Update: Tea-Publican tyranny in Michigan – waiting for the courts to decide the fate of democracy
May 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
On Thursday the Michigan Court of Appeals heard oral arguments regarding the petitions for a referendum to repeal Michigan's emergency manager law which has been used to impose martial law in Michigan, dissolving duly elected town councils and school boards and putting them under the control of an unelected emergency manager possessing dictatorial powers, appointed by the governor.
Michigan Live reports Court of Appeals hears emotional, technical arguments in emergency manager ballot dispute:
Attorney Herb Sanders choked up this morning as he delivered a closing statement before the Michigan Court of Appeals in Detroit, his momentary silence contrasting with the chants of protestors 14 floors below.
Sanders, representing the Stand Up For Democracy coalition, urged the court to reverse a decision by the state Board of Canvassers, which kept a referendum to repeal Michigan's controversial emergency manager law off the November ballot because of the font size used on petitions.
"This case is about philosophy and how we're going to govern in Michigan," Sanders told the judges. "You can accept their philosophy, which is to make it difficult for people to petition their government, or you can uphold the Constitution of Michigan and the Constitution of the United States for government by the people, for the people and of the people."
SEND IN YOUR BALLOT!!!
May 18, 2012
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New posts will continue to appear below this one.
Did you know, when you send in your mail-in ballot, campaigns know? That means they stop calling to tell you to send in your ballot. They can focus on the non-voters, and you get one less annoying phone call. (And once you send it in, you don't have to think about it any more.) So do it!
Dates and early voting locations below the fold.
Fact checking the mendacity of ‘Mittens’
May 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Time once again for Steve Benen's weekly fact check of the pathological liar, Willard "Mittens" Romney. Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XVIII: Back in February, Paul Krugman argued that Mitt Romney is "running a campaign of almost pathological dishonesty." Was this an intemperate analysis? Perhaps. Three months later, does it seem fair? Put … Read more
D.C. Court of Appeals upholds constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
May 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Aaahhh, this will give Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne another sad. Court after court — just as they have always done since 1965 – has upheld the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which requires Justice Department preclearance for election laws in states with a history of racial discrimination like Arizona.
Today,the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, affirming the summary judgment of the D.C. District Court. Press release from The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. D.C. Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965:
In Shelby County, Alabama vs. Holder, the court rejected an argument advanced by attorneys for Shelby County, Alabama, that the legislative record did not support the 2006 reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, identifying numerous examples of modern instances of racial discrimination in voting that sustain Congress's findings.
"The court properly found that this key provision of the Voting Rights Act is still needed to ensure that minorities can fully exercise their constitutional right to vote free from discrimination," said Lawyers' Committee Executive Director Barbara R. Arnwine. "This is an important victory in the defense of Section 5."
Secretary of State Ken Bennett panders to the Birthers-Birchers-Secessionists of the Tea Party
May 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Secretary of State Ken Bennett is not good at his job. Anyone who has tried to use the candidate committee filings online to keep track of who is running for office knows that Bennett has completely failed to present this information in any usable manner accessible to the public — the reason why it is posted online. Bennett is also slow to update bills that have been signed into law and to post them online.
Then there was his completely WRONG legal opinion in the Rep. Daniel Patterson matter in which LD 29 voters disenfranchised by Secretary of State Ken Bennett (Updated).
Earlier this week it was reported by the Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) that Bennett created the online signature-gathering system "E-Qual" largely to benefit himself in his run for governor in 2014. Ken Bennett collecting signatures for potential gubernatorial run | Arizona Capitol Times:
Secretary of State Ken Bennett, who helped pioneer the state’s online signature-gathering system for political candidates, has started using the system for his potential gubernatorial race two years away.
Bennett, a former Senate president, has an exploratory committee for governor, which means he can legally collect money and gather signatures to measure the viability of a gubernatorial run. [This is the "Huppenthal Loophole" that eviscerated Arizona's resign-to-run law.]
“Yeah, I guess, you know, this puts me one step closer,” Bennett said today of his online signature-gathering efforts.
Nothing unseemly about using his office to benefit himself, nosiree. Nothing unethical to see here, move along.
But Secretary of State Ken Bennett really outdid himself at the end of this week when he went full "Birther," proving that he is unfit for his job. Arizona Secretary Of State Says It’s ‘Possible’ Obama Won’t Be On Ballot | TPMMuckraker:
The man in charge of running Arizona’s elections has gone to the birthers. Secretary of State Ken Bennett now says he’s not convinced Barack Obama was really born in the United States and so he is threatening to keep the president off the ballot in November.
A student’s words to her teacher
May 18, 2012
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by David Safier h/t to Three Sonorans for reproducing this tribute to Curtis Acosta, one of the teachers in the now-dismantled MAS program, from student Julianna Leon. Even if you were never a teacher, try to put on your teacher eyes and teacher ears when you read this so you can appreciate it fully. There's … Read more
What I learned from the Ricketts/Jeremiah Wright story
May 18, 2012
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by David Safier Am I surprised some billionaire wants to revive the Jeremiah Wright story this campaign? Not at all. Nor am I surprised his team put together a long "campaign playbook" that goes far beyond the video they planned to use to launch the assault. That's what Republican operatives do much better than Democrats. … Read more
TED conference: Nick Hanauer – Who are the job creators?
May 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Back in March at the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Conference in Long Beach, California, Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist and one of the founding investors of Amazon.com, gave a talk that cast quite a bit of doubt on Willard "Mittens" Romney's foundational argument for his campaign — his claim that as a super-rich vulture capitalist he was a "job creator." (Today Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler weighs in with a definitive piece that does a total demolition job on Romney’s entire argument).
Mittens is a true believer in the GOP religion of faith based supply-side "trickle down" economics, and has a Randian view of free market capitalism. In his talk, Nick Hanauer says supply-side "trickle down" economics "is dead wrong" and is damaging our society.
Nick Hanauer believes in textbook Economics 101 — consumer demand is what grows the economy and creates jobs. This is bottom-up, not "trickle down." As President John Kennedy once said, "a rising tide lifts all boats," meaning that improving the economic conditions for those at the bottom will also benefit those at the top. As President Kennedy also said, "For of those to whom much is given, much is required," paraphrasing the Book of Luke 12:48.
There was a bit of a controversy yesterday over whether the owners of the TED Conference series of lectures had censured this talk on "Who are the job creators?" because it was "too political" and the TED Conference wants to avoid any political controversy. Ezra Klein writes in Nick Hanauer’s TED talk on taxes:
Chris Anderson, head honcho at TED, has responded to Nick Hanauer’s claims that his TED talk was censored. TED, Anderson says, tries “to steer clear of talks that are bound to descend into the same dismal partisan head-butting people” and that Hanauer “framed the issue in a way that was explicitly partisan.” The upshot, though, is that he’s letting viewers decide for themselves.
To my ears, Hanauer framed the issue in a way that was explicitly nonpartisan. The only mention of either party comes at the beginning: “If taxes on the rich go up, job creation will go down,” Hanauer says. “This idea is an article of faith for Republicans, is seldom challenged by Democrats, and has indeed shaped much of the economic landscape. But sometimes the ideas we’re certain are true are dead wrong.”
Video below the fold.
