Federal committees update

 From the FEC's website - 

Both are Republicans.

Crane is looking to run in CD1 against Tom O'Halleran; Winn is looking to be the R nominee in CD2, currently held by the retiring Ann Kirkpatrick.

The interesting part is that while Winn is running for Congress in a Pima County-based district, she's currently an at-large member of the governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District.

The switch is legal, but I can already hear the cries of "carpetbagger!" emanating from the R primary field there.

Turns out the "Big Lie" is just that, a lie.

From BloombergGovernment, pointed to this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire - 

Sparse Voter-Fraud Cases Undercut Claims of Widespread Abuses

Prosecutors across the country found evidence of voter fraud compelling enough to take to court about 200 times since the November 2018 elections, according to a 50-state Bloomberg canvass of state officials.

Republican and Democratic election and law enforcement officials contacted in 23 of the states were unable to point to any criminal voting fraud prosecutions since the November 2018 midterm elections.

[snip]

Republicans hold 26 state attorneys general posts and control 28 secretary of state offices. The states controlled by Republicans in both of those offices reported roughly 59 prosecutions in their states during this period.

Democrats reported 102 prosecutions in the states where they held both of those offices. States where control between these offices is split between Republicans and Democrats—Arizona, Iowa, Maryland, Nevada, and New Hampshire—accounted for 35 prosecutions.

GOP mantra, apparently: If at first you don't succeed, hide it all from the public2

 

From Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, published in the Arizona Capitol Times -

Attorney argues courts can’t force lawmakers to follow open meeting laws

An attorney for the Arizona Legislature is arguing to the state Court of Appeals that lawmakers – and not the courts – decide when they have to have open meetings. 

In new legal briefs, Tom Basile said the state Constitution gives the House and the Senate “an unalloyed authority to determine its own rules of procedure.” And that, he said, makes it impossible for a court to determine whether either has acted wrongfully or unlawfully by excluding members of the public from its proceedings. 

The arguments are similar to those his law partner, Kory Langhofer, made to a different judge in contending that lawmakers are within their power to determine, without judicial interference, whether they have to comply with other laws regarding which records are public. 

Langhofer's argument was covered here.

Oh, and I'm not an attorney so take this with a grain of salt, but the last time I checked, laws outrank rules of procedure.

Even pediatricians think kids in school should wear a mask, but Doug Ducey disagrees

 The American Academy of Pediatricians guidance is here.

From NPR -

Everyone Should Wear A Mask In Schools, Vaccinated Or Not, U.S. Pediatricians Say

The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated guidance for schools Monday, recommending that all students over 2 years old, along with staff, wear masks, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The new AAP guidance comes less than two weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its own recommendations, calling for indoor mask-wearing for unvaccinated students ages 2 and up, as well as staff. (Children under 12 are not yet eligible for vaccination.) The CDC notes, however, that schools might find universal masking necessary in areas with low vaccination rates, increasing community transmission or a number of other factors.

Health professionals may say one thing, but Doug Ducey (et. al.) knows better.

From Cronkite News -

Arizona’s ban on mask mandates in schools criticized by health experts

Health experts are concerned that Arizona’s recently approved budget, which bans public schools and universities from enforcing mask mandates and COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated students, is endangering public health across the state.

[snip]

Ducey’s executive order stated that students could not “be mandated to take the COVID-19 vaccine or submit COVID-19 vaccination documents.” Under the order, students also cannot be required to be tested or wear masks to participate in learning.

“Public education is a public right, and taxpayers are paying for it,” Ducey said on his website. “We need to make our public universities available for students to return to learning.”

Ducey's executive order in question is 2021-16.

Dougie may think he knows better than folks who do this all day every day, but he doesn't have a medical license. From the website of the Arizona Medical Board -

Got the same (lack of) results when looking for an osteopath's license or a PA's license. :)

Two things:

1. Wear a mask

2. Get vaccinated

Does Mark Brnovich plan to campaign for US Senate on the backs of two dead people?

 

From KJZZ - 

AG Submits Brief In Supreme Court Appeal Seeking To Overturn 9th Circuit Rulings On Death Penalty Cases

The Arizona attorney general is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse decisions from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in two death penalty cases.

[snip]

Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a petition with the Supreme Court in January arguing the 9th Circuit violated federal law by basing the decisions on claims of ineffective counsel.

The brief is here.

Yes, Kyrsten Sinema is in trouble

From Data For Progress (pointed to this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire) - 

WHO IS KYRSTEN SINEMA REALLY REPRESENTING?

Halfway through her term as Senator of Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema is finding herself seemingly at odds with the members of her party. Her dedication to preserving the filibuster has stood as a significant obstacle to enacting a number of important bills and to more general Democratic governance despite the party’s trifecta in Washington, DC. Most recently, her unwavering stance on the filibuster enabled Republicans to block the For the People Act, a sweeping voting rights bill that is popular with the Democratic base, leadership, and her constituents back home in Arizona. In a recent poll by Data For Progress, we found strong majority support for this bill and a number of others that are high on the Democrats’ policy agenda. We also found that Arizona voters from across the political spectrum are displeased overall with her performance as Senator. Taken together, this begs the question: if her policy stances are alienating leadership and voters alike, who exactly is Kyrsten Sinema representing in Congress?

Even if she makes it through a primary, in a general election, she'll have problems.

I expect that many of the folks who, like me, held their noses and voted for her in 2018, will skip the race if she's on the general election ballot in 2024.

It also may be why Doug Ducey is letting Mark Brnovich take on Mark Kelly in 2022 for his seat in the US Senate; in 2024, he wants to be the Republican nominee for POTUS, and may settle for being the R nominee for VPOTUS.  Depending on how that works out, he may accept the consolation prize of challenging Sinema for a spot in the US Senate.

The best thing for Sinema may be if the R nominee is someone who is utterly nuts; say a Gosar or Biggs.

On the other hand, they're in safe Congressional districts so they may not run for a Senate seat..

Ducey allegedly tries to deplete the state's budget to aid an ally

Why isn't this a bigger story here?

From KJZZ (it's a USA Today story, and I'd link to that one, but the USA Today story is behind a paywall) - 

USA Today Investigation Links Ducey With Efforts To Extract $100M In Tax Refunds

Gov. Doug Ducey has long been seen as having ambitions beyond the Governor’s Office, perhaps even for the United States presidency. And to get there, he would need powerful and wealthy allies.

In his latest piece, Craig Harris, a reporter with USA Today who formerly worked at the Arizona Republic, investigated why Ducey and a handful of his top staffers supported a multi-year effort by a powerful Texas businessman and Republican donor to extract millions of dollars in tax refunds from Arizona’s Department of Revenue, despite alleged conflicts of interest.

The Urban Institute has a pretty good backgrounder on Arizona's budget here.

Some of the illustrations a quite eye-opening.

Arizona seeing increased Covid cases as Ducey misuses pandemic relief monies

Get vaccinated people!

From KTAR -

Arizona reports 980 new COVID-19 cases, 3 more deaths Sunday

Arizona public health officials on Sunday reported 980 new COVID-19 cases and three additional deaths from the virus.

The latest documented totals were 908,248 infections and 18,117 fatalities, according to the department’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Total cases, from AZDHS' Covid tracker -

Better than the peak, but still a bad trend.

But not to worry, Doug Ducey has the backs...of his friends in the hospitality business.

From AP -

Ducey uses federal pandemic cash to promote Arizona tourism

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday announced he’s using $101.1

 

million of federal relief funding to launch a new program to encourage

 

more tourism spending in the state and help the hospitality industry

 

recover from the pandemic.

 

The Visit Arizona Initiative will use the American Rescue Plan money to

 

help the tourism sector of the state’s economy to prosper and “continue

 

to recover from the effects of the pandemic,” Doug said in a statement.

Dear Lindsey: To be like Texas Democrats, first you'd have to grow a spine

 or at least a conscience.  

Probably not going to happen, not with someone who was noted for kissing Cheeto's butt so enthusiastically..

From USA Today -

Lindsey Graham says he'd 'leave town' to stop Democrats' reconciliation bill, citing Texas

Taking inspiration from Texas Democrats' bid to stop a new round of election laws in their cite, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he would leave the nation's capital to block Democrats from passing a key priority of President Joe Biden's agenda.

Graham said the move may be necessary to stop Senate Democrats from passing a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, which includes many long-standing Democratic priorities regarding social services, the environment and infrastructure.

In the story, he goes on to explain that 51 Senators must be present for there to be a quorum and for the body to conduct business, but he would endeavor to block that.

GOP tenet -"When the 'Big Lie' no longer works, go with intimidation"

 

From HuffPost:

Cyber Ninjas Now Aims To Pound On Arizona Voters’ Doors To Grill Them Over 2020 Ballots

The long-running audit of Arizona presidential votes could become

more confrontational now that the head of Cyber Ninjas, the

company in charge of the recount, is demanding it be allowed to go

to voters’ homes to grill them about their ballots.

The audit of Maricopa County’s 2.1 million votes, launched by state

Senate Republicans and arranged by Cyber Ninjas, a little-known

company with partisan ties, was supposed to be completed by May 14. 

But there has been no report on the operation, and the company still

appears to be scrambling for information.

From the AZ Mirror -

Senate indicates more election review subpoenas are likely

The Arizona State Senate might issue more subpoenas related to an ongoing review of the Maricopa County 2020 election, which has been going on since late April. 

During a nearly two-hour hearing in the Senate Thursday morning with Senate President Karen Fann and Sen. Warren Petersen, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, contractors for the audit as well as the audit’s liaison, former Secretary of State Ken Bennett, said they wanted more materials that the county hadn’t yet provided. 

Guessing that Fann and Petersen (and the other GOPers in the AZ Senate) aren't planning on writing subpoenas targeted to Cyber Ninjas.

They probably do plan on using the subpoenas to intimidate other, county-level, electeds, into acquiescing to their wishes.

Man tries to teach alligator a lesson in Florida

 Yes, this guy seems to be a Darwin Award waiting to happen.

From WAVY - 

Florida man steals alligator from golf course, tries ‘teaching it a lesson’ by throwing it on roof of bar

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man told police officers he was “teaching it a lesson” when he tried to throw a live alligator he had stolen from a miniature golf course onto the roof of a beachside cocktail lounge, authorities said.

The 32-year-old man was arrested early Thursday when Daytona Beach Shores police officers spotted him attempting to throw the gator onto the roof of a cocktail lounge located just off Highway A1A, according to a police report.

Guessing two things from this -

1. Intoxication was involved.

2. This guy isn't vaccinated.

Not only can't Florida count, it can't vaccinate either

It looks like Ron DeSantis and other Floridians have the same attitude toward disinformation about Covid that Yoda had toward The Force.

Strong is good.

Yoda was a fictional character, and DeSantis and the others are wrong.

From HuffPost -

‘Pandemic Of The Unvaccinated’: Florida Tallies 20% Of Soaring New COVID-19 Cases In U.S.

COVID-19 cases in Florida soared to close to 46,000 this week,

 

accounting for 20% of all new cases in the nation.

The astonishing number is double the cases of the previous week and

four times the cases in mid-June, according to statistics from the

 

Florida Health Department.

The health department also reported 231 new deaths, up from 172 the

 

week ending July 9, according to The Orlando Sentinel.

States with the highest outbreaks now also include Nevada, Missouri

 

and Arkansas, which all have low vaccination rates of about 50% of

 

the population with at least one dose. Arkansas and Missouri are

 

tallying more cases now than they did in the winter. Some

 

rural areas have vaccination rates as low as 20%.

The CDC's Covid Tracker is here.

Arizona is doing better than Florida, but it isn't doing well. Report is here.

Cheeto is out of office, but the MAGA grift continues

Is anyone really surprised?

Turns out that where Hillary Clinton thought Trump's supporters may have been "deplorable", Trump et. al. thought "easy marks".

From Yahoo! News -

Trump fans like Candace Owens and Jack Posobiec are hyping the $500 Freedom Phone, which appears to be a cheap Chinese handset with a big markup

The launch of an "uncensorable" smartphone aimed at US conservatives is being hyped by Trumpworld figures such as Candace Owens and Jack Posobiec - but it may not be all it's cracked up to be.

The $500 Freedom Phone targets users concerned about big tech censorship and freedom of speech. It comes pre-loaded with apps like Parler, Rumble and Newsxmax's app, as well as a privacy guard.

Despite the price tag, the phone appears to be a reworking of Chinese handsets available for as little as $119, per several reports.

From Input -

Surprise, Erik Finman's 'Freedom Phone' is a scam and a privacy horror

Ah, there’s nothing quite like the sweet smell of an easily debunked scam in the morning. Yesterday bitcoin millionaire Erik Finman unveiled the “Freedom Phone,” which he says is the “first major pushback on the Big Tech companies that attacked us - for just thinking different.” Turns out it’s just a super-cheap Android phone — and a security hellhole, at that.

The teaser video for Finman’s phone is so earnest it begins to read as a parody of itself before he’s even shown off the device. “The Big Tech overlords are violating your privacy and censoring your speech and I think that’s so wrong,” Finman narrates. “That’s why I created the Freedom Phone.”

It seems that hurtful and hateful are both GOP characteristics

"Hurtful"?   Taking the life of someone else.

"Hateful"?  Desecrating a memorial to that person.

From  KJZZ -

Scottsdale detectives have found probable cause to file charges against Paradise Valley Town Councilman Paul Dembow for theft, according to police.

Dembow was allegedly caught on camera stealing a cross from a memorial made for a man killed after being struck by a car in 2015. 

The car was driven by then-Vice Mayor Dembow’s daughter, who was never charged with a crime because the act was ruled an accident.

While I suspected that he was a GOPer (being from PV and that contemptuous of human life and civil society), I couldn't prove it.  Then I found this - 

According to the website of the Maricopa County Recorder, he was a Republican Precinct Committeeman as of 6/4/3021, elected to that position in 2020.

.He's up for reelection in 2022.

Dear PV: 

Don't vote for him.

For the record, I am NOT accusing Paul Dembow of killing someone.  I DO want to see if he skates on this matter (which would be Scottsdale PD tanking the case or him receiving a light or no sentence if he's convicted), though, because of his position.

This may be something Cheeto won't talk about when he's here

 

He'll be here July 24th.

From US News & World Report -

AP: Few AZ Voter Fraud Cases, Discrediting Trump's Claims

Arizona county election officials have identified fewer than 200 cases of potential voter fraud out of more than 3 million ballots cast in last year's presidential election, further discrediting former President Donald Trump's claims of a stolen election as his allies continue a disputed ballot review in the state's most populous county.