Month: February 2014

Our Tea-Publican lawless legislature loses in court, again (part the infinity)

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6a00d8341bf80c53ef01910386dd8c970c-piYou may recall that on the opening day of the legislative session this year, lobbyist Cathi Herrod and her Christian Taliban at the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP), and her allies in the anti-choice, anti-constitutional rights for women movement suffered a major defeat when the U.S. Supreme Court denied Arizona’s petition to the court requesting review of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down the Arizona Tea-Publican legislature’s 20-week abortion restrictions, Horne v. Isaacson (13-402).

On Monday, lobbyist Cathi Herrod and the CAP and its legal partner in the Christian Reconstructionist and Dominionist movement, the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), suffered another major defeat when the U.S. Supreme Court denied Arizona’s petition to the court requesting review of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Betlach v. Planned Parenthood (13-621) striking down the Arizona Tea-Publican legislature’s attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. U.S.  Supreme Court won’t revive Arizona abortion law:

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to consider a move to resurrect an Arizona law that would have disqualified abortion providers from receiving public funding for other medical services.

The high court declined to hear Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s appeal of a lower court ruling that blocked the 2012 law.

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George Takei and House Minority Leader Chad Campbell on The Last Word

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George Takei and House Minority Leader Chad Campbell were the interview on The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell on Monday night. (Video below the fold).

Last week, George Takei threatened to boycott Arizona:

Actor and gay rights activist George Takei warned Arizona to expect a boycott campaign if the controversial so-called “turn away the gay” bill becomes law.

In an open letter to residents beginning with “Dear Arizona,” the Star Trek actor sarcastically congratulated them for becoming the “first state actually to pass a bill permitting businesses–even those open to the public–to refuse to provide service to LGBT people based on an individual’s ‘sincerely held religious belief.’”

“This ‘turn away the gay’ bill enshrines discrimination into the law. Your taxi drivers can refuse to carry us. Your hotels can refuse to house us. And your restaurants can refuse to serve us,” Takei wrote.

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“The law is breathtaking in its scope. It gives bigotry against us gays and lesbians a powerful and unprecedented weapon,” said Takei. “But your mean-spirited representatives and senators know this.” He added, “They also know that it is going to be struck down eventually by the courts. But they passed it anyway, just to make their hateful opinion of us crystal clear.”

Takei described his deep ties to the state; his husband Brad was born in Phoenix and the pair spends three weeks in Arizona every year on vacation to visit family and friends. But, Takei vowed to spend his time and tourist dollars elsewhere if this law gets the greenlight.

“If your Governor Jan Brewer signs this repugnant bill into law, make no mistake. We will not come. We will not spend. And we will urge everyone we know–from large corporations to small families on vacation–to boycott. Because you don’t deserve our dollars. Not one red cent.”

Read the full text of Takei’s letter.

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Lincoln Day dinners? Please, this is not your father’s GOP

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The Arizona Daily Star must be feeling left out today, but don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about them.

Instead of publishing warmed-over press releases from the Martha McSally campaign as “news,” CD-2 candidate Martha McSally headlines Lincoln Day dinner in Hawaii, maybe the Star should have hired a political reporter to send down to Cochise County to cover the Lincoln Day dinner in closer proximity to Tucson. What, the Star can’t afford a stipend for gas and some food? Have Jim Click chip in.

Bill Hess at the Sierra Vista Herald can show your reporter how it’s done. Check out this report. Fighting for the ‘will of the people’ (the link has been fixed):

FORT HUACHUCA — Some words spoken more than 150 years ago are still a battle cry for Republicans.

For the GOP today the fight to ensure the will of the people is heard is what the Republican party stands for, Casey Jones, the chairman of the Cochise County Republican Committee, said at the formal opening of the annual Abraham Lincoln Day Dinner.

Quoting Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the final 14 words of the speech should be the motto of the Republican Party, Jones said.

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The Arizona Republic does not like citizens initiatives or democracy

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I warned you about this bill earlier this month: SCR 1003 (.pdf) would refer a legislative ballot measure to the ballot that requires “the reauthorization of statewide initiative and referendum measures that create funds for public monies, dedicate public monies to a specific purpose or otherwise effect state General Fund (GF) revenues or expenditures.”

Note that this reauthorizaton is not for all citizens initiative and referendum measures, just the ones the legislature does not like — the ones that require the legislature to spend money on priorities decided by the voters, like heath care and education. This is the teabaggers’ “I hate the Voter Protection Act” (Prop. 105 -1998) measure to undermine Prop. 105. The reauthorization applies retroactively to all specified statewide initiative and referendum measures approved on or after November 3, 1998.

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More rats abandon the sinking SB1062 ship

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

Man, I called this on Facebook yesterday. After it was reported that Sen. Steve Pierce (R) wanted the Governor to veto SB1062, the religious bigot bill he voted for, I predicted that Sen. Adam Driggs (also R) would follow suit. Unsurprisingly, he was joined by Sen. Bob Worsley (also R).

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