Well, there go my plans to return to Az for retirement. So much for sitting outside swilling beer while staring at the yucca, saguarro, and jolla – and cursing everytime I forget to burn the burrs off a prickly pear before attempting to pick it.

On the off-chance that you’re serious, I will note that I’m moving to New Mexico as soon as circumstances permit. There’s more yucca, plenty of cholla, but alas no saguaros. Mesquite grows in the middle Rio Grande valley, though, and there’s a great brewpub in Socorro.

Plus, the air’s vastly cleaner. YMMV on the government.

Um, no. There is this little detail called the Fourth Amendment which prohibits this workaround. Your mere presence on the street does not constitute reasonable suspicion that you are engaged in illegal activity; therefore the police cannot require you to show identification. Any county or municipality whose police officers tried to do this would be subject to a Federal lawsuit, and they almost certainly would lose.

The current kooks make Goldwater look like a far-left wing pinko.

Before his death, Goldwater quipped he and Bob Dole were now part of the “liberal wing” of the republican party. And that was 16 years ago. The GOP has gone even further to the right since then. In the 1960s, conservatives like William F. Buckley couldn’t run away from the John Birch Society fast enough. Now the JBS is calling the shots.

Honestly? I would love to see them pick your dumbass up for not having your fucking birth certificate on you and throw you in lock-up for six months.

Have proof of citizenship on you at all times, or spend time in jail even if you are legal? Keeping in mind the drivers license isn’t proof – you need to have your fucking papers. And of course if you just happen to look illegal, but it never would have occurred to you to have your proof of citizenship?

I have brown friends in fucking AZ. No problem is easy enough for a pasty dumbfuck in WA. Try actually being potentially effected by this bullshit and tell me how little a fucking problem it is.

The current kooks make Goldwater look like a far-left wing pinko.

Barry would be run out of the current POG, much less the teabaguettes. Bear in mind that the John Birch Society is now considered barely conservative enough to be acceptable.

The only way Arizona is going to be able to enforce this is if law enforcement immediately starts to require everyone they contact to present evidence of citizenship, because there’s nothing physical other than papers that can legitimately be used as proof of non-citizenship. Not skin color, not accent, not clothing, and certainly not accessories.

I’ve now heard (can anyone confirm?) that a Phoenix official stated on Rachel Maddow that the city’s policy will be to demand proof of legal residency from everyone covered by the statute. It’s the only way that the city can comply without being sued by Joe Arpaio.

Besides, mayor Gordon hates this shit and isn’t shy about admitting it.