The Life In The DPC Emporium @ CafePress has a new bumper sticker available. Show your disdain for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in style with this stellar bumper sticker.

Also available is the timeless bumper sticker, No Justice On Stolen Land. Show your political stance with this fine bumper sticker

Unfortunately I have a propensity towards anger and holding a grudge for very trivial reasons. As a result of this negative behavior I have developed a list of the people and organizations (GOP, San Francisco 49ers and Giants) that I loathe or have absolute disdain for. Without further adieu, the people that DPC loathes:

• Chris Ault: I feel that Coach Ault is keeping my alma mater, the University of Nevada, down with less than stellar play calling and an ideology that focuses solely on beating UNLV as opposed to overtaking the Boise State Broncos as WAC champions.
• Jan Brewer: The Governor of Arizona has taken a once nice state and turned into a late night TV joke. Any proponent of 1070 and perpetuating racist concepts to her constituents is an enemy of Life In The DPC.
• Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A Nazi with a badge.
• Will Clark: My disdain for the San Francisco Giants likely stems from my hatred for Clark. I still haven’t forgotten the 1989 NLCS.
• Barry Bonds: BALCO, he played for the Giants and he broke Henry Aaron’s hallowed record.
• Joe Montana: He lit up the Bears and I can’t stand the 49ers.
• Jerry Rice: See above.
• Murph and Mac: Homers for the Giants and 49ers.
• Ralph Barbieri: Annoying voice and seems to know less about hockey than I do. Go Sharks!
• Tony LaRussa: Manages the Cubs’ rival and supports 1070.
• Albert Pujols: Star for the Cubs’ rival and also supports 1070.
• Bush/Cheney: Set America back decades with a self serving administration. When I was studying in London I was embarrassed to say I was an American because many locals assumed that all Yanks were as stupid as Bush.
• Emmit Smith: After reading Jeff Pearlman’s Boys Will Be Boys my respect for Smith bottomed out. It wasn’t very high before because I always assumed he extended his career to bolster his stats.
• Sarah Palin: Palin, like Bush/Cheney, brings the GOP down. Which in a way is a good thing. My loathing of Palin is based on the concept that she makes America look bad. I’m not overly patriotic but I like to have my country represented in a positive light.
• Russel Pearce: He sponsored 1070 and is trying to eliminate the 14th Amendment.
• UNLV: The Wolf Pack’s rival to the south.
• That customer, when I worked at Blockbuster, who told me how the Sixth Sense ended. I won’t spoil it for the few that haven’t seen it.
• Chris Murray: He canceled my column at the Reno Gazette-Journal. Of course one of my journalism school professors told me afterward that you haven’t made it until someone fires you. Of course I wasn’t being paid for my work so I am not sure if I was technically fired but I can say that my services where no longer wanted.

This is not by any means a complete list but it was somewhat therapeutic to get some hatred out of my system. As I have gotten older I have noticed that I am less inclined to maintain childish grudges against peoples or institutions but by the same token I am also more aware of injustice and inequality in society.

Most of my athletic based hatred stems from my youth, the exception being UNLV but that contempt is because I am trying to do my best as Nevada alumni. As I have gotten older my anger is directed more towards politics and the real world. The box scores are still relevant but I don’t consider a defeat by the collective efforts of the San Francisco 49ers to be a social injustice.

According to a recent AZCentral.com post two Kansas politicians are looking to reverse the Federal Governments recent ruling on SB1070. The pair of Kansas politicians are arguing that the Federal Government’s recent ruling prohibits each state from securing their own borders and maintaining a form of civility.

To this scribe it seems that the great state of Kansas and its pair of conservatively drawn politicians are looking to garner support and are using the hot ticket item of immigration as the catalyst. SB1070 was justifiably neutered by the Feds and a recent Wall Street Journal article notes that Illegal immigration to the U.S. has slowed sharply since 2007, with the bleak U.S. job market apparently discouraging people from heading north… The influx of illegal immigrants plunged to an estimated 300,000 annually between March 2007 and 2009, from 850,000 a year between March 2000 and March 2005, according to new study released Wednesday by the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group.

It seems to me that because we are in election season any and all candidates will put out all the stops to get into office or maintain their political prowess. It’s very easy to blame a particular race or culture for all of our nation’s shortcomings. But as the Wall Street Journal noted there are less illegal immigrants coming to America so maybe the true enemy of this great country are the Right Wing bobbleheads that placate their conservative customers with hate based rhetoric.

Illegal immigration is not the greatest problem in America. Hell, I’d be shocked if it was in the top ten. The economy, the inability for many folks to get a job, lack of funding for education and social programs, The Tea Party , Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin being a voice of reason for some folks and countless other ailments are the real issues that are keeping America down.

Concentrate on the real issues conservative America and quit blaming Mexicans for all of the ills in our society. If these aforementioned ideas about Fascist, Right Wing America makes me an unpatriotic heathen, so be it. To protest is patriotic and I like most Americans are the eventual byproduct of immigration.

Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrations and revolutionists. ~ Franklin D Roosevelt

The Brave New Foundation, a California based organization whose “mission is to champion social justice issues by using a model of media, education, and grassroots volunteer involvement that inspires, empowers, motivates and teaches civic participation and makes a difference” paid for a billboard in Phoenix that proclaims, “Have your papers ready — Racial profiling just ahead.”

The billboard, located in Phoenix at Third Street and Camelback, warns of the anti-immigration climate in Arizona. Despite the neutering of SB 1070 tensions remain high in the Valley of the Sun for all parties and the billboard from The Brave New Foundation succinctly identifies many of the fears that Hispanics, both resident and alien, are feeling.

Despite having SB 1070 reduced to nothing more than a shell of its former self a majority of Americans still want the more stringent version of the law that would have turned police officers in to immigration officers. A recent poll by CNN indicates that 55% of Americans support the original version of SB 1070.

The results of the poll are disheartening and show that most Americans are not willing to acknowledge that, with the exception of Native Americans, they are ultimately immigrants. It seems that after acclimating, or dare I say assimilating, to a new culture and settling down we U.S. citizens refuse to acknowledge our own past struggles to get in and make it in America. I guess the 55% that support the original text from SB 1070 forgot that the Statue of Liberty clearley states, “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”.

America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts. – James Madison, The Fourth President of the United States of America

Despite making great strides for equality in Arizona, by neutering SB 1070, Sheriff Joe Arpaio held another crime sweep on July 29th. Arpaio’s crime sweeps target Hispanic neighborhoods throughout the Valley. As of this writing there have been 17-sweeps that have netted a total of 932 arrests of which approximately 700 were for immigration violations.

“I think it’s successful when you arrest 111 people,” Arpaio said, referring to arrests in an operation three months ago. “Is it successful to send hundreds of cops out every holiday to do DUIs? Why do we always pinpoint illegal immigration when we have other task forces? I’m the bad guy when we arrest illegal immigrants and other criminal activity.” – AZCentral.com

Arpaio’s tactics, in the opinion of this scribe, are no different than the means that Hitler’s henchman rounded up Jews during the Holocaust. Arpaio vilifies Hispanics in Arizona by virtue of these sanctioned witch hunts and seems to have carte blanche to supersede the Fourth Amendment and to a certain degree the 14th Amendment. I need not remind you, Sheriff Joe, that the Fourth Amendment clearly states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Arizona is a unique place and these are trying times because of SB 1070 but that doesn’t give you the right Sheriff Joe to conduct illegal, at least according to the Constitution, and unethical searches. Yes, your searches have nabbed criminals but at what cost? This is another instance, SB 1070 in its original form being the other, where the ends do not justify the means.

Lady Gaga slammed Arizona’s anti-immigration law 1070 at a recent Phoenix concert.

“I got a phone call from a couple really big rock and rollers, big pop stars, big rap artists, and they said, ‘We’d like you to boycott Arizona . . . because of SB 1070 (a law aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration into the state).I said, ‘Do you really think that us dumb (expletive) pop stars are going to collapse the economy of Arizona? …We have to be active. We have to protest. . . . I will yell and I will scream louder. I will hold you, and we will hold each other, and we will peaceably protest this state.”

Yesterday SB 1070 was essentially neutered by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton. Governor Jan Brewer is now sifting through the ashes of her misguided attempt to legalize racial profiling in Arizona. As of this writing the following facets remain from SB 1070:

Courtesy of Yahoo! News:
1) Arizona public officials are now prevented from limiting or impeding enforcement of federal immigration laws and are required by law to assist federal officials on immigration.

2) Arizona residents can sue state officials for failing to enforce immigration laws.

3) Amendments to the state’s human-smuggling law make it easier for police officers to make traffic stops on suspected smugglers.

4) It is now a crime to pick up day laborers in Arizona if doing so impedes the flow of traffic.

5) The law creates a fund to cover gang and immigration intelligence-gathering costs and to pay for immigration-related jail costs.

6) It toughens laws against employing illegal aliens.

7) It makes it a crime to, while committing another crime, induce someone to enter the U.S. illegally, harbor an illegal immigrant, or aid the entry of such immigrants into the United States.

The state can now impound vehicles used to transport illegal immigrants.

What was once Gov. Brewer’s pet project to provide local law enforcement the ability to perpetuate stereotypes and legalize racial profiling has now become nothing more than a tougher set of rules to take on coyotes and those who hire illegal aliens. But Gov. Brewer is not going to sit idly by and accept defeat.On Thursday she filed an expedited appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“America is not going to sit back and allow the ongoing federal failures to continue,” Brewer said in a statement. “We are a nation of laws and we believe they need to be enforced.”

As I noted in a prior blog Gov. Brewer is trying to usurp the Constitution and she doesn’t seem to realize that Federal Law overshadows her greatest efforts. Even the author of SB 1070, Senator Russell Pearce, seems to remain intrepid whilst his attempt to create fascist rule in Arizona goes up in flames.

“I got news for the anarchists,” Pearce said. “Our laws will be enforced.”

So according to Senator Pearce your author is an anarchist. I have always considered my self a liberal Democrat that felt a bit out of place in the very conservative desert of Arizona but according to a local politician I am a person who seeks to overturn by violence all constituted forms and institutions of society and government, with no purpose of establishing any other system of order in the place of that destroyed. dictionary.com

The protests against SB 1070 have been relatively violence free. SB 1070 was challenged and rendered toothless by concerned citizens that use the proper tools to seek change. They protested, they made their voices heard and they used the judicial system to render the change.

Referring to those against you as anarchist gives this author the impression that Senator Pearce is out of touch with his constituents and should probably listen to the people he is supposed to represent. I am not insulted by being referred to as an anarchist. I know that this is nothing more Conservative rhetoric. It’s no different than McCarthyism for the new millennium.

Arizona’s fascist Prop 1070 was effectively shut down today by Federal Judge Susan Bolton.

“Requiring Arizona law enforcement officials and agencies to determine the immigration status of every person who is arrested burdens lawfully present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is checked,” Bolton wrote.

Bolton’s decision effectively neutered Arizona’s proposed law that would require law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect is in the country illegally during law enforcement stops. Immigrants would be required to carry documentation at all times to verify their status.

Bolton noted, during her decision, that, “requiring police to check the immigration status of those they arrest or whom they stop and suspect are in the country illegally would overwhelm the federal government’s ability to respond, and could mean legal immigrants are wrongly arrested.”

At this juncture 1070 has been shutdown but Arizona, led by Governor Jan Brewer, will continue to fight the ruling. It must be noted that Brewer is up for reelection in November.

“This fight is far from over. In fact, it is just the beginning, and at the end of what is certain to be a long legal struggle, Arizona will prevail in its right to protect our citizens,” Brewer said in a statement.

Unfortunately Governor Brewer unless you have the ability to change the U.S. Constitution, and its absolute power, you will continue to fail miserably and will continue to construed as a bigot. Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution clearly states, “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”

I know this struggle will find its way to the Supreme Court, Gov. Brewer. You’re up for reelection in November and a major facet of your public persona is that you’re tough on immigration and you have the tendency to demonize our brothers from south of the Arizona border. All of your acts and ploys have done nothing more than portray Arizona, where I currently reside, as a backwater state that has the social graces of Jefferson Davis’ South.

For shame, Gov. Brewer. Arizona can be a wonderful place to live but your actions and hollow rhetoric have the world viewing me and my fellow Arizonans as hate mongers and backward thinking flunkies. This Phoenician was glad to see your campaign of government supported racial profiling shut down.

Rage Against the Machine is courting donations and support to fight Arizona’s proposed fascist law 1070.

RATM are headlining a concert this Friday, which is sold out, at the Hollywood Palladium. RATM have joined Soundstrike, which is a collection of musicians unified against 1070. The following groups have unified as Soundstrike to raise awareness and funding to battle Arizona’s controversial law, which goes into effect on July 29th.

Cypress Hill
Juanes
Conor Oberst
Los Tigres del Norte
Rage Against the Machine
Cafe Tacvba
Micheal Moore
Kanye West
Calle 13
Joe Satriani
Serj Tankian
Rise Against
Ozomatli
Sabertooth Tiger
Massive Attack
One Day as a Lion
Street Sweeper Social Club
Spank Rock
Sonic Youth
Tenacious D

Courtesy of The Soundstrike.net:
Some of us grew up dealing with racial profiling, but this law (SB 1070) takes it to a whole new low. If other states follow the direction of the Arizona government, we could be headed towards a pre-civil rights era reality. This unjust law was set into motion by the same Arizona government that refused to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. day as a national holiday.