Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

On Sunday, the Arizona Republic for some reason felt compelled to publish a guest opinion (and video) by the disgraced and recalled former Senate President, Russell Pearce, writing on behalf of his anti-immigrant nativist hate group, BanAmnestyNow.com.

Pearce discloses a continuing working relationship with the anti-immigrant nativist hate group,  Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR), whose lawyer Kris Kobach wrote SB 1070 for Pearce.

Pearce also cites the...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

David Safier and Tom Prezelski reported on the existience of a possible "secret' budget deal in the works in the Senate earlier. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports that the Senate Rules Committee is meeting at 1:00 p.m. today to allow for the late introduction of budget bills. Heads up, people. Sources: Senate to move on budget this week:

Sources confirmed that the Rules Committee will meet at 1 p.m. today to allow for the introduction of the budg...

"I’d just like to clarify one point: He did vote for cloture."

I said, Look, on the vote that mattered, Senator Flake supported the filibuster. Again she interrupted:

"I’d just like to clarify one ...

By Tom Prezelski

Re-Blogged From Rum, Romanism and Rebellion

Note: Between writing this and posting this, my colleague here at Blog For Arizona, David Safier, posted his own take on this issue. My arguments are only a little different from his, but it seems that this is sufficiently urgent that there is no reason why this point should not be made twice.

Rumor has it that Senate President Andy Biggs (R-Atlas Shrugged) will be unveiling a "Tea Party" budget later today. Among other things, it repo...

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:

Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown is probably the most forward-looking Secretary of State in America. She has been promoting the Brennan Center for Justice concept of "universal voter registration" (automatic registration).

Last Wednesday, Brown pitched legislators on a new version of her ambitious plan to automatically register hundreds of thousands of potential voters in the state. Oregon secretary of state tweaks universal registration bill in search of more suppor...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, the "Worst. Speaker. Ever.", has scheduled a vote in Congress this week to repeal "ObamaCare," not that the 39th time will be the charm, but because freshman Tea Party ideologues who have not had their chance to vote to repeal "ObamaCare" want their opportunity to vote against "ObamaCare," because it makes 'em feel good.

The Hill reported, ObamaCare repeal vote next week in House:

In a nod to the right, House Republican leade...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

You can file this one under stupid shit the Goldwater Institute says and that reporters unquestionly repeat as mere stenographers. You can cross-file it under stupid shit that Tea-Publicans believe but which has no basis in the reality based world (they believe in confidence fairies and unicorns, i.e., the entirely disproved and discredited faith based supply-side "trickle down" GOP economic theory).

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Medicaid expan...

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

As with the previous few weeks, there just isn't much on the schedule -

- Tuesday's House COW (Committee of the Whole) calendar is here.  Two bills on the agenda, and one of them is a neo-secessionist special: SCR1016, a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution declaring that Arizona can ignore any federal action that it doesn't like.

- On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Energy, and Military Committee is meeting to consider executive...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Oh, like no one saw this coming. Heritage Foundation fellow Jason Richwine, who subcribes to the controversial "science" of hereditarianism and eugenics, long championed by white supremacists and segregationists, is out of a job today. Maybe the Aryan Nation or the KKK have a job opening.

Think Progress reports, Author Of Heritage Immigration Study Resigns Amid Racism Scandal:

Jason Richwine, a coauthor of the Heritage Foundation’s report on the cost of the current imm...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Ed Kilgore at the Political Animal blog has a good summary of political scientist and high priest of Beltway centrism Norm Ornstein's column in the National Journal, The Myth of Presidential Leadership, blasting the Beltway media for their Green Lantern Theory of the Presidency in this post, Busting the Green Lantern Myth Once and For All:

If there was any doubt left that the spasm of punditry about Obama’s inability to “work his will” on Congress like his predeces...

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:

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin marking up the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill from the "Gang of Eight."

301 amendments have been filed, setting the stage for extended debate. Senate immigration bill brings flood of amendments:

About two-thirds of the 301 proposals came from Senate Republicans, including measures to grant Congress more authority over securi...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It appears that the Pioneer Fund and its support for the "study and research into the problems of heredity and eugenics in the human race" and "into the problems of race betterment with special reference to the people of the United States," still has influence in the 21st Century. For a lengthy backgrounder on this subject, see History of the race and intelligence controversy - Wikipedia.

The Heritage Foundation released its long awaited report this week for the stated pu...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Tea Party darlin', former Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), now pulling down big bucks for his conservative demagoguery at the Heritage Foundation, has an op-ed in the Washington Post (where else) this afternoon, What amnesty for illegal immigrants will cost America (note the code language to the nativist base) claiming that:

An exhaustive study by the Heritage Foundation has found that after amnesty, current unlawful immigrants would receive $9.4 trillion in government benefits...