Civil Rights

Psychic TV's Genesis P-Orridge drops PR bomb on Tom Anderson.

AZ ACLU honors New Times founders Jim Larkin and Mike Lacey as Civil Libertarians of the Year.

Say goodbye to separate-but-unequal at the Phoenix Country Club

Hispanic News' Jon Garrido disses gays (including Gov. Janet Napolitano), claims "98% of Hispanics" think likewise.

WHO KILLED KING?

THE VALLEY'S HOTTEST POLITICAL STRATEGISTS TEAMED UP TO PUSH MLK DAY. NO WONDER IT FAILED.

Pay Ball!

Stadium-tax foes strike out again in Superior Court

Flashes 08-31-00

Dispatches From Uranus...

Hart v. Arpaio civil rights class-action suit awaits verdict

Dispatches From Uranus...

Walloping Janet Napolitano for Her Prop 102 Stance, The Word-Wrangling Wren Looks to Harvey Milk for Inspiration

Dispatches From Uranus...

Arizona Felons Should Be Able to Vote More, Say ACLU

Okay, it's not the problems of the world are going to get solved if more convicted felons get out and vote. There are other reasons why Arizona should consider changing the way it disenfranchises ex-cons from the electoral process, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union&nbs ... More >>

Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board Asks BOS to Terminate Joe Arpaio's 287(g) Agreement with ICE

Though I won't be holding my breath for a snappy response from the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, the Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board -- which is made up of volunteers appointed by the Governor -- has written BOS Chairman Andy Kunasek, asking that the Supervisors consider the immediate re ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Blasted by John Conyers, Zoe Lofgren, Mary Rose Wilcox Tomorrow in D.C.

Check this video the group America's Voice has been using to gather signatures for the anti-Joe petition to be ballyhooed tomorrow. This is one I wish I could be in D.C. for: Tomorrow at 1 p.m., House Judiciary Chair John Conyers, Immigration Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, and apparently our o ... More >>

E.J. Montini, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's New Best Bud

Maybe E.J. Montini should ask Maria del Carmen Garcia Martinez (left) if she feels the MCSO violated her civil rights?Why do I bother with a middlebrow muttonhead like the Republic's E.J. Montini? After all, this smug little scribbler is known for his milquetoasty opinions, his aversion to rocking t ... More >>

John Conyers' House Judiciary Committee to Hold 287(g) Hearing April 2

from Congressman Nadler's Web site NYC Congressman Jerry Nadler (left), with House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers. Trying to get info out of Washington, D.C. from here in Sand Land is like attempting to obtain cheese directly from the cow's teat sometimes. Nevertheless, I'm in rece ... More >>

House Judiciary's Witness List for Thursday's 287(g) Hearing

I just received the witness list for Thursday's 287(g) hearing from New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler's office. At this point, it's highly unlikely that the Republicans will try to call Sheriff Joe Arpaio because the Dems are running the show, and Arpaio would be walking into a hostile environment ... More >>

Al Sharpton to Denounce Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Tuesday Press Conference

photo by David Shankbone Look out Joe, Rev. Al's comin' for ya... The left's finally bringin' out the big dogs to take on our racial-profilin' Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Tomorrow in Harlem, Rev. Al Sharpton will denounce Maricopa County's corrupt, tin-pot tyrant in a national press conference with B ... More >>

Al Sharpton, Mary Rose Wilcox, ACORN's Bertha Lewis, and Others Blast Joe Arpaio on Media Conference Call

photo by Juda EngelmayerRev. Al's got his eye on Sheriff Joe...As I promised in a previous blog post, I participated in a national conference call this morning, which featured the Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network, ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis, Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, ... More >>

Inmates' Rights Lawsuit Languishes

The unresolved Hart vs. Hill suit was filed 30 years ago in federal court. It brings up the same jailhouse abuses that occur today

Letters From the Issue of Thursday, April 19, 2007

The unresolved Hart vs. Hill suit was filed 30 years ago in federal court. It brings up the same jailhouse abuses that occur today

Rock the Vote

A Phoenix man may serve five years in prison for — get this — voting

Dead Men Talking

The ACLU is fighting a state law that keeps death row inmates off the Web

Cause Celeb

After years of wildly blasting the Chandler power structure, self-proclaimed civil rights advocate Ramon Gomez now finds himself under attack

Habla Di, Habla Da, Strife Goes On

Federal ruling in bilingual-education lawsuit goes unheeded by state officials

When Photo Was King

Images from the Deep South take viewers on a walk through the civil rights era

Fed Up

The Justice Department investigates the county sheriff's officeagain

FEDS PROBE ALLEGED ABUSE IN COUNTY JAILJOE ARPAIO'S FAMOUS JAIL IS NOW THE SUBJECT OF A JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLE CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The Justice Department investigates the county sheriff's officeagain

JUDICIAL INDESCRETIONSCONSERVATIVES PROPOSING NEW LAWS TO STEM FLOOD OF LAWSUITS BY INMATES

The Justice Department investigates the county sheriff's officeagain

OBSTRUCTION IN THE MAINSTREAMHANDICAPPED KIDS CAN PROSPER IN REGULAR SCHOOL CLASSES--SOMETIMES AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER STUDENTS

The Justice Department investigates the county sheriff's officeagain

LAND OF THE FREE-FOR-ALL

WITH PROPOSITION 300--THE PRIVATE-PROPERTY-RIGHTS MEASURE--ARIZONA ONCE AGAIN BECOMES A BATTLEGROUND FOR A NATIONAL RIGHT-WING CRUSADE

ACLU to Host Forum on "Constitution-Free" Zone Near Border That Allows Checkpoints

Border Patrol checkpoints and their impact on civil rights will be discussed at a forum next week in Green Valley hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union. The topic is a hot one in the southern Arizona community, where some residents have fought plans to install a permanent checkpoint on Inte ... More >>

Letter to Obama Urges End to 287(g), Signed by 521 Organizations

from the White House President Obama gets whacked, but from the left this time​A just-released letter to President Barack Obama endorsed by a diverse group of 521 civil rights, legal and cultural organizations -- including the ACLU, the ADL, MALDEF, the NAACP Legal Defense Fu ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Apparently in Violation of ICE Agreement; New MOA Still Unsigned by ICE, Goes Before Supes Wednesday

Would you buy a used car from this guy, or a played out Memorandum of Agreement? By kvetching to the Arizona Republic and KTAR 92.3 FM's Jay Lawrence over the weekend about his brand-spanking new, 287(g) jails contract with ICE, has Arpaio thereby violated his agreements with ICE, bo ... More >>

Does U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke Have the Stones to Take on Sheriff Joe?

Would you buy a used car from this guy, or a played out Memorandum of Agreement? By kvetching to the Arizona Republic and KTAR 92.3 FM's Jay Lawrence over the weekend about his brand-spanking new, 287(g) jails contract with ICE, has Arpaio thereby violated his agreements with ICE, bo ... More >>

The Pink Negro: As an Ivy League Lawyer, is President Barack Obama Hard Enough to Confront the Evil Personified by Sheriff Joe Arpaio?

Would you buy a used car from this guy, or a played out Memorandum of Agreement? By kvetching to the Arizona Republic and KTAR 92.3 FM's Jay Lawrence over the weekend about his brand-spanking new, 287(g) jails contract with ICE, has Arpaio thereby violated his agreements with ICE, bo ... More >>

DOJ Committed to Investigation of Joe Arpaio, According to Spokesman

The DOJ offers no guarantees it will act to stop the sheriff's ongoing civil rights abusesYesterday, I spoke with Alejandro Miyar, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, which is currently investigating civil rights violations by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies.T ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, December 24, 2009

The DOJ offers no guarantees it will act to stop the sheriff's ongoing civil rights abusesYesterday, I spoke with Alejandro Miyar, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, which is currently investigating civil rights violations by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies.T ... More >>

RFK: The Journey to Justice

The DOJ offers no guarantees it will act to stop the sheriff's ongoing civil rights abusesYesterday, I spoke with Alejandro Miyar, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, which is currently investigating civil rights violations by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies.T ... More >>

Barack Obama's Bald-Faced Hypocrisy on Immigration, and the Puente Crew Protests Eric Holder Monday Morning

Start raising hell and keep raising hell, because otherwise Obama won't do diddlyToday, President Barack Obama buffaloed tens of thousands of activists demanding immigration reform in Washington, D.C., appearing via video on jumbo screens, and telling the masses, according to the New York Times that ... More >>

Phoenix Councilman Michael Johnson Dissed by Police Union He's Supported

In a battle between a former and current police officer, the Phoenix police union's sticking with the cop on the job. ​ Even though the former cop is Phoenix City Councilman Michael Johnson, a longtime union supporter.   Better to stand by Officer Brian Authement, a two-ye ... More >>

Russell Pearce's SB1070: Welfare for Anti-Immigration Lawyers, Says Attorney David Selden

Attorney David Selden on Russell Pearce's SB 1070As I previously blogged, state Senator Russell Pearce's police state bill SB 1070 is going to the floor of the House today for COW and a possible third read. Pearce's arguments for it are filled with half-truths and racist shibboleths, as he demonstra ... More >>

Saturday Night Live Skewers SB 1070; Al Sharpton Plans Freedom Walks in Arizona

Saturday Night LiveSNL's Weekend Update on Arizona: "It's a dry fascism"Like you need more proof that Arizona has become a national joke due to its wingnutty gun laws, its conspiranutty birther bill, and its racist new immigration law SB 1070, Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update took aim at the sta ... More >>

Joe Arpaio in Non-Compliance, U.S. Department of Justice Threatens To Sue MCSO

The feds are nippin' at Arpaio's heels, finallyAssistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez has sent a letter to Sheriff Joe's legal counsel, threatening to sue the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office if it does not comply with the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into allegations of civil ri ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Sued by U.S. Department of Justice: What Took the Feds So Long?

Forget the lame lawsuit, we want to see Joe indictedAfter more than a year and a-half of investigation, requests for documents and access, and threats and deadlines, the U.S. Department of Justice has at last, reluctantly, taken some action and sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio in federal court to force him t ... More >>

Cloaked Brutality: The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants, But What's Been Unearthed Reveals a Culture of Cruelty

Forget the lame lawsuit, we want to see Joe indictedAfter more than a year and a-half of investigation, requests for documents and access, and threats and deadlines, the U.S. Department of Justice has at last, reluctantly, taken some action and sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio in federal court to force him t ... More >>

Federal Judge to Maricopa County Sheriff's Office: DWB (Driving While Brown) Isn't Actually a Crime

fromtheleft.wordpress.com​Apparently it takes a federal judge to tell the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office that being Hispanic isn't actually illegal. More than two years after a Hispanic father-son combo was arrested by MCSO deputies near the site of one of their infamous worksite raids, a feder ... More >>

Paul Babeu's PIO and Neo-Nazi Harry Hughes Have At It Over BFF Photos

Harry Hughes' FacebookSeems Paul Babeu doesn't like this photograph of him and NSM member Harry Hughes (right, in black)A couple of weeks back, I blogged about how Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu's spokesman Tim Gaffney had apparently borrowed some stills of desert barricades taken by National Socia ... More >>

SB 1070 Boycott Over? NCLR Says, "Yes," Sal Reza Says, "Hell, No!"

irregulartimes.comBoycott over? Depends whom you ask. Sand Land's nativism, however, persists.Friday evening, I received the letter below signed by Janet Murguria of the National Council of La Raza, essentially declaring that the boycott of Arizona over Senate Bill 1070 is finito.Granted, the letter ... More >>

Findings of Racial-Profiling, Civil-Rights Investigation Into Sheriff Arpaio's Office to be Announced by Feds

​ The findings of a three-year probe into allegations of racial profiling and other civil rights allegations against Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office will be revealed this morning by the U.S. Justice Department.The Civil Rights Division has run a wide-ranging investigation into the "patterns and pr ... More >>

Findings of Racial-Profiling, Civil-Rights Investigation Into Sheriff Arpaio's Office to be Announced by Feds

​ The findings of a three-year probe into allegations of racial profiling and other civil rights allegations against Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office will be revealed this morning by the U.S. Justice Department.The Civil Rights Division has run a wide-ranging investigation into the "patterns and pr ... More >>

Arpaio Corruption: The Feds Have Spoken, But Justice Won't Be Served Until the Sheriff's Indicted

​ The findings of a three-year probe into allegations of racial profiling and other civil rights allegations against Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office will be revealed this morning by the U.S. Justice Department.The Civil Rights Division has run a wide-ranging investigation into the "patterns and pr ... More >>