Worth Your Time
Posted by The Asian Badger on March 20, 2007
Bob Donhal has an excellent article over at the Wisconsin Conservative Digest on the problems and lack of leadership in Milwaukee. It’s one of the best summaries I have read of the issues facing the city. Here’s a little sample.
[...["The suburbs have grown dramatically since 1970. The population in Waukesha and Ozaukee County increased by more than 60 percent, and Washington County has more than doubled in size. Have people tired of the city life, or are they tired of the corrupt governments, dominated by liberals and union power that extract big salaries, benefits, pensions and vacations? Has the crime gotten to them? Do they see schools that can’t teach kids to read. They get more and more taxes and less and less value.
The politicians defend this. A recent example; newly elected State Senator James Sullivan, under a cloud of investigations, actually defended the ridiculously high salaries of MATC teachers, higher than the University system and the local teachers. Pay the politicians off and they repay in kind. Sullivan was heavily supported by the MATC teacher's union.
When Time magazine’s cover story describes Milwaukee as a national poster child for violent crime by trumpeting “lethal chaos’ in the city, you would think that people would wake up to the problem, but only Sheriff Clarke and Scott Walker respond. Mayor Tom Barrett babbles about new gun laws, something that has never worked to stop gang wars."[...]
Donhal accurately points the finger at the liberal hand-wringers who continue to blabber about gun laws, Bush and whatever else occurs to them as they ignore the problems the city is facing.
[...]“The longtime Democrat District Attorney looks the other way when it comes to prosecuting Democrats in office. Bruce Murphy, the best investigative reporter in Wisconsin, has wrote on the ability of Mike McCann and former Federal prosecutor Tom Schneider to look the other way. Only the diligence of federal prosecutor Steven Biskupic, has managed to show some of the garbage that has been going on. He has managed to put some of the thieves in jail.
As for plans, there isn’t any. Mayor Barrett, Mr. Nice guy, hides in city hall, occasionally venturing out to decry the violence but produces nothing. Sheriff Clarke puts forth plans to combat crime, Governor Doyle and Barrett ignore him and the violence escalates.
The crime spills into Tosa and Mayfair Mayfair Shopping Center is one shooting away from becoming a ghost town. Gangs roam the aisles, forcing people out of their way, and yelling at senior citizens in the parking lot. Police have reported to me that they are throwing out 300 people in one weekend. Violence at the city border area is the results of the thugs coming into to Tosa looking for easy marks. Look at the weekly map in the CNI newspapers. The Mayor of Tosa dithers, evidently spending her time working with Ald. Mike McGee and his hoodlums to form a task force about race relations.
In the inner city the good people huddle in their houses, scared to go out for fear of the shootings, and the violence escalates with many innocent victims getting in the way of the gang shootouts. The thugs and hoodlums victimize the inner city people at bus stations, gas pumps, businesses, and pizza deliverymen. And when someone protects himself, like the pizza delivery guy that shot his attempted robber, the DA prosecutes the people fighting for their lives. By prosecuting the people defending themselves, he sends a message to the thugs that no one should carry weapons that they might need to defend their lives, so the thugs have free rein.”[...]
Go over and read the whole thing…it’s worth your time.
