On 6/27/05 1:25 AM, "Dyna" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Before I got home my phone was ringing because our next murder had >> been committed by the drug dealers on my corner. This was after the >> Female on the Lease was supposed to have been physically removed by >> the Sheriff this morning. The stop Team spending a Half hour >> watching the dealers earlier. > > After this not unexpected murder our police chief, in his > role as apologist for the mayor that appointed him, stated that his > shrunken department was "working smarter". "Working smarter" seems to > mean a form of triage rather than the proactive "community policing" > that has been so effective in other cities with fully staffed police > departments. <snip> > A couple hours after the medical examiner, police, > firefighters, EMTs, press, and politicians have left the drug > dealers, hookers, et al will emerge from the shadows and the cycle > will repeat itself. Good citizens will call 911, housing inspectors > will charge more elders with criminal possession of peeling paint or > prairie grasses, and the odd peace march will be held. But inevitably > in a matter of hours, days, or months the same streets will be > bloodied as another life is snuffed out. > > Or we could elect a new mayor...
And what good would that do, Dyna? You posted yourself that McLaughlin has no real plan for increasing police staffing. Remember this from after the DFL convention? "I finally managed to corner Peter and asked how he would fund the 200 cops and firefighters that he blames R.T. for losing. His "answer"- a one time twenty five million dollar paper transfer from merging Minneapolis pension programs into he states. That one time transfer would keep all those firefighters and cops on the job for maybe a year and a half..." Has McLauglin admitted yet that increasing police staffing will either mean raising our property taxes even more or cutting elsewhere in the city budget (and subsequently laying off city union workers since staffing is the largest portion of the city's budget)? Has he admitted yet that the "paper transfer" does not reduce the city's pension obligations, but only delays them? Until then, he's just blowing smoke up your behinds... Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
