It is fitting that a federal judge chose this week to uphold the power of Arizona and Kansas to require proof of citizenship in order to vote.
This was the week in 1965 when 25,000 marchers led by Martin Luther King Jr. reached Montgomery from Selma, Ala., a landmark in the long, bloody struggle for equal voting rights.
Who says the clock can't be turned back?
My favorite quote came from Arizona Attorney General Tom Horney: “This decision is an important victory against the Obama administration because it ensures that only U.S. citizens, and not illegals, vote in Arizona elections.”
Ah! Now I understand! The reason a bunch of ignorant, nihilistic Krackpots have taken over state government in Arizona is because illegal immigrants have been voting them in. Now, thanks to this George W. Bush-appointed judge in Wichita, perhaps sanity can return to the capitol in Phoenix.
This perfectly encapsulates the scam. The Kookocracy is safely reelected, term after term, ever more extreme and detached from reality. This is the deep-red voting of Republicans and "independents." Getting Hispanic citizens to vote is extremely difficult.
Real instances of serious voter fraud are almost nonexistent, and the few recent scandals have involved Republicans. On the other hand, minority and poor citizens are less likely to be able to produce a passport or birth certificate in order to exercise the franchise.
This is part of a widespread national effort to suppress voting that is seen likely to trend toward the Democrats. Other instances include limiting voting days and hours, as well as cutting back polling places.
The "voter fraud" and "illegals are voting!" dog whistles are also useful in state politics to keep the suburban Anglos in a constant state of hysteria. The minorities are taking over! The minorities are taking over! Is even championship golf safe??
Fifty years ago, Republicans were essential in Congress to passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts. Anybody want to guess how the Party of Lincoln would vote today?
While we're talking about limiting the franchise, how about imposing a civics and history literacy poll test? That would clean off a big set of the tea-bagger rolls in a hurry.
Seriously, until Arizonans get serious about kicking out the Republican Kookocracy, until they vote beyond the pitiful levels of 23 percent or less, expect more of the same. Your right to vote was paid for in blood, from Bunker Hill to Birmingham. And this is how you repay it?
Arizona and Kansas, two cowboy states from the American Southwest, demonstrate how the white majority plans to hold on to white power until the bitter end in the face of changing demographics.
Posted by: Drifter | March 21, 2014 at 12:34 PM
If you're like me, a blowhard, you tend to wage battle against a cohort who get their talking points spoon-fed to them by the Right-Wing Disinformation Project. Probably the foremost lying they do (and this in not meant to impugn the lesser lies they tell as somehow uninteresting) is that Republicans can't be racists because (a Lincoln freed the slaves, (b their role in passing key civil-rights era legislation, (c Robert Byrd was a Democrat, and (d the plantation analogy, which posits that feeding the hungry and treating the sick is akin to slavery.
Yeah, I tell them. And George Zimmerman worked for the Peace Corps. When a group of Know Nothings evince all the tolerance and loving-kindness of a Rush Limbaugh, it's inevitable that their vehicle to refute liberal lies has derailed into a slop-pond. What it lost in momentum it gained in a self-identifying odor of authenticity.
At any rate, here they are: the only people in America who aren't racist and are actually victims of bigotry themselves are now busy trying to make it harder for other people to vote. Of course, the liberal media will slime them and their motives, which means they're actually martyrs. No wonder billionaires compare themselves to victims of the Holocaust. The liberals are goose-stepping all over their feelings!
Until the Real Victims of Racism fight back, America will continue to spiral out of control. Citizens will continue to get affordable health care although the Constitution doesn't even mention it! Other people will get "special rights" even though the Founding Fathers didn't have a fairy in the bunch. And others will anchor-drop their babies on American soil because they know liberals will give them Social Security. You fight back the only way you know how: by not being racist and telling the beaners and jigaboos they're walking on the fighting side of Real Muricans.
Posted by: soleri | March 21, 2014 at 02:10 PM
Everyone knows that you can kill a virus by exposing it to heat and ultra-violet light.
In other words, the light of day will kill a virus.
We need to expose the viruses in our lives by bringing them to the light of day so that everyone can see them for what they are, a virus, a curse, an abomination on mankind.
PUT THEIR NAMES ON WANTED POSTERS. POST THEM ALL OVER THEIR "DISTRICTS".
Kimberly Yee
Joe Ourpiehole
The dumbass Sheila Polk in Prescott
The whole city of Prescott
Brewer
Hillarious Clinton (she won't be the first female President, she's a dude!!)
Ted "The Joke" Cruz
Every Bush ever born
Every blood relative of Russell Pearce
Shit for brains Worsley (he's my greatest disappointment)
Al Gore(I'm a billionaire "save the earth" phoney. "Where did you say that buffet was?")
You get the idea. However, as long as they are allowed to operate in the dark, they will thrive, multiply and eventually kill us all.
They are "The Andromeda Strain".
Posted by: AzReb, Troll, Ruben | March 21, 2014 at 03:47 PM
Geezzzz Reb, hope your spouse has got your Insurance up to date
Posted by: cal Lash | March 21, 2014 at 04:07 PM
AZReb, not everyone can be as willowy as you. I'm sure Al Gore's credibility and Nobel Prize shrink by comparison to your comeliness.
I admit to tetchiness here. I think by any measure, Al Gore has comported himself with dignity and honor. He took on a task that had no obvious benefit, say like the post-presidential Ronald Reagan making speeches for a couple million a pop. Ronaldus Magnus did write nice thank you notes, as Peggy Noonan likes to remind us. And for that our ditzy nation bows its distracted head in his direction. Meanwhile, Al Gore, who respects the Englightenment and the scientific method is scorned.
Of course, what we're really arguing about is whether science is an accurate gauge to reality. You say no, which is your privilege. Half of America thinks that it can make judgments about evolution by whether its vanity is somehow wounded by the idea that we share 98.6% of our DNA with chimpanzees. Or whether it "seems" like Earth is the center of the universe. Or whether perpetual-motion machines are super cool and therefore feasible. Generally I don't like to argue with idiots but if you're voting, please stop.
Atmospheric physics is hard science. That is, no one, not even Lord Monckton or Ted Nugent, has disputed it. It's the empirical foundation of climate change theory. There's no argument against it. None. What. So. Ever.
Again, you're free to disagree. By the way, there's a fat person on TV you might want to mock, not to mention a "woman" who is no longer stroking your libido with her juicy hotness. Your id is scratching the screen door. Time to let it out.
Posted by: soleri | March 21, 2014 at 05:01 PM
Soleri: Im taking REB out for a sobering Coffee. Petro and I will squeeze his brain a while before we send him back to the blog.
I am not a fan of Conservative Clinton dressed in a Democrat skin but I really do like Elizabeth Warren
Posted by: cal Lash | March 21, 2014 at 05:21 PM
Re: “imposing a civics and history literacy poll test? That would clean off a big set of the tea-bagger rolls in a hurry.” I’m a tea party guy. I think, I think, I would pass the test; it’d depend on how hard the test was. I think I’ve got the fundamentals down. Of course I’m of an age when we were taught and expected to learn such things.
I know I would pass a geography test and know that Kansas was over there next to Missouri.
Aside #1: I used to say such things like “well, we tea-baggers think……”. A young guy pulled me aside and said “Wayne, you just might want to use a different word”. Of course I’m of an age where tea-bagging would be considered deranged. But to take photos of it and post them seems trashy beyond description. That the act is common enough to have acquired a widely known descriptor doesn’t speak well of our society.
Aside #2: Tomorrow will be my first official day of retirement. I was an electrical engineer. About six months ago I was getting the feeling that the younger guys I was working with were astonishingly ignorant; not stupid mind you, just clueless. The average IQ in the room had to be at least 130. To do a little assessment I constructed a 20 question test of what I thought should be “common knowledge”; at least for certified college graduates. I offered a modest monetary incentive to assure an honest effort. I gave the test to 4 or 5 guys to do a little calibration of the test. I decided to ditch the effort. All I was doing was humiliating people. If these are our “best and brightest” God help us. This is the famous book question:
7. Match author and book:
a. Clausewitz Candide ______
b. Darwin Essay on the Principle of Population ______
c. Machiavelli The Prince ______
d. Malthus On War ______
e. Nietzsche Origin of Species ______
f. Smith Thus Spoke Zarthustra _______
g.Voltaire Wealth of Nations _______
If Jon gives of OK I’ll post the whole thing somewhere.
Posted by: wkg in bham | March 21, 2014 at 05:52 PM
Sorry. lost formatting when posted. Should have an author's last name,tab, book name.
Posted by: wkg in bham | March 21, 2014 at 06:05 PM
Cal, if AZReb is commenting while drunk, it's an explanation more than an excuse. I'm not a teetotaler but I don't put my name on ideas marinated in alcohol. It's always embarrassing.
I don't "like" Hillary either but I'm reasonably sure I'll vote for her. Elizabeth Warren is great on the issues precisely because she has a safe senate seat from the most liberal state in the union. The average state is much closer to Arizona than Massachusetts, needless to say. And perversely enough, we're proud of that. I suspect AZReb could elucidate this phenomenon.
Hillary graduated from Wellsley, which is in Massachusetts, and gave a valedictory speech which was legendary. She's an extraordinarily gifted person but she's also a politician running for office in a nation that thinks Barack Obama is a wild-eyed liberal. Yes, we're that stupid. So, she makes like a Neocon so no one will suspect she wears mom jeans. Or something like that. I say this not because I want to make excuses for her but because I have no other option than to explain a nation too stupid to vote for its own interests. If this were the United States of New England (and the Pacific Coast) we would vote for Elizabeth Warren. But we wouldn't have to since Hillary would be just as liberal and honest. If wishes were fast trains to Texas, we'd be in Amarillo by now. As it is, we're still derailed outside Tucson waiting for the Stupid Party to come back to its senses. That's not going to happen. It's Verdun 1915 except our trench warfare could go on for much longer.
Posted by: soleri | March 21, 2014 at 06:23 PM
We've become a nation of - nay, a species of - Neros (in the apocryphal "fiddling" sense) - when I eavesdrop on random conversations, all I hear about is sports or some cool commercial.
Of course, these Neros would say that I am just patting ourselves on the back for our ineffectual intellectual griping.
I still think it qualifies a peg or two above ruminating over college-ball brackets.
It's getting to the point where I'm starting to warm up to the idea of the epic slaps that Gaia has in store.
Looking forward to coffee tomorrow.
Posted by: Petro | March 21, 2014 at 07:02 PM
soleri:
Hoho, so true. I strive, but then again... judgment is impaired. :)
Posted by: Petro | March 21, 2014 at 07:06 PM
Re: Soleri: “It's Verdun 1915 except our trench warfare …..“ A WWI post/thread would be cool. Particularly since it’s the centennial year for the war.
Posted by: wkg in bham | March 21, 2014 at 07:34 PM
'Your right to vote was paid for in blood, from Bunker Hill to Birmingham.'
I love that. Thanks, Jon.
Posted by: Kevin Thorson | March 21, 2014 at 08:24 PM
I like Elizabeth Warren too, Cal. But then again, I was excited and optimistic about Barack Obama when he was elected PotUS in 2008. He's kind of dashed my excitement for future candidates. Fool me once ...
Posted by: ChrisInDenver | March 22, 2014 at 03:15 AM
Az Rebel,
Hillary is not a dude.
She may not be familiar with life on the ranch but her sense of style is far from dandy. She wears plain pantsuits but that only makes her comfortable and, from my point of view, comfortable is intelligent. I like Soleri’s description of the differences between Hillary and Elizabeth; Hillary is, and always will be careful with her words and guarded in her expression. I think people mistrust her for that reason, not because she lacks consistency.
It is Interesting to me that men and women in America seem to trust men of every creed or color more than they trust women.
I hope that Hillary is the first female President.
Posted by: Suzanne | March 22, 2014 at 08:20 AM
Nope. Wasn't drunk. I find it very interesting that if a person criticizes H. Clinton or A. Gore, then they must be drunk. I'll remember that .
Let's walk through this slowly so that you "talkers" may someday become "doers".
As a result of the SB 1062 fiasco a few weeks ago, a commenter on Democratic Divas said, and I paraphrase "We need to hang this Cathy Herrod and the center for AZ policy around the necks of the persons who tried to pass this bill."
At the time, I thought, great, a plan of action. Keep the light of day shining on these operatives who are pushing these crazy agendas on the rest of us.
My post above was a suggestion on how to ramp up the heat on these operatives, both parties.
I listed my list of dirty dozen characters because , well because I could. If that threw you off my message, well then I'm sorry.
Posted by: AzReb, Troll, Ruben | March 22, 2014 at 10:55 AM
wkg, feel free...
Posted by: Rogue Columnist | March 22, 2014 at 11:24 AM
Az Reb,
Did you see Laurie Roberts column where she writes “And so comes the advertisement in today's newspaper, signed by 65 citizens. "Take back Arizona," it says. "Be represented. We don't need an overthrow or a revolution. Change can be free, and bloodless. We can vote."
http://www.azcentral.com/story/laurieroberts/2014/03/21/vote-arizona-politics-independents-legislature-election/6706971/
Laurie makes a good point, “Of course, it doesn't help to vote if you have no options. In 2012, only eight of Arizona's Senate races had primary competition.”
Posted by: Suzanne | March 22, 2014 at 04:57 PM
Notes regarding the test:
- It was written specifically for electrical engineers in Birmingham, Alabama. Some of the questions are south-centric. For example, there’s a question regarding Civil War battles. Here, the Civil War was a seminal event.
- A test for a different population in Arizona would have been different
- An electrical engineer is a college graduate. Familiarity with literature, the arts, history, philosophy, etc. separates a genuine college graduate from say a really good electrician.
- It is unabashedly Western and American in its orientation.
- There a number of pop culture questions. If you’re going to mingle with a wide range of people there are certain things you just have to be familiar with. For example, stock car racing and college sports are really big deals in Alabama.
1. Match the title and author:
…….. a. Cannery Row-----------------Camus_________
…….. b. Farewell to Arms------------Dickens________
…….. c. Great Gatsby-----------------Fitzgerald_______
…….. d. Moby Dick-------------------Hemingway______
…….. f. The Stanger------------------Hesse___________
…….. e. Steppenwolf-----------------Melville_________
…….. g. A Tale of Two Cities------Steinbeck_________
2. Match first and last names of painters
……..a. Andy---------------Dali________________
……..b. Claude-------------Monet______________
……..c. Grant---------------Picasso______________
……..d. Henri---------------Pollock______________
……..e. Jackson------------Toulouse Lactrec ______
……..f. Pablo---------------Van Gough ___________
……..g. Rembrandt--------Van Rijn _____________
……..h. Salvador-----------Warhol ______________
……..i. Vincent ------------Wood ________________
3. Which building is not in Now York City?
…….. a. Chrysler_________________
…….. b. The Dakota _____________
…….. c. Empire State ____________
…….. d. Madison Sq. Garden ______
…….. e. Transamerica____________
4. Who is not a Nobel Prize winner in physics?
…….. a. Bohr ___________
…….. b. Fermi ___________
…….. c. Feynman _________
…….. d. Gell-Mann ________
…….. e. Planck ____________
…….. f. Solzhenitsyn ________
5. Match the bone and the body area:
…….. a. Carpus……..……. Arm _______
…….. b. Femur……..……. .Foot _______
…….. c. Scapula……..…… Hand _______
…….. d. Tarsus……..…….. Leg ________
…….. e. Ulna ……..……….Torso _______
6. Match composer and their country of origin:
……..a. Bartok……..……….Austria _____
……..b. Chopin……..………Finland _______
……..c. Copeland……..……Germany ______
……..d. Sibalius……..……..Hungary ______
…….. e. Strauss……..……..Poland ________
…….. f. Wagner……..……..USA _________
7. Match author and book:
…….. a. Clausewitz…… Candide _____________________________
…….. b. Darwin…….… Essay on the Principle of Population ______
…….. c. Machiavelli ….. The Prince ___________________________
…….. d. Malthus…….....On War ______________________________
…….. e. Nietzsche……..Origin of Species ______________________
…….. f. Smith………….Thus Spoke Zarthustra _________________
…….. g.Voltaire………..Wealth of Nations _____________________
8. Match character and TV series
…….. a. Sheldon Cooper …….. American Idol ____________
…….. b. Simon Cowell ……..... Big Bang Theory __________
…….. c. Ross Geller …………. Friends __________________
…….. d. Charley Harper …….. Monday Night Football ______
…….. e. Cosmo Kramer …….. Seinfeld __________________
…….. f. Al Michaels ………… Two and Half Men _________
9. Match college and mascot:
…….. a. Baylor …………… Bears _________
…….. b. Harvard …………. Crimson ________
…….. c. Indiana …………... Hoosiers _______
…….. d. N. C. State ………. Owls __________
…….. e. Rice ………………Trojans _________
…….. f. Southern Cal …….. Wolfpack _______
10. Match the city and the landmark:
…….. Boston …………. Arch _____________
…….. Chicago ………...Castro District______
…….. New Orleans ….. The Commons ______
…….. Saint Louis ……. Jackson Square ______
…….. San Francisco…..The Loop ___________
…….. Seattle ………….Space Needle ________
11. Match the athlete and nickname:
…….. a. Bryant………… The Admiral ______
…….. b. Robinson …….. Air ______________
…….. c. Ernhart ……….. Bear _____________
…….. d. Johnson ………. Broadway Joe ______
…….. e. Jordan ………… Charley Hustle ____
…….. f. Namath………… Iron Head ________
…….. g. Petty …………… The King ________
…….. h. Rose…………….. Magic __________
12. Match movie with line of dialog:
…….. a. Animal House ……...…double secret probation. ______________
…….. b. Apocalypse Now …..…a failure to communicate. _____________
…….. c. Casablanca ……..….….Go ahead punk. Make my day. _________
…….. d. Cool Hand Luke …….. don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore. ____
…….. e. Dirty Harry ……..……love the smell of napalm in the morning. __
…….. f. Gone With the Wind ... Play it Sam.__________________________
…….. g. Wizard of Oz …..……..Frankly my dear….___________________
13. Which of the following is not an economics abbreviation?
…….. a. CPI ________
…….. b. GDP _______
…….. c. IMF ________
…….. d. NAFTA ____
…….. e. RHIP _______
…….. f. ROI _________
14. Who was not a business tycoon?
…….. a. Duke ___________
…….. b. Ford ___________
…….. c. Mellon _________
…….. d. Rockefeller _____
…….. e. Pershing ________
…….. f. Stanford ¬¬_________
15. Who is not a famous architect?
…….. a. Frank Gherey __________
…….. b. Phillip Johnson ________
…….. c. Walter Morris _________
…….. d. I.M. Pei ______________
…….. e. Frank Lloyd Wright _____
16. Match the battle and the state where it was fought:
…….. a. Antiatam ……..Maryland _______
…….. b. Bull Run …….. Mississippi ______
…….. c. Gettysburg ….. Penn ___________
…….. d. Shilo……..……Tenn ___________
…….. e. Vicksburg …..Virginia __________
17. Match element to symbol:
……..a. Copper…….. Au______
……..b. Gold………..Cu______
……..c. Iron………...Fe______
……..d. Lead……….Pb______
……..e. Tin………… Sn______
18. Match parameter and unit of measurement:
…….. a. Energy……..Atmosphere ______
…….. b. Force…….. Erg_______________
…….. c. Mass…….. Kg_______________
…….. d. Power……..Pound____________
…….. e. Pressure……..Watt ___________
19. Match war and president (at the start of the war)
…….. a. 1812 ……..…………..Lincoln______________
…….. b. Mexican ……..……..Madison__________
…….. c. Civil ……..……..……..McKinley_______
…….. d. Spanish-American…....Polk___________
…….. e. WWI……..……..……..F. Roosevelt_____
…….. f. WW II……..……...…..Truman________
…….. g. Korean……..…………Wilson________
20. Starting with Maine, list, in order the states that abut the Atlantic Ocean:
…….._____________
…….. _____________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
…….. ______________
Posted by: wkg in bham | March 22, 2014 at 05:37 PM
Soleri, U missed a good club meeting.
We did talk about you some
but everyone was sober and extremely intelligent
Have you heard the one about the bridge?
Posted by: cal lash | March 22, 2014 at 06:37 PM
Suzanne,
What can't be said in the mainstream media is this: Arizona has to be "taken back" from the Republican Party.
The GOP today has no John Rhodeses or Sue Gerards. It is a party of extremism and nihilism.
It has been in power virtually unchallenged since the mid-1980s and Arizona has only gone downhill as the result of its policies.
Posted by: Rogue Columnist | March 22, 2014 at 07:33 PM
Cal, haven't heard that one.
Trust me, I hate being talked about. Yes, I'm an attention whore, but I'm vain about the reviews. Did I finally cross a line? Did I spoil the party with my aggressive opinions? Did I step on other people's lines in order to get my views across?
The truth is, I do that all the time. I should probably leave AZReb's stuff alone. But let's be clear for the sake of moral hygiene. If you're trafficking in outright bigotry (Hillary and Janet Napolitano are guys, Kimberly Yee is something worse than the Yellow Peril, fat people are gross), then somebody, somewhere should say something. Yes, free speech is free speech, but if we don't raise an eyebrow at the ugly stuff, we normalize cruelty. That's simply wrong. Always. Frankly, it shouldn't be up to me to do this. It's not my blog. But in lieu of better angels, you're dealing with me, damaged goods and all. I don't like it anymore than anyone else, particularly since I love colorful language that takes it to the edge. Still, I wish there were good people like you willing to do this housekeeping. We're better than this. At least I hope so. But to bury this hatchet before it becomes a murder weapon, let me simply state I'll never raise this subject again. I've said my peace. If the ugly stuff continues, I'll leave, and this time without tears.
Posted by: soleri | March 22, 2014 at 07:47 PM
Az Reb and Soleri, burying the hatchet would be good. This place wouldn't be the same without both of you commenting. And the elusive Emil, too. Sorry I missed coffee.
Posted by: Chris Thomas | March 22, 2014 at 08:45 PM
Rogue,
Yes, I do agree!
I think that is what Reb is saying too. Although, I am not sure why he includes Hillary or Al unless he is using slapstick for effect.
Posted by: Suzanne | March 22, 2014 at 08:56 PM
Well, It looks like the consensus is I stepped over the line.
I apologize to everyone, especially soleri.
soleri is one of the founders of our coffee group. I like him and respect him a great deal.
My emotions get the better of me. It comes with my genetics.
I feel angry and helpless at the world we are leaving for my daughter and granddaughters.
We all have our reasons for participating on this blog. I'm afraid one of my main reasons is to blow off steam so that I don't do it destructively somewhere else.
I'll try to find another outlet for the frustration and anger.
I'll keep it civil here.
Posted by: AzReb, Troll, Ruben | March 22, 2014 at 09:34 PM
Alabama writes,
"I know I would pass a geography test and know that Kansas was over there next to Missouri."
It is also "over there" next to Colorado, Oklahoma and close to Texas and New Mexico.
What test have you passed?
Posted by: Blue Belly | March 22, 2014 at 09:40 PM
AZReb, why don't you run for office? I say this jokingly and seriously? If you want to effect change ...
Posted by: ChrisInDenver | March 22, 2014 at 09:47 PM
Why was a legal dispute over an Arizona voter registration law decided in a Kansas federal district court?
Posted by: Jmav | March 22, 2014 at 10:33 PM
Soleri, Jon's blog is like the lighthouse in the fog and we need your wise input to keep the beacon shining into the primordial mist.
Your name at coffee came as as usual as the guy that we all miss when you are not there at the table or on this blog.
Chris I agree, Reb should run for office and we could bring Soleri back to AZ to be his adviser. I would be on standby to take REB to coffee when he loses his patience with "manunkinds" practices
Posted by: cal Lash | March 22, 2014 at 11:08 PM
Soleri, The Bridge, well the old story is the Brooklyn bridge and beads. The new one is politics as usual in NJ.
I consider Soleri and Reb both my friends and colleagues in this war on idiocy. We all care is the best point I can make. Soleri and I share Phoenix as a place we have known for over 60 years. Reb has the same concerns as Soleri and I do. And Reb the Native American lives today with the knowledge that some "foreign" invader took an ancestors scalp.
Posted by: cal Lash | March 22, 2014 at 11:32 PM
Cal, with all due respect, AZReb and I do not share the same concerns. Let me say at the outset that having met him, I know him to be sentient and intelligent. His comments, however, puzzle me because they're often just pointless exercises in damning everyone* with over-the-top invective. Are other people really that hellish? My suspicion is that AZReb knows better. Much better.
*def. everyone: all politicians with the possible exceptions of Ron and Rand Paul.
Al Gore is the clue. If you're like me, you consider the environment to be not only the foremost issue for humanity, but the most hair-on-fire imperative. We don't have much time (if we have any time at all), so sounding this alarm on climate change is a necessarily good thing. And the American right understood that to further consolidate their hold over us, they had to disable that message. The easiest way was simply to mock and vilify the messenger. It worked. Al Gore is now a punchline in what passes for our national discourse.
This vile habit of character assassination - half McCarthyism, half Know Nothingism - has disabled not only our discourse, but the national project. We can't do anything now. Guess who won? No need to guess. Just follow the money.
If politics is all a shuck and only people like AZReb really understand this, then there's no reason for patience, incremental reform, or even democracy. Burn the house down. Damn everyone. Scorn their humanity. Let the rich rule since they already won the game in the marketplace. That's nihilism, and this philosophy now has a frightening hold over the minds of the citizenry. This is not just a concern about competing philosophies. It's a concern about our collective sanity.
Of course, we should be civil to one another. And legitimate discourse requires enough mutual respect that we can argue strenuously without burning our bridges to one another. But, as the Overton Window concept shows, our debate keeps sliding toward an ideological extreme. Sometimes, they do it with the False Equivalence (Charles Manson, the Dalai Lama - they both bleed. They're the same!) and sometimes they do it with crude insinuations and cruelty. Whatever works.
Those of us on the left who fight back, what Jon calls the Resistance, don't have much firepower. We have spaces like this to file our bleaty protests. Yet even here of all places we have to keep fighting our putative allies. I'm not persuaded, if you're still reading this, that we're all on the same side.
Arguments that turn unpleasant reveal hidden fault-lines. This is one of them. I would no sooner "advise" someone like AZReb in his capacity as a sworn official than I would believe anything he has to say. If you don't take your own side in the most crucial arguments, you're not really participating. We need to do that well enough in order to understand who we really are. Everything else is, well, just a shuck.
Posted by: soleri | March 23, 2014 at 07:16 AM
Jmav,
I am not certain, I believe it has to do with the fact that it is an identical piece of legislation designed by ALEC and passed in both states, Kansas and Arizona. Then, someone in Kansas used the legal system to challenge the constitutionality. That is why a Kansas district court is influencing an Arizona law.
Posted by: Suzanne | March 23, 2014 at 07:55 AM
Soleri, Excellent response. I will digest for a while. In the mean time I will continue to position myself in a negotiator position as when in the past I ran a "Swat" team the goal was to negotiate, not kill.
Posted by: cal Lash | March 23, 2014 at 09:31 AM
The Good News From Tempe and NY:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/22/hillary-clinton-climate-change_n_5015203.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/nyregion/despite-critics-de-blasio-finds-success-in-pursuit-of-liberal-agenda.html
Posted by: cal Lash | March 23, 2014 at 10:23 AM
Chris,
I'm glad you said it jokingly.
Otherwise, if I attained public office, your question would go down in history with that similar, innocent question asked in Germany in the early 1900's, "So, Adolph, what are your thoughts about running for office?"
We don't need me to be in public office.
Posted by: AzReb, Troll, Ruben | March 23, 2014 at 10:30 AM
@Blue Belly “What test have you passed?“
I had my panties in a wad at the time I wrote that. It was a shot at someone who had commented in effect that Kansas was in the American Southwest.
When you wrote “close to Texas”, I went “What?” I pulled out my Rand-McNally to check and sure enough it is very close to Texas. It’s easy to overlook just how far Indiana, Missouri and Kansas extend southward. But then it was “Bloody Kansas” back in the days. Still, in my mental map of the country Kansas is still a “plains state”.
Posted by: wkg in bham | March 23, 2014 at 12:07 PM
Alabama,
I hope it is ok to call you Alabama.
There are different types of maps. Kansas as a Midwestern state is certainly a widely held view and classified as such by federal bureaucrats at the US Census Bureau. From a geopolitical viewpoint, Kansas seems much more aligned with the natural resource states which include Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. The lack of water is also a major factor one might consider in grouping Kansas with other American Southwestern states. The term"get out of Dodge" is usually associated with a gunslinging stat such as Arizona, not a pure Midwestern state such as Iowa.
Posted by: Blue Belly | March 23, 2014 at 12:49 PM
Suzanne,
Thank you for your clarification on why a judge from Kansas is deciding the legitimacy of an Arizona state law.
I wonder what the residents of Washington state would say about a Washington state statute on same sex marriages being decided in a Salt Lake City federal district court.
The other aspect of course is that the decision will circumvent review by Arizona's 9th circuit appellate judges and be reviewed by a federal appellate court which I believe judge Thomas oversees for the US Supreme Court.
Does Arizona possess any state pride at all?
Posted by: Jmav | March 23, 2014 at 01:00 PM
OK Suzanne,
Let's see if I can do this without riling any feathers or stepping on any toes.
I read Laurie's column and copy of the ad placed in the paper. Very commendable. Next to Jon or equal to Jon, Laurie is my favorite news media hero (heroine).
She speaks for the powerless against those who would harm the powerless.
Where I part ways with most of you on this blog and probably Laurie included is how to respond to persons who would do us harm. (I'm well aware that "persons who would do us harm" is a subjective call)
I am of the Israeli philosophy, "If you step on my toe, I'll cut off your head". Harsh, no doubt, but look at the neighborhood they live in.
Back to Laurie's ad. Well written, well said.
Here are the flaws I see.
1. They are assuming the audience they are targeting can read.
2. They are assuming the audience they are targeting will read it.
Those are two really, really big assumptions.
I contend, you need to bet on the fact that most current AZ adults, don't read, can't stay focused long enough to read an ad that long and that you must hit them in the forehead with a two by four with a three or four word message which will sink into their brains once the swelling goes down.
As an example" YEE HATES VETERANS or YEE HATES YOUR CHILDREN or CATHY HERROD AMERICAN TALIBAN.
IMHO I believe it will take that kind of directness to get the message across. Nothing less.
I hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings.
Posted by: AzReb, Troll, Ruben | March 23, 2014 at 02:27 PM
Side-note: two new comments on the missing Malaysian plane (including a reply to Mike G) here:
http://www.roguecolumnist.com/rogue_columnist/2014/03/when-push-comes-to-shove.html
Posted by: Emil Pulsifer | March 23, 2014 at 04:58 PM
@reb: “AZ adults, don't read, can't stay focused long enough to read an ad”. From what I can tell, this is more than an AZ phenomena. I’d say it’s true of almost everywhere.
@to all: I think of myself as guest and/or visitor to this site. Reflecting upon it, I have way overstepped the bounds of courtesy here. My apologies to all.
Posted by: wkg in bham | March 23, 2014 at 06:11 PM
Wkg: Keep coming back
Posted by: cal Lash | March 23, 2014 at 07:06 PM
Jmav, I think you are exactly right about which appellate court will review and it would not surprise me if that was always the intent. I am not that informed on the subject.
Az Reb, The reason for pointing to Laurie’s article was to demonstrate that people who care are doing what they think they can in the best way they know how.
I do not understand why you said that Hillary is a dude; Hillarious maybe, ambitious definitely, but to call her a dude is just insulting.
Wkg, You have not overstepped the bounds of courtesy here. Why would you say that?
Posted by: Suzanne | March 23, 2014 at 07:18 PM
JMAV and Suzanne:
This might be more legal detail than you want, but briefly Kansas and Arizona both filed suit in U.S. District Court in Kansas against the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The suit was brought under the Administrative Procedure Act, which allows people to sue federal agencies in any District (trial level) Court to compel them to take a non-discretionary act. The Court here was asked to rule that the EAC had no discretion to refuse to alter the federal election form to be used in Kansas and Arizona to include the additional citizenship requirements. The Court held that the EAC (successor to the FEC) had no authority to refuse to add voting instructions lawfully demanded by states, even for federal elections. The Court found that Congress had not intended to displace state authority in this area. It also said that, had Congress tried to so pre-empt states, that might be unconstitional.
This ruling points out the Pyrrhic nature of the victory by the Intertribal Council in the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that got so much attention. There, the Court held merely that Arizona couldn't require voters to furnish credentials (such as proof of citizenship) not called for on the federal form. But the Court expressly said that states that do require proof of citizenship could demand that the federal form be changed to require it.
That's precisely what happened here. The Supreme Court held only that Arizona couldn't enforce its proof-of-citizenship law without first asking the EAC to change the federal form. The Court did not hold that proof-of-citizenship laws were unenforceable in federal elections.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate the time, place, and manner of federal elections, and the ability to pre-empt state laws that run afoul of its mandates. But the Constitution also gives States the power to determine qualifications for voter registration, so long as those requirements don't run afoul of another constitutional prohibition. For instance, a State could not enact a law that only those who can prove they are white males are eligible to register. But states apparently can demand that voters provide documentary evidence that they possess constitutionally permissible qualifications -- such as citizenship.
Someday there will be a showdown about whether proof of citizenship laws are an unconstitutional burden on the rights of protected voters, in which case states' discretion will be limited. But that's way above the District Court's pay grade. And I wouldn't be surprised to see a state take a stab at moving the voting age to 21.
In any event, the reason that a court in Kansas was able to issue a ruling that affected Arizona law is that it ordered the EAC to honor the requests of Kansas and Arizona to change the approved federal registration form.
Posted by: Chris Thomas | March 23, 2014 at 07:20 PM
@Blue Belly: I’m going to assume you’re from Kansas. I have a very soft spot is my heart for Kansas. I read this book called “Our Boys”. It’s about a high school in West Kansas, in a little rat-shit town called Smith’s Center. The football team was on the verge of setting a record for the most consecutive wins. Joe Drape, writer from the NYT, moved himself and his family for a year to chronicle the event. By the end of the book all I could think was: “what a great people”, “what a great little town”. It had the social cohesiveness that is so lacking today.
@Cal “I ran a "Swat" team the goal was to negotiate, not kill.” Jesus, is there anything you didn’t do? Ever work vice?
Posted by: wkg in bham | March 23, 2014 at 07:27 PM
Thank you, Chris.
Posted by: Suzanne | March 23, 2014 at 07:34 PM
wkg, you're good. And yea, cal's a pretty interesting character. :)
Posted by: Petro | March 23, 2014 at 07:48 PM
@Suzanne: “Wkg, You have not overstepped the bounds of courtesy here. Why would you say that?”
I view this site as a refuge for Phoenicians with very left-leaning political views. Those views being pretty much determined along the Rogue/Soleri axis. It exists to comfort those who believe the world in general, and AZ in particular, has gone crazy. It is not a debate club.
I stumbled onto this site via a link from a new urbanism site (another interest of mine). It became my favorite lefty site. It offers literate, no punches pulled commentary on various issues. I make purposeful efforts to not live in an intellectual silo.
I am not an Arizonian. I am, more or less, a Tea Party kind of guy. I’m a guest. I’m an intellectual tourist. I good guest doesn’t offer uninvited criticism. I good guest doesn’t take shots at his hosts. I’ve done both. I resolve not to do it again.
Posted by: wkg in bham | March 24, 2014 at 07:22 AM
Those views being pretty much determined along the Rogue/Soleri axis. It exists to comfort those who believe the world in general, and AZ in particular, has gone crazy. It is not a debate club.
Well, I love debate. I don't mean the pseudo stuff where we trade insults but real, substantive exchange. Unfortunately, that doesn't occur much if anywhere in our national discourse. There was a video blog started by Robert Wright called BloddingHeadsTV that got people of different ideological complexions going face to face against one another. Great idea but less than ideal product. Some debates collapsed into inconsequential collegiality. Others got mired in small details. A few were quite memorable, however. The Ann Althouse/Garance Franke-Ruta debate came with an epic meltdown that if you're all predisposed to schadenfreude was really delicious. There was also the odd-couple pairings of Wright and Mickey Kaus, a born contrarian, that were quite watchable. Most others, sadly, were boring.
It would be great if there were people like Bob Robb and Grady Gammage, Jr checking in here. But they don't because I think they know better than to test their game against Jon Talton. I myself have gotten into lengthy e-mail exchanges with people like Robb, Doug MacEachern (local newspaper editorialists), and on the national level with Jim Kunstler and Andrew Sullivan. What I noticed is that those "debates" quickly became a matter of "whose reality is it anyway?" I'm sure both sides have had this experience where you scratch your head and wonder if the divergent value systems being argued over are really so deeply insinuated in our beings. For example, Kunstler, who I regard both as first-class mind and a horrifying human being, really didn't care to defend his bigotry so much as say "life is tragic". Dear me, I thought. To think we can boil our differences down to such an anodyne sentiment. The fortresses we defend are constructed of industrial-scale ephemera.
Our cold civil war is just an epic version of this game - whose reality is it, anyway? - where we compound metaphysics and monkey poo. I'm convinced liberals will eventually prevail, but the game itself will evolve as time goes on. The gay marriage debate, for example, is already won. Fundamentalists are fighting a losing rearguard battle against modernity, but they aren't really going anywhere. Now that they persuaded themselves that Ayn Rand is the second coming of Jesus, you can expect the libertarians to join hands with them, or other body parts, in a shotgun marriage.
This all-too human tendency to argue is an inveterate feature of what it means to be conscious. We'll never stop but we will change our horses as the debate evolves. But let me throw you a bone to let you know I can understand your "tea party" frustration: I know from my own experience on this blog how frustrating my side can be. I watch over and over as people moan and groan about the impurity of liberalism, as if it were a religion that lost its Biblical moorings. We all do this thing. We all think of some previous nirvana when everything was good and how current reality is so dreadful by comparison. It's our nature to think everything is going to hell. I do this, too. So, if we can ever calm down enough (after my side wins) to talk about our mutual foibles, the beer's on me.
Posted by: soleri | March 24, 2014 at 08:43 AM
WKG: Lefty blog: I dont agree! I am a 73 year old Arizona republican. But the Republican party of today consists of insanity. On this blog I find folks who care intelligently and thoughtfully about the planet we live on. Over coffee Saturday I was able to sit down with an independent, a democrat and a socialist if not a Marixst. We had a fine time and entertained a local writer. Our next coffee will include a local writer on immigration and the border. I will suggest here that the next club meet be at the DUCE.
As a young republican I did not find IKE or TEDDY to be insane. And as crazy as Nixon became he did sign off on legislation today that would be considered communistic.
Todays Tea Party runs on blind hatred fueled (coked up) by folks like the Koch Brothers. In Arizona The Sun City crowd and the LDS party (30 percent of the vote) run the state. And the likes of Arpaio's and Pearces use it to continue their narrow minded prejudicial views. The religious folks are able to maintain policies that deprive those not of their faith of needed social services. The important part is to keep posting. I will read it whether I agree or not.
Posted by: cal lash | March 24, 2014 at 08:53 AM
WKG: While assigned to narcotics I worked a vice job one time. I told the Captain that asked me to help. Never again. I do not believe in vice squads. Put them in uniform on the street, walking a beat. Getting to know the neighborhood. Adult prostitutes were my best information sources.
Crimes against Children and child pornography should be handled by detective squads that do investigations into crimes.
I had 19 assignments in 23 years, some were repeats as detective and then detective Sergeant. For three years I was an administrative assistant to two police chiefs and officially worked I/A twice. And I was the union president in 75 ( A union president even though I was a Republican).
Posted by: cal lash | March 24, 2014 at 09:04 AM
This is not a church. All viewpoints are welcome. How I wish we could attract more conservatives, especially ones willing to debate based on facts rather than spout talking points.
I have never blocked any commenter. Only spammers. So don't believe a right-winger who claims to have been blocked because he or she disagreed on this blog. If a comment doesn't immediately appear, be patient; when I am at my laptop I will dig it out of the spam bin, where it might have accidentally landed for reasons above my pay grade.
To me, Rogue is not particularly "left wing," certainly not my views. But the "center" has shifted so far to the right that it must seem that way.
Posted by: Rogue Columnist | March 24, 2014 at 09:58 AM
Jon, the history of voter suppression in Phoenix far predates the 1980's. As i recall, William Rehnquist (the future Chief Justice of the SCOTUS) was a Republican poll watcher in Phoenix in '62 and helped suppress the vote south of the river.
Posted by: krazy bill | March 24, 2014 at 10:53 AM
You are right, Bill. But Rehnquist and the Birchers lost with the Voting Rights Act, lost further when Arizona was placed on a list along with Southern states where the Justice Department would have to approve any measures that affected access to voting. That was removed last year.
Posted by: Rogue Columnist | March 24, 2014 at 10:56 AM
I have found that it seems many of us commenters where once Republicans who have abandoned/been kicked out as RINOs of the GOP because of the Christian Talibanistas and the Johnny-come-lately Tea Party. The Alabama Tea Partiers must not be as Kook as the Arizona TPers, but then Alabama lacks the LDS backbone of the AZGOP.
Its great having a commenter from Alabama here. As the Rogue has reminded us, if it wasn't for Arizona, Alabama would be last in everything.
Posted by: eclecticdog | March 24, 2014 at 11:02 AM
FLORIDA trying to huge Arizona and Kansas out of first place for Kooksville awards
Posted by: cal lash | March 24, 2014 at 12:21 PM
@dog ” if it wasn't for Arizona,
Alabama would be last in everything.”
Well, at least we’re first in the alphabet.
Some of the statistics for Alabama are pretty grim, particularly those of a per capita basis. We suffer from a large rural underclass (white and black) and a substantial black, urban underclass. I’d like to say we’re making progress on the underclass problem – but if fact it seems to be getting worse. I don’t think this is just an Alabama phenomenon.
Posted by: wkg in bham | March 24, 2014 at 01:19 PM
A short note on the "test" in the comments section. I would prefer to match the composer to the country if the test makers could spell Sibelius correctly.
Posted by: Mary Tooley | March 24, 2014 at 06:28 PM
Gee whiz Mary I spell badly even with the help of spell check?
Posted by: cal Lash | March 24, 2014 at 08:23 PM
"The minorities are taking over! The minorities are taking over! Is even championship golf safe??"
Ok, I laughed out loud at that one. Nicely played, Mr. Talton. I've not much to contribute to this conversation except for a couple of things:
1. Laurie Roberts' continued attacks on the Kookocracy are meaningless because for some reason she refuses to acknowledge that the kooks are all members of the GOP. I don't know why (yes, I have suspicions) she or other Republic writers don't support Democrats as a reasonable alternative to the utter insanity of the AZ GOP, but she does not. At some point this kind of political bigotry is like all other forms -- it's ignorance in action. And yes, I am a Democrat, but this issue is bigger than my own preference - it's about the integrity of the press, a subject near and dear to my heart.
2. Although AZ Reb apologized, I hope to hell that the man who feels "angry and helpless at the world we are leaving for [his] daughter and granddaughters" realizes that attacking women of substance like Hillary Clinton (regardless of her politics) for not being adequately "feminine" is a big reason for the state we're in. How would he feel if someone made those same remarks about his daughter and granddaughters?
Posted by: Diane D'Angelo | March 25, 2014 at 07:57 AM
Diane, no defense for REB but a comment.
At 73 I came from a family that hated minorities and women stood and served while the males ate. Also as a young WHITE male I was surrounded by other young white males that took great delight in making crude and vulgar remarks about everything.I think I have overcome most of that but occasionally I have to pull back from a comment that comes zinging to my brain as I recognize now its not a good thing to do. Given my evolution I still slip but very seldom.
Posted by: cal Lash | March 25, 2014 at 11:58 AM
USA - from Puritans to Impure-itans
Is there a connection between beautiful New England and entire American cities turned into smoking rubble? There is.
Take same-sex marriage. I would have guessed that a "sin" city (San Francisco? Las Vegas?) would have been the first to legalize it.
Oddly it's been the place where America started that's wanted to be the first place to help bring about the end of America and its values! It's been a Nor'easter of Perversion (helping to fulfill the end time "days of Lot" predicted in Luke 17) that began in (you guessed it) Boston in 2004.
New England has gone from the Mayflower Compact to the Gay Power Impact, from Providence to decadence, from Bible thumpers to God dumpers, from university to diversity to perversity, and from the land of the Great Awakening to God's Future Shakening that will make the Boston bombings look like Walden Pond ripples by comparison!
The same Nor'easter has been spreading south and as far west as Washington State where, after swelling up with pride, Mt. Rainier may wish to celebrate shame-sex marriage by having a blast that Seaddlepated folks can share in lava-land!
The same Luke 17 prediction is tied to the Book of Revelation which speaks of the cities that God will flatten because of same-sexism - including American cities - a scenario I'll have to accept since I can't create my own universe and decree rules for it.
I've just been analyzing the world's terminal "religion" that has its "god," its accessories, its "rites," and even a flag. It's an obsession that the infected converts are willing to live for, fight for - and even die for!
Want more facts? Google "God to Same-Sexers: Hurry Up," "Universal GAYety is Coming," "FOR GAYS ONLY: Jesus predicted" and "The Background Obama Can't Cover Up."
Posted by: Tim | March 30, 2014 at 12:02 AM
The whole idea that voter ID legislation is some hidden conspiracy to eliminate the minority vote is just idiocy, plain and simple.
The argument that voter fraud doesn't happen, because there are never any convictions, is idiotic. It's like running a grocery store on the honor system, never doing inventory, and saying there's no shoplifting. And what about all of those stories after *every* election cycle that clearly show all the dead people who voted in various elections, irregularities, and so one.
There is no excuse to not have to present identification to prove you are who you say you are in order to vote. That said, the state should be required to provide this ID at no cost (or very minimal, under $10) to every citizen to facilitate it. Problem solved.
(As an aside, I don't understand how anyone can actually navigate through modern life without some form of ID. I cannot get my head around how this could be.)
Posted by: Boo-urns | April 04, 2014 at 01:41 PM
Dog,
I almost but not quite feel bad for Tim and Boo-ums.
"I cant get ny head around" how u all survive in this god awful planet earth. Do me a favor and take the next lift off to a "better" place.
Posted by: cal Lash | April 04, 2014 at 05:17 PM
cal, the Boo-urns of this world are authoritarians. They cannot get their heads around not being accountable to... someone. Although not particularly philosophical per se, it all goes to the ultimate Boss In The Sky, and the layers of boss-dom cascade from there.
In my youth I felt great about America because I would read about "show me your papers!" and know that I could walk down the street with no ID and not worry about thing, be bird-like and free.
Except, not so much any more. The oppression is pervasive and thick as molasses.
Posted by: Petro | April 04, 2014 at 06:23 PM
Tim, America begins at Jamestown, Virginia, not Boston (re: Plymouth). 1609 v. 1620.
Boo-urns, no one ever said it doesn't happen, its just statistically insignificant and usually involves Republicans (based on actual convictions). If these states were to give out free ID cards, you would have a lot more standing, but they are not. So the poor are frozen out of the system.
Posted by: eclecticdog | April 07, 2014 at 09:50 AM