“Republicans are losing Republican voters because the base is fed up with weak Republicans who never do anything to actually stop the communist democrats…. The Republican Party is tone deaf and weak…. Republican voters are energized and can not wait to vote for President Trump…. The Republican Party has only a short time to change their weak ways before they lose the base for years to come.” Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene
“Women don’t want to die for Mike Johnson’s religious beliefs.” Molly Jong-Fast
The really fine news this week is that Ohio voted YES on the right to abortion, and they legalized marijuana. Dang. And in Kentucky it appears Democrat Andy Beshear won another round as governor. Also, Democrats retook full control of the Virginia General Assembly, the Associated Press reported, handing a defeat to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican who had poured millions of dollars and his personal political capital into expanding power for his party in the legislature. The Democratic Party not only maintained its narrow hold on the State Senate, but also captured control of the House of Delegates, where Republicans had held a 48-to-46 majority since 2021. In Pennsylvania Democrat Dan McCaffery has won the race to become the state’s next Supreme Court Justice. And in King County, Washington (Seattle), Julie Wise defeats election-denier Doug Basler to retain her position as Director of Elections. In South Jersey, Ed Durr, a truck driver who won an Assembly seat in 2021 and famously said “Women do have a choice! Keep their legs closed,” lost to Democrat John Burzichelli. And, of course, 27 of the 67 Ohio House Republicans (always happy to go against voter’s wishes because, you know, Jesus) signed a statement taking a stand against the abortion measure approved this week and vowing to “do everything in our power” to overturn the popular vote. As reported by Heather Cox Richardson, North Dakota state representative Brandon Prichard was much more explicit. Opposed to the measure, he wrote, “Direct democracy should not exist…. It would be an act of courage to ignore the results of the election….” According to James Bickerton of Newsweek, Prichard has previously called for Republican-dominated states to “put into code that Jesus Christ is King and dedicate their state to Him.” Jesus and all the apostles are spinning like tops in their graves right now.
Also news not making the major headlines, the wacko Moms for Liberty, the group of women who want to keep your kids ignorant and heterosexual without the sexual, have been on a roll since 2021, gobbling up books and lighting a match to any LGBTQ-inclusive curricula. But this week many of their favored candidates lost. Heh. As reported by Mother Jones; In Pennsylvania, the group recommended (but didn’t officially endorse) candidates in five districts. In Central Bucks, five parents’ rights candidates lost their seats to Democrats, as did another five in the Pennridge; In Iowa, the group endorsed 13 candidates. Just one won; In Virginia’s Loudoun County, so far, it appeared that three Moms for Liberty-backed candidates had lost their races; In North Carolina’s Mooresville Graded School District Board of Education, a Moms for Liberty-backed candidate lost to a Democrat; and in Minnesota’s Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District all four of the Moms for Liberty candidates were defeated.
So it’s more important than the before times to NOT let the orangeman get reelected. We see and hear way too much of the lout as it is, but if he were once again the head dude, it would be a 24/7 shitshow. MSN’s Stephen Collison wrote on Tuesday, regarding his behavior in court, that no mere lawyer could impose the kind of discipline that two-and-a-half centuries of constitutional checks and balances could not provide during Trump’s time in office or since. And after threatening to dismiss the ex-president from the witness stand, Engoron opted to let the Trump storm rage in the apparent hope that it would blow itself out — though history has shown it never does. And in the Bulwark, Charlie Sykes wrote of this quote, that’s what made the scene so riveting and revealing — an ex-president assaulting the process and institutions of accountability, turning the trial into a circus of bluster and exaggeration. Yesterday we got the whole show, the one we’ve been living through for the past eight years and a glimpse at our collective futures.
Robert Reich writes that You’re probably as stunned as I am to learn that Biden is now trailing Trump by 4 to 10 points among registered voters in the key battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. But the gist of his article is upbeat in that he goes on to say that polls a year before an election are not predictive of outcomes. The reality is that Biden is the only person who has beaten Trump. Biden is the incumbent president with all the advantages of incumbency. Biden has shown himself to be a strong campaigner. There is no one to take his place.
And in Tucson, as reported by the Sentinel, Mayor Regina Romero and her fellow Council Democrats easily won re-election Tuesday, with blow-out victories over GOP challengers. I know there are some in town who feel Romero has been incompetent and that communication through the various city offices and departments has been slipshod. Possibly true. Who knows what goes on behind the scenes, the deals that need to get made, the economic interests and pressures of the office, etc…but I decided to compile a list of accomplishments during her tenure (up through January of this year) that cast her in pretty good light:
— Prop 411 was passed in her tenure which allocates an estimated $150 million over 10 years street safety improvements.
— Tucson became recipient of a $25 million federal grant to revitalize the 22nd St. Corridor, specifically between Kino Parkway and Tucson Blvd.
— First Chief Equity Officer hired, Laurice Walker, although this was first brought to the table by Councilwoman Lane Santa Cruz in early 2020.
— $53 million federal emergency rental assistance distributed. Unfortunately this program ended last month.
— First low income housing tax credit project adopted. Jim Tofel, a board member of the Arizona Housing Coalition, says part of the problem is that multi-family projects cost 5-10% more to build in Tucson than in Phoenix, and that’s not considered in the tax credit application process. "They've got more capability. The other issue with Tucson is our income levels are lower here, so it's kind of a double whammy, where it costs more to build and they can charge less for rent."
— Tucson awarded $12 million grant for 19 new electric buses.
— Across the board pay raises for all city workers.
— Romero’s million trees project. Adriana Zuniga, an assistant research scientist in the University of Arizona's College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, said that planting more trees “Affects quality of life. Vegetation is linked to better air, lower temperatures, less stress, studies show less use of antidepressant medication."
— Implementation of a non-emergency 311 number starting last March.
— Federal ARPA dollars to support essential workers housing fund and other projects.
1. Promoting affordable and stable housing.
2. Community reinvestment and recovery park, arts, and culture.
3. Relief for families, essential workers, and small business.
4. Workforce development.
5. Youth development.
6. Investment in digital literacy and access, including cyber security.
7. Investment in government services.
— Development of the Sunshine Mile corridor on Broadway between Euclid and Country Club.
And her more recent accomplishments can be found here.
That’s all I got for this Friday. In wrapping up, as I’ve said in a few previous posts, I’m a bit miffed with the Biden Administration and the oh so complicated crisis in Israel/Palestine, but not on the scale that I’d cast a vote for any Republicans, or not vote at all. The alternative is just too damn unthinkable. And to not forget and always remember, there are few lines to the bathroom at the waterpark.
And now…
”…but I decided to compile a list of accomplishments during her tenure…” Gary my man, I ❤️ that you do things like this. Xoxoxo