Arizona
updated
7:20 p.m.
Posted by Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings They probably will consider the title of the post to be a compliment, even though it really is intended to merely point out that it is considered to be the most influential......
Blog For Arizona - 6:05 p.m. - 2 clicks 
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: John Aravosis at Americablog.com gets it exactly right regarding the latest in Bloomberg News. 'If he was a Republican, we would hear a never-ending drumbeat of news stories about markets voting in favor of the president.' From......
Blog For Arizona - 4:28 p.m.
I got a press release from Jesse Kelly (who, along with the other Three Mesquiteers, is still running for congress). In it, Kelly calls Jonathan Paton’s call for Gabrielle Giffords to end earmarks a “stunt.” Yep, Paton’s press releases have been a bit hyperbolic (I’m waiting for Paton to take credit for forcing Eric Massa from [...]...
Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - 2:25 p.m. - 2 clicks
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) is not waiting for senators to sign on to Sen. Michael Bennet's letter for a public option through the reconciliation process. Whip Congress for a Public Option (last count was 40 senators). Today......
Blog For Arizona - 2:25 p.m.
I’ve recieved a few e-mails and warnings about the perils of not passing the sales tax hike. The lege has two budgets, one if the sales tax referendum passes, the other if it doesn’t. The “B” budget, which would presumably be in place should the referendum fail, makes additional cuts of, among other things, $428 [...]...
Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - 2:09 p.m.
by David Safier The NY Times has posted a series of short videos of teachers in their classrooms with a running narration describing why what the teacher is doing is effective. These things are usually dreary and didactic, but this......
Blog For Arizona - 2:09 p.m.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Yet another GOP establishment-type has come to the rescue of embattled Sen. John McCain. Jeb Bush endorses McCain in Arizona « - Blogs from CNN.com: Another high-profile Republican is backing Sen. John McCain's bid for a fifth......
Blog For Arizona - 1:26 p.m. - 2 clicks
by David Safier All bus drivers are bureaucrats, but not all bureaucrats are bus drivers. All buses drive bureaucrats, but not all bureaucrats drive buses. All cafeteria food is bureaucratic, but not all bureaucrats eat cafeteria food. Teachers are not......
Blog For Arizona - 12:03 p.m.
Progressives recognize House Progressive Caucus leader Raúl Grijalva and they know that Senator McCain is up for re-election in 2010. What they don't know is that there is a young city councilman and U.S. Air Force JAG Reserve Officer from Tucson who has gathered the support of the statewide Democrats. A front man for a community foundation that has brought in over a million ...
DailyKos (Arizona) - 8:41 a.m. - 5 clicks
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Americans United for Change has targeted Sen. McNasty for his obstruction of the health care reform bill. AZ/DC Blog - McCain hit with robocalls on health-care reform: Americans United for Change on Tuesday launched 250,000 robocalls in......
Blog For Arizona - 7:06 a.m. - 4 clicks
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Time once again for the Farley Report from Rep. Steve Farley (D-LD28): Allow me to apologize on behalf of Republican leadership. While last week was officially declared as "Budget Week", they never actually came up with any......
Blog For Arizona - 6:28 a.m.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The East Valley Tribune has a new lease on life after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the sale by Freedom Communications to a partnership of Boulder, Colorado-based Thirteenth Street Media and Reno, Nevada-based 10K Investments LLC. Arizona......
Blog For Arizona - 6:28 a.m. - 2 clicks
It's still early and provisional ballots haven't been counted, but it seems that most EV races and ballot questions are going as expected. In Scottsdale, results from early ballots show the amendments to the City's charter passing by a roughly 4-1 margin and that Proposition 200 (bed tax hike) is comfortably ahead (12%+). As for ballots that include actual races for office, it's too early to k...
Random Musings - Tue 10:02 p.m. - 7 clicks
(My 1984 Toyota Corolla) Six months out of college I bought a shiny new Toyota Corolla and over 14 years put over 200,000 miles on a car that wouldn't die. Odds continue to escalate that we're looking at another case where what was considered utterly unsinkable has hit the perfect berg and is taking on water like Niagara Falls. Like all bergs, most of the ice is under the water. 7/17/03 — DP...
Sustainability, Equity, Development - Tue 8:43 p.m. - 4 clicks
I’m on a quest to find good books on energy and the environment to read and recommend. My web surfing this morning led me to LifeTwo, a site devoted to midlife. The 2007 article I linked to cited Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by economist Bill McKibben. [...]...
Democratic Diva - Tue 8:43 p.m. - 2 clicks
by David Safier Here's one of those weird confluences. This morning I praised the Catholic bishops from Tucson, Phoenix and Gallup for writing a letter telling Russell Pearce to ditch his anti-immigrant bills. It reminded me of some of the......
Blog For Arizona - Tue 7:44 p.m. - 4 clicks
A legislative update from Rep. Steve Farley: Howdy, Friends O'Farley... Allow me to apologize on behalf of Republican leadership. While last week was officially declared as "Budget Week", they never actually came up with any budget proposals. So this week is, once again, "Budget Week"! We actually do have a budget proposal on the table today. The Republicans would again have a lot of ...
AZNetroots - Tue 7:09 p.m. - 2 clicks
I don't normally comment on pop culture happenings, mostly because ultimately they are utterly meaningless to anyone other than those people who are directly involved. Occasionally though, something so jaw-droppingly inane crops up that even I take notice. One such item has hit the wires today and it thoroughly merits some ridicule. From Yahoo! - Lindsay Lohan is no milkaholic. And that's l...
Random Musings - Tue 4:25 p.m.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: This should be the additional motivation that Americans need to put aside their differences over the health care reform bill and to come together for a unifying national purpose -- to send that truly vile hateful creature......
Blog For Arizona - Tue 2:47 p.m.
by David Safier I already posted about a letter I received from Starlee Rhoades, Vice President of External Affairs at the Goldwater Institute. It was in response to my insisting Matthew Ladner made an error when he wrote Arizona school......
Blog For Arizona - Tue 2:25 p.m. - 2 clicks
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: In this corner we have the Accidental Governor, Jan Brewer, Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen, the editors of The Arizona Republic, and oddly enough, the Arizona Education Association who support passage of the temporary sales tax......
Blog For Arizona - Tue 1:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
by David Safier Let's hope this gets more coverage. The Phoenix New Times reports, The Bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference, which includes the Dioceses of Phoenix, Tucson, and Gallup, New Mexico, issued a statement today criticizing state Senator Russell......
Blog For Arizona - Tue 11:27 a.m. - 6 clicks
Posted by Craig McDermott I am unable to trek down to the Capitol today, and after watching the Senate Appropriations meeting online for 30 minutes, I'm glad I'm staying away. After listening to Russell Pearce pontificate on George Soros trying......
Blog For Arizona - Tue 10:26 a.m.
Many municipalities and school districts in Arizona are holding elections today, be they regular or special elections. In Tempe, they're holding a regularly scheduled election for three seats on the City Council with a ballot question about raising the City's bed tax (sample ballot here ). In Scottsdale, the election concerns a number of proposed updates to the City's charter and also a hike to...
Random Musings - Tue 8:00 a.m. - 5 clicks
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The Arizona Daily Star today in an editorial opinion came out strongly for passage of the health care reform bill. Health-care bill must be passed now, not in 5 years. Well, gee thanks guys. You are a......
Blog For Arizona - Tue 8:00 a.m. - 3 clicks
by David Safier I didn't say it, but J. Davidson did in a comment about Ladner's Zany, Zen-y Emails, referring to the text of one of Ladner's emails in response to my "Are teachers bureaucrats too?" question. "All baseballs are......
Blog For Arizona - Tue 8:00 a.m.
Posted by Craig McDermott I and others will do a more complete analysis of the bills that the lege is pushing as its budget "solution", but here is a brief bit on each, mostly from the factsheets prepared by legislative......
Blog For Arizona - Mon 7:45 p.m. - 4 clicks
Cross-posted at Blog for Arizona ... I and others will do a more complete analysis of the bills that the lege is pushing as its budget "solution", but here is a brief bit on each, mostly from the factsheets prepared by legislative staff. I'm using the House bills here, but the Senate has an identical version of each bill posted, too. HB2001 , general appropriations (fact sheet here ...
Random Musings - Mon 7:21 p.m. - 2 clicks
by David Safier BruceJ, a reader, chimes in about Ladner's "all government employees except teachers are bureaucrats" line: If he literally believes that everyone who works for the government is a bureaucrat, he should have no trouble telling a buncha......
Blog For Arizona - Mon 5:21 p.m. - 2 clicks
Torture memos resemble Clarence Thomas' way of thinking - latimes.com Let's do Thomas no serious harm... Top home-school texts dismiss Darwin, evolution - Yahoo! News Wow. Back the the 14th Century for homeschoolers GOOD.is | The Almighty Dollar (Raw Image) What religious denominations have got the Benjis? ...
Blog For Arizona - Mon 4:03 p.m.
DFA-Tucson presents... A Free Screening of the Academy Award Nominated Comedic Farce IN THE LOOP This FREE Tucson premiere of the 2009 uncommonly funny political satire that blends Dr. Strangelove with Spinal Tap for the Iraq war era will be held: Wednesday, March 10 th at the Ward 6 Community Room 3202 E. First Street Tucson , ...
Democracy for America-Tucson - Mon 3:41 p.m. - 4 clicks
Debt Is A Political Issue Krugman outlines explains that the size of the national debt is not the only thing that influences investors’ demands in terms of intereest rates, but also the perceived fiscal responsibility of the political elite, which is why we need more Democrats in office. The zero-sum game of tax cuts to stimulate state [...]...
Young Democrats of Arizona Blog - Mon 3:41 p.m. - 3 clicks
A mild-mannered reader of this here blog pointed out to me that Rob O’Dell said that Karin Uhlich won her council race by 195 votes. The figure, according to the City Clerk and quoted by other reporters at the Star, is 175. The inflation of Uhlich’s victory by twenty votes from what otherwise would be a razor [...]...
Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - Mon 3:40 p.m.
...Right now, we are waiting for the beginning (actually the restarting) of last Friday's meeting of Senate Approps. Due to the fact that a number of members couldn't be in town last Friday, they didn't achieve the quorum necessary to conduct business and will do so after a meeting of Senate Rules. ...The schedule isn't posted as yet, but sometime tomorrow (Tuesday, March 9), the 7th Special Se...
Random Musings - Mon 3:40 p.m.
CD5 Congressman Harry Mitchell has been unwavering in his opposition to Congress' automatic pay hikes. Beside annually introducing and pushing bills to forego that raise, he donates those pay hikes to local charities when the pay hikes go through anyway. This year has been no different. From a press release - U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell today announced the local Arizona charities to which he will ...
Random Musings - Mon 3:40 p.m. - 4 clicks
1:17 p.m. - They've been going through "points of personal privilege" (introductions of guests, personal comments, or in Ron Gould's case, reading an editorial that he agrees with) for approximately 10 minutes. Highlight so far - It's Senator Meg Burton Cahill's (D-LD17) birthday! Whoooo hoooo! ...
Random Musings - Mon 3:40 p.m.
4:01 - Passing SB1419, correcting a dental hygienist bill from last session. I am out of here. 3:38 - Voting on measure. Aboud expressing doubts about measure's vagueness, votes no; Aguirre votes yes, hoping language is clarified; S Allen thinks this is a great bill, votes yes; Braswell also thinks this is "excellent" and votes yes; Gould votes yes but thinks that Senate won't obey the measure a...
Random Musings - Mon 3:40 p.m.
As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice... ...In Congress, most of the MSM attention will be on health care reform but there are other matters on the agenda this week. - In the House of Representatives, their agenda includes many of the usual memorial, congratulatory, building naming and s...
Random Musings - Mon 3:40 p.m.
The regular session Senate floor session took over an hour - and it was fairly non-controversial (any bills that were borderline between passing and failing, like the texting while driving ban, were pulled from the agenda for Third Read (final passage). They are organizing the session right now (rules and such). The lege's staff is currently in the process of posting documents for the session. ...
Random Musings - Mon 3:40 p.m.
Late breaking updates from Capitol on twitter @RepPatterson STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX -- Jan Brewer and her fellow Republicans are working behind closed doors away from the public to produce their own partisan and phony budget that only pushes Arizona farther down the wrong track. After failing to even begin work on the budget after declaring last week “budget week” and after a year of u...
Daniel's News & Views - Mon 3:40 p.m. - 2 clicks
Hello all, I have to gush about these pics I took. I wanted to share because I was so excited that I got good shots. I was driving yesterday and did not want to miss the awesome clouds so I put my camera on point and shoot mode and started taking pics out of the windshield and windows!! I finally pulled over and got some amazing shots as well. I hope you like the small break from politi...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Mon 3:40 p.m.
The "virtual fence" of cameras and sensors that is being arrayed along the U.S.-Mexico border to help the Border Patrol apprehend immigrants and smugglers has come in for a great deal of criticism in recent weeks. The Department of Homeland Security has already paid Boeing tens of millions of dollars, but so far they have yet to receive a working system. Mark Borkowski, executive dire...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Mon 3:40 p.m. - 3 clicks
On Saturday, March 6, the ASU Undergraduate Student Government presented a debate between Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont and chairman of the Democrat Party, and Karl Rove, formerly an aide to Dick Cheney and a confidant of George W. Bush. The debate was part on an ongoing tour with Dean and Rove visiting college campuses to discuss political issues. It was political theater at its...
Random Musings - Sun 2:44 p.m. - 6 clicks
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and Senate President Bob Burns recently appointed seven members to serve on the new Rio Nuevo Board of Directors. They are: Jodi Bain, founder/principal of Bain Investments; vice president and general counsel for Town West Realty. Edwin Biggers, former president of the Hughes Missile Group. Craig Finfrock, owner and broker of Tucson-based Commercial Retail Ad...
Sustainability, Equity, Development - Sun 11:03 a.m. - 11 clicks
As usual, all info gathered from the website of the Arizona Legislature, except where noted, and subject to change without notice (and given the activities expected for this week, short-notice changes are likely)... As noted earlier this weekend, a special session (#7!!) is on tap for the week. Look for more updates as details of that become available. As for the regular session, committee wor...
Random Musings - Sun 11:03 a.m. - 5 clicks
Here in Arizona we get a double dose of Republican indifference to the needs of our citizens. We have Congressmen like Jon Kyl arguing that unemployment benefits dissuade people from job-hunting “because people are being paid even though they’re not working” and” … If anything, as I said, it’s a disincentive. And the same thing [...]...
DFA-MC - Sun 11:03 a.m. - 7 clicks
Arizona Public Media :: Spotlight "Unicameral Legislature" Downing takes his case for a unicameral, non-partisan legislature to the air ...
Blog For Arizona - Sun 12:04 a.m. - 11 clicks
Pretty big week this week. I focus a great deal on global warming this issue, but also on right wing support for domestic terrorism and some local stuff going on. The surge in support to defeat Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas, School Board elections in Texas, the downfall of Governor David Paterson in NY State and the EPA declaring the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn are among the topics I cover. More belo...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Sat 3:46 p.m. - 23 clicks
The Governor has called for a 7th Special Session of the 49th Arizona Legislature to address the state's current budget deficit (~$700 million) and to formulate a budget for next year. According to the AZRep article on the matter, the basic framework of the package worked out among the Rs in the lege and the Governor's office is the budget proposal she unveiled in January. The one that inc...
Random Musings - Sat 12:44 p.m. - 9 clicks
Below are the latest Alexa rankings for many Arizona political blogs and a few campaign web sites. The lower the number, the higher the traffic, and that is the only metric, traffic. Rankings involve the entire Internet, so the numbers get big. Unless you are the press (CNN, etc.) to be be ranked in the top 500,000 is a big deal. You can probably guess what site is ranked #1 (Google). Pr...
Sustainability, Equity, Development - Sat 9:47 a.m. - 13 clicks
John McCain is actually coming to Tucson today. And no, I don’t mean Marana or some country club in the Foothills, he’ll be at the U of A basketball game. No word on who he will cheer for. He’ll be bringing Scott Brown with him. I guess McCain is supposed to bask in Brown’s reflective glow. [...]...
Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - Sat 6:08 a.m. - 12 clicks
House Bill 2639; introduced by a Republican Representative from Gilbert may be up for a vote next week. This Bill if passed and signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer will cut the minimum wage for workers under the age of 22 by 25%. ...
Young Democrats of Arizona Blog - Fri 4:49 p.m. - 5 clicks
In today’s NY Times column Paul Krugman takes a quick look back at the Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky) delay of the extension of unemployment benefits; and to our own Jon Kyl’s well-reported case of foot-in-mouth disease. His conclusion is that the gap between the intellectual and moral universes of the two parties, however it has come about, is so great that it puts paid to the possibility of ...
The Data Port - Fri 3:49 p.m. - 2 clicks
Before being against the Repeal of DADT, Senator John "I picked Sarah Palin because I was misled" McCain was supporting the Repeal of DADT. First, he said, during the 2008 campaign, that he would listen to the Top military leaders before making his mind, then when the military leaders brought their support to the repeal of DADT, McCain found another reason to oppse it. ...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Fri 12:41 p.m. - 4 clicks
They probably will consider the title of the post to be a compliment, even though it really is intended to merely point out that it is considered to be the most influential lobbying group working a legislature that is renowned for its willingness to be swayed by well-funded lobbyists. From an article on AZCentral.com - The Center for Arizona Policy has impacted the daily life of nearly every ...
Random Musings - Fri 10:26 a.m. - 8 clicks
People and pets want Arizona's highway rest areas open. TUCSON -- Read today's article in the New York Times , Closing of Rest Stops Stirs Anger in Arizona . Please contact your State Representatives and Senator to support my bipartisan HB2645 to help open rest areas closed by Gov. Jan Brewer (R), all info at azleg.gov . ...
Daniel's News & Views - Fri 5:45 a.m. - 6 clicks
RNC document mocks donors, plays on 'fear' don't have anything to offer? Sell fear... Banks Take Advantage of States in Fiscal Crisis | Progressive States Network Yet another way the banks soak up needed resources for doing nothing... Wall Street Plays Hardball - BusinessWeek States and municipalities are forgoing essential services to service investment losses from the econom...
Blog For Arizona - Fri 12:24 a.m. - 4 clicks
We're unlikely to hear from the righty blogs about Politico's discovery of a February 18, 2010 72-page National Republican Committee fundraising presentation that clearly documents contempt for Republican supporters. The distinction between the GOP establishment and the tea party movement flows right into the analogous distinction between the two camps of supporters, 1) major donors (think...
Sustainability, Equity, Development - Thu 7:01 p.m. - 3 clicks
That’s what you’d think from reading the Republic piece on the Center for Arizona Policy today. “There was concern about how public policy impacts families,” said Cathi Herrod, who joined the group a couple of years later and is now president. “We were seeing a need to have someone on-site at the Legislature on [...]...
Democratic Diva - Thu 7:01 p.m. - 12 clicks
Cross-posted to Project Vote’s blog, Voting Matters Engaging young citizens in the democratic process is an issue that lawmakers and voting rights advocates have long attempted to address. But with most youth voter engagement efforts primarily targeting college-attending youth (who make up less than half of the population of 18-24 year olds and are more likely to register and vote)...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Thu 3:07 p.m. - 2 clicks
As a strategy to avoid closing state parks the Senate has okayed a bill to lease state parks to private concessionaires. In addition to enabling the leasing of state parks the bill outlines what may be in the proposals submitted by potential vendors: Requests for proposals shall be broadly construed to allow for: 1. One hundred per cent privately funded parks...
The Data Port - Thu 2:42 p.m. - 10 clicks
Tires are resources to be recycled, not recklessly dumped in the ground. STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX -- US tire makers have joined me and many other lawmakers in strong opposition to HB2290 from Rep. Russ Jones (R-Yuma), which would unwisely allow tires to be dumped in old mines. Republicans passed this bad bill in the House yesterday, but hopefully it will die in the Senate or be vetoed....
Daniel's News & Views - Thu 11:49 a.m. - 7 clicks
Obama Caught Lip-Syncing Speech | The Onion - America's Finest News Source Hillarious! Human Culture Plays a Role in Natural Selection - NYTimes.com ...
Blog For Arizona - Thu 12:44 a.m. - 2 clicks
From yesterday’s East Valley Tribune: With state finances evaporating, Gov. Jan Brewer is moving to help those with needs get their services from church and nonprofit groups. In an executive order Tuesday, Brewer created a 20-member task force to coordinate volunteer efforts statewide. The panel also will look for ways to both inform people of the services [...]...
Democratic Diva - Wed 9:44 p.m. - 8 clicks
I'm Rodney Glassman, Vice Mayor of the City of Tucson, who is exploring a run for the Democratic nomination for U.S Senate against John McCain and J.D. Hayworth. We have been traveling the state in effort to learn straight from Arizonans. We truly value the voice of the people and believes that together we can make Arizona the greatest state to live, to work and to raise a family! This week's ...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Mar 3 - 12 clicks
The AZ Republican primary between JD Hayworth and John McCain further refines the distinction Choir Blogging . Hayworth is such a farce (birther pandering and renouncing ) that even tea party leaders are afraid to endorse him, yet a perusal of the local blogosphere would have one think McCain is about to get trounced. Like talk radio, choir blogging reinforces a point of view in a form ...
Sustainability, Equity, Development - Mar 3 - 16 clicks
Tim Westergren (left) will be holding free a meet-up at the Rialto Theater on Sunday, March 7th, starting at 5:00 pm. According to his e-mailed press release: "It'll be a very informal gathering. I'll share some Pandora history, some background on the Music Genome Project and talk about what's ahead for Pandora. 2010 is already shaping up to be quite a year, so there's a lot to talk...
The Data Port - Mar 3 - 12 clicks
This is Your Brain on Income Inequality - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com Even rich people dislike inequality B'klyn ACORN cleared over giving illegal advice on how to hide money from prostitution O'Keefe is a lying sack of shit. Anyone surprised? Tea Party: Everything You Know Is Wrong | OurFuture.org Actually everything I know about the Teabaggers was right :) cellphones....
Blog For Arizona - Mar 3
Bookmark this site! It’s Skeptical Science: Getting skeptical about global warming skepticism. The good folks there are compiling global warming denialist arguments and providing quick rebuttals to 91 of them. Sample: Skeptic Argument vs What the Science Says 1 “It’s the sun” In the last 35 years of global warming, the sun has shown a slight cooling trend. [...]...
Democratic Diva - Mar 2 - 6 clicks
Your Arizona State Senate failed once again to ban texting while driving, but they did pass a bill today to protect Arizonans from a far more serious threat: human-animal hybrids! In other news, dim-bulb Frank Anternori was named by the Pima County Board of Stupes to replace State Senator Jonathan Paton, who resigned to run for Congress. Anternori will move from the State House...
AZNetroots - Mar 2 - 7 clicks
I’m fairly certain that Rep. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills), retired police officer and member of the Scottsdale Community College faculty, enjoys great health care benefits. And because he’s a Family ValuesTM conservative and Pro-LifeTM he couldn’t care less if poor people can’t see the doctor. It’s not like they’re real people like fetuses, [...]...
Democratic Diva - Mar 2 - 6 clicks
The latest from the Lege from Rep. Farley: Howdy, Friends O'Farley... Let's start with a few stats. The House has finished hearing House bills and the Senate has finished hearing Senate bills. So this is a good time to look at what bills went where, and whether certain bills from members of a certain political party were treated fairly. In the House, Democrats introduced 233 bills, wh...
AZNetroots - Mar 2 - 3 clicks
Due to a virus, I am in the middle of reformatting my computer and upgrading my firewall/anti-virus software. As such, blogging will be very light for the next few days. I recommend surfing over to Blog for Arizona , Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion , or any of the other blogs listed in the blogroll for the latest information and insight into AZ's political scene. ...
Random Musings - Mar 2 - 6 clicks
Gotta love our Senator’s understanding of what it is to be unemployed and poor. During a Senate debate Kyl explained why unemployment insurance and other benefits ought not be extended: They discourage people from looking for work "because people are being paid even though they're not working." The same is true of extending COBRA. Nothing puts the hustle in a job hunter like being den...
The Data Port - Mar 2 - 2 clicks
By now I’m sure y’all are aware of his recent comment: FRANK: In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long. And now we look back on it and we say “How brave were they? What was the matter with them? You know, I can’t believe, you know, four million slaves. This is incredible.” [...]...
Democratic Diva - Mar 1 - 2 clicks
My name is Jon Hulburd and I am running for Congress in Arizona's third district, the seat left vacant by John Shadegg and the seat that Bob Lord ran for in 2008. As our campaign builds momentum, the two questions I get asked most often are "Who are you?", and "Why are you running for Congress?" I find that the answers to these two questions overlap, and I want to lay it out for you here. ...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Mar 1 - 4 clicks
Heard/seen while spending the morning at the Capitol... - All of the Democrats and most of the Republicans in the lege are in the dark about what is going on with the budget this week - all of the talks are going on behind closed doors, and unless you are part of a certain special clique, you aren't invited. - The Governor held a press conference in the quad in front of the Old Capitol building ...
Random Musings - Mar 1 - 2 clicks
You are invited to join the Maricopa County Democratic Party for a Post Dean/Rove Debate Reception with our special guest Howard Dean. Howard Dean, former DNC Chair and founder of Democracy for America, takes on former Bush advisor, Karl Rove, at ASU’s Gammage Auditorium on March 6th at 5 PM. Contact ASU for debate ticket [...]...
DFA-MC - Mar 1 - 6 clicks
A plan to keep Arizona’s parks and roadside rest stops open surfaced last Thursday up at the state legislature. The suggestion is to add a $12 surcharge to each non-commercial Arizona vehicle license fee. Any driver of a vehicle with an Arizona license would then have free access to state parks. 75% of the money raised would go to a fund to manage, maintain, and improve the parks. The...
The Data Port - Mar 1 - 5 clicks
Constitutional Amendment to reverse Citizens United v. FEC introduced Senators Dodd and Udall have introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow congress to regulate corporate spending in elections again after the recent SCOTUS ruling. Could Crist bolt? A look at how are conservative primary races are effecting American politics. Which Party Uses Reconciliation More Often? Looks like Harr...
Young Democrats of Arizona Blog - Mar 1 - 2 clicks
As mentioned in a previous post , HB2701 would have caused a major Chinese solar firm to reconsider its plans to locate in Goodyear. In addition, this bill would have threatened the creation of solar jobs elsewhere in Arizona. One day after publishing a letter to the editor in the Arizona Republic pleading for support of HB2701, Rep. Debbie Lesko withdrew the bill, after the g...
AZNetroots - Feb 28 - 6 clicks
The lege's schedule this week - almost no committee hearings while the lege "focuses" on the budget - has been covered here , in a post at Blog for Arizona. ... As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies except where noted, and subject to change without notice ... In Congress, most of the week will be spent on committee hearings and behind-the-scenes...
Random Musings - Feb 28 - 5 clicks
Amazingly enough, this isn't about the state's budget mess, where their blind obeisance to Grover Norquist (and not-so-coincidentally, corporations and AZ's wealthiest residents) and their blindness to fiscal reality has led them to gut the state's future... Nope, not now anyway. However, that will be covered in a future post. From a Washington Examiner article about Joe Arpaio ( emphasis mine...
Random Musings - Feb 28 - 2 clicks
Perhaps this country's history of slavery is America's shame (though a strong argument can be made for the genocide perpetrated on American Indians here), but Congressman Trent Franks' waxing nostalgic about the good ol' days is Arizona's shame - We are the ones who have sent him to the national stage, giving his utterings a far wider audience than they merit. I first heard about this on Friday'...
Random Musings - Feb 27
Well, that was interesting! A short vacation in Jerome, followed by blurred vision preparing for and recovering from cataract surgery, has kept me off the keyboard. Jerome is a fascinating Arizona ghost town populated by about 400 living ghosts. Old hippies don’t die, or fade away, they move to Jerome and open gift shops and artists’ studios. Who’s to say they’re out of step with ...
The Data Port - Feb 27 - 2 clicks
Winter in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. TUCSON -- On this day in 1919 Arizona's Grand Canyon was declared a National Park by President Woodrow Wilson , one of America's 1st & best parks. For my late breaking news and updates, please follow me on twitter @RepPatterson , facebook and my facebook Rep. Daniel Patterson fan page . Stay smart and involved, my friends. ...
Daniel's News & Views - Feb 26 - 5 clicks
This afternoon the lege killed the solar jobs killing bill. House Bill 2701 was killed two days after hearing from several solar companies, including Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd., which threatened to abandon plans to locate a factory in Goodyear. The bill was seen as a potential showdown with the Arizona Corporation Commission, which had [...]...
Democratic Diva - Feb 25 - 7 clicks
First, there was the Rumble in the Jungle ... There there was the Thrilla in Manilla ... After that, the Duel in the Desert (many times over)... Now, we have the ultimate showdown - The Damage at the Gammage ... Tickets go on sale tomorrow...expect them to sell out quickly... BTW - I don't know what they will be debating (it could be something apolitical along ...
Random Musings - Feb 25
(Rodney Glassman) Those paying attention already know that Tucson City Councilman Rodney Glassman (D) is exploring a run to face the winner of the GOP primary for John McCain's senate seat. They also know that JD Hayworth (R) is mounting a headline grabbing effort to beat McCain in that primary. They may or may not know that Hayworth stands no chance against the big red machine that, li...
Sustainability, Equity, Development - Feb 25 - 8 clicks
