Battle lines firming up

by David SafierAfter it looked like Brewer was planning to cave to R legislators last week and accept a hack-and-slash budget with no taxes, she issued a press release saying, yes, she still wants a temporary $1 billion per year tax increase. Today, she may have sealed the deal. The Accidental Guv, then the Oscillating … Read more

America’s Anti-Torture Tradition

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: George Washington established the American value that "we do not torture" even in the face of atrocities committed by the British empire on American soil. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. authored this educational opinion America's Anti-Torture Tradition, which was published in the Los Angeles Times in December 2005 (excerpts): Every schoolchild knows that Gen. … Read more

Former Governor Jesse Ventura gets it right on torture

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura recently was a guest on Larry King Live! (isn't that an oxymoron?) and wasted no time in getting to the torture issue (at 1:20 into the video). Some snippets from Ventura: "We've created our own Hanoi Hilton. We can live with that?" "I would prosecute every person … Read more

John McCain was against torture before he was for it

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The McMedia idolize Senator John McCain partly because of his experience as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam war. McCain was savagely beaten and tortured, and was broken to the point where he signed confessions and participated in propaganda videos for the North Vietnamese. John McCain knows the horrors of torture, … Read more

Dems not happy with raid on school funding

by David SafierI posted earlier today (What?) about the plan to withhold $300 million in state payments to school districts. That's bad enough, given how cash strapped schools are, but it's not the worst part. This is supposed to be a rollover, where you withhold payments now but make them sometime in the near future. … Read more