Month: October 2013

By Tom Prezelski

Re-blogged from Rum, Romanism and Rebellion

Iconic state Senator Manuel “Lito” Peña, who served in the legislature from 1967 to 1997 passed away today at 88.

I did not have the opportunity to serve with Peña, though his young
protege, Representative John Loredo, was the Democratic Leader during my
first term. I knew him mostly by reputation.

A press release from the Arizona Democratic Party today sums up his legacy:

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Shorter version of the G-20, World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the U.S.: "Stop the insanity!"

The rest of the world cannot believe that America has a dysfunctional government that is actually threatening the security and stability of the U.S. financial system, and thereby threatening the global financial system and economy as well. World Leaders Urge U.S. to Resolve Debt Limit Crisis:

Leaders
at World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings on Sunday
pleaded, warned and cajoled: the United States must raise its debt
ceiling and reopen its government or risk “massive disruption the world
over,” as Christine Lagarde, the fund’s managing director, put it.

* * *

Many
leaders at the World Bank and I.M.F. meetings said they believed the
impasse would be resolved before Thursday, when the government would be
at severe risk of not having enough money to pay all its bills on any
given day going forward.

But
they pressed Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and the Federal Reserve
chairman, Ben S. Bernanke — who were both at the I.M.F. meeting — on the
issue, predicting that even a near-default would lead to higher
borrowing costs and a slowdown of the global economy.

“This
cannot happen, and this shall not happen,” Baudouin Prot, chairman of
the French bank BNP Paribas, said at a meeting of the Institute of
International Finance also being held in Washington. “The consequences
of this would be absolutely disastrous.”

Mr.
Lew acknowledged the threat. “Our work begins at home,” he said. “We
recognize that the United States is the anchor of the international
financial system. With the deepest and most liquid financial markets,
when risk rises, the flight to safety and to quality brings investors to
U.S. markets. But the United States cannot take this hard-earned
reputation for granted.”

Participants
at the meetings remained on edge, given the gravity of the threat. Ms.
Lagarde said “that lack of certainty, that lack of trust in the U.S.
signature” would disrupt the world economy.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The results of a straw poll conducted at the Values Voter Summit
showed that conservatives are united in their support for Senator
Ted Cruz in 2016. Ted Cruz Wins Values Voter Straw Poll, Along with Santorum Surprise:

Senator
Ted Cruz [claimed] a commanding 42% of votes for a prosective
Presidential run. Former senator and presidential candidate Rick
Santorum, who spoke on the first day of the summit and suggested
that the thought of running again crosses his mind from time to
time—“even today”—received 13 percent of the vote, an almost
statistical tie with Dr. Ben Carson.

On the vote for a prospective vice-presidential candidate, Dr.
Carson won handily with 21% of the vote. Ted Cruz placed in second,
with 17%, while Congresswoman Michele Bachmann earned third place
with 9% of the vote. Another item in the poll was major issues:
voters decided that religious liberty was the number one issue
facing conservative voters, with pro-life matters coming in
second.

Now you may be wondering, "How did Ted 'Calgary' Cruz beat out Christian Reconstructionists and Dominionists like FAUX News host Mike 'Huckajesus,' Rick 'man on dog' Santorum, and the Minnesota Loon, Michele Bachmann?"