A Phoenix corn vendor named Roberto is asked by local law enforcement officials to show his food handler permit, his driver’s license, and his insurance and registration – for a vehicle he isn’t even driving. Everything is in order, but Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies (who now enforce federal immigration law) begin to question him about his nationality. This is becoming business as usual in Phoenix, but Roberto and others says it’s racial profiling. Listen to the second in a three-part series on FSRN.
That’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio… who stands accused of dividing the city of Phoenix and others using dubious immigration enforcement tactics. I talked to Arpaio and many others recently – you can hear part one in a series on FSRN.
[PLEASE NOTE: I am quite disappointed... none of you have told me where they got these Palin people from.]
You’ve likely already seen the part where Sarah Palin can’t name one newspaper she reads in an interview with Katie Couric. But which conservative doesn’t have a handful of Supreme Court cases they disagree with, just ready to pull out of their hat? Let me guess: Palin!
By the way, it was certainly not my intent to bash Palin all the time on this blog. In fact, I am doing very little bashing, and just letting this severely under-qualified candidate speak for herself. And for those of you who have pointed out that she is just too stressed out to be doing interviews like this, I’d like to remind you that it’s part of the job. If you don’t know how to talk to the press, if you stumble over your words, and if you cannot remember things like the name of a newspaper or the fact that you already publicly stated your opposition to the high court’s ruling on the Exxon Valdez spill, then keep you day job, Governor – we certainly don’t need you running for VP on any ticket.
[AGAIN: If anyone can tell me where these get these Palin people from, please contact me immediately. Seriously.]
Remember Jeremiah Wright? Barack Obama’s (former) Reverend that had the audacity to use the presidential election to talk about race and failed domestic and foreign policies? Of course you do! The networks couldn’t get enough of him, when videos of his sermons illustrated that he preached (among other things) that the U.S. government placed crack in black communities as a way to insure the future of the prison industrial complex. I’m still not sure what the big fuss was all about - and the last time I checked, the United States has the biggest population in the world (yes, in the world; yes, more than China), and the highest number of prisoners in proportion to its population (about one in every 100) – mostly due to this ghetto fabulous War on Drugs. Oh, and about 12 percent of black men in their 20s and 30s are in the system, compared to less than one percent of white men in the same age group. Like I said, I don’t get the big fuss.
So anyway, it seems Sarah Palin has an interesting Pastor of her own. His name is Thomas Muthee, and below is a video of him praying to protect Palin from witches. Yes, witches… Not to be confused with the part where he asks God to help finance her campaign:
So one candidate has to drop his Reverend for making truthful comments, while another gets a pass from the networks after video surfaces that he is a complete basket case. Hallelujah!
[NOTE: If anyone can tell me where they found these Palin people, please get a hold of me. Thanks.]
So this guy from LA claims he is the actualfather of Bristol Palin’s baby. Oh and did I mention he is black? Let the election year paternity scandal begin!
Disclaimer for everyone who keeps asking me if I’m serious about this post: Do I really believe this is the father? Prolly not… Will the blogosphere make it an issue? Prolly so.
Just making my way back to the RNC from the what has been a crazy night on the outside full of concussion grenades, tear gas and other oppressive tactics… Whew. I saw Sharif get hauled away, along with many other members of the press and legal observers. Some minors have been taken as well.
That’s what the outside of the Ramsey County Jail looks like here in Saint Paul - Sheriff Fletcher is in the blue along with a blonde-haired aide (not to mention the intense amount of fencing and hundreds of riot-clad officers on patrol). What isn’t in the picture of hunderds of supporters just a few yards away; I did not photograph them as many are just being released from jail themselves and may not feel comfortable being included in cyber-space. I spent a few hours outside the jail earlier today, talking to different people, including the Sheriff who agreed to speak with me briefly. Bail has been reduced from anywhere between $2,000 to $10,000, but the very serious charges still stand – terrorism charges for planning protests (can anyone say Chicago 8?). Tune in tonight to Pacifica’s coverage for more updates, and make sure to listen to FSRN tomorrow for the full story.
Is it just me, or does this woman sound like she’s running for office at a local High School? Baby, please…
I honestly did not plan on blogging about Palin tonight, but the thought crossed my mind – and then Leigh Ann’s friend Barbara (who may or may not be my doppelganger) text her the same thing. Great minds, great minds.
Just got off the phone with Bruce Nestor from the Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyer’s Guild: eight alleged leaders of the RNC Welcoming Committee have been charged with very serious terrorism charges, and face about 10 years each behind bars. They are Monica Bicking, Eryn Trimmer, Luce Guillen Givins, Erik Oseland, Nathanael Secor, Robert Czernik, Garrett Fitzgerald and Max Spector – their group was infiltrated by paid informants. I am heading down to the jail, and will try to return by evening to blog some more.
Among the many career politicians roaming the halls at the Republican National Convention is John Bolton. My colleague Mitch Jeserich caught up with him first, in-between scheduled interviews. Mitch got a couple of minutes in before his handler shut down questioning. I began waiting for Bolton a while later, mic in hand, because I wanted to ask him additional questions regarding Georgia and Israel. The same handler walks over to me and asks who I am with and proceeds to tell me that since Mitch talked to him for a couple of minutes, I cannot. He adds that since two other reporters are already walking with him, there was no way he could allow me to do the same. He’s also staring at me as if I am somehow less than him… Baby, please: you handle a warmonger.
Thank you to Nicole Sawaya for the fitting title suggestion.
