Maricopa County Elections: DOJ Monitoring.

Can't imagine why anyone would wonder if the civil rights of the indigenous and Spanish-speaking populations in our fine state might be especially at risk these days...Arizonans are such a beneficent people, really.

-------------------------

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 7, 2011

Justice Department to Monitor Election in Maricopa County, Arizona

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor municipal elections on March 8, 2011, in Maricopa County, Ariz.   The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.  In addition, the act requires certain covered jurisdictions to provide language assistance during the election process. Maricopa County is required to provide assistance in the Spanish and O’odham languages.


Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the attorney general or by a federal court order.  Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Maricopa County based on the attorney general’s certification.  The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in the county, and a Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.


Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from OPM, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country.  To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.


Visit www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.php for more information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws.

11-286                            DOJ - Civil Rights Division

The AZ Tea Party Senate President-elect

First, my apologies for being silent so long - I went on a protest and chalking binge after the Day of Action Against Police Brutality event at the ADC (which I'll post photos of later - it was pretty cool). Also, an Aloha to our comrades in Hawai'i; gracias for the encouraging words. And thanks to my prison-watching compa for posting articles here in my absence.

Tuesday's election results were devastating for most of us across the country, but the implications are especially destructive in Arizona. The white supremacist patriarchy solidified its grip over our state's residents and guests in both the governor's mansion and legislature by exploiting racist and classist fears and resorting to jingoism, an old standard for American politicians. Pearce uses patriotic one-liners a lot because he has nothing of real substance to say (except that he plans to defile and legislate away everything democracy is supposed to be, which you won't catch him explicitly admitting. It's an old sleight of hand magic trick he does. Guess he's better at fooling people than I thought).

The ballot measures passed and the scary people elected to office are bad enough - the voters who elected them are more troubling, though. I imagine they will be the folks who call Joe Arpaio's goons to report that their neighbors or parents aided and abetted a Latino family in trouble without first checking the legitimacy of their documents. That will cost left-leaning altruists five years in the state pen for "human smuggling" or some shit (ten years if you do it for profit). Being criminalized as felons means we lose the right to vote, of course. By the time this legislative session is over, migrant sympathizers will probably lose our citizenship, as well.

This place is far worse than Orwell could have imagined 1984 America to be.

Now, to top it all off, we have a new State Senate President: none other than our beloved Klansman-in-the nude (Tea Partier), Russ Pearce. How disturbing that the majority of our state senators would want him as their leader - I never would have thought he had that much staying power, given how shallow, selfish, and cruel his agenda is. Goodbye any hopes for Liberty and Justice for all for the forseeable future. Hello entrenched, institutionalized fascism.

The director of the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC), Chuck Ryan (of Iraqi prisons fame), must be thrilled: he can build more prisons here now without any impediments - just a few obnoxious activists will be nipping at his ankles, trying to slow him down. Some of us will be expressing ourselves on his sidewalks as well, just to piss him off (photo: Surrender Ryan - Devil's Night 2010).

Every other state in the country is - was before the elections, anyway - planning to downsize their prison populations, whereas we're planning to throw even more people in prison. In fact, Ryan will probably have to adjust his expectations upwards, now, for the amount of repression that will be necessary to quell lingering resistance to the powers that be. Just remember that they got to where they are by using Jesus, fear, greed and pure hate. Hopefully that will all come back to haunt them at the Second Coming, if not sooner.

The majority's comfort level comes at considerable expense here, since it requires extremely high rates of incarceration. Only the feds seem able to intervene where the worse abuses of power are occurring, and even then it's questionable whether or not they will be effective - so far there's just been a lot of posturing and some suing. That means just about anyone can be thrown into jail or prison for any reason these people can legislate or fabricate. Were not only sticking it to the poor, the Left, and the undocumented among us, but even elementary and secondary school minority studies classes and clubs will be outlawed or whitewashed.

I do wonder how much longer the voting public will so eagerly house every human being this legislature criminalizes at $21,000/year, though (see ADC Operating Per Capita Report 2009 Revised). Arizona is 2nd in the nation in poverty rates, with 1 in 5 of us living at or below poverty, 50th in our education spending, and 4th in our overall state corrections' spending ($1B/year, or 10% of our total budget, goes to the prison system: see Appropriations Report FY 2010). We have 40,279 people in prison at last count (see Corrections at a Glance September 2010).

Keep in mind, it's pretty bare bones living in prison, here, though. For all too many, it's just the prequel to dying. Chuck Ryan's prisoners, in fact, are killing themselves and each other at about twice the rate of speed they were before Brewer took office. This year the suicide rate is on track to triple what it was under Napolitano and Schriro.

The gang violence and conditions are pretty bad inside right now, and getting worse -no matter how petty your crime, you're really hurting if you're a prisoner with a serious mental illness or medical condition, because you won't be getting the care you need, and your environment certainly isn't conducive to health or sanity. Ask the US Department of Justice if you don't believe me; I mailed them all the evidence I could gather.

I hope the Obama administration still has the courage to send an investigative team out here to check out the ADC. It would help if some of you contact the the DOJ's Civil Rights Division too. Note that they finally have a permanent Chief listed - it's not Judy Preston, but since I've been addressing everything to her thus far, I think I'll keep it up - she's still a Deputy Chief, at least. Be sure to tell them you want to see a CRIPA (Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act) Investigation. It's about the only thing that provides some measure of protection for state prisoners. The contact info for them is as follows:

DOJ - Civil Rights Division,

Special Litigation Section

Mailing Address

Department of Justice
Special Litigation Section
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, PHB
Washington, D.C. 20530

For FEDEX: 601 D Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004

Telephone Number
toll-free at (877) 218-5228

Fax Numbers
(202) 514-0212
(202) 514-6273

---

Chief

Jonathan M. Smith

Principal Deputy Chief

Tammie Gregg

Deputy Chiefs

Julie Abbate (Acting)

Mary Bohan (Acting)

Judy Preston

Luis Saucedo (Acting)



It's getting much worse here before it gets better, folks, needless to say. I hope that means we'll have the Revolution sooner, rather than later. I'm not sure I'll be here for it, myself - I expect a few of Pearce's and the AZ GOP's more obscure critics to be arrested or assassinated any day, now. Today, though, I'll let the Senate President-elect speak for himself about his BS racist agenda: I couldn't have articulated what he has in store for us for better than he does anyway...

"For God, Family, and the Republic...", a load of crap follows me here. We'll see how safe and free I stay. Be careful out there, my friends. AZ just became a more treacherous and less-liberated place for most of us to live, work or play. If you're from out of state, I advise that you stay away - unless you move here to vote these idiots out of power next time around...

- Peg

-----------------------from senatorrussellpearce@russellpearce.com-------------

Friends,

As you know, I have served in the Legislature for 10 years, 8 of those years as Appropriations Chairman, making the tough decisions with our limited dollars and promoting strong fiscal accountability in the process. I served as Chief Deputy for America’s most famous Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, which is the 4th largest Sheriff’s office in the nation. I was the Director of Arizona’s MVD, and I also served as a Judge. In every one of those positions I have been vigilant in service to our citizens, in reducing cost, improving efficiencies, requiring accountability and operating with transparency. I promise to be as committed and vigilant, while serving as the Senate President.

In the past I have chosen not to run for leadership, as I have given priority to our state budget, to stop out of control spending, to enforce the rule of law, secure our borders, stop abuse of private property rights, school choice for Parents, the 2nd Amendment, to stop government discrimination by eliminating Affirmative Action in government hiring, promotions, contracting and education, etc. However, I recognize things have changed with the significant turnover in the Senate, and I was approached by several of our members, to consider this leadership position. Today I am humbled by my fellow Republicans decision to put their trust in me as the Senate President. I promise I will be vigilant in the promotion of the core values that our Founding Fathers so long ago sacrificed and committed their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for this Republic.

Leadership, practiced at its best, is the art and science of calling to the hearts and minds of others. It is engaging others in an enterprise of sound strategic focus, where they can experience a sense of ownership, of making a difference, of being valued and adding value.

Last Tuesday’s election we saw America stand up and say “NO. We do not like the direction we are headed and want to change course”. We all know this as the Tea Party movement, that I am proud to be a member of. A movement of like minded, freedom loving “can do” American’s made their voice heard at the polls. It was a tough battle, and we had a lot of great victories, but we are certainly not out of the woods as our recession continues, our businesses and our families are over taxed and over regulated and demands on our tax dollars continues to increase. In 2010 we passed some tremendous legislation that has made Arizona a national leader. We have passed legislation to enforce the laws of the land, improve school choice, protect mothers and their babies, restore our lost 2nd Amendment rights, Healthcare Freedom Act to protect your choice in healthcare, elimination of Affirmative Action and much more. Thanks to my follow colleagues in both the House of Representatives and the Senate we are a national model as to what states can do; we passed SB1070, Freedom to Carry Act SB1108, put on the ballot Healthcare Freedom Act, Proposition 107 to eliminate government discrimination and the Marriage Amendment (Peg's interjection: ugh!). We also made much needed reduction in spending and have begun the long process of restoring fiscal sanity to our great state.

You know where my heart is. You know it is with this great Republic of ours and its citizens. We are the greatest country in the world because of freedom loving people like you, the freedom loving people of America. I will continue to fight everyday to protect your freedoms from government encroachment. It is America’s commitment to that freedom, personal responsibility and moral government that make us strong. Not more government. I want to make sure everyone knows, we, in the Senate, will govern from the bottom up, not from the top down. Declaration of Independence, "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ... But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new G uards for their future security ... that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." I consider this to be the Tea Party Senate and we intend to take back America one state at a time.

For God, Family and the Republic, Stay free, stay safe and never surrender ... God Bless America.

In Liberty,

Russell Pearce

Tea Party Senate President-Elect

Vote your hopes, not your fears.

Actually, this is a little overblown. Though there may be some repeat offenders (which anyone who has bounced more than one check in their lives also is), most of those returning prisoners are in for non-violent crimes. That's one of the problems, in fact - that we have so many of them (and people convicted of smuggling themselves) locked up in the first place we can't keep track of all the killers we cram them in with.

Just watch - next legislative session, Ryan will be telling everyone how much we need a new supermax facility, and we'll drop all sorts of money into that because of this escape, but when the teachers come say they can't live on their pay, we'll take their health insurance and kids' schoolbooks away.

That's fascism in action, folks. We build only that which we we dare to envision. Force our public servants to come up with real solutions to the crisis of mass incarceration - not just another high tech prison full of isolation units. Most "reforms " of late have only served the criminal justice system, not the cause of justice. Let's do this right, and maybe the next generation won't have so many McCluskeys to fear.

--------------------------from KGUN9 (Tucson)--------------------

Out-of-state prisoners could be placed at Kingman facility
Reporter: Steve Nuñez

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Nine On Your Side has learned the state has made room for 4,000 more prisoners. That's because Arizona is ending its out-of-state contracts with medium security prisons that hold more than 4,500 violent criminals.

Some of those out-of-state prisoners who are being transferred back to Arizona could be placed at the same medium security prison in Kingman, Arizona, where two murderers and a felon escaped from two weeks ago. 9OYS wants to know what is going on?

Governor Brewer, who has normally made herself available to the media, did not return our phone calls today.

But here's what we dug up on the state's prison situation. The state says its added 4,000 beds to its existing state-run prisons to increase its capacity.

We did the math. Two of those contracts, one in Colorado and one in Oklahoma, held a combined 2,826 prisoners. That means state-run prisons still have room to hold close to 1,200 more prisoners.

Nine On Your Side has also learned there's one more prison contract in Oklahoma that ends in September. That'll bring back an additional 1,724 prisoners, 58 of them who are murderers.

Again, do the math and that totals 4,550 new prisoners or 550 more violent criminals than the state can handle.

Earlier this week, Nine On Your Side also revealed the private-run medium security prison in Kingman has also added more beds to increase its capacity to 3500 prisoners.

9OYS reporter Steve Nunez asked the Department of Corrections if prisoners will be placed at the medium security prison in Kingman. DOC spokesperson Barrett Marson told us, "Kingman is a possibility."

Even the DOC wouldn't fully commit to giving us all of the answers to its recent investigation on The prison break.

However, it pointed to a newly released preliminary investigation that'll now force its contracted medium security prisons to do the following:

• Increase perimeter patrols at all medium and minimum units
• Security staff have been directed to be relieved at the security posts by the oncoming shift

The document also confirms that all contracted prisons including the one in Kingman have verbally committed to improving security practices and strictly complying with DOC policies.

While that may also point to the outcome of its internal investigation, Democrat lawmakers, like Kyrsten Sinema, tells 9OYS they'll keep up the pressure until Governor Brewer answers to people of Arizona.

"We feel that this issue is not very political. It's quite simple. Our state-run prisons have a great history of maintaining security, they're staff members have more training, they have more years on the job and they spend the money that's needed to keep our community secure. Private prisons, on the other hand, have a goal of making money," said Sinema.

Still, lawmakers from both parties want to know how John McClusky, Daniel Renwick and Tracy Province were able to get out of the prison near Kingman.

Democrats sent a letter to legislative leaders demanding hearings. Republican Russell Pearce says the public deserves answers but cautioned against rushing to judgment.

The DOC tells 9OYS the out-of-state prisons will foot the bill for transporting all remaining prisoners back to Arizona