I just joined Baja Arizona Kossacks at Azazello's very gracious invitation, which came up as I was reading the excellent news about the Russell Pearce recall effort (Good News from Arizona- Surprise!). I live in Tucson; I've been here for almost seven and a half years.
This post is my way of introducing myself and saying hello to everyone, expressing my gratitude that Baja Arizona Kossacks exists as a resource for information and community, and offering what little I have to offer to the group.
I come from a pretty long history of political work/activism – 20+ years, one way or another, starting in my teens. A few years ago, I deliberately stepped away from that arena.
This was and remains absolutely the right decision for me in particular. But at the same time, the energy that motivated me into political/activist work didn't simply go away after I made the decision to step away. I find many many things about this society almost unbelievably absurd. I always have. I sometimes have split vision in which I don't know if what I'm seeing is serious, or if it's just very clever parody.
So the way I'm dealing with it lately is by writing satire. Not all of what I focus on is or will be strictly political in nature – and not all of the political stuff is or will be about Arizona. But some of it may be relevant and when it is, I'll bring it here in hopes that it'll provide a bit of entertainment value for my fellow Baja Arizona Kossacks.
So here's today's Arizona “news” - based mostly on my complete and utter disbelief that a state with so little money in state, county and municipal budgets and such a high fire risk recently passed a law legalizing sparklers:
Governor Jan Brewer Urges All Arizonans To Do Their Part For Fire Season
May 31, 2011: Arizona governor Jan Brewer today officially kicked off the state’s 2011 Fire Season in an event aimed at educating state residents about their responsibilities during this time.
Handing out now-legal sparklers and “Smokey The Bear – Arizona!” lighters to a winsomely adorable group of Arizona schoolchildren, Governor Brewer spoke of the importance of having a great fire season this year.
“We have some great coverage in the mountain areas right now,” said Brewer, referring to wildfires burning in eastern, northern and southern parts of the state. But, the governor continued, Arizonans need to understand that there’s more to be done: “We really need to get to work setting some of the valley areas on fire as well,” she said, pointing out that the state has “piles of money sitting in a vault in Phoenix just waiting to be spent on firefighting efforts.”
Brewer noted that children and teens are an important part of Arizona’s 2011 Fire Season Strategy. “With sparklers readily available for use by all ages, we encourage parents to hand their children a few of these fun toys and a lighter, then get back to texting, watching porn and reading Facebook updates.”
The governor pointed out that she did not refuse to veto Arizona’s bill legalizing sparklers simply because of the funding provided by the firecracker lobby. “Sparklers are a crucial tool in making sure that we have a successful fire season this year and in the years to come,” said Brewer, biting into a smoking marshmallow and waving to the gathered crowd, “It’s up to all of us to do our part.”
Reprinted with permission from the “OMG! News” section of ThatzEffedUp.com