The Savage Republican

Nick Coleman is every MOB bloggers favorite media whipping boy - and with good reason. While he can write a very moving story, his stories tend to lack a certain factual basis. Not so this story on the murder of Alan Reitter outside of Block E (the entertainment heart of the city) in Downtown Minneapolis (H/T Anti-Strib and Rambix). Nick eloquently pens the reactions of almost all Twin Cities residents to this heinous act of violence. I say almost all because Mayor Nero Ryback is still fiddling while his city burns. The Mayor's reaction to this was to say that this was not due to a lack of cops on the street, but to an overabundance of GUNS! I like this particular paragraph from the article:

"So we are told: Friday's shooting was "an aberration." (Would it be OK if it were routine?) That it was random. (Would we feel better if the killer had shot the guy he was trying to kill, instead of a bystander?) That the killer was "a deeply troubled person." (Mayor R.T. Rybak said that.)

Well, Your Honor: Duh."

Nick almost gets it. He calls for more cops....and less guns. Like I said, he ALMOST gets it. Maybe a few more legal permit holders carrying would make these thugs think twice before firing shots into a crowd of people!

Meanwhile the management of Block E has started playing opera music in an effort to chase away loiterers and panhandlers!

On the other side of the river, St Paul Pioneer Press columnist Joe Soucheray had this to say about the crime wave in Minneapolis:

"Don't worry, Alan, they are on it, flipping open their cell phones to discuss new camera locations, more cops and great new programs of deterrence, like, well, opera music.
Believe me, they want this solved. They want this terrible problem to go away. They would much sooner concentrate on the important things, like bike paths."

And while Nero fiddles and dreams of bike paths and diversity, the citizens are looking for leadership:

"It no longer is a problem for just the city; it's a problem for anyone visiting the city. "Read one letter to the Star Tribune.

"I have a solution to help curb the crime in Minneapolis' Uptown and downtown neighborhoods. It's called the "draft." Read another.

"Time to regain control -The latest tragedies are part of a crime epidemic that has gripped our city for well over a year, yet the most action we've seen from the mayor is to caution us against leading "high-risk lifestyles." The Uptown murder happened just blocks south of my home on Girard Avenue to a person doing what I do nearly every day, walking with friends. The Block E murder was just steps from where I board the bus each morning. Are these two things now considered "high risk?" Read a third.

"So Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak says that, so long as there are too many guns on the street, hiring 1,000 more police officers is not going to make any difference in combatting crime.
Here is how Minneapolis can solve the gun violence:
• Hire at least 500 more police officers.
• Establish a zero-tolerance policy on crime.
• Persuade more law-abiding citizens to obtain handgun carry permits.
• Enforce existing gun laws as written.
• Persuade the court system to aggressively prosecute criminals.
Then, and only then, will you see the crime rate drop dramatically in Minneapolis. " Read this one from one of our fine service men in Iraq!

Speaking of prosecuting criminals...the shooter had been through the system before. Big surprise there. It is only NOW that the Hennepin County Prosecutor's office (Amy Klobuchar candidate for US Senate) has decided to do something about it and actually charge him with a crime! What took you so long Ms. Klobuchar?????

Lastly, this bit of irony....

"The April 4 Star Tribune headline should have read "Block E is safe, at least from secondhand smoke." That would have been more accurate."

Yes - Nero would have you believe that a burning Rome is safe, but only if your concern is second hand smoke. However, if you are concerned about mugging, murder and mayhem then you are best to stay out of Murderapolis!

I'll leave the last word to Nick, who comes up with a surprisingly Republican comment:

Solving murders is good. Preventing them is better.