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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Read this about 10 years ago, you just now getting
it ???</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dave</FONT></DIV>
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style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net
href="mailto:gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net">gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=sdmheit@verizon.net
href="mailto:sdmheit@verizon.net">Shirley Heit</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net
href="mailto:gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net">Discussion of the Good, Clean Funnies
List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, June 12, 2005 7:19 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [GCFL-discuss] Pink
Sheriff</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>OK,here is a piece of nonsense forwarded to me by a
skeptical friend. Following that is my usual long-winded dissection of the
said nonsense. Unlike the craven coward who wrote the first part, I welcome
any and all responses, whether you agree with me or not. It sharpens my
understanding of what I believe to answer criticisms from people who see it
differently. In rare circumstances, you might even change my mind. </FONT>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>Siarlys</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%" #cccccc\?>-----
Forwarded Message -----</DIV>
<DIV><B>From:</B> "Vicki" <<A
href="mailto:vfrank@new.rr.com">vfrank@new.rr.com</A>></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4>Is there any truth to this does not sound likely
or just another computer thing.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4></FONT><BR></DIV>Subject: Re elected
Sheriff<BR><BR>TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO,<BR>HE IS THE
MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF<BR>AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND
OVER.<BR>THESE ARE THE REASONS WHY:<BR><BR>Sheriff Joe Arpaio (in Arizona)
who created the "tent city jail"<BR><BR>He has jail meals down to 40 cents a
serving and charges the inmates<BR>for them.<BR><BR>He stopped smoking and
porno magazines in the jails. Took away their<BR>weights. Cut off all but
"G" movies.<BR><BR>He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work
on county and<BR>city projects.<BR><BR>Then he started chain gangs for women
so he wouldn't get sued for<BR>discrimination.<BR><BR>He took away cable TV
until he found out there was a federal court<BR>order that required cable TV
for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again<BR>only let in the Disney
channel and the weather channel.<BR><BR>When asked why the weather channel
he replied, so they will know how<BR>hot it's gonna be while they are
working on my chain gangs.<BR><BR>He cut off coffee since it has zero
nutritional value.<BR>When the inmates complained, he told them, "This isn't
the<BR>Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back."<BR><BR>He
bought Newt Gingrich' lecture series on videotape that he pipes into<BR>the
jails.<BR><BR>When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a
Democrat,<BR>he replied that a democratic lecture series might explain why a
lot of<BR>the inmates were in his jails in the first place.<BR><BR>More on
the Arizona Sheriff:<BR><BR>With temperatures being even hotter than usual
in Phoenix (116 degrees<BR>just set a new record), the Associated Press
reports: About 2,000 inmates<BR>living in a barbed-wire-surrounded tent
encampment at the Maricopa County<BR>Jail have been given permission to
strip down to their government-issued<BR>pink boxer shorts.<BR><BR>On
Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on<BR>their
bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 degrees inside<BR>the
week before.<BR><BR>Many were also swathed in wet, pink towels as sweat
collected on their<BR>chests and dripped down to their pink
socks.<BR><BR>"It feels like we are in a furnace," said James Zanzot, an
inmate who<BR>has lived in the tents for 1 1/2 years. "It's
inhumane."<BR><BR>Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent
city and long<BR>ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna
sandwiches, is<BR>not one bit sympathetic He said Wednesday that he told all
of the inmates:<BR>"It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in
tents too,<BR>and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit
any crimes,<BR>so shut your damned mouths!"<BR><BR>Way to go, Sheriff! Maybe
if all prisons were like this one there would<BR>be a lot less crime and/or
repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished<BR>for their crimes - not
live in luxury until it's time for their parole,<BR>only to go out and
commit another crime so they can get back in to live on<BR>taxpayers money
and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for<BR>themselves.<BR><BR>If
you agree, pass this on. If not, just delete it. <FONT
color=#ff0000><COWARD><BR><BR></FONT>Sheriff Joe was just reelected
Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona.<BR><BR>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>
<DIV>No virus found in this outgoing message.<BR>Checked by AVG
Anti-Virus.<BR>Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 267.6.6 - Release Date:
6/8/2005</DIV>
<DIV><BR> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>WHAT DO SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO AND THE QUAKERS HAVE IN
COMMON?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I have heard of this sheriff before, and many of the measures described
are widely reported. The rest sound like something he would do. So I would
expect the descriptions are accurate.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The closing is a type of <EM><STRONG>cowardice</STRONG></EM>, typical of
people who like to pump up whatever they advocate, but don't want to hear
about the <EM><STRONG>possibility they may be wrong</STRONG></EM>. As my 4th
grade teacher used to say, "My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the
facts." She was not advocating this philosophy, nor did she practice it, but
she was pointing out a common mind set of the militantly ignorant.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>My first question for the author of this piece: has
the rate of common misdemeanors declined significantly in Maricopa County
while Arpaio has been sheriff?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff8040>Felonies don't matter much, because you go to state
prison for those. You only serve your sentence in county jail for
misdemeanors, or as a condition of a stayed felony sentence.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff8040>If the crime rate has not declined, then spare us the
tired rhetoric that "Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a
lot less crime and/or repeat offenders." The proof is in the pudding. All I
get so far is, the writer is a sadist who enjoys seeing people humiliated, and
picks on people convicted of a crime <EM>because </EM>there will be less
public outrage than <EM>if it was done to anybody else</EM>.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>Second question: What crimes have <EM>you</EM>
committed at some point during your lifetime? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#8080ff>Come on jack, we have ALL committed some offenses.
Don't play coy. Maybe you just cheat a <EM>little</EM> on your income taxes,
or haven't shiplifted in many years, or you don't see anything wrong with
speeding 20 mph over the posted limit and haven't been caught very often. If
nothing else, everyone of us insists on doing one thing or another that we
believe to be right, which the government decrees to be a crime. So, read back
Sheriff Arpaio's methods, and tell me: is this how <EM>you</EM> deserve to be
treated should you actually get nailed for some of your own misdemeanors? (Oh,
by the way, our troops in the middle east do spend some time in terrible heat
in body armor, and some time in tents in direct sunlight, but those who return
from a mission alive also have air conditioned rec areas with half a dozen
American franchise food outlets, etc. They also have laptop computers, DVDs,
USO tours, email to friends and family. Maybe Arpaio would like to offer such
amenities as an incentive for good behavior?)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>Third question: If your mother was arrested for some
misdemeanor, would you want <EM>her</EM> on one of these chain
gangs?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff8040>There are some nasty folks in jail (on both sides of
the bars), certainly a higher average than the general population, but many
women in jail are the mothers of some very righteous future or current
citizens, the daughters of some law-abiding concerned parents, etc. Don't be
too quick to cheer unless you are prepared to see your own mother in pink
boxer shorts on a chain gang in 120 degree heat on the evening news some
night.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>Fourth question: Does Arpaio keep a separate
air-conditioned section equipped with cold drink machines and serving smoked
turkey sandwiches for pre-trial detainees? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#8080ff>I know, some of those who go to trial are guilty as
charged, and will eventually be sentenced for it. Once they are sentenced,
punishment legitimately begins. But state prosecutors average a 60% conviction
rate, which means 40% are acquitted. Those who are acquitted do not deserve
any punishment at all, they are just in jail pending trial because they cannot
afford to make bail. I doubt if either Arpaio or his boosters really care
about guilt or innocence. They just like to hurt people, and anyone put into
their power with little or no recourse is to be treated
accordingly.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>Fifth question (cross-reference to #1 above): When
inmates are released, how do they respond to spouses, children, neighbors,
employers, and the general public?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff8040>If a thorough study revealed that they live the rest
of their lives as polite, peaceful, hard-working, gentle, caring, productive,
skilled people, then there can be no argument that the method was a correct
one. Again, the proof is in the pudding. On the other hand, if men come out of
jail, go home, beat their wives, lock them out of the house all day in 116
degree heat, then maybe Arpaio is not doing his job right. If parents come out
and beat their kids, who then lose interest in school, drop their grades from
B- average to D+, and start stealing from the grocery store or vandalizing
empty homes, then maybe Arpaio is not doing his job right. If they come out
with a hair-trigger temper, and tend to break the jaw of the first person who
takes a parking space the newly-released inmate had their eye on, then maybe
Arpaio taught them the wrong lesson.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>So far, the bubbling rhetoric of Arpaio's fan club shows nothing except
that the inmates are being used to produce low-cost competition with WWF and
RAW, but the inmates are not being paid the kind of money that The Rock and
Stone Cold Steve Austin make.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Perhaps we should really be asking, are "jail" and "prison" as we know
them a particularly effective way to either punish or prevent crime, or to
produce law-abiding citizens for the future? Some Quaker reformers proposed
time in a "penitentiary" 200 years ago as an alternative to hanging, flogging,
branding, dunking, and transportation. I submit that prison is a failed
experiment, so we need something totally new. I would suggest the following
alternatives, plus a dozen or so others I haven't thought of that would also
be of some help for some people and reducing some crimes:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>1) For nonviolent offenders, community supervision of the kind West
Virginia is beginning to try out, which cuts costs to taxpayers by more than
50%, reduces recidivism, keeps the convicted individual in a position to
support their families, make restitution for their crimes, and pay for their
supervision out of real income -- with the possibility hanging over them that
if they break supervision, they can always be sent to a smaller and more
secure lock-up situation. Lock-up is not <EM>punishment</EM> in that situation
-- it is a measure of control and community protection because the individual
cannot do what is required.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>2) For those who need to be kept off the street for a time, because they
are truly a danger to the rest of us, small, specialized secured residential
institutions. If chronically arrested for stealing money and valuables, send
them to a vocational educational institution, one where the meals will be
adequate, not great, the sleeping quarters sanitary, not luxurious, intensive
study of ways to make more money honestly than they ever made on the streets
mandatory, and supervised release based on acquiring skills and landing a job.
For serial rapists and chronic pedophiles, a secured community where they can
expect to remain most or all of their lives, working at a real job, able to
work their way up to comfortable living quarters, but never ever allowed on
the same side of a brick wall as their intended victims. (that is not
punishment either: it is a common sense measure to isolate people who cannot
or will not control themselves. Punishment, if anything, would be paying a
large part of their income to the victims). For drug users, of course, an
intensive secured treatment program to which they can be summarily returned if
they screw up, but never ever denying them all hope of return to their
families. Etc. (Ask anyone who made a career of working as a prison guard: it
is important to give inmates some incentives and opportunities for recreation,
otherwise the guards lives are in much greater danger. A little respect can be
a big help.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>3) For those who are a danger even to other inmates within such a system,
a very secure institution where keeping them controlled is more of a priority
than humiliating them with pink underwear. </DIV></DIV>
<P>
<HR>
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