Who’s Gonna Clean Up This Mesa?

MESA, AZ (KPHO/AP) -Voters have ousted state Sen. Russell Pearce in an unprecedented recall election, a first for an Arizona legislator.

With a majority of the precincts reporting, the top vote-getter, Republican Jerry Lewis, steps into the District 18 legislative seat for the second year of a two-year term.

Lewis claimed victory at 9 p.m.

Original DVD cover

The Sheriff of Nuttyham

From THINK PROGRESS SECURITY:

The birther movement, thought dead by multiple debunkings and the release of President Obama’s actual birth certificate, was thrust back into the national spotlight this week when Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), a former frontrunner in the race for the GOP’s presidential nomination, called birtherism “a good issue to keep alive” and claimed he wasn’t sure where Obama was born.

…snip…

This week, birther queen Orly Taitz joined radical Arizona immigration sheriff Joe Arpaio — who is conducting his own investigation into Obama’s birthplace — at a Tea Party town hall in Arizona, where she sought to provide Arpaio with further evidence to bolster his case. Arpaio, however, surprised the crowd by telling Taitz that he has evidence even she doesn’t have. And though he can’t tell her, or anyone else, what it is, he promises it will surprise even the harshest critics of the birtherism movement […]

Original DVD cover

It’s Comical, Part 4: Comic Book Books Edition

There are some cartoon characters who start out in the funnies and then show up in books. For example, there’s Little Orphan Annie. It was a daily comic strip written and drawn by Harold Gray. It ran for 86 years, ending in June 2010. We don’t have to miss it, though, as Governor Jan Brewer has taken her place.   Makes sense to me, as Governor Jan sorta looks like a Leapin’ Lizard.  You probably heard the sad story Jan tells about her father dying while fighting the Germans in World War II.  Such a good story.  Too bad it wasn’t true…

Original book cover
(Sheriff Joe Arpaio is making a guest appearance as Daddy Warbucks Waronhispanics)

The Macaca Awards! Part II

We continue with nominations for the Mock, Paper, Scissors–Hysterical Raisins 1st Semi-Regular Macaca Awards.

(Image courtesy of Tengrain)

Tonight’s category is Outstanding Achievement in Race Baiting, and the nominees are:

pHAThead, Part 2

Yesterday, we explored Michael Phathead Steele’s penchance for headwear. I thought we’d take another look, beginning when he was just a baby…

Original image

You Can’t Spell Crazy Without AZ!

From TALKING POINTS MEMO:

Dean Martin, Arizona state treasurer and Republican candidate for governor, is pushing a plan that would create “tent cities” to house illegal immigrants convicted of other crimes, modeled after notorious anti-immigration Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s set-up in his own Maricopa County.

In an interview with TPM, Martin described how the state could use the tent cities to provide “inexpensive temporary housing” that would save them enough money to deploy more troops down to the border.

According to a statement by Martin, he and Arpaio met earlier this week, and Arpaio endorsed Martin’s “Zero Tolerance” plan because it “offers real solutions.” Martin told TPM that Arpaio also said he would take on any illegal immigrants arrested in his own Maricopa County for other crimes.

In the plan (.pdf), Martin describes how the state of Arizona could save millions by temporarily housing “criminal aliens” in either private prisons or in “tent cities.”

Original DVD cover

(Don’t tell her the dog’s real name is Santiago!)

From POLITICS DAILY:

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer finds herself under scrutiny after telling a newspaper that her father “died fighting the Nazi regime in Gemany.” In actuality, Brewer’s father, Wilford Drinkwine, passed away from lung disease in California, ten years after World War II had ended.

Brewer’s comments were made to The Arizona Republic [actually, it’s The Arizona Guardian] newspaper, and came as she was discussing her state’s polarizing new anti-illegal immigrant law, which the governor signed into law last month.

“Knowing that my father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany, that I lost him when I was 11 because of that… and then to have them call me Hitler’s daughter. It hurts. It’s ugliness beyond anything I’ve ever experienced,” Brewer told the paper.

It’s not the first time Governor Jan told slightly exaggerated stories about her tragic childhood. Did you know she wrote a book about it?

Original book cover

It’s not the heat, it’s the stupidity

From CNN:

Fresh on the heels of a new immigration law that has led to calls to boycott her state, Arizona’s governor has signed a bill banning ethnic studies classes that “promote resentment” of other racial groups.

Gov. Jan Brewer approved the measure without public statement Tuesday, according to state legislative records. The new law forbids elementary or secondary schools to teach classes that are “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” and advocate “the overthrow of the United States government” or “resentment toward a race or class of people.”

Hmmmm, I wonder what she thinks about Confederate History Month.

Original DVD cover