In Republican social circles, it’s an unavoidable, if slightly weird, fact: Invite Joe Arpaio just about anywhere, and Joe Arpaio shows up. Whether it’s a roast in Sun City, the opening of a raunchy Scottsdale taquería, even the Arizona Republic Christmas party — the elderly sheriff has nothing better to…
UPRIGHT CITIZENS BRIGADE Gestapo in our own backyard: It’s sad to see what powerful egotistical people do to cover their true ignorance and stupidity (“Power Play,” Paul Rubin, December 6; also see (“Enemies List,” Sarah Fenske, November 29; see also “Who’s Sorry Now?,” Stephen Lemons, October 25; and “Breathtaking Abuse…
Anyone surprised Mayor Phil “Goober” Gordon’s turned clucker on Phoenix Police Department Operations Order 1.4.3, folding like a cardboard box to the nativists? After all, this is the same pusillanimous pipsqueak who cowered behind his mommy when The Bird lobbed a few tough questions at him during his reelection campaign…
Maricopa County law enforcement violated the constitutional rights of this newspaper and its readers in October, going so far as to subpoena the identities of anyone who’d looked at New Times online in the past four years. When the paper’s leaders revealed the apparent grand jury probe on our cover,…
Tell me about the rabbits again, George… Goofy, giraffe-necked doofus Robert Robb is easily The Arizona Republic’s most fatuous scribbler. And with competition like E.J. “Puddin’Head” Montini and Laurie “I hate drunk Mexicans” Roberts, that’s some accomplishment! Robb, though, is different from his colleagues in this respect: He really reckons…
I’m on deadline today, so I barely have time to breathe, but here are a couple of things I felt I should point you to re: everyone’s favorite topic: illegal immigration. First off, check this opinion piece and slideshow about the standoff at Pruitt’s by New York Times editor Lawrence…
The original, legal art the County Attorney’s office appropriated for its anti-truancy propaganda. “This crime sponsored by truancy”? A less-than crafty canard. A close up of the section used in the photo. Has the office of County Attorney Candy Thomas ripped off the work of a graffiti artist? That would…
Judge Baca, keepin’ the Sheriff in line: You go, girl! Poor Sheriff Joe. He claims he’s running out of money, and has to cut corners all over the place, though he still finds the moolah to chase illegal immigrants no matter what. Now Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Anna Baca…
North High student Joe Arvizu, who passed this Monday morning… Joe Arvizu’s funeral took place yesterday in a small town near the Mexican city of Agua Prieta, across the border from Douglas, Arizona. The precise cause of his death is unclear, though the teenager (some say he was 17, others…
Despite today’s analysis from Arizona Republic reporter Yvonne Wingett that “Arpaio is still a rock star as far as politicians go,” a new Rocky Mountain Poll shows that Sheriff Joe’s numbers have slipped even further than a Cronkite-Eight Poll from last month revealed. Released just before Thanksgiving, the Cronkite-Eight Poll…
I was born in beautiful El Paso, and my parents are from Juaritos. I always wondered why Mexican restaurants en los Estados Unidos use queso amarillo — which I associate with los Estados Unidos — on their food instead of queso asadero or queso Oaxaca, both of which taste so…
Poetry in the Park was that rare program that kept people coming for 17 years. Every fourth Tuesday, they’d show at the Encanto Park clubhouse for open mic nights, poetry readings, and even the occasional musician or dance troupe. There was never a fee, never a need to RSVP, never…
BRING DOWN THE CLOWNS Another who won’t vote for Joe: I have to start out this letter by saying, way to go! You are what we need at this time to bring down Sheriff Joke and his clowns. Thank you, and please keep up the good work (“Enemies List,” Sarah…
You know it’s bad when Nickel Bag Joe doesn’t sell out in Sun City West. Yep, The Bird made the trek to the mythical land of geezers on golf carts to attend the Joe Arpaio Roast put on by local Republicans, and was surprised to see only about 400 or…
Ruth McGregor, chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, says politicians and special interest groups are attacking the independence of the judiciary like never before. “What just happened with those judges in Pakistan may seem distant from our experience,” she tells New Times, “but it speaks to what a free…
Maricopa County law enforcement violated the constitutional rights of this newspaper and its readers in October, going so far as to subpoena the identities of anyone who’d looked at New Times online in the past four years. When the paper’s leaders revealed the apparent grand jury probe on our cover,…
Have the extremists won the the day? Almost. Only a blue-ribbon panel stands between them and total victory in this city. During his campaign for reelection, Mayor Phil Gordon correctly asserted that Phoenix is not a “sanctuary city,” despite claims that PHX Police Operations Order 1.4.3 makes it so. That’s…
These children could be killed in the crossfire… White supremacist Damon Ashenfelter (third from left), one of the several extremists present on Saturday. The sign held by the first man on the left is a vicious, racist lie. Will blood flow through the parking lot of Pruitt’s Furniture this Christmas…
Manet, the PC Grinch who’s afraid of Christmas… How in the hell did Janet Napolitano become Governor of this state? Her major accomplishments while in office have been: 1) staying in the closet despite her widely-assumed lesbianism; and, 2) pulling inane PC crap, like changing the name of Squaw Peak…
Dennis Wilenchik, taken to the woodshed by Judge Anna Baca. As she promised in court on Monday, November 26, Judge Anna Baca yesterday reiterated in a detailed minute entry that former special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik botched the subpoena-issuance in the New Times case and did not follow the requirements of…
With a scant four weeks before I cram my mochila with a few clothes for me and a horde of presents (read: bribes) for my future cuñadas, sobrinas, y mi mera suegra, I found myself terror-stricken tonight as mi novio and I watched a home video of his family doing…
Judge Anna Baca delivered her stern rebuke in genteel tones. She described the abuses of the grand jury process committed by since-“fired” Special Prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik in his investigation of New Times as threatening to the average citizen. “It’s a serious situation in terms of the protection I believe the…
