I'd have to say that, in general, the response to this last weekend's shootings in Tucson by politicians of both sides and the public has been the appropriate response - contemplation, sympathy, and calls for more tempered dialogue. Of course, you knew you could count on Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck to take it to new levels of narcissism and have their own little pity party. But, I knew it was just a matter of time before you'd have a few people go completely off the reservation. That's what's so entertaining about the far Right, especially my own state's far Right. Faced with a stupid and unfortunate event that calls for solemnity, they will double-down. In their book, their is no inappropriate response. If you are catching heat because inflamed rhetoric might have even remotely and indirectly influenced someone, then ratchet up the rhetoric and ratchet up the stupid:

AZ State Rep. Jack Harper, (Repub.) -- "When everyone is carrying a firearm, nobody is going to be a victim. The socialists of today are only one gun confiscation away from being the communists of tomorrow."

And if a situation calls for people to review our gun laws, then, of course, the response should be to ... promptly go out and buy more guns: Sales in Glock Pistols Up After Arizona Shootings

It's straight out of the Karl Rove playbook. Make a negative into a positive. I'd like to say I was surprised, but I'm not.

I read the news today, oh boy ...

I had a whole bunch of ideas on how to express my feelings and thoughts on yesterday's senseless shooting in Tucson of Arizona Congressmen Gabrielle Giffords, a federal judge, a 9 year old girl and many others. Then I watched Keith Olbermann's Special Comment. I could not have said it better ... and I won't try:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Papers Please ...

"All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian." -- Pat Paulsen

Arizonans get what they deserve

Cars I snapped pics of in the last week:

I have no problem with bumper stickers that might say something negative about a sitting president (I may have had one of my own in the past).  But the Kenya bumper sticker turns something that might just have been making fun of a president's intelligence into something racist.  Would a white president get similar treatment if their ancestors were from England or Ireland?  I don't think so.  At the very least, even if the sticker isn't racist, it indicates the owner is a "birther".  And that's a whole different kind of bat-shit crazy.

With constituents like this, is it any wonder we have idiots like this (incumbent governor Jan Brewer)?



It's not too much of a surprise that Sarah Palin is a big supporter and has stumped for Brewer.

"The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity." -- Harlan Ellison

SB 1070 - anti-illegal immigration law

People are talking about this all over the place. Most have shown a remarkable lack of understanding of the law and its implications. I'm not interested in getting in flame wars in those places, so I'm just going to outline a few points here that you may not have thought about and then I'm not interested in talking about it any more:

- Police officers already have the power to arrest illegal immigrants and turn them over to the Border Patrol. This law will allow people to sue the police for both NOT enforcing the law and for racial profiling. It's an untenable law that even police think is BS. They will be damned if they do and damned if they don't.

- It requires police to make an effort to determine immigration status if there is "reasonable suspicion". That is left within the police's discretion. How does an illegal look? I'll tell you, in the eyes of the police, he looks brown. That gives the them the right of asking legal American citizens for their proof of citizenship. If someone was in the country illegally from say, Canada or Ireland, what would make them identifiable by the police? Absolutely nothing! So, what makes our police so special that they can see something we cannot? They can't. That's the point. If you are brown, you are going down.

- If you are for this law, then you must be for all citizens carrying proof of their citizenship at all times and being required to provide it at the police's discretion. Sound familiar?

- In a already down economy, Arizona is doing something that is going to isolate them from the country in the world in a manner similar to what it did during the MLK day fiasco. I have personally spoken with business owners here who are getting cancellations by the truckload for resorts, hotels and conventions. There is a very real chance that Major League Baseball will relocate next year's All-Star game from Arizona. If our leaders want to be backwoods, ignorant xenophobes, do it somewhere else, because it is affecting the ability of non-racist people to make a living. This law, though signed, will not go into effect for at least 90 days. With all of the costly court challenges sure to come, I would suspect it may never go into effect. So, what has been accomplished? Nothing is done to help illegal immigration. The state will lose hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. The world will laugh at Arizona. Congratulations, Russell Pearce, Joe Arpaio, and Jan Brewer ... you are sure to go down unfavorably in the long list of Arizona political fuck-ups (Evan Mecham, Fife Symington).

"Reasonably Suspicious"

Arizonans are morons

"Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins." -- Ayn Rand

... well some of them anyway. Like those of the Republican persuasion in our state government. In one week they have managed to do the following:

Starting later this summer, U.S. citizens 21 and older can begin carrying a concealed firearm without a permit in Arizona.

...It eliminates the requirement for a concealed-carry weapons permit ...

"I believe strongly in the individual rights and responsibilities of a free society, and as governor I have pledged a solemn and important oath to protect and defend the Constitution," Brewer (AZ Governor) said in a news release. "I believe this legislation not only protects the Second Amendment rights of Arizona citizens, but restores those rights as well."

... Arizona joins Vermont and Alaska in not requiring such permits.

"If you want to carry concealed, and you have no criminal history, you are a good guy, you can do it," bill sponsor Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, has said of his bill. "It's a freedom that poses no threat to the public."

Governor Brewer is a piece of work but Pearce is a skidmark on the underpants of society. He really has no redeeming qualities. Check out his Wikipedia page in the Personal Life section. It lists him as Mormon (big shocker considering his backward views on marriage, immigration, minorities, etc.) but additionally says, "He is also a douche". Too funny. Obviously, most of his followers are too stupid to check up on the accuracy of the data on his page. I would suggest that it IS accurate.

More from the article on concealed guns:

... Brewer last week did sign a separate law that exempts guns made and kept in Arizona from federal regulation, including background checks.

... For those who do choose to get a permit, the education requirements do change under the new law. Classes are no longer required to be a set number of hours or include any hands-on use of the weapon. Those who don't get a permit would not be required to get any training or education.

Retired Mesa police officer Dan Furbee runs a business teaching permit and other gun safety classes. He said if most people choose not to get a permit, it will put several hundred Arizona firearms instructors out of business.

"It's going to hurt," he said.

But he said what really concerns him is that the new law will allow people who have had no education about Arizona's laws and no training on the shooting range to carry a concealed gun. The eight-hour class currently required to get a permit includes information on state law and gun safety, as well as requires students to be able to hit a target 14 out of 20 times...

"I fully agree that we have a right to keep and bear arms," Furbee said. "But if you are not responsible enough to take a class and learn the laws, you are worse than part of the problem."

He said it's not uncommon for students to walk into his classroom and pull a new gun out of a box with no idea how to hold it and no understanding of the laws surrounding it.

"If you are going to carry a concealed weapon, you should have some kind of training and show that you are at least competent to know how the gun works and be able to hit a target," he said. "You owe the people around you a measure of responsibility."

Basically, anybody that buys an Arizona made gun can do so without a background check and can carry it concealed without any previous training or proof of competency. Unbelievable. Republicans here say they are for business but these laws are already scaring away tourists and being responded to negatively by businesses, expecially restaurants and bars.

And if I hear one more person try to tell me this is about freedom, I'm going to punch them in the ear. Freedom has a cost, and it is responsibility. These laws provide no burden of responsibility and endanger those who have no interest whatsoever in carrying guns. This is not anarchy. People have rights to do things (drive, vote, work, etc.) but with limits based on age, competency, safety, etc. The NRA would have no restrictions whatsoever except the judgement of "good guys", as Pearce puts it.

Republicans are not content with loosening gun laws. They are voting Monday on a law that "would require anyone whom police suspect of being in the country illegally to produce "an alien registration document," such as a green card" or be fined. I won't talk too much on this one since it hasn't officially been signed into law yet. But, there is every indication that the senate will pass it and Brewer will sign it. There is already big time racially profiling being done in our county by cowboy Joe Arpaio. This new law will basically give free rein to police to shake down any Latino they want. Scary days.

An already backwards state is becoming more so. There is so much to love about Arizona, but the vision of its leaders is not one of the things.

"People are bringing shotguns to UFO sightings in Fife, Alabama. I asked a guy, "Why do you bring a gun to a UFO sighting?" Guy said, "Way-ul, we didn' wanna be ab-duc-ted." If I lived in Fife, Alabama, I would be on my hands and knees every night praying for abduction." -- Bill Hicks

Tres Rios Nature Earth Festival

We had a good time at the Tres Rios Nature & Earth Festival in Goodyear yesterday. The festival is a great way to learn more about the Valley's numerous nature and environment related organizations in a beautiful setting at Estrella Mountain Regional Park. Estrella Park is a park that Alex and I like hiking at quite a bit.

There were a lot of interactive exhibits for children that Alex took part in. He was able to learn more about conservation, environmental issues and local wildlife. Some of the organizations in attendance:

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
Arizona Public Service
Arizona Wilderness Coalition (an organization that I've volunteered at in the past)
Audubon Society (I've spent two weeks volunteering at the Audubon Research Ranch in SE AZ)
The Nature Conservancy
The Sierra Club
several solar power retailers

Despite the economy and budget restrictions, it was gratifying to see so many organizations in attendance. The state of Arizona has had to shutter many of its state parks (at least temporarily) but many non-profits are stepping up to the plate and giving people options to go and explore nature. Especially in large cities, it is important to foster an appreciation of the natural world in our children. If people understand better what is at stake when we waste and when we pollute, then maybe we'll be more careful about protecting those gifts.

We try to go to as many of these festivals as we can. In a community that seems to think it is more important to carry your guns around in public and ban gays from marrying, it's nice to get around a few people with similar interests.

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." -- John Muir

Shock Doctrine at work in AZ

To get an idea what modern conservatism has become, take a look at our little test bed here in Arizona. With the exit of Janet Napolitano to the Obama administration and a looming economic crisis, it was the perfect opportunity for our mouth-breathing Republican state congressmen and a pliant new Republican governor to gut education and social programs in the so-called interest of reducing the state budget deficit. Classic disaster capitalism - use crisis and disasters to push through your free market agenda, reduce government and eliminate social programs. Legislators hide behind the deficit, saying that cuts in all programs are needed. The public is blinded by the crisis and lets it happen. Included are:

• a $300 million cut to education


• $25 million cut to state parks, including at least 5 park closures


• cuts to libraries and museums


• "layoffs and furloughs for state workers, and elimination of a welfare program for disabled people waiting for Social Security benefits"

But not all the news is bad. Some programs didn't get cut ... they even got a boost. Guess which:

"Not everything was red ink: The budget package includes $1.6 million for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to use for immigration enforcement ..."

You fucking hypocrites. It's not about balancing the budget. It's about pushing your agenda. Shit on those not able to defend themselves and prop up xenophobic sociopaths. I guess they have their priorities straight.

We're in hell. Janet! Please come back!

Trent Franks

Our local Bush-loving, "war on terror" waste of a congressman, Trent Franks, had a scare this week:

Police and firefighters were called Wednesday to the Glendale office of U.S. Rep. Trent Franks after a man showed up with a box inside a bag that officials deemed suspicious.

Workers did the right thing in making the call, but no dangerous materials were found inside the box, said Sgt. Jim Toomey, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department.

The package was delivered to Franks' office, 7121 W. Bell Road, by a Glendale man who said he had asked to be taken off the mailing list of the GOP congressman, Toomey said.

Inside were a number of political mailers that the man, who did not make any threats, was trying to return, he said.

The office was evacuated as the package was checked and the Second Distict congressman was not on hand as the situation unfolded, Toomey said.

Franks is afraid of the impending "terror" threat but seems more frightened of people actually voicing their opinion. It was ironic because just a couple of days earlier, I had pondered calling his office and griping about the taxpayer funded pieces of crap that I get in my mail under the ruse of asking constituents "where do you stand on the issues?" What he really means is that he's going to use your money to print out and mail you ego-driven advertisements. These are some of the highlights from his latest flyer:

"Memorial Day was a reminder of all that as made America the noblest and freest nation on the face of the earth, and an opportunity for each of us to honor the lives and courage of those valiant men and women in uniform who made and continue to make unspeakable sacrifices so that you and I might live in the sunlight of freedom."

I think I vomited in my mouth on that one a little bit. Or how about this one:

"Our noble men and women fighting in harm's way deserve the unequivocal support of Congress by passing a clean, earmark-free troop funding bill that does not micromanage our commanders on the ground or telegraph a withdrawal plan to the enemy."

Gee, I wonder how he really feels. Sounds like his little "survey" isn't really about finding out what the voters think.

He goes on to advocate drilling in ANWR and promotes oil shale, tar sands, and coal-to-liquid technologies. Not once does he mention alternative fuels or conservation. No big surprise but Mr. Franks also used to be President of Liberty (of course) Petroleum Corporation. As if that wasn't enough, "Franks served four and a half years as the Executive Director of the Arizona Family Research Institute, a nonprofit organization associated with James Dobson's Focus on the Family ...". This man is basically a puppet.