‘Better know a district’: Kirkpatrick does, Paton does not
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Stephen Colbert does a recurring segment on the Colbert Report titled "Better know a district." Colbert interviews members of Congress about their district. It is pretty clear that Ann Kirkpatrick knows her district, "Arizona's Fightin' First" as Colbert would say, and her carpetbagger opponent, Jonathan "Payday" Paton does not.
This background piece on Ann Kirkpatrick appeared in Arizona Home and Garden:
While covering the Navajo Parade and Fair in Window Rock, Arizona for Arizona Home and Garden, we noticed a woman receiving a lot of handshakes and respects from Navajo Veterans. The woman was Ann Kirkpatrick — a woman who has made a difference for Arizona.
While serving District 1 of Arizona in Congress, Ann Kirkpatrick passed legislation to ensure that veterans’ income benefits can no longer disqualify Navajo People from housing assistance. While serving on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs she worked closely with the Navajo Housing Authority (NHA) to craft the legislation. She was able to push it through the House of Representatives and The President signed the bill into law in October, 2010.
Kirkpatrick also was instrumental in urging Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki to put into place a new requirement that Veterans who seek PTSD treatment simply provide proof of active-duty service in a war zone and be diagnosed with the illness by a VA specialist. The change eliminates strict documentation requirements that have delayed and denied mental health benefits for thousands of our Nation’s heroes.
Kirkpatrick’s Veterans/Servicemembers Life Insurance Equity Act and her bill reauthorizing the Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Education (VACE) both passed in the Senate and were approved by the House as part of a larger package. These measures will help ensure that educational benefits for returning troops will remain of the highest quality and that life insurance options for current and former service members can keep up with those in private sector plans.
The Tribal Law and Order Act, which Rep. Kirkpatrick helped to push through Congress, was signed into law as part of a broad initiative to help strengthen security in Indian Country. The law will give tribes new resources to keep Indian Country safe and allows them to better collaborate with state and federal law enforcement communities.
Carmona and Flake to participate in Pinal Partnership Forum
‘Mr. Self Deportation’ doubles down during debate
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The issue of immigration reform and the DREAM Act came up during last night's debate. Willard "Mittens" Romney whined that President Obama promised a comprehensive immigration reform bill in his first year during the 2008 campaign, and he failed to deliver.
Somehow Whiner Willard has conveniently forgotten that in Obama's first year, the U.S. and world financial systems were in a catastrophic collapse, and the U.S. and world economy were on their way to cratering into a new economic dark ages, a parting "gift" to President Obama from his predecessor George W. Bush.
It's called prioritizing "Mittens" — deal with the disasters first. Stop the ship from sinking, then you can rearrange the deck chairs.
Whiner Willard has also conveniently forgotten that Republicans like Sen. John McCain, who once championed a comprehensive immigration reform bill, disavowed his own bill during the 2008 campaign and adopted the GOP hard-line on immigration reform. McCain could have become an elder statesman by working with Obama. Instead, he opted for the role of embittered sore loser, constantly sniping at the man who defeated him.
When Republicans conspired on the day of Obama's inauguration to oppose everything he proposed, Robert Draper Book: GOP's Anti-Obama Campaign Started Night Of Inauguration, who exactly was going to partner with Obama on a bipartisan compromise? The GOP has had from day one a scorched earth policy of "just say no."
During last night's debate, President Obama slammed Romney for having endorsed "self-deportation" during the GOP primaries as a credible immigration policy. (Romney's chief anti-immigrant adviser is Kris Kobach, the author of Arizona's SB 1070 and other anti-immigrant measures). Steve Benen writes, Trying (and failing) to defend 'self-deportation':
Romney responded, haltingly:
"Self-deportation says let it, let people make their own choice. What I was saying is, we're not going to round up 12 million people, undocumented, illegals, and take them out of the nation. Instead, let, make people make their own choice. And if they, if they find that, that they can't get the benefits here that they want and they can't find the job they want, then they'll make a decision to go a place where, where they have better opportunities."
Romney’s Newest Tax Deception
Sen. John Kerry on Morning Joe
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I am no fan of "Morning Joe" on MSNBC. It is the purest form of D.C. media villager conventional wisdom with the likes of Mark Halperin, Chuck Todd, POLITICO reporters, etc. No thanks.
But as a favor to Bob Lord who was impressed with this post-debate interview this morning of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who plays Mitt Romney as the sparring partner for President Obama in debate prep, I will post the video of the interview (below the fold). The transcript is not yet up.
Some highlights from Sen. Kerry, who analyzes Romney's $5 trillion tax cut plan and destroys the "Mitt Math" that just doesn't add up (and Joe Scarborough agrees):
"Mitt Romney, first of all in my view, last night was petulant. He was characteristically expediently misleading."
"Mitt Romney is perpetrating a fraud on the American people."
"We have a man running for the presidency of the United States of America on the central issue of our time and he is not being straight with the American people. I find it stunning. It's to me disqualifying."
"Massachusetts, the state that knows him the best, trusts him the least. . . He can't even contest the state he governed because people there know what he did. He left our governor with a billion dollar deficit, he lost 45,000 manufacturing jobs, twice the number of the national (average)…"
Sen. Kerry also discusses the Simpson-Bowles "catfood commmission" on entitlements social insurance programs of social security and Medicare, because that is all the D.C. media villagers care about.
Video below the fold.
Martha McSally: No wonder I have no idea what McSally stands for
Barber calls for new environmental impact statement on Rosemont
by David Safier
Ron Barber is absolutely right about the need for a new environmental study at Rosemont.
U.S. Rep. Ron Barber today asked Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to order a new Environmental Impact Statement of the proposed Rosemont mine southeast of Tucson because of major changes to the mine’s plan of operation.
When Rosemont changed the way it planned to mine and process the ore and the length of time it planned to stay in business, it meant the previous studies are out of date. Ray Carroll agrees:
Ray Carroll, a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors who represents the site of the proposed mine, agreed with Barber’s call for a new Environmental Impact Statement and commended his leadership on the issue.
You can read Barber's Media Release below the fold.
