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Today’s ‘civil war’ is an attack on the rule of law
There is a civil war underway in America. It’s not the same sort of war we fought more than 150 years ago, when Americans took sides on whether slavery was good or evil, donned blue and gray uniforms, then slaughtered each other on the battlefield. This is a war that’s happening in slow-motion, a largely […]
‘Driving While Brown’ and Arizona’s ‘Latino resistance’
Every great drama has a villain and a hero. The trouble with recounting the drama surrounding Arizona’s decades-long cultural and political clashes over immigration is that there have been so many villains and heroes it’s hard to know where to start. In that case, you do what Terry Greene Sterling and Jude Joffe-Block did: you […]
Kyrsten Sinema is no John McCain, try as she might
I’ve held off on criticizing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema since she entered office in 2018 largely because I’ve always agreed with her on one key point: a bipartisan approach to solving our country’s biggest problems is generally a good thing. The way I see it, our elected officials should wake up every morning and ask not […]
The GOP: In Trump (and no one else) we trust
News about the outcome of the recall election in California combined with the latest revelations about the chaotic final days of the Trump administration got me to wondering: So, Republicans, you’re still okay with Donald Trump leading your party? In the Republican-led campaign to oust California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom — which, thank God, failed […]
It was America’s ‘forgotten war,’ but we can’t forget the girls and women of Afghanistan
It’s been about a week since the last U.S. troops flew out of the Kabul airport in Afghanistan, ending our 20-year war with the Taliban. It was the longest war in U.S. history — some called it “America’s forgotten war” — but the 24-hour news cycle has already turned its attention to other stories, like […]
Biden may not regret leaving Afghanistan, but I do
On Sunday, after a 20 years of war against the U.S.-backed regime in Afghanistan, the Taliban retook control. To many, it’s an almost unimaginable turn of events. Others insist they saw it coming, though almost no one believed it would happen this quickly. Military and intelligence experts had predicted a Taliban takeover in the wake […]
In the GOP fight for the White House, the unvaccinated and children are collateral damage
Some days, I don’t know whether to scream or cry about the surge of the COVID-19. The national death toll from the virus has now topped 616,000 — more people than live in Tucson, Milwaukee or Baltimore. And experts say that, unless we take dramatic steps to curb the spread of the Delta variant of […]
Mr. Potato Head ruminates on Trump, coup tourists and Sasquatch
It’s been awhile since Arizona Mirror columnist, playwright and sometimes satirist James E. Garcia has checked in with Mr. Potato Head, America’s favorite gender-neutral tuber turned high-dollar consultant for Republican politicos. Garcia recently caught up with Head backstage at the Arizona Federal Theatre, where thousands had gathered for a weekend rally in Phoenix by former […]
The through-line from the Big Lie to the lies about critical race theory
The mounting attack by Republican lawmakers across the country against multicultural education is the lie behind the “Big Lie” that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election.
For today’s GOP, our democracy is no longer worth defending
Today, the courage and willingness to protect the idea that everyone who’s qualified to vote deserves a chance to vote has all but vanished in the GOP.
Biden’s approach to immigration a welcome change, but still fundamentally flawed
Vice President Kamala Harris’s whirlwind swing recently through Guatemala and Mexico will do little to quell concerns in the short run about the latest surge of undocumented immigrants crossing our southern border, but it’s as good an occasion as any to take a measure of President Joe Biden’s emerging immigration doctrine.
‘Auditland, USA’ is not your parents’ theme park
Welcome to Auditland, USA! It’s America’s newest mega theme park, located in sunny, ozone-laden Phoenix. A lot of people say it’s the most tremendous amusement park ever!