Let me tell you about a young man up in Putnam County, New York, who managed to get himself arrested twice in the same day. Eighteen hours apart. Same county, same guy, same sorry story.

He's 24 years old, he's in this country illegally, and he's got a rap sheet longer than my grocery list before Thanksgiving. You can read the whole thing right here, and I promise you'll be shaking your head by the second paragraph.

Now folks, think about what has to happen for a man to be arrested, processed, and arrested again all within 18 hours. That's not a hiccup. Whatever let him walk out that first time, bail rules, sanctuary policies, or some of both, the result was a man with a history right back on the street finding fresh trouble before the day was done. Local officials up there say the state's sanctuary policies are exactly what's broken, and they're saying it loud.

I taught fourth grade for 34 years, and let me tell you, if little Johnny threw a spitball in the morning and I handed him a lollipop and sent him back to his desk, what do you suppose little Johnny did after lunch? Even a nine-year-old figures out the rules real quick when there aren't any. The difference is little Johnny was throwing spitballs. This fella's been through the system enough times to wear a groove in it.

Those local officials are mad, and bless them, they're saying so out loud. They're pointing their fingers straight at the state's sanctuary rules, and they're calling those policies failed, which is the politest word I'd use. When a state builds its rules around protecting illegal aliens from consequences, the revolving door spins.

And here's the part that just burns my biscuits. Somewhere in Albany or Manhattan tonight, somebody who wrote these rules is still collecting a paycheck, still giving speeches about compassion, still acting baffled that a two-time-in-one-day arrestee might be walking around free. Compassion for whom? Not for the folks in Putnam County who followed the law their whole lives and just want their county back.

The police up there did their job. Twice, in fact, inside of 18 hours, which is more than any officer should have to do with the same suspect in one news cycle. They arrested him the first time and they arrested him the second time, and in my opinion they're every bit as fed up as the officials doing the talking, though that's me talking, not them.

Dale will probably have the numbers on this soon, the recidivism rates, the detainer requests ignored, all of it. That's his side of the desk. Mine is simpler: somebody's grandma lives in Putnam County. Somebody's kids ride their bikes on those roads. They deserve better than a system that hands a man with a long rap sheet his second chance at trouble before the sun sets.

Arrested twice in one day. Let that rattle around in your head. And the next time somebody tells you sanctuary policies are compassionate, ask them how many arrests it takes before the folks writing the rules feel an ounce of it themselves.

Alright, I've got banana bread in the oven and opinions cooling on the counter. Talk soon, folks.