One of today's big Arizona news items is Gov. Janet Napolitano's veto of HB 2577, which would have, among other things, made it so illegal immigrants were considered trespassers, and therefore would have to be arrested.

While something has to be done about the mess—created by a mixture of bad policy (hello, Congress and the Border Patrol), bad economies (Mexico and Central America), bad people (corrupt politicos, owners of exploitive businesses) and good people wanting better lives for themselves—this bill by the Republicans would have only made matters worse.

In our May 25 cover story, a look at how illegal immigration is zapping Pima County in the pocketbook, Saxon Burns and Jim Nintzel got some information that's worth repeating:

(County Administrator Chuck) Huckelberry prepared his analysis of the costs of illegal immigration to help shape the county's legislative agenda. While the state has helped with some financial burdens--such as the purchase of the refrigerated truck at the morgue--that's been mostly thanks to Gov. Janet Napolitano, who provided $1.5 million to Southern Arizona counties as part of her declaration of emergency along the border last year.

State lawmakers haven't offered much help this year. With some of their proposals--such as the push to make being in the country illegally a crime--legislators are actually doing the opposite, says Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik: They're creating more of a burden for local government.

"We don't need trespassing legislation," says Dupnik, who adds that his deputies can already detain illegal immigrants. The problem: Border Patrol officers don't have much of an interest in taking them into custody.

But if lawmakers made it a state crime to be in the country illegally, then Pima County deputies would have to take them into custody.

"We would have to house them," Dupnik says. "It would throw the jail into crisis overnight."

Huckelberry dismisses the legislative approach as: "Let's pass a bill and make it a crime, and we'll assume the world is Pollyannaish, and it's going to solve the problem. All it does is transfer the cost to the local taxpayers. Our law enforcement should be dealing with major crime, not border trespassing."

Props to Napolitano for vetoing this bill. And shame on the GOP legislators who ignored law-enforcement input and pushed this legislation through when they know damn well the bill could have caused more problems than it solved—and for using the immigration issue as a political football.

Happy mistranslated day of the beast day! While I take a break from chatting with the Whore of Babylon, basking in the blood sea, and watching the sun turn black, I thought today would be a good day to look at how things are going in the ancient land between the four rivers where Adam and his Eve lived.

Sadly, the word is that things are not going well. Depressingly unwell. I'm not sure why the major media are not reporting this more heavily, but a post at Andrew Sullivan's excellent blog points to reports that much of Baghdad is now under the control of religious extremists. (Some would argue that it's all under the control of religious extremists, but...) While major news organizations have reported on the shooting of men wearing shorts, this appears to be part of a larger problem that many, many on-the-ground Iraqi bloggers are writing about.

From "Healing Iraq" blog:

Baghdadis are reporting that radical Islamists have taken control over the Dora, Amiriya and Ghazaliya districts of Baghdad, where they operate in broad daylight. They have near full control of Saidiya, Jihad, Jami’a, Khadhraa’ and Adil. And their area of influence has spread over the last few weeks to Mansour, Yarmouk, Harthiya, and very recently, to Adhamiya.

From Baghdad Connect:

In Amriya, Saydiya and Hai AL Jamm’ah in Baghdad a Saudi emergent social paradigm is taking shape. Written warnings have been posted in the streets saying that women are not allowed to walk the streets or drive cars without a Hijab (head and neck cover) Fortunately women are still allowed to drive cars!

From Iraqi Screen

Only yesterday, a legal inspector told me that four women found dead in Hay Al-Jihad with shaved hair because they were driving cars and not putting hijab.

Eight kids between 12-15 year shot on their heads in Ameriyia and Hay Al-jihad in Baghdad because they were wearing short pants, by two ”Opel” cars carrying few men hiding their faces with Kufiyia.

Etc. It's interesting to note, in light of liberal/left opposition to the war in Iraq, that the people we're fighting there are not exactly liberal/left. It's also interesting to note that they wouldn't be in charge there if we hadn't blundered in and turned the country upside down. We're essentially in the process of creating a fundementalist Islamic state. I'm pretty sure that was the opposite of the plan, but what do I know.