The Problem With Arizona

Seems the Grand Canyon is only one of many ‘big holes’ in the great state of Arizona.

Here’s an example illustrating why the state of Arizona is so f*cked up:

A ‘notice of noncompliance’ has been sent by John Huppenthal, Arizona’s state superintendent of public education to the Tucson Unified School District to cease using the following as teaching aids:

·         Lyrics from Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Take The Power Back’

·         KRS-One’s essay ‘An Introduction To Hip-Hop’

·         A handout: ‘Why was American slavery the most brutal in history?’

·         The recitation of Mayan and Aztec teachings

Why?

Because they violate ARS- 15-112; a 2010 law that prohibits teaching classes which “promote the overthrow of the United States government,” “are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group,” or “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

Failure to comply with the superintendents demands will result a ten percent cut in state funding for the school district, starting March 4^th.  (So… ten percent of nothing equals…)

Huh?

Please note those last two clauses. 

Seems Arizona would like to prevent all those “ethnics” from provoking their constitutional right to freely assemble.  You know, because when ‘those people’ all get together, why they might get up to some no good or get organized, or something. 

How very xenophobic of Arizona. 

One would hope that we were past such unfounded fears, but I suspect the recent Ferguson protests and all that has followed has the state, home of Governor Jan Brewer and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, all up in arms and on high alert. 

And speaking of the devil…

In other Arizona related news, a judge has ordered Sheriff Joe Arpaio to cease raiding businesses in the hopes of catching illegal immigrants and take the same training as his deputies to prevent racial profiling and unlawful detention.

You see, the good sheriff takes issue with all those illegal aliens taking all those American jobs.  Apparently, he believes ‘this land is our land’ – despite the fact this land actually was inhabited by someone else before Caucasians arrived on the scene.

Yep.  One’s desire to be ignorant does not change historical fact. 

And, last time I checked, ignorance is not a constitutional right.

But, I guess Arizona would disagree… and probably, given how proud they are of their racist, xenophobic, ignorant ways, has a law on the books stating exactly that.

Ditat Deus, indeed.

WTF, Michigan?

WTF, Michigan?

What the hell is the matter with the state of Michigan?  When did they become a hot bed for homophobia?

Last weekend, the State House in Michigan passed a broadly-written bill, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which would allow people to refuse service to LGBT if providing such was at odds with their religious beliefs.  This would include medical / healthcare personnel, such as doctors, nurses, EMTs, and pharmacists.  Need HIV meds?  You may be denied.  Bleeding out the side of your neck?  You might have to wait for a healthcare professional who doesn’t care about your sexual orientation.

The bill still has to be passed by the state senate.  Should it leap that hurdle, hopefully the governor has enough sense to veto the damn thing, just as Arizona’s Jan Brewer did to a similar bill last year. 

Jase Bolger, Michigan’s current Speaker of the House, managed to fast track the measure, which passed 59-50, right along party lines.  “I support individual liberty and I support religious freedom,” Bolger said. “I have been horrified as some have claimed that a person’s faith should only be practiced while hiding in their home or in their church.”

Ummm… what?  Separation of church and state?  How about freedom from religious persecution?

But wait… the logic in this state only gets more convoluted. 

At the same time they were legislating discrimination, the house in Michigan was also busy working on passing a law that would protect the civil rights of the LGBT community. Whiplash logic, to be sure, but that bill got stalled after the testimony of Pastor Stacy Swimp, who testified:

“No one from the LGBT community has ever had fire hoses turned on them by the police department, they have never had to drink out of an LGBT water fountain.  There is no record of LGBT — homosexuals, lesbians—being forced to sit at the back of the bus in an LGBT section.”

Huh? 

So, let’s put aside the fact that they bothered to hear testimony from a man whom many civil rights groups have identified as a hatemonger, but what the man had to say flies in the face of reality.  No, the LGBT community hasn’t experienced exactly the same discrimination as African Americans in this country, Pastor Swimp, but we have been beaten, intimidated, denied employment, denied housing, and killed because of our sexual orientation. 

Oh, and we put up with bullshit from the likes of you!

I have a solution to this state's many problems, including the recent bankruptcy of Detroit.

Madonna needs to come to the rescue.

She could buy Detroit.  She’d be able to buy it for pennies on the dollar and then become their very own ‘Evita’.

Detroit could be transformed into a new gay mecca.  I mean, if Madonna appeared on a balcony each morning to sing, I would actually consider moving there.

But until then?

WTF, Michigan?