Boy Lout

Oh look! Jared’s already got his Russian merit badge!

Please forgive me, Norman Rockwell! (I Will Do My Best)

Intelligence Deficit

From THINK PROGRESS:

Back in September, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) guessed that his state was facing a $10-11 billion budget shortfall for its fiscal 2012-2013 budget, and refused to entertain reports that his budget gap might be larger until he received the state Comptroller’s official report. He even poo-pooed pronouncements from his 2010 election opponent, Houston Mayor Bill White, that Texas’ deficit may be twice what he was estimating. “If [White] wants to be the budget forecaster for the state of Texas, that’s a different job,” Perry said. “It’s called the comptroller.”

Well, the Comptroller released its report today, and Perry had it wrong:

Texas is expected to collect $72.2 billion in taxes, fees and other general revenue during the 2012-13 budget, down from the $87 billion used in the current two-year budget, Comptroller Susan Combs announced Monday. That puts the shortfall at $27 billion given that maintaining services would run $99 billion for biennium.

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Gimme a Break, a Prison Break

(CNN) — The escape of three convicts from a prison in Arizona last week has become an issue in the state’s campaign for governor.

Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democratic candidate, is accusing incumbent Republican Gov. Jan Brewer of increasing the risk of jailbreaks by favoring for-profit prisons over state-run prisons.

“The Brewer administration has consistently promoted private over public prisons, in spite of the public safety risk,” he said. “The escape of these two violent offenders makes it clear how dangerous this policy has been.”

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You Can’t Spell Crazy Without AZ!

From TALKING POINTS MEMO:

Dean Martin, Arizona state treasurer and Republican candidate for governor, is pushing a plan that would create “tent cities” to house illegal immigrants convicted of other crimes, modeled after notorious anti-immigration Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s set-up in his own Maricopa County.

In an interview with TPM, Martin described how the state could use the tent cities to provide “inexpensive temporary housing” that would save them enough money to deploy more troops down to the border.

According to a statement by Martin, he and Arpaio met earlier this week, and Arpaio endorsed Martin’s “Zero Tolerance” plan because it “offers real solutions.” Martin told TPM that Arpaio also said he would take on any illegal immigrants arrested in his own Maricopa County for other crimes.

In the plan (.pdf), Martin describes how the state of Arizona could save millions by temporarily housing “criminal aliens” in either private prisons or in “tent cities.”

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Nevada’s Obtuse Angle

From MY4NEWS:

A new Suffolk University poll released Thursday shows GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle surging to the front of the pack in a close race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in the Silver State’s GOP primary.

“The ‘Tea Party Express’ endorsement of Angle has energized her effort to rise from relative political obscurity to flat-out front-runner,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center.

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He’s Quacking as Loud as He Can

From the Washington Post:

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Good morning. I’m just about to leave for Europe. I’m looking forward to my trip.

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