We have our police cruisers and helicopters, but the most rapid response is putting a shotgun in the face of an intruder. Citizens groups work, and I enjoy my Second Amendment right.

On the one hand, he has inadequate respect for civil liberties, and that makes him scary.

On the other, he is very creative and quite effective. The tent city jail was not a stunt – he did it when the county refused to fund the construction of indoor facilities. The pink underwear was a result of underwear theft – so he made it pink so people wouldn’t want it. After it got publicity, he started selling it publicly (proceeds go to charity).

A friend of mine was his guest at tent city and is thus not a fan. I consider that an appropriate outcome of imprisonment.

The chain gangs are very popular among the inmates, because they allow them a chance to get out of the jail for a while – albeit under guard. They are all voluntary – nobody is coerced.

Marc may make light of the “heavily armed” civilian posses, but they are quite useful here. Each armed member has at least as much firearms training as a sworn peace office (they have to go through the same course), and there are over 1000 of them.

A few years ago, we started having fatal carjackings at shopping malls around Christmas. Joe sent out his armed mounted posse members to the mall parking lots, and the problem quickly went away.

One of his most successful posses is the Sun City Posse – armed senior citizens who protect their retirement community. I am aware of no problems with this posse, and their contribution has been very positive.

The Sheriff also has many unarmed posse members, as he had (last time I checked quite a few years ago) 3000 or so members in 30 or so different posses. They perform work ranging from assisting law enforcement to specialty search and rescue (desert mounted search, desert 4wd search, mountain rescue, air posse, etc).

Oh, and unfortunate incidents between undercover agents and other law enforcement officials is not a unique property of civilian posse members.

Joe is a very popular guy here, and fulfills the role that Arizona seems to always keep occupied: colorful public official – in that sense he is in the same vein as Sam Steiger (libertarian, got in trouble for shooting a burro, and got in more trouble for midnight addition of a crosswalk to Prescott) and Evan Mecham – car dealer turned sleazy Governor and entertainingly (if stupidly) politically incorrect.

When I was a syndicated talk show co-host, I once participated in an interview of Sheriff Joe. One thing about him – you don’t have to fear dead air time (a talk show hosts biggest fear) with him. Just get him on a mic, and sit back for an hour or two and listen to him go.

I’m glad we have Sheriff Joe, even if he is a bit of a neo-fascist in his attitudes toward civil liberties. He’s entertaining and genuinely keeps Maricopa County (where I live) safer.

Sheriff Joe with his simplistic ways is getting the job done with tent cities, chain gangs, pink coveralls, and green bologna sandwiches. The only way he’ll be thwarted is if he’s indicted, or the voters speak differently than they have. Bottom line: Would you rather render your tax billions to bureaucrats or your millions to loony lawmen? If the tax bill is more reasonable and the effect is the same gimme the loony lawman. But keep the bologna.

I’ve crossed paths with some dark individuals in my travels. I’ve known some CA ex-cons who had no qualms about returning to the CA slammers, but never heard a con who did a stint in Arpaio’s camp who wanted to go back. It’s repressive and everything we as taxpayers and law-abiders want from a hoosgow..

That MUCH success prompted Attorney General Eric Holder to open an investigation of Sheriff Arpaio.

I HAVE to do a tad of chest beating here and note that I wrote a long profile of Joe Arpaio for Spin magazine way back in 1994 shortly after he came to power. I rode with him and his heavily-armed volunteer posse for a couple of days and damn near got my head blown off. During a made-for-media anti-hooker sweep in downtown Phoenix the posse unit I was riding with pulled its guns on a couple of undercover Phoenix PD vice cops who they mistook as drug dealers. The cops pulled their guns as well and we had a real live Mexican standoff. It’s hard to believe this sociopath (and corrupt one at that) has held office for nearly 20 years. Something about that desert sun.