Talk of the Town: "‘Anchor babies’ weighing country down"

Maybe it's just me: is anyone else seeing a pattern in the Courier's editorial choices related to illegals? Tim W hints in private Email that the Courier editorial policy isn't what I think it is. So just what is it, Tim? Let's get it out there so your readers know what they're buying into.

In yet another brown-peril rant, CR Shoemaker tells us we are "a nation under siege" because, I must infer, we actually follow our laws in how we deal with immigrants, extending our principles about human rights to all. Tell you the truth, RC, I just don't feel under seige in any way, and neither do you. The bottom-line truth is that you don't like your lily-white vision of America sullied with the brown babies of refugees who might grow up and vote.

For the record, I tend to agree that birthright citizenship is problematic in the age of jet air travel and mobile populations. But public discussion of this issue is very poorly served by ignorant, fearful fulminating. Do the Courier editors perhaps know any qualified adults who might be able to write about this?

Update, 6pm: Link fixed, sorry!

B1: "Adding equipment; improving service"

This good, solid public-service feature doesn't much shy away from its technical base. Kudos for Mirsada Buric, the police beat doesn't offer frequent opportunities to bring good news.

Cartoon: I Left You Half

Well, well, an editorial cartoon in the Courier that communicates a useful reality! Here's a cookie for the editor.

Editorial: "Ignoring dress code problem won't solve it"

So after weeks of controversy, competing proposals, public comment and a vote, the unnamed Courier editor thinks the PUSD board 'ignored' a 'problem.' Is this actually meant to insult not only the board members, but the process as well, or is it just another example of reckless hip-shooting because the result doesn't fit the editor's half-baked ideas?

Your 'problem' was, charitably, an idea raised by some stakeholders in this, and you had a long public process that resulted in a hung jury. We have a board process so we can be confident that decisions are not made based on individual whims. It often appears that many people would prefer to have kings over democracy. Maybe the vote doesn't always go your way, but I guarantee you'll prefer that once you live for a while with the alternative. Quit whining.

Letters: Glassford Hill Gauntlet

Here we have three letters about photo radar, two of them that appear to employ actual research. What's keeping the Courier reporters from gathering the facts and knitting them up into something useful? Could it be that you don't want to step on any official toes in PV?

Look, you've got resources at hand, an easy story to get around, and obviously huge demand for it. That's how you sell papers, folks.

A1: "Police: gunshot victim turned gun on himself"

Following up on this, today we find out that it was all a misunderstanding. So maybe speaking more Spanish would be a handy skill for Prescott PD? That would have been a good question to ask, Mirsada. You might even spin it out into a feature on the language capabilities of our local lawnforcement, costs, benefits, experiences, like that.

A1: "City continues focus on liquor licenses"

Maybe Cindy Barks' story is missing something -- you can check the replay on Access13 to find out -- but this story sure raises some questions about what's happening at City Hall. We have a Councilman running overheads of pages from an application for renewal of a long-established liquor license. Why is this sort of thing even getting above the staff level? The whole liquor license issue and Council's relationship with it is getting embarrassing.

A1: "The lucky numbers"

Most folks, including the Courier editors, I'm sure, read this as a standard human-interest story, the sort that normally just bores the crap out of me, sorry. There's a little poison in this particular cupcake, however, in that it encourages poor people to spend their money on state gambling, which amounts to a tax on people who are bad at math. Ack.

Blue Monday

You don't need me to tell you that Kurt Vonnegut has moved on. But I can offer a good obit on one of the greatest minds and hearts of our time.