Arizona trying to claim title, but Georgia’s still in the race
“Arizona is “turning into a punch line,” one of the state’s newspapers reported Friday after surveying the latest global commentary about the state featuring choice phrases such as “wingnut paradise,” “nuttiest legislative body,” “America’s dumbest state,” and “blazing a trail into the fringe.”
…Even some of the state’s own politicians have begun referring to Arizona as a “laughingstock.”
…The sources of derision?
There was the “birther” bill approved by the Arizona House this week requiring presidential candidates to prove their citizenship by displaying birth certificates.
There’s an immigration measure that effectively converts the state’s police departments into immigration officers, mandating that they stop and question people they suspect of being undocumented immigrants.
And there’s the new gun law that allows anyone besides convicted felons to carry concealed weapons without registration or background checks.
Finally, for good measure, there’s the sideshow Republican Senate primary starring J.D. Hayworth, a serious challenger to Sen. John McCain, and his now-famous observation that same sex marriage laws would lead to men marrying horses….
Yeah, but is the Arizona Legislature passing a bill to make it a misdemeanor to implant microchips in a human being against his or her will? Do they have an ethically bankrupt John Oxendine figure leading the GOP race for governor? Did they threaten to secede if Congress passes additional gun-control laws? Are they raising taxes on the poorest of their citizens, cutting billions from their budget while voting to exempt wealthy seniors from income tax?
Shoot, their state government actually helps support mass transit in their biggest cities!! So how crazy could they be?
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
367 comments Add your comment
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
April 25th, 2010
8:06 pm
Well, it just goes to show some people are plain dangerous. Here’s a guy with a big pair of scissors in his briefcase and SoCo and his buddies just let him on a plane without saying nothing. Every man on that plane was in danger. We all know Whiner’s elevator don’t go all the way to the top. All it would take would be for him to get in one of his moods and he could go on a snipping rampage. Men would get on as bass singers and get off as sopranos.
Which is why I never flew on a plane in my life. If you can’t get there in your pickup, it ain’t worth seeing.
Have a good night everybody.
Tiger Woods + Jesse James = SuperBAD meets SuperEVIL in "SuperUGLY!"
April 25th, 2010
8:09 pm
Doggone it! We’d better get to movin’! Arizona’s getting away with the title! No other state (California not withstanding) will be as nutty as Georgia as long as I’m breathing! I can’t even stomach the thought of spending a day of my life outside of a wingnut’s paradise!
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 25th, 2010
8:47 pm
Aahhh, yes, the Philadelphia Inquirer endorses Arleen Spector, on orders of the White House I’m sure.
Gurgle, gurgle, dummycrats.
Midori
April 25th, 2010
8:56 pm
lemme guess – we should now be afraid of the Philadelphia Inquirer too, right?
Bruno
April 25th, 2010
9:24 pm
If anyone is still here and is ready to move beyond the hate, here’s a nice song from the Brothers Johnson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC0RiQLwOqo
Best wishes out to AmVet who weathered the storm at Chastain Saturday night. Hope it was worth the discomfort!
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 25th, 2010
9:31 pm
These are the people obozo wants to negotiate with-
KABUL (AP) – Dozens of Afghan schoolgirls have fallen ill in recent days after reporting a strange odor in their classrooms in northern Afghanistan, prompting an investigation into whether they were targeted by militants who oppose education for girls or victims of mass hysteria.
Militants my ass, scumbags in need of…..a hug, right, liberals?
Bruno
April 25th, 2010
9:32 pm
Reporter–Take a break and relax with Heatwave:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVhFFaRuul8
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 25th, 2010
9:46 pm
WASHINGTON — Amid mounting frustration over taxation and banking problems, small but growing numbers of overseas Americans are taking the weighty step of renouncing their citizenship.
Yeah, can’t you just feel the love?
Bruno
April 25th, 2010
10:04 pm
“Yeah, can’t you just feel the love?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixl5belnUOY&feature=related
Bruno
April 25th, 2010
10:08 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG07rYStCjw
AmVet
April 25th, 2010
10:18 pm
Bruno, yes indeed. A lot of it.
Another sweet, but tortured, little songbird called home much too early…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeBeO2Fbnrc
and the more familiar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reSa2ipIH8s&feature=related
Jackie
April 25th, 2010
10:31 pm
It appears some of the keyboard-warriors have decided it is best to mount a frontal attack against the Taliban and rid ourselves of the problem we are facing in Afghanistan.
My curiosity has piqued as to how their plan will come together and bring us victory in the shortest time possible?
AmVet
April 25th, 2010
10:35 pm
Hillbilly, I’m not just a country (music) boy wannabe.
I just found it in some unusual places…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfZes9fFmXc
Bruno
April 25th, 2010
10:47 pm
“Bruno, yes indeed. A lot of it.”
Hey, buddy. One of the reasons I passed on the concert is that I’ve seen H & O a few times, and they seem to play the same set list each time out. To their credit, they still give their all, and don’t sleepwalk through the show as I’ve seen some other “classic” artists do. On the other hand, I would be surprised if TR ever played the same set list–this time it was radically different from the 2007 show at the Roxy. I see that he played “Black Maria” this time out, but not “Tiny Demons”.
TnGelding
April 25th, 2010
10:52 pm
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin…
April 25th, 2010
9:46 pm
What are they doing over there anyway? No! No! Not taxes!!! And banking regulation? Never!!! We earned our fortunes the modern way: greed, misrepresentation and favoritism. We demand the right to hide our wealth in off shore tax havens and to be able to invest in Ponzi schemes.
AmVet
April 25th, 2010
10:56 pm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41674530@N02/sets/72157623801658599/show/
TnGelding
April 25th, 2010
10:57 pm
…and God bless planet Earth:
http://ajc.newsinc.com/video.html?wid=1529&cid=5051&vid=80135&freewheel=12699&sitesection=ajc&plg=1527
AmVet
April 25th, 2010
10:58 pm
OK, early start tomorrow.
I was thinking they should have played this last night, B!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB7jHFv5kJA
Have a great week, all…
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
5:24 am
… as usual, whiner tells only part of the story … from the same article, he dismisses the following:
“The Federal Register, the government publication that records such decisions, shows that 502 expatriates gave up their U.S. citizenship or permanent residency status in the last quarter of 2009. That is a tiny portion of the 5.2 million Americans estimated by the State Department to be living abroad.”
and
“American expats have long complained that the United States is the only industrialized country to tax citizens on income earned abroad, even when they are taxed in their country of residence, though they are allowed to exclude their first $91,400 in foreign-earned income.” (this has been the law for DECADES – not something new under Obama)
then there’s this:
“Stringent new banking regulations — aimed both at curbing tax evasion and, under the Patriot Act, preventing money from flowing to terrorist groups — have inadvertently made it harder for some expats to keep bank accounts in the United States and in some cases abroad.
Some U.S.-based banks have closed expats’ accounts because of difficulty in certifying that the holders still maintain U.S. addresses, as required by a Patriot Act provision.”
(snip)
Kathleen Rittenhouse, who lives in Canada, wrote that until she encountered a similar problem, “I did not know that the Patriot Act placed me in the same category as terrorists, arms dealers and money launderers.”
Andy Sundberg, another director of American Citizens Abroad, said, “These banks are closing our accounts as acts of prudent self-defense.” But the result, he said, is that expats have become “toxic citizens.”
… but, yeah, whiner … they want to renounce their citizenship because of Obama …
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 26th, 2010
5:41 am
WASHINGTON — With no bipartisan deal on how to rein in Wall Street, Democrats stepped up their efforts Sunday to splinter unified Republican opposition to their sweeping regulatory overhaul. -Constipation
Just let us know who they are so we can run them off, thanks.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 26th, 2010
5:47 am
Immigration law blasted
Congressman asks president to fight Arizona measure. -Constipation
A story that is accompanied by a picture of a marching mob of illegal aliens, of course.
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
6:04 am
some of the AZ law is good (criminalization for people knowingly transporting illegal immigrants) … but some of it has the potential to create a fuster-cluck of epic proportions (allowing people to sue if they feel a government agency has adopted a posicy that hinders immigration enforcement) …
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/20/arizona-immigration-enforcement-stirs-national-debate/?test=latestnews
nothing like the race to the bottom to create some serious ugliness
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
6:05 am
criminey … posicy should be poLicy … need more tea …
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 26th, 2010
6:11 am
Over the weekend, Graham assailed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) plans to move ahead on immigration before cap and trade. “Moving forward on immigration — in this hurried, panicked manner — is nothing more than a cynical ploy,” the Palmetto State’s senior senator said in a letter. “Unless their plan substantially changes this weekend, I will be unable to move forward on energy independence legislation at this time.”
Just sayin…
Finn McCool
April 26th, 2010
6:46 am
Get the butterfly nets:
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — An armed man spotted at a North Carolina airport parking lot just after Air Force One departed Sunday told an officer he wanted to see the president…Joseph Sean McVey, 23, of Coshocton, Ohio, is charged with going armed in terror of the public, a misdemeanor, said Asheville Regional Airport Police Capt. Kevan Smith.
His car was equipped with clear LED law enforcement-style strobe lights in the front and rear dash, Smith said. The car also had a mounted digital camera in the front window, four large antennas on the trunk lid, and under the steering wheel was a working siren box. Smith said McVey was not in law enforcement.
Finn McCool
April 26th, 2010
6:47 am
Smith said McVey was not in law enforcement.
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
7:01 am
Finn … sounds like we need to start profiling people with that surname …
(and what kind of a charge is “going armed in terror of the public” … it makes it sound like he’s AFRAID OF the public …)
Normal
April 26th, 2010
7:22 am
Good Monday morning, Y’all…I hope you had an excellent week end!
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
7:25 am
g’morning, Normal!! did you have a good weekend?? we had a lovely weekend, here – loads of time in the garden then took a long walk in the woods with the Wondermutt yesterday … all-in-all, a weekend well spent
and you??
stands for decibels
April 26th, 2010
7:29 am
Mornin’ all.
I hope you had an excellent week end!
Other than trying to cram all the outdoor-activity stuff into Sunday that got postponed due to Saturday’s storms, sure, what’s not to like?
Normal
April 26th, 2010
7:34 am
USinUK,
We have a nearly two year old Great Grand Daughter, who has recently, (thanks to her seven year old uncle), discovered Thomas the Train. We went to Chattanooga to see the “Real” Thomas. My wife, our Daughter, her son (the uncle), our two Grand Daughters, and the other Great Grand Kid, Cannon, who is just over one year old. It was raining all the way up there but it was mostly rain free while we were there. A great time was had by all. I got tons of pics and lots of smiles…Days like that…who cares what the weather is…
stands for decibels
April 26th, 2010
7:38 am
UnU, from your FNews link @ 6.04 “The bill contains several provisions. Among them, it would [...] allow people to sue if they feel a government agency has adopted a policy that hinders immigration enforcement”
I guess we must always consider the feelings. And it’s only fair: The wingers, they’re all about the empathy, aren’t they?
Southern Comfort
April 26th, 2010
7:40 am
Finn
That guy’s lucky he didn’t end up in somebody’s crosshairs. Secret Service isn’t one to joke around with. Coming from OH all the way to NC is more than enough to show intent. With a gun, you have means. Sometimes that’s all it takes for force to be used.
G’morning all, btw….
Normal
April 26th, 2010
7:43 am
SoCo, SFD, Good Morning!
You might say that guy went off half c*cked…
stands for decibels
April 26th, 2010
7:44 am
Normal, given that you made this pilgrimage to visit the Real Thomas-The-Tank-Engine, it saddens me to inform you that Thomas’ boss, the kindly robber baron Sir Topham Hatt, did not make the Forbes Top 15 list this year.
Normal
April 26th, 2010
7:45 am
Y’all,
The Blog God got me with c-o-c-k-e-d. Gonna have to learn better than that…heh, heh
stands for decibels
April 26th, 2010
7:45 am
whoops, link to the Forbes Fictional 15 is here:
http://www.forbes.com/2007/12/11/richest-fictional-characters-oped-books-fict1507-cx_mn_de_1211fictional15_land.html
stands for decibels
April 26th, 2010
7:46 am
The Blog God got me with c-o-c-k-e-d
It always seems wrong to have to refer to one of my favorite Class of ‘76 UK bands as “The Buzzc0cks.”
FinnMcCool
April 26th, 2010
7:48 am
I think we need to profile everyone that fits the profile of a Turner Diaries – type nut job. About 50% of Americans.
Southern Comfort
April 26th, 2010
7:52 am
Finn
I saw you profiled on a web site not too long ago, http://www.bad@ssoftheweek.com/mccool.html (@=a). I may have to adopt a new screen name so I can be like you!!
Southern Comfort
April 26th, 2010
7:54 am
Normal
He’s in the same boat as that guy flying from LA to Tampa last week. I’m trying to figure out if someone has switched the flouride in the water to something Monsanto has created.
stands for decibels
April 26th, 2010
7:59 am
… as usual, whiner tells only part of the story …
golly gosh, you think maybe that’s a reason he rarely if ever provides a link to the stuff he selectively copy-pastes?
(and seriously, as for what was included? My BS detector always heads into the red when I come upon the phrase “small but growing.”)
stands for decibels
April 26th, 2010
8:01 am
Dang, I got that totally wrong. Sir Topham Hatt IS in the Forbes 15 now.
thank you, wikipedia–
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes_Fictional_15
Normal
April 26th, 2010
8:03 am
SoCo,
I figure the ratio of nuts to normals ( :shock )is the same as it alway was…it’s just that there is more of us now so they stick out more.
Normal
April 26th, 2010
8:04 am
Whoops
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
8:07 am
DAMMIT!!! this is the 4th time today that the borg has eaten a post just because it contains a link.
Normal – awwww – did she get all excited and yell “CHOOCHOO!!” when she saw the trains??? If they ever find themselves on my side of the pond, tell them to try this: (google Bluebell Railway) — the mister and I did the afternoon tea train a few weekends ago – a great way to spend the day
SoCo – has life returned to normal for you now that all the planes are back in service??
meanwhile, has anyone seen Peadawg?? we need to help him study for the verbal part of his GRE, so start setting aside those £0.50 vocab words …
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
8:09 am
dB – “golly gosh, you think maybe that’s a reason he rarely if ever provides a link to the stuff he selectively copy-pastes?”
yeah – The Goog is a great way to find out the WHOLE story, not just whiner’s little bit of it … (my BS detector goes off whenever I see anything with the header: I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin…but that’s just me)
Outhouse GoKart
April 26th, 2010
8:18 am
AZ…Keep up the good work!! Be not deterred by the panzy/liberal naysayers. Fight the good fight every moment. Deport the illegals. Pull over drivers at will and deport them on the spot.
Finally a State willing to use the no-nonsense approach.
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
8:20 am
Finn – “I think we need to profile everyone that fits the profile of a Turner Diaries – type nut job. About 50% of Americans.”
personally, I think we need to profile anyone who extolls the virtues of “Atlas Shrugged” (or Ayn Rand in general)
Normal
April 26th, 2010
8:24 am
USinUK,
She’s pretty articulate for her age, on the way up, she’d ask “where’s Thomas?” and when we got there, she saw the train and waved and shouted a “hi Thomas”! Later, when we went to a petting zoo, she took me around and named all of the animals, then she waved her hands in a big encompassing circle and said, “All animals”. Later, her big thrill was trying to decide what GrandPa, (they all call me that)would buy her in the gift store. Little Cannon was so engrossed in the trains, he was nearly mute, except for a hearty, from the belly, ha,ha,ha, when he was especially pleased. Like I said, a great day had by all…
Normal
April 26th, 2010
8:28 am
The Turner Diaries…don’t think I know that one, but my shrink told me to keep a diary, which I promptly named “The Normal Diary”…
Paul
April 26th, 2010
8:30 am
Morning, all -
Couple of posts on this new Arizona law (wanna bet there’s a thread coming?). For those who maintain appearance stereotypes aren’t at the bottom of the ‘reasonable suspicion’ provisions… I may give their arguments more than a quick dismissal if they can explain how the provision would play in Massachusetts, which (according to an account I read during the Senate race) has 50,000 illegal immigrants.
From Ireland.
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
8:31 am
Normal – between “she’d ask “where’s Thomas?”” and “Little Cannon was so engrossed in the trains, he was nearly mute, except for a hearty, from the belly, ha,ha,ha, when he was especially pleased”, I think I’m about to go into a Cuteness Coma. gotta love ‘em when they’re little like that – my young nieces crack me up with that kind of stuff …
Union
April 26th, 2010
8:43 am
Economists: The stimulus didn’t help
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The recovery is picking up steam as employers boost payrolls, but economists think the government’s stimulus package and jobs bill had little to do with the rebound, according to a survey released Monday.
ObamaCare Mulligan
About those lower insurance costs we promised . . . .
“Mr. Foster predicts net national health spending will increase by about 1% annually above the status quo that is already estimated to be $4.7 trillion in 2019. This is one more rebuke to the White House fantasy that a new entitlement will lower health costs.”
Mick
April 26th, 2010
8:44 am
OGK
I’m 50/50 on this, cause we get cubans down here who only have to make it to land and bamm – they are allowed to stay. I say the feds need to take control and let NO ILLEGAL gain entry to the US that go against our immigration laws. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to be a hispanic american living in arizona.
Union
April 26th, 2010
8:46 am
CHICAGO — Two lawmakers who believe violence has become so rampant in Chicago that the Illinois National Guard must be called in to help made a public plea to Gov. Pat Quinn on Sunday to deploy troops.
A recent surge in violent crime, including a night last week that saw seven people killed and 18 wounded — mostly by gunfire — prompted the request from Chicago Democratic Reps. John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford. They were joined by Willie Williams, whose son was shot and killed in 2006.
Chicago has had 113 homicide victims so far this year, Fritchey said
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
8:47 am
Union – “About 73% of those surveyed (economists at private firms) said employment at their company is neither higher nor lower as a result of the $787 billion Recovery Act” …
just because my company wasn’t affected DIRECTLY doesn’t mean that the Recovery Act didn’t have an impact on the economy.
Bosch
April 26th, 2010
8:50 am
OK, I’m going out on a limb here, but RE: AZ law –
I thought you had to keep your docs on you at all time anyways, kind of like your driver’s license. Now, I know this has the potential for racial profiling, but let’s be honest here, doesn’t that already happen to those who are prone to do it?
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
8:55 am
Bosch – me, I feel bad for the cops … (and I’m sure they’re not happy about the new law, either) … it turns them from police into INS officers and opens them up to a BOATLOAD of lawsuits …
Southern Comfort
April 26th, 2010
8:55 am
UnU
Normal with this job is relative. We keep adjusting the level of normal to make ourselves feel good.
Bosch
If you’re in this country legally, there are documents that can be readily produced to prove it. The easiest way to avoid profiling in AZ is to ask for those documents from anyone pulled over. I’m willing to bet that if that were done elsewhere, people would be surprised by the results of what’s uncovered. The illegal immigrant debate would have a new face/image, and it probably wouldn’t be of Hispanic origin anymore.
stands for decibels
April 26th, 2010
8:55 am
I thought you had to keep your docs on you at all time anyways, kind of like your driver’s license.
Might want to bone up on the history of vagrancy laws in this country…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagrancy_%28people%29
After the U.S. Civil War, the South passed Black Codes, laws that tried to control freed black slaves. Vagrancy laws were included in these codes. Homeless unemployed black Americans were arrested and fined as vagrants. Usually, the person could not afford the fine, and so was sent to county labor or hired out to a private employer.
In the U.S. of the 1960s, vagrancy laws were found to be too broad and vague, and in violation of the due process requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as citizens were not informed of which behaviors were illegal. Police had too much power in deciding whether or not to arrest someone. Vagrancy laws could no longer violate Freedom of Speech, such as when police use them against political demonstrators and unpopular groups.
Union
April 26th, 2010
8:56 am
USinUK
April 26th, 2010
8:47 am
“just because my company wasn’t affected DIRECTLY doesn’t mean that the Recovery Act didn’t have an impact on the economy”
Those dang economists.. maybe we should ask the WH.. I am sure they will give us the correct answer..
Southern Comfort
April 26th, 2010
8:56 am
New thread upstairs. BBL…. lunch time
md
April 26th, 2010
8:56 am
“just because my company wasn’t affected DIRECTLY doesn’t mean that the Recovery Act didn’t have an impact on the economy.”
And just because the money was spent doesn’t mean it had a positive impact on the economy. One trillion was added to the deficit, a deficit that has many quite nervous about the future. Perception trumps reality.
Bosch
April 26th, 2010
9:09 am
USinUK,
“it turns them from police into INS officers and opens them up to a BOATLOAD of lawsuits …”
I agree. I think this is a stupid law for many reasons, but for the main reason, it’s a stupid law – it’s like lip service.
Union
April 26th, 2010
9:50 am
Trial continues Monday in the federal lawsuit, which seeks $32 million in actual and punitive damages for civil rights violations, the infliction of emotional distress and other crimes. Also named are Mr. Barnett’s wife, Barbara, his brother, Donald, and Larry Dever, sheriff in Cochise County, Ariz., where the Barnetts live. The civil trial is expected to continue until Friday.
The lawsuit is based on a March 7, 2004, incident in a dry wash on the 22,000-acre ranch, when he approached a group of illegal immigrants while carrying a gun and accompanied by a large dog.
Attorneys for the immigrants – five women and 11 men who were trying to cross illegally into the United States – have accused Mr. Barnett of holding the group captive at gunpoint, threatening to turn his dog loose on them and saying he would shoot anyone who tried to escape.
stupid laws and lawsuits
Edward
May 2nd, 2010
3:21 pm
Get the Mexican;s out now.