VOR

I, for one, would not have expected that Jan Brewer would end up being the voice of reason. Yes, it was Arizona's governor that finally decided to stem a rather ugly tide that was sweeping across the desert. She vetoed the so-called "birther bill," that would have made Arizona the first state in the nation to require presidential candidates prove U.S. citizenship by providing a long form birth certificate, and other forms of proof including baptismal or circumcision certificates, to be placed on the state ballot."I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for president of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth to submit their 'early baptism or circumcision certificates.' This is a bridge too far," she said. Coming from a lady that signed into state law a measure that required all immigrants to carry proof of citizenship. She stopped just short of having them wear armbands with big red stars on them. But this? This one was even too much for Jan.
While she was in a veto-ing kind of mood, she also struck down a bill that would have allowed students, faculty and visitors to carry guns on Arizona university campuses. Her primary concern with this one was that "it was so poorly written." The Republican dominated state legislature was anxious to keep pace with neighboring Utah, which already allows college kids to pack heat along with their biology textbooks. No lone gunman is going to storm into a classroom at the University of Utah and shoot the place up. Now it will be a semi-automatic free-for all whenever trouble arises. Maybe Ms. Brewer noticed that just down Interstate 10, a kindergartner accidentally shot three of his classmates after the gun he brought to school fell out of his pocket. Maybe she's just tired of competing with South Carolina for the most ridiculous state in the union.
Or maybe she's just gearing up her own presidential campaign for 2012. Like Doctor Thompson once wrote, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Stay tuned.