I stumbled across
this decade-old article that appeared in the East Valley Tribune on August 9th, 2003, the 10th anniversary of Maricopa County Sheriff
Joe Arpaio's "Tent City" jail complex in Phoenix, Arizona. My response to Joe Arpaio's humble assessment of his accomplishment is one of my best Arpaio quotations. It raises sarcasm to an art form:
"Now, I don't like to brag, because I'm not the typical politician who always brags how much money they saved the taxpayers for political reasons, but just think of it, $80 (million) to $100 million to build a jail for 2,000 inmates versus $130,000" for Tent City, Arpaio said.
It would have cost less, Arpaio said, but he was "nice" enough to provide electricity and cement slabs to put the tents on.
Phoenix attorney Nicholas Hentoff, who has filed more than two dozen civil rights lawsuits against Arpaio, said that whatever savings Arpaio created has been paid out in lawsuits.
Not only are the inmates forced to live in the excessive heat, but assaults and drug use are rampant because Tent City isn't adequately staffed, Hentoff said.
"Sheriff Joe Arpaio has a lot to be proud of. Tent City is a tremendous accomplishment if you consider the fact it is the largest open-air drug market in the western United States. Drugs are readily available because people just throw them over the wire fence," Hentoff said.
"Not to mention the fact that Tent City is also the single biggest source of human cruelty, suffering and misery in the state of Arizona."
This article is already ancient history, as we just "celebrated" the 20th anniversary of Arpaio's temple of human suffering this past summer, thanks to the "wisdom" of the voters in the State of Arizona.
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