Phoenix has a good Sheriff, Part LXVII
By Neil Stevens Posted in Arizona | Joe Arpaio | Kobe Bryant | Law | Phoenix | Shaquille O'Neal — Comments (39) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
A few years back, dominant NBA basketball center Shaquille O'Neal took all the training he needed to become a Sheriff's deputy, and served as one while playing for the Miami Heat. He did work where his unusual size and notoriety would not hinder the job, which meant much Internet-based work. But sometimes his size and strength would come in handy on planned operations, so he'd come along and help.
It was good for Shaq, good for the county, and good for the community. Everyone gained, so naturally when Shaq was traded to the Phoenix Suns, he entered into the same kind of relationship with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Shaq wrecked it all this week, though.
Read on...
He released a 'rap' with some foul langauge as well as some racist talk, and so Arpaio is now yanking Shaq's deputy's badges:
"I want his two badges back," Arpaio told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Because if any one of my deputies did something like this, they're fired. I don't condone this type of racial conduct."
....Arpaio, who describes himself as "America's Toughest Sheriff" and is best known for feeding jail inmates green bologna, clothing them in pink underwear, and making them work on chain gangs, said he didn't expect his actions would teach Shaq a lesson. But he hoped he learns that as a role model who wants to someday be a full-time sheriff, he needs to know his words matter.
"Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I don't think that either conduct should be out there publicly, even if media wasn't there," Arpaio said.
Good on Arpaio for not going easy on Shaq for good PR. Doing right is its own reward.
Joe was/is a refreshing breath of unPC behavior in a world run amuck in it. Every Republican needs to spend some time reviewing his tenure down there.
He did some of the most 'outrageous' things (as deemed by the usual liberal MSM and ACLU-types) with regards to prisoners and cared more about his constituents than fawning press coverage (he was and is routinely savaged by the press) and, as a result of sticking to his principals and going over the heads of the chattering classes, has astronomical approval ratings (at least he did when I left).
The people know the real deal when they see it, and it IS possible for conservatives to go over the heads of the nascent liberal 'power brokers' and get win approval for their ideas. But that requires the courage of your convictions. NRCC (and Tom Cole), et al -- take note.
"All that need be done for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Freedom of Religion NOT Freedom from Religion
I grew up in the Phoenix metro area and Sheriff Joe has always been the Man as far as I am concerned. My brother went to tent city for DUI and he definitely learned his lesson...and he even recognizes the effect justice had on his life and he respects Sheriff Joe as well. That's the great thing about true justice, it is an opportunity for revelation and understanding, and those who choose to listen can change their lives for the better. Anyway did I mention Sheriff Joe is The MAN!!!!!
Jindal/Arpaio 2012.....;^)
"Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper" Peter Griffin...Family Guy
conform and celebrate diversity....or else!!!
I saw a documentary of how things are run in his prison. He's awesome. Shaq however... is not. Although, I did like his dissing of Kobe, being a Boston fan and all. Muahahaha!
When I was at ASU, Sheriff Joe was just starting to implement Tent City, boy the liberals went nuts - and everyone else loved it. Good for him to treat Shaq on the content of his character and not the color of his skin. He doesn't get a pass on his racist language because he's black.
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I like Joe, but this is crazy. Firing someone (forget its the Diesel) for what they said at a private club in New York is silly. You gotta be a pretty sensitive fellow to think Shaqs rap was racist.
"Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I don't think that either conduct should be out there publicly, even if media wasn't there," Arpaio said.
Right Joe, the media wasnt there, so he wasnt saying it publicly. In fact, he was at a private club.
Sorry Neil, but as a phoenix resident I disagree. Not with the Shaq issue but that Sheriff Joe is a good public leader.
Now, I am biased. I don;t like Arpaio, he is a media whore who in my opinion creates problems in every city within the county for his own media image. This however, is nothing new.
At the core of my Arpaio dislike is not his asinine pink underwear or retro prison wear or even the green bologna he serves to the inmates. It's his fraudulent attempt to gain an electoral advantage by lying about his "illegal alien roundups". Lying or misrepresentation to the citizenry of a public action by an official is not something I condone.
See, tommorrow ol'Sheriff Joe will be conducting one of his "safety sweeps" in my home town of Mesa. He is careful not to call then Illegal Alien Roundups because as a county sheriff, even one with numerous deputies trained by ICE to make an arrest of an actual illegal alien he is only able to stop individuals with probable cause.
In other words, as much hoopla as he generates, every illegal alien standing in front of the Home Depot looking for work will NOT be approached because they have not presented probable cause. Therefore, we have a hundred deputies stomping thru town (which I support) stopping motorists with broken tail lights or windshields doing safety stops on the off hand chance they will find and arrest an actual illegal alien. Which I support completely, just not the lying about pretense.
Additionally, there are a lot of kids who look up to a guy like Shaq and the potential to divert the at risk kids from gang or crime because Deputy O'Neil came to their school is an important outreach activity. But for Arpaio to take a small, and fairly inconsequential event and flip it into a spot light on him, ignoring the potential use of Shaq is in my opinion an completely stupid action. But as I have said above, I don;t think Arpaio is a good official and am working to have him voted out of office.
Here is some light reading about Sheriff Joe and his antics.
New Times 1-Sheriff Joe’s goons bring new heights of absurdity to Phoenix City Hall
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
that the New Times is not exactly a paragon of conservative, non-PC thought. Kinda somewhere in between the NYT & Rolling Stone....so read with a grain, or maybe a block, of salt.
"All that need be done for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
No the NT is not. But they do look into a lot of the asinine antics of Arpaio.
But I freely admit that I dislike the guy and wholly believe him to be corrupt and not in the best interests of the citizens of Maricopa county. Whether it be the unmitigated lawsuits that are produced from the actions of the department or something as ignorant as the closure of the satellite processing jails in the outer lying county areas.
To blindly accept that he is a positive force within the county because of his media presence is foolish. On that basis alone Obama really is the Messiah.
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
I'm sure there are other articles from "reputable" sources, the NT isn't one.
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apparently an overwhelming percentage of the voters in Arizona disagree with you. They love him for his common sense way of dealing with a broken system that still gets the job done. PS... Joe, if you read this we could use you in Southern California....
Please take him. I will personally go to his home and help him pack and load the truck.
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
when all else fails (government) who you going to call... You just can't ignore is common sense approach to problems... Yes, a bit of TV coverage does help - only to make him more likable. I want him in Texas NOW!...
Formally known as Deagle... "Golf is a way of life..."
See I just can not agree.
Case in point. The county handles all the jail services except for the city of phoenix. There were satellite stations where an officer could drop off an arrestee in far east mesa with the sheriffs office and they would transport to the 4th ave jail. Well, no longer, those were closed, so now Mesa PD officer Jones has to drive 30 miles one way to the jail to drop off. Moreover, Arpaio has implemented a first come first served
policy so if Off. Jones just happens to arrive after the Gilbert paddy wagon he may wait for hours before in-processing can occur. This can and does remove the beat cop from being in his assigned patrol area for at least an hour (drive time), usually longer.
Sure, it reduced costs at the county level, but it has transferred those costs to the cities in requiring more officers to cover in the event of a booking.
The result, which I know of first hand is that officers are less likely to actually make an arrest of lesser activity deferring to a summons or warning.
Like I said, sure he makes a good media show which does indeed present him in a favorable light but I just disagree that he is making good choices for the county.
(
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
about is whether the police enforce the law (any law). You just simply want to specify the particular laws that should be enforced. Me, I prefer all laws enforced - federal, state, and local...
You can always make the case that if the officers are enforcing a particular law, they may not be able to enforce another (assuming another major infraction occurs during enforcement of said law)... good luck with that.
Formally known as Deagle... "Golf is a way of life..."
No, my position is that if an officer is spending 1-2 hours to book an arestee when it could take 30 min, then the sheriff's action to eliminate the satellite jails have decreased the police presence in my community.
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
Most of the police are out giving tickets to get revenue and are otherwise disposed anyway... And yes, that really does decrease the police presence in your community (unless a good speed trap exists)...
Formally known as Deagle... "Golf is a way of life..."
Get a gun to defend yourself because the police are not going to be your savior...
Formally known as Deagle... "Golf is a way of life..."
You can make simplistic statements like that with no understanding of my 2nd amendment position and think you have a superior position, but sorry you don;t.
I will return to the topic at hand. Arpaio took the Shaq non-event and eliminated the potential good effects that he could have done in the at-risk communities.
I stand by my position that Arpaio is an ass and needs to go.
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
upheld federal law... Which you seem to despise (unless of course you agree with said law)! That makes you the worst of citizens...one who only upholds laws that you agree with.
And if you do agree that your right to defend yourself is an American right, why do you disagree with others that do agree (leftist position?)... Depending upon the police is a stupid idea and will lead to unnecessary deaths.
ormally known as Deagle... "Golf is a way of life..."
Are you even reading what I have said? I have not even once inferred that Arpaio was not upholding federal illegal immigration laws.
But all is well, it's obvious that you are under some contrived delusion that you have found an interloper from Kos?
It is late and I'm out now; but let me know if you want to continue. I will gladly post a diary to do just that and I'd be more then happy to update your completely uninformed ideas about my positions on immigration law, the 2nd Amendment and just for giggles the 17th amendment.
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
I could be wrong about your ideas but since you so despise Arpaio so much, it seems unlikely (but could be wrong). Yes, I did and do think that you are an interloper (Kos?)..no, but a bit leftist at best...(glad to be wrong).
The end game is that your ideas seemed so foolish (protection by police) and usage of the current force (which is always pro funds - however that is accomplished) seemed so juvenile...
If these assumptions were erroneous, I apologize...
Formally known as Deagle... "Golf is a way of life..."
Federal law is considered a negative by some on the left. It seems that they want to control all aspects of life from business, law, and enforcement. It really just boggles the mind how many of you think.
Formally known as Deagle... "Golf is a way of life..."
Joe is just the kind of guy you need to clean up a mess. If we had him in Los Angeles County we would be a lot better off. From what I know of him, he is firm but fair. Protecting the public is a job that requires someone who won't take a lot of guff from the Media. Follow the rules and just do what's right. Most law abiding citizens appreciate that. That's why he is constantly being re-elected by overwhelming margins. I have to admit, sometimes he does remind me of Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western. God bless him..
law enforcement type! Maybe Clint Eastwood (type) is what we need these days...(heh)... And damn right that is why he is constantly reelected...
Formally known as Deagle... "Golf is a way of life..."
I spent a life time in the business and I saw what happens when you start beliveing what the media is spewing. If there is one job where you need to stand your ground and do what's right this is it. I know Joe is well aware of the impact he is having. He is bringing the overall failure of the system into the light where the public can voice their opinion at the polls. The public in Arizona has spoken. Didn't he get over 80% in the last election??
and I for one, do not pay attention to the MSM... You are to be congratulated for having spent many years in law enforcement - tough job (much the same as I would pay respect to the military). You are right on and I just hope that most here agree with you (I expect that would be true). Anyway, thanks for your service and good luck in your retirement. Oh, and go JOE...heh...
Formally known as Deagle... "Golf is a way of life..."
It's part of the "Village Voice Media" empire for crying out loud.
You might as well use Pravda to say Reagan wasn't very good :-)
If this guy is bashing Sheriff Joe, then that shifts my opinion no more than Daily Kos's bashing of President Bush shifts my opinion.
Note that I only put up articles, not the alternative crap.
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
Since the New Times links got a feather or two ruffled about my dislike for Arpaio, here is a bit of news about the sweep he is conducting on Thursday.
A spokeswoman for Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard confirmed the office would have "sworn peace officers" from its special investigative unit on hand, though she would not say how many.
"Our concern is that we want to ensure peace is maintained," said Andrea Esquer, the attorney general's spokeswoman.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/119385
How often does the State AG have to send a special investigative unit to oversee what would be considered a normal police agency's activity? Then again, how often does the police chief in one city agency have to prepare special operations to ensure that the county sheriff doesn't create too much of an incident within city limits?
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
Formally known as Deagle... "Golf is a way of life..."
Democrat who despises no nonsense, conservative, law-enforcement types 'cause they're just so...so...so, well, so unprofessional and hickish.
I was in Phoenix when Goddard was mayor. Talk about a publicity hound. I'm not sure what Arpaio's done to you to get your shorts in a bunch but it strikes me as a bit incongrous to use as an example of Arpaio's 'media-whoring' a guy who brought the term new meaning. 'Course, Terry certainly couldn't have ulterior motives himself. Nah, he's just another lib looking out for the common man.
Please.
"All that need be done for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Not in the slightest. I am however against a county official that uses the power of his office in questionable activities that causes public disruptions and do not benefit the citizens of the county.
No different then being against a RINO; don't ya think.
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
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