From the AZ Republican Party resolutions:
“Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”
John Parker, Battle of Lexington, 1775.
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In a stunning late night move Republican Senators John McComish, Adam Driggs, Rich Crandall, Steve Pierce, Bob Worsley and last minute ...
President Obama’s answer when asked about the IRS scandal is most interesting. Fox News reported that he said: “If, in fact, IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that had been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that’s outrageous and there’s no place for it.”
The “if” is interesting. Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS unit that oversees tax-exempt groups, confessed in public that the IRS HAD targeted conservative ...
Rumor has it that Senate President Andy Biggs (R-Atlas Shrugged) will be unveiling a “Tea Party” budget later today. Among other things, it reportedly includes a petulant $15 million cut to the Universities, and does not include the Governor’s proposed Medicaid expansion, despite the fact that it has bipartisan support.
The proposed budget was apparently drafted largely without the participation of his own Republican caucus. Even Majority Leader John McComish (R-Ahwatukee) was ...
This year, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) is celebrating 30 years of profiting from incarceration. CCA was one of the pioneers in for-profit prison management, and today is the world’s largest private prison company.
A publicly-traded company, in 2010, CCA saw record revenue of $1.67 billion, up $46 million from 2009.
Here in Arizona, CCA operates 6 facilities, holding prisoners from Arizona, California, Vermont, and Hawaii as well as federal prisoners. CCA is one of the main benefic...
Just how desperate are Governor Brewer and political wizard Chuck Coughlin to force Obamacare on an unwilling Arizona? Dwindling resources, loss of votes, and lackluster public support seem to be a reason for the fraught Republicans to enlist the support of a Saul Alinsky based organization. What exactly do Brewer and Coughlin want the Occupy Wall Street types to do?
Arizona’s Republican Governor Jan Brewer graces the Industrial Areas Foundation website (under IAF in Action) attending an event...
Recent chatter among folks who are ostensibly smarter than you and I tells us that Republicans are making an effort to appeal to “Hispanics.” An inter-party chingazo reported in Sonoran Alliance gives us some insight into why such efforts may be doomed.
Though no one has yet declared for the 2014 Republican primary for Secretary of State, everybody already knows that the race is between Representative Steve Montenegro (R-Litchfield Park) and Senator Michelle Reagan (R-Scottsdale). B...
When I started cross-posting on Blog For Arizona, Mike Bryan suggested that, at some point, I plug the book that I am working on. I am not going to do that, except to say that this post arises from someone else’s good book on the subject that actually cites my work.
El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition by David E. Hayes-Bautista, which was published by the University of California Press last year, traces the origins of May 5th celebrations in the United States to 19th century California...
In the most general of terms, a conflict of interest is “a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgment or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.”
In Arizona, there really are no rules governing legislative conflict of interest statutes. Essentially, as long as at least 10 people benefit from a piece of legislation, there is no conflict of interest. Should allegations of conflicts of interest arise, there’s really ...
To quote Truman Capote: “That’s not writing, that’s typing.”
There is talk among the happy bunch over at Blog for Arizona that some response has to be made to a recent post at the Arizona Daily Independent regarding the discussion that happened last week after my post making a case for why my friend, Representative Chad Campbell, should not run for Governor.
There is no reason to provide a link to ADI. If you want to find the story, you are free to look for it yourself. I...
Senator Carl Hayden famously said that elected officials were either show horses or work horses. If you want to get your name in the papers, you should be a show horse. If you wanted to actually get things done, you should be a work horse instead.
Because of the traumatic events of the past week, a few stories have slipped past our attention. In the case of one story, this was the way it should have been all along.
This week, scandal-plagued Republican Attorney General Tom Horne called for a ...
Chad,
We have known each other for nearly ten years. In that time you have been my friend, ally, and occasional opponent. Through it all, I have known you to be one of the keenest and most articulate public policy minds in the state. We also share similar taste in music, which just further proves that you must be a genius.
However, I am writing this to ask you not to pursue a run for Governor in 2014.
In Fred DuVal, we have not only a universally respected and exceptionally well-qualified candid...
The recent mental health contract awarded by the state to Maricopa County Integrated Health System or MIHS is raising eyebrows. MIHS, a government funded and owned entity, is on the cusp of receiving a 3-year contract that is potentially worth $3 billion dollars.
Any $3 billion dollar deal should be viewed as suspect by watchdog groups and taxpayers, but what makes this deal special is that MIHS is a government owned, property tax levying entity bidding against private providers. In fact, MIHS...
The Arizona Republic reports that scandal-plagued Republican Attorney General Tom Horne turned down a chance for a televised debate against once-and-future Democratic AG candidate Felecia Rotellini regarding his fit of rage over Bisbee’s civil unions ordinance. He said that he “didn’t feel comfortable appearing with Felecia.”
Rotellini is probably too gracious and professional to outright call Tom Horne for what he is. For her benefit, I present the eloquence of Tombstone Epi...
In case you did not know, this here blogger got published in this week’s Tucson Weekly. Drop by Circle K and ask for it. After they complain that people keep asking for the Weekly, say “this should tell you something.” Then, go next door to Eegees, where they do carry it. I got mine at Casa Video, myself.
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/guest-commentary/Content?category=1063786
Magellan Health Services filed a “formal protest and a lawsuit” against Maricopa Integrated Health Services or MIHS. Magellan had managed a contract that included serving Maricopa County’s poor since 2007. Magellan’s complaint alleges numerous irregularities:
In its protest, Magellan alleges that Mercy Maricopa has “serious conflicts of interest” because Mercy Maricopa intends to both manage the system and provide services, which is prohibited by the contract and by...
Eighteen years is a long time to serve in public office. In Jennifer Eckstrom’s case it is about half of her life. This comes to an end, at least for the time being, this week, as the feisty South Tucson Mayor announced her resignation late last week.
Rumors abound as to why she submitted the letter. Such speculation naturally follows such things, particularly since it comes about two weeks after her allies on the Council were defeated in the Square-Mile City’s Democratic Primary. Th...
One would be hard pressed to meet an old-timer in Tucson who believes that Louis Taylor was guilty of setting the 1970 Pioneer Hotel Fire. One friend of mine who was raised in Barrio Viejo and knew Taylor growing up described him as a guy who would stick up for neighborhood kids who were getting bullied. He was hardly a model citizen, however. My friend, who later shared a cell with him at Florence, also told me about how he and Taylor used to shoplift from Woolworth’s and steal sneakers f...
Contrary to what the Arizona Daily Star says, Shaun McClusky is not an “ex-mayoral hopeful.” Back in 2011, the failed former Ward 5 City Council candidate made some noise about running for Mayor on the Republican ticket, but failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot. In other words, he was never actually a candidate.
This points to the central problem with McClusky and the Tea-party vibe that he represents. Just as Sara Palin argued that a gig as a talking head on cable te...
by Andrew Thomas
