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When state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D) travels outside Arizona, she hears the same question over and over: "What's wrong with your state?" She notes Arizona's new immigration law, its ban on ethnic studies classes and its prohibition on creating animal-human hybrids.

The other day, Sinema sent a note to her Twitter followers that might as well have been accompanied by a heavy sigh. "Just one day," she tweeted, "I'd like Arizona to be in the news for something good."

Sinema is a Democrat in a largely Republican state, but her sense of disheartenment is shared across party lines. Dean Martin, state treasurer and GOP candidate for governor, said national opinion on Arizona is "polarized. That's counterproductive."

Arizona finds itself at the vortex of an immigration debate that is increasingly bitter and, figures on both sides say, increasingly unwinnable. Opinions are split, with fear of harassment rising among Hispanics and worry about an economic boycott growing among the state's leaders.

Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has appointed a committee and allocated $250,000 to re-brand the state's image, while 13 Arizona chamber of commerce executives appealed to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to keep the 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix after he faced pressure to change locations. They said it would preserve jobs for "innocent citizens, including our Hispanic community."

Musical performers such as Sonic Youth, Kanye West and Rage Against the Machine have said they will boycott the state. Phoenix City Hall calculates that Arizona has lost nearly $100 million in convention commitments. Meanwhile, supporters and opponents of the immigration law are taking to the streets weekly.

Both sides are definitely set in their positions. Probably no one's going to change anyone's mind," said Grant Woods (R), a former state attorney general, who worries that an image of the state as intolerant will take hold. "I think it sticks until we rise above it."

In lamenting the state's increasingly bitter divisions, Laura Briggs, who teaches women's studies at the University of Arizona, cites a painful example of ethnic strife. "It feels like what people said about Sarajevo," said Briggs, whose daughter is Mexican American. "I used to be part of a community that was mixed. People lived in the same neighborhood, people intermarried. Now there's this unleashing of this horrible anti-Latino racism that I can't even understand."

Opponents of the immigration law may be frustrated, but "boycotts are absolutely the wrong way to go," said Garrick Taylor, a spokesman for the state chamber of commerce. Boycotts hurt Arizonans, "particularly in the tourist industry, who had nothing to do with the law."

Taylor is especially annoyed with state and local governments that are canceling deals with Arizona businesses or calling on others to do so. "If they were truly invested in the immigration issue," he said, "they'd be pressing Washington for comprehensive immigration reform."

The last time Arizona's image suffered such a blow was in the 1980s, when many Republicans, including then-U.S. Rep. John McCain, opposed a national holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Woods, the former attorney general, said the moment inspired his winning campaign as a GOP promoter of civil rights. This time, he is counting on "intelligent, compassionate people from all sides" to find a compromise.

"There are some states that are pretty much lily-white. That's not our state," Woods said. "To be an Arizonan is to be a part of Mexico. It's to be a part of the various Native American tribes. That's part of our culture, the diversity. I think the people's hearts are there, but the leaders don't always respect that."

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Hippie Operative Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
signing off


To our President: “Mr. President, you're a god damn, mother fucking liar. Fuck you, you cock sucking community activist piece of shit.... oh, go fuck yourself, Mr. President” ...Raptor

To Anthony, unquestionably the most civil person on this forum: “Go fuck yourself. On this matter, make no mistake. I want you to go fuck yourself long and hard, as well as anyone who agrees with you. I got no use for you. ...Raptor

To Frem: “You miserable piece of shit.” ...Raptor

To Niki: “My guess is it won't just be your ugly face you dislike.....Well, it's true......if you had a soul.” ...Raptor

...Remember, remember, the ugliest member...