I don't know if you realize just how fucked up Maricopa County is. It
features a lunatic who bills himself ... well, here's his damn book on
Amazon, for the crypto-Nazi who dreams of a return to jackboots: America's
Toughest Sheriff: How We Can Win The War Against Crime
That's right. It's the asshole in Arizona who houses inmates of the County
Jail in TENTS in the fucking summertime. Do you know how hot it gets in
Maricopa County in the summer? The asshole in question?
Sheriff Joe Arpaio. America's Biggest Dick. (He's also a notorious publicity
hound).
http://www.mcso.org/submenu.asp?file=aboutsheriff&page=1
So, rest assured that the people arrested in the "prostitution sweep" are
being held in Guantanimo-style conditions. Actually, the idiot has a fucking
"message from Sheriff Arpaio to the citizens of Maricopa County regarding
Homeland Security" on his website, which touts his many innovations,
including his death camps and the use of Zyklon B on parking violators.
Here's a nice little local perspective on the prick (a former undercover
drug officer):
From: http://www.cavecreek.info/commentary/joearpaio.cfm
To give the devil his due, law enforcement in Maricopa County is no picnic
... this reporter has dealt with the MCSO deputies a few times and has found
them ALL to be complete gentlemen ...
Their boss, however, is a piece of work. While we've rarely, if ever, heard
Joe mention 'his' crime statistics, we get ear and eyefuls of everything
else. How many other sheriffs have custom-painted tanks? Yup, a TANK. Ever
wonder how much it costs to maintain a tank? Of course not, why would you
unless you were paying for it? Of course we've seen the MCSO helicopters,
horses, all the toys. Wow, you've got some cool toys, Joe, most of them
large. It's a Freudian nightmare we've got here in our county.
Everybody knows about 'tent city' and the 1000-1500 people housed there.
They prisoners there get to wear pink underwear and eat green bologna. All
very colorful, but it's interesting to note (okay, let us have ONE sorta
statistic) that Maricopa County's recidivism rate is among the worst in the
country. So, maybe all the 'tough sheriff' stuff doesn't really work? As of
this writing, the latest ploy to get in the national papers with some 'tough
sheriff' ink is putting juvenile offenders on the chain gangs. Somebody is
sure to object loud enough to catch the attention of Brokaw on the nightly
news, thinks Joe. ...
Looking around Joe's web site showed ONE interesting statistic, we have to
wonder how old it is. The site says Sheriff Joe has an 85% approval rating!
There was a whole lotta speculation a while ago that Joe was going to run
for governor. Arizona has a rich history of colorful and/or criminal
governors, so a vivid character like Joe would have a good chance of being
elected. After all, people seem to re-elect him resoundingly enough that
hardly anyone wants to run against him. Yet, Joe declined. Would he have
refused to run with an 85% approval rating?