AZ BlueMeanie

The Blue Meanie is an Arizona citizen who wishes, for professional reasons, to remain anonymous when blogging about politics. Armed with a deep knowledge of the law, politics and public policy, as well as pen filled with all the colors stolen from Pepperland, the Blue Meanie’s mission is to pursue and prosecute the hypocrites, liars, and fools of politics and the media – which, in practical terms, is nearly all of them. Don’t even try to unmask him or he’ll seal you in a music-proof bubble and rendition you to Pepperland for a good face-stomping.

Legislative Republicans Seeking To Interfere In County Level Redistricting

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By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings …and "interfere" is something of an understatement… State Sen. Lori Klein, late of the controversy over a bigoted letter that she read on the Senate floor, has proposed a strike-everything amendment to HB2289, one that is scheduled for committee consideration at Thursday's meeting of Senate Finance. It concerns … Read more

Alabama U.S. District Court Judge Halts Ban on Union Payroll Deductions

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: This is one of those pieces of anti-union "model" legislation that is working its way through Tea-Publican Legislatures across the country. There are currently bills in the Arizona Legislature that seek to ban union payroll deductions, SB 1555 (government employees; union dues; withholding) and HB 2395 (schools; payroll deductions; union dues). These bills … Read more

Court of Appeals reinstates FISA wiretapping case

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit challenging an eavesdropping law passed by Congress three years ago. Appellate Court Reinstates Lawsuit Challenging Wiretapping Powers – NYTimes.com: In the lawsuit, one of the few remaining on the issue, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups charged that the expanded surveillance … Read more

The GOP war on campaign finance reforms

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Not satisfied by the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC that opened the floodgates to corporate-sponsored election ads, conservative opponents of campaign finance regulations have opened up a series of new legal fronts in their effort to eliminate the remaining laws restricting the flow of money into politics. To … Read more

The GOP war on the independent judiciary (and separation of powers)

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The "Birthers, Birchers and Secessionist" wing of the Republican Party in Arizona has long opposed the wisdom of the voters in approving the merit selection system for judges in Arizona. Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was one of the architects of the merit selection system for judges when she … Read more