Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Americans hate stories about process. They are not taught about the legislative process and what little they learned years ago from Schoolhouse Rock- How a Bill Becomes a Law is simplistic and inaccurate today. It is probably a safe bet to say that 99% of Americans don't' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
We could all use a little holiday diversion. H/t Rebel Christmas Card.
[...]Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The special session for Thursday collapsed in failure before it even began on Wednesday (what a surprise) when GOP legislative leaders used the convenient excuse that Secretary of State Ken Bennett says he does not have enough time to hold an election on March 9. Special [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
No way! I might be more inclined to believe this if Sen. John McCain was not the BFF of former Sen. Phil Gramm, the "free market" deregulator of the financial services industry whose deregulatory zeal is responsible for our economic house of cards collapsing under the weight of [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Tucson Weekly's Old Pueblo blog posted this piece UA Economist Marshall Vest: State Budget Crisis "Looks To Be Unsolvable":
UA economist Marshall Vest became the latest Cassandra to warn about the state government’s impending financial collapse.
Vest and fellow Eller School big-brain Gerald Swanson delivered their annual' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Calling a special session and actually passing the measures that are the subject of the special session are two different things. I stand by my earlier prediction that the Accidental Governor will not be able to pull off her proposal [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
One of the "four horsemen" of anti-immigrant hysteria in Maricopa County and the pied-piper of teabaggers, J.D. Hayworth, has been accused by former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods (and former chief of staff to Sen. John McCain) of violating FEC regulations by using his talk radio show on [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Dawn Teo of the Huffington Post has more background on the accusations against Brett Mecum, Executive Director of the Arizona Republican Party Top Arizona Republican Accused of Using Voter Database to Stalk Woman:
More misconduct has been alleged against Arizona Republican Party executive director Brett Mecum, who [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Whatever arrangement Tiger Woods may have with his wife Elin, if any, the tragic victims of this sordid tale are two young children, Sam Alexis Woods and Charlie Axel Woods. This drama will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Perhaps Tiger should have thought of his [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Short answer: it takes a two-thirds vote - 67 votes - to change the archaic rules of the U.S. Senate. Do the math. It ain't gonna happen.
Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote this excellent analysis of the U.S. Senate back in March of' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Arizona Republican Party Executive Director Brett Mecum just can't seem to stay out of trouble. Back in May he was arrested on a charge of criminal speeding and reckless driving, captured by a photo-radar doing 109 mph on Loop 101. The charges were later dismissed by Arrowhead Justice' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
It's time once again to update the early filers with the Arizona Secretary of State for 2010. After the legislature returns for the regular session the week of January 11, filings will really pick up. You can play along at home at [www.azsos.gov]
Republican State Treasurer Dean Martin' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Accidental Governor, Jan Brewer, has been a friend of the National Rifle Association (NRA) her entire political career. She welcomed the NRA to Phoenix for their national convention this past summer, and she signed into law every wet dream fantasy on the [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Before I begin, David Safier's complaint that the Arizona Daily Star is AWOL again is applicable here. The editors' recent announcement that the Star will focus more on local content (read petty crime stories) means that the Arizona Daily Star is failing to report on the biggest political scandal [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize Thursday in Oslo, Norway and delivered his Nobel acceptance speech and Nobel Lecture.
Transcript of prepared Remarks by the President at the Acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize | The White House:
Remarks by the President at the acceptance of the Nobel Peace [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
This is a belated update to an earlier post Maricopa County Detention Officer swipes a document from an attorney's file in court.
Maricopa County detention officer Adam Stoddard refused to comply with a lawful order from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe to publicly apologize to' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I have argued that Ben Bernanke's nomination for a full six year term as Federal Reserve Board chairman currently before the Senate should be withdrawn. I would have much more confidence in Paul Volcker, who previously served in that position. Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Huffington Post reports McCain Robocalls Prompt Ethics Complaint:
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) broke Senate rules when he recorded a robocall touting his amendment to the health care bill, according to a complaint filed with the Senate Ethics Committee by watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
What a shock (not). Senator Obstruction, Jon Kyl, is behind the Senate opposition to the bankruptcy mortgage "cramdown" provision approved by the House earlier this year but tabled in the Senate, which is being revived in the House House Democrats eye 'cramdown' measure for regulatory reform bill - [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The New York Times reports today Audit Finds TARP Program Effective:
The independent [Congressional Oversight Panel] that oversees the government’s financial bailout program concluded in a year-end review that, despite flaws and lingering problems, the program “can be credited with stopping an economic panic.”
* * *
In the latest [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I have made the case that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner should resign or be replaced with all deliberate speed in early January. I nominate Elizabeth Warren, Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the TARP fund. She "gets it."
Elizabeth Warrem wrote this piece for Huffington Post Elizabeth [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Representatives Maurice Hinchey of New York, John Conyers of Michigan, Peter DeFazio of Oregon, Jay Inslee of Washington, and John Tierney of Massachusetts, want to restore the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which prohibited commercial banks from underwriting stocks and bonds. The act was repealed in 1999 at the [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The senator from Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, Ben Nelson (D-NE), after consulting over the weekend with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) U.S. Bishops Urge Senators to Support Nelson-Hatch-Casey Amendment on Health Care Reform, introduced his anti-abortion amendment on Monday which [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Party of No continues to engage in rank obstructionism on health care reform. Two more attempts at GOP gimmicks backfired and blew up in their face.
Senate Republicans on Saturday continued their misleading fear mongering of seniors begun by Sen. John McCain reported here Sen. John [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
As I've said before, nobody does bumper sticker slogan gimmicks better than the Republican Party. They have excelled at this "simple solutions to complex problems" that you can reduce to a bumper sticker for years.
Last week the GOP's "Gimmicks-R-Us" shop came up with "voluntary taxes" for Arizona [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
This is what happens when you lie to seniors about Medicare, Johnny. They get riled up and call their Senators. Senate votes to keep Medicare cuts in plan:
Senators voted 58-42 to reject an amendment by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would have stripped [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Seniors advocacy groups have caught on to Senator John McCain's poison pill motion to kill the health care reform bill in the Senate.
The Hill reports AARP, seniors groups oppose McCain amendment:
The nonpartisan AARP and two left-leaning seniors' groups on Wednesday separately urged Senate lawmakers to reject an amendment [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
To begin with, I was impressed by the sober tone and frank assessment of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan by President Obama. There was none of the jingoistic American cowboy crap for which the Bush-Cheney regime is infamous. He spoke to his audience of cadets and to [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
President Barack Obama has been consistent with his campaign promises and his plan for Afghanistan touched upon in this op/ed from July 2008 Barack Obama - Op-Ed - My Plan for Iraq - NYTimes.com:
Ending the war [in Iraq] is essential to meeting our broader strategic goals, starting in [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Congressional Republicans love to cite reports from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) - except, of course, when the CBO report undermines the line of bullshit Republicans ae selling the American public, aided and abetted by a lazy stenographer news media who never fact check what Republicans are [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Senate began debate of the health care reform bill on Moday and John McCain wasted no time in making a complete fool of himself. As Keith Olbermann noted in his intro to McCain's "remarkable performance" that "you'll have to see to believe" 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Nobody does bumper sticker slogan gimmicks better than the Republican Party. They have excelled at this "simple solutions to complex problems" that you can reduce to a bumper sticker for years.
The latest gimmick from the GOP's "Gimmicks-R-Us" shop comes from Arizona Rep. Judy Burges, R-Skull Valley. Burges' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Associated Press writer Gene Johnson has this update at East Valley Tribune:
SEATTLE (AP) -- The man suspected of gunning down four police officers in a suburban coffee shop was shot and killed by a lone patrolman investigating a stolen car early Tuesday. Four people were arrested for [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Remember how Roger Ailes and Lee Atwater used this fearmongering ad to destroy the Michael Dukakis presidential campaign in 1988? (This was one version of the ad)
George H. W. Bush's campaign manager, Lee Atwater, predicted that "by the time this election is over, Willie Horton will be a'" [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Sarah Palin had some nice things to say about America's "Fearmonger-In-Chief", Glenn Beck of Faux News. In an interview with right-wing Newsmax.com, Palin was asked, "Is a "dream ticket" of Palin-Beck ticket completely out of the question? " Palin-Beck Ticket? Sarah Doesn't Rule it Out:
Palin [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
After eight years of war, Afghanistan remains a failed state.
Bush puppet Hamid Karzai is barely the mayor of Kabul; he has no control over the Afghan countryside. Voice of America Newsreported that the Taliban have a "permanent presence" in 80 percent of Afghanistan. "Permanent presence" in a [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Allen Barra at The Daily Beast has posted a book review of two new biographies about the life of Ayn Rand: Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller, and Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Ti's the season for Billo the Clown and Faux News to light up its annual "War on Christmas" nonsense. And this year Arizona's Accidental Governor kicks off the festivities. Arizona Capitol Times » Brewer brings Christmas, Hanukkah back to Capitol displays
“I believe in calling something what [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
My apologies to Lesley Gore for the caption.
The Republican National Committee will hold its winter meeting in January in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Honolulu? Isn't Hawaii dismissed by conservatives as being "some sort of foreign, exotic place" not quite part of the United States, despite being' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the traditional playing of Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant (The Massacree Revisited). Enjoy.
' [...]Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I briefly touched upon the comments of Rep. Ray Barnes during the recent special session in an earlier post, i.e., he said that the state could file for bankruptcy (as I explained, no, it cannot).
I had not seen Rep. Barnes' extended comments at the time. It turns out' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Arizona has gone from Governor Janet Napolitano and the Republican legislature enacting a ten percent income tax cut in 2006-07 to give back a tax surplus because "it's your money," to a state in economic free fall and financial collapse in 2008-09.
As anyone who attended school in' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
While I was trying to enjoy a rare night of television on Monday night, I was constantly barraged by television ads from major retailers for their "Black Friday" sales: Open at 5 a.m.! Open at 4 a.m.! Open Thanksgiving Day!
After the tragic trampling death of Jdimytai Damour, a [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
If you needed any further evidence that the Accidental Governor is a lame duck governor who is neither respected nor feared by her own Republican dominated legislature, Monday should have erased any doubt.
Governor Jan Brewer on July 1, 2009 in her veto message of the state budget:
I received [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Legislative Advocacy Sessions - Tucson
Dates: Tue., December 1st and Mon., December 7th
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 PM for both sessions
December 1st Location: Cross Middle School, 1000 W. Chapala Dr. (in Tucson)
December 7th Location: Eckstrom Columbus Library, 4350 E. 22nd St.
Description: The Democratic Caucus of the House of Representatives is [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I am going to repost this essay by Sam Pizzigatti posted at Campaign for America's Future in its entirety. Sam makes essentially the same economic arguments I have made in several posts over the last couple of years with new recently released research. What Ever Happened to' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
A brutal report issued last Monday by a government watchdog holds Timothy Geithner -- then the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and now the nation's Treasury Secretary -- responsible for over payments that put billions of extra tax dollars in the coffers of major' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Are Obama's economic policies actually working?
Intelligence Squared posed this question to six policy experts at a debate in New York on November 16. The statement, "Obama's economic policies are working effectively," was defended by Lawrence Mishel from the Economic Policy Institute; investor and former 'Car Czar' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
In an unprecedented defeat for the Federal Reserve, an amendment to audit the multi-trillion dollar institution was approved by the House Finance Committee with an overwhelming and bipartisan 43-26 vote on Thursday afternoon despite harried last-minute lobbying from top Fed officials and the surprise opposition of Chairman Barney [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The New York Times reported on Saturday that dispassionate economic analysts have reached a consensus that the stimulus package, messy as it is, is working. New Consensus Views Stimulus as Worthy Step:
The legislation, a variety of economists say, is helping an economy in free fall a year [...]
