This is just me being curious. I rarely write about the Goldwater Institute, and especially about Matthew Ladner's work, without getting a fairly prompt response in the Comments. Recently I've been tag-teaming with others all over the country to question the accuracy of Ladner's Civics study, as well' [...]
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 [...]
Here's a press release from Grijalva's office:
Grijalva Announces Bill To Help Struggling Schools Prevent Dropouts, Encourage Pursuit of Higher Education
Washington, DC – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today announced the release of H.R. 4122, the Graduation for All Act, which seeks to decrease dropout rates and provide assistance to [...]
Ad for the President Obama, United We Serve and NFL Team Up fitness and service campaign.
This goes out to friend of the blog Steve Gall who is trying once again to get a 30 minute mandatory recess bill through the legislature and is talking to and working at [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Arizona's Neoconservative Senator John McCain is at it again. This is the man who was a patron of Ahmed Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress which fabricated intelligence of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. This is the man who advocated for war with Iraq and confidently predicted [...]
by David Safier
The Rs planned to cut $144 million in soft capital funding from district schools. The snafu Thursday only delayed the move.
But now some legislators are asking, Why aren't charter schools feeling the budget ax as well?
Here is among the lamest reasons imaginable for not making cuts to' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
First, some background. The Washington Post reported that one of former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughters, Mary, was “leaving the political consulting firm Navigators Global to start her own consulting company.” Though one of Mary’s friends told the Post that Mary’s dad and her sister, Liz, would [...]
by David Safier
A few days ago, I posted about problems with the survey Goldwater Institute's Matthew Ladner used for his study about how little high school students know about Civics. It seems the company that conducted the survey, Strategic Vision LLC, has a history of complaints about their methodology [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Republicans have controlled the Arizona House since 1967 -- 42 years. And with a few short-lived exceptions, Republicans have controlled the Arizona Senate during the same period of time. Arizona's governors, Republicans and Democrats alike, have been hostage to Republican legislators.
With this kind of iron-fisted control over [...]
If you've been watching Rachel Maddow or following the blogs, you've probably seen that one of the latest anti-Obama slogans is a line from one of the Old Testament Psalms of David, 109, verse 8:
Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
This isn't just a' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Nothing is ever the fault of Republicans (just ask our governor and legislators). And nobody shirks personal responsibility better than Sarah Palin. "True Americans" (white American Christian conservatives) are the true victims. And Sarah Palin in 2012 would allow conservatives to snatch "victimry" from the jaws of their defeat.
[...]No, not Sarah for Arizona. I want Sarah in Arizona during the 2010 primaries supporting the Senate candidate of her choice. Will it be her running mate, John McCain? Will it be her more natural ally, J.D. Hayworth? Or will it be Chris Build-a-wall-around-the-entire-country Simcox? Arizona wants to [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I know I have explained this before, but apparently some people up at the state capitol need a refresher course. The way a special session is supposed to work is that the Governor and House and Senate leadership get together and craft a bill that they can all [...]
This is about Maricopa and it's about community colleges -- a bit out of my usual physical and educational geography -- but really, it's about a rogue members of a Board trying to use the colleges for personal and political ends, educational mission be damned. And that kind [...]
You know that special session called by the Accidental Guv to do some budget cutting? It didn't quite work out that way.
A fragile budget deal collapsed in the Senate Thursday when Sen. Thayer Verschoor skipped the floor session and tied his support to a last-minute amendment to' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
When one of the Neocon Washington Post's deans of conservative apologists, George Will, sings someone's praises you know something dark and evil is afoot. It merits a closer examination of the object of his praise. (Will's columns should come with a disclosure statement).
Both of Arizona's two major newspapers [...]
I happened to be at the Capitol Wednesday, camera and notepad in hand, so I took in the Dem press conference.
The thrust of the conference was to criticize the Rs for their piecemeal approach to budgeting: cut some stuff today and worry about everything else [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
John Perr is one of the better economics bloggers. He posted this piece at crooksandliars.com Born Again Deficit Virgins:
Everything you need to know about the descent of the conservative movement into a hypocritical caricature is illustrated by two of its proudest constituencies: Republican deficit hawks and [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Earlier this year, the Accidental Governor and several Republican state legislators toyed with the idea of rejecting federal stimulus aid to the state. It was purely ideological grandstanding. Wiser heads prevailed and Arizona accepted the federal stimulus aid. The current budget deficit would have been far worse without the federal [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanIe:
I have always heard that Costco is a Labor/Democrat friendly business, despite the fact that it sells every screed from right-wing pulp fiction publishing houses at bulk discount prices.
Now it is selling Caribou Barbie -- no, not the doll -- the real-life Sarah Palin, [...]
If you live in Tucson and you want to know about the tuition tax credit/STO mess, there's currently only one place to go: my posts on BfA. The Star has been AWOL when it comes to covering the story. I don't think it would take all the fingers [...]
In the post below, I wrote about the recent meeting of the R-created committee looking into painting a happy face on the tuition tax credit mess. I mentioned it brought in an "expert," Charles North, to explain that tuition tax credits save Arizona millions and millions of tax [...]
The other legislative committee looking into tuition tax credits and STOs met Monday. I call it "the other committee" because it was set up by Rs to counter the task force set up by Ds. The D-created task force is trying to probe tuition tax credit abuses. The [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Rep. John Shadegg wins the bronze in World's Worst Persons for November 17, 2009.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
UPDATE: Rep. John Shadegg was forced to apologize on Tuesday for suggesting the family of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg could' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Tea Party has moved into its next phase, opposition to immigration reform legislation soon to be introduced in the Congress. This past weekend, the nativist right-wingers at ALIPAC and the National Policy Institute organized a series of "Tea Parties Against Amnesty.
Things didn't go quite as the teabaggers'" [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Anti-Defamation League has released the following ADL Special Reports: Rage Grows in America: Anti-Government Conspiracies
Introduction: A Year of Growing Animosity
Since the election of Barack Obama as president, a current of anti-government hostility has swept across the United States, creating a climate of fervor and activism [...]
I thought I would never have to write about this one charter school principal again. But a news story from KPHO Phoenix let me know the principal, who should never have been allowed to be around students after what she did in 2005, is back in the [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
This is why I was careful to say "many conservatives" rather than generalize and paint with a broad brush all conservatives in my earlier post on this topic. There are still many conservatives who share with their more liberal counterparts an abiding faith in the Constitution and the [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Politico reported on Monday McCain camp: Palin account 'all fiction' Well, Duh! What did you expect?
Top aides to Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign hit back at Sarah Palin Friday and Saturday, calling the former vice presidential nominee’s soon-to-be-released book “revisionist and self serving” “fiction.” [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Special Session will begin Tuesday afternoon. My sources say that the Republicans are still short a vote and will have to play "Let's Make a Deal." Howard Fischer, however, says the GOP has the votes and maybe some Democrats to spare. Budget, Rio Nuevo on' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Back in April the Tucson City Council voted to fire its city manager, Mike Hein, for cause. Tucson City Manager Mike Hein fired; to get six months' pay
Hein was named city manager in April 2005. He also has served as a Deputy Pima County Administrator and had' [...]
In case you missed it yesterday (between Blue Meanie's posts and mine, things move down the page pretty fast), I wrote about the possibility that the survey Matthew Ladner based three public/private school comparisons on was totally fabricated by Strategic Vision LLC, the company paid to do' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
KingofSpades posted this piece at Daily Kos: McCain finds his right-wing @ sshat. (with Poll)
McCain has really gone off the deep end now into wingnut country. On Friday a few days ago at a townhall, he asked people to cut up their [...]
Posted by azBlueMeanie:
Craig at Random Musings posted this all too accurate description of Sen. Russell Pearce Random Musings: When you outlaw laws, only outlaws will have laws:
Russell Pearce likes to tout himself as a "rule of law" type, but it seems that his enthusiasm for obedience to the [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
First a quick update: The Accidental Governor and the GOP insane clown posse are trying for a special session this week to deal with agency funding issues. They were to have met over the weekend to hammer out the details of a plan that they hope will be [...]
I don't usually blog about this kind of thing, but the Phoenix connection makes it irresistable.
There have been lots of questions about Bonner & Associates, a Republican outreach firm which apparently uses all kinds of shady tactics to do its clients' bidding. But this is a new one [...]
Another strong article about tuition tax credits and STOs from Pat Kossan and Ronald J. Hansen at the Republic. It focuses on taxpayer-funded scholarship money going to families that don't fit most people's definitions of "needy," though it also mentions examples of families who are well within [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Conservatives would have you believe that they are the defenders of the Constitution. For many, this is bullshit.
In the days immediately following 9/11, many conservatives were quick to unquestioningly accept Dick Cheney's dark vision of the imperial presidency and the "unitary executive" theory under which' [...]
As you know if you've been reading this blog, I've had several bones to pick with the Goldwater Institute's studies comparing public and private school students in their knowledge of civics, tolerance of others and feelings about the schools they attend. (My criticism of the' [...]
Another update on the Imagine Schools in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which have been the subject of scathing investigative work by the Journal Gazette.
The dean of the Teachers College at Ball State University, the group that authorized the charter for Fort Wayne's Imagine schools, wrote an op ed' [...]
I'm participating in a panel on blogging this Monday, Nov. 16, 6:30pm, at the Saguaro Eastside Democrats meeting -- New Spirit Lutheran Church, 8701 E. Old Spanish Trail (northeast corner of Camino Seco).
Joining me will be some guy who goes by the nom de pixel of Tedski --' [...]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Rhonda Bodfield at the Arizona Daily Star writes Political Notebook: Rep. Shadegg's health care speech goes viral:
U.S. Congressman John Shadegg was mocked by funnyman Jon Stewart and chastised by Bill O’Reilly for his floor speech against the health care reform bill when it came up for a' [...]
This hearing will not be televised
by David Safier
[Note: In classic blog fashion, Part 3 is at the top of the page with Parts 2 and 1 following. Scroll down if you want to read them in the order they were written.]
These days, state legislative business is videotaped and streamed on [...]
Crandall thinks some public testimony is inappropriate
One of the people who testified at Wednesday's House task force on tuition tax credits and STOs was Ann-Eve Pedersen, one of the Tucsonans who have worked hard to uncover information about misuse of tuition tax credit funds and are trying to' [...]
An STO fund sweep? What an idea!
by David SafierThe House task force on tuition tax credits and STOs met Wednesday. This is the House group started by Ds, then joined by some Rs, not to be confused with the Senate committee started by Rs in response to earlier task force.
Both [...]
AZ BlueMeanie, David Safier, mbryanaz
