When Bill Clinton first ran for president, I was still living in Scotland. When an American friend came to visit me, I asked her, “So what do you think of Clinton?” “Clinton’s probably okay,” my friend said. “It’s just too bad she’s married to Bill.” My friend still voted for…
We’ve said it all along, and now it’s official: Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a liar. And not much better can be said about his simpering cheerleader, former U.S. attorney Janet Napolitano, who hopes to be Arizona’s next attorney general. Can there be any other interpretation of the content of a…
The press release looks pretty good. “One America in the 21st Century,” it reads. It’s the President’s Initiative on Race, and it’s happening in Phoenix. The president won’t show up, of course. But U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman will (freshly accused of accepting bribes when she was a White House…
The drive from Phoenix to Safford can take three and a half to four and a half hours, depending on the traffic and your respect for speed limits. Not because it’s that far; it’s well under 200 miles. But the roads are narrow and treacherous, and the speed limits consequently…
On Christmas Day, Jackie Brown, the latest film by Quentin Tarantino, opened. It’s two and a half hours long. Surprisingly for a Tarantino film, there’s not much violence. Unlike his other films, it’s based on character rather than action. Not all critics have seen it that way. But that shouldn’t…
I know a man who swears that the best foundation on which to build a lasting friendship is mutual loneliness, desperation and self-loathing. He says the best place and time to meet new people is in a dive bar on Christmas Day. I can’t say I’ve experienced anything that lasted…
And Jesus was a sailor When he walked upon the water And he spent a long time watching From his lonely wooden tower And when he knew for certain Only drowning men could see him He said, “All men will be sailors, then, Until the sea shall free them” But…
On November 30, a 53-year-old American woman died a cruel death in a Tijuana, Mexico, hospital. Her death has gone largely unremarked upon by the mainstream media, yet she was one of the most influential novelists of the second half of the 20th century. Kathy Acker was a brilliantly original…
America was once a country that had something called the Bill of Rights. Now it’s a country where you have to piss in a cup to get a menial job, where you can be locked up for months on end without having been convicted of any crime, and where freedom…
Why are public records called public records? Because they belong to the public. And if you think that’s an obvious answer, you haven’t had to deal with the Scottsdale Police Department. My last two columns have reported cases of intimidation and brutality by the SPD. The first story told how…
Two weeks ago in this space, I reported a display of brutality by two Scottsdale police officers who entered a home and assaulted two residents. It would be reassuring to think this was an isolated incident, but the opposite seems to be true. Since the story appeared, several people have…
Several months ago, after writing a column about a black motorist who claimed he had been harassed by two Scottsdale police officers, I received a letter from the Scottsdale Police Department. The document was offered as “an open letter to your readers.” In the interest of furthering relations between police…
October 28 at Che Bella restaurant in Phoenix’s Biltmore Fashion Park. It’s “celebrity waiter” night, to benefit children’s charities. When I get there, there’s only one “celebrity” whose face I recognize. But that’s okay; he’s the one I’ve come to meet. My companion and I are shown to our table…
Early Saturday evening, and three New Times staffers are having a meeting. Tony Ortega, Chris Farnsworth and myself sit in Ortega’s living room and try to figure out a way to gain admission to a fund-raising party for Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Why do we have to hatch schemes? Why don’t…
I know a man who, at the end of letters, signs off with the words “Bowden for President.” He’s talking about Tucson-based author Charles Bowden. He’s joking. But only partly; this kind of fanaticism is common among admirers of Bowden’s books. Bowden may be the best unknown writer in America…
Saturday, October 11. Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. It’s also this year’s National Coming Out Day, though the two aren’t related as far as any of us know. I hope the temples have a better turnout than the Coming Out Dance at the Valley of the Sun Gay…
Unlike Bobby Cooper, I haven’t had two of my fingers cut off. And I’m not driving a red ’64 Mustang that’s about to blow a hose. But, like the character played by Sean Penn in Oliver Stone’s U-Turn, I’m heading for Superior. It’s 60 miles from Phoenix, which sounds longer…
Imagine this: The person you love has AIDS. He’s also in prison for theft. They’re not going to let him out, even though the person he stole from didn’t want him to go to prison. Even though the person he stole from married him after he went to prison. Imagine…
Early Sunday afternoon, Phoenix. The real world is the same as ever. On the west side, a woman I know comes home from work and finds that someone has tried to break into her house. The two deadbolts on her door stopped the would-be intruder. The gun she keeps in…
Ma Teresa’s joined the mob Unhappy with her full-time job. –Primitive Radio Gods Two weeks ago, this column examined the mass hysteria surrounding the death of Princess Diana. I suggested that her death was no more relevant or tragic than anyone else’s. The response to that column was like nothing…
We’ve been fretting for nearly a week, waiting for a verdict that never came. Now it’s late on Wednesday morning, and without warning it’s announced that the verdict will come in today. The judge has decided to throw out the 11 counts the jury can’t agree on, and go with…
This column is about the death of a 36-year-old woman, white, divorced, with two kids and no financial problems but plenty of emotional ones. She was also a member of the British Royal Family, and so it’s necessary to define my own vantage point. I am 31 years old. I’ve…
