The Phoenix Suns challenge
The Phoenix Suns have thrown down the gauntlet, and also thrown the state into something of a crossroads. This side-with-lawlessness skit is nothing new to the Suns organization. Jerry Colangelo came busting out against Arizona Proposition 200 back in 2004, but it received very little media attention or public outcry. This time the "we stand with criminals" caper is blatant (a game of I dare you) and the stakes much, much higher.
If SB 1070 had been put to a vote by Arizonans, it would have passed easily in the 56-70ish percent range just like its predecessors. So now the Phoenix Suns are asking that 56 -70 percent "are you really serious?" The entire country is watching. What will this majority do in response to a high profile home town sports team stabbing them in the throat? Are they serious?
So the question now is will Arizonans pick up the gauntlet and boycott the Phoenix Los Suns and their sponsors into Chapter 11, wage a half-hearted symbolic-only protest, or do nothing? If you're a season ticket holder and you realize how their stunt could jeopardize illegal immigration enforcement in Arizona, the ball just landed in your court.
Greg Farley | Phoenix
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Gordon and Sharpton
I see where the zero who serves as mayor of Phoenix is teaming up tonight, May 5, the Cinco de Mayo, with nationally renowned scumbag and racist Al Sharpton. Too bad neither of these two dimwits are concerned with the rights and protection of American citizens ... Gordon has risen to the point where he can now be considered a piece of filth in the same class as Sharpton, Jackson, Obama and all liberal politicians from the socialist/marxist capital known as Chicago.
Well done, Gordo. You have managed to bring yourself to a new low!
Tom Carbone | Via e-mail
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Appointment of city manager
Even though the gentleman from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida was far more qualified, had the "fire in the belly" to do the job, and well versed in our size and type of city as well as far less Phoenix and Valley oriented than David Richert, the council voted 6 to 1 to make "Mr. Phoenix," David Richert, the new city manager.
As I was informed by "someone in the know," this deal was cut and dried many weeks ago, they just went through the exercise as they have on other issues to make it look like it was all done above board.
All I can say is so long Scottsdale, hello Phoenix junior; we've been sold down the river yet again and with little discussion or understanding by those on the council of the actual wants and needs of the residents and citizens who wrote numerous letters stating their disgust and distrust of and with Richert.
The 6-1 vote happened because there were 4 solid votes for Richert and he was going to win anyway. Sadly, the contractors, developers and power brokers of Scottsdale have won still another battle.
The Scottsdale we knew is "toast" and it won't change until citizens stand up in mass and revolt … which the ones in power know will never happen.
With deep regret and sadness,
George Knowlton | Scottsdale
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‘Los Suns’ now, ‘Les Suns’ to follow?
What has happened to America? The French-hating Mexican-Americans won big on this years’ Cinco de Mayo holiday. Only Mexican-Americans are so insensitive and so ignorant of what it means to be “E Pluribus Unum” that they celebrate a holiday that insults other Americans, in this case the French-Americans. While other Americans celebrate their patron saints like St. Patrick’s Day in which no other nation is demeaned, only the Mexican-Americans celebrate the winning of a battle in 1862 against the people of another nation. Imagine what America would look like if all other Americans did the same. Fortunately the French-Americans do not retaliate by celebrating the day the French won the war against the Mexican nation in 1863. Which group of Americans would you say is racist?
In San Francisco, which offers sanctuary from our immigration laws, four American high school students were sent home because they were wearing shirts that pictured the American flag. The authorities considered this to be an insult to the Mexican students who were celebrating Cinco de Mayo. It’s bad enough when citizens of a country that has the most racist and onerous immigration laws imaginable cross our borders illegally and then carry Mexican flags as they demand that we change our most-generous immigration laws.
They demand special treatment for Mexicans while refugees and would-be immigrants from other countries are pushed to the end of the line. Who would you say is racist, the Mexican marchers or the people waiting in the legal immigration line?
And then in the evening the Phoenix Suns dissed all French-Americans by joining in the fun. To celebrate the Mexican triumph over the French they became “Los Suns.” Let’s wait until Bastille Day when the French-Americans celebrate the French revolution and see if the Phoenix Suns become “Les Suns.” Now that would celebrate America’s “diversity.” Anyone want to bet that it will happen?
Jack C. McVickers | Scottsdale
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We should protect our sons and daughters
“The National Autonomous University of Mexico says it will no longer send students to the UA as part of academic-exchange programs because of fears they will be harassed, said Francisco Marmolejo, the UA’s assistant vice president for western hemisphere programs.” (Arizona Republic, May 7, 2010, page A 10)
When will Mr. Marmolejo, the UA administrators and ASU president Michael Crow show the same concern for American students in Mexico? Here are just a few of the onerous provisions of Mexico’s immigration laws:
• Mexican authorities must keep track of every single person in the country.
• A national Catalog of Foreigners tracks foreign tourists and immigrants and assigns each individual with a unique tracking number.
• Foreigners who violate the terms of their visa may be sentenced to up to six years in prison.
• Foreigners who misrepresent the terms of their visa while in Mexico – such as working without a permit – can also be imprisoned.
• Authorities, whether federal, state or municipal, are required to demand that foreigners prove their legal presence in the country before attending to any issues.
This last provision appears to be exactly like the new Arizona 1070 law which our university administrators actively protest. If the Mexicans fear that their students will be harassed to show their papers here, why are our university administrators not equally concerned about the fears of blue-eyed blonds with white skin being harassed in Mexico? We should protect our sons and daughters as the Mexicans are doing theirs by canceling all student exchange programs with Mexico.
P.S.: Do not think that our students can march in protest in Mexico like the illegal Mexican students do here. That is also illegal in Mexico.
Jack C. McVickers | Scottsdale
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Aircraft carriers in jeopardy
An article in the Navy Times entitled “Strike group mission expands far beyond simple escort” has me concerned.
The aircraft carrier strike group is composed of a carrier and air wing, a submarine, and five or six escort destroyers and cruisers. The escorts protect the carrier by interdicting enemy units attacking the group.
Unfortunately, at times the carrier has only one escort because the other ships are dispersed hundreds or even thousands of miles from the carrier to carry out “patrol missions, exercises and port calls.” An example of this policy occurred in 2008 when the Carrier Theodore Roosevelt visited South Africa while some of its escorts were in the Mediterranean and another escort went to France for a D-Day event.
As stated, the Navy is comfortable dispersing the ships because we are not “facing direct, hot war threats,” but what would happen if Russia or China with its submarines and missile delivery systems decides to launch surprise attacks against our carriers? One escort and the air wing cannot protect a carrier from a large scale attack.
Our carrier strike groups should remain intact when they are deployed, and ancillary events should be handled by other ships in the fleet, or possibly not at all.
We currently have 283 naval ships, which is the smallest U.S. Navy since 1916, and it is 17 ships short of the recognized minimum of 300 ships. It is a woefully inadequate number of ships.
We need more ships.
Donald A. Moskowitz | Former AG2 and LT, USN | Londonderry, New Hampshire
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Finally, something Senator McCain can handle
Ladies and Gentlemen of Sonoran News: After all Senator McCain's 2008 and earlier rhetoric that "he gets it" (Americans want border security) only to have him flip-flop after the election, no Arizonan in his right mind expect anything substantial of McCain's "10-Point Border Security Plan."
But wait! Perhaps we CAN get our money's worth from Senator McCain.
Census 2010 reflecting Obama's Cook County bungling finally offers Senator McCain an opportunity he may be able to finally deliver – progress in his long-touted opposition to pork-barrel spending and government waste.
And when will we ever again have a better example of bureaucratic bungling than Census2010?
Contact Senator McCain's office with every extraneous and useless letter or post card from Census 2010 – that will give him examples of the waste he's fighting. For time-wasting, get-nowhere phone calls to "Brad," deliver or send the Census2010 door notice to Senator McCain's office: 5353 N.16th Street (16th Street & Missouri) Phoenix, AZ 85016. Call 602-952-2410 or fax 602-952-8702.
Better yet, deliver it in person to the Senator at one of his upcoming Town Halls, or the Senatorial debates.
Let's see how effectively Senator McCain can perform when he gets to choose the cause. Can't be any fairer than that.
Sandra Miller | Phoenix
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My appreciation for this editorial page
The recent appointment of a new Maricopa County Attorney following my decision to resign and pursue a run for Arizona Attorney General is an opportunity to say thank you.
Allow me to articulate first my appreciation for this editorial page. More often than not it dislikes what I have done in office. But it provides the forum for debate and discussion that is critical to local governance. As the new County Attorney assumes the office and its responsibilities, I extend my hand in cooperation. No matter the transfer of power, there should always be a helpful approach by the departed.
County Attorney, like many public offices, is a tough job. Whether one is a Democrat, Independent or Republican, we should all be working towards the same goal of public safety. It is in that spirit I welcome the new County Attorney. I have devoted much of my professional life to ensuring justice for crime victims. But the men and women of the County Attorney's Office devote every day to protecting you. And their successes while I served alongside them are impressive:
CRIME RATE: It has dropped 19 percent since 2005. This drop is more than twice the national average. I attribute much of this to a simple commitment to the concept of "more time, less crime." We ended plea bargaining as we know it for serious violent offenders and locked up thousands of additional career criminals. As a result more criminals have spent more time behind bars, and the crime rate has fallen.
MASS MURDERERS: Several years ago Phoenix residents were terrorized by the "Serial Shooter" and "Baseline Killer." Phoenix police asked our office for help. We gave it. The killing stopped. And after successful prosecutions these offenders will never walk the streets again. I make no apologies for seeking the death penalty as frequently as I did.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: Criticized by many elites in 2004 when my campaign posted "Stop Illegal Immigration" on campaign signs the facts are illegal immigration has plummeted in Maricopa County. The crackdowns on human smuggling and employers hiring illegals in Maricopa County have spurred a dramatic drop in the illegal-immigrant population in Arizona. This reduction is estimated at 18 to 30 percent. That is huge progress. And these gains must be retained and built on rather than washed away.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: When a riparian refuge near Arizona's NASCAR track became a lawless territory for criminals and human smugglers, we stepped in, organized law enforcement and helped restore this environmental jewel near the Gila River.
FIGHTING CORRUPTION: No matter whether corruption exists in the halls of Republican or Democrat lawmakers we did not play favorites. We took on the tough cases. Some say that we ought to have avoided these prosecutions. I disagree. I don't believe Arizona is well served by go-along-to-get-along prosecutors. We are all imperfect servants, and my tenure as Maricopa County Attorney was not perfect. But by all fair measures, we live in a safer community today than we did in 2005 when I took office. Crime is down. Illegal immigration is down. And I wish the next County Attorney nothing but the best with these and other criminal justice goals.
Andrew Thomas | Former Maricopa County Attorney | Arizona Attorney General Candidate
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Decorum
I was one of the Vets who attended the last Carefree town meeting on May 5. I was there to support the kids who had done such a fantastic job with the "Quilt."
I do not live in Carefree (and damn glad I don't), but I have never attended a meeting where little kids ran the show and very few adults knew how to behave.
I fought for this country and I understand they have a right to act like they do, but with all of the problems we have in our schools, our community, our state and our country, I would think we could discuss issues in a CIVIL manner.
What I experienced on Tuesday was the sorriest excuse I have ever seen – our government (all phases of it) has gone amuck!
Just a VET!
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No amnesty
What in the world are you bitchin’ about … we can't drive our car, ride our bikes, or walk the streets without being prepared to answer the questions … "show me your ID and are you on parole" … so how are you going to justify that Illegal Criminal Alien Invaders don't have to be prepared to show their proper identification. You my friend are rediculious (sic), and if you have no intention of honoring reasonable behavior, we accept your vote to apply vigilante justice and hang, lynch, round up and burn all and any invaders of our nation. The 1986 Ronald Reagan amnesty was not to be the first of many amnesties, nor a kind of experimental plug in the flow of human beings from a poor country to a rich one. To the contrary, it was to be the "last amnesty." Pushed by liberals in Congress like Teddy Kennedy, it was supposed to settle and legalize the illegals already in the United States, while controlling future immigration. It was to be the solution.
These people are NOT trying to be a part of us.
For you, the citizens in the northern and eastern tiers of the nation (our cousins by blood and by marriage) to try and determine how we the citizens along the southern border of our nation (your cousins by blood and by marriage) should feel about Illegal Criminal Alien Invaders terrorizing our communities is like us along the southern border telling you how many snow plows you need. We have NO IDEA of what it takes to clear your streets of snow. Instead of waxing Holy … you should take our advice.
And for you Fat Cat rich guys who can always find a reason why the little guy never needs a break … how ‘bout you march your fat money bags butt out with the Marines and fight and die to protect your far flung assets. NO AMNESTY !!!
Visit http://kingsforum.250free.com or www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7WJeqxuOfQ&feature=related
M.E. Goodwin | Los Angeles, California
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