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New Times founders Mike Lacey (left) and Jim Larkin (right) at the AZ ACLU awards dinner.

On Saturday, Village Voice Media Executive Editor Mike Lacey and VVM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Larkin were each honored by the ACLU Foundation of Arizona with the group's highest accolade, the Civil Libertarian of the Year Award. Trophies were handed out during the AZ ACLU's annual Bill of Rights Dinner before a crowd of over 200 guests in the Heard Museum's Steele Auditorium.

John Hay, Past President of the ACLU Foundation of Arizona, made the presentation, explaining that the arrests of New Times' founders this past October following the publication of illegal and overbroad grand jury subpoenas in their double-bylined cover story, "Breathtaking Abuse of the Constitution," earned the pair their plaudits.

"So we now have the specter of the County Attorney and the Sheriff conspiring to put New Times out of business," stated Hay during his address, "and using the criminal system, and I won’t call it the criminal justice system as long as those people are in charge…to prevent people from exercising their civil liberties. And what did our honorees do about that? They put their persons, their families and their business at risk."

Hay pointed out that the events of last fall were only the latest in a long line of actions defending civil liberties by New Times and its owners.

"We honor them for what they’ve done for civil liberties," declared Hay. "And the excuse we’re using is what happened this fall when they faced down the Sheriff and the County Attorney. But they have in fact been defending civil liberties now for at least 38 years. So it is my pleasure to present these awards, which I think are slightly wrong. This says Civil Libertarian of the Year. I present these awards to Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin for being Civil Libertarians of the past four decades."

Lacey and Larkin received a standing ovation from the attendees. Both VVM executives then made remarks, with Lacey making the keynote speech of the evening. Larkin spoke first, noting that the conflict with Sheriff Joe Arpaio was far from over.

"We are prepared for the fight with Mr. Arpaio," he promised, "a thug with guns whom we have seen [variations] of many times in the past 38 years of our publishing experience. He is a bully, pure and simple…and at Village Voice Media we are prepared, as all of us should be tonight, to resist him."

Lacey followed his partner at the podium, beginning his remarks by praising his fellow newspaperman.

"It is expected, after four decades, that the writers of New Times and the editors at New Times would do something like publish the secret grand jury proceedings and say fuck you to Joe Arpaio," Lacey stated. "What is not expected is that a publisher, my partner Jim Larkin, would put his name on that byline with me and that we would sit down together to jointly put that in writing."

The VVM executive editor linked the abuses perpetrated by Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas against Mexican immigrants to the trampling of journalists' constitutional rights, remembering the words of German anti-Nazi theologian Pastor Martin Niemöller.

"By the time the authorities came after our newspaper’s readers [in the form of a subpoena seeking information on their online reading habits], law enforcement no longer concerned themselves with an indignant public," observed Lacey. "There simply was no indignant public. And so the familiar words of Pastor Niemöller took on new gravity here in Phoenix, Arizona: `When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent, because I was not a communist. Then they came for the sick, the so called incurables, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t mentally ill. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.'

"Today," Lacey added solemnly, "They’ve come for the Mexicans."

Lacey concluded his address by announcing a $10,000 donation to the AZ ACLU for the defense of Hispanic immigrants. He also invoked the iconoclastic irreverence of Mad Magazine and Carl Banks' Donald Duck as models for skewering authoritarian figures such as Sheriff Joe.

Afterwards, the ACLU recognized one of its own, Bill Wootten, as Volunteer of the Year. The audience was then entertained by Native American hoop dancers, quite appropriate considering the venue. Congrats to both Lacey and Larkin. It's hard for me to imagine working at another place where defiance of authority is so encouraged from the top down as it is by these two here at New Times. Unless, perhaps, you're talking about Mad Magazine during its heyday.

See anything interesting about this MCSO vehicle?

Hmmm...maybe them deputies ain't all bad...

The battle of Bell Road ended abruptly last night, around 8:30 p.m., when the MCSO called it quits, bringing to an end the most contentious of the Sheriff's anti-immigrant sweeps. The Sheriff told other reporters present that they wouldn't be back today, as they had only planned to be out for two days at Bell and Cave Creek Roads, beginning Thursday night.

However, the quick end to the operation had the feel of a retreat. Once again, the MCSO had been met by an angry crowd of demonstrators, slightly smaller than the one of 700 that gathered Thursday night. There were no PHX cops around, and a slightly-larger contingent of pro-Joe counter-demonstrators was present. Though the two sides were separated by barricades, insults and waterbottles were thrown by both sides. One bottle-tosser from the anti-Joe crowd was arrested. And the tension between the two camps was in the pre-riot stage. The MCSO's decision to pack up quickly deflated the situation.

In the weirdest incident of the eve, this Anglo dood showed up with a shotgun strapped to his back. Folks told me he first came onto the lot without the shotgun and asked if Joe was there. When he was told Arpaio wasn't around, he left, then returned with the shotgun. The anti-Joe side informed the MCSO, and they took him into custody. No indication of which side he was on, if any. He just seemed like a nut.

The Arizona Republic awoke from its slumber and finally covered the donnybrook on the front page of today's paper, reporting on Mayor Phil Gordon's speech lambasting Joe at the Cesar Chavez luncheon on Friday. The address was a surprising one, especially coming from Gordon, who has hardly been known for his political vertebrae. Gordon said, in part:

"Last night, the Sheriff communicated with the law enforcement professionals of our community like he communicates with most everyone by issuing a press release. He announced that his 200 volunteer posse members would be migrating north to crack down on illegal aliens. `Migrating North.' That's the phrase he used -- intentionally mocking the language of the hard-working migrant workers who we honor and celebrate today. He says he's doing this because 10 business owners -- including a pawn shop and a biker store -- asked him to. And who helped circulate those 10 signatures to deliver to the Sheriff? A self-described neo-Nazi."

You can read the entire speech, here. In actuality, there were only eight signatures from eight businesses, and the petition was the brain child of alleged public urinator Buffalo Rick Galeener. Technically, Galeener is not a neo-Nazi, though he is a bigot. A fine point, I know, but one worth making. His group, United for a Sovereign America has accepted neo-Nazis into its ranks, but Buffalo isn't one of them. Could a neo-Nazi have helped him out with the petition? It's possible, I reckon. However, I suspect that the Mayor's facts were off a smidgen in this case.

The Sheriff promised to take his anti-immigrant dragnets to other parts of town. Considering the near-riot they inspired this time around, you've gotta wonder who would welcome this idiot to their neighborhood. The events of this week have shown that our Sheriff is a menace to public safety, not a protector of it.

A small section of the crowd Thursday night.

Events have been moving so rapidly since last night that I haven't had time to report on the eruption of Latino/Hispanic outrage at Bell and Cave Creek Roads where Sheriff Joe has stationed his mobile command center for the weekend. From a shopping center parking lot on the north-west corner of the crossroads, MCSO cars were dispatched as part of the Sheriff's dragnet targeting Hispanics in the hunt for illegal immigrants. There was only one problem for Joe last night. There were so many protesters surrounding the deputies that for a while, the MCSO was unable to get its cars out of the lot.

A United for a Sovereign America protester signals his distaste for the press.

I made the Joe Show press conference yesterday. It lasted from about 4 to 5 p.m. Basically Joe defended himself against charges of racism, saying that the MCSO was just enforcing the law. Look to next week's Bird for more on the media event. In any case, there wasn't much happening up there at 5 p.m. Just about 50 or 60 protesters milling out on the sidewalk in front of the taped off area for the MCSO command post. So I left. By the time I got back to the office, I was getting calls that Sheriff Joe's dog and pony show had turned into Fort Apache. I raced back up the 51 to Bell and Cave Creek where barricades had been erected, and a crowd of about 700 was facing off against Sheriff's deputies. People were passing around bullhorns, each giving their testimony of oppression. It was an emotional scene, sometimes broken up by the humor of musicians, or some wag yelling,"I love you Sheriff Joe. I want you to come and arrest my kids. You are my hero!".

Activist Michelle Brians berates MCSO deputies.

About 20 or so members of United for a Sovereign America showed up to wave racist signs and taunt the crowd. They practically had to be protected by the MCSO. After someone threw a Coke can at them, the Hispanic leaders present had some men form a line separating the U.S.A. crowd from the protesters. Most of the protesters I saw were young. Many mothers with their children. High-school and college-age kids. Some older women, and men. In general, the crowd was peaceful, but you could see how some bad shit could go down, if one person up and did the wrong thing.

KKK approved, indeed...

The MCSO deputies looked tense. They were constantly haragued by the protesters, who waited for the main MCSO command center wagon to depart, before they left. There were a lot of curious folks present, as well as residents from the community pissed-off at the Sheriff's invasion of their neighborhood. Most of the main players from the immigrant-rights movement were on hand: Alfredo Gutierrez, Danny Ortega, Salvador Reza, and others.

Too bad she's too young to vote...

This massive response to Arpaio's thuggery is thrilling, and feels full of promise. People are filled with righteous anger against Arpaio's tyranny. I'll be going back up there tonight. I hope the scene doesn't turn ugly, but I want to be present to witness it if it does.

Racist lie...

Re: these photos from last night, I don't have the time to build a slide show right now. Hopefully I can get one going over the weekend. There were tons of news crews out last night. Interesting that there was zero coverage in Phoenix's major daily today. What the fuck do those guys do for a living?

Old Yeller screams, "America, love it or leave it!"

Salvador Reza, of the Macehualli Work Center, which is just a block or so away...

Some dude singing an extemporaneous ditty by guitarist James Quercia, titled, "Uh-oh, Joe is here!"

Joe supporter Brandy Barron, one of the more civil U.S.A. members...

Around 11 p.m., the MCSO's command center truck calls it a night, to the delight of the crowd...

The late Carol Gotbaum with her children.

Just under the wire today, Phoenix attorney Mike Manning served a Notice of Claim to the City of Phoenix in the still-mysterious death of Carol Anne Gotbaum, asking for $8 million on behalf of the Gotbaum family. As you may recall, Gotbaum died September 28 in police custody at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport after being arrested for disorderly conduct. Handcuffed and shackled, she apparently managed to asphyxiate herself. Maricopa County Medical Examiner Ann Bucholtz ruled the death an accidental "hanging," and found that Gotbaum's blood tested positive for 0.24% ethyl alcohol, and for antidepressants.

The Notice of Claim reads in part:

"On [the day of Gotbaum's death], members of the Phoenix Police Department ("PPD") used excessive and unreasonable force on Carol as if she was a dangerous criminal, rather than as the sick, intoxicated, and vulnerable person she was. Instead of getting her the medical and mental help she so obviously needed, officers first restrained her with unnecessary and excessive force, then took her to a holding cell where they shackled her with a chain and left her alone. In the process, they ignored the warning signs that their own policies, procedures and training materials told them could result in Carol's death. And it did. Carol died shortly thereafter, in the chains the officers placed upon her, in the room where they left her all alone and without help."

The entire Notice of Claim is over 200 pages long, and I've only read the introduction, which you can also read, here. The PHX PD, for their part, have responded with a long letter which essentially places the blame on Carol's husband Noah for allowing his wife to fly unescorted to Arizona, where she was supposed to enter a rehab facility in Tucson as treatment for alcoholism. The PHX PD response doesn't hesitate to get personal. Check this excerpt from the document:

"Noah has admitted that Carol was in deep depression and should not be alone. Michael, I believe even you are quoted as saying that, `You don’t leave someone that you know is sick.' Well, who left Carol alone knowing she was sick? Noah did. And he now criticizes the police officers for dealing with a situation that he, as her husband, could have prevented.

Even more telling, the Gotbaum family criticizes the officers because the officers did not `put an arm around [Carol’s] shoulders, sit her down and give her some attention.' So, with Carol reportedly screaming her hatred of `American cops,' the Gotbaum family believes that these same hated officers should have put their arms around her shoulders, sat her down, and given her some attention. One would ordinarily expect that role to fall to a spouse. But, Carol was alone."

The penultimate graph is especially stinging:

"In 2007 the Phoenix Police Department received over 33,000 calls for service and made almost 4,500 adult bookings involving Disorderly Conduct/Loud Noise and Drinking. Is there anyone seriously suggesting that the officers should place a 24-hour suicide watch on each “drunk and disorderly” suspect they arrest? That they should put their arms around their shoulders, sit them down, and give them some attention? Or is this treatment only for the wealthy and politically influential?"

You can read the entire response, here. Previous coverage can be accessed by clicking on Carol Gotbaum's name below. My initial take is that the PHX PD response is a little too nasty. Manning's NOC seems a lot more measured and thoughtful. I personally hope Phoenix and the Gotbaum family settle. It's not as if the PHX PD set out to do Carol Gotbaum harm. On the other hand, someone collared for disorderly conduct should not die in police custody, even if she was snockered at the time.

Full disclosure: Mike Manning represents New Times in its claim against Sheriff Joe and County Attorney "Candy" Thomas. You know, the one resulting from the arrests of New Times founders Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin. If you've been living under a rock, you can get the skinny on that, here.

No doubt about who's the top, and who's the bottom in Danny Hellman's brilliant Bird illo.

That Shaq is a shrewd fella. In a March 13 Bird item, I speculated that the Big Aristotle, now also known as the Big Cactus, might be tempted to do biz with Sheriff Joe, perhaps even endorse our aged law man for reelection. After all, Shaq has a bit of a hard-on for law enforcement. The Desert Diesel has made no secret of his plans to pursue a career as a cop of some sort following his retirement from the NBA, hopefully with another championship ring in his collection. And for many years now he's held reserve officer positions with the Miami Beach PD and others. Crikey, he's even collared some evil-doers in his day!

But as all citizens of Maricopa County know, some evil-doers wear badges, and Shaq-Fu does have a history of cozying up to mean ol' Sheriff Joe. In 2006, upon being made a captain in the Sheriff's posse, he gushed about our geriatric gendarme to the Arizona Republic, saying, "He's a great sheriff...One of the best."

Sickening, eh? But he was outsider then, and still with the Miami Heat, so I cut him some slack in the Bird item, advising the Big Baryshnikov to steer clear of the Grampa Munster look-alike in the beige shirt. The illo of Shaqzilla in bed with a bra-wearin' Joe? Priceless.

Now I read this little ditty in the Republic by Kendall Wright, to the effect that, "Tempe should brace itself for a Shaq-attack, as police confirmed Tuesday that Phoenix Suns star Shaquille O'Neal is set to become a volunteer with the Tempe Police Department in the near future."

Perhaps Shaq saw New Times and took my warning to heart. (Doubtless someone showed him that illo.) Moreover, how could he disagree with the analysis therein? Take a look the papers. They're full Joe's sadism and corruption, from the TB patient who fled to Russia to escape Joe and now faces an incredibly asinine indictment insisted on by Arpaio, to Arpaio changing his story on the arrest of Chandler Sgt. Tom Lovejoy and Arpaio's abuse of the DROP system to keep on the over-paid cronies in his administration. Not to mention the whole Honduran scam.

If Shaq were to snuggle up to the Sheriff now that he lives in the Valley and plays for the Suns, he would be tainted by the same stench of malfeasance and abuse of power that dogs Joe's every step. By offering his time to the Tempe PD, instead of the Sheriff's posse, he's done himself and us a favor. If Shaq were to lend his time to the MCSO, it would surely assist Arpaio in his bid for reelection. And that would be the worse thing that could happen in Sand Land this political year.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (right) conversing with prejudiced pal Rusty Childress (left), ex-Kia peddler and leader of the most vicious anti-immigrant hate group in the Valley, United for a Sovereign America.

It was a Good Friday for racists last week as our own Pontius Pilate, a.k.a., Sheriff Joe, defiled the day commemorating Jesus Christ's crucifixion by unleashing his deputies and his alter kocker volunteer posse onto the undocumented. As you'll recall, Joe did this back in January, empowering his minions to pull over brown folk on bullshit infractions, like driving with a cracked tail light, or whatever excuse they can dream up to stop cars and check i.d.'s in hopes of collaring illegal aliens.

Never mind that the area Joe's boys in beige were patrolling is already well policed by the PHX PD. This campaign stunt had nothing to do with "crime suppression" as Joe tried to argue during his Good Friday press conference. It was all about putting Mexicans in pink handcuffs so he could show the redneck rabble that drives the immigration debate in this state that he's the numero uno oppressor of migrants in Maricopa County. Indeed, his corruption-plagued department is relying on the issue to ensure its tyrannical reign for another four years. Because if Joe can get reelected, his flunkies can continue taking trips to Honduras on the county dime, keep their fat salaries, and persist in persecuting and sliming their opponents with near impunity.

Not that I'm in the least bit religious, but a Good Friday dragnet like this was at the very least in poor taste. Still, I know I'm in the minority. The majority of Arizonans who dig Sheriff Joe -- the unwashed gene pool rejects, toothless bikers, white trash, and racist geriatrics from places like Sun City applaud the ethnic cleansing of the brown from this town by any means necessary. Never mind that most of this ilk claim to be Christians, just as they applaud breaking up families, and punishing those whose only crime is wanting to work for a living. What a disgusting bunch of hypocrites these anti-Mexican bigots are.

Anyway, the Joe Show started on Friday around four o'clock. The MCSO had three huge wagons positioned in the empty parking lot at 32nd Street and Thomas Road, so as to block any view from the street. Yellow cop tape kept demonstrators from both pro and anti-Joe groups at bay. However, anti-Joe forces made themselves heard by shouting at Joe from the nearby sidewalk. One guy with a bullhorn kept yelling, "This is state sponsored terrorism," and addressing Joe by saying, "Hey, Joe, I'm talking to you, man!" Joe was pretty flustered by this, and ended up cutting off reporters questions a little early because he couldn't hear the journos and vice versa.

Initially, I was blocked from entering the area where the press conference was taking place. Some plainclothes goon told me, "You're not welcome here." I asked to speak to his supervisor and yelled at Joe, whom I could see yards away, "Why won't you let me in, Joe?" The MCSO eventually let me in, but I'm guessing that's 'cause they didn't want to risk the possibility that my ejection might get reported on by one of the other news hounds present.

Once it got started, one of the TV people beat me to the punch, asking about Joe pulling this stunt on Good Friday. Arpaio, of course, was unapologetic.

"I don’t know if we should bring religion into a political or law enforcement operation," said Joe, inadvertently admitting this was a "political" operation. "I don’t think that’s right to do that. We work every day of the week. Doesn’t matter what day it is. We planned this a while back, and I’m not going to abort this operation because some people may be concerned that it’s a Good Friday."

The reporter, whose name I didn't catch, followed up, pressing that the Good Friday round-up in the central Phoenix neighborhood showed a lack of sensitivity.

"See, I’m sensitive to the people who live here," claimed Joe. "If we can save one person tonight on a violent crime or any crime, I think that’s important. It doesn’t matter what day of the week that it is. Or whether it’s a religious holiday. But I don’t think we should bring religion into a law-enforcement operation. Into a political operation. There is a separation of church and government, so I don’t, uh, -- but they have a right to do what they’re doing [sic]. This is a free country. And I’m going to enforce the law, we do it 7 days a week."

Responding to another journo, who asked about Mayor Phil Gordon's comments criticizing the Sheriff for not informing the PHX PD about the operation, the Sheriff echoed an announcement he'd made the previous evening to the anti-immigrant hate group United for a Sovereign America, which holds its Thursday-night meetings at a VFW post in Sunnyslope.

"I’m responding to my constituents," he said. "They want something done about it. I am here, and we’re going to keep coming back. In a message to the Mayor, I’ll tell him right now, so we don’t have any problems, come next week, we will be at 25th and Bell Road. So everybody knows that."

25th Street and Bell Road is the crossroads nearby where Salvador Reza's Macehualli Work Center is located. (The spot caters to day-laborers.) The members of Rusty Childress' U.S.A. group must be giddy with anticipation. They've been up there with their guns and their racist signs since the beginning of the year, and now Arpaio is finally responding to their pleas to help them close the center down. It's rumored that none other than alleged public urinator Buffalo Rick Galeener circulated an anti-Macehualli petition recently, scoring a handful of businesspeople to sign off on a request to Joe to send patrols to the area.

I asked Joe why he had spoken to the members of a known hate group on the night before this press conference, one that has accepted neo-Nazis and other racists into its ranks, like skinheads and members of the White Knights of America.

"You mean at the VFW [post in Sunnyslope]?" he asked.

"They’re at the VFW because they have their Thursday night meetings there," I told him, referring to U.S.A.

"Who are you with?" asked Joe -- one of his favorite lines. "Identify yourself."

"You know who I’m with, the New Times," I shot back.

"The New Times?" he asked quizzically.

"Yeah, ask Mr. Chagolla, he let me in," I told him. Paul Chagolla is one of Joe's army of flacks.

"He let you in because I asked him to let you in," he informed me, gruffly.

"Oh, so you know who I am?" I observed.

"But I’m not going to respond to your garbage because I’m dealing with this situation," Joe grumbled. "Put that in the front page."

The press conference rolled on, with the bullhorn guy yelling "Sieg Heil!" and "Joe, I'm talking to yooooou." Several reporters present found this very amusing, including yours truly.

Channel 12's Joe Dana was present, and Arpaio attempted to insult Dana after Dana asked a question by referring to him as "Kent." Kent Dana is apparently Joe Dana's father, or so I've heard. I introduced myself to Dana after the press conference, and he mentioned the fact that Paul Chagolla mistakenly thinks we're in collusion over the coverage of the Honduran enterprise. We both agreed this was ludicrous, as we'd never even talked before this day, and since we're essentially competitors. To me, such a belief just goes to show how deeply paranoid and suspicious the MCSO actually is.

Post-press conference, Joe was milling about talking to reporters, and I spotted him chatting with Rusty Childress, who had also been allowed access to the roped off media event. I again queried Joe about his ties to a known bigot such as Childress.

"He’s a good guy," said Arpaio of Childress, who soon quietly amscrayed.

"You don’t have any problem with him accepting neo-Nazis into his ranks?" I asked Arpaio.

"I have no problem," he replied. "You know what, I talk to everybody. I even talk to the demonstrators."

"Would you talk to the Klan?" I wondered.

"I talk to the inmates, I talk to everybody. I’m the Sheriff for everybody," he responded.

"Even the Klan, right, Joe? " I smirked.

Arpaio's answer didn't quite make sense, but I assume he'd shifted track mentally to those protesting him:

"I don’t know, you know the reason? I’ll always go talk to them, but when I do, they scream. I can’t even say a word. They’re screaming, they drown me out. They’re very uncourteous, how can I go talk to them? They won’t listen to me."

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Tonight Sheriff Joe Arpaio joined the nativists and unrepentant bigots of Rusty Childress' United for a Sovereign America, speaking before a group that accepts racists like Buffalo Rick Galeener into its fold, as well as neo-Nazis like J.T. Ready. It's also an organization that praises old guard neo-Nazis such as Elton Hall. This is at least the second time Arpaio's spoken to the most radical anti-immigrant hate group in the Valley. The last time was last year, while Childress still held the meetings at his Kia dealership on Camelback, which he's since sold. Tonight Arpaio spoke at VFW Post 9400 at 804 E. Purdue, in the Sunnyslope area of Phoenix, where U.S.A. currently holds its Thursday night meetings.

Members of United for a Sovereign America have been exposed as nativist nimrods by the Southern Poverty Law Center in the recent issue of its Intelligence Report magazine. Member Rick Galeener allegedly exposed himself to a mother and her two-year-old kid a couple of weeks ago up at the Macehualli Work Center where U.S.A. has a semi-permanent encampment. U.S.A.'s footsoldiers are mostly obnoxious white trash, hurling insults at anyone who enters the Work Center or who disagrees with them. They are armed and long for a violent conflict, either with the jornaleros waiting for day jobs at Macehualli or with those who live in the neighborhood and don't want them there.

By speaking at such meetings, Arpaio revives the memories of the days when Southern sheriffs sided with the Ku Klux Klan, attended their cross-burnings, and allowed them to wail on civil rights workers with impunity. Indeed, the ideological gap between Childress' U.S.A. and the KKK is about as wide as frog's hair. The Sheriff should be vigorously denounced and excoriated for attending such a blatantly racist get-together, and giving its members the impression that they pursue their un-American activities under the color of law.

The MCSO has also announced that it will be doing posse-enhanced sweeps on Good Friday of all days near 32nd Street and Thomas Road again, and in an unnamed area of Phoenix -- likely North Phoenix. He'll be setting up shop in the same parking lot he set up in back in January. You can read his press release, here. Below is the response issued by Salvador Reza, operator of the Macehualli Work Camp.

Talk about an Evil Friday. Does Arpaio worship Satan, or what?

Subject: Citizens to monitor Sheriff Arpaio's Immigration Raids

THESE RAIDS ARE IN DIRECT VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHT AGREEMENTS TO WHICH THE UNITED STATES IS A SIGNATOR. HUMAN RIGHT ORGANIZATIONS WITH CAMERA IN HAND WILL BE RECORDING THE ACTIONS OF THE SHERIFF AND THEIR POSSEE.

A pic you'll never see in the Capitol Times: Russell Pearce (right) and Mesa neo-Nazi J.T. Ready (left), at an anti-immigrant clambake in June of '07.

Does it ever strike you as odd that AZ politicians can pull the most outrageous, reactionary bullcrap? Stuff that in any civilized state in this nation would have them run out of office on a red hot rail, but in AZ is accepted as par for the course?

Part of that has to do with the fact that there are a lot of freakin' bigots in this state who would love to rekindle the Ku Klux Klan's heyday. The other part of the equation is how reporters handle racists like state Rep. Russell Pearce, attempting to make such bullet-headed creeps admirable in some fashion.

A classic example is in the current issue of the Arizona Capitol Times , a local tabloid that devotes itself to covering state government, the legislature, the governor, et al. The Capitol Times does some good work, occasionally. But they have a tendency to pull out the kneepads for anyone with a smidgen of power. At Governor Janet Napolitano's weekly media briefings, their reporters are noted for sitting as close to the Guv's desk as possible -- perhaps so they can wrap their lips around her panty-hosed hoofs as they lob her softballs.

This teacher's pet syndrome spills over into other things they do, like reporter Christian Palmer's recent front-page profile of Rep. Pearce, entitled, "The Straight-Shooter: Rep. Russell Pearce Is Loved and Hated, but He Doesn't Compromise." The title pretty much tells you all you need to know about the slant of the story.

Palmer trots out all the tired old Pearce tales. Pearce lost his finger trying to arrest gang members (Mexicans, natch). Pearce saved an Asian kid from getting beat up when he was in school. Blah, blah, blah. The piece never mentions Pearce working a crowd with Mesa neo-Nazi J.T. Ready at an anti-immigrant event in June of '07. Or that Pearce forwarded an e-mail from the neo-Nazi National Alliance to his supporters back in '06. As far as I'm concerned, these incidents should be a part of any biographical piece on Pearce. Not only are they factual, they are part of a pattern that lays bare Pearce's nativist views.

Palmer does address Pearce's use of the derogatory term "wetback" for Mexicans in a 2006 radio interview, but Palmer plays it as if its almost a positive thing, paraphrasing Pearce-critic Rep. Steve Gallardo to the effect that, "Gallardo acknowledged that Pearce has another useful trait: the ability to overcome statements that would amount to political suicide for others." Palmer then ends with some b.s. about how Pearce is nice to his wife.

There is some discussion of last year's employer sanctions law, and how loads of businesspeople and Republicans don't like it. But Palmer depicts this, along with Pearce's support of anti-No Child Left Behind legislation as a kind of twisted profile in courage.

What about the outrageous, xenophobic legislation sponsored by Pearce in this session of the legislature? The proposal to prevent Americans from marrying non-Americans, even if they are here in the country legally? The Peace-sponsored bill that would allow state government to bankrupt landlords if they rent to those without proper documentation? Or the nefarious attempt to rob children born in this country of citizenship as promised under the 14th Amendment to the constitution? There's nary a mention.

Pearce is a powerful, despicable individual. He's also a political poltroon, despite Palmer's testament to the contrary. Pearce despises Republican golden boy, Congressman Jeff Flake. He desperately wanted to challenge Flake in CD-6. Pearce even formed an exploratory committee to raise funds to do just that. Then in early January, Pearce chickened out, either because he didn't raise enough moolah or because the state Republican party refused to back his move to challenge Flake. Apparently, the state GOP cut him a deal, and he took it. State Sen. Karen Johnson announced she would move aside, so Pearce, who's term-limited out, will be able to remain in the legislature by running for her seat.

Pearce is admired by some numbskulls for his legislative prowess, but I don't believe he crafts any of it himself, mainly because I've met him before, and he's obviously not that smart. Rather, I and many others believe that FAIR, the right-wing Federation for American Immigration Reform, assists him with the drafting of legislation.

Pearce is, literally, the worst that this state has to offer. He appeals to the basest instincts of voters, who've awarded him by returning him to office over and over. There's nothing admirable about this extremist pol who always talks like he just finished a plate of day-old meatloaf. He isn't brave or intelligent. Neo-Nazis and white supremacists flock to this agenda-driven, anti-Mexican demagogue. He needs to be ostracized, and when written about, derided. OK, maybe it's not the Capitol Times' place to ridicule this Nimrod. But the paper's reporters shouldn't be strapping on the knee-pads for Pearce as Palmer does in the March 14 issue, much less any pol.

See, Buffalo, you're famous...for allegedly urinating in public.

A group of about six "aliens" invaded the nativist demonstration up at the Macehualli Work Center on Saturday -- actually a troupe of arty open borders activists dressed as aliens and waving signs like "Save Our White Trash Heritage," "Buffalo Rick's Pissed Off," and "Bottle Your Urine to Stop Invasion." The six person crew had obviously read in The Bird or on a previous Feathered Bastard blog post about local bigot Rick Galeener getting cited by the PHX PD for allegedly exposing himself before a mother and her two year old kid. So Saturday A.M., they headed up to Macehualli to lampoon the mostly redneck idgits who've been protesting the site since the beginning of the year.

Alia spoofing the U.S.A. rednecks...

"We're here to do a little spoof on them," explained Alia, a twentysomething gal in blue cowboy boots and big Lindsay Lohan-style sunglasses. "We thought maybe we could undermine the sense of power structure that they have. Just show them for the fools that they are."

Alia, who declined to give her last name, said she and her fellow wacktivists were affiliated with CAROB, which stands for Central Arizona Radicals Opposing Borders. She and her counterdemonstrating cohorts mixed with the anti-immigrant protesters near the corner of 25th Street and Bell Road, all while under the watchful eyes of plainclothes PHX cops, who're there to make sure no violence breaks out.

Hmmm. Maybe Galeener should start wearing one of these here panty liners.

One dude in alien mask, who also declined to identify himself, echoed Alia's sentiments.

"We are here to shed a little light on a very ridiculous situation," the pseudo-extraterrestrial stated through his silvery, bug-eyed mask. "And that is the absolute insanity, the overt racism and the utter senselessness of these minutemen and what they’re trying to express. We just want to make light of it, have a little fun with it."

Asked how the nativists were taking their presence, the otherworldly being seemed surprised they had not received a friendlier welcome from the mostly ill-mannered trailer trash who man and wo-man the nativist brigade.

ET needs a day-job...

"It’s been a little adversarial," ET admitted. "And we’ve been very friendly, too. We came right up to them, we started talking, we asked if we could kind of join in with them, and oh, they were making rude comments. And the odd thing is that all their comments were based upon how we look."

I wondered if any of the snaggletoothed members of Rusty Childress' hatemongering org United for a Sovereign America or his racist bike club Riders U.S.A. had exposed themselves during the day's events. The aliens had to admit they had not.

Bottling your own urine is now a patriotic act.

"And I was hoping for a little water sports…" one fey fellow not in an alien getup admitted.

For their part, the nativists didn't really understand what the aliens were up to, even though they seemed to comprehend that they were being made fun of with signs like, "Inglish Only" (misspelled on purpose, obviously) and "The only place borders should exist is in a panty liner." Asked what they thought of these anarchic aliens, one grizzly geezer babbled incoherently, then said something about the crazy crew being on drugs. Later on, evidently familiar with my work, he persistently challenged me to fisticuffs, but wanted me to throw the first punch with his video camera rolling and the cops nearby. Tempting as it was, I declined the offer.

The geriatric 'tard who wanted to rumble.

Another gray-haired twerp with short-man’s disease got up in my grill, but his bigoted buddies pulled him away before he could start some shit. Pathetic.

When questioned, the rest of the ragged race-warriors there either defended Galeener against the indecent exposure charge, insisting it hadn’t happened, or said Galeener had a medical condition that prevented him from making it to a potty on time. Sorry, Galeener may be handicapped, but he gets around a little too well for that to be his excuse. On Saturday, I saw him vigorously walking up and down 25th with the help of a cane, and he’s always the one hauling around signs and whatnot for the group in his truck. Plus, McDonalds and Taco Bell are nearby. If he’d used his vehicle, he could have been at either in seconds.

Note the sign regarding disease. It's based on a vicious racist lie.

Galeener has an initial appearance on the citation on Tuesday, where he’s expected to plead not guilty. If so, there will be a trial. As commenters to my first post on buffalo chip’s alleged lack of bladder control have pointed out, posters to U.S.A.’s own meet-up site have copped to what Galeener’s done and have joked about it.

If Galeener’s name was Gonzales and was on the other side of this argument, U.S.A. members’d be asking for his hide. No doubt about it. But because he’s one of their own, they defend him. BTW, Galeener stayed far away from me and from the counter demonstrators Saturday. Maybe the guy does have a lick of shame.

The alien chorus singing the ballad of Buffalo Rick.

Before they skedaddled, the aliens formed a chorus and belted out a song dedicated to Mr. Bison Patty, sung to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies:

Let me tell you all a story ‘bout a man named Rick
Got hisself arrested for showin’ his dick
Into a bottle he started to pee
How was he to know that a woman could see
His prick
All shriveled
Like his heart.

Well the po-po gave Rick a paper citation
Now he’s facing a county vacation
‘Cause flashin’ yer pekker is considered a crime
Looks like BuffaloRick’ll be doin’ some time
Tent City
Green boloney
The Garfield Gang

Genius. Miss Alia told me they’re thinking about coming out to Macehualli again, and I hope they do, with even more folks and signage. Would be a shame if this reaction to the reactionaries ended up being just a one-off.

Something else, a little tweeter tells me Galeener's going around with a petition to some nearby businesses asking them to support a raid on Macehualli by Sheriff Joe. Thing is, the work center's doing nothing illegal, and Arpaio would have no probable cause for such a raid. But the law and the constitution have never stopped Joe before. Moreover, anyone who'd sign a petition proffered by a human turd who calls nonwhites "monkeys" and allegedly exposes himself in public would have to be considered a blubbering, racist idiot. Though, sadly, there are plenty of those around in Sand Land.

In case you missed it, Channel 12's Joe Dana rolled over a new stone in the Honduran scam last night, revealing that the MCSO had plans to install a high-tech facial recognition system in Honduras, which Arlie Thompson, Governor of the Bay Islands, said included, "...security systems and programs...at the airports, and docks, near the ferry bays, all the different points of entry."

Dana's report also revealed that the MCSO received a $264,450 grant from the Department of Homeland Security to buy equipment for facial recognition technology, though the MCSO denied any of this was used in Honduras. And guess what? One of the pioneers of this technology -- Hummingbird Defense Systems -- just happens to have offices in the PHX, and its head honcho is buddies with the MCSO's Chief Deputy David Hendershott. They've taken plane rides together, even, said Dana. (Oddly, Channel 12 did not mention the corporate exec's name.) And according to the Channel 12 report, Jabba the Hendershott's apparently pimped this technology to the feds and to the European Union.

Suddenly we're starting to see how Hendershott might have been using the Honduran enterprise to possibly help his cronies. Has Hendershott enriched himself somehow from the Honduran scam? That's the big Q. If it's ever shown that he did benefit from this Honduran boondoggle, he would almost certainly have to resign his post as Joe's top deputy dawg.

Kudos to Dana for advancing the story. Every reporter in town should be on this. It may just turn out to be Arpaio's Watergate.

Check out Dana's report from last night, here:

Part One;

Part Two.

PS: I tried contacting Hummingbird Defense Systems, and weirdly, I first got someone who said he works for the building, and that there's no company by that name there. The second time I called, I got a generic recording that said the subscriber does not use the voice mail system.

Curiouser and curiouser...

PPS: In several places online, guess who's listed as the Chairman of the Board of Hummingbird Defense Systems? None other than former Arizona Governor Fife Symington III.

Alas, I called the ex-Guv's consulting/PR org., The Symington Group, and exec Camilla Strongin there told me that Symington has not been affiliated with Hummingbird in some time.

PPPS: Have just learned that the phone number and address listed on Hummingbird Defense System's site is actually for this company Regus, which offers "virtual office" packages to doctors, lawyers and different companies. Basically, it's a place to pick up the mail, meet clients if need be, and have someone answer phones for you. Hummingbird's address and phone number are actually shared by scores of Regus clients.

When I called Camilla Strongin back to ask what she knows, she said the Symington Group is located in the same building.

According to sources, Hummingbird stopped paying its virtual office bill a few months back, and so has ceased to exist at that address. No forwarding address was given, according to these same sources.

That's all for now, sports fans...

Yesterday, Sheriff's office flack Paul Chagolla coughed up the hourly rates on the ten MCSO employees who were part of the Honduran enterprise, and after crunching the numbers, and adding equipment purchases and RICO-funded reimbursements for travel expenses, the bill for this Central American hayride comes to approximately $157,000. That's far more than the $100,000 I estimated in a recent Bird column. And it does not include the cost in untold man-hours spent planning this boondoggle or those spent chaperoning around the Hondurans who visited Maricopa County back in June of last year.

Furthermore, we don't really know if the Honduran project has come to an end, as Arpaio first stated that he was suspending the program, then he backtracked, stating he was reviewing the program. Personally, I don't think we can believe much of what Arpaio asserts. This was Chief Deputy David Hendershott's baby, and he's as mum as Heath Ledger's corpse. Well, to the Arizona press, that is. While visiting with Honduran talk show personality "Roatan Bruce" Starr last year, Jabba the Hendershott was practically chatty. And what he had to say contradicted what Joe's said since about the origin of the program to train Honduran cops and reorganize the entire Honduran police force. Arpaio's led us to believe that the whole thing was instigated by a request from Honduran officials. But Hendershott told Starr that the program's origins had more to do with the efforts of ex-MCSO deputy Roger Marshall.

"We have a wonderful, wonderful retired employee in the name of Roger Marshall," Hendershott rambled on to Starr during a radio interview. "Roger...several years ago decided to further his missionary work and his wonderful wife Pam and their two children are in the process [sic] -- and Roger's been down here for about a year now and furthering work with his church and ministering to the folks on Roatan. Roger has a lot of background in the area of investigations. He was one of our top homicide investigators in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. And Roger reached out to [the] Commissario here, and Julio Benitez [the Honduran Bay Island's top cop] with the tremendous support of Vice Secretary Rodas to improve the professionalism of the officers. And so there were letters written to our Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County..."

The question, of course, remains, what was the MCSO getting out of all this? Or, more specifically, what were Hendershott and the other MCSO brass getting out of this? Maybe just working vacays in a tropical paradise. But the possibility that something more motivated the MCSO's involvement remains.

I've made calls to Roatan Bruce Starr to discuss the matter with him, but he's declined to comment. However, his Web site presents the Honduran Bay Islands as an amazing investment opportunity for those interested in purchasing real estate. He cites several concrete reasons that an investment in property on these Honduran islands should increase in value, such as the news that the islands are to be named a tax and duty-free Free Zone, thus attracting even more tourists.

Starr also reports that, "The most successful cruise line, Royal Caribbean, has just signed a 30 year deal with Roatan to take over the leasing of the dock. That means that beginning in the Fall of 2007, we will go from having 10 cruise ships a month to 30 or more."

And it's not the only cruise line tied to the islands: "Carnival Cruise Lines and their sister companies Costa and Princess will be building a second dock and tourist community in two years. Ground breaking ceremonies with President Mel Zelaya will be November 15th, 2007."

Starr states, "More and more international airlines are now making non-stop trips to Roatan," and he adds that financing for buying real estate on the tropical paradise is now available. Reading his comments and those in other English-language publications, it's apparent there are a number of expatriates on the islands, many drawn by the lush environs and the prospect of a real estate and tourist boom.

The fly in the ointment is crime, which is prevalent there. And the local police are hampered by chronic underfunding. Starr's Web site even mentions a charity auction with the beneficiary being the local coppers. Certainly the MCSO's long-term involvement with the Honduran police force would've been of tremendous benefit to the local economy, and to the price of land in Roatan.

Though Starr blew me off, I did chat with Thomas Tomczyk, Managing Editor of the English language Bay Islands Voice. Tomczyk discussed crime and corruption, telling me about an incident where local cops were identified as having ties to the drug trade, but were just rotated to another part of the country rather than being fired or indicted. He also sent me a link to a 2005 article in his publication titled "How Safe Is Roatan?" The piece relates how crime stats are hard to come by, but there's anecdotal evidence that home invasions and robberies are common. Check out this passage from the article:

"I have learned that, after 14 years of living here, if I don't want to live in a gated community, then I need to have a watchman," said Phil Weir, a Roatan real estate agent, "You have to realize that this island's police works are hampered by budgets."

The police have two vehicles and almost no presence east of the airport in tourist places such as Parrot Tree, Fantasy Island, or Coco View. "People here seem to think that the police have a lot and they do not," said Jaime Barahona, Chief of Roatan Tourist Police, about the island's 85 police officers.

Tomczyk told me that it would incredibly easy for a foreigner to hide an investment in land or a business in Honduras. Though foreigners have to form a corporation if the investment is over a certain amount, local lawyers know how to keep the names of outside investors hidden or even anonymous. Asked about money laundering, Tomczyk indicated it would be a piece of cake in his adopted country (he retains dual Polish-American citizenship).

"Sure, this is Honduras," he told me. "It's the original banana republic."

I think you can connect the dots on your own, folks. I suspect there are those either in the MCSO or close to Hendershott who know more and may be willing to talk. I urge such persons to call me at the number below. I will not betray a confidence and can promise to keep your identity concealed.

602-229-8426

The new issue of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report is out, and it's chocked full of more racist Sand Land nuts than a John Birch Society convention. The mag highlights several players in the local nativist movement, profiles notorious neo-Nazi and alleged murderer Sean Gaines, and pays a visit to the Glendale-based home business of Nazi memorabilia peddler Dieter Bueschgen. Why, with this many stories emanating from the Zona, the SPLC should consider opening a satellite branch in PHX. Believe me, they'd never run out of racist a-holes to write about.

Of the 20 nativists granted thumbnail profiles in the mag, six hail from AZ, more than any other state. Topping the list is ex-Kia dealer and prejudiced playboy Rusty Childress, founder of the PHX hate group United for a Sovereign America, and he's joined by brothers in arms J.T. "Yep, I'm a Nazi, Ma" Ready of Mesa, and alleged public urinator "Buffalo" Rick Galeener. Anti-Latino Latino Col. Al Rodriguez of the F.A.I.R.-front organization You Don't Speak for Me is included, as is urban cougar heartthrob Michelle Dallacroce, founder of Mothers Against Illegal Aliens. (She'll hate it that the SPLC misspelled her name.) And Tucson minuteman Bill Irwin of the Patriots Border Alliance (they should spell it Pay-triots) gets an SPLC shout-out.

Mexican flag-burner Laine Lawless rates nary a mention, sad to say. Though her onetime pal, Nevada's Don Pauly, who helped out with her flag-torching exhibition in front of the Mexican Consulate here in PHX in 2006, nabs a brief bio. Better luck next year, Laine!

Also in this "Year in Hate" issue, former New Times scribe Susy Buchanan profiles jailed neo-Nazi thug Sean Gaines, who's currently awaiting trial for his part in the group torture-murder of victim Mark Mathes in 2002. Gaines claims he's seen the light, and is renouncing his skinhead ways. (It's likely he's also trying to garner some leniency in his upcoming trial.) He spills his guts to Buchanan, explaining how he was recruited into the skinhead subculture and the National Socialist Front. More chillingly, he describes assaults and murders that have not been reported or investigated, much less so