Archive for the ‘Random Musings’ Category
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
But you'd think wrong.
From
HTRNews -
A state House committee has approved a bill that will make thousands of Arizona university students dig a little deeper into their pockets to pay for school.The legislation would require full-time students to pay at least $2,000 each year toward their tuition at a state university.Students would not be able to use university-provided grants, scholarships or tuition benefits to pay the minimum share.The bill in question is
HB2675. The bill passed the Hous...
(more...)
Tags: Arizona Legislature, commentary
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Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
Anyway, it's time to hide the women, children, minorities, and small animals. The GOP's presidential candidates are in town.
Well, hide them if you think the
civil rights of ethnic and racial minorities (and everyone else) should be protected, women should have access to
reproductive health care, poor children shouldn't have to
work as janitors in schools in order to get an education, and when you are mind-boggling wealthy, you should be able to afford a car that is
big enough f... (more...)
Tags: 2012 campaign
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Monday, February 20th, 2012
Senate Appropriations agenda is
here. House Appropriations agenda is
here.
Between this and last week's ejection of a 12 News reporter from the House floor by a Republican functionary who cited an unannounced security policy, it's obvious that the Rs haven't learned the lesson from the recall election loss of former senate president Russell Pearce -
High-handed and arrogant behavior by elected officials is the surest way to tick off the voters...
Updates as I read the bills...
Update:
I'm going...
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Tags: Arizona Legislature, commentary, corruption?
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Sunday, February 19th, 2012
While many sources have reported that bills that haven't been heard in committee in their originating chamber as yet are dead, that isn't completely true - the Appropriations Committees can and are still hearing bills that originated in their respective chambers.
Most of the committee agendas are short, but they still have nuggets of ugly.
For example -
- House Energy and Natural Resources (Monday, 2 p.m., HHR4) has an
agenda with only one item on it -
SB1054. That measure would rai...
(more...)
Tags: Arizona Legislature, commentary
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Sunday, February 19th, 2012
From the Arizona Republic,
Tweet of the week:"Heard the Governor read a proclaimation (sic) and she looked young! Does her husband know she left the house looking great?" -- Rep. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, tweeting under the handle @HarperForAZ, during the state's centennial celebrationThe tweet in question -
Jan Brewer at an Arizona Centennial celebration, courtesy the Governor's webpage -
"Young"? Your call...
Tags: Brewer, commentary, Harper
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Saturday, February 18th, 2012
toast in the R primary in the new CD4.
One thing that I won't predict is whether the information in the linked article from the Phoenix New Times was planted by the Gould campaign or the Gosar campaign, but I'm guessing that both campaigns spent Friday night toasting to the fact that Babeu is toast.
Babeu held a press conference Saturday where he admitted that he is gay, but he denied all of the other allegations in the article.
In a Democratic primary, the fact that he is gay wouldn't be...
(more...)
Tags: commentary, short attention span musing
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Thursday, February 16th, 2012
this story from the Arizona Capitol Times, written by Caitlin Coakley Beckner (subscription required), Rep. Richard Miranda (D-Tolleson) has resigned from the Arizona House of Representatives, effective Monday.
In his letter, he cited health and family concerns as the reason for his resignation.
In short order, the Democratic PCs in LD13 will gather to select three nominees, whose names will be forwarded to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. They will then select the person who will s...
(more...)
Tags: Arizona Legislature
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Saturday, February 11th, 2012
Trying a format change on this post in an attempt to make it more readable. Comments (be they compliments or constructive criticism) always welcome.All agendas and calendars are subject to change without notice.
The theme of this week's legislative activity seems to be the ongoing one - an attempt by the members of the current Republican supermajority in the lege to gather as much power unto the lege and their pet governor before they likely lose that supermajority in Novembe...
(more...)
Tags: Arizona Legislature, commentary
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Friday, February 10th, 2012
On Thursday, the House Committee on Employment and Regulatory Affairs is holding a a special meeting at 2 p.m. There is one item on the
agenda -
HB2571 public employees; unlawful acts; termination
Doesn't sound too bad, until you see the subject of the strike-everything amendment that is being proposed for the bill -
S/E: state personnel systemThe text of the striker isn't available on line as yet, but Steve at Arizona Eagletarian has the
scoop on the details of ...
(more...)
Tags: Arizona Legislature, commentary, corruption?
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Friday, February 10th, 2012
...and I'm not talking about just East Valley Congressman Jeff Flake choosing to run for US Senate, opening up his spot in the US House of Representatives.The creation of a new Congressional district, combined with the continuing fallout from the now-famous recall election loss of former state senator Russell Pearce, is serving as the catalyst for a shake up among politicos in Mesa.
While checking for open campaign committees, I found that five people, State Rep.
Cecil Ash, former Mesa city ...
(more...)
Tags: 2012 campaign, Pearce, rumors
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Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
story up, written by Luige del Puerto (
subscription required) about how the GOP members of the Arizona Senate went behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss the ways they plan to remove Arizona's few employment protections for state workers.
Among the "highlights" of the scheme, which is pretty much the same as a scheme she pushed at the end of the 2011 legislative session -
- Removal of merit protection for state employees. All would serve at the governor's pleasure, essentiall...
(more...)
Tags: commentary, corruption?
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Monday, February 6th, 2012
likely to enter the race to serve out the rest of her term. He seems most likely to enter the race as a placeholder, finishing out the term but not running for a full term of his own. If that is so, most of the Ds who have expressed interest in the seat will probably forego a run in the special election and focus on the fall election.
...State Rep.
Vic Williams (R-Tucson). former state representative
Nancy Young Wright (D) and former AZGOP chair
Mike Hellon (R) &nb...
(more...)
Tags: 2012 campaign
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Sunday, February 5th, 2012
Barack Obama has been president for 36 months, entering office in 2009 at the depths of the deepest economic recession/depression since the Great Depression.
Businesses were collapsing everywhere and people (other than the 1%) were losing their jobs, homes, and the lives they had built up over decades of hard work.
By the beginning of 2011, Obama (and the rest of the country, for that matter) was faced with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives that, that for partisan pol...
(more...)
Tags: 2012 campaign, Obama
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Sunday, February 5th, 2012
First: an apology to readers for not finishing last week's legislative schedule post. My personal schedule got tight, and these posts take 6 - 8 hours to put together when the lege's committees are going full speed.Hence, the early start on this is meant to ensure that this is done by Monday. And since I'm going to spend most of Sunday watching or in preparation for watching the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl... :)
Those visiting the Arizona Capitol this week may want to...
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Tags: Arizona Legislature
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Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
Arizona Capitol Times, written by Jeremy Duda -
Recalled former Sen. Russell Pearce is eyeing a return to the Capitol.
Pearce, who was ousted in a historic recall election in November, filed paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office on Jan. 30 to run for the Senate in the new District 25.
In the article, Pearce is indirectly quoted (
from this article from Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services) as saying this is not a guarantee that he will run, that the paperwork was only a "technic...
(more...)
Tags: 2012 campaign, commentary, Pearce
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
On a sad note, Michael D. Ryan, the highly-regarded former Arizona Supreme Court Justice,
passed away on Monday. His funeral services will be held Friday at St. Francis Xavier Church on Central Avenue in Phoenix at 3 p.m. Services will be preceded by visitation at 2 p.m. As a veteran (a hero, actually), his body will probably be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
Calling him "highly regarded" is an understatement. He is one of the reasons that the Arizona Judici...
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Tags: 2012 campaign, condolences
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Monday, January 30th, 2012
website is already up (
bare bones, but it's there). His entry muddies up the race somewhat. Rumored results of recent polling (
in other words, take this with a grain of salt) point toward Cherny not being able to win a three-way race, and it looks like he would be unlikely to defeat Sinema straight up. He trails but is closer to Schapira. It will be interesting to see in which direction his attacks are aimed.
...As for the Congressional seat recently vacated by t...
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Tags: 2012 campaign
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Sunday, January 29th, 2012
All agendas and their specifics, including but not limited to, times, places, and bills to be considered, are subject to change without notice.
Note: All rooms beginning with an "HHR" prefix are in the House of Representatives building; "SHR" indicates the room is in the Senate building.
On the House side of the Capitol -
Rules will
meet at 1 p.m. on Monday in HHR4. Long agenda, and mostly, but not completely, non-controversial. Most of the measures will appear on a...
(more...)
Tags: Arizona Legislature
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Saturday, January 28th, 2012
...and the fun part is: he wants the voters to pay $8 million for the privilege of subverting their own will...Rep. Andy Tobin (R-Paulden), the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, has introduced
HB2710,
HCR2051,
HCR2052,
HCR2053, and
HR2005. If passed, they would
mandate a special election in May where the voters would be "asked" to amend the independent redistricting provisions in the Arizona constitution.
HB2710 would call the special election.
If passed by the...
(more...)
Tags: Arizona Legislature, commentary, redistricting
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Thursday, January 26th, 2012
Apparently, she is still so ticked at Schapira for defeating her once, she wants to give him a chance to do it again (
Schapira is already running in CD9)...
Anyway, the rumor looks spot on - while her paperwork isn't on the FEC's website, her legislative campaign
website has been reborn as a Congressional campaign site.
Tags: 2012 campaign, Schapira
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