Friday, May 4, 2007

Editorial: "'Immigrant rights' is a true oxymoron"

The unnamed Courier editor gives himself a star today, apparently for throwing rocks in all directions at once. Big rocks, that don't fly far before thudding into the dirt.

We have a rock aimed at immigrants, lots of rocks for illegal immigrants (the editor forgets the difference), a rock for Dems, whom he thinks want "a ready-made dependent class" that can vote but can't vote, a rock for Republican labor exploiters, a rock for amnesty, another for people who don't speak English well enough for the editor to get his lawn done properly, a rock for the Feds for failing to employ the magic alien technologies they've been keeping secret that would seal the border, and a big fat rock for Thomas Jefferson, who held certain truths to be self-evident.

Luckily, no one was harmed.

Robinson: "Traffic-stop searches follow racial lines"

Again, we suffer some arbitrary editing and introduced errors, but today's non-right-leaning Courier offering, originally headlined "Pulling Over for Prejudice," is full-length and only lightly bruised by our editors.

I should add that it's not actually today's column, but rather yesterday's. Today's Robinson column is "Lost in the Fog With Commander Guy."

Letters: Smackdown Friday

Today we have three cogent responses to various letters and opinions appearing in the Courier, including one to Terry Lovell's April 15 ToT from an actual meteorologist. Editors, maybe Dale Meyer can write the balancing opinion we've all been anticipating for most of a month, since the expert you did ask is just not getting it done.

The fourth letter, from an unhappy customer at the ZZ Top concert, I could swear I've seen before. Is this a repeat?

A1: "PV police arrest three boys for arson"

I hope we all appreciate that three little kids with a lighter accidentally setting a bush on fire rates six inches of page one in our local paper. No snark here, I mean it.

A1: "Petroglyph fence to remain in subdivision plans"

Today's page-one photobox highlights what seems a good-news story on a subject of broad concern to Prescott residents. We couldn't save the Dalke land as open space, but we can at least hold back the bulldozers and put a little fence around some of the above-ground archaeological treasure that we know about.

I'd better stop there, I'm starting to get depressed.

A1: "Springer reverses course on public transit"

Now this is news: The Queen Bee inadvertently reads the proposal and discovers she's been wrong all along. Personal growth is a wonderful thing, innit?

Good work, Cindy, including the bit at the end from Norwood, who will be the real problem child.

A1: "Hampton Inn to come to ‘downtown’ PV"

Nice of the Courier to print this little promotion for the Fains -- they need so much help to make any money, you know. I do like the quotes in the headline, indicating a downtown only so-called.

This should have been in the Business section with the other press releases, guys.

A1:"Custom car show rides into town"

Nice to see some advance coverage of an old-car charity show. I haven't been tracking this for the last couple of years, but when I was doing this regularly we could always count on the Courier ignoring us, even with events that took over the square for a weekend. It's a press release, but it's got a picture and it's placed prominently, all good.