Mesa is Like a Parasite

Special thanks to Arizona Congress Watch for pointing this out in the East Valley Tribune. I find it particularly amusing that tax experimentation and Grover Norquist play ground, Mesa Arizona is making up for its goofy, shortsighted and unrealistic governing strategy by getting money from the Feds. Do you think they will move the date for Tax Freedom Day up a few weeks for Mesa this year?

I feel sorry for Mesa because I know there is a large group of voters who live there that are not crazy, but unfortunately this is what one party rule brings...

Thomas Watch: Andy you are such a baby!

I love this article in today's Arizona Republic about Andy Thomas' whining about Rick Romley being pitched for the open position at the Veterans Administration under GWB. My favorite reason he gave for Rick Romley being unqualified?

Thomas cited many shortcomings in what he saw as Romley's qualifications,
ranging from his lavish spending on an annual report in his last year as county
attorney to the lack of voicemail in the office during Romley's 16-year reign to
the fact that "he has been both publicly and privately critical of me."

Who knew that voicemail was so important? You know what would really make someone unqualified for County Attorney? How about never trying a felony case? Oh, poor Andy cannot take criticism from a seasoned prosecutor... I have bad news for you Andy, many other Republicans are privately and publicly critical of you.

Hepatitis at Cheesecake Factory: There is a moral to this story

As many of you may have heard, there was an outbreak of hepatitis A at the Cheese Cake Factory in Phoenix. This got me to thinking about a couple of policy issues that people do not like to talk about rationally. The first issue is related to immigration. This is precisely why you don't want to cut off healthcare services to anyone. Obviously, a sizable portion of the restaurant industry is run with immigrant labor. Guess what, the people that make and serve your food make minimum wage, do not have health insurance and do not get paid time off (and that is the American citizens). Forcing immigrants underground is dangerous from a public health standpoint.

The second issue is the problem of every worker in the economy not having paid time off for illness (let alone recreation). I for one would be willing to pay a few more dollars for my pasta and cheesecake to insure that the person serving it could stay home with pay when they are sick. The simple fact is that many restaurant workers are a few days wages away from losing their apartment or car. Given the choice between working sick or giving up a day's salary, most people will work sick.

This is just another reason for universal healthcare and increased workers rights. Rather than spreading to costs to a few unlucky patrons, perhaps would should rationally spread the costs across our society...

Michael Nowakowski: No Friend to Payday Lenders

Just Sunday, I was saying that I would dig up more information on the District 7 Phoenix City Council race. Well, ask and ye shall receive.

As many of you know, I am no friend of the payday lending industry. I am happy to hear that payday lending is an issue in this race. From what I have read about Michael Nowakowski, he takes the issue pretty seriously. Here is some information from his website...

“As a member of City Council, I will fight to regulate payday loan centers and support measures that will restrict their proximity to residential neighborhoods. Moreover, I will support efforts at the state level to establish reasonable limits of interest rates and other regulations that address current predatory practices. Reforms that have been vigorously opposed by lobbyists for the payday loan industry.”

Follow through is always a problem in politics, but at least we are starting in the right place. His campaign is questioning Laura Pastor's bonafides on the issue Here and Here. I would suggest that everyone take this with the requisite grain of salt, but if it is true, it is troubling. I searched her campaign site, but could not find any information about her stand on payday lending.

I wonder what the Pastor Campaign's response is to the accusations? (Psst: ademlament@gmail.com )

Republican Coalition Falling Apart: Part 3

Thanks to Rum, Romanism and Rebellion for this scoop. If it turns out that Graf does run against the more moderate Carroll for Pima County supervisor, it just adds more fuel to the intra-party split. I am not familiar enough with the particulars of that district to make predictions, but I think Graf would probably have a tough time since it is not an off year race, but who knows...

Phoenix City Council District 7

I still don't have much information on this race. I am pretty familiar with the inner workings of Arizona politics, but cannot figure out why the different groups behind Laura Pastor and Michael Nowakowski lined up the way they did.

Basically, it looks like the unions (police, Fire and UFWC Arizona's Largest Union) have lined up behind Mr. Nowakowski while most of the liberal power players (Raul Grijalva, Representative Steve Gallardo, Representative Chad Campbell, Representative David Lujan, Representative Kyrsten Sinema, Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox) have lined up behind Ms. Pastor. Sure, Ms. Pastor has the backing of the AFL-CIO, but that is pretty empty these days. I am not sure whether it is troubling or interesting that Ms. Pastor has the backing of the Chamber of Commerce and the Realtors Association. They probably support her because they see her as the establishment candidate (or the most likely to win).

It is also interesting that AFSCME is not on either list. AFSCME represents workers in the city of Phoenix. In the end, the police and fire unions have the biggest vested interest in city races. They are arguably the best at influencing them.

I promise to start digging for information about the race this week...

Obama vs. Hillary

The most recent fight over Obama's statement in the last debate that he would meet with world leaders without reservations and Hillary's campaign attack, actually make me like Obama more than before. I have always been worried about Obama's ability to take a punch and hit back. Hillary's people if nothing else will be tough. My first priority in picking a candidate is that they cannot whither while under attack. The ideals of our party must be aggressively defended.

In the end, I like Hillary, but I would prefer any number of the other candidates. The fact that the Obama campaign is holding its own is a good sign.

On that note, please come and vote on which candidate you think is best for Arizona...

Should We Add a Supreme Court Justice?

Props to MoronInCharge (I am not insulting them, that is their name) at AZ Netroots for pointing out this article in the New York Times. I was not aware it was possible to change the number of justices on the Supreme Court. I am shocked that Bush Administration did not take advantage of this.

I reluctantly think that this should be reserved as a option if the court continues on its current course. I have to say that I am very reticent about opening this Pandora's box. After all, what is good for goose... If we do it after 2008, it is likely that Republicans will do the same in the future. I think if we choose this option, we have to be very careful. First, we should do no more than balance the court. This means only appointing one justice (which opens the possibility of ties). Two, anyone appointed would have to be universally respected and uncontroversial. I think our argument would be that Bush appointed radical judges and we want to appoint beloved (Insert justice here) to moderate the court.

What do you guys think?

In Defense of Harry Mitchell...

Robert Robb in the Arizona Republic wrote a little blurb about Mitchell's proposal on capital gains and the estate tax. I wrote about it here. He is critical of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the need for Harry Mitchell and Congress to off set them.

The bill also illustrates the foolishness of the budget off-set rules that Mitchell has supported.In reality, the Mitchell-Shays bill wouldn't reduce the federal government's current revenues much, if at all. However, since big increases in both capital gains and estate taxes are scheduled for 2011, under the current rules, the bill would require approximately $330 billion in other tax increases or spending decreases over 10 years, to offset its phantom "cost."

Robb tries to make it look like requiring offsets is a bad idea. It is not. Very simply the rules require new programs or new tax cuts to pay for themselves with spending cuts or tax increases in other areas. Only a tax cut and spend Republican could view that as a bad idea.

But let's get down to the real point, who created the situation where these tax cuts would expire? Why were they setup this way? The answer is easy, the Bush Administration did not want to admit the real long-term cost of their tax cuts, so devised the clever scheme to have them expire in ten years. That way they could set the costs much lower. Sure is it bad policy and disingenuous, but that is how the current batch of Republicans operate. Not only is it bad for our budget, but it is damaging to business. Most businesses that benefited from the cuts, I am sure appreciated the largess, but the cost of shifting regulation can be expensive. Continuity of regulation can be almost as economically beneficial as a tax cut.

So, once again Mr. Robb you only have yourself and your fellow tax cut and spend Republicans to explain for this bad policy. Not only did they not think through how to implement their policy from a budget standpoint, they also over-reached and will lose most of the gains that they desired.

Bill Richardson with 40% of the Vote in Arizona Poll?

OK, so the polling sample is really small for this particular poll of Arizona Voters. Add your opinion to the mix...

UPDATE: Bill Richardson is really kicking ass in the poll, but given the small sample, I am not sure it means much. I am really interested to see if he will have a leg up in the South West or if that is mostly hype from the old regional politics model. I think regional politics are become much less important especially in the South West where everyone has moved here fairly recently.

The Idea of Union Bullying Cracks Me Up...

For most people, when they think of union organizing, they think of something from a movie set in the time before the AFL (American Federation of Labor) and the CIO (Congress of Industrialized Organizations) were one organization. It was a time when the stakes were high and union organizing was a full contact activity. The employers used Pinkertons to crack skulls and unions fought back. It wasn't always pretty...

Guess what the world has changed... Most employers hire union busting lawyers and consultants. They wage legal and PR campaigns (not to mention firing workers) to achieve their goals. The unions employ a lot of fresh out of college organizers because they are the only people with the energy to work 80 hour weeks in what can be a thankless task.

There was this letter in the Arizona Republic today and it made me laugh... It also made me wonder who is this Steve Haegele character? I will go out on a limb here and guess he is probably not bagging groceries or ringing people up at the check out...

Whoops, The Report was Only Off by $700 million?

Here is an article buried in the Arizona Republic about how the report from the Udall institute sites by Robert Robb here was not just 'revised' a little.

University of Arizona researchers understated the amount of state taxes
generated by immigrants by more than $700 million in a study released July 11,
they said Friday.

This still doesn't take into account the other economic impacts I site here. To me, this shows two things: One, how difficult it is to measure the economic impact of a large group of people. Two, everyone should be sceptical of data cited anywhere to support a political agenda (including here, Hell, especially here).

Graffiti in Phoenix Getting Better?

Here is an article about the Graffiti Busters program in Phoenix. I have had personal experience with them and they are pretty good. Unfortunately, we need about 10 crews not two. In my past four years living in Phoenix, the graffiti has gotten viably worse. The expense of adding additional crews cannot be that great in the overall city budget.

Fighting this amounts to a war of attrition that can probably never be won, but we still need to fight it aggressively. I think their goal should be to paint over graffiti within 24 hours. City Hall needs to step up...

Come and Vote for President...

I put up this poll a couple of days ago and so far it is a tie between undecided and Richardson. I am the undecided vote... Also, Joe Lieberman is in a three way tie for last place with my dog, an ant I stepped on and a rock I found in the desert. I assume the results are not Representative, but then what do I know.

Please come and vote... I am really curious what the netroots in Arizona think of the candidates.

Clean Election: Still under assault...

Here is an article from yesterday Arizona Republic about the Clean Elections System and the latest challenge to the law. The fundies in the Republican Party really have a problem with Clean Elections because it frees candidates from having to kiss their rings to get money. It also emphasizes grass roots organization over money. So far, they have been wholly unsuccessful at challenging the law and I am not sure that will change.

Thomas Watch: How does he sleep at night?

So, Andy is at it again, trying to kill people. Here is the article from the East Valley Tribune. In an age when many death row inmates are being exonerated by DNA evidence, how can speeding up the death penalty be morally defensible? Andrew Thomas is a johnny one note, who's only objective seems to be subverting justice and the constitution in the name of trying to elected governor.

I have been asking around for about a year for someone, anyone decent who will run against him in 2008. I am not hearing anything encouraging. If I was a lawyer, I think I would run against him. We have to stop Andrew Thomas from becoming Governor of Arizona and that means keeping him from being reelected as County Attorney.

This FBI case outlines the problems with overzealous prosecution.

Phoenix's Changing Neighborhoods

This article from the New Times about the changes happening in the Sunnyslope neighborhood is pretty interesting. I have lived in Phoenix proper for about 4 years and have seen the changes in my dodgy blighted neighborhood. My neighborhood is still going through a lot of changes. It is an interesting mix of old residents, Latinos, young hipsters, gays and young married couples.

For my good friends in Tucson who think Phoenix is one giant nondescript blob of a strip mall, it is time to clear the visions of Mesa out of your head and come see what is going on in the capital.

The arts district has been vibrant for years and BTW one of the biggest in the country. Good restaurants are popping up everyday and houses are still relatively cheap. The light rail will be operating in about a year and the new ASU campus is on its way.

For the uninitiated here are a few of my favorites:

1. For the arts: http://www.artlinkphoenix.com/
2. Best Coffee: http://www.luxcoffee.com/ (Great coffee and free wifi)
3. Best food: http://www.pizzeriabianco.com/pane/index.html (I think Pane Bianco is better than Pizzaria Bianco, which is supposed to be one of the best pizza places in the country. The sandwiches at Pane Bianco are some the best things I have ever eaten. You should eat here about six or seven times because everything is good.)
4. Best Food: http://www.lagrandeorangegrocery.com/ (The food is great, although the Yuppie clientele can be a little annoying at times. Try the poached eggs with prosciutto)
5. Best Food: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&q=fate&near=Phoenix,+AZ&fb=1&view=text&latlng=33457685,-112068735,2842730746124692367 (Fate is great Asian food. It is a mix of different styles and all of them good)

Enjoy...

Here's to Phoenix my beloved home... Cheers

Mitchell Trying to Get Reelected

Harry Mitchell is in a tough district and is clearly trying to get reelected. The East Vally Tribune has an article about the bill the recently elected Democratic Congressman from Arizona has proposed.

I think in someways it is a good proposal. I have wondered for a while why the estate tax is not graduated. There are two problem that I see, one the proposal is DOA and two, we need the money. I know it is not popular to talk about, but the Federal Government is headed towards bankruptcy. Our third largest expenditure is the interest on the federal debt around $300 Billion a year. The Bush administration has made this problem much worse with their tax-cut and spend policies. In the end, we may not like tax increases and probable cuts in services, but they are better than insolvency.

The United States public debt, commonly called the national debt, gross federal debt or U.S. government debt, is the amount of money owed by the United States federal government to creditors who hold U.S. Debt Instruments. As of the end of 2006, the total U.S. federal public debt was $4.9 trillion. This does not include the money owed by states, corporations, or individuals, nor does it include the money owed to Social Security beneficiaries in the future. If intragovernment debt obligations are included, the debt figure rises to $8.7 trillion. If unfunded future obligations are added (i.e. Medicare and Social Security) this figure rises dramatically to a total of $59.1 Trillion [1].
In 2005 the public debt was 64.7% of GDP. According to the CIA's World Factbook, this meant that the U.S. public debt was the 35th largest in the world by percentage of GDP.[2] [3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt

This is the issue that keeps me up at night...

The Starve the Government Crowd Strikes Again

I wrote about this ballot initiative last week. Here is what really bugs me about trying to freeze property taxes (beyond the mess it has made in California), Arizona is a pretty nice place to live. I have lived in many other states and cities and Arizona despite all of the complaints is pretty well run and efficient. I know it is hard to believe... Sure, Arizona has its problems, but we have ok government services in the cities and we have relatively low taxes. The problem here is the anti-tax crowd really wants no taxes and seems to be rather delusional about the affect. I rather naively prefer an honest debate. Here is the problem, perhaps one of the bigger problems with our system, taxes are divorced from services.

It is a problem when someone proposes a tax cut for property taxes and many voters do not know where the money goes? All they know, is that they are financially squeezed and need some relief. I think a lot more people would be ok with their tax bill (state and local, not federal) or at least make more informed decisions, if they actually had a better idea of what their money buys. I leave out Federal because frankly the Federal Government is a financial mess. I blame both parties for that and hope that some of that will change under a Democratic President and Congress.

Should all ballot initiatives proposing tax cuts be require to have more information about their impact? If a tax is earmarked for certain activities, should that earmark be listed, so voters can more easily make an informed decision? In the end, I think most voters will vote for more services and lower taxes at the same time because the cost of services and taxes required to pay for them are not connected...

Spiffing up the place

I made some significant look and feel changes. I am not sure I like it better yet... I do like to poll and the lefty blogs feed. I have been meaning to do some of these things for a while.

Let me know what you think.

Robert Robb Sure Complains A Lot...

I know I pick on Robb a lot, but I just can't help myself. The truth is that he is more reasonable than most of the columnists at the Arizona Republic. Making fun of most their columnists is not worth the time... Here is his latest column.

In his latest column, he basically complains about the government being, well the government. The simple fact is, for those of you that don't know, the government does a lot of boring stuff. Most of what he outlines is the stuff that government actually does right. They regulate various professions and study problems. Well, we wouldn't want the government to study things :). I get his point, but come-on let's call this what it is, you are a Republican that doesn't like government. You see what you want to see...

I hate to break it too all of you conservatives out there, but big business acts in a very similar way. Work at a fortune 500 company for a few years and see how much time you spend in special committee meetings, conference calls studying problems and endlessly discussing things. It is the reality of large organizations...

One of the things that I find particularly galling is how most people understand so little about the things they desperately oppose. You should read Max Weber and his thoughts on bureaucracy. The simple fact is that government does some things well (and it changes from organization to organization) and not others. It is no different than any other organization in that is goes through cycles of increased efficiency and decreased efficiency. It goes through cycles of innovation and reform and has times of stagnation.

One of the biggest problems in government is the lack of understanding on the part of public officials. I read this book years ago that has case studies of this exact problem (I wish I could remember the name). Basically, you have a professional class that actually runs the government, but every 18 months or so, they have to deal with a political appointee who generally has very little experience and no institutional memory. It makes it particularly difficult to run things efficiently. The result all too often is a repeat of many of the same mistakes. Imagine if your boss changed every 18 months, was very young, inexperienced and felt that they had all answers.

I know I am generalizing, but this is true for many departments at all levels of government.

I Never Thought I would Agree with Wiers, but...

This is another chapter in the Flores saga over English learners funding. What is interesting here is that the judge is trying to hold Jim Wiers and Tim Bee in contempt for not complying with a court order. While I think we should fully fund under the Flores law suit, I am not sure I agree with the judge. I am uncomfortable with the judiciary finding an individual legislator in contempt. I would like to read the actual order to see the judge's reasoning.

Note to the goof balls that run our legislature, there is an easy way out... Fund the english language learning program. It is funny how people against immigration site not learning english as one of their primary concerns, but don't want to fund the program that would most quickly teach kids english.

Dropout Rate, Dropping...

This article in the Arizona Republic outlines the decrease in the dropout rate in AZ. My only question is why did it drop? I am always skeptical of these articles that don't specify the methods for the study or even try to hypothesize why this is happening. Here is to hoping they are right...

What ever happened to increasing the dropout age to 18? Does anyone know?

Here is more

Using Pictures on the Blog...

Does anyone have information on a legal way to post pictures related to stories? I would like to spruce things up a bit by including video and pictures occasionally. Any ideas?

Independent Judiciary Must Be Defended

The Arizona Republic has this article about Arizona's own Sandra Day O'Connor's address to the National Governors association. Our system of government is under assault by the current incarnation of the Republican Party. The President basically ignores the other two branches and at the state level the Judiciary is under constant assault.

I think defending our form of government should become a plank of the Democratic Party platform. What is more American than our form of government? The Constitution is important, separation of powers is important and freedom is important. The best way to fight terrorism is not by destroying our form of government or by trading freedom for a false sense of security, it is to give would be terrorists our middle finger and telling them that no matter what they do, it will not change the way we choose to live.

Large portions of the Republican base were built on hatred for the judiciary, starting with Roe v. Wade. Unfortunately, that wing of the party does not care to protect our system from their ideology. They very simple want to get their way by any means. Our party must stand up for our way life and our form of constitutional government.

UPDATE: There is also this story about O'Connor. We definitely need more civics education....

The Debate: Who is Best for Arizona?

If you did not watch the debate, you should. It was easily the best presidential debate I have ever seen. I am a political junkie, but even I have trouble listening to their ridiculous over rehearsed answers. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of over rehearsed answers, but the format is really good. The debate comes on again today on CNN.

Here is my take, I think most of the candidates did incredibly well. I am undecided. I had previously been trying to decide between Obama and Edwards. After the debate, I am having a more difficult time. I am now more open to Hilary, Dodd and Richardson. My decision has gotten harder, but I don't mind. I really like our candidates. I even found Gravel rather entertaining in a Ross Perot sort of way...

So, who is best Arizona? Who is best for the country? Please leave comments...

Just them Vote Eddie Part 2: Union Innovation

There was this editorial on Wed in our ever biased Arizona Republic. What I think is interesting about this is how unions are always criticized for living in the past and being dinosaurs, but when they think of an innovative way to try to convince an employer to allow employees to vote, they are still criticized.

Do not let anyone confuse the issue... This is about voting pure and simple. Bashas doesn't not want to take the chance of letting their employees vote on having a union. It is a tactic used by many employers these days because the NLRB is toothless.

Robb, Please Tell the Whole Story...

Our good friend Robert Robb at the Arizona Republic latest column is about the economic impact of immigrants and undocumented workers. The reason I bring this up is not as much about immigration as it is the incorrect use of statistics. I have a problem with cherry picking data and brushing aside flaws to make an argument.

He makes a rather simplistic assessment full assertions to strengthen his argument, but makes no effort to backup anything with facts. He says:

I understand that the Udall study will be revised to increase the calculated tax contribution from illegal immigrants, but an argument can be made that the current figure is already overstated. It includes not only taxes paid directly by illegal residents but also the taxes paid by others supposedly as a result of their economic activities.

Additionally, education expenses are substantially understated.

Ok, great point, but where is the factual basis?

My other big problem beyond the assertions, is that the review is simplistic. The economics are much more complex than inputs and outputs for government services. In the end, immigrant labor amounts to a subsidy to those who benefit. Housing construction is less expensive, fruits and vegetables are cheaper to produce and so on. You cannot measure the impact of immigration without assessing its true economic impact.

What we are doing is transferring money from government coffers (greater use of government services by immigrants) and from the workers (in the form of depressed wages) to the profit margins of the companies (who use immigrant labor) and into the pockets of everyone who benefits from lower prices. What is bad about the system is that the benefits are unevenly distributed as are the costs. The system is great if you are building a new house or own a landscaping company, but really crappy if you are an unskilled laborer. I am not making a value judgement about immigration or immigrants just trying to state the reality.

As to the overall impact of immigrant labor, I think it is safe to say that we would survive without it. I would probably survive a gun shot to the shoulder or leg, but I prefer to not experience it. Furthermore, it is always easy to dismiss the pain involved with a policy that does not really affect you. How would you transition business dependant on the labor? What about landlords renting to the people you would deport? Would you deport someone with a child that is a US citizen? How about a husband and wife where one is a citizen and the other is not? What if you have a mixed marriage with a citizen and non-citizen with children who are citizens and the non-citizen is the primary bread winner for the family?

Can we get to point where we agree that immigration is not black and white, but many shades of grey?

The Rich Pay too Little in Taxes, Deficits Do Not Matter etc.

So, Bush and Romney's economic advisor thinks that:

...requiring the rich to pay more just because they are rich is little more
than officially sanctioned theft.

He did not say that, but quoted someone else saying it. It is clear to me he wanted to say it. In a time when the disparity between rich and poor is widening, middle class incomes are stagnant and globalization is breathing down our necks, it makes me quite angry to hear someone complain about increasing the top tax rate from 31 to 35%. The simple fact is this, as this inequality increases our society becomes less secure, more violent and worse for everyone.

I understand the inclination to say this is mine, I earned it and keep your hand off. I get it, but this is a larger societal issue. People have to feel that they have a reasonable chance at success and that cannot happen if you cannot get ahead. That cannot happen if people don't have a reasonable chance of buying a home, sending their kids to college and having health insurance. That cannot happen with most of our wealth concentrated among a few people.

We have crises looming over Medicare, deficits, social security and trade imbalance. None of these problems will be easily overcome.

Like it or not for the good of our society the rich must pay more in taxes.

Are Honeybees One of Many Canaries in the Coal Mine?

Slate has this article about honey bees. It makes me wonder what will wake people up. We are already starting to have seafood shortages. Honey bees are dying off. How many lakes and streams in the US have water that is safe to swim in or eat fish from? Or how about this article about the problem with a common chemical in plastics and connections to obesity?

I remember speaking to a bio chemist about 10 years ago on a plane about chemicals in the environment and their dangers. It was a frightening conversation... Basically, we are running a random uncontrolled experiment and we have no idea about the outcome. Are we going to burst into flames one day, probably not, but we will see lots strange things happening that we don't understand. We won't be able to solve many of these problems because of our lack of understanding. I don't want to be alarmist, but I do think we need a new paradigm for considering risks in our environment and pollution.

How do we setup a system where industry will cooperate in finding real answers to the potential dangers of their products? It also makes me wonder if our convenience culture is sustainable over the long term. There was also this interesting and I would argue related article in the Arizona Republic about swimming pools. I used to work in the pool industry and won't swim in a pool now. How will we continue to fill pools if our drought continues? How safe is the chemical brew that people swim in?

I just don't see this as a partisan issue anymore. In the end, we have to find a rational way to deal with the environmental issues that will face us in the future. We have to find ways to avoid being overly punitive while still protecting ourselves. Overall, I think it is a tough sell, but one that is necessary.

The Republican Coalition is Falling Apart: Part 2

Last week, I wrote a post about the Republican Party's troubles because of immigration. I had a couple of people (one that posted) write me with quizzical responses. Here is another example of the R's coalition breakdown in Arizona. Now we have Russel Pierce considering a challenge to Jeff Flake. It is not like Flake is some sort of liberal. He is a hard-core conservative Republican. Also, think back to the CD 8 race last year with Randy Graf and Gabby Giffords. The civil war is on...

Immigration is an unsolvable problem for the Republicans. Either way they are likely to lose. The simple fact is that parties go through periodic restructuring of their underlying coalitions. The Democratic Party saw this happen starting in 1980 and ending 1994 with loss of many working class white voters and the South. I would argue that Republicans are moving through this kind of transition. They have lost most the North East and the Mountain West is trending away from them. It will be impossible to build a coalition with hard-core anti-immigration activists, Wall Street Journal Republicans and Hispanics. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Earmarks: Saint McCain and Flake need to wakeup

I have some respect for Jeff Flake and his crusade against earmarks and government waste. First and foremost, I believe in fiscal prudence by the government. I think we should be required to have a balanced budget every year. The problem I have with Flake and McCain's stand is that their constituents pay taxes to the Federal Government and it the job of every Congressman and Senator to bring some of that money home in the form of reasonable projects (I think we all know reasonable when we see it).

There is a big difference between a bridge to no where and securing additional transportation funding for a growing state like Arizona. The East Valley Tribune has this article. The money quote is from our good friend Harry Mitchell:

Historically, Arizona has not received a fair share of federal funding on several fronts, including money for highway and wastewater infrastructure, Mitchell said. In some instances, some federal funding formulas are based on U.S. Census Bureau counts that are decades old and don’t reflect Arizona’s population growth. As a result, Arizonans pay more into federal tax accounts than they receive in benefits.“Think about this: Arizona has been a donor state,” said Mitchell, whose 5th Congressional District includes Tempe, Scottsdale, Ahwatukee Foothills, Fountain Hills and part of Mesa.“In terms of highway funds, we get 92 cents back on every dollar,” he continued. “That’s not right. Now, you can call it an earmark or not. But I think the very fact that there are projects that are going to be funded, the money is there, that the residents of Arizona have as much right to get some of their tax dollars back as residents of any other state.”

Redistricting Schools: Good? Bad?

So, there is an effort afoot in the Maricopa to merge school districts. The idea is to create more efficient and cost effective districts, essentially to get more money in classrooms and pay teachers more. Please don't take my explanation as an endorsement, I am not sure where I stand. The Arizona Republic has this article in today's paper. When I first read about this it sounded like a good idea at least in theory. After reading the article today, I am not so sure... Teachers oppose it and parents from both poor and wealthier districts oppose it. It specifically talks about the Madison district, which is excellent and some of the poorer districts (Balz, Wilson, etc). Their reasoning seems quite sound. That is enough to give me pause.

Plus, why is the head of a financial company leading this effort? What expertise could he possible have when it comes to education? Can anyone out there shed more light on all of this? Do we really want greater efficiency at the cost of disrupting districts that are currently excelling?

The Republican Coalition is Falling Apart

The Arizona Republic has a great article about how business interests (that almost always support Republicans) are creating political action committees to go after the very Republicans who passed the employer sanctions law. It is certainly a good thing for us...

You reap what you sow...

Robert Robb has an interesting column in the Arizona Republic today about some particularly bad Supreme Court and Appeals Court decisions. To me, Robb seems like a fairly reasonable guy and I certainly agree with his assessment, but he is partly responsible for the very things he is criticizing. He is not a neocon whack job, but he is a good Republican who has supported the President every step of the way. Here is the difference between myself and Mr. Robb, I love my country more than my party and I would not support appointing judges willing to gut our constitutional rights. To me it would not matter how politically advantageous it would be for my side.

Fundamentally, we have to be about something as a country. I have always felt that freedom was central to that something. I am not talking about bumper sticker notions of freedom. Like we support the troops because they are fighting for freedom. No, I am talking about supporting the constitutional rights of someone you loath. I would fight just as hard to ensure that Pat Robertson's free speech rights were protected as my own.

That is the problem with support for the current administration, it transcends party. The Bush Administration is radical and has view of our country that is truly different. The have undermined many of our most valued institutions (the military, the constitution, separation of powers, accountability, separation of Church and State and on and on).

It is too bad that the Republican Party is no longer the party of Mr. Robb or Barry Goldwater for that matter... It is time for Republicans who believe in the key pieces of our Constitional Republic to say enough is enough. It is time to isolate and marginalize this President to the point where he can do no more harm.

Come on Guys, Really, You Didn't Read the Bill?

I wrote about this stupid bill that passed the Arizona Legislature a while back. I understand the sentiment behind not allowing soldiers names to be used without their families' permission. The simple fact is that legislators at their best are supposed to protect our freedoms even when it might be unpopular. I don't expect the soldier's family to be rational when they just lost a loved one, but legislators should take a longer view.


A bill aimed at trying to silence one guy making t-shirts should make anyone pause. Clearly no matter how the bill was put together, it was a violation of the First Amendment. The simple fact is that you all voted for it because you were afraid not to. I get that, it is political reality, but don't give me the babe in the woods act about not knowing what is in the bill. You cannot have it both ways (I am talking to you Prezelski and Sinema in particular), I would expect you to know better. BTW -- I know you guys don't read the bills, but really, admitting it in the newspaper? Really disappointing...

Wade Leaving State Chair Position: Good For All the Right Reasons

I know a lot of the activist community was upset by Waid's stint as party chair, but I have to say that for the most part I wasn't one of them. This article from the Arizona Republic goes into the details of why he is leaving.

Here is how I see things, the State Party is in good shape. We picked up a handful of leg seats, reelected the Governor, AG and picked up two Congressional seats. While Wade cannot claim credit for all of that, I feel certain that without a well run party none of it would have happened (especially at the Leg.).

In the end, he leaves the party in good shape and we get a top-notch consulting firm. Tom Ziemba and David Wade are both very good political people and the state is lacking a really strong Democratic Consulting firm. So, I think this is good for everyone...

Moore and Gupta: Welcome to Mainstream Journalism

There has been a lot of hullabaloo in the blogosphere about CNN's Gupta criticizing Michael Moore's Sicko. The video is here. I don't really see what everyone one is upset about. Yes, it was mildly unfair and had a factual mistake, but lets face it, on the whole this story was probably above average in fairness and accuracy. That doesn't speak very well for the state of journalism, but this was no hit piece. This was just your garden variety slightly snarky, smug, mostly factual report... They couldn't say that Sicko was factual, what kind of story would that be? ;)

Where is Nancy Reagan when you need her?

You have to be kidding, Just Say No, Kids... Seriously, is this the best Arizona can do?

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid...

The local (probably helped by National) anti-tax groups in Arizona have filed this initiative to limit property taxes. So, what is the problem? After all, nobody likes paying property taxes. There are a couple of problems: 1. It did not help California keep property taxes under control. Instead of costs being evenly distributed, they are now heaped on new home owners. When my wife sold her house in California she was paying $1100 a quarter. I am not kidding... Her taxes were outrageous. The fact is that newly developed areas are limited in their property taxing authority, so they add other assessments and fees to make up for it. The net result is that when you buy a new house you get lots of fees that older home owners avoid. It is like rent control, great if your rent is controlled, but really sucky if it is not. 2. The California educational system was severely hurt by their property tax changes. 3. This is why we have elections. Why should someone tell me or my community the level of services that can be provided. Our system is already self-regulating. If taxes get out of control, we can defeat the people responsible and roll back assessments. Some municipalities want more services than others. They will have higher taxes than other communities.

Also, Arizona has really low property taxes. I have relatives in Florida that were amazed and jealous when I told them what I pay in property taxes. Furthermore, if you read the article above, we already have several laws or constitutional amendments dealing with this issue. The fact is that this a solution seeking a problem, not the other way around.

I wish I knew what was being done to defeat this... What a bad idea.

Pope Declares One True Church, Can You Guess Which One?

I have to preface this by saying that I was born and baptised Catholic. In fact, I was supposed to be a priest (and those of you out there that know me, know that I find that funny too). I am now a fairly ardent (albeit still open minded) atheist. At any rate, the older I get the more I just find this kind of stuff amusing.

The AP article is here. So, the Pope has declared the Church that he is head of the one true church? Imagine the controversy if he would have declared the Southern Baptist Convention the one true church.

David Cross has a great bit about how the connections between religion and D & D can be quite striking at times. Sorry all you religious people out there, but I don't know how you take this stuff seriously. UPDATE: Here is the David Cross link.

But what do I know? I am just a sarcastic lapsed Catholic.

The Senator from Louisiana visits a Hooker. Who could have guessed?

So, apparently David Vitter (R) Louisiana has been seeking the company of high dollar hookers in DC. It is unfortunate that Louisiana is one the few states that will probably just let it slide. I was really hoping for Joe Lieberman or John Kyl... Oh, well one can dream. The article is here

UFCW and Bashas: Eddie just let them vote

If I shopped at Bashas I would stop... (Sorry I don't have a Bashas nearby). This article from the Republic goes into some of what is going on. Basically, UFCW is trying to organize Bashas, Food City and AJ's and Bashas (the parent company) is being anti-union.

UFCW has decided to use other tactics to try to embarrass Bashas and apply pressure. Unfortunately, this is what union organizing has come to because the National Labor Relations board is a joke. At this point, there is almost no protection for workers wanting to organize. I know it seems simplistic, but why can't the workers at Bashas have an up or down vote on the Union without a lot of interference?

Bashas claims that workers don't want the union, so put your money where your mouth is, let them vote.

John McCain, Dead-ender?

Here is more evidence that Saint John may be going down. I must say that I have spent a lot of time looking at John McCain's campaign and wondering what the Hell they are thinking, apparently I am not the only one...

UPDATE --> This account is also intesting...

Lead, Crime and Rudy G

This article from the Washington Post goes into the links between lead poisoning and crime. What is so fascinating about it, besides bringing reality to some of Rudy Guiliani's claims about reducing crime in New York, is how the Guiliani people were so quick to dismiss what seems to be strong scientific work. I know they are in the midst of a political campaign and without Rudy's mythology on crime and 9/11 he has very little cache, but this is precisely the kind of information that policy makers should use to make policy decisions.

For instance, if we know that adolescents with a history of lead poisoning are much more likely to commit violent crime and older criminals that were exposed to lead are more likely to be recidivist criminals it should inform our policies towards those people. Maybe a history of serious lead poisoning should be considered in parole?

It just goes to show that being tough alone is not enough to fix crime problems, human behavior is much more complex. It also goes to show that toxins in our environment can have unforeseen affects that we should spend more time trying to pin point.

Too Obvious to Deny

While I was reading this article from the East Valley Tribune on the new employer sanctions law, two things came to mind. One, part of the sanctions law passed by the Arizona Legislature should have included a provision to punish employers who mistreat undocumented workers. I think one of the unintended consequence of this law will be to force workers further underground and lead to abuse of workers by unscrupulous employers.

The other idea is where my mixed feeling on immigration come in. Cheap labor is wrecking parts of the economy for a certain class of people in the US. The anger over immigration comes from a lot of sources, many of them unjustified. However, many of us on liberal side of the spectrum forget the affect immigration has on workers that are not college educated or highly skilled. This is a real problem...

There are many potential solutions: Provide easier access to education and skilled training programs, apply the minimum wage to undocumented workers, etc. The point is that if we want cheap labor, we must find ways to take care of our displaced fellow citizens. At the same time, we cannot tolerate racist, demonizing or inhumane treatment of immigrant laborers.

Oh, and one last thing, I am really sick of hearing that immigrants are doing the work that Americans do not want to do. I think this quote says it all...

The law could have a chilling effect on the state’s entire economy, warned Elliott Pollack, one of the state’s top economists. The law will certainly make it harder for the agricultural and hospitality industries that depend on illegal immigrants to fill jobs. This will force businesses to pay more for employees living here legally, he said. And that extra cost will be passed on to consumers.

Would that really be so bad?

Employer Sanctions and Law of Unintended Consequences

Here is an interesting article that gives details about the funding of the new employer sanctions law passed by the Arizona Legislature. I will give you one guess about whether our legislature properly funded the bill. Of course not... I know that many of you out there are against the legislation and I am frankly not sure myself, but here is the problem. Uneven enforcement of this type of law is worse than no enforcement especially in the hands of our good friend Andrew "I am nut" Thomas.

Here is the problem as I see it. Many businesses rightly or wrongly rely on immigrant labor. They are not likely to change their business practices without fear of a likely enforcement action. Imagine you own a business that relies on inexpensive labor to be competitive, you face a choice: comply with the law and see your business become less competitive or ignore the law and gamble on the lack of enforcement.

The lack of funding also sets the scene for selective enforcement. Imagine you live in a place where the Sheriff and the County Attorney care more about publicity than actual law enforcement. Add a County Attorney that wants to run for higher office. Mix in a couple of million dollars for enforcement of a law that affects 10% of our workforce and what is a likely outcome? A few unfortunate people (probably running small businesses) will feel the brunt of the law, will be marched out in front of the cameras (while the biggest offenders in the Wall Street Journal wing of the Republican Party laugh at the poor suckers without connections) and in the end, the law will not change behavior in any significant way.

It just goes to show that most Arizona Republicans are all flash and no substance...

The beginning of the end for Saint McCain?

Let the meltdown begin... Just goes to show how narrow the Republican Party has become and how long a memory activists can have... I have to say that McCain's strategy has seemed untenable to me for a while.

Phil Gordon: Arizona's Joe Lieberman

I have written about his before, but what is Phil Gordon thinking? This is the latest article outlining his questionable behavior. I think this quote sums up what is wrong with Phil:

"Mayor Gordon is an opportunist," said Dan O'Neil, state coordinator for Progressive Democrats of America. "He should change his ways, or join the other party."

Sadly, I think Phil just wants to be elected and will do anything to make sure it happens. Well, Joe, ah I mean Phil, there will be hard times when you run for Governor... Just remember that we told you so.

This is why Republican Government Theory Doesn't work...

I consider Gilbert, Arizona my special hobby. I don't know why I find it so fascinating, but I do. Gilbert could go several different ways: the Mesa model, the Chandler model or something else. The Mesa model is as little government as possible and a lot of right-wing think tank experimentation. It also includes a healthy dose all taxes are bad and people will always vote against them. BTW, Mesa is in very bad financial straights as a result of its policies and it is probably the ugliest valley suburb (they don't like zoning either).

Then there is Chandler, far from perfect, but well run. Chandler keeps their taxes relatively low, but not that much different from the rest of the valley. The one thing that separates Chandler from Mesa (they are both heavily Republican and right-wing) is that the City Council and Mayor are realistic about what cities need to provide for quality of life and for having a sustainable tax base. BTW, many political people in the East Valley refer to Chandler as the "People Republic of Chandler" because of their supposedly liberal policies, like having a property tax.

That leads me back to Gilbert. They are having a problem with the huge amount of trash being generated by their bulk pickup system. I think this is a good example of the problems with the governing theory that currently dominates the Republican Party.

How does a Republican solve the following problem without breaking orthodoxy: Too much trash costs the city too much money for pickup, storage and the long-term viability of landfills. Raising taxes to pay for the additional needs? We know the answer to that... All taxes are bad. OK, how about instituting more recycling and restricting what can be thrown out? We all know that is a bunch of whiny tree hugger non-sense. How about a user fee? User fees are just a fancy way of saying tax. That pretty much leaves you with cutting programs (either the trash pickup or some other cuts).

I hope that did not come across as overly simplistic, but I think you can see where this is going... Reality trumps theory often.

Presidential Primary Calendar, maybe a different scenerio?

So, everyone is grousing about the new primary setup . I have read the complaints in so many places that I cannot count them all. The operating theory is that we will have a few early primaries, then the big one and everything will be over after that... Really? I can see a distinctly different scenario as a possibility.

I have worked on enough campaigns to know how they are thinking right now. It is not rocket science to think that the top-tier and second-tier will start sifting through polling and look at their fundraising numbers and start choosing targets. I am not sure that Clinton or Obama with their vast sums of money can compete in a nation-wide primary.

Here is the possibility that I see. Imagine Edwards continues his current path and goes after Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina (wins 2 or 3). Obama goes after 5 or 6 states (wins say 4). Hillary competes everywhere and comes in second a lot (she still gets delegates in second) and leads the delegate count. I would not be surprised if Richardson won a couple... This could break out many ways, but over in a day is not the only one.

Conventional wisdom is politics is a funny thing, it is always right, well until it isn't...