Creative Protest (no, that’s not a pink elephant)
April 6, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I try to encourage readers from time to time to engage in creative protest. One I have threatened to do on several occasions is to send a pair of Neuticles (testicular prosthetic implants for neutered pets) to members of the legislature or Congress with a note that simply says "act like you got a … Read more
Rep. David Stevens: Gov. Jan Brewer and the North American Union
April 6, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
So I read earlier this week Arizona toll-road measure sent to Brewer, HB 2491, even though Arizona does not have any toll roads and in all likelihood will never have any toll roads. Buried in the article was this short paragraph:
State officials are hoping for federal approval to build Interstate 11, a north-south highway across the state that would be part of a transcontinental road connecting Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.
When I read that I thought to myself, oh here we go! The John Birchers will be screaming about the CANAMEX I-35 "NAFTA super corridor" to turn us into a "North American Union" that right-wing loons like Alex Jones and Jerome Corsi at Wold Net Daily have been fear mongering over for years.
Sure enough, I was right. Governor Jan "one world order" Brewer signed HB 2491 into law before the ink was even dry on the engrossed bill, and Bircher Rep. David Stevens, R-Sierra Vista, flipped out. SV legislator: Sinister plot is behind toll-highway plan ("Stevens fears I-11 link between Phoenix, Vegas will doom US"):
A Southern Arizona lawmaker thinks the United States could be on the road to losing its sovereignty if Congress funds a new highway from Phoenix to Las Vegas, or the state allows a private firm to build it.
Rep. David Stevens, R-Sierra Vista, told his colleagues they should do whatever they can to stop construction of the proposed Interstate 11. And it has nothing to do with cutting a new path through the high desert.
Fukushima, again
April 6, 2012
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by David Safier Remember the Fukushima nuclear plant? The damage wasn't so bad, then it was worse, then it was contained, then it was . . . not so contained. Here's today's news, an AP piece I read in the NY Times. It's short enough, I'm including the whole thing. Japan: Plant Leaks Radioactive Water … Read more
No more interviews for Hicks! (except with Jon Justice)
April 6, 2012
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by David Safier In Wednesday morning's Star article about Hicks' jaw dropping appearance on the Daily Show, Hicks said, no more interviews. Hicks said he will no longer grant interviews and will only speak during board meetings. The article on the web has a posting time of 2am Wednesday, meaning Hicks must have made his … Read more
Where are all the women at? We’re at war.
April 6, 2012
by Pamela Powers Hannley
No longer just a punchline from Blazing Saddles— "Where are all the women at?" became a rallying cry for feminists across the country when a male-dominated Congressional committee refused to allow women to testify about insurance coverage for birth control.
Two Congresswomen– Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Eleanor Holmes (D-DC)–walked out of the committee hearings because no women were included in the list of wittnesses dominated by male religious leaders. Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif) made the now-infamous decision to block Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke from testifying and labeled her an "inappropriate" wittness.
That fateful day in February, the Republican Party's latest barrage in the War on Women unfolded.
What began as political grandstanding on contraception coverage in the Affordable Care Act, snowballed into dozens of invasive, crackpot bills proposed by Republican Legislatures across the country. Requiring women to submit to (and pay for) vaginal ultrasound examinations prior to having an abortion, requiring women to watch an abortion before having one, giving employers the right to deny insurance coverage for contraception based upon any vague "moral" grounds, giving employers the right to question female employees about their contraception usage, defunding Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform abortions… the list goes on.
Couple these bills with the Bible-thumping piety from all of the Republican Presidential candidates, most notably Rick Santorum, and you have a bare-knuckle fist fight over women's health, contraception, and choice.
Two months into this latest round in the War on Women, the Republican attack on the country's largest voting block has resulted in an 18-point lead by President Obama among women voters. Obama leads R2publican challenger Mitt Romney 2:1 with women under 50.
On the local level, Republican candidates for CD8 (former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' district) have all jumped on the anti-woman bandwagon–ironically, even Martha McSally. In a recent Arizona Public Media televised debate, candidates Frank Antenori, Jesse Kelly, Dave Sitton, and McSally all agreed that contraception should not be covered by insurance, that a fetus' life sacred (unlike the lives of people they would bomb), and that women don't have the right to choose. Senatorial candidate, right-to-lifer, and current Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake–a hardened Teapublican–voted for the Blunt Ammendment which would have vastly expanded conscience exemptions to birth control coverage.
As for the Democrats, Senatorial candidate and former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona has been the most outspoken critic of the Republcan's wrongheaded fight against women's health. In a commentary on the Huffington Post, Carmona wrote, "A recent push to block women from getting access to contraception shows the Arizona legislature is not operating from an evidence-based or reality-based point of view."
Congressman Raul Grijalva and Phoenix-area State Senator and Congressional candidate Kyrsten Sinema also have made strong statements, attacking the Republicans' War on Women.
In my opinion, the political upshot of the War on Women will be a rebirth of the feminist movement. You can see it on facebook and Twitter; social media has fueled the outrage. Prime examples are the backlash against Rush Limbaugh for his slutty comments about Fluke (and resultant loss of advertisers) and the flood of bad publicity targeting the Komen Foundation when it tried to defund Planned Parenthood (and the resultant fundraising loss to Koman and boon to PP).
You can also see it in the nationwide Unite Against the War on Women movement, which is organizing women and protest marches across the country on April 28– including a march in Phoenix. Although the Republicans wanted to frame the anti-abortion and anti-contraception debate as a fight for religious freedom, it is all too obvious a continuation of their long-standing War on Women. They can't put this genie back in the bottle.
Attorney General Eric Holder reponds to 5th Circuit
April 5, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
On Monday, President Obama argued in support of the Affordable Care Act's constitutionality, and said, "I'm confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress."
As I previously posted, the right-wing noise machine clutched their pearls and manufactured an outrage over this "threat" to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Steve Benen reports what followed next. The 5th Circuit's Unsettling Tantrum:
[President Obama explained on Tuesday] that "The point I was making is that the Supreme Court is the final say on our Constitution and our laws, and all of us have to respect it, but it's precisely because of that extraordinary power that the Court has traditionally exercised significant restraint and deference to our duly elected legislature, our Congress."
That happens to be true — the Supreme Court has not struck down a central provision of a landmark federal statute since the 1930s. But it didn't stop a Reagan-appointed judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit from throwing a tantrum from the bench yesterday.
A federal judge on Tuesday expressed concern over President Obama's comments on the Supreme Court's consideration of the health-care law and demanded a letter explaining whether Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. believes federal judges have the authority to strike down federal laws.
Judge Jerry Smith, a Republican appointee on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, was part of a three-judge panel hearing arguments in a lawsuit over the Affordable Care Act when he issued his unusual demand, saying the Justice Department must submit the three-page, single-spaced letter by noon Thursday, according to a lawyer who was in the courtroom.
This is not only ridiculous, it's also an embarrassment to the federal judiciary at a time when the institution can least afford another setback in its credibility.
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Yesterday's tantrum, even by conservative standards, was pathetic. Judge Smith saw something on the news, decided to question whether the president accepts the principle of judicial review, and then assigned homework to a Justice Department attorney — complete with instructions on page length and spacing, as if the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is now a 9th grade English class.
Pima County Democratic Party County Reorganization Conference
April 5, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Announcement from the Pima County Democratic Party: 2012 Pima County Democratic Party County Reorganization Conference Saturday April 14th.Amphitheater High Scool, Panther Hall125 West Yavapia Rd.(Stone and Prince) 9:00 am – Registration9:30 am – General AssemblyFollowed Immediately by New Legislative District Breakout Sessions During this very important meeting we will provide everything you need … Read more
Ron Barber’s First Quarter fundraising over a half million
April 5, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The Federal Election Commission has been slow to post the candidates' March 31, 2012 quarterly reports at fec.gov, but the Ron Barber campaign has issued a press release with his number, and he had a solid first quarter of fundraising. Ron Barber receives support from 3,293 donors in first seven weeksThousands contribute … Read more
