Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I Really Like Sheriff Joe Arpaio


When we lived in Arizona, I came to like Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He has been in the national news over the years for various controversial decisions. He made the inmates wear black and white stripes when they were out working on trash clean up instead of the typical orange suit of the construction worker. He turned off the cable and read classics to the inmates over the TVs. He cut the food budget. When the inmates complained, he went and had lunch at jail. He said it wasn't great, but was nutritional and filling. When the jail got crowded, he put up tents in the yard and gave the inmates plenty of drinking so they wouldn't get dehydrated. The outside inmates went in after a couple of weeks and a new batch came out. When the inmates complained about his changes, his answer was always the same. "If you don't like it, don't come back."

This time he made national news for refusing to allow an inmate an abortion because it wasn't medically necessary. Of course, the courts ruled against him, but I am still proud of Sheriff Joe. This is his response to the decision.

Sheriff Arpaio has continued to defend his decision, saying, "I did the right thing and I would do it over again."
P. S. The people of Phoenix love Sheriff Joe. He has been elected to an unprecidented 4 four-year terms. His approval ratings are through the roof.

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