Wondering What Happened to Steve Smith?

Grrrrreeeeaaaatt! The Capitol Times just reported that former state Senator and GOP candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in CD1, Steve Smith, is joining the American Federation for Children as the new state director.

Many LD11 residents (especially those in his home town of Maricopa), were thrilled to get rid of him as our one of our lawmakers. Now though, I imagine public education advocates will likely emit a communal groan to this news. Smith was no friend of public education as a state Senator, and in fact, was a co-sponsor of the full-expansion of vouchers (Empowerment Scholarship Accounts) law.

In 2017, he voted for Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) supported bills only 2 of 7 times. In 2016, he did better, but voted for three ESA expansion bills. In 2015, he voted for ASBA supported bills only 2 of 9 times, with two of those bills being ESA expansions. Back in 2014, he voted against ASBA positions all 7 times, and one of those was an ESA expansion.

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The Russia investigation is closing in

On Tuesday, Judges Tatel, Griffith and Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a contempt citation against the unnamed defendant in In re: Grand Jury Subpoena, the case of the mystery subpoena filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller against a foreign bank first reported by Politico late last year. The full ruling is here. (h/t Lawfare Blog).

This follows the Supreme Court ruling mystery company must pay fines while it challenges Mueller-related subpoena.

The Supreme Court Monday turned away an effort by an unnamed foreign government-owned corporation to resist a subpoena related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

The court’s order restores a daily fine the company will face that had been put on hold by Chief Justice John Roberts while the full court considered the issue. It is an apparent loss for the company and marks the full court’s first foray into the Mueller probe.

The order will put pressure on the company to turn over information to the grand jury or otherwise cooperate with Mueller as contempt fines continue to accumulate.

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Trump manufactures a ‘national emergency’ to abuse the power of his office

Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man.” – General George S. Patton

Donald Trump has shut down the federal government over his demand for $5 billion (now $5.6 billion) for his “big beautiful wall” on the Mexico border, a monument to the stupidity of this man. The amount of money being fought over is a rounding error in what it would actually cost to build his wall. See the Brookings Institute, The Wall: The real costs of a barrier between the United States and Mexico.

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This is a “crisis” manufactured by the Trump administration in an effort to extort money from Congress, which has routinely rejected his request in appropriations bills. Trump himself has agreed to these appropriations bills until he reneged on the latest deal in December after right-wing propagandists in the conservative media entertainment complex attacked him for agreeing to the appropriations bills. Do we really want right-wing propagandists like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity dictating public policy?

Oh, and Mexico is not paying for this monument to the stupidity of this man, you will.

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Beyond Tucson 2019 on Jan. 12

BEYOND IS ABOUT MOVING FORWARD—AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A COMMUNITY.

“What started out as a single day of commemoration has grown to a year-round commitment to public health.

Following the tragic shooting on the morning of January 8, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona at Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ “Congress On Your Corner,” the Southern Arizona community spontaneously came together to honor, remember, and show solidarity for those that were killed, injured, or traumatized by the event.

As the first anniversary of the tragic day approached, Family members of slain congressional aide Gabe Zimmerman saw an opportunity to not only pay tribute to their son and the other victims, but to provide meaningful activities for community members to reconnect with each other while participating in health-related outdoor activities.

In January of 2012, they launched the inaugural BEYOND event, which included as many as 36 individual events spread across the entire greater Pima County region on a single day—including hikes, fun runs, bike rides, scavenger hunts and outdoor dance opportunities.  The annual tradition has continued each year thereafter.

Since that time, through the growing support and collaboration of its community partners, BEYOND has evolved—literally going “beyond” its initial mission—and has now formed into its own 501c3 organization whose mission is to promote the use of good science and rational analysis to improve individual and community health.

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