by David Safier It's difficult for me to figure out exactly who is pulling Terri Proud's strings these days — or pushing her buttons, or whatever is going on. Is Proud's online petition to get rid of the Independent Redistricting Commission a trial balloon pushed on her by higher ups, or was it concocted by … Read more

Press release posted by Craig McDermott Superior Court judges in Arizona are chosen in two ways. Counties with a population of less than 250,000 people elect Superior Court judges. Counties with a population of more than 250,000 people have Superior Court judges who are appointed through the state’s merit selection process. The 2010 Census certified … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Moody's Investors Service announced Wednesday afternoon that it has put the United States' Aaa bond rating under review "for possible downgrade given the rising possibility that the statutory debt limit will not be raised on a timely basis, leading to a default on US Treasury debt obligations." Moody's reviewing U.S. bond rating … Read more

by David Safier I've written about ALEC — American Legislative Exchange Council — on a number of occasions. It's the corporate-funded group that pays for Republican legislators from all over the country to gather and be handed ready-made legislation to drop in their state legislatures. In Arizona alone, 52 Republican legislators are members. One of … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Another arrest today in Britain Phone hacking: former NoW executive editor Neil Wallis arrested in London | guardian.co.uk, and now the FBI has opened an investigation into News Corp. on this side of "the pond." FBI opens probe into activities of Murdoch's News Corp. – latimes.com: Responding to allegations from several Washington lawmakers, … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I have seen campaign signs for Jennifer Rawson, a Tea-Publican candidate for the Ward 2 City Council seat in Tucson, pop up in the public right-of-way along Speedway Boulevard this week. The editors at the Arizona Daily Star must be clutching their pearls in horror. Complaining about candidate campaign signs accounts for about … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I have never quite understood the Tea Party's odd dichotomy of conservative victimhood on the one hand, and their sense of privileged entitlement to govern on the other hand. Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post offered the most cogent explanation of this odd dichotomy the other day in Debt talks reveal the … Read more