by David Safier Rick Perry wants to be a candidate for all the people — all the Christian people who believe in his brand of religion, that is. Advertisement A book Perry is reading right now is Charles Stanley’s "Turning the Tide." The "Tide" in the title is a "tsunami of death and depravity that … Read more

by David Safier Yesterday, I commented on the tiny little mention in the Star's business section about Arizona Commerce Authority CEO Don Cardon's salary bump from $183,000 to $300,000 a year. The very well-to-do voting members of the Commerce Authority board probably spend that much on wine with dinner in a year, so what's a … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I have been receiving angry e-mails this morning about the Pima County Republican Party's online newsletter, e-Tracks [PDF] (August 26, 2011), which includes this fundraiser advertisement: You know, at some point you can no longer dismiss this as just insensitivity or thoughtlessness. This is purposefully malicious. It is as if these Tea-Publicans … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: On September 6th the Pima County Board of Supervisors is tentatively scheduled to hold a public hearing and tentatively approve a redistricting map. Final approval by the Board would then be scheduled a week later – September 13th. View proposed Pima County redistricting map – Carolyn's Community: Pima County Board of Supervisors … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The next public hearing of the Arizona Independent Redistricitng Commission (AIRC) is scheduled for Friday in Tempe.

September 2, 2011
1:30 pm

Fiesta Resort – Galleria Ballroom

2100 S. Priest Drive
Tempe, AZ 85282

Agenda Info

At its Wednesday meeting, the AIRC finally decided on a policy for its contractor, Strategic Telemetry, to keep a record of contacts with "outsiders" regarding its work for the Commission. The policy includes news media contacts. Firm must disclose its redistricting contacts:

The commission voted 4-1 on Wednesday to change Strategic Telemetry's contract to generally require the firm to log its redistricting-related contacts with individuals or entities other than government officials and other vendors.

* * *

The commission voted 3-2 against Herrera's proposal to exempt news media contacts from the logging requirement.

Who exactly is included among "government officials"? Does this include all elected officials seeking to influence the Commission on preserving the electoral advantages they currently enjoy in their districits? Or does it just include the Speaker of the House, Senate President, and House and Senate Minority Leaders who appointed the Republican and Demcoratic members of the Commission?

I am more than surprised that the corporate media in Arizona did not use one of its media organizations or First Amendment organizations to lodge an official objection to the inclusion of media contacts in the policy. Then again, the corporate media is barely reporting on the AIRC, so what do they care?

Steve Muratore reports that the teabaggers are still being rude and disruptive at AIRC public hearings, behaving like ill-mannered children. The Arizona Eagletarian: Redistricting — Teleconferencing and False Dichotomies:

One familiar tea partier offering public testimony has been to several AIRC hearings and business meetings. If all I could tell you about her this time was that she attempted to offer biting criticism, that would be as tired and worn as her efforts.

Ann Heinz usually likes to sit front row center. This time was no different.  But when she and the gentleman sitting with her repeatedly disrupted the court reporter, the meeting had to be stopped. Ray Bladine asked the two to either stop talking or move to the back of the room.  After a pause, they decided to move back a few rows.

* * *

Skip to the end of the meeting and the Call to the Public.  Ms. Heinz took to the microphone and, like at the hearing in Glendale, seemed to criticize every aspect of the commission she could recall.

At the Mesa hearing, Heinz handed out tea party talking points and propaganda with the AIRC banner printed at the top.  When Wednesday's meeting adjourned, she cornered an AIRC staffer with printouts about Roman Ulman and LD17 Democratic activist Lauren Kuby.  Heinz called the two Democrats thugs. I laughed. I told her Kuby and Ulman are no more thugs than she is. And I do not think she is a thug.  Misguided, of course, but being critical of the AIRC hardly qualifies one as being a thug.

Well, Steve is much more diplomatic than I am. The teabaggers, inspired by Sens. Frank Antenori and Cap'n Al Melvin, and Rep. Terri Proud and her LD 26 Tea Party cohort Lynne St. Angelo, have been behaving in a thuggish manner by disrupting meetings and making veiled threats to Commission Chair Colleen Mathis, and repetitiously testifying from mass produced conspiracy theory talking points ad nauseam, which only serves to diminish the value of the points these fools think they are making.

Do these teabaggers think the Commission makes one of those "Word Cloud" things from the transcripts and the most oft-repeated words somehow are given greater weight? When you repeatedly demonstrate that you are not a credible witness, the Commission is not going to give any weight to your testimony, just like in court. At some point these disruptive children should be asked to leave if they cannot conduct themselves in a civil adult manner.