Public Wreckers

Childress, winner of New Times' 2007 Best Bigot award, ended the meetings at his Kia lot weeks ago. And though the car-peddler will not return this beak-bearer's calls for comment, several calls to sales and service staff at Childress Kia have found that the sale is pending and that the dealership will change hands in November.

To what degree Childress will remain at the helm of United for a Sovereign America's prejudiced powwows remains to be seen. Childress, who reportedly was in a severe motorcycle accident about two months ago, just stepped down as the head of the AZ chapter of the F.I.R.E. (Federal Immigration Reform and Enhancement) Coalition, an anti-illegals group well known in nativist circles.

Yet Childress attended, on crutches, a recent anti-immigrant press conference given by Nickel Bag Joe and County Attorney Thomas. Arpaio even introduced the obviously well-connected Childress to a reporter present at the event.

This perturbed penguin finds it both weird and pathetic that Childress and his followers are now nesting at the Yucca Branch Library. They pay about $15 for the space per meeting. Doubt they'll be reading much, save for history books on the Jim Crow South, of which they're likely to be fond.

Still, they might serve a good purpose. Should schoolkids ever wish to observe real-life bigotry, they can forgo the dusty tomes and study the U.S.A. members filing through to their meet.