Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Attytood

Won't you please come to....Phoenix?

News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.

33 comments

Won't you please come to....Phoenix?

POSTED: Sunday, April 25, 2010, 8:35 PM

We can change the world...again?

Phoenix -- epicenter of the new war on civil liberties that's being waged in the name of curbing undocumented immigration -- is also on the short list for (and how appropriate would this be?) hosting the 2012 Republican National Convention:

After a 24-hour tour of the city, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said he was impressed with the region’s growth, amenities and cleanliness –– positioning Phoenix for a run at its first presidential convention, despite being the birthplace of the modern conservative movement.

In one sense, the notion that some liberals are already talking about boycotting Arizona over its racial-profiling push would probably now make the RNC more likely to go there. But I think progressives should make it clear that -- with an $170 million payday on the line -- that smart politicians would play it safe and take the big show elsewhere. The reality is that if Arizona's backwards law isn't repealed by 2012, Chicago 1968 might look like a Sunday stroll through (post-1968) Grant Park. And the sight of Arizona cops facing off with hordes of non-violent Latinos and their friends could backfire against Republicans, just like the unrest in Chicago almost certainly cost Hubert Humphrey and the Democrats the '68 election.

So if I'm Michael Steele, Salt Lake City should be looking pretty good right now -- especially when there's no bondage clubs to distract his Young Eagle delegates.

Will Bunch @ 8:35 PM Permalink | 33 comments

33 comments

Comments (33)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 6:48 PM, 04/26/2010

Pagoda -- I haven't made any comments about this bill, only about illegal immigration. I haven't read the bill yet, so I can't tell yet if I think it's unconstitutional. Please remember though, you CANNOT violate the rights of an illegal immigrant, BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ANY!!! While I would not like to see a Nazi-like approach to walking down the street and demanding to see papers from everyone, I think every traffic stop, every arrest, and everything done to ensure that illegal immigrants are not employed or housed is a good thing. If they have nowhere to work and nowhere to live, THEY WON'T COME HERE ILLEGALLY.

— IggleFan68

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:11 PM, 04/26/2010

Too bad I won't be here then. This has made me so angry I can see myself with blood streaming down my face chanting "the whole world is watching!"

— Hamlet

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:02 PM, 04/26/2010

"The sight of hordes of non-violent Latinos facing off with cops in 2012"? Will, are you saying that Latinos are anti-government?

— Falls Ed

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:46 AM, 04/26/2010

Dreamz - I don't think most people have a problem in making the risk to businesses outweigh the reward of cheap labor. However, the first step must be to secure our borders to stop the onslaught of illegals. We can simultaneously enact legislation to fine employers, and to detect illegal immigrants when they try to use services such as education, health care, drivers licenses, etc.

— legatus

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:29 AM, 04/26/2010

Glasser, wouldnt it be better if there werent jobs for these illegal aliens? If you start by fining heavily employers who cannot prove their workers citizenship, then they would not come here. That is just one step.

— Master Dreamz

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:25 AM, 04/26/2010

question: How does a country deport illegal aliens without asking them, at some point, to identify themselves?******Answer: It doesn't.

— ocjones

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:18 AM, 04/26/2010

"So much for the Constitution. Where are the Tea Baggers today?" ****The tea partiers are probably busy at work, watching their grandchildren, who knows, but my guess is that they're not involved in some illegal or violent activity.

— ocjones

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:00 AM, 04/26/2010

Iggles- If you want to be outraged, maybe you should focus it on the idiot lawmakers that pushed a bill obviously UNCONSTITUTIONAL. You thought the insurance mandate was unconstitutional? Try requiring cops to stop people they "suspect" may be illegal immigrants. This makes illegal search and seizure seem like top-notch sleuthing. Unless the officer pulls the guy out of the barb wire border fence, the law enforcement workers' jobs just got extremely difficult. Wait until they start detaining white joggers who leave their IDs and wallets at home... You and several other commentators here spin that somehow if you are against this bill you support the ills created by illegal immigration. WRONG!!! We have a problem with the obvious "show me your papers" sadly comical almost Mel Brooksian remake of 1940 Germany. Ironically, the people who talk the loudest about Obama and Hitler and totalitarianism are the people supporting this ridiculous unconstitutional invasion of everything America stands for. Reminds me of the people that supported the Bush wire taps- saying "if you have nothing to hide, so what." SO WHAT???

— pagoda

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:50 AM, 04/26/2010

"undocumented immigration"... STTTTOOOOOOOOPPPPP!!!! Why do we have to use ridiculous terms to try to minimize what this is. IT IS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. We have people who have COMMITTED A CRIME by breaking into our country and living here. They are most likely also committing MORE CRIMES by not paying income taxes (maybe Wesley Snipes has the right idea??). Call it what it is. Birds, you do not explain, what makes this law disgusting, and how is it moving us backwards? Is it disgusting to arrest people who have broken into our country and return them to where they belong? Is it backwards to enforce an immigration policy so that it's fair to all (i.e., why is it that the people from Mexico can sprint across the border, but people from Rwanda don't get that same opportunity??)

— IggleFan68

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:48 AM, 04/26/2010

I was outraged by the Arizona State Troopers coming to the mound to check Romero's and Figuroa's papers this weekend.

— bird11

Comment removed.

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:30 AM, 04/26/2010

Seems to me that the smart thing to do is move every Republican to Arizona, let them all frisk each other, carry guns, and not pay taxes. They can all open small businesses and somehow find workers. We'll see how long it takes for the conservatives to turn to cannibalism.

— HandNik

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:32 AM, 04/26/2010

Again I ask, exactly what part of "illegal alien" don't you understand?

— georgel

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:21 AM, 04/26/2010

Master Dreamz - part of this law prohibits profiling, as I understand it. I certainly agree that the Constitution prevents unreasonable search and seizure, etc. It does permit DUI checkpoints and the TSA stuff at airports, I suppose. But I pose this question- how does INS round up illegals without violating citizen's rights?

— Mark Glaeser

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:14 AM, 04/26/2010

Major League Baseball should remove the Arizona franchise. How can we ask our great Latino players to perform in this atmosphere of hate and prejudice?

— oldpasquale

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 7:21 AM, 04/26/2010

they have alot of mass murderers in Phoenix. Sawr it on MediuM.

— potus

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 7:13 AM, 04/26/2010

So much for the Constitution. Where are the Tea Baggers today?

— chasing history

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 6:45 AM, 04/26/2010

Glasser, legal immigrants are effected by the law. Havent you been following this? It gives police the right to confront you if they think you are an illegal immigrant -- really doesnt even specify mexican, or otherwise. So, and here's the catcher, ANYONE can be stopped and asked to prove their citizenship. If you dont see that as an infringement of your Constitutional rights, then you dont deserve them anyway. I, for one, will never step foot in that state again, if this law passes, until it is found to be what it is- unconstitutional.

— Master Dreamz

Comment removed.

Comment removed.

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:55 AM, 04/26/2010

Legal immigrants are not affected by this law, so what is all the fuss about? Are you saying that only Latinos break immigration laws? How racist is THAT attitude (no pun intended)? If a person illegally entered your home and squatted, wouldn't that be trespassing? Aren't these "undocumented" people just trespassers? No punitive action needed, just leave. How is this different from those hikers who stray across borders? Or is it an issue that a state acted independently of the federal government? Currently, Pennsylvania enforces federal tax laws by refusing to issue registration for heavy trucks without a copy of the fedederal 2290 form. This is essentially the same principle: a state government enforcing federal regs.

— Mark Glaeser

Comment removed.

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:32 AM, 04/26/2010

Gee, I wonder what will happen! It's so exciting!

— Falls Ed

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:36 PM, 04/25/2010

Arizona's "disgusting law" is a direct result of the federal government's complete and utter failure to defend our borders. Devaluing US citizenship and the rights that it entails (rights that were bought with the blood of patriots) and slapping the face of every legal immigrant who played by the rules and waited in line by rewarding those that ignore our laws then spinning it as playing from 'the higher moral ground' is truly perverted.

— PhillyTru

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:24 PM, 04/25/2010

I was not keen on Phoenix and environs before Arizona decided to go totalitarian ("Show me your papers") so I like the idea of the RNC going there. But I am greatly distressed that Tucson, which I love, is part of this state. Could we redefine the boundary of New Mexico so that it included the southern part of Arizona?

— Archimedes

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:16 PM, 04/25/2010

Arizona's law is nothing short of disgusting. Why is this country trying to move backwards???

— birds

| View All | Paginate Comments

The day the Obama administration went Nixon on us
Before Obama probed the AP, the right wing tried to destroy it
Kochs, coke and an American dystopia in Detroit
And then they came for Fox News
God's messenger comes down to remind us of the true meaning of scandal
What would Ayn Rand say about Bryz
And your bird can flip
Dept. of I Told You So
Mystery pundit outsourcing
If the Gosnell trial was supposed to make you anti-abortion, I guess the Daily News didn't get the memo

About this blog

Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.

PLEASE COMMENT WITH PASSION...

...but not with racial slurs, potentially libelous allegations, obscenities or other juvenile noise. Such comments will, at our discretion, be deleted in their entirety, and repeat offenders will be blocked from commenting. ALSO: Any commenter advocating killing any government official will be immediately banned.

Reach Will at bunchw@phillynews.com.

Will Bunch

Get our top stories