Well, at least Rep. Lauren Boebert is running her plays out of the R playbook

Of course, those plays come in three steps:

1. Be arrogant and inconsiderate of others.

2. When that behavior is criticized, deny everything.

3. When caught in a way that can't denied, "apologize" in such a way that makes the one the victim.

The bad behavior:

From KRDO (a radio station in Colorado Springs) -

Rep. Lauren Boebert booted from ‘Beetlejuice’ show after disturbance and vaping complaints

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert was escorted out of a performance of Beetlejuice at the Buell Theatre in Denver Sunday night. She's accused of taking pictures, causing a disturbance, and vaping during the show.

KRDO obtained the incident report that confirmed two people were escorted out during Sunday's performance.

The denial:

From BBC (emphasis added by me) -

Lauren Boebert: Republican lawmaker kicked out of Beetlejuice show for disturbance

Republican lawmaker Lauren Boebert was escorted out of a theatre in Denver during a performance of the musical Beetlejuice, after being accused of disruptive behaviour.

An incident report, which does not name her, says two patrons were asked to leave after complaints of vaping, singing, and causing disturbance.

Her team confirmed the incident but denied that she was vaping.

"I plead guilty to laughing and singing too loud!," Ms Boebert said on Twitter.

The fake apology:

From NBCNews (emphasis added by me) -

Video contradicts Lauren Boebert's denial that she was vaping at 'Beetlejuice' show

Surveillance video captured during the "Beetlejuice" musical in Denver on Sunday appears to show Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., vaping inside the theater, which contradicts her aide's claim that the smoke was emitted from fog machines.

The video, obtained by NBC affiliate KUSA of Denver, shows Boebert sitting in the theater next to a man she was with as people around her were still getting seated. It then shows her raise one of her hands to her face, and then a puff of smoke comes out of her mouth toward the person in front of her.

On Friday night, a day after the video was made public, Boebert apologized for her actions and acknowledged she was vaping inside the venue.

From Politico (emphasis added by me) -

[snip]

“There’s no perfect blueprint for going through a public and difficult divorce, which over the past few months has made for a challenging personal time for me and my entire family,” the Republican congressmember wrote on social media Friday night. “I’ve tried to handle it with strength and grace as best I can, but I simply fell short of my values on Sunday. That’s unacceptable and I’m sorry.

Boebert’s behavior drew ire from other audience members, including her use of a vape during the show. Initially, Boebert denied vaping and claimed that she was removed from the performance simply for being too enthusiastic.

“It’s true, I did thoroughly enjoy the AMAZING Beetlejuice at the Buell Theatre and I plead guilty to laughing and singing too loud!” Boebert wrote on social media.

Blowing smoke at someone else?  And blaming it on divorce?  

Really?!?

Legislative schedule - week starting 9/17/2023

This week looks to be about rationalizing the fraud perpetrated on the voters by the lege when the lege enacted (and expanded) school vouchers.

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 Wednesday, 9/20

-

House Ad Hoc Study Committee on Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Governance and Oversight meets at 2 p.m.in HHR3.  The fix looks to be in here.

Not only is the committee slated to receive a presentation from Alan Maguire, one of the creators of the expenditure limit screwing over public education, the members of the committee include a person currently with the anti-society (but pro-corporate) group the Goldwater Institute, a person who was once with the same organization, later pulled a paycheck from the AZ Charter School Association, and now works for the Heritage Foundation, and one of Tom Horne's lackeys/accomplices,

Impeachment: A tale of two places

In Wisconsin, the Republicans there want to impeach a state supreme court justice before she takes office, not because she's done anything wrong but because she might rule in a way that they don't like.

From The Guardian (UK) -

Republicans threaten to impeach newly elected Wisconsin supreme court judge

Smarting after Janet Protasiewicz’s election to the state’s highest court, Republicans are now changing tack to challenge Democrats

Republicans in Wisconsin are threatening to remove from office the newly elected state supreme court justice Janet Protasiewicz if she refuses to recuse herself from cases involving gerrymandering. The effort comes on the heels of Republicans in the state senate advancing a move to oust the state’s top elections official.

The efforts to remove Protasiewicz and the Wisconsin elections commission administrator, Meagan Wolfe, from office have been decried by Democrats and government watchdog groups as undemocratic and could affect the administration of elections in 2024.

It reeks of being a desperate ploy to retain their power there; anti-democracy and utterly craven but understandable - desperate ploys are the only thing they have left.

On the other hand, D.C. Republicans are just *petty*.

From Politico -

‘They did it to me': Trump says Biden impeachment inquiry might be motivated by revenge

Trump told former Fox and NBC host Megyn Kelly that GOP attempts to indict Joe Biden could be next.

Former President Donald Trump has “no idea” whether Republicans will vote to impeach President Joe Biden.

But he does have a theory on what motivated House Republicans to launch a Biden impeachment inquiry: revenge.

Cheeto did get one major thing wrong - he did it to himself.

If he wasn't a crook who fomented treason, he wouldn't have been impeached or indicted.

But acknowledging that wouldn't comport with his self-image of victimhood.

DeSantis goes full homicidal maniac in his quest for the White House

From NBCNews -

DeSantis administration advises against Covid shots for Florida residents under 65

In a deviation from federal recommendations, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration is advising residents under the age of 65 not to get the new Covid boosters from Pfizer and Moderna.

"What I have directed our department to do is to provide guidance that really recommends and advises against the use of these mRNA Covid-19 vaccines for anyone under 65," Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said at an online panel hosted by DeSantis on Wednesday.

[snip]

"With virtually every walking human being having some degree of immunity and the questions we have about safety and about effectiveness — especially about safety — my judgment is that it’s not a good decision for young people and for people who are not at high risk at this point in the pandemic," [FL Surgeon General} Ladapo said.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Putin's character didn't merit a high opinion before this, but supporting Cheeto doesn't improve things

Not hardly.

From AP - 

Putin says prosecution of Trump shows US political system is ‘rotten’

Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted Tuesday that the criminal cases against former U.S. President Donald Trump are political revenge that show the fundamental corruption of the United States.

“As for the prosecution of Trump, for us what is happening in today’s conditions, in my opinion, is good because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others democracy,” Putin said at an Eastern Economic Forum gathering in Russia’s Pacific Coast city of Vladivostok.

Masters rethinking a 2024 run for AZ's US Senate seat

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

By "rethinking" I mean "Peter Thiel's financial largesse has its limits and he has no wish to throw good money after bad...even in his quest to buy a Senate seat."

But that was too long for a headline, so... :)

From Vanity Fair -

Blake Masters Might Be Getting Cold Feet About A Second Run for Senate in Arizona: Report

Blake Masters, the far-right venture capitalist who ran and lost in a 2022 Senate election in Arizona, is having second thoughts about trying and potentially failing for a second time, The Daily Beast reported Sunday.

Toward the end of August, multiple outlets reported that Masters was virtually guaranteed to enter the race. An Arizona-based GOP strategist who’d spoken to Masters told Politico that he was “pretty decisively in.” Now—not so much.

Apparently, Cheeto told Masters that he wasn't going to defeat Cheeto's favored candidate, Kari Lake, but on this, I expect that Thiel has more influence with Masters.

Expect the NRA/gun industry hissy fit to start in 3...2...1...

From CNN -

New Mexico governor orders suspension of open and concealed carry of guns in Albuquerque

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has declared gun violence and drug abuse a public health emergency after a string of recent deadly shootings, some involving children.

The emergency order includes the suspension of open and concealed carry laws in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, temporarily banning the carrying of guns on public property with certain exceptions, according to a statement from Lujan Grisham on Friday.

Lujan Grisham cited the shooting deaths of three children from July through September, as well as a pair of mass shootings in the state.

“The time for standard measures has passed,” said Lujan Grisham, a Democrat. “And when New Mexicans are afraid to be in crowds, to take their kids to school, to leave a baseball game – when their very right to exist is threatened by the prospect of violence at every turn – something is very wrong.”

The gun nuts are already freaking out; the NRA has been silent so far, but I expect the gun industry lobbying group to soon join them.

Legislative schedule - week starting 9/10/2023

It's going to be a (relatively) active week at the Capitol...only some of the activity won't be at the Capitol.

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 Wednesday, 9/13 -

The Joint Legislative Audit Committee meets at 9 a.m. in SHR109.  Five school districts will give presentations on non-compliance/audits.  Also, the committee will receive a report/presentation on school district spending of federal Covid-19 relief funds in FY22.

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Budgetary Funding Formulas meets at 4 p.m. in the Scottsdale Civic Center Library.  They'll be hear from David Ortega, the mayor of Scottsdale, and some other folks, including a representative from the Cicero Institute, a private prison corporation-funded "think tank" that wants to criminalize homelessness.

[edit on 9/11 to add]

The Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Study Committee on Water Security meets at 10 a.m. in HHR3.  They're scheduled to receive some anti-water security propaganda.

[/end edit]

On Thursday, 9/14 -

Senate Inquisitions Committee on Director Nominations meets at 1 p.m. in SHR109.  Scheduled to be on the rack:  Joan Serviss, nominated to be Director of the AZ Department of Housing.

Was The Nuremburg Defense taught at Trump U?

A lot of Cheeto's lackeys seem to be using it, AKA the "I was just following orders" defense.

From Politico -

Trump’s co-defendants are already starting to turn against him

The finger-pointing among Donald Trump’s inner circle has begun.

And as his four criminal cases march toward trials, some of his aides, allies and co-defendants are pointing at the former president.

Cheeto could try the same gambit, but would have to point a finger at his liege. And if when he does that (face facts - Donnie *never* accepts responsibility for his own bad acts), he should probably avoid being anywhere that can be blown up or even has windows above ground level (to avoid spontaneous defenestration).

Cheeto may also want to avoid being near other people - his liege has shown a willingness to have others killed in order to get to those he considers to be disloyal.

Harvard U has a repository of Nuremburg war crimes trials stuff here.

Cheeto gives Fredo a reason to turn on him

From Huffington Post via Yahoo! -

Trump Biographer Thinks He Just Threw Eric Trump ‘Under The Bus’

Donald Trump biographer Tim O’Brien suggested the former president tossed one of his own sons “under the bus” in a recently released deposition.

Trump, per a transcript of a deposition he gave in April in the New York attorney general’s office’s civil case alleging he inflated his net worth, was asked if he was “currently the person with ultimate decision-making authority for the Trump Organization.”

“My son Eric is much more involved with it than I am. I’ve been doing other things,” the former president replied. “And I guess you could say on something major, final decisions, whatever. But I’ve been much less involved in it than ... over the last five years, five or six years than ever before.”

There was “a little whiff of him throwing Eric under the bus there should any charges press further on,” O’Brien said on MSNBC on Sunday.

“No decision was ever made in the Trump Organization without Donald Trump approving it,” he added. “I think at one point in the deposition, he describes himself as, ‘The most honest man in the world,’ which is, of course, not true.”

If Cheeto's latest scheme to blameshift doesn't work, Junior should get worried - Cheeto has shown he is willing to throw absolutely anyone under the bus in order to avoid responsibility for his bad acts.

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.