America's Toughest Sheriff

Sheriff Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, appeared on CNN this afternoon. He stood behind the way he runs his prisons and how things run differently in Arizona. Punishment is harsher there and less niceties prance around the county jail. Maybe the rest of the nation should follow the example of Maricopa County.

I am so sorry that inadequate medical care is provided prisoners, but at least they get medical care on a regular and ongoing basis. It's tragic that prisoners find their food distasteful, despite their access to proper nutrition. Maybe I should start a non-profit to help make their lives more comfortable. Oh, wait, prison isn't meant to be pleasant; it's meant to punish, to serve as a deterrent to criminals and would-be-criminals.

Arizona has the right idea. Inmates should find prison uncomfortable, stressful and intense. We should stop wasting our time and resources improving the living conditions those who have violated the law and spend a little more energy worrying about supplying our children with medical care and making sure they have access to nutritious meals and sanitary living conditions.