Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, a relatively moderate Republican, wants to be Governor. But to have any kind of shot at the 9th floor, he figures he must placate the activist base of Sand Land’s GOP, which is deeply, rabidly insane. Hence, the predicament he finds himself in, having to…
On Wednesday, we told you about U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy asking Attorney General Eric Holder asking if Maricopa County could be on the hook for repaying up to $25 million in federal taxpayer coin, thanks to the Justice Department’s civil-rights case against Sheriff Joe Arpaio.Turns out, alleged civil-rights violations by…
It can only be described as a massive violation of human rights, what this country has done to deny a future to an entire generation of individuals, who for all intents and purposes are Americans.I’m talking about the hundreds of thousands of bright, undocumented youth who would qualify for a…
Three fundraisers are planned this week to help the families of J.T. Ready’s victims. On May 2, Ready shot and killed his girlfriend Lisa Mederos, 47; her daughter Amber Mederos, 23; Amber’s fiance Jim Hiott, 24; and Amber’s one year-old baby girl Lilly, in a murder spree that ended when Ready…
Click-clack/Where your papers at?/We under attack/Fight back/It’s warOne of the best songs to put Senate Bill 1070 and the whole police state mentality that reigns in Arizona on blast is “Papers,” by the Phoenix hip hop duo Shining Soul.With the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled to rule on SB 1070 by…
May be apples and oranges on some level, but yesterday’s bust of State Representative Ben Arredondo after a fairly elaborate FBI sting, got us to thinking about Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his onetime henchman (i.e. chief deputy) Dave Hendershott. The federal indictment against the veteran Tempe pol claims that he…
The campaign of Legislative District 25 state Senate hopeful Bob Worsley today announced a major endorsement, that of Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, a GOPer many consider a future contender for Governor of Sand Land.”I have known Bob Worsley for over 30 years,” Smith states in the press release, which you can…
If a U.S. Senator from Vermont is right, then Maricopa County could be on the hook for repaying up to $25 million in federal taxpayer coin, thanks to the Justice Department’s civil-rights case against Sheriff Joe Arpaio.Senator Patrick Leahy wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday, asking…
The Worsley camp’s latest, and how true it is…At the Red Mountain Tea Party Monday night, recalled, disgraced ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce did not bow out of the GOP primary in Legislative District 25 for state Senate, as some in the blogosphere had anticipated.Instead, according to those in attendance,…
Rocky Marquez strolled out of the Lower Buckeye Jail yesterday, which happens to be a problem, because he’s supposed to be in jail for a while. Marquez, 33, was “erroneously released” from the jail, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. MCSO Sergeant Brandon Jones tells New Times investigators believe…
Forget everything you’ve heard about the Justice Department lawsuit against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Joe Arpaio for racial-discrimination claims, because there’s an inmate who says “Joe Arpaio and stuff” saved the lives of all the “brothas” at the 4th Avenue Jail.OK, don’t actually forget everything you’ve heard…
There’s not much that would get me out on a hot Arizona afternoon to watch a high-school soccer match, but Sal Reza as “coach” is one of them.Reza, the bane of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former state Senate President Russell Pearce, the guy who’s led thousands in marches protesting both…
If you’ve heard Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s explanations for why negotiations with the Justice Department broke down, he makes it sound as if Attorney General Eric Holder himself wants to be the new sheriff.It’s the proposed Justice Department “monitor” that people in the MCSO’s corner are objecting to –…
In early March, shortly after the sex-and-‘deportation’ scandal that enveloped Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu hit the news, his chief deputy, Steve Henry, fulfilled a speaking engagement in Las Vegas at the annual convention of the Western States Sheriff’s Association. At the time, the telegenic and articulate Henry was heir…
I know as much about Chilean hip-hop as I do Bolivian death metal or Finnish free jazz. That said, you don’t need a translator to be able to see or hear that French-Chilean MC Ana Tijoux is talented. Just sample any of her music videos online and you’re sure to be…
Think Pearce will laugh? Yeah, probably notMy good friend Dennis Gilman was kind enough to upload this delicious new parody for me of the much-spoofed “raving fuhrer” scene from the 2004 German film Downfall, starring Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler.Long have I dreamed of having one of these Downfall spoofs…
Soft and cuddly this Mesa muttonhead will never beI sure hope recalled ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce doesn’t bow out of the GOP state Senate primary in Legislative District 25, as some have been speculatin’ in the blogosphere.Why? Well, because that would rob me of the immense pleasure of watching…
Tom Perez blasts Sheriff Joe in Phoenix yesterday Hey, did you hear that the U.S. Department of Justice is suing Sheriff Joe Arpaio?Well, in case you were hibernating beneath a saguaro on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Tom Perez was in town to blast everyone’s least-favorite sheriff for his racial-profiling,…
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu dropped out of his Congressional race early this morning and plans instead to run for re-election as sheriff — despite recent assurances by his camp that he planned to continue his Fourth District run. Babeu would have us believe that his decision has nothing to do with the…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was sued by the Justice Department yesterday over racial-discrimination claims, and not surprisingly, Arpaio had a little more than two cents to give to everyone yesterday.His responses ranged from the Justice Department having the wrong guy, wanting to play basketball with President Obama, and saying…
A sergeant with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office does not have his automatic rifle, pistol, or Taser after the weapons were stolen out of his vehicle yesterday morning.The Colt M-16A1 automatic rifle, Taser X-26 and its loaded cartridge, as well as Glock 27 pistol with a magazine were stolen out…
I’ve often said that in Arizona you don’t have to be a swastika-carrying neo-Nazi to have the same or similar beliefs. Which is why the presence of neo-Nazis and other right-wing wackjobs in the midst of the immigration donnybrook here in Sand Land has caused little or no outrage. And yet,…
