NY Times article about MAS, Matt de la Peña
March 19, 2012
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by David Safier Last week I wrote about author Matt de la Peña's visit to TUSD and his appearance at a Save Ethnic Studies fundraiser. I promised a story about de la Peña's visit in today's NY Times. Right on schedule, here's the NY Times article, Racial Lens Used to Cull Curriculum in Arizona. Quite … Read more
We have the Goldwater Institute to thank
March 19, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Some Flagstaff teabagger got her panties in a twist in 2010 because she couldn't wear her teabagger T-shirt at the polls — because it violates Arizona's statute pertaining to electioneering materials within 75 feet of a polling location.
Naturally, the lawyers at the Goldwater Institute were hot on the case and somehow convinced a judge that this somehow violated this teabagger's rights, even though it has been the law for many years.
So now our Tea-Publican legislature is rewriting the statute to pander to teabaggers and the Goldwater Institute. You're shocked, I'm sure. Campaign-type apparel at polls may be OK soon:
The next time you go to the polls, it might be OK to wear that T-shirt with a Democratic donkey or those Republican elephant earrings.
Without dissent, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted this week to repeal a law that prohibits the display of "electioneering materials" inside or immediately adjacent to polling places.
HB 2722, which already has been approved by the House, now goes to the full Senate.
The legislation is the direct outgrowth of a spat in Flagstaff in which a Coconino County election worker told a 55-year-old woman she could not vote while wearing a T-shirt that said "Flagstaff Tea Party – Reclaiming Our Constitution Now." While that dispute eventually was resolved after a lawsuit was filed, it left questions about what is legally acceptable.
Clint Bolick, an attorney for the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based conservative public policy research organization, said the language in the statute would bring into question a variety of apparel that might be considered by a poll worker to be designed to influence an election.
Arizona graded as below average in the area of legislative integrity? Color me as not shocked.
March 19, 2012
By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings From a story in the Arizona Daily Star, written by Wayne Parry of the AP – State governments lack transparency and accountability to citizens, and remain at high risk for corruption, according to a new study of all 50 statehouses. Not a single state received … Read more
Hard Questions and Hard Truths
March 18, 2012
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Posted by Bob Lord
So, I’m treating myself to a Sunday morning of reading the Times and my first read was about a blog kept by Sergeant Bales’ wife of all their trials and tribulations. I remarked to Tammy about how it seemed that Bales’ horrific acts may simply have been the product of war injuries, separation from his family, financial struggles, and the horrors of war. In other words, this may be the case of a completely decent human being reaching his breaking point and committing a horrific act.
Then, I saw these pieces: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/us/suspects-deployments-put-focus-on-war-strains.html?_r=1&hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/war-is-brain-damaging.html?ref=opinion
So, can we continue to deny that in order to accomplish its military objectives, the American empire, run by self-centered plutocrats entirely devoid of social conscience, is recklessly and callously destroying the bodies and brains of its poor and lower middle class “volunteers?”
RNC remains subject to consent decree for voter suppression
March 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I will from time to time refer to the consent decrees to which the Republican National Committee (RNC) is subject for its past organized voter suppression. A primer on GOP voter suppression: voter caging. The RNC regularly files an appeal every couple of years asking for the court order to be lifted. The … Read more
Takeaways from the Librotraficante Literary Showcase
March 18, 2012
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by David Safier Here is a collection of one liners from last night's Librotraficante Literary Showcase: Dagoberto Gilb, author of The Magic of Blood and other works: (Talking before the event about the effectiveness of the MAS courses in stimulating student interest and raising achievement.) "I think that's what they call AP, when they're not … Read more
Bill Roe elected Arizona Democratic Party Chair
March 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Bill Roe is a conservationist who has served on the board of directors of the Arizona League of Conservation Voters. He also served two terms on the Arizona State Parks Board and was a member of the Land and Water Trust Board. Roe was recently elected a Democratic National Committeeman at the … Read more
The coming week…
March 17, 2012
By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings As usual, all committee agenda and schedules subject to change without notice… I'm guessing that the stores in the area of the state capitol have experienced a run on lip balm due to an epidemic of chapped lips centered on 1700 West Washington. The session of the … Read more
