bigger ammo clips.

First, the "ethics" part.

From Dillon Rosenblatt and Jerod MacDonald-Evoy at the Arizona Mirror -

Wendy Rogers will face an investigation after claiming the Buffalo mass shooting was done by the ‘feds,’ not a heavily armed racist

The Arizona Senate is launching an ethics investigation into Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers for her comments on social media blaming the mass shooting in Buffalo on Saturday on federal law enforcement instead of the white supremacist accused of carrying out the attack. 

While the Senate moved to investigate Rogers, a Flagstaff Republican who has a history of outlandish and racist comments online, GOP legislators rejected an attempt by Democrats to immediately expel Rogers. 

Only minutes after a white teenager armed with an assault rifle and outfitted with body armor shot and killed 10 people — most of them Black — in a Buffalo grocery store on May 14, Rogers posted on several social media platforms that “fed boy summer has started in Buffalo.” She has previously used the term “feds” to describe white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups, seeking to blame federal law enforcement for the actions of racists. 

Rogers’ use of the phrase “fed boy summer” appears to be a nod to “white boy summer,” a viral meme used by neo-Nazis and white nationalists in 2021. White nationalist leader Nick Fuentes adopted the phrase for his summer road trip last year, including an alleged event with Prescott Republican Congressman Paul Gosar, who later denied it. 

As of right now, no ethics committee meeting has been scheduled.

Second, the "time machine" part.

From Twitter -

She can call Kari Lake "Governor Elect" all she wants, but it's May 17th.

The primary election will be held on August 2nd, and Karrin Taylor Robson may have something say about Lake winning the R nomination.

And the general election will be held on November 8th, and the Democratic nominee (who I presume at this point will be Katie Hobbs) may have something say about the R nominee winning the governorship.

Write-in candidates; the ADP shouldn't fall asleep on LD21.

Note: This post only covers write-in candidates in primary elections.  General election write-in candidates will be covered in a later post.

Winning a race as a write-in candidate for a top- or mid-ballot elected office in AZ is an almost impossible task (there are some down-ballot races like precinct committeeman races where write-ins have won), but it helps if the write-in candidacy is in a primary and no other candidate of the same party is on the ballot.

Even then, there are some high barriers to success for a write-in candidate - not only do they need to declare their candidacy for the votes they receive to count, the also have to receive the same (or more) number of  votes as they would have needed signatures to be on the ballot.

From ARS 16-645 -

E. Except as provided by subsection C of this section, a letter declaring nomination shall not be issued to a write-in candidate of a party qualified for continued representation on the official ballot unless the candidate receives a number of votes equivalent to at least the same number of signatures required by section 16-322 for nominating petitions for the same office.

On to the declared candidates.

For Federal office -

DiSanto is an RN, and as there are other folks on the ballot, I think she's got a snowball's chance in hell of winning the primary.  She's also the only Democrat on this list.

Callan formed a committee in March...for a run at Senate.

I may not like Biggs (Shocking, I know.  I thought I was hiding it *so* well. :) ), but he's on the ballot.  He's going to win this primary.

Reetz offers a rather generic website and as there are others on the ballot, he's another one with a snowball's chance in hell of winning.

I've already discussed Harper's candidacy.  He's not going to win.

For Statewide office -

Finerd was a 2020 write-in candidate for Arizona Corporation Commission.  The people on the ballot who lost that race received 1.3 million or more votes.  He received 232.

I'm going to assume that both Hess and Kielsky will receive the number of votes in the primary election to be the Libertarian Party's nominee in the general election.  So?

The next time a Libertarian Party candidate wins a general election here will be the first time.

Asch is a licensed nurse.

For Legislative office -

Don't ignore LD21.  The Rs running as write-in candidates there are unopposed in the primary so if the winners there receive the required minimum number of votes, they'll be on the general election ballot.

In 2010, Don Shooter was an unopposed write-in candidate for a legislative seat.

He won in the general election.

That didn't end well.

Guessing that Andy Biggs will ignore his subpoena

...but that's just a guess.

On one hand, he faces possible criminal contempt charges if he chooses to ignore the subpoena from the Congressional committee investigating the insurrection of January 6, 2021.

From The Hill (emphasis added by me)-

Subpoenaed GOP lawmakers face risk of criminal contempt

The congressional panel investigating last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol is leaving open all enforcement options — including criminal contempt — for subpoenaed GOP lawmakers who refuse to cooperate in the probe.

The select committee has already held two former Trump administration officials in criminal contempt — former adviser Stephen Bannon and former chief of staff Mark Meadows — for spurning the panel’s formal summons to testify. 

[snip]

The subpoenas target five GOP lawmakers: Reps. McCarthy, Jim Jordan (Ohio), Scott Perry (Pa.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.) and Mo Brooks (Ala.). All of them are close allies of former President Trump who have promoted the lie that Trump won the 2020 election. All of them also have unique insights into the former White House’s effort to thwart Congress’s certification of Biden’s victory. And they’ve all refused to cooperate in the investigation voluntarily.

On the other hand, Biggs seems rather, well, "contemptuous", of the subpoena he received and of the committee itself. (Yes, I realize that the term has a specific legal meaning in this context, but I'm using it in the real world, not the legal, sense.)

From Twitter -

I wrote about the subpoena a few days ago, as did AZBlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona.

Legislative schedule - week starting 5/15/2022

On the surface, there's very little going on at the legislature this week (no standing committees are scheduled to meet this week) though a state budget could come down at any time.  Until then, many controversial bills (read: culture war issues) will be considered.

Maybe there will be some rotator cuff injuries at the lege's rock, paper. scissors tournament on Monday.

The medical staff at the Arizona Department of Health Services should be on alert for that. :)

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to propagate propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority.  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4 at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language into the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one. 

"Trust" in the Supreme Court has been weakened by the leak? Dear Justice Thomas: Trust was gone long before now.

From USA Today -

Justice Thomas laments leak of draft Supreme Court abortion opinion: 'Kind of an infidelity'

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday compared the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion in a blockbuster abortion case to "an infidelity," arguing that it weakens trust within the high court as well as public perceptions of the institution.

"When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I'm in, it changes the institution fundamentally. You begin to look over your shoulder," Thomas said at an event in Dallas. "It's like kind of an infidelity – that you can explain it but you can't undo it."

Ummm....sometimes the decisions are pro-corporate, like in Hobby Lobby and Citizens United, or pro-party, like Bush v. Gore or Rucho v. Common Cause, most of this court's decisions are like the draft Roe decision - anti-American people.

Trust in the Court was set aside, by the Court itself, long ago.

Blast from the past: Jack Harper is back

Like a bad case of dandruff, he just won't go away.

This time, he's running as a write in candidate in Congressional District 9.

From the website of the Arizona Secretary of State -

Harper adds a "special" kind of classy to the race against Paul Gosar.

In a race with the hardcore bigot/Russia invasion lover (Gosar), the subject of a criminal indictment (Dowling), a former employee of former Congressman Trent Franks (Kutz - from the Government Printing Office - 

), and, of course, Harper, the other person running in the R primary, as no Democrat is on the ballot in CD9, Adam Morgan may be the "least bad" option

Of course, it's been nearly 10 years since Harper was in the state legislature, but he hasn't become a better person.  Or updated his wardrobe, apparently.  

The picture that he submitted to the AZ SOS -

Biggs subpoenaed

Well, that didn't long.  Just yesterday I wrote that it was nice that AZ was in the news and that Andy Biggs or Paul Gosar (or any of the other usual suspects) was the cause.

That didn't last long.

From CNN (emphasis added by me)-

January 6 committee issues subpoenas to 5 House Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy

The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol is taking the extraordinary step of sending subpoenas to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and four other Republican lawmakers who have rejected the panel's requests to voluntarily cooperate.

In addition to McCarthy, the Democrat-led panel is subpoenaing Republican Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.

My only question:

Can Paul Gosar be far behind in the subpoena sweepstakes?

Want to find out if he's wearing diapers?

Knock on his door.

It's nice when AZ makes the news...and it's not because of Paul Gosar or Andy Biggs

It's not for a *good* reason, but it isn't because of Gosar or Biggs...or Kari Lake, Wendy Rogers, Mark Finchem, or any of the other usual suspects.

This time.

From AP (emphasis added by me)-

Democrats seek criminal charges against Trump Interior head

Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee asked the Justice Department 

on Wednesday to investigate whether a Trump administration interior secretary 

engaged in possible criminal conduct while helping an Arizona developer get a crucial 

permit for a housing project.

The criminal referral says David Bernhardt pushed for approval of the project by 

developer Michael Ingram, a Republican donor and supporter of former 

President Donald Trump, despite a federal wildlife official’s finding that it would 

threaten habitats for imperiled species.

Bernhardt led Interior from 2019 to 2021. In 2017, he was the No. 2 official at 

the department when the Fish and Wildlife Service, an Interior Department agency, 

reversed its opposition to the Villages at Vigneto, the proposed 28,000-home 

development in southern Arizona, and allowed it to move forward.

Democrat Reps. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, the committee chairman, and 

Katie Porter of California, who leads a subcommittee on oversight and investigations. 

made the referral in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland. They said the 

committee has conducted an extensive investigation into the circumstances 

surrounding the 2017 decision.

Ingram gives a lot of money to R candidates, sometimes playing both sides in a primary (note: his first initial is "K", for Keith).