Category Archives: drugs

America in decline: CVS to close 900 stores due to rampant increase in shoplifting

Posted on September 26, 2023 by | 1 comment

America is in decline, particularly in democrat-run cities. As a result, our nation is facing the folowing:

  • Increased inflation and interest rates
  • Increased debt (both for the nation and many individual households)
  • Disasterous “Defund the Police” policies
  • Increased crime with soft-on-punishment policies
  • Open borders with thousands of illegal aliens arriving daily as well as drugs (particularly fentanyl) pouring into our cities

The disasterous policies of this administration and democrats (I’d also include The Swamp in the blame game) have led to this:

CVS says it will close NINE HUNDRED stores by the end of 2024 – 10% of all its shops – as it moves to online strategy amid rampant increase in shoplifting

From the Daily Mail:

“CVS is set to close hundreds of stores across the country as it undergoes a complete retail overhaul – as more outlets move towards online sellers amid rampant increases in crime.

The major drugstore chain is coming to the end of a policy launched in 2021 which will see 300 stores closed each year – meaning 900 will have shuttered by 2024. 

In the announcement, which has hit headlines again recently amid rampant shoplifting at the chain, bosses they said that they were undergoing a new ‘retail footprint strategy.’

CVS and other retailers across the US continue to adjust to post-pandemic footfall, with COVID helping turbocharge the popularity of online shopping. More shoppers are turning to buying online in the wake of the pandemic, as well as rocketing levels of shoplifting affecting sales in stores.

CVS claims that ‘local market dynamics, population shifts, and a community’s store density’ are some of the aspects it has looked into when deciding which stores to shutter.”

Read the whole story here.

Locked up goods: What many Americans now see when shopping at their local stores.

Things are so bad in democrat-run Oakland, California that over 200 businesses are staging a strike today to protest over crime that has “gotten out of hand” and are demanding better public safety.

San Francisco’s retail area is turning into a ghost town due to crime and homelessness. Stores are closing in Seattle due to crime. Philadelphia convenience stores are closing due to brazen thefts. This is pattern in many other democrat-run cities such as Baltimore, Chicago, Washington DC, New York, and Los Angeles.

Local and national elections matter. The health and prosperity of our American cities matter. Remember folks:

DCG

1 Comment

Posted in Crime, Democrats, drugs, failed city, failed state, illegal immigration, Joe Biden, The Left

Tagged

New York City, failed city

Posted on September 6, 2023 by | 3 comments

Another democrat-run American city going to the rats. Literally.

Professional virtue-signaling expert NYC Mayor Adams

New York City has many, many problems: An influx of illegal aliens sleeping on the streets (they are a sanctuary city), a dangerous subway system, open-air drug use and large numbers of drug overdose deaths, as well as other issues that affect our large, democrat-run American cities.

The city also has a major rat problem. So much so that in April of this year Mayor Adams appointed a “rat czar,” Kathleen Corradi (earning a salary of $155,000/year), to reduce the rat population and “help deliver an equitable quality of life experience for all New Yorkers. ”

NYC Rat Czar Kathleen Corradi

So seven months later how’s that lofty equitable goal working out?

Turns out it’s working very well for entrepeneurs who are finding a way to make a buck by offering tour guides of NYC’s rodent-infested areas. There are also tens of thousands ‘RatTok’ – TikTok channels taking viewers through the city showing how many rats are living alongside New Yorkers. Read about the rat tour guides (and see photos from “RatTok”) here. Or watch below:

New Yorkers must be so proud.

DCG

3 Comments

Posted in Crime, Democrats, drugs, failed city, failed state, Health, illegal immigration, safety

Tagged , , , , , ,

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

8 Comments

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

Tagged , ,

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

2 Comments

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

Tagged , , ,

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

6 Comments

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

Tagged , , , , ,

Los Angeles, failed city

Posted on August 16, 2023 by | 1 comment

Los Angeles is run by democrats. It therefore has the pleasure of being one of the worst cities in America. In other words, another demorat-run failed city.

The streets of Los Angeles

It’s a combination we typically see in blue cities: high crime (some data suggests that Los Angeles is more dangerous than before the Wuhan virus outbreak and lockdowns), rampant homlessness (despite spending billions of dollars), and open drug use on the city streets (in particular, fentanyl pouring across our open southern border).

LA County DA George Gascon (demorat)

Throw into the mix a Soros-funded district attorney, George Gascón. There was a second effort to recall him last year, which failed due to 27% of the signatures being invalid. (Funny how demorats care about signature validation when it affects one of their own).

The final touch? Proposition 47, which basically allows shoplifting $950 worth of merchandise with no consequences. Also, Los Angeles has a zero cash bail policy now, too. You’ve got the perfect recipe for a failed city!

And there are plenty of criminals willing to take advantage of the democrat policies that plague Los Angeles. Case in point:

Gascon speaks at the 0:48 mark: “…and we will use every tool available under law when there is an arrest made.”

Quite the qualifier there. LAPD says that last year, only about one quarter of these “smash and grab” robberies led to an arrest. Again, they are very careful with their statements. How many of these arrests actually led to a prosecution and conviction?

I sound like a broken record here but when are voters going to realize the obvious?

DCG

 

1 Comment

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

Tagged , , , ,

Seattle, failed city (part 3)

Posted on August 10, 2023 by | 9 comments

Liberals ruin everything they touch.

One of the many homeless encampments throughout Seattle.

I grew up in a suburb of Seattle, which even though has been ruled by demorats since 1969, use to be a semi-safe place to visit. As kids, we lived across the lake and would bus it to downtown Seattle to visit the Center, food fairs and even concerts.

Now, I’d never venture anywhere to downtown due to rampant crime, homelessness and open drug use on the streets. You can read more about the failures of demorat-run Seattle in my parts 1 and 2 that I’ve posted here.

Democrat Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell

The current demorat mayor, Bruce Harrell, had promised to address the city’s many issues, of course. Yet after a year and a half in office, absolutely nothing has improved in the city.

I was just in Seattle in May (for a funeral) and saw the disaster with my own eyes. But don’t just take my word for it.

Take the word of a 23-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department, Lieutenant Jessica Taylor, who says that “criminal are running this city.”

Jason Rantz from KTTH radio reports that Taylor resigned, sending the Seattle Police Chief a scathing 15-page letter. Take a look at what Taylor has to say:

“Chief Diaz, let me tell you, the state of the Seattle Police Department and this city is a disgrace,” she wrote in the letter she shared with the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. “The toxic mix of the Seattle City Council’s absurdity, the spinelessness of the Mayor, the leniency of the prosecutor’s office, and your failed leadership has accelerated this city’s downhill slide straight to rock bottom. The problems were already brewing before you came on the scene, but since your arrival, it’s been a free fall into anarchy & chaos.”

Taylor also blames the Seattle City Council for playing politics and catering to the radicals in the region.

Read the brutal resignation letter here.

Seattle just had a primary election for Council members and, of course, all the incumbents appear to be safe and in strong positions heading into the November election. Nevermind the fact that the city they govern is a hot mess.

The cognitive dissonance in democrats is astounding. By committing even further to their beliefs, they will NEVER learn this important lesson:

DCG

9 Comments

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

Tagged , , , ,

Why were Pfizer employees given a “special batch” of Covid vaccine?

Posted on August 4, 2023 by | 4 comments

On August 2, 2023, the Australian Senate’s Education and Employment Legislation Committee conducted a hearing, in which two officers of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer (Pfizer Australia’s Country Medical Director, Dr. Krishan Thiru, and Head of Regulatory Sciences, Dr. Brian Hewitt) admitted that:

  1. Pfizer employees received a different “special batch” of COVID vaccine.
  2. Pfizer didn’t understand the mechanism by which the COVID vaccine causes myocarditis and pericarditis.

Australian Senator  Gerard Rennick forced Pfizer to admit that they didn’t understand the mechanism by which the vaccine causes myocarditis and pericarditis. (H/t Tim Shey)

And why did José María Fernández Sousa-Faro, the founder and president of PharmaMar, a pharmaceutical company that creates and distributes drugs to treat coronavirus, fake paperwork that stated he was fully vaccinated?

Isn’t it high time our Congress investigate Pfizer and other COVID vaccine manufacturers?

~E

4 Comments

Posted in COVID-19 vaccine, drugs, Evil

Tagged ,

Hit ’em where is hurt$: Two “detransitioners” sue doctors who mutilated them

Posted on July 26, 2023 by | 6 comments

Scars left after double mastectomy for “top surgery.”

Scars after phalloplasty surgery (construction of a penis) using skin from a forearm.

“Gender-affirming care” is anything but healthy, especially for minors who have yet to go through puberty.

Delaying puberty (through use of puberty blockers) can result in problems with one’s chromosomes that can affect normal growth processes resulting in Turner Syndrome or Klinefelter Syndrome.

A study from the UK Tavistock and Portman National Health Service Foundation Trust showed that children’s bone density and normal growth flatlined with puberty blockers as compared to their peers, and participants reported no improvement in their psychological well-being.

Also, the majority of children who take puberty blockers do not resume puberty.

The only way to stop the castration and mutilation of minors is to fight back and hit the “doctors” where is hurts: Financially. Two young women are taking that step: Prisha Mosley and Soren Aldaco.

Prisha Mosley

Prisha, who lives in Michigan, developed Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria at age 12. Her dysphoria was aggravated at age 14 when she was sexually assaulted. Reports the NY Post:

“I literally hated every aspect of who I was and what I was and what I looked like,” Prisha said. “I spent some time being a girly girl and being a tomboy and being a smart girl and being this [other] girl, but none of those different hats fit me. And so I was like, I guess I’m just not a girl.”

Prisha “socially transitioned” at 15 with the support of her parents. The online transactivists applauded her and guided her to transgender specialists. After much bullying and manipulation of her parents (“Do you want a dead daughter or a living son? Do you want to pick up your daughter’s hormones or her body from the morgue?”) she began “gender-affirming care” (testosterone treatment) at 15. At 18 she had a double mastectomy.

Fast forward three years later and Prisha realized the transition didn’t help the underlying issues. At 25, Prisha suffers vocal cord pain and severe vaginal atrophy from the testosterone treatment. She says she lost part of her nipples after they were grafted back on during her mastectomy. Because of her mastectomy she will never be able to breastfeed, and she doesn’t even know whether she is still fertile. Prisha is now suing the medical team that misguided her through this “gender-affirming” care.

Read the whole story about Prisha’s ordeal here.

Soren Aldaco (left)

Another woman who regrets her “transitioning” is Soren Aldaco, who lives in Texas. She is suing her doctors for $1 million.

Soren’s ordeal began at 17 when she began taking puberty blockers and says she was pressured into a botched double mastectomy. Soren says that the doctors and a nurse practitioner pushed her to transition. The result now is “irreversibly disfiguring and disabling” and the “professionals” ignored a host of mental health challenges she was struggling with at the time. From Fox News:

“Aldaco, who is autistic, said she was battling depression and anxiety as a teenager when she was hospitalized with a manic episode at 15. After a short meeting with a psychiatrist there, Aldaco said she was “coerced” into coming out as transgender. Two years later, Aldaco connected with Del Scott Perry, a nurse practitioner with Texas Health Physicians Group at a transgender support group. After sharing her mental health struggles and identity confusion with Perry, Aldaco said the nurse practitioner encouraged her to begin medically transitioning and wrote her prescriptions for “an outrageously large off-label dosage” of testosterone, the suit alleges.”

Read Soren’s whole story here.

The medical transitioning community has a lot to gain from continuing their practice of manipulation, castration and mutilation of minors. The cost for transitioning treatments is very, very expensive.

Hopefully one day sanity will make a return and adults will realize that physically altering (0therwise healthy) children for life is pure evil. Until that happens, the only way to stop this form of child abuse is to hit ’em where it hurts: In the wallet.

DCG

6 Comments

Posted in drugs, Evil, Health, The Left

Tagged , , , , ,

Career criminal shot & killed after hospital standoff in failed Portland, Oregon

Posted on July 24, 2023 by | 7 comments

Liberal cities and states are disintegrating before our very eyes. Portland, Oregon is an example of the consequences of elections.

In May 2020, Portland city commissioners voted to cut nearly $16 million from the police budget in response to complaints about police force and racial injustice. As a result: Portland had a 300% increase in murders from July 2020 to February 2021. In the first two months of 2021, 17 people were  murdered — a 1,600% increase from the one murder reported during the same time period in 2020.

In 2022, Portland’s homicide number was higher than the city’s 20-year average.

It doesn’t help these demorat-run cities are electing Soros-backed prosecutors who refuse to properly punish the criminals.

Case in point: A career-criminal, PoniaX Kane Calles, shot and killed a security guard at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Portland on Saturday. He was subsequently shot and killed by police in the neighboring city of Gresham. Calles had made threats to staff at the hospital in the days leading up to the shooting.

Calles (formerly Reginald Kane Jackson) had a lenghtly criminal record (which began in demorat-run California) that included:

  • Attempted second-degree assault (for stabbing a man in the face with a knife; he was placed on probation for three years)
  • Reckless driving
  • Driving with a suspended license
  •  Third-degree criminal mischief (prosecutors dropped the charge)
  • Attempted murder
  • Robbery
  • Battery
  • Disorderly conduct
  • Vandalism

Calles also had mental health issues (obviously).

Read the whole sordid story of this criminal’s background here at The Oregonian.

No amount of new gun laws would have stopped this guy. He was also ordered to undergo drug treatment and have a mental health evaluation. Obviously that didn’t happen or change his behaviors.

The only solution is to punish the criminals. Or try electing bureaucrats and politicians who care about punishing criminals and preserving law and order in their cities. Yet I’m not going to hold my breath that liberals will learn to do that in the near future. They never learn:

DCG

7 Comments

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

Tagged