Civil & Human Rights

GOP rebranding fail

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

New And ImprovedAfter the 2012 election "autopsy," the GOP decided that it would rebrand itself with fancy "new and improved!" packaging and soft-sell messaging, all the while retaining its poisonous product inside the box that it is selling to an unsuspecting public. So how's that working out?

Just last week RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, the guy who told Republicans that they need to stop being stupid and to "tone down the language" about things like "legitimate rape," returned to the GOP war on women with another attack on Planned Parenthood and Democrats. Priebus suggests Obama, Democrats 'endorse infanticide'. This is "toning down the language"?

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus suggested
that Democrats "endorse infanticide" by supporting women's
health provider Planned Parenthood.

In an op-ed posted on the conservative site RedState,
Priebus highlights movements made by state legislatures in North Dakota
and Florida over the past week to restrict abortion rights. And he
targets President Obama, congressional Democratic leaders and party
officials over their support for Planned Parenthood.

A Reason to Pick up the Tucson Weekly

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By Tom Prezelski Re-blogged from Rum, Romanism and Rebellion. In case you did not know, this here blogger got published in this week’s Tucson Weekly. Drop by Circle K and ask for it. After they complain that people keep asking for the Weekly, say “this should tell you something.” Then, go next door to Eegees, … Read more

‘Gang of Eight’ reaches immigration reform deal

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Jamelle Bouie reports at the Washington Post, “Gang of Eight” reaches immigration deal. But will GOP take it?:

According to the New York Times, the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” has reached an agreement on a comprehensive immigration reform plan.

By and large, the bill doesn’t depart from the framework established
by President Obama and seconded by Marco Rubio, among others. It
establishes a provisional status for unauthorized immigrants who who
pass background checks and fulfill other requirements, such as paying
fines and back taxes to the federal government. It also requires them to
wait ten years before they can apply for green cards, a change from
Obama’s plan, which proposed an eight year wait.

This is broadly in line with public opinion. According to the latest poll
from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, 64 percent of Americans
support a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants, a number that
jumps to 76 percent when a proposed pathway includes fines, penalties,
and a background check. It should be said, however, that few Americans
support the long timeline for citizenship —18 percent say
unauthorized immigrants should be immediately eligible for citizenship
if they have jobs, while 51 percent say they should be eligible have
jobs and have been in the country for five years. Only 12 percent agree
with the “Gang of Eight” that ten years is necessary before citizenship
can become an option.

Ronstadt Transit Center: City, Developers Ponder Proverbial Political Football (video)

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RTCneon326-sig-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Anyone who has lived in Tucson long enough knows that the vitality of downtown has ebbed and flowed with the winds of politics and the fortunes of capitalism.

Thanks to infrastructure investments, tax breaks, land deals, and the promise of Rio Nuevo college students with Daddy's credit cards, downtown is again on the upswing– with swanky bars, over-priced restaurants, micro-breweries, maxi-dorms, and a modern street car to deliver college students to the main gate of the university.

With the smell of money in the air, capitalists are ready to play "let's make a deal" with Tucson's Mayor and Council. One city property that developers have been trying to score for years is the Ronstadt Transit Center, on Congress. Once surrounded by seedy bars, funky diners, and shoe-string art galleries, the Ronstadt Center is now in the thick of downtown's rebirth as Mill Ave South.

Anyone who was around in 2009-2010 when developers lobbied for a land swap deal that would include ~40% of the Ronstadt Center for commercial development  should pay attention to what's happening now. Details and video after the jump.

(Update) Oregon Secretary of State to propose automatic universal voter registration

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Update to an earlier post, Oregon Secretary of State to propose automatic universal voter registration.

Greg Sargent at the Washington Post reports today, Voter registration could be automatic:

The Oregonian editorialized over the weekend about voting in that state (via Hasen):

Secretary of State Kate Brown has a proposal, based on
what Oregon has learned over two decades’ experience with the mail
ballot: Getting to vote should be easy, not hard.

Brown has introduced House Bill 2198, which would allow the state to
automatically register any Oregonian when a state agency already has
their name, age, address and digital signature. Right now that means
Driver and Motor Vehicle Services, but it could extend to other
agencies. Following this system in other places achieves registration of
more than 90 percent of eligible voters.

Just using DMV records, Brown estimates that another 500,000
Oregonians would get the power to decide, at the end of October or the
beginning of November, that a candidate has finally inspired or annoyed
them enough to make them decide to vote.

It’s a right they should have.

There’s absolutely no good reason for such proposals not to be
adopted — and not just state-by-state, either. There’s no good reason
for the burden of voter registration to be on the voter, instead of on
the government.