Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will give her first TV interview since being shot in January to Diane Sawyer of ABC News. Giffords grants first interview to Diane Sawyer: Advertisement Gabrielle Giffords will be interviewed with her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. ABC said Monday that the discussion will air as part of a prime-time … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I have posted about this previously, but Steven Pearlstein at the Washington Post writes about it in The magical world of voodoo ‘economists’: If you came up with a bumper sticker that pulls together the platform of this year’s crop of Republican presidential candidates, it would have to be: Repeal the 20th century. … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Are we a nation of laws? Or are we a nation of IOKIYAR? We are about to find out this week with two GOP ethics trials in Arizona. On Monday, former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, who used his office to pursue politically motivated investigations and lawsuits in a witch hunt against his political opponents … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The state of Arizona is poised to award a lucratrive private prison contract on September 16, despite the Department of Corrections failure to comply with Arizona law. (Arizona law requires the department to conduct a cost-benefit analysis comparing state and private prisons every two years, which has never been done). The American Friends … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The new reality TV series "Survivor – GOP Presidential Primary" returns for a new episode tonight, this time hosted by TeaNN (formerly CNN) and the Koch brothers' Tea Party Express at 8 p.m. ET from the Florida State Fair Grounds in Tampa, FL. You can submit Your questions for the CNN/Tea Party … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) will hold two public hearings on Monday in Casa Grande. September 12, 2011 Holiday Inn Commerce/Cotton Banquet Room777 N. Pinal AvenueCasa Grande, AZ 85122 9:00 A.M. September 12, 2011 Holiday Inn Commerce/Cotton Banquet Room777 N. Pinal AvenueCasa Grande, AZ 85122 4:50 P.M. Agenda Info

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: During Thursday's AIRC hearing, legal counsel Joe Kanefield and Bruce Adelson made a recommendation for treatment of prison populations. The Arizona Eagletarian: Redistricting — mapping discussions continue UPDATED: They said that the safest option is to count prisoners as living in the physical location of the facility but to not count them … Read more