Month: October 2013

K12 Inc., Arizona Virtual Academy and Craig Barrett in a nutshell

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by David Safier My monthly column in The Explorer came out today. The subject is my current obsession, for-profit online education corporation K12 Inc., its local charter school Arizona Virtual Academy, and Craig Barrett, Gov. Brewer's education right hand man and K12 Inc. board member. So much is happening on those three fronts right now, … Read more

Tea-Publicans capitulate and surrender on the CR and debt ceiling (but will still vote no)

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Senator Ted "Calgary" Cruz and his 'Tortilla Coast Tea-Publicans', with an assist from the "Demented" Jim DeMint at the Heritage Fund (Heritage Action) and his Leadership PAC, the Senate Conservatives Fund, neutered the House GOP leadership last night and prevented any bill from coming to the floor.

The headlines this morning were deservedly unkind to the "Worst. Speaker. Ever.", the TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner:


Screenshot-6New York Times: With
G.O.P. Badly Divided, Boehner Is Left ‘Herding Cats’

Washington Post: Who
controls the House GOP? No one.

Washington Post: The
Republican Party: A collection of tribes with no leader

Washington Post: Where
does John Boehner go from here?

There are lots more headlines like this elsewhere in the media today. It reminds me of that Charles Krauthammer opinion at the end of 2011 regarding The GOP's payroll tax debacle – Washington Post:

The GOP’s performance nicely reprises that scene in “Animal House” where
the marching band turns into a blind alley and row after row of plumed
morons plows into a brick wall, crumbling to the ground in an
unceremonious heap.

It's déjà vu all over again. "Boehner's Bunglers" led the Tea Party Animal House into the blind alley of complete failure.

Nobel Prize Winner Speaks Gibberish On Inequality

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Posted by Bob Lord Robert Shiller won the Nobel Prize in economics, so he's supposedly no slouch.  And in a way he gets it on inequality. According to Huffington Post, he believes rising inequality is the most important (economic) problem we face today.  His thought on how to address inequality, however, is tough to square … Read more

UPDATE: Oct 16 PDA Tucson Fall Membership Meeting Postponed until Nov 14

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October 15 Update:
Yesterday, I posted a notice about the Fall Membership Meeting of PDA Tucson. The headline speaker was to be Congressman Raul Grijalva.
The Congressman had to cancel, so the PDA meeting is being postponed until Thursday, Nov. 14. 
Here is a link to the event on Facebook. You can find updates there or on this blog. We had hoped that Grijalva canceled because he was called back to DC to vote on lifting the shutdown and the debt ceiling, but given this afternoon's headlines that vote appears to be a distant dream.
October 14 Blog Post:
With the government shutdown, historic gridlock in Congress, and multiple protests errupting, Washington DC has been a hotbed of political activity.

While some Arizona Democrats are cozying up to the Republicans, Congressman Raul Grijalva continues to be a leader of the progressive movement. Last week, he and other progressive Congressmen were arrested at a recent immigration reform protest in DC (above). He also spoke with Democracy Now about the shutdown and immigration reform.

This Wednesday, October 16, Grijalva will give a Washington update at the Fall Membership Meeting of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tucson Chapter at the Ward 6 midtown office.