Borders

We have problems that confront us as a nation and as individual human beings on both sides of our border with Mexico.

From MSNBC.com and the wire services:

Arizona sheriff violates civil rights of Latinos, Justice Department says

The U.S. Justice Dept has released a report accusing Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio of violating the civil rights of Latinos. NBC's Pete Williams has the details.

By msnbc.com staff and wire service reports

Updated at 5 p.m. EST

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The U.S. government said Thursday that the man who called himself the toughest sheriff in America ran an office that has committed wide-ranging civil rights violations against Latinos, including a pattern of racial profiling and heavy-handed immigration patrols based on racially charged complaints.
The U.S. Justice Department's expert on measuring racial profiling called it the most egregious case he has seen, the department's civil rights division chief told reporters.
The scathing report on Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its release, marks the federal government's harshest rebuke of a man who rose to national prominence for his immigration crackdowns. Republican presidential candidates have competed for his endorsement.

Ross D. Franklin / AP

Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio is accused by the Department of Justice of committing wide range of civil rights violations against Latinos.

(Read the full Department of Justice letter here.)
Arpaio has long denied the racial profiling allegation. His office did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment.
After the report was released, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would cut ties with Arpaio.
Secretary Janet Napolitano, formerly Arizona's governor, said the department is ending an agreement with the Maricopa County sheriff's office that allowed trained deputies to enforce immigration laws. It's also restricting the office's use of the Secure Communities program, which uses fingerprints collected in local jails to identify illegal immigrants.

Arpaio and Seagal

Chris Brown sent us the link. I'd already seen the story and felt ambivalent about posting it. I'll tell you why. It sounded so crazy that I wondered if it had been invented or if it were satire. Anyway, here it is on The Daily Kos.

Arizona Lunacy

Il Principe sent me the link to this fantastic description of The Wild Wild West - Arizona.

The law underscores the state's Wild West reputation, and one of Arizona's most notable law enforcement official defends the right to carry concealed arms.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known across the country as the "toughest sheriff in America" due to his strict enforcement of the law and no-nonsense treatment of criminals, believes the new law works just fine. He isn't concerned there will be more shootings in his state because of it.

"That's a good law," Arpaio said this week. "I support it. People were not shooting each other before the new law was passed when they had the right to open-carry weapons. What's the difference now? Concealed or not, people are not pulling guns out and shooting each other."

What do you think he means when he says people were not shooting themselves before so they won't be now? Does he mean never? Is he saying there never was one single incident before so there won't be now.

No, I guess he's saying what a lot of gun folks say, the number of incidents is acceptable. I suppose he's saying that number won't significantly increase with the new law.

We'll see.

Sedona business owner Brian Wentzel, 32, does not have a carry permit nor intends to get one. For him, he only needs the Constitutional "God-given" right to arm and defend himself.

"People have a right to carry concealed weapons because our rights are given to us by our Creator and not by man," says Wentzel. "They are natural rights and this distinction between where our rights are derived is one of the most important philosophical questions a nation and its people must decide before they write laws."

He said that in America, citizens are born with the rights the founding fathers promulgated. Wentzel says an armed citizenry can only strengthen the nation, protect its principles and ensure tyranny could never take over.

"If you have an armed population in the last hour of tyranny, it will be the final check to the imbalance of power that has been misused and abused," says Wentzel. "That's why the founding fathers knew it was one of the pillars and one of the most important rights every citizen has to protect and defend themselves against the tyranny of their own government."

Why do the pro-gun folks, the reasonable ones I'm talking about, encourage people like Mr. Wentzel? The guy says things like, "the last hour of tyranny," and the "final check to the imbalance of power," and the right to carry concealed weapons is given by "our Creator."

Instead of distancing themselves from lunatics like this, the gun crowd takes up the chant and repeats this nonsense. Or perhaps Wentzel got the ideas from them. Either way, it's lunacy pure and simple.

What's your opinion? Is the sheriff right? Is the new law going to have no impact on the numbers? Is Mr. Wentzel right that concealed carry is a natural right?

Please leave a comment.