Arizona
updated
9:41 p.m.
Contains only posts that are ID'd as non-local content. An explanation.
by David Safier Dr. Word is unquestionably aware Gingrich is the original Dr. Political Word. Back in his House days, Gingrich sent countless memos to fellow Republicans telling them exactly the words and phrases to use when attacking Democrats. It......
Blog For Arizona - 2:03 p.m.
by David Safier Here's the link to a 30 second ad to be aired during the Super Bowl featuring Boston Mayor Tom Menino and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, titled, "Putting Football Rivalries Aside, Mayors Unite Against Illegal Guns." Watch......
Blog For Arizona - 11:07 a.m. - 2 clicks 
Conservatives often tell me they are more altruistic than liberals, touting surveys showing that conservatives donate more to charity and volunteer more often. I’ve always been skeptical of those claims because a lot of it is tithing and participating in church activities, which I don’t consider charity except to the extent that they are actually [...]...
Democratic Diva - 10:44 a.m.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Steve Benen has left the Political Animal blog at the Washington Monthly for a gig as a producer of the Rachel Maddow Show. He is still blogging at the Rachel Maddow Blog. And that's a good thing......
Blog For Arizona - 9:29 a.m.
Posted by Bob Lord I haven’t written about Mitt, my buddy, in a few days, and he’s been so busy. Is there a more pathetic endorsement to accept than Donald Trump’s? But I digress. Here’s my two cents on the......
Blog For Arizona - Thu 9:20 p.m.
by David Safier This is an absolutely serious suggestion from an English teacher with 30-plus years in the classroom who loves students and loves to see them read and think. Put the 7 books which were removed from MAS classrooms......
Blog For Arizona - Thu 5:26 p.m. - 2 clicks
Posted By azBlueMeanie: President Obama on Wednesday proposed a "Homeowner Bill of Rights" that would fundamentally change the way houses are bought, sold and refinanced in an effort to stabilize the nation's ailing housing system. Obama unveils plan on housing:......
Blog For Arizona - Thu 11:46 a.m.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Last week Willard "Mittens" Romney told underwater homeowners in Florida, "Well, the banks aren't bad people. They're just overwhelmed right now." "The banks are scared to death, of course," he said. "They're feeling the same thing that......
Blog For Arizona - Thu 11:46 a.m.
Indiana became the 23rd state to institute a so-called “right to work” law yesterday. Across the country these laws have depressed wages for union and non-union workers alike, and have contributed to unsafe working conditions. Unfortunately, anti-worker forces in other states are looking to follow Indiana’s lead. In Ohio: An Ohio group has been cleared to continue its effort to push...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Thu 8:29 a.m. - 16 clicks
by David Safier I receive the Goldwater Institute Daily Emails. Know thy enemy. I pay most attention to the anti-teacher, anti-school-district tirades. But lately, G.I. has put out a barrage of emails about the evils of unions and the "common......
Blog For Arizona - Thu 7:41 a.m.
by David Safier Seriously. It's in quotes, so I have to assume Sen. Lori Klein really said this about the draconian anti-union bills making their way through the legislature, bills which, according to someone from the Goldwater Institute, would make......
Blog For Arizona - Thu 6:47 a.m.
by David Safier Otherwise, I'd be running out of room to save all the articles about the MAS controversy I come across. It's being covered nationally and internationally, blogs and traditional news media. This story isn't going away. Did the......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 8:20 p.m. - 2 clicks
by David Safier OK, this one is just for fun. I was watching Rachel Maddow a few minutes ago. She was talking about the satirist who created the term "self deportation" in California a few years back to take the......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 7:06 p.m.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The lobbyists from the Golwater Institute will testify on Thursday about how public sector employees are paid more than their private sector counterparts. This is something that FAUX News Fraudcasting has been laying the groundwork for since......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 3:49 p.m.
by David Safier Every teacher has stories of students handing in too-good-to-be-true research papers where, in the midst of brainless copying, they neglected to take out phrases like "(See page 473)." It looks like Florida Rep. Rachel Burgin was one......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 3:26 p.m.
by David Safier There's a wonderful column by Gary Younge in the UK Guardian about the MAS controversy. It's worth reading the whole thing, but I'm going to jump around the column as I include a few excerpts in this......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 2:09 p.m.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: "Mr .006 percent," vulture capitalist Willard "Mittens" Romney, told CNN today that "I'm not concerned about the very poor." Well, no shit, Sherlock. I doubt you even know a poor person "in the real streets of America."......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 1:48 p.m.
When I decided to remove the Bermuda lawn from our front yard, I was also considering how I would redesign the space. With the exception of a few legacy plants, I essentially, for the first time, had a blank canvas to work with. A way for me to get started on the design was to begin observing some key elements of the space: sun, wind, water and traffic. ...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Wed 1:06 p.m.
By Walter Ewing The federal government’s current approach to border security is dangerously misguided. Border-enforcement resources are directed at what gets smuggled across the border—people, drugs, guns, money—rather than who is doing the smuggling; namely, the transnational criminal organizations based in Mexico which are commonly referred to as the “cartels.” If the U.S. government wan...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Wed 1:06 p.m.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Let's be honest. Disgraced former House Speaker and preeminent housing historian Newt Gingrich is a megalomaniac. Newt frames every issue in apocalyptic terms: this is the end of civilization as we know it unless we follow him,......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 12:47 p.m.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: You might not have heard that a Democrat won a special election for Congress last night with the media villagers falling all over themselves to talk about the GOP primary in Florida. Suzanne Bonamici continued the Democratic......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 12:06 p.m.
by David Safier Mark Bittman is the main food guy at the NY Times. He's for sensible good eating. He has a blog post today saying, while the new school lunch rules aren't ideal, they're an important step toward offering......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 10:07 a.m.
by David Safier No, I wasn't in a coma during the 2011 state legislative session. I remember the unbelievable onslaught of pro-rich, anti-poor, anti-brown, anti-women, anti-school bills proposed during that session. And even with that fresh in my memory, I......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 9:28 a.m. - 2 clicks
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The Christian Taliban is back again, seeking to impose its religious dogma on all Americans of all religious faiths or no religious faith, by force of law. It is a clear violation of constitutional separation of church......
Blog For Arizona - Wed 7:07 a.m. - 2 clicks
by David Safier Sherman Alexie, a Native American who grew up on the Spokane Indian reservation and is a marvelous writer with a wide readership, commented about TUSD's book ban. First his tweet: Here is his longer statement: Let's get......
Blog For Arizona - Tue 3:40 p.m.
by David Safier Rich Crandall's latest argument for his bill making it optional for school districts to participate in the federal free/reduced lunch program: Everyone will continue to participate, so it won't make any difference. Crandall, who chairs the Senate......
Blog For Arizona - Tue 2:24 p.m.
Posted by Bob Lord If I could wave a magic wand over all immigrant kids and confer legal status with a clear path to citizenship on them, I would. In a heartbeat. But I’m really not comfortable with the DREAM......
Blog For Arizona - Mon 8:25 p.m.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Willard "Mittens" Romney has used his substantial financial resources to try to score a knock-out punch in the Florida primary on Tuesday. He has outspent Newt Gingrich by some estimates 5-1 in Florida. If polling coming out......
Blog For Arizona - Mon 3:25 p.m.
“If all you care about is abortion…” Last week, someone prefaced a comment to me thusly. I’ve heard variants of that line for years, mostly from fellow liberals and centrists who think some of us ladies spend too much time dwelling on reproductive justice when there are so many more Important ThingsTM we ought to [...]...
Democratic Diva - Mon 1:03 p.m.
by David Safier This ad for the NRA store would be laughable if it weren't for the use of JFK, assassinated by rifle shots, as a supporter of the perversion of "Freedom" the NRA stands for. The "I didn't say......
Blog For Arizona - Mon 11:40 a.m.
My husband and I travel and we've traveled. All over the USA and Europe and Canada. We sacrificed and saved, saved, saved when we were younger, and we never went on vacation anywhere, and when we got vacation from work, we stayed home. I had more family and friends way back when, and when family or friends would visit, we'd take time off and show them around, but pretty much when my family ...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Sun 7:50 p.m. - 2 clicks
As president Obama made his way to the podium before his State of the Union address on Tuesday night there was a poignant reminder of the culture of hate and violence that has marked our public life in recent years. Obama paused for a sustained greeting and hug with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) who had just announced her resignation from Congress to complete her recovery from an assassin...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Sun 12:50 p.m.
At the height of the Republican pity party over redistricting, I asked how many districts for the Republicans would be fair. That’s because despite the hollering and blubbering about “unfairness,” they did pretty well: fifteen or sixteen Republican legislative districts depending on how one chooses to measure such things. For the math challenged among you [...]...
Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - Sat 10:45 a.m.
Despite the removal of Russell Pearce, there are still plenty of ridiculous anti-immigration and “border security” bills at the legislature. With the diminished Democratic minority, it would be nice if we could count them to oppose those bills. For example this week saw a vote on SB 1083, a bill pushed by Sylvia Allen (R [...]...
Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - Sat 9:26 a.m. - 3 clicks
This is a diary I have been wanting to write for some time now. I saw my pain doctor in December and at that time told him I had gotten a Medical Marijuana card, but had no reliable way to get marijuana. Unfortunately, Gov. Brewer decided to play politics with the MM law in AZ and refused to let dispensaries open. Now that Gov. Brewer has lost two court cases, one federal and one...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Sat 8:02 a.m.
So, I've decided that to further my learning about progressive political theory, I can't just observe. I have to ask questions. From now on I will be asking a question every single day. It may be about a very broad subject, it may be very specific. It may even be a little silly. In addition to this question, every day I'll provide my own insight onto issues or maybe tell a little story. Now, onw...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Jan 27 - 2 clicks
A month ago, it looked like the District 9 races would be snoozers. Rep. Steve Farley was set to run against former Rep. Dave Bradley for state senate might provide a hint of excitement, but the house race only consisted of two declared candidates for two seats: 2010 candidate Mohur Sidhwa and former KOLD reporter [...]...
Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - Jan 27 - 2 clicks
According to a little birdie (meaning a source I can't name, but who I trust) Republican Wendy Rogers, late of a losing campaign for state senate (she challenged and lost to David Schapira in 2010), was at a Republican LD meeting this week talking up a run for Congress in the new 9th Congressional District. Apparently, she is still so ticked at Schapira for defeating her once, she wants to g...
Random Musings - Jan 26
President Obama in an interview with Diane Sawyer tonight downplayed the incident with Gov. Brewer-AZ on the tarmac yesterday. He said the media blew a small issue out of proportion. "This is not a big deal," the president said in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer that will air on ABC World News Thursday night. "It's always good publicity for a Republican if they're in an argu...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Jan 26
The Spanish entrada (entrance) into the American Southwest began during the sixteenth century with explorers who were driven by greed. The Spanish hunger for gold and other fast wealth was justified in their own minds by their religion: their attempts to harvest souls for their religion justified their brutality toward the native peoples they encountered. They had absolutely no doubts about th...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Jan 26
Perhaps that could explains his tortured facial expression when Gov. Brewer was waving her finger in his face. Let's look at the facts: 1.) The President has a stressful job and a busy travel schedule - which could lead to bad eating habits which in turn could lead to - constipation? 2.) It's well known in Congressional circles that the President is a big fan of Five Guys Burger an...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Jan 26
Per WaPo Politics: “He didn’t feel that I had treated him cordially” in the book, Brewer explained to reporters Wednesday. “I said to him that I have all the respect in the world for the office of the president. The book is what the book is. I asked him if he read the book. He [...]...
Democratic Diva - Jan 25
I need to move out of this state. I am so tired of being ashamed of my elected representatives. President Obama came to visit AZ this afternoon and help promote business here, and the first thing our governor does is hand him and letter and try to engage him in angry rhetoric over the border. Then she pointed her finger at him. Now I think pointing at anyone is rude to st...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Jan 25
They tell us Gabriel Gifford has introduced a bill in congress that will legalize the use of drones on the border........the day she leaves office. She won't even be able to vote on this "bipartisan" bill that I'm really sure she wrote. You can tell by her recent interviews that she's perfectly capable of writing laws, and that's why she's leaving congress. She wants to go write more laws. You k...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Jan 25
Listening to Gabrielle Giffords speak today made me cry, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. It also reminded me how horrible it is not to be able to speak coherently. It's a nightmare to be trapped in your own head, but not be able to say the words that you're thinking. You're reduced to the level of an animal - having to grunt and point, because by the time you remember the wo...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Jan 23
I posted the diary I repost below the squiggle on Saturday, and was amazed at the response of the community. Nurse Kelley waved her magic wand and it got on the rec list immediately. The problem is this: I need a car, and have no money for one. Some people have asked what happened, and so I said I would post a second installment. In amounts ranging from $2 to $50, I received a t...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Jan 23
Well, it's time to watch your civil rights and hide the children and small animals - the lege is back in town. Actually, they've been back for a couple of weeks now, but I've been busy and the first couple of weeks are mostly dedicated to getting organized. Most of the bills that move through committee this early in the session tend to be pretty non-controversial ( though tha...
Random Musings - Jan 22
They have this idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do, government should keep our taxes down and keep our regulations low, that we shouldn’t get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn’t get involved in cultural issues. That is not how traditional conservatives view the world. There [...]...
Democratic Diva - Jan 22
While I sit here and twitch at the thought of having to wait to access my course syllabus for my paralegal classes that this community had so wonderfully helped me pay a down payment on, I would like to rewind to 2009 for a bit. ...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Jan 22
A year after she was was shot through the brain in an attack that claimed the lives of six people and wounded 13 other people, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has announced that she is stepping down from Congress this week. Message from Giffords - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAetv47b-Eg This will necessitate a special election to fill her seat for the remainder of her term. The wi...
Random Musings - Jan 22
Today in South Carolina while Republicans are picking their candidate, they are working behind the scenes to stop thousands of Democrats from voting in November. On Martin Luther King Day the Republicans held a debate where they touted South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s efforts to block African-Americans from voting by requiring a state issued ID [...]...
DFA-MC - Jan 22
As it is with other Kossacks who have written similar diaries, it is hard to write this diary. Not only is the current situation tough, but I feel that I have to go back a year to explain the whole situation. And yet this doesn't seem as serious as the troubles some others have been having. But I see no way to fix it. As it so often is, it's a matter of money. I need a ...
DailyKos (Arizona) - Jan 21
January 18th, 2012 is the largest online protest in history, to stop the internet censorship bills, SOPA & PIPA. Join in by urging everyone you can reach to contact Congress now. SAMPLE LETTER TO CONGRESS: I am writing to you as a voter in your district. I urge you to vote “no” on cloture for [...]...
DFA-MC - Jan 19
I had been swapping newspaper stories with Olivia Ward of the Toronto Star on one of the saloon’s overstuffed leather couches as the bar filled with attendees of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit (SNPS). ALEC had repeatedly refused to grant me media credentials. Nevertheless, I was a paying [...]...
Democratic Diva - Jan 18
Per Clint Bolick of the Goldwater Institute (GI): It’s not every day that the New York Times makes a compelling case against government giveaways. But a recent page-one article underscored that the Solyndra scandal was only the tip of the solar-subsidy iceberg. Huge companies like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, General Electric, utilities including Exelon and [...]...
Democratic Diva - Jan 16
Excerpts from Gabby : She was sitting in speech therapy holding a photo of a wooden chair and staring intently at it. She was trying, almost desperately, to describe what she was looking at. "Spoon," she said again. Angie Glenn, her speech therapist, a young woman of good humor and great patience, corrected her, "No, Gabby, not a spoon," she said, "It's something you sit in. You sit...
Sustainability, Equity, Development - Jan 14
