Tom Horne has a bit of a credibility problem

AZ's Superintendent of Public Instruction been running TV and radio ads touting ESAs (Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, better known as school vouchers).  In them, he claims that AZ's education system is "excellent" but may not work for everyone, which he wants them to siphon funds away from public schools by using ESAs.

Some other folks may disagree with his use of "excellent" to describe AZ's public education system.

From US News and World Report -

From WalletHub -

From The Hill -

From Intelligent.com -

From the National Education Association is a .pdf that doesn't seem to provide an overall ranking for AZ, but most of the categories that AZ is ranked highly in are raw number categories where the number is based on size -

From BusinessInsider -

One group *does* agree with Horne and rates AZ's public education system highly.  Of course, the pro-corporate organization American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), like Horne, has credibility issues where societal concerns are involved.

I realize that members of a certain caucus in the Arizona legislature aren't going to ask me for advice, particularly where their bad behavior (willfully ignoring the stated will of the voters and supporting the expansion of the grift ESA program) is concerned, but if they ever do, I would advise them to hire defense attorneys and instruct them to make the best deal possible.

And then I would suggest that those lawyers advise their clients to cooperate their asses off.

Federal Committees update - oops edition

I don't usually cover Pinal County-specific races here, but since it involves a federal filing, and I had to do some actual work when looking into this, so I will. :)

In what I believe to be a (minor) mistake, Peter Sabin of Marana has filed paperwork with the FEC on 9/1/2023 to form a committee for a run for an unspecified office.

His Pinal County filing indicates that he is a Republican running for the SD4 seat on the Pinal County Board of Supervisors.

In both cases the paperwork indicates that Tanya Sabin will serve at the committee's treasurer.

We lost two icons, Bill Richardson and Jimmy Buffet

One was big in the world of politics, one was big in the world of pop music, and this may be a bit of a surprise coming from a political guy, but the pop music denizen may be the bigger loss.

Not that the politics guy had an inconsiderable influence.

Pic courtesy NBCNews

First up: the guy from the political world, Bill Richardson.  A former member of Congress, a former governor of New Mexico, a former ambassador, and a former a lot of things.

When he ran for president in 2008, I nearly voted for him (he withdrew from the race well before the AZ primary).  After baby Bush and his administration, I thought the White House needed breadth of competence.

He may have bowed out of the race, but with the eventual winner, things turned out well for the country.

Very well, actually. 

He was 75.

Pic courtesy NPR

Singer Jimmy Buffet may have had a more noticeable impact on society at large, though.

He was best known for the song "Margaritaville", but, as great as that one was, I was always more of a fan on "Come Monday", "Cheeseburger in Paradise", and  "Son of a Son of a Sailor".

He was 76.

My condolences go out to their families and friends.

Legislative schedule - week starting 9/1/2023

And the taxpayer-funded propaganda sessions, and inquisition sessions, continue.

Even when the lege isn't around.

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 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 Tuesday, September 5, the House Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight, Accountability, and Big Tech meets at 10 a.m. in HHR3.

On the agenda: a couple of "presentations" from anti social media proselytizers/propagandists.

Dennis Welch at AZ Family has coverage here

Wear a damn mask. Covid cases rising nationally

From the CDC -

AZ-specific info:

From Axios, written by Jeremy Duda, dated 8/24/2023 -

COVID hospitalizations fell in Arizona, but signs point to late summer wave nationally

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Arizona fell 4% between June and July, though state health officials noticed a slight increase at the beginning of August.

By the numbers: Arizona saw about 2.2 COVID hospitalizations per 100,000 people in July, down from about 2.3 in June.

• The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has recorded 7,585 COVID cases over the past six months, 12% of which required hospitalization.
• Recent data indicate that hospitalizations increased from July 30 to Aug. 5, but it'll take more time for ADHS to see what the numbers look like for August as a whole, agency spokesperson Tom Hermann tells Axios Phoenix.
• Cases have been on the upswing since early July, he says, and more cases generally means more hospitalizations.

Yes, but: Rising COVID numbers nationwide point to a late summer wave of the virus, Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Blake Masters is planning to do his part to make the 2024 R primary for US Senate more interesting

From Politico -

Blake Masters plans another Arizona Senate bid — this time for Sinema’s seat

Blake Masters is making plans to launch another Arizona Senate bid, potentially as soon as next week, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Masters did not reply to a request for comment. Masters won the GOP nomination last year but lost to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in a critical swing state.

Right now, I'm assuming that Kari Lake will get in the race, too, making the "Big 3" in the race for the R nomination Lake, Masters, and Mark Lamb, the sheriff in Pinal County.

Meaning that at least 3 Rs will be vying for the Bat Shit Crazy vote.

Unless one of them drops out or someone just as crazy as them gets in the race.  Both are possibilities.

Kari Lake thinks that lying about public officials is OK. Well, that explains her statements about Cheeto and the 2020 election

From AZ Mirror, written by Caitlin Sievers, dated 8/23/2023 -

Kari Lake says it doesn’t matter if she lied about Stephen Richer in bid to toss suit out

Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake says that it doesn’t matter whether the statements she made about Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer are false and his defamation lawsuit against her should be tossed out of court because of a state law curtailing public officials from suing their critics. 

In a motion filed on Monday, Lake asked Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jay Adleman to dismiss Richer’s suit because she says it violates Arizona’s Strategic Action Against Public Participation law, commonly referred to as an anti-SLAPP statute. 

Part of me actually hopes the court sides with her - I have a few things to say about certain legislators.

There have been too many bills that read like they were written by industry lobbyists and then given to a legislator to slap their name on as sponsor.

Of course, that's only part of me.  The other part of me thinks that she's full of it.

Criticism of a public official's job performance *is* protected (and should be), but lying about it isn't criticism of it.

Actually, equating lies to criticism serves only to devalue criticism.

Ron DeSantis just lost the general election

He may or may not be the R nominee for POTUS (OK, he probably won't be), but if he is, he'll be toast in the general.

From NBC -

Ron DeSantis booed at vigil for Jacksonville shooting victims

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was heckled and booed as he was introduced to speak at a vigil Sunday for the victims of the Jacksonville shooting at a Dollar General store where a white gunman shot and killed three Black people.

DeSantis, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, said the state was looking to identify funds to help boost security at the historically Black college, Edward Waters University, where the gunman showed up before the attack but left without incident.

Mike Pence proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that when Cheeto dislikes someone, that someone may not be a decent human being

At least Pence can lump himself in with Jeff Bezos.

In this one area. anyway.

From CBSNews, emphasis added by me -

Transcript: Former Vice President Mike Pence on "Face the Nation," August 27, 2023

NANCY CORDES: We want to turn now to politics and former Vice President Mike Pence, who joins us from Indiana this morning. Mr. Vice President, thank you so much for being here.

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Thank you, Nancy. Thanks for having me on.

[snip]

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, there's no place in America for racially inspired violence. And I condemn what occurred in Jacksonville in the strongest possible terms. That wasn't a criminal act. That was an act of evil. And- but I- and our prayers are with the families who lost loved ones and those that are injured, cared, and I prayed this morning for them. And as a Marine Corps family, we also prayed for the families of our Marines that were lost and injured in the Osprey crash. We believe in prayer at our house, Nancy. But- but look, I- this issue of mass shootings is one that I think we need leadership in this country, afresh. I will tell you that I believe that the- there's a series of steps that we can take. Providing law enforcement with the support that they need. Ending this- this long experiment of defunding the police by the American left. I think we need to provide federal funding to provide armed guards at all of our public and private schools. We need a commitment to institutional health care in this country that I've called for many months ago. But at the end of the day, I also believe that justice delayed is justice denied. And I'm calling for an expedited federal death penalty for anyone engaged in a mass shooting like took place in Jacksonville or frankly, like the shootings that took place at- at a baseball park and at a football game. We- we've got to send a message to anyone that has evil in their hearts, that there is no chance for them to spend the rest of their life behind bars. That they're going to meet their fate in months, not years. And I believe- I believe expedited due process of federal death penalty for those that engage in the kind of mass shootings that claim lives in Jacksonville. Yesterday is an idea whose time has come.

Nothing about eradicating institution racism in all of society, especially in, but not exclusively so, in police departments.

On the other hand, maybe expediting imposition of capital punishment for mass shootings will open people up to the idea of expediting capital punishment for mass treason.

Caveat: I'm personally opposed to capital punishment.

If Cheeto weighs 215 pounds, then I'm a Yankees fan

 Hint: I'm not.  Not even close. :)

I actually think he outweighs me, and I haven't seen 215 in decades.

And I'm not the only one who doesn't believe his self-reported height and weight.

From Salon -

"Lost 25 pounds and grew one inch": No one's buying Trump's self-reported 215-pound weight

“It doesn’t look like they put him on the scale," quipped CNN anchor Dana Bash

Former President Donald Trump's self-reported height and weight during his surrender to authorities in Georgia Thursday quickly sparked questions of their validity. The quadruple indictee listed his height as 6-foot-3 and weight as 215 pounds while being booked at the Fulton County Jail, digits that varied vastly from his previously reported numbers. During Trump's Manhattan arraignment earlier this year, he told police he stood at 6-foot-2 and weighed 240 pounds. The difference between the measurements would mean he "lost 25 pounds and grew one inch since his arraignment in April," noted Mediate's Aidan McLaughlin.

The self-reported figures also butt up against his last recorded weight during his presidency, according to The Messenger. The White House physician in 2019 listed his weight as 243 pounds, which was up by four pounds from his 2018 measurement. The outlet noted that Mark Meadows, Trump's former chief of staff who is two inches shorter than the former president, reported his weight at 240 pounds during his surrender, which would make him nearly 25 pounds heavier than Trump. MSNBC's Chris Hayes noted that Trump's self-reported measurements are identical to speedy star NFL quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Former mistress Stormy Daniels doesn't believe he weighs 215, either.

From the NY Daily News -

Stormy Daniels mocks Trump’s reported weight, explains why she knows ‘Tiny’ doesn’t weigh 215 lbs.

Stormy Daniels has joined the chorus of social media users who are skeptical of former President Donald Trump’s booking weight.

On Friday, the adult film actress and director took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to explain why she doesn’t believe the 77-year-old controversial politician was telling the truth when he claimed to stand at 6-foot-3 and weigh 215 pounds, according to the official paperwork from his booking at Fulton County Jail in Georgia.

Election deniers get rebuffed...again

From KJZZ, by Greg Hahne and Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services -

AZ Supreme Court tosses Scottsdale attorney election challenge

The Arizona Supreme Court has thrown out a bid to void the results of the entire 2022 election.

The justices said the appeal from a Scottsdale attorney was flawed in multiple ways.  

In a brief order Thursday, the majority of the justices noted that lawyer Ryan Heath had cited evidence already introduced by Kari Lake in another case this year.

Heath, who represented Cochise County Supervisor Tim Crosby, was asking the Supreme Court to order Maricopa County to redo its early ballot signature verification process.

 

A Scottsdale attorney repping a Cochise County supervisor wanting to void an election in Maricopa County?

Is that kind of geography lesson on Arizona's bar exam?

Is petulant a good campaign look for Cheeto?

If so, he's got the R nomination locked up.

From CNN (and I presume, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office) -

Maybe someone should send this pic to Mark Finchem, Kari Lake, and all of Cheeto's other sycophants/apologists in AZ.

For that matter, perhaps Kelli Ward and the other fake electors should be added to that list.

Prigozhin presumed to be dead; Cheeto wishes that he could deal with adversaries the same way that Putin does

If Vlad was responsible, at least he changed things up this time - it wasn't a spontaneous defenestration.

From AP -

Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead after a plane crash outside Moscow

Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a brief armed rebellion against the Russian military earlier this year, was presumed dead Wednesday after a plane crash north of Moscow that killed all 10 people on board.

Prigozhin was on the plane, according to Russia’s civil aviation agency, which cited the airline. The crash immediately raised suspicions since the fate of the founder of the Wagner private military company has been the subject of intense speculation ever since he mounted the mutiny.

Rudy, at his finest

Pic courtesy a Twitter user...and the Fulton County Sheriff's Office -

Wonder if Rudy farted during his photo session.

Hope that when Cheeto surrenders, his mugshot is also released.  He'll probably turn it into a grifting opportunity, offering autographed versions in exchange for a significant contributions to his campaign.

Short Attention Span Musing

...Public service is so much more enjoyable without, ya know, *the public*.  Just ask TN legislators

From AP -

In session reacting to school shooting, Tennessee GOP lawmaker orders removal of public from hearing

Families close to a Nashville fatal school shooting broke down in tears Tuesday after a Tennessee Republican leader ordered state troopers to remove them and others from a legislative hearing room while they waited to testify in favor of gun control measures.

The emotional scene was just one of several chaotic moments that erupted during the second day of Tennessee’s special legislative session. Republican Gov. Bill Lee initially called lawmakers back to the Capitol to consider his proposal to keep firearms away from dangerous people.

“I was supposed to speak, I was supposed to testify,” said Sarah Shoop Neumann, sobbing and shaking in front of the silent GOP-controlled House subcommittee room, which was cleared out after some clapping from the public gallery, even though she sat quietly and wasn’t holding any signs.

{snip}

Rep. Lowell Russell, the Republican subcommittee chairman, had also warned that he could order everyone out of the room.

My only question is this: Did the NRA have to crook its little finger to get Rep. Russell to stifle dissent or did he come up with this on his own?

...Am I the only one who believes that if Hurricane, then Tropical Storm, then something else, Hilary threatened Florida instead of California that Trumpkins would have another outlandish conspiracy theory to embrace?

...Got a new nickname for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas -

Spina Mustela.

Per Google Translate, Spina Mustela is Latin for "spineless weasel."

It seems to work for other things, too :) -