WAY OF THE GUN Why doesn’t it surprise me that nativist stalwart Lynne Stevens, known also by her YouTube handle “Jackie40D,” recently pulled her ever-present sidearm while protesting day laborers at a Walmart in Central Phoenix? Two reasons: Stevens’ several violent statements in the past toward Mexicans and others, and…
As I recently noted in an update to one of my blogs, Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Chief Deputy David Hendershott is scheduled to be deposed in the big Melendres vs. Arpaio racial profiling lawsuit this Tuesday, January 19. Previously, it had been scheduled for January 8, but was moved back recently.Now…
There was a chill, and dare I say it, a thrill in the air for some, on this winter Wednesday morning, the first day of a federal grand jury looking into criminal abuses of power by Sheriff Joe Arpaio.The grand jury spent almost all day questioning three witnesses at the…
I imagine my nativist callers look something like these guys..I’m not sure why the nativists bother to call me up and leave anonymous, racist messages on my phone mail. I mean, if they knew how to type — even hunt and peck — they could e-mail in a letter the whole…
I spoke briefly today with both County Manager David Smith and County Budget Director Sandi Wilson, who yesterday confirmed to Channel 5’s Morgan Loew that they had both been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury this Wednesday, January 13. Both said they spoke to deputy U.S. Attorneys at…
Regular readers of the Feathered Bastard blog are familiar with the trenchant, and often amusing observations of regular commenter Emil Pulsifer. So you will be interested in Pulsifer’s recent, thought-provoking guest column for Jon Talton’s Rogue Columnist blog. Formerly a business columnist for the Arizona Republic, Talton currently dwells in…
According to KPHO’s 5 p.m. newscast, the station has confirmed that a federal grand jury is looking into Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s abuses of power, and his retaliatory investigations of his political enemies. Reporter Morgan Loew just broke the story that two county officials have received subpoenas ordering them to testify before the…
Why should we buy anything that comes out of Arpaio’s PR department considering the sheriff’s statements under oath during his deposition in the Melendres racial profiling case? There, confronted with his own press releases by lawyer David Bodney, Arpaio squirmed like a cheap gunsel under a hot lamp in some…
CHRISTMAS ANGEL Miriam Mendiola-Martinez is a small woman, but her passive, sad demeanor makes her seem smaller. When she was busted by Scottsdale police for using false ID at her place of employment for six years — Dillard’s department store — the arresting officer estimated the then-pregnant Latina’s build at…
I met Big Noise filmmakers Richard Rowley and Jacquie Soohen while they were in town to cover the National Socialist Movement march on the Arizona state Capitol in November. Though the duo live in New York, they fly all over the world, from Afghanistan and Iraq to Mexico and Ecuador…
Can Arpaio Twitter via his ancient Smith Corona typewriter? That’s what’s been keeping me up late as I ponder the true author or authors of Joe’s very active Twitter account. In his recent deposition in the big Melendres vs. Arpaio racial-profiling lawsuit, Arpaio told plaintiffs’ lawyer David Bodney that he eschews…
I take perverse pleasure in these two clips from lawyer David Bodney’s recent interrogation of Sheriff Joe in a deposition in the big Melendres vs. Arpaio racial profiling lawsuit. Here, Joe’s forced to review my May 2009 cover story “Ja, Joe!,” which details Arpaio’s links to extremist groups such as…
Those wisenheimers over at the blog Talking Points Memo have honored Maricopa County’s corrupt top constable with one of their annual “Golden Duke” awards, “given in recognition of great accomplishments in muckiness including acts of venal corruption, outstanding self-inflicted losses of dignity, crimes against the republic, bribery, exposed hypocrisy and generally malevolent governance.”Named…
Here’s a bit of Sheriff Joe under oath while being deposed in the Melendres vs. Arpaio racial profiling lawsuit, a deposition I blogged about a couple of days ago. (A transcript of Joe’s depo is linked to therein.) Activist/videographer Dennis Gilman has posted a segment of the video, this part dealing…
Due to the efforts of local activists lead by Phoenix litigation support investigator Jameson Johnson, St. Mary’s Food Bank has suspended the use of off-duty sheriff’s deputies to help direct traffic at two of the charity’s facilities.St. Mary’s spokeswoman Beverly Damore confirmed that the organization’s President and CEO Terry Shannon…
A cross between Ronald Reagan post-presidency and Sgt. Schultz from a Hogan’s Heroes rerun: That’s the impression Sheriff Joe Arpaio gave recently during a seven hour deposition under oath as part of the big Melendres vs. Arpaio racial-profiling lawsuit now working its way through federal court.Under rigorous interrogation by David…
In a conversation this morning via phone, Tucson native and rock legend Linda Ronstadt denounced Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s reign of tyranny in Maricopa County and promised to march alongside thousands of activists planning to converge on Phoenix this Saturday, January 16 for a National Day of Action, which will include…
Props to the spirit of country legend Hank Williams and YouTuber “politicatty.” The latter has borrowed the tune from the former’s Cajun-styled hit “Jambalaya” for an anti-Joe Arpaio ditty entitled, “Goodbye, Joe!” The lyrics are pretty amusing. Here’s a sample:Goodbye Joe. You gotta go. Take three guesses. Too much dough down…
Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the big Melendres vs. Arpaio racial profiling lawsuit fired another salvo at the MCSO on Wednesday. In the latest bid for sanctions against the MCSO, attorneys from the firm of Steptoe & Johnson, lead counsel in the case, argued that the MCSO has persistently destroyed…
Why do local nativists feel emboldened and increasingly willing to express themselves violently? Well, it’s no coincidence that most local nativists are rabid supporters of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio’s tactics and rhetoric play to the nativists. He green-lights their hatred of Mexican immigrants, and with his own lawless behavior gives…
Long before the judges and lawyers got into the act (excepting such stalwarts as Danny Ortega and Antonio Bustamante, who’ve been active since the beginning), Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox was speaking out, marching and working against Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Wilcox was instrumental in getting former Mesa Police Chief…
The far-right wingnut blog Sonoran Alliance just posted a whiny e-mail from Sheriff Joe begging for campaign contributions, even though his next run for sheriff wouldn’t be until 2012. At times, he makes it sound like it’s some sort of legal defense fund. Yet Joe’s Web site notes that donators’…
