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Steve Tracy 05/08/2010 7:19:00 PM
HEY BRUCE, anyone ever told you you're an uneducated embicile ? As far as Obama is concerned you can call him nappy, nigger, whatever, just call him what he really is... Not our first Black president; he is only a 50/50 bar. What he is is a relative of Dick Cheney, the son of Satan. Obama is just another shill (in black-face)who is a part of the ultimate power holders of the world. "Change you can believe in" ??? How cute. And Bruce, before you call other people racist you might want to slow down, clean up your stupid mouth and maybe consider an obvious fact... you are a BIG racist. What a turd.
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bruce 12/22/2009 8:30:00 PM
nappy tried to stick it to joe on behalf of illegal alien criminals he/she what ever failed.your cheating mayor has helped illegal alien mexicans make phoenix the kidnap capital of america but that does not seem to bother you liberal commies as much as sheriff joe catching criminals.you people are piss poor americans, so why don't become mexicans and self deport no one will miss you.your negro president and the first sasquatch are racist commies who hate america and is trying to destroy us.you don't care if hussein obama ruins us as long as you have sheriff joe to scape goat for your failings.
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bruce 12/22/2009 4:03:00 PM
your boy nappy tried to screw joe and failed.your whore master mayor has tried to screw joe and failed.so what is it with you liberals,why do you try to protect illegal alien mexican criminals who have made phoenix the kidnap capital of america?the only thing i can think of is that you are a bunch of traitors like that kenyon in the white house and his band of rosenbergs.negroes, pink or other wise, are the biggest bunch of racists in america like that commie in the white house and the first sasquatch.
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D. Thompson 12/20/2009 8:12:00 PM
It's been a long time since I have read you paper. I moved from Phoenix several years ago and missed guite a few articles about your sheriff Joe. I am not surprised to read that nothing has changed. The sheriff down in maricopa county has broken every civil right the people should expect under the U.S.constitution.It's a shame that those people who still vote for him can't see him for what he is,a power hungry little man who is a racist hiding behind a badge. Anyone with common sense who cares about their community should get rid of him and his gestopo deputies. They have cost the county millions of dollars in legal fees and law suits. Who pays for all of that? You and your tax dollars. Wake up Maricopa county and see the light. You could do alot better. Stop letting this man set the state back 200 years. When you live somewhere else you realize what a joke Az. looks like. Believe me when I say I am glad to be out of there and in a state where there is not so much corruption.
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Editorial Assistant 12/16/2009 11:16:00 PM
A Letter to the Editor:
It appears from your article that the feds are indeed investigating. To what extent is the Mississippi Burning question.
It would be a feather in Barack Obama�s cap if his Justice Department made an example of Arpaio and Thomas. Nationally, even if the redneck element agrees with Thomas and Arpaio, the Obama administration would lose nothing politically by taking bold action. That element doesn�t control politics nationally. Far from it!
And, locally, it doesn�t matter whether a majority of voters would agree with federal action against these two. Obama will never win Arizona in the next election, no matter what he doesn�t do. What better place to come down on demagoguery than your former opponent John McCain�s stomping ground.
And even if he were to lose Arizona because of this, it�s a small price to pay for looking like a civil rights hero to your moderate-to-liberal national constituency. Such action would summon the ghosts of the dead Kennedys in the national consciousness!
Thanks to Michael Lacey for calling out Obama on this obvious and very important point as he received the heralded Nobel Peace Prize!
Arturo Gonsalves, Phoenix
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Editorial Assistant 12/16/2009 11:15:00 PM
A Letter to the Editor:
It has come to this! We are so desperate in Maricopa County that we are calling on the President of the United States to step in and stop obvious violations of civil and human rights by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio (�The Pink Negro,� Michael Lacey, December 10).
That is, our higher state authorities, notably Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and his prosecutors, are too cowardly to take on the tyranny these guys represent, so our only recourse is to appeal to Washington.
It�s a sad state of affairs, and I pray Barack Obama -- whom we voted for because we trusted he had the courage to do what it takes -- will do what it takes to restore the rule of law here in Ari-bama.
Elizabeth May, Tempe
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albert pinto 12/16/2009 6:06:00 AM
thanks for the such a nice article it is really awesome..
===============
albert
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MARIA ALVARADO 12/16/2009 3:45:00 AM
Our families are sufering because our soldiers (whites,african americans,hispanics etc)are fighting and dying defending the ideals of this country.We condemn Cuba,Iran etc of course they do not respect the human dignity;our president recibed the Nobel of Peace,while in our country Arpaio and the mayority of authorities violate the HUMAN RIGHTS of this minority THE HISPANICS. It is a crime to be hispanic;no matter if you are: born in America, inmigrant, "legal or illegal" Hispanics have no rights if you have to face this nazi, ignorant and malicious racism.This amoral behavior show us the real heart of Arpaio and the politics (republican the mayority and some democrats)how they not just used,abused the indefendless; this kind of people are cowards that broke the law(HUMAN LAW)But Obama is too busy reciving award for the peace.Ironic
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 6:34:00 PM
Michael Lacey
I found your article has no barring on the title pink negro and also title that was very discriminating. I know as a journalist you have your right of freedom of speech, but I did not find anything in the article that validate your title. I feel it was quite insulting with everything that is going on in the afro-american community. This title remind me of what we when thru in the early 60s late 50s. Its a Black thang. Are we going to that type of media attack again. Did you have to use Negro to describe Arpaio. Is being a Negro a bad thing? What does Arpaio has to do with the title that has the context Negro in it. I'm not an English major, so will have to excuse my writing but i was truly affected by this article and asking you for an apologize to the black(afro-american) community. We did not vote Arpaio in office. People like you did. Your community ask for a hard nose as a sheriff to stand up for your rights and it backfire. Now you want to relate him to being a negro. The people that voted him in got exactly what they ask for . He is no way a negro of any color. He is a white man and will always be a white man in your white lawless corporate world. So If you have something to say you can call me at [withheld] and I would love to finish telling you how I feel.
Michael Brown
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 6:30:00 PM
I just read your piece on Obama's lack of action, and think it might be the best thing I've read on the subject.
BG
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 6:29:00 PM
Comment via email:
Thanks for your courage and wisdom needed to write the great article in the new times
Thanks!
Victor Moreno
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 6:28:00 PM
Comment via email:
Hello,
I just read your article in the New Times about Obama's lack of impetuosity concerning Sheriff Arpaio's heavy-handed administration. The article was well-written, but I have some concerns I hope you can address. First, President Obama's presence in the article actually seems superfluous. The article was mainly about Sheriff Joe's unfair (and illegal) treatment of both Mexican immigrants and dissidents, but President Obama was periodically mentioned as if to keep readers aware that he had some tangential involvement in the affairs of a relatively small county in an inconsequential (except for the immigrant "problem") region in the contiguous states. I suppose my question is, why does President Obama make
the cover of the issue when your highly slanted piece clearly is meant to criticize Sheriff Joe? I understand that there is a federal task force here to examine the Arpaio issue, but why is it the president's personal problem to deal with him? Arpaio is, after all, an elected official. The scared white people of Maricopa County take comfort in his "tough stance on crime" and his commitment to keeping Arizona "disease-ridden" Mexican-free. The fact is, Arpaio should have made the cover, not some parody of a fifty-year-old racist essay. If you were trying to channel Norman Mailer's shock-factor "journalism," then the cover did make me pick up the magazine, but the article left me disappointed and a little confused. But I digress.
Let's be honest: the president isn't the enemy here. He has the unpleasant task of cleaning up someone else's dirty mess and has had neither the thought-space nor time to make his own mark on American presidential history. He is trying to figure out the best options for winning two different wars, slowing climate change, and for passing a universal healthcare plan. Do you really expect him to take time out and say, "Gee, this Sheriff Joe Something-Or-Other in Maricopa County, Arizona really needs to be forcefully removed from his elected position"? You voiced concerns over the president's will and courage (I think this is where "pink" comes in) but don't you think that it takes some serious cahones to continue a bid for presidency when you're getting public threats on your life from white supremacist organizations?
Anyway, I'm not saying that your article isn't echoing my own opinions about the police-state that is Arizona, but what I am saying is that I think your attacks on the president unfounded and that you are placing too many expectations on a man who is largely dependent on the national legislative body to get anything done. Besides, the man is busy, and that's putting it lightly. I think the only way to make Joe Arpaio responsible for his extreme abuses of power is to keep yelling about it and follow up with our state legislators on the matter. We have a marble cake republic, meaning that states are accountable for most things within their borders, and the federal government really only gets involved in things that cross these borders or that are directly related to federal laws and statutes. We have to do this ourselves as citizens within Maricopa County, it's not fair to implicate someone, who can't do much, as part of the problem. Furthermore, where is your op-ed critiquing Bush about not doing anything about Arpaio? Did he even send a task force?
A sincerely concerned citizen who always voted for Dan Saban,
Kiara Williams-Marks
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 5:51:00 PM
Comment via voice mail of Michael Lacey:
Hi I just wanted to thank you for your article in the New Times. It was really great and I can�t stand Sheriff Joe Arpaio or what he�s been doing here in the Valley. I don�t even want to live here anymore. So keep up the good work and I�ll look forward to reading more of your articles. And I hope you will be safe. I don�t read the New Times that often but thanks a bunch. I really appreciate your stuff and all the things that you guys do.
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 5:51:00 PM
Comment via voice mail of Michael Lacey:
Look here you asshole, traitor mother fucker - how can you dare talk like that about our president? He�s been elected by a majority of the people here. And for you �shitty, piece of shit - to talk about him like that�you should be put in jail. However, this is a free country and you are free of speech but at the end of your shit - of your stupid article it says, �where can the rest of you go?� Yes, you can go all to Hell because you are absolutely out of your fucking mind you bastards, assholes and Mexican ass-kissers.
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 5:40:00 PM
Comment via voice mail of Michael Lacey:
Hi, my name is [withheld] and I�ve just been reading the new times article about the �pink president� (the "Pink Negro") and I just want to commend Michael Lacey. I live in Tempe and I�m very, very disgusted with sheriff Joe Arpaio. I�ve had two sons who have had problems with him. He is a terrible terrible, horrible disgrace to the legal profession. I have many friends who are involved in the legal professional �people who used to work at the D.A.�s office who just had to leave. They couldn�t take it anymore because of the unprofessional and cruel environment that he had. I just want to point out to you that today I was coming home, about four o� clock in the afternoon with my two granddaughters in the car; I wanted to go down Guadalupe road to go to the car wash in Guadalupe and have them help me clean the car. You could not enter Guadalupe. He had Guadalupe Road totally closed off and it looked to me like another one of his horrible sweeps. I volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul's in Phoenix and we�ve had a lower, much lower turnout of people that we know need help because of the terror that he inflicts on people. So I just wanted to commend you for what your doing, ask you to please don�t give it up. And if you want to call me I�m at [withheld]. And good job, keep up the good work.
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 5:38:00 PM
Comment via voice mail of Michael Lacey:
Michael Lacey, I just read part of your article about Sheriff Joe and President Barack Obama and I don�t understand what you�re talking about when you say the �pink negro�. I mean, I�m just appalled that you would bring up this old fashioned racism.
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 5:37:00 PM
Comment via voice mail of Michael Lacey:
Hey Michael, how ya doing? [I] just saw the cover of the new times. I�m kinda confused. Is there a negro in your life or do you have a wife, a Mexican or a red giraffe? This just needs an opinion. I still enjoy your work, by golly! Just...have a good day.
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 5:36:00 PM
Comment via voice mail of Michael Lacey:
Hello Mr. Lacey. This is [withheld] and you�ve done some pieces - and Steve Lemons has been doing articles on our daughter, Courtney Bisbee. I just want to commend you on your cover article. I think it�s outstanding (called "Pink Negro") and it really has educated all of us in the public and I hope it has some impact. And also I heard Ray Stern speak with Morgan Loew on NPR also on the same problem we�re having with Arpaio and Thomas and really the department of justice simply needs to take over the county. We�ve all had enough. But thank you for your good work. Goodbye now.
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 5:34:00 PM
Comment via voice mail of Michael Lacey:
Hello Mr. Lacey, I just read your article in New Times and I got to tell you I think you are the biggest fucking idiot I�ve ever heard of in my entire life. If America�s so bad why don�t you just move to Mexico - if you want to help these people out this much? Arpaio is a hero. He is our Poncho Villa. He is the only person out there fighting morons like you. If you weren�t a reporter and you were in construction and you lost your job to these illegals maybe you would think a little more. The unemployment rate is horrendous right now. Who has all the jobs? The Mexicans, the illegals. And people like you � pieces of shit like you � sticking up for them and helping them get to work? Arpaio is a great man. If I was wealthy, I would fund him personally. If it�s so bad here, why don�t you just leave? I will never pick up another New Times as long as I live - from the liberal leftist shit that comes out of people like yours mouth is absolutely disgusting. If America and Arizona is so bad, move to Russia, move to Mexico. If you want to help do something, why don�t you speak the truth about the whole picture? It�s absolutely ridiculous. I can�t believe they pay somebody like you to write this rhetoric and this garbage down. This is why New Times has lost its credibility - even among people that used to like New Times. It�s absolutely ridiculous. And, again, thank you for your time, you fucking moron.
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 5:33:00 PM
Comment via voice mail of Michael Lacey:
Michael Lacey, my name is [withheld] I just finished reading your article in the New Times. I am astounded and I applaud you gracefully and graciously. My concern is that you might have missed a few items that should be publicized about Mr. Arpaio. His crooked ways are not just through what should be indictment by the federal government for harassing the Hispanics but his crooked ways are deep in the products of his jails etc. and those should be investigated. I�d love to chat with you about it.
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Editorial Assistant 12/15/2009 5:32:00 PM
Comment via voice mail of Michael Lacey:
Hi Michael, my name is [withheld] and I�m looking at the New Times right now and on the cover and it says �negro� with a picture of the president. I don�t care about the picture of the president, it says �negro�. Have you lost your mind? I am reporting this to every news channel that will listen. This is disgusting. It�s in poor taste. You guys need to fix it. This is gross.
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AZ State of Fear 12/15/2009 6:16:00 AM
Outstanding piece, Mr. Lacey. The historical perspective is much needed at this time so the public can become better informed.
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Chad Snow 12/14/2009 1:27:00 PM
Charlotte, Phoenix College is NOT an "Ivy League rated" school. And as a member of a historically oppressed minority, you should be the first one crying out against Arpaio's injustices, instead of your fake outrage over his use of the term "Pink Negro".
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Chad Snow 12/14/2009 1:23:00 PM
Chris Long, you state that "I was never aware presidents were in the habit of confronting local sheriffs...
In fact, the president has no constitutional authority to do so, interfering in a state matter like that; just like the POTUS cannot pardon a state prisoner."
Apparently, your Fuhrer Arpaio wiped his ass over the Supremacy Clause on your copy of the Constitution. Not only does Obama have the AUTHORITY to intervene, he has the OBLIGATION to do so - having taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. For example when President Eisenhower saw blatant violations of Civil rights in Little Rock, he exercised Federal power against a state. That's the point of Lacey's well written and timely article.
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Chris Long 12/14/2009 2:16:00 AM
I was never aware presidents were in the habit of confronting local sheriffs...
In fact, the president has no constitutional authority to do so, interfering in a state matter like that; just like the POTUS cannot pardon a state prisoner.
Lacey must be getting old; how in the hell do you, in any form, shape or fashion, shoehorn The Savior into the NT hatred of Arpaio.
You know, Lacey, Arpaio's poll numbers prove, unmistakably, there is NO such thing as BAD publicity.
Beware, lest you get what you most fear...
"A posse ad esse"...
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Chris Long 12/14/2009 2:16:00 AM
I was never aware presidents were in the habit of confronting local sheriffs...
In fact, the president has no constitutional authority to do so, interfering in a state matter like that; just like the POTUS cannot pardon a state prisoner.
Lacey must be getting old; how in the hell do you, in any form, shape or fashion, shoehorn The Savior into the NT hatred of Arpaio.
You know, Lacey, Arpaio's poll numbers prove, unmistakably, there is NO such thing as BAD publicity.
Beware, lest you get what you most fear...
"A posse ad esse"...
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Tina 12/13/2009 10:44:00 PM
# 30 - PUBLIC OUTCRY. Thanks for the feedback. You too have identified even more of their deceitful, outrageous actions and inactions.
Yesterday and today we're hearing about another of Arpaio's cunning distracting ploys for public consumption -- going after deadbeat parents and distributing toys to the children.
"See how good they are, Ethel, and how kind hearted? Enforcing the law to benefit the children. So there must be something to their talk about a conspiracy among all those judges and those corrupt supervisors. And that sheriff's guy Stoddard must have had a good reason for rifling through that defense attorney's file when her back was turned in the courtroom. I think Joe's doing a good job, Ethel, and he has sound law enforcement reasons for what he does and says."
Some time ago I agreed with another blogger (TommyC)that the MCSO sheriff was mentally ill, opining that it would take a shrink to fine tune his illness with a specified diagnosis. Megalomania, paranoia, obsessive/compulsive disorder?
Well, after digesting much of Arpaio's history contained in Lacey's article here, then thoroughly absorbing Arpaio's even more detailed ghastly history contained in Sarah Fenske's 11-29-07 "Enemies List" article (Lacey provided the link to that article here), there is only one word to describe this practiced liar, this maniacal man who creates fictitious charges against those he perceives to be his enemies, who arrests and imprisons them, who falsifies and destroys records to suit his sick power-driven purposes, who takes sadistic delight in rummaging through and confiscating his "enemies'" personal effects and maliciously harming them in any way he finds possible.
That word is "EVIL." It goes on and on, and it has successfully poisoned the minds of an entire law enforcement agency whose deputies and posse members behave and act similarly under orders.
In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech on Thursday, Barack Obama said, "Make no mistake. Evil does exist in the world."
You've got it, Mr. President. Right here in Maricopa County, Arizona. And if it is not stopped by VERY soon by the federal government, something is bound to blow...after which all that will be left is 20/20 hindsight to reflect upon a preventable tragedy.
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Leonard Clark 12/13/2009 9:48:00 PM
The following letter is a response to another letter I received from two friends of my former Democratic party pleading and lecturing with me and all Progressives that we should all stay within the twin headed beasts known as the Republican and Democratic parties because that would be the only way �Change� could occur:
It's really great that you say: " We Progressives outside the Democratic party, gave up on the party". But, you ignore the fact that the party gave up on us long ago. The truth of the matter is...I respect the fact that there are those among you who would stay within "the belly of the beast" (Democratic party) but you should not put down those of us (Progressives) who see this two party system for what it is...bought and sold by corporate America.
Your "two party" system is now actively denying thousands of veterans (and not just myself) rental payments (Housing Allowances) that they were promised under the Obama appointee general Shinseki.
Your party�s unofficial leader President Obama, is now continuing to operate under the suspension of Habeas Corpus, out of country "Black Prisons" "Extraordinary Rendition" and the allowance of thuggery here in Arizona by allowing racists like Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio to continue to terrorize not only minorities, undocumented immigrants but judges and political officials as well. And, your political party's president Obama is standing by while the break down of law and order occurs not only in our beloved state of Arizona but in the rest of the nation as well. The reason he (Obama) is letting the federal investigation (in Arizona) into the violation of Civil Rights become a joke is so that he will receive more moderate republican votes from Nativists instead of doing the right thing as the Kennedy brothers did when violations of Civil Rights occurred during the 1960�s to stop this kind of un-constitutional thuggery going on now in Arizona and the rest of the nation as well. He (Obama) says: "Do what you will Republican thugs, as long as you see that I will get your constituents votes !
Your party is continuing to allow its accepted titular leader president Obama to allow my fellow Amercian soldiers to die for "Legalized Rape" and the laws of Sharia in Afghanistan, your party and president are continuing to fund these unconstitutional and un-declared wars while the people in our state and nation continue to suffer tremendously, while spending $1,000,000 dollars per American soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan per year, while here in Arizona jobs have been and are being lost among the working men and women and we are letting teachers lose their jobs, schools get shut down, and our elderly and disabled get the get denied basic levels of service! But oh well� we have to continue to pay military contractors billions of our now almost worthless American tax dollars and this list of the filthy corruption not only in the democratic party but in the fascist republican party as well goes on and on.
Yes, my two democratic friends, I respect your efforts to stay within the now corrupt bought and sold corporate beast that has become the democratic party, but don't lecture the rest of us Progressives on allowing this travesty of a party in name only to continue by addressing us as if we are some kind of religious heretics about ready to go to your political �hell� if we don�t see the light and rejoin the democratic party. You say: well then...you will only strengthen the fascist but this supposition would only be true if the so-called Democratic Party were in total opposition to the republican fascists. Which is not the case. But speaking words and acting differently like keeping the filthy Joe Lieberman as Head of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee just shows that your elite party leaders continue to treat us "Charlie Brown Democrats" (come kick the ball one more time Charlie Brown/sucker, we'll hold it for you :).
Go ahead and continue to believe that you have a voice in the beast I wish you well but this party says one thing and does another.
So you say: It's (the Democratic party) better than the fascist Republican party, well... that's only if you believe that living under a "Vichy Democratic party" is better than living under a fascist Hitler. But rest assured under this hypocritical, self-aggrandizing president the working man and woman will find no sanctuary. To the contrary: This president has cast not only our beloved Arizona to the Republican fascists, he has done so with the rest our beloved country while going through shallow make believe act of slapping the hands of the big banks and bankers !
Karl Rove and Sarah Palin loved Obama's speech after he received the wrongful award of a Nobel Peace Prize while sending more of my fellow soldiers to die for corrupt Middle Eastern politicians (Karzai, etc.) their Legalized Rape and the Laws of Sharia !
He (president Obama) is kind and considerate you say...Please, tell that to the families of my fallen comrades that he refuses to send letters of condolences to because they died from suicide brought on by P.T.S.D. �Oh, but that's not dying while defending our nation�, Please... This party can take a flying leap into their They are actively allowing my fellow veterans and their families to go homeless because they are too good to issue emergency checks for the checks that never came under the New G.I. Bill, much less turning into what should have been a celebration of the Christmas holidays into a living hell for many veterans and their families on the New G.I. Bill because they are trying to scramble to keep a roof over their head to make up for the promised New G.I. Bill checks that never came ! I just hope that maybe�just maybe these selfish political elites in the Obama Administration while enjoying their selfish Christmas at least give a passing thought to these veterans and their families who will now not be able to enjoy their Christmas holiday !
And, while this so called �great� Obama administration is giving broken photo op. promises to veterans their president will do as king Bush did: negotiate with the so called �evil� Taliban and Sunni insurgents who have already murdered thousands of my fellow soldiers and will continue to do so, as they are bribed with our tax dollars while doing so !
It is very clear now that president Obama, to make up for not wearing the uniform himself now tries to out do the filthy republican Bush Crime Family warmongers as a so called "military man" and you all say give him a break, well dead soldiers don't get a break ! He is the "Honey King" because his words are like honey used to attract those who believe them unlike "Sarah Palin� the Vinegar Queen. But, the words from both Honey man and Vinegar lady mean the same thing: false hope and more unconstitutional bankrupting war while the enrichment of the Military Industrial Elites continues un-abated with lies, lies and more lies.
If only we were living one hundred thirty years in the past, they (the political elites of this country) could tell the veterans the same kind of lie they once told another people: "we will keep our promises to you, as surely as the green grass grows and the river flows"-LIES.
And my democratic friend, I know you served in combat and thank you for your service but I will not rest and you should not either until everyone of my and your comrades and their families have the promises restored to them by this charade of a two party system that has really just become two sides of the same coin !...
Remember, dead American soldiers don't "get a break" and when president Obama tells a lie as he did in his recent speech propagandizing "escalation" saying: I have personally sent a letter of condolence to each and every family of a fallen service member who has died defending their nation, then he is propagating a cruel and outdated religious sentiment that believes those who die by suicide are going to hell. President Obama needs to stop taking his marching orders from the generals and the religious right! He is not a Progressive, he is a War Monger !
It is easy to salute the dead bodies of my fellow American soldiers at Dover but apparently for him not so easy to keep his promises to the living ones.
My fellow soldiers who are dying in these filthy corporate wars don't "get a break" and I'll be damned if I give this man a break who never wore the uniform and then goes out and tries to out do that other war criminal King George W. Bush !
Dead American Soldiers Don't Get Breaks !
P.S. By the way, I want you, the two democratic high level party people to whom I write this letter to know that: who ever is in the U.S. Treasury or VA stopping my disability check and my New G.I. Bill Check from coming, may have accomplished your political retribution against me by making my family suffer, but you will find out that punishing veterans and their families for speaking out will accomplish exactly the opposite of silencing not only myself but all of my fellow veterans and citizens !
Finally, I refuse to ignore the good in our president Obama, it is not to late if he reverses his war mongering course and establishes a �Department Level of Peace� cabinet position with portfolio. He can, still be the greatest president this nation has ever had and I hope that this ends up being the case. I know that I have sinned and he has sinned now let us all repent for those sins and know that it is not to late to change ourselves and our nation for peace, love and humanity. That is what the United States of America should stand for.
N.O. M.A.S. !
Not One More of My Fellow American Soldiers Should Die In Those Lies We Call the Occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan !
Leonard Clark
Persian Gulf/Iraq Occupation Vet
December 14th, 2009
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Emil Pulsifer 12/12/2009 11:19:00 PM
Yay! We're Number One! (Or if Number Two, we try harder.)
Seriously, they don't come any more out of touch than Don from Gilbert. Quite aside from his racist bias ("minority driven...led by gangs of Spanish speaking people") he's simply wrong on all counts.
Did you actually read the article, Don? Does it sound like the MCSO command is concentrating on standard law enforcement? The MCSO command is not "doing its job". It's serving the Badged Ego in his public relations and personal vendettas.
The MCSO, of all the local law enforcement bodies, has one of the WORST records in terms of crime rates in the unincorporated areas they have primary jurisdiction over, and in terms of clearance of crimes under investigation. (The Goldwater Institute and others have documented the shocking and unprofessional abuse of clearance statistics by the MCSO.)
If Arpaio is doing his job, why are these problems so serious? Why aren't they being targeted? Answer: because Arpaio is too busy rounding up undocumented landscapers and dishwashers at traffic stops, not to mention journalists, judges, and political enemies.
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Don 12/12/2009 10:36:00 PM
I believe Mr. Lacey is pretty much off base and making no sense. Our problems in and around Phoenix metro area are mainly minority driven, drugs and underage prostitutes. We are # 1 or 2 in both areas. Again led by gangs of Spanish speaking people. Our county law enforcement officers are only do their job. And it's not setting in front of a computer writing liberal garbage.
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Emil Pulsifer 12/12/2009 8:51:00 PM
The term "pink" as used here is clearly a political, not a racial term. See also "parlor pink".
"advocating something, as a political view or doctrine, at a safe remove from actual involvement in or commitment to action: parlor leftism; parlor pink"
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PUBLIC OUTCRY!! WHERE'S THE DO 12/12/2009 2:43:00 PM
Mr. Lacey, This is a great piece bringing history and background to where Maricopa County finds itself today. The public needs to be informed to counter act the PR lies they spew daily with our taxpayer dollars.
If nothing else, it's time for TERM LIMITS for a sheriff along with OVERSIGHT and ACCOUNTABILITY for the County Attorneys. They have abused their power far too long as history shows in your article. When a County Attorney colludes with a sheriff to allow the destruction of so many lives that ordinary people would never get away with -- it's their turn to go to prison in this state where they have created zero tolerance laws and policies which have destroyed the community and turned Arizona into a decaying and prison state.
#12 Tina - Your comment was spot-on! But this really stood out. Had to see it again before it got lost.
"It is the numerous egregious violations of campaign finance law -- via the sheriff's secret SCA Fund involving fraud and cover-ups for a couple years, which was then spent to influence the outcome of both Arpaio's and Thomas' election.
The Arpaio/Thomas buddy system ploy, selective enforcement and non-enforcement by Thomas, is to divert attention from their own flagrant wrongdoing by making a lot of noise about Supervisors Wilcox and Stapley.
BTW, thanks for the info about Cozzalino (sp?) and Bearup, the unconscionable evil they endured from Arpaio and his minions. I doubt if many people know of that history."
Where's the grandstanding on Joel Fox, MCAO? What he's done has been swept under the rug? Where's the inmate child rapist that escaped from the Downtown Superior Court under Arpaio's watch? Why has the case of the gang rape of a 14 year old virgin gone uncharged and the MCSO and the MCAO have "cleared" it from their cases? These are just a few of the "tough" cases these elected law enforcement people have chosen to cover-up. So while they are wasting taxpayer dollars and destroying their political enemies to control the state their continue to not do the jobs they were hired for.
THOMAS AND ARPAIO HAVE TAKEN OVER CONTROL -- IT'S TIME FOR THE DOJ TO TAKE OVER THE COUNTY!
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Equally upset 12/12/2009 2:55:00 AM
Oh yea. And Charlotte, you are mad about the term "pink Negro"?
You don't even k ow what the term means and you're upset? So what does it mean? I read the story 2 times and can't figure it out. I googled it too. Nothing. I called two black buddies of mine and they don't know what it means either. So what the fuck are you mad at?
I weight 280 pounds and if someone said: "hey fat ass" in a crowded room with a ton of skinny people on it, I would not look up. You now why? Because I don't think of my self as a fat ass. I'm not. I'm a person that is bigger than most, but I'm not a fat ass.
So you are you upset because you know what the term pink Negro means, or are you upset because you think your a pink negro?
Guess what? You're a person. Ever stop to think the term isn't talking about you? Such vanity Charlotte. No, it isn't talking about you.
Not unless your Obama sitting on The New Times web site.
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Coz 12/12/2009 12:55:00 AM
It's very tyipcal of the uneducated Bozo Joe supporters.
They seem to have a problem reading, period.
>>Don't you hate it when people do this?
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Rick 12/11/2009 9:37:00 PM
Charlotte said: "I only read the first few paragraphs of this story."
uuuhhhnmmmm then shut the fuck up! and read the entire story before making any comments agains or in favor of this article! btw this isn't about talking shit about black people.
Don't you hate it when people do this?
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SunDevilRick 12/11/2009 9:31:00 PM
Charlotte,
You admit in the first few lines of your post that you only read a few paragraphs of the story. As such your long and winded argument against the story falls flat. Just like any type of reactionary fool you only see the surface and accept it as the whole truth. Read the whole story and then your opinion will be worth something.
Also what is exactly an "Ivy League Rated" University? The Ivy League schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale if you did not go to one of those you did not attend an Ivy League School. "Ivy League Rated" sounds like a phrase used by someone who wants to sound important but can't show a real diploma on their wall. If you are proud of the University you went to do not do it the disservice of saying that it is a weak copy of a venerated institution. Either you are Ivy League or you are not.
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king buzzo 12/11/2009 9:00:00 PM
Charlotte = sock puppet!
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Charlotte 12/11/2009 7:56:00 PM
I hate the title of your article. And have now really come to less then like your publication. Until this point I had neither applauded nor hated the Sheriff. Your article has done more to move me away from supporting immigration reform.
I only read the first few paragraphs of this story. As an African American graduate of an Ivy League rated University, I find your comments offensive and berating. Your bleeding heart liberalism does not take into account who the real criminals are and why immigration is an issue in this country.
For every decent person striving to come to the United States for a better life there is some low life wanting to come to the United States and destroy our way of living. For every child stranded here because their parents sought a better life there is some degenerate who is simply looking for a free ride on the back of the American tax payer.
I would not say that the Sheriff's tactics are acceptable; however in this enlightened day and age I would certainly not accept being called a pink Negro. I find the label offensive and believe you owe an apology to every African American who has ever worked diligently and gone nearly into bankruptcy to get a decent education private school or not.
Pink Negro indeed. Your scratchings and rantings could not even begin to compare to the intent of Norman Mailer's the White Negro. The needs of the people in 1957 vs. the needs of the people in 2009 are vastly different. In 1957 I was still fighting for a seat on the bus let alone a seat in the classroom filled with people who hated me because of the color of my skin. And still in 2009 I find myself fighting to be called who I am and not some nasty name � Pink Negro.
This President was doomed from the day he was officially elected to be called names and ridden for every decision he makes. You have successfully joined the long line of those expected to have nothing good to say. Had the President been Caucasian would you have called him the pink-whitey?
The subject of your article is quite interesting � although overplayed as we hear about it all the time. The execution is terrible and should have been run past the editorial board one more time. Didn�t anyone on the board ask the question � will someone find this title offensive? Thank God I don�t have to pay to read this dribble.
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Coca-ColaMan 12/11/2009 5:28:00 PM
At the end of this story Michael Lacey tells us we can all go to hell. Mr. Lacey, we already ARE in hell thanks to corrupt clowns like Shurf Bozo Joke Arpaio and Candy Dandy Ass Thomas. Let's take a quick look at the past 10 days or so....
1) Joke and Candy Dandy file a frivolous federal lawsuit claiming "widespread conspiracy" and asking for "equitable relief so that we can do our jobs."
2) Hendershott then demands $7M in taxpzyer funds to pay for Joke's legal expenses.
3) Candy Dandy serves Judge Donahoe with a criminal complaint, 2 hours before Candy Dandy would've lost another case against the MCBofS.
4) Candy Dandy indicts Don Stapley on 27 new charges and indicts Mary Rose Wilcox on 36 charges, charges I guarantee will be dismissed by the presiding judge (Stapley's 1st indictment was tossed out of court.)
5) Joke and the Clowns serve baseless search warrants on a non-profit organization on the baseless charges brought by Candy Dandy.
Candy Dandy continues to blow through his budget hiring expensive out of state law firms to represent him in court. Does he have the kahonees to try a case himself or will he cower in fear like he always does? He claims he wants "equitable relief so that he can do his job."
Joke continues to cost the taxpayers of this county and state millions of dollars in lawsuit judgments and legal fees when he's supposedly "doing his job."
Sounds like neither one is doing their jobs and need to be booted from office. If the people can impeach President Andrew Johnson (he was spared conviction by 1 vote), President Bill Clinton (he was found not guilty) and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (case is pending), I don't see why we can't boot these sadsacks from office.
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Jill L. 12/11/2009 11:51:00 AM
Courageous piece, all of which needed to be said. Now, will someone be courageous enough to do something about this despot??
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Coz 12/11/2009 4:54:00 AM
My mistake, thought that post was from JJ the english professor in Scottsdale.
>>Wow, aren't you an intelligent guy...learn all that in college did you ?
>>In the event I did not make myself clear, please shove your brother fist up your ass. Again.
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Coz 12/11/2009 4:50:00 AM
Wow, aren't you an intelligent guy...learn all that in college did you ?
>>In the event I did not make myself clear, please shove your brother fist up your ass. Again.
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JJ the Clown 12/11/2009 4:06:00 AM
Yea, you are a BA alright, a Bullshit Asshole.
>>I have a BA in English,
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SunDevilRick 12/10/2009 11:34:00 PM
JJ,
I too have a BA in English so woohoo for you.
That still doesn't prove the thought that you have regarding his article being "Institutional Racism".
Just because he compares the President's culture shift to one of the Preppie Handbook set from the one that he had in South Chicago does not make Lacey racist. Was Mailer a Racist in his article when he pointed out the white kids were doing the same thing 80 years ago?
The point of the article is that by ignoring the state of affairs in Arizona with Andy Thomas and Sherrif Joe, The President is adapting the actions of the phone it in social elite that are all talk and very little action when it comes to injustice.
Does that mean that Lacey is a racist? No it means that Lacey has made a very astute observation. He has also used his position to call out for help from a state that is being largely ignored by Federal investigators.
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SunDevilRick 12/10/2009 8:48:00 PM
JJ,
Please search the web for Norman Mailer and his book The White Negro. Lacey plays off this title and the themes in Mailer's book to prove his point.
You sir are an ignorant sod. Read the story and educate yourself.
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webguy 12/10/2009 7:18:00 PM
JJ, If you actually opened the cover and read the first sentence, you would understand the reference. Get past the rhetoric and on to the topic.
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Tina 12/10/2009 5:36:00 PM
Mr. Lacey, a correction (page 3).
Arpaio's first charges against Stapley did not relate to improper CAMPAIGN-disclosure forms where the sheriff, ironically, committed the same kind of reporting errors.
The charges against Stapley pertained to FINANCIAL-disclosure forms which local elected officials are required to file annually. These forms, I understand, are still nebulously and ambiguously written, and require candidates to disclose their sources of income (and possibly income sources of immediate family members with whom they reside), their property holdings, and I believe gifts valued over a certain denomination. Intended general purpose is to apprise the public of and elected official's potential and substantial conflicts-of-interest and thwart improper decision making by that elected official. Because the forms themselves are unclear or ambiguous in some places, advice is often sought from city and town attorneys by local elected officials on how to fill out the forms.
The Arpaio/Thomas charges now against Wilcox pertain to her financial disclosure forms or the claim that she should have abstained from voting on something due to their position that she had a conflict-of-interest on the agenda item. (I don't know of any instances in Arizona where errors or omissions on financial disclosure forms were litigated or prosecuted other than these Stapley and Wilcox instances.)
CAMPAIGN finance forms and laws, on the other hand, are very specific, and require all candidates for elected public office to file their completed forms before and after the applicable election. Forms must list each donor's name, address and dollar amount donated with a predetermined maximum allowable from any one donor to the candidate's campaign. Each campaign expenditure made in a given reporting period must likewise be itemized. Those are just the basics.
It is the numerous egregious violations of campaign finance law -- via the sheriff's secret SCA Fund involving fraud and cover-ups for a couple years, which was then spent to influence the outcome of both Arpaio's and Thomas' election.
The Arpaio/Thomas buddy system ploy, selective enforcement and non-enforcement by Thomas, is to divert attention from their own flagrant wrongdoing by making a lot of noise about Supervisors Wilcox and Stapley.
BTW, thanks for the info about Cozzalino (sp?) and Bearup, the unconscionable evil they endured from Arpaio and his minions. I doubt if many people know of that history.
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JJ 12/10/2009 2:17:00 PM
Am I the only one who thinks this "Pink Negro" bullshit is them most racist thing I have ever seen in print? I would expect this shit from Sarah Palin's speech writer, not the editor of an alternative weekly.
Lacey has *ONCE AGAIN* stuck his foot in his epithet-dripping mouth. The last time was in April of 2008 when he dropped an N-bomb as a supposed term of endearment. Even Eminem can't pull that off, Michael. Your latent institutional racism appears to be bubbling to the surface. Come to think of it, why don't you have a single African-American writer on your staff? Even Sheriff Mussalini's Stasi Human Smuggling Unit has a couple of goons with Stockholm Syndrome.
You suck, and you should be ashamed of yourself. Time for a mea culpa press conference with Reverend Tillman for black-up.
Why didn't you just come right out and refer to Obama as an "Uncle Tom" if you were going to go this far? The blow-back should be about the same.
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CooperG 12/10/2009 12:31:00 PM
In listening to Obama's Nobel speech, he said "I believe that peace is unstable where citizens are denied the right to speak freely or worship as they please; choose their own leaders or assemble without fear."
Let's look at Maricopa County in this light:
1. Citizens denied the right to speak freely or worship as they please - Check
2. Choose their own leaders (provided those leaders support Joe Arpaio and Andy Thomas) - Check
3. Cannot assemble without fear - Check
He added "No matter how callously defined, neither America's interests � nor the world's �are served by the denial of human aspirations."
Personally, I think he's unaware of the problems here because those who "know" about the problem (if they're telling him anything at all) are telling him that it's under control. Unfortunately for us, "under control" means nothing is happening at all.
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Tina 12/10/2009 12:16:00 PM
"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows."
Lacey's close analytical examination of Arpaio's wicked history, which has existed and grown for many years now, provides a depth of understanding to our sinister sheriff that many of us had not fully appreciated or realized until relatively recently. (I only began paying close attention to wiles and guiles of Arpaio and the MCSO about two years ago, and the awakening was bad news. Very bad news.)
The graphic comparison to spreading rootless fungus growth, and the mistaken belief that it (he) can be "contained" without intervention, is a memorable and fitting analogy.
The sheer madness that's been exhibited in the last week has certainly set off alarms, and this madness can no longer be dismissed or ignored. People always have 20/20 hindsight in the wake of often preventable tragedies (e.g., Ft. Hood, Katrina, Bernie Madoff, 9/11, etc.) Arpaio and his band of thugs are a big tragedy waiting to happen.
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Tina 12/10/2009 12:16:00 PM
"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows."
Lacey's close analytical examination of Arpaio's wicked history, which has existed and grown for many years now, provides a depth of understanding to our sinister sheriff that many of us had not fully appreciated or realized until relatively recently. (I only began paying close attention to wiles and guiles of Arpaio and the MCSO about two years ago, and the awakening was bad news. Very bad news.)
The graphic comparison to spreading rootless fungus growth, and the mistaken belief that it (he) can be "contained" without intervention, is a memorable and fitting analogy.
The sheer madness that's been exhibited in the last week has certainly set off alarms, and this madness can no longer be dismissed or ignored. People always have 20/20 hindsight in the wake of often preventable tragedies (e.g., Ft. Hood, Katrina, Bernie Madoff, 9/11, etc.) Arpaio and his band of thugs are a big tragedy waiting to happen.
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JJ 12/10/2009 6:26:00 AM
Shame on you, Michael Lacey.
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FormerRepublican 12/10/2009 3:44:00 AM
Mr. Lacey, A courageous piece!
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Stoller the sewer rat 12/10/2009 3:32:00 AM
Your wrong Piss on Stoller, he's not a shithead, Stoller is a sewer rat through and through.
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Bill Stoller and Gerri Cocozza 12/10/2009 3:03:00 AM
To "Piss," you must mean open warrants that don't get executed because they're quashed. You better update your research! (( - : Our Bill Stoller has been stopped for minor traffic violations and speeding - isn't it funny that NOTHING comes up?
Better computer-generate more warrants against your political opponents which will be purged very quickly from the system.
Look like Phil's warrants aren't worth the paper they're INKJET PRINTED ON with his home PC. Losers. (( - :
Happy indictments, Phil. Don't drop the soap in Leavenworth, Cellblock Queen. (( - :
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Piss On Stoller 12/10/2009 2:48:00 AM
Oh look, the shithead Stoller just crawled out from his toilet...
How's those open warrants in Maricopa County you have working out for you shithead ?
Still making those threatening & harassing phone calls ?
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Bill Stoller and Gerri Cocozza 12/10/2009 2:40:00 AM
To Mike "Hayseed" Lacey,
Are you still fuming over your fifteen minutes in a holding tank courtesy of the MCSO and Joe Arpaio? You're a punk and a coward who threatened a law enforcement official who's almost 80 years old when you published his home address on the front cover of your ragsheet. There are more professional ways to handle disputes, but you're too ignorant to do it legitimately.
Try threatening our lives, drunk, and you'll regret it. You're a little dead-end piece of shit hick from Binghamton, New York, who never outgrew the sixties.
Anything to say, dirtbag? Call 1-602-992-4578, 1-203-434-9329, or Email Ms. Cocozza at Gerric7@gmail.com.
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Emil Pulsifer 12/10/2009 12:35:00 AM
A stunning indictment. Is it too much to hope for the same from the Obama administration? Possibly so. The writer notes our president's Ivy League background and the difference between the bound, musty volumes of a law library, and the realities of life. Recalling Goethe's words from Mephistopheles in Faust, "Grau, teurer Freund, ist alle Theorie, und gruen des Lebens goldner Baum". The relevant color may be, not pink, but gray.
Our old friend Jon Talton recently summed up Obama's essence thus:
"Barack Obama fits the Burkean mold of slow change, respectful of tradition and custom, seeking to preserve the best of existing arrangements. Unfortunately, thirty years of right-wing revolution (represented by Mr. Obama's opponent, the wealthy Republican John Sidney McCain III) have driven these laudable benchmarks so far to the extreme that Mr. Obama's innate restraint is exactly the wrong temperament for this pivotal moment in history."
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