Random Musings

• 2010 candidate update

  Normally, the format for these posts is to discuss top of the ballot candidates and then work down. However, since the candidates for Tempe City Council are set while most of the other races are still forming up, we'll start with that one.
  
  - For Tempe City Council:
  [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2009, 9:44pm EST
  

• The coming week...

  As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice.
  
  
  ...In the U.S. House, the agenda looks to be pretty non-controversial, with the notable exception of possible consideration of a conference report on H.R. [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2009, 6:19pm EST
  

• This stuff would be funny...any place else.

  But since this is all here, it's more scary than funny...
  
  You know, in this down economy (an outright depression in AZ), I am grateful to have a job.
  
  Because of my work schedule though, it's sometimes difficult to write during the second half of the week.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2009, 8:02am EST
  

• Let me start off by saying that ...

  Let me start off by saying that I have a newfound respect for anyone who steps in front of a crowd of (mostly) strangers to speak to them.
  
  A few weeks ago, I wrote of an incident at a meeting of the Scottsdale City Council where a speaker [...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2009, 6:51pm EST
  

• Ya know what I love about campaign season? Campaign ads.

  Particularly satirical ones.
  
  It's amazing what a Google search turns up - fourth on the list of items found with search terms: "Eric Wnuck" and posted on the internet in the last week -
  
  
  
  FYI - there's a difference between "shameless copying," which is what the [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 11:14am EST
  

• Seven million dollars would keep a lot of teachers and court workers employed

  Not that Arizona's version of Joltin' Joe (aka Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio) would care about that - that wouldn't earn him as much media coverage as his never-ending feuds with other County officials.
  
  From AZCentral.com -
  
  The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is asking the Board of [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 10:12pm EST
  

• Enough with the Tiger Woods stuff already

  Time for a rant...
  
  Enough already.
  
  I don't care that Tiger Woods was in a car accident and ran over a fire hydrant, other than to be happy that no one was seriously hurt.
  
  I don't care that he has cheated on his wife - that's an [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 9:08pm EST
  

• Let the screaming in north Scottsdale begin...

  From AZCentral.com -
  Senate eyes cosmetic surgery, Botox tax
  
  Last week, the Senate began debate on an $848 billion health care reform bill that includes a 5% excise tax on elective cosmetic surgery, beginning Jan. 1, 2010. The provision would raise an estimated $5.8 billion in the next [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 11:32am EST
  

• An open letter to Scottsdale's Mayor and City Council

  This letter was submitted to them via the City's website contact form -
  
  

  Mayor Lane and members of the Scottsdale City Council,
  
  On Tuesday you will be considering a consultant’s report on the possible acquisition of Arizona American Water Company’s (AAWC’s) operations in Scottsdale.
  
  I am writing [...]

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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 10:15pm EST
  

• The coming week....

  As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies (except where noted) and subject to change without notice.
  
  ...This should be the last "busy" week of the year as most political bodies try to get a month's work into the first two weeks of that [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2009, 4:02pm EST
  

• Hypocrisy, Double Standards, and Guilt By Association: Jim Lane's Scottsdale

  By now, most folks who care know that at Tuesday's meeting of the Scottsdale City Council, the Council voted 4-3 to withdraw from the Partner Council of the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce. The vote was taken allegedly in response to a ruling that the C of C violated [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2009, 11:28am EST
  

• Tempe recognized by EPA

  From the EPA -
  
  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson today recognized Tempe and three other diverse communities that are models of how to grow in ways that protect our nation’s air, land, and water; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; provide safe and affordable housing; and strengthen [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 1:16pm EST
  

• Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but plagiarism is just lazy and contemptible

  Eric Wnuck, one of the Republicans contending/pretending in their primary race to go up against Democratic Congressman Harry Mitchell next year, has released a new web ad, available at Republican blog Gila Courier here.
  
  GC calls the spot "interesting," notes a couple of possible gaffes (no "paid" [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 11:37am EST
  

• Further update - NIBW

  Yeah, it's just a "copy and paste" post, but the info is important to the residents of South Scottsdale.
  
  From an email from Rachel Loftin, a Project Manager with the EPA -
  Dear NIBW Community Involvement Group -
  
  I am sending this additional information as an update to [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 11:28am EST
  

• PSA time - a side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate health care reform proposals

  The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare has put together a side-by-side comparison of the health care reform, available here.
  
  It shows that while there are some significant differences between the two, there are also some strong similarities.
  
  ...Thanks to correspondent Gary B. for the heads-up [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 6:00pm EST
  

• Decisions, investigations, and lawsuits

  It's early in the week, but it has already been an eventful week for legal issues in the Valley of the Sun. And not surprisingly, most of the issues involve Joe Arpaio.
  
  - The same Arizona administrative law judge who found that State Rep. Doug Quelland should forfeit [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 4:11pm EST
  

• The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award

  Last year, this award was created as the Sunday Morning Crappie Award to recognize that week's most egregious example of political flip-floppery. Shortly after creating it, I noticed that Arizona's senior U.S. Senator was winning the Award or was one of the leading contenders every single week.
  
  In the [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 12:51pm EST
  

• The coming week...

  As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice...
  
  This will be a brief post due to other pressing matters, but I'll try to hit the high points.
  
  
  In the U.S. House of Representatives,' [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:58pm EST
  

• North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site update: small spill

  From an email from Rachel Loftin, the EPA's Project Manager -
  Dear NIBW Community Involvement Group -
  
  I am sending this to let you know of a release of untreated water which occurred on Monday, November 23rd, from a drain pipe which is connected to the groundwater extraction and [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 5:54pm EST
  

• The political prognostication thing is easy...

  Earlier today, I posted about how Sen. Chuck Gray (R-Pearce's saddle partner) was going to forego a re-election run next year in favor of pursuing "business opportunities."
  
  Contained in that post was the prediction that Republican Rich Crandall, one of LD19's state reps, would pursue the spot in [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 3:48pm EST
  

• Chuck Gray (R-LD19) not seeking reelection next year

  Chuck Gray, the winger state senator from East Mesa (with Russell Pearce covering West Mesa, Mesa is represented in the State Senate by all sorts of nutty), has announced that he won't be running for re-election next year in order to pursue as yet unspecified "business opportunities."
  [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 10:28am EST
  

• Barnes: the transcript

  Well, apparently the staff at the lege was in a hurry to wrap up before the holiday, so the video archives from yesterday's session of the House is already posted on the website. Click on the "video" link for "11/23/2009 - House Third Reading - Special Session 11/23/09".
  
  [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 2:42pm EST
  

• Ray Barnes: making Sylvia Allen look like an intellectual stalwart

  The video isn't up yet, but the reports are (Tedski at R-Cubed here; Jen at Mindless Mumblings of a Martyr Mom here).
  
  State Representative Ray Barnes (R-LD7) had a meltdown of epic proportions during Monday's meeting of the House of Representatives.
  
  He started by talking' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 6:55pm EST
  

• Live blogging the House special session

  3:17 - House sets up sine die committee to inform Senate that its work is done. House in recess.
  
  3:16 - Bill passes 51 -4.
  
  3:16 - Barnes going now. He may be what Antenori looks like in 30 years or so.
  
  3:15 - Antenori still going.
  [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 2:11pm EST
  

• Live blogging the Senate's special session

  1:48 - Senate recessed.
  
  1:47 - Passes with 16 votes. Over to the House.
  
  1:46 - Sylvia Allen says that a tax hike was imposed because the state equalization tax was permanently repealed.
  
  1:45 - Cheuvront argues against the "cuts-only" mentality of the Rs in the lege.
  [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 1:26pm EST
  

• The Arizona State Senate: The cameras are on, but no one is at work

  Kind of like "the lights are on, but nobody's home," only applied to an entire caucus instead of just one person.
  
  It's 11:24 a.m. Do you know where your senators are? Cuz they sure ain't working on the budget...
  
  According to one source (info more than an hour' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 11:23am EST
  

• Blowing sands, blowing smoke - the lege's schedule for today

  OK - the tentative schedule for the day at the lege is a Senate floor session starting at 10 a.m. (and given that it is after 10 now and there's no sign of activity, it's probably not going to start on time, if at all.
  
  Then, assuming success of [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 10:01am EST
  

• Time for a certain classless coward to step up and take responsibility for his action

  No, this isn't a political post, unless you consider anonymous violence and utter thuggishness to be valid forms of political expression.
  
  And while I've got a pretty low opinion of the AZGOP (as any regular reader already knows :) ), but even I don't think they are quite this' [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 5:23pm EST
  

• Bob Burns admitting that Democrats actuallly exist?

  And that maybe they matter?
  
  Next, you'll be telling me that Russell Pearce is going to resign his position, convert to Catholicism and become a priest so that he can minister to the poorest of the poor in Mexico. All as penance for the bile that he has spewed' [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 9:42am EST
  

• The coming week...

  As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice...
  
  
  This week's schedule is pretty sparse due to the holiday on Thursday, though there will be some excitement at the Arizona legislature early in the week.
  [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 11:42pm EST
  

• Rodney Glassman getting closer to a Senate seat

  ...A nativist winger knocking off McCain in the Republican primary would immediately make Democrat Rodney Glassman a serious threat to win next year's race for the U.S. Senate, if not the outright favorite.
  
  According to the latest Rasmussen Reports poll -
  Senator John McCain’s future in the [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 7:30pm EST
  

• Time to negotiate *for* the lege's Republicans

  Yup, time to contact some local hospitals and see if we can get a group rate for 53 admissions for "cranio-rectal dislodgement surgery."
  
  And if you can't figure out what that's a euphemism for, you aren't enough of a wiseass to enjoy this blog. :)
  
  From AZCentral.com [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 7:59pm EST
  

• Joint Legislative Budget Committee analysis of 4th Special Session budget bills

  Links courtesy the blog of the Arizona State Senate Democratic Caucus.
  
  Bill summaries from the JLBC here; JLBC numbers here (final result: $452 million in cuts and savings measures, but that is before any Republican committee or floor amendments.)
  
  Note: The Joint Committee on Capital [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 7:34pm EST
  

• Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman announces that he isn't running for statewide office anytime soon

  Of course, Hugh being Hugh, he didn't say it directly.
  
  From AZCentral.com (emphasis mine) -
  
  Four southeast Valley mayors challenged the Legislature on Tuesday to overhaul Arizona's tax system and think more creatively about how to solve the state's monumental budget problems.
  
  In the process, they' [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 5:35pm EST
  

• The coarsening of public discourse in Scottsdale

  Tuesday's meeting of the Scottsdale City Council was notable for some of the actual work (appointing David Richert as acting City Manager).
  
  
  However memorable as that may be, the meeting will be best remembered for the very snarky personal attacks from the floor on Council members and [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 2:15pm EST
  

• Arpaio defies court. Again.

  Some things never change, do they? Even when one of his deputies is caught on video rummaging through an attorney's briefcase, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio doesn't think that the laws that govern the rest of us apply to him or his.
  
  From AZCentral.com -
  
  A Maricopa' [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:30am EST
  

• Senate Approps meeting

  They're meeting in SHR109. It's available via the lege's live streaming function, which is good, because I didn't visit the Capitol today.
  
  The agenda is here.
  
  Meeting begins at approximately 10:15 a.m.
  
  SB1001, general appropriations - Cuts $144 million from K-12 Ed and $155 million from [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 10:13am EST
  

• Is Shadegg channelling his inner Hayworth?

  We'll know for certain if Shadegg announces his retirement from Congress in order to start a career in talk radio (not that Hayworth had any real choice about the timing of his retirement from Congress :)) )...
  
  From the Phoenix New Times -
  
  Congressman John Shadegg's theatrics' [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 10:27pm EST
  

• Special session: summary thus far

  They didn't actually do much today, so this recap will be brief -
  
  1. The Governor finally issued the official call for a special session of the legislature. The paperwork authorizing the 3 p.m. opening made it over to the lege a little before 1 p.m.
  
  2.' [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 8:33pm EST
  

• Congratulations to Doug Mings! Again!

  From an email from Ann Wallack, chair of the Maricopa County Democratic Party -
  I have some good news to announce to all Maricopa Democratic PC's! Doug Mings, our stellar Executive Director for Maricopa County has been hired by Luis Heredia of the ADP to fill the position' [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 6:55pm EST
  

• Live blogging the start of the special session

  3:21 - House adjourning until Thursday at 10 a.m. Approps to meet at 8 a.m. Thursday.
  
  3:19 - Points of personal privilege, introduction of guests.
  
  3:16 - Senate committee to announce that they are ready to conduct business. House back in session. House rules suspended regarding reading of [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 3:01pm EST
  

• Special session notes

  Well, the Governor finally sent over the proclamation so that they can actually hold the special session.
  
  I arrived at the Capitol at roughly 12:40 p.m. for the D17 press conference. At that point, a little over two hours before the special session was scheduled to go off, [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 2:44pm EST
  

• The LD17 team stays strong

  In news that broke elsewhere (including R-Cubed and AZCentral.com), Meg Burton Cahill has announced that she will not seek another term in the Senate next year. For health reasons she is taking her public service career in another direction (her doctor advised her that a hostile work environment like the [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 2:05pm EST
  

• OK, now they say that a special session will happen this week

  Apparently, the tea leaves that I was reading earlier today were actually just grass clippings...
  
  Nothing has been posted on the websites of the lege or the governor, but according to the AZ Republic, there will be a special session of the lege starting this week. (The [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 8:57pm EST
  

• Big announcement regarding LD17 tomorrow at the lege

  From a press release -
  Sen. Burton Cahill to announce retirement; Reps. Schapira, Ableser to reveal who will vie for state Senate, House seats
  
  PHOENIX - State Sen. Meg Burton Cahill and state Reps. David Schapira and Ed Ableser will hold a press conference 1 p.m. Tuesday at the [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 7:41pm EST
  

• Edward Woodward dies at 79

  Most of the readers of this blog probably aren't familiar with the name, but Edward Woodward was the star of one of the most iconic 80s TV shows, The Equalizer.
  
  Woodward was a highly-respected actor in England. Before accepting the role of Robert McCall, a retired and disillusioned Cold' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 6:36pm EST
  

• Special session tea leaf reading

  Not much to update as yet, but here goes...
  
  The latest rumors are A) that they will try to pull off a one day special session on Thursday, and B) that they'll try for next week before Thanksgiving.
  
  There are obstacles to those potential plans.
  
  As for' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 12:46pm EST
  

• The coming week...

  As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies (except where noted) and subject to change without notice.
  
  This is shaping up to be a busy week as most political entities try to clear as much work as possible off of their dockets before the [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 11:07am EST
  

• Republicans behaving badly: STO meeting shenanigans

  On Thursday, Rep. David Schapira (D-LD17) and the Bipartisan Task Force on the Private School Tuition Tax Credits Program held an open hearing on Thursday at the State Capitol to solicit public testimony on the state's troubled STO program.
  
  A number of citizens, from all over the state,' [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 9:13pm EST
  

• When you outlaw laws, only outlaws will have laws

  Tedski at Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion has covered this already, but it's worthy of more coverage.
  
  Especially in light of the apparent fizzling out of next week's likely-to-remain-a-rumor special session of the lege to address the ongoing budget deficit...
  
  Russell Pearce likes to tout himself as [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 6:49pm EST