Domestic Policy

DEAD IN THE WATER: Ex-ACU Prez Bob Haran cuts ties with Anna Gaines' org, calls recall of Phil Gordon "waste of time."

Nativists' recall effort against Phil Gordon fails, not one signature submitted. (W/Update.)

FIRE Catches ICE with Pants Down, Delivers "Notice of Deportation" to Stunned Agents

FIRE's video of its December 4 "ICE raid."Check the graphic at the end. FIRE melts ICE, get it? Well, here's a man bites dog story, if there ever was one. Seems that on December 4, several orange jumpsuit-clad members of FIRE, which stands for "Flagstaff Immigrant Rights Enforcement," delivered a ... More >>

Jan Brewer: Herbert Hoover in High Heels and a Pantsuit

Separated at birth? According to economist Paul Krugman, it's possible. Will soon-to-be Arizona Governor Jan Brewer repeat the mistakes of Republicans in the midst of the Great Depression, specifically those of President Herbert Hoover?It seems likely. With a GOP-led legislature intent on "starv ... 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 >>

The Mexican on César Chávez and gabacho grammar rules

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 >>

Flushing Them Out

Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas are teaching the rest of the nation how to terrorize illegal immigrants

White House Staffer Disappoints Phoenix Latino Leaders in Meeting at El Portal

Will the White House ever act to protect the civil rights of Arizona Latinos? Don't hold your breath waiting for the Obama administration to do anything in the near future about immigration reform, or yanking Sheriff Joe Arpaio's 287(g) authority. That's the message some local Latino leaders t ... More >>

Arizona Governor Wants New, "Sustainable" Model for Universities; Will Use Federal Money to Ease Tuition

Arizona needs a more affordable business model for its universities in the face of state budget realities, Governor Jan Brewer said this morning to the Arizona Board of Regents. In the short term, hundreds of millions of federal stimulus dollars will be used over the next co ... More >>

Barack Obama Makes Joe Arpaio's Pal Janet Napolitano Point Woman for Immigration Reform, 287(g) Ignored

President Obama's remarks after the White House immigration summit today While it was gratifying to see President Barack Obama's much-delayed summit on immigration take place today, and for the President to declare after the meeting that, "My administration is fully behind an effort to achieve comp ... More >>

Obama Wants 287(g) Agencies to be Held Accountable for Actions; Napolitano Wants Status of Some Agencies Revoked

​ President Obama popped into a meeting today between government officials and immigrant advocates, saying he wants local 287(g)-authorized agencies "held accountable," a pro-immigrant group said today. Reform Immigration for America stated in a news release that the president wasn't expected ... More >>

Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform President, Endorses McCain in Senate Primary; He Takes a Swipe at J.D. Hayworth, Too

American for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist​The president of the Conservative group, Americans for Tax Reform, gave Senator John McCain a ringing endorsement this week in his primary bid to fend off his GOP opponent, former congressman turned AM radio host, J.D. Hayworth.Grover Norquist says ... More >>

Arizona Gun Laws "Lack Common Sense," Report Claims; What About Bringing Your Gun to the Bar Doesn't Make Sense?

www.motivatedphotos.com​Arizona has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, and one gun-violence-prevention group claims they flat out "lack common sense."We could have told you that -- in Arizona, you can bring a gun to the bar with you for fuck's sake.The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun ... More >>

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Signs Wild West Gun Bills Into Law

www.motivatedphotos.com​Governor Jan Brewer signed two bills into law yesterday that -- if nothing else -- solidify Arizona's reputation as the Wild West.One of the bills, HB 2307, allows Arizonans to own guns without registering them with the federal government, as long as the guns are made ... More >>

Russell Pearce's Immigration Bill Moving President Barack Obama to Action on Immigration Reform? Nah, Doesn't look like it

Hard to fathom that there could be  Russell Pearce​anything positive about state Senator Russell Pearce's immigration bill, SB 1070, an extremist "solution" to undocumented immigrants in Arizona that makes their mere presence in here state a crime.The bill would also allo ... 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 >>

Phil Gordon's Anti-SB 1070 Resolution Passed by U.S. Conference of Mayors

usmayors.orgMayor Gordon speaking before the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Oklahoma CityThe U.S. Conference of Mayors, wrapping up their 78th annual meeting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma today, passed a resolution condemning SB 1070 that had been submitted by Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon. The Gordon resolu ... More >>

Morning Poll -- Who's Lying: Senator Jon Kyl or President Barack Obama?

​At a recent meeting of Teabaggers here in Arizona, Senator Jon Kyl made the stunning allegation that during a private conversation he had with President Barack Obama, the president basically told him he was holding lawmakers "hostage" by not securing the border in order to pass some form of ... More >>

Jan Brewer Writes President Obama Thank You Letter/ Immigration Wish List. Then She Offers to Buy Him Lunch

Brewer and Obama meeting at The White House earlier this month.​As you are probably aware, President Barack Obama penciled in Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in for a little face-time earlier this month so the two could discuss Arizona's controversial, new immigration law.Obama had originally not agre ... More >>

Owen "Buz" Mills "Suspends" Gubernatorial Campaign

Owen "Buz" Mills​Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's life got a little easier today with news that her last remaining opponent in the GOP primary for Governor, Owen "Buz" Mills, is suspending his campaign.Mills announced his decision to suspend his candidacy today saying the focus of the campaign was no ... More >>

Seized: Inside the Brutal World of America's Kidnapping Capital

Owen "Buz" Mills​Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's life got a little easier today with news that her last remaining opponent in the GOP primary for Governor, Owen "Buz" Mills, is suspending his campaign.Mills announced his decision to suspend his candidacy today saying the focus of the campaign was no ... More >>

Rodney Glassman: Put Off "Largest Middle-Class Tax Increase in History" -- Of Course, That's Only "Until the Economy Recovers"

​ Rodney Glassman, the young, rich, Democrat running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican John McCain, loves the tax cuts put into place by former President George W. Bush. It's surprising to hear any Dem praising a move by Bush, who still gets the credit by President Obama for today' ... More >>

Spokesman for Rodney Glassman Says Dem Senate Candidate Supports Making Bush-Era Tax Cuts for Middle Class Permanent

Rodney Glassman would make Bush-era tax cuts permanent, says his spokesman.​ Rodney Glassman, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, would make the Bush-era tax cuts permanent for the middle class, says his spokesman, Blake Morlock. The candidate's spokesman, Blake Morlock, called us after rea ... More >>

Russell Pearce and Other Illegal-Immigration Populists Rely on Misleading, Right-Wing Reports to Scapegoat Immigrants and to Terrify Penny-Pinched Americans

Rodney Glassman would make Bush-era tax cuts permanent, says his spokesman.​ Rodney Glassman, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, would make the Bush-era tax cuts permanent for the middle class, says his spokesman, Blake Morlock. The candidate's spokesman, Blake Morlock, called us after rea ... More >>

What Would Comprehensive Immigration Reform Look Like If the Feds Got Off Their Duffs?

Rodney Glassman would make Bush-era tax cuts permanent, says his spokesman.​ Rodney Glassman, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, would make the Bush-era tax cuts permanent for the middle class, says his spokesman, Blake Morlock. The candidate's spokesman, Blake Morlock, called us after rea ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, January 6, 2010

Rodney Glassman would make Bush-era tax cuts permanent, says his spokesman.​ Rodney Glassman, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, would make the Bush-era tax cuts permanent for the middle class, says his spokesman, Blake Morlock. The candidate's spokesman, Blake Morlock, called us after rea ... More >>

Arizona and Guns Go Together: State Laws Give Firearms Owners Legal Cover

​ Arizona's gun laws are on national display following Saturday's shooting, but whether they're "weak" or "strong" depends on whom you ask. According to an article today in the Los Angeles Times, "Arizona has some of the weakest gun-control laws in the nation." (Emphasis ours.) Put that way, ... More >>

Arizona Lawmakers Introduce Firearms Bills to Further Loosen Restrictions

  Arizona State Representative John Kavanagh, a Republican from Surprise, saw his bill passed last year that allows people to store guns in their vehicles in the parking lots of businesses that otherwise prohibit guns.​What kinds of firearms-related bills will Arizona lawmakers be work ... More >>

Ten Rampages by Mentally Ill People Who Bought Guns That Can Teach Lawmakers What to do Next

Seung Hui Cho slipped through a loophole in Virginia law when he bought his gun. Lawmakers in that state fixed the problem​ The deadly mass shooting in Tucson on Saturday was by no means the first to raise questions about how mentally ill people bought firearms. In some cases, state or federa ... More >>

Arizona's Lax Gun Laws Helped Make Tucson's Jared Lee Loughner Possible

Seung Hui Cho slipped through a loophole in Virginia law when he bought his gun. Lawmakers in that state fixed the problem​ The deadly mass shooting in Tucson on Saturday was by no means the first to raise questions about how mentally ill people bought firearms. In some cases, state or federa ... More >>

Mental Health Check for Gun Buys? Talk About a Straw Man...

YahooMovies If he only had a brain, he could pass that non-existent mental health evaluation and buy a Glock... In the wake of the Tucson massacre, there have been, as you might expect, a number of folks who have suggested that maybe Arizona, and the nation, would benefit from stricter gun le ... More >>

Welcome to New York: Your Lack of "Character" Means No Handgun Permit

Image: www.planetware.com​ Two cops -- a man and woman -- stood at the door when the senior citizen opened it one afternoon in Middle Village, Queens. The female cop had her hand on the butt of her holstered handgun. "You registered a couple of rifles last year," the female cop explained. "But yo ... More >>

Jared Lee Loughner Uber Alles? Let's Face It, Gun Nuts Are Just Selfish

Extremist gun nuts refuse to compromise on the firearm restrictions: Jared Lee Loughner might as well be their poster boy My colleague Ray Stern has responded to my reply to his recent pro-gun editorial. In it, Ray wonders what I meant at one point in my rebuttal, which is entitled, "Ment ... More >>

Feedback for the Issue of Thursday, January 20, 2011

Extremist gun nuts refuse to compromise on the firearm restrictions: Jared Lee Loughner might as well be their poster boy My colleague Ray Stern has responded to my reply to his recent pro-gun editorial. In it, Ray wonders what I meant at one point in my rebuttal, which is entitled, "Ment ... More >>

Jared Lee Loughner's Second Amendment Rights and Ray Stern

ebaumsworld.comIt seems I've introduced my dear colleague Ray Stern to the fascinating world of facts, statistics and sources, as he finally breaks down and uses a few in his latest pro-gun nut diatribe, "The Anti-Gun Culture..."In it, Ray returns once again to his us-versus-them, all-or-nothin ... More >>

Congressman Ben Quayle Bashed by Congressional Dems for Accepting Federal Health Care -- Only He Didn't

James KingBen Quayle did not accept government funded health care, despite what Congressional Democrats might have told you.​The egg is on the face of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this morning for calling Arizona Congressman Ben Quayle a "hypocrite" for accepting government fund ... More >>

Billboard Truck Marks Firearm Murders Since Giffords' Tragedy; Michael Bloomberg Among Mayors Behind Gun-Control Ad

  Image: www.fixgunchecks.org A billboard truck sponsored by Mayors Against Illegal Guns began rolling its gun-control message across the country today.​A billboard truck that began rolling across the country today advertises the estimated number of gun-related homicide ... More >>

Twenty-Two Sniveling Senators Ask Double-Talking Barack Obama To Stop Deporting Undocumented Youth. Change Unlikely.

Prerna Lal received deportation notice as Obama insists his administration isn't deporting talented young folk.​Twenty-two United States Senators sent a letter to President Barack Obama late last week asking him to stop deporting undocumented youth who might be eligible for the federal DREAM Act, ... More >>

Barack Obama Holds Immigration Dog And Pony Show With Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Bloomberg, But No Members of Congress

White House Left, right, or center: Don't hold your breath waiting for "immigration reform."​President Barack Obama is hosting a meeting to outline his views on immigration reform this afternoon with top cabinet officials and national politicians, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloo ... More >>

Arizona Does "Not Have a Single Common Sense Gun Law" On Books, Brady Center Finds

www.last2pics.comYee-haw​For a state that recently became only the second state in the entire country to pass a law that names an official state gun, it shouldn't come as much of a shock that Arizona scored a whopping zero points on this year's Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence annual scoreca ... More >>

Immigration Reform Introduced in Congress, Locals Say It's a Political Ploy For Obama

U.S. Senator from New Jersey Bob Menendez, who introduced immigration legislation in Congress today The United States Senate is at it again with immigration reform legislation, but Republicans are still unwilling to join the effort.Today, Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, introduc ... More >>

Phoenix DREAM Activist Recognized on Capitol Hill

Angelica Hernandez being recognized by U.S. Senator from Illinois Dick DurbinOn Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held its first DREAM Act hearing since the legislation was first proposed a decade ago. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, announced the hearing last week. Durbin ... More >>

"Major Triumph," Governor Brewer Says of Appeals Court Shoot-Down of Forced Health Insurance Purchase

Image: www.freedombunker.comObama's health care plan received a major blow today as it's requirement to force Americans to buy insurance was rejected by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.​ Governor Jan Brewer called today's appeals court shoot-down of Obama's mandatory health care plan a "majo ... More >>

Joe Arpaio to Barack Obama: Look at Me, Look at Me!

www.spreadshirt.com​President Barack Obama today told a representative of a national Latino group that Arizona's is not the model the rest of the country should mirror when it comes to handling illegal immigration.Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio responded by issuing a press release saying that ... More >>

"Dream Act" Signed by California Governor Jerry Brown. KPHO Suggests the "Dream" Could Be Coming to Arizona. Ha!

www.imdb.comDream Act for Arizona? Shyeah...right.​The "Dream" came true for illegal immigrants in California over the weekend -- Governor Jerry Brown signed a version of the controversial Dream Act into California law Saturday. Now, local TV news station KPHO is suggesting the "Dream" may be comi ... More >>

Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman's Still Boycotting Arizona. Yay or Nay?

Coed MagazineJoe Arpaio is NOT one of them.​Michael Coleman, the mayor of Columbus, Ohio, is still boycotting Arizona because of SB 1070, Arizona's controversial immigration law -- according to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, that is (we've got a call into to Coleman's office to verify -- stay ... More >>

Anti-Amnesty Senate Candidate Wil Cardon Unfazed By Arizona's Apparent Shift to Support Pathway to Citizenship For Illegal Immigrants

James KingWil Cardon supported Jeff Flake -- until Flake started agreeing with him, that is.​Senate candidate Wil Cardon apparently didn't get the message when ousted Senate President Russell Pearce got a voter-assisted boot from office last week.Pearce's historic downfall -- combined with a recen ... More >>

Unless Your Name's Wil Cardon, You'd Probably Beat Wil Cardon in GOP Senate Primary, Poll Shows

James KingWil Cardon trails Congressman Jeff Flake and "some other candidate" in the GOP Senate primary.​If you happen to be someone other than Mesa businessman Wil Cardon, you probably would beat Cardon in the GOP Senate primary, according to a recently released poll.Cardon, who is running to rep ... More >>

Crossroads of the West's Tucson Gun Show Scheduled for Same Day as Anniversary of Jared Loughner's Deadly Rampage

​On the same day Tucson residents commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Tucson shooting that left 6 people dead and 14 others wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Crossroads of the West will hold a gun show at the Pima County Fairgrounds.Crossroads of the West bills itself as ... More >>

Can Barack Obama Pump New Life Into Comprehensive Immigration Reform?

www.allvoices.com​If you didn't get an O-boner from President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech last night, you probably didn't watch it.Per usual, the president killed it -- the man's got a gift for gab.Unfortunately, talking about doing things doesn't get things done.For example: his comm ... More >>