Coyote Blog

Joe Arpaio, I suppose seeing how Ben Quayle rode his writing gig for the Dirty into Congress, has decided he wants to compete with all manner of bottom-fishing web sites.  He has created a special web feature in a what he states is an attempt to drive more people to his web site -- the goofy booking photo of the day.

Several local lawyers, including some mental health advocates, are asking if it is appropriate for a sheriff to run online contests to vote for the inmate with the worst booking photos.  This is a great example of a situation (like video surveillance) where public officials have less, rather than more rights and privileges than ordinary citizens.  Kudos to Scott Ambrose for making a point that is seldom made, and we should remind politicians of all the time:

Arpaio says that booking photos are aired in the news media every day. A local alternative weekly even took a page from Arpaio's playbook earlier this year and let readers have fun with some of the sheriff's mug shots.

"Sheriff Joe will argue that 'I can do this because New Times can,' " Ambrose said. "There's lots of things the government can't do that you and I can."

I have another question - for what possible public purpose is Arpaio spending taxpayer money to drive people to his web site?  This is so incredibly self-serving its hard to believe, but fits right in with Arpaio's whole history of taxpayer-funded self-promotion.

PS-  I have always argued that booking photos should not be public information, as they amount to an improper punishment.  The legal system has a technical term for someone who has been arrested but has not gone to trial:  Innocent.

The only thing more disappointing than most libertarian candidates for office are Republican and Democratic candidates for office.  So my list of politicians I like and would be willing to actively support is pretty short, encompassing Arizona Senator Jeff Flake and I am not sure who else  (I had been moderately comfortable with my the House Representative John Shadeg, but his retirement has led to his replacement by Ben Quayle -- yes, of that Quayle family -- of whom I am pretty skeptical.)

A while back at a Reason Foundation cocktail party I met former NM governor Gary Johnson.  I liked what I saw of him there, and I still like him as I have learned more about him.   Check out this profile in the New Republic.

The word is out around town that Ben Quayle (yes, from that Quayle family) who is running for the Republican nomination for Congress, may be one of the founders and chief writers for local (very sleazy) gossip site Dirty Scottsdale  (which has since gone national as the Dirty -- barely SFW).  The site seems to specialize in printing pictures of club-hopping local girls and calling them out for either their looks, plastic surgery, or sexual preferences.

Update: Quayle denies it.  Either this is an incredible revelation of a secret life whose writing marks him as a real sleazy loser or it is an incredibly brazen (given that the accusation comes from his supposed partner) political hit-job.  Either way its a really interesting story.

Update #2: Quayle, uh, un-denies it.