Posted on 02/07/2008 2:35:03 PM PST by TenthAmendmentChampion
How the heck could we get this guy to run for President? SERIOUSLY!
Maricopa County, Arizona was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs.
Sheriff Joe didn’t take over the county animal shelter, he started his own. The jail, which once housed inmates, was empty after the tent cities were built. Now the facility has become an animal shelter, housing 200 dogs and cats. The horses, which “do not fit in the cells,” are kept in the tents with the inmates. Sheriff Joe noted, “The women prisoners take care of the cats and dogs and the men take care of the horses.”
The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays; every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows.
The best part? His budget for the entire department is under $3 million. The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals.
I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand. He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer.
It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later. We have six trees in our yard from the Prison. Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote.
Now he's in trouble with the ACLU again. He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn't doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the! border; He's kind of a "Git-R Dun" kind of Sheriff. His staff includes 160 deputies who are 287 G certified by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His view is that he was elected to enforce the law and that is what he is going to do.
There are three groups that work on immigration enforcement: human smuggling, jail operations and community actions. Combined, they process around 1,000 suspected illegal aliens per month. Jail operation includes determining the immigration status of inmates. If they are illegal, they are identified and turned over to ICE. If they are convicted and sentenced under state law, they serve their state time first and are then released to ICE. There are currently 2,100 illegal aliens being held.
TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO, HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY:
Sheriff Joe Arpaio created the "Tent City Jail": He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.
He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights; Cut off all but "G" movies.
He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects.
Then He Started Chain Gangs For Women So He Wouldn't Get Sued For Discrimination.
He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails so he hooked up the cable TV again, but only let in the Disney Channel and the Weather Channel. When asked why the weather channel, he replied, "So they will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working ON my chain gangs."
He cut out coffee since it has zero nutritional value.
When the inmates comp lained, he told them, "This isn't the Ritz-Carlton.....if you don't like it, don't come back."
He bought Newt Gingrich's lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails.
More On The Arizona Sheriff:
With Temperatures Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees), the Associated Press Reports: About 2,000 Inmates Living In A Barbed-Wire-Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer Shorts.
On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 Degrees Inside The Week Before. Many Were Also Swathed In Wet, Pink Towels As Sweat Collected On Their Chests And Dripped Do wn To Their PINK SOCKS.
"It feels like we are in a furnace," said James Zanzot, an inmate who has lived in the TENTS for 1 year. "It's inhumane."
Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic.
He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: "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 D@mned Mouths!"
Way to go, Sheriff!
Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders.
Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back into live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves.
Some of this material was corrected from my email through an article by Jackie Gingrich Cushman, Newt's daughter.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JackieGingrichCushman/2007/10/21/too_good,_but_true_a_sheriff_enforces_the_law?page=full&comments=true
My hero.
Nice for the animals.
Nice for the inmates.
Nice for the taxpayers.
It works on the same logical principle as saving on social security by putting retirees to work in government jobs.
I like Sheriff Joe.
I recommend Sheriff Joe to head up the FBI. There would probably be a sharp drop in crime just at the mere mention of the Sheriff as a nominee!
The sheriff is a dirty tax-saving, criminal punishing, thug. He clearly lacks sensitivity and should be required to go through the 6 week enlightenment course.
1. Since he is an Arizonan like McCain he is very unlikely to be the VP candidate.
2. There is only one of him instead of dozens.
Hey John: Try it sometime; conservatism works every time its tried.
"It feels like we are in a furnace," said James Zanzot, an inmate who has lived in the TENTS for 1 year. "It's inhumane."Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic.
He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: "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 D@mned Mouths!"
foflol!!! BTTT!!!
He might have been if Romney had made it, since he endorsed Romney and campaigned for him. At least, that’s what I was hoping for and partly why I supported Romney myself.
Just some thoughts;
the sheriff grows veggies and hogs using labor costing 28 cents an hour, while honest farmers can not compete.
The sheriff grows Christmas trees and sells them for dirt cheap, while Boy Scouts can not compete with those prices.
While it sounds good on the surface, honest people are being hurt.
.....Bob
Hmm. Write in vote?
“Since he is an Arizonan like McCain he is very unlikely to be the VP candidate.”
Knowing that Arpaio endorsed Romney and campaigned for him in McCain’s own state of Arizona, I rather doubt that vindictive McCain would have anything to do with him anyway.
That so sweet
He may be bad*** sheriff he has heart for animals
Not just unlikely, ineligible. The president and VP can't be from the same state. It's in the black-letter law of the Constitution. That's why, back in 2000, Cheney "moved" back to Wyoming from Texas.
Does anyone know what his recidivism rate for prisoners is?
I’ll bet it’s LOW....
According to the Town Crier:
"they have to sing "God bless America" in the morning, the national anthem at night. [snip] In English. [snip] They happen to be in the United States of America, and they happen to be in my jail. I run the jail. So that`s my policy.
Town Crier - No one does it better
Don'cha just LOVE it?
The other thing that people forget is that this is a county jail and therefore a large portion of it’s inmates are people who are awaiting trial. If you are innocent until proven guilty, then as an innocent, un-convicted person, you are subjected to the same blistering heat and 40 cent green ham sandwiches as those that are there serving sentences for such heinous acts as failure to pay child support. Jails don’t house felons, unless they’re awaiting trial, hard core felons go to the state pen. Jails get people convicted of misdemeanors, not capital murderers.
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