Immigration Law Boycott Causing “Near Economic Crisis” In Phoenix

Phoenix is suffering economically because of the lack of business coming its way as a result of Arizona’s restrictive immigration law.  The city council did a study on the impact of canceled conventions and other trips to the area.

The study assumed that each event brings 5000 people to the city as delegates, and that each delegate spends a total of around $1400, according to David Krietor, a city official who put it together. Assuming around 13 canceled events, the city calculated a loss of around $90 million, according to a Powerpoint presentation provided to TPMmuckraker.

But it’s worth taking that …

Oil Rig Disaster Enabled By Lack Of Regulation

For all the anti-government spewing taking place, it appears as though regulation of oil rigs could have prevented the Gulf disaster. A series of equipment failures underscores how little regulation there is at off-shore drilling sites.

Wednesday’s hearings by congressional and administration panels – in Washington and in Louisiana – laid out a checklist of unseen breakdowns on largely unregulated aspects of well safety that appear to have contributed to the April 20 blowout: a leaky cement job, a loose hydraulic fitting, a dead battery.

The sequence of events indicates how lack of oversight might have prevented the leakage.…

Owner Of Tampa Bay Strip Club Promises Discretion When GOP Arrives

Democrat Joe Redner, owner of the Mons Venus, is all set for the 2012 Republican convention, which has chosen Tampa as its location.
(h/t Taegan Goddard)

“Any time there’s a convention the clubs do well,” he said. “Some of them frequent clubs everywhere they go. Some of them are curious because it’s the Mons Venus. I promise I won’t tell anybody when they come into the club.”…

Signs Of An Improving Job Market

Claims for unemployment insurance are down for the fourth straight week. Employers are hiring again, but not at a fast enough rate to reduce the jobless rate.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims dropped last week by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 444,000. That’s slightly above analysts’ estimates, according to Thomson Reuters. The previous week’s total was revised up to 448,000.

The four-week average, which smooths out volatility, registered a steeper decline. It fell by 9,000 to 450,500 — close to the average’s lowest level this year reached in late March.

Claims need to fall below 425,000 to …

Los Angeles City Council Bans Travel To Arizona

The Los Angeles City Council has banned most government travel to Arizona and future contracts with Arizona companies.

During a morning-long debate on the resolution, council members compared Arizona’s action to Nazi Germany and the beginning of the Holocaust, as well as the internment and deportation of Japanese Americans during World War II. A new Arizona law, which will take effect July 23, will require police to determine whether people they stop are in the country illegally, which critics say will lead to racial profiling.

“Los Angeles the second-largest city in this country, an immigrant city, an international city. It …

Laura Bush Supports Abortion Rights And Gay Marriage

Laura Bush told Larry King she supports gay marriage, and that it will eventually be law.  She also says she is pro-choice and believes abortions should remain legal.  She says she doesn’t argue with her husband about these issues because, “I understand his viewpoint and he understands mine.”

…

On Wednesday’s Radio Show…

• Perfect Storm author Sebastian Junger, whose powerful new book is WAR, tells Alan about the 15 months he spent with a U.S. Army platoon in eastern Afghanistan.

• Not again, Arizona! Alan examines the Grand Canyon State’s latest anti-minority legislation.

• Alan weighs in on Pat Buchanan’s questionable use of gender stereotypes in evaluating Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.…

SC Luv Guv Back With Argentine Mistress

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is trying to hop back on the Appalachian Trail.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford confirmed Wednesday that he spent last weekend trying to rekindle a relationship with an Argentine woman he once called his “soul mate.”

“As a matter of record, everybody in this room knows exactly who I was with over the weekend,” Sanford told reporters during a press conference. “That is no mystery to anybody given what I said last summer. And you know the purpose was obviously to see if something could be restarted on that front, given the rather enormous …

GOP Congressional Candidate Wants “Hunting Permits…To Thin The Liberal Herd”

California Congressional District 11 Republican candidate Brad Goehring wants to “thin the liberal herd,” and would do so with hunting permits if he could, according to now-deleted post from his Facebook page.
(via Crooks and Liars)

“If I could issue hunting permits, I would officially declare today opening day for liberals. The season would extend through November 2 and have no limits on how many taken as we desperately need to “thin” the herd.”

Goehring now says he hit the “share” button too soon, before he could add, “we would use votes and not bullets.” Nevertheless, this …

Tennessee Republicans Pushing Guns In Bars

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen (pictured) is deciding whether or not to veto a new bill that would allow guns in bars.
(h/t Think Progress)

Bredesen vetoed a similar measure last year flanked by law enforcement and prosecutors who opposed the bill, but he was easily overriden by the Legislature. The law was later declared unconstitutionally vague, so lawmakers this year passed a new version to try to eliminate any ambiguities.

Last year’s version sought to exclude establishments that predominantly serve alcohol, but Tennessee makes no legal distinction between bars and restaurants. This year’s bill makes no exclusions for …

Arizona Restricts Ethnic Studies Progams

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, fresh off her signing of the harshest immigration law in the country, has signed a bill that restricts the teaching of ethnic studies.

The law prohibits the teaching of any classes that promote “the overthrow of the United States government,” “resentment toward a race or class of people,” “are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

Neither the governor nor the bill’s supporters have identified examples where a Chicano studies class has advocated the “overthrow” of the federal government, and the …