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Refugee Supporters & Anti-Immigrant Protesters Face Off in Oracle (Images)

July 17, 2014July 16, 2014 by Pamela Powers

Supporters lined the main drag in Oracle, with bilingual or Spanish signs welcoming the the refugee children.

Demonstrators with dueling banners and ideologies lined the roads of rural Oracle, Arizona on Tuesday awaiting the arrival of 40-60 child refugees. An estimated 150 protesters, dozens of law enforcement officers (including the K-9 unit), and every TV, print, and online journalist imaginable came out to “greet” the bus of unaccompanied Central American children.

Oracle residents and other refugee supporters from Somos America, Progressive Democrats of America, South Side Presbyterian Church, and the Alliance for Global Justice gathered at 6:30 a.m.

The original anti-immigrant protest was organized by Oracle’s self-proclaimed “Paul Revere” Robert Skiba, who was tipped off regarding the busload of refugee children by Pinal County’s Tea Party Sheriff Paul Babeu. Babeu’s grandstanding on Facebook about the federal government’s failed immigration policies, and Skiba’s boasting about a bus blockade to multiple media outlets sparked a counter protest initiated by Oracle residents who were concerned about the welfare of the children. E-mail blasts, Facebook, Twitter, blog posts like this one, and a re-Tweet by Rachel Maddow’s blog brought out the crowds, including sympathizers on both sides who drove in from Tucson and Phoenix.

Much of the media coverage has focused on tiny events that occurred during the four hours that we all waited for the bus to arrive. (More details and photos after the jump.)

Redistricting — Legislature to SCOTUS: Validate Parliamentary Sovereignty in Arizona

July 14, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Cross posted from the Arizona Eagletarian

In Arizona Legislature v Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the AIRC filed it’s motion to dismiss or affirm on June 30. Today, July 14, the legislature filed it’s final brief. It’s now up to the SCOTUS to review all of the briefs and issue a ruling… or set the matter for a full hearing and oral argument.

Up to this point, everything has pointed to the problem being that the ruling class in Arizona has had a prolonged hissy fit because the PEOPLE dared to take a stand against what all boils down to oppression.

The TanMan’s lawsuit and the ‘Obama Standard’

July 14, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

The ill-considered lawsuit by the TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, is both a reminder of his rank hypocrisy, and the double-standard the media always applies to reporting on the latest GOP manufactured outrage of the day. It is the “Obama Standard.”

In 2005-2006, when Medicare Part D implementation struggled, the Bush/Cheney administration unilaterally extended deadlines and waived penalties – relying on nothing but executive discretion and regulatory authority. (cue the crickets chirping). As Steve Benen reported earlier this year, Where the parallels end | MSNBC:

When the Affordable Care Act’s open-enrollment period got off to a rough start last October, it was easy to note the similarities between its difficulties and those associated with the Bush/Cheney Medicare Part D policy. On Friday, Sam Stein had a terrific report noting just how deep the parallels go.

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[I]t ties into a larger pattern of Republicans embracing something we can call the “Obama standard.”

Kansas judge approves dual election system in Kansas

July 13, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

The Topeka-Capitol Journal reports that a Kansas judge ruled on Friday on the motion for preliminary injunction filed by the ACLU in Belenky v. Kobach. Theis backs Kobach over ACLU in voter ID challenge:

Shawnee County District Court Judge Franklin Theis cleared the way Friday for Kansas to use a dual voting system to help enforce its proof-of-citizenship rule for new voters, suggesting that doing otherwise could taint the state’s August primary election.

The judge’s ruling was a victory for Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a conservative Republican who champions the citizenship rule as an anti-election fraud measure. Critics contend it will suppress the vote.

Theis rejected the American Civil Liberties Union’s request to block a policy Kobach outlined last month in instructing county officials on handling ballots from voters who registered using a national form that does not require providing a birth certificate, passport or some other documentation of their U.S. citizenship. Kobach advised counties to set aside the ballots and count only their votes in congressional races.

Utah marriage equality cases before SCOTUS

July 13, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Late Friday, a panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in Evans v. Utah that Utah hasn’t proven that the appeals court should stay a lower court’s ruling requiring the state to recognize the 1,300 same-sex marriages that were performed in Utah in December and January.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay order in Kitchen v. Herbert in January, until the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals completed action on the case. The same panel of the 10th Circuit judges in Evans v. Utah recently upheld the trial court order striking down Utah’s same-sex marriage ban in Kitchen v. Herbert.

The temporary stay in Evans v. Utah remains in place in order for the state to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. The state had sought to have the lower court ruling put on hold for the duration of the full appeal. The temporary stay expires at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, July 21, according to the decision.