Cheeto likes to claim that he had no part in the insurrection of January 6

 But he plans to commemorate it.

From Politico -

One year after Jan. 6, Trumpism isn't gone. It's 'almost a religion.'

Donald Trump has already telegraphed the remarks he plans to give at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

If he follows the script laid out in his announcement of the news conference, he will commit a whitewashing of the day, repeating the lie that the 2020 election was rigged and defending his part in fomenting the insurrection — all while a solemn prayer service is held at the Capitol, in a vivid split-screen moment. And, as Trump castigates Republicans not toeing his line, his event will also serve as a marker of Trump’s extraordinary dominion over the GOP.

From NPR -

Trump still says his supporters weren't behind the Jan. 6 attack — but I was there

Editor's note: This story contains language that may be offensive.

"I was standing amid thousands of Trump supporters on the lawn rising up to the Washington Monument," says NPR's Tom Bowman. "Then Trump came on stage to raucous applause."

Bowman was reporting from the "Save America" rally in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6. Up until the point when former President Trump began speaking, the rally held a festive air, almost like a football game, he said. "Some Trump supporters were singing YMCA but using the letters M-A-G-A."

State Committees update - legislative

From the website of the Arizona Secretary of State -

Ignore the districts for which these committees were formed; a majority, if not all, were formed based on old district lines and names created before 2021 redistricting. Without knowing the residential addresses of the (potential) candidates, I couldn't even begin to speculate on which new district they are in.  Don't go by committee addresses; while many are based in the homes of the candidates, they aren't required to be.

Edited to add:

Not comprehensive - some folks have really common names, and I couldn't find anything in a quick search.

Also, forming a committee is the only requirement to be listed here.  A listing here is no guarantee that anyone so listed will be on a primary ballot.

Lastly, nothing here is a prediction on which candidates will emerge from their respective primaries.

Steven Beaver is actually running for Congress.

Rachel Jones is pro-covid/anti-vaccine.

Bliss is a professor at Yavapai College who calls herself a "patriot" in her LinkedIn profile.

Chabin is a former member of the legislature.

Stahl Hamilton is a current member of the legislature.

Abraham is a current member of the legislature.

Verdin is a business owner in Tucson.

Almond is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army.

Radford has run for office before.

Martinez is a current member of the legislature...who works for Paul Gosar.

Orth is a Big Lie participant.

Shamp has been endorsed by Mark Finchem.

Gier is a teacher at Arizona Western College.  He's had his issues.

Griffin is a current member of the legislature.

Diaz is a current member of the legislature.

Kaiser is a current member of the legislature.

Barlet, the fact that he is seeking Clean Elections funding notwithstanding, is a pro-covid Libertarian.

McKnight runs a charter school in San Tan Valley.

Hardin is an IT person.

Maes is colorful.

Willoughby has run for office before.

Chaston is a CPA.

McMillan is a Libertarian.

Richardson is a professional speaker.

Travers is a veterans' and children's advocate.

Weich is a lawyer.

Roe is a member of the Chandler City Council.

Guadalupe Chavira Contreras is a current member of the legislature.

Oyegbola is acting mayor of South Tucson.

Lamar is an IT person.

Loftus has a pic of Tom Laughlin as Billy Jack as the profile pic on his LinkedIn profile.

Waychoff is a chiropractor.

Pingerelli is a current member of the legislature.

Hutchinson is a member of the El Mirage City Council.

Holbrook is a veteran and athlete.

Nguyen is an IT guy.

Mitchell is a former member of the legislature.  He lives in Fountain Hills now (He used to be in Litchfield Park).

Blattman is a businessman in Scottsdale.

Chaplik is a current member of the legislature.

Kolodin is an attorney with questionable taste in clients/purveyors of the Big Lie.

Arnold is a financial advisor..

Westbrook is a community activist.

Longdon is a current member of the legislature.

Mendoza is, umm, colorful.

Darrow is a trumpkin who sells jewelry.

Salman is a current member of the legislature.

Leasy is a retired football player.

Pena is a charter school person.

Quinonez is a current member of the legislature.

Lucking is an attorney.

Carroll is a business person.

Liguori is a current member of the legislature.

Bragg has run for office before.

Solorio is a current member of the legislature.

Bravo is a community activist.

Meza is a current member of the legislature.

Lugo works for CPLC.

Fernandez was in the legislature but has since resigned to join the Biden administration.

McCoy is a former member of the city council in Lake Havasu City.

Gillette opposes...*everything*, or at least, modern society.

Marshall is nuts.

Barton is a current member of the legislature.

Carter is a current member of the legislature.

Pratt has passed away since forming this committee.

Lewis is a faculty member at U of A.

Reichenberg's listing says he a Democrat, but I'm guessing he's not.

Mathis is a current member of the legislature.

Evans is NOT the actress.

Davis is a small businessman.

Fann is a current member of the legislature.

Zipperman is 1st Vice Chair of the Yavapai County GOP.

Campbell is a former member of the legislature.

Ward challenged Paul Gosar...from the right.

Engel is running for Congress.

Young is retired doctor.

Hamilton is a current member of the legislature.

Leach is a current member of the legislature.  He's nuts.

Barto is a current member of the legislature.

Fierro is a physical therapist.

Townsend is a current member of the legislature.

Kurdoglu is a businessman.

Epstein is a current member of the legislature.

Remus was running for both legislature and governor, but both committees have been terminated.

Kern is a former member of the legislature.  He was involved in both the January 6th insurrection and the fraudit.

LeVault is the mayor of Youngtown.

Eldridge has had his issues.

Van Steenwyk has run for office before.  Many times.

Sandoval is president of the governing board of the Peoria Unified School District.

Carroll is a current member of the legislature.

Ugenti-Rita is running for AZ Secretary of State.

Dubauskas is an attorney who is challenging the person below...from the right. Which I didn't think was possible, but she's doing so.

Kavanagh is a current member of the legislature.

Starczyk is a businessman.

Alston is a current member of the legislature.

Mendez is a current member of the legislature.

Andrade is a current member of the legislature.

Chavez is a current member of the legislature.

Teran is a current member of the legislature.

Riggs is mayor of Gila Bend.

Cobb is running for state treasurer.

Rogers is a current member of the legislature.  She's nuts.

Shope is a current member of the legislature.

Covid is swamping Phoenix hospitals

 From AZFamily (Phoenix channels 3 and5) -

'It's basically a war zone,' says Phoenix ER doc about slammed hospitals

Health care workers watching the pandemic from the frontlines have seen the COVID-19 numbers rise and more patients in need of care.

Dr. Arya Chowdhury is an independent contractor, so she works at several hospitals in the Phoenix area. "For literally the last six months, in certain facilities, I have been seeing patients in the waiting room, and sometimes, the waiting room is so full, there's not enough chairs for patients there, so they're standing," she said. 

From the Arizona Department of Health Services -

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Ron DeSantis of Florida is missing while the number of Covid cases in FL soar

As bad as Doug Ducey is, at least he hasn't abandoned his post.  Yet.

Of course, his hesitation may be due to the fact that the next person up in Arizona's line of succession to the governorship is Katie Hobbs, a Democrat.

From The Independent (UK) -

‘Florida is on fire and Ron is missing’: DeSantis trolled by plane with banner accusing him of being AWOL

A campaign group seeking to unseat Florida governor Ron DeSantis has joined in the row over his recent absence from public view by flying a plane with a mocking banner over his state.

Launched by Remove Ron, which is led by an activist who has stalked Florida beaches during the pandemic dressed as the grim reaper, the plane’s banner reads “Florida is on fire and Ron is missing” – a reference to the governor’s near-disappearance in recent weeks.

From NBC News -

Florida Democrats blast 'MIA' Gov. Ron DeSantis as Covid cases surge

Gov. Ron DeSantis has been missing in action as Covid cases in the state have spiked to new heights, Florida Democratic officials charge.

"Counties are overwhelmed w/ lines that stretch for miles," state Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat, tweeted Thursday. "It's every man/woman for themselves, because leadership is MIA," he added.

Florida's line of succession includes mostly Republicans who could probably be counted on to continue DeSantis' depravity and lies about Covid, so I'm not sure why he didn't just have one of them act as governor.

From Spectrum Bay News 9 (a cable news outlet in Florida) -

From Alachua County (FL) -

I mean, a Lieutenant Governor's position exists exists only for one reason.

Why deprive an LG of the chance to be an Acting Governor?

Edited on 1/2/2022 to add:

From WPLG (FL) -

Florida reports 56,865 new COVID cases, positivity rate continues to soar

After days of record-breaking COVID-19 cases in the Sunshine State, Florida reported 56,865 new cases on Saturday and the positivity rates in South Florida continue to soar.

According to the latest figures released, both Miami-Dade and Broward counties have positivity rates of 30%.

Betty White is dead

 I inadvertently deleted the original post on this, so I'm reposting it...

From People -

Betty White Dies: The Golden Girls and Mary Tyler Moore Show Star Was 99

Betty White, TV's perennial Golden Girl, has died. She was 99.

"Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told PEOPLE in a statement on Friday. "I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again." 

2021 has sucked.

Federal Committee update

From the website of the FEC -

Name                   Candidate             Committee ID                Treasurer                Type       Designation      

BEAVER FOR CONGRESS

                            Steven Beaver C00798546

                                                                                                BEAVER, STEVEN MR

                                                                                                                                House

                                                                                                                                            Principal campaign committee

Beaver is a Republican who is running in the new AZ1 Congressional district.

Sen. Kelly Townsend makes her case for the Legislative Loon Award

Senator Townsend is already a full-on trumpkin (displaying the lack of sanity that goes with it) but she's definitely looking to enhance her "nutty" street cred with a Legislative Loon Award.

She's prolific in her insanity, proposing 16 bills for 2022 even before the end of 2021.

Already, this session she has proposed -

SB1052, a broadly-written measure that would bar all requirements for a medical procedure with possible negative complications, including vaccinations.

SB1011, barring school districts from using tax money to pay for membership in a state or national school board association

SB1012, giving access to the state's voter registration database to both the legislature and any entity designated by it; also creating a requirement that county recorders report on voters in their respective counties who can vote only in federal elections

SCR1005, a measure to ask the voters of Arizona to impose a proof of immigration status requirement on federal-only voters

SB1054, a measure to give the legislature the authority to inspect "election equipment security" in counties with more than 500,000 people in them (only Maricopa and Pima counties meet that standard)

SB1056,  invalidating ballots (early and provisional) that are "misplaced" at counting centers and/or polling places.

Covid is still ravaging the U.S.

 From WPLG (FL) -

Florida is breaking pandemic records. Where is Gov. Ron DeSantis?

Florida has been reporting a record-breaking increase in coronavirus cases. The highly-contagious omicron variant is affecting some of the state’s most important industries including airlines and cruise lines.

Despite the situation, Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to go on vacation.

From KSDK (MO) -

'This is really a frightening scenario': Task force reports record number of new COVID admissions

The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force held an unplanned briefing Thursday to provide an update on what leaders called "the rapidly deteriorating COVID situation."

"We felt it was really important to let the community know where we are and what they can do to help prevent a disaster from happening," Dr. Alex Garza said in a recorded briefing Thursday.

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch -

Amid latest surge, Missouri governor won't renew COVID-19 state of emergency

Even as the number of COVID-19 cases is surging, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday that he will let a 22-month-long state of emergency declaration expire on New Year’s Eve.

With more than 15,000 dead in the state from the respiratory virus, Parson said he would not renew the declaration saying “there is no longer a need for a state of emergency.”

Contrast that with what a Democrat does.

From the governor's office in Delaware -

Governor Carney to Issue State of Emergency to Fight COVID-19 Winter Surge

Governor John Carney on Thursday announced a new State of Emergency declaration – effective Monday, January 3, 2022 – to combat the winter surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

The new SOE declaration, which will be formally issued on Monday, will:

• Allow the State additional flexibility to respond to the winter surge of COVID-19.
• Enable members of the Delaware National Guard to work as certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in skilled nursing facilities to care for patients currently in Delaware hospitals.

From KSTU (UT) -

Utah reports a staggering 3,563 new COVID cases Thursday

The Utah Department of Health on Thursday, for the second day in a row, reported more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases since the day before. Including seven more deaths.

Before the holidays, new daily case counts had been trending down, but this week they shot back up by a large margin.

From IndyStar.com -

'Come and count them': Indiana hospital CEO addresses Rokita's COVID-19 numbers comment

Indiana health care leaders and CEOs on Thursday pushed back at comments Attorney General Todd Rokita made during a recent televised interview in which he questioned the accuracy of the state's COVID-19 data and attributed hospital staffing shortages to vaccine mandates. 

That is not the case, said Brian Tabor, president of the Indiana Hospital Association, though it's a claim raised time and time again about the health care sector.

The IndyStar story about Rokita's comments is here.

From KBOI (ID) -

Idaho Covid positivity up, 924 new cases and 1 death

Idaho Covid positivity is up, and the state saw 924 new cases on Thursday, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reports.

Statewide positivity has risen from 5.4 percent to 8.4 percent over the course of the last week.

What do these states have in common?

They're mostly run by Republicans who despise vaccines, masks, and other Covid mitigation efforts.

From Johns Hopkins University -

In the interest of being thorough -

From The Mayo Clinic -

Bad trend.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Moving

No, I'm not moving as in changing addresses, but I am moving as in changing legislative districts thanks to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.

I'm currently in LD27, with Rebecca Rios, Reginald Bolding, Marcelino Quinonez, and (formerly) Diego Rodriguez in the state legislature.  Rodriguez is running for Arizona Attorney General.

Because of redistricting, I'm moving to LD5, which has one state senator, Lela Alston, in it, and four state representatives, Kelli Butler, Sarah Liguori, Jennifer Longdon, and Amish Shah in it.

As there are only two representative slots in each district, I expect something to give here, with one or more of the four to choose to do something else, like run for a seat in Congress.

From Jeremy Duda of the Arizona Mirror -

Who won and who lost with the new legislative districts?

Political fortunes for a number of incumbent lawmakers shifted last week when the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission approved its final legislative map, granting a reprieve to some who were facing trouble and giving others new headaches as they head into their re-election campaigns.

Two of the new districts are shaping up to be intraparty free-for-alls, one for each party, with multiple incumbents pitted against each other.

[snip]

In central Phoenix, four incumbent House Democrats face a similar scenario in the new District 5. The new district combined portions of the old District 24, represented by Jennifer Longdon and Amish Shah, and District 28, represented by Kelli Butler and Sarah Liguori. Now, all four face the prospect of slugging it out for the new district’s two House seats.

Longdon, who serves as assistant House minority leader, said the quartet plans to talk it out and find out what everyone’s plans are, though they haven’t had time to do so since the AIRC finalized the new legislative map last week. Sen. Lela Alson plans to seek re-election in the district, blocking off the Senate as a possible avenue for any of the four. 

“It’s not unknown. Every 10 years some incumbents face this,” Longdon said. “What’s most important for me is that we make sure that, should we all end up running for these two seats, … it’s a very positive campaign on everyone’s part. And I trust the voters of LD5 to make the best possible decision.”

The ride through hell should begin on January 10, 2022

Per ARS 41-1101, 

"A. The legislature shall assemble at the seat of government at twelve o'clock noon on the second Monday of January each year."

In 2022, the second Monday in January 2022 is January 10th, so the Arizona Legislature should be in session/back to working against the interests of all Arizonans.

If they're being consistent (a big caveat with the AZLege; usually the only thing they're consistent about is being nuts), the final day to introduce bills and not have them subject to a 7-bill limit is the close of business on the Thursday of the first week of the session.

House rule 8C (top) and Senate rule 14C (bottom)

There *is* a final day for members of each chamber to introduce bills without the approval of that chamber's Rules Committee.  Each chamber has it own deadline. I think in the House it will be on February 7,2022 and in the Senate it will be on January 31, 2022, but I haven't confirmed those at this point.  Anyway, the deadline will be at the close of business on whatever day (usually, 5 p.m.)

Rep. Walt Blackman: yet another contender for the Legislative Loon Award

I don't expect him to win the award with this much competition, but anyone as pro-Covid as him merits a mention.

He's running for Congress (and if he wins, he'll fit right in with Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs there).

So far, he's proposed just one bill, but it's a doozy.

HB2029 would bar the state, counties, municipalities, and businesses that do business with them from requiring Covid vaccinations or proof of vaccination.

Rep. Mark Finchem - will he have a Legislative Loon Award to show off while campaigning for AZSOS?

In most other states, he would have already locked up the award, but in Arizona?

He is a dark horse; hardly out of contention, but he's going to have to work at it.

On the other hand, he's in a Republican primary in his quest for Arizona Secretary of State.

He's already been endorsed by Cheeto, and he will run his mouth in an effort to show his loyalty to Cheeto/the right-wing of his party.

He's pre-filed two bills (as of this writing) -

HB2023, making ballots public records.  Finchem has already exhibited a self-serving attitude toward public records.

HB2022, repealing the section of law that allows  public health authorities to mandate treatments and/or vaccinations for those infected with a "highly contagious and highly fatal disease".

Something to keep in mind when owners of pro sports teams cry poverty and demand publicly financed stadiums

As has been known to happen here.

From MLBTradeRumors -

MLB Owners’ Net Worth

Whenever a baseball player agrees to a contract, the financials of the deal are quickly reported by various media outlets, including here at MLBTR. What gets discussed much less often, however, are the financial details of the people paying those paychecks. Here is each team’s primary owner, along with their net worth, with source links provided. (Quick caveat that financial numbers of this nature are fluid and subject to change.)

[snip]

• Diamondbacks: Ken Kendrick – $600 million. (L.A. Times link)

Marquette University has compiled lists of pro sports stadiums and how they were financed; the vast majority were at least partially publicly financed.

Apparently, "deadbeat" is now a GOP ideal

The firm that tried to set aside Cheeto's loss in AZ, Cyber Ninjas, is taking a page from Cheeto's book

Like him, they don't pay their bills.

But like him, they want to get paid.

From KTAR -

Lawyer for Arizona Senate election audit firm Cyber Ninjas wants to quit

The attorney representing the private company that oversaw the Arizona Senate’s partisan review of Maricopa County’s 2020 election results is trying to quit after a series of losses in cases brought by groups seeking records of the “audit.”

The move to withdraw by attorney Jack Wilenchik is opposed by American Oversight, a government watchdog group that has for months been seeking records held by Florida-based Cyber Ninjas.

From the Arizona Capitol Times (behind a paywall) -

Cyber Ninjas not paying attorney

Cyber Ninjas’ attorney is seeking to drop out of two audit-related public records lawsuits, claiming his client stopped paying the bills. 

Wilenchik has done work for both the AZGOP and Cyber Ninjas.

At least the AZGOP pays his bill.  From the FEC (and the AZGOP's April filing) -

Updated on 12/29 to add -

From the Arizona Secretary of State (Q1,Q2,Q3 2021 reports)-

Not sure how a law firm qualifies as a "labor organization"; maybe in Republican-speak, a company that does some work for them makes the cut.

It doesn't.

Apparently, the AZGOP hadn't yet gotten the message about being a deadbeat.

A name from the past, one with credibility issues

I generally don't cover individual school board races, but sometimes there should be exceptions to that personal rule.

Dennis Dowling, husband of indicted former Maricopa County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling, is running for a spot on the Litchfield Elementary School District Governing Board.

His organizational paperwork states that he is a "retired educator".

His LinkedIn profile states that he is an "educational consultant".

Not a big discrepancy, in and of itself - many retirees become consultants in their area of expertise.

Nope.  That's not it.

The job title of educational consultant makes him sound like an employee, but records at the Arizona Corporation Commission indicate that he is the agent of the corporation that he "consults" for, The Learning Tree, LLC, and that the only member of that corporation is Sandra Dowling.

Oh, and his alma mater for his doctoral degree, Berkley University, has "problems".  To put it mildly.

From the East Bay Times in 2005 and updated in 2016 -

‘Berkley’ university online diplomas just a tad bogus

The real University of California, Berkeley, is a world-renowned research institution where annual tuition will set you back about $7,000 a year and earning a diploma takes years of dedicated study.

But an Internet search and $5,000 can net you a diploma from the “University of Berkley” with “no studies,” “no attendance” and credit granted for “life experience.”

Except the Pennsylvania Attorney General says the “University of Berkley” is fake, and its Pennsylvania-based owner has made millions from an online diploma mill that is an obvious attempt to capitalize on UC Berkeley’s prestige.

The voters in the district have a choice to make.