Category Archives: failed state

Philadelphia, failed city

Posted on September 1, 2023 by | 8 comments

Another story of a failed, democrat-run American city…

Philadelphia democrat mayor Jim Kenney

Philadelphia hasn’t had a republican mayor since 1952. The current mayor, Jim Kenney, has been in charge of Philadelphia sincee 2016 and was re-elected in 2019. Kenney was caught on video dancing and celebrating the city’s sanctuary city ruling in 2018. The drugs flowing across our open southern border have contributed mightily to Philadephia’s opioid addiction failure.

Crime is high in Philadelphia, of course. As of July 3, there was over 900 shootinngs in their city. Last year the mayor addressed citizens’ concerns over violence by saying, “We know residents are afraid, afraid to attend cookouts or go to basketball courts, afraid to let their kids play outside. I heard it on my corridor tours, I hear it at community meetings, I read your emails. I hear you and it truly breaks my heart.”

Here’s what the good mayor’s city looks like these days:

Not only should residents be afraid to attend cookouts or let their kids play outside, they should be afraid to walk their dogs. Case in point: Navy veteran brutally beaten while walkinng his dog in Philadelphia. Read the story at the link or watch this:

The victim, Scott Harris, has served multiple years on deployment overseas, but his tours were uneventful compared to his walk last weekend. “I did a year in a war zone in Iraq, did two years in Ukraine, and would not have expected this to happen in my own neighborhood,” he said.

No surprise that Philadelphia is ranked as one of the worst cities in America.

American voters in these blue cities better wake up. Our towns are crumbling before our very eyes. It truly breaks my heart that so many voters have yet to learn the most important factor when voting:

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, drugs, failed city, failed state, safety

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Crime and punishment in King County, Washington

Posted on August 31, 2023 by | 5 comments

Between the Defund the Police movement, Soros-backed candidates, and  “racial justice” platforms of many democrats, it’s not very safe to live in blue cities/counties/states these days.

But it’s definitely a positive for the criminals. Take this guy for example:

Screenshot of man attempting to abduct a barista through a drive-in window.

In January of this year Matthew Darnell tried to zip-tie and kidnap a bikini-clad barista at a drive-up window at an Aburn coffee shop.  The barista was able to fight off the attacker and he was later arrested and charged on a kidnapping charge.

Flash forward seven months later and Darnell is already out of jail. From the NY Post:

“A Washington state man who tried to zip-tie and kidnap a bikini-clad barista at a drive-up window in a shocking caught-on-video attack is now back behind the wheel — to the dismay of victims’ rights advocates.

Matthew Darnell, 39, was busted after trying to yank the victim through the window at Beankini Espresso in Auburn on Jan. 16, but was freed Saturday after prosecutors cut a plea deal that called for a mere 50-day sentence.

Darnell lives just two blocks from the coffee shop.

“It raises the question of why should people bother to report [assaults],” Mary Ellen Stone, CEO of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, told the outlet.

“We see that all the time,” she continued. “There are a variety of reasons why that happens, but the message it sends to victims is what happens to you wasn’t important. The other thing it does is that it says people that are behaving in this way, not that big a deal. You’re not going to be held accountable.”

Read the whole story here.

King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion

King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion (who was sworn in 1/9/23 and is the first woman and person of color to hold the job) sure made it sound like public safety was a priority saying, “I am committed to protecting public safety and increasing community health.”

She also stated on her priorities page, “Supporting victims and survivors of crime is a critical responsibility. The racial and ethnic diversity of King County has changed, and victim advocates face new and complex challenges in providing effective and culturally sensitive services.”

Manion’s promises were endorsed by all sorts of democrats, labor unions, and the REAL Justice WA PAC. REAL Justice has helped elect (with Soros money) the likes of George Gascon (LA), Kim Gardner (St. Louis), Kim Foxx (Cook County), and Chesa Boudin (SF, recalled last year).

King County voters had a choice last year between Manion and Jim Ferrell. Ferrell was a republican and switched to the democrat party in 2012 so I guess the voters didn’t have much to choose from. At least Ferrell did have the support of many police associations as he claimed one of his priorities was this: “Let me be clear: I will hold offenders accountable. We need justice for the victims of crime.”

But I guess King County voters got the prosecutor they deserve: The first woman, mother and person of color to hold that position who will “craft innovative solutions to fight and reduce crime through broad coalitions, and create positive change.”

Positive change for perps but not so much for baristas.

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, failed state, safety

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Los Angeles, failed city (part 2)

Posted on August 24, 2023 by | 2 comments

Hollywood, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, is another democrat-run area that is failing its citizens.

We all know that Los Angeles is a mess: Homelessness, increased crime and open-air drug use are the norms in that city. It flows into the city’s neighborhoods as well. Check out the streets of Hollywood:

The Daily Mail shared more  information about what is happening on the streets of Hollywood:

“As rampant homelessness continues to plague the streets and neighborhoods of Los Angeles, a new video sheds light on the issue as it impacts LA‘s iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The video, taken earlier this summer, shows dozens and dozens of homeless people collapsed and prostrated on the streets of Hollywood, laying on public benches, and lining the streets with makeshift tents. 

‘Hidden between the glitz and glamour, homelessness has cast a shadow over the streets,’ says the video’s narrator, as he walks around the neighborhood.”

Read the whole story here.

These problems in Los Angeles (which hasn’t had a republican mayor since 2001) have plagued them for years. So what have the voters done about it? Last December they elected democrat Karen Bass, the first woman to serve as mayor and the second black person to serve in that capacity.

Less than eight months later, the citizens are booing the new mayor they elected:

Maybe that’s because despite allocating a $609.7 million budget for the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, there was a 9 percent rise in homelessness in Los Angeles County between 2022 and 2023.

Before the mayor was booed at the August meeting, she said this in June: Bass announced a lofty goal of ending street homelessness in LA by 2026.

Don’t. Hold. Your. Breath.

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, drugs, failed city, failed state, Hollywood, safety, The Left

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Oakland, California, failed city

Posted on August 22, 2023 by | 5 comments

Oakland demorat mayor Sheng Thao (left).

Earlier this month the Oakland NAACP called for a “state of emergency” over soaring crime in their city. From my post:

“Oakland NAACP leaders have called for a state of emergency over soaring crime in the area, as they blame the defund the police movement and the George Soros- backed district attorney for the rising violence.

She wrote a letter alongside Bishop Bob Jackson of the Acts Full Gospel Church to ring the alarm about the shootings, robberies and murders that have become a common occurrence in the district. 

The NAACP letter comes as North Oakland has seen a a 22 percent increase in robberies and 18 percent increase in violent crime this year.

Murder levels abruptly spiked from the 78 seen in 2019 to 109 in 2020 – the same years calls for defunding the police, spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement, were introduced in earnest.

Read the whole depressing (and predictable) story here.

But democrats never learn, as Oakland hasn’t had a republican mayor since the 1960s.

So this is now what they get:

Outrage in Oakland as wild video shows woman being violently dragged on the ground during armed robbery

From The Daily Mail:

“Shocking video has emerged of a woman being pistol-whipped and dragged across gravel by two thugs in Democrat-led Oakland as the city grapples with a surging crime wave.

The attack happened last week Wednesdayat 6.15 pm on International Boulevard, and left the unidentified woman with severe injuries, police investigating in the East Bay city said.

Footage shows the woman being confronted by two men who try to grab several items from her, including her purse, before she’s violently struck with the weapon.

She is then seen falling to the ground before being pulled across the floor by her purse as both men rifle through her pockets.  The attackers are both on the run and the woman’s condition as of Tuesday is unknown.”

You can read the whole story here and watch the disturbing video at the link, if you so choose.

Under Biden’s America, democrat-run cities are absolutely failing their citizens. Just look at what’s occurring in Los Angeles, Portland, Chiraq, Philadelphia, Seattle, Baltimore, New York, etc. etc.  It may be too little, too late for democrats to realize the obvious point:

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, failed city, failed state, safety, The Left

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Portland, Oregon, failed city

Posted on August 21, 2023 by | 6 comments

Homelessness runs rampant in Portland, Oregon.

Democrat-run Portland (for over four decades), Oregon is a failed city. Since defunding the police, crime is up.

Open-air drug use and fentanyl is rampant, so much so that there are open-air fentanyl markets. Measure 110, approved by voters in 2020, was suppose to be the magic cure-all by decriminalizing drugs and establishing a drug addiction treatment and recovery program (funded in part by the state’s marijuana tax revenue and state prison savings). That isn’t working as in Multnomah County, fatal opioid-related overdoses saw a fivefold increase between 2018 and 2022,

This year the mayor’s budget calls for spending over $43 million to address homelessness.  Yet between the decriminalizing of drugs, drug addiction treatment services and millions dedicated to the homeless, those afflicated with drug addiction do not seem to want the taxpayer assistance. Case in point (from The Daily Mail):

“Portland’s first sanctioned homless ‘park’ has just NINE residents despite having room for 55 a month after it opened – as shocking images show drug-addled people taking over the sidewalks”

Unused Portland homeless shelters.

Details from the article:

“Portland‘s first sanctioned homeless ‘park’ is less than 20 percent full a month after opening as shocking new images show drug abuse and illegal campsites continue to plague its streets.

Oregon‘s largest city is in the midst of a devastating humanitarian crisis, with its homeless population up almost 50 percent since 2019 to more than 5,000.

The uber-woke local government is pinning its hopes of reversing the trend on a raft of costly new shelters. (Which cost $27 million for three official homeless shelters.)

But when DailyMail.com visited earlier this month, two of its flagship sites sat largely empty, with the majority of its drug-addled homeless population preferring to remain in unsanctioned campsites across the city.”

Read the whole story here.

I don’t claim to have the best solution(s) to end homelessness and open-air drug use. How about instead of decriminalizing drug use, maybe the City should arrest individuals and as part of their punishment they be mandated to attend drug addiction treatment as an alternative to fines/jail times?

I do know that decades of democrat solutions to end homelessness and drug addiction aren’t working. I also know that democrats are famous for their dedication to spending millions of taxpayer dollars that never achieve their stated goals. There’s a saying for that:

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, drugs, failed city, failed state, safety, Uncategorized

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California, failed state: Swarm of masked thieves rob L.A. Nordstrom of $100k

Posted on August 15, 2023 by | 8 comments

The (UK) Telegraph reports,

Dozens of masked thieves used bear spray to take down security guards before stealing around $100,000 (£78,800) worth of goods from a department store in California.

A gang of between 30 and 50 people descended on Nordstrom, a high-end clothing store, at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Woodland Hills, near Los Angeles.

They used bear spray to incapacitate security guards before they made off with handbags and designer clothing, according to the Los Angeles Police Department….

Footage of the incident circulating on social media shows intruders wearing hoods and masks darting between aisles while staff look on.

It follows a spate of similar raids in Los Angeles and other major US cities.

Republican politicians have blamed soft-on-crime policies in Democrat-controlled areas for a rise in crime….

The same Nordstrom store was hit two years ago by a group of five masked robbers who pepper-sprayed a member of staff and made off with about $25,000 worth of goods….

Just days earlier, another flash-mob style robbery took place at a Yves Saint Laurent store in Glendale, just north of Los Angeles.

The thieves stole around $300,000 worth of goods, according to the local NBC News network.

Starbucks has already closed six of its branches in Los Angeles amid safety fears. They include two spots near Hollywood Boulevard and another near Santa Monica Boulevard.

The coffee shop chain said issues with chronic homelessness, vandalism and theft were driving factors for the closures….

Karen Bass, the Democrat mayor of Los Angeles, called the robbery “absolutely unacceptable” and vowed the perpetrators would be “held accountable”…. [Blah, blah, blah]

See also:

~E

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, failed city, failed state, The Left

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