Inspire Political Discourse

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Lies About Her Father’s Military Service and Then Denys Lying About It

Brewer recently made a comment claiming that her father “died fighting the Nazi regime”, via The Arizona Guardian:

“Knowing that my father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany, that I lose him when I was 11 because of that...and then to have them call me Hitler's daughter. It hurts. It's ugliness beyond anything I've ever experienced.

As pointed out by The Guardian, Brewer's father, Wilford Drinkwine, actually worked as a civilian at a naval munitions depot in Hawthorne, Nevade during WWII. He died in 1955 from lung cancer, leading one to conclude that Brewer is playing fast and loose with the truth.

Now, she is ludicrously claiming that she “didn’t mislead anyone”.

“There is no way I have ever misled anybody. You're trying to make a liar out of me.

Governor Brewer, you did most certainly lie. It really is that simple.

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UPDATE: Commentary from media outlets:

Vanity Fair:

Jan Brewer, imperial sun queen of Arizona's chromatocracy, told the Arizona Republic that her father died fighting Nazis during World War II. The saga is very sad, except its tragedy is somewhat mitigated by the fact that it is extremely untrue.

Daily Kos:

Ah yes, claiming her father died fighting Nazis in Germany should, in no way, be construed as implying that her father died fighting Nazis in Germany.

Arizona Republic:

But I'm wondering if you would feel the same if the embellishments had been made by former Gov. Janet Napolitano? Because these days we seem to make excuses for those with whom we agree and condemn those with whom we disagree no matter WHAT the facts.

SB1070 Palin Again Defending What Was Wrought "We’re all Arizonians"

On Saturday, Palin spoke at a news conference with Gov. Jan Brewer [R-AZ] in an effort to discourage the growing boycott of Arizona due to SB1070, the immigration law enacted in Arizona earlier this month.

Palin defended the law by declaring President Obama responsible for the lack of secure borders, said lack "forcing" Arizona to take action to defend itself and secure it's own borders.

We're all Arizonans now. And in clear unison we say, 'Mr. President: Do your job. Secure our border”.

Okay, so here are a few FACTS for Ms. Palin:

  The crime rate in border towns has not increased for a number of years.

Pawlenty Replacement, GOP-Endorsed 2012 Gubernatorial Candidate is a Tentherist - Nullificationist

And here you thought that all the secessionists and nullificationists lived in the South…

Not so. Apparently, the GOP’s Minnesota candidate for governor, State Rep. Tom Emmer, is another one cast in the same mold. 

The Minnesota Republican Party's official candidate to succeed Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is looking ahead to a 2012 run for President, is a staunch conservative well to Pawlenty's right who has a long history of "Tentherism," the attempts by the far right-wing to invoke the Tenth Amendment and nullify federal laws on various liberal initiatives. He has even proposed a state constitutional amendment that would allow federal laws to operate in Minnesota only if they were consented to by super-majorities of the state legislature.

Russell Pearce, Original Sponsor of Draconian Arizona Immigration Law, Has Ties to White Supremacists

Russell Pearce is the chief sponsor of the Arizona bill, and as many have noted, the bill, in effect, legalizes racial profiling. From the Fayetteville Observer [emphasis mine]:

Arizona Immigration Bill Sponsor Russell Pearce Has White Supremacist Ties, Nativist Views

In 2006, Arizona state legislator Russell Pearce got himself into a bit of trouble.

Pearce is the chief sponsor of Arizona's brutal new immigration law.

In '06, he circulated emails from the National Alliance, a white supremacist group. The email defended a racially conscious white person who "looks askance at miscegenation or at the rapidly darkening racial situation in America." (Miscegenation refers to interracial relationships.)

The email went on to blame the media for forcing on the public the notion of equality of the races, the truth of the Holocaust and "the wickedness of attempting to halt the flood of non-White aliens pouring across our borders ... ."

Pearce claimed later to not know what the group was or what was in the email, but the chairman of the state Republican Party called the email a "severe mistake."

Then-U.S. representative J.D. Hayworth, who is no softy himself on illegal immigration, said: "Given the regrettable and disturbing nature of the e-mail Russell Pearce circulated earlier this week, I cannot in good conscience lend my endorsement to his candidacy for State Representative."

If the email "slip" had been Pearce's only tie to racism and nativism, maybe it would be no big deal on the scheme of things. But there's more.

• Pearce, who is now a state senator, has been videotaped and photographed palling around with nativists and white supremacists at anti-immigrant rallies, including with neo-Nazi and white power activist J.T. Ready.  
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Arizona Legalizes Racial Profiling, Ctd

Via Bob Cesca @ Huffpost on the Arizona law and neo-slavery:

And now this is the law of the state of Arizona -- arresting people, citizen or not, simply for appearing Hispanic. The ghosts of Green Cottonham, "anti-vagrancy" laws and Black Codes. America has resurrected its predilection for rounding up brown people based on flimsy excuses and good ol' boy lawmaking.

While there's no evidence that the Arizona law will feed the rise of a new underground forced labor market in the United States, it's clear that the various components of neo-slavery are here now. And the optics and civil liberties violations, say nothing of the long-term consequences, are horrible. We're on the brink of rounding up Hispanic people on ridiculous charges while American corporations are actively engaged in the trafficking of illegal immigrant labor.

How soon, I wonder, until we read about Hispanic people -- citizens or otherwise -- being picked up for not having their birth certificates and other "papers" in their back pockets and consequently shipped off on some sort of prison "work release" program to a cabbage farm or meat packing plant?

Arizona Legalizes Racial Profiling

The Arizona Republican anti-immigration bill. Where to start. A bill that legalizes the worst kind of racial profiling, making it a crime to be an illegal immigrant in Arizona.
In my opinion, it harkens back to the creation of neo-slavery in the South after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Bill Moyers Journal

Arizona’s Anti-Immigration Bill Likely to Pass

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, has until tomorrow to sign, veto, or allow the nation's toughest bill on illegal immigration to pass without her signature. It is expected that she will sign it, making it a crime to be an illegal immigrant in Arizona.

Civil rights activists have said the bill would lead to racial profiling and deter Hispanics from reporting crimes. Hundreds of Hispanics protested the legislation at the State Capitol complex on Thursday.

UPDATE: President Obama's comments on the Arizona bill this morning:

Our failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others. That includes for example the recent efforts in Arizona which threaten basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe. In fact, I’ve instructed members of my administration to closely monitor the situation and examine the civil rights and other implications of this legislation.

But if we continue to fail to act at a federal level, we will continue to see misguided efforts to open up across the country.

Oklahoma Tea Party to Form Militia to Fight the Feds?

The Oklahoma Tea Party has decided that it would like to form an armed militia to defend Oklahoma against “infringements” by the Federal Government. They claim to have lawmakers on their side.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.

Tea party movement leaders say they've discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force. [……]

The question begs to be asked…is the wind sweeping through their ears? Is this even legal?

Not according to the U.S. Code via Cornell (law school):

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 115 > § 2384
§ 2384. Seditious conspiracy
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If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

*Image of an Oklahoma City Tea Party Protest from Left Eye on the Media

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VIDEO: Interview With Tea Party Racist Moron Carl Paladino

Yesterday, we posted a link to a breaking story about Carl Paladino, the Tea Party gubernatorial candidate in New York.

Today, Paladino was confronted at a Buffalo, NY rally by WNYMedia on camera, and yet Paladino never answers a direct question, just babbles incoherently about how this expose is a “Democrat smear”.

Via Think Progress:

Q: Do you condemn the stuff that was forwarded in those e-mails?
PALADINO: I don’t know. I don’t know what e-mails you’re referring to specifically. I wouldn’t even know half of them if I saw them.
Q: Let’s take a look at some of them. … Is that appropriate for somebody who’s running for governor to forward to other people? It’s a very simple question.
PALADINO: Is it appropriate for the Democrats to want to smear — Q: Carl, I’m not asking about the Democrats.
PALADINO: They can hear the rumblings, okay, of something happening.
Q: What does this have to do with the Democrats?
PALADINO: Everything.

Kudos to WNYMedia.net for exposing this creep.

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Palin Appoints Another Pal

:: Palin does it again. Long known for her inclination to appoint her pals, regardless of qualifications, to positions over which she has control, Palin has now appointed an unlikely unqualified pal to replace the current lieutenant governor, Sean Parnell, should he be unable to serve. From The Anchorage Daily News:

If Sean Parnell could no longer serve as lieutenant governor, Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt would replace him. Gov. Sarah Palin recently appointed Schmidt to fall behind Parnell in the line of succession, said Bill McAllister, her director of communications. Under state law, she must tap someone from her Cabinet to succeed Parnell should the office of lieutenant governor became vacant. Talis Colberg held that position when he was attorney general. He resigned earlier this month.

If both Palin and Parnell left office early, Schmidt would become governor.

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Another Attack on Roe V. Wade

:: This one is in the form of H.R. 35 in Alaska, a bill which seeks to require parental consent for anyone under 17 to receive an abortion. And as you might have presumed, the bill is supported by Sarah Palin. From the Anchorage Daily News:

 

Gov. Sarah Palin on Thursday threw her support behind a controversial bill that would generally require parental consent before girls under age 17 could get an abortion.

"Wherever you fall on the abortion issue, right or left, this legislation is about family, and it's about parents' rights and protecting our children, and it's supported by legislators on both sides of the aisle."

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Anger of Unemployed at Governors Talking About Rejecting Stimulus

:: Most of these governors are in the southern states, all are Republicans except Bredesen of Tennessee, and Palin, Sanford, and Jindal, are ringleaders. From the New York Times:

As governors in nine states, mostly in the South, consider rejecting millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for increased unemployment insurance, there is growing anger among the ranks of the jobless in those states that they could be left out of a significant government benefit.

Related posts on IPD:
| Governor Sanford Offers His Unemployed Constituent Prayers Rather Than Stimulus Money
| Bobby Jindal, the Republican Governor of Louisiana, Deprives Citizens of Louisiana of $90+ Million in Additional Unemployment Benefits
| GOP Governors of Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, South Carolina and Idaho Consider Rejecting Stimulus Money
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Burris' Son Hired by Blagojevich to Work for State

:: The good news for Burris just never ends. Currently the subject of a Senate ethics probe, and a perjury investigation by the top prosecutor in Sangamon County, this is the icing on the proverbial cake.
Burris'  son, a federal tax deadbeat, was hired to provide counsel for the state's housing authority on Sept. 10. If nothing else, this just looks bad. And, in spite of repeated calls from both Democrats and Republicans for Burris to resign, the man simply won't.

From the Chicago Sun Times:

Blagojevich's administration hired Roland W. Burris II as a senior counsel for the state's housing authority Sept. 10 -- about six weeks after the Internal Revenue Service slapped a $34,163 tax lien on Burris II and three weeks after a mortgage company filed a foreclosure suit on his South Side house.

Burris II's hiring, however, raises more questions about Sen. Burris' interactions with Blagojevich and his inner circle at a time when the governor was soliciting Sen. Burris for campaign contributions and Burris was angling to have Blagojevich appoint him to the Senate seat once held by President Obama.

Image source AP. 
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Governor Sanford Offers His Unemployed Constituent Prayers Rather Than Stimulus Money

:: Like lemmings to the sea. Yet another GOP governor says that he will not accept some of the stimulus money. The unemployed once again appear to be the target. From Think Progress:

On C-SPAN’s Washington Journal this morning, Sanford received a call from a Charleston resident who said he lost his job because he has been taking care of mother and sister, both of whom have serious illnesses. The caller told Sanford he is “wrong” to decline the money. “A lot of people in South Carolina are hurting. And if this money can come and help us out we need it.” In response, Sanford could offer him only his prayers:

CALLER: I hope you all are not playing politics with this. People in South Carolina are hurting. You know how unemployment rates are high right now and going up higher. We are running out of money in the unemployment bank — we need money for that, the people that need help. And I’m one of them, I can’t get no help. […]

SANFORD: Well I’d say hello to Charleston because its home and I’d say hello to this fellow this morning and say that my prayers are going to be with him and his family because it sounds like he is in an awfully tough spot.

From Think Progress:

Sanford offered no other alternative solution for his constituent and instead argued that the state could not accept money to extend unemployment benefits because “increasing the tax on unemployment insurance” would negatively “impact the caller’s family” (although he didn’t say how).

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) — who sponsored an amendment to the stimulus bill that would allow state legislatures to “accept stimulus funding over the objections of conservative governors” — chastised Sanford on MSNBC this morning. “This program is an opportunity for Governor Sanford to target” the “chronically unemployed” and “chronically sick” communities in South Carolina. “I have got to believe that he is willing…to help these communities,” Clyburn said, asking,”Why won’t he?”

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Bobby Jindal, the Republican Governor of Louisiana, Deprives Citizens of Louisiana of $90+ Million in Additional Unemployment Benefits

:: I have been having a really blah day. Nothing got to me today, and nothing motivated me much either. Until I read that Republican Governor, Bobby Jindal had actually deprived the citizens of his state of certain unemployment benefits provided for in the stimulus package intended for Louisiana. Now I don't know about you, but I know that here in Michigan, people with out jobs are hurting. I also feel certain that just because they live in Louisiana doesn't mean that they are hurting less.

The idea that a man responsible for the welfare of a state could blithely and openly do something so egregious, so stupid, and with such an enormous impact on his constituents, in order to play a game of political craps, is unbelievable to me. In his effort to separate himself from the herd, and clearly planning his presidential run in 2012, he has done the people who elected him a disservice that is not even calcuable at this point.  From Think Progress:

When President Obama signed the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act last week, it included three different provisions to benefit unemployed workers. The first provided funding to states that allowed for a $25 per week increase in benefits. The second extended the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program which gives 20 weeks of federally-funded unemployment benefits to individuals “who had already collected all regular state benefits,” while the third provision widened the pool of people eligible to receive unemployment benefits.

Today, however, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced his intention to oppose changing state law to allow his Lousiana citizens to qualify for the second two unemployment provisions. Jindal said the state would only be accepting money to increase the unemployment insurance payments for those who currently qualify for unemployment insurance.

And just so you know, this is the same guy who in 2008, was subjected to a recall petition when he refused to veto a pay increase for state legislators. From WIkipedia:

On June 27, 2008, Louisiana's Secretary of State confirmed that a recall petition had been filed against Governor Jindal. Ryan and Kourtney Fournier filed the petition in response to Jindal's refusal to veto a bill that would more than double the current state legislative pay. The petitioners had 180 days to collect the signatures of over 900,000 registered voters to force a recall election on the ballot. If accomplished, a simple majority would have been needed to remove the Governor. During his campaign for Governor, Jindal had pledged to prevent legislative pay raises that would take effect during the current term Jindal responded by saying that he is opposed to the pay increase but that he had pledged to let the legislature govern themselves.

On June 30, 2008, Governor Jindal reversed his earlier position by vetoing the pay raise legislation, stating that he made a mistake by staying out of the pay raise issue. In response, the petitioners dropped their recall effort.

Gov Jindal, you are TOAST, dude.

Image source Flicker photographer dsb nola.
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GOP Governors of Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, South Carolina and Idaho Consider Rejecting Stimulus Money

UPDATE No. 1 - 1:06 PM: First to cave: Gov. Sanford Hedges of South Carolina says "being against the plan doesn't preclude taking the money."  Make me laugh, GOP losers. Really the hypocrisy of the GOP pols is positively hysterical!

:: Let me be clear. They have not yet rejected it outright, they are currently just making NOISE. Led by Bobby Jindahl of Lousiana, these govs think that the citizens of their states don't need or want the money.
My opinion? These guys are clearly not working for their constituents, but hey, you voted the idiots in to office, and you continue to support GOP IDIOCY. Take that however you like. LMAO in Michigan. From HUFFPOST:

U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., the No. 3 House Democrat, said the governors _ some of whom are said to be eyeing White House bids in 2012 _ are putting their own interests first.
"No community or constituent should be denied recovery assistance due to their governor's political ideology or political aspirations," Clyburn said Wednesday.

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RELATED POSTS:

» Update to The House Republicans Celebrate Their Failure
» The House Republicans Celebrate Their Failure
» Conservatives Call GOP Stimulus Strategy "braindead"
» President Obama Signs the Stimulus Bill - Video of Speech and Signing
» President Obama Signs the Stimulus Bill - Transcript of Remarks

California on the Verge of Bankruptcy - Cutting 10,000 State Jobs Today

:: A state hit hard by Republican governance, the Republican Party in California refused to support tax increases, and this is the end result. Will the GOP refusal to put country and state first ever end?   From HUFFPOST:

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg announced late Monday that lawmakers had failed to find the final vote in his chamber as Republicans refused to support tax increases.

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On Amendment 48, Measure 11, and Proposition 4

If you are pro-choice and live in California, Colorado or South Dakota, please help to defeat these ballot initiatives for they will eventually affect women nationwide.

The pro-life crowd may ever more frequently be heard saying "I'm pro-choice, but I believe that it should be decided by the states." Can you say "bait and switch" twice rapidly?  That is exactly what defines this statement, and here is why.

Local organizers have been busy at work pushing to get direct challenges to Roe Vs Wade on state ballots. Currently, three states have measures on their ballots which directly attack pro-choice.

Colorado is the most dangerous of the three as a challenge to Roe Vs Wade, and to the rights of women in the state of Colorado. Additionally, if Amendment 48 passes, women in Colorado may find it difficult to utilize certain types of contraception, fertility  and related treatments, thus affecting not only those who are pro-choice and wish to have an abortion, but affecting any woman who simply wishes to use contraception, etc., even the pro-life crowd.

The stewards of Measure 11 and Amendment 48 created these ballot initiatives in the knowledge that they will be challenged. They are gambling that when a challenge occurs, the Supreme Court will have enough conservative (via McCain selections) judges to overturn Roe Vs Wade.

1. California - Proposition 4 | would limit but not ban abortion by requiring parental notification for minors. ["Proposition 4 is endorsed by Americans United for Life, among others. This is an organization that has worked to slowly erode women's access to abortion care with bills that limit available abortion methods after 12 to 13 weeks of pregnancy; require waiting periods, biased counseling, and ultrasound viewings prior to an abortion; create burdensome and medically unnecessary regulations for abortion clinics; assert that fetuses feel pain during an abortion; and allow health care employees to refuse to counsel, refer, or treat patients for any service to which they object. In other words, Americans United for Life and its allies favor laws that make it exceptionally hard to get an abortion--through cost, distance, stigma, and delay--but do not explicitly ban abortion."  ........]
2. South Dakota - Measure 11 | would ban abortion except under very limited circumstances
3. Colorado - Amendment 48 | Would create a definition of a fertilized egg as a person, resulting in severe restrictions on access to abortion, fertility treatments, birth control, and stem cell research.

Videos after the jump. Cross-posted on Inspire Emotion.