Venomous column signals bent of Republic’s new ownership

The steady decline of the Hillary-endorsing Arizona Republic appears to have exacerbated with its recent acquisition by Gatehouse. The newspaper was actually founded in 1890 as the Arizona Republican, a name it kept for nearly half a century. Later, the then-conservative newspaper flourished under the ownership of Eugene and Nina Pulliam, changing its direction after their deaths.

The best indication of the course being taken is the massive photo of an elephant’s backside atop this headline: “I leave GOP as it turns its back on what it stood for.”

The “Your Turn guest column,” a shifty vehicle for securing free editorials, is written by a Mesa immigration lawyer with the incongruous name of Yasser Sanchez. A dichotomy of complexities, he’s also a graduate of BYU.

As our astute readers have likely guessed, President Donald Trump is at the core of Sanchez’ complaints. Among Sanchez’ litany of criticisms is what he refers to by the left’s favored contrived term of “nativism.” “Nationalism,” a reliable indicator of love of country and patriotism is also the recipient of his ire. According to Sanchez, such feelings are pejoratives.

The lawyer needs to revisit our nation’s founding documents. Included in his litany of things that “sicken him” are the freedoms delineated in the Second Amendment. He is also “repulsed” by President Trump.

Sanchez, who says he came to the United States as a child with his parents doesn’t clarify if they entered legally, but he misuses the term “undocumented immigrants” when describing illegal aliens, the legally correct, precise term used by the U.S. Supreme Court.  The high court has decided numerous cases involving federal immigration law using “illegal alien” — as Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, capably points out in this brief column.

Sanchez also has an aversion to the term “invasion,” though it would be interesting to know what he calls hundreds of thousands of people who illegally breach our sovereign border on their way to accessing American taxpayer funded benefits while flipping off border agents.

As pointed out in this Media Research Center’s now older though still accurate report, “The Liberal Media: Every Poll Shows Journalists Are More Liberal than the American Public — And the Public Knows It.”

The policy of insulting its few remaining readers that brought Gannett and the industry to it’s knees, is obviously the path the that will be followed by the newspaper’s new ownership.

If you still subscribe, save your money. The insults will keep coming.  Why fund them?

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Why stabbing fatalities fly under the media radar

The recent wave of killings of innocents by knife wielding criminals has garnered scant coverage by the left-wing, agendized news media. In the past couple of days, vicious stabbing fatalities have increased without grabbing national headlines or being exploited by Democrat politicians.

Zachary Castaneda, a 33-year-old convicted felon and known gang member — described by the Garden Grove, California police chief as “full of anger” motivated by “robbery, hate, homicide,” — went on a two-hour, two-handed stabbing and robbery rampage in Southern California. He randomly killed four people and wounded two others using “some sort of machete knives.”  Law enforcement officials say changes in state law led to Castaneda being released from prison earlier than he previously would have been. In 2011 California’s Democrat controlled legislature, passed Assembly Bill 109, approved by Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown. The aim was to reduce prison populations via machinations.

The police chief noted the suspect and all his victims were Hispanic.

This clearly doesn’t play into the “racist” narrative that has irrationally been hung around President Trump’s neck by scheming leftists.

Neither does the stabbing fatality that took place in New York as William Rivas, 39, fatally stabbed his wife, Carmen Santiago multiple times in the back at a nail salon where she worked. Shocked witnesses filmed part of the horrific, bloody attack on their phones.

Hispanic killers don’t fit the left’s hypocritical playbook. Neither are knifes and machetes included in Second Amendment protections that radical leftists want to abolish.  There is no equivalent of the NRA protecting long blades.

Media irretrievably corrupted: contemptible arm of Dem Party

Beware: Gun control is on the horizon

The New York Times, which ordinarily doesn’t allow access to non-subscribers, has broken its own rule to herald this headlined report: ‘Red Flag’ Gun Control Bills Pick Up Momentum With G.O.P. in Congress. It’s linked from a bright red Drudge Report header blasting: “Republicans coalesce around gun control.” 

As Second Amendment supporters ponder what exactly is looming, take a moment to remember that this is the same newspaper that caved to leftist pressure Tuesday and changed a headline that treated President Trump objectively and without interjected liberal malice.

The NYT’s early edition carried the headline, “TRUMP URGES UNITY VS. RACISM,”  in which he strongly condemned “White Supremacy.” That was too evenhanded to suit the likes of gesticulator Robert Francis O’Rourke, nicknamed “Beto” as a boy by his family’s Mexican maid.

After a fury of liberal backlash was unleashed — O’Rourke called the headline “unbelievable” and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez termed it “cowardice” — the newspaper capitulated, changing the headline in a later edition to: “ASSAILING HATE, BUT NOT GUNS.” 

Even in her dotage, the once venerable Gray Lady, founded in 1865 should have known better than to rile her base with a front-page headline which gave a positive impression of President Donald Trump’s response to two mass shootings. Wielding its heft, today’s left has made the Mafia in its heyday, look tame.

The NRA has an entire section dedicated to state gun laws. Arizona’s informative page can be accessed here.

Red Flag laws, which sharply curtail the rights of Americans, are currently being pushed by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey as he channels his mentor John McCain. He calls his version the Severe Threat Order of Protection or STOP. Breitbart covered the depths of Ducey’s deception.

Following the recent Texas and Ohio premeditated murders, the NRA, now facing internal problems after briefly bringing in the arrogant Oliver North, issued this statement, NRA Welcomes Call to Address Root Causes of Violence which contains these words:

“The NRA welcomes the President’s call to address the root causes of the horrific acts of violence that have occurred in our country.  It has been the NRA’s long-standing position that those who have been adjudicated as a danger to themselves or others should not have access to firearms and should be admitted for treatment.”

Meanwhile, in the most bizarre of alliances, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R- SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), yes…he’s the one who deceitfully claimed to be a Vietnam combat veteran, though he never set foot in the war-torn country — announced a bipartisan bill that would create a federal grant program to aid states in adopting “Red Flag” laws, in response to the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton over the weekend.

The law, a knee-jerk response to the dual killing rampages, permits police or family members to petition a state court to order the removal of firearms from a person who they believe may present a danger to others or themselves. It is rife for abuse.

“These grants will be given to law enforcement so they can hire and consult with mental health professionals to better determine which cases need to be acted upon,” Graham said in a statement.

Why wasn’t Obama blamed for Sandy Hook, other massacres?

In the wake of the two horrific mass shootings this past weekend, the drumbeat emanating from the left is as reliable as day following night. Regardless of how they report or discuss the unrelated slaughters of innocents, the blame is always placed at the feet of President Donald Trump.  Barack Obama was in office from Jan. 20, 2009 to Jan. 20, 2017, during which time numerous gun related killings occurred. The inconceivably horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in which 26 people were killed, including 20 six and seven year-old children, occurred two weeks into Obama’s second term.

He was never blamed.

The Arizona Republic continues on it’s politicizing rampage today:

Few things rev up radical leftwing columnist EJ Montini more than elected members of congress offering sympathy in the form of prayers or even as in the case of atheist Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema tweeting her “heart is with the people of the people of El Paso.” He derides Republicans, Congressman Andy Biggs’ and Sen. Martha McSally’s responses, calling them “lame.” What hater Montini actually wants is total obliteration of the Second Amendment.

Racist Elvia Diaz, the bigoted Linda Valdez replacement, devotes a column to asking, “Why is evil by whites excused as mental illness?”

Syndicated Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, a Trump-hater extraordinaire whose column appears in today’s Arizona Republic, writes, “Republicans have trapped us in dark age. “  It begins with these incendiary words:

“The Republican Party is the modern-day equivalent of the medieval church. It fights science. It protects ignorance. Above all, it embraces a lunatic reading of the Second Amendment so that any nut can buy a weapon that can kill a maximum number of people in a minimum amount of time.”

The horrific Boston Marathon bombing occurred on April 15, 2013, celebrated as Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts, and occurred under Barack Obama‘s watch. Two Muslim brothers who immigrated with their parents from the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan diligently crafted homemade pressure cooker bombs set to detonate near the finish line. Three people, two young women and a little boy were killed, and hundreds of others were wounded, including 16 who lost limbs, one a 7-year old girl.

There were no calls to ban pressure cookers and no blame hurled at Obama — nor should there have been.

Rational Americans should question the radical left’s double standard.

AZ Gov. Ducey takes on your 2nd Amendment rights

NRA raises red flag over “Red Flag” laws

Breitbart reports very disturbing news emanating from the office of Arizona’s lame duck Republicrat Gov. Doug Ducey. He is aligning with David French, the Jeff Flake of National Review, both of whom publicly stated in 2016 they would not support GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. French ultimately left the Republican Party. Jeff Flake was unable to run for reelection due to 18% approval numbers.

In this case, it’s our Second Amendment rights that are at stake, and the slippery facilitator is a former ice cream vendor, initially recruited to run for public office by John McCain, and now occupying the ninth floor governor‘s office.

The central component to Ducey’s gun control push is a Red Flag law that creates Severe Threat Order of Protection or STOP Orders. Such orders allow guns to be confiscated from law abiding Arizonans. Arizona Capitol Times reported Ducey referred to this scheme as the “crown jewel” of gun legislation.

Ducey’s spokesman Patrick Ptak veers off the veracity cliff citing NRA support for the measure.

“There’s a reason why NRA’s Arizona director has said this ‘bill would protect the rights of law-abiding Arizonans,’” Ptak is quoted in an emailed statement. “It ensures due process, requiring one of the highest standards of evidence from a judge: Clear and Convincing Proof. STOP orders are temporary and require law enforcement to return firearms after expiration, and the bill imposes severe felony penalties for filing false petitions.”

That’s a lot of puffery describing unwarranted confiscation. Additionally, there’s a major contradiction between what flack Ptak would have us believe and what the NRA actually says. For the NRA’s take on this critically important issue read: “Why NRA Is Raising A Red Flag Over ‘Red Flag’ Laws.”

Knowledge is power, and we need it now more than ever. Arm yourself with information, share it with others and keep your powder dry.

H/T Commenter Kathy

AZ Sen. Martha McSally: If you want to win in 2020, show us

Partnering with Dem presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand on “doping” is dopey

Sen. McSally,

You are facing ideological leftist Mr. Gabby Giffords aka Mark Kelly, whose 2020 senate campaign is being infused with cash by multi-billionaire Socialist George Soro‘s Act Blue.

Although the Hillary-endorsing Arizona Republic refers to you as “Arizona’s most reliable vote for Trump’s agenda,” realize that as the backhanded wallop it was intended to be. The newspaper will not endorse you.

Mark Levin’s Conservative Review is less than enthusiastic giving you a Liberty Score of D, or 67% — nothing short of unacceptable, if you’re attempting to win over the conservative voters you need.

Giffords/Kelly, a hypocritical Second Amendment restrictionist and open border fan, is chomping at the bit to replace you…which brings us to the topic of horses. With Arizona’s sieve-like southern border serving as a major point of entry for illegal aliens — foreign nationals from Central America and Mexico, but also as far removed from our hemisphere as Africa, India and points beyond — you have ready-made topics which resonate with the Republican base. Mexican border towns abutting Cochise County, Arizona are war zones with dozens slaughtered as casualties of the drug cartels.

Instead, for some inexplicable reason, you chose to address the topic of ‘race horse doping.’ We oppose doping of any sort, especially when it comes to the electorate. Cozying up with New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand on this issue is pure folly. In the race of your life, she is also running — for the Democrat nomination to unseat Republican President Donald Trump.

Remember him? He’s our GOP standard bearer not a prop you stand beside when you think the photo-op serves your purposes. Emulating John McCain is a mistake. His modus operandi was colluding with Democrats from Ted Kennedy to Chuck Schumer, which was a major reason he was censured by elected GOP state committeemen at the Jan. 25, 2014 Statutory Republican Meeting.

When you lost the U.S. Senate to chameleon Kyrsten Sinema, it sent shock waves. You then became the recipient of a rare, follow-up gubernatorial appointment to an open seat. That opportunity will not present itself again. If you don’t fight to retain that Senate seat, your do-over days will be over and Arizona will be represented by a deep blue senate duo.

You were a fighter pilot and the first female commander of a combat fighter squadron. Act like it.

Your sole focus should be on supporting the President and his winning issues. The Dems will forget they knew you when you no longer serve their purposes. If you believe in bi-partisanship, you obviously still believe in Santa and the tooth fairy. Bi-partisanship is a noble goal in the legislative process, but it only exists if Republicans acquiesce and move leftward. There is no reciprocity from the Dems. Gillibrand has gone from supporting restrictions on illegals to now calling for the abolishment of ICE. You’re from Tucson, Martha. How’s that border working out for you?

King Colluder John McCain preferred to be known as “a maverick,” to conceal the collaborator he was. Those shenanigans won’t win you Democrat votes when you are facing radical leftist and Obama pal, Mr. Gabby Giffords/Mark Kelly. You need the conservative electorate to turn out, but you won’t get us by partnering with Trump’s presidential challenger, far-left Kirsten Gillibrand. Like your opponent, Mr. Giffords/Kelly, Gillibrand is supported by ActBlue. Individual contributions through ActBlue are easily accessed on the Federal Election Commission website.

Your strategy, Martha, amounts to a personal and GOP death wish. The rest of us relish life and having Donald Trump as president.

Texas passes looting deterrent bill, sent to Gov

As they wrapped up the 2019 legislative session over the Memorial Day weekend, Texas legislators, by a slim margin, voted to send HB1177, known as the Natural Disasters bill, to Governor Greg Abbott for his signature. Three Republicans folded, joining the Dems.

The NRA-backed measure protects law abiding citizens from being charged with a crime for carrying a handgun without a “license to carry” during declared state or local disasters enabling them to protect their property from looters for a week.

The Dallas Morning News reports, “Under current law, Texans who can legally own a firearm don’t need an additional license to openly carry a long arm, like a AR-15. However, to carry a handgun openly or concealed, Texans must get a ‘license to carry,’ which requires taking a course, including a shooting test, passing a background check and paying a fee.”

The fee is $140 with a $70 renewal after 4-years. The intended to impede processing time runs between 60-180 days.

Gun owners asked for these license rules to be loosened after Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast in 2017.  KHOU TV 11 reports, “Looters hit Houston after Harvey to the tune of nearly $1 million.” These homegrown thugs robbed businesses and their neighbor’s flooded homes, while good Samaritans from across the U.S. did whatever they could to provide assistance.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, an appointed Democrat whose annual taxpayer financed salary exceeds $260,000, ignores the realities as he previously told Texas citizens who support our Second Amendment protections, “I am not interested in your views as it pertains to this issue.”

The NRA tracks gun laws across the United States. This interactive map provides important information.