The Bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference, which includes the Dioceses of Phoenix, Tucson, and Gallup, New Mexico, issued a statement today criticizing state Senator Russell Pearce’s mirror anti-immigrant measures HB 2632 and SB 1070, urging that they be yanked from consideration.In a message signed by Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted, Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas…
In yesterday’s paper, I read with great amusement the desperate cries of state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema and her fellow Dems, urging Hispanics to participate in the U.S. Census this year. During a Friday news conference, Sinema and Phoenix City Councilman Michael Nowakowski assured the undocumented in particular that the info collected…
A Maricopa County sheriff’s commander attempted to seize nearly two years’ worth of Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office e-mails from the county IT department Friday — saying the e-mails were archived without “the knowledge, consent, or appropriate clearances” from the Sheriff’s Office. But county officials refused to turn over the archived e-mails…
File this under the header, “When the cat’s away…” Sheriff Joe’s office issued a press release today promising a new anti-immigrant sweep within the next two weeks. That message comes one day after Phoenix civil rights leader Sal Reza’s announcement that he and his fellow organizers from the Puente Movement will be caravan-ing to D.C.,…
The FBI is investigating the office of Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas as part of its probe into abuse of power by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Arizona Republic reported today. The article contains little red meat beyond the headline: The newspaper’s sources “did not specify what investigators are asking. But…
TLC’s newest babe-cop reality show, Police Women of Maricopa County, aired its second episode last night, and if you’re a fan of bad attitudes, blatant disrespect, and an awful use of police resources, the show didn’t disappoint.Let’s get this week’s review started with a look at Kelly Bocardo, whose level…
I’ve been pimping the idea of an anti-Joe Arpaio art show for years, but the local art “scene,” if you want to call it that, has been scared witless of doing something so bold, for fear of being raided by the MCSO.It’s unlikely anything of the kind would occur, of…
It’s always a lovely day down at the Arizona state Capitol, when you run into state Senator Russell Pearce’s chief toady, state Rep. Carl Seel and ask him what it’s like to smooch up to a racist bonehead like Pearce 24-7.Actually, I was there to attend the press conference of…
Journalists are jealous creatures, something akin to Gollum in The Hobbit muttering over their stories like each is the One Ring, afraid some other journo’s about to come along and swipe it. But in covering the area south of the Gila River for my recent cover story “Blood’s Thicker Than Water,”…
The local press’ lead on the recent deposition of MCSO Chief Deputy David Hendershott in the federal racial-profiling lawsuit Melendres vs. Arpaio was Hendershott’s contention that a vast lefty conspiracy is out to get his boss Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Actually, Hendershott had made the same basic claim in previous statements to a…
As my recent cover story “Blood’s Thicker Than Water” dealt, in part, with activist Mike Wilson’s efforts to leave water on the Tohono O’odham Nation for migrants crossing over, I attempted mightily to ask some questions of nation Chairman Ned Norris, Jr. concerning the humanitarian crisis there. I even buttonholed…
Trent gives the bloggers something to harp on, around 6:12 in…Republican Congressman Trent “Foot-in-Mouth” Franks is truly the gift that keeps on giving. The goofy, amiable wingnut from Arizona’s Second Congressional District is known for his hard-right stance on just about everything from abortion to President Obama’s birth certificate, which…
The West Memphis Three, featured on an episode of 48 Hours Mystery that runs this Saturday, February 27The case of the wrongly convicted Arkansas men known as the West Memphis Three may seem a little far afield of Phoenix, Arizona, but not really. Perihelion Arts Gallery, currently on Roosevelt Street,…
We tuned into Police Women of Maricopa County last night and, as we predicted, it didn’t take long for the jowls of America’s self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff” to pop on the screen. It was only about 10 minutes into the show when Sheriff Joe Arpaio made a cameo appearance, which basically set…
According to several sources, a team of eight to nine U.S. Department of Justice investigators looking into civil rights violations by Sheriff Joe Arpaio was in Phoenix this week. On Sunday, February 21, they met with around 15 anti-Arpaio activists, some of whom gave them a tongue-lashing for dragging their…
The local civil rights community should have filled the plaza between the state House and the state Senate Wednesday with protesters as Russell Pearce’s latest legislative abomination was slithering through the House Military Affairs and Public Safety committee, on its way to the House Floor and from there, soon, to…
The House version of a Russell Pearce bill that would essentially make racial profiling a requirement of all local law enforcement agencies in this state hits the MAPS committee tomorrow, and let’s hope it gets lost in there.MAPS stands for Military Affairs and Public Safety, and as the Republicans control…
Between a cult and the Cottonwood rednecks, whom do I chose? That’s the conundrum I’m left with at the news that the Mago “Mother Earth” statue has been dismantled. That’s to the delight of bigots in Cottonwood, Arizona, who decried the 39-foot statue (nearly 50 feet high when you count…
Something wicked this way comes, and no, it ain’t Macbeth, it’s state Senator Russell Pearce’s latest unconstitutional legislation, SB 1394, scheduled to be discussed in the state Senate Judiciary Committee today at 1:30 p.m. The bill makes it a class-four felony under state law for those found guilty of unlawful re-entry,…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s popularity may be plummeting in Maricopa County — but he’s still the politician of choice for donors across the country.In fact, Arpaio’s most recent campaign finance report shows that the surly sheriff garnered a staggering $1.2 million in donations in 2009, much of it from…
Portrait of paranoia: Hendershott during his recent depo. Kudos to Channel 12 for the being the first outlet to post portions of MCSO Chief Deputy David Hendershott’s videotaped deposition in the big Melendres vs. Arpaio racial-profiling lawsuit. Hendershott was deposed by Steptoe & Johnson attorney David Bodney on behalf of…
The attitude of too many in the immigrant-rights community toward neo-Nazi hugger and state Senator Russell Pearce’s bigoted bill SB 1070 is one of resignation and defeatism. The bill, which passed the Arizona Senate Monday 17 to 13, would turn all cops in this state into immigration agents, and forbid…
