Posted by AzBlueMeanie: On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. And Republicans have been trying to get rid of it ever since. DCCC Chairman Steve Israel released this statement to mark the 47th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act: “As we pause to reflect and celebrate the 47th … Read more
In the flurry of news and opinion gusting out of our computer screens and smart phones, it is easy to become ‘news blind’ – so focused on the flakes and flurries that we forget where we are headed. We stumble confusedly ahead with no map to our destination. It’s easy to get lost in the storm.
I personally read almost every news source in Arizona – and keep up with national reaction to our politics, as well – in bringing to readers of BlogForArizona the Arizona Donkey Feed, which appears on our right-hand sidebar every day (you may also have the Feed emailed to you daily). So I, too, often find myself in that blizzard without a map.
I decided I might like to sit down once a week and take some time to look around, and identify what I think are the most significant landmarks around where we stand now. It might not be a map that will tell us where we are headed, but maybe I can get some idea of where we are. Over time, perhaps it will become a map of sorts. You can even look back to all the editorials I have done so far, which isn’t that many, yet…
I would also like to let you all know that Cam Juarez, candidate for Tucson Unified School Board, will be guest-host at Drinking Liberally in Tucson. Come down to the Shanty of 4th Avenue this Wednesday at 6pm and enjoy a beer with Cam.
This week, I write about:
An excellent peice of must-see political television presided over by Jim Nintzel,
The Chik-Fil-A culture war comes home to Arizona,
Brewer’s decision on Medicaid expansion will be a matter of life and death for Arizonans, and
The Best New Thing in Arizona Politics has something to do with Ben Quayle…
See it all after the click…
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Hotel executive Jim Graves, the Democratic opponent of the Minnesota Loon, Michele Bachmann (R-MN), has launched a web video directly comparing her to former Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI):
“I have a message for Rep. Bachmann: it’s nothing to be proud of,” Graves said of his opponent's fundaising in an email to supporters Thursday. “That money was the direct result of a hateful and dangerous witch-hunt that viciously smeared a dedicated public servant. It echoed of a dark time in our nation’s history that we thought was behind us.”
“McCarthyism was dangerous then. It’s dangerous now.”
Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) is one of the Minnesota Loon's four cohorts in this religious bigotry McCarthyism.
Video below the fold.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: So Chick-fil-A holds an appreciation intolerance day and all the gay haters come out to buy one of their over-priced sandwiches at the direction of Rick Warren and Mike Huckabee. Suckers, Carl's Jr. chicken sandwich is way better, and it's on the dollar menu! Of course, the "lamestream" media took their cues … Read more
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel has issued an injunction against implementation of Arizona’s precedent-challenging “fetal pain” abortion ban, that was scheduled to take effect today. Appeals court blocks Arizona's 20-week abortion ban:
With the injunction in place, the restrictions in the Mother's Health and Safety Act (sic) cannot be enforced until the San Francisco-based appeals court hears the case, likely in late October or early November, and issues a ruling. A court decision could take weeks, if not months.
The law, which would make abortions illegal 20 weeks after a woman's last menstruation, is based on the concept of fetal pain. Arizona lawmakers this spring justified the abortion ban by citing evidence that they say proves fetuses feel pain at the 20th week after gestation.
The bill passed with strong Republican support, and Gov. Jan Brewer signed it into law, saying it "recognizes the precious life of the pre-born baby."
But the Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of three abortion doctors in federal court, arguing the law is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court, they argued, has established that abortions are illegal at the point a fetus becomes viable. That is generally between the 22nd and 24th weeks of pregnancy, according to medical experts and abortion clinics.
On Monday, conservative activist U.S. District Court Judge James Teilborg upheld the law, triggering the request for a preliminary injunction. For those of you unfamiliar with Judge Teilborg, Molly Redden at The New Republic explains in Angry at the Arizona Abortion Ruling? Blame Democrats Too.:
At first blush, the players who facilitated the ruling—the uncompromising, rightwing governor who signed the bill; the ultra-conservative general assembly members who shepherded it to passage; and the recalcitrant judge, who was moved by his personal passions to defy well-established abortion law—exhibit a familiar scenario: Conservative dominance of the courts has, once again, thwarted a cherished Democratic objective.