Election deniers seem to believe that residency requirements don't apply to them

First, election denier and stone bigot State Senator Wendy Rogers  objected to a reporter asking her where she actually lives.  She ultimately got slapped down for her trouble, but the die was cast.

Now, former legislator Mark Finchem may be following her example.

From AZFamily, written by Emma Lockhart -

Filings show Mark Finchem might run for Maricopa County recorder

It appears former state lawmaker and election denier Mark Finchem is gearing up to run for Maricopa County recorder. County filings show he requested a candidate packet for the 2024 election, but Finchem has not confirmed he is running. Finchem most recently lost the race for Secretary of State by more than 100 thousand votes and refused to concede.

“He is a particular brand of Republican that is a conspiracy theorist about the last election cycle and a diehard Trump supporter,” said Chuck Coughlin, a political consultant and CEO of Highground Inc.

From his 2022 financial disclosure form (covering 2021, but filed in 2022) -

From the Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS), from his failed candidacy for AZSOS -

Problem: Oro Valley is actually in *Pima* County.

According to the website of the Maricopa County Recorder, Finchem hasn't formed a committee for a run.

MAGAts/Trumpkins like to refer to anyone they don't like as "communists". Maybe we should refer to them as what they really are. Anarchists.

Their Dear Leader (Cheeto) habitually refers to people as communists.

They're now referring to Barbie as a communist.

Even in the past, they hurled that as an epithet directed at anyone who opposed them.

It's an old tactic, one that was crap when it was used in the 50s and 60s, and it's crap now.  It seems to be part of the "spaghetti defense" portion of the war on civil society (throw a bunch of it against the wall, and see if anything sticks).

Now, the self-proclaimed arbiters of "election integrity" are finding that their tactics are coming home to bite them in the ass.

From Politico -

GOP states quit the program that fights voter fraud. Now they’re scrambling.

Over the past year and a half, eight Republican-led states quit a nonpartisan program designed to keep voter rolls accurate and up to date.

Top Republican election officials in those states publicly argued the program was mismanaged. The conspiracy theorists who cheered them on falsely insisted it was a front for liberals to take control of elections.

But experts say the program, known as the Electronic Registration Information Center, was among the best nationwide tool states had to catch people trying to vote twice in the same election. Now, those Republican-led states who left — and other states who lost access to their data — are scrambling to police so-called “double voters” ahead of the presidential election in 2024.

In recent months, elections officials in Ohio — one of the states that led the flight from ERIC — and elsewhere have been quietly convening leaders from dozens of states to talk about ways they can still work together to try to catch double-voters.

So, based on the available evidence (all left but them), their Plan A was to criticize civil society and destroy good government yet their follow-up Plan B is...nothing 

Their Plan B seems to be chaos; destroy what *is*, but offer nothing better to replace it.

Sounds like their Plan B is pure anarchy.

Well, that didn't take long - pro-Russ...errr..."gun" legislators are ticked at the City of Phoenix for supporting Ukraine

Last week, the City Council of Phoenix approved a resolution to send unclaimed guns to the national police of Ukraine.

I wrote about it then.

This week, a couple of the NRA's thralls Republicans in the state legislature expressed objections to that.

From Fronteras at KJZZ -

2 Republican lawmakers say Phoenix's plan to donate firearms to Ukrainian police is illegal

Last week, the Phoenix City Council voted unanimously to donate hundreds of unclaimed firearms to the National Police of Ukraine. 

Republican state Rep. Quang Nguyen says that runs afoul of state law. 

Nguyen, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter along with committee vice chair and fellow Republican Selina Bliss this week that cites a state statute that says unclaimed firearms must be sold to a business authorized to receive and dispose of weapons.

Interestingly, and probably not coincidentally,, Nguyen is the president of an NRA-affiliated organization.

From the NRA's website - 

In her legislative biography, Bliss claims membership in the same organization

Nguyen has taken money from a multitude of pro-gun organizations.

From some filings with the Arizona Secretary of State -

In addition to being pro-gun, Bliss will refer to herself as a doctor.  It's not a complete misrepresentation - while she is a nurse and not a medical doctor, she does have a doctorate and merits the title.

Though as a person in the medical profession she should be aware that someone with a PhD may want to avoid engendering confusion with such a referral.

From her LinkedIn profile -

 

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 -

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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 -

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. :) 

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.

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