US sees wave of murders, violence as crime-fighting resources go to terror

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT, Reuters: US Facing Wave of Murders and Gun Violence
By REUTERS
Published: August 20, 2006

....In a shift from trends of the past decade, violent crime is on the rise, fueling criticism of Bush administration policies as a wave of murders and shootings hits smaller cities and states with little experience with serious urban violence.

From Kansas City, Missouri, to Indianapolis, Indiana, places that rarely attract notice on annual FBI crime surveys are seeing significant increases in murder. Boston, once a model city in America's battle against gun violence, is poised to eclipse last year's homicide tally, which was the worst in a decade.

Explanations vary -- from softer gun laws to budget cuts, fewer police on the beat, more people in poverty and simple complacency. But many blame a national preoccupation with potential threats from abroad.

"Since September 11, much of the resources that were distributed to crime-fighting efforts in Boston and other major cities were redistributed to fight terrorism,'' said Jack Levin, director of the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University.

"The feds had supported after-school programs. They had supported placing more police officers in crime hot spots in major cities. These federal efforts were reduced,'' he said....

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-crime-usa.html

[Solly Mack]

1. and those people will go to jail - unlike Bush

If Clinton is to blame for kids learning about blow jobs(and the right wing did make such a claim), then surely Bush is leading by example with his disregard for the law.

[aquart]

2. And yet, there are no car bombs.

So why are we allocating money there?

Terror is the LEAST of our problems, not the biggest.

[pinto]

3. There seems to be a growing consensus that the Admin's

allocation of resources - a vast chunk of our discretionary budget as well as our clandestine budget - from Iraq to Homeland Security has been misspent, off the mark, mismanaged and not effective. Not to mention lost to outright contract corruption.

This wheel may turn slow in the general public's consciousness, but you see it get mentioned from more and more sources.