Prior to 2013, the Voting Rights Act required federal oversight of changes to election laws in areas where voter disenfranchisement had historically been a significant problem. One of those places was Maricopa County in Arizona. However, after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act three years ago, Maricopa County officials were free to make whatever changes they wanted. […]

Last Friday, a crowd of over 1,000 protesters, bolstered by hundreds and hundreds of Netroots Nations attendees, filled the streets of downtown Detroit. An event that would likely have seen scant national coverage became a huge media story with reporting by the New York Times, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, Democracy Now!, the Los Angeles Times, and countless others. The […]

“Germany started with national health care and gun control before any of that other stuff happened” Arizona Republican Brenda Barton posted on her Facebook page that “Someone is paying the National Park Service thugs overtime for their efforts to carry out the order of De Fuhrer.” The post was still up on her page as of 6:30 p.m. today: Sparking […]

Holy mother of goddess It’s almost impossible to believe this is true but Republicans that control Arizona’s legislature are pushing through legislation that will allow employers to fire employees who use contraception. You read that right: Legislation that will allow employers to fire employees who use contraception. The Republicans who control the Arizona legislature are pushing through a bill that […]

Oh. My. Lord. To read the lefty pundits today, you would think that President Obama had changed parties overnight, handed over the keys to the Oval Office to the resurrected body of Ronald Reagan, and hitchhiked back to his hometown in Kenya/Moscow. After stepping in and helping to broker a deal to keep the government from shutting down, something members […]

It’s not often I am rendered completely bewildered and speechless by a news item but this morning, I am. And, big surprise, it’s because of news coming out of Arizona. What would you think if you read this? …[A]rmored vehicles, including a tank, rolled into their neighborhood to make the bust. Neighbor Debra Ross was so worried she called 911 […]

Ah, this is rich. Jan Brewer, the Arizona governor who cried bloody murder when the federal government intruded on her state’s right to pass the “Papers, Please” law, is suing the federal government for failing to protect Arizonians from an “invasion” of undocumented immigrants. In other words, she wants the federal government to stay out of her state’s business except […]

This is messed up: A nasty battle between factions of Legislative District 20 Republicans and fears that it could turn violent in the wake of what happened in Tucson on Saturday prompted District Chairman Anthony Miller and several others to resign. Miller, a 43-year-old Ahwatukee Foothills resident and former campaign worker for U.S. Sen. John McCain, was re-elected to a […]

Last month, our good friend poblano Nate Silver gave Rodney Glassman only a 1.5% chance of beating Grandpa Senator McCain. But that was before the latest Rasmussen poll came out. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state finds McCain earning 51% of the vote to Democrat Rodney Glassman’s 37%, his best showing to date. Seven […]

I’m sorry, but I totally refudiate this: Boycott Arizona – The SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS State Don’t get me wrong, I agree 100% with the sentiment. I won’t be spending a dime in Arizona until they repeal that odious law. But why the swastika? Really, has our level of discourse plummeted so far that we can toss around that symbol […]

As predicted, the odious “Papers, please” law recently passed in Arizona is spreading like cancer throughout the country. In a couple of weeks, it hits Michigan. A Michigan lawmaker said she believes the state’s law enforcement officers need the authority to arrest illegal immigrants and is drafting legislation similar to Arizona’s new immigration law. Rep. Kim Meltzer, R-Clinton Township, said […]