Some perspective on the Iowa Caucus
January 3, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Let's face it, the Iowa Caucus is that bright shiny object that the media villagers and Beltway bloviators all fixate on for weeks if not months. They will waste hours talking about every poll that has a half-life of relevancy less than the time spent discussing the poll. The Iowa Caucus is
Tax Fools’ Gold — or trying to acquire gold from fools (See Goldwater Institute, ALEC)
January 3, 2012
by David Safier Eliminate the income tax! Broaden the sales tax base! Lower the sales tax rate! Bring prosperity to Arizona! You can learn all about it at a Goldwater Institute event where Jonathan Williams "director of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force for the American Legislative Exchange Council [ALEC]" will be the main
Iowa Nice (not work safe)
January 3, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I have often had to hear about "Minnesota nice" — everyone from Minnesota is so nice, you betcha! Well, apparently the good folks in Iowa hear the same thing about their state. Not from Minnesotans. This hilarious video is not work safe.
The fact-free world of Reagan myth making
January 3, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: CBS’s “60 Minutes” ran a profile on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) Sunday night, and there was one portion of the interview that has generated controversy. When asked by Leslie Stahl whether President Reagan compromised, Cantor dodged the question. Stahl then stated matter-of-factly that Reagan raised taxes. This is when Cantor's
Krugman Nails It, For The Millionth Time
January 2, 2012
Posted by Bob Lord I really feel for Paul Krugman. He’s brilliant, and has precious few peers as an economist. He knows that what’s coming out of Washington, from both Democrats and Republicans, is crazy talk. Ditto for what’s coming out of Europe. So he tries, repeatedly, to use his op-ed column to move policy
Updated SWAG: Early filers for 2012
January 2, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
It's 2012, and time to update the "Silly Wild Ass Guess" (SWAG) list of who is running for office in 2012. The new tentative district maps have not been finally approved and sent to DOJ, yet alone litigated in court, but there are a number of campaign committees for 2012 based upon the current legislative districts. State law permits candidates to collect signatures in the current districts as well as in the new districts.
As you might expect, this list is going to be subject to change when new districts are finally established. I am hoping that the Secretary of State will provide a conversion table or tabs for filings by current district and new district (hint, hint). Until then I will do the best I can for Baja Arizona candidates. This is a collaborative effort with reader feedback.
I will periodically update the list. You can follow along at home at the Arizona Secretary of State's web site Campaign Finance Search – Candidates.
Filer ID # beginning "2012" except where indicated (*). Some committees are exploratory committees.
Arizona Legislature
LD 01 Stephen Pierce, Senate (R)
LD 01 Karen Fann, House (R)
LD 01 Andrew Tobin, House (R)
LD 03 Salvatore "Sam" Scarmardo, Senate (R)
LD 03 Kelli Ward, Senate (R)
LD 03 Doris Goodale, House (R)
LD 03 Wyatt Brooks, House (R)
LD 03 George Schnittgrund, House (R)
LD 03 Peter Eidness, House (R)
LD 04 Scott Bundgaard, Senate (R)
LD 04 Jack Harper, House (R)*
LD 04 Phil Lovas, House (R)
LD 05 Sylvia Allen, Senate (R)
LD 05 Brenda Barton, House (R)
LD 05 Chester Crandall, House (R)
LD 06 Lori Klein, Senate (R)
LD 06 James Bearup, House (R)
LD 06 Amanda Reeve, House (R)*
LD 06 Carl Seel, House (R)
LD 07 Heather Carter, House (R)
LD 07 David Smith, House (R)
LD 08 Michele Reagan, Senate (R)
LD 08 John Kavanagh, House (R)
LD 08 Michelle Ugenti, House (R)
LD 09 Carol Lokare, Senate (D)
LD 09 Scott Morris, Senate (R)
LD 09 Richard "Rick" Gray, House (R)
LD 09 Debbie Lesko, House (R)
LD 10 Kimberly Yee, House (R)
LD 11 Adam Driggs, Senate (R)*
LD 11 Eric Meyer, House (D)*
LD 11 Kate McGee, House (R)
LD 11 Mary Hamway, House (R)
Mike’s 2011 Top Ten
January 2, 2012
Posted by Michael Bryan I thought I would get in the spirit of reflecting back on the past year by taking a look at my posts over the course of 2011 with an eye to picking out a few of the 'best'. What I found is that I hadn't done all that much 🙂 It
Hopelessly naive notion about Ethnic Studies alternatives
January 2, 2012
by David Safier Mark Evans of the Tucson Citizen has his usual Monday column in the Star. Today's is about the ongoing Mexican American Studies battles. I think of Evans as a pretty hard-nosed guy, but in this column, like so many columns I read about education written by people who haven't been in the
