Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Remember when crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio, Sheriff of Maricopa County, told his ardent critics who accused him of having a policy of unlawful racial profiling of Latinos to "prove it" in court? Be carfeful what you wish for, old man.

Today, U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow specifically found from the evidence presented at trial that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has a policy of unlawful racial profiling of Latinos, and issued an order enjoining that policy, with...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It looks like Arizona's angry old man Sen. McNasty, John McCain, has had enough of those Tea Party punks hanging out on his lawn. For the second day in a row, McCain took to the well of the Senate to criticize a Tea Party senator as too effin' ignorant to be in the Senate. This time it was Tea Party darlin' Mike Lee (R-UT).

Greg Sargent has the play-by-play. Tea Party Senators jump the shark:

In a key moment on the Senate floor this morning, John McCain came very close...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

As the New York Times editorialized this afternoon, "For the first time, President Obama clearly stated that the current state of war is unsustainable for a democracy and that it must come to an end." The End of the Perpetual War.

From the White House blog:

Today at National Defense University, President Obama laid out the framework for U.S. counterterrorism strategy as we wind down the war in Afghanistan.

President Obama discussed how the threat of terrorism has changed ...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

"[N]o religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." - Article VI, Paragraph 3, U.S. Constitution.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." - First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"The liberty of conscience secured by the provisions of this constitution shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify pra...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There was a mayoral and council election in Los Angeles on Tuesday, but also on the ballot was Prop. C, a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Citizens United v. FEC. Prop C Wins: LA Voters Send Strong Message Against Supreme Court's Citizens United Ruling:

Los Angeles voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition C, a resolution that instructed local and state officials to promote the overturning of Citizens United v...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

If you could not attend the presentation in Prescott, you still have an opportunity at a location near you. Phoenix tonight! Yuma on Friday. Tucson on Sunday.

Press release from Move to Amend. Arizona Barnstorming Tour with Ashley Sanders.

Arizona Barnstorming Tour with Ashley Sanders

May 10, 2013

Move to Amend is barnstorming through Arizona and we're coming to a town near you! Catch a talk in your area, and learn how you can get involved in the campaign to end ...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It has often been said that people do not want to see the "sausage making" process of legislation, and nowhere is that a truer statement than with the "Gang of Eight" immigration reform bill.

After multiple attempts by Tea Party senators to add "poison pill" amendments to kill the bill -- all defeated -- there was a death-defying friendly amendment offered yesterday by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to treat gay partners equally under federal law for immigration purposes. Tea...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It looks like the "Mayor" of Washington, D.C., Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), has a bit of a problem with his plan to take his anti-abortion crusade nationwide. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Arizona's 20-week abortion ban law today. Doh! Court Strikes Down Arizona 20-Week Abortion Ban:

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law violated a woman's constitutionally protected right to terminate a pregnancy before a fetus is able to survive outside the womb...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

This guy, again . . . last month I posted about Rep. Trent Franks still fancies himself 'Mayor' of Washington, D.C.:

When Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) is not channeling Joe McCarthy with his Islamophobia conspiracy theories about how the Council on American Islamic Relations tried to plant "spies" in the national security apparatus, House Republicans accuse Muslim group of trying to plant spies, or claiming that African-Americans were better off under slavery than they are to...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Let's set Mr. Peabody's WABAC time machine to a little less than a year ago, to June of 2012 when this was the GOP position on national security leaks to the media. Republicans demand (again) special investigator to investigate leaks - CNN:

A group of Republican senators continued to fire away Tuesday at the Obama administration for its failure to appoint a special counsel to investigate leaks of classified information.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, once again led the char...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I hate it when I have to agree with the Arizona Republic's über-conservative columnist Robert Robb, but even a broken clock is right twice a day, am I right?

Keep in mind that this latest column from Robert Robb is actually the strategy for a legal challenge to Governor Jan Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration plan, likely from his old employer, the Goldwater Institute, which is actively opposing the Governor's plan. If the Governor's plan is enacted by the legislature...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from Move to Amend. Arizona Barnstorming Tour with Ashley Sanders.

Arizona Barnstorming Tour with Ashley Sanders

May 10, 2013

Move to Amend is barnstorming through Arizona and we're coming to a town near you! Catch a talk in your area, and learn how you can get involved in the campaign to end corporate personhood and demand real democracy!

Ashley Sanders is touring Arizona for Move to Amend in an effort to build connections, inspire activism, and re...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

According to the stats kept by Scotusblog.com, the U.S. Supreme Court has heard 74 merit cases this term, and issued opinions in 39 of those cases.

This leaves 35 opinions to be announced over the next six weeks before the end of June. Mondays are orders and opinions days, with the exception of Tuesday, May 28, because of the Memorial Day holiday.

There are several cases I am following for decisions expected to be issued late in the term on June 17 or June 24, but one nev...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last year, Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-Scottsdale) sponsored HB 2826 (consolidated election dates; political subdivisions), a bill providing for the consolidation of elections in the fall of even numbered years only. The law will apply to elections in 2014 and thereafter.

The City of Tucson filed its special action for declaratory and injunctive relief on October 10, 2013 in the Pima County Superior Court, City of Tucson v. State of Arizona et al. (Case No. C20126272). The Ci...

by Pamela Powers Hannley

"Amid a discussion of the Bible and the Promised Land, the state House voted Tuesday to let Arizonans vote next year on whether they want to be able to challenge the federal government," reported the Capitol Media Services in the Arizona Daily Star.

Both Craig McDermott and the AZ Blue Meanie have written about the SCR1016 vote which would insert a strict constructionist passage to the Arizona Constitution thus setting up the Legislature for future court battles with th...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I posted about this previously, Arizona's Neo-Confederate dead-enders and secession:

Remember the "Checks and Balances in Government" citizens initiative aka the "nullification" initiative from a nutty Scottsdale millionaire businessman, Jack Biltis, that failed to qualify for the ballot due to an insufficient number of signatures last year? Businessman spends $1.2 million to put nullification measure on ballot.

Biltis has decided to bypass the expense of another initiati...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

My home state of Minnesota just became the 12th state, plus the District of Columbia, to approve same-sex marriages . . . a "baker's dozen."

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports, In historic vote, Minnesota Senate approves same-sex marriage bill:

With deafening cheers and overwhelming emotion, the Minnesota Senate voted 37-30 to legalize same-sex marriage.

“Today, love wins,” said Sen. Tony Lourey, DFL-Kerrick.

The vote, on the heels of a vote last week in the House, ...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Maybe the Arizona legislature would like to jump on the bandwagon? Oh right, they do the bidding of the Goldwater Institute, a charter member of the "Kochtopus," and a big supporter of its dark money organizations and Citizens United v. FEC, and also gutting Arizona's Citizens Clean Elections. "Power to the Plutocrats!"

John Nichols at The Nation reports that Maine, a pioneer of publicly financed campaigns, has become the thirteenth state to pass a resolution calling for ...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last year, Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-Scottsdale) sponsored HB 2826 (consolidated election dates; political subdivisions), a bill providing for the consolidation of elections in the fall of even numbered years only. The law will apply to elections in 2014 and thereafter.

The City of Tucson filed its special action for declaratory and injunctive relief on October 10, 2013 in the Pima County Superior Court, City of Tucson v. State of Arizona et al. (Case No. C20126272). The Ci...