Milwaukee is living up to its title as one of the nation's violent crime hubs.
From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, John Diedrich writes:Two people were killed, a third was shot but survived and police officers exchanged gunfire with robbers in a spasm of violence on Milwaukee's streets overnight, police said.
At 9 p.m., police found a 17-year-old male dead with a wound to the head in 2900 block of N. 22nd St. Police aren't sure if he was shot, stabbed or beaten.
...Just after midnight, a man, 21, was found shot to death in the 2700 block of N. 54th St. Police were not releasing any information on a motive or suspect.
At 8 p.m., a 42-year-old man was shot in the buttocks in the 6300 block of W. Kaul Ave. He is expected to survive. Police are looking for a known suspect.
At 7:30 p.m., officers were near W. Capitol and N. Teutonia avenues investigating a sandwich store robbery when another robbery occurred at a nearby Walgreens, police said.
The officers spotted the robber and there was an exchange of gunfire with one officer and the robber firing, police said. Apparently, no one was hit. The robber escaped.
Another night, more bloodshed and death in Milwaukee.
Same old, same old.
I suppose Mayor Tom Barrett is outraged. That's his plan -- to hold news conferences and say he's angry and the violence has to stop.
I wonder how Police Chief Nan Hegerty's crime study group is going.
It's Christmastime in the city.
Ayman al-Zawahri has surfaced just in time to deliver a Christmas greeting.
He said he wants the children of the wartorn Middle East to grow up without hate in their hearts. He hopes that by teaching them to show respect and tolerance, peace can finally be achieved.
Not really. He didn't say that.
Al-Zawahri doesn't want peace. He doesn't want democracy. He doesn't want to talk. He doesn't want Islamic children to live in peace, side by side with people of different faiths.
He wants jihad. And like many in the U.S. House and Senate, and like former President Jimmy Carter, al-Zawahri wants the West to be defeated. DUBAI (Reuters) -- Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri said in a video tape aired on Wednesday that Palestinian elections would not free Palestinian land and would deal a blow to holy war against Israeli occupation.
"Those who are trying to free Islamic land through elections that are based on secular constitutions ... will not free a grain of Palestinian sand, but will choke jihad," he said in the tape broadcast by Al Jazeera television.
It was not clear when the recording, only excerpts of which were aired, was made.
...Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Saturday for early elections to break a deadlock between his Fatah faction and Hamas, which has accused him of a "coup" against its elected government.
"Retreating in the face of the West will not satisfy it, no matter how adept we are at maneuvering and negotiations," Egyptian militant leader Zawahri said.
"Any path other than jihad will only lead us to loss and defeat," he added.
...Al Qaeda regards the United States as its chief enemy and argues that Washington's Middle East policies further the interests of Israel at the expense of Muslims.
The tape is the first by Zawahri since September 29 when he appeared in a video posted on the Internet in which he called President Bush a lying failure for talking of progress in the war on terrorism.
Oh, Reuters.
Even when the news outlet reports on a message from al Qaeda's number two man, it has to tack on a slam at President Bush.
In other words, be upset with al-Zawahri; but be upset with the "lying failure" George W. Bush, too.
Reuters' anti-Bush, pro-terrorist propaganda is a joke. It's so unfair and so unbalanced.
The news here is the content of al-Zawahri's most recent message, not what the TERRORIST said two and a half months ago about the American President.Bush and al-Zawahri are not on the same moral plane.
I think it's going to be a long Christmas vacation.
Mary: What were you thinking? Did you think it was permanent?
Mary's kid: Umm...Permanent for a while.
Permanent for a while isn't permanent!!!
Brilliant filmmaker and Wisconsin son David Zucker has been tapping his talents to raise consciousness.
He's on a noble mission.
Zucker created an ad to bring attention to the consequences of the weak on terror appeaser Madeleine Albright's relationship with the North Koreans, a little history lesson.
He gave his take on the frightening future for taxpayers with Dems in control of Congress, a warning that American voters didn't heed on Election Day 2006.
Now, Zucker offers his analysis of the Iraq Study Group's recommendation to talk with Iran and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Watch, laugh, and LEARN.Funny?
Yes.
Scary?
Very.
The lib media are a selfish, miserable lot.
When reporting on a story involving the health of Laura Bush, the issue should be her condition, not a supposed cover up. WASHINGTON -- First lady Laura Bush had a skin cancer tumor removed from her right shin in early November but decided it was a private matter and did not reveal it publicly.
The White House acknowledged the procedure Monday night after Mrs. Bush was noticed with a bandage below her right knee.
The cancer was a squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common form of skin cancer, said Susan Whitson, her press secretary.
...Explaining why the procedure was not disclosed until now, Whitson said, "This medical procedure was a private matter for Mrs. Bush, but when asked by the media today, we answered the question."
Question: When George W. Bush took the oath of office, did Laura Bush take an oath to give up her privacy?...Monday's revelation was the second case this year of a belated White House announcement. In February, the White House waited almost a day before disclosing that Vice President Dick Cheney had shot a fellow hunter during a quail-hunting trip.
Oooh! It's the second case in 2006 of a belated announcement from the White House. THAT IS SO LAME!
A health issue concerning the First Lady is a completely different matter from a hunting accident involving the Vice President.
Notice the AP account fails to mention that it was an ACCIDENT. It states that Cheney shot a hunter. Read that sentence and one is left wondering if the shooting was an assassination attempt.
The lib media still haven't recovered from not being told immediately about the hunting mishap.
GET OVER IT!
Good grief.
I don't think Mrs. Bush should be criticized for keeping her medical matters private.
She's not an elected official. She's not required to inform the world about the status of her health.
It's despicable that the lib media are exploiting Mrs. Bush's health to create an impression that the White House is shrouded in secrecy, drawing parallels with Cheney's hunting ACCIDENT ten months ago.
Mrs. Bush's health is her business.
I thought the libs care about protecting privacy and don't want anyone prying into people's lives. Isn't that why Russ Feingold fights for the rights of terrorists?
If libs are consistent, they can't cry foul when Mrs. Bush chooses to guard her medical privacy.
Mrs. Bush should be receiving prayers and best wishes from Americans, not criticism.
Eight hundred signatures supporting the recall of Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee Jackson Jr. have been tossed out, but challenger ViAnna Jordan still has more than enough at this point.
McGee is fighting it. It's possible that he'll manage to have more signatures ruled invalid, but Jordan isn't just going to go away quietly. That's certain.
She's a brave woman for taking on McGee. I really question his stability. Like father, like son.
It's mind boggling to me that the people of McGee's high crime district would be satisfied with an alderman that calls for community leader Leon Todd to be "hung straight up" just for supporting the recall.
Why do the residents of the 6th district settle for someone like McGee as their representative?
Isn't there someone with integrity and with at least a little more class than McGee to serve as alderman?
There is -- ViAnna Jordan.
Milwaukee continues to rack up shootings.
Mayor Tom Barrett can brag about the homicide being down, but the number of non-fatal shootings are increasing.
This past weekend was riddled with shootings.
Capt. Gregory Habeck of the Milwaukee Police Department told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that police were investigatings four shootings.
A 17-year-old Milwaukee boy was shot in the neck in the 2200 block of N. 41st St. after he and another male left a house party about 12:49 a.m. Sunday. The shot came from a passenger in a passing vehicle. The victim fled to a nearby tavern where his mother was bartending and was taken to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, where he was in serious condition.
In the other shootings:
Two Milwaukee men, ages 22 and 23, each were shot once in the arm about 2:19 a.m. Sunday as they left a bar in the 9200 block of W. Appleton Ave. The shots came from a group arguing in a parking lot. Both men were treated at a hospital and released.
A 24-year-old man was shot in the shoulder after he confronted two men at a house party in the 200 block of E. Chambers St. about 11:55 p.m. Saturday. One of the two fired several shots as they fled on foot. He was treated at a hospital and released.
Obviously, fewer murders don't indicate that the city is safer. The fact is crime is becoming dramatically more commonplace in Milwaukee, bucking the national trend.
In fact, Milwaukee has the terrible distinction of leading the nation in assault and robbery increases among cities of comparable size.
From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
New preliminary crime numbers released by the FBI on Monday show the surge in violence affecting Milwaukee is happening in cities across the nation, though to a lesser degree.
Translation: Crime in other cities is not increasing like it is in Milwaukee.Milwaukee's percentage increases in assaults and robberies were tops among the 10 cities closest to it in population, according to a Journal Sentinel analysis of the FBI figures.
...Although homicides in Milwaukee are down (101 as of Monday, compared with 118 on that date last year), officials say non-fatal shootings are increasing. Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa expects to treat 34% more gunshot victims this year than last, and such cases are up 38% at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Experts say that the total number of shootings - not just the fatal ones - is a better measurement of gun violence.
...Police Chief Nannette Hegerty has formed a group to study police responses and consider changes as the department struggles with the surge in violence. One option being considered is whether to continue sending officers to certain lower-priority calls, perhaps handling such calls over the phone or by computer.
Wisconsin's largest city is a mess!
There isn't just a perception of crime. There is increasing crime.
The growing violence is not a media creation, a distortion formed due to the "if it bleeds, it leads" rule.
Crime doesn't just appear to be on the increase. Figures show that crime in the city actually is as bad as it seems.
So much is being said about Hegerty's "Milwaukee Study Group."
Is that supposed to satisfy residents?The existence of the study group isn't stopping the violence.
Suggestions and recommendations aren't enough. Immediate action is needed.
Leadership is needed.
That's the bottom line: Milwaukee needs effective, competent leaders to deal with the crisis.
Milwaukee needs a new police chief and a new mayor.
