Chicago Italians

GOT MY VOTE
With many a Chicagoan having part time residences in Arizona thought this might be a great piece of info



You probably know him as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” a name given to him years ago by the media. It’s a name he certainly has earned as head of the nation’s third largest Sheriff’s Office which employs over 3000 people. But even before he became Sheriff in 1993, Joe Arpaio was one tough lawman. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1953, and as a Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas, NV, police officer for almost five years, Arpaio went on to build a federal law enforcement career and a reputation for fighting crime and drug trafficking around the world.









He began his career as a federal narcotics agent, establishing a stellar record in infiltrating drug organizations from Turkey to the Middle East to Mexico, Central, and South America to cities around the U.S. His expertise and success led him to top management positions around the world with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He concluded his remarkable 32-year federal career as head of the DEA for Arizona.







In 1992 Arpaio successfully campaigned to become the Sheriff of Maricopa County. Since then he has been reelected to an unprecedented five 4-year terms. During his tenure as Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arpaio has consistently earned extraordinarily high public approval ratings.







With over four decades experience in law enforcement, Arpaio knows what the public wants, “The public is my boss,” he says, “so I serve the public.” He has served them well by establishing several unique programs.







Arpaio has over 10,000 inmates in his jail system. In August, 1993, he started the nation’s largest Tent City for convicted inmates. Two thousand convicted men and women serve their sentences in a canvas incarceration compound. It is a remarkable success story that has attracted the attention of government officials, presidential candidates, and media worldwide.







Of equal success and notoriety are his chain gangs, which contribute thousands of dollars of free labor to the community. The male chain gang, and the world’s first-ever female and juvenile chain gangs, clean streets, paint over graffiti, and bury the indigent in the county cemetery.







Also impressive are the Sheriff’s get tough policies. For example, he banned smoking, coffee, movies, pornographic magazines, and unrestricted TV in all jails. He has the cheapest meals in the U.S. too. The average meal costs about 15 cents, and inmates are fed only twice daily, to cut the labor costs of meal delivery. He even stopped serving them salt and pepper to save tax payers $20,000 a year.







Another program Arpaio is very wellknown for is the pink under shorts he makes all inmates wear. Years ago, when the Sheriff learned that inmates were stealing jailhouse white boxers, Arpaio had all inmate underwear dyed pink for better inventory control. The same is true for the Sheriff’s handcuffs. When they started disappearing, he ordered pink handcuffs as a replacement. And later, when the Sheriff learned the calming, psychological effects of the color pink—sheets, towels, socks— everything inmates wear, except for the old-fashioned black and white striped uniform, were dyed pink.







Arpaio has started another controversial program, the website WWW.MCSO.org, so that all those arrested (about 300 per day) are recorded on the Sheriff’s website as they are booked and processed into jail. Just under a million hits daily come into the website, making it one of the most visible law enforcement sites on the World Wide Web.







In addition to these tough measures, the Sheriff has launched rehabilitative programs like “Hard Knocks High,” the only accredited high school under a Sheriff in an American jail, and ALPHA, an anti-substance-abuse program that has greatly reduced recidivism.







As chief law enforcement officer for the county, Arpaio continues to reduce crime with hard-hitting enforcement methods. His deputies and detectives have solved several high-profile murder cases, including nine child murders. The posse, whose ranks have increased to 3,000 members under Arpaio, is the nation’s largest volunteer posse. Posse men and women help in search and rescue and other traditional police work as well as in special operations like rounding up deadbeat parents, fighting prostitution, patrolling malls during holidays, and investigating animal cruelty complaints. The posse’s contributions are invaluable and essentially free to taxpayers.







No wonder Sheriff Arpaio has been profiled in over 2,000 U.S. and foreign newspapers, magazines, and TV news programs. His leadership and the excellent work of his staff have catapulted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office into the ranks of elite law enforcement agencies.







On a personal note, Sheriff Arpaio and his wife Ava have been married for over 51 years and have two children, both residing in the Phoenix area. The Arpaios have four grandchildren.

I Owe My Mother

1.. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .



"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."





2. My mother taught me RELIGION.



"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."







3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL..



"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"







4. My mother taught me LOGIC.



"Because I said so, that's why." ;







5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC .



"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."







6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.



"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.."







7. My mother taught me IRONY.



"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."







8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS .



"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."







9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISTS.



"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"







10. My mother taught me about STAMINA .



"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."







11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.



"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."







12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.



"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"







13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.



"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."







14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION .



"Stop acting like your father!"







15. My mother taught me about ENVY.



"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."







16.. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.



"Just wait until we get home.."







17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .



"You are going to get it when you get home!"







18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE...



"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."







19. My mother taught me ESP.



"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"







20. My mother taught me HUMOR.



"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.."







21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .



"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."







22. My mother taught me GENETICS.



"You're just like your father.."







23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.



"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"







24. My mother taught me WISDOM.



"When you get to be my age, you'll understand.."







And my favorite:



25. My mother taught me about JUSTICE ...



"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!!