I have never been to AZ and now I have no desire to go

[demtenjeep]

WE once thought of living there as the other half suffers terribly from allergies and asthma but now it will never happen!

[Ian David]

1. Yes, but it's a DRY fascism. n/t

[Bluebear]

3. Oh my god.

:spray:

Too good.

[Bonobo]

12. That was VERY good. DUzy! nt

[VOX]

13. Ohhhhh...Game, Set and Match!

Done, and done well, sir! :toast:

[Ian David]

19. I think I stole it from Stephen Colbert. n/t

[DesertRat]

21. It was said by Seth Meyers on SNL last Sat. n/t

[Ian David]

22. Ah, that's where I got it! Thanks! n/t

[City Lights]

35. LOL!

:thumbsup:

[Cleita]

2. Arizona never helped my asthma or allergies cause they have

as much pollution as any other state. It does have a lot of scenic beauty. The area around Sedona is almost magical. However, I also ran across a lot of mean spirited white people there, some of whom were my relatives, and others who no doubt are the conservative part of the state, and it's hotter than Hell there in the summer.

[sweetloukillbot]

16. Yeah, the allergies thing may have been true 40 years ago...

But everyone who wanted to escape allergies just brought the same damn plants that cause them along with them. I never had allergies in Arizona, but I moved to Iowa for one year and when I returned to Arizona I suddenly had allergies.

Arizona is incredibly beautiful, it's wonderful to be 2 hours from snow, 4 hours from the Grand Canyon, 6 hours from the ocean.

It is also filled with a lot of hateful conservatives, intolerant fundamentalists, and a lack of culture (although that is getting better). Although most of that is in Maricopa County, Flagstaff is filled with hippies and Tucson is pretty cool as well.

[Fridays Child]

4. It used to be the place to come, for people with asthma. Not so much, now.

Besides, my state makes all thinking people vomit, now. :(

[Ian David]

8. I have an idea for a new, cottage industry- Protest Tourism.

You book Liberals from other states into little bed-and-breakfasts, campgrounds, and hostels to come and protest.

[Fridays Child]

14. Well, maybe...

...if you can ensure that you're promoting racially tolerant businesses. But, you know what? Even though it's my state, and a boycott could harm me economically, I agree with Raul Grijalva that businesses should shun Arizona. Remember when it took the Superbowl pulling out of Phoenix for MLK Day to be reinstated? You would think the f'ing AZ repukes would learn. But I guess that presupposes the possession of some minimum number of operational neurons.
x(

[Meshuga]

5. Our family was going to visit Sedona for our vacation but we are changing plans

Our hard earned money is going to be spent somewhere more welcoming.

[Cleita]

6. Go to New Mexico. It has a lot more heritage

and a strong Native American influence. Bring money. There is so much to buy in the way of handicraft art and jewelry. It's much better than Arizona. I love the plaza in Taos.

[krabigirl]

11. I've always wanted to visit New Mexico.

[FailureToCommunicate]

26. New Mexico is wonderful! Start at Albuquerque and head up along the string of Pueblos

along the Rio Grand to Santa Fe.

Or visit the Silver City area and the Gila Wilderness and see where Geronimo evaded the US army for so long...

We've gone there numerous times from the East Coast -sometimes by train- and highly recommend it!

Once this Arizona profiling law flap is resolved, do go and see the Grand Canyon though...

[Fridays Child]

17. Second that. New Mexico is a magnificent state.

I spent a week touring there, last month.

[Meshuga]

18. That is what my wife wants to do

And that is what we are probably going to end up. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Cleita]

20. My husband and I always made a pilgrimage in the fall there for a couple of weeks when he

was alive. The leaves were just changing and the weather was just right. After labor day the kids are in school so there aren't as many tourists. I really miss those pilgrimages.

[Meshuga]

24. We are going in the fall without the kids

We are going away for our anniversary. I'm excited to go now! :-)

[Cleita]

25. You won't regret it as long as you stay in the north part.

The south is full of fundie cowboy types, but Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, even Los Alamos and all the little pueblos in between are magical. Also, there is a place called Ghost Ranch that used to be where Georgia O'Keefe did a lot of her paintings that has a hotel with seminars in all kinds of arty stuff. Have a great time!

[DesertRat]

23. Sedona is so crowded and commercial these days

Lots of foreign tourists.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. The Grand Canyon is just awesome

You should go see it sometime. After all this crap is over.

[FailureToCommunicate]

27. Agreed. It SHOULD still be there awhile longer...

[donco6]

9. Sedona is beautiful.

But so is the Black Canyon. See Colorado instead.

[krabigirl]

10. Sedona,. Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon are great. Phoenix area is horrible imo

wayyyy too hot.

[NNN0LHI]

15. All the mafia guys from my area go there to retire

Right after they get released from the federal pen.

Got a bunch from the area down there right now.

I grew up with a lot of them.

Don

[pitohui]

28. oh for cryin' out loud, this is way overboard

i've been to arizona many and many a time, and YES, i've been document checked, i've been questioned to see if i have an accent or whatever the hell they think they're doing -- this stuff has been going on FOR YEARS, if you think it's new because of a new piece of paper, yes, i guess i can believe that you've never been to arizona or you've at least never done any serious driving in the southern half of the state

whenever i travel in someone else's country, i'm expected to have my passport/visa, it's a question of respect for the country i'm visiting, i'm not quite sure why the usa is entitled to less respect than mexico itself, where you need a passport, travel card if you're going any real distance in country

seriously, this is just a big shiny distraction for silly people

and i guess if you've lived this long and never had the desire or occasion to see the grand canyon or any of arizona's other magnificent wilderness and park areas, well, let's get real, you are not much of a traveler anyway and you were never gonna go in the first place, it's one of the "big" destinations of the world that everyone goes, often multiple times in a life...

i could live without the document checks or being asked questions or having some guy stick a mirror under my car in case i'm trying to blow up hoover dam, but it's hardly any huge violation of my rights that they're doing this

there are actually bad people out there, and while i think the terror threat from mexico is overblown, the drug guys are killing way more people, they're just not killing them all on one day -- who among us hasn't lost friends or family to illegal drugs?

when you travel to other countries, it isn't too much to ask that you carry your own paperwork instead of stealing someone else's identity, it really isn't, folks

yeah, i don't like the wingnut crypto-fascist element in arizona's gov't, but if i only went to politically correct democracies in my travels, i'd visit damn few places

i've been document checked in nevada and texas too, in fact, i was detained in texas until i could be cleared, but what's the point of yelling & screaming about it? they thought they had cause and they had to investigate to figure out they were wrong, i guess...

[Cleita]

30. It doesn't have to do with being a stranger in a strange land.

I too carry documentation when traveling out of state, but this has to do with natives and residents of the state being stopped because they are being profiled as possibly an immigrant. My son-in-law who is a native born in Los Angeles Mexican American was stopped at the border coming from Mexico and almost didn't get back in. His brother had to run down to the border with his "papers" even though none of them even speak Spanish. Many Mexican Americans expect this at the border but in their own home town, it's a little down the rabbit hole. This is why Arizona needs to be boycotted until they stop drinking the racist Kool-Aid.

[donco6]

31. I've never had to pull out my passport in Mexico - except at immigration.

But then, I'm a pasty-white obvious USA citizen. I'm sorry to see you're so beaten down by these people that you think it's normal. It's not. And there's a big "point" in yelling and screaming about it.

[ShortnFiery]

34. Exactly! Try being a olive skinned (Eur Ancestry) living on a US Military base in Panama?

You have no idea how far I had to hoof-it to the Exchange and Commissary? Then while paying, my ID was *STUDIED* until I was "introduced" at a base social. Then everywhere I went before our car was shipped-in, it was all sweetness and light: "Oh! Mrs. X, let me give you a ride?!?" The sucking-up to perceived authority figures is so damn obvious within the military. ;) :P

Many of us with extra melanin in our skin have a right to cop an attitude - but our bad experiences shouldn't fill us with hate. Educate people? I've helped some of the most prejudice people, RETHINK their biases.

People can change.

[uppityperson]

29. That's too bad as there are some beautiful places and wonderful people.

[Renew Deal]

32. I always loved Arizona

It's a very unique state. The Grand Canyon is amazing. I love vacationing in Phoenix\Scottsdale, but this law is obviously a huge problem.

[ShortnFiery]

33. Hey, I love Arizona. I'm olive skinned but not Hispanic and have been asked

by police "what country are you from?" It's unnerving but this law now only makes what already is happening legal.

I hate it but when they won't take steps to secure the borders, what do you expect?

I love the state but will carry my birth certificate when I go visit my mother this summer. Damn, I guess I'll have to carry my DD 214 (1LT, USA) too in order to prove I'm a citizen since I was born on a USA Military Facility over in the Mideast.

Hey! You think you've got problems?!? :silly: ;)