Blog For Arizona

ABC's Jonathan Karl's non-apology apology for scandal mongering fabricated emails

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

ABC's Jonathan Karl got caught this past week having cited emails in his reporting that he claimed were directly quoted from the actual emails on Benghazi! Yeah, not so much. It turns out that what Karl cited as actual quotes from the actual emails in his reporting were from summaries prepared by staffers for Republicans in Congress leaked to the media. Those summaries are most charitably "inaccurate," and at worst intentional fabrications. ABC ran the story as an "exclusive" report and touched off a Scandalpalooza last week.

Major Garrett at CBS essentially pantsed Jonathan Karl with his reporting last week, laying side-by-side the actual emails versus the fabricated summaries in Karl's report, and concluded that "There is no evidence [that] the White House orchestrated these changes."

ABC later updated its story, but has not publish a "correction" or any assertion that Jonathan Karl had been duped by his source.

Today Jonathan Karl offered a non-apology apology on CNN -- oddly not on ABC's This Week -- for his reporting. Media Matters reports, ABC's Jon Karl Tells CNN He Regrets Getting Benghazi Talking Points Reporting Wrong.

Why is this woman allowed on the Sunday morning bobblehead shows?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Saint Ronnie Reagan's speechwriter and Special Assistant to the President, Peggy Noonan aka the "Nooner," the one who wrote those speeches for Ronnie about how "I didn''t know nuthin' bout no arms to Iran for hostages!", and "I didn't know nuthin' bout no Oliver North running an illegal war in Nicaragua out of the basement of the White House!," has been slipping from reality into dementia for quite sometime now, just like Saint Ronnie, but the "Nooner" has completely lost touch with reality this week.

As Hunter wrote at Daily Kos this week, Peggy Noonan takes a turn in the conspiracy theory funhouse:

Leave it to Peggy Noonan to chew the scenery on this one. She'd like you to know that the president is "not unconnected" to IRS mismanagement and the FBI fetching AP phone records because of leadership osmosis. She also is fairly certain that the IRS business is some sort of Orwellian scheme to oppress conservatives, which would be fine and all if that's what happened.

This is what the "Nooner" wrote in the the op-ed pages of Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal this week, This Is No Ordinary Scandal:

We are in the midst of the worst Washington scandal since Watergate. . .

Move to Amend Arizona Barnstorming Tour This Week

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from Move to Amend. Arizona Barnstorming Tour with Ashley Sanders.

Arizona Barnstorming Tour with Ashley Sanders

May 10, 2013

Move to Amend is barnstorming through Arizona and we're coming to a town near you! Catch a talk in your area, and learn how you can get involved in the campaign to end corporate personhood and demand real democracy!

Ashley Sanders is touring Arizona for Move to Amend in an effort to build connections, inspire activism, and reveal the origins of corporate power in America.

Ashley Sanders is a long-time community activist from Salt Lake City, Utah. She began political work doing campus organizing against the Bush administration and then worked to build third parties as the Nader spokesperson in 2008. She worked for Democracy Unlimited (a Move to Amend Founding Organization) in 2009 and helped to form the Move to Amend coalition. She founded the Salt Lake affiliate of Move to Amend and serves on the National Leadership Team.

Move to Amend is a national coalition of over 285,000 people and organizations whose goal is to amend the US Constitution to end corporate rule and get money out of politics.

PCDP Fundraiser at The Gaslight Theater - 'The Incredible Spidey-Guy'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Announcement from the Pima County Democratic Party:

Tucson 43rd Annual Juneteenth Festival

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Exposing Arizona's Political Corruption

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Announcement from the AZ AFL-CIO, PALF, IBEW 570, Tucson PDA, and Border Action Network:

WHAT: Join Arizona Advocacy Network Foundation to expose how lobbyists and Big Money buy favor with officials at the our expense. We begin with a special showing of Bill Moyers’ United States of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), exposing how Big Money uses campaign cash and freebies to buy access to OUR tax dollars for greater profit at the expense of jobs and voter priorities. We then highlight important bills being voted on by the legislature and Congress on Clean Elections, other political anti-corruption/conflict of interests bills, voting rights and election administration. Learn more about our March 18, 2013 U.S. Supreme Court hearing to defend every eligible citizen’s right to register to vote without the barriers Arizona politicians keep in place.

WHEN: Saturday, June 1, 2013

Check-in 10:00 a.m. - Film begins 10:30 a.m. - Lunch and Legislative Update 11:30 a.m.

WHERE: IBEW 570 Union Hall, 750 S. Tucson Blvd., Tucson

This event is FREE, but registration is required.

REGISTER: Facebook Page

PALF 3rd Annual Golf Tournament

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Event announcement from the Pima Area Labor Federation:

LD 10 Spring Ice Cream Social with Political Bingo

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Announcement from Legislative District 10 Democrats:

LD 10 Presents the 1^ST Annual Spring

Ice Cream Social with Political Bingo

Saturday, June 1, 1-4 PM, Pima County Democratic Party Headquarters, 4639 E. 1^st Street, Tucson 85711 (Swan and Speedway)

 

Cost is only $10 or $15 at the door, includes plenty of ice cream and bingo fun playing for your favorite legislators and MEETING THEM AS WELL!!

 

Contact Steve Gall, Fundraising Chairman, stevejgall@hotmail.com or (520) 777-3000

 

Pay online: https://secure.actblue.com/page/springicecream

 

Paid for by LD10-2012 Pima Democratic Committee - Paul Olson, Chair - Bob Clark, Treasurer

Cochise County Democrats' Potluck Picnic 2013

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Announcement from the Cochise County Democratic Party:

Community Forum on Health Care for Women and Children

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Announcement from Congressman Grijalva:

Community Forum on Health Care for Women and Children hosted by Congressman Grijalva

You are Cordially Invited
Community Forum on Health Care for Women & Children
May 29th from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Please join Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva, including national and community health center experts, to discuss health care reform updates and opportunities for improving the health of women and children in Arizona.

Location:
El Pueblo Neighborhood Center
Senior Center Multi-Purpose Room 101 W. Irvington
Tucson, AZ 85706

Please RSVP to:
Adriana Perez at Adriana.Perez@mail.house.gov

Political Calendar: Week of May 19, 2013

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Political Calendar is posted on Sundays. Please send us notice of your political events prior to the Sunday before your event (7 days would be most helpful). See the calendar icon in the right-hand column of the blog page for easy access to the calendar.

Political Calendar For The Week of May 19, 2013:

Monday, May 20, Noon: Democrats of Greater Tucson luncheon, Dragon's View Restaurant (400 N. Bonita, South of St. Mary's Road between the Freeway and Grande Avenue, turn South at Furr's Cafeteria), buffet lunch costs $8.50. Featured speaker is Diana Rhoades, Chair of Tucson Chapter of U.S. Green Building, on “Turning our schools green.” Next Week: Dave Cullier, Ph.D., Director and Associate Professor, U of A Journalism, on “Words that kill: swaying and death thoughts.”

Cartoon of The Week

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Action Alert: Call your state senator now to oppose SB 1493

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Craig McDermott posted about the upcoming week in the legislature, and covered the Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration and budget which moves to the House this week.

The Senate held the omnibus elections bill last week from its marathon appropriations bills session. The omnibus elections bill is likely to be scheduled for action in the Senate before the end of this week.

After a cursory review of SB 1493, it appears to me that Sen. Michele Reagan (R-Scottsdale) and Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-Scottsdale) have abandoned earlier attempts to modify their so-called election "reform" bills to address the complaints of voting rights groups and Democratic legislators, and are now sticking with the earlier versions approved in committee in an attempt to ram these unnecessary and counter-productive measures through the legislature.

This is a middle-finger salute to voting rights groups and Democrats. It moves Arizona backwards on voting rights.

Arizona Legislature: The coming week

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

What started out as a quiet week last week became colorful in a hurry when the Arizona Senate passed a package of budget bills, including provisions for Medicaid expansion.

Now the whole package is scheduled to go over to the House for consideration.

As of this writing, there isn't anything in terms of committee agendas or floor calendars posted for the coming week for either chamber, so all that's left to do is speculate a little.

1.  The bills face a murky path in the House, but speculation is that they are likely to pass.  There just may be a little drama first. 

2.  On Friday's Horizon on KAET (PBS channel 8 in Phoenix), the journalists who were part of their weekly "Journalists Roundtable" speculated that the bills won't be heard (and voted on) until after Memorial Day.  According to them, this coming week may see House Speaker Andy Tobin try to push, or at least go through the motions of pushing, his proposal to put the Medicaid restoration before the voters.

However, while there do seem to be enough votes in the House to pass Medicaid restoration, it doesn't seem likely that there is any real support for putting the question before the voters - mostly because they think it will be approved by the voters anyway, and by a wide margin, making the legislature look worse for passing the buck on an easy decision.

Note: As of now, KAET has not posted Friday's episode of Horizon on its website, but will likely do so on Monday. 

SCOTUS watching down the final stretch

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

According to the stats kept by Scotusblog.com, the U.S. Supreme Court has heard 74 merit cases this term, and issued opinions in 39 of those cases.

This leaves 35 opinions to be announced over the next six weeks before the end of June. Mondays are orders and opinions days, with the exception of Tuesday, May 28, because of the Memorial Day holiday.

There are several cases I am following for decisions expected to be issued late in the term on June 17 or June 24, but one never knows.

There are two voting rights cases. The first is Arizona v. The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc., (12-71), which involves the question whether the National Voter Registration Act preempts Arizona's Prop. 200 (2004) that requires persons who are registering to vote to show proof of citizenship to register to vote. The federal law requires only an attestation of citizenship, subject to prosecution for false attestation. This is a federal preemption issue.

The "big one" that everyone is waiting for is Shelby County v. Holder, (12-96), which involves the question whether Congress’ decision in 2006 to reauthorize Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act under the pre-existing coverage formula of Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act exceeded its authority.

This is the "preclearance" provision of the Voting Rights Act with which covered states, such as Arizona, must comply because of past history of voter discrimination. Arizona has yet to qualify for the "bail out" provision of the Voting Rights Act because Arizona has not had a record of non-discrimination for more than 10 years.

If Section 5 is struck down, it will be a conservative activist court substituting its judgment for the judgment of Congress, which reauthorized the Voting Rights Act with overwhelming bipartisan support. That would set off a firestorm of protest, and justifiably so.

Finnish education expert gives the lie to the "Great Teachers" myth

by David Safier

Recent international tests of students have put Finland's schools at or near the top of the rankings. Finnish education has a few traits that should make conservative "education reformers" sit up and take notice. It doesn't give standardized tests to students until high school, and very few even then. Instead of punishing or closing "low performing schools," it puts money and resources into improving student achievement (The usual result is, student achievement improves). And its teachers are drawn from the top 10% of the country's college students unlike the U.S., where teachers tend to come from the middle of the college pack.

A Finnish expert on education, Pasi Sahlberg, has an article debunking the idea that "Great Teachers" are the answer to improving U.S. education. He acknowledges the importance of strong teachers, of course, but the promoters of the "Great Teachers" solution are ignoring more important aspects of our country's education problems.

Sahlberg puts poverty at the top of the list of the concerns the U.S. needs to address to improve its children's education. He cites studies concluding that at most a third of the variation in student achievement is the result of teacher quality, school climate and leadership. The other two-thirds is attributable to factors outside the school. And it's almost universally acknowledged, poverty is the number one factor in low student achievement. Sahlberg compares the U.S. and Finland.

In the United States today, 23 percent of children live in poor homes. In Finland, the same way to calculate child poverty would show that figure to be almost five times smaller. The United States ranked in the bottom four in the recent United Nations review on child well-being.  Among 29 wealthy countries, the United States landed second from the last in child poverty and held a similarly poor position in “child life satisfaction.” Teachers alone, regardless of how effective they are, will not be able to overcome the challenges that poor children bring with them to schools everyday.

There's more to the article, but for me, that's the most important takeaway. Bill Gates can push the "Great Teacher" solution to our education problems and his new high tech teacher evaluation methodology all he wants. But if he and other corporate "education reformers" would look at their own bank accounts compared to the bottom 50% of the country and put their energies towards lowering our shameful poverty rate, that effort would go a lot further toward improving our students' achievement than all their bashing of teachers and traditional public schools.

Malpractice litigation helps reduce medical error

by David Safier

The NY Times has a good op ed by UCLA law prof Joanna C. Schwartz on the value of malpractice litigation in reducing medical errors. Contrary to the notion that malpractice suits result in people hiding problems, she says it encourages improved practices.

New evidence, however, contradicts the conventional wisdom that malpractice litigation compromises the patient safety movement’s call for transparency. In fact, the opposite appears to be occurring: the openness and transparency promoted by patient safety advocates appear to be influencing hospitals’ responses to litigation risk.

[snip]

[W]hile hospitals historically took an adversarial and secretive approach to lawsuits and error, that has begun to change. In recent years, hospitals have become increasingly open with patients: over 80 percent of hospitals in my study have a policy of apologizing to patients when errors occur. And hospitals are more willing to discuss and learn from errors with hospital staff.

What accounts for these changes? Several factors appear to have overcome historical resistance to transparency, including widespread laws requiring disclosure to patients and confidentiality protections for internal discussions of error. Hospitals have also found that disclosing errors to patients and offering early settlements reduces the costs and frequency of litigation.

My study also shows that malpractice suits are playing an unexpected role in patient safety efforts, as a source of valuable information about medical error. Over 95 percent of the hospitals in my study integrate information from lawsuits into patient safety efforts. And risk managers and patient-safety personnel overwhelmingly report that lawsuit data have proved useful in efforts to identify and address error.

My knowledge on this issue is minimal. When I have questions, my usual go-to guy is Barry Kirschner, a friend and local lawyer. He sent me an email expanding on the op ed.

One of many reasons people have an incentive to drive more carefully is the cost of insurance and the threat of accountability should they be responsible for an accident. There is less irresponsible drinking and driving and risky conduct because of this civil liability.

Fed Board Governor: Inequality May Hurt Growth (Ya Think?)

Posted by Bob Lord

Imagine that? Huff Po reports that a Fed Board Governor, Sarah Bloom Raskin, has "raised the possibility that rising inequality may restrain economic growth for several years."

I suppose we should be encouraged that someone in a position of modest power is starting to see inequality as a negative. But at the same time, it's stunning how cautious and late to the party she is, and she's supposedly a step ahead of her fellow Fed Board Governors.

Did it really take her this long to start worrying that if wealth and income flow out of the hands of people who buy stuff and into the hands of those who chase speculative investments, the economy might suffer?

“In my view, the large and increasing amount of inequality in income and wealth, which has been an ongoing development for decades, may have exacerbated the crisis,” Fed governor Sarah Bloom Raskin said Thursday in a speech delivered in Washington. “More research is required to determine whether it may also pose a significant headwind to the recovery from the crisis for years to come.”

More research is required? No, Sarah, it really isn't. Call Joseph Stiglitz. He'll tell you all you need to know.

But we have to keep telling ourselves: "This is a good development." Heck, in another decade or so, they might even conclude we perhaps ought to do something about inequality.

Attention progressive shoppers! Check out the Buycott app

Posted by AZBlueMeanie:

Remember back around 2004 the attempt to create a "Buy Blue" list of businesses that are progressive? There was hesitation by many businesses to participate, because they feared the knee-jerk reaction of wingnuts who would boycott their business if they were identified as progressive.

During the Sandra Fluke advertising boycott of the drug adled Rush Limbaugh, I would get requests for a list of his advertisers to boycott. (This boycott is still going strong, by the way, and Rush may be losing his contract with at least one radio network over the loss of advertising dollars).

Rejoice progressive shoppers! Now "there's an app for that." New App Lets You Boycott Koch Brothers, Monsanto And More By Scanning Your Shopping Cart - Forbes:

In her keynote speech at last year’s annual Netroots Nation gathering, Darcy Burner pitched a seemingly simple idea to the thousands of bloggers and web developers in the audience. The former Microsoft programmer and congressional candidate proposed a smartphone app allowing shoppers to swipe barcodes to check whether conservative billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch were behind a product on the shelves.

Burner figured the average supermarket shopper had no idea that buying Brawny paper towels, Angel Soft toilet paper or Dixie cups meant contributing cash to Koch Industries through its subsidiary Georgia-Pacific. Similarly, purchasing a pair of yoga pants containing Lycra or a Stainmaster carpet meant indirectly handing the Kochs your money (Koch Industries bought Invista, one of the world’s largest fiber and textiles companies, in 2004 from DuPont).

At the time, Burner created a mock interface for her app, but that’s as far as she got. She was waiting to find the right team to build out the back end, which could be complicated given often murky corporate ownership structures.

Man up McCain, and apologize to Susan Rice

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

This morning I posted:

The worst purveyors of this "Benghazi! Benghazi!! Benghazi!!!" faux scandal have been the new Three Stooges, Sens. John McCain, his puppet boy Little Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte as "Shemp." They have perpetrated a fraud for purely partisan political retaliation. They besmirched the reputation of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who has been vindicated by the emails released this week.

The new Three Stooges owe Susan Rice and the American people an apology. They have demonstrated their utter lack of character and judgment to serve in the U.S. Senate. If they had any honor, they would submit their resignations from the U.S. Senate for their indefensible actions.

Others are making the same point. Steve Benen writes today in Rice's rehabilitated reputation:

When Time's Michael Crowley reported this week on what we learned from the disclosure of internal administration emails on Benghazi, it noted three larger takeaways, one of which was "Susan Rice got hosed."

New ad about Flake's gun background check vote

by David Safier

A new ad about Jeff Flake's vote against background checks will be playing in Arizona through May 30. It's Caren Teves talking about her son and his fiance who were killed in the Aurora, Colorado, shooting, then showing the letter from Flake saying he supported background checks, which he went on to vote against.

Jeff "Both Ways" Flake continues to try and wriggle his way out of the bad publicity, saying he did vote to strengthen background checks, it's just that . . . (Fill in the incomprehensible blank).

 

It looks like Tucson will have a city council election after all

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It looks like Tucson will have a city council election after all. I was starting to wonder with the filing deadline of May 29 fast approaching. Republican candidates only need a ridiculously low number of signatures to qualify for the ballot (because there are so few Republicans in Tucson):

WARD 3  minimum 123  maximum 245

WARD 5  minimum   69  maximum 137

WARD 6  minimum 183  maximum 365

The Democratic incumbents all filed to run for reelection.

Karin Uhlich (D-WARD 3) was the first candidate to collect the maximum number of petition signatures and has filed to qualify for the City of Tucson's Clean Elections matching funds.

Uhlich will face a rematch with her opponent from four years ago, Ben Buehler-Garcia, who filed this week. Buehler-Garcia tries again to take Uhlich's Ward 3 Tucson City Council seat. Buehler-Garcia turned in the maximum 245 signatures for a Republican candidate in Ward 3. I assume he will be funded by the usual suspect GOP bagmen such as Jim Click and Bruce Ash, and of course, lobbyists from the Rosemont Mine. I'll bet most of his money will come from outside of the city.

Richard Fimbres (D-WARD 5) has his maximum number of signatures, but i am infomed that he is working on the last few Clean Elections contributions he needs to qualify for the City of Tucson's Clean Elections matching funds. If you haven't already contributed, it's time to pony up.

Ronstadt Transit Center: Community Space or Capitalist Dream?

by Pamela Powers Hannley

The Downtown Tucson Partnership-- like other business groups before them-- has designs on the Ronstadt Transit Center (RTC). Since the early Feb. 5 City Council vote approving a 60-90 day public comment period before throwing the RTC to the dogs... er ... developers,  the Tucson Bus Riders Union held a public forum at the Rialto, compiled and organized hundreds written comments collected at the forum, met with City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich, and participated in collecting 2800 surveys from bus riders. 

When the Ronstadt Transit Center was constructed in 1991, it was billed as a community gathering place. Dance and music performances at the RTC were featured during Downtown Saturday Nights (pre-cursor to Second Saturdays but twice per month in its heyday). At the April public forum, dozens of speakers talked about improving the transit center, making it a focal point for community activities (as it once was), and building community-- not commercial develop-- at the site.

The big question is: in making its decision regarding the fate of the Ronstadt Transit Center, will the City Council listen to the 41-member Downtown Tucson Partnership or the thousands of Tucsonans who have voiced their opinion on this issue?

Today, May 17, a group of transit activists, downtown residents, and members of the Tucson Bus Riders Union will gather at the Ronstadt Transit Center in a community-building exercise. Wear white, bring your musical instruments, signs, and your community spirit to the RTC at 5 p.m. and let's see what happens. Meet under the clock, and don't disrupt the buses. This is a bus-friendly, community event-- not a protest.

For background on the most recent Ronstadt Transit Center struggle, check out stakeholder opinions after the jump.

Update on Special Action challenge to the consolidated elections bill

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last year, Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-Scottsdale) sponsored HB 2826 (consolidated election dates; political subdivisions), a bill providing for the consolidation of elections in the fall of even numbered years only. The law will apply to elections in 2014 and thereafter.

The City of Tucson filed its special action for declaratory and injunctive relief on October 10, 2013 in the Pima County Superior Court, City of Tucson v. State of Arizona et al. (Case No. C20126272). The City of Phoenix Intervened as a plaintiff. The case is assigned to Judge James E. Marner.

On Monday, Judge Marner ruled on the motions for summary judgment. (For some reason I am unable to access the case documents online today, so the ruling is not attached).

I have tried to interest our local newspapers The Arizona Dail Star and the Tucson Weekly in reporting on this case, but apparently they no longer have an interest in court reporting. The Arizona Republic today has a report, from a Phoenix-centric perspective, naturally. Phoenix, Tucson fight change in election calendar:

Tucson and Phoenix are waging a legal fight to overturn a state law that would require local governments to move their elections to even-numbered years to coincide with statewide contests for president and governor.

If the law takes effect in 2014, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and other municipal elected officials could have their terms extended by several months or even a year.

A Pima County Superior Court judge on Monday denied the cities’ request for summary judgment in the case, saying that he needs to get more information than already submitted in court filings. A hearing will likely be scheduled in the next month, so the parties can debate the facts further.

Democrats for Education Reform: the local players

by David Safier

The national PAC Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) recently set up shop in Arizona. DFER is a pro "education reform" group funded primarily by hedge fund money that favors school choice, charter schools and vouchers with a bit of teacher union bashing on the side. It has clear connections to conservative groups pushing a nearly identical privatization agenda. By giving campaign cash and support to Democratic candidates and sitting legislators in exchange for them playing nice with conservatives on education legislation, DFER can pull in those few extra votes needed to pass legislation that moves funds toward charters and private schools and away from school districts. The California Democratic Party is concerned enough about the PAC's influence, it passed a formal resolution condemning DFER. For more information about DFER and relevant links, read my earlier post.

DFER Arizona has a State Director and six people sitting on its Board of Advisors. It's an interesting group. Most of them lean toward the moderate to conservative end of the Democratic Party but, so far as I can tell, they're genuine Democrats. The most suspect to me is the State Director, Christina María Martínez. Her connections with the conservative "education reform" movement appear to go beyond what you would expect from a Democrat, including serving as a lobbyist in Arizona for the very conservative American Federation for Children. Martinez and most of the others, no matter their Democratic credentials, have drunk the conservative privatization Kool Aid and want to spread the gospel amongst their fellow Democrats. This makes it even more important to make the group's agenda clear and to let people know who the Director and Board members are since they're often people working alongside us and voting with the rest of us on other issues.

DFER's Arizona State Director is Christina María Martínez. The Board Members, along with their thumbnail descriptions on the DFER website, are:

• Rhonda Cagle, Senior Vice President of Communications, Imagine Schools
• Victor Contreras, South Phoenix Community Leader, Arizona Licensed Realtor
• Mark Cardenas, Arizona State Representatives, LD-13 [Cardenas is actually in LD-19. The website has it wrong.]
• Julie Erfle, Writer and Speaker for Politics Uncuffed
• Mel Hannah, Chairman of Arizona African American Leadership and Legislative Council (AAALLC)
• Jaime Casap, Global Education Evangelist

Below the fold you'll find more details about the players that I've gleaned from Arizonans who know them and from the internet. The descriptions are incomplete, but they're a start.

'Benghazi!' faux scandal: Stick a fork in it, it's done

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Major Garrett, who used to work for FAUX News Fraudcasting for years, left the GOPropaganda machine to go to work for CBS News. Last night on CBS Evening News, Major Garrett put a definitive end to the conservative media entertainment complex cult's "Benghazi! Benghazi!! Benghazi!!!" faux scandal, with this report (transcript by) Josh Marshall: CBS Calls Out GOP For Doctoring Benghazi Emails:

MAJOR GARRETT: Scott, Republicans have claimed that the State Department under Hillary Clinton was trying to protect itself from criticism. The White House released the real e-mails late yesterday and here’s what we found when we compared them to the quotes that had been provided by Republicans. One e-mail was written by Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. On Friday, Republicans leaked what they said was a quote from Rhodes. “We must make sure that the talking points reflect all agency equities, including those of the State Department, and we don’t want to undermine the FBI investigation.” But it turns out, in the actual e-mail Rhodes did not mention the State Department. It read “We need to resolve this in a way that respects all the relevant equities, particularly the investigation.” Republicans also provided what they said was a quote from an e-mail written by State Department Spokesman Victoria Nuland. The Republican version notes Nuland discussing: “The penultimate point is a paragraph talking about all the previous warnings provided by the Agency (CIA) about al-Qaeda’s presence and activities of al-Qaeda.” The actual e-mail from Nuland says: the “…penultimate point could be abused by Members to beat the State Department for not paying attention to Agency warnings…” The C.I.A. agreed with the concerns raised by the State Department and revised the talking points to make them less specific than the C.I.A.’s original version, eliminating references to al-Qaeda and affiliates and earlier security warnings. There is no evidence, Scott, the White House orchestrated these changes.

Video below the fold.

Dear AZ Lege, Separation of Church & State is in the US Constitution

by Pamela Powers Hannley

"Amid a discussion of the Bible and the Promised Land, the state House voted Tuesday to let Arizonans vote next year on whether they want to be able to challenge the federal government," reported the Capitol Media Services in the Arizona Daily Star.

Both Craig McDermott and the AZ Blue Meanie have written about the SCR1016 vote which would insert a strict constructionist passage to the Arizona Constitution thus setting up the Legislature for future court battles with the feds (their favorite way to waste OUR money) if US government dares to do something not specifically listed in the Constitution by the founding fathers-- like providing universal healthcare, food stamps, Social Security, etc. You know what they're up to.

I would like to point out to the Lege that separation of church and state IS in the US Constitution.

What the heck are you doing discussing the "Bible and the Promised Land" while you are in session? These topics are irrelevant to the conduct of government. Period. Get back to work.

The Farley Report: Special Budget Edition

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Senator Steve Farley (D-LD 9) provides a special budget edition of The Farley Report UPDATE: Medicaid, Budget Pass Senate:

Here's the brief update I promised you during the last Farley Report:

I have served seven sessions in the Legislature. I have never before experienced a day like today. Together with five brave Republicans -- Majority Leader John McComish, Majority Whip Adam Driggs, Rich Crandall, Steve Pierce, and Bob Worsley, we 13 Senate Democrats amended and passed budget bills to invest in Child Protective Services, K-12 and Higher Education, State Parks and Arts Commission grants, Adult Education and Literacy, and above all, the Governor's Medicaid restoration plan to cover 300,000 more people in poverty, save our hospitals and boost our economy. The bills now move to the House for consideration.

The drama was immense, as this coalition proved our strength in vote after vote and reconsideration after reconsideration as we held firm together, across party lines. Through it all, we stood tall for all our constituents.

Inequality and Climate Change: The Common Thread

Posted by Bob Lord

Inequality and climate change, two of our three most critical challenges (American imperialism being the third), have one thing in common:

Each report is more stunning (and more depressing) than the previous one. 

The following is an excerpt from Welcome to the Guilded City of New York, an article that appeared in a recent issue of The Nation:

Here is New York in 2013: a city of dazzling resurrection and official neglect, remarkable wealth and even more remarkable inequality. Despite the popular narrative of a city reborn—after the fiscal crisis of the ’70s, the crack epidemic of the ’80s, the terrorist attack of 2001, the superstorm of 2012—the extraordinary triumph of New York’s existence is tempered by the outrage of that inequality. Here, one of the country’s poorest congressional districts, primarily in the South Bronx, sits less than a mile from one of its wealthiest, which includes Manhattan’s Upper East Side. And here, a billionaire mayor presides over a homelessness crisis so massive that 50,000 men, women and children sleep in shelters each night. More New Yorkers are homeless these days than at any time since the Great Depression.

Budget Update: Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration plan passes the Senate

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

In 2004, a handful of Republican senators joined with Democratic senators to wrest control of the Arizona Senate chamber from an obstructionist Senate President. It hasn't happened since -- until today.

A bipartisan Senate coalition, led by the Republican majority leader John McComish no less, gave tentative approval Thursday to Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal to restore and expand Medicaid (AHCCCS). Ariz. moves closer to Medicaid expansion:

[The coalition beat back more than a dozen hostile GOP amendments sponsored by Senate President Andy Biggs and Sen. Kelli Ward, in a failed attempt to weaken the measure.]

The measure awaits a formal vote of the full Senate, which is expected to come later today. If it passes, as expected, it’s likely to run up against a buzzsaw in the House, where the fate of Medicaid expansion, and the budget it’s attached to, remain uncertain.

Senate President Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, a steadfast opponent of the governor’s proposal, fought unsuccessfully to kill it with a slew of amendments, including requiring a two-thirds vote for approval, eliminating a hospital tax that will help pay for expansion, converting all state employee health insurance to Medicaid and repealing expansion if even one Medicaid patient is found to be an undocumented citizen.

* * *

But again and again, two members of Biggs’ leadership team and three other GOP senators stood with the chamber’s 13 Democrats to defeat Biggs’ amendment. Majority Leader John McComish, Majority Whip Adam Driggs and Sens. Rich Crandall, Steve Pierce and Bob Worsley joined Democrats to approve the Medicaid amendment on an 18-12 vote.

Making the right to vote a fundamental constitutional right

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I have posted about this topic from time to time whenever a member of Congress introduces a bill for a constitutional amendment that would make the right to vote a fundamental constitutional right. This is important, because fundamental constitutional rights are subject to the strict scrutiny standard of review by the federal courts. Currently the right to vote, which is not expressly guaranteed in the Constitution, is generally reviewed under the rational basis standard of review.

Under the strict scrutiny standard of review, most of the attempts to restrict voting rights that we have seen in recent years would not pass constitutional muster.

John Nichols writes at The Nation, Congressmen Seek Constitutional Guarantee of the Right to Vote:

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made a point of emphasizing during the Bush v. Gore arguments in December 2000 that there is no federal constitutional guarantee of a right to vote for president. Scalia was right. Indeed, as the reform group FairVote reminds us, “Because there is no right to vote in the U.S. Constitution, individual states set their own electoral policies and procedures. This leads to confusing and sometimes contradictory policies regarding ballot design, polling hours, voting equipment, voter registration requirements, and ex-felon voting rights. As a result, our electoral system is divided into 50 states, more than 3,000 counties and approximately 13,000 voting districts, all separate and unequal.”

Mark Pocan and Keith Ellison want to do something about that.

The two congressmen, both former state legislators with long histories of engagement with voting-rights issues, on Monday unveiled a proposal to explicitly guarantee the right to vote in the Constitution.

Funny story: the IRS 'scandal' was self-inflicted

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It turns out that the conservative Tea Party and Patriot organizations who applied for 501(c)(4) tax exempt status did so because they were concerned that their activities violated the tax exempt status. They knew that their political activities skirted the legalities for a tax exempt status, so they sought the IRS "seal of approval" (the real IRS scandal).

You see, you do not have to apply for a 501(c)(4) tax exempt status. Steven Benen explains, How to apply (or not) for tax-exempt status:

Noam Scheiber raised an interesting point I hadn't seen elsewhere.

It turns out that the applications the conservative groups submitted to the IRS -- the ones the agency subsequently combed over, provoking nonstop howling -- were unnecessary. The IRS doesn't require so-called 501c4 organizations to apply for tax-exempt status. If anyone wants to start a social welfare group, they can just do it, then submit the corresponding tax return (form 990) at the end of the year. To be sure, the IRS certainly allows groups to apply for tax-exempt status if they want to make their status official. But the application is completely voluntary, making it a strange basis for an alleged witch hunt.

So why would so many Tea Party groups subject themselves to a lengthy and needless application process? Mostly it had to do with anxiety -- the fear that they could run afoul of the law once they started raising and spending money. "Our business experience was that we had to pay taxes once there was money coming through here," says Tom Zawistowski, the recent president of the Ohio Liberty Coalition, which tangled with the IRS over its tax status. "We felt we were under a microscope. ... We were on pins and needles at all times." In other words, the groups submitted their applications because they perceived themselves to be persecuted, not because they actually were. 

The real IRS scandal: David Cay Johnston explains

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Former New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston, a columnist for Tax Analysts, and who teaches tax and regulatory law at Syracuse University Law School, explains The other IRS scandal : Columbia Journalism Review:

The burgeoning “scandal” over how the IRS chose for review 75 applicants for tax-exempt status puts on full display an unfortunate tendency in journalism—to quote people accurately without explaining the underlying context. Yes, it is as wrong for IRS employees to select groups to scrutinize based on their names as it is for police to stop and frisk young people based on the color of their skin. Still, the facts here are not so black-and-white as with racial profiling.

There is a scandal in all of this—several, actually, and some are more significant than the one that is getting all the attention. As the story unfolds, here are some important points to keep in mind:

• Missing from much coverage is the relevant recent history—the role of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision and how it prompted a deluge of requests from new organizations seeking tax-exempt status under tax code Section 501(c)(4) as “social welfare” organizations—despite the fact that many of these are blatantly political operations.

Stewart Campaign Staying Silent (When it Shouldn't Be)

Posted by Bob Lord

What I guessed would be an obscure blog post last week regarding the Phoenix CD8 campaign became far more serious when Stewart's general consultant, Mario Diaz, acknowledged it in three separate tweets last Thursday. Remarkably, Diaz thought it a good idea to raise awareness of blatantly disparaging remarks Marie Rose Wilcox, a Warren Stewart supporter, made about Kate Gallego, one of Stewart's opponents. Then, after I responded to his tweets in a second post, Diaz acknowledged that post in yet a fourth tweet.

Now, one of Arizona's premier bloggers, Donna at Democratic Diva, has posted on the subject:

As for Pastor Stewart, he is known for having a very traditional view of marriage, judging from statements he made condemning same-sex marriage in the strongest possible terms last fall (they’ve been scrubbed from his church’s website but can still be found elsewhere). A woman in a straight marriage taking her husband’s last name is about as traditional as it gets. I should think Stewart, of all people, would approve of that.

At any rate, Stewart cannot claim ignorance of Wilcox’s inflammatory remarks since he was present at the telephone town hall when she said them and his consultant then doubled down on supporting both him and Wilcox in response to Lord’s posts. I get that tempers flare in campaigns and sometimes people involved in them blurt out inappropriate things. The thing for Stewart, Wilcox, and Diaz to do right now is to apologize to Kate Gallego for that defamatory accusation against her. The longer they remain silent on it the more it looks like a deliberate tactic, once shouted at a town hall and now muted to a whisper campaign.

Diaz's acknowledgment of my posts makes a big difference.

The real IRS scandal: not the one the conservative media entertainment complex is obsessing about

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I explained the other day "The real scandal with the IRS review of applications for 501(c)(4) tax exempt status from political organizations is that political organizations do not qualify -- and should not recieve 501(c)(4) tax exempt status. Period." The real IRS scandal: the ease with which political organizations have been abusing the 501(c)(4) tax exempt status.

There has actually been some very good reporting on the real scandal (just Google "the real IRS scandal"), but you would never know this if you rely on the Arizona political media or the cable tee-vee.

The New York Times op-ed page has two good pieces today. Sheila Krumholz and Robert Weinberger from the Center for Responsive Politics write, The Real I.R.S. Scandal:

Yes, the I.R.S. may have been worse than clumsy in considering an avalanche of applications for nonprofit status under the tax code, and that deserves scrutiny whether or not the agency’s employees were spurred by partisan motives. After all, some of these “tea party” groups are most likely not innocent nonprofit organizations devoted to the cultural significance of hot beverages — or to other, more civic, virtues. Rather, they and others are groups that may be illegally spending a majority of their resources on political activity while manipulating the tax code to hide their donors and evade taxes (the unwritten rule being that no more than 49 percent of a group’s resources can be used for political purposes).

The near vertical ascent in political spending by these “dark money” groups was prompted by the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in the Citizens United case, among others, freeing them to be more active in this realm.

Reminder: Fred DuVal's Birthday Celebration and Campaign Kick-off Today

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Announcmeent from the Fred DuVal for Governor 2014 campaign:

PDA to Congress: ‘Austerity Is Not an Option’

by Pamela Powers Hannley

Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) members visited roughly 200 Congressional offices nationwide on May 15 with an urgent message for their representatives: "Austerity is not an option." In addition, 2,000 PDA members called their Congressional representatives yesterday, and Robin Hood Tax supporters held demonstrations in San Francisco and Fresno. Over the past year, PDA's monthly letter drop campaign has mushroomed from a handful of offices visited to nearly half of Congress.

Once again, here in Tucson, PDA  visited the office of Representative Ron Barber. Once again, we asked him to back the Financial Speculation Tax (AKA the Robin Hood Tax) which would charge a tiny fee for every Wall Street transaction, stop speculative minute-by-minute computerized trading, bring stability to the financial markets, and generate billions of dollars for our economy. Once again, we asked him to protect the middle class, the veterans, and the poor by protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. 

Mr. Barber, aren't there more regular folks in CD 2 than bankers? Why would you protect Wall Street-- and not your constituents?

The only thing I can say to you is, "We're not giving up, and we're not going away." 

More about yesterday's actions after the jump.

An Unnecessary Giveaway

Posted by Bob Lord

I have the third post in my series up at inequality.org, Tax-Free Municipals: An Unnecessary Giveaway.

I'm having second thoughts about the title. Did I imply that some giveaways are necessary? 

The purpose of this series is to shine a light on the giant pools of assets producing income that is not subject to current taxation. The foregone tax revenue associated with these asset pools is enormous. And the lion's share of the tax benefits is flowing to the very rich. In the case of tax-free municipal bonds, putting aside the benefits flowing to states and their subdivisions, the benefit to wealthy individuals, developers, and large corporate interests exceeds $100 Billion over the next ten years. 

But tax-free municipal bonds are only a part of the pool of tax-exempt assets benefitting the wealthy. 

Here are the two prior posts in the series:

Retirement Vehicle or Giveaway to the Rich?

Looting the Treasury to Benefit Big Insurance

It may be time for the Capitol Police to start searching legislators for crack pipes...

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

...'cuz some of them seem to be killing off their brain cells at an alarming rate...

 

On Tuesday, the House gave its approval, by an almost-completely party-line vote, to SCR1016.

That SCR places a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution on the ballot in 2014.  If passed by the voters, it would add a clause to that document stating that Arizona could "nullify", or ignore, any federal action, law or rule.  AZBlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona has a great rundown of that here.

This post is merely about a little over 40 seconds of the House debate on the measure, specifically Rep. Steve Smith's "explanation" of his vote.  He used his "explanation" of his vote to respond to the previous speaker, Democratic Rep. Albert Hale, the only Democrat to vote in favor of the measure.  Hale felt that such a measure would prevent the federal government from taking land and sovereignty from Native peoples and nations.

Note: There's no actual debate during final votes on measures at the lege, just legislators "explaining" their votes.  Some of the explanations get a little long-winded and even bombastic.  Smith was neither long-winded nor bombastic, but after watching his quiet certitude on the historical rightness of unbridled imperialism, I considered adding a third descriptor to the previous sentence - "drug-addled".  However, lacking the results of an independently administered and analyzed drug test, I chose not to go there.

The BASIS Beat goes on

by David Safier

I write a monthly column for The Explorer. My latest column is about BASIS, an appropriate topic for a paper whose distribution area spans BASIS Oro Valley and the new/old BASIS Tucson North (a new building that houses students from the original BASIS).

I start with a hypothetical:

Let’s say you decide to start a school for sixth through 12th graders that gives students a rigorous, world class education: demanding courses, lots of homework, sky-high expectations.

Then I follow the students as they move from the 6th grade to the 12th and the inevitable attrition that has to occur in any school with a preset standard of excellence.

Student attrition continues in high school until by senior year, only 33 [of the original 100] students remain. Those left standing are testament to the strength of the school’s curriculum, but what about the 67 who left before they graduated? It might be too harsh to say the school failed them, but there’s no question the school didn’t succeed at raising them to its high standards.

What I’ve just described is the way things work at BASIS charter schools. The standards are high, the workload is daunting and two out of three students don’t make it to their senior year. The schools work fine for a select group of students, but they certainly don’t provide a model that can be used in schools that educate all students who come their way.

Another attempt to get The Facts, not The BASIS Legend, out to the community.

The Beltway media villagers declare 'the hunting of the president'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The self-important pompous assholes of the Beltway media elite have their noses in a snit. Ed Kilgore at the Political Animal blog sets it up, D.C. To Obama: Don’t Mess With “This Town”:

Well, it doesn’t get much more official than this: an VandeHei/Allen “Behind the Curtain” column announcing that D.C. (“the town”) is “turning on” Barack Obama, and there will be nothing but venom coming from any direction for the foreseeable future[.]

* * *

Too bad, voters, and all those who have an interest in their federal government doing something constructive; Obama has to have his spanking from “D.C. stakeholders,” so enjoy it or look the other way.

What amazes me the most about this column is the forthright announcement that the MSM are going to make explicit common cause with the GOP[.]

Wait, they don't do that already? POLITICO is part of the right-wing noise machine.

This open partisanship is excused by the fact that in “this town” (among the “Establishment Democrats” who are a “D.C. Stakeholder”) Democrats aren’t bothering to defend Obama. Which Democrats are we talking about here?

* * *

Yes, MoDo is your representative Democrat. When you’ve lost her, you’ve clearly lost the Blue States altogether.

OECD: Inequality Up Sharply Since 2010

Posted by Bob Lord

No surprise here. The OECD reports that income inequality increased as much in the past three years as it did in the preceding twelve years.

And the OECD countries with the largest income gap between rich and poor: Turkey, Chile, Mexico, Israel and the old US of A.

I've previously noted that we're living through a great experiment: How much wealth and how much income can we cram into the top 1% before the bottom 90% explodes? Still no answer, but the experiment still is moving along.

Robert Robb, just another cog in the right-wing noise nachine

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Arizona Republic(an)'s columnist Robert Robb had a column yesterday about the IRS "scandal" that left me wondering, "Where the hell did that come from?"

The real scandal with the IRS review of applications for 501(c)(4) tax exempt status from political organizations is that political organizations do not qualify -- and should not recieve 501(c)(4) tax exempt status. Period. The real IRS scandal: the ease with which political organizations have been abusing the 501(c)(4) tax exempt status.

The thousands of political organizations that have wrongly recieved this tax exempt status should lose it, and Congress should enact new legislation to make certain of this. While Congress is at it, the law should require transparency -- no anonymous donors, their identities and the amount of their contributions made publicly available in a financial disclosure statement. Problem solved.

But Robert Robb uses the IRS "scandal" to argue for a consumption or flat-income tax as a means of eliminating the IRS all together, asserting that there is a "liberty dimension at stake." How to keep IRS out of politics. This "scandal" is seen as an opportunity to argue for more income redistribution upwards to the über-rich plutocratic elites for whom Robb has spent his life as a lackey.

The Disappearing Deficit

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

What's a Tea-Publican deficit peacock to do? (They love to rail against the deficit, but their economic policies only add to the deficit). The deficit, which Tea-Publicans created but like to use against Democrats, is disappearing. Oh Noes!

Paul Krugman writes, About That Debt Crisis? Never Mind:

OK, another toe dipped in reality. The new CBO numbers are out, and they scream “debt crisis? What debt crisis?” Here’s the actual and projected ratio of federal debt to GDP:

Yes, debt rose substantially in the face of economic crisis — which is what is supposed to happen. But runaway deficits? Not a hint.

Yes, there are longer-term issues of health costs and demographics. As always, however, these have no relevance to what we should be doing now — and it’s far from clear why they should even be a priority for discussion. As I’ve written before, the VSP consensus seems to be that to avoid the possibility of future benefit cuts, we must commit ourselves now now now to … future cuts in benefits.

Why, it’s almost as if the real goal was to make sure that benefits get cut even if the fiscal outlook improves.

NBC's feel-good story about Hispanic students at UA

by David Safier

It's nice to hear a positive story like this saying Hispanic students are succeeding at UA. The NBC News story says UA has a 44% Hispanic graduation rate compared to a 36% rate nationwide. It also says the freshman retention rate for Hispanic freshmen is 78%, just a bit under the average 82% rate.

I'm sure this isn't the whole story -- my knowledge of the world or higher ed is limited, so I can't fill in any details -- but any story about people making it at college, especially the two spotlighted students who are the first in their families, is a positive story in my book.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 

Unintentionally funny headline

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Every once in awhile you run across a headline that the copy editor had to have read and approved, but is so unintentionally funny in print that you have to wonder, "what were they thinking?" Today's example comes from the Arizona Capitol Times:

Ariz. lawmakers want students to learn how to budget

This is so ROFL funny I almost spit out my coffee when I read it. Students to Ariz. lawmakers: "You first buddy! We'll learn when you do!"

Neo-Confederate dead-enders put the long discredited and unconstitutional theories of 'nullification, interposition and secession' on the 2014 ballot

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I posted about this previously, Arizona's Neo-Confederate dead-enders and secession:

Remember the "Checks and Balances in Government" citizens initiative aka the "nullification" initiative from a nutty Scottsdale millionaire businessman, Jack Biltis, that failed to qualify for the ballot due to an insufficient number of signatures last year? Businessman spends $1.2 million to put nullification measure on ballot.

Biltis has decided to bypass the expense of another initiative effort and to take the easy route of getting his fellow Neo-Confederate dead-enders in the legislature to repackage his "nullification" initiative as a constitutional amendment referred to the ballot by the Arizona legislature. SCR1016 is sponsored by the usual suspects, Sen. Rich Crandell (R-Heber), Sen. Judy Burges (R-Sun City West), and cosponsors Sen. Cap'n Al Melvin (R-Saddlebrooke), and Rep. Brenda Barton (R-Payson).

The ballot measure would amend the state Constitution to allow the state to reject any federal action the public deems to be a violation of the US Constitution by passing an initiative, referendum or bill, or by using any other legal remedy. The proposal also prohibits the state from using its employees or resources to enforce or cooperate with a federal action that’s rejected by the people.

It turns out that Jack Biltis has a lobbyist buddy who helped him out in getting these yahoos to sponsor SCR1016: the wannabe tinhorn dictator of Tucson, Jonathan "Payday" Paton. If there is a bad idea, you can bet this tool is behind it.

Action Alert: Call your state senator now to oppose SB 1493

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Craig McDermott posted earlier about Senate President Andy Biggs' budget package introduced yesterday, and mentioned the omnibus elections bill tacked onto the appropriations bills. Here's Biggs' deal: Medicaid restoration in exchange for reducing voting rights.

After a cursory review of SB 1493, it appears to me that Sen. Michele Reagan (R-Scottsdale) and Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-Scottsdale) have abandoned earlier attempts to modify their so-called election "reform" bills to address the complaints of voting rights groups and Democratic legislators, and are now sticking with the earlier versions approved in committee in an attempt to ram these unnecessary and counter-productive measures through the legislature.

This is a middle-finger salute to voting rights groups and Democrats. It moves Arizona backwards on voting rights.

Each of the measures standing alone attracted unified opposition from Democrats and enough Republican opposition to stall these bills in the legislature. By combining all of these measures into a single omnibus bill and tacking it onto the budget appropriations bills, Senate President Andy Biggs is hoping to strong-arm this bill through the Senate by insisting on party unity. You can bet his whips are going to be working over Republican senators.

Your senators need to hear from you now. Pick up the phone and call your state senator to oppose SB 1493. The Senate directory is here: http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S. Keep calling them until this bill is defeated.

New Research: Regular Marijuana Users See Pre-Diabetes Benefit

by Pamela Powers Hannley

A new research study published today in the American Journal of Medicine found that current marijuana users had significantly lower fasting insulin, were less likely to be insulin resistant (a pre-diabetic state), and were more likely to have high HDL (good cholesterol). (Read the study here.)

Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) has been used for centuries to relieve pain, improve mood, and increase appetite. Outlawed in the United States in 1937 and further restricted under the Controlled Substances Act by the Nixon Administration, marijuana use has continued to increase. There are an estimated 17.4 million current users of marijuana in the United States. Approximately 4.6 million Americans smoke marijuana daily or almost daily. With the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington and Colorado and the legalization of medical marijuana in 19 states and the District of Columbia, US public opinion has moved toward less stringent laws.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Joseph S. Alpert of the University of Arizona College of Medicine calls on the federal government to open the doors of medical research to marijuana, allowing free investigation of the drug. Study details after the jump.

The Farley Report: 5-14-13

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Time once again for The Farley Report from Senator Steve Farley (D-LD 9):

I believe I previously shared with you my analogy of the legislature as a middle school. That analogy is particularly apt as we approach approving a budget, as we began to do this morning.  

Just like 7th and 8th grades, for the last few days rumors of all kinds have run rampant, cliques have formed and broken, fights have broken out then healed almost as quickly, and adrenaline is reaching a peak. Huge lines in the sand are easily crossed and then forgotten, reputations are made and then broken, and hope and fear fight over the same space in our consciousness.  

The Medicaid restoration has heightened the stakes dramatically this year, so this next couple of weeks is really gonna be something to witness.  

Yes, the logjam of the past couple of months is finally broken, and the end is in sight. This may be due to the Governor's threat to veto all bills until progress is made, or perhaps due to today being the day legislators' per diem reimbursement is slashed, but either way the result is welcome after weeks of stagnation.  

Here's how it is going down so far, subject to change at any moment: 

Ten separate budget bills--covering different aspects of the budget--were introduced by special dispensation of the Senate Rules Committee today. This is a surprise in and of itself, since the previous assumption was that budget would start in the House, given President Biggs's declaration weeks ago that he would not let Medicaid get a vote on the Senate floor.  

None of these bills (SB1483-1492) include the Medicaid restoration. However, the general understanding is that one of them will be amended (by a Republican) during Committee of the Whole on Thursday to include the Governor's restoration plan (with no language against Planned Parenthood), and there are more than enough bipartisan votes to pass it.