Democrats blowing �birther� bonanza No wonder Democrats are a woeful minority in the Arizona legislature. Republican Secretary of State Ken Bennett makes a laughingstock of the state by diving head first into the shallow end of the ‘birther’ pool (there is no deep end), and instead of taking full advantage of this political bonanza, and e-x-t-e-n-d-i-n-g it, one of the state’s top Democratic lawmakers wants to toss it all away by getting Bennett to do … the right thing. What is wrong with these Democrats? Bennett not only is Arizona’s new top birther (Secretary of state trumps county sheriff, doesn’t it?) but he is also the Arizona co-chairman of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. Campbell wants Bennett to resign from that post. Such a suggestion should ... Continue reading →
Can Penzone beat Arpaio? No, but... Former Phoenix Police Sergeant Paul Penzone filed more than 6,000 petitions signatures with the county elections office Wednesday, hoping as a Democrat to challenge Sheriff Joe Arpaio in November. I contacted Penzone afterwards, complimented him on fulfilling this part of his campaign and asked why he bothered since I don’t give anyone much chance of beating the sheriff. “I think there are a lot of factors working in our favor,” he told me. “First and foremost, he (Arpaio) is not the guy today that he was when he went to office. A lot of his failures are being exposed. The lost dollars. The poor service. The defiance that is ultimately undermining us. A big part of it is this ... Continue reading →
Brewer, Sinatra and Gay Paree! Cue music! A blog about Gov. Jan Brewer’s relatively hush-hush (at least in term of public notice) decision to hop on a plane for a two-week “trade mission" to Germany and France requires a soundtrack. For that, we’re going with Sinatra’s version of “I Love Paris.” (Play it here.) The governor’s trip, of course, is STRICTLY business. Or as Brewer’s spokesman Matt Benson stated it, “Arizona has put in place a series of business incentive and other attractions that rival anything offered around the country or around the world. The key now is to make sure that business executives know everything that the state has to offer.” I’m told that France has a few things to offer at this time ... Continue reading →
Bennett could have asked Brewer about Obama's birth certificate Secretary of State Ken Bennett didn’t have to ask folks in Hawaii about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. All he had to do as Arizona’s chief election officer was to ask the previous person who held that job – Gov. Jan Brewer. The governor, who has had her run-ins with Obama, was asked recently what she thought of the birth certificate controversy. She said, “I’ve have the opportunity to speak with (Hawaii’s) prior governor and she indicated to me with all due process and trust worthiness that indeed she had seen the birth certificate. It was a valid birth certificate. So, that’s the story from where I know it.” (See video of her saying this on ... Continue reading →
Washington Post on 'birther' Arizona The Washington Post is the latest member of the national media to weigh in on Arizona’s ‘birther’ fringe. Although, in our state, birthers aren’t the fringe, they’re the fabric. They are elected law enforcement officers like Sheriff Joe Arpaio and elected Secretary of State Ken Bennett. In an editorial today (see it here) the Post writes in part: “But by threatening to exclude Mr. Obama from the ballot, Mr. Bennett transformed what should have been a farcical sideshow of the 2012 election into an actual menace to democracy. He legitimized the lunatic leanings of the United States’, and his party’s, most extreme elements. He put it in the minds of radicals everywhere that elected officials, for the shabbiest reasons (or ... Continue reading →
Is Gov. Brewer indispensable? Gov. Jan Brewer likes her job and apparently would like to keep it for a third term. So why doesn’t she just say so? Why pretend it’s OTHER people, and not you, who would like this to happen, as she did in an article by The Arizona Republic’s Yvonne Wingett Sanchez. (See it here) The governor told the reporter, “I have been encouraged by people in the community -- people whom I respect, and others whom I don't even know -- wanting me to look into what really constitutes a term." Because Brewer took over in the middle of former Gov. Janet Napolitano’s term, there is some question as to whether she can run for the normally prohibited third term. Why ... Continue reading →
Should New Times' owners shut down Backpage.com? Is Village Voice Media, the Phoenix-based alternative news weekly chain, profitting from the adult-services ads on its Backpage.com website, including some ads that illegally peddle sex with children. Yes. On the other hand, is Village Voice Media doing more than any company with an adult website to assist police in apprehending those who might be using personal ads to prostitute children? Yes. So would it be better if the site was closed or not? Once the website Craigslist shut down its adult personals section a lot of the business went to Backpage.com, which is run by Village Voice Media. Millions are earned from the ads. A national effort to get the company to abolish the website has been ... Continue reading →
Will Goldwater body check Coyotes deal? In order to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in the Valley we might have to ignore the law. Are you OK with that? Sen. John McCain is. This puts the senator and others in a faceoff with lawyers from The Goldwater Institute at a time when the Coyotes are playing in the Western Conference Finals for a chance to contend for the Stanley Cup. Last week, McCain went on the radio and delivered a body check (Sorry, this is the only chance I’ll get to include hockey terms in a column) to lawyers at Goldwater. In recent years several attempts to bring new ownership to the Coyotes have fallen through, primarily because The Goldwater Institute keeps icing the deals with ... Continue reading →
Brewer should sign budget in front of foreclosed home Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation giving a big tax break to the state’s wealthiest individuals and businesses at a fancy luncheon attended by some of those very beneficiaries. Apparently, symbolism is important to her. Sometimes, anyway. If Brewer really was into symbolic gestures she would have signed the budget bill that sweeps $50 million from a fund meant to help struggling homeowners in front of a foreclosed house. While the family was being evicted. She still could. Thousands of people in Arizona are facing foreclosure and won't get any help if a lawsuit against the sweep doesn't succeed. I'm sure the governor could stage a bill signing. The media would be more than happy to cover ... Continue reading →
Lawsuit is only way to beat Arpaio Now that justice department lawyers have filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, they need to figure out what attorney Mike Manning learned a long, long time ago. “You can’t out-press conference the sheriff,” Manning said Thursday. “He’s too good at it. No one who is handed a law degree is going to be as good at public relations as someone like Arpaio. You can’t win there. The only place to win is in court. Then, eventually, the public relations will follow.” Manning speaks from experience. In January 1999, Manning got an $8.25 million court settlement for the family of a jail inmate named Scott Norberg, who died while being manhandled in a restraint chair in ... Continue reading →
