Presented without comment
April 14, 2012
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by David Safier From Sen./Cap'n Al Melvin: “In my view, our unemployment compensation provisions are overly generous and there are plenty of jobs out there.”
You too can be a “Lifetime Member” of the NRA, starting today
April 14, 2012
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by David Safier Romney calls himself a "Lifetime Member" of the NRA, even though he joined in 2007. Liar? No. Here's how you too can become a Lifetime Member — the proper term is "Life Member" — starting today, for a mere one thousand bucks. From the NRA website: I'm not digging up any new … Read more
KPHO expose on ALEC influence in Arizona
April 13, 2012
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by David Safier
KPHO TV News is doing some genuine reporting on ALEC's corporate-led influence on Arizona legislators. Along with the video you can watch below the fold, if you go to the website, you can see an interview with state Democratic Senator Steve Gallardo along with the promise of more stories in the works.
As you've probably heard, corporations are pulling their support from ALEC — Pepsi, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Wendy’s, KRAFT and Intuit — and Arizona's APS isn't renewing its funding next year.
The lesson is: Lots of people have been making noise, writing about ALEC, demonstrating at their meetings, creating websites and publishing reports, and it's all paying off. The Treyvon Martin shooting brought the ALEC story into focus since ALEC was instumental in spreading the "Shoot First" laws around the country. But without the groundwork people laid, I'm not sure the ALEC connection would have taken hold.
Watch the KPHO news story below the fold.
Ethics, smethics! Tea-Publicans are addicted to lobbyist perks
April 13, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Despite the Fiesta Bowl scandal that ensnared over 30 members of the legislature who had to amend their financial disclosures to report trips and tickets for sporting events, no lessons have been learned. There is no mea culpa, no act of contrition. No sense of remorse. No ethics reforms. Tea-Publicans are addicted to … Read more
Action Alert: Tell Governor Brewer to Veto HB 2729
April 13, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The "guns on campus" bill died for lack of support and was pulled by its sponsors some weeks ago.
But the bill for an "unfunded government mandate" to humor the tiny minority of gunowners who suffer from a superman complex so they can carry their weapons on public property, HB 2729, has passed the Arizona legislature and has been sent to the Governor. Arizona Senate OKs bill on guns in public buildings
The Arizona Legislature has given final approval to a bill that could allow guns on public property, including city halls, police stations, county courts, senior centers, swimming pools, libraries and the state Capitol.
[Yes, Guns at swimming pools? Seriously? "Is that a handgun tucked in your Speedo? Or are you just really happy to see me big boy!"]
Gov. Jan Brewer has five days to sign the bill into law, veto it or do nothing and allow it to become law. If the bill becomes law.
Arizona already ranks among the most pro-gun states in the nation. Arizona is one of only a handful of states to allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit or training.
The bill is sponsored by Neoconfederate "states' rights" Rep. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, and is being pushed by the Arizona Citizens Defense League, a "happiness is a warm gun" group.
Arizona cities and counties are railing against House Bill 2729, saying they'll either have to let guns into buildings where the public would rather not have them or pay millions of dollars to provide the security required to keep them out.
It’s never over until sine die – the Tea-Publican war on women returns (Part 2)
April 13, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
In addition to the "Baby Blunt" contraception bill I posted about yesterday, the Arizona Senate gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood, HB 2800. Bill on abortion funding advances in Senate:
The state Senate gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill that would prohibit public money intended for family-planning services from going to organizations that provide abortions.
Opponents called House Bill 2800 a thinly veiled swipe at Planned Parenthood that would curtail access to health-care services such as breast exams and testing for sexually transmitted diseases, particularly for Medicaid recipients.
"All they're going to do is alienate 70 percent of the population, and that's not just women but it's men as well," Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, said.
The Senate Committee of the Whole recommended the bill for approval, setting up a vote by the full chamber that would send it back to the House.
Let's hear from one of the "intellectual lights" of the Arizona Senate, Cap'n Al Melvin:
"If this organization Planned Parenthood would get out of the abortion business then this controversy might go away, but it's morally and ethically wrong to expect taxpayers in the United States to pay for abortions," said Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, who signed on as a co-sponsor.
The assumptions contained in this ignorant statement from Cap'n Al Melvin are FALSE. The federal Hyde Amendment banning federal funds for abortions has been in place since 1976. Arizona law already bars the state from using any public funds for abortions except when a woman's life is in danger. Public money may also not be used to pay for a health insurance that provides for abortion services. Not one effin' dime of government money goes to elective abortion services. And yet this LIE persists.
Planned Parenthood does a painstaking job of bookkeeping to keep funds received for women's healthcare services segregated from the funds it receives from donors to provide safe and legal abortions, which accounts for less than 3 percent of its services. Planned Parenthood does this painstaking bookkeeping in the event of an audit of its books from the likes of Arizona legislators.
I’m at a loss for words (Maybe a computer can supply them for me)
April 13, 2012
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by David Safier How does a high school English teaching veteran like me respond to an article saying computer programs can score student essays as well as teachers? "The demonstration showed conclusively that automated essay-scoring systems are fast, accurate, and cost-effective," said Tom Vander Ark, the chief executive officer of Open Education Solutions, and a … Read more
Secretary of State Ken Bennett should reconsider his incorrect interpretation of the law
April 13, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I provided the correct interpretation of A.R.S. §41-1202 in LD 29 voters disenfranchised by Secretary of State Ken Bennett (Updated), and the Arizona Senate agrees with me. As if intended to instruct the Secretary of State that his interpretation of the statute is incorrect, the Committee of the Whole (COW) of the … Read more
