Last month, Governor Jan Brewer sparked national controversy by signing Arizona's new "papers please" immigration bill into law. Her justification has been that Arizona's border has supposedly been "overrun" with violent crime. Turns out crime in Arizona is down and border security is way up, so the "secure the border" mantra being parroted by Brewer and her friends at FOX has much more to do with empty election-year rhetoric than reality. Even Arizona cops can tell you that.

Well, yesterday Governor Brewer was in Washington, DC to meet with President Obama, and hundreds of picketers took to the streets in front of the White House to say "no" to what is happening in Arizona and "yes" to real, federal immigration reform that actually gets to the heart of solving our immigration crisis -- not exploiting it.

Watch video of one protester -- a woman holding a banner that reads, "We Are All Arizona:"

She argues, "SB 1070 is unacceptable. It puts racial profiling into law."

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Howie and I have been on the phones asking musicians to cancel any gig they have in Arizona. Some are contractually stuck, but some aren't, and this revenue will sorely be missed. (We didn't have anything to do with this cancellation) The outrage is slowly building, and in the end, money talks for these xenophobes.

BIG h/t to Cypress Hill for stepping up to the plate.

Rap veterans Cypress Hill have cancelled an upcoming concert in Arizona in protest of a new state immigration law.

Arizona lawmakers recently passed the SB1070 immigration bill, allowing officials to detain anyone they suspect to be an illegal alien.

The new ruling has infuriated a string of stars including Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, and Cypress Hill have pledged their support to immigrants by scrapping their planned gig in Tucson on May 21st.

Explaining the move in a statement, the California-based Latin group says, "This decision was made in an effort to show support and solidarity with those, undocumented and otherwise, being directly affected by this unconstitutional law. Cypress Hill recognizes those living in the struggle for their basic civil rights."

Please support Cypress Hill, dog.

I'm a twittering fool too: JohnAmato

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ABC15 in Arizona did a report on the fan reaction to the Phoenix Suns protesting the new anti-immigration bill SB 1070.

There were people who felt that the immigration bill is "totally wrong. They need all the support they can get on this issue."

However, there was the Joe Arpaio hero worship on full display too.

Signs of "Joe is my Hero," were visible and someone defaced Steve Nash's poster. Other fans were pissed off at this.

Fan: "I think it's just wrong to deface somebody that's a big figure in our community."

--

Reporter: "Now that sticker has been removed from Steve Nash's forehead against that wall that we showed you earlier."

You would think that more people would have been upset by Nash's courageous stance against SB 1070, but they weren't at all. They all did had have one thing in common though: Beat the Spurs.

Is this the start of something truly awful?

Authorities say a Phoenix man was arrested Thursday for the fatal shooting of his neighbor.

Phoenix Police Department spokesman Tommy Thompson said 50-year-old Gary Thomas Kelley was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on Thursday night and was charged with one count of murder and two counts of aggravated assault.

Officers were called to the scene of a shooting near 7th and Southern avenues around 1 p.m. and found 44-year-old Juan Varela wounded. He was transported to a local hospital, where he died.

According to Thompson, Kelley and Varela lived two houses apart for a number of years but have gotten into altercations during the past several years.

They reportedly quarreled again Thursday, during which Kelley used racial slurs towards Varela. A neighbor tells ABC15 he heard a man yelling racial slurs and asking the victim if he wanted to die. As the argument went on, Varela's brother Antonio walked over to the men and also exchanged words with Kelley.

Thompson said Juan Varela tried kicking Kelley, at which point he pulled out a gun and shot the victim on the sidewalk. Officers arrested Kelley at his home, where it appeared he had been drinking and was intoxicated.

Thompson said a search of the house turned up a gun believed to have been used in the fatal shooting.

Neighbors tell ABC15 they fear the shooting may have been the result of the debate over Arizona's new illegal immigration bill. A niece of the victim told ABC15 her uncle was born and raised in the U.S.

This might not be about anything related to SB 1070, but why would the neighbors make up the immigration law angle?

Until we get more information we won't speculate, but the fact that people could be blaming murder on the xenophobic immigration bill crafted by the admitted voter caging jerk Kris Kobach is just the beginning.

... Kris Kobach, chairman of the Kansas GOP, sent out a self-congratulatory litany of accomplishments. Among them was one particularly eye-catching item:

"To date, the Kansas GOP has identified and caged more voters in the last 11 months than the previous two years!" [...]

I've always loved Steve Nash as a player, but major kudos to him and the entire Suns organization for taking a very principled stand against Arizona's hateful SB 1070.

In an extremely bold move, the Phoenix Suns as an organization made a strong political statement in opposition to the recent Arizona immigration bill.

Discussions on taking action began last week after the bill passed, with an idea that came from Robert Sarver, Managing Partner of the Phoenix Suns.

According to Steve Kerr, the team discussed it internally before going to the league for approval to both wear the 'Los Suns' jerseys, but also to come out publicly in this way.

Kerr said both the NBA and the San Antonio Spurs were fully supportive of the Suns move.

Ultimately, the decision was left up to the players, but in a locker room led by Steve Nash, it is no surprise how that turned out.

"I think the law is very misguided. I think it is unfortunately to the detriment to our society and our civil liberties and I think it is very important for us to stand up for things we believe in," Nash said of the bill. "I think the law obviously can target opportunities for racial profiling. Things we don't want to see and don't need to see in 2010."

I've been going after the MLB because they have so many foreign born players, but this law has ramifications throughout the entire sports world. Major props to the NBA also for giving them the approval to wear a different uniform and speaking out against the law. They could have taken the cowardly way out and remained silent. That speaks volumes about how they feel about SB 1070. I can't wait to see the Suns wear their new jersey for game two: 'Los Suns' I will be rooting for them now. Go Suns.

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If you think things are getting crazy in Arizona, just wait. They're just getting started.

As Adam Weinstein at Mother Jones reports, Crazy Sheriff Joe Arpaio is getting set to run for Gov. Jan Brewer's seat.

And he's already the runaway favorite for the GOP nomination:

He made arresting Latinos fashionable and, after many run-ins with the feds over such practices, was likely the main inspiration behind Arizona's new immigration code. In short, Brewer felt she had to sign last week's immigration bill, because she felt Arpaio's breath on her neck. She had to appear as tough on brown people as Arpaio does, lest he decide to challenge her in the GOP primary.

So she signed it. And guess what? Arpaio's still going to run against her. Sources in the sheriff's department, which will likely double as his campaign staff (no new thing there), say his paperwork's filed. And on his Twitter account - where you can read about his Washington Post interview today, or his "crime suppression/illegal immigration" operations briefings, or his anger about "out of town critics" - he recently tweeted that his wife wants him to run. And he's already the frontrunner in Arizona Republicans' minds.

So why not run? What does he have to fear? Latino turnout in the Phoenix metro area? Problem solved!

Here, then, is to Arizona: one of the prettiest states in the union, soon to be the first breakaway republic in the new confederacy of Inner America.

According to the Tucson Sentinel, current polling shows him handily beating Brewer:

Although Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff, is not running for governor, he is by far the most popular Republican in the state.

Likely primary voters view him favorably at 70 percent, to only 22 percent with a negative opinion, and he leads Brewer 33-25 as a prospective candidate.

All this news was put in perspective, perhaps, by the neo-Nazis from the National Socialist Movement who showed up today at an Arpaio press event -- he was announcing his handpicked nominee for the county prosecutor's spot -- and told reporters:

"Sheriff Joe is endorsing this candidate, and we feel strongly to support Sheriff Joe and his actions," the man said, "particularly with the illegal immigration situation here in Maricopa County and in our state."

As you can see from the report, Arpaio plans to announce his intentions in the governor's race today.

Both Arpaio and his puppet denied having anything to do with the NSM's presence; Arpaio even hinted that they had been sent out by opponents to try and discredit him politically.

But that doesn't exactly wash, particularly not in Sheriff Joe's case. Because Arpaio has been all too happy to court support from outright neo-Nazis in the past. Check out the video below, from a year ago:

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As you can see, Arpaio can't claim ignorance: the men he posed with were displaying neo-Nazi flags and symbols. A little further down the road, he did the same thing with a group of people openly waving a Confederate flag.

Indeed, Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times uncovered a working relationship between Arpaio's office and a clutch of local neo-Nazis.

Meanwhile, if you want to get an idea of the Arpaio approach to governance -- a preview of his governorship, as it were -- all you have to do is look at his record:

-- As Sheriff, his emphasis on immigration has gutted his office's ability to enforce the law, especially when it comes to investigating violent crime.

-- His office has been under steady legal attack (which has proved extremely costly) for rampant racial profiling and assorted civil rights violations, such as the time he forced a legal immigrant to give birth in shackles.

-- If you have the audacity to criticize him at public meetings, his deputies will arrest you.

-- Indeed, all of his critics, both in the press and in public office, have found themselves arrested by Arpaio's deputies -- a practice that has produced an FBI corruption investigation into his practices.

-- The ongoing DOJ investigation into all of these matters finally prompted ICE to strip him of all immigration enforcement powers.

Yep, looks like Arizona Republicans have another winner on their hands. A Governor Arpaio -- who does a mighty fine George Wallace imitation -- will complete the transformation of Arizona into an Old South segregationist state.

The hits keep coming in for Arizona's Tancredo/Buchanan bill. The Mayor of Phoenix is no fan of this legislation and said this on Friday:

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon says seniors, kids and out-of-staters should be wary of the Arizona immigration bill signed into law this past week -- warning that it puts them at risk of being arrested.

The law makes illegal immigration a state crime. It gives police the authority to question people about their immigration status and arrest those who cannot show documentation to establish their legal residency.

Gordon, a staunch opponent of the state law, said that means anyone who doesn't carry an Arizona license -- children under 16, seniors who don't drive and people from out of state -- could be "at risk of being arrested and turned over to (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)."

"It tramples civil rights," Gordon told Fox News on Sunday. "Now everyone has to show and prove that they're a legal resident or citizen." The mayor of Arizona's largest city is at odds with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the bill Friday and described the legislation as her state's answer to "decades of inaction and misguided policy" in Washington.

If I thought like Sarah Palin I might say that Arizona was more interested in 'Arresting Grandma' than solving the real immigration problem. Gordon makes good points on FOX because he's talking about demographics in our society that will be out at risk. The elderly are always caught up on the down side of an issue when there are massive changes to laws like this.

Bill Hemmer does his FOX News best by quoting the odious Sheriff Arpaio, who says more people will come to Arizona because the state has become safer. Gordon smacked him around by saying that Arpaio is only making up his own statistics and noted that he's actually under criminal investigation for civil rights violations. Sheriff Arpaio is one of those trusted FOX News sources. I should also include that most of the MSM uses Boss Tweed all the time. And there are plenty of reports in the news now saying that Arizona businesses are very afraid that this law will drive business away.

"Our members are concerned," said Debbie Johnson, president and CEO of the Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association, which represents hundreds of hotels, bed and breakfasts and resorts in the state.

"They're hearing from a lot of folks who visit and they're obviously concerned with where this is playing out."

On April 28th he told CNN that he's going to sue Arizona's bill:

Mayor Phil Gordon's planned lawsuit contends Arizona's recently passed immigration law is too vague and unenforceable.

The police will enforce it just fine. I bet taser sales go through the roof and I bet that's one convention that won't be cancelled.

The Moderate Voice thinks the death of the immigration bill spells the end of Bush's power and the monolithic Rove GOP machine.

Shadow of The Hegemon's Demosthenes on why Dick Cheney stinks like thousands of dead fish.

LastLeftB4Hooterville- "Why is Republican, partisan-owned proprietary software being used for public elections?"

Over at The Arms Control Wonk, they have an update on the My Plan, Your Plan poker game over US missile defense sites in Europe. The Russians are saying Bush has until Putin reaches Kennebunkport to make his mind up.

Zeno at Halfway There gets an invite to contribute to Bush's birthday present (and changes some links to protect

the innocent).

This is the last guest round-up by Cernig @ The Newshoggers. Thanks to everyone at C&L for making me feel so welcome. Simbaud from King of Zembla will be here all next week. Try the veal.

John Amato: Thanks so much Cernig for your help. MBR is an important part of C&L.

It's not just happening on Wall Street. Americans everywhere are feeling the impact of the midterm wave and not liking it.

State senator Scott Beason got an earful from fourth-generation farmers Monday -- red-state salt-of-the-Earth folk who call themselves conservative. In Steele, Alabama, tomato farmer Leroy Smith offered Beason a bucket and asked him to experience the hard work immigrant laborers do:

Beason declined but promised to see what could be done to help farmers while still trying to keep illegal immigrants out of Alabama.

Smith threw down the bucket he offered Beason and said, "There, I figured it would be like that."

Readers may remember Scott Beason as the man who wanted to "empty the clip" on illegal immigration and referred to black people as "aborigines." In Alabama, his name has new meaning these days: "Beason lines" are where Alabamians who used to renew their car tags on the internet miss work to wait in long lines at courthouses because the law requires us to present proof of citizenship.

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