The English and Electing Sheriffs.

Did you know that our friends across the Atlantic don't elect their own Sheriffs?

I didn't until Daniel Hannan, a Conservative Party member of the European Parliament, discussed the subject in a blog post yesterday afternoon on The Telegraph's website, which is an exceptional read for geopolitical die hards.

And I was, quite frankly, shocked to discover the awful truth.

Because in America, at least in the rural areas, electing the Sheriff is one of the most important decisions that the local citizenry has to make every four years. It is as natural as electing the local Mayor, the state Governor, or the President of the United States.

In fact, I was involved in a Sheriff's election last year that was decided by only four dozen votes out of more than 8,000 cast overall. My candidate, who I believe was better qualified, lost in a general election campaign that was by all accounts clean and honest. Although, the winner received his Democrat Party nomination in a way that was backhanded and unethical.

So to my friends in England: I hope your Parliament gives you the control over your local Sheriff, instead of the current system that gives absolute control to a bumbling government bureaucracy that is inefficient and wasteful.

What say you?