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Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of Michigan Citizens for Science and co-founder of The Panda's Thumb. He has written for such publications as The Bard, Skeptic and Reports of the National Center for Science Education, spoken in front of many organizations and conferences, and appeared on nationally syndicated radio shows and on C-SPAN. Ed is also a Fellow with the Center for Independent Media and the host of Declaring Independence, a one hour weekly political talk show on WPRR in Grand Rapids, Michigan.(static)
Ed Brayton also blogs at Positive Liberty and The Panda's Thumb
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Posted on: October 26, 2010 11:32 AM, by Ed Brayton
This may be the creepiest tweet ever. First the picture:
That's Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the proto-fascist lawman of Maricopa County, Arizona, and Sarah Palin. Now the caption:
I just got done welcoming Sarah Palin to our County. Had a nice chat and gave her a pair of pink underwear.
To quote the late, great Greg Giraldo: "I couldn't cringe any harder if I just saw my mom in a bukkake video."
Strange women flying about from Alaska receiving pink panties is no basis for a system of government.
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Comments
What. The. Hell?
Posted by: Captain Mike | October 26, 2010 11:35 AM
is the guy with the watch trying to wipe away tears of laughter after Palin gave a short speech?
Posted by: Matty | October 26, 2010 11:39 AM
This is the guy who makes male inmates wear pink underwear because it's "calming."
Yes. Creepy. Skin crawling time.
Posted by: Ellie | October 26, 2010 11:41 AM
Whoa...
Posted by: Imrryr | October 26, 2010 11:45 AM
What is it about this election cycle that the creepiest, slimiest things under a rock are deemed paragons of rectitude and virtue by a large segment of the population?
Posted by: Spanish Inquisitor | October 26, 2010 11:48 AM
What the hell is with the "proto"?
What do you have to do nowadays to be called a fascist?
Posted by: elspi | October 26, 2010 11:49 AM
Well - maybe he's actually telling her that she deserves to be in his jail ...
Posted by: paulh | October 26, 2010 11:49 AM
Some background:
Back in the mid 90's the Sherrif switched to pink underwear in his jails because it was chepaer or something (or maybe just to embarrass the inmates. These became so popular that they actually started selling them. They have become sort of a "get tough on crime" symbol for conservatives and a big gag for everyone else.
Posted by: KeithB | October 26, 2010 11:51 AM
I hope at least he hadn't already worn them...
Posted by: Tuco | October 26, 2010 11:52 AM
@Tuco: Perhaps not, but I'm sure he wants them back once Palin is through with them.
Posted by: Emily | October 26, 2010 11:57 AM
supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical undergarment ceremony! I mean, if I went round saying i was qualified just because some grizzly tart lobbed an endorsement at me, they'd put me away!
Posted by: andrew | October 26, 2010 11:58 AM
@ #9 / #10,
please cut it out - I'm all out of brain bleach...
Posted by: Brain Hertz | October 26, 2010 12:04 PM
Posted by: JohnW | October 26, 2010 12:04 PM
I thought that was Dick Armey in the picture...
Posted by: peter | October 26, 2010 12:12 PM
re: pink underwear
The maricopa county site addresses the origin of the garments
The justification is a little thin IMO, but its facially plausible.
In the past the jail issued white boxer shorts as undergarments. There was apparently an issue with inmates "stealing" (IE wearing after they left jail I guess) the undergarments. As a result they were died pink, both making them less likely to be stolen and easier to identify on leaving the jail. The site claims the jail saves $70,000 a year due to less "theft" of the undergarments.
Posted by: Ben P | October 26, 2010 12:24 PM
$70K in missing underpants?
Step 1...
Posted by: Chuck C | October 26, 2010 12:35 PM
Too ... much ... creepiness ...
Posted by: Ahab | October 26, 2010 12:50 PM
In high school I inadvertently threw in some red jersey gloves with all my white football practice uniform when doing laundry. Unfortunately it also snowed that night so the next day we practiced in the snow where the white background made my now pink uniform stand-out especially well. Fortunately I was a senior, had thick skin, and it wasn't my game-day uniform.
Posted by: Michael Heath | October 26, 2010 12:53 PM
They'd save more than $70K if they all went commando.
Posted by: Spanish Inquisitor | October 26, 2010 12:57 PM
Having lived under Sheriff Joe's reign, this really isn't all that creepy knowing the history and context of the whole pink underwear things. Well, that and green bologna as well.
Posted by: Rubicon | October 26, 2010 1:03 PM
Posted by: Chris Berez | October 26, 2010 1:05 PM
Isn't that like saying that Palin ought to be in jail?
Posted by: Thomas | October 26, 2010 1:14 PM
I think it's patently ridiculous myself.
The very fact that Crazy Joe is giving a pair of this underwear to Palin as a souvenir is itself pretty strong evidence that his intent is to humiliate the inmates, which right-wingers really get off on.
Posted by: Steve Reuland | October 26, 2010 1:28 PM
No, not the creepiest. This earlier posting from Sheriff Joe is even creepier:
http://twitpic.com/2e46h7
Posted by: Emory K. | October 26, 2010 1:37 PM
Imagine this panty thing catching on at tea-bag rallies: whenever a candidate takes the stage all the women throw panties at him/her (like a rock concert).
Of course, at some rallies, the sky might look like the 101st Airborne parachuting into Normandy, but still..
Posted by: dean | October 26, 2010 1:44 PM
If he was celebrating Breast Awareness Month he's a little off.
Posted by: Richard Brodie | October 26, 2010 1:47 PM
"Sheriff gives Palin Inmate's Underwear"
Posted by: rpsms | October 26, 2010 2:10 PM
Did they have starbursts on them?
Posted by: Taz | October 26, 2010 2:19 PM
He's a little off regardless of what he was celebrating.
Posted by: rob | October 26, 2010 2:33 PM
woah
woah
Greg Girlado died? How did I not hear of this? Damn.
Posted by: foolie | October 26, 2010 2:40 PM
Palin-Arpaio in 2012.
Posted by: Paen | October 26, 2010 2:51 PM
Did Arpaio just give away a piece of state property? I think an investigation should be launched into whether he is the source of the thousands of dollars of missing underwear. It would be ironic if he were charged with theft and Palin with possession of stolen property.They could both end up in that concentration camp he calls a jail.
Posted by: A Bear | October 26, 2010 3:05 PM
The guy in the middle is Russell Pearce, author/sponsor of SB1070. Sorry if thats been mentioned. Didn't read every message to see if it had been.
Posted by: Sheldon | October 26, 2010 6:17 PM
We'll have to add that to the investigations being conducted against him by the FBI, the Justice Department, and a Federal Grand Jury, and add the cost of the underwear to the $50 million in funds he misspent.
Posted by: Steve Reuland | October 26, 2010 6:39 PM
Pink underwear? And is the next step ... profit!?
Posted by: Zeno | October 26, 2010 6:46 PM
I'm sorry but that Geraldo joke just made me think of your step mother in a bukake video.
I think I'll now go take some LSD to get that thought out of my mind. I'm sure LSD is way better than that thought.
Posted by: David C. Brayton | October 26, 2010 7:03 PM
We should start a campaign to convince as many people as possible to mail this man a pair of pink boxers.
Posted by: llewelly | October 26, 2010 8:08 PM
I told my husband it would be a good thing to buy a pallet of the industrial strength brain bleach at Costco last month.
I sure need it now.
Posted by: Aquaria | October 26, 2010 10:38 PM
One right wing loon meets another right wing loon and what do they do? Give/accept pink underwear.
Now there is an interesting metaphor for the future of the USA.
Dog help you all.
Posted by: MacTurk | October 27, 2010 9:37 AM
David Brayton writes:
I think I'll now go take some LSD to get that thought out of my mind.
I know you're joking but...
Don't do that. LSD jacks up your neurotransmitter levels in your brain and what you might experience is intense triggerings of random memories cascading around in your brain (aka "flashbacks") Your tendency to remember experiences can also be enhanced to unusual levels while under the influence. I've also seen people who find their level of attention either fantastically enhanced to almost obsessive levels, while others get very distractable. It's interesting stuff.
What I'm saying is that you might not drive the idea out of your mind at all; you might etch it permanently in there as some kind of deeply burned-in memory that comes leaping back in vibrant detail every time you see that shade of pink.
I'm in favor of people being able to play with their own brains if they want to, but that's just a bad scenario. :D I experimented with the stuff a couple times back in the 90s and managed to inadvertently memorize Mozart's Requiem while under the influence. That was a fortunate alternative because, as my trip-guide mentioned the next day, "I could have put on Looney Tunes instead of Mozart" ...
If you want to interfere with your memory, ethanol works much much better for blocking short-term uptake. In fact, the very thought of Sarah Palin makes me want to go hunting for the Johnny Walker Black - for medicinal purposes, you understand...
Posted by: Marcus Ranum | October 27, 2010 9:47 AM
oh, what a give away. did you see that, did you see that, eh? that's what i'm on about -- did you see him gifting her wtih underwear, you saw it didn't you?
Posted by: rob | October 27, 2010 12:50 PM
You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a pair of waders at you.
Posted by: Lance | October 27, 2010 11:29 PM