Blog For Arizona

Arizona Legislature: The coming week

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

...While last week was the final week for most bills to receive committee consideration in their chambers of origin, there is still committee activity this week.

And as evidenced by the explosion of controversy last week over the railroading of the bigots' rights bill (aka - SB1062), all sorts of hell can break loose at the Capitol at any moment.

 

Notes:

All committees meetings and agendas are subject to change without notice, and frequently do.  If you plan to travel to the Capitol to observe or weigh in on the consideration of a particular measure, check with the lege ahead of time to confirm that the meeting that you are interesting in is still on schedule and your item(s) of interest is still on the agenda for that meeting.

Meeting rooms designated "HHR" are in the House of Representatives building.

Meeting rooms designated "SHR" are in the Senate building.

Some agendas are summarized as "looks harmless", but if they cover an area of interest to you, examine the agenda and the bills on it.  If I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

 

All House committee agendas can be found here.

All Senate committee agendas can be found here.

 

On the Senate side of the Capitol -

Arizona Legislature: The Coming Week - part 2

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Well, they've reached the first "deadline" week of the session, and that is reflected in the length of committee agendas.

Friday is the last day for bills introduced in a particular chamber to be heard in that chamber's committees.  There are exceptions (bills can still be considered by the Appropriations committees) or exceptions can be made (schmooze the Senate President/House Speaker), but for the most part, proposals that don't pass committee by the end of the week are dead.

...Unless they are revived by a strike-everything amendment (striker) and pasted into the frame of another bill that *did* pass committee.  But that's another post...

 

This week, because the agendas are so long, and so fluid, this post will be presented in two parts -

Wednesday and Thursday's schedules will be in this part, while the agendas for Monday and Tuesday are covered here.

 

Notes:

All committees meetings and agendas are subject to change without notice, and frequently do.  If you plan to travel to the Capitol to observe or weigh in on the consideration of a particular measure, check with the lege ahead of time to confirm that the meeting that you are interesting in is still on schedule and your item(s) of interest is still on the agenda for that meeting.

Meeting rooms designated "HHR" are in the House of Representatives building.

Meeting rooms designated "SHR" are in the Senate building.

Some agendas are summarized as "looks harmless", but if they cover an area of interest to you, examine the agenda and the bills on it.  If I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

 

All House committee agendas can be found here.

All Senate committee agendas can be found here.

 

On the Senate side of the Capitol -

Arizona Legislature: The Coming Week - part 1

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Well, they've reached the first "deadline" week of the session, and that is reflected in the length of committee agendas.

Friday is the last day for bills introduced in a particular chamber to be heard in that chamber's committees.  There are exceptions (bills can still be considered by the Appropriations committees) or exceptions can be made (schmooze the Senate President/House Speaker), but for the most part, proposals that don't pass committee by the end of the week are dead

...Unless they are revived by a strike-everything amendment (striker) and pasted into the frame of another bill that *did* pass committee.  But that's another post...

This week, because the agendas are so long, and so fluid, this post will be presented in two parts.

Monday and Tuesday's schedules will be in this part, while the agendas for Wednesday and Thursday will be analyzed on Tuesday evening.

 

Notes:

All committees meetings and agendas are subject to change without notice, and frequently do.  If you plan to travel to the Capitol to observe or weigh in on the consideration of a particular measure, check with the lege ahead of time to confirm that the meeting that you are interesting in is still on schedule and your item(s) of interest is still on the agenda for that meeting.

Meeting rooms designated "HHR" are in the House of Representatives building.

Meeting rooms designated "SHR" are in the Senate building.

Some agendas are summarized as "looks harmless", but if they cover an area of interest to you, examine the agenda and the bills on it.  If I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

 

All House committee agendas can be found here.

All Senate committee agendas can be found here.

 

On the Senate side of the Capitol -

Sen. Rick Murphy challenging Sen. Steve Yarbrough for the gold medal in the "Brazen Chutzpah" competition

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

By now, everyone in the lege-watcher universe knows about Sen. Steve Yarbrough and his penchant for pushing self-enriching tuition tax credit measures in the lege, measures that add to his personal wealth.

And even though his activities have been public knowledge for years now, every year, Yarbrough pushes more self-serving measures through the lege.

Why shouldn't he?  Other than the news stories, he hasn't faced any pushback for his actions - he keeps getting reelected and this state's prosecutors won't touch him.

Now, one of his Senate colleagues, Rick Murphy, has apparently taken the lesson from Yarbrough's situation to heart - go ahead and use the lege as a conduit for self-serving agendas.

Last summer, Murphy was caught up in a scandal when there were allegations the he abused some of the children placed in his care as a foster parent.

After an investigation by Peoria PD and CPS found insufficient evidence to support criminal charges, the matter was dropped.

Well, the police and CPS dropped the matter, but Murphy most assuredly has not.

Apparently, Murphy is still pissed off to no end that they dared to investigate him.

So he has proposed a series of bills to "remedy" the situation.

The AZLege's Black Helicopter Caucus wants a Constitutional Convention. Just the wrong kind.

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

...Just a vent, but it is time to rename the "Legislative Department" (Article 4) section of the AZ Constitution as the "Micromanaging The Legislative Department" section...

Led by renowned/notorious (pick your preferred term) tea party type Rep. Kelly Townsend, the Arizona Legislature's Black Helicopter Caucus (BHC) has proposed HCR2027, a proposal for a convention to propose amendments to the US Constitution.

They want to impose term limits on federal-level elected officials ('cuz term limits have helped AZ become the best-run state in the country. don'cha know?) and fiscal and authority limits on the federal government.

And after watching the Arizona legislature in action this session, and many sessions before this, I have come to think that the BHC is on to something here.

I mean, they have the wrong goals and the wrong target in mind, but it is definitely time to update the Constitution to address some malfeasance on the part of members of a branch of government.

Of course, the Constitution that needs updating is the Arizona Constitution, and the branch of government that needs to be brought to heel is the Arizona Legislature.

There's a culture of institutional corruption at the legislature, exemplified by the never-ending stream of legislation that serves deep-pocketed lobbyists or even the legislators themselves, almost all contrary to the interests of the people of Arizona.

That corruption is rooted in, and enabled by, a culture of contempt for public service, public servants, and even the public itself.

Time to make some "adjustments".

None of the suggestions that follow are partisan in nature, nor are they about policy.  Those considerations change over time; the need for elected officials to conduct the people's business, and themselves, with focus and integrity is timeless.

 

Suggestion one:

Arizona Legislature: The Coming Week

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

The full moon isn't going to happen until Friday night, but the "bay at the moon" crowd will be in full throat by early Monday afternoon...  

 

Notes:

All committees meetings and agendas are subject to change without notice, and frequently do.  If you plan to travel to the Capitol to observe or weigh in on the consideration of a particular measure, check with the lege ahead of time to confirm that the meeting that you are interesting in is still on schedule and your item(s) of interest is still on the agenda for that meeting.

Meeting rooms designated "HHR" are in the House of Representatives building.

Meeting rooms designated "SHR" are in the Senate building.

Some agendas are summarized as "looks harmless", but if they cover an area of interest to you, examine the agenda and the bills on it.  If I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

The agendas that seem to be the "worst of the worst" are bolded.

 

All House committee agendas can be found here.

All Senate committee agendas can be found here.

 

On the Senate side of the Capitol -

Arizona Legislature: The Coming Week

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

Committee work at the Arizona lege has definitely ramped up;  There are a couple of contenders for the "worst of the week", but it looks as if the meeting of Senate Government and Environment on Monday will be this week's worst of the worst...

Notes:

All committees meetings and agendas are subject to change without notice, and frequently do.  If you plan to travel to the Capitol to observe or weigh in on the consideration of a particular measure, check with the lege ahead of time to confirm that the meeting that you are interesting in is still on schedule and your item(s) of interest is still on the agenda for that meeting.

Meeting rooms designated "HHR" are in the House of Representatives building.

Meeting rooms designated "SHR" are in the Senate building.

Some agendas are summarized as "looks harmless", but if they cover an area of interest to you, examine the agenda and the bills on it.  If I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

All House committee agendas can be found here.

All Senate committee agendas can be found here.

 

On the House side of the Capitol this week -

Response and correction, with an observation

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Note: The comment cited here was left on a post on my own blog, but since that post was cross-posted here and that cross-post has been updated because of the comment, this response post is being cross-posted too.

 

This week's "Coming Week" post on legislative committee activity brought forth a response, one that merits its own post.

The response to the original post -

Regarding your comments on the House Appropriations Committee agenda, nobody is being sued and most of SB1070 has been upheld. Factually, you are 0 for 2.

State Rep. John Kavanagh (Approps Chair)

The line relating to the SB1070 lawsuit that I used in the post -

- Appropriations, Wednesday 2 p.m., HHR1.  One item on the agenda: HB2366, appropriating funds for nativist legislators and former legislators who have been sued over their involvement in the infamous (and mostly overturned by court decisions) SB1070.

Well, both Rep. Kavanagh and I were in error here.

From KGUN9, written by Ina Ronquillo -

Republican leaders in the Arizona Legislature want taxpayers to pay for a legal fight against subpoenas seeking emails from nearly two dozen current and former lawmakers in a case stemming from a challenge to Arizona's anti-immigration law, SB1070.

That lawsuit, by the ACLU, doesn't actually name the current and former legislators. 

Instead, their records are being subpoenaed as part of the lawsuit over a law that they were heavily involved in enacting.

My phrasing was unclear at best, and plainly incorrect at worst, and will be updated.  I apologize for any misconceptions caused by my poor choice of words.

However, there was nothing unclear about Kavanagh's statement in his comment - "...nobody is being sued..."

There is also nothing correct about it.

Arizona Legislature: The Coming Week

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Reading tea leaves time ("tea leaves" means "Wild-Ass Guess" based limited information):

Committee activity is ramping up early at the lege, lending credence to the theory that they are planning on/working toward a short session this year.  Most years, committee activity doesn't truly ramp up until two or so weeks before the deadlines to consider bills (this year, the 21st of February for consideration of same-chamber proposals and the 21st of March for bills from the other chamber).

This year, however, things are speeding up.  It's still January but the committee schedule is already packed.

Notes:

All committees meetings and agendas are subject to change without notice, and frequently do.  If you plan to travel to the Capitol to observe or weigh in on the consideration of a particular measure, check with the lege ahead of time to confirm that the meeting that you are interesting in is still on schedule and your item(s) of interest is still on the agenda for that meeting.

Meeting rooms designated "HHR" are in the House of Representatives building.

Meeting rooms designated "SHR" are in the Senate building.

Some agendas are summarized as "looks harmless", but if they cover an area of interest to you, examine the agenda and the bills on it.  If I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

All House committee agendas can be found here.

All Senate committee agendas can be found here.

 

On the House side of the Capitol this week -

The Arizona Legislature: Anti-Federal Government measure masquerading as a civil liberties measure

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

In 2013, news came to light (due to the now-world famous Edward Snowden) that the US government, via the NSA, was collecting "metadata" about the cell phone calls of Americans.

Metadata is pretty much all of the information about a phone call except for a recording of the conversation (number called, time of call, duration of call, where the parties to the call were located during the call, etc.).

Civil libertarians from across the political spectrum were outraged by the news (though a few folks were more outraged by the fact that someone dared to "out" the program; those folks are part of the problem, and not part of the solution).

Critics of the president and people who were heretofore supporters of President Obama pounced on the news - civil liberty is perhaps the one area those two groups can find common ground.

Amazingly, the legions of the President's critics, who would denounce him if he found a cure for cancer, did not focus on this issue, perhaps one of the few legitimate areas where support for the President isn't widespread and strong.

As an observer of the political scene, this lapse baffled me.  I could not hazard even a guess as to why the President has received an almost-complete pass on this.

Today, I figured it out.

They're not upset over the collection of metadata; they're upset that *they're* not the ones doing it and controlling and using the data.

See: SB1156. 

Arizona legislature: The coming week

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

Time for the first 2014 post previewing committee activity in the Arizona legislature.

 

Notes:

All committees meetings and agendas are subject to change without notice, and frequently do.  If you plan to travel to the Capitol to observe or weigh in on the consideration of a particular measure, check with the lege ahead of time to confirm that the meeting that you are interesting in is still on schedule and your item(s) of interest is still on the agenda for that meeting.

Meeting rooms designated "HHR" are in the House of Representatives building.

Meeting rooms designated "SHR" are in the Senate building.

Some agendas are summarized as "looks harmless", but if they cover an area of interest to you, examine the agenda and the bills on it.  If I missed something significant, leave a comment letting me know.

All House committee agendas can be found here.

All Senate committee agendas can be found here.

 

On to the meeting schedule, which is relatively sparse this week.

Arizona lege 2014: Puttin' the "AZ" in "crazy". Again.

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Maybe it's time to move the Arizona State Hospital six (or so) miles to the west, and a little south...

Still sticking by the prediction that this year's session of the Arizona legislature will be a short one, but I now expect them to pack a lot of punch line-worthy material into the session.

We've already had one sitting state senator, Don Shooter, baldly announce that he intends to keep taking bribes "gifts" of tickets to sporting events from lobbyists until he receives a pay raise.

Another one is fast-tracking a bill to make discrimination that can be rationalized by citing a religious justification a protected civil right...for the bigots.

 

And that's just the beginning.

Some of the other "colorful" measures that fall into the "making comedy writers' lives easier" category (some are new, some are rehashes of schemes proposed in earlier sessions of the lege):

Arizona Legislature 2014: not much new under the sun

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

A couple of early updates from the new session of the legislative session:

While some of the names have changed, some things haven't changed at the Capitol.  Like the arrogance and culture of entitlement among the majority caucus.

Exhibit 1:  They're proposing to pay any legislators, current and past, who claim to have incurred legal costs from lawsuits against their infamous anti-immigrant measure, SB1070. (Arizona Capitol Times, subscription required)

Something similar to this has been proposed before this week; after former senator Russell Pearce was recalled.  There was a move to reimburse him for the costs of his campaign in (unsuccessful) defense of him.  That move didn't go far, not least because he didn't actually pay for his defense - contributors did.

Pearce's acolytes in the lege may have failed the first time, but they haven't stopped looking for ways to funnel taxpayer money to him.

Exhibit 2: One state legislator, Sen. Don Shooter (R-Yuma), in response to proposals to end the practice of legislators accepting tickets to sporting events from lobbyists, proclaimed that unless legislators get a pay raise he's going to keep accepting bribes tickets.

For the record: I actually agree with Shooter on one thing - legislative pay should be raised.  Most would-be public servants are honest and honorable people.  However, they also have families to support and cannot do that on the current legislative salary of $24K per year.

So, instead of people who want to work for the best interests of their constituents and the state, Arizona ends up with the majority of the legislature is made up of whackjobs and grifters.

I'll leave it to readers to determine for themselves which category (or both, they're not mutually exclusive) that Shooter fits in.

In any event, he knew what the pay level for legislators was *before* he took his oath of office.  While I think that legislative pay is too low, that doesn't justify corruption.  He gets absolutely no sympathy on this.

Arizona Legislature: 2014 Preview

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

The 2014 session of the Arizona Legislature starts Monday with the Governor's State of the State Address to a joint session of the AZ House and AZ Senate (and a slew of media types, lobbyists, staffers, and well-connected lookie-loos).

Time for a preview of, and a few predictions for, the new session:

 

Membership/personnel changes at the lege for 2014, all in the Senate:

Out: Sen. Jack Jackson Jr. (D-LD7)

In: Sen Carlyle Begay (D-LD7)

Jackson resigned from the Senate to accept a position with the Obama administration.  Begay is "officially" a Democrat from LD7, but there are concerns/rumors that he his neither a Democrat nor a resident of LD7.

 

Out: Sen. Rich Crandall (R-LD16)

In: Sen. David Farnsworth (R-LD16)

Crandall resigned from the Senate to accept the top education job in Wyoming.  Don't know much about Farnsworth.

 

Out: Sen. Linda Lopez (D-LD2)

In: TBA

Lopez has resigned from the Senate in order to focus on a new job.  No replacement has been selected as of this writing.

 

Out, as Senate Democratic leader: Sen. Leah Landrum-Taylor (D-LD27)

In: Sen. Anna Tovar (D-LD19)

The most surprising news emanating from the lege between the sessions was the unexpected change in the leadership of the Senate Democratic caucus.  There were some hard feelings at the time, but like the Rs with their rift over AHCCCS restoration, most of the focus this session is expected to be on finishing as quickly as possible so that all members can focus on campaign activity.

 

GOP solution to CPS scandal: Help abused children in AZ by undermining the education and health of all children in AZ

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

In the classic novel 1984, George Orwell coined a term, "doublethink", meaning the acceptance of two contradictory ideas at the same time.

It seems that the GOPer caucus of the lege has made doublethink a linchpin of their ideological platform tactical planning.

From Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, via the Arizona Daily Star -

A veteran state lawmaker wants voters to siphon cash away from a program for early-childhood development and redirect it to help fund services for foster children and the families that care for them.

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said it’s clear that additional money is needed to ensure laws against child abuse and neglect are being enforced.

Child Protective Services has been running a backlog of 10,000 cases listed as inactive, meaning there has been no action on them in at least two months. And that is on top of the more than 6,500 complaints that were recently discovered to have been entirely ignored and now are finally being investigated.

All that, Kavanagh said, will have to come from general tax revenues.

But he said there is other money potentially available for foster-care families: revenues from an 80-cent-a-pack tax on cigarettes that voters approved in 2006. He said some of the funds from First Things First, which now finance everything from pre-kindergarten programs to subsidized child care, might be better spent on families with more immediate needs.

GOP caucus in the lege finds a way to suppress public input by calling it an "improvement"

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

For the record, I *really* hope I'm wrong about the motivation behind this, but given the character and track records of the people behind this move, I'm not holding out much hope for that...

From an AZ House GOP press release -

STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX (Jan. 2, 2014) – The system allowing members, lobbyists and the general public to request to speak at a House or Senate committee meeting will be much improved in 2014. The improvements will make it possible for committee chairs to re-arrange agendas on the fly, and will make it easier for users to speak on bills being heard in separate committees with overlapping meeting times.

The three main improvements to the Request To Speak (In Committee) System are:
• Committee chairs will be able to easily re-arrange the order of agendas
• Users will be able to access re-ordered agendas via smartphones and other devices
• Agenda items voted on during committee will be updated in real-time

Committee chairs can easily rearrange an agenda to suit a meeting’s immediate circumstances with the new RTS system. And as agenda items are heard that information will be updated in real-time allowing users to follow the committee as it works through each item on the agenda. Consequently, users who have bills being considered in two or more committees that are meeting at the same time can better gauge which committee to be at first and when to leave it for the next one.

Mike Braun and his team at the Arizona Legislative Council will hold two meeting

Thursday, Jan. 9, at the House on how to use the new system. Committee chairs are strongly encouraged to attend one of the sessions.

Who: All House members, especially committee chairs, lobbyists and the general public
What: Instructions on how to use the new RTS system
Where: The House Chamber and the Gallery, 1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ
When: Thursday, Jan. 9, at 10 a.m. and a second session at 2 p.m.
Why: Improve overall efficiency and involvement

Important to note:
• All users will have to create a new account to access the new system; old accounts will not be carried over to the new system
• Setting up a new account requires a visit to the Legislature, once setup the account will work for committee meetings scheduled in both the House and the Senate
• After the account is setup, users will be able to access it remotely in order to make a request to speak at a committee meeting

The section most important to concerned citizens and other lege watchers is at the bottom of the press release (emphasis added) -

Arizona Stories Of The Year: 2013, Politics Edition

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Note to BfA readers: this list is solely mine.  The other writers who contribute to BfA will almost certainly have their own lists.  My focus is on the goings-on at the state capitol, so this list is heavy on things that have an impact there, or at least in Maricopa County.

Many media outlets, pundits (and wanna-be pundits), and other observers of current events compile "Year End" or "Best Of" lists.

Since this blog focuses on Arizona politics, the list compiled here will focus on...wait for it...

 

Arizona politics.

 

I know this is really, truly, deeply, genuinely, shocking.

:)

Anyway, on to the reason that we are all here - the list, counting down from the fifth-most significant/interesting story related to Arizona politics to number one.

Interesting but unplanned-for common characteristic:  I expect all of the following to have an impact in years beyond 2013.

Frank Antenori: Gone but not going away quietly

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Frank Antenori, former legislator and late of an unsuccessful attempt to block the state from restoring Medicaid (AHCCCS) eligibility to the levels approved by voters years ago, has been known as a loud-mouthed bully.

Whether it has been threatening the Pima County Board of Supervisors into appointing him to the state senate, pledging to completely shun another legislator, a fellow Republican no less, for the "crime" of defeating a close friend of his, comparing the election of Barack Obama as President to the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, or one of his many other examples of "shooting from the lip", his rhetorical style has always been more "loud and angry" than "civil and fact-based".

Even though he failed in his 2012 for reelection to the State Senate, losing to a Democrat who conducts himself much more civilly and professionally, Antenori still spouts off regularly.

Early Christmas Eve morning (shortly after midnight), he tweeted about the Affordable Care Act, aka - "Obamacare".

 

I noticed the tweet a few minutes after he posted it, and thought it was an implied threat against the President.  I asked Antenori to clarify his tweet.

AZ Supreme Court says "Merry Christmas" to R legislators, "Gimme" to lobbyists...

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

...and "Up Yours" to the people of Arizona...

From the Arizona Republic, written by Mary Jo Pitzl -

Higher campaign-contribution limits — up to $4,000 per candidate in a statewide race — are in force for the 2014 elections, in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling handed up late Tuesday.

The five-member court sided with state legislative leaders, who argued a bill that raises the limits and applies them to both the primary- and general-election cycles does not violate the state Constitution. They argued the higher limits are a free-speech right and would help fend off independent-expenditure committees from distorting candidates’ messages.

I'm not sure where Pitzl got the "$4,000" figure.  The original bill set the limits at $5K - $2500 per election, with the primary and general elections considered  to separate elections for campaign finance purposes - but there was also an argument that while the increased limits could not be stopped, they could be reduced by 20% under the law enacted by the voters that created the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.  $4000 is 20% less than the new law's "$5,000".

Still, whether the new limit is $4K or $5K per contributor, it's way too high for the vast majority of Arizonans.  Under the new limits, only corporations, the very wealthy, and those who do their bidding will be able to afford giving serious financial support to candidates.

Selfies, funerals, and context

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

I'm a little late to this, mostly because once I looked into it, I realized that it was a ginned up controversy and not actually a big deal.  However, somebody I respect a great deal has joined the "Whatever Obama Does Is, By Definition, A Scandal" camp and is wondering why I haven't commented on this.  So here it is. :)

In November, the folks at the Oxford English Dictionary named "selfie" as its 2013 "Word of the Year".

OED's definition:

a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media 

In the U.S, "selfies" are generally associated with teens, Kardashians, and Kardashian wannabes.

Most of the time it's used by "fluff" media types such as TMZ, People magazine, and the like.

This week, the word was all over the "serious" MSM and on the lips of pundits across the political spectrum.

 

On Tuesday, world leaders gathered in South Africa to attend a memorial service for Nelson Mandela.

The biggest news to come out of it, in the American MSM anyway, was that President Obama took a "selfie" picture with his cell phone at the service.

Across America, angst meters pegged at maximum and pearls were clutched, tightly.

Based on the first reports, I thought that the President had taken a selfie at the memorial service of one of the greatest men of the second half of the 20th Century, something that was shallow, disrespectful, and utterly inappropriate in the context of a memorial service.

Regardless of who did it.

Gun deaths total in AZ: All about a malicious attitude

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

And the "malice" isn't just on the part of the shooters...

There's a couple of gun stories going around that, on the surface, are unrelated.  However, they are probably more closely related than "Second Amendment activists" (a euphemism for "gun nuts") would care to admit.

First up: an "effect".

From Mother Jones, written by Dana Liebelson and Stephanie Mencimer -

Back in December, not long after the massacre at Sandy Hook school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, Bloomberg News published a study suggesting that by 2015, guns would kill more Americans than traffic accidents do.

The comparison struck a nerve, and the factoid has become a talking point in gun control debates on Capitol Hill. But it's clear from the data that the prediction wasn't just a hypothetical. A number of states have already hit this grisly milestone.

From the story, Arizona's shameful numbers -

 

Yes, in 2010, there were already more gun deaths than traffic deaths in Arizona.

Yet, while there are scads of laws regulating the use of motor vehicles in AZ, there are many fewer such laws regarding the use of firearms in AZ, and those laws are made fewer and weaker seemingly every time the Arizona legislature meets.

Now, a cause (or at least, a contributing factor):

Andy Biggs' evaluation of the CPS records scandal: Child abuse isn't a problem, opportunities to report it are.

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Apparently, when State Sen. Andy Biggs (R-Gilbert), the president of the Arizona State Senate, hears about "uninvestigated reports of child abuse", he thinks that there's a problem.

 

Not with "child abuse".

Not with "uninvestigated".

Nope, he has a problem with "reports".

 

From the Arizona Daily Star, written by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services -

Biggs did not dispute that caseloads have increased in the last four years. But he said that’s the result of a “false positive” due to additional funding.

“Instead of taking the money and using it to solve cases, they went out and advertised for more,” he said. While that may have turned up more legitimate cases of abuse, Biggs said it also resulted in more false reports.

Wow.  What brilliant insight.

If we apply that insight to other areas, think of the quality-of-life improvements that could be made in our society -

CPS records scandal: Is "sacrificial lamb" a commonly-accepted resume entry?

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musing

...Because someone should be updating his resume...

By now, most folks in AZ have heard of the confession by the director of the department that oversees Child Protective Services (CPS) that the agency dealt with its heavy workload the simplest way possible -

 

It ignored more than 6000 reports of possible child abuse.

 

Additionally, some CPS records related to those reports were found dumped in an alley.

There have been calls (and here) for that director of the Department of Economic Security (DES), Clarence Carter, to resign or be fired by Governor Jan Brewer (mostly by Democratic legislators).

There have been counter-statements "pooh-poohing" the concerns as much ado about very little (mostly by Republican legislators).

Now, Carter says that he isn't going anywhere, but he may not have much say in the matter.

Rick Renzi: From the US House to the Big House

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

...It was a long and winding road, but the destination is in sight now...

From the Phoenix New Times, written by Ray Stern -

Former Arizona U.S. Congressman Rick Renzi was sentenced today to three years in prison following his June conviction on fraud and corruption charges.

The sentence was a long time coming in this classic case of congressional corruption, but Renzi, a Republican, will finally be doing some hard time. New Times was the first to expose Renzi's disgusting dealings in a 2006 article that preceded his 2008 indictment.

Arizona U.S. District Judge David C. Bury sentenced Renzi in a Tucson courtroom Monday, October 28. Renzi's buddy, real-estate investor James Sandlin, also found out today he'll be serving 18 months in the Big House himself.

While there may be a few political luminaries in Arizona who are as deserving of prison as Renzi, I can't think of any who are *more* deserving.

State appeals court blocks higher campaign contribution limits

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

...At least until the inevitable appeal by the Republican political leadership...

In a curiously-worded ruling, the Arizona Court of Appeals blocked the hugely increased campaign contribution limits passed by the legislature in HB2593. 

At least, they're blocked for state-level candidates.

Under the provisions of HB2593, limits on individual contributions to a political candidate were raised from $450 (local and county races), $440 (legislative races), and $912 (statewide races) to $5000, and aggregate limits, the total that an individual may give to candidates and political committees that give to candidates went from $6390 to no limit.

The ruling from the Court is more than 30 pages long, but the "money" line (so to speak :) ) is the last one -

Christine Jones: choosing the wrong role models?

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

Say what you want about Arizona politics (and try not to guffaw...or weep...or both...when speaking about AZ politics), this state doesn't seem to have a problem with electing women.

For example, four out of our last five governors have been women - Rose Mofford, Jane Hull, Janet Napolitano, and Jan Brewer.

Another example - two out of our nine members of Congress (and two out of our five Democratic representatives) are women - Ann Kirkpatrick and Kyrsten Sinema.

Women who are running for office here have some great role models to follow, if they choose to take their inspiration from other women who have been candidates or office holders.

Some of the female officeholders/candidates in this state have been outstanding examples for anyone to follow, regardless of partisan identification or gender -

Before she was the victim of an attempted assassination by a shooter who went on to kill six and wound 12 other people, former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was highly-respected, well-liked, and expected to move on to bigger and better things.

In addition, word was that whenever she met with the Republican leadership of the Arizona legislature, former governor Janet Napolitano was usually the smartest person in the room.  And when she wasn't, anybody in the room that was smarter than her was there working for her.

Both were and are known for their intelligence, professionalism, work ethic, and desire to actually achieve solutions to problems and not for just grandstanding.

In short, they have been among the best public servants in America, not just Arizona.

Unfortunately, the willingness of the Arizona electorate to elect female candidates has also supplied evidence that there are women who are as unfit for office as some of the men who win elections here -

Governor Jan "Brain Freeze" Brewer ("Headless Bodies" would have worked here, too), former state senator Lori "Quickdraw" Klein (would have gone with "Thinks Bigoted And Ignorant Stereotypes Should Serve As The Foundation Of Public Discourse And Policy", but that is too long to serve as a nickname :) ), and State Representative Brenda "Foot in Mouth" Barton are no better than Maricopa County Sheriff Joe "Federal court ruling? Who cares?!?" Arpaio, former state senate president Russell "Never Met A Brown Person He Didn't Want To Deport" Pearce, and former state senator Frank "Don't Make Me Mad" Antenori.

They all have brought, or are still bringing, great amounts of ridicule upon Arizona.

Now, 2014 Republican gubernatorial candidate Christine Jones has staked out her campaign path, and it appears that she is patterning herself after the crowd that merits ridicule, not respect.

She recently appeared at a fundraiser for the aforementioned Arpaio (video courtesy KTVK) -

Fred Duval is "boring"? The AZGOP should consider becoming less "interesting".

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

The Arizona Capitol Times ran a story today about Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred Duval's clear path to the nomination in 2014. (subscription required)

  The money quote was from Robert Graham, chair of the AZGOP.

"DuVal is a plain vanilla candidate. He has no texture to him and he has a party that’s not working for him at this particular point."

Now, granted, Fred Duval isn't Barack Obama or Bill Clinton on the stump.  But to be fair, no one is, including (especially?) those vying for the Republican nomination next year. 

On the other hand, he hasn't suffered the brain freeze heard 'round the world, either. 

Fred has been a successful businessman and dedicated public servant.  

More to the point, he is smart and accomplished and has a positive vision for Arizona.

Unlike, say, some of the candidates that Graham considers to be "exciting" - - One was a senior executive of a company that markets its product by objectifying women, and not very subtly, either. - Another brought ridicule to and wasted taxpayer resources of Arizona in the pursuit of a radical fantasy. - Yet another was accused of defrauding franchisees and the government.

- One more proposed turning the state into a nuclear waste dump. 

- And the capper?  One was disbarred.

There is an old saw, a curse, about living in interesting times.

Mr. Graham may find that supporting "interesting" candidates is just as much a curse.

 

People who want to volunteer to help Fred's campaign sign up here;  people who want to make a financial contribution can do so here.

 

Protest by tea party types in DC: Playing the dog whistle like it's a tuba

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

From Huffington Post, written by Ashley Alman - 

At a veteran-led rally that hit the World War II Memorial, the National Mall and the White House on Sunday, one tea party rallier had choice words for President Barack Obama, blaming him for the government shutdown and calling on him to step down.

Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch, a conservative political advocacy group, said the country is "ruled by a president who bows down to Allah," and "is not a president of 'we the people.'"

The video of Klayman, courtesy HuffPo (I think that they got it from CNN, but I got it from HuffPo) -

In case the name "Klayman" doesn't ring a bell, it should - he was Joe Arpaio's go-to guy when Arpaio faced a recall effort, and the notorious Klayman has been preaching treason for a while now.

 

Kwasman pulling out the dog whistle out of his campaign quiverBy

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

"Dog whistle politics" rearing its ugly head in Arizona.  Yet again.

From RationalWiki -

Dog whistle politics usually refers to the use of certain code words or phrases that are designed to be understood by only a small section of the populace. Generally speaking, these are phrases that have special meaning to that subsection entirely independent of its meaning to others, and represent a particularly insidious use of loaded language.

The term alludes to the sound of a dog whistle, which can only be heard by the intended audience (the dog). In theory at least, dog whistle terms are only noticed and understood by the people they are intended for.

During the era of the civil rights movement, and even today, the anti-civil rights crowd liked to use "dog-whistle" euphemisms to talk about their support for institutionalized bigotry, unfettered hatred, and outright lynchings.

They used words and phrases like "states' rights", "elitism", and "heritage" to put a "civil" mask to cover their hatred of minorities and to impugn their critics in ways that weren't overtly offensive but would rouse their base.

Starting in 2008, when America elected its first African-American president, Barack Obama, there has been a rise in "dog whistle politics" nationally, and in every state, particularly those that were part of or sympathetic to the Confederacy in the Civil War.

One example: Birtherism.

This week's Arizona example was State Rep. Brenda Barton's comparison of President Obama to one of history's biggest monsters, Adolph Hitler.

Now, her statement was probably too overt to be considered "dog whistle", but the response of one of Barton's colleagues in the AZ House is most definitely "dog whistle".

Rep. Adam Kwasman (R-LD11) is a candidate for Congress in CD1, and he is facing a primary battle with AZ House Speaker Andy Tobin and Gary Kiehne, a rancher from rural Arizona.

He tweeted this about Barton on Saturday morning -

Triangulation: The coward's political platform

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

From Taegan Goddard's Political Dictionary -

triangulation

The act of a political candidate presenting his or her views as being above and between the left and right sides of the political spectrum. It’s sometimes called the “third way.”

In practice, it has come to cover the situation where electeds establish a voting and issue position pattern that is so disorganized that they can present it as meaning whatever they think that a given audience will like best.

And when the audience changes, so does the way that the electeds present their records.

Some observers, being more cynical than me (which is saying something :) ) call it "practical".

I call it "cowardly".

 

In the last week or so, during the federal government shutdown crisis manufactured the Republicans in the US House of Representatives, we've seen a couple of the Democratic members of AZ's Congressional delegation go down this path in the most brazen way possible.

Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (D-CD9) and Ron Barber (D-CD2) have tried to look "reasonable" by siding with the tea party types in Congress by voting to weaken the Affordable Care Act.  They have also supported a number of bills that are intended to cloak the Rs in an aura of "puppy dogs and fluffy white clouds" (funding PR-friendly agencies and operations like cancer research, etc.).

Jan Brewer and AZ's Republicans showing their priorities during the federal government shutdown: tourists and photo ops over poor people

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Republicans doing a mean two-step during the shutdown...with the emphasis on "mean"...

Step 1:

From the Associated Press, via KVOA (Tucson) -

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is taking an offer to use state money to keep the Grand Canyon open to the top.

Brewer and state legislative leaders sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to approve funding the Arizona park and other national parks.

Step 2:

Candidates and committees update

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

...In unsurprising news, AZ House Speaker Andy Tobin (R-Paulden) announced that he is running for the CD1 seat currently held by Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick.

In the press release touting his candidacy, Tobin took a page from DC Republicans and blamed Kirkpatrick for the Republicans' shutdown of the federal government, including operations at the Grand Canyon.

From the above-linked Tucson Weekly story, written by Jim Nintzel -

"Kirkpatrick is so committed to protecting ObamaCare and supporting Nancy Pelosi, she has literally voted to shut down the Grand Canyon.”

 It's not true, and I daresay that Tobin is intelligent enough to know that it isn't true, but this tactic of pointing accusatory fingers at others (like, say...Democrats) to distract from their own failings.

We saw a prime example of this locally in 2007 when Tobin's former legislative colleague Jack Harper accused then-Congressman Harry Mitchell, a Democrat, of ignoring deplorable conditions at the Arizona *State* Veterans Home.

At the time, Mitchell was a newly-minted member of Congress and chair of the investigation subcommittee of the US House's Veterans' Committee.

Harper was a long-time member of the Arizona legislature and the chair of the AZ Senate's Government Committee.

Guess which one had more jurisdiction over the conditions at the AZ State Veterans Home? 

Hint: it wasn't Mitchell, but the truth didn't slow down Harper then any more than the truth is slowing down Tobin now.

Housekeeping stuff: Any FEC filings by Tobin aren't on their website yet.  Remember that government shutdown that Tobin blames on Kirkpatrick? :)

 

Tennessee man shows that the need for tolerance in the US has never been greater; ABC News shows that the need for editors in the US has never been greater

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

First, the part about tolerance, or the lack thereof, in the US.

From ABC News/Good Morning America, via Yahoo! News, written by Alexis Shaw -

A Tennessee school district has cancelled some field trips to religious venues after a parent complained that a teacher was pushing "Islamic tolerance" on students.

Mike Conner, 46, of Hendersonville, Tenn., told ABC News that he felt his 14-year-old step daughter's teacher was intentionally giving Islam a greater emphasis than other religions in her Honors World Studies curriculum. The popular elective at the suburban Nashville school with 1,500 students examines five major world religions but only schedules field trips to two houses of worship – a mosque and a Hindu temple. 

In some parts of the country apparently the possibility that children may be taught that "people with different religious beliefs (or non-beliefs) aren't all wild-eyed terrorists" is the sort of un-American activity that must be sniffed out and snuffed out.

Now, the part about editors, or the lack thereof, in the US.

Time for a BOLO in Tucson?

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

From the Twitter feed of former state senator Frank Antenori, posted a few minutes ago -

 

 

 

 

 

Investigative journalism: Republican AG candidate Mark Brnovich and his ties to private prison corporation CCA

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

While the current Arizona Attorney General, Republican Tom Horne, has proven to be such an embarrassment to the "powers that be" in the AZGOP have allowed at least one of their water carriers to mount a primary challenge to him.

Mark Brnovich, director of Arizona's Department of Gaming and a long-time Republican apparatchik, has announced that he is running for the office.

To the best of my knowledge, he didn't give his girlfriends taxpayer-funded jobs, commit hit-and-run accidents, violate campaign finance laws, or has been permanently banned from securities trading by the SEC.

However, he does seem to have a very questionable association in his closet, one that a state's top law enforcement officer wannabe is going to have trouble explaining away.

From an in-depth article published by the Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch, written by Beau Hodai -

The Winnowing Begins: Hallman Withdraws From GOP Race For Governor

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Earlier this week, State Rep. Chad Campbell, Democratic leader in the Arizona House announced his decision to *not* seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2014.

That decision leaves Fred Duval as the only "name" candidate currently in the race for the Democratic nod.

Thursday, a Republican candidate did something similar, with one difference.

There are still like half a bajillion Republicans in the race for their nomination.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Mary Jo Pitzl -

Hugh Hallman on Thursday jumped from the 2014 race for governor to the race for state treasurer, saying he was urged to do so by an influential group of business and civic leaders.

Hallman leaves behind a crowded GOP field vying for the state’s top spot and expands the field for treasurer.

Former Chandler City Councilman Martin Sepulveda and businessman Jeff DeWit also have filed to run for the treasurer’s post.

 

Still in the GOP race for their gubernatorial nomination, or strongly rumored to be getting in:

Campaign and committees update: busy day on Tuesday

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

...First, the big news:  Rep. Chad Campbell, Democratic leader in the AZ House, announced his decision to not seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2014.

His statement, via Facebook -

It’s been no secret that for the last few months I have been considering running for Governor of Arizona.  Our analysis, as well as independent polling, confirms that I would be in a very strong position if I entered the race.  I have talked with Arizonans across the state about the need to move Arizona in a new direction.  We must focus on job creation, improving our education system and instilling transparency at all levels of government.  However, there are other issues that need to be considered outside of purely political factors when deciding whether or not to run.  It is with these considerations in mind that I have decided to not run for Governor of Arizona at this time.  This decision was not made lightly. I need to focus on my family and other new business opportunities that will allow me to improve communities not only in Arizona, but also across the nation.  To the countless number of people across Arizona who have encouraged me to run, I cannot thank you enough.  While I look forward to serving my last year in the Arizona Legislature as the House Democratic Leader, this decision by no means marks the end of my public service.  I will continue looking at all options in the future to determine how best I can serve Arizona.

Campbell's departure from the race leaves Fred Duval as the only "name" Democrat in the race.  While there is still time for someone else to enter, it's going to have to be soon.

Note:  I didn't have a "favorite" in the projected race, but I thought, and think, that a robust primary at the top of the ticket would benefit all Democratic candidate by generating interest and media coverage.

AHCCCS holding a series of community meetings on Medicaid restoration

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

The meeting schedule from the publicity flyer:

 

AHCCCS Community Forums

General - Sessions for Families, Advocates, and Community Partners

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

1 - 3 p.m.

Casino del Sol Conference Center

5655 West Valencia Road

Tucson, AZ 85757

RSVP: [email protected]

 

Friday, October 11, 2013

1 - 3 p.m.

Flagstaff Medical Center - McGee Auditorium

1200 North Beaver Street

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

RSVP: [email protected]

 

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

1 -3 p.m.

3:15 - 5 p.m.

The Disability Empowerment Center

5025 East Washington Street, Suite 200

Phoenix, AZ 85034

RSVP: Both sessions full

 

Monday, November 4, 2013

1 - 3 p.m.

The Disability Empowerment Center

5025 East Washington Street, Suite 200

Phoenix, AZ 85034

RSVP: [email protected]

 

Tribal - Sessions for Tribal Stakeholders

Monday, September 16 and September 23, 2013

1 - 3 p.m.

Native American Community Service Center

4520 North Central Avenue, 6th Floor Conference Room

Phoenix, AZ 85012

RSVP: [email protected]

 

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Casino del Sol Conference Center

5655 West Valencia Road

Tucson, AZ 85757

RSVP: [email protected]

Friday, October 11, 2013

10:30 a.m - 12:30 p.m.

Flagstaff Medical Center - McGee Auditorium

1200 North Beaver Street

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

RSVP: [email protected]

If you plan to attend one of the meetings and speak, you can download a Speaker Slip here. 

More information from AHCCCS on Medicaid restoration here.

RBB: Tea party types taking down Gilbert school district

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

It's been well-known for a while that tea party types don't play well with others; turns out that they don't play well with each other, either.

Here in AZ, that fact has been evident nearly from the start. 

In 2011, tea party types in the then-LD20 Republican district organization were apoplectic over the fact that the majority of that district's GOP activists elected a supporter of Sen. John McCain*, Anthony Miller, as the district chair.  The threats, while marginally veiled, were extreme enough for him to fear for the safety of his family and himself, and he ended up resigning the post.

* - I'm sure the fact that Mr. Miller is African-American had absolutely nothing to do with their outrage over his election as chair.  /end sarcasm

Just this year, Andy Biggs, the Republican president of the state senate, declared the seat of Sen. Rich Crandall, a fellow Republican, vacant.  Crandall had announced that he was resigning to take a job in Wyoming, but tried to time his resignation so that his children would have continuous health insurance coverage (they have pre-existing conditions, and a gap in insurance coverage would give any future insurance providers an excuse to deny coverage.

Now, Mike McClellan, a blogger at AZCentral.com has the scoop on what some tea party types are doing down in Gilbert.

The 2014 Republican Dream Team is assembling...

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

...well, "Dream" by my standards; probably not so much by the GOP's...

The Republican fields for the various statewide offices that are up for election next year are becoming clearer, to the point that in many of the races, there are favorites. 

As in, candidates who people who are not Republicans hope emerge victorious in the Republican primary.

Under the theory that many of candidates have weaknesses that are so overwhelming that they should be easy to defeat in the general election.

 

...The team "Cap'n" of the Dream Team is, of course, candidate for governor "Atomic" Al Melvin.

Currently a state senator, he's part of the "Bay at the Moon" caucus at the state lege.  In fact he's one of the leaders.

When he isn't trying to turn Arizona into a nuclear waste dump or pushing to expand slave prison labor here, he is spouting off, like with his recent assertion that trees cause drought conditions.

He's looking to pull off the same play that the notorious Ev Mecham pulled off more than a quarter century ago.  If he does gain the office, he has the potential to embarrass and even damage the state even more than Mecham.  However, his presence at the top of the ticket will serve as an anchor on the rest of the ticket.

Al Melvin reveals the secret cause of drought conditions in the Southwest: Trees.

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

The man who would be King Ev The Second uses his Twitter feed to "enlighten" his followers on political and societal "reality" as he sees it.

In general, his posts are worthy only of ignoring (they run the rhetorical gamut from "Obama's a [something that Melvin disapproves of, usually a socialist]" to "Democrats are responsible for [everything that Melvin finds wrong in the modern US]"), but once in a while, he posts something that serves to remind people that he may be crazier than the average AZ Republican (and that's saying something).

To my embarrassment, I missed this one when he posted it -

 

 

Mock away, folks...

RBB: State Sen. Don Shooter invades a school and buys a complete pass

Posted by Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

From the Arizona Republic, written by Laurie Roberts -

Sen. Don Shooter dodged a bullet late last week. Or rather, he bought the ammo before it could be used to zap him.

Shooter is one of the more colorful characters at the state Capitol, a two-term tea party patriot best known for his penchant for wearing weird hats. Mention his name around the Legislature and you’ll be regaled with the tale of the time he showed up in costume for a special session held to extend unemployment benefits.

{snip}

Which is perhaps how he came to be barging into a Yuma high school classroom in March, confronting a teacher and demanding that she stop everything to answer his questions.

{snip}

In June, Shooter was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and interference with or disruption of an educational institution. He hired Ed Novak, one of the state’s elite attorneys, a lawyer whom I imagine doesn’t spend much time in municipal court.

Apparently, it was a good move because on Friday, the Yuma city prosecutor dropped the charges. This, provided Shooter stays out of trouble for a year, pays $1,500 in restitution to the school and forks over a $1,000 “deferred prosecution fee” to the city of Yuma.

No admission of guilt and no penalty – other than the payoff required in order to buy his way out of a prosecution and possible conviction.

Filed under "IOKIYARw/$".

For new readers: "IOKIYARw/$" means "It's OK If You're A Republican with money".

Thursday's Tea Party hearing: "Stranger In A Strange Land" time

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

In 1961, Robert Heinlein, one of the most renowned authors in the science fiction genre, wrote a classic of the genre, Stranger In A Strange Land.

To summarize the story in a very oversimplified way, the story is about a man who was born and raised on Mars being exposed to Earth-bound human society and the strange and baffling behaviors and social mores of greater society.

Which kind of describes my Thursday afternoon in Mesa, spent at a tea party "Congressional field" hearing at the Mesa Arts Center.

The purpose of the event was ostensibly to hear testimony on "abuses" of Arizonans by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Given that sort of dog-whistle subject, I wasn't surprised to be greeting by this sight upon arrival at the event.

Anti-immigrant protesters

Unfortunately, that was the best picture of the day - the event didn't allow anyone other than credentialed media to bring cameras into the event (though a few folks who appeared to be staffers or other insiders had them).  Any pics later in this post were taken with my cell phone, which I found out isn't a great camera for pics taken in low light situations from more than a few feet away.

The event was had an announced start time of 3:30 p.m., but didn't get rolling until around 3:50.  However, being a dedicated blogger, I arrived early and found a seat at 2:30.

Which was a good thing, because tea party types were drawn to this like salmon looking for a place to spawn.

Doubling down: Bob Thorpe's seatmate, Rep. Brenda Barton, jumps on the social media bigotry bandwagon

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

I'd say that there must be something in the water in LD6, but it's Arizona - there just isn't much water there or anywhere else in the state.

After news broke that Rep. Bob Thorpe, her seatmate in Legislative District 6, posted some bigoted tweets, got called on it, and responded by deleting the tweets and blocking reporters from viewing his Twitter feed, Rep. Brenda Barton jumped into the fray. 

Apparently, she doesn't feel she has been getting enough attention.  A Facebook post from her earlier today (Thursday, August 15) -

 

She has learned one lesson already though; she has already blocked her Twitter feed -

 

Note: Regarding the blacked out names of the people who commented on her FB post - the names that are blocked are names I don't recognize; so far as I know, they aren't public figures.  However, John Corey Wentling is a noted gun industry lobbyist.  He's a public figure.

Electeds (and wannabes) behaving badly

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Just a few quick hits on some names in the news, and in the interest of being fair, some of the people listed will be Democrats (yes, there are Democrats who do things that deserve criticism and even ouster from office)...

...Democrat Bob Filner, currently the mayor of San Diego, CA needs to resign.  Now. 

I'm all for forgiving someone for a minor transgression, a character flaw, or something similar that doesn't impact an elected's ability to do his (or her) job.

However, Filner's bad behavior isn't just part of his personal life.  It is part and parcel of the way that he does his job.

And descriptions of the bad behavior legitimately include the word "victims".

It's past time for him to step down.

 

Candidate and Committee update

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Southern AZ readers should feel free to ignore the Maricopa-focused stuff at the end of the post. :)

 

Most of this has been covered elsewhere this week; this is mostly just a compilation.

 

Federal level -

 

No new candidates to report as of this writing, but on Channel 12's Sunday Square Off this morning, the panelists did speculate/rumor-spread (not that I've ever done such things :) ) that AZ House Speaker Andy Tobin will enter a race for a seat in Congress.

 

State level -

...Christine Jones, a former GoDaddy exec, has entered the contest for the Republican nomination for governor.  She should bring a lot of money into the race, but until she shows otherwise, she's presumed to be a wealthy dilettante looking to buy an elected office.

She joins the following in the race for the R nomination -

Hugh Hallman, former mayor of Tempe

Andrew Thomas, disgraced and disbarred former Maricopa County Attorney

Ken Bennett, currently AZ Secretary of State

Doug Ducey, currently AZ Treasurer

Al Melvin, currently an AZ state senator

Others rumored to be interested, but nothing official yet:  Scott Smith, mayor of Mesa; Steve Pierce/Andy Tobin, senator/representative from LD1 (neither may go for it, and almost certainly both won't go for it, but one of them may go for it); Jan Brewer, the term-limited incumbent, who keeps making noises about challenging AZ's term limits law.

Obamacare: At least the Republicans are consistent. (Part 1)

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

...Consistently *dishonest*, but consistent nonetheless...

The Republican/corporate opposition to health care reform (HCR), known as Obamacare, has a three-step strategy for generating public opposition to HCR:

Step 1.  Lie.

Step 2.  Lie some more..

Step 3.  If steps 1 and 2 don't produce a satisfactory amount of public opposition to health care insurance coverage for the vast majority of Americans, lie even more.

 

The latest (renewed) GOPer lie "talking point" is to claim that Congress is "exempt" from the provisions.

Dranias is a senior operative at the corporate lobbying firm "free market think tank", while the person who retweeted Dranias' updates, Antenori, is one of the leaders of efforts to turn back Medicaid restoration via the ballot.

The story that Dranias links to, from Politico.com, is here.

Split District: LD8

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

LD8 is a geographically large district that covers a significant part of Pinal County and part of Gila County.  The area that it covers is mostly rural and exurban.  Its largest communities are Casa Grande (48583 residents, per the 2010 census), Maricopa (43482), and Florence (25526).

 

 

In terms of current voter registration, it is a competitive district, with 28615 registered Democrats, 23747 Republicans, and 27443 Independents (aka - "Other").  The pre-election 2012 numbers were similar, with a slightly wider Democratic advantage.

Perhaps as a result of its relatively even partisan split, LD8 is one of the three AZ legislative districts with a partisan split in its delegation to the state capitol.

In 2012, it elected Democrat Barbara McGuire to the senate seat from LD8 and Republicans TJ Shope and Frank Pratt to the LD8 House seats.

McGuire is easily the most conservative member of the Democratic caucus.  In most any other state, she'd be a moderate R, but the AZGOP is so far out on the political fringe, she has to be a Democrat here.

Don't know much about Pratt or Shope, other than that Pratt is running for the AZ Corporation Commission next year and that both voted for Medicaid restoration in this year's budget.

Other district-related data, relating to the 2012 elections (general election; primary election):

Split District: LD28

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Legislative District 28 encompasses parts of northeast, east and central Phoenix as well as Paradise Valley, all within Maricopa County.

 

 

In terms of voter registration, it is solidly Republican; current voter registration figures show that there are 34858 Ds, 49209 Rs, and 36973 Independents ("Other" in AZ voter reg parlance) in the district.  The numbers in 2012 were similar.

However, it is one of the few districts in the state with a partisan split in its delegation to the legislature (LDs 8 and 9 are the other two).  In 2012, it elected Democrat Eric Meyer and Republican Kate Brophy McGee to the Arizona House of Representatives (Republican Adam Driggs won the district's seat in the Senate).

It should be noted that the LD28 Rs may still be somewhat ticked off by Meyer's victory.

From the LD28 Rs' website -

 But I digress... :)

 

AG Tom Horne and AZ state government: Do as we say, not as we do

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

But at least they're consistent about it - no matter what their angle of attack, they are always looking to protect well-connected and deep-pocketed corporate interests to the detriment of public interests. 

Last week, Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne (R-Disbarment waiting to happen) joined a group of red state AGs in a lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Among other things, they are demanding that the EPA release some emails and other documents to them.

From the Chicago Sun-Times, written by Tim Talley (emphasis added) -

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and the attorneys general of 11 other states sued the Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday demanding that the agency turn over documents the states allege will show a pattern of cooperation and collaboration with environmental organizations.

{snip}

The states’ lawsuit seeks to enforce federal Freedom of Information Act guidelines involving the states’ request for letters, emails and any other correspondence between the EPA and environmental organizations before they sue the agency. The attorney generals want to analyze the documents to determine the nature of EPA’s legal strategy concerning environmental groups.

In one instance, the lawsuit says the states made a FOIA request to EPA in February seeking records about the agency’s negotiations with environmental groups that led to binding consent decrees concerning state implementation plans for the EPA’s regional haze guidelines under the Clean Air Act.