tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55146892012-01-30T05:16:01.940-07:00Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.comBlogger11911100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1137369654281650902006-01-15T17:00:00.002-07:002008-03-22T13:16:24.707-07:00

I have moved over to a typepad-based blog for the time being. I was getting a little tired of some of the limitations of the Blogger platform at present. I hope that you will join me at the new site, but at the same address: BlogForArizona.com

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1137298566443873452006-01-14T21:16:00.000-07:002006-01-15T14:57:49.756-07:00

National Coalition for the Homeless issued their annual report 'A Dream Denied: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities' for 2006 which names Flagstaff (#10) and Phoenix (#17) among the 20 meanest cities in America.Some of the most serious problems that the homeless face are the lack of social services, the lack of affordable housing, and the outlawing of the very status of

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1137269315568058472006-01-14T12:50:00.000-07:002006-01-14T13:08:35.660-07:00

Gabby has finally announced her official campaign launch. As widely expected, the guest of honor at that event will be Congressman Raul Grijalva. With Gabby's money (she just announced clearing her first 250K - I doubt if any of her rivals for the nomination can boast even half of that), her DLC and Party connections, and now with Grijalva apparently in her camp, Gabby is presenting a fairly

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1137204146451964382006-01-13T18:32:00.000-07:002006-01-14T12:38:31.556-07:00

(Update: I mistakenly identified the office Shadegg was running for as the Majority Whip. I corrected this mistake. Nobody commented about my mistake - come on people! Hold my feet to the fire!) John Shadegg, Republican Representative of Arizona's District 3 has announced his candidacy for the House's second leadership position, Majority Leader, recently vacated permanently by ethically troubled

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1136879387873689982006-01-10T00:49:00.000-07:002006-01-10T00:49:47.983-07:00

A tribe of constitutional scholars wrote a letter to Congress that states with great even-handedness and particularity why the Administration's legal justifications are a load of horseshit. I really can't presume to add to the devastation. Anyone who can read this and not understand that Bush needs to be prosecuted and impeached for his stunning hubris and illegal acts has willfully withdrawn

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1136759811674876002006-01-08T15:28:00.000-07:002006-01-08T15:44:16.963-07:00

The Florida Supreme Court (FLSC) overturned the Republican sponsored statewide educational voucher system. This is a blow to the effort to privatize schools nationally, including here in Arizona, where GOP politicians passed a voucher program through the legislature last year to expand upon the inroads made into the public education system with charter schools and tuition tax credits. Governor

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1136416673762034502006-01-04T16:16:00.000-07:002006-01-04T16:26:52.706-07:00

I just finished reading Marine Colonel T. X. Hammes latest book on the evolution of modern warfare, The Sling and the Stone. Col. Hammes wrote an article for the Marine Corps Gazette which is essentially a summary of his book. It lays out the thesis more completely and cogently than I could hope to here.In a nutshell, Hammes (along with many other eminent military theorists and professionals)

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1136412415047418422006-01-04T15:06:00.000-07:002006-01-04T15:08:42.526-07:00

Drinking Liberally starts back up on Thursday, January 5th after a hiatus over the holidays. The location remains The Shanty.This Thursday, in honor of Bush's domestic surveillance, wear a tin-foil hat and get your first drink on the host. Bring your friends, spouses, etc., and feel feel to invite public figures on your own initiative.

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1136007373990685052005-12-30T22:36:00.000-07:002005-12-30T22:36:14.076-07:00

So now Ann Coulter is defending Bush's wiretaps by trying to rehabilitate the Korimatsu ruling and the Japanese internment it ratified. Really, when will this nut finally be so discredited that even the rabid partisans of the far Right will just shake their heads and say, "Damn, is that bitch crazy?" Does she have to deny the Holocaust? Say that she'd really like to have given Hitler a

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1135922041510934322005-12-29T22:54:00.000-07:002005-12-30T22:06:34.770-07:00

I don't know how securely sourced this report is, but I see no reason to automatically discount Univision's report just because it has only appeared in the Spanish language press. Apparently Bush bought a little over 2 acres of land just outside Bagdad when he flew in for his fake turkey photo shoot at Thanksgiving 2003. The cost of the land was a real bargain: about 12,000 dollars U.S..I can

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1135843028040570372005-12-29T00:55:00.000-07:002005-12-29T01:16:13.096-07:00

Boy, the Bush Executive never ceases to find new ways to surprise me. I was getting all geared up to write about how the President’s illegal authorization of domestic spying. I was ready to demonstrate that the radical theory of executive power authored by Bush’s Eichmannische lawyer, John Yoo, positing that the President’s authority in security and international affairs is essentially unlimited,

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1135461278999822762005-12-24T14:37:00.000-07:002005-12-24T15:01:57.620-07:00

Ancient tradition would have us choose from among us this day a Lord of Misrule, who would serve as a temporary king. His whim would be law, but at the end of this season of merriment, his throat would be slit as a sacrifice to God. Generally, such a king would rule either for the 20 days of Saturnalia, or for the 12 days of Christmas. I think the latter would be a more modern practice, with our

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1135312279966808152005-12-22T21:29:00.000-07:002005-12-22T21:31:19.986-07:00

MoveOn.org sponsored a nomination contest when Kolbe announced his retirement. Asking for members to nominate their favored candidates, they narrowed the field to 4 candidates. Unfortunately, two of them - Tom Volgy and Mary Judge Ryan - have not announced, and may never announce, their candidacies. Two of them - Gabrielle Giffords and Jeff Latas - have. But at least two announced candidates -

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1135159364667408612005-12-21T03:02:00.000-07:002005-12-24T15:11:37.040-07:00

UPDATE: NYT Confirmed that the wiretaps were, in fact, a data mining operation.Does new technology explain the Bush Administration's perception that they could not submit to FISA oversight? There are good reasons to think that this might be the case.Primarily, one has to understand that we might not be talking about 'wiretaps' as commonly conceived where the NSA's secret program is concerned.

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1135147838785362122005-12-20T23:50:00.000-07:002005-12-21T00:09:13.160-07:00

I was willing to suspend judgement on the NSA domestic spying scandal (the stakes are just too great to go off half-cocked on this), but the Administration's tack on defending it's action - not by showing conformance to the law, but by claiming that the law cannot bind the President - has me questioning whether the Administration has a legal defense.Cheney said, "I believe in a strong, robust

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1135146124906647642005-12-20T23:22:00.000-07:002005-12-20T23:23:54.736-07:00

Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District was handed down today by the U.S. District Court, reinforcing the separation between church and state by disallowing a creationist ploy to have science classrooms endorse their religious views of the origin of life and man. The court rejected the 'Dover Disclaimer' which was to be read in preface to the teaching of evolution.I couldn't be happier

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134989685184216542005-12-19T21:26:00.000-07:002005-12-19T21:35:51.503-07:00

Private Kyle Lawson, stationed in Sierra Vista was beaten and threatened at knife-point by his fellow soldiers. What was his crime? Is he a Bin Laden sympathizer? A spy? A traitor? No. Private Lawson was outted at a party as a gay man.There is a terrible hypocrisy and waste of human potential underlying the "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy. I suppose it was the most expedient means to

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134981894486547072005-12-19T01:44:00.000-07:002005-12-19T01:44:54.583-07:00

After the Administration's blanket refusals to comment on ongoing investigations and litigation brought about by his Administration's thorough corruption, it is amazing to see the President say the following when asked by Brit Hume of Fox News about Tom DeLay: HUME: Do you just — do you believe he's innocent? BUSH: Do I? Yes, I do. Talk about pissing in the jury pool. You think maybe some

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134874484122911212005-12-17T19:54:00.000-07:002005-12-17T23:45:10.033-07:00

I've been following the President's secret authorization of domestic spying by the NSA under National Security letters unauthorized by a FISA court. I think it is too early to tell whether there is a scandal here or not. It's best not to cry wolf unless your're sure that you're not just looking at a mangy dog.It is not clear, at least to me, how long these taps continued (the statute only

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134721581551459532005-12-16T01:25:00.000-07:002006-01-04T16:23:05.333-07:00

I just finished reading Marine Colonel T. X. Hammes latest book on the evolution of modern warfare, The Sling and the Stone. Col. Hammes wrote an article for the Marine Corps Gazette which is essentially a summary of his book. It lays out the thesis more completely and cogently than I could hope to here.In a nutshell, Hammes (along with many other eminent military theorists and professionals)

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134718413248255222005-12-16T00:33:00.000-07:002005-12-16T04:15:57.580-07:00

Bush was forced to accept McCain's ban on torture under pressure from an unvetoable alliance McCain built in Congress. Bush didn't so much acquiesce as scream for mercy like a kid in a head-lock.Now, I think that McCain is a consummate politician, by which I mean he's a self-aggrandizing blowhard who talks a much better game than he deals, but I absolutely give the man his props for going to the

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134639174574143882005-12-15T02:32:00.000-07:002005-12-15T02:35:30.740-07:00

A group of lawmakers, including AZ's Trent Franks, presented Bush with a petition of 150K signatures, demanding that Pentagon rules regarding military chaplains' duties not prevent evangelizing the troops.Though couched in terms of relgious freedom, these lawmakers are asking for the Pentagon take a hands-off approach to chaplains evangelizing for Chrisitian sects using their position. Chaplains

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134637801376791932005-12-15T01:42:00.000-07:002005-12-15T02:15:44.240-07:00

Just in case anyone who was interested hadn't heard already, I'll make it official by putting it on a blog: Tim Sultan has decided not to run for Kolbe's open CD 8 seat. Making him perhaps the first, or even the only, Democratic activist in CD 8 to definitely rule himself out of the race. And making this news about a lack of news.Tim graciously announced at the Dec 13th LD 28 special meeting to

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134533391544444462005-12-13T21:09:00.000-07:002005-12-13T21:09:51.640-07:00

The deed is done. Representatives Bradley and Downing were elected on the first ballot to the slate from which the Board of Supervisors will replace retiring Senator Giffords. Nobody was surprised. Then things got interesting. Apparently Supervisor Sharon Bronson decided to throw her considerable weight behind her own candidate for the slate, a woman named Nixon who has apparently considerable

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134447172998634912005-12-12T21:12:00.000-07:002005-12-12T21:12:53.006-07:00

Randy Graf will be holding a public townhall meeting at: Wilmot Library, Tucson Tues., December 13th, 6 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. I can't make it, but I encourage others to show up and ask the Grafster some pointed questions. I'm also interested in whether you'll need an invitation from the GOP to get in (maybe Congressional candidates are now pretending like they're President... oh yeah, so's the '

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134445884030662072005-12-12T20:24:00.000-07:002006-01-04T16:23:43.176-07:00

I just finished reading Marine Colonel T. X. Hammes latest book on the evolution of modern warfare, The Sling and the Stone. Col. Hammes wrote an article for the Marine Corps Gazette which is essentially a summary of his book. It lays out the thesis more completely and cogently than I could hope to here.In a nutshell, Hammes (along with many other eminent military theorists and professionals)

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134255071646143012005-12-10T15:17:00.000-07:002005-12-10T15:51:11.770-07:00

I've been listening to talk radio in the car of late. It's like listening to the raw transmissions of some hostile terrorist organization. For instance, I had no idea that Don Collier, of The Desert Speaks fame, was an absolute Right-wing loon. He and some other local nutbags on KJLL were talking about the 'Christmas conspiracy' to prevent anyone from referring to anything religious during the

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134033951818244362005-12-08T02:25:00.000-07:002005-12-08T21:15:33.603-07:00

Jim Gilchrist, one of the self-proclaimed founders of the 'Minuteman' militia, captured 25% of the vote in a third-party bid for Congress in Orange County's 48th Congressional District. He didn't come close to winning, but his roughly 25K votes made a loud statement. What this shows is how acceptable a politician who allies himself to white supremecists and the fringe militia movement responsible

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1134028971521149712005-12-08T01:02:00.000-07:002005-12-08T01:02:51.616-07:00

The next round of judge bashing from the Right will come courtesy of the Hawaiian Supreme Court ruling that a mother could not legally be held responsible for the death of her son due to her ingestion of a lethal dose of meth three days before his birth. The Hawaiian Supreme Court held that because the unborn child is not considered a legal person under Hawaiian statutes, that his mother could

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133938719393567242005-12-06T23:56:00.000-07:002005-12-06T23:58:39.413-07:00

The ACLU has filed what is sure to become a landmark lawsuit in the history of the Bush Administration’s violations of domestic, constitutional, and international law in pursuit of a ill-conceived, extra-legal jihad against ‘terrorists’. The suit aims to shed light on and end the practice of deporting foreign nationals to third countries that practice torture for the purpose of interrogation – a

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133655794347630462005-12-03T17:23:00.000-07:002005-12-03T17:23:14.353-07:00

Juan Cole, the U Mich Professor of Islamic Studies whose blog Informed Comment has become an authoritative contra-Administration source of analysis, published a history of how the Shiites have gotten the upper hand in Iraq as a result of Bush's invasion. His thesis regarding the likely course of politics and power in the Middle East as a result of that war and occupation coincides so well with my

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133654387768967742005-12-03T16:29:00.000-07:002005-12-03T16:59:47.800-07:00

Now that Gabby has announced her retirement from the State Senate to run for the open CD 8 seat, it has set off something of a scramble in southern Arizona politics. Gabby's Senate seat will become vacant and the Pima County Supervisors will have to fill it from a list of three nominees provided by LD 28's elected PCs. The PCs, including myself, will probably meet in mid-December to decide on the

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133574176550599342005-12-02T16:05:00.000-07:002005-12-02T18:42:56.653-07:00

It will come as no surprise that Congressman Raul Grijalva (D – AZ) doesn’t agree with Bush’s Iraq policy. He voted against the war and has been a vocal critic from day one. Unlike Bush, Grijalva came to his district to face supporters and critics alike and explain his position on Iraq and take questions on the subject. From the tone of the some of the questions, it was clear that Grijalva faced

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133563688563995432005-12-02T15:48:00.000-07:002005-12-02T15:58:26.183-07:00

Ambassador Richard Holbrooke of the Global Business Alliance on AIDS called for systematic testing for AIDS (audiostream). He points out reasonably that you cannot fight an epidemic if you don't know who has a disease. The problem is especially severe with AIDS because of its unique epidemiology.Today 12,000 people in the world will be infected with AIDS. On average, those people will not know

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133524912191038382005-12-02T04:58:00.000-07:002005-12-02T05:01:52.206-07:00

Go vote for your favored nominee for the CD 8 seat, whether you are GOP or Dem. Needless to say, this is highly unscientific. But who cares? It has got a (semi-)intelligent creator, so science be damned!

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133508659448950232005-12-01T23:08:00.000-07:002005-12-02T15:49:47.450-07:00

The latest front in the Christian fundamentalist kulturkampf has opened on Chistmas. The target is retailers who use the supposedly secular and generic word 'holiday' instead of 'Christmas' in retail and public contexts. Once again, the Christian Right is set to antagonize the majority of Americans with their cultural presumptions. As long as their harrassment remains in the form of private

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133423752728206922005-12-01T00:50:00.000-07:002005-12-01T00:55:52.750-07:00

The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and corporatist constituents across the state are advocating yet another restriction of the public’s sovereign right to legislate via the Initiative under the Arizona Constitution. The chamber seeks to amend our Constitution to require that citizen-sponsored initiatives be reviewed by an unspecified board before petitions can circulate. As stated in the Chamber’s

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133408240980546822005-11-30T20:37:00.000-07:002005-12-02T04:04:27.140-07:00

So it seems as official as it will be, at least until January when the official announcement will come: Gabby Giffords is running for Kolbe's now open CD 8 seat. No surprise really.UPDATE: Seems Gabby is OK with resigning to run and will be commencing her assault on CD 8 immediately. Thus her Senate seat will become vacant more than year from the next election and the Pima Supes will have to fill

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133336951342518452005-11-30T00:03:00.000-07:002005-11-30T00:51:20.336-07:00

Trying to stake out a middle position between the immigration plans of the two Republican Arizona Senators hosting him, Bush pretty much split the difference at his speech at DMAFB in Tucson. Bush advocates fortifying the border with yet more men and resources (though the BP budget has already been tripled since 1990) while creating a guest-worker program that would create a permanent and legally

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133308296401648842005-11-29T18:26:00.000-07:002005-11-29T18:36:22.726-07:00

"I appreciate my love for Laura." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 20, 2005"I appreciate the United States Congressmen who have joined us here today -- Congressman Hayworth and Shadegg and Flake." -George W. Bush, Phoenix, AZ, November 28, 2005"I appreciate and America appreciates the sacrifices of our military families." George W. Bush, Fort Hood, TX, January 3, 2003Ever notice how often

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133150295442212202005-11-27T20:58:00.000-07:002005-11-28T02:20:29.433-07:00

John McCain has backed Democratic calls for hearings with top Adminstration officials on the misuse of intelligence in the run up to the Iraq war. This shrewdly positions McCain as pro-war, but also pro-accountability. McCain is saavy enough to know that the public will not long tolerate a stone-walling Administration, but generally has the patience to endure a difficult war if leveled with.We

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1133025449452832912005-11-26T10:17:00.000-07:002005-11-26T10:17:29.473-07:00

The Holiday Season, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day, have become increasingly less public or civic affairs and more a rare opportunity to connect with family in an increasing hectic and overworked nation, even as the meaning and purpose of the Holidays are being increasingly commercialized.In some ways, the Holiday Season reminds me of Medieval Feast Days, whose purpose was

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132866737985460822005-11-24T14:08:00.000-07:002005-11-24T14:12:18.003-07:00

Hi everyone, I wrote this piece in response to someone’s request for information about what the new Progressive Caucus stood for. Dear___, It is a pleasure to correspond with you. I will try to answer your questions, but can only speak for me, not the whole caucus. I hope you will bear with me as I try to explain my views; perhaps you are not interested, in which case I write to clarify them

Rev. Gerry Straatemeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07237675553992396265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132808004576318992005-11-23T21:53:00.000-07:002005-11-23T23:53:09.480-07:00

Today, Rep. Jim Kolbe let fly rumors among reliable associates that he was not going to seek a 12th term in Congress. The 63 year old openly gay Republican has been rumored to be considering teaching, among other possible opportunities.This will, of course, set off a flurry of anouncements for the office on both the left and right as egos bottled up over the course of 20 years of Kolbe's

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132795097493251042005-11-23T17:05:00.000-07:002005-11-23T18:22:36.206-07:00

There is little that is more nonsensical than the argument against universal healthcare coverage that goes, "We don't need socialized medicine in this country because..." As if the system of healthcare we currently have isn't 'socialized'. We have a 'socialized' medical system in this country already. It's just a crappy, peicemeal, unequal 'Socialized' system. The choice this county has to make

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132730718658507442005-11-23T00:24:00.000-07:002005-11-23T00:58:39.750-07:00

The Bush Executive has instituted desperate policies to maintain troop strength. The Pentagon has issued "stop-loss" orders, under which soldiers whose contractual enlistment has ended or is about to end are ordered to remain in service, often being returned to operational zones such as Iraq or Afghanistan for additional service. Many have called this conscription without a draft; soldiers are

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132704474016109982005-11-22T16:02:00.000-07:002005-11-22T17:07:54.060-07:00

Please take a moment to visit the website of Francine Shacter for Congress. Admittedly, as of this writing, there isn't all that much there. Francine is a candidate best experienced first-hand, anyway.Francine (you can't help but think of her by her first name) is very much the wise and compassionate elder stateswoman. Having seen her speak at a forum last night, I can tell you that she

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132447262950063462005-11-19T17:41:00.000-07:002005-11-19T17:41:02.960-07:00

Yesterday, on the House floor Rep. Schmidt of Ohio made remarks suggesting the Rep. Murtha was a coward for sponsoring a plan for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. She was sending 'a message' from one of her cronies that "Cowards cut and run, Marines never do." Of course, it turns out that the crony was Marine reserve Col. Danny Bubp, who in his thirty years of service in the reserves,

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132363603523710732005-11-18T18:26:00.000-07:002005-11-18T19:50:21.720-07:00

The Pentagon has admitted using White Phosphorous (WP) on 'enemy combatants' (a term which apparently embraces anyone in Fallujah at the time of the U.S. assault on that city). WP eats flesh down the bone, leaving clothing and structures intact. It has been widely reported that U.S. forces are also using MK-77, a form of napalm in Iraq. Additionally, the Marines have recently introduced a new

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132299728808619982005-11-18T00:42:00.000-07:002005-11-18T22:52:31.013-07:00

Representative John Murtha of Pennsylvania just put another stake in the heart of the Bush Iraq 'policy'. Murtha is a decorated veteran intelligence officer, who voted for the resolution considered authorization for Bush's war in Iraq. He released a strong statement against the war today and sponsored legislation that will force the Administration to:To immediately redeploy U.S. troops consistent

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132208222054417472005-11-16T23:17:00.000-07:002005-11-16T23:17:02.136-07:00

The most amusing thing about the White House's new defense of its Iraq policy (if anything about Iraq can said to be humorous) is the component which claims that Clinton came to many of the same conclusions about Saddam and his WMD in 1998 prior to Operation Desert Fox. Therefore, we are encouraged to infer that Team Bush's conclusions about Iraq's WMD, being superficially similar to Clinton's,

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132197728530112372005-11-16T20:22:00.000-07:002005-11-16T20:22:08.606-07:00

Please visit www.backjackson.com, the website for Jack Jackson, Jr. who's running against Dick Renzi for Congress in Arizona's CD 1. Jackson's website is still mostly under developement, though he has inaugurated his blog, which I sincerely hope will not be as boring as most candidate blogs. Jackson is off to a good start on that score by substantively taking on the issue of veterans' benefits

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132125468499569152005-11-16T00:17:00.000-07:002005-11-16T00:20:10.283-07:00

Please visit the website of Jeff Latas for Congress. Mr. Latas has laid out a very smart and common-sense platform in plain language on his site. I don't agree with every detail of his views, but it is obvious that Jeff is a smart and serious, and well-qualified candidate who is open-minded, goal-oriented, and progressive.He comes out strongly for creating an actual energy policy rather than

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132120501478518052005-11-15T22:55:00.000-07:002005-11-15T22:55:01.556-07:00

Via Daily Kos: The Washington Times (Moonie Conservatives with a printing press) reports that Bush (43) has become increasingly reclusive, even avoiding contact with Bush (41). His relationship with Rove has suffered because Bush apparently believed Rove when he claimed to have nothing to do with Plamegate and allowed Bush (43) to put what little reputation he has left on the line for the Turd

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1132030177577358222005-11-14T21:06:00.000-07:002005-11-14T21:51:14.526-07:00

It seems a new, and fairly confusing, front in the terrorist campaign over Iraq has begun. The bombings of tourist hotels in Amman Jordan seem out of step with the goal of Al Qaida to use terrorist attacks to isolate America from its military coalition ‘partners’. The target even prompted many to wonder if Al Qaida in Iraq was not actually behind the attack, but was instead orchestrated by Sunni

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131954391378921302005-11-14T00:46:00.000-07:002005-11-14T00:51:38.226-07:00

I'm currently reading Assassin's Gate (as you can see on the sidebar). So far I'm finding it an excellent book. The first part is about the ideological and political manuevering that formed the trigger pull to launch the war. I am finding this part challenging to my world-view. Packer so eloquently describes some of the noble aspirations of many who supported the war, that I often find my self in

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131762159452084562005-11-11T19:22:00.000-07:002005-11-11T19:22:39.513-07:00

Raner C. Collins, Federal judge and Bush appointee, wants to lock the Governor and the State Legislative leaders in jail until they resolve the dispute over funding the teaching of English as a second language in Arizona. Now that's criminalizing politics. Not that I disagree with him; a lot of political disputes could no doubt be solved if our leaders were given some clear guidelines and locked

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131609545591416322005-11-10T00:59:00.000-07:002005-11-10T00:59:05.600-07:00

Those who watched the Daily Show tonight were treated to an appearance by Arizona's own Jeff Flake (R, AZ CD 6), and his hair, doing their best John Birch impersonation for all the world to see. The former Director of the Goldwater Institute opined that we don't need no steekin' Energy Department, nor a stupid Commerce Department (despite that pesky Commerce Clause in the Constitution), nor a

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131515604514000022005-11-08T22:53:00.000-07:002005-11-08T22:55:16.550-07:00

Sen. Barack Obama will join U.S. Senate Candidate Jim Pederson and Congressman Raul Grijalva for a rally with Arizona students and families about the importance of educational investment.Saturday Nov, 12th @ 1:30pmRSVP NowArizona State University Student Services LawnTempe, AZ 85281(near the Memorial Union)Looks like Obama is using his celebrity status wisely to help new Democrats into the Senate

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131510931403358532005-11-08T21:35:00.000-07:002005-11-08T23:33:29.426-07:00

I can't help but see the gale force victories of Karin Uhlich and Nina Trasoff as a good sign for the upcoming 2006 election season. Certainly, the quality of the candidates and the energetic work of the Democratic volunteers have a lot to do with ultimate victory, but margins in the range of 30% do not come from well-run or energetic campaigns, they come from very pissed-off constituencies.The

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131430350434308022005-11-07T23:12:00.000-07:002005-11-07T23:12:30.490-07:00

Via The Hill: Senator Grassley of Iowa's Finance Committee staffer Emilia DiSanto was beaten outside her suburban home by an assailant dressed in black and wearing a hood wielding a baseball bat. She sustained serious upper body injuries, before her family scared the attacker off. The assailant made no demands, just started beating her. DiSanto lives in an area where violent street crime is

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131412753875206892005-11-07T18:19:00.000-07:002005-11-07T18:19:13.973-07:00

Defending U.S. interrogation practices, Bush declared boldly, "We do not torture... without a good reason. Everyone knows that we do torture people. Heck we have pictures. I keep the better ones in my desk drawer in the Oval Office and look at them when I'm sittin' in there with war on my mind. But I promise that we won't torture anyone who is not in U.S. custody. And of those in U.S. custody, we

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131241343620723822005-11-05T18:41:00.000-07:002005-11-06T16:03:54.173-07:00

In America, the self-proclaimed Johnny Appleseed of Democracy, 4.7 million Americans have been shorn of their most basic civil rights, including the right to vote. The most basic and cherished right of an American citizen is denied to these citizens because they have been convicted of a felony one or more times in their life. In 48 states (with the exception of Maine and Vermont) and the District

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131220433741690532005-11-05T12:53:00.000-07:002005-11-05T12:55:21.503-07:00

Though harranged by Bush from Air Force One, Senator Arlen Specter refused to promise Bush to bring ScAlito's nomination to the floor of the Senate by Christmas. It looks like Bush won't be getting a visit from Santa this year.Specter's reluctance to rush the confirmation hearings may be sign of the softening support for Alito among key conservative groups, and strong opposition by the left.

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131167020272335582005-11-04T22:03:00.000-07:002005-11-04T22:03:40.370-07:00

Kathleen Dunbar is suing, well, everyone she can think of, for defamation at a million a pop. I'd be really interested to learn how Dunbar's reputation is worth a plug nickel, let alone a megabuck. I guess I'll see. Having published the reply letter of the opposing attorney, I have published the same allegedly defamatory charges. I'm expecting service any minute now... Dunbar's extreme

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131165440363700152005-11-04T21:37:00.000-07:002005-11-04T21:37:20.380-07:00

After a tumult of charges of partisanship from all sides, the DeLay political corruption case finally got a judge. How long will it be before a standard part of every case is to demand the recusal of any judge not sharing your client's party registration? Partisan election of judges is a deeply stupid idea for this, any many other, reasons. I fear we may be coming to a point in American public

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1131096980660171462005-11-04T02:36:00.000-07:002005-11-04T14:29:20.506-07:00

Wow. A campaign web site for a Supreme Court nominee. Check it out at JudgeAlito.com. It makes a good case for ScAlito based on his resume, but papers over the real issue of his clear ideological aims revealed by his record on the federal bench.The Extreme Right is having no hesitation throwing as much weight as they can at ensuring ScAlito's ascension. Given that only a scintilla of information

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130977716975649062005-11-02T17:22:00.000-07:002005-11-02T17:28:37.000-07:00

I have a very interesting email. It is the response of the Democratic Party's lawyer to the threatened defamation lawsuit by Dunbar against her political critics over her handling of a voluntary per unit contribution by a developer to offset the impact on local schools. It pretty clearly lays out the history of this sad chapter in Tucson politics. I share it with you in full.Dear Mr. Gonzales:

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130958295875364862005-11-02T11:14:00.000-07:002005-11-02T12:15:56.940-07:00

I caught one of Ronstadt's Tucson City Council ads today while getting my regular innoculation against Right Wing rhetoric by listening to the fat idiot dope fiend.Ronstadt's main pitch to the voters is that he's 'working hard', so he should be re-elected. That's the last refuge of the lousy employee. Results may vary, but damn it, he's working hard! It's the same pitch that Bush made ad nausieum

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130814715545743192005-10-31T20:11:00.000-07:002005-10-31T20:11:55.553-07:00

Via New York Times Who's the activist? The only quantifiable measure of a judges 'activism' is how often s/he invalidates a law duly passed by Congress. The resultant line up may or may not surprise you: Thomas 65.63 % Kennedy 64.06 % Scalia 56.25 % Rehnquist 46.88 % O’Connor 46.77 % Souter 42.19 % Stevens 39.34 % Ginsburg 39.06 % Breyer 28.13 % Generally, those who are touted as 'conservative

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130190441123676142005-10-31T14:46:00.000-07:002005-10-31T19:59:00.040-07:00

A. Phillip Randolph Institute & Pima Community College's Desert Vista are presenting an open public forum and clinic on restoring the civil rights of people following felony convictions. Thousands of Arizonans are denied their civil rights, not the least of which being their right to vote. A complex and slow process of restoration discourages many from achieving restoration after a first felony

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130661784424986912005-10-30T02:43:00.000-07:002005-10-30T15:59:42.683-07:00

US lawmakers watered down the 'organic' label by allowing some synthetics in the growth and processing of organic labeled food via a rider on the USDA spending authorization. The rider is designed to overturn a court ruling that refused to allow the use of a number of additives to foods labeled organic.Consumers rights groups are saying the measure were strongly lobbied by agri-business in an

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130637424737165162005-10-29T18:57:00.000-07:002005-10-29T18:57:04.863-07:00

Bush's Presidency is effectively over. He retains considerable constitutional powers, no doubt, but for the next 1000 days or so of his Presidency, he rules without the consent of the governed. In fact, Bush has become radioactive to members of his own party. That's not to say that he has no standing and no influence, but he will no longer be able to control his party to the extent that he

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130569268701131252005-10-29T00:00:00.000-07:002005-10-29T00:01:08.716-07:00

Nursing moms are set to win the right to breastfeed in public. Recently, mothers rallied around a woman who was harrassed for feeding her child in public in Chandler, and won passage of only the second municipal law in the nation allowing a woman to breastfeed in public. Similar exceptions to public indecency laws are under consideration by the Tucson city council (there's an issue for the

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130472820080096702005-10-27T21:13:00.000-07:002005-10-27T21:14:48.800-07:00

OK. I get to say it. I told you so. So now prediction one of the unfolding Miers saga has come to pass: she didn't get out of committee. Frankly, she never really got into committee. There is a reason for that. The GOP Right broke ranks with Bush on his outrageous "executive privilege" power grab. If Harriet had gone to committee, the Senate leadership would have backed a subpeona of Miers' White

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130347760552998782005-10-26T10:29:00.000-07:002005-10-26T10:41:20.886-07:00

The Japanese have developed a remote control to steer humans using electrical disruption of the inner ear. Surely, our military labs already have something far superior. And finally we have an explanation for the gaping chasm between W's words and actions. "I will conduct a humble foriegn policy." "I don't believe in what they call 'nation building'." "My Administration will return integrity to

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130309436741455132005-10-25T23:50:00.000-07:002005-10-25T23:50:36.750-07:00

This week's FRONTLINE addressed the use of torture in the "war on terror". It is an eye-opening account of how torture became mainstreamed into military culture over the past 4 years. Often when addressing torture in the context of terrorism, those who seek to justify its use pose a particular hypothetical to demonstrate the moral neccessity of torture. The scenario is that there is a WMD hidden

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130303335082992222005-10-25T22:08:00.000-07:002005-10-25T22:08:57.833-07:00

Bush claimed that the occupation of Iraq isn't the cause of rising rates of terrorism world-wide. He claims radicals were spreading their ideology before the invasion and will continue to "exist after Iraq is no longer an excuse." Sure, but they won't have such kick-ass recruiting pitches then, either. As I see it, Bush is trying to have it both ways; claiming that Iraq is a sort of terrorist

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130226019573938402005-10-25T00:40:00.000-07:002005-10-25T00:40:20.220-07:00

John Green says his potential rival for the GOP Gubernatorial nomination Mary Peters doesn't meet Constitutional requirements to be Governor. Greene points out that Peters bought a house and registered to vote in Virginia two years ago after she was appointed to head the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) by Bush. Our Constitution requires that a candidate for Arizona Governor, or any elective

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130144641502598582005-10-24T02:04:00.000-07:002005-10-24T02:11:24.836-07:00

Blue states are where the majority of voters disapprove of Bush's handling of the Presidency. Purple are at 50/50, and Red states still cling to a narrow net approval of the Worst President Ever.Makes for a very different looking map than the one the "permanent majority" idiots were drooling over in 2004, doesn't it?

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130114205971510252005-10-23T17:21:00.000-07:002005-10-23T17:36:45.983-07:00

"I begged and begged and begged and begged and begged."That pretty much sums up the political philosophy of Kathleen Dunbar, incumbent candidate for Tucson City Council. That's how Dunbar describes her leadership role in refurbishing Jacobs Park; as a beggar. Government's proper role in her view is to beg for crumbs off corporate America's table while sticking the least among us with heartless

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130026190681690912005-10-23T17:09:00.000-07:002005-10-23T17:06:40.933-07:00

Formerly Democratic State Representative Cheryl Chase has stopped being a crypo-Republican and has officially joined the Republican Party. She says that she is more in tune with the GOP on reproductive issues and natural resource usage. No shit. Frankly, we're better off without her - as her voting record demonstrates amply. She was rated by AZ Right to Life at %100 and by Planned Parenthood in

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130026481239922452005-10-23T16:14:00.000-07:002005-10-23T16:32:16.840-07:00

Judge Colin Campbell has set a hearing for 10 a.m. Oct. 31 for Mr. Burnell Smith to show cause why an order removing him from office should not be entered.By 11 a.m. there will be a list of replacements on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisor's desks. My guess is that Smith's name will be among them. If they are stupid enough to choose Mr. Smith to replace Smith's scoff-law self, there will be

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130109988726206062005-10-22T17:25:00.000-07:002005-10-23T16:26:28.726-07:00

A Texas panel awarded Miers $5 a square foot for Superfund pollution cleanup land worth .30 a square foot. Land condemnation sometimes overvalues land taken by the state. Jurys can be... what? No jury?Nope. The condemnation was valued by a three-member panel staffed by a personal friend of Miers and a hard-core property rights activist, who were appointed by a judge that Meirs' law firm gave

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1130109915978850862005-10-22T16:24:00.000-07:002005-10-23T16:25:15.980-07:00

Ted Prezelski thinks the GOP Tucson city council imcumbents' campaigns are "listless". I would be inclined to agree if the measurement were general enthusiasm, fund-raising, volunteer activity, phone calls, mailings, television buys, radio spots... um, well, OK, he's got a point.There is one campaign facet in which Kathleen Dunbar, at least, seems very active indeed: outdoor advertising. No, she

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1129937949840884642005-10-21T16:16:00.000-07:002005-10-21T16:39:09.936-07:00

Public libraries are the real temples of our democracy. Not the capitol buildings, not the courts, not the governor's mansions. They are all but reflections and servants of the public's sovreignty. No, where the spirit of the res publica resides is in the informed, curious, and educated minds of our citizens. Without public libraries, the self-cultivation required for an informed and engaged

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1129608312834273002005-10-17T21:05:00.000-07:002005-10-18T23:27:19.336-07:00

Quickly becoming one of my favorite journalists, Keith Olbermann questions the nexus (video/quicktime Object) between politically inconvenient news and government announcements of terrorist threats. Olbermann's blog posting lists 13 questionable 'coincidences' that could plausibly be characterized as use of terrorist fear mongering for political manipulation.Critical journalism like this is

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1129577305862895462005-10-17T12:21:00.000-07:002005-10-17T12:29:25.906-07:00

Don't get me wrong. There is plenty that is screwed up in the world and causing me discontent and worry; and that's really what this blog is - a puddle of discontent and worry (with an occassional silver lining).But today, I don't know, there is something sweet in the infosphere. It is the taste of wrack and ruin for the Bush Regime. So, just for today, I'm letting it all slide. There are plenty

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1129258311051626052005-10-13T19:49:00.000-07:002005-10-14T00:30:32.486-07:00

I got a mail piece from Tucson city council candidates Kathleen Dunbar and Fred Ronstadt recently. These candidates have both opted out of Tucson's publicly financed campaign system. They both feel that public financing is a waste of public money and think that private interests should be relied upon to fund the election of our public officials. I haven't got any problem with a person following

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1129110429140836382005-10-12T08:47:00.000-07:002005-10-18T23:30:44.823-07:00

UPDATE: This article was chosen as a Blogcritics.com Political article of the week.Bush gave a speech before the National Endowment for Democracy that was widely panned as a hoary rehash of worn themes. It certainly wasn’t effective at rallying support for his Iraq policy (currently hovering at 40% or less) or at convincing people that terrorism is job #1 (only 7% of the public think it the most

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1129110363314749122005-10-12T08:45:00.000-07:002005-10-12T14:32:14.430-07:00

Warrants for the arrest of 28 officials from Allawi's Bush-engineered Iraqi Administration, including the former Defense minister, have been issued over the theft of over $1 billion of government funds. The Iraqi's method of plundering the state is refreshingly direct in comparison to Bush's own Executive, but the fundamental similarities of their thorough-going criminality will become ever more

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1129015048967405472005-10-11T00:17:00.000-07:002005-10-11T00:17:29.013-07:00

I gotta say, I'm delighted by the Miers nomination. I think it is simply wonderful. In other words, it is the absolutely worst thing Bush could have done: appoint a facially unqualified crony for the nation's highest court. This move reveals Bush at his absolute worst. He is treating a lifetime Article III appointment to the Supreme Court like a patronage position in the Executive. It reinforces

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1128976281996956912005-10-10T13:30:00.000-07:002005-10-10T13:41:26.570-07:00

You know what really cheeses me off? Socialists. I hate those socialists. They undermine everything this country stands for with their non-market, collectivized solutions for everything.Take roads for instance. The socialization of road building and maintenance is one of the great evils to have befallen this nation. All roads should be privately built and maintained. They should financed properly

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1128808169548182192005-10-10T12:00:00.000-07:002005-10-10T11:51:33.536-07:00

From the Star:Steve Leal will run his unopposed campaign for a fifth term on the City Council without taxpayer dollars. In a reversal from an earlier decision, the South Side Democrat won't take about $42,500 from the city's public matching fund program. "I don't need to," he said, explaining that the cost of his re-election bid will not be as high as initially anticipated. The move won immediate

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1128654043360498972005-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:002005-10-11T13:52:09.110-07:00

As another Columbus day is upon us, a lot of people continue to wonder, with good cause, just what the heck this day is supposed to celebrate. Surely, as a culture, we must not continue to celebrate the voyages of Columbus? Many people are conflicted about, if not simply outraged by, celebrating our civilization's origin in the genocide of the native people who were previously here. It is as if

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1128750634021113272005-10-07T22:50:00.000-07:002005-10-07T22:50:34.033-07:00

Watch as the GOP holds open a 5 minute vote for nearly an hour and Democrats chant "Shame!" on the House floor. (Quicktime) It seems the GOP needed to twist a few arms to float an oil industry subsidy through the House on the bloated bodies of Katrina's dead.Once again, a bill to line the pockets of a chosen industry was wholly rewritten in the GOP House caucus, from which Democrats are excluded,

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1128716066890979142005-10-07T13:14:00.000-07:002005-10-07T13:14:26.980-07:00

West Wing producer and commentator Lawrence O'Donnell points out, the latest appearance (the third, I believe) of Karl Rove before a Grand Jury investigating the Plame Affair without any grant of immunity, is not the act of an innocent man trying to set the record straight: it's an act of pure desperation. Rove's lawyer would never allow his client to appear before a Grand Jury that had been

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1128541827915520382005-10-05T12:49:00.000-07:002005-10-07T00:56:05.400-07:00

The Army is not punishing reservists who won't go to war. Despite repeated refusals to report for duty by at least 73 Individual Ready Reservists, these technically AWOL soldiers are simply getting persistent polite reminders of the need to do their duty, not visits by MPs.In light of the unpopularity of Bush's handling of Iraq, and majority opinion saying we need to be winding down this war, not

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1128541015985985892005-10-05T12:18:00.000-07:002005-10-07T00:35:34.246-07:00

In a moved calculated to ensure passage of the new Iraqi constitution, Shiite and Kurdish representatives adopted an interpretation of election rules under which the constitution will fail only if two-thirds of all registered voters - rather than two-thirds of all those actually casting ballots - reject it in at least three of the 18 provinces.This is a stunningly cynical move. It essentially

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514689.post-1128539890951600532005-10-05T12:17:00.000-07:002005-10-05T12:18:10.953-07:00

Kyl never ceases his inventive assaults on Americans' civil liberties and the public good. Now, mostly likely in a backhanded effort to kill the Violence Against Women Act, Kyl has proposed an amendment which would require the DNA of those who are arrested, but never accused or convicted of any crime, to be placed in CODIS, a national DNA database for law enforment agencies.A vote for Kyl is a

Michael Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18280801107264937519noreply@blogger.com4