Rum, Romanism and Rebellion

I’m catching up on things that I have been meaning to write for the last week or so. I had to fire my entire staff due to the falling dollar, the collapse of the sub-prime lending market and my continuing ennui following the break-ups of both Sleater-Kinney and The Beta Sweat.

Anyhow, it seems that Phil Gordon is a believer in the political saw, “It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.” Over the last week or so, he has been in near genuflection before latino and progressive leaders in Phoenix over his reversal on local police’s role in immigration enforcement. His Vizier, Gerardo Higginson, sent this letter out on the Mayor’s behalf:

Hello All - 

On behalf of Mayor Gordon, I want to update you with some information in reference to his recent request to draft a new Phoenix Police Operations Order 1.4.

The panel helping to draft a new procedure has met and will start its work next week. The panel consists of former U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton, former U.S. Attorney Jose Rivera, former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods and former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley. This panel will listen to and work with the City Manager and Police Department, and present their advice directly to the Chief and City Manager.

Last Wednesday during a media availability session, the Mayor spoke with Spanish-language media and made it very clear that he “would not support any police procedure that would lead to routine immigration enforcement or racial profiling — and the recommendations must meet all state and federal constitutional guarantees.”  The Police Chief has made the same commitment. 
Also, the Mayor asked the community to “give the panel the opportunity to work on a procedure that meets those criteria.”

The Mayor welcomes all comments and is thankful for the community’s input.

Our office has been receiving comments from the community via fax and telephone calls.  All comments will be forwarded to the panel. The Mayor supports the Latino community’s effort to organize a town hall meeting for all our residents to express their opinions and concerns to the members of the panel. The town hall meeting is set for 6:30 pm, Dec. 13 at South Mountain High School.

The Mayor is also meeting with various members of the Hispanic community, including faith and business leaders.

Thank you,

Gerardo Higginson
Senior Assistant to the Mayor

(”Hello All?” So…formal.)

A particularly, um, spirited, reply went out to Higginson and other elected officials:

Gerardo: What the mayor has done cannot be countenanced nor sugar-coated with a panel of former chief prosecutors. The mayor is going to have the cops throwing honest, hard-working people in jail. Plain and simple. These folks will then be deported. More families will be torn apart. Children will suffer.

Bravo! What a statesman, this mayor. How does it feel for him to be in bed with the State’s supreme racists, Nickel-Bag Joe, Candy Andy and Rabid Russell?

The prosecutor panel will draft guidelines to make sure constitutional rights are not violated. Yeah, right! The constitution, several court decisions, numerous statutes and countless policies all prohibit racial profiling. Empty words drafted by a panel will not change the entrenched practice of racial profiling. Do not try to pass-off a pig with lipstick as a centerfold model. The mayor’s disgusting sell-out to a bunch of racists gives the green light for the arrest of people based on their brown skin, their accents and appearance. No bullshit panel will prevent racial profiling where all the laws and policies have failed. The mayor thinks we are as stupid and he is insincere.

Face it, the only way to arrest undocumented people is by engaging in racial profiling. Those who do not want to face this reality would good members of the Flat Earth Society. Tell your mayor to stop stooping so low as to try to sell snake oil. He has insulted me enough already. How ludicrous does he want to continue to look, thinking he can sell the patent faleshood that there won’t be any racial profiling? How can you stand working for this low-life?

The mayor is like a cheap hooker. He bent over so easy for the haters. Didn’t even put up a fight. For me, he has no character and no balls. With regard to the prosecutor panel, my advise to the mayor is “shove it.”

Antonio D. Bustamante
Attorney at Law

Yeowtch!

NB - Some of you may be asking, “Gawd, where did you get that awful picture of Mayor Gordon.” Strangely enough, I got it from the front page of his own website.