Month: February 2014

AZ GOP First Vice Chair advises Religious Right to vote for Al Melvin!

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The dysfunctional Arizona GOP is once again allowing the disgraced and recalled former Senate President and current First Vice Chair of the Arizona Republican Party, Russell Pearce, to behave as if he is still “King Russell” (only in his own mind).

Screenshot from 2014-02-26 12:10:20Today Russell Pearce chooses sides in the GOP primary for governor by advising the Christian Right, “If you call yourself a Christian, now is the time to stand and be counted in the name of God, country and family” — and vote for Cap’n Al Melvin! From the Arizona Republic, Stand up, Christians:

If you call yourself a Christian, now is the time to stand and be counted in the name of God, country and family.

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I was very disappointed to see some of our Republican candidates for governor lose their nerve when it came to Senate Bill 1062, which amends the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And now some state senators who voted for it want to hide and retract their vote for religious freedom.

Unbelievable.

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Making sense of the legal analyses of SB 1062

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There are a couple of legal analyses out today that attempt to make the point that SB 1062, the Religious Bigotry bill, is just not that big a deal. Wrong.

Howard Fischer has a report captioned in the Arizona Daily Star, Outcry over Arizona’s SB 1062 overshadows bill’s limited power. Howie relies on former ASU Law Professor Paul Bender, who comments “My summary is: It means almost nothing.””[T]he main thing people miss is, there’s no right of action against a bigot in the first place,” Bender said. “The bigot doesn’t need this.”

Howie cites the “three part test” contained in SB 1062:

The law provides a three-part test that someone seeking to use the shield would have to establish in court.

First, the person’s action or refusal to act “is motivated by a religious belief.” Second, that belief must be “sincerely held.”

And third, there would need to be proof that being forced to do something “substantially burdens the exercise of the person’s religious beliefs.”

It is that last provision that prevents SB 1062 from being a catch-all for any religious claim.

But Howie never asks the all important question: “How has this three part test been used in real world practical application?”

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The Way Forward: Tax and Spend

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Posted by Bob Lord [Distributed via OtherWords.org] The Way Forward: Tax and Spend This strategy would reduce joblessness and inequality while stimulating the economy. By Bob Lord and Emily Schwartz Greco Have you heard? Our economic policy debate is getting some spring cleaning. President Barack Obama has signaled that he’s had it with all that talk about America being … Read more

In the United States of Inequality, Arizona Ranks High

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Posted by Bob Lord The Economic Policy Institute is out with a study that looks at inequality in America state-by-state: The Increasingly Unequal States of America: Income Inequality by State, 1917 to 2011. So, how does Arizona rank? All in all, it’s one of the more unequal states, but the data don’t suggest there’s any pernicious reason … Read more

Gov. Bobby Jindal, stuck on stupid

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The GOP must “stop being the stupid party.” – Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)

Stuck on Stupid

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Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, the delusional 2016 Republican presidential wannabe, made a complete ass of himself following the National Governor’s Association meeting with President Obama on Monday.

With the Republican Governors Association chair, Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), noticeably absent from his assigned duties, the delusional 2016 Republican presidential wannabe seized the opportunity to race over to the cameras assembled outside the White House and launched into a diatribe, accusing President Obama of “raising the white flag” on job growth and turning America into “a minimum wage economy.”

As Forrest Gump would say, “Stupid is as stupid does.”

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