Well, this should be interesting: Bowers to talk to the January 6 Committee

From CNN -

Arizona House speaker, who resisted Trump pressure campaign, testifying at January 6 hearing Tuesday

Rusty Bowers, a Republican and Arizona state House speaker, will testify at a Tuesday hearing focusing on former President Donald Trump's pressure on state officials to overturn Joe Biden's victory in 2020, a member of the committee confirmed to CNN.

Bowers will join Georgia's election officials — Brad Raffensperger and Gabe Sterling — who will be part of a panel before the January 6 committee detailing Trump's campaign to force states to overturn their certified election results.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, confirmed CNN's earlier reporting about Bowers testifying during an interview with CNN's Jim Acosta on "Newsroom."

That explains why there are no floor sessions on the lege's schedule for Tuesday 

Apparently, a certain bishop didn't get the message

From The Hill -

Bishop says school flying BLM, LGBTQ flags can no longer call itself Catholic

A Massachusetts middle school may no longer describe itself as Catholic after refusing to lower a Black Lives Matter flag and an LGBTQ+ Pride flag, a local bishop has declared.

Bishop Robert J. McManus on Thursday said the Nativity School of Worcester, a tuition-free middle school for boys from low-income families, is prohibited from identifying as a Catholic School over its decision to fly the flags, which he said in April represented ideologies that are inconsistent with Catholic beliefs.

"Catholic beliefs"?  Really?

Where in Catholic teachings do those teachings say that it's OK to kill someone because of their skin color?  Or that the intended victims shouldn't object to it?

And isn't kind of hypocritical of any member of Church management to cast the first stone on LGBTQ+ issues?

Anyway, from the website of the National Catholic Educational Association (emphasis added by me) -

[snip]

U. S. Catholic school enrollment reached its peak during the early 1960s when there were more than 5.2 million students in almost thirteen thousand schools across the nation. The 1970s and 1980s saw a steep decline in both the number of schools and students. By 1990, there were approximately 2.5 million students in 8,719 schools. From the mid-1990s through 2000, there was a steady enrollment increase (1.3%) despite continued closings of schools.

From the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (emphasis added by me) -

Catholic Education

These facts are for 2016-2017 unless otherwise noted.

The Catholic Church runs the largest network of private schools in the United States. Total Catholic elementary/middle and high school enrollment for the 2016-2017 academic year is 1,878,824.  

• Elementary/middle schools: 5,224 schools educating 1,309,429 students.
• High schools: 1,205 schools educating 569,395 students.
• 6,429 total Catholic (elementary/middle and high) schools in the United States.

Maybe someone should tell that bishop that further reducing the quantity of Catholic schools is NOT a good idea.

Note: I grew up in Worcester County MA (which is why this caught my attention) and was a Catholic...until I realized that the nuns who taught CCD didn't like left-handed people or people who objected to being told how to think.

This isn't a criticism of Catholicism (or any other religion).  I just happen to believe that good people are good people, and that bad people are bad, whether or not those people profess a particular religious belief. 

Religious beliefs are just words, while actions matter more.

Harming others while citing religion and/or political ideology?  Still qualifies as harming others.

Something that certain members of the Arizona Legislature should take to heart.

Legislative schedule - week starting 6/19/2022

Not much on the public schedule at the legislature (missing items include a budget).

There are two committee meetings on tap this week, and neither is of a standing committee.

On Tuesday 6/21, a conference committee for SB1412 meets at 11:30 a.m. in SHR1.  SB1412 is an anti-CRT bill proposed by the Republicans.  The Senate members of the conference committee are Republicans J.D. Mesnard (the bill sponsor) and Paul Boyer, while the Democratic member is Martin Quezada.  The House members are Republicans Michelle Udall and Beverly Pingerelli while the Democratic member is Jennifer Pawlik.

I don't know which version of the bill, House or Senate, will ultimately be approved, but I expect it to be the least good/most oppressive one.

On Thursday 6/23, the House Ad Hoc Committee on Abuse and Neglect of Vulnerable Adults meets at 1 p.m. in HHR1.  They're scheduled to hear both a report from the Arizona Auditor General about the Arizona Department of Health Services and a response to that report from DHS.

I don't expect it to go well for DHS.  To put it mildly.

However, R proposed "solutions" never change.

From the linked story from the AZMirror, written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy -

[snip]

“This report is pretty horrific,” Rep. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix, said. “Why shouldn’t we privatize this and take away this function?”

[snip]

“You already have too much bureaucracy,” Kaiser shot back, saying that the Department should implement the federally recommended practices that the auditor general suggested. “You’re creating a mess.” 

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. 

It's nice to have priorities. Those of Arizona's GOP legislators include "govern by fear of hypotheticals"

The Arizona Legislature exists for one primary reason - craft and pass the state's budget.

Notwithstanding the fact that certain Rs have turned the state capitol into a giant cat litter box (if that's too subtle, think "some of the nuggets produced there stink to high heaven.")

The fact that the state is now less than two weeks from running out of money and plummeting over a fiscal cliff is a testament to the unwillingness of R legislators to do their jobs.

Don't fret though - while R legislators aren't doing their jobs, they ARE thinking of things to do.

From the AZMirror, written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy and Jim Small -

Arizona Senate Republicans want to outlaw kids at drag shows

Arizona State Senate Republican leaders announced Tuesday that they want to make it illegal for anyone under 18 to attend drag shows in Arizona, though the actual details of what will be proposed are a “work in progress,” the measure’s likely sponsor said.

“In a civil society, you don’t bring your children up like that,” said Sen. Vince Leach, a Republican from Saddlebrooke.

Is "govern for 100 years" the MAGA equivalent of "thousand year Reich"?

From BusinessInsider -

Steve Bannon ranted outside a courthouse in DC, claiming MAGA will 'destroy the Democratic Party' and 'govern for 100 years'

At a Wednesday media appearance in Washington, DC, Trump ally and adviser Steve Bannon claimed without basis that the MAGA movement will take over the US and rule for a hundred years.

Bannon addressed the media on June 15 outside the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse after a three-hour court hearing, during which Bannon attempted to get the criminal contempt of Congress charges against him dropped. Judge Carl Nichols rejected Bannon's challenge, greenlighting the trial against the former Trump adviser. Bannon will be tried on July 18 on two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to sit for a sworn deposition or give records to the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot.

Given the havoc wreaked by Cheeto et. al. after four years, will there be a country left to govern after even 10 years of MAGA, much less 100?

(Alleged) QAnon leader accuses QAnon adherent of apostasy: ideological equivalent of a mobius strip?

From the AZ Mirror, written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy -

Ron Watkins files an ethics complaint against Wendy Rogers, alleging she put his life in danger

Ron Watkins, the man purported to be an architect of the QAnon conspiracy theory, filed an ethics complaint against Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers for a post she made about him on social media.

Watkins’ complaint stems from a February post by Rogers on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app favored by conservatives, in which she asked the “Groyper army” to “hit” Watkins. 

Rogers was asking her fans and allies in the “groyper army” to go after the QAnon conspiracy theorist turned Congressional candidate because he had alleged Rogers, a Flagstaff Republican who has built her political brand on spreading lies about the 2020 election, was involved in some sort of “backroom deal” that was preventing some equipment from being examined for alleged election fraud. There is no evidence of such a backroom deal.

What's a mobius strip?

From Scientific American -

More like a snake eating itself.

From Newsweek -

Legislative schedule - week starting 6/12/2022

Not much is on the legislature's public schedule this week, though Thursday could be a popcorn-riffic day.

Looks boring, though Thursday could be fun to watch.

On Thursday, June 16, Senate Health and Human Services meets at 1 p.m. in SHR1 to consider some executive nominations.

Also on Thursday, the Senate and House Committees of Reference on Health and Human Services will hold a joint meeting at 2 p.m.in order to receive a presentation from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

The fun part?

The membership of both the Senate committee and the Senate committee of reference include former allies and current rivals Kelly Townsend and Wendy Rogers.

Both are running for the same seat.

If both show up, things could get kind of "awkward."

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. 

Dear USPS: Got your next wall photos for ya

 I was going to title this with a "Dear USDOJ..." title, but it was too long.

As in "Dear USDOJ: A bunch of crazy people, insurrectionists, insurrectionist-enablers, and wannabes met in a rather infamous town...and bragged about it."

I don't know if it quite falls into the category of the 1957 Apalachin gathering of the Mob (as far as I know, no arrests happened today), but it seems to qualify as the modern equivalent.

Redistricting object lesson: Maricopa County Board of Supervisors

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors does its own redistricting, and one can tell that, for the most part, they pick their own voters. 

See if you can see a pattern here.

The main MCBOS redistricting webpage is here.

First, some basic demographics -

The Board has five members.

The membership is 100% male.

The membership is 80% non-Hispanic Caucasian.

The membership is 80% Republican.

The membership is NOT representative of the county as a whole.  Not even close.

From the U.S. Census Bureau -

Voter registration figures, courtesy the Maricopa County Recorder's Office -

While 80% of the board is Republican, Republicans only make up 53% of the voters who 

have registered in one of the two major parties.

Of course, only 34.3% of all registered voters in Maricopa County are enrolled Republicans.

While partisan affiliation is (allegedly) not a consideration during the supes' redistricting process, other factors may be.

I wonder what those factors could be? (That's sarcasm - I don't actually wonder at all.)

The supes' are considering five plans.  Even the least bad of those plans involve packing most ethnic minority voters into a single district.

The demographic figures of those plans -

I'm torn between wanting to keep them around and doing what they do to serve as a warning to those who believe that elected officials should be allowed to do their own redistricting and having the voters impose an AIRC-like process at the county level.

Then I remember that the county has a $3.42 *billion* budget.

They should be compelled by the voters to be more representative of Maricopa County.

When in doubt, vote against most ballot questions proposed by the legislature

The Arizona Secretary of State has a list of ballot questions up that will be considered by voters this fall.  It's still early, so voter-proposed questions will still be added to the list.

However, the four measures approved by the legislature in 2021 are on the list, and voters should vote against 3 of the of them as diminishing the power of the voters.

Vote against Propositions 128, 129, and 309.  Proposition 308 seems decent.

Proposition 128 is 2021's SCR 1034.  Legislative analysis here.  If passed, it would allow the legislature to override voter-approved measure if they are found by a Supreme Court (AZ or US) to contain "illegal or unconstitutional language".

Given the propensity of Rs to railroad supreme court picks through (see: Montgomery, Bill or Kavanaugh, Brett, among others) in order to gain a partisan majority of court membership, if this is approved, say goodbye to things voters want, like recreational and medical marijuana.

Proposition 129 is 2021's HCR 2001.  Legislative analysis here.  If passed, this would require that all citizen initiatives  pertain to only one topic and if any topic isn't covered in the title, any initiative language on that topic is void.

Proposition 308 is 2021's SCR 1044.  Legislative analysis here.  If passed,  it would make undocumented immigrants who meet specific criteria eligible for in-state tuition.  This one may be worth voting for.

Proposition 309 is 2022's SCR 1012.  Legislative analysis here.  This is a Big Lie measure, that, if passed, would impose a large number of ID requirements on voters.

Florida school district responds to Uvalde shooting by banning...backpacks

Maybe book covers in FL are made of kevlar and by forcing students to carry books in front of them, the students will be able to stop bullets with them.

From the Orlando Weekly, dated 6/6/2022 -

Florida school district bans backpacks following Uvalde shooting

In the confusing aftermath of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,  officials have looked everywhere but the blindingly obvious while trying to pin blame for the tragedy.

After a rousing round of "schools should have one door" that probably caused sleepless nights among the nation's fire marshals, officials in one Florida school district have come up with a new solution:  no more backpacks.

Wagering that you can't carry a gun if you can't carry anything, the Broward County Public Schools announced a ban on bookbags for the final days of the school year. In a letter to parents over the weekend, they said the move was taken out of an "overabundance of caution for security reasons." The ban begins tomorrow and all students were encouraged to use Monday to return any items to the school ahead of summer break.

Should we just send Ginni Thomas the bill for the fraudit?

From Yahoo! News -

Ginni Thomas emailed dozens of Arizona lawmakers urging them to overturn Biden's 2020 win: Report

Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent emails to more than two dozen members of the Arizona state legislature urging them to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election win, according to a new report.

According to an analysis of emails published by the Washington Post Friday, Thomas sent identical messages to more than half of the Republicans serving in the state Senate and Arizona House at the time.

"As state lawmakers, you have the Constitutional power and authority to protect the integrity of our elections — and we need you to exercise that power now!” wrote Thomas. “Never before in our nation's history have our elections been so threatened by fraud and unconstitutional procedures."

From KXNV -

New records show Cyber Ninjas audit had $9 million price tag

The most recent public records release from the Arizona State Senate includes an operating expenditures document for the months-long review of Maricopa’s 2.1 million ballots from the 2020 General Election.

The price tag was almost 9 million dollars.

The top 5 expenses listed were:

• $5,243,593 for Payroll and Labor Costs
• $1,182,971 for Depreciation Expenses
• $627,176 for Professional Services
• $543,871 for Travel Expenses
• $253,327 for Supplies

She wouldn't be on the hook for the whole tab, though - trumpkins picked up nearly $6 million of the it.  From Forbes -

Arizona Audit Cost Trump Supporters Nearly $6 Million—Only To Assert Biden Won By Even More

After more than five months of counting and millions of dollars spent, an election audit of more than 2 million Arizona ballots has delivered disappointing results for former President Donald Trump and his supporters, concluding he lost the state to President Joe Biden by an even bigger margin than the final vote count that the state certified in the 2020 election.

All of which brings to mind a couple of questions -

Would there be a conflict of interest for the judge hearing the case if the spouse of a Supreme Court justice declares bankruptcy?  Has the spouse of a Supreme Court justice declared bankruptcy?  Ever?

Republican candidate in NY violates Godwin's Law

First up, a definition of Godwin's Law.

From Dictionary.com -

Godwin’s law is the proposition that the longer an internet argument goes on, the higher the probability becomes that something or someone will be compared to Adolf Hitler.

From Yahoo! News -

GOP Candidate Carl Paladino Calls Adolf Hitler 'The Kind Of Leader We Need Today'

Republican House candidate Carl Paladino praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s ability to rouse “the crowds” and declared Hitler “the kind of leader we need today” in a February 2021 interview on the radio station WBEN in Buffalo, New York.

Paladino, a businessman and leading GOP figure in New York state who was the party’s gubernatorial nominee in 2010, is running for the Republican nomination to replace the retiring Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.).

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), chair of the House Republican Conference, the third-ranking position in GOP House leadership, swiftly endorsed Paladino after Jacobs announced his retirement. Jacobs became a target of conservative gun rights activists following his endorsement of limited gun control measures.

When presented with Paladino’s statement that Hitler is “the kind of leader we need today,” Stefanik claimed it was taken out of context.

Dear Rep. Scalise: Got two words for you: "Designed intent"

From The Hill -

No. 2 House Republican on guns: We didn’t ban planes after 9/11

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Wednesday invoked 9/11 when arguing against gun control measures as a response to recent mass shootings, saying that the U.S. did not ban planes after the terrorist attack.

“Airplanes were used that day, as the weapon to kill thousands of people and to inflict terror on our country. There wasn’t a conversation about banning airplanes,” Scalise said in a press conference on Wednesday. “There was a conversation about connecting the dots. How can we try to figure out if there are signs we can see to stop the next attack from happening?”

Congressman Scalise:

Planes aren't designed to kill lots of people very quickly.  They're designed to move many butts great distances. 

Can they kill lots of people?  Of course they can, especially when they crash.

But they're not intended to do so.

On the other hand, guns can and do kills lots of people, and they're intended to do so.

Another difference between guns and planes?  Planes were grounded after 9/11.

Blake Masters "parroting" Cheeto? More like "pandering" to him.

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

From CNN (emphasis added by me)-

Audio shows Trump-endorsed Arizona Senate candidate questioned whether January 6 attack was set up by FBI

Blake Masters, the Republican Senate candidate from Arizona, met with conservative activists at a Phoenix IHOP this spring and was asked whether he would support investigating US intelligence operations to uncover the federal government's "nefarious activities."

Masters replied, "Absolutely," and then floated the conspiracy theory that the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol actually may have been a false-flag operation set up by the FBI, according to a recording of the March 30 meeting obtained by CNN.

[snip]

Masters is part of a wave of Republicans who have won the coveted endorsement of former President Donald Trump after parroting his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and downplaying the actions of the pro-Trump mob that attacked the Capitol last year.

Of course, Cheeto may not be the only one that Masters is pandering to.

From Maddowblog on MSNBC -

Trump-backed Senate hopeful pushes racist line on gun violence

At face value, Blake Masters has an odd background for a U.S. Senate candidate. The Arizona Republican has worked as an executive at tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s company; he’s helped lead Thiel’s foundation; he’s helped promote Thiel’s ideas, and he’s been the beneficiary of Thiel’s electoral generosity.

The 35-year-old candidate, with effectively no background in government or policymaking, nevertheless launched a far-right campaign — and picked up an endorsement from Donald Trump, who not only tends to agree with Thiel, but who was also eager to undermine Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich for not doing more to advance the Big Lie.

Masters is proving to be quite a candidate. The Daily Beast reported on a newly unearthed quote in which the GOP Senate hopeful reflected on gun violence.

Tech investor and Arizona Republican Senate hopeful Blake Masters acknowledges that the United States has a gun violence problem. But he also has a theory about why there’s a problem—it’s “Black people, frankly.” Masters boiled the issue down in an April 11 interview on the Jeff Oravits Show podcast, telling the host that “we do have a gun violence problem in this country, and it’s gang violence.”

Just a guess: No matter how much he panders to Cheeto (and Cheeto likes panderers), Masters will always be Thiel's pet.