WHAT PART OF ILLEGAL DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?

WHAT PART OF ILLEGAL DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND??? There is always one schmuck that needs to recycle that bumper sticker quote in the comments section of an immigration article. And it has to be in CAPS!! And it has to have multiple question marks and perhaps a couple exclamation points. If it’s not in CAPS and does not have the multiple punctuations, than the point is not made. So, let me be that schmuck today and pose that question to Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, the Arizona State Militia, Russell Pearce, gubernatorial candidate Frank Riggs and congressional candidate/newest member of the Village People, Adam Kwasman: WHAT PART OF ILLEGAL DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND??!?!?

This lesson is for all those law-abiding folks that came to protest that fictional bus carrying unaccompanied migrant youths (aka UAC’s) to Oracle, Arizona on Tuesday. The minors are being held by the U.S. government pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protections Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). The TVPRA instructs our government to transfer the custody of unaccompanied minors to the custody of Health and Human Services (HHS). Once in the custody of HHS, the minors are processed for possible removal from the United States which includes evaluation of whether the minor can remain in the U.S. in some form of lawful status. It is the LAW that was originally signed by President George W. Bush in 2008.

If law-abiding U.S. citizens don’t like the TVPRA or its unintended consequences, lobby to get it amended. Feel free to peacefully assemble and protest, but don’t block the bus from going to its intended destination (a la the protestors in Murrieta, California). According to an article by Stephen Lemons in the Phoenix New Times, Oracle resident Robert Skiba was originally tipped off to this busload of migrant youths and Mr. Skiba told Mr. Lemons:

"We're going to engage in peaceful assembly and if these buses with these people from Central America come in, we're going to stop it. we're going to turn them around and send them back, just like they did in Murrieta, California."

Sheriff Babeu even posted on his Facebook page that the “children should be returned to their home country - not to Oracle, Arizona paid for by American taxpayers.” But, that’s not how it works in the good ‘ol United States, if there is a law we are supposed to follow it. Right Mr. Sheriff? Mr. Law Enforcer?

So, if you are following closely, you will realize that the minors that turned themselves into the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are not breaking the law. In fact, they may not even be “illegal”. But, what about the protestors? Would their attempts to stop the bus and send it back be breaking the law? It turns out that if you read the Arizona Revised Statute, not only would these protestors be breaking the law, there are several possible statutes that they could have been violating including:

13-2402. Obstructing governmental operations, which is a class 1 misdemeanor;

13-2906. Obstructing a highway or other public thoroughfare, which is a class 3 misdemeanor; and

13-2908. Criminal nuisance, which is a class 3 misdemeanor.

Perhaps there are other laws that they could have violated in the process, but those are just a few examples. So, the irony of this situation is that the minors on the bus would not be the law breakers, the bus blockers would have been! Would Sheriff Babeu, who allegedly conspired in the planning of this protest and who always preaches the rule of law, have arrested the bus blockers?

Hat tip to Tim Steller for putting Sheriff Paul Babeu's new fundraising pitch on Facebook (also for Steller's thorough analysis of Babeu's tactics in the Star). If there was any question about Babeu's motives for inflaming his anti-immigrant compatriots to protest the busing of children to an Oracle facility — at this point, we don't know for sure there was ever a plan to place the children there — this fundraiser should put those questions to rest.

Meet Gus. Gus is a puggle. What is a puggle, you ask? A puggle is a crossbreed dog where one parent is a beagle and the other parent is a pug. As of the writing of this post, Gus is available for adoption at Arizona Puggle Rescue, the only puggle rescue organization in the state. APR is a no-kill, all-volunteer organization that rescues and re-homes puggles throughout Arizona. The rescue is based in Tucson. 

Arizona Puggle Rescue is holding a fundraising event on Saturday, July 19, at Golden Pin Lanes, 1010 W. Miracle Mile. Registration starts at 2:30 p.m.; bowling is from 3 to 5 p.m. Bowling is $20 per person, or $100 for a team of five to six players. The fee includes bowling, shoe rental and two raffle tickets. A silent auction will also take place. All proceeds will go to the rescue, to help with food, shelter, medical expenses and other needs. Volunteers will be on hand to talk about the rescue and available dogs in foster care. For more information, visit azpuggle.org. 
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Tucson is the home to one of the most prolific cartoonists in the industry. It won't be until Max Cannon is worm chow when we truly appreciate the genius that is Red Meat. Thankfully, the man with a van is celebrating his birthday today.


Max has been graciously giving us a weekly comic strip for the last 25 years. Since it's almost impossible to give him a gift that will measure up to the pain and joy he has given us, all he will get from the Weekly offices is this blog post. I don't know if Max knows this or not, but he was one of the reasons why I picked up this paper. Honestly, I don't know if I would be here if it weren't for him.

It's an honor to call him a friend and colleague. 

Happy Birthday, Max.

The Southern Arizona Gender Alliance issued a press release this morning announcing it will separate from Tucson's LGBT community center and return to how it all started—"as an independent grassroots organization."

This past year, the Weekly has reported on different challenges facing Wingspan—a series of staff firings and management issues, and then concerns that transphobia was a real issue taking place at the center among staff and not being addressed properly along with other problems due to the struggling agency's constant employee turnover.

So, this news from SAGA isn't a huge surprise, although what's clear in the press release is that this isn't about hard feelings or concerns that the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation won't be a good fit for SAGA. However, if anyone has actually been paying close attention to the LGBT community nationwide and locally, I hope they recognize something that's very important—that well, the transgender community has it going on.

If SAGA continues in this trajectory—recognizing the need for transparency, strategic planning, media strategy and more—they just might successfully take on a few social justice issues and do some other needed community-building Tucson can use.

Congratulations, SAGA. Here's wishing you the best.

More from SAGA's press release:

Effective July 31, 2014, SAGA is ending its long-standing formal partnership with Wingspan, Tucson's community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Wingspan announced earlier this month it was closing its doors and is negotiating with the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation to retain the staff and continue its flagship programs, the Wingspan Anti-Violence Project and the Eon Youth Lounge. SAGA has decided not to participate in that negotiation and instead become self-managed by volunteers and to study options and determine next steps.

"We're very sorry to lose the community center—Wingspan helped SAGA establish itself and provided a consistent home for our groups, programs, and community for many years," said SAGA's former executive director, Michae; Woodward, who currently serves on the volunteer leadership team know as the SAGA Advisory Council. "The council is still very committed to the SAGA mission and the community's needs."

Due to funding and other challenges at Wingspan, the SAC had already been talking about a possible split months before the Wingspan closure was announced. "I don't think this move will surprise very many people. We have complete confidence in Wendell Hicks and the SAAF staff, and we're relieved to learn that those vital Wingspan programs will continue—both are important to the trans community," added Kevin Maxey, a co-founder of the organization. "But the Advisory Council feels we're best off forging our own path forward."

SAGA had already scheduled a strategic planning retreat for Saturday, Dec. 6. That retreat will go on as planned (time and location to be announced) and will focus on SAGA's future and options for growth and sustainability. Anyone with an interest in supporting the transgender community will be welcome to attend.

The search for suitable, long-term space for meetings and other SAGA business is underway; those results will be announced at a later date on the SAGA website (www.sagatucson.org) and to the group's listserv subscribers.

More information and the SAGA schedule after the jump.

I've heard in a few places that Rep. Raul Grijalva indicated buses with immigrant children were scheduled to arrive in Oracle Tuesday but that they wouldn't arrive. I called Grijalva's office. Someone in the office confirmed that Grijalva received a one line message from Health and Human Services saying no buses would arrive in Oracle Tuesday, but it did not say the buses were previously scheduled.

Here are the first two paragraphs in the story on the KPHO News site:

A U.S. Representative from southern Arizona said he's been informed that buses bringing about 60 illegal immigrant children will not arrive in Oracle as previously scheduled Tuesday.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat from Tucson, said his office received a one-line email from Health and Human Services saying the buses won't arrive Tuesday. [boldface added for emphasis]

The phrase "as previously scheduled Tuesday" is tacked on to the end of the first sentence. I suppose it could be argued that the words aren't directly attributed to Grijalva in the sentence, that they could have been added by the reporter for elaboration, but the sentence leaves the impression those words came from Grijalva.

That means, according to what I have read, the only person who claims to have inside information about buses coming to Oracle is Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.

As only he can, Jon Stewart points out the hypocrisy of those on the far right demonstrating in front of buses of Central American migrant children and our elected officials pontificating on the floors of Congress—completely missing the basic principles on which this country was founded. In last night's segment, "America's Immigration Crisis: Kids Edition," Stewart nails it right here:

Why would you not come to a place that great? In fact, it's why all of our ancestors came to this country, and were themselves originally unwelcome. Because that's the story of America. From Ben Franklin's worry that Germans were ruining Pennsylvania, to our 19th century 60-year ban on the Chinese immigrants who had just finished building our rail system, to our very real and justifiable concerns about the Irish, and their insatiable "applying for jobs".

We can't wait for tonight to see how Stewart and Stephen Colbert tear apart bus-chasing AZ Rep. Adam Kwasman and his embarrassing rant on YMCA campers he thought were migrant children.

Antigone Books' best-sellers for the week ending July 11, 2014:

1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou ($6.99)

2. Goldfinch
Donna Tartt ($30)

3. The Fault in Our Stars
John Green ($12.99)

4. Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist
Tim Federle ($15)

5. The Signature of All Things
Elizabeth Gilbert ($17)

6. Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Homeland Security
Todd Miller ($16.95)

7. Longbourn
Jo Baker ($15.95)

8. Hard Choices
Hillary Rodham Clinton ($35)

9. The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman ($14.99)

10. The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon 
Kevin Fedarko ($17)

I think we can all unanimously agree that Tuesday’s gathering in Oracle wasn't Arizona’s proudest hour. Our bloggers James Hudson and David Safier made the trip and grabbed some photos from the gathering, but I imagine we can totally concur that the Republic's Brahm Resnik struck gold.

Republican congressional candidate Adam Kwasman was caught describing the concern he witnessed on the faces of the migrant children on the bus that drove by the assembly. He tweeted "Bus Coming. This is not compassion. This is the abrogation of the rule of law. #AZ01" with a picture of the yellow school bus driving away. But he didn't realize it was a bus full of local YMCA children going to camp.

Steff & The Articles have a busy summer on their hands. The local progressive piano-pop band will soon embark on a west coast tour soon. They are playing a free concert (must be 21 and older to attend) with other local favorites The Electric Blankets and Sorry About the Garden at 8 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 2 at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Doors open at 7 p.m. 

Maybe they will play the new track “Call You Mine” Tiny Mix Tapes debuted on Tuesday. Click here to listen to song and here to RSVP for the free Aug. 2 show.