The U.S. Has Nearly a Quarter Million Unsolved Murders Since 1980

Much of the recent news about Chicago has been regarding this year's number of shootings and murders.  What isn't well publicized is the fact that only 21% of murders in the city are cleared (solved).  A similar problem exists in Detroit where only 30% are cleared.  Los Angeles is only slightly better at 40%. In the country as a whole, only 64% of murders are solved.  This average is well down from 90% in 1965.  All told, nearly a quarter of a million murders have gone unsolved since 1980 with another 5,000 added each year.

One would have thought that with today's high tech tools such as DNA and the national fingerprint data base and identification system, crime fighting would have gotten much better.  But, the ability to solve murders still relies heavily on the human element.

In Chicago, the low clearance rate is a result of three factors that are probably common to many of the cities that have this problem.  First, many of the murders are committed by gangs and the members of the community fear that they too will be murdered if they come forth as witnesses.  Additionally, there is an increasing mistrust of the police; and again, witnesses not coming forward.  Finally, because of budget cuts, too few personnel are available to perform proper crime scene investigations and  detective work.

It always seems as if videos are taken when a police officer shoots someone, but where are those same cameras when someone is being murdered or shot without police involvement?  Also, mistrust has only increased because we have a President and other leaders that continually imply that police are guilty of racial bias.

Something has to change, or many more murders will go unsolved.   This is especially true due to the rising murder rates in our major cities as a result of the Ferguson effect.  Sending in the Justice Department to discipline our police on the reckless assumption that they're racist isn't going to resolve anything.

References:

Getting Away With Murder: Police fail to make an arrest in more than a third of the nation’s killings: http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21656725-police-fail-make-arrest-more-third-nations-killings-getting-away

As Chicago killings surge, the unsolved cases pile up: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-homicide-clearance-rate-20160909-story.html

Shoddy LAPD record keeping muddies murder statistics: http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20140628/shoddy-lapd-record-keeping-muddies-murder-statistics

Hillary Panders to the Latinos with Soft Stance on Illegal Immigration

In stump speech after stump speech, Hillary Clinton has criticized Donald Trump's promise to build a wall on our southern border.  By contrast, she believes that, instead of building walls, we should "build bridges".  She also said in a victory speech: "We should be breaking down barriers, not building walls". So, what does all that mean?  One big fat bridge across the Rio Grande River, and other places, so that illegals can freely walk into this country?

In a recent speech in Phoenix and in front of a predominately Latino crowd, she specifically called out Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio for arresting and jailing illegal immigrants, saying this is treating “fellow human beings with disrespect and contempt.”  As if someone coming  here illegally is not a crime.

So, in those three statement, you are immediately left with the impression that Hillary would allow the free flow of illegals; never fearing arrests.  That's not the policy in Mexico, where the immigration laws are even stricter than ours. Entering and staying in Mexico is a crime punishable by 2 years in prison.  So is document fraud or marriage fraud.  And, if you return after being deported, you get 10 years.  Even if you are able to get legal permission to stay, the Mexican government has the right to boot you back home without notice or cause.  How's that for treating “fellow human beings with disrespect and contempt.”

While most illegals are here to only find work that isn't afforded them in Mexico and other countries, there are those who would do this country harm.  Gang members such as MS13. Or, even terrorists.  Hillary needs to wake up to that fact.  We have one of the most generous immigration systems in the world.  Because of reasonable and logical quotas, some must wait years before entering our country.  For Hillary and all too many Democrats, they believe it is fair that some should bypass the legal immigration process so that she can garner votes from other Hispanics in the U.S..  She would place our safety and security in jeopardy; just as she did with her private email server.

References:

Hillary Clinton Criticizes Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Immigration Proxy for Donald Trump: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/03/21/hillary-clinton-criticizes-sheriff-joe-arpaio-immigration-proxy-for-donald-trump/

Read: Hillary Clinton’s victory speech was a turn to the battle against Donald Trump: http://www.vox.com/2016/3/15/11242690/read-hillary-clinton-victory-speech

How Mexico Treats Illegal Aliens: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/229641/how-mexico-treats-illegal-aliens-michelle-malkin

MS-13 gang killings linked to immigrant surge: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/21/ms-13-gang-killings-linked-to-immigrant-surge/

The Politics of Calling Right-Wing Extremists a Bigger Threat Than ISIS

It is incredible to me to see what great lengths the Obama Administration will go to politicize almost anything and everything.  While, at the same time, try to downplay the threat of terrorism.  As if 9/11 never happened. Nor the Boston Marathon bombing or the slaughter at Fort Hood.

In the latest iteration, CNN is reporting that the President's Department of Homeland Security is circulating a report that suggests that the greatest threat to our American homeland is not ISIS but, instead, right-wing extremist groups such as the skinheads and those angry white and anti-American militia cells.  Of course, this implies that there are no political left-wing groups we should fear. The basis of their assessment is that there are approximately 100,000 core right-wing extremists in this country, and that, in the last 5 calendar years, there have been a total of 24 violent acts committed by these groups; mostly against law enforcement.  That's right, 24!  Of course this is less than 5 incidents per year and ignores the fact that, on average, 150 cops are killed each year by violent offenders like gang members.  It also ignores the fact that, in 2008, the FBI called left-wing Eco-terrorism the biggest threat facing the country.

In my opinion, gangs pose the biggest threat to the lives of too many Americans.  They are a subculture who doesn't believe in our societal values or laws.  To more fully understand this, here are some excerpted bullet points from the FBI's own threat assessment:

• There are approximately 1.4 million active street, prison, and OMG [Outlaw Motorcycle Gang] gang members comprising more than 33,000 gangs in the United States. 
• Gangs are responsible for an average of 48 percent of the violent crime in most jurisdictions and up to 90 percent in several others, according to NGIC analysis.
• Gang infiltration of the military continues to pose a significant criminal threat, as members of at least 53 gangs have been identified on both domestic and international military installations. Gang members who learn advanced weaponry and combat techniques in the military and are at risk of employing these skills on the street when they return to their communities.
• Gang members are acquiring high-powered, military-style weapons and equipment which poses a significant threat because of the potential to engage in lethal encounters with law enforcement officers and civilians. 

Everyday, hundreds of people in this country are killed or seriously injured by gang members. Gangs are the key element in drug, weapon, and human trafficking.  Simply, violence is their mainstay and our Department of Homeland Security ignores this and considers 24 violent acts by right-wing groups the biggest threat?  

Lastly, there's another reason to worry about gangs.  Most of their members have served and/or will serve time in prison in the future.  Increasingly our prisons have become a hotbed for converting inmates to radical Islam.  There should be a concern that at some point, some gangs, may revert to terrorist tactics to undermine the police and government agencies like the FBI or use terrorism against the civilian population.

References:

DHS intelligence report warns of domestic right-wing terror threat: http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/politics/terror-threat-homeland-security/

FBI: Eco-Terrorism Remains No. 1 Domestic Terror Threat : http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/03/31/fbi-eco-terrorism-remains-no-1-domestic-terror-threat/

Cops killed each year: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+cops+killed+each+year&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

FBI: Gangs: They poison our streets with drugs, violence, and all manner of crime: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/gangs

Radical Islam in Prison: Made in the USA: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/spearit/radical-islam-prison_b_880733.html

America's Cage War Against Radical Islam:  Gang members operating as the "fifth column" are providing aid to the the terrorists from inside the United States: http://www.policemag.com/blog/gangs/story/2011/07/gangs-america-s-fifth-column.aspx

The Real Employment Numbers That Never See Headlines

When the employment report is issued each month, most people and, certainly the media, are only interested in two numbers: (1) the number of jobs created or lost in that month and (2) the resulting unemployment rate.  But, those two numbers are a result of some pretty heavy-handed massaging in what the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls "seasonal adjustments".  Seasonal adjustments have always come under fire, especially lately, from a lot of well-respected economists, because the "adjustments" seem to be very large and, thus, questionably accurate.

Take, for example, the latest jobs report.  The headline says that 113,000 jobs were created with a resulting drop in the unemployment rate from 6.7% to 6.6%.  Now, to any logical observer, this makes perfect sense in that a falling unemployment rate must mean that some number of jobs had to have been created to lower the rate. But, if you dig deeper into the January jobs report, you would see a completely different picture when it comes to the unadjusted numbers.

According to the raw data in Table A-2, whites, which make up 79% of the workforce,  saw their unemployment rate go up in January by 9%; from 5.7% to 6.2%.  Yet, after seasonal adjustment, whites  remained the same at 5.7% as in December.  The raw data also said that blacks also saw their rate go up by 9%; from 11.6% to 12.6%.  After adjustment, their final number was 12.1%. While there is no adjustment data available for Asians, their unemployment rate went up 17% from 4.1% to 4.8%.  All three groups added together represent 96% of the workforce and all saw substantial losses in employment.  Yet, the final employment number says jobs were created and the unemployment rate fell.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't include an absolutely horrendous fact that our President wouldn't want you to know when he's out there touting the lowest unemployment rate during his presidency.  That fact is that teen unemployment among blacks now sits at 39% (raw) or 38% after adjustment.  In the city of Chicago, the President's hometown, black male teens are at a unbelievable 92% unemployment rate.  Maybe that's why gang membership has risen 40% since Obama became President. 


References:

Has The Fed Been Fooled By Phony Jobs Numbers?: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-24/has-the-fed-been-fooled-by-phony-jobs-numbers-.html

Table A: January Employment Situation Report: Seasonally Adjusted Results:  http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.a.htm

Table A-2: January Employment Situation Report: Raw And Seasonally Adjusted Numbers by Race, Age, and Sex: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm

New Urban League study finds 92 percent of African American male teens are unemployed: http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/24486694/new-study-finds-92-percent-of-african-american-male-teens-are-unemployed

FBI: Gang Membership Up 40% Since 2009: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/07/confirmed-gang-membership-up-40-under-obama-violent-attacks-on-whites-up-18/