Alabama state Sen. Jerry Fielding (R-Sylacauga) feels that Duck Commander Phil Robertson has been wronged by the media for his anti-gay and racist remarks that were published in a GQ magazine interview. The Senator plans to introduce legislation in support of the Duck Dynasty reality star, according to the Daily Home.

Robertson has been temporarily removed from the highly popular reality A&E show after his anti-gay remarks and suggesting that African Americans were happier hoeing cotton during, you know, the "pre-welfare" days.

“I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once. Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I’m with the blacks, because we’re white trash. We’re going across the field.... They’re singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”

The GOP lawmaker says Robertson's views are on par with the "Christian beliefs" that a majority of the citizens of Alabama share. The GOP lawmaker says Robertson should be "celebrated as a hero." Here's Fielding's resolution thanks to the Daily Home:

“Whereas, renown entrepreneur, Louisiana outdoorsman, and reality television star Phil Robertson has positively impacted countless lives through the powerful testimony of his steadfast faith in Jesus Christ and how it has transformed his life; and Whereas Phil Robertson, along with his family, who are featured on the reality television show, Duck Dynasty, have served as ambassadors of the love and grace of the Heavenly Father through their exemplary lives on and off the camera; they have used their fame as a platform to promote wholesome ideals involving family and home life and worship of the Lord; and Whereas recently, Phil has received backlash for expressing his personal views on homosexuality that were based on scripture in the Bible in an interview with GQ Magazine; ultimately, the Arts and Entertainment Network (A&E) punished him for his beliefs and suspended him indefinitely from the reality television show, Duck Dynasty, even though he did not address his views in correlation with the program; and Whereas a portion of the politically correct populous, which strongly encourages tolerance and open-mindedness, is now contradicting themselves with extreme intolerance and close-mindedness towards Phil and his personal beliefs, which stem from his rock-solid Christian faith; and Whereas while Phil does not condone certain lifestyles or behaviors, he issued the following profound statement abounding with love and tolerance: ‘I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me; we are all created by the Almighty, and like Him, I love all of humanity’; and Whereas Phil should not be penalized in any way for practicing freedom of speech, but should be celebrated as a hero for courageously revealing his self-truth and Christian ideals in a world that can be unkind towards those with a conservative mind-set; and Whereas Phil Robertson and his family’s admirable stance on marriage, family, and faith reflects the meritorious ideals of the fine citizens of the entire State of Alabama, and it is a tremendous privilege to express our utmost solidarity for them; now therefore, Be it resolved by the Legislature of Alabama, both houses thereof concurring, that this chamber of persons stand united in support of Phil Robertson and his family, and in opposition to the A&E Network’s deplorable action of suspending Phil indefinitely from Duck Dynasty for relaying his Christian beliefs.”

Yesterday former NSA contractor Edward Snowden delivered Channel 4 UK's annual "Alternative Christmas Message" in response to Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas address. Snowden's icy message comes two days after his latest interview with Washington Post; where he declared "mission accomplished." The video was filmed by a Russian journalist and collaborator Laura Poitras at a undisclosed location, according to Gawker.

Today, my over-coffee-morning conversation with my special someone was about how difficult the holidays are for many of us. Sometimes in the middle of the post Thanksgiving frenzy of making tamales and special work deadlines, we forget why invitations are difficult for some or why invitations are needed for others.

Not everyone, for a variety of circumstances, has that Norman Rockwell family that pulls together each winter. But there are also those societal pressures that make it difficult, too. I guess I just want to say in this oh so public way, that I hope everyone who is lonely or in pain, that this week hurries along and that you find comfort this season at the movies, with friends or catching up on the last season of Doctor Who or finally watching The Wire (like I am).

We love this Primavera Foundation video on South Tucson that is making its way over the internets this morning. One of the featured Southsiders is Cesar Aguirre. Aguirre was one of the local heroes that was highlighted in last week's cover story. Enjoy!

PETA activists staged an alluring protest in the heart of downtown Tucson earlier this afternoon. The animal rights organization rounded up some local members to encourage Tucsonans to stop eating meat and “Go Vegan” in the most visually attractive way possible. What’s the best way to get people to stop eating animal products?

Using half naked women to pretend they’re dead animals seems to be pretty effective.

Young female protesters were holding signs that read "Try to Relate to Who's on the Plate" and "Animals Have the Same Parts: GO VEGAN" on the corner of West Congress street and North Stone Avenue. The animal rights activist stood in front of Michelle Rios, while she laid on the ground topless, curled up next to a bed of salad on a giant white plate with an over-sized knife and fork. The blonde woman uses her arms to to shield her breasts and nipples that were cover with band aids. There was barbecue sauce splattered on her pale skin and almost see through underwear. Her shivering legs were tucked against her bare stomach. She closed her eyes and tried to lay still while pedestrians and drivers were taking pictures and staring at her semi-nude body in broad daylight.

PETA Campaigner Matt Bruce, 31, came down from Los Angeles to stage this peaceful protest. "This is part of a national PETA campaign. We are hitting cities all over the country during this season of giving to encourage people to give animals a chance and leave them off their plates," Bruce said.

"Factory pigs have their teeth, tails and testicals removed without pain killers," Bruce said right before a rear end collision occurred behind us. "Accidents happen, but not as often as you think," Bruce chuckles. Bruce said once a driver jumped a curb and almost hit an exhibit.

Finally, the members of Pussy Riot were given amnesty and released three months earlier than expected.

The feminist punk rockers were wrongfully arrested for performing Punk Prayer: Mother of God Drive Putin Away from Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February 2012. Nadya Tolokonnikova, 24, and Maria Alekhina, 25, were charged with "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility."

Pussy Riot and 30 other protesters were freed because of a new Russian law that granted prisoners amnesty "who haven't committed violent crimes, first-time offenders, minors and women with small children" passed earlier this week, according to AP.

During their time, Alekhina went on a hunger strike and Tolokonnikova wrote an open letter, protesting the treatment of prisoners. Just days after that letter was posted, she disappeared for 21 days during a prison transfer, showing up in a Siberian prison hospital.

Unfortunate news from the world of local talk radio as John C. Scott will be off KVOI after his show Friday, with no plan to return to local airwaves.

From our neighboring publication, Inside Tucson Business:

Scott said KVOI president and manager Doug Martin told him Tuesday his show was incompatible with the conservative vision of the station.

“He said he was pressured by his board to remove the show and I can only take him at this word. They said we were incompatible with the rest of the station,” Scott said....

Martin said his board did not like the show and that he kept hearing from listeners that they were turning the show off at 3 p.m. because it seemed to them like an infomercial.

Scott sells sponsorships to his show and does remotes, lately on Tuesdays at the HabiStore and Fridays at the Tobacco Barn, where he spends a few minutes and the top and bottom of every hour interviewing the owners about their stores and specials.

“I like John, a lot. But we thought this was the best for the station and our listeners,” Martin said.

While yes, Scott's weekday time slot on what's ostensibly a Christian conservative talk station was a little strange, but a media landscape with plenty of conservative talkers, including a bunch of local ones who range in their understanding of local issues from entertainers with occasional flashes of intelligent thought to barely comprehensible, this is not just KVOI's loss, but Tucson's as a whole.

Despite the fact that John let me spend ten minutes or so on his show every week, he otherwise consistently had great guests, the policymakers of this city, this county and the state and he asked them tough questions, demanding that they take stands on the issues. Sure, his takes were more liberal than the Michael Medved and Hugh Hewiit shows that came on before and after Scott's show (and who will enjoy expanded time here in Tucson next week when Scott's gone), but in essence, John always attempted to be a voice for pragmatism and governments that work.

There's no argument that can be made that this decision was made in the public interest, but instead, KVOI's board, made up (as far as I can tell) of very conservative Christian types, seemingly tired of having to explain to their church friends why Scott's show got to be on air. I'll miss being on John's show and I'll miss it being on air. Surely, there are shows with better ratings (although in Tucson talk radio, the difference between "success" and "failure" can be the difference of a few hundred listeners), but I'm not sure there's a local show with more influence, that has a more accomplished and important listenership.

Ray Carroll upon hearing the news told Jim Nintzel "John is a legend who stretches back decades. He and [his wife] Amy and Mark [his son, who produces the show] have been so involved in the community...To do this right before Christmas is less than good timing."

Supervisor Carroll is right. It's definitely poor timing, but more importantly, it's a poor decision made shortsightedly by KVOI.

There will be a protest against rising tuition costs and the falling quality of education in Arizona in front of the University of Arizona Administration Building tomorrow at noon.

The Atlantic reported that the state of Arizona has cut higher education funding by 50% and increased tuition costs by 78.4% from 2008 to 2013.

In Arizona, where the cuts were the deepest, funding has been hacked in half. Nationwide, legislatures have sliced off 28 percent on average. Only two states — Wyoming and oil-rich North Dakota — have increased it, by the think tank's calculations.*

Earlier this morning I shared news from KTAR.com that Sheriff Arpaio refused to lower the flags in honor of Nelson Mandela's death. Here's the original post that I accidently removed instead of unpublished:

Guess who's ignoring President Obama's order to lower all the flags in the memory of former South African President Nelson Mandela?

A spokesman confirmed that Sheriff Arpaio was ignoring the order that all flags be lowered to honor Mandela, who passed away late Thursday at 95.

I don't think it's out of character, but I find this very disrespectful on various degrees. This is almost as bad as gloating about serving inmates 58-cent Thanksgiving dinners.

Someone informed me the link to KTAR link was down, so I called their KTAR newsroom to figure out what was going on. The newsroom representative stated that the Sheriff's department requested that the story would be pulled from the website, but the KTAR newsroom rep was unable to give me a reason as to why. I sent an email to the Maricopa county public information officer asking them why they requested the story pulled from the site. The PIO replied, "Because the story was totally misleading and completely inaccurate."

I'm still waiting for a response on what about the story was inaccurate and if the flags have been lowered. There is a sheriff in South Carolina refusing to lower the flags. CNN reported that Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark has refused to lower the flags because Mandela wasn't born in the U.S.

"It's just my simple opinion that the flag should only be lowered to half-staff for Americans who sacrificed for their country," Clark told CNN affiliate WHNS.

I know when to admit when I'm wrong and publish a correction, but not until I get confirmation that the flags have been lowered. 

UPDATE:

Lisa Allen, Maricopa county media relations, finally responded: 

"The Sheriff was told about the presidential order late Sunday afternoon by a reporter who called him on his cell," Allen said. "Flags were ordered half staff til Monday sunset."

(via Talking Points)

Jes Baker, founder of The Militant Baker Blog and renaissance woman, needs your help to make the Body Love Conference a reality. 

The Body Love Conference is a high energy, positive and progressive event where women can come together to build a community in a supportive environment while participating in revolutionary presentations and workshops.

Baker is trying to crowdfund $10,000 to pay for the travel and accommodations for Body Love featured presenters Tess Munster of EffYourBeautyStandards, Jade Beall of A Beautiful Body Project, Jen McLellen of Plus-Size Mommy Memoirs and Louise Green of Body Exchange CA. Incentives include VIP forum membership, stickers and swag, private luncheon with Baker and her crew, limited edition t-shirts and an opportunity to guest write for the Militant Baker blog. This is Baker's second attempt to raise $10,000. Previously, Baker tried to raise the money with indiegogo in June, but she ended the campaign at $3,462. Hopefully she will have better luck with lesser known the crowdfunding platform Fundrazr.