Fact checking the mendacity of ‘Mittens’
April 21, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Steve Benen's latest fact checking of the pathological liar, Willard "Mittens" Romney. Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XIV: Campaigning in Ohio [Thursday], Mitt Romney told supporters, without smirking or sounding sarcastic, "If I'm president of the United States, with your help, I will tell the truth." [ROFL!] Ordinarily, those seeking national leadership positions … Read more
Guns, Nugent, Brewer and the Pima County Fair
April 21, 2012
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by David Safier
Recently, Jan Brewer declared the NRA has gone too far even for her when she vetoed the guns-in-public-buildings law. It takes some doing to be too far to the right for Jan Brewer.
Meanwhile, NRA Board Member Ted Nugent is scheduled to play at the Pima County Fair next Saturday. I doubt he'll be entering any public buildings while he's in town, so he won't have to call Brewer a jack-booted thug when he's barred from a local library for packing heat. But if the Pima County Fair folks adhere to their policies, he and his entourage will have to check their weapons at the gate, and Nugent might have to leave some of his incitement-to-violence rhetoric behind as well.
Among the "Prohibited Items and Behaviors" listed by the Pima County Fair are:
- Weapons
- Acts or threats of violence
You can see the entire list below the fold.
I hope Nugent is willing to surrender his arms like a good, law abiding citizen. And I hope the people running the Pima County Fair are consistent enough to insist he does.
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD NOTE: If you think Nugent's County Fair show should be canceled because of the incendary remarks he made a few days ago or you want to insist Nugent is unarmed on the Fair Grounds, either call the good people on the County Fair commission — (520)762-9100 — or email them — Office@pimacountyfair.com .
Mitt’s Enabler, The American Voter, and the Gluttons of Ancient Rome
April 21, 2012
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Posted by Bob Lord
It’s been a brutal couple weeks work-wise, which left little time for blogging. No shortage of material, though.
But I have a little time today to talk about my buddy, Mitt Romney, his enabler, the American voter, and the gluttons of Ancient Rome.
By way of background, I tend to bristle at empty platitudes, and the one bugging me the most these days is about how American voters almost always get it right and how the American voter is “smart.” There’s a spot running on MSNBC where Andrea Mitchell rails against efforts to suppress the vote for partisan purposes. She urges us to encourage voter participation and “let the chips fall will they may” because American voters are smart and will do the right thing. I don’t think I’ve ever heard or read a political commentator question the wisdom of the American voter. And when Bill Maher does so, it’s considered edgy (it has to be so, or it wouldn’t be suitable material for a comedian).
I’m opposed to vote suppression efforts for a whole host of obvious reasons, but as for Mitchell's assertion about the American voter being smart, what a load of crap. The average American voter gets almost all his / her information from the television, and not from news coverage, but from the 30 second spots that run during prime time. The statistics on this front are truly depressing. In “The Assault on Reason” Al Gore describes how the average American routine is to come home from work, flip on the TV, watch sitcoms and reality shows for four solid hours, retire to bed, then start the whole process over the next day. On weekends, we have sporting events to satisfy our voracious intellectual appetites. But Gore’s take on the American intellect is downright cheery compared to the picture Chris Hedges paints in “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle.” As Hedges explains, the typical American truly is illiterate, and the widespread illiteracy extends to the supposedly educated segments of society, including college graduates.
In trying to understand how Mitt’s made it this far and how the polls show a close general election race, the waning intellect of American voters as a causal factor is not lost on progressives. Progressives correctly marvel at how American voters are so easily conned into voting against their own best interests. Gun owners vote Republican on the baseless fear that Democrats will take their guns away. Bible thumpers vote Republican because they abhor abortion, even though there is virtually no correlation between abortion laws and abortion rates, or because Democrats don’t share their ignorant bigotry towards gays and lesbians.
Congressman Raúl Grijalva Open House this Sunday
April 21, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Campaign event announcment: Join Congressman Raul Grijalva and A Whole Lot of People for an Open House at Their New Headquarters! Sunday, April 22nd3:00pm – 6:00pm 657 West St. Mary's Road
Kobach goes from Romney “adviser” to “supporter” to “informal adviser”
April 20, 2012
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by David Safier One of these days Mitt will figure it out. Instead of coming up with different positions for different days of the week, he'll just start answering "All of the above." Kris Kobach, the brains behind SB1070, used to call himself an adviser on immigration issues for Romney. That was back when Romney … Read more
Jesse Kelly Trying To Walk Back His Call to Eliminate the Minimum Wage
April 20, 2012
By Michael Bryan
Much like Mitt Romney, Jesse Kelly is now trying to shake the ol' Etch-a-Sketch and deny the more radical positions he's taken as he fought his way through GOP primaries. He doled out the red meat to the groundlings to get the nominations in 2010 and the 2012 special, now he's having to eat it.
Barber has called out Kelly's stated intention to "lower and eventually eliminate the minimum wage". Kelly is trying to simply deny he ever said it. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for all the workers earning at or near the minimum wage who might be tempted to vote for Kelly, video exists.
Own up Mr. Kelly. You are a tool for the plutocrats trying to turn American workers into serfs whom they can pay whatever pittance they wish. Unfortunately, 2 out of every 3 Americans disagree with you, Mr. Kelly. They want the minimum wage raised. A lot. Even Romney agrees with raising the minimum wage! Far from decreasing and eliminating the minimum wage, as Kelly wants, Arizona indexes its minimum wage to inflation.
Kelly is clearly out of step with America and the voters of Arizona.
See the proof after the click…
Arrrgh! There be a Tea-Publican mutiny against the Red Queen
April 20, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Last week the smart money on the sine die pool was that the Arizona legislature would adjourn sine die by this Friday, April 20. That was then, this is now.
The Tea-Publican leadership of the Arizona legislature and the Red Queen, er, Gov. Jan Brewer, reportedly were close to a compromise agreement on the budget. But then the Tea-Publican leadership got a report from their Finance Advisory Committee that they read to be a clear message to be cautious about increased spending over the next three budget years. Report impairs Arizona budget talks Last week's report, a consensus of four economic forecasts, lowered the state's revenue growth for the 2013 fiscal year to 3.4 percent from 5 percent.
"The deal's off!" said the Tea-Publican leaders. "Oh yeah?" said the Red Queen. "Then I will veto any bill you send me until I get the budget I want!" Brewer insisting on budget deal.
The Arizona Republic reported that the real reason for the hold up is that the Tea-Publican legislature will not fund the 5% pay raise for state workers that the Red Queen wants to use as a bribe to state workers to forgo their civil service protection under her bill to destroy the civil service merit selection system and return to the halcion days of Tammany Hall and the spoils system of political patronage. Brewer insisting on budget deal. This is the Red Queen's number one legislative priority.
The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports today that the Red Queen has a Tea-Publican mutiny on her hands. Ninth Floor: Pierce, Tobin went back on agreement | Arizona Capitol Times:
Gov. Jan Brewer’s decision to not sign any new bills until she gets a budget came only after Senate President Steve Pierce and House Speaker Andy Tobin backtracked on agreements they made with the governor on a handful of spending items, according to a Brewer spokesman.
Matthew Benson said Pierce and Tobin had agreed to several of Brewer’s key spending proposals, including new funding for K-12 education, public safety and the Department of Economic Security. But the two chamber leaders informed her during an April 17 meeting that they were reverting to legislative Republicans’ earlier budget proposal that ignored many of Brewer’s spending priories.
In response, Brewer said she would veto any bill that reached her desk before an acceptable budget was passed, Benson said.
As the political gossip rag The Yellow Sheet Report (subscription required) adds Brewer facing budget mutiny? | Arizona Capitol Times:
Charters of 6 St. Louis Imagine Schools revoked by state
April 20, 2012
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by David Safier This is being called the largest charter school closing in the country. The Missouri Board of Education is revoking the charters of six Imagine Schools in St. Louis because "the educational needs of more than 3,800 children were not being met." The six schools are among the lowest performers in Missouri. This … Read more
