Governor signs new campaign finance disclosure law
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Following the reversal of a century of Supreme Court precedents by the radical conservative activists on the Roberts' Court in Citizens United v. FEC, the state of Arizona's ban on corporate money in elections had to be modified. Advertisement Gov. Jan Brewer on April 1 signed a bill that requires extensive disclosure … Read more
AZ next to last in “Race To The Top” race
by David Safier This is just sad. Out of 40 states plus the District of Columbia that applied to win a piece of the largest federal education grant ever awarded, Arizona's application ranked 40th. Only South Dakota posted a worse score. It's not that Arizona didn't try. A 60 member group Brewer put together drafted … Read more
Predatory lenders back with strike everything amendment on Wednesday
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Just as I said they would, the predatory payday loan industry is back again with a strike everything amendment to try one more time to keep their predatory business alive and well in Arizona. Payday lenders try 1 more time: Unable to keep payday loans legal in Arizona, lenders are making a … Read more
Lege 101 – strike everything amendments
Posted by Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings The "strike everything" amendment, aka "striker", is a tool in the legislature where the text of one bill is changed (amended) by replacing it with completely new (and usually unrelated) text. The official definition, from page 84 of the Legislative Manual (page 90 of the .pdf) – … Read more
AEN gains cred from right wing attacks
by David Safier When both the Sonoran Alliance and Jon Justice go after you, you know you're doing something right. The Arizona Education Network made news recently for its rating of state legislators on their education votes. (Funny thing, though. The presser was covered all over the state but not in the Star, even though … Read more
So who will follow the classless act of Andrew Thomas?
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: For those of you wondering who will replace Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas now that he has resigned, who the heck knows? Thomas has tried to politicize his resignation and to circumvent the statutory appointment process with a self-serving pronouncement of a "conflict of interest." This is what the Arizona Republic reports … Read more
Chutzpah! Andrew Thomas to resign to run for Attorney General
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The man who has done more to abuse the justice system in Arizona than anyone I can recall in recent living memory, and the man who, along with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, is under investigation by a federal grand jury and the U.S. Justice Department, has announced that he is running … Read more
