U.S. Sen. John McCain tells David Gregory of Meet the Press that Gov. Jan Brewer is wrong when she says most illegal immigrants are drug mules, but that she's right when she says the violence along the border has increased because of the drug cartels.

He also says that kidnappings in Phoenix are out of control. The numbers may indeed be high, but it's important to keep in mind that the high number of kidnappings doesn't stem from people being snatched off the streets and held for ransom; instead, illegal immigrants are held against their will by their smugglers until their debt is paid off, which leads to kidnapping charges when the drop houses are busted. It's hardly a good situation, but it gives a false impression about the dangers of Phoenix—which isn't good when it comes to our tourism industry.

Here's the message Republicans are sending about Arizona: There are gun battles in the street and you could be snatched by a drug cartel if you dare to visit. If I were on the East Coast, I'd be planning my western vacation in California or Las Vegas. And if I were in the tourism business, I'd be worried that my industry was being throttled by the GOP.

The Center for Biological Diversity monkeywrenches Rosemont Copper:

The Center for Biological Diversity today filed an Endangered Species Act listing petition seeking protection for two species of talus snails that are threatened by the proposed Rosemont Copper Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains, 30 miles southeast of Tucson. The proposed mine would be an open pit more than one mile wide and more than half a mile deep that would destroy at least 4,400 acres of habitat, including more than 3,300 acres of public land on the Coronado National Forest, where the mining waste would be dumped.

“The Rosemont Mine threatens the survival of these two rare Arizona snails,” said Tierra Curry, a biologist at the Center. “The two snails need immediate protection under the Endangered Species Act to have any chance at survival.”

The Rosemont talus snail is only found in the Rosemont area, meaning the proposed mine could cause its extinction. The Sonoran talus snail is found in the Rosemont area, in the Tumacacori Mountains, where it is threatened by smuggling and

With Gov. Jan Brewer making up stories about how the majority of illegal immigrants are here to sell drugs, behead innocent Arizonans and commit terrorist attacks, she might want to take note of this story in Talking Points Memo:

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), who we last encountered exposing Muslim intern spies on Capitol Hill and terrorists in the nation's convenience stores, has issued her most startling warning yet: Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, she has come to believe, is partnering with Mexican drug cartels in the U.S. borderlands and may be planning "Israel-like car bombings of Mexican/USA border personnel or National Guard units."

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Myrick calls for a task force "to engage US and Mexican law enforcement and border patrol officials about Hezbollah's presence, activities, and connections to gangs and drug cartels."

Read the whole crazy thing here.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard made a swing through Southern Arizona today. At an opening of a new Democratic field office on Tucson's northwest side, he vowed: "If I'm elected governor, we're going to keep Arizona off Comedy Central for four years."

It's a nice promise, but given what the Legislature is likely to look like, it'll be hard to keep, even if he does win in November.

The week in review, courtesy of Arizona Illustrated's Friday Roundtable.

RTA boss Gary Hayes visits Arizona Illustrated's Friday Roundtable to talk about efforts to take over Sun Tran from the City of Tucson and other transportation topics.

In May, The Range reported that filmmaker LuisCarlos Romero-Davis' award-winning documentary 389 Miles: Living the Border, was banned by the Nogales (Sonora) City Film Council from the city film festival. Romero-Davis was searching for screening opportunities in Arizona.

You can see the banned documentary this weekend, on Saturday, June 26, at 2 and 7 p.m. at ZUZI's Theater, 738 N. Fifth Ave. Cost for the 2 p.m. show is $12, and $20 for the 7 p.m. show, which includes a special reception with live music and dance by ZUZI! Dance Company and musician Pablo Peregrina and Friends. There will also be a Q&A session with Romero-Davis. All proceeds benefit Humane Borders.

For more info, call 629-0237 or 398-5053.

What is a beer cocktail, you ask? Why, it’s a delicious mixture of beer and liquor that takes center stage at a tasting from 4 to 6 p.m., Saturday, June 26, at Maynards Market and Kitchen. For $15, you get to learn about and taste a number of, yes, beer-based cocktails. Again, they mix liquor and beer in one drink and it is good.

One of the cocktails to be featured, the “Speech Therapy,” is on our short list of ultra-creative and mighty tasty cocktails to be had in this town. Come to think of it, I'm heading downtown for one right now. Cheers!

Gov. Jan Brewer has been under fire for saying this about illegal immigrants during the gubernatorial debate:

The majority of them in my opinion and I think in the opinion of law enforcement is that they are not coming here to work. They are coming here and they’re bringing drugs. And they’re doing drop houses and they’re extorting people and they’re terrorizing the families.

It's certainly true that the drug cartels are increasingly involved in smuggling people across the border. And the cartels have the leverage to turn illegal immigrants into low-level drug mules.

But it's nothing more than fearmongering to say that the majority of people entering this country illegally don't want work, but instead want plan to take up lives of crime revolving around drugs and kidnapping.

But hey: She told Fox News that Arizona has been under "terrorist attacks" from immigrants, too.

Update: The Guardian reports that Brewer's staff now says she "misspoke" and has had "missteps" with the numbers.