Blog For Arizona

"The hottest places in Hell"

by David Safier
A few days ago, a friend of mine granted faint praise to the recently deceased Robert McNamara, saying, at least he understood the Vietnam War wasn't winnable militarily, something others around him didn't grasp.

I disagreed with my friend. McNamara deserves great blame, not muted praise, for seeing the situation clearly yet keeping his silence, allowing the war to continue at great loss of life, treasure and U.S. standing in the world.

I feel the same way about Colin Powell. He knew we were wrong to go into Iraq, yet he gave the administration cover during his infamous speech to the UN. Anyone watching him squirm in his chair and listening to his voice quiver could see he wasn't comfortable with the message he was delivering. Yet he delivered it. And he allowed people to say, Look, even the honorable Colin Powell thinks we need to invade Iraq.

Would things have been different if, at that moment when Americans were uncertain whether we should invade, Powell quit the Bush administration and stated his concerns with the same earnestness and passion he used to endorse Obama before the 2008 election? We'll never know. He could have made the difference. And if not, at least he could be sleeping better at night, knowing he did the right thing.

Dick Cheney? He's half shark, half devil. You can't expect a shark to stop feeding or a devil to stop promoting evil. Colin Powell is a better man, equipped with a soul and a conscience, so his betrayal is the worse of the two.

In the video below by the ex-PR man for a health insurance company, he talks about the moments when he was trying to decide whether to stay in his cushy, high paying job or quit because of the injustices the industry was guilty of and he was promoting. At the time, he came across a quote from Robert Kennedy, where RFK spoke of his brother Jack's favorite saying:

"The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality."

That was when he made his decision; remaining neutral when he knows what is right is the worst kind of sinning. He quit his job and is now speaking out about the need for health care reform which includes a public option.

DR. WORD ADDS A SCHOLARLY FOOTNOTE: I found a comment about the Jack Kennedy quote at the JFK library website. Apparently, it's a reference to Dante's Inferno. A group of the most miserable among the dead are people neither Heaven nor Hell will accept within their gates. Their cowardice makes them "hateful to God and to His enemies."

They now commingle with the coward angels,
the company of those who were not rebels
nor faithful to their God, but stood apart.

The heavens, that their beauty not be lessened,
have cast them out, nor will deep Hell receive them -
even the wicked cannot glory in them.

Health Care PR man condemns on insurance industry

by David Safier
If you missed this on Bill Moyers' show, a high ranking PR man with the insurance industry quit -- wasn't pushed out, quit -- because he could no longer promote the industry in good conscience. He talks quietly and calmly about how the industry works.

If you only want to watch 3 minutes, watch the beginning of the second clip, which is about the need for a public option. Anyone on the fence on this issue -- including Rep. Giffords and her staff -- should see what this man, who was treated extremely well by the industry and has no personal ax to grind, has to say.

Religious protection in school bill signed

by David Safier
The feel good bill of the session, protecting students' right to religious expression in schools, was signed into law by the Accidental Guv.

In theory, the bill does nothing, since as its proponents admit, "it simply codifies protections federal courts already have upheld for students." But it's going to scare the bejeezus out of teachers and administrators, afraid that the wrath of legislators looking for a God issue to run on, abetted by Christian legal organizations, will fall upon them like thunderbolts hurled by Greek gods. So they're going to err on the side of allowing more religious expression than should be tolerated in secular schools.

I hope there are some aggressive Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, etc., parents and students, who will match every over-the-top example of Christian expression with similar statements from their faiths. If a student announces a meeting of Christian students over the loudspeaker and lapses into prayer, I want a Jewish student to daven a little the next day, followed by a Moslem call to prayer the day after. We need to test if all religious expression in schools is created equal, or some forms are more equal than others.

Or maybe I'm worrying about nothing. I pray I am . . . but I'll spare you the prayer.

Help Giffords do the right thing

by David Safier
After today's health care rally at TCC, I talked with one of Giffords' people. I identified myself as the BfA blogger who was rapping Giffords' stand on health care. I was called "disingenuous" for my posts. I bristled, raised my voice a few decibels and explained how genuine my concerns are.

In a nutshell: our legislators need to be in front of the health care issue, like Grijalva, talking about what we must do -- pass either a single payer bill or a bill with a strong public option -- and saying we have to find a way to do it. Giffords is one of the politicians emphasizing the problems rather than working toward solutions. They're dragging their heels at the back of the legislative train rather than stoking the fires to move the train down the road.

The "disingenuous" issue put aside, I was told this, as an example of the kinds of public comments Giffords gets. During the debate over the cap-and-trade legislation, Giffords got 1,100 comments telling her to vote against the environmental measure and 17 telling her to vote for it. Even if that's an exaggeration, those are terrible numbers.

Too many of us assume Giffords is supposed to vote with us, then we sit back and are disappointed when she doesn't, while the other side is bombarding her with phone calls and emails. We need to let her hear our voices.

Giffords local office number: (520) 881-3588. You can send her email here. Take a minute out of your day and do it.

I also learned, next Friday, July 17, a group of teabaggers are planning an event at Giffords' Tucson office. My understanding is that the Pima Democratic Party is trying to organize a simultaneous event. I'll post more when I know more.

Giffords needs our help to do the right thing. We should give her what she needs.

Giffords/Blue Dogs take a stand on health care

by David Safier
This morning the Blue Dog Dems sent out a letter, signed by most of their members, including Giffords, that is going to complicate and delay health care legislation.

Extracting the exact meanings and implications of the letter is way above my pay grade, but it looks to me like it's self contradictory and an attempt to slow the legislation way, way down.

On one hand, the letter wants the legislation to be "deficit neutral." On the other hand, it demands "fair reimbursement" for health care providers, and knocks a "'Medicare-like' public option" that would pay too little for services. It also wants to make sure rural providers are adequately compensated.

According to Matthew Yglesias,

To her credit, I saw Lorretta Sanchez (D-CA) talking about this on MSNBC earlier. She’s a Blue Dog but she explained that she didn’t sign the letter specifically because she sees the public option that the letter objects to as a big part of the solution to the cost issues. That’s a correct and coherent stance, the rest of the caucus might want to listen to her.

The letter also demands bipartisanship. "The American public is looking for us to work together." No mention of the idea that, if the Republicans Party of No refuses to bend, they're the ones unwilling to work together. The Blue Dogs are carrying the Republicans' water by blaming the Dems for lack of bipartisanship.

The kicker for me is the near the end, where they demand the legislation, including all amendments and changes, be available for the House members and the public to read thoroughly before a vote. That sounds perfectly reasonable, except that the only time I ever hear that argument is when the Rs are trying to stall. They hold up a 1500 page copy of a bill, slam it to the ground and demand time to read it. But if the Dems ever asked for extra time, they'd be told if we delay, Osama bin Laden has already won. My sense is this is a stalling tactic, not a genuine concern.

I'm not an expert on the legislation or how to divine the intentions of a letter like this, but what I read concerns me deeply. I've asked that Giffords let us know where she stands. She just did. It looks like she and the other Blue Dogs have decided to stand in the way of the kind of health care legislation we desperately need.

Star aids, abets U.S. Chamber of Commerce and global warming deniers

by David Safier
You may have read the op ed in Thursday's Star, Don't tax us over shaky science. It's boilerplate "global warming may or may not be man made so we shouldn't make such a big deal out of it" stuff.

Man-made global warming is still theory. Maybe we are responsible, but maybe not; more scientists are questioning that hypothesis. There are natural phenomena that can warm our planet sans industrialization.

I have no problem with the Star running the op ed. But I wanted to find out if the author, Jon F. Buck, was carrying anyone's water, so I read the "bio" under his name:

Jon F. Buck Works for a national nonprofit organization and has participated in several projects to improve the community's economic and cultural development.

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked myself. A national nonprofit organization? That can range from The Red Cross to Aryan Nations United (OK, I made that last org up). And "participated in several projects to improve the community's economic and cultural development"? I think I should have some idea what those projects are before I'm told they improved anything.

The next time I write an op ed, I think I'll say, "David Safier works for a religious nonprofit where he heals the sick and raises the dead." I'm sure the Star will be fine with that.

Yesterday I called Ann Brown, the Star's opinion page editor. Today, Martin Rosales in the editorial department returned my call. It turns out, they know who Buck works for. It's the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Let me repeat that. Buck works for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A nonprofit supported by the nation's largest for-profit corporations. You think maybe the Chamber is interested in killing the cap and trade legislation? That gives Buck's piece a bit of context, doesn't it?

Rosales kind of apologized. He said the Star probably erred in not naming the nonprofit Buck works for. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who called in to complain.

Here's the reason he gave for leaving out the information. Buck asked them to leave it out. No, I'm not kidding. Buck said, he was worried that, if the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was mentioned, people might think this was their opinion, not his.

And the Star editorial board, which I guess just fell off the local turnip truck, swallowed Buck's explanation whole and said, "OK."

And besides, Rosales continued, we've run lots of op eds about the dangers of global warming, so we wanted to run this one for balance. Fine, I replied, run the op ed. But let your readers know what group the author is affiliated with, like you usually do, so we can use that to help put the piece in perspective.

I asked Rosales if the Star might publish something correcting the error. He said, no, we don't really consider it an error. We probably should have supplied the information, but no, there's no need for a correction or apology.

Al Melvin: "Taxes are like death"

by David Safier
I heard Cap'n Al Melvin say this on NPR this morning:

"Taxes are like death. Once they happen, they're final."

You gotta love these Republicans. Our budget cuts won't have women and children dying in the streets, they assure us, but taxes are like death. Cuts in social services that harm the most vulnerable among us, and cuts in education that limit children's futures? We shouldn't blow things like that all out of proportion. But increased taxes? They're like death! Death, I tell you!

To be fair, Melvin's point is, there's no such thing as a temporary tax. Once you enact a tax, it's there forever. I guess he's saying the Reagan tax cuts never happened, or the Bush tax cuts. Or the 30% decrease in Arizona income tax rates over the past decade or so.

Ignoring the master's voice

by David Safier
Divided allegiances cause all kinds of problems, as beleaguered Senate President Bob Burns is learning.

Before the midnight hour ending the legislative session, Burns thought he could cut a budget deal by passing the Accidental Guv's legislation for a vote on the sales tax. It didn't work out that way. No one else on the committee voted with him.

His answer was to kick R Senators Verschoor and Gorman off the committee.

Americans for Tax Reform -- founded by Grover Norquist, who famously said he wanted to shrink government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub" --  is not amused.

In a statement sent to various media outlets and posted on its Web site, ATR said the pair of GOP lawmakers were being punished for “defending taxpayers from a massive tax increase pushed by an unelected governor in the middle of a recession.”

And remember, ATR's No New Tax Pledge, signed by lots of R legislators, trumps all other pledges expressed or implied, like what's best for the people of Arizona.

Arizona's right wingosphere is having a field day with Burns as well. The blogs are lighting up with condemnations.

What's Bob Burns to do?

. . . the attacks strike directly at Burns’ political identity. Since he was first elected to the Legislature in 1988, Burns has earned a reputation as a tough anti-tax conservative.

In fact, that last time the Legislature adopted a tax increase in the early 1990s, Burns, along with Brewer, were among a group of Republicans who voted against that bipartisan effort.

These folks thought they wouldn't have to play politics this session, what with the House, Senate and the Governorship sewn up, and most of the moderates in the party voted out of office. Or "playing politics" would involve fun things like snowing Arizonans and steamrolling Democrats.

Things have gotten more complicated than they bargained for. Too many masters, I guess.

Expect to hear a lot more about this

by David Safier
From a press release today:

Goddard Files Suit Against Massive Real Estate Fraud Scheme

(Phoenix, Ariz. – July 9, 2009)  Attorney General Terry Goddard has
filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against numerous Tucson real estate
professionals and businesses alleging a sophisticated,
multi-million-dollar real estate fraud scheme.

The lawsuit, filed in Pima County Superior Court, alleges that the
defendants engaged in a sophisticated system of fraud that led to the
filing of foreclosure notices on more than 130 homes and caused
substantial harm to investors, lenders and rent-to-own homebuyers.

“The violations alleged in this lawsuit are among the worst abuses of
vulnerable consumers that I’ve seen in my time as Attorney General.
These kinds of abusive practices have contributed to the mortgage
meltdown that now finds Arizona ranked among the top four states in the
country for foreclosures,” Goddard said. “This sort of behavior is
unconscionable.”

The defendants named in the lawsuit are:

●       Andrew Silverstein, former Re/Max All Executives real estate
agent
●       Anthony Zandonatti, owner of AZI Rent2Own and owner of
RTOSearch.com
●       AZI Rent2Own, LLC (d.b.a. Arizona Investments)
●       RTOSearch.com
●       VinLan Ventures, LLC (d.b.a. Re/Max All Executives)
●       Vince Volpe, designated broker of Re/Max All Executives
●       Tucson Mortgage, LLC (d.b.a.Tucson Mortgage)
●       William “Bill” Anastapolous, owner of Tucson Mortgage
●       WGA Enterprises, LLC
●       Thomas Piazza, Tucson Mortgage loan officer
●       Amaury Leon, Infinity Funding loan officer
●       Darren Breen, Red House Lending loan officer
●       Dave Klein, former Tucson Mortgage loan originator

Goddard is planning to discuss the case with the media in Tucson at 12:45 today, so we should hear lots more soon.

What makes a successful teacher?

by David Safier
If anyone knew exactly what qualities it takes to make a successful teacher, we'd have half our education problems solved. Having said that, Wendy Kopp, the founder of Teach for America, is interviewed in the NY Times, and she has some thoughts on how to predict who will be successful, which, I think, hit the mark.

According to Kopp, the two most important traits are past demonstrated achievement and perseverence.

We’ve done a lot of research on the characteristics of our teachers who are the most successful. The most predictive trait is still past demonstrated achievement, and all selection research basically points to that. But then there is a set of personal characteristics. And the No. 1 most predictive trait is perseverance, or what we would call internal locus of control. People who in the context of a challenge — you can’t see it unless you’re in the context of a challenge — have the instinct to figure out what they can control, and to own it, rather than to blame everyone else in the system.

In this case, there are so many people who could be blamed — kids, kids’ families, the system. And yet you’ll go into schools and you’ll see people teaching in the same hallway, and some have that mentality of, “It’s not possible to succeed here,” and others who are just prevailing against it all. And it’s so much about that mind-set and the instinct to remain optimistic in the face of a challenge.

"Past demonstrated achievement" is probably a combination of intelligence and the desire to use it. You're most likely to find that in the top half of any graduating college class. And perseverance is the drive to stick with something and find a solution, even when there doesn't seem to be a solution.

As for her last paragraph. Amen. If you take the teachers at any school and divide them into those who complain about their students and those who think of their students' academic and personal weaknesses as challenges, places the teacher has to discover ways to help the students succeed, you've pretty much divided them into the unsuccessful teachers and the successful teachers.

More momentum for the public option

by David Safier
Yesterday I took Rep. Giffords to task for waffling on the topic of the public option in health care reform. Her position (lack of a position?) is becoming lonelier, and less tenable, by the minute.

Today's Star editorial comes out for the public option in no uncertain terms.

A public option is necessary. People whose employers do not offer health coverage need a way to purchase affordable, quality insurance that will allow them to see doctors for preventive care and when they fall ill.

A public option is not synonymous with a single-payer plan. A public plan can compete with private insurers and the competition can bring prices down for everyone. Lawmakers should not trade away this component of improvement in hopes that the insurance industry will reform itself.

Congrats to the Star. Put another paper in the public option camp.

Blanche Lincoln, a Democratic senator from Arkansas -- Arkansas! -- has shifted her position from unclear to "almost yes" on the public option. This is from an op ed she wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Health care reform must build upon what works and improve inefficiencies. Individuals should be able to choose from a range of quality health insurance plans. Options should include private plans as well as a quality, affordable public plan or non-profit plan that can accomplish the same goals as those of a public plan.

[Note: My sources for this excerpt are a number of liberal blogs. The actual op ed, they say, is subscription only, so I can't check it out in the paper itself.]

I'm still hoping to hear a more definitive statement from the Giffords camp soon.

Meanwhile, for those of you who want to participate in what promises to be a well attended, full throated endorsement of a public option as an acceptable compromise for those of us who prefer single payer, go to Grijalva's health care rally this Saturday, July 11, 11:30 am (doors open at 11) at the Tucson Convention Center, North Exhibition Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Grijalva is leading the charge, and he deserves our physical and vocal support.

If you want to get a health care message to Giffords, the phone number of Giffords' local office is (520) 881-3588. You can email her here.

UPDATE: Anyone who wants to let Kyl and McCain know they should support a public option, today, Thursday, you can walk to McCain's office and Kyl's office in separate rallies:

1ST  RALLY: McCain – Thursday July 9 --  11:30 – 12:30 Start at Church and Congress, Walk west to Sen. McCain,  407 W. Congress.

2nd Rally: Senator Kyl – Thursday July 9 --  4:30p-5:30p  Meet at Safeway Shopping Center, SE corner Ina and Oracle, Walk to  Sen. Kyl’s 1/3 mi. south

Sylvia Allen's "6,000 years" makes Daily Kos

by David Safier

FLASH!!!!! This just in. Sylvia Allen is one of Keith Olbermann's Worst People in the World on tonight's show!

Following the Arizona Guardian's lead, I posted a clip of Sen. Sylvia Allen saying, not once but twice, that "This earth's been here 6,000 years." The clip has gone viral. Today it made it to Daily Kos. The text before the clip reads, "Holy cripes, Arizona State Sen. Sylvia Allen is a complete loon!"

But that's just the tip of the iceberg, according to the Guardian,

The Arizona Guardian video posted last week of Allen declaring the Earth 6,000 years old begat a YouTube video which begat a Discover Magazine blog which begat more than 1,400 Digg referrals. It also begat a Comedy Central posting titled "Did Adam and Eve care about the environment 6,000 years ago? I think not."

[snip]

By this morning, the clip had gotten more than 64,000 hits on YouTube. Worse for Allen, whose reputation is being sullied internationally, Ian O'Neill at Astrogenie posted the clip on a blog called Bad Astronomy. That turns out to be part of Discover Magazine's very popular site for really smart (and smart alecky) science geeks who have spent at least two days ripping Allen for her decidedly un-scientific lack of knowledge about our planet's origins.

And so on. Makes you proud to be an Arizonan, don't it? In case you missed it the first time or want to enjoy it again:

UPDATE: Here's Countdown's take.

It's time, Representative Giffords

by David Safier
On Saturday, July 11, Raúl Grijalva is hosting a health care rally (11:30 am [doors open at 11] at the Tucson Convention Center, North Exhibition Hall, 260 S. Church Ave.). Here is his statement.

“We need legislation that guarantees healthcare coverage that is affordable, high-quality, accessible and which lowers costs for all consumers, regardless of age. We need a single payer system or at least an enhanced Medicare-like public health option. We need health care reform that takes care of patients, not the insurance industry.”

Couldn't be clearer. Single payer, best choice. Public option, acceptable compromise.

Krysten Sinema is heading a group of Democratic legislators who will be stumping around the state for health care reform.

Key to changing the system, Sinema said, is allowing for a public option — basically a government insurance program, like Medicare, that would be open to everyone.

Couldn't be clearer. The public option is key.

In the same article, Giffords said she believes we need to explore all options, including a public option.

Here is a statement from her spokesman, C.J. Karamargin, who I know and like. Having said that . . . C.J., this statement is unacceptable, political bullshit. Not just mumbo jumbo. Pure, unadulterated political bullshit. My bullshit detector is maxing out at 11.

"Congresswoman Giffords believes that we must protect what works and fix what's broken," spokesman C.J. Karmargin said Tuesday. "Health-care reform should reduce cost, protect choice and assure affordability. She wants to see viable, pragmatic solutions that can succeed and all proposals should be given serious consideration, including a public option. This isn't going to be easy but health-care reform is not an option — it's an imperative."

Health care is too important for fence straddling. This is a moment for Giffords to show what she's made of, not as a politician, but as a human being. If Giffords wants to say she's for something other than the public option, she should say it and be willing to take the heat from those of us who will be satisfied with nothing less than a public option. If Giffords is for a public option, now is the time to say so, and take the heat from those who disagree.

Few issues are as directly, immediately related to people's lives as the health care they receive, or don't receive. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to accomplish what Democratic presidents have been striving for since FDR. Next year will be too late. A watered down compromise to get Blue Dogs on board who are trying to cover their asses will be a tragedy, because we have a chance for a good bill if we can get solid, unwavering support from enough Democrats.

Gabrielle Giffords, it's time for a clear, unequivocal statement. Where do you stand on health care legislation?

The phone number of Giffords' local office is (520) 881-3588. You can email her here.

They're not just picking on the Tucson City council

by David Safier
You know the statewide legislation to make all Arizona city councils nonpartisan, which only affects Tucson? It's not alone.

Another bill awaiting the Accidental Guv's signature or veto requires Pinal County to go from three supervisors to five. Though it's a statewide bill, only Pinal County will be affected. Sound familiar?

First let's see why this is a stupid thing to do.

• This would happen anyway in 2012 because the census will add population to the county, which will require the extra 2 supervisors.
• The 2010 redistricting will change the boundaries of the supervisor's areas.
• The county is in a budget pinch like everyone else and has cut 160 jobs. The 2 supervisors and their staff would cost an extra $1 million.

But as the county has grown, it's become more Republican. More supervisors probably means more Republican supervisors. And that's why this Republican legislation is sitting on Brewer's desk.

Right now there's only one Republican supervisor, who, along with the Democrats and the County Supervisors Association of Arizona, want Brewer to veto the bill. So there is a unanimous, bipartisan consensus: Governor, tear down this bill!

The three sponsors of the bill, all Republicans, are Rep. Frank Pratt from Casa Grande and . . . drum roll please . . . Rep. Vic Williams and Sen. Al Melvin from my Legislative District, the fightin' 26th.

I know these Republicans are fierce states' rights people -- Feds, keep your grubby hands off our state! (though they're not raising much of a fuss about accepting all that dirty stimulus money). But I guess, since they're part of Big Government, state-of-Arizona style, they want to impose their wills on counties and cities.

Anyone else see a contradiction here?

A clear explanation of what happened Monday

by David Safier
I've tried to piece together a picture of what happened in Monday's legislative session, with no more than partial success. "Krysten Sinema's Notes" gives me the clearest picture so far. It's dense and compact but very clear.

July 6th - 4 bills are passed unanimously by the Legislature. #1 - we fund K-12 education at the 2009 level, plus a 2% inflationary rate required by state law. This means schools stay open, class sizes stay reasonable, and teachers are rehired. #2 - we agree to negotiate on 5 smaller "chunks" of funding for K-12 education, with resolution required by October 1st. Until we negotiate an agreement, schools can spend what they've already budgeted in these areas: soft capital, desegregation, career ladder, early kindergarten, excess utilities. The October 1st deadline was self-imposed - if we don't have an agreement by then, schools automatically get full funding in each of these 5 areas. #3 - we make a technical change to state law regarding how local governments pay the state for health care. This was a federally required change in order to qualify for stimulus money to pay for health care. The Governor's veto last week eliminated this "fix" - so we put it back in law. Now we meet the federal requirements for stimulus money. #4 - we adjourned the special session so that "rank and file" members don't have to come to work every day while no formal action is taking place. To have them come to work every day when we don't have an agreement yet simply wastes state money. This change says that legislators will only get paid on the days that we come to work (duh, right?).

Tomorrow - Republican and Democrat leaders in the House and the Senate will meet to set a schedule for our work. We have to negotiate about 70% of the state budget from scratch, and that takes time. We have to redo the budget in several key areas: higher education, health care, social services, and some portions of k-12 education (see above). These areas are the top concern for Democrats, so this is very important to us. This is going to be hard - we have a deficit of about 2 billion right now, and that's a hard hole to fill. So leadership will work on crafting an agreement that everyone can live with. I anticipate that this will be the hardest thing we've ever done at the Legislature.

In the coming weeks - As we work, House Democratic leadership will communicate with our "rank and file" members via phone conferences to make sure that everyone agrees with what we're working on. Once we have a resolution to this budget shortfall, all members will be called back to the Legislature by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President and we'll vote on a budget package.

The game goes on, but mostly in conference, meaning we won't see what's happening, with more back and forth between the parties -- D and R legislators and, I imagine, the Guv. Time will tell the tale.

Brewer: closet liberal union supporter?

by David Safier
Reagan's 11th commandment -- "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican" -- has been broken so many times around Phoenix in the past few weeks, I half expect to see the clouds part and hear a thundering rasp from the Great Communicator: "Keep this up, and I'll give you some Communication where the sun don't shine!"

On his blog, Daniel Scarpinato has put together a wonderful string of insults hurled at our Accidental Guv by the not-so-loyal band of fellow Republicans in the legislature.

As always, my favorites come from Cap'n Al Melvin.

“Frankly, I think she’s doing everything she can for the education community, to the point of pandering.”

[snip]

“She’s criss-crossing the state going to every educational group she can talk to.”

"Educational community" and "educational group," of course, are not-so-subtle references to the ed unions and union-symps, like parents and school administrators and school board members and despicable types like that.

The Cap'n is saying less about Brewer than he is about himself. (Hello there, Dr. Freud.) He feels such antagonism toward the teachers' union and people who want to thwart his plans to cut money from education, he views Brewer's statements in support of education as pandering. I mean, how could she honestly believe schools need money to educate children? She must be up to something.

Ready to shut up, Senator Melvin? Not yet? OK, please continue.

“She’s trying to bend over backwards for them, when I think we’ve done that ourselves. . . . She is catering to them. She is literally throwing us under the bus to do that."

"Throwing us under the bus" is an unfortunate choice of terms. (Welcome back, Dr. Freud.) It seems Melvin is the one wanting to throw Arizona's children under the school bus. And as for the R legislators bending over backwards to fund the schools? It's more like they want the schools to bend forward and "assume the position." ("Ouch! Thank you, sir, may I have another? Ouch! Thank you sir, may I have another?")

“From the beginning I’ve always said that I’m not going to decimate education, or the most vulnerable of our population, and I still maintain that."

An interesting use of the negative: "I'm not going to decimate education." I'll gladly harm it. I'll maim it. I'll even cripple it if I have to. But decimate education? No, I wouldn't do that!

Remember the lines from other Republicans a few weeks ago saying their budget cuts won't cause women and children to die in the streets? Melvin is cut from the same coarse cloth.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, your Republican legislators.

Stuff the Bus with school supplies

by David Safier
From Tucson Weekly's The Range:

The Tucson Association of Realtors starts its "Stuff the Bus" school-supply drive today.

Donations of back-to-school essentials (backbacks, notebooks, binders, etc.) can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Friday, Aug. 7, at the Tucson Association of Realtors Building at 2445 N. Tucson Blvd.

Donations can also be dropped off at the following times and places: noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, July 25, at the Office Max at 5550 E. Broadway Blvd.; noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Office Max at 3838 N. Oracle Road; and noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Walgreens at 4685 E. Grant Road.

Did education funding really win?

by David Safier
I've read a bunch of news reports about yesterday's legislative session, but I still have trouble believing it, because I've gotten myself in an all-bad-news-all-the-time groove about the Arizona budget.

It looks like K-12 education went from losing hundreds of millions in funding to gaining $100 million from the 2009 funding levels -- plus 2 percent. I think that's the 2009 levels after the cuts, but still.

That's a big, big win -- or at least it's a major non loss.

OK, let me put my cynical hat back on. This means we may regain our status as 49th in the nation in the amount we spend per student after slipping to 50th. In your face, Utah!

There, that feels better. Don't want to get too happy here.

Dr. Word says: The Palin lexicon continues to grow

by David Safier
First there was Palindrone. As two words, Palin drone, it refers to a mindless supporter of the soon-to-be-ex guv. As one word, it refers to her speaking style, droning on and on in a random blur of words and ideas. Wittiest definition, from "Wikiality: The Truthiness Encyclopedia": Recited verbage which is so generic, it means the same thing whether you listen to it forward or backward.

Yesterday, we got the term Iquitarod, to describe Palin's race to resign, which I first saw on a HuffPo post, then later in the day as a title on Countdown (Olbermann and his staff must scour the blogs for material. I often hear features on the show I've only seen in the blogosphere).

The latest is Sarahgogue. See below.

(Hat tip to AzBlueMeanie for the cartoon)

Charters, STOs, etc., let this be a warning

by David Safier
Here's a very nasty story out of Philadelphia about some folks in the charter school biz milking the state for their own personal gain. Criminal charges have been filed. They're in a whole lot of trouble. (There's an online charter in Philly, Agora Cyber School, that may be in a world of hurt as well, for similar reasons.)

Kevin M. O'Shea and Brien N. Gardiner did not stint on the decor of their executive offices at Philadelphia Academy Charter School, where they ran up $145,000 in expenses that included flat-screen TVs, lavishly appointed bathrooms, and a kitchen with granite countertops.

Even $46,000 in improvements to O'Shea's home in the Morrell Park section were billed to the Northeast Philadelphia school.

Gardiner, founder and former chief executive officer, and O'Shea, his handpicked successor, secretly paid $34,000 to Rosemary DiLacqua, the school's board president. She approved raises for both men, and signed off on a 20-year consulting contract for Gardiner, giving him more than $100,000 annually for 90 days' work or less.

Such alleged misspending of hundreds of thousands of dollars in school money from March 2002 to May 2008 added up yesterday to federal criminal charges against O'Shea and DiLacqua.

[snip]

The year-long investigation "shows that people who are supposed to be watching out for our students and our schools were only acting in their own self interest," said Derek A. Cohen, the assistant U.S. attorney in charge of the case.

[snip]

"It's not the end of our investigation," he said. "We continue to look into this and related type fraud."

I've said it before, but it bears repeating. We need careful, thorough audits of organizations like charter schools and School Tuition Organizations. We don't know if anyone is doing anything illegal here in Arizona, but that's just the point. We don't know. It's taxpayer money, and we have the right to know that it's not being stolen for personal gain.