You're Supposed To Kill It Before You Grill It

An Arizona man during a party saw a rattlesnake creep into his yard and decided to hold an impromptu barbecue of the animal by picking it up and planning to put it on the grill - alive. What could possibly go wrong?

The snake rightfully took umbrage to that idea and bit him on the face and chest.

Fox News: Man tries to barbecue rattlesnake, gets bit on face

Oh, Darwin missed it by just that much this time.

There's Quite A Lot Of Irony In His Pursuing That Particular Degree

The heart-string pulling story of the day comes from USA Today is that of an illegal alien losing his scholarship eligibility at Arizona State University for being illegal.

USA Today: Strangers fund 'dreamer' who lost college scholarship

So the fellow qualified under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to be allowed to work and not be deported, but that doesn't let him be eligible for free tuition or financial aid, which rather makes sense given his status and that othwerwise he would be supported on the tax payer's dime while being in the country illegally. Sadly he would be unable to go to college as a result. So, 400 people apparently respnded to a Go Fund Me campaign and funded an illegal alien to go to college on their dime. Well, it's their money and their choice I suppose, aside from the discount he gets for being an illegal in-state student, a tuition break denied to legal out of state students.

Oh, and the degree he, an illegal alien, is pursuing? Criminal Justice.

You can't make this kind of ironic story up.

They Shoot Cars, Don't They?

Not in Kingman, Arizona, at least not anymore.

Findlaw: AZ Man Gets 90 Days Jail for Shooting His Car That Wouldn't Start

[Lauriano Lawrence]Lovato went out to his car at around 9 a.m. in April and tried to start up his car, reports the Daily Miner.

But alas, it did not start. And in what was probably a fit of a rage - or at least a fit of frustration - Lovato shot his car twice. The shots went through the windshield and into the car's dashboard. And, guess what: Lovato's actions actually set off a SWAT team standoff.

Neighbors heard the sound of the gunshots, who reported it to the police. Police arrived at the scene and found some bullet casings, reports the Daily Miner.

Shots fired, bullet casings... the responding officers were understandably unsure as to what kind of situation they were facing. So, officers established a perimeter around the house and tried to communicate with Lovato who was inside, according to the Daily Miner.

During the entire ordeal, Lovato says he was blissfully taking a nap inside, the Daily Miner reports. He had no idea that he had caused such a huge commotion.

Eventually, police broke into the house and found Lovato on a couch in the back of the house. According to Lovato, he had slept through the entire ordeal, even though officers had used loudspeakers to try to communicate with him, reports the Daily Miner.

The end result? Lovato pled guilty to a count of discharging a gun unlawfully within city limits and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 3 years of probation, the Daily Miner reports.

Got to watch those improper firearm discharges within city limits. A little anger management can really go a long way.

The sentence seems a bit excessive and probably has more to do with the standoff than the shooting of the car itself.

Typically, your car isn't going to work any better with bullet holes in it. Next time I suggest giving it a good swift kick, or for more satisfaction take the tire iron out of the trunk and give the car a good beating, that'll teach it.

Arizona Immigration law blamed for everything but Maid's Knee

In a surprisingly column almost sympathetic to the rationale for Arizona's new illegal immigration law, The Detroit News Reports:
Years of anger fuel Ariz. immigration law

The column actually gives a pretty good list of incidents and the costs of illegal immigration that has been giving Arizonans grief, but conspicuously fails to mention the lack of the Federal Government's enforcing of immigration laws.

However, the article to be "balanced" has to end with both dubious claims that illegals contribute more than they cost in services because they pay sales taxes on purchase and of course a claim that due to the law there is now more hostility towards illegals that is a real tear-jerker:

Opponents of the law say illegal immigrants are being scapegoated and wrongly characterized as freeloaders, pointing out that they pay sales taxes and put money into Social Security that they will never be able to take out.

Since Arizona passed its new immigration law, immigrant rights groups say Hispanics are seeing more open hostility.

Lilia Ramos, a 46-year-old illegal immigrant from Acapulco, lodged a complaint with Puente against the Arizona Humane Society in a dispute involving a dog found on her daughter's property.

Ramos says that when she called the Humane Society the woman on the other end of the line became angry when Ramos asked if she could speak to someone in Spanish. "She said, 'There's no one. Are you an American citizen?'" Ramos said in Spanish. "I said no, and then she asked if I had a green card, and 'if you don't cooperate, we'll arrest you.' I was quiet and it really scared me."

Picture caption: Lilia Ramos, a 46-year-old illegal immigrant from Acapulco, has lodged a complaint against the Arizona Humane Society over alleged threats.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100726/POLITICS03/7260343/1022/Years-of-anger-fuel-Ariz.-immigration-law#ixzz0uqlkL8UZ

Umm, how are we explain to this? Lady you're here illegally and you get quoted in the paper. You're illegal and you get your picture taken for the story - you must be shaking in your boots that ICE might come looking for you. Oh, wait they're not, and that's why Arizona passed this law.