Drug cartels in Mexico put up signs over streets warning police

This is out of control.....
"Operative group 'The Zetas' wants you, soldier or ex-soldier. We offer a good salary, food and benefits for your family. Don't suffer anymore mistreatment and don't go hungry."


DRUG LORDS GO AFTER MEXICAN POLICE OFFICERS

By MARK STEVENSON – 4 days ago

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — Drug cartels are sending a brutal message to police and soldiers in cities across Mexico: Join us or die.

The threat appears in recruiting banners hung across roadsides and in publicly posted death lists. Cops get warnings over their two-way radios. At least four high-ranking police officials were gunned down this month, including Mexico's acting federal police chief.
...

Police who take on the cartels feel isolated and vulnerable when they become targets, as did 22 commanders in Ciudad Juarez when drug traffickers named them on a handwritten death list left at a monument to fallen police this year. Of the 22, seven have been killed and three wounded in assassination attempts. Of the others, all but one have quit, and city officials said he didn't want to be interviewed.
...

"Juarez Needs You! Join up and become part of the city police," say enormous city billboards. The jobs offer salaries about three times higher than those offered by the foreign-owned "maquiladora" factories that are the city's biggest industrial employer. But police and soldiers keep deserting to the cartels, giving traffickers inside knowledge about tactics and surveillance.

Read more

AZ State Bar's Leadership Institute - white males not welcome

(click to enlarge)

The Arizona State Bar has become really offensive in its relentless promotion of diversity, using mandatory bar dues from all attorneys in Arizona in order to promote excessive programs and articles that do nothing other than divide people by race and sex and stir up resentment. Every month there are more and more articles in its monthly magazine preaching about the value of diversity. This month's issue features a full page ad for the Bar Leadership Institute program, with a picture of its most recent class. There are 12 attorneys pictured, and only one of the 12 is a white male, some guy named Nathan Fidel, who obviously got to be the token male because his father is Court of Appeals liberal judge Noel Fidel. The AZ State Bar is looking more like the National Lawyers Guild than a fair representation of the lawyers in Arizona. White males do not make up 1/12 of the population of lawyers, or 1/12 of the general population. This is politically correct nonsense and mandatory bar dues should not be funding this kind of propaganda.

Phoenix and Chandler libraries letting children check out R-rated movies like "Naked States"

ABC-15 has done an investigaton to find out if libraries are permitting 10-year olds like the one to the left and other children check out R-rated movies. Phoenix and Chandler libraries permitted them to, including renting the movie "Naked States," which features all nude actors. Glendale libraries did not prohibit the children to rent R-rated movies. Kudos to them, and shame on the Phoenix and Chandler libraries. They're breaking the law.

AZ Republic can't fairly report coverage of Napolitano taking away illegal immigration enforcement funds

"Governor pushes for bigger effort to crack down on felons."

should more honestly be -

"Governor finally discovers way to stop local law enforcement from arresting illegal immigrants - de-fund the Sheriff"

Check out the AZ Republic's overtly biased headline...and the lack of mention of the fact that the warrants are NOT the responsibility of the Sheriff's office, the article makes it look like they are. The vast majority of the outstanding warrants did not originate from the Sheriff's Office. Many of them originated from Phoenix and Mesa police - who can't blame their large number of outstanding warrants on lack of resources due to arresting illegal immigrants, because both of those police departments have had sanctuary city polices. And no mention of how the Pima County Sheriff received the same amount of money under the same grant and did not get their money taken away. Nor the fact that many of the illegal immigrants who are arrested have outstanding warrants, so arresting them solves a lot of the warrant problem. The Governor has overstepped her power by taking away this money from the Sheriff's office. It's time for her to go.

Mohave County Minutemen targeting Rep. Nancy McLain

Wouldn't want to have this group going after me, they're pretty zealous. I don't agree with the "neocon" criticism, but the rest of the criticism of McLain, who is somewhat of a RINO, sounds fairly legit.

In midst of $2 billion state budget deficit, Napolitano putting on taxpayer funded "Women's Health Expo"

This is ridiculous. Every day we read in the newspapers about the ongoing struggle between the legislature and our big-spending governor to work out a budget to resolve our $2 billion dollar deficit crisis, and she has the nerve to put on a Women's Health Expo? There was a massive Women's Expo just a few weeks ago in the Glendale stadium, put on by private businesses. There is no need for a government-sponsored a couple of weeks later when we're in a budget crisis.

The Expo features the organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This partisan organization contributes your donations to Planned Parenthood - it has awarded 72 grants to Planned Parenthood so far. That money is then used to perform abortions. Goes to show where Napolitano's agenda is.

Special Invitation for Women

Join the Governor’s Office for Children, Youth, and Families in celebration of Women’s Health week at a free
Women’s Health Expo

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

10 a.m.-3 p.m. —Drop-in anytime

State Capitol Executive Tower

1700 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007

v “Fit & Fast Living” Luncheon at 12:30 p.m. with lunch provided by Albertsons
(Luncheon space is limited, tickets available beginning at 10 a.m.)

v 15 minutes could save your life!
Mobile On-site Mammography will be at the Expo 9a.m.-5 p.m.
Call (480) 967-3767 for an appointment

v Raffles every hour and a Grand Prize Raffle at 2:30 p.m. Prizes include:

Gift Certificates for Restaurants, Spas, and Salons, Jewelry, Gift baskets

This event is funded in part by the Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health as made available through the Arizona Department of Health Services

Organizations Confirmed to attend on May 14, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

1230 AM KOY - Clear Channel Radio Broadcasting, Inc.- Broadcasting Live! Albertsons Osco Pharmacy - Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screening American Cancer Society American Heart Association Arizona Osteoporosis Coalition Bureau of USDA Nutrition/ Breastfeeding Program-ADHS Dept of Administration-Benefit Options- Wellness Chronic Disease-ADHS Bureau of Health Systems Development and Oral Health-ADHS Bureau of Tobacco Education and Prevention-ADHS Bureau of USDA Nutrition Programs-ADHS Bureau of Women & Children's Health-ADHS EmpowHer.com Health Disparities-ADHS Healthwaves - Cholesterol and Glucose Screening Maricopa Integrate Health Systems - Body Fat Analysis Mental Health Association of America – Mini depression screening Mobile Onsite Mammography (Stationed outside Tower) - Mammography by appointment 480-967-3767 Office of Children & Environmental Health-ADHS Office of Environmental Health-ADHS Oral Health Office-ADHS Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Arizona Sister To Sister Foundation Sunwise-ADHS Susan G. Komen for the Cure The Wellness Community

For more information about Women’s Health Week, visit http://www.4woman.gov/whw/

Please share this information with your organization, download an Expo poster.

We’ll see you at the Expo!

Gina Flores

Director of Community and Family Health

Office of Governor Napolitano

1700 W. Washington St, SE 101

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Direct: 602.542.2391
Email: gflores@az.gov

Web: www.gocyf.az.gov/fch

Disturbing article by Morrison Institute recommends releasing prisoners early

The Morrison Institute wants YOU to be a future victim.

The Morrison Institute had an article in the Arizona Republic's Saturday Phoenix section advocating for early release of prison inmates (can't find it online). The authors are from the liberal think tank Morrison Institute for Public Policy which is funded in part by taxpayers since it is located at ASU (can you imagine a conservative think tank being funded by taxpayers at a university? never in a million years). They argue that we should release 18,000 prison inmates simply because we have a lot of people in prison now. Astonishingly - but to their credit for being honest - the authors admit that crime has gone down as a result of putting more criminals behind bars. And they admit that two out of three of the 18,000 inmates will commit another crime within three years of being released (and those are just the crimes we know about that they're caught for).

The article complains about the high cost of incarcerating these criminals. But it neglects to point out the high cost of prosecuting, defending, and incarcerating them the next time they're caught. Or the cost to their future victims, whether it's property loss, emotional loss, or physical harm. If a study were done, I predict it would find that the cost of dealing with their future crimes is higher than the costs of incarcerating them, which can be kept minimal if the inmates are required to work to pay for their food and housing while in prison.

What most criminal sympathizers don't tell you is that most prison inmates aren't there just for doing drugs. For every crime a criminal commits and gets caught for, there are 12 more he's not caught for. And when he's caught, he rarely gets the recommended sentence, most criminals accept the plea offer which permits them to plead guilty to a lesser sentence (although the current county attorney has implemented a policy prohibiting this for felonies). That burglary charge? It's just overlooked - he gets to say he's in jail for doing meth, adding to another erroneous statistic that criminal sympathizers can bandy about. This explains why releasing these inmates results in such a high recidivism rates - the 18,000 weren't solely drug users. How many of your friends who have done drugs have ended up in jail? Probably none, and probably most of you can name some friends who have done drugs. The myth of drug users being put behind bars is just that - a myth unless they commit other crimes. The cops don't have enough resources to bust drug users who aren't committing other crimes. Try calling the cops on your next door neighbor smoking pot and see what happens.

The article criticizes Arizona for ranking 10th in the country in its rate of incarceration. Considering Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Tempe recently announced their crime rates are decreasing, this correlation makes sense and I'm proud of our law enforcement for keeping us safer than other cities.

Watch out! "Free to Work Arizona" initiative masquerading as AZ Civil Rights Initiative

Kyrsten Sinema, the most left wing legislator in Arizona's House, has started an initiative that would force businesses to hire gays, transsexuals, and transgendered people, and prohibit businesses from firing them. The exact language is "gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation." She's named it "Free to Work Arizona," which is dishonest. This name is deceptively similar to "Right to Work," which is a conservative principle she doesn't agree with that allows businesses to prohibit unions from forming. Her initiative should more accurately be called "Free to Work Arizona - Businesses Must Hire Gays." (note - Sinema is bisexual)

Her petition signature collectors are telling people that this initiative would stop racial and sex discrimination in hiring - confusing people with the AZ Civil Rights Initiative, which would prohibit racial & gender preferences in government, something close to 80% of Arizona voters are in favor of. The summary Sinema wrote describing the measure deceptively never mentions the words "gay" or "transgender:"

MAKES IT UNLAWFUL FOR ARIZONA EMPLOYERS TO REFUSE TO HIRE, DISCHARGE OR PROMOTE A PERSON SOLELY BECAUSE OF THE PERSON'S RELIGION, AGE, RACE, DISABILITY, OR SEX. EXEMPTS EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS BASED ON SEX FOR CHURCHES AND CHURCH SCHOOLS FOR JOBS THAT ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO RELIGIOUS FUNCTIONS OR THAT ARE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN EDUCATING STUDENTS.

The exception she claims for "religious organizations" is very vague, which was obviously done on purpose in expectation of the litigation that will commence over it. Since the judiciary is controlled by the left, it will end up being interpreted very narrowly. Many religious organizations will find themselves forced to hire people who disagree with the core tenets of their faith.

The Supreme Court has definitively established that race deserves the highest protection against discrimination, followed by gender. Sexual orientation has not been afforded these higher levels of protection, no doubt because there is considerable debate over whether it is a choice, and the fact that it conflicts with a majority in society who profess Christian and other religious beliefs. Sinema's initiative would force this higher level of protection of gays and transgendered on society, something even our courts aren't willing to do.

This isn't the first time Sinema has pulled this kind of doubletalk - because she knows the voters won't support her agenda, she fools them by masking the words. In opposing the AZ Civil Rights Initiative, she formed an opposition group called "Protect Arizona's Freedom." The opposition group had nothing to do with freedom, which is something Sinema isn't concerned about unless it's freedom for a far left cause. Her group wants to keep racial preferences based on skin color and gender in place. It has been more accurately renamed by Red State Arizona as "Protect Arizona's Freedom to Discriminate in Government."

AZ Dems failed attempt to smear Tim Bee by linking him to Norquist

We received a copy of the Capitol Times' Yellow Sheet from Wednesday which covered the State Democrat Party's attempts to taint Tim Bee by linking him with Grover Norquist, who they they link with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The smear job was even worse than the Yellow Sheet revealed. The Yellow Sheet failed to mention that Norquist was never indicted nor implicated in the Jack Abramoff scandal. And they neglected to mention that describing Norquist as an aide to Newt Gingrich was part of the smear, because although they were friends, Norquist never worked for Gingrich. The AZ Dems aren't very good at creating fake scandals.

Campaign update from Medical Choice for Arizona

Medical Choice for Arizona CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Join Our List Featured Article Go to www.medicalchoiceforaz.com to read pertinent information on this important initiative to preserve patient rights.

Dear Friend, I am pleased to inform you that due to your support and financial assistance, we are nearing the end of our signature gathering for "The Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act." We will be able to file our 300,000 signatures in June before the July deadline. We only have 90,000 signaures left to collect and are seeking our last contribution to reach the $25,000 we need to complete our goal. For those of you that so generously contributed to our campaign we wish to thank you and hope that those of you who haven't yet contributed will chose to help us at this time. You can contribute online at www.medicalchoiceforaz.com for your convenience. "The Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act" is a historic endeavor to make choice in health care a constitutionally guaranteed right for all individuals in the state of Arizona. Other states are carefully monitoring the reaction and support of our initiative which will be on the November 2008 ballot. Ensuring medical freeom in Arizona could not happen without your help and we are grateful for your support. Please send your friends to our website and encourage them to get involved. Again, we are so close to our goal and hope that you can invest today. Sincerely, Dr. Eric Novack Chairman Medical Choice for Arizona 3655 W. Anthem Way Ste. A-109 -- PMB 212 Anthem, AZ 85086 (623) 271-9576

Politicker AZ calls Jim Ogsbury on lack of conservative credentials

Hats off to PolitickerAZ for questioning CD-5 Congressional candidate Jim Ogsbury on his claim to being "The Real Conservative" in the race. This blog contended a couple of days ago that Ogsbury is not really that conservative. Ogsbury dismissed the post by saying this blog is "pro-Schweikert." None of us are working on the Schweikert campaign, but if being "pro-Schweikert" means we've concluded he's the best candidate in the race, then yeah, we are "pro-Schweikert."

Judge for yourself Ogsbury's conservative credentials - here are some excerpts from the interview:

BORDER ENFORCEMENT
He omitted any mention of local enforcement, saying, "I'm not a big government conservative, but this is one of the federal government's responsibilities." Does this mean he opposes Sheriff Joe's crime suppression sweeps and arresting illegal immigrants for smuggling themselves over the border? Sounds like it.

2ND AMENDMENT
He said that "while some restrictions may be necessary, 'I draw the line very, very liberally - small 'l' - toward the right of individuals to own and bear arms.'" Some restrictions may be necessary? This sounds like a copout answer that could authorize any restrictions. I would be very nervous as a gun owner if a candidate characterized their position in that vague manner.

GAY MARRIAGE
"He does not believe it is proper for the federal government to assert that definition, and that, rather, it is a matter for the states." Doesn't sound terribly conservative.

What do you think, is Ogsbury "The Real Conservative" in the race?

Video of May Day at the state Capitol

The effect of this patriotic rally was lost considering there was no illegal immigrant march this year, having been scared off by Sheriff Arpaio's crime suppression sweeps and Arizona's new employer sanctions law.

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

May 22 is Drive Nice Day

Governor Napolitano needs to proclaim May 22 "Drive Nice Day" as they've done in Washington state. Washington already has a reputation for its polite drivers. We're not quite there yet, and a day reminding motorists to drive better is a great idea. Arizona drivers aren't as bad as east coast drivers, but they're significantly ruder than Washington drivers.

What a phony

The woman is so unauthentic it's pathetic. She looks like a poseur standing on that truck bed with a full $2,000 designer suit on trying to fool the folks (Indiana or North Carolina) into thinking she's one of them. She doesn't look like a leader. How condescending to the people she's talking to. I hope this picture becomes the Michael Dukakis tank picture of 1988.

APS foists last-minute outage on customers all Friday morning

With little advance notice (I saw the note below in my door AFTER the outage had already started Friday morning), APS turned off customers' electricity for four hours Friday morning, from sometime before 8am until almost noon.

APS made no effort to schedule the power outage during a convenient time for customers, such as in the middle of the night, nor notify them ahead of time. There was no emergency, they were simply installing new underground electric cable. The note didn't even include an apology for the inconvenience.

My spouse had an important meeting Friday, and was unable to shower, use her electric shaver or curl her hair. Luckily she woke up around 8am on her own, since her alarm never went off having no electricity. She was unable to use her computer to print out her business presentation. Getting out of the garage was a chore, since the garage opener doesn't work without electricity.

This kind of service is outrageous and if we had real competition in the energy market, they wouldn't get away with it. The Corporation Commission must stop rubberstamping APS's requests for rate increases. Their service outages have consistently gotten worse since 2003, and combined with their frequent increases in costs to customers and the serious security risks at the Palo Verde nuclear generating station, they cannot continue to get away with this.

At this point, there needs to be an investigation. Hopefully the state legislature will initiate it, because we know our liberal big-government-regulation-favoring governor and Attorney General won't do anything about it.

Kyrsten Sinema puts the "sin" in Sinema

For those of you who don't listen to J.D. Hayworth (late afternoons on 550 KFYI), you've probably never heard one of his greatest lines, Kyrsten Sinema puts the "sin" in Sinema. And he's not referring to her open bisexuality, but the myriads of lies she's told.

Has Politico Mafioso's Grand Canyon Pachyderm club disappeared?

The website for the RINO/nudist club Grand Canyon Pachyderms goes to a parked page. Could the club have dissolved? With the advent of the PAChyderm Coalition's new weekly legislative rankings, the group may be finding itself too often confused with the PAChyderm Coalition, whose purpose is to elect conservative Republicans to office.

Solid Republican legislator Jack Harper quickly gets all of his $5 contributions

We're glad to see that State Senator Jack Harper, a trusted Republican in the west Valley's District 4, has already collected all of his $5 Clean Elections contributions in order to receive Clean Elections funding to run for re-election.

There are no other candidates listed in District 4 who have achieved this. As a dependable conservative vote and leader on conservative issues, Harper has represented his district and Republicans well, and is a good counter to the far left radicals like Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.

The Maoists are coming

Jim Ogsbury for Congress - "The Real Conservative?" - NOT!

GOP candidate Jim Ogsbury, running in CD-5 for Harry Mitchell's seat, has added a line to his website that says, "The Real Conservative for U.S. Congress." Obviously this is an attempt to steal away the conservative base from competing candidate David Schweikert, who has built up a solid reputation as a conservative, beginning when he served in the state legislature in the early 1990's. (GOP candidate Laura Knaperak had a RINO record as a state legislature and will be unable to capture the conservative base). Schweikert, who was adopted as a baby, regularly buys a table and sponsorship at AZ Right to Life events. Ogsbury, on the other hand, has no pro-life record since he's spent most of his career as a lobbyist-lawyer, and inside sources say he is pro-choice. His campaign website is void of any mention of meaty conservative issues such as pro-life and the 2nd amendment. It only mentions fiscal issues. It's unfortunate that candidates aren't honest about these things. If you have to fool the voters in order to get elected, you're the wrong candidate.

Quality of AZ State Bar magazine continuing to slide

This month's issue of Arizona Attorney, the AZ State Bar Association's magazine, was frankly embarrassing. Most of it (32 pages) consisted of art by "creative arts" competition winners - paintings, photographs, poetry and fiction. What does that have to do with the practice of law? Nothing. While it's nice that lawyers have hobbies outside of the law, they don't belong in a magazine about practicing law. Considering attorneys practicing law in Arizona are required to be members of the Arizona Bar - at a hefty cost - the magazine should reflect their legal interests, not the interests of a few "artists."

Also in the magazine was yet another article about diversity - as if the last issue didn't have enough about it. Take this blah sentence, "Fostering diversity in the profession has been one of the organization's core values for more than a decade." What kind of garbage is that? We shouldn't "celebrate" people based on the color of their skin - period. Focus on putting kids in good schools so they'll perform well academically and you won't have to worry about whining about "diversity" in worthless articles like this. Treating people based on their skin color results in stereotyping and resentment.

I wonder if the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative would ban all these silly diversity programs the bar wastes attorneys' money on. The State Bar is an entity under the Supreme Court, so technically it's part of the government. Not surprisingly, the bar is opposing the initiative. The bar might actually have to focus on real legal issues if it passes instead of foo-foo diversity.

I heard there were less than 20 attorneys who participated in the state bar's recent online ethics chatroom conference. Based on that dismal turnout, I suspect the number of attorneys who participated in the bar's "diversity" chat a couple of months ago was even less. Nobody cares about discussing "diversity" except a few politically correct activists. I wonder if most state bars in other states are as bad as Arizona's. No one wants to leave their bar magazine lying around because it's embarrassing to have something with all this politically correct b.s. in it. Most attorneys would never pay to read something like it, but it's sent to them as part of the bar. Another reason having a mandatory bar is not necessarily a good idea.

Phoenix Mayor Gordon waffling on illegal immigration - where is the leadership?

First Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon decides the Phoenix sanctuary policy prohibiting local law enforcement from asking about immigration status needs to be changed, in order to permit local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants.

Now, he's done a 180 and is demanding that the feds investigate Sheriff Joe Arpaio for - allowing local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants!

This is not leadership, this is chaos. We can't have leaders who say one thing one minute to appease the vast majority of the public, then, under pressure from radical activist groups like La Raza, cave in and change their mind. And demanding that the feds investigate another law enforcement chief - who happens to be the most popular sheriff in the country - for what is essentially a political difference, not a crime - is a crass, unwise decision.

The majority of Arizonans polled consistently want immigration laws enforced, and if the federal government isn't going to do it, they want local law enforcement to. Mayor Gordon realized after he decided to revise Phoenix's sanctuary city policy that he was never going to get the Democrat nomination for governor with that on his record, so he went on this attack against Arpaio in order to regain some credibility on the left. Unfortunately, he did everything wrong - 1) he attacked the wrong person - Arpaio is popular and has the support of the people, 2) he's picking a political fight with Arpaio, there is no wrongdoing involved, Arpaio is not violating the Constitution (the ACLU says everyone is violating the Constitution, and most of the time they're wrong, so they have little credibility), and 3) he completely reversed his position on this issue, making him look like a waffler, losing credibility with both the right and the left.

Gordon needs to back off. If Arpaio is doing anything wrong, the feds will find it or the people will hold him accountable at the polls. My money is on Arpaio, not the fringe left who have gotten their claws around Gordon's neck.

It's mean to publicly post pictures of shoplifters but not worth complaining about pedophiles' pictures of children

The AZ Republic ran an article critical of the City of Avondale's new website featuring photos of shoplifters. Funny, how often do you read newspaper articles critical of pedophiles posting pictures of children on the internet? I can't remember a single article on that ever. Maybe if their reporters weren't so liberal and hanging out with liberals all the time - the ACLU, criminal defense attorneys, etc., and perhaps ask an occasional conservative for responses, their articles wouldn't be so biased.

American Thinker picked up the Lacey n**** word story

American Thinker is a fairly popular website, looks like outrage is continuing to build over Lacey's racist remark.

SKYY Vodka's response to Absolut Vodka's irresponsible ad

Heheh SKYY is made in the U.S., unlike Swedish-owned Absolut. Will be interesting to see how much this fiasco hurts Absolut's sales.


SKYY® Vodka, Made in the USA, Proudly Supports Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

America’s Most-Popular Domestic Vodka Decries Absolut® Vodka’s Suggestion to Redraw North American Map

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican-America War (1846-1848). With the signing of this treaty, the United States gained control of what was to become the Golden West, including California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and parts of Colorado and New Mexico. Today, SKYY® Vodka, the number-one vodka produced in the United States, spoke out against suggestions by Absolut® Vodka to disregard that treaty, as well as the joining of Texas to the Union in 1845, as depicted in Absolut’s recent advertising.

“Like SKYY Vodka, the residents of states like California, Texas and Arizona are exceptionally proud of the fact that they are from the United States of America,” said Dave Karraker, SKYY Vodka. “To imply that they might be interested in changing their mailing addresses, as our competitor seems to be suggesting in their advertising, is a bit presumptuous.”

In the ad, an “Absolut World” is depicted where the map of North America is re-drawn with Mexico claiming much of the Western United States, negating the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, as well as the Gadsden Purchase (1853), and the independence of Texas (1836).

“Don’t get me started on the Gadsden Purchase,” continues Karraker. “I think the folks in Tucson and Yuma would be rubbed the wrong way if they hear this landmark deal was somehow nullified as suggested by Absolut, a Swedish-owned brand.”

SKYY Vodka was founded in San Francisco in 1992 and continues to be produced in the United States. Premium SKYY Vodka is made from American grain carefully selected from the Midwest and 100% pure filtered water. SKYY’s proprietary four-column distillation and three-step filtration process consistently ensures exceptional quality. SKYY Vodka products include luxury SKYY90® and new SKYY Infusions™, a unique, all-natural infused experience made with premium SKYY Vodka and succulent real fruit.