Odd? Baltimore Asks For FBI's Help With Gun Violence/Murders?

The gun violence and homicide rate in Baltimore is no laughing matter.  Murders are at levels that haven't been seen in two decades.  Like a lot of cities experiencing record crime rates, much can be attributed to the "Ferguson Effect" or, more accurately stated, de-policing.  This has been primarily created by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division's intervention. This has caused the police to pull back for fear of being prosecuted for murder or for violating a black person's civil rights.

So, here's the odd thing.  The mayor of Baltimore wants the FBI to fix the violence problem. Who does the FBI report to?  The Justice Department.  This, to me, is like a dog chasing its own tail.

References:

Baltimore’s mayor finally asks for federal help with their murder epidemic: http://hotair.com/archives/2017/05/02/baltimores-mayor-finally-asks-federal-help-murder-epidemic/

DOJ "Ankle-Bracelets" The Chicago and Baltimore Police: http://cuttingthroughthefog.blogspot.com/2017/01/doj-ankle-bracelets-chicago-and.html

The Last Thing Chicago Needs is an Activist Pro-Labor Mayor

Let me first say that I am no fan of Rahm Emanuel -- the current Mayor of the City of Chicago.  I consider him too abrasive and too much of a bully to be an effective negotiator in a city that currently needs a skilled one to save it from insolvency. Its this brashness that probably resulted in his being the first Mayor of that city to face a runoff in his bid for reelection; with his opponent being a pro-labor and labor activist by the name of Jesus "Chuy" Garcia.  Some are already saying that Rahm may lose the runoff, but, the last thing Chicago needs is a pro-labor Mayor because it is labor and its rich pensions that are killing the city financially.

To understand this, you need to look at this chart put together by Crain's Chicago Business:

So, essentially, the City of Chicago does not have enough money ($29 billion) to cover continued pension payouts for the top 5 groups of union workers that already have or will have retired in the future.  But also understand that there is an additional $3 billion in other unfunded pensions; bringing the total to $32 billion dollars in commitments that the City just doesn't have.  In fact, that $32 billion is nearly 4-1/2 times the $7.3 billion dollars the City plans to take in and spend in 2015.   And, that 2015 budget already fails to include $550 million in unfunded pension liabilities due by the end of the year.  So, somewhere, over the next few months, the City (Rahm; assuming he is still the mayor) must find an additional 7.5% increase in revenues (taxes) or, some combination of reduced pension commitments, tax increases, and reduced spending, in order to meet that year-end pension shortfall or default on it.

But, rather than solely raising taxes, which would have greatly ticked off the voters, Rahm has opted to do a "combination" of things to try and avoid the city defaulting on its commitments and, potentially, following Detroit into bankruptcy.  Besides raising property taxes, Emmanuel has greatly put himself at odds with the unions -- primarily the Teacher's Union -- by closing 50 non-performing city schools and by trying to negotiate concessions in wage increases and a reduction in pension commitments and increases in pension contributions. 

So, as a result of his effort to try and save the city, he now finds himself struggling for his political life because the voters seem to think there is some magic bullet out there that will solve the pension liability problem without raising taxes or by cutting services and pension benefits.  Thus, by letting the fox guard the hen house, the voters may just put "Chuy" in charge of the city's labor pension problems.  As such, I see no way that the City could survive.  While  "Chuy" says he will hold the line on taxes while maintaining city services and, at the same time, honor union pension commitments, you just can't have everything and still avoid future bankruptcy.  If he does get elected, it will be on the basis of promises he can't keep.  So, my guess is that -- being a labor guy who won't reduce pension commitments and city services -- he will just raise taxes to solve the City's problems.  That, in turn, will most likely force people and businesses to leave Chicago; resulting in even less tax revenues, and even bigger pension problems in the future.  That's exactly how Detroit got itself into bankruptcy.

References:

Rahm could actually lose: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/could-rahm-actually-lose-115739.html

Emanuel's pension fix costly, but pain is likely to double: https://www.google.com/search?q=Emanuel%27s+pension+fix+costly%2C+but+pain+is+likely+to+double&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Chicago Teachers Union: Rahm Is Finished: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/02/26/chicago-teachers-union-rahm-is-finished/

Jesus "Chuy" Garcia - Chicago Tribune Election Center:   http://elections.chicagotribune.com/candidates/jesus-chuy-garcia/

How Detroit went bankrupt, how it got out and where the city goes from here: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/11/07/qa-how-detroit-went-bankrupt-how-it-got-out-and-where-city-goes-from-here/

The 'Softer Side' of Mayor Eric Brewer and a Twofer for East Cleveland Ohio

Just when you think you've seen everything in politics, along comes another whacked out story about one of those we have appointed as one of our political leaders.

This story comes from East Cleveland, Ohio. That's where the current Mayor, Eric Brewer, seems to be quite overexposed; and, just before Tuesday's vote for his reelection.

No, he didn't 'streak' or unzip in public. Instead, he was caught cross-dressing in some very provocative lingerie poses (Click to See Full Story: Mayor Eric Brewer's Lingerie Photos Put Reelection Campaign in Jeopardy").

The following is an Action News 19 broadcast regarding the Mayor's little problem:


All indications are that Mayor Brewer is doing a fine job. So, what if he has a kinky side to him? He's actually helping the East Cleveland business community by broadening his buying activities in both men's and women's specialty stores. After all, women's clothing and accessories -- especially makeup -- can be quite expensive. I'll bet he didn't pay off-the-shelf prices for those 'pumps' in a man's size. And, let's not forget, Mayor Brewer could better address woman's issues than his opponent because he does seem to have that 'softer side' to him.

All kidding aside, I'm not sure, if I happeneded to be an East Cleveland resident, if I would either vote against or for Brewer to stay on as Mayor. Those pictures are rather embarrassing and, because of that, they might actually compromise his ability to lead the city. However, looking at his T-shirted and very much younger opponent (as seen in that video), I'm not sure that voting for Eric Brewer should be out of the question.

In politics, the choice is always between one of two concepts: Either picking the better of the two candidates or, more often than not, selecting the lesser of two evils. In this case, though, I'm not sure what choice voters will be making.