Florida Governor Rick Scott’s decision the other day to go along with the Medicaid expansion next year, after he had previously rejected it vehemently, has been widely interpreted as simply the latest event in a series whereby Republican governors are slowly seeing the handwriting on the wall and capitulating to the hated Obamacare, while also being motivated by one political factor or another; for example, Politico lays it to Scott’s sinking poll numbers.

Yesterday, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer endorsed taking advantage of the Affordable Care Act to expand Medicaid to everyone up to 138% of the federal poverty level. While Brewer has been one of the most vocal opponents of “Obamacare,” in her State of the State address she acknowledged that it is the law of the land and must be dealt with as such.

In a move that should surprise no one, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) officially wrote the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to inform them Arizona will not set up its own health care exchange. This means the federal government will instead need to set up an exchange in the state.

Arizona is just the latest in a long line of states to officially decide to leave the management of their exchanges up to the federal government. Frankly, I consider this a positive development.

It’s only the first day, and we’ll have to wait for the numbers over a longer time horizon; but if these lines and these stories are any indication, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program inaugurated yesterday was a wild success.

At the end of yesterday, Arizona’s female Governor, Jan Brewer, signed a bill banning abortions after 18 weeks and creating a new definition of “pregnant.”

I can’t use the photo, so I will direct readers to their own link and I will direct you NOT to Jan Brewer’s finger (or her mouth for that matter which looks as if she is screaming at the top of her lungs… though perhaps there was engine noise and she just wanted the President to hear what she had to say), but to the President’s right arm and hand (which you can’t see but which you can sort of figure out where it is from the angle and so on). He has moved in and is either putting his hand or trying to put his hand on her arm (perhaps on her elbow). He is trying to draw her in, reduce the distance between them.

I’m not going to get into the drama of Barack Obama’s run-in with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer at the airport. It’s just cable news fodder, so let them handle it. What does interest me is the fact that the biggest sub-group of Arizonans fascinated with the exchange are the Latino community, an indicator of why Obama went to Arizona in the first place.

Democrats see the chance that President Obama’s heated exchange with Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona on the airport tarmac in Phoenix could help him with the Hispanic voters he came West to court this week.

Private prison companies don’t make money by generating more revenue; they make it by cutting costs, in things like maintenance, security, and medical care provided to prisoners. So private prisons simply don’t offer better or even equivalent services and conditions compared to state-run facilities. But the findings of the audit may surprise those who aren’t familiar with this blog or the industry: the state wouldn’t actually save any money by privatizing its prisons. That’s right; even though they pay less, offer less benefits, cherry-pick the cheapest prisoners, and cut corners in every area of operations, private prisons cost just about as much to operate in Arizona as state-run facilities.

So, last night: 1. The “unholy alliance” of dirty fucking hippies unions and the middle class sent Pundit/Governor John Kasich down to crushing defeat in Ohio…overwhelmingly. “It’s clear the people have spoken,” the humbled Republican leader said from the Statehouse… ” And as a result of that, it requires me to take a deep breath [...]

Two interesting pieces here regarding the influence the private prison industry wield in its political affiliations and activities. Most of the reason the industry has been so successful in securing contracts despite decades of failing to perform is the cozy relationship it has cultivated with state and federal officials who control the disbursement of public funds and criminal justice sentencing. They cultivate these relationships through donating to individual politicians and various campaigns they embark upon, but also through hiring professional lobbyists to promote their will while the legislature is in session.