Friday, July 07, 2023

Legislative schedule - week starting 7/9/2023

It's shaping up to be a relatively quiet week, but one with lots of propaganda.

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 t.o spread 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 that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one. 




On Monday, 7/10 thru Wednesday, 7/12 -

Nada.


On Thursday, 7/13 


-













Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Study Committee on Water Security meets at 10 a.m. in HHR1.

From the agenda -





Not sure what a lawyer has to say about water in Phoenix, but I expect him to use a lot of big words to say "my firm's clients need profits more than real people need water!"


Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Study Committee on Air Quality and Energy meets at 3 p.m. in SHR1.

From the agenda -



I expect Seiden's "presentation" will basically be a rehash of the lawyer's earlier presentation, only replacing "water" with "clean air to breathe"

I don't expect any presenter to go off script, but if one does, they'll be brought to heel very quickly - both committees have the same co-chairs -





Monday, July 03, 2023

Sneak preview of the Rs' 2024 campaign rhetoric: Wahhh!

I don't what's worse: the lies or the temper tantrums.  

Either way, the majority Rs in the AZ lege are acting like spoiled toddlers.  Instead of, ya know, *governing.*


From Pinal Central, written by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, emphasis added by me -

Republicans overstate cost of Hobbs' gender surgery order

If you believe the figures cited publicly by Senate Republicans, there are more than 5,500 state and university employees who want taxpayers to pay for gender reassignment surgery.

That's how many such procedures could be performed using the claims by the GOP that the new "abuse of power'' executive order by Gov. Katie Hobbs means "taxpayers will be shelling out $788 million annually for this coverage.''

But it turns out not to be true.

A copy of the actual report to the Legislature from the Department of Administration obtained by Capitol Media Services pegs the annual cost at a thousand times less -- $788,000.

(The article has lots of information; I recommend reading the entire article)

Then there's the temper tantrum.

From the website of the Senate Republicans (dated 6/26), again, emphasis added by me - 

With Hobbs’ Continued Executive Overreach, Senate Nominations Hearing Canceled, Meeting Requested

In the wake of Katie Hobbs' recent unconstitutional executive order on abortions, Senate Committee on Director Nominations Chairman Jake Hoffman is canceling Tuesday's scheduled hearing, with support of the Republican Majority serving on the committee, to determine Hobbs' future intentions to further act beyond her authority.


The concerning executive order issued last week attempts to strip county attorneys of their ability to deal with abortion-related prosecutions and bans state agencies from assisting in those investigations.

(Whoever wrote this one seems to need the bovine equivalent of Ex-Lax; there's a lot of BS here.  I DON'T recommend reading this one in its entirety.)


Sunday, July 02, 2023

Cheeto may have wanted his VP dead, but Pence learned something from him

Of course, that something is "how to be shameless while lying," but at least his time around Cheeto wasn't a complete waste.

Cheeto still wanted him dead, though.

OK.  Pence may have learned something else from Cheeto - loyalty to one's own interests is paramount, and he seems to be attempting to avoid an admission of engaging in treasonous activity.


This story is about former AZ governor Doug Ducey as well.


From Politico -

Pence says ‘no pressure involved’ in calls to governors following 2020 election

Former Vice President Mike Pence called former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey following the 2020 election, but “there was no pressure involved,” he said in an interview airing Sunday.

Pence’s comments followed a report in the Washington Post that former President Donald Trump pushed Pence to make a call to Ducey to urge him to find evidence that would help Trump overturn the state’s presidential results.

[snip]

According to the Post’s report, Trump also called Ducey, prodding the Republican governor to find enough fraudulent votes to help overturn his narrow loss to Joe Biden in the state.

Since Ducey’s refusal to overturn the state’s election results in 2020, he has been a political punching bag for Trump, who has called him a “RINO” — Republican in Name Only — and “one of the worst Governors in America.” But Ducey, who has since left office after reaching his term limit, has stood by his decision, saying he was “loyal to the Constitution and the law.

Ducey's loyalty is to money, and always has been.


Saturday, July 01, 2023

State level committee update

In 2024, the only AZ statewide offices on the ballot will be for the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), hence the listings for ACC candidates.


From the Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS) -







Note: While Little's AZSOS entry doesn't list a party affiliation, he's a trumpkin Republican.


Democrat Faraldo is a Phoenix-based attorney.

Democrat Tovar is a current member of the ACC running for re-election.

Republican Walden is an extremist and member of the Mesa Public Schools governing board.  She's been mentioned in a previous post by me.


The Phoenix City Council finds a way to appease the NRA and piss off Paul Gosar at the same time

While appeasing criminals is a bad thing, pissing off Gosar is a good thing.  

Always.


From AZFamily (this is the entire article as it is just three paragraphs/six sentences long) -

Phoenix City Council approves plan to send hundreds of unclaimed guns to Ukrainian police force

The City of Phoenix has unanimously approved a plan to send hundreds of unclaimed firearms to the National Police of Ukraine.

During the meeting on Wednesday, the City Council approved a plan allowing 500 to 600 guns to be transferred to a private company, which will then give them to the Ukrainian police force. According to the transfer request published in the City Council agenda, “only 9mm, 45mm, 39mm and 12 gauge firearms will be sent.” No city or taxpayer funds will be used to transport the weapons, the council agenda item said.

State law says guns are unclaimed when no owner comes forward after a 30-day notice. At that point, law enforcement, cities and towns can dispose of or sell them. In 2022, the Miami New Times reported that the City of Miami passed a gun buyback resolution to ship firearms to Ukraine.

The agenda item from the City of Phoenix -
















From the results of the meeting -





The NRA never wants guns destroyed, no matter how many people have been killed by them.  And Paul Gosar is so pro-Vlad he never wants any there to be any support for Ukraine.



Friday, June 30, 2023

Legislative schedule - week starting 7/1/2023

The majority in the lege is commemorating America's independence from England by continuing their independence from civil society.


In other words, they're still on vacation.


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 t.o spread 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 that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one. 




Right now, they have nothing scheduled for next week.


Muslim legislator assaulted in CT by someone with a facial tattoo; how long before MAGA types call for the attacker's pardon?

From AP via Yahoo! -

The man who attacked a Muslim lawmaker first made lewd comments and tried to kiss her, police say

A man accused of attacking a Connecticut lawmaker outside a Muslim prayer service first made lewd comments to the woman and tried to kiss her, according to a police report.

Andrey Desmond, 30, was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bond at his arraignment Thursday on charges including misdemeanor assault, unlawful restraint, breach of peace and interfering with police.

The attack happened Wednesday morning after State Rep. Maryam Khan, a Democrat from Windsor, attended a service celebrating the Eid al-Adha holiday at Hartford's XL Center arena with about 4,000 other people.

She was taking pictures with her family outside the building when she was approached by Desmond, who directed a sexual statement at her, according to the police report. He then followed her when she tried to walk away from him, put his arm around her neck and tried to kiss her, according to the report.

From the same story -



















Guessing that a stretch in prison is in this guy's past...and future.


Maybe MAGA type will show their solidarity with the attacker by getting an orange-colored facial tattoo of a "D" or a "T".  The really dedicated ones will prove it by getting a "45" tattooed on their foreheads.


Thursday, June 29, 2023

I have a new favorite political committee

This is just a guess, but this doesn't seem like a serious PAC.

I been wrong about a few things in the past (I know you're as shocked as I was :) ), but this doesn't seem like one of those things.

From the FEC -















Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Another one bites the dust: Arizona's MAGA types claim another victim

From NBC -

Arizona county elections director resigns, citing politicization and 'intimidation'

An Arizona county elections director quit Tuesday, accusing the local elections department of caving to "a faction of the Republican party" and failing to protect her from "intimidation."

"I have watched as you idly stood by when I was attacked," Geraldine Roll, the Pinal County elections director, wrote in an email to the county's manager, Leo Lew.

It's not just the elections department in Pinal County; a report from the group Informing Democracy identifies two members of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors with anti-democracy tendencies (Jeff Serdy and Kevin Cavanaugh)


Well, Cheeto's week just got worse

Between this and Vlad facing a rebellion, I'm pretty sure that Cheeto is in a bad mood right about now.


At least he will be until he finds a way to grift fundraise off of this week's events.


Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

From CNN -

Exonerated Central Park Five member Yusef Salaam poised to win New York City Council seat

An exonerated member of the Central Park Five, Yusef Salaam, is poised to win a Democratic primary race for a New York City Council seat in Harlem.

Salaam declared victory at a campaign event in Harlem Tuesday night, where he thanked the community for giving him a “second chance” after his exoneration and spoke about the adversity he once faced.


Trump wanted some innocent black guys executed for a crime they didn't commit.

If Salaam ultimately wins his race and is sworn into office, maybe he should send Cheeto an autographed picture of the swearing in. :) 


Tuesday, June 27, 2023

What do you get when scum is in charge of things? Rampant fraud

One of the hallmarks of Cheeto's presidential administration was putting people in charge of agencies where the people have the same (lack of) ethics and integrity as him.


He viewed a health crisis as a lucrative grifting opportunity, and so did others.


From AP -

The Great Grift: More than $200 billion in COVID-19 aid may have been stolen, federal watchdog says

More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large COVID-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years.

The numbers issued Tuesday by the U.S. Small Business Administration inspector general are much greater than the office’s previous projections and underscore how vulnerable the Paycheck Protection and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs were to fraudsters, particularly during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

The actual report from the SBA is here.


Sunday, June 25, 2023

Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer sues Republican Kari Lake. She responds with name calling.

She likes whine that she actually won the gubernatorial election in 2022. but every whine is BS.

Still, when confronted by criticism over the effect of what she says, she doubles down on the bad things she says.

From the AZ Mirror, written by Caitlin Sievers, dated 6/22/2023 -

Richer sues Lake for defamation

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer is suing Kari Lake and her campaign for defamation, after enduring a continuous onslaught of vitriol and false claims from her and her followers. 

Richer, a Republican, has been one of Lake’s favorite targets as she continues to claim that the 2022 governor’s race was stolen from her, in the same fashion that she claimed the 2020 presidential election was stolen from her political idol, Donald Trump.

 

It seems that her lawyers aren't in control of her social media accounts. 

From Twitter, emphasis added by me -



















Lake *has* proven that she has two things in common with Cheeto, her idol:

1. She doesn't take criticism well, even deserved criticism.

2. Every one of her whines is followed up with a money grab/fundraising pitch


Gov. Hobbs keeps a campaign promise, Rabid anti-choicers do the expected and wig out.

Well, "expected" if you've ever observed anti-choicers,  and I have.























From KTAR, written by Danny Shapiro -

Arizona Gov. Hobbs signs executive order stripping county attorneys from prosecuting abortions

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday announced she signed an executive order that strips the state’s 15 county attorneys from prosecuting abortion cases.

The order, dated Thursday, gives the prosecutorial authority on the issue solely to the attorney general, who is currently Democrat General Kris Mayes.

[snip]

“I made a promise to Arizonans that I would do everything in my power to protect reproductive freedom and this executive order reflects that promise,” Hobbs said in a statement.

“I will not allow extreme and out of touch politicians to get in the way of the fundamental right Arizonans have to make decisions about their own bodies and futures.”

Most of the reaction from anti-choicers was characterized by the stamping of feet while whining "but she can't do that!"

From Twitter -







To anti-choicers, facts are bothersome things, to be ignored when they don't comport with anti-choice ideology.


Also from Twitter -




















Herrod is the leader of Center for Arizona Policy and the leading anti-choicer in Arizona. And she's so influential with the R caucus of the legislature, she should be considered to be a de facto, but unelected, member of the the lege.


While their opposition to Hobbs' executive order is vehement, it isn't surprising.  On the other hand, I do have a question about something that comes next, from Rep. Alexander Kolodin.


















Not this one, though the retweet of a call for impeachment over this is, well, *interesting.*

Nope, another one by Kolodin raises a question, for me anyway.













Even before he was a member of the state legislator, Kolodin was an attorney, and represented state Sen. Kern (not a senator then) in a lawsuit in Yuma County Superior Court over his involvement in the attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election that happened on January 6, 2021.  The lawsuit didn't end well for Kolodin and Kern.


I know that privileged communication exists between attorneys and their clients, but I have to ask:


Does Kolodin offering a legal opinion ("unconstitutional") and giving some advice to his client ("you all in the Senate better keep up") obviate that privilege (I really don't know)?



Saturday, June 24, 2023

Kysten Sinema has some interesting associates supporting her as US Senator

Don't misunderstand me - she may still mount a third party/No Labels run in 2024 for the seat she currently holds, if only to give the seat to the Republicans.  Though I think she may be angling for a slot as Cheeto's VP choice.

From Mother Jones (emphasis added by me)-

No Labels Exposed: Here’s a List of Donors Funding Its Effort To Disrupt the 2024 Race

No Labels, the political outfit preparing to run a “unity” ticket in 2024 that Democratic strategists and Never-Trump Republican operatives fear will siphon votes from President Joe Biden, is what’s known as a dark-money group. Unlike political parties, political action committees, and House, Senate, and presidential candidates, it is not required to reveal who is funding it. And No Labels, which says it intends to raise $70 million to possibly place a third-party candidate on the presidential ballot next year, refuses to disclose who is financing this project. But Mother Jones has obtained a list of 36 wealthy contributors and corporate high-rollers who last year wrote big checks to support No Labels’ effort to win 2024 ballot lines in states across the nation. This roster includes past and present chief executives of major companies, including Loews Corporation (a vast conglomerate), Fluor (an engineering and construction giant), Abry Partners (a private equity firm), SailPoint (a tech firm), and Fortress Investment Group.

Among the No Labels backers are donors who contributed millions of dollars to Republican causes, such as past GOP presidential candidates and super-PACS connected to Republican congressional leadership, and several who have poured money into the Democratic presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden. One donor provided a big chunk of political cash to Donald Trump. Generally, these No Labels supporters, who mostly made contributions of $5,600 to its 2024 project, appear to favor conservative candidates, though many have played both sides of the aisle, financing Republican and Democratic politicians. 

[snip]
 

Three donors on the list contributed to Trump, but only one, Allan Keen, a successful Florida real estate developer, gave a hefty amount. In the run-up to the 2020 election, Keen donated $135,000 to Trump Victory, a joint-fundraising committee that supported Trump’s reelection. Previously, Keen financially backed the presidential campaigns of George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, McCain, and Romney. More recently, he has donated to Manchin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December and became an independent.

At least 16 of the these 36 donors have graced Sinema with money.

I still consider her to be a dark horse candidate to be Cheeto's choice for a running mate.  Kari Lake, Greg Abbott, and others seem to be ahead of her right now.

However, she has a lot in common with Cheeto with many of the same deep-pocketed donors; maybe closer ties to Vlad will put her over the top.


Friday, June 23, 2023

Legislative schedule - week starting 6/25/2023

The AZ legislature is still on vacation but in session, so they're still costing AZ taxpayers *lots* of money.


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 t.o spread 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 that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one. 




On Monday, 6/26 -

Nada.


On Tuesday, 6/27 


-














Senate Committee on Director Nominations meets at 10 a.m. in SHR109.  Up for inquisition this time: Barbara Richardson as director of the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions.


On Wednesday, 6/28 and Thursday, 6/29 -

Nada.