Side note, and a quick rant about California:

First off, piss on your Governator. His smartass wisecrack the other day about AZ's immigration situation was immature, unnecessary, and contributed nothing to relations between the states. He's a moron. His wife's the politician in that family, and he's just her English-challenged puppet, masquerading as a Republican.

Second, to the LA City Council: Your asinine "boycott" idea is laughable. Go ahead and "boycott" Arizona... Especially the hotel and restaurant industry. Guess who the predominant workers are IN those industries? HISPANICS and LATINOS. So, if you're sooooo terribly concerned about the plight of Hispanics in AZ, congratulations. You just got a TON of them laid off. Nice work. a$$.

Third: Does this mean the Lakers are skipping their trip to AZ to get slapped around by the Suns? Wait, what? You're still sending them? Are they gonna pack PB&J's so they don't have to eat our food? Are they gonna sleep on the bus so they don't have to stay in our hotels? Good. Better idea: Stay home and fap off to thoughts of how you're "stickin' it to the man" out in AZ, you morons.

I find it absolutely hilarious that a state with more financial troubles than ANY OTHER STATE in the Union is pointing fingers at AZ... You guys have CARB (and the strictest emissions laws in the US), and you can't even get THAT right! At least we ENFORCE our emissions laws. I can go to any garage in CA, drop a wad of cash on some shifty mechanic, and get him to pass my swapped car. Not here in AZ. Nice waste of money you got there, CA. Smog still pwns you guys.

The hypocrisy of this immigration "outcry" is amazing. It's kinda like Pam Anderson bitching about people who wear fur.. as she rolls up in her leather-lined Range Rover. EAD, Pam. You and the rest of Hollywood can get bent.

Back to this "boycott" nonsense: How many Californians vacation in AZ? Now, how many Arizonans vacation in California? Yeah, that's right. Heads up, dumbasses: You can't hurt us NEAR as bad as we can hurt you. But you see, we don't HAVE anyone calling for a boycott of CA, because it's a damned stupid idea. Your politics are none of our business, and ours are none of yours.

As I said in the other thread, I oppose the immigration law that AZ passed. But the meddling of other states (who DON'T have the same issues) in our affairs is beyond ludicrous. CA doesn't give a damn about the Hispanic population of this state, they just like to posture and pose and pat themselves on the back for being "oh-so-progressive" and enlightened. Whatever.

Hey California: STFU and take care of your own problems.

I like the thread title. Life is definitely better since ditching Cali!

I LOLed...

man you couldnt write a better post dude and im here in cali lol

CaliFAILnia

I agree that they should stay out of it. Bear in mind that the majority of the citizens in this country, including those in California, agree with Arizona's take on the problem and want similar laws enacted here. The problem is that politicians no longer represent constituents, instead merely selling their votes to the highest bidder and buying their offices with huge amounts of advertising dollars. They just don't care about who they represent anymore because Americans in general are too lazy and/or demoralized to show up at the polls and vote.

A very important point to remember is that all of these politicians have a huge vested interest in protecting the number of illegal immigrants in their areas. Because the census does not ask questions of citizenship, we are providing both federal and local representation to them. Congressional districts and the like are apportioned based strictly on the number of people in the area, not who they are.

But while you're bashing CA, realize that St. Paul, Minnesota, El Paso, TX and Austin, TX beat L.A. to the punch. Tacoma, WA and Dallas, TX are considering a boycott as well. LA. just happens to be the highest profile. And by no means is the meddling confined to California. I think more cities in TX have voted boycott than CA.

As for the idiot in the governor's mansion, we're about to get another one. Meg Whitman is in the process of buying the upcoming election so don't look for anything to change.

Personally, my best friend and I are looking to drive over a couple of times this summer to play golf on the Arizona side of the border just because of all this cr*p. As two individuals I know it doesn't mean much but we want to show some support. Know of any courses that are both near the CA-AZ border and dirt cheap during the summer months?

This is the best thread we've had in this subforum in like a year.

THIS is how you make an argument, folks.

Here's this, too:

If you're JUST looking to curry favor with a subset of the population at large... which we've already established that these people are doing... Doesn't it stand to reason that you'd want to "suck up" to people who are STATISTICALLY LIKELY TO ACTUALLY VOTE?

I was reading a thread on another board where people were discussing our local politicians' position on unemployment benefits and food stamps (and extending them out another God-knows-how-long)... They were organizing some sort of protest or email campaign or some such activity.

I thought to myself, "Realistically, if I were the politician who's the target of this campaign, I'd tell them to piss off". Statistically, they're HIGHLY unlikely to vote.

So how is it that Obama and other politicos don't comprehend this?

Great read.

I have to ask, Greg... How are the day-to-day interactions with local Hispanics ever since the law was changed?

Never really had a problem with any Hispanics when I lived down on Baseline and Rural (right near Avenida del Yaqui, which is pretty much Hispanic-only), but I wonder/worry now that there is tension.

I realize that you can only offer anecdotal evidence, but that's all I'm looking for.

No issues that I can tell.

The ones who have an axe to grind always did and always will.

The ones who appreciate participating in the experience that is America were cool before and seem to be cool now.

The tension is fabricated, IMO. There's more White people whining and bitching than there are Latinos, which I find amusing.

It's almost laughable, all these self-proclaimed White do-gooders who are lambasting the law... It sends the message to the Latino community that they're helpless, can't think for themselves, and can't act on their own accord. If I were Hispanic, I'd take offense.

They really are shooting themselves in the foot. Although I've been VERY clear that I oppose the law as-written, the misguided opposition to this law has really backfired, and the tide is rapidly turning IN FAVOR of the law.

Too bad it had to be left up to the state to do something about a national border. But that's another thread.

Linky of my fave current events guru, Uncle Jay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxykARTVoww

I am all for the Federal republic of Arizona...can I get a nomination for succession?

Because the majority of Americans can't see the importance of voting, all you have to do is motivate a small subset of voters to get elected. Pandering to those people on the dole will get those politicians re-elected when you couple that with free rides to the polls and other things special interest groups provide to get people there. A good example is how effective the catering to senior citizens at senior citizen centers works; almost every one of them is likely to vote.

These out-of-state protests are incredibly misguided and pointless. To be effective those protesters need to actually move to Arizona, register to vote and vote for people who will carry out their wishes. Either have a vote in the jurisdiction in question or be willing to go protest THERE, not at home. But, then again, if you're too lazy to go two blocks to vote you're too lazy to go protest where your perceived injustice is happening.

Here. Let me throw some gasoline on the fire.

http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_15100626

People need to realize that the U.S. is not the bad guy here and it shouldn't be the provider of everything to everyone. Let's send the Mexican government the bill for the money we've spent educating THEIR citizens and let THEIR citizens get THEIR student loans from THEIR government. Until we make it more expensive for the Mexican government to allow their people to cross the border and drain our resources they will never have an incentive to clean up their own country.

srellim234 wrote:These out-of-state protests are incredibly misguided and pointless.

EXACTLY.

What I want to know is, why wasn't anyone whining and crying when the Federal law was passed? Why are they beating up on Arizona? Where was the outrage then?

Anyone who supports this "boycott" nonsense want to let me know WHERE were you when the Federal law was passed?

C'mon, step up. You guys with the signs, where you at? You people with the big mouths, parading around my office, shouting nonsense, where are you? Rev. Sharpton, where you at? Shakira? What's your jiggly a$$ got to say? How about Steve Nash? Love ya bro, but stick to hoops. Where you at, Madonna? How about Kobe Bryant's gold-dig...errr, wife?

Where were all of you when the Federal immigration statutes were passed?

Oh - And to the people DEMANDING to know "where the Lakers stand on the immigration debate"? All of you need to line up, single-file, and do a swan-dive into a woodchipper, because you're obviously too goddamn stupid to contribute anything to society. A basketball team is made up of individuals, with varying opinions, backgrounds and perspectives. They don't HAVE a "position".

Something just pissed me off about this stuff, I heard on TV that some kids in California were sent home from school for wearing American flags on their clothes on Cinco de Mayo. When I was growing up we sung the Pledge of Alligiance and the Star Spangled Banner the first thing every morning at school. I didn't really like singing loud at the time, but it didn't really occur to me that it was immoral or unjust, it was just there.

Greg i agree with everything you say

but you know you can't fix stupid

but you can kick everyone in the nuts

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... t-boycott/

Arizona dares L.A. to carry out boycott

The spat over Arizona's new immigration expanded Tuesday as a state official dared the city of Los Angeles to follow through on its new boycott by agreeing to give up the 25 percent of electricity that city gets from Arizona sources.

In a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce said a boycott war is bad for both sides, and said he would "be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements" to end the electricity flowing to Los Angeles.

"I am confident that Arizona's utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands," Mr. Pierce said. "If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona's economy."

Los Angeles's city council voted overwhelmingly last week to adopt a boycott of Arizona businesses — at least in instances where the boycott wouldn't impose a significant economic cost to the city.

Arizona's law requires police to ask for proof of legal residence from anyone they have reasonable suspicion is not in the country legally. In most cases a driver's is sufficient to comply, and the law prohibits using race or ethnicity as a reason for suspicion, but critics say they expect the measure to spark racial profiling nonetheless.

Civil rights and Hispanic groups have sued to try to block the law, and the Obama administration is reviewing the legislation to see if it violates civil rights laws.

The law goes into effect in July, but already a number of municipalities have condemned or announced boycotts of Arizona. Mr. Villaraigosa said his city's boycott was intended to hurt the Arizona economy.

Mr. Pierce, the Arizona official, said in his letter to Mr. Villaraigosa that this was the wrong way to go.

"I received your message; please receive mine," he said.

A message left with the Mr. Villaraigosa's office was not immediately returned.

But Mr. Villaraigosa offered his own tongue-in-cheek challenge to Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon this week in a bet over the NBA playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.

Mr. Villaraigosa said if Phoenix wins, Los Angeles will have to accept Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a fierce opponent of illegal immigration. If the Lakers win, Mr. Villaraigosa said Phoenix will have to accept Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman, two Republicans battling for the GOP's gubernatorial nomination in California, where illegal immigration is a major issue.

Greg, you may not support the bill but it is pretty much a copy of the Fed law that is not being enforced. It does not allow for "racial profiling" in the least. While I find it horrific that a state feels it must enforce Fed law on their own I can fully understand why they are making the stance.

My real beef is with the press constantly leaving the "illegal" aspect off immigration. Just this morning on CNN some anchor chic was talking about it and not once did she mention "illegal immigration", it was simply that AZ, Republicans and other states looking at similar legislation are against immigration/immigrants.

In othr news, former Governor of AZ, and current Secretary of Homeland Security (yeah, that's right, Oblahma's Golden Girl..errr...guy...errr..girl...whatever) Janet "Nappy" Napolitano has STILL not read the law.

It's TEN FREAKING PAGES!!! I read it sitting on the crapper!

Yet, she's spouting off about how bad it is? Great choice, Mr. President. You fail.

Oh, but wait - There's more.

Guess who ELSE hasn't bothered to read it? Yeah, buddy... The United States Attorney General. From - you guessed it - the Obama Administration. Yet, HE'S got an awful lot of criticism for it too. Wait - He didn't read it? Really?

Let's change the topic a little: If I came on here and said, "The new 2011 M45 is a pile of crap", but you guys later found that I'd never even DRIVEN it, what would that do to my credibility?

So, I'll expect all you Lefties to apply that SAME criteria to your elected heroes. I'll be waiting.

seang wrote:Something just pissed me off about this stuff, I heard on TV that some kids in California were sent home from school for wearing American flags on their clothes on Cinco de Mayo.

Correct.

And the infuriating part of it was this:

Some Latino activist was spewing nonsense on the news, saying, "That's just wrong. We don't wear the Mexican flag on the 4th of July!"

My response:

1) You guys don't wear the Mexican flag anyways. How many Mexican flag shirts do you see in the US? Stupid person saying stupid things.

2) The 4th of July celebrates the efforts THIS country put forth in order to give YOU the right to wear a French, British, Somalian, Australian, Japanese, or Mexican flag EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR. So, by all means, feel free. Oh - I forgot - You don't OWN a Mexican flag shirt. Moron.

3) You don't tell an American (or any other citizen) what they can and can't wear. As long as it's not violating a dress code, law or statute, you can STFU and not look at the shirt. You can't do a damn thing about it. That's WHY YOU CAME HERE, isn't it? For freedom? Yet you want OUR laws to prohibit those same freedoms? Go F*** yourself.

AZhitman wrote:Let's change the topic a little: If I came on here and said, "The new 2011 M45 is a pile of crap", but you guys later found that I'd never even DRIVEN it, what would that do to my credibility?

I've never driven a riced-out Honda but feel they are a pile of crap

AZhitman wrote:And the infuriating part of it was this:

All this from kids who think Cinco De Mayo is a celebration of Mexican Independence.....Not all, but quite the large number do.

Hell, It's really a "nothing" celebration in Mexico, just something in the US to encourage taco's with beer

audtatious wrote:http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... t-boycott/]

"I am confident that Arizona's utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands," Mr. Pierce said. "If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona's economy."

I'm lovin this

Yeah, he was funny last night on the news... I'd love to see 1/4 to 1/3 of L.A. function with no air conditioning.

and rolling blackouts

A bunch of knee-jerk reactions from both sides, including some of you right here. L.A. utiliies are joint owners of a number of the power plants in question, and contracts exist for providing that power. It's not just a matter of turning off a switch. Arizona doesn't have total control of that part of the equation.

That doesn't mean that Arizona negoiators won't be much more motivated and tougher the next time contract negotiations occur. There may be an "opt out" clause in the current contracts that Arizona can utilize to put pressure on Los Angeles, but contractural procedure must be followed.

Not the point. No "knee-jerk" reaction here.

Realistically, we can't exactly "turn off their power".

His point, if you missed it, was this:

If you're gonna be Billy Badass and boycott AZ industry, then you'll sack up and also decline the 30% of electrical power that AZ power plants provide to CA. You can't pick and choose, L.A. (you bunch of mouthbreathing celebrity-worshipping cretins).

And for those nippleheads who claim CA owns part of PVNGS, the fact is that they own 4.7% Hardly enough to have any say in the matter.

L.A.s vote was to stop travel by city employees from travelling to and preventing the city from entering into future contracts with Arizona. The sentence Pierce wrote before the one cited in this thread referred to renegotiating existing contracts. If the city doesn't renegotiate and instead uses the remaining contract time to negotiate for power from other sources, it will cost users of electricity in L.A. a lot more money but the electricity will not necessarily be lost to them. Arizona shuld have no problem selling the power elsewhere but it would lose a large electric customer and I don't think either side really wants that.

Personaly I wish Villaragosa and the L.A. City Council would fall in the ocean and drown but those are the people a minority of voters put in office by not showing up to vote. Those "no-show" citizens are now getting exactly what they deserve.

By the way, AZ, how is the state responding to all of the other jurisdictions that have voted stupid proposals like L.A. did? All I'm seing here is reactions as if California was the only state that has stupid city councils.

I think the state, as a whole, is a bit amused by the ridiculousness of the responses of the other municipalities, especially considering how FEW of their "elected political heroes" have actually READ SB1070.

Realistically, boycotts organized by private citizens are relatively ineffectual.

I think the other effect has been a gradual "circling of the wagons" across the state. AZ, historically, has a proud and strong-willed populace (of all backgrounds), and to hear such unfounded criticisms, I think, has galvanized people here against the critics.

When you consider that there was NO outrage when the Federal laws on immigration were passed, and the AZ law echoes Fed law, one can't help but feel aggravated that we're the lightning rod for all this controversy.

The fact remains, if the current Administration would do its damn job, we wouldn't have to resort to handling it at the State level. When 200 illegals are rounded up in the process of actively engaging in criminal enterprise, and the INS tells local law enforcement, "Let them go, we can't process them all", THAT is what's driving AZ's support of SB1070.

Easy to criticize from Hoboken, St. Paul, San Clemente, Boise, Santa Fe.... They don't HAVE these issues, nor do they SEE the impact. So, it's real easy to dismiss their criticisms as being ignorant and ill-informed.

THEN, we have Mexico's moron President Calderon, coming into OUR country and criticizing OUR laws? And our sissy-a$$ President stands there nodding his head? BULLS***. Know what Mexico does to illegal immigrants from other countries? They're abused, raped, tortured, killed. Yeah. And you're gonna question OUR record on human rights?

Where the HELL does he get off saying stuff like this?

"We can do so if we create a safer border, a border that will unite us instead of dividing us, uniting our people," Calderon said.

Here's a news flash for you, stupidass: Borders are DESIGNED to separate things. If we wanted to be "united" with your pissant country, we'd have taken it over a long time ago. NOT INTERESTED. You'd better be glad we HAVE a weakdick President, because I'd give you this ultimatum:

President Calderon, YOU will now be responsible for enforcing border security. If your people keep pouring into our country illegally, we activate economic and military sanctions against your country. Period.

Calderon can suck a fat one. He should have been blocked at the border, he's unworthy of setting foot on American soil.

Way to go, President Obama... You pantywaist.

See for yourself: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... ldero.html