With the D-Backs swoon and football still weeks away, we are deep into summertime blues. The searing heat of a Phoenix summer has created quite a brain swelter.
The only thing left to do with goings on of the State and its political news is to… laugh. The reaction may perhaps be considered dark, but nevertheless, these stories generate a least a bit of a wry smile:
1. To Mock an Inmate!
The local and national media was mouth breathing last week when it took nearly two hours for an Arizona inmate to be executed. Michael Kiefer, of the Arizona Republic, dutifully recorded the number of times the inmate snored, gulping for air, demonstrating the “botched” execution.
Ironically, it all could have been prevented if the defense lawyers and the death penalty opponents were not engaged in an all out effort to publicly intimidate the pharmaceutical companies. They've created such a hysteria that states are refusing to divulge where the drugs are coming from and pharmaceutical companies are reticent to make correct drugs to carry out the execution in a timely manner.
This drama does not star any Atticus Finch's; the true villains are the defense attorneys ensuring their own death row clients' execution does not happen in a timely manner to drive public hysteria on the inhumanity of the death penalty.
Rated R for ridiculous: dark humor, adult situations, and irony.
2. Mission Accomplished Part 2 — Staring President Obama
A New York Times story on Saturday indicated that nearly half of all unaccompanied children initially placed in shelters have gone on to be reunited with at least one parent already living in the United States.
This summer blockbuster stars President Obama doing his best to mitigate any bipartisan support for substantive immigration reform. A true disaster movie, the protagonists actions pretty much crush any hopes of addressing our nation's broken immigration and border security policies.
This drama makes American audiences wince at the comparisons between a Kremlin oligarch set on doing whatever he wants and a President of a constitutional democracy acting in nearly identical ways.
All the while the national media is willfully swallowing the White House narrative as if they worked for Pravda:
- Migrant Children — how many of these kids are teens? How many parents with children have been resettled in the US? Reports say they have been placed mostly with family. Mostly? Really, is that an accurate assessment and how do they know?
- Â Fleeing Central American Violence — Well of course, let's open up the US to folks from the Ukraine, Syria and Gaza as well. Let's make a foreign policy crisis a domestic one. Obama's foreign policy mishaps are legendary, his domestic accomplishments, well everyone knows about those!
In September of 2012, New York Times columnist, David Brooks wrote that, “The next President has to do three big things, which are in conflict with one another, increase growth, reduce debt, and increase social equity. The Democrats offer no actual plan, but Obama at least offers a vague whiff that he would be capable of advancing these cross cutting challenges.”
Much of politics today is just about winning an election — not about governing. Like Wall Street where it doesn’t matter if your client makes money, it’s only important that a trader prospers. Today winning an election is an end in itself. Even if this were not true, Brooks' conclusion has one other fatal flaw.
Obama lacks the humility necessary to be a 21st century consensus builder. His competitive instincts make him have to be the smartest guy in the room, which is a major turn off. Obama lacks Dr. King's willingness to sacrifice himself for a cause that was greater than him. Obama doesn’t know anyone or thing greater than himself.
Rated PG-13, only suitable for older migrant children: Dark Humor, Adult Situations, Michael Moore is on permanent vacation from any attempt to use the same ridicule he focused on previous administrations on this imperial presidency.
3. The Manchurian Endorsement
For those Arizonans paying attention at the end of July, Sunday's Arizona Republic endorsement of Doug Ducey was a bit of a summer time shocker.
The editorial began with two paragraphs of policy accolades for Mesa Mayor Scott Smith and mentioned that he alone was the only candidate for Governor on the Republican ticket who had endorsed all of Governor Jan Brewer's major policy initiatives. You know, the same one's the Republic editorial board has been supporting as well; Proposition 100, Medicaid Restoration, Arizona College and Career Ready Standards, etc.
Right, so the endorsement goes to… Doug Ducey? Talk about a M. Night Shyamalan twist.
The paper went onto recite all of the “big name” endorsements that Doug Ducey's campaign has received and ended by mentioning that even the “Big Unit” himself had endorsed the conservative ice cream guy. Really? Randy Johnson sealed the gubernatorial endorsement?
We suspect that there may be some pigeon feathers flying around on this one…
Ok, so here is the secret inside the Manchurian endorsement — the Arizona Republic really wants Fred DuVal to be your next Governor.
So when Christine Jones and the “Better Leaders for Arizona” get done dragging the conservative ice cream guy into the Arizona summer time sun, the Arizona Republic will backtrack and say again, that there is no Republican fit to serve.
There you go; the paper is really back to where it was all along!
This drama has not yet been rated. Wait for this blockbuster to appear on your screens in early September!