Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Arizona

  • A Case for Open Immigration?

    Spencer Case sent me a link to a short op-ed piece by Michael Huemer who teaches philosophy at the University of Colorado.  Huemer's thesis is that . . . U.S. immigration policy is fundamentally unjust. It disregards the rights and interests of other human beings, merely because those persons were born in another country. It…

  • Are Illegal Aliens Acting Immorally?

    Victor Reppert raises the question: People like [Arizona's] Governor Brewer often say that we are a nation of laws, and that is why we must make a strong stand enforcing our immigration laws. Are people who insist on a strong stand against illegal immigration gratuitously assuming that persons who enter the country illegally are acting…

  • Church, State, and Arizona SB 1070

    E. J. Montini of the Arizona Republic reports that ". . . one of the lawsuits challenging SB 1070 is based on the notion that the law inhibits First Amendment freedom to worship."  As Montini correctly states, "Among other things, SB 1070 makes it a crime to knowingly transport, harbor, conceal or shield an illegal…

  • AZ SB 1070: Why Arizona Drew a Line

    Here is a NYT op-ed piece by Kris Kobach that rebuts the irresponsible assertions and outright lies  broadcast by liberals and leftists concerning Arizona's immigration law, many of whom haven't read it.  As someone who helped draft the statute, Kobach knows whereof he speaks. See also Kobach's Defending Arizona: False Charges With No Merit.

  • The Misrepresentations of Arizona SB 1070 Continue

    People from whom one would expect intellectual honesty continue to misrepresent SB 1070.  Yet another example surfaced in this morning's Arizona Republic in a letter to the editor from Clara M. Lovett, president emerita of Northern Arizona University.  She writes: A statute that allows police to stop people on the basis of "reasonable suspicion" that…

  • Did Holder, Napolitano, Obama, et al. Lie When They Said They Hadn’t Read the Arizona Law?

    J. O. e-mails:  A caller on the Dennis Miller Show called in and said something very insightful I thought you would like. Miller was asking callers to call in about Eric Holder et al. not reading the Arizona Illegal Immigration law, and the caller said that he thought they HAD read it and were lying…

  • Another Round with Reppert on AZ SB 1070: Reasonable Suspicion

    In his most recent post on this topic, Victor Reppert tells us that his "main concern is with the 'reasonable suspicion' clause. That strikes me as horribly vague."  Here is the relevant SB 1070 passage as amended by HB 2162 which contains the clause in question: For any lawful contact stop, detention or arrest made by…

  • Cuba Attacks Arizona!

    This is good for a laugh.  First China, then Cuba.  Will North Korea join in on the fun? 

  • Mexico City and Washington Gang Up on Phoenix

    A very good piece by Debra Saunders in the SF Chronicle.  It is heartening to know that not everything that emanates from San Francisco is PeeCee nonsense. 

  • Are Immigration Laws Discriminatory?

    Liberals routinely complain that immigration laws such as the recently enacted Arizona Senate Bill 1070 are 'discriminatory.'  This is nonsense, of course, but it is important to understand why. 1.  Let's start with the very notion of discrimination.  Discrimination as such is neither good nor bad.  In this respect it is like change.  Change as…

  • I Was Forced to Show My Papers!

    Things are really getting bad here in the fascist state of Arizona.  Why just this morning I was forced to show ID when I went to vote.  I strolled into the polling place looking a fright after several hours of hiking.  I introduced myself as 'King Blog' but that cut no ice with the  old…