Why does this shit ALWAYS seem to come from Arizona???

Do you know what an illegal Russian émigré looks like? What about an illegal Thai or Vietnamese immigrant? Can you automatically pick them out of a crowd? Or even in a group of 5?
Somehow I highly doubt it, so this new law that the sad state of Arizona affairs has passed and signed by its Republican primary-challenged governor Friday, is as worthless as Goldman Sachs’ defense. In essence, an individual state is now demanding that people carry identification papers, as they did in Europe before and after World War II, to PROVE they are U.S. citizens, or at the very least, in this country legally.
Now it is a bald-faced lie to say that this is NOT racial profiling. Horseshit! It IS and everyone knows it, including the Republican fear-mongering state senator who led this charge (Russell Pearce – keep that name in mind because he will soon become the Tea Party darling and rising star in Republican circles). People automatically associate illegal immigration with one word – Mexican. And too many older white, less-than-astute Arizonians, ALL Hispanics are Mexicans!
Of course, that’s as far from the truth as you can get, but in Arizona, they don’t give a shit.
The new law extends powers NOT granted to it under the Constitution and this crap about the sanctity of the 10th Amendment is for the fucking birds. Border security and the status of immigrants is a federal problems and states do NOT have the right to demand ID papers when such a system does not exist. After all, the IDs requires are issued on a state-to-state basis and there are NO universal standards.
Again, this nation has a hypocritical attitude to immigration, including the illegal kind. Employers WANT (desperately) the cheap labor and the fines against such hiring practices are laughable. Begin enforcing a $100,000 per illegal per day FINE and you’ll see a quick attitude adjustment.
But let’s say you are illegally entering the country from … CUBA! You actually make it past the Coast Guard and land on U.S. soil; what happens? You claim political asylum and WHAM!, you are AUTOMATICALLY granted legal status.
WHY? Why is a Cuban different from those escaping the violence in Mexico and seeking a better life? Because the South Florida Cuban-American population is a forceful voting bloc of conservative Republicans; that’s why! They alone stand between any kind of normalization of relations with that country (despite the fact that we, as a country, have established “normal” relations with the likes of Vietnam, China, Russia and other former “enemies” of the U.S.).
Highly hypocritical! And the same Republicans whiners about the lack of federal response to the immigration problems were only tepid in their criticism of the former administration which did absolutely NOTHING in that regard (as it did nothing in many, MANY other areas that Obama had to inherit and is receiving unfair blame).
Of course, THE most single stupid claim made by proponents is how EASY it is to ID an illegal due to attire, and even shoes (what, are their Nikes spelled Nikis????). Listen when it’s 120 degrees in Phoenix in August, EVERYONE dresses the same goddamn way…everyone looks like they’ve sweated up a storm! Fuck this shit about “dry heat;” an oven is dry heat and you don’t stick your head in that.
Perhaps a discussion should be held about a national ID card system, something that can serve as a social security card, driver’s license, voters registration, etc. Such information can be loaded via a scanner and would outputted in the same manner. Technology can be employed to our societal advantage and make it harder to falsify.
But, in the end, it will be up to individuals to make a judgment about who IS and who ISN’T an illegal. It will take a long time to properly educate officers to handle this action with kid gloves because the first naturalized citizen, or fifth-generation citizen, stopped and questioned and held, because they didn’t have proper “papers,” will be suing in court faster than you can say “Constitution.” And unless the judges are simply blind or paid off, the law will be overturned in a heartbeat.
Sadly, in Arizona, incumbent Senator John McCain has sold his soul to the devil of re-election and reversed almost ALL of his previous stances, including on the very immigration bill he attempted to push through Congress (now he denies it), because he MUST pander to the drum-beating base of the right-wing Arizona GOP. Nothing could be sadder than the site of McCain bowing at the stiletto feet of Sarah Palin who would still be a white-trash Peter-Principled trollop serving as governor in the state of Hell Frozen Over – begging for her to get his votes.
Illegal immigration is a major problem in the U.S. but the Arizona law is NOT any sort of logical solution. It is racist at its heart and stupid in its conception. It is completely anti-American and unconstitutional in every sense of the word.
Shame on the governor for bowing to her own crass desire to snag an extra vote and shame on State Senator Pearce for whatever blowback falls on the Grand Canyon State (including possible economic boycotts).
P.S. – Why does this always have to happen in Arizona? Remember the anti-Martin Luther King holiday bill signed by the soon-to-be-impeached Gov. Evan Meachem????? It’s too beautiful of a state to allow this constant governing by such blatant assholes!!!!!!!!!!!!