Arizona's Own Espresso Pundit

Judging the Judges

Tom Jenney and Chad Kirkpatrick have written an op ed on Judge Collins Legislative prowess.

Normally the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers comments on the policy positions of Arizona legislators, not federal judges.

But through his judicial decisions in recent years, U.S. District Judge Raner Collins has effectively appointed himself to the Arizona Legislature.

Mistake Upon Mistake

I pointed out yesterday that the Republic's Pat Kossan wrote a condescending story about the death of the International Baccalaureate bill but she didn't realize that the provisions of the bill had simply been moved into the state budget. 

The Republic refused the Legislative staff's request to correct the A1 story and tried to remedy the problem by slipping a reference to the budget into the on line version. 

Mistakes pile on mistakes.  Republic Editorial writer Joel Nilsson relied on the original story and wrote this "Quick Hit" in response.

The myopia of our state lawmakers never ceases to amaze. An international studies program in the global economy makes tremendous sense. My boys went through the International Baccalaureate high school program. They were challenged and taught to think. That's what good education programs should do. A bill to set up more schools and begin a foreign language in kindergarten was shot down by lawmakers who can't think outside their failing school boundaries. What a shame!

If the Republic had acknowledged that the fundamental premise of the original story was incorrect, Nilsson wouldn't have been made the fool in his quick hit. 

Members of the Editorial Board already complain privately that the legislative coverage is so weak that there isn't enough fodder for editorials.  This isn't going to help alleviate the tension. 

That's Strange...

When I log on to Hot Az it Gets, I'm getting redirected to Sonoran Alliance.  Is that just me, or is anyone out there having the same issue?

UPDATE:  I just got this explanation.

Greg,

There is a line of code in hotazitgets’ html that automatically transfers visitors over to the sonoran alliance web site.

I can’t imagine that hotazitgets would have put the code in their own web site, and that leaves open the possibility that it was hacked. The code was also inserted toward the bottom of the html, and normally, by convention, meta-tags are placed towards the top. It looks like it was a modest attempt to hide the code from being discovered quickly.

Republic Botches it--Will they Correct it?

The Republic loves to write stories that make Arizona look like a backwater.  The pervasive theme from the Republic's marble halls is that Arizona is not ready for prime time because the Legislature is populated by unsophisticated atavistic knuckle draggers.

Here's a great example.  The Republic is unhappy that a bill supporting International Baccalaureate programs died in Committee.  Check out the condescending tone.  It takes years of Journalism school to perfect this tone. 

Everyone agrees: The world is shrinking.

Businesses need people skilled in world languages and economics. The government has gaping holes in diplomacy and intelligence. Universities are begging for more students with sophisticated learning.

It all gives credence to a bill in the Arizona Legislature to create international schools to help make students globally competitive.

But, in the end, the bill died. As its supporters learned, "international" is a dirty word among some at the Capitol.

Key leaders there suggested the bill was un-American and part of a slippery slope to a U.N. takeover and the end of U.S. sovereignty.

Wow that's great writing.  Without actually saying it, the reporter has managed to imply that the typical Legislator is barely qualified to play the banjo. 

The only problem with the story is that its fundamental premise is completely wrong.  The bill didn't die, it was moved into the budget.

D.  The department of education may use the monies in the fund to provide technical assistance and to distribute American competitiveness project grants to schools and other local educational agencies that offer academic programs that emphasize each of the following:

1.  Foreign language acquisition. 2.  International business. 3.  World history.

Now the Republic will demonstrate another J-School trick--the retraction in the form of a correction.  The entire underlying premise of the story is wrong.  The point of the story is that the bill was killed and the implication of the story is that Arizona is just a Redneck state.  But the reporter got the essential element of the story wrong.  The bill was not killed.  It was passed in a different form. 

So does the Republic issue a retraction?  Does the reporter admit that he got the story wrong.  Of course not.  The Republic will issue some type of lame correction, or even worse a "clarification" saying that the bill was passed as part of the budget.  The paper will never admit that the reporter got the entire story wrong...it will claim that the story should just be "clarified."

Everybody makes mistakes.  Admitting those mistakes is what separates the professionals from the amateurs.  I think we know which side of that divide the Republic is on.

UPDATE:  The Republic has slipped in a correction in the on line version. 

So the bill did not survive its first round in the Legislature. Instead, a measure was put in the state budget authorizing Tom Horne, Arizona superintendent of public instruction, to seek private donations for such a program. Horne said he didn't need the authorization and plans to bring the proposal back for state funding next year. In the meantime, he'll look for private and federal grants to move the project ahead.

The section in bold has been added since I wrote the original piece.  It's clear that the new language undermines the entire article.

UPDATE:

Wow, there was no correction or even clarification.  They simply added a sentence to the online version and ignored the print version. 

McCain Update

Interesting commentary from Powerline.

A Mason-Dixon poll of likely Republican primary voters in South Carolina shows Fred Thompson in the lead with 25 percent, followed by Rudy Giulinai (21 percent), Mitt Romney (11 percent), and John McCain (7 percent). Thompson's showing isn't all that significant -- if he can't outpoll two centrists and a yankee Mormon in South Carolina, he has no shot. The significance of this poll (unless it's an outlier) is McCain's dreadful showing of 7 percent. Polls taken a month ago (albeit by different organizations) showed him with two to three times that level of support (I discount the results of the American Research Group, which always seems to tilt heavily in McCain's favor).

Giuliani and Romney seem to be holding steady in South Carolina. What's changing is the Thompson-McCain split. An Insider Advantage poll from late May had McCain at 17 percent and Thomsson at 13 percent. The Mason-Dixon poll shows the combined Thompson-McCain support at essentially the same level, but with Thompson claiming about 70 percent of it.

It may be that the only thing standing between a two-man race between Giuliani and Thompson is Mitt Romney.

UPDATE: On the Democratic side, it's John Edwards who gets the bad news. In the state where he was born, he receives about half the support of Hillary Clinton and about one-third of Barack Obama's level.

Policing Their Own

The most difficult issues for the Legislature to get right are vice issues.  If a legislator raises a question about laws governing prostitution or pornography, he or she is inevitably branded as soft on porn, or pro prostitution. 

That's why mere possession of child pornography carries a life sentence without possibility of parole.  Lot's of Legislators think that's too harsh, but no one is able to change it.  Senator Barbara Leff, for example, tried to raise the culpability standard from "knowingly" to "intentionally" possessing child pornography and was unfairly pummeled by one of the local blogs.

Frankly, it's the blogs and the political opponents who are usually guilty of making unsophisticated claims that "Legislator Jones is soft on porn."  The mainstream media doesn't usually fall for this trick.  It's not likely that you are going to see a headline that says "Legislator Opposes Child Prostitution Bill."

Well, I'll say that the mainstream media doesn't usually fall for this trick.  Until now. Check out this A1 above the fold Tribune article by Dennis Welch. 

Legislator opposes child prostitution bill

A bill that would stiffen penalties for those who force children into prostitution has new life, despite an influential East Valley lawmaker’s attempts to kill it.

Rep. Eddie Farnsworth had the guts to point out that the child prostitution bill might be more harsh than the Legislature actually intended.  As Judiciary Chairman, Farnsworth had the power to stop the bill. 

Now, I don't want to get all stereotypical on you, but one wouldn't expect a Republican East Valley Mormon Legislator with six daughters and political ambitions to point out that the proposed child prostitution statute may be too severe.  And if he does--especially since he's an attorney--it's probably a pretty good idea to pay attention to what he says.

Instead of trying to figure out if Farnsworth was right, Tribune Reporter Dennis Welch went for the easy hit piece.   

Normally, that's when I would have a few espressos and write a 1,500 word screed about how lame and unsophisticated Welch's story is.  But in this case, I don't have to.  In a stunning move, the Tribune's own Editorial Board took Welch apart before I could get to him.

Tribune writer Dennis Welch reported Monday the bill has been delayed for weeks because Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, opposed removal of that defense. Farnsworth courageously argued heavy felony punishments should be applied only to those who actually intend to commit the crime involved. This may seem to be a subtle distinction, as adult prostitution also is illegal, but it’s an important difference in the pursuit of justice.

The Tribune Editorial Board seemed to go out of its way to let readers know it was specifically rebutting its own reporter.

Farnsworth has been accused of not caring about the dangers of child prostitution, Welch reported, a criticism that is blatantly unfair. Farnsworth wants to prevent unintentional harm to more children, and adults, through an unjust law.

Wow.  Good for the Trib!  Newspapers gain a lot of credibility when they are willing to call out their own reporters.  Front page hit pieces shouldn't be tolerated and it's great to know that the bloggers aren't the only ones paying attention.

 

Growing Rich off the old land-exploitation Model

Soon after arriving in Arizona, former Republic columnist Jon Talton made it clear what he thought about people who made money in real estate. 

We know what must be done. But the business elites that grew rich off the old land-exploitation model refuse to change.

About that time, Talton bought a gorgeous 2,423 square foot house on an 11,000 square foot lot in the historic Willow neighborhood.  It was built in 1910 and has a large pool, 2 car garage and 800 square foot guest house. 

He bought the house for $409,000 with $20,000 down.

Since the house is in an historic neighborhood, Talton paid half the annual property taxes that the rest of us pay. 

Talton has resigned from the Republic and is moving to Seattle.  His house is on the market, and as you can see, even in a down market, he's asking $950,000. 

Isn't that great?  The guy writes three columns a week for seven years moaning about the "real estate industrial complex" and then he makes a tidy $500,000 profit on a $20,000 cash down payment. 

Gosh I love living here. 

It's a Whole New World

Michael Barone has an excellent analysis of the current state of American politics. 

We seem to be entering a new period in American politics. We have come through a period of trench warfare, in which two armies of approximately equal size faced each other across the battlefield and tried to rally their sides to achieve the incremental gains that would make the difference between victory or defeat. There were few defections from either army in this culture war, and almost no one crossing the lines. Like the trench warfare of World War I, our politics in this period, which stretched from 1995 to 2005, was a conflict of many bitter battles and no final victories.

Now we seem to be entering a new period, a period of open-field politics. It seems to be a time when there are no permanent alliances, when new leaders arise with new strategies and tactics, when the voters, instead of forming themselves into two coherent and cohesive armies, wander about the field, attaching themselves to one band and then another, with no clear lines of battle and no landmarks to rally beside.

As they say, read the whole thing. 

"Hey, Let's go to the Drive In Theater"

Well, this was inevitable.

Advertisers have realized that newspapers have declined in both circulation and influence.  So naturally advertisers are demanding lower rates.  The newspaper industry looks like one of those slow-motion videos of a building that's being demolished.  You see the puff and hear the boom, and for a moment, the building just stands there, but the collapse is inevitable.  Here's an example. 

Va.-based Media General Inc. reported Thursday that ad revenues at its newspapers fell $6.1 million, or 14.9%, in May -- led by huge declines at The Tampa Tribune.

Media General President and CEO Marshall N. Morton said the economic downturn in Florida hammered results in Tampa, where the company owns the Tribune, WFLA-TV, and TBO.com. The company was also hurt by "significant weakness" in classified.

"We were very disappointed to see the retail category decline, a reflection of major retailers holding back on spending in virtually every market," Morton said in a statement. "We saw a few bright spots in May, including increases in real estate classified advertising in Richmond, a market that has not yet been severely affected by the national housing downturn. In addition, national revenues increased at The Richmond Times- Dispatch, the Winston-Salem Journal and in our community newspaper group."

Big declines at the Tampa Tribune, however, offset that growth, he added.

Newspaper classified overall fell $3 million, or 16.9% -- principally on a free-fall of 38.2% at the Tampa Tribune, Media General reported.

The Tribune's real estate linage, for instance, plummeted 46.7%.

Help-wanted linage at the company's three metro newspapers decreased 27.8% -- again pushed by Tampa, where recruitment fell 41.5%.

There were big drops in help-wanted as well at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, down 19.4%, and the Winston-Salem Journal, off 25.7%.

Automotive linage for the three metros decreased 18.8%, with the Tribune again leading the way with a 27.5% decline.

Overall real estate linage for the three metros was down 25.2%.

Retail advertising revenues in May decreased $2.5 million, or 13.1%, at the three metros. Tampa Tribune, and its associated newspapers fell 17.5% on weakened home improvement, financial, grocery store and medical advertising.

Retail was down 9.9% at the Richmond paper, on department store and drug store weakness. The Winston-Salem Journal reported a 17% decline on lower spending in the department store, grocery store and home improvement categories. Retail at General Media's community newspaper group fell 10.2%.

Media General said its total May 2007 revenues increased 2.8% to $75.4 million, including the revenues of four NBC television stations acquired June 26, 2006. Excluding the new stations, total revenues declined 7.8%, it said.

Overall publishing division revenues fell 12.8%, and broadcast, on a same-property basis, declined 1.9%.

Media General said its Interactive Media Division total revenues rose 43.1%.

The company set its outlook for the second quarter as earnings per share in the range of 20 to 25 cents, compared with 77 cents from continuing operations in the second quarter of 2006.

Un Plugged

The Republic's Plugged In Blog is down, and I've had quite a few people ask me to find out why.  I emailed Joe Garcia who edits the Viewpoints section and he said it's just a technical glitch and they are working on it. 

Until then, Matt, Mary Jo, Tom and Amanda can just send their posts to me via email and I'll post them.  Ha, I slay me. 

UPDATE:  Plugged In is back up with pretty new software.  Check it out.