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REQUIEM

Below are the two final essays to be posted on Allegiance and Duty Betrayed. The first one is written by a friend -- screen name 'Euro-American Scum' -- who, over the past four years, has been the most faithful essayist here. He has written about everything from his pilgrimage to Normandy in 2004 to take part in the 60th–year commemoration of the invasion, to his memories of his tour in Vietnam. His dedication to America’s founding principles ... and those who have sacrificed to preserve them over the past 200+ years ... is unequaled. Thank you, E-A-S. It has been a privilege to include your writing here, and it is a privilege to call you my friend.

The second essay is my own farewell. And with it I thank all of the many regular visitors, and those who may have only dropped in occasionally, for coming here. I hope you learned something. I hope a seed or two was planted. But, even if not, I thank you for stopping by ... 25 March, 2010

7/28/2007

Justice Served: The Joe Arpaio Model

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There is a region near our southwest border … that the wisest traficantes de la droga tend to avoid.

Why?

Because Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is there—and he’s bound and determined by oath to uphold the law.

Maricopa County is the fourth most populated county in the nation (3,768,123 U.S. citizens), with Phoenix as its county seat. In 1992, the good citizens of Maricopa County saw fit to elect an Army veteran and career federal drug-enforcement agent as their sheriff, on the promise that he would treat those convicted of crimes like criminals, rather than a social-welfare constituency. Since then, Sheriff Arpaio has been re-elected every time he faced the voters, because he and his 3,000 employees are keeping that promise.

Here is a sample of justice served at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO)—a good model for the rest of the nation.

Criminals in Maricopa County Jail can no longer smoke or drink coffee. “This isn’t the Ritz-Carlton,” Sheriff Joe informed his indignant inmates. “If you don’t like it, don’t come back.” The Sheriff also discontinued inmate subscriptions for pornography. He revised the jail menu offerings, reducing the cost of meals to 40 cents per serving—and requires that the inmates pay for them. When they complained that he feeds his police dogs better, Sheriff Arpaio responded with characteristic compassion: “The dogs never committed a crime and they are working for a living.”

The jailhouse weight rooms are gone, too, but there’s plenty of exercise to be had on one of Sheriff Joe’s chain gangs. These include chain gangs for women, so Arpaio can’t be called a chauvinist or sued for discrimination. “Crime knows no gender,” he says, “and neither should punishment.” MCSO chain gangs clean streets, remove graffiti and bury the indigent.

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He also started juvenile chain gangs for youthful gang bangers and launched rehab programs like “Hard Knocks High,” the only accredited high school run by a Sheriff in an American jail, and “ALPHA,” an anti-substance-abuse program that has greatly reduced recidivism—the rate of reconvictions.

The Sheriff disconnected the MCSO jail’s cable TVs until criminal lawyers pointed out that he might be in violation of a federal-court order. So he hooked the cable up again, but piped in only the Disney and Weather channels. Asked by a reporter why he chose the Weather Channel, he replied, “So they will know how hot it’s gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.”

Sheriff Arpaio also used canteen funds to purchase former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich’s history lecture series on DVD, which he shows in the jail. Asked by a reporter if he provided equal time to Democrats, Sheriff Arpaio said, “Some might say these guys already got enough of those ideas.”

Additionally, on Friday nights, inmates are treated to classic “G”-rated movies, and recently, the Sheriff launched KJOE radio, an in-house broadcast station, which plays classical and patriotic music, as well as educational programs.

Sheriff Joe has even posted a “Hall of Shame” Web page dedicated to deadbeat parents, which lists photos and descriptions of parents who owe back child support, etc.

But Arpaio is probably best known by convicts, and most loathed by them, for establishing a “tent-city jail.” When he first took office, non-violent offenders were routinely released in order to alleviate prison overcrowding, but the new Sheriff put a stop to that, which swelled the ranks of inmates. On behalf of taxpayers, Arpaio opened a tent-city jail in order to avoid building an expensive jail annex.

The tent city, surrounded by razor wire, houses thousands of inmates, most of whom get a bit uncomfortable in the 115-degree summer heat. Arpaio gave the inmates permission to dress down to their boxer shorts—shorts which, like socks and towels, are dyed pink so as not to be stolen. Of course, some of the longer-term inmates complained, but Sheriff Arpaio responded, “It’s 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents, too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn’t commit any crimes, so shut your mouths!”

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(Prisoners without funds are required use these postcards to contact loved ones.)

In 2005, responding to limited federal enforcement resources to secure our borders, Arizona passed a law making it a felony (punishable by up to two years in prison) to smuggle anyone across the border. In addition, the Maricopa County Attorney issued a legal opinion that anyone being smuggled can be charged under the same law as a co-conspirator. (At last count, 14 other states are revising state legislation and stepping up their prosecution of illegal aliens.)

Consequently, Sheriff Arpaio issued instructions to his deputies and civilian posse to round up illegal aliens. “My message is clear: If you come here and I catch you, you’re going straight to jail... I’m not going to turn these people over to federal authorities so they can have a free ride back to Mexico. I’ll give them a free ride to my jail. I’m going to put them on chain gangs, in tents and feed them bologna sandwiches.”

The Sheriff also gives his inmates, who do not speak English, a two-week basic language course built around American history. He explains, “These inmates happen to be incarcerated in the United States of America. In Maricopa County where I run the jails, we speak English.” At the end of the course, they are required to sing “God Bless America” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Lately, Sheriff Arpaio’s detractors have been turning up the heat on him.

Last week, Arpaio set up a hotline that allows citizens to report suspected illegal aliens to the sheriff’s office. Predictably, Latino leaders voiced their displeasure: “What right does he have,” inquired Phoenix attorney Antonio Bustamante, “to investigate people based on the color of their skin, or their accent or the way they look?” Added Mary Rose Wilcox, a Maricopa County supervisor, “We feel the chances of being racially profiled just went up dramatically.”

Of course, Arpaio is opening investigations only on the basis of a suspected felony violation, not race or ethnicity. “There’s nothing unconstitutional about putting up a hotline,” Arpaio said, pointing out that U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have similar hotlines.

There are other legal challenges to the Sheriff’s “unorthodox” methods for dealing with criminals—challenges that emanate from the Left’s preference to view criminals as victims. Not one to shy away from a fight, Arpaio has said he will go “all the way to the Supreme Court” to fight those challenges. “I’m going to keep locking them up,” he says.

“Justice,” in the words of James Madison, “is the end of government. It is the end of civil society.” Thank God that there are still men among us like Joe Arpaio—those still willing to dispense justice and defend civil society.

(Sheriff Arpaio and his wife of 48 years, Ava, have two children and four grandchildren—all residents of Phoenix. Earlier this year, he accepted an appointment as honorary state chairman of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. Through it all, Sheriff Arpaio has retained his sense of humor. In May, after Hollywonk Paris Hilton’s conviction, he contacted Los Angeles authorities and asked if they would like to transfer her to Maricopa County jail to serve out her sentence. They “respectfully declined,” he notes.)

Patriot Post, 7/27/07

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Somebody needs to draft him to run for President. He runs rings around any other declared candidate of either party.

Anonymous said...

God bless this sheriff, and keep the ACLU and nitwit judges out of his way!

Anonymous said...

Now there is a person that should be the head of homeland security. If that is not available, how about the INS?

Anonymous said...

This guy's a believer in old fashioned "frontier justice." We need more leaders who believe in that.

Anonymous said...

The Sheriff disconnected the MCSO jail’s cable TVs until criminal lawyers pointed out that he might be in violation of a federal-court order. So he hooked the cable up again, but piped in only the Disney and Weather channels. Asked by a reporter why he chose the Weather Channel, he replied, “So they will know how hot it’s gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.”

Sheriff Arpaio also used canteen funds to purchase former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich’s history lecture series on DVD, which he shows in the jail. Asked by a reporter if he provided equal time to Democrats, Sheriff Arpaio said, “Some might say these guys already got enough of those ideas.”


Way to go, Joe!

Anonymous said...

The problem with men like this is once word gets out about what he's doing, and maybe even others try to follow his lead, the system is so corrupt that a group like the ACLU or an activist judge will eventually decide that what he's doing is somehow "illegal" and he'll be shut down. I give him another year or two tops before the system shuts him down.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. I had heard about this sheriff before but I didn't know all the details.

God bless him!

Anonymous said...

What a bright light he is when you think about all the bleeding heart liberals that are making all the decisions in our laws and justice system!

Anonymous said...

Kudos to Sheriff Arpaio! We need thousands more like him.

Anonymous said...

It looks like Joe Arpaio doesn't know the meaning of the term "politically correct" and does know the meaning of "criminal justice." God bless him! Too many of his contemporaries have gone soft or knuckled under to liberal pressure groups.

Anonymous said...

From Wikipedia (who else?):

Arpaio has been called "America's Toughest Sheriff" for his controversial approach to operating the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, mainly in regards to his treatment of inmates. He has a large number of vocal supporters for his toughness on crime and criminals, but many civil libertarians denounce him for what they believe to be a willingness to ignore constitutional rights in favor of blind enforcement. Arpaio has stated that his goal is to have the most populated jail in the country.

What the hell is "blind enforcement"? Idiots!

Anonymous said...

I have friends in Mesa, AZ who are very familiar with Arpaio and his reputation as a tough sheriff. They say that 90% of the people in the county love him, and the other 10% are the ones who are shown all the time on the news and get all the attention in the media. He's fighting an uphill battle, but so far he's winning.

Anonymous said...

Smokin' Joe just keeps on smokin'!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks. It's good to know there are still law enforcement officers out there who give a damn about justice. I'd like to see Bush nominate him to fill the next Supreme Court vacancy.(g)

Anonymous said...

I'm disappointed that Sheriff Joe is backing Mitt Romney for president in 2008. I was hoping he would back Duncan Hunter. That would make more sense.

Anonymous said...

Since he's from AZ, I wonder why he's not supporting McCain. < /sarc>

Anonymous said...

If you don't love Joe already, you will after you see this:

http://msunderestimated.com/ArpaioOnBigStory.wmv

Anonymous said...

Criminals in Maricopa County Jail can no longer smoke or drink coffee. “This isn’t the Ritz-Carlton,” Sheriff Joe informed his indignant inmates. “If you don’t like it, don’t come back.”

Anonymous said...

When they complained that he feeds his police dogs better, Sheriff Arpaio responded with characteristic compassion: “The dogs never committed a crime and they are working for a living.”

Asked by a reporter if he provided equal time to Democrats, Sheriff Arpaio said, “Some might say these guys already got enough of those ideas.”

Arpaio gave the inmates permission to dress down to their boxer shorts—shorts which, like socks and towels, are dyed pink so as not to be stolen.

some of the longer-term inmates complained, but Sheriff Arpaio responded, “It’s 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents, too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn’t commit any crimes, so shut your mouths!”

The Sheriff also gives his inmates, who do not speak English, a two-week basic language course built around American history. He explains, “These inmates happen to be incarcerated in the United States of America. In Maricopa County where I run the jails, we speak English.” At the end of the course, they are required to sing “God Bless America” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Anonymous said...

Hot damn! I'd vote for this guy in a heartbeat, for anything from dog catcher to king!

Anonymous said...

Whadda guy!

Anonymous said...

It's truly amazing that Sheriff Arpaio has been in office as long as he has. Usually when somebody with his determination to follow the rule of law gets in office the liberals immediately target him. I'm surprised he hasn't been ousted by a liberal activism group or an activist judge. He's amazing!

Anonymous said...

You want to see a typical left-wing hit piece? Have a look at this. The left isn’t happy when justice is served the way our founders wanted it to be served.

”Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Police State Poster Boy”

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County Arizona is the best example of everything that's wrong with the police force today. He is the epitomy of the way in which police are being trained to see the general public as their enemy.

Below are a small selection of articles which underline this. More will undoubtably be added. Lord Arpaio has officially been put on notice - we are watching you.

Green Pool Owners Could Face Fines, Jail

The sheriff’s air posse members will be flying over neighborhoods across the valley. They will use their aircraft for a mission that’s strictly related to spotting green pools. They’ll fly in fixed wing, helicopters and experimental aircraft, the air posse pilots will fly with spotters and carry cameras.

Drug dogs could be checking schools (Arpaio pushes random drug tests)

"What I would like to see, and what I’m going to push, is parents and principals getting together and doing some random drug testing, on the idea that kids will not be expelled or disciplined if they test positive."

Sheriff orders fingerprinting when traffic citations issued

Arpaio said the new procedure is designed to ensure the person who committed the offense is the same person being charged with a crime in the courtroom.

Public Servants" Going After "Constitutional Terrorists"?

This flyer was created -- by the feds -- to disseminate information about who the bad guys might be.

However, its wording made it look like a disinformation campaign to paint at least a few groups of Real Americans as domestic terrorists.

Phoenix school first to install face scanners

A north-central Phoenix school is the first in the nation to install cameras designed to detect the faces of sex offenders or missing children and instantly alert police.

Sheriff faults car for his accident

Sheriff Joe Arpaio insists this is not interesting. That the citizens of Arizona won't care to read about how he totaled his county-issued car at a Fountain Hills drugstore.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/archives/arpaio/index.htm

Anonymous said...

http://sonoranalliance.com/?p=1396


Goddard stonewalling Sheriff Arpaio’s investigation of him for bribery and corruption ignored by media

Anonymous said...

(TN) Judge Tells Illegal Alien He is "Unwelcome Undesirable"

August 26, 2007

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_112173.asp

General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon said the man charged with setting a fire in a downtown hotel is "an unwelcome undesirable" illegal alien.

Judge Moon told Bario Gomez, "Undesirables like you are not welcome in this country. You are a Latino terrorist who entered this country illegally and soon plotted significant personal injury and damage to the people and businesses in our community."

Authorities said Gomez is an illegal alien with no proof of identification. Officials also said he gave police a false name.

The INS placed a hold on Gomez, 20, after charges of aggravated arson and aggravated vandalism were filed against him.

Judge Moon told him, "It is undesirables like you who create many unjustifiable problems and prejudices upon the good people who enter this country legally in chasing a dream for a better life for themselves and their families.

"Mr. Gomez, you nor any other citizen from a foreign land has a right to enter this country; you simply have a privilege to enter this country through the proper legal channels.

"You are a domestic terrorist who is an imminent threat to the safety of our people and their property. You are also a supreme flight risk from justice. It is with duty, comfort and ease that I increase your bond significantly in an appropriate amount to insure your appearance in further proceedings and to insure the safety of this community."

The bond was raised from $30,000 to $1 million. The previous bond was set by Magistrate James Purple, which Judge Moon described as "another ludicrously low bond."

According to Arson Investigator James Whitmire, Gomez checked into the hotel with his girlfriend. Testimony by Whitmire and management officials indicated that Gomez placed a toaster filled with matches in a microwave oven in his room intending a massive "delayed burn."

Proof also showed that multiple towels were stuffed into the toilet in order to retard the water supply. The hotel manager testified that the towels were stuffed so deeply that the pipes had to be disassembled to remove them. She also stated that the room was severely damaged and vandalized.

Capt. Whitmire testified that "hundreds of people were evacuated, including children."

He said, "If the fire had established itself many families and children would have most likely lost their lives or been severely injured. Being on the fourth floor, the fire would have been difficult to contain."