Arpaio, MSCO and the DOJ Civil Rights Division Findings. What’s It All Mean?
December 17, 2011
Posted by Michael Bryan What has happened? The DOJ has released a public Letter of Findings concerning its investigation into the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office's (MSCO) practices which infringe on the civil rights of the citizens of Maricopa County. Most of those abuses and illegal practices concern Equal Protection and Due Process violations of Latino … Read more
Guns available, no background checks necessary
December 17, 2011
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by David Safier An undercover investigator called a gun seller on a website listing classified ads for guns. The investigator said he couldn't pass a background check. No problem. He met the seller and bought the gun. It's actually OK to sell a gun on the internet without a background check, unless the seller "has … Read more
Christmas Dragnet
December 17, 2011
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I'll stick with the novelty Christmas songs for now. For those of us of a certain age, we grew up listening to the irreverant comic genius of Stan Freberg. He was a voice actor for many Warner Brothers cartoons, but he made his name with satirical comedy recordings beginning in the 1950s. … Read more
Bipartisan deal on payroll tax holiday/UI benefits extension
December 17, 2011
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Tea-Publicans are opposed to the payroll tax holiday middle-class tax cut, and they are really opposed to any extension of unemployment insurance benefits for the unemployed. It does not benefit their clients, the one percent. We finally found a tax break that Tea-Publicans do not like. President Obama asked Congress to send him a … Read more
The Omnibus Budget: Tea-Publican tyranny thwarted
December 17, 2011
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Steve Benen breaks down the Omnibus Budget deal approved on Thursday and being voted on this weekend in Congress. Political Animal – Removing right-wing riders: Late Thursday, policymakers struck an agreement on funding the government through September, averting a government shutdown that would have begun last night. The House easily approved the … Read more
SOPA on Hold
December 16, 2011
Posted by Michael Bryan Hard to call it victory, since the beast is not dead. But we do have a temporary reprieve until at least late January. The House Judiciary Committee has placed SOPA on hold to take additional testimony regarding whether the bill would introduce security issues in the underlying structure of the internet. … Read more
Grijalva’s Restore the American Dream for the 99% Act
December 16, 2011
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by David Safier Raúl Grijalva and other members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus have put together the Restore the American Dream for the 99% Act. The bill is a natural progression from the People's Budget Grijalva took a lead role in writing earlier this year. Here is how he summarizes the bill: The bill, which … Read more
Dominick the Donkey
December 16, 2011
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I am an aficionado of Christmas songs form the "golden era" of the 1950s and 1960s, but I must confess that I never heard of this Christmas song until the other day when it was mentioned on a cable televison news show out of New York. Apparently this song is popular back East, … Read more
