Politics

[Altitude sickness]

Russ, I would bet most here agree that the federal government should not have to move into civilize primarily Democrat cities.

But with young males running around without fathers in the home, Cashless bail, etc etc.
Someone has to be the adult.

 

[mdwest]

. Memphis was over 40 per 100,000

Your entire post is spot on. This sentence in particular I can add some fidelity on.

I was a cop for roughly a decade in the Memphis metro area. I worked for 2 different agencies. Most of my time in law enforcement was spent in a felony fugitive apprehension squad, a specialized narcotics unit, and in SWAT.

I was born and raised in that city. I still have family there and continue to visit multiple times a year. I still have several “cop” friends in the area that are now senior administrators with different agencies. One is the current chief of the Memphis police department another is the Chief of the Collierville police department (a suburb), etc..

I was literally there just this past weekend.

Memphis as a whole is substantially worse than DC.

The FBI tracks data nationally on eight “index” crimes. These include murder, rape, armed robbery, burglary, car jacking, arson, etc..

What sets Memphis apart is… most “bad” cities will rate in the top 10 across 2 or 3 indexes, and will then maybe be in the top 25 (still very bad) on the rest..

Memphis typically takes the #1 spot on at least one index every year, and typically holds top 5 position on at least a few others, and will usually be in the top 10 across all of them…

It’s truly one of the worst cities in the US..

That doesn’t give DC a pass…. They all should clean their shit up..

But believing DC is the worst city in the US from a violent crime perspective is way off base…

 

[Altitude sickness]

But when your house has 20 crappy rooms. Which do you start with.

The one you use the most or welcome guests into. DC is the Capital and the easiest to act without legal issues.

Why not start there and perhaps the others may get more serious not wanting someone coming to “help” and dipping into their slush funds.

 

[spike.t]

Needs to go to no1 in the charts...

 

[Brent in Az]

Washington D.C is the hub of the most powerful government, and military, in the world. Granted, that five sided building is across the river.
Shouldn't that hub be as safe as possible?
I don't care much for government intrusion, regardless of who it is doing it, but if Trump, or anyone else, wants to make D.C and other cities safer, Im all for it. Especially, if the elected officials of any given city don't seem to care about crime and public safety.
We have our own problems in Tucson, and with the leadership that the low IQ crowd continues to elect, I don't foresee it getting any better.
I'm not a world traveler by any stretch, but the two scariest places I've been to, are the rougher areas of Chicago, and downtown Montego Bay. I'll throw in South Tucson gang banger turf for extra credit. Places I wouldn't step foot in after dark without being heavily armed, and someone to watch my 6.

 

[Brent in Az]

According to reports, 103 violent criminals have been arrested since Trumps decision to federalize the D.C police department

 

[Russ16]

Washington D.C is the hub of the most powerful government, and military, in the world. Granted, that five sided building is across the river.
Shouldn't that hub be as safe as possible?
I don't care much for government intrusion, regardless of who it is doing it, but if Trump, or anyone else, wants to make D.C and other cities safer, Im all for it. Especially, if the elected officials of any given city don't seem to care about crime and public safety.
We have our own problems in Tucson, and with the leadership that the low IQ crowd continues to elect, I don't foresee it getting any better.
I'm not a world traveler by any stretch, but the two scariest places I've been to, are the rougher areas of Chicago, and downtown Montego Bay. I'll throw in South Tucson gang banger turf for extra credit. Places I wouldn't step foot in after dark without being heavily armed, and someone to watch my 6.

This is where I differ I really hate the federalization of our legal system. I’m opposed to federal intervention even if it makes things safer. To me state and local governance is a bedrock of our system and federalization even for a good reason is a bad thing.

 

[Brent in Az]

This is where I differ I really hate the federalization of our legal system. I’m opposed to federal intervention even if it makes things safer. To me state and local governance is a bedrock of our system and federalization even for a good reason is a bad thing.

And if local and/or state authorities don't do their jobs? What then ?
Continue to let things spiral out of control?

 

[Altitude sickness]

You are 100% correct that states rights are very important and shouldn’t be over stepped.

But in this case the Feds haven’t taken anything over. They are an additional force. DC still has full control and command over the city force.

With States Rights comes States responsibilities to the Citizen.

 

[Russ16]

And if local and/or state authorities don't do their jobs? What then ?
Continue to let things spiral out of control?

If they are duly elected the yes. It isn’t the job of the federal government to intervene. It is the job of voters to elect better leaders.

 

[SaintPanzer]

Admittedly this gets complicated with DC because of the federal overlay of its governance.

"Federal Overlay"?

Article I, Section 8:

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards and other needful Buildings;-And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

The District IS literally federal. "Home Rule" has proven ineffective (twice), and any talk of statehood would literally require a Constitutional Amendment.

If the Executive is charged with seeing that federal laws be "faithfully executed", and the "home rule" people are not effectively enforcing the laws, whose job is it to fix it? There are a lot of places where "federalizing" law enforcement is problematic, but DC is not one of them. In fact, DC is the one place where it should not be problematic. I'd even be on board with eliminating "Home Rule" for the second time.

Is anyone here aware the Governor of NY mobilized the National Guard to work as prison guards when the current guards went on strike? What was really weird about that (actually, a lot of things are weird about that, including the fact that the strike is over, but they are still there, because they cannot hire actual guards quickly enough) is that according to NY law, you MUST be over 21 to be hired as a guard, but of course the requirement to join the NY Army is only 18. I'm not pointing this out as a theme in "whataboutism", rather, I'm pointing out that people can be very selective in what they find to be "national news" and open to national debate. However much you hate the main stream media, you do not hate them enough.

Oh, and about that dock yard thing. Came across this today: https://www.foxnews.com/us/radical-...lice-leader-says-7-attacks-led-trump-takeover

I don't normally rely on Fox News, but examples 4, 5, and 6 have a common theme. We can argue all day long whether the crime rate is rising or falling, or whether one city is better or worse than another. But when you get to the point that the violence is starting to impact the ability to govern, AND you have the "authority over all places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature... for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers...", well I'm not really sure what counterargument there can be for this, except maybe to stamp your foot and tell the mayor to "try harder". Expecting that to work would seem to be the triumph of hope over experience.

 

[mdwest]

But when your house has 20 crappy rooms. Which do you start with.

The one you use the most or welcome guests into. DC is the Capital and the easiest to act without legal issues.

Why not start there and perhaps the others may get more serious not wanting someone coming to “help” and dipping into their slush funds.

another key thing to note is...

DC is the "easy" button... there is a provision in the law that allows the government to federalize DC public services...

to my knowledge this is not something that can be done (certainly not easily) in states that have a constitution (DC does NOT have a constitution.. it is a federal district, governed by Congress under Article 1 of the US Constitution).. if nothing else, they certainly cannot do it easily..

so.. they are taking action where they can...

I personally dont have a problem with it.. the US Federal government already "controlled" the Police Department... all that has really happened here is they have removed the Mayor and the City Council from the equation and the DOJ has been inserted.. the Mayor and City Council are/were clearly a complete and total abject failure in managing the police department.. The officers remain the same, the equipment remains the same, the supervisors and administrators remain the same, etc.. they are just getting their highest level direction from someone other than the Mayor now (who is a twit)..

what I do have a problem with is exaggeration and grandstanding....

this is within the federal governments authority.. it is legally justified... so do it... state the facts as they legitimately are.. and if people dont like the facts.. well... screw em.... as long as youre successful in the execution of your mission, in a matter of weeks people really wont have much to bitch about anymore..

theres no need for gamesmanship or theatrics in the process..

 

[mdwest]

Washington D.C is the hub of the most powerful government, and military, in the world. Granted, that five sided building is across the river.

truthfully most of the federal government is located outside of DC proper... there are far more government offices, buildings, and personnel living and working in Virginia and Maryland than there are in DC itself..

Our federal government is so bloated that you couldnt possibly squeeze all of it into DC if you tried.. there literally isnt enough space.. you'd have to demolish substantial residential and commercial sections of the city and rebuild billions upon billions of dollars in buildings over the course of probably a couple of decades to make it work...

 

[SaintPanzer]

This is where I differ I really hate the federalization of our legal system. I’m opposed to federal intervention even if it makes things safer. To me state and local governance is a bedrock of our system and federalization even for a good reason is a bad thing.

Please re-read Article I, Section 8, Clause 17.

 

[Hank2211]

Your entire post is spot on. This sentence in particular I can add some fidelity on.

I was a cop for roughly a decade in the Memphis metro area. I worked for 2 different agencies. Most of my time in law enforcement was spent in a felony fugitive apprehension squad, a specialized narcotics unit, and in SWAT.

I was born and raised in that city. I still have family there and continue to visit multiple times a year. I still have several “cop” friends in the area that are now senior administrators with different agencies. One is the current chief of the Memphis police department another is the Chief of the Collierville police department (a suburb), etc..

I was literally there just this past weekend.

Memphis as a whole is substantially worse than DC.

The FBI tracks data nationally on eight “index” crimes. These include murder, rape, armed robbery, burglary, car jacking, arson, etc..

What sets Memphis apart is… most “bad” cities will rate in the top 10 across 2 or 3 indexes, and will then maybe be in the top 25 (still very bad) on the rest..

Memphis typically takes the #1 spot on at least one index every year, and typically holds top 5 position on at least a few others, and will usually be in the top 10 across all of them…

It’s truly one of the worst cities in the US..

That doesn’t give DC a pass…. They all should clean their shit up..

But believing DC is the worst city in the US from a violent crime perspective is way off base…

Agreed.

I began my post by agreeing that DC needed to be cleaned up (as do lots of other places). I have no opinion - since I don’t live there or anywhere near there (summering in the Finger Lakes doesn’t count) - who should do the cleaning up. That’s for those who have a dog in the hunt to decide.

My post was only to say that the statistics which were presented were both wrong and skewed - something which is happening far too much these days.

If you want to make a case, then make it. Legitimately. Honestly. Here, for example, you could make the case that Washington needs to be cleaned up because as the capital of the US it should be a beacon, not a boneyard. But to say it needs to be cleaned up because it’s the worst city in the US for crime is just dishonest. And frankly, there’s too much of that going around without adding to it.

 

[Brent in Az]

If they are duly elected the yes. It isn’t the job of the federal government to intervene. It is the job of voters to elect better leaders.

Good luck with that

 

[Brent in Az]

truthfully most of the federal government is located outside of DC proper... there are far more government offices, buildings, and personnel living and working in Virginia and Maryland than there are in DC itself..

Our federal government is so bloated that you couldnt possibly squeeze all of it into DC if you tried.. there literally isnt enough space.. you'd have to demolish substantial residential and commercial sections of the city and rebuild billions upon billions of dollars in buildings over the course of probably a couple of decades to make it work...

That's not my point. Yes, federal government is spread out across a broad area. Nationwide.
The nucleus lies within D.C. The whitehouse, and congress.

 

[Tanks]

Good luck with that

People deserve the Government they vote for. DC is easy as it is not a State with its own Constitution and is under the purview of the Federal government. I'd have a big issue with the Feds taking over Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit etc. PD and sending National Guard there for policing. That would also be unconstitutional probably. We are not like France with a central government that has a Gendarmerie that has jurisdiction all over the country.

 

[Brent in Az]

People deserve the Government they vote for. DC is easy as it is not a State with its own Constitution and is under the purview of the Federal government. I'd have a big issue with the Feds taking over Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit etc. PD and sending National Guard there for policing. That would also be unconstitutional probably. We are not like France with a central government that has a Gendarmerie that has jurisdiction all over the country.

There are reasons the Democrats want to make D.C a state, and they are not good ones.

 

[Tanks]

There are reasons the Democrats want to make D.C a state, and they are not good ones.

Main reason is 2 Senators in a place that votes for Democrats at 97%. If they also succeeded in Puerto Rico then GOP would be locked out of the Senate for the near and far future.