Wednesday, February 13, 2008
A Surge In Oakland
A little over a year ago, Oakland voters selected Marxist Ron Dellums as it's mayor. Since then, the city has experienced a killing spree that has seen roughly one murder every other day of the year. In "Surge in killings outrages Oakland", reporter Cecily Burt of the Oakland Tribune describes a "surge" of a type unlike what is occurring in Iraq. Instead violence abating, Oakland has become a virtually shooting gallery, with innocent bystanders getting hit in the crossfire on a regular basis.
The surge in violence — with eight people killed between Friday and Monday and many more wounded — comes as city officials prepare for a debate tonight on the best way to use the city's resources to fight crime. The Measure Y oversight committee, which advises the city on the implementation of Oakland's 2004 public safety ballot measure, is finalizing a list of 22 recommendations that will eventually be forwarded to the City Council for funding. One of those recommendations includes calling on Mayor Ron Dellums and the council members to identify ways to hire 63 police officers promised three years ago.
According to local media, Dellums "frittered" away his first year in office, making no significant policy initiatives in areas of concern to average citizens, beyond a smoking ban at bus stops. Meanwhile, crime in the city has increased dramatically, with Oakland being declared the 4th most dangerous city in the nation. Dellums resisted calls to increase the police force, claiming in a typical Marxist fashion that citizens did not want an oppressive police.
Ron Dellums was a well known supporter of Your Black Muslim Bakery, an organization accused of numerous violent acts over the years, include the August 2007 public assassination in downtown Oakland of journalist Chauncey Bailey. Dellums, even after the death of Mr. Bailey, refused to disavow a letter he sent in support of the Bakery.
Normally, I wouldn't care about what happens in Oakland, but we happen to live less than 500 meters from its border with Alameda, and so Oakland criminals often come over the bridge to rob, maim and kill people much like the Vikings did a millennium ago. It's important that we learn from the failures of Oakland and other Socialist/Marxist communities, so that we don't fall into the downward-cycling trap that has engulfed most of the Bay Area.
The surge in violence — with eight people killed between Friday and Monday and many more wounded — comes as city officials prepare for a debate tonight on the best way to use the city's resources to fight crime. The Measure Y oversight committee, which advises the city on the implementation of Oakland's 2004 public safety ballot measure, is finalizing a list of 22 recommendations that will eventually be forwarded to the City Council for funding. One of those recommendations includes calling on Mayor Ron Dellums and the council members to identify ways to hire 63 police officers promised three years ago.
According to local media, Dellums "frittered" away his first year in office, making no significant policy initiatives in areas of concern to average citizens, beyond a smoking ban at bus stops. Meanwhile, crime in the city has increased dramatically, with Oakland being declared the 4th most dangerous city in the nation. Dellums resisted calls to increase the police force, claiming in a typical Marxist fashion that citizens did not want an oppressive police.
Ron Dellums was a well known supporter of Your Black Muslim Bakery, an organization accused of numerous violent acts over the years, include the August 2007 public assassination in downtown Oakland of journalist Chauncey Bailey. Dellums, even after the death of Mr. Bailey, refused to disavow a letter he sent in support of the Bakery.
Normally, I wouldn't care about what happens in Oakland, but we happen to live less than 500 meters from its border with Alameda, and so Oakland criminals often come over the bridge to rob, maim and kill people much like the Vikings did a millennium ago. It's important that we learn from the failures of Oakland and other Socialist/Marxist communities, so that we don't fall into the downward-cycling trap that has engulfed most of the Bay Area.
