First, State Rep. John Kavanagh got his hate on for the general public recording public employees in public. Now he hates public television.

From USA Today, dated 7/7/3022 -

Recordings within 8 feet of police will be illegal in Arizona under new law

People will no longer be allowed to take close-range recordings of Arizona police under a new bill signed into law by Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday.

House Bill 2319, sponsored by state Rep. John Kavanagh, makes it illegal for anyone within 8 feet of law enforcement activity to record police. Violators could face a misdemeanor, but only after being verbally warned and continuing to record anyway. 

Kavanagh's gambit was blocked by a judge.  From the AZ Mirror, written by Tori Gantz, dated 9/19/2022 -

Police-recording ban likely blocked, as Kavanagh fails to mount defense

The sponsor of a law that would have made it a crime to videotape police conceded Friday that it will not take effect, after he failed to meet a deadline to challenge a court’s injunction of the law.

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said he was not able to find lawyers to defend the law – after a string of state and local officials who might have defended it refused to do so.

Now, he's lowered his sights a little.

From AZFamily, written by David Baker -

Arizona lawmaker calls on state to sever ties with PBS over debate drama

The drama surrounding the Arizona gubernatorial debate, or lack thereof, has led one lawmaker to call for the state to cut ties with Arizona Public Broadcasting System. Republican Rep. John Kavanagh from Fountain Hills is upset because the station offered Democrat gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs her own 30-minute Q&A, even though she rejected an invitation to debate her GOP opponent, Kari Lake. “It would be inappropriate for the state to continue its relationship with AZPBS, given its sabotaging of the clean election debates that were approved by the voters,” he said in a statement.

Hobbs had said she didn’t want to debate Lake because she didn’t want it to turn into a circus. It was the first time in 20 years the Arizona Clean Elections Commission wouldn’t host a gubernatorial debate. The commission was set to do a Q&A with Lake on Wednesday but canceled it after it learned of PBS’s plans to interview Hobbs next week. Kavanaugh said the Clean Elections Commission made the right move and blasted the PBS affiliate. “The terrible decision by the heads of AZPBS, if uncorrected, will encourage future clean elections candidates to avoid engaging in a debate and deprive voters of information they need to make their voting decisions,” Kavanagh said.

The relevant press release from Kavanagh/ AZHouse Republicans is here.

Maybe we should give Kavanagh the benefit of the doubt -

Perhaps it's not that he hates the public or public television; maybe he just hates the idea of a permanent record.

Short Attention Span Musing

...Could someone please explain to why military and military-style weapons in non-military hands is a good thing?

From ABC News -

2 Connecticut officers killed in AR-15 ambush after apparent phony 911 call: Sources

Two police officers were shot and killed and a third was injured after a gunman allegedly ambushed them at a Bristol, Connecticut, home, according to sources.

The Bristol police officers were shot while responding to a 911 call reporting a possible domestic violence incident between two siblings Wednesday night, according to Connecticut State Police.

...Was Tulsi Gabbard, one of Putin's useful idiots, *ever* a Democrat?

From CNN -

Tulsi Gabbard, who sought 2020 Democratic nomination, says she’s leaving party

Former congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard announced on Tuesday that she is leaving the Democratic Party.

For Gabbard, the announcement is the culmination of years in which she has been increasingly at odds with the Democratic Party and its policies.

...As if four years of Trump weren't telling enough, the West Coast brings us more evidence that there may be a negative correlation between great wealth and great intelligence.

From NBC -

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso declares he's not white because he's Italian

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso insisted he's not white but really Italian — and thus "Latin" — in an awkward debate moment Tuesday in the country's second-largest city.

Caruso, a billionaire real estate developer, faces U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, a Democrat seeking to become the city's first Black female mayor.

Well, I know who Paul Gosar will be dining with on Thanksgiving

From 12News, dated 7/14/2022 -

'Clearly unhinged': 3 of Paul Gosar's siblings endorse his opponent in Republican primary

Three of Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar’s siblings are endorsing one of his Republican primary opponents, Adam Morgan, declaring in a statement that their brother is “completely unfit for office.”

The three siblings say in a statement released Thursday that this is the first time they have endorsed a Republican. They are among several of Gosar’s nine siblings who have scorched their brother in videos, op-eds, and interviews in recent years.

He shares three things with Adam Laxalt, the R nominee for US Senate in Nevada:

1.  They both hail from states in the Desert Southwest.

2.  They're both dyed-in-the-wool trumpkins.

As for number 3, well,  from The Nevada Independent -

Fourteen members of Laxalt family endorse Democratic rival, Cortez Masto, in Senate race

Fourteen members of Republican Senate candidate and former Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s family announced Wednesday that they would collectively endorse his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, in the heated race for Nevada’s U.S. Senate seat. 

The three-page letter, obtained by The Nevada Independent, does not mention Laxalt by name or his Senate campaign, focusing instead on praising Cortez Masto. That includes her positions on women’s issues, opposition to a proposed federal mining tax, public land preservation and her record as the state’s attorney general from 2007 to 2015. 

Should be interesting dinner conversation - 

Both have family members who believe that they belong to the "anyone but" club

Mark Finchem goes all in on his plan to use bigotry as a political platform

From AZ Family (the video of the story is about 4:22 long, but Finchem's part starts at about the 3:30 mark) -

Former President Trump visits Mesa Sunday, hosts rally for Arizona GOP candidates

Former President Donald Trump is stopping in the Valley on Sunday evening as part of his “Save America” rally, alongside several Arizona Republican candidates.

Festivities started at 5 a.m. at Mesa’s Bell Bank Park in anticipation of the former president’s arrival. Arizona’s Family reporter Jessica Parsons was at the park Sunday morning to speak with some of those in attendance at the 320-acre facility. The rally comes just three days before Arizona begins its early voting process for the Nov. 8 general election.

Guest speakers and Trump-endorsed candidates such as Blake Masters, Kari Lake, and Mark Finchem took the stage prior to the former president’s speech. Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem told the crowd, “We’re engaged in an epic fight, a fight that was prophesied, we fight the far left radical fringe, we fight against a godless agenda that seeks to destroy out [sic] Judeo-Christian ethic favoring the satanic destruction of our families our communities our children our churches and ultimately our united Judeo-Christian culture.”

Finchem may have used the term "Judeo-Christian", but the way he used it, he meant "white".

From The New Republic, dated 11/14/2019 -

The Right’s “Judeo-Christian” Fixation

How a term that sounds inclusive is used to promote exclusion.

SEAN GALLUP / GETTY IMAGES

During one of his recent confrontations with congressional Democrats, Donald Trump made a stunning comment about the United States’ Jewish population. How could Jewish voters overwhelmingly support the Democratic party, he groused, when it included prominent critics of Israel like Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar? When American Jews voted for those politicians—or other members of the same party—who “hate Israel and hate Jewish people,” they must be ignorant or, still worse, “disloyal.”

I am not usually one to tell candidates what to do (they tend to know what they're doing and don't really need advice from Monday morning quarterbacks like me), but I will say one thing -

The Fontes campaign might be well-served to insert video clips of Finchem preaching to his choir into an ad, at least into an internet one.

Early ballots hit mailboxes in Arizona this week; Don't ignore certain downballot races. like Arizona Corporation Commission

Caveat: I've known Lauren Kuby, one of the candidates for Arizona Corporation Commission, for years and have donated to her campaign.

In school, most of us learned that there are three branches of government - executive, legislative, and judicial.

In Arizona, there's a fourth, constitutionally-recognized, branch - the Corporation Commission.

It regulates corporations (as its name suggests), utilities (perhaps its most important duty) and securities.  

Lauren Kuby is not only someone who understands the impact of climate change on the average Arizona family and would be a tireless advocate for Arizona consumers, she's someone who takes elected office seriously (one of the things that's guaranteed to tick me off is when an elected doesn't doesn't take his/her job seriously, people who are legion here in AZ.  Actually, I think we've reached the point where someone who takes the job seriously cannot win an R primary.)

Anyway, federal candidates on the AZ ballot are here; statewide candidates are here; legislative here; state-level judicial here; and ballot measures here.

Blog for Arizona has posts on the topics here, here, and here.

The last is on the judicial retention ballot; I won't be voting to retain judges appointed by Doug Ducey.  The fact that Dougie likes someone doesn't speak well for their character.

Maricopa County candidates are here.

Friday was a very bad day for AZGOP chair Kelli Ward

From The Hill -

Arizona appeals court temporarily blocks state’s 150-year-old abortion ban, restoring access

The Arizona Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked the state’s more-than-a-century-old abortion ban from being enforced after a judge had previously ruled it could be. 

A three-judge panel from the appeals court ruled on Friday that a judge erred in lifting an injunction against the law, which bans the procedure except for cases where the pregnant person’s life is at risk, without considering other laws limiting abortion access that the state has passed since the injunction was put in place nearly 50 years ago.

While, and this is just a guess, she may not like this ruling, she'll find a way to spin it, probably fund raising off of it.

The other item is one she may *really* hate.

From the AZ Republic, written by Richard Ruelas -

Judge clears way for Jan. 6 committee to see phone records Arizona Republican party chair

A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for the Select House Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol to subpoena the cell phone records of Kelli Ward, the head of Arizona’s Republican Party.

U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa had already decided in August that the committee was within its rights to seek the records, dismissing a lawsuit that Ward had filed against the Jan. 6 committee in January.

I expect that Ward will find that fund raising off of being anti-choice is more lucrative that fund raising off of being a traitor,

Senate Rs show their true colors. In their view average Americans can go to hell; increased profits for their donors are more important

While this bill probably won't go anywhere (due to Rs lacking control of both chamber of Congress), Congressional Rs have made it clear what they'll prioritize if they take control of one or both chambers.

You can be sure that this bill will come up again if the Rs end up with a majority in the House, but not the Senate, just with different names attached to it.

From The Hill - 

Senate Republican bill would repeal Democratic drug pricing law

Senate Republicans on Friday introduced a bill that would roll back the drug pricing reforms included in the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act, including the measures allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and capping annual drug expenses for many seniors.

Republican Sens. James Lankford (Okla.), Mike Lee (Utah), Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) introduced the “Protecting Drug Innovation Act” on Friday, saying they wanted to pull back government authority over the prices of drugs covered by Medicare.

[snip]

Democrats, who have been campaigning off of the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, have continually warned that Republicans will seek to repeal the sweeping cost-reduction package if they take back control of Congress.

President Biden echoed these warnings earlier on Friday.

“They’re saying they’re going to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act if they gain control of Congress. Let’s be crystal clear what that means. If Republicans take control over Congress, it means the power we just gave Medicare to negotiate drug prices goes away. Gone. Prices go back up,” Biden said.

The bill in question is S 4953.

Ouch! That's gotta sting - Cheeto's appearing in AZ, but Paul Gosar isn't on the list of speakers

From AZ Family -

Former President Trump to hold rally in Mesa on Sunday in support of GOP candidates

Former President Donald Trump is returning to Arizona and holding a rally in the East Valley as the election race heats up. The 45th president is scheduled to deliver remarks at the Legacy Sports Park off Ellsworth and Williams Field Road on Sunday.

Trump will be joined by some big names in the Arizona Republican Party, including state attorney candidate Abraham Hamadeh, nominee for governor Kari Lake and U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters. It will mark the second visit this year to Arizona for the former president. In July, thousands packed an arena in Prescott Valley as several Trump-endorsed and Trump-supported candidates spoke at the Findlay Toyota Center. In that event, he harshly criticized the Biden Administration over inflation and the border. He then took aim at Gov. Doug Ducey. calling him in part, “all talk and no action.”

[snip]

Below is a full list of speakers:

• Rep. Andy Biggs
• Rep. Debbie Lesko
• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
• Ric Grenell, former U.S. ambassador to Germany
• Kari Lake
• Blake Masters
• Rep. Mark Finchem
• Abraham Hamadeh

Ric Grenell?  Really?  Maybe the goal is to get the crowd to ask "Who?" in unison.

Well, at least Gosar not being there means that he won't be associated with the event when Cheeto stiffs Mesa.

Cheeto has a track record of doing just that; maybe the next time the FBI raids Mar A Lago, they won't be just be looking for top secret documents, but bill collectors, too.

Also from AZ Family, dated 10/5/2022, written by Derek Staahl and Cody Lillich -

Trump campaign still owes Arizona cities thousands in past event fees

Former President Donald Trump will be back on the campaign trail in Arizona on Oct. 9, supporting Republican candidates ahead of early voting. However, when he takes the stage in Mesa, he will be doing so in a city where his campaign still owes tens of thousands of dollars for a past event.

“Hello, Arizona! We love being in Arizona!” President Donald Trump said before a crowd at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in October 2018.

He delivered that speech to an estimated 12,000 people. The City of Mesa billed the Trump campaign to turn the airport hangar into an event venue, charging for barricades, a temporary parking lot, and security. The total cost was nearly $65,000, a total that the city asked the campaign to reimburse them.

Mark Finchem et. al. need some updated reading material

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

From Grid -

Mark Finchem says Google and the ‘deep state’ are blocking his campaign site. The truth is simpler — and implicates his own team.

The Trump-endorsed, QAnon-friendly Arizona legislator who won the Republican nomination for secretary of state is amplifying yet another conspiracy theory: that Big Tech is suppressing his campaign.

(Mark Finchem's Twitter)

But it wasn’t a “deep state algorithm” that was hiding his website in Google search results, as the candidate, Mark Finchem, claimed on social media. Instead, the culprit was the campaign site’s own code.

The story was updated.

Update: Several hours after publication of this piece, Finchem’s website was changed to remove the “noindex” directive that blocked it from Google and other search engines.

The new reading material?  From Amazon -

Yup, a vote for Finchem is a vote for incompetent stupidity.

As well as bigotry, conspiracy theories outright lies...

Sometimes, R writings are horrifying lies. These qualify as horrifying truths.

It's not often that I republish material from Republicans, other than to mock said material, but this stuff I'll just leave here.

Got this in my email yesterday -

Joint Statement from Chairman Bill Gates and Recorder Stephen Richer on RNC/AZ GOP Lawsuit

"The idea that a Republican Recorder and four Republican board members would try to keep Republicans out of elections is absurd.  

We contact everyone on the lists the parties provide us.  Maricopa County’s temporary election worker hiring practices ensure bipartisan representation throughout the election process and follow requirements established in state law and the Elections Procedures Manual.  

Notably, the RNC's lawsuit doesn't allege any violation of election laws or procedures; it's sound and fury about a public records request that was made a mere three business days ago.

This is a political stunt.”

For factual information about how Maricopa County hires election workers, the party break down of hiring for the August Primary, and additional context, visit JustTheFacts.vote.

Got this today, from county supervisor Clint Hickman -

Statement on Election Threat Arrest "I remember exactly where I was when I heard that voicemail.  It was chilling.  This wasn't a prank call.  This wasn't protected speech.  This was a serious threat to me and my family.  I'm grateful to the Department of Justice and the FBI for taking this case seriously and making an arrest, and I'm pleased the U.S. Attorney General has set up a task force to address increased threats of violence to election workers and elected officials.   I can tell you, though, that is not enough.  I've received numerous threats over the past two years.  My colleagues on the Board have as well.  The Recorder.  And worst of all, county elections staff doing their job honorably are getting calls and emails threatening violence, calling them traitors.  It's despicable.   And by and large, people in positions of power, in positions of leadership, in positions of influence here in Arizona are silent.  How can you be silent? So I'm speaking out today in hopes that others will follow.  Whether it's a person who shares your politics or your worldview or not, no one should be subjected to this kind of hatred.  And if we truly want to keep our country great, we will do everything we can to denounce threats against election workers and combat the disinformation that imperils our democracy."

The AZ Mirror has a longer story on the arrest, written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, is here.

The man arrested is named Mark Rissi.

Think that Cheeto will return the ill-gotten gains?

Guessing not.

That just wouldn't be in his character..

From MarketWatch -

Where’s the beef? Rancher sentenced to 11 years for ripping off Tyson Foods of nearly $250 million in ‘ghost cattle’ scam.

A Washington state rancher has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for a nearly quarter-billion-dollar ripoff of Tyson Foods Inc. TSN, -1.22% in which it sold the meat processor more than 260,000 head of cattle that didn’t exist. 

Prosecutors say Cody Easterday, 51, of Mesa, Wash., ran the “ghost cattle” scam for more than four years in order to cover over $200 million in losses he had incurred trading commodity futures.

From the FEC -

He gave thousands to MAGA candidates, not just Cheeto.

Just because Cheeto hates him doesn't mean that Jeff Bezos isn't evil

From CNN -

Amazon suspends 50 workers who refused to work after warehouse fire

Amazon suspended dozens of workers at its only unionized warehouse on Tuesday, one day after they organized a work stoppage following a fire at the facility.

About 50 workers at the facility in Staten Island, New York were suspended with pay, according to Connor Spence, one of the suspended workers. Spence is a picker at the warehouse, known as JFK8, and the secretary treasurer for the Amazon Labor Union, the grassroots workers group behind the successful union push.

Two things here:

1. Bezos is the owner/head of Amazon.

2. Cheeto has a long and well-documented history of antipathy toward Bezos.

It may be time for a sequel to the movie "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price"

Cheeto may not be Catholic, but he knows him some Latin

He's thrown an Ave Maria* in his quest to evade responsibility/prosecution for keeping top secret documents at his home in Florida.

* - "Ave Maria" is Latin for "Hail Mary", which is a football term.

Of course, what he did by asking that the USSC intervene in his case is like a quarterback asking the game officials tip the football to one of his receivers.

From CNN -

Trump goes to Supreme Court over Mar-a-Lago search and seizure of documents

Former President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to intervene in the dispute over materials marked as classified that the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate this summer.

His emergency request with the Supreme Court is the latest example of the former President seeking to involve the justices in investigations that entangle him – at a time when the high court’s legitimacy in politically explosive cases is under intense scrutiny.

At least Kelli Ward knows about the U.S. Constitution. Well, part of it anyway.

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

From Politico -

Arizona GOP Chair pleaded the Fifth, Jan. 6 committee attorney says

An attorney for Ward declined to comment.

Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward asserted her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid answering questions from the Jan. 6 select committee, a lawyer for the panel revealed in federal court Tuesday.

“Dr. Ward was deposed by the select committee, and she declined to answer on every substantive question and asserted her rights under the Fifth Amendment,” select committee attorney Eric Columbus said during a court hearing before Arizona-based U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa. Columbus did not say when Ward’s deposition took place, though the select panel’s subpoena instructed her to appear on March 8, 2022.

GQP governor of New Hampshire sends National Guard to border with Mexico. Want to know how much border NH shares with Mexico?

Hint: In miles, it's the whole number between 1 and -1 on the number line.

Hint2: It's 0.

From The Hill -

Sununu deploying New Hampshire National Guard to US-Mexico border

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) will deploy two units of his state’s National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday afternoon, his office announced.

“New Hampshire is grateful for the heroic men and women of our National Guard,” Sununu said in a statement.

 

Know how many miles of border NH share with Canada?

Hint3: It's more than 0.

From VisitNH.gov (emphasis added by me) -

We always invite others to experience the live free lifestyle for themselves. New Hampshire shares a 58-mile (93 km) border with Canada, and with the proper documentation and adherence to border-crossing policies, it’s easy for Canadian citizens to venture to New Hampshire. The New Hampshire/Canada border crossing is located on U.S. Route 3 between the towns of Pittsburg, New Hampshire, and Chartierville, Quebec. The Pittsburg border crossing station (phone: 819-656-2261) operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, letting visitors enter New Hampshire at any time. The Canadian facility, however, is closed overnight from midnight until 8:00 am, so plan your departure accordingly.