BREAKING NEWS: WASHINGTON - Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers announced he will conduct a hearing in April to examine the conduct of Sheriff Joe Arpaio for civil rights abuses. The investigation will include accusations of Racial Profiling. Local Mayors, officials and citizens charged Arpaio and his volunteer (masked) deputies racially profiled Latinos when they conducted sweeps of Latino neighborhoods in the Phoenix area looking for illegal immigrants. Conyers said the hearing will also examine other possible abuses of the 287(g) program that allows local police departments to enforce federal immigration laws.
The Justice Department's civil rights division said in a letter to Arpaio this week that he is under investigation for an alleged pattern of discriminatory police practices and of discrimination based on national origin.
The honorable Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, who asked for a federal investigation of Arpaio a year ago, said Tuesday he is encouraged that one has finally begun. "One year ago, I raised questions and concerns about possible civil rights violators by the sheriff against American citizens, military veterans and immigrants of every legal status, based on skin color," Gordon said in a written statement. "Since that time, we have seen an encouraging and dramatic turnaround in attitude at the U..S. Department of Justice. We should all be encouraged that our new attorney general is taking these issues seriously and this is the right thing to do."
Various Civil Rights organizations, including the NCLR, the National Immigration Forum and America's Voice have stated: "—“For some time we have been concerned about Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s abuse of authority under Maricopa County’s 287(g) contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A
rpaio has made it clear that he and his deputies have little regard for due process, civil liberties, and their obligation to protect all residents of Maricopa County. We look with hope to the Civil Rights Division investigation. We hope that the Department of Justice will send a signal to local law enforcement agencies throughout America and restore the rule of law to Maricopa County. This is long overdue.”
rpaio has made it clear that he and his deputies have little regard for due process, civil liberties, and their obligation to protect all residents of Maricopa County. We look with hope to the Civil Rights Division investigation. We hope that the Department of Justice will send a signal to local law enforcement agencies throughout America and restore the rule of law to Maricopa County. This is long overdue.”Perhaps now we will see Justice occur, especially for those little girls who were terrorized by Arpaio and his masked henchmen during their Confirmation Mass.
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From the AZ Republic:
"People should not live in fear in their neighborhoods.
People should not be targeted by police because of the color of their skin.
These are accepted truths, right? As American as jazz music.
Yet people in your community say the immigration sweeps perpetrated by Sheriff Joe Arpaio make them feel vulnerable, targeted and afraid.
The people saying this are not the illegal immigrants Arpaio wants to catch.
They are Latino citizens and legal permanent residents. They have deep roots in this state.
There is no justification for subjecting them to more intense scrutiny simply because they look like many illegal immigrants.
Respect for human rights cannot be ignored for the sake of convenience or because of a politician's desire to curry favor with restrictionist and anti-immigrant factions.
Arpaio says he doesn't engage in racial profiling. Many, including Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and this newspaper, wanted a second opinion.
So we welcome the U.S. Justice Department's decision to investigate whether Maricopa County's popular sheriff is brushing aside civil rights as he launches immigration sweeps in Latino neighborhoods. Arpaio says he welcomes the investigation, too. Good.
That suggests he knows that what's at stake goes beyond an immigration debate that turned ugly years ago. What's at stake are American ideals of liberty and justice"
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2009/03/12/20090312thur1-12.html
Dee,
I am so happy to hear this news, I can't describe it! I hope Arpaio loses his position and even does some jail time for his abuses (people have been tortured and died under his watch). To tell the truth, I wasn't sure about Attorney General Holder at first (his advocacy for Chiquita Brands regarding paramilitary death squads in Colombia disturbs me). But I am so glad that he is taking Arpaio's civil rights violations and his racial profiling seriously. Finally, some wonderful news! Thank you for passing this along. :-)
AZ, The DOJ hearing was just announced this week. arpaio will finally be held accoutable for all of his racial profiling!
Analisa,
I agree. I also hope he loses his position. He is a dangerous man full of hate. He should retire and seek help.
By the way, Dee, did you see who showed up on change.org? Yes, your old "friend" Liquidmicro! The thing that irks me is that I can't respond to his latest inanities or it will just encourage him more. He thinks that I was somehow flattering him when I was referring to Dave - my comment about how someone who is both brilliant AND compassion inspires respect. That silly man is just as conceited as ever (you were so right when you said he was pompous!) I don't think it's an accident that he showed up on Dave's blog, and it appears that he's not even clever enough to post on more blogs than the ones you and have visited - which makes his targets rather obvious(he'll probably breach out once he reads this). It doesn't look like he's really interested in debating Dave because he would be out of his league! (but that could change too) Ay, I just wish the fool would leave us all alone! Sorry Dee, I just had to get that out.
I'm glad for some good news, though. :-)
Analisa,
I am not surprised. He is still angry at me for not letting him post his negative comments here anymore, though he still tries from time to time.
Don't worry about him. He will get tired of harassing soon enough.
Storm Trooper Joe represents the worst of America. When I think of freedom Arpayaso does not come into my mind. When I think of liberty I somehow cannot put the clown in the same thought. When I think about the pursuit of happiness I cannot see the self-promoting, grand-standing violator of human rights.
Little Joe is the anti-America American.
Ugly Comments, Offensive Notes, Hate Mail.
Dennis "the Menace", Mr Wilson and Ugly Notes
Hate Comments, Racist Writings and other Misdemeanors
As a guy that has received so much hate mail and ugly comments, I have to think of the "perpetrators" and what are their reasons to be so mean and so poisoned with this venom of Hate and Racial Hatred.
It is a good thing to start with Dennis "the Menace" the first perpetrator of Evil Actions on Mr Wilson, like ruining the flowers, the garden or the lawn of Mr Wilson.
I hope that Dennis "the Menace" evolved into a nice Engineer, Architect, Lawyer, Executive of a Corporation or even a Good Politician supporting Mr Obama and away from that nasty Republican Party that has produced so many surprises recently, and so much material for comedians and clowns.
This topic of "innocent" misdemeanor and small delinquency has a lot to do with Criminality, Murder, Extorsion, War, Kidnapping, Torture and Sexual Harassment.
A guy that is an idiot and a lone wolf sees a movie with a very beautiful and sexy actress. Then that fool, that does not love and is not loved, decides that she is or will be his girlfriend. That is a Great delusion, but the guy continues collecting movies, photos, cuts from the press or magazines, etc ... And he sends weird letters to the Woman that he has never met.
One day this poor sick man kills the movie actress, because of jealousy or whatever.
This is not a movie or fiction. This is reality and has happened.
And I have witnessed many acts of Sexual harassment against Women and I have had to intervene to protect the Women, for example answering a phone in an office, answering a door, etc... or saying something harsh to the pepetrator. Sexual or Romantic Harassment is more common than what you think.
But the point that I want to underline is the fundamental sickness of the perpetrator, filled with delusions like the Nazis and the Racists that believe to be a Superior Race, and that get inside an organization in order to be something because before being inside they are nothing, nothingness, empty lives, failed lives, losers.
It is the idiotic organization filled with delusions that gives meaning to their lives. Or the idiotic websites that they visit frequently and that tell them that they are the Superior Top Echelon of Evolution and therefore they can commit any crime against Humanity and against Morality, because the others are subspecies. That was the case of Murderer Keith Luke in Brockton Mass, visiting a Hate Website continuously. And Dannie Roy Baker in Florida been inspired by Political Organizations with agendas of Hate.
That is what Nazism and Fascism taught and continue teaching to these millions of losers filled with inferiority complexes and inadequacies. And what Hate TV and Radio teach every day and every evening.
The Columbine High School, the Knoxville Church, or the Virginia Tech Massacre. All these unhappy events have a load of Resentment, Hate, Envy, Delusions, Incredible Idiotic Fantasies, and the Machinations and Imaginations of Losers and Fools with little Intelligence.
Vicente Duque
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