The Arizona Delegation’s Vote on Cheney’s Impeachment Resolution

Michael Bryan

Link: Final Vote Results for Roll Call 1037. A ‘YES‘ vote on the ‘motion to table’ (vote 1037) was a vote to permanently dispose of the resolution without action: in other words, not to even consider or debate the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in our executive office by our Vice President. A "NO" vote … Read more

Arpaio’s Fiscal Irresponsibility

Michael Bryan

Link: Sheriff Arpaio is more than $1 mil over OT budget. Sheriff Joe "Most Spend-Thrifty Sheriff in America" Arpaio is about $1.3 million dollars over-budget for officer over time for the year – just 4 months into the fiscal year! He’s on track to be more than $6.8 million dollars over-budget just for over time … Read more

Wilenchik’s New Times Grand Jury: a Networked Journalism Project

Michael Bryan

UPDATE: I’ve now made the materials released thus far by Judge Baca in the New Times affair available online to anyone who is interested in viewing them: GJDocuments1.pdf GJDocuments2.pdf GJDocuments3.pdf GJDocuments4.pdf GJDocuments5.pdf GJDocuments6.pdf GJDocuments7.pdf GJDocuments8.pdf GJDocuments9.pdf BacaTranscripts.pdf A preliminary review of the documents reveals that Judge Baca released all documents related to the legal tussle … Read more

Arpaio’s Goon Squad Singles Out ACLU Law Professor at Protest for Arrest

Michael Bryan

Link: ACLU official says his arrest was unwarranted. Sheriff Joe "Most Authoritarian and Abusive Sheriff in America" Arpaio is at it again. As if witch-hunting the New Times on trumped up charges, arresting the publishers for harassment value, and crocodile tears over his ‘victimization’ by having his address published weren’t enough. This time, his deputies … Read more

GOPers Deride Republic on Arizona State GOP Finances

Michael Bryan

Arizona’s Republican blog crew is having a collective fit of denial over an Arizona Republic article calling attention to the state GOP’s miserable record of fund raising this cycle. The article points out that there is a 3-1 financial disparity between the state parties, and that the same holds true for new party registrations. This … Read more

Why Interior Border Patrol Checkpoints are Happening, Despite Giffords’ Best Efforts

Michael Bryan

Have you wondered why the Border Patrol is so keen on placing a permanent checkpoint on I-19?

The answer is the GAO and OMB. The Office of Management and Budget ‘Expect More’ evaluations (note that last year’s evaluation which specifically referenced the Tucson Sector’s lack of a permanent checkpoint has been flushed down the memory hole before I thought to archive it) and the General Accountability Office’s Congressional reports (pdf) both have identified the lack of permanent interior checkpoints as a major inefficiency in the Border Patrol’s efforts to interdict contraband and illegal immigrants over a period of several years. In order to improve efficacy, and keep the OMB and GAO off their back, the Border Patrol, and Homeland Security, had made pushing back the Kolbe Doctrine a major priority.

Jim Kolbe, through his position on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, had been able to keep the Border Patrol from allocating any money to permanent checkpoints in the Tucson sector. The result was measurably lower performance in interdictions in comparison to border sectors with permanent interior checkpoints. The Border Patrol has been chomping at the bit to institute permanent checkpoints in the Tucson sector since Kolbe first restricted them in 2002, and it got its opening when he retired in 2006.

With Kolbe’s retirement, it wouldn’t have mattered whether a Republican or a Democrat won with respect to permanent checkpoints. In fact, arguably, if the Republican won, his ideological commitment to controlling illegal immigration probably would have pushed him into building permanent checkpoints much sooner, and with much less impact mitigation and community input than Gabby Giffords has managed to extract from Homeland Security and the Border Patrol. In any case, the Border Patrol was hell-bent on getting its permanent checkpoints, and no freshman legislator was going to stop them.

I certainly find plenty fault with our Congresswoman when I think she deserves it, but those who are tempted to blame Gabby for the coming of the permanent checkpoint to their communities are barking up the wrong branch of the government. Gabby can’t hold back a flood with a teaspoon, but she has done a hell of a decent job to ensure that people in the affected communities had a say in the process.

Extracts from the report on the flip…

Buddha the Atheist

Michael Bryan

Interesting documentary: They say Buddhism is the only atheistic world religion. That may be true, but lots of supernatural, metaphysic, and eschatological nonsense has accreted to Buddha’s core message across the centuries of cultural evolution. Despite the many cultural accretions, there is something admirably ingenious about Buddhism’s fundamental reframing of the issue of death in … Read more

Korb on Withdrawal From Iraq

Michael Bryan

Lawrence Korb is one of America’s foremost military logistical thinkers. He authored a top to bottom force review emphasizing progressive defense goals and significant cost savings, which is itself a great tutorial on the American force structure and capabilities. He has also been a consistent and credible critic of the Bush Adminsitration’s National Security Strategy … Read more

Blog for Arizona….Voted Arizona’s Best Political Blog by the Washington Post!

latest Event from thedgt.ORG

Upcoming community Events

Threads

Feed coming soon