Civil & Human Rights

The state of Maricopa needs to end this litigation

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a choice to make: Deny funding to crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio's appeal of a federal
judge’s ruling that his office engaged in racial profiling, or concede
that the supervisors condone his racial profiling. Sheriff Joe Arpaio appeal funding questioned:

[T]he Board of Supervisors refused to take a public stance on the issue last week, with
the majority of supervisors saying the issue is not so black-and-white,
and there are outstanding questions over legalities and logistics of the
appeals process.

U.S. District Judge Murray Snow issued a ruling late last month that the
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office engaged in racial profiling against
Latinos. In his 142-page ruling on Melendres vs. Arpaio, Snow
outlined the constitutional violations sheriff’s deputies committed when
they targeted Latino drivers and detained them on the side of the road
longer than other drivers.

Arpaio’s attorney, Tim Casey, denied Snow’s findings and said he would appeal the ruling.

Casey said the sheriff should determine how the case moves forward as the elected official named in the lawsuit.

“It is my understanding that, because this case does not involve a
claim for money damages and only involves a claim for declaratory and
injunctive relief that relate to the operations of MCSO, that the
elected sheriff as policymaker for MCSO and its operations determines
whether to appeal,” Casey said.

Nuns on The Bus in Arizona

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Nuns On The Bus Tour for comprehensive immigration reform is coming to Arizona. Go to Nuns on the Bus – Network for more tour information and to RSVP. Date Type of Visit Place Jun 11, 2013 (10:00 AM) Voices from Annunciation House Casa Vides325 Leon St, El Paso, TX 79901 RSVP Jun … Read more

Federal Gov’t Spying on Citizens: Big Brother Really Is Watching

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Keyboard-578-adj-crop-sig-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Several weeks ago, after the US intelligence agencies found the Boston Marathon bombers in a matter of days, I posted this story: Who Is Homeland Security Watching? Off-the-grid Fertilizer Plant vs On-the-Grid Citizenry.

When I said that the federal government was watching “real people, not corporate people,” I had no idea how prophetic that statement was. In the few short weeks since that story, there has been one revelation about government spying on American citizens and news organizations after another.

Gov’t Obtains Wide AP Phone Records in Probe
First we learned that the feds obtained months worth of telephone records from Associated Press (AP) reporters. AP called this “a ‘massive and unprecedented intrusion’ into how news organizations gather the news.”

US gov’t collecting huge number of phone records
Although there was a huge media uproar over the AP story when it broke, it pales in comparison to what we learned this week. Senator Diane Feinstein, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirmed that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting cell phone records for millions of Americans on a regular basis for years. This ongoing surveillance of American citizens began during the warrantless wiretapping program initiated under President George Bush’s reign. Verizon, Sprint, and At&T have complied with court orders to provide customer data. Verizon alone has 121 million customers. More details and links after the jump.

Update: The surveillance society that Americans chose to live in

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There has been quite a bit of discussion today about a New York Times editorial in which the editors declare "The administration has now lost all credibility" as a result of the NSA data mining program(s). President Obama’s Dragnet.

I would point out that the New York Times lost all credibility on this subject years ago when it withheld publication of a report on the Bush-Cheney administration's unconstitutional and illegal Terrorist Surveillance Program for over a year until 2005 — after the presidential election had passed — when this report might have affected the outcome of the 2004 election.

And Judith Miller, the Times reporter who peddled the bogus weapons of mass destruction to justify the unnecessary and illegal war in Iraq, and who went to jail for her role in the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA covert operative.

That's pretty much "hello pot, meet kettle." The Times is in no position to judge anyone's credibility.

Action Alert: House Appropriations Committee takes up Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration/expansion on Monday – and a poison pill from CAP

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

TalibanThe House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday, June 10 at 10:00 a.m. in Room HHR 1 to take up the appropriations bill which includes Governor Jan Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration/expansion plan, SB 1492.

The Committee Chairman, John Kavanaugh, R-Fountain Hills, the man who sponsored the "show me your papers before you pee" bill, has also agreed to take up a "strike everything amendment" to SB 1069 (CPS; psychological assessments and services) as a vehicle for Mullah Cathi Herrod and her Christian Taliban at the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) to insert a poison pill amendment to limit abortion providers’ ability to participate in Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan that Governor Brewer earlier rejected as unnecessary.

Your presence at this critical committee hearing is requested. It is time for a show of force against the opponents of Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration/expansion who dare to call themselves "Christians." WWJD? (Matthew 25:31-46).

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Medicaid
anti-abortion language returns in House Approps:

A pro-life forced birth bill scheduled for a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee includes language that is nearly identical to a proposal from a leading evangelical Christian group that sought to limit abortion providers’ ability to participate in Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan.

The strike-everything amendment to SB1069 would prohibit funds from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System from being used to “directly or indirectly” subsidize abortions, including the use of Medicaid money on administrative expenses such as building rent, employee salaries and utility costs by abortion providers. House Appropriations Chairman Rep. John Kavanagh, who sponsored the amendment, said the language was requested by the Center for Arizona Policy.