Featured Stories
White privilege? Video is worth a thousand words (video)
October 3, 2012
by Pamela Powers Hannley
Dave Safier posted a short story this morning– Presented Without Comment— about the Three Sonorans' putdown of Safier's endorsement of Kristel Foster for the Tucson Unified School Board (TUSD). (Whatever, I said I didn't agree with Dave either. People are allowed to have their own opinions.)
What Safier failed to mention was that the Three Sonorans also used the occasion to crack on Blog for Arizona and progressives, in general, and me, in particular. So, what else is new? Morales likes to pick on women who are vocal and active in politics. Just ask Loretta Hunnicutt, Kyrsten Sinema, Dolores Huerta, Janet Marcotte, DeeDee Blase, Adelita Grijalva, Gabby Giffords, Regina Romero, and Kristel Foster–to name a handful of his past targets.
Sexism aside, I take issue with Morales' assertion that progressives take action and protest on the street corners when unions need our help but not when Latinos need our help. This false dichotomy implies that only white people belong to unions and that's why only white people care about them. Wrong.
After the jump, watch the anti-SB1070 protest video, the protest video against anti-union legislation proposed by the Arizona Legislature, and testimony regarding anti-union activities at the IBEW Hall. You'll see progressives standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Latinos in all three videos. (BTW, in the photo above, that's me in the turquoise dress, between the two cops, covering the UnDocuBus protest in Charlotte.)
Silly Season for McSally
October 3, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Did you know that the age old phrase "a recipe for disaster" is sexist? Neither did I.
The apparent theory is that if this age old phrase is applied to a woman, in this case Tea-Publican candidate for CD2 Martha McSally, that it somehow conjurs up a sexist stereotype of Betty Crocker, a homemaker cooking in the kitchen for her family.
I thought Tea-Publicans were pro-family who value stay-at-home moms and treat homemakers with the dignity and respect they deserve for their contributions to society?
Somehow Martha McSally finds them offensive and "sexist." It doesn't fit the "leader" and fighter pilot "warrior" image she wants to portray to the public. "I was too busy shooting at al-Qaida with my 30 mm (attached to her A-10 jet) and eating at the chow hall to be spending time in the kitchen," said McSally. Stay-at-home moms should take note of the condescension dripping from that statement. AZ/DC Blog - McSally calls ad targeting her "sexist":
The ad from House Majority PAC features photos of cooking and recipes, calling McSally's positions a "recipe for disaster." The political action group supports the re-election of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Barber in southern Arizona's District 2.
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House Majority PAC spokesman Andy Stone disputed McSally's claim that the ad is sexist. He said no one has asked the group to retract the ad.
"While House Majority PAC has the utmost respect for McSally, her service and sacrifice, the bottom line is McSally holds positions that are way out of touch with southern Arizona and would be disastrous for families, seniors and the middle class," Stone said.
The ad that McSally finds "sexist" is below the fold. Just out of curiosity, if this same ad was made for a male candidate, as it probably is elsewhere in the country, is it still sexist? This is the "silly season" in which losing campaigns focus on distraction issues like this rather than on the substance of their losing positions.
Mitt’s New Tax Contrivance — The Deduction Bucket
October 3, 2012
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Posted by Bob Lord [cross posted at Daily Kos]
On the eve of the first debate, Mitt finally has suggested how he'll recoup the lost revenue from his 20% across the board rate cut. And the answer is (drum roll) a $17,000 deduction bucket. Each taxpayer would be given a bucket holding $17,000 in itemized deductions that could be filled with itemized deductions like the mortgage interest deduction or charitable contributions.
Josh Barro at Bloomberg thinks it's a swell idea
I disagree. I'd say it reeks of desparation, is insipid in its design, is discriminatory, and is dangerously bad policy.
Horizon (PBS) on Prop. 119: State Trust Lands
October 3, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Proposition 119 would amend the constitution to allow Arizona to trade state trust land, within certain limitations and with public notice and public vote requirements, for other public land. Learn more about this measure, which currently faces no organized opposition.
Historical note: This measure is nearly identical to Prop. 110 in 2010 which lost narrowly by almost 9,000 votes.
Video below the fold.
Presented without comment
October 3, 2012
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by David Safier On Three Sonorans, David Morales criticized me — rather gently, I must say — for one part of my TUSD endorsements. I'm linking to it here because I think it's a reasonable critique. Note I didn't say I agree. I just think his analysis has merit and belongs in the discussion. I … Read more
What will we tell the Texas children who were kicked out of school?
October 3, 2012
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by David Safier The "What will we tell the children?" headline usually signals another standardized test cheating scandal. This is much worse. The El Paso school district got rid of high school freshmen who were likely to fail the all-important sophomore test — as much as half the freshman class — so the schools' scores … Read more
Obama campaign ad: ‘Mitt Romney’s Offshore Tax Havens’
October 3, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Building upon the New York Times investigative report on Tuesday that I posted about below, the Obama campaign is up with a new ad, "MItt Romney's offshore tax havens."
Video below the fold.
Romney’s “I dig it” trust: leaving assets while avoiding taxes
October 3, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Last week Bloomberg News reported on Willard "Mittens" Romney's "I dig it" trust — no really, that's what these estate tax avoidance trusts are called. Romney ‘I Dig It’ Trust Gives Heirs Triple Benefit – Bloomberg:
In January 1999, a trust set up by Mitt Romney for his children and grandchildren reaped a 1,000 percent return on the sale of shares in Internet advertising firm DoubleClick Inc.
If Romney had given the cash directly, he could have owed a gift tax at a rate as high as 55 percent. He avoided gift and estate taxes by using a type of generation-skipping trust known to tax planners by the nickname: “I Dig It.”
The sale of DoubleClick shares received before the company went public, detailed in previously unreported securities filings reviewed by Bloomberg News, sheds new light on Romney’s estate planning — the art of leaving assets for heirs while avoiding taxes. The Republican presidential candidate used a trust considered one of the most effective techniques for the wealthy to bypass estate and gift taxes. The Obama administration proposed cracking down on the tax benefits in February.
While Romney’s tax avoidance is both legal and common among high-net-worth individuals, it has become increasingly awkward for his candidacy since the disclosure of his remarks at a May fundraiser. He said that the nearly one-half of Americans who pay no income taxes are “dependent upon government” and “believe that they are victims.”
