Posted on 11/29/2010 7:12:06 AM PST by raccoonradio
The self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" in America, Phoenix's Joe Arpaio, who has survived six separate inmate lawsuits trying to stop him from playing Christmas music, will begin playing the tunes again this year - starting Monday with "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,""Frosty the Snowman" and "Feliz Navidad."
The 8,000 inmates also will hear, among others, "A Christmas Kwanzaa Solstice," "Over the Skies of Israel," "Ramadan," "Llego a La Ciudad," "Let it Snow" and "Rodolpho El Reno de la Nariz Rojita."
"Maybe the holiday music can help lift the spirits of the men and women who are away from friends and family during the holidays, not just the inmates, but the dedicated men and women who work in the Maricopa County Jails," the sheriff said in an announcement Sunday.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, to which Sheriff Arpaio was first elected in 1992 after a 25-year career at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), has played the holiday songs all day, every day, during previous seasons. The latest inmate lawsuit was dismissed in federal court in December 2009.
Sheriff Arpaio has long expressed his fondness for Christmas music, especially "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and anything by Alvin and the Chipmunks, so it was with some glee last year that he announced in a red-and-green press release that the lawsuit had been dismissed and the music would begin.
"We keep winning these lawsuits. Inmates should stop acting like the Grinch who stole Christmas and give up wasting the court's time with such frivolous assertions," the press release read.
Inmates have sued six times claiming that being forced to listen to the Christmas songs 12 hours a day was in violation of their civil and religious rights and a cruel and unusual punishment, but
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
got this via the facebook of Boston conservative talk host Jeff Katz
I do know there have been songs like “Christmas in Prison”
in the past. They could identify with that.
Well, Christmas music isn’t bad.
After all, the prisoners could be forced to listen to Obama’s speeches 24/7.
Now that would be CRUEL and UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT
How appropriate for Maricopa County!
If I ran a prison it would be like being grounded...
you sit on your ass and read a book all day and keep quiet
these prisons where they work out and create gan wars in the prison yard- how do they let them get away with that?
that’s like being out on the street corner.
At my house, we’re Dominic the Donkey people...
I am inclined to agree, being forced to listen to Kwanzaa songs is cruel and unusual punishment.
Grandma got ran over by a reindeer”....what a fav!!
Yes...though who knows; my college radio station (I am one of several DJs who shares a blues show) got a CD in the 90s on the Rounder label called “Kwanzaa Music” and some of the cuts (I looked it up on amazon) sounded interesting:
3. Get On The Good Foot, Part 1 - James Brown
(Godfather of soul!)
4. Coconut Milk - Bo Dollis And The Wild Magnolias
(New Orleans music; you may enjoy if you’re into stuff
like Dr John)
8. Spirit In The Dark - Aretha Franklin
(Lady Soul!)
10. Bon Ton Roulet - Clifton Chenier
(Creator of New Orleans zydeco!)
12. Information Blues - Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown
(Another N’Awlins legend)
But the rest of the cuts prob wouldn’t float my boat:
13. Tarig Ash-Shoag - Abdul Aziz El Mubarak
14. Sou Ou - Tabou Combo Super Stars
15. Ndamutswa Nengoma - Thomas Mapfumo And The Blacks Unlimited
But wait:
16. Rivers Of Babylon - The Freedom Singers
If that’s the same as one of the songs in the reggae
classic The Harder They Come...hmm...
but generally, yeah...
My college radio station used to have a 45 with a version of that by the (Irish) Rovers of “Unicorn” fame. And the Elmo and Patsy version, the orig, is very well known.
Irish Rovers (the orig version, later redone by them, on Attic records out of Toronto)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfIKOKegXGM
If they think the current mix is cruel and unusual, substitute Irish line dancing music. They’ll find religion quick as they pray for the weedle-de-deedle-de-deedle-de-dee to stop.
I thought the titles would be more like “Don’t Want No Cracker Religion” or “The Soldering Iron of Love.”
If I ran a prison it would be like being grounded...I've had the same opinion for a long time.
you sit on your ass and read a book all day and keep quietthese prisons where they work out and create gang wars in the prison yard- how do they let them get away with that?
that’s like being out on the street corner.
Another thing, keep them nutritiously well-fed (in other words, healthy), but at the same time HUNGRY.
Keep the nutrient and calorie level adequate but the portions un-satisfying.
After a few years of being HUNGRY, when they get out they might say to themselves (even subliminally), f*, I don't want to go back there. I don't want to be f*ing HUNGRY ever again.
Scarlett..is that you?
May I suggest a holdiay favorite of mine?
It is “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” played my a Mariachi band. And yes, the horns are tuned sharp.
The first time I heard it, I almost ran off the road, then my ears started bleeding. It is so awful.
Another, particularly suitable for late at night is “Hark the Herald Angesl Sing” done by a punk band. 2 minutes of screaming the title followed by some chords. Really funny.
It depends. Who’s asking?
May I suggest a holiday favorite of mine?
It is “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” played by a Mariachi band. And yes, the horns are tuned sharp.
The first time I heard it, I almost ran off the road, then my ears started bleeding. It is so awful.
Another, particularly suitable for late at night is “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” done by a punk band. 2 minutes of screaming the title followed by some chords. Really funny.
And a bit disturbing.
“After a few years of being HUNGRY, when they get out they might say to themselves (even subliminally), f*, I don’t want to go back there. I don’t want to be f*ing HUNGRY ever again.”
That’s an awesome idea, let’s keep them starving!!! That way they’ll develop into even bigger haters of mankind. As an added bonus, once they get out of jail, they’ll want REVENGE!!!! Instead of robbing a store and running away, they’ll go ahead and KILL everyone there to do away with any potential witnesses. Great Great idea!!!! :)
Jail/Prison is a place to house people who have committed crimes. It is NOT the job of the state to further punish inmates. The TIME in prison is the punishment. I know if my Son was in jail, I’d hope he would get enough food to eat, since it’s a basic human right!!!
Some in prison are bad people and can’t be helped. Some are people who have made mistakes, for one reason or another. Why try to force people who probably still have a shot at making a decent lives for themselves and their families into becoming career criminals.
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