Are  times changing? Maybe only a little or just readjusting.  It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Well this one is surely a sign of the times.  You sociology majors can have a ball with this photo.  After all, patrol cars now have onboard computers and high tech crime fighting apps, well we all know that these things are only fueled by lattes and iced chi tea, so why the surprise. Then again maybe I’m reading to much into it and it’s just the free internet. The best thing about this photo for me is that as a photographer I actually had my camera out and on the seat beside me at the time.

Photo by Karl W Hoffman

Arivaca is a small quiet border town in the middle of nowhere but at the center of everything. Struggling to maintain a normal rural lifestyle while recovering form the preverbal border war zone, Arivaca has its hidden gems.  Contrary to mainstream media sensationalism the people of Arivaca have a unique  comfort and acceptance of multicultural and quiet varied political views.   Magnified in the various community projects Arivaca locals  are always ready to support area functions with a warm and friendly welcome to visitors

Photo by Karl W Hoffman

The small farmers market that grew over the years from two women sitting under a tree selling their eggs and cheese is now grown to a budding farmers market called “Marian’s Market.”  Open from 9am to noon every Saturday the local produced products and organic produce are worth the drive. For more information visit the Arivaca on line news and directory

Photo by Karl W Hoffman

Nestled in the hills of the high Sonornan Desert Arivaca has a lot to offer.  Before the market as you are coming into Arivaca is the Cafe Aribac for a great cup of coffee or breakfast. After visiting the market, try the Arivaca Artist Co op and The Cactus Rose Gallery or a cold one at the Cantina.  Opening soon is Sweet Peas Cuisine, Cafe and Catering, offering 3 great meals a day.  The Arivaca Mercantile will surprise you and the drive to Arivaca Lake or through the 117,000 acres of the Buenos  Aries Wildlife Refuge is a rewarding experience. Area Links

Photo by Karl W Hoffman

Mark you calendars for  other Arivaca events and come back here for coverage.

Saturday November 5th 2011

The Day of the Dead and Annual Folklorico Festival and Parade, starting at 11:00 am

Saturday, November 19th

3rd Annual Grassland Fair at Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge

Exhibits, Demonstrations, Music, Crafts and Food, Talks and Walks.

Karl W Hoffman

Claiming Protection under the First Amendment, the right to free speech in a public place, a women claiming association to the Green Party of Pima County, crashed a neighborhood get together. In front of kids, cops, and horrified parents the unidentified women set up a promotional table to push medical marijuana literature at the National Night Out event in Amphi Neighborhood Park. The Green Party of Pima County was unavailable for comment.

National Night Out, is a nationwide organization with a  plan designed to: Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime efforts, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships, and send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

National Night Out has been growing in popularity over the years and with the recent budget cuts hurting local police departments many believe the event couldn’t be more important.

The Tucson Police Department along with other agencies like the health department and local libraries met with residents from different communities for a night of fun but also to get everyone on the same page when it comes to improvements in the neighborhood.

Law enforcement officers as usual, were very professional and acted courteously, calming parents and children while respecting everyone’s rights.

The Bisbee woman that got thrown off YouTube for violating their privacy  policies when she irresponsibly and with no regard for their personal safety or the safety of their families, posted a video showing detailed closeups of  Border Patrol agents faces in the field, is now trying to silence this TC blogger.

After crying the first amendment and the rights to freedom of speech, Alison Bane McLeod, Southern Arizona Field Organizer for Progressive Democrats of America, (a public figure) is now trying to censor the media.  In an email to the editor of the Tucson Citizen, and many other individuals through out the nation, McLeod made slanderous, wild and false associations in regards to my character  and viciously attacked my  personal beliefs through false  accusations in a attempt to alter my blog and silence my right to free speech. The information in the blog, Bisbee woman harasses CBP Agents and gets slapped by YouTube, was legally posted from public internet sources.  I respectfully request a retraction of the horrendous associations she has falsely claimed and a personal apology.

From: ”Alison McLeod” <alisonmcleod@wildblue.net>
Date: October 3, 2011 6:55:46 AM PDT
To: <mevans@tucsoncitizen.com>
Cc: ”Pamela Powers”, “Dan O’Neal”, “Darrell. Hill”, “Isabel Garcia”, “Jennifer Allen”, “Jonathon Shacat” , “Mike Hersh”
Subject: The Tucson Citizen published my private information

Activist Alison Bane (Miller) McLeod DOB 1963, photo from the video " Border Patrol in The Bushes"

Bisbee anti government activist, Alison Bane McLeod lives at 939 E Border Rd AZ (520-432-1476), a few miles east of Bisbee where she confronted Customs and Border Patrol Agents from the Horse Patrol in the process of apprehending illegal border crossers.  Holding a video camera McLeod approached the agents and was asked courteously, not to video their faces (this is on the film.) McLeod ignored their request, got closer with her video camera and began verbally heckling them and then asking questions.  She was repeatedly asked to stand aside and not film their faces or the face of the man in custody but simply ignored their requests.  One of the CPB agents then explained to her that they were not authorized to answer her questions and gave her the number at CBP headquarters where she could contact a public relations officer.  This is standard procedure for just about every agency from police to fire departments and many corporate entities.

McLeod took detailed video of the CPB Agents after being asked repeatedly not to video their faces, then irresponsibly posted a very derogatory video showing the CBP Agents faces on YouTube. YouTube removed the video.  The border in that area has become a very dangerous sector and it is definitely a reasonable request for CBP Agents to want to protect their anonymity and respect the identity of the man in custody.

McLeod states she has the right to video government officials in public but these men where government workers doing an assigned job. Professional multimedia reporters have the courtesy and respect for agents safety, and blur direct face shots if the video is of course not accusatory but still news worthy.    This video was neither, but if anything should prevail in the video, it would be how the CBP Agents handled the situation with a great deal of patients and professionalism in dealing with McLeod and the respect showed for the individual in custody.

This shoddy video is merely another piece in the No More Deaths campaign (Culture of Cruelty) to systematically assault  US Customs and Border Protection. McLeod was immediately  defended by the ACLU. Of course  McLeod did not include any personal information of her own in the video. McLeod’s information in this article came form public web search.

An interesting note is that McLeod had no concern for any rights but her own when she even used copyrighted music of the popular James Bond Series as the soundtrack for her video which the ACLU posted on their website with total disregard for copy right protection laws, the safety of CPB Agents or the rights of the man in custody.

ACLU Says Bisbee Activist Has First Amendment Right to Post Border Patrol Video on YouTube     

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, September 30, 2011

CONTACT:

Alessandra Soler Meetze, ACLU of Arizona, (602) 773-6006 (office) or 602-301-3705

PHOENIX – In a letter sent Thursday to YouTube administrators, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona criticized the online company for censoring a video of United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents arresting a man with a bloody nose.

The 5-minute video, dubbed “Border Patrol in the Bushes,” was taken by Bisbee activist Alison McLeod, who pulled out her video camera and started filming Border Patrol agents arresting an individual after she heard helicopters and saw several agents, on horseback and on foot, on her property on August 31^st.  The video shows four CBP agents walking an individual in handcuffs through her property to a white CBP truck parked on a public road. McLeod posted it on YouTube on September 2^nd where it received “hundreds” of views within hours. Ten days after the video was posted, YouTube officials took it down, citing privacy complaints by CBP agents.

“This is yet another example of a private online community trampling on our First Amendment rights and trying to exercise greater control over what we share and watch online,” said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona. “People have the right to film government officials carrying out their duties in public places. By censoring this type of protected speech, YouTube officials not only violated their own guidelines, but they’ve managed to silence debate around U.S. immigration practices along the U.S.-Mexico border.”

According to YouTube, three complaints about the video were filed; two of them were posted by CBP agents. Within hours of the YouTube posting, a CBP supervisor showed up unannounced at McLeod’s doorstep, telling her 19-year-old daughter who was home at the time that he was inquiring about the YouTube video. The agent then offered to give McLeod and her daughter a tour of the Border Patrol facilities and the local search area.

“This is the reality of border enforcement for those of us living on the border,” said McLeod, who has been living on the border since 1997. “Rather than trying to intimidate residents like me who are simply trying to make CBP more accountable to the public, they should respect the rights of all people living on the border.”

The ACLU sent a separate letter to the CBP’s Tucson Field Office, arguing their involvement in trying to remove the video constitutes “severe government interference with McLeod’s constitutional rights.”

“Customs and Border Protection is now the nation’s largest federal law enforcement agency and it operates with total impunity, accountable to no one and with little government oversight,” added Meetze. “This video and CBP’s response to it underscores the need for greater transparency.”

Although YouTube has privacy guidelines that allow them to remove content where an individual is “uniquely identifiable,” the ACLU argues in its letter to both YouTube and CBP that public officials have no reasonable expectation of privacy while exercising their official duties in public places. The ACLU letter also points out that “nothing distinguishes McLeod’s videos from the hundreds of videos already on YouTube demonstrating various law enforcement activities.”

“YouTube boasts that it is the biggest news platform in the world,” wrote ACLU of Arizona Legal Director Dan Pochoda in his three-page letter to YouTube. “One of the goals of a free press is to hold government officials accountable for their actions. Granting law enforcement a de facto veto over materials they find objectionable or unflattering would violate and jeopardize that mission.”

The letter to YouTube asks the company to allow McLeod to repost her video and any future videos of government officials performing their duties. The ACLU also is asking CBP to stop interfering with McLeod’s efforts to videotape and photograph CBP activities on her own property or public land, and to rescind its complaints seeking the removal of the video from YouTube.

Click here to read the letter to YouTube.

Click here to read the letter to CBP’s Tucson Field Office.

 

A remake of the video titled Border Patrol in the Bushes Dos has been posted again on YouTube.

Update:  Alison McLeod now tries to silence this blog 

For most of Wednesday Downtown Tucson was shut down and evacuated after a law enforcement dog hit on a white box van parked legally down town near the court house. What really happened?

According to 9 news:

Web Producer: Ina Ronquillo

Reporter:  Jessica Chapin

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) – Tucson Police have determined that there are no explosives in a white box-truck parked near downtown. Bomb Squad technicians did locate ammunition, guns, and military clothing inside.

Authorities questioned the driver of the suspicious vehicle that caused the evacuation of several buildings and prompted several road closures.

Maria Hawke, a spokesperson with Tucson Police tells KGUN9 police were contacted by U.S. Marshall’s after a K9 showed “interest” in a white box truck at Broadway Boulevard and Scott Avenue.

“It happened to be the location where he parked at, the proximity to the building, the amount of time that it was there, those types of things that sparked the Marshall’s concerns and that spawned the series of events,” said Hawke.

Bomb Squad personnel responded to area to determine if there was risk of explosion associated with the vehicle.  After finding there was no immediate danger, police continued their investigation and kept roads closed.  9 On Your Side’s Jessica Chapin asked officers why it took so long after determining there were no explosives.

“There was a large amount of material in the back of that truck,” said Hawke, “We need to inventory and go  through all of the stuff, document it to ensure that there’s nothing that could be harmful to any of our personnel or the community.”

The roadways in the area opened after 5 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.  Police say the vehicle’s owner was questioned, but faces no charges.  They haven’t released any more details on the reason that vehicle was parked downtown.

 

KGUN9-TV certainly sensationalized it and their ending comment was that we may never know what happened.  A guy parks downtown to take care of business in the wrong place at the wrong time, how was he supposed to know?  This is defiantly a testament to our area security. I commend all of our law enforcement agencies for their swift and organized actions. This was a great example of interagency cooperation should there be a real threat.

However, when the truth is discovered let the public know, there is no embarrassment in saying whoops when the publics safety is involved.

It appears that the driver parked a suspicious looking truck just a little to close to a government building and he was actually a completely legal vender that sells at gun shows with a Federal Firearms License and a dealer of military surplus, ammo and accessories. Of course this truck is going to have a very special scent.  Over all, good Job!

Hugh Holub at the American Mexican Border in Southern Arizona. Photo by Karl W Hoffman

Yesterday  September 25th 2011

In the late afternoon heat, old men with walking sticks, a young couple with a new born, people from all walks of life and all ages slowly fill the Copper Room at the Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson. One couldn’t help feel the camaraderie in the room; it was as if every one was your friend drawn together by the energy of one great man.

It was a celebration of the life of Hugh Holub, A wonderful human being, father, husband, writer, mentor, and a true friend of humanity. As individuals came up to speak, Hugh’s footprint on this earth grew larger and larger. It became evident that he was a true renaissance man in every step he took.

The guest of honor was there in spirit and energy.

Rest In Peace Hugh Holub, Thank you for your presence in all of our lives.

We surely  will miss you Amigo.

Karl W Hoffman

Attacking the United States Border Patrol with such wild and fictitious allegations is totally irresponsible. The fact is that this action is merely a smoke screen to divert attention from their illegal activities.

They claim to be faith-based humanitarians, except by the social and cultural standards of the United States they are just antigovernment anarchists.

This new book, Culture of Cruelty by No More Deaths is no better than the previous one in that it is entirely based on hearsay information from a biased source. Not independent moderation of oversight, they just wrote it.

Hear say evidence has never been admissible in a court of law. Even if you swear that the story you heard is correct and you swear that you have not embellished it for you own gains. Interview techniques are the same as surveys you can prove anything by the way the question is asked and then recorded and then presented. This applies to both sides of the coin. If you are going to put on the gloves lets be honorable, fair in our presentations and professional and objective in the information gathering.

It is called the “chain of evidence”  (physical or real property) Interviews, statements confessions, etc, must be recorded or signed and notarized and the victim must be available to testify under oath in a court of law. There are many criminal cases that are dismissed because this chain was broken or not conducted properly.

If law enforcement where allowed to collect evidence in the manner that NMDs did in their new book, we could just wing our constitution out the window and embrace a dictatorship.

As quoted in part from the 6th Amendment:

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Border Patrol Agents must be allowed the same rights as all United States citizens.

Excerpt from “Living on the Border” Documentary 

Controlling the media was very important, so not only did they bring in their own international media teams sympathetic to their cause but they began carefully screening journalists who wanted to cover their work in the field and any that are approved, are assigned special media persons and given a false tour with no interaction with volunteers who have not been briffed or illegal migrants.

They also realized that right wing conservative news won’t criticize faith based humanitarian groups and left wing liberals are supportive of it with out asking to many questions. This puts government officials and politicians in an uneasy spot.  So with decades of experience No More Deaths and the Samaritan’sleaders who were no strangers to organizing anti government tactics, began their new agenda by first creating a cloud of false government persecution in which to operate under.

First there is “Abuse Documentation” or stories they have heard or made up that will foster sympathy for their cause and open a can of worms for any government agency that takes to close a look at their activities. Playing this abuse documentation angle also keeps them very well funded, with large grants from the Unitarian Universalistic Funding Program and tens of thousands of tax free dollars from other churches and non profit activist groups under the disguise of the Social Justice Ministry. The term they like to use for their actions is “Civil Initiative”, nothing more than a gentle  for euphemism for revolutionary or anarchist.  To give this trump card an air of validity, they even published a book.

Feature length documentary is available on DVD at www.livingontheborder.com

Karl W Hoffman

Documentary Film Producer

Freelance Photojournalist

Multimedia Reporter

For information on photography exhibits and prints, lectures, interviews, photo usage, border tours and to order the documentary on DVD and view Living on the Border documentary trailer please visit: www.skullcreekmedia.com

The self proclaimed faith based humanitarian group No More Deaths (Truth about No More Deaths) ludicrously assaults Border Patrol in their new book “A Culture Of Cruelty”. Hear say stories and foundation less accusations take aim at Border Patrol Agents and supervisors in all areas of this government organization and at all levels.

A rally to celebrate the release of the new book was held at the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Tucson. Then a fired up group headed to Customs and Border Protection Headquarters to hold a demonstration in hopes of giving their cause some validity and gain some attention.  They got neither.

Arriving at BP Headquarters one could only chuckle at the circus like procession with actors dressed in costumes. Led by the famous instigator, John Fife, of course today he was the Reverend John Fife, dressed in his black shirt and white collar. Then came the “Professionals”  lady attorneys in their suites, hippies, volunteers in earth clothing, activists in all their glory, doctors and nurses in scrubs and lab coats complete with stethoscopes around their necks and followed by minstrels playing guitars and singing, but there were no jugglers just a gaggle of amateur photographers and videographers recording the debacle.

Border Patrol gates where closed to the dismay of the procession.  Heads where hung, signs and posters were rolled up, camera crews packed it in, and the activist left in a very anticlimactic exit. What ever their grand plans were, they never came to fruition.

Of course the liberal bloggers have claimed it a great success and major media this time of year is always looking for a filler.

Excerpt from Living on the Border Documentary series 

With decades of experience dating back to the Sanctuary movement,  No More Deaths and the Samaritan’s leaders who are no strangers to organizing anti government tactics. They began their new agenda by first creating a cloud of false government persecution in which to operate under. First there is “Abuse Documentation” or stories they have heard or made up that will foster sympathy for their cause and open a can of worms for any government agency that takes to close a look at their activities.

Playing this abuse documentation angle also keeps them very well funded, with large grants from the Unitarian Universalistic Funding Program and tens of thousands of tax free dollars from other churches and non profit activist groups under the disguise of the Social Justice Ministry. The term they like to use for their actions is “Civil Initiative”, nothing more than a gentle  for euphemism for revolutionary or anarchist.  To give this trump card an air of validity, they even published a book in September of 2008, “Crossing the Line” with over 100 pages of the most horrendous accusations, in the form of written accounts and affidavits, based solely on hearsay, against U.S. Border Patrol Agents working in the field and detention facilities that had never been visited. Down load PDF version of the book “Crossing the Line” This hearsay documentation was actually presented at Congressional briefing in Washington D.C., hosted by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.). The U.S Border Patrol says that these allegations are false. Rep. Grialva has long been a supporter of No More Deaths and the Samaritan’s work as well as their cause.

If something works, why not try it again?  So another book is published and a larger smoke screen has been created to operate an illegal smuggling operation.

For more information on the subversive antigovernment history of No More Deaths: When Humanitarian Aid Really Does Become a Crime

Artist John Gourley’s studio is in the hills outside of Arivaca just 10 miles from the American Mexican Border. John is a metal artist and has recently been added to the very prestigious group of artist at Metal Arts Village in Tucson.  A semi retired ranch broker, John has lived an interesting life, but chose the tranquility of the Sonoran desert to call home.  John has a unique way of seeing life which is reflected in his eclectic style from small table top pieces to life size sculpture. To talk with John one will learn that each piece is a narration of individual ideas meticulously welded together bringing dreams to reality through steel. As a fellow metal sculptor I highly  recommend a visit to Metal Arts Village and these two links, John Gourley Metal Art and Karl W Hoffman’s fabricated steel sculpture.

John A Gourley with Metal Sculpture, Photo by Karl W Hoffman

 

Photo and Graphics by Karl W Hoffman

The New Metal Arts Village

 

A Thriving Arts community Has Been Forged in The New Metal Arts Village

In the most unlikely of times, a new arts community has been forged at 3230 North Dodge Boulevard, attracting some of Tucson’s most renowned metal artists as well as other long-established custom art businesses.

 

Southern Arizona native, Steve Kimble, of Art Inc. built his very own field of dreams, designing and forging an architecturally-striking collection of  twelve working artist studios surrounding a central gallery and sculpture garden.  Almost entirely steel fabrication, The Metal Arts Village, is located at 3230 North Dodge Boulevard, between River and Fort Lowell, in the heart of the Fort Lowell Furniture District.

 

The Metal Arts Village has sprung to life, now that all twelve working artist studios are occupied with a variety of metal, glass and wood artisans, offering a vast array of products and services.  The Metal Arts Village gives visitors the opportunity to come see the artists at work as well as view and choose finished original art pieces in the central gallery and sculpture garden.  It is a one-stop destination where custom art creations are being designed and fabricated in metal, glass and wood.

 

Kimble’s dream project gained momentum three years ago when he shared it with Tucson’s own world-renowned artist Lynn Rae Lowe, who joined forces as marketing maven for the Metal Arts Village and made a commitment to relocate her Metal Arts Gallery to the space when completed.  Together Kimble and Lowe have created a new village of artisans working together to create some of the area’s most unique original and custom artworks for residential, commercial and liturgical applications.  In times like these, Kimble and Lowe have managed to create a highly functional and attractive space that entices artists to join forces to serve their art patrons.

 

“Metal art has a great history in the Southwest both functionally and decoratively and now area visitors and residents have a place to come to bring friends and family to see metal and glass art as its being made,” explained Lynn Rae Lowe, who also serves as Resource Director for the Village.  “We’ve created a true artist’ guild here where the artist share their knowledge with one another to the customer’s benefit.  It’s been my experience that it can be a cumbersome process for both artisan and patron to get a custom piece of art designed and fabricated.  At the Metal Arts Village that process is seamless, creating a better relationship with the customer and furthering artisan development, providing a great community resource,” Lowe said.

 

The Metal Arts Village is the new home of some Tucson’s most established metal, glass and wood artist including Lynn Rae Lowe’s Metal Arts Gallery, Everett Grondin’s Doglix Studios, Steve Kimble’s Art Inc., Antonio Falcon’s Finxsculpture, Andrea Islas’ Appaloosa in the Wood Custom Fine Furnishings, Altenburg Kraftwerks, and Genia Parker’s Ochoa Stained Glass. It has also enticed two long-established fine monumental sculptors to Tucson, Mark Wallis of MAW Studios of Indiana, and Al Glann Sculptor from Scottsdale, Arizona.  The Metal Arts Village is now the home of the latest Spill the Beanz Coffee Teaque.

 

This collection of artists provides a diverse selection of products and services including indoor and outdoor sculpture, garden art, fences, gates, fountains, privacy screens, wall décor, mirrors, furniture, home enhancement products, cabinetry, counter fronts, entryway doors, sidelites, transom, and clerestory custom glass art windows, signage, awards, lighting, jewelry, liturgical art and other art installations made from stainless steel, mild steel, copper, brass, iron, aluminum-glass, silver and more, fabricated and cast, as well as original designs in CAD (Computer Automated Drawings).

 

“It’s so nice to be able to collaborate with a talented group of artists on-site, in the moment, exchanging ideas and information.  It allows me to expand my capabilities and serve my customers on another level,” said Ochoa Stained Glass Custom Glass Art Studio Owner/Artist Genia Parker.  Ochoa Stained Glass has been creating custom glass artworks for more than 35 years for homes, businesses and places of spiritual worship.

 

“This is the perfect place for Appaloosa in the Woods Custom Fine Furnishings,” according to Owner Andrea Islas.  “We are thrilled to join this collection of fine artisans and craftspeople and are so happy to be a part of this thriving arts community,” she concluded.