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Sunday, August 22, 2004

More Cackles from the Balcony

Eric offers up a few choice pieces of snark.

First, he notes this morning's Yahoo! News headline "Bush Campaign Expects Small Convention Bounce" marks the inevitable lowballing of expectations that the Repugnicans have employed interminably to make their chronic underperformer (history will be considerably less kind) seem adequate to his task. Liberals absolutely cannot let that happen this time. Rather than wringing their hands about protesters outside, they need to be hammering the "this is the most important speech in Bush's lifetime" line that becomes the well-nigh impossible demand that freights every damn public speaking engagement that Kerry steps up to. Bush is a stammering idiot and rather than coddling his incompetence for once the media needs to relentlessly demand that he rise to the occasion.

Second, we were talking about how odd it is that over the course of this disastrously failed Administration pundits have regularly suggested that Bush and Co. were staking their fortunes on risky gambles: that the tax cuts will bring about a recovery, that the War of Choice in Iraq would bring democracy to the Middle East with little cost in lives and money, that Hispanic Americans would flock to the conservative banner, that "Compassionate Conservatism" would redefine the movement and attract women and centrists. Okay. Where are those pundits now? If these were gambles with consequences show the consequences. Bush can't win if tax cuts fail to stimulate the economy? He presides over greater unemployment and insecurity than any President in memory. So, he must lose then, right guys? Bush can't win if his risky war of choice in Iraq fails? A thousand Americans are dead, thousands more maimed, countless thousands of Iraqis wounded and killed, countless billions of dollars squandered in the midst of recession, the Taliban resurgent in Afghanistan, two terrorists arising for every one killed, chaos, quagmire, sanctioned corruption and torture in Iraq, spiralling violence and hopelessness across the Middle East. So, he must lose then, right guys? Hispanic Americans overwhelmingly are shifting their support to Democrats. "Compassionate Conservativism" is exposed as a threadbare cloak over the bloating zombie corpse of crony capitalism, unfunded mandates, and religious zealotry. So, he must lose then, right guys?

At what point is the media held accountable for their interminable shilling for this crappy crime ridden gangland Administration? When Bush makes a reckless gamble with lives and livelihoods that are not his own and then the gamble fails -- the failure is a story, not the dispute over the spin on the failure. When Bush lies the story is the lie, not the dispute over the lie.

Third, Eric forwarded me a list outlining the rates of crime in large American cities. One can't help notice how many so-called Blue States are among the least crime-ridden, while so many Red States seem to struggle interminably with crime. At what point will Democrats receive recognition as effective crime-fighters rather than "soft on crime"?

Blue States are the engines of the economy, centers of culture and education, most effective in the provision of services and security, and all the while forced to subsidize the ignorant, ill-mannered, unproductive, uncooperative atavisms of the Red States.

"Best Large Cities for Crime (More than 500,000 pop.) [a somewhat unfortunate way of describing large cities with the least incidence of Crime]:

New Jersey boasts three of the nation's safest and most secure cities.
1. Nassau-Suffolk, NY*
Nassau-Suffolk has the second-lowest overall crime rate in the nation, thanks to extremely low violent and property crime rates.
2. Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ
The Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon area has one of the lowest murder rates in the nation, in addition to a very low rate of larceny.
3. Ventura, CA
Ventura has a very low property crime rate and one of the lowest larceny rates in the country.
4. Monmouth-Ocean, NJ
Monmouth-Ocean has one of the lowest auto theft rates in the country and an overall low rate of property crime.
5. Bergen-Passaic, NJ
Bergen-Passaic has especially low rates of forcible rape and larceny.

Worst Large Cities for Crime
Although Arizona has two of the most crime-ridden cities in the nation, their violent crime rates are relatively low.
1. Tucson, AZ
Tucson has one of the highest property crime rates in the country, especially larceny. On the bright side, Tucson has a low murder rate.
2. Memphis, TN-AR-MS*
Residents of Memphis contend with the nation's second-highest violent crime rate. In addition, the rate of robbery and burglary are among the nation's highest.
3. Miami, FL
Miami's violent crime rate is the highest in the nation, with especially high incidences of robbery and assault. Thankfully, the murder rate is relatively low.
4. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
Phoenix-Mesa has one of the highest rates of auto theft in the nation.
5. Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR
The Little Rock area has a high rate of property crime, especially larceny.
Best Medium Cities for Crime (200,000-500,000 pop.)
New England seems to be an especially safe and secure region.
1. Danbury, CT
Danbury has lowest overall crime rate in the nation, as well as the lowest property crime rate.
2. Stamford-Norwalk, CT
Second only to its neighbor Danbury, the Stamford-Norwalk area has one of the lowest property crime rates in the U.S.
3. Johnstown, PA
Johnstown has an especially low rate of property crime. The murder rate is a bit higher than one might expect but is still well below the U.S. average.
4. Dutchess County, NY
Dutchess County has a very low burglary rate, which helps contribute to low overall rate of property crime.
5. Portsmouth-Rochester, NH-ME
The Portsmouth-Rochester area has low rates of property and violent crime, but there is a significant rate of forcible rape.
Worst Medium Cities for Crime
The South seems to be particularly challenged with crime.
1. Myrtle Beach, SC
Myrtle Beach has the highest total rate of crime in the nation, due to a high rate of violent crime and the nation's highest rate of property crime. In particular, the rates of assault, burglary and larceny are particularly high.
2. Montgomery, AL
The murder rate is significantly high in Montgomery, as are the rates of robbery, burglary and larceny.
3. Laredo, TX
While the larceny rate is high in Laredo, residents can take comfort in the relatively low rates of murder and forcible rape.
4. Waco, TX
Like Laredo, violent crime is less of a concern in Waco than property crime. In particular, burglary and larceny are a problem.
5. Wilmington, NC
Wilmington has the second-highest rate of burglary in the country. On the other hand, the rates of forcible rape and assault are low.
Best Small Cities for Crime (Less than 200,000 pop.)
1. State College, PA
State College has low crime rates across the board. In particular, the burglary and auto theft rates are among the nation's lowest.
2. Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV
Property crime is especially low in the Steubenville-Weirton area, especially the rate of larceny.
3. Wheeling, WV-OH*
While property crime is extremely low in Wheeling, the rates of murder and assault are a bit higher than might be expected.
4. Pittsfield, MA*
Pittsfield has not only one of the lowest murder rates in the nation, but also an exceptionally low rate of larceny. However, the rate of forcible rape is significant.
5. Wausau, WI
Like Pittsfield, Wausau's rates of murder and larceny are among the nation's lowest. The violent crime rates are also low.
Worst Small Cities for Crime
1. Topeka, KS
Topeka has the highest rate of property crime among cities with fewer than 200,000 residents. The rates of larceny and robbery are especially high.
2. Pine Bluff, AR
Pine Bluff has a high rate of murder and the ninth-highest rate of robbery in the nation.
3. Monroe, LA*
Monroe suffers from significant property and violent crime, especially assault and larceny.
4. Alexandria, LA
Alexandria has the fourth-highest violent crime rate in the nation. Murder and assault are a problem, in particular, but the rate of forcible rape is low.
5. Florence, SC
Assault and larceny rates are high in Florence, but the murder rate is low.

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