The state has to provide a response to the brief by October 21st. I expect that Terry Goddard will commit to defending the law vigorously just as he did SB1070. And Terry should insist that the Brewer administration commit to fighting forcefully for employer sanctions despite the fact that Jan Brewer enjoys the endorsement of staunch opponents of the Legal Arizona Workers Act such as the Arizona Chamber of Commerce (which has joined a lawsuit against it).

While we’re at it, Jan should go ahead and proactively renounce the AZ Chamber’s endorsement because they’re against employer sanctions. As should every other pro-SB1070 and (nominally) pro-employer sanctions Republican candidate. It’s pretty outrageous for politicians who claim to be against illegal immigration to accept endorsements from business organizations that want to shield illegal employers from accountability. Don’t you agree?

2. Every so often I get a comment to a post I did months ago, probably because the person googled a topic and my post came up. Normally I just approve them and move on, but this poor creature was so upset about a post I did back in January about Rep. Judy Burges and her Birther Bill that I wanted to make sure y’all didn’t miss it.

Quoth Ronda:

NO. YOU SUCK. She is doing a great job and has a right to her opinion without trashy people like yourself making obnoxious comments. Judy…keep up the good work.

Judy sure does have a right to her opinion, Ronda. No matter how ignorant and bigoted it is. I hope you feel better now.

**UPDATE**: I facebooked Ronda and her full name is Ronda Burges-Apolinar. She’s Judy the Birther’s daughter.

But that’s just SOOOOO wrong of JD. Why? Here’s why:

But the Hayworth tactic spurred pushback from some Facebook users writing on his campaign fan page:

• Will Barks: “I think you are off base on this one JD. Kill McCain on his record and the facts. Don’t tear down a good Sheriff to do it.”

• Cindy Burgess Lunde: “Come on JD, you’re above this. You have my vote, but this is a mistake. I think Babeu is supporting the wrong guy, but I also think he’s doing a great job in his county fighting illegal immigration.”

• Dawn Luptak: “JD, I am one of your biggest supporters, but I think this is beneath you. It is turning some people off to you.”

OMG! LOL! WTF? Really? Facebook?

Dan?

My bad. Turns out that Real Law Enforcement Institutions^TM like Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) and the Arizona Fraternal Organization of Police heart them some Paul Babeu. As does Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

JD, how does the underside of the bus feel?

From the outset I was inclined to give the guy a pass on the blunder. It’s hard to imagine any legitimate politician thinking to him or herself, “You know, I should get myself interviewed on that Nazi station. That’ll be good for my career.” But the first nagging question is one that should be evident to anyone who has ever called in to a radio show. What happens is that the screener or producer puts you on hold, usually for several minutes. While you’re on hold you are listening to the show in progress, waiting for the host to call you by name and tell you you’re on the air. It’s possible that an aide of Babeu was waiting on the phone during that time, not Babeu himself, but still. Someone had to be listening to what was being said in the segment before the Babeu interview.

Yesterday the AZ Democratic Party sent out a press release describing it.

In the first segment of the radio program, before Babeu came on, the hosts and their invited guests:

* Were permissive about people who use, “horror of horrors, the N-word” [2:22]
* Accused Nelson Mandela of masterminding a terrorist bombing. [15:40]
* Said white Southerners were “invaded” by Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights Movement. [16:12]
* Blamed Jewish people for many of the country’s problems. [4:33, 5:26]

As they waited for Babeu to call in, one co-host said his excitement about having Babeu as a guest was on par with his excitement at meeting the well-known KKK leader David Duke.

You have to listen to the broadcast, if you can stomach it, to appreciate how calm and matter-of-fact people can be while expressing shockingly ugly views about their fellow human beings. That’s important because the constant presentation of hateful bigotry as a Mel Gibson scream-fest or JT Ready marching at the border often leads people to think that bigots can’t be articulate or “reasonable” sounding. Au contraire. These dudes chatting it up on the Political Cesspool sound like they could be on NPR, except for the part where they’re nasty hateful bigots.

As I’ve said here before, an association with a particular person or group does not mean that you are joining them or endorse their views. Out-of-context guilt by association should have died a boozy death along with Joe McCarthy. But there’s plenty of context with which to go after Babeu here. At best, it shows that Babeu and his handlers are sloppy and way too eager for any cheap publicity they can get, which means he’s not focused on the job he was elected to do. At worst, it raises suspicions about what Babeu knew and when he knew it and the possibility of collusion with the hosts (who, don’t forget, are claiming Babeu was aware of their ideology). Media Matters has the full interview with Babeu, in two parts.

Notice that the Cesspool hosts are on their best behavior throughout the interview. They mention how President Obama sent Babeu a “gift” in the form of the ACLU coming to Arizona to sue him. Just the plain old ACLU, not the evil Zionist conspiracy ACLU of the earlier segment. No mentions of superiority of the white race either; just several references to the “invasion” of illegals and drug cartels and violence. Not as clinical and NPR-ish as the first segent, it was more run-of-the-mill conservative talk radio bombast. This would lend some credence to Babeu’s claim that he didn’t know the nature of the show. Then again, Babeu claimed in the interview that the U.S. is “sprinting toward socialism” and repeated blatant falsehoods about Arizona’s crime rate. He’s not exactly awash in credibility.

Then there’s that other interview Sheriff Babeu did with conspiracy crackpot Alex Jones. Where Army National Guard Major Babeu accuses the President of being on the borderline of treason. Another innocent mistake, I’m sure.

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Sheesh, what a schmuck. Let’s see: Domestic violence. Ugly racist statements. No wait, domestic violence. How about we get back to Mel’s horrific violence toward his girlfriend and the mother of his child?

According to reports, Mel Gibson has a tendency to say racist things. First, there was the “Jews are responsible for all wars” incident and most recently he told his ex Oksana Grigorieva that if she went outside in a particular outfit he disapproved of she would be “raped by a pack of ni**ers.” What has been overlooked in almost every single report of that incident is why Grigorieva was tape recording Gibson in the first place. She needed proof. Proof that Mel Gibson was abusive to her not only emotionally, but physically. She had already provided dental records in their custody fight to prove that he knocked her teeth out but Grigorieva still felt she needed more evidence to show the court that Gibson is much more than just politically incorrect, he’s dangerous. Why is it that the detail about Gibson knocking Grigorieva’s teeth out was literally a throwaway line at the very end of an article with a splashy headline detailing his latest racist diatribe? Why did it take so long for them to launch a formal investigation into his abuse?

It is clear that the media and the public at large avoid talking about domestic violence. It’s seen as a private matter and is not to be spoken about openly. The problem with that is that this tendency to push it aside and out of our minds is teaching our young people exactly the wrong lesson. Another domestic violence incident that was in the news recently was Chris Brown and Rihanna after their now infamous drive in a Los Angeles suburb the night before the 2009 Grammy Awards. After his emotional performance at the BET Awards, many people declared Chris Brown forgiven. Bygones. He cried and apologized so we must all take it easy on him and just get past the “situation with Rihanna.” Let me be clear: Domestic violence is not a “situation.” We need to call it what it is. We need to point out that the repeating cycle of domestic abuse includes remorse and we should not allow Chris Brown or Mel Gibson or anyone else to simply come back and make a tear-filled apology. We must not be enablers. Domestic violence is the systematic destruction of another person emotionally, mentally, verbally, financially, socially, physically, and sexually. Domestic violence is the de-humanization of another person that can leave scars lasting a lifetime.

Arizona’s “scumbag boyfriend bill” was Jonathan Paton’s term of art, and give credit where credit is due, he did good that one time. Start watching from 1:17:25 on this archived footage and you’ll see Russell Pearce and Jack Harper object to domestic violence protection for unmarried women.

Unmarried women don’t deserve as much protection, after all.

Mel would agree.

Pamela, are those your guns?

Pamela, how conservative ARE you? Super conservative? Or super DUPER conservative?

Barf.

Commenter on Gorman’s Facebook page:

The “New Feminist” movement of fearless female freedom fighters in the Republican Party, such as pretty, popular, persuasive Pamela Gorman, are the nation’s best hope for restoration of Constitutional government.

The original framers of the Constitution didn’t intend for Pamela Gorman to vote or own property, let alone hold office. They were great guys, really. Very forward thinking, for their time. But they weren’t too inclined to enfranchise the ladies (or non-white men or non-property owners or Native Americans etc.). Those groups weren’t included in their vision of people deserving the full panoply of Constitutional rights.

Good thing those radical liberals came along to change things, huh, Pam? Lock and load, girlfriend!

The front page of the Republic featured a story about 19 business groups, led by the AZ Chamber, taking a brave stance on immigration reform. In the case of the AZ Chamber of Commerce in particular, by “brave” I mean, “realizing their craven silence and capitulation weren’t going unnoticed”. But that wasn’t enough.

Nor was Glenn Hamer’s open letter full of crocodile tears over Barry Wong’s hideous “cut their power off” statement. Touching, really. Such fortitude it takes to write a column full of scathing condemnation for the GOP candidate that his group didn’t endorse.

But nope, still not enough. Today was Rehabilitate the AZ Chamber’s Image Day at the Ministry of Truth. The Republic’s editorial was yet another regurgitation of the Chamber’s talking points – and man is it clear that they got the memo.

They will be pilloried. They will be accused of being part of some monumental “pro-amnesty, open-borders conspiracy.” That charge is the cudgel extremists use to silence reasoned debate.

Oh noes!! Meanwhile, I’ll continue to characterize them as the cowardly, two-faced, cutting-deals-with-Russell-Pearce, Jan Brewer endorsing, tax cuts and cheap labor loving arm of the Arizona GOP that they are.

But here’s the part of the Republic editorial that had me guffawing:

Like those businesspeople who are speaking up, it’s time for others in leadership roles to risk speaking truth in the face of popular distortions.

Religious leaders: Where are you? Arizona needs to hear from you.

Academics: Arizona needs to hear from you.

Sports figures and entertainers: You have a unique ability to reach people. Arizona needs to hear from you.

Politicians: Arizona needs you to speak the truth despite the polls.

What is popular is not always what is right. What’s been happening in Arizona is not right.

Anyone but me remember Los Suns? Remember politicians, religious leaders, entertainers, academics speaking out against bigotry and for immigration reform and being mocked or told to behave by the Republic? Never happened. Down the memory hole it goes.

Last Friday author and journalist Terry Greene Sterling was part of a panel discussion on immigration.

During the panel discussion, a lively audience and the panelists tackled SB 1070 from a number of different angles — the morality of it, historical context, how it may be carried out, efforts to stop it, its legality, and, in the view of many, its racism.

At one point, Nancy-Jo Merritt noted that many of her undocumented clients are Canadians.

A spirited discussion ensued.

Rep. Kavanaugh announced that “illegals” who were Canadians could “stay” in Arizona because they have money and buy real estate.

Then he said, several times, that he was just kidding.

Rep. John Kavanaugh (R-Scottsdale/Fountain Hills) was kidding on the square. I’m fairly certain he was sending a signal to patriotic citizens fed up with the Canadian Menace^TM to alert them to where undocumented Canadians congregate so that they can call the gendarmes out to the scene to question them, based upon “reasonable suspicion”, of course. A friend of mine who was at the forum says that Kavanaugh claimed undocumented Canadians “buy foreclosed homes”. Wow! Another, more specific, clue! I mean, Kavanaugh is a former law enforcement officer and a self-proclaimed expert on illegal immigration so he must know from whence he speaks.

Trustee sales: Day labor centers for undocumented Canadians! Be sure not to stop and pick a bidder up in your car. If your passenger is a Canuck sans papiers, you’re transporting and harboring. Definitely don’t impede traffic while doing it. That’s an automatic misdemeanor, yo.

Women’s brains are small and prone to overheating.

Fortunately, there are always cool-headed men around to explain how the world really works.

Needless to say, mansplaining is pretty much a constant in women’s offline lives too. In a recent post I described the familiar twinge I feel when listening to SB1070 supporters defend the law. I’m reminded of every encounter with every male who has dismissed my experience and discredited my perspective on something relating to gender. After all, how could I recognize what true sexism is being that I’m a mere female lacking in proper male objectivity? Thus, I unveil the term “Anglosplaining”. For our purposes, it’s shorthand for “demonstrating insufferable arrogance coupled with utter cluelessness of one’s own privileged status as an Anglo when discussing Arizona’s new bigoted law”.

SB1070 Anglosplainers will say things like “everyone just needs to read the bill”, as though it had never occurred to the people deeply offended by it to do that. But see, being oh-so-precise and legalistic allows the Anglosplainer to pretend that the whole point of the law isn’t to target Hispanics. “It says you can’t racially profile in the law! You’re the one making it into a racial issue!” Isn’t that neat?

Sometimes it’s necessary to go straight for bluntness when Anglosplaining. It’s not about race! – proclaimed a sign at a recent pro-SB1070 Tea Party rally carried by, natch, an Anglo. Because, again, Latinos are merely imagining things when they conclude, based upon heaps of ugly anti-Hispanic rhetoric surrounding the passage of SB1070, that the law targets them. How silly! Why can’t they listen to patient Anglosplanations by Anglos who have read the bill and can’t see anything that inconveniences Anglos in it? After all, the Anglo reality is the objective one. If you’re a brown person worried that you could be hassled by the cops for not having your papers on you, you just need to calm down and stop making this all about you!

Once you’ve mastered the basics of Anglosplaining, you will find it has uses beyond direct defenses of SB1070. Some of our local newspaper columnists and pundits are also fluent in Anglosplainese. Posing as neutral observers atop lofty pinnacles of Anglo objectivity, they are quick to point out where the behavior of SB1070 opponents is flawed and inconsistent, thereby making them just as bad as Russell Pearce. The protesters are so angry! The boycotts aren’t boycott-y enough! It’s not that the “neutral” Anglosplainers support SB1070 or anything. Indeed, most of them appear to understand that it’s a bad thing. Theoretically. But, and there will always be a but, everyone knows that people who object to a law inspired by bigotry are obligated to conduct themselves with perfect dignity and rectitude at all times in reaction to it. Since some opponents stubbornly refuse to do that, the neutral Anglo observers are required to criticize SB1070 opponents in much stronger terms and at least 3 times as often as they do supporters (no matter how virulently racist) to maintain the appropriate harmonious balance.

I hope this brief primer on Anglosplaining is helpful as you read today’s AZ Republic concern trolling editorial and in future encounters.

Douglas sits on the Mexican border, about 50 miles west of New Mexico. Its economy struggled after the smelter closed in the late 1980s. City leaders had less revenue to work with.

Michael Ortega saw the potential to fill that void in 1994.

Ortega, who was Douglas’ public-works director at the time, said the relationship began with selling the program to residents who might have been concerned about inmates in orange jumpsuits doing maintenance at city parks and easing concerns of employees who feared the cheap labor pool would take their jobs.

“There were discussions amongst staff and employees, and we told them the reality is this: They’re not taking your job,” Ortega said. “They’re helping you accomplish your job so I don’t have to hire more staff, because I can’t afford it.”

Ponder that. When revenue to your municipality dries up because a plant closes, taking well-paying jobs with it, the obvious answer is to hire a bunch of people for 50 cents an hour. Boy, that’ll sure stimulate the economy and bring those tax revenues back!

It’s not there isn’t a lot to be said for job training programs for inmates. It’s important to teach skills to and instill self-confidence in offenders so they can be productive members of society when they get out. What makes me uneasy is when government and corporations view prisoners as a cheap, captive workforce. Highly educated and skilled workers won’t be threatened by a 50 cent an hour captive and mostly uneducated labor force but low skilled workers will. This includes, ironically, the very inmates who upon their release will find it difficult to secure even minimum wage employment. It does not portend a foreseeable end to the disastrous War on Drugs either.

As for immigration reform with a path to legalization? Fuhgeddaboudit if Pearce and his ilk have their way. Someone sent me a link to this In These Times article and it all clicked into place.

An In These Times investigation shows that the bill’s promoters are as equally dedicated to border politics as they are to promoting the fortunes of private prison companies, like Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and Geo Group, which stand to reap substantial profits as more undocumented residents end up in jail.

Are we surprised at all by this?