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The Sad Philadelphia Story
National Review magazine ^ | June 30, '08 | Kevin Williamson

Posted on 06/22/2008 7:58:17 AM PDT by T.L.Sink

Philadelphia has one of the most backward and incompetent city governments in America. It suffers from a combination of failed civic institutions, a deeply embedded racial paranoia that undermines law enforcement, and a local culture that has come to shrug at the urban chaos this produces. In 2006, the one-or-two-a-day-and a-dozen-on-weekends murder spree that earned "Killadelphia" its rap as an urban abattoir resulted in 406 people dead. It's clearly not all about poverty. Miami, America's poorest major city, saw 79 homicides in all of 2006. In March 2006, more Americans died violently on the streests of Philadelphia than in Iraq - and March wasn't the city's worst month that year. Philadelphia has some of the worst public schools in the country, so incompetently run that the state had to take them over in 2001. And this mess was in the hands of America's least competent mayor, John Street. The worst of the murder rampage corresponds roughly with the Street years, and it's not difficult to see why. Street's administration was a crime wave of corruption and malfeasance in its own right.

(Excerpt) Read more at nrd.nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: birthcontrol; birthcontrolneeded; cities; filthydelphia; killadelphia; philadelphia; urban
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The article continues, "Politics hobbles the ability of the police to address crime. One illustrative episode involves the shooting of a 16-year-old outside his high school. The head of the school district went to the mayor pleading for more police patrols during the immediate after-school hours which are the most dangerous time of day for students. But the proposal was scotched by Sandra Dungee Glenn, an African-American school board member and former chief of staff to Rep. Chaka Fattah. Glenn argued that deploying extra police would send the "wrong message" to students and make them feel "that we need to be armed against them." Mayor Street chimed in that he wouldn't trust "a cop with a Glock" in the schools. So black leaders, along with Philadelphia's black mayor, and its black police chief, directed its heavily black police force to leave black students vulnerable to black criminals. Sandra Dungee Glenn subsequently was named chair of the School Reform Commission. That's Philly. In 2002 the Daily News ran a front page carrying the mug shots of 14 fugitive murderers wanted in Philadelphia and ran pictures of 27 more inside. Two of the fugitives were soon apprehended. But the Daily News quickly found itself the subject of boycotts and protests because all of the fugitives whose pictures were published were black or Hispanic. But the Daily News did NOT racially filter the photos: There simply were no white murder fugitives wanted in Philadelphia at that time. In the end, the newspaper knuckled under and apologized for publishing the truth. Since then, the city's newspapers, district attorneys, the mayors, and most of official Philadelphia have found it much safer to blame the bloodshed on distant bogeymen in Congress and rednecks at the NRA. Philadelphia has a bull market in murder, and it's far from clear that political reform can change the culture of a city that has simply come to accept Third World levels of disorder and corruption."
1 posted on 06/22/2008 7:58:17 AM PDT by T.L.Sink
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To: T.L.Sink

IIRC, NYC had close to 2000 murders per year back in the ‘70’s, at least for a few years running.


2 posted on 06/22/2008 8:04:05 AM PDT by Steely Tom (Without the second, the rest are just politicians' BS.)
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To: T.L.Sink

Yeah, but look at the bright side. The Philly government is wasting no time running those homophobic Boy Scouts out of the city.


3 posted on 06/22/2008 8:05:59 AM PDT by puroresu (Enjoy ASIAN CINEMA? See my Freeper page for recommendations (updated!).)
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To: T.L.Sink

Personally, I would stay far away from that place.


4 posted on 06/22/2008 8:11:13 AM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: Lancey Howard

You might stay away, but that’s not the answer to the problem. Even the city is saying they wouldn’t trust a cop with a gun around the students? Who would they trust? This is the way a lot of our big cities are heading. Look at South Africa and you’ll see the same thing.


5 posted on 06/22/2008 8:22:04 AM PDT by RC2
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To: T.L.Sink
This is what happened to the historic aspect of Philadelphia when they moved the Liberty Bell as part of a multimillion tax dollar nod racial inclusion and “diversity”. READ THE LAST SENTENCE.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20031010/ai_n11429056

6 posted on 06/22/2008 8:22:27 AM PDT by ishabibble (ALL-AMERICAN INFIDEL)
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To: T.L.Sink

Reap: Sow.


7 posted on 06/22/2008 8:23:53 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady
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To: T.L.Sink

It will all end when BO gets in office, change you know.


8 posted on 06/22/2008 8:24:11 AM PDT by razorback-bert (Demorats tax returns consists of "welfare in" and " child support out.")
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To: T.L.Sink
But the Daily News quickly found itself the subject of boycotts and protests because all of the fugitives whose pictures were published were black or Hispanic. But the Daily News did NOT racially filter the photos: There simply were no white murder fugitives wanted in Philadelphia at that time. In the end, the newspaper knuckled under and apologized for publishing the truth.

And the MSM wonders why people are no longer subscribing to their papers. This politically correct BS has got to stop.

I have well-educated, yet stupid, colleagues who are so quick to point out that blacks account for only 13% of the population yet are 40% of the prison population. They try to use that statistic as evidence of racism. I've tried to point out that the statistics could simply reflect the fact that either 1) blacks engage in illegal activity at a rate that is three times more than non-blacks, or 2) they commit crimes in such a way that makes them easier to catch. My alternative hypotheses are equally as likely as theirs, but they want no part of it because it doesn't square with their predisposed belief system. My conclusion: Liberals hate facts.

9 posted on 06/22/2008 8:25:16 AM PDT by econjack (Some people are as dumb as soup.)
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To: ishabibble

Unbelievable.


10 posted on 06/22/2008 8:29:07 AM PDT by gitmo (From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.)
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To: T.L.Sink

Why do you think they call this corrupt dump “Filthadelphia”?


11 posted on 06/22/2008 8:29:52 AM PDT by 2harddrive (...House a TOTAL Loss.....)
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To: RC2
You might stay away, but that’s not the answer to the problem.

There is no "answer to the problem" that does any good for normal people who stay outside of the Democrat parasite nests ("cities"). The biggest battle between the political parties is the one to determine the flow of tax dollars - - when Democrats are in charge, tax dollars get raised and then head into the cities and down the toilet.

12 posted on 06/22/2008 8:31:23 AM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: T.L.Sink

I work in the city of “Brotherly Love” but apparently the brothers didn’t buy in to that sound bite.

The newly elected mayor, Nutter, announced that the brothers were in charge, if that gives you the flavor of the emphasis on racial identity. His new Cheif of Police is Ramsey, who you will recall from failed appointments in Chicago and Washington DC.

Most of the murders are in identifiable bounded areas, although people are free to move about.

One stays out of those neighborhoods and carries when one has to go in them.

Currently under consideration are the use of “checkpoints” like they use in Bagdad and Washington DC.

Ramsey is also promoting “stop and frisk”.

They haven’t gone so far as to have Hugo Boss design new uniforms.


13 posted on 06/22/2008 8:35:42 AM PDT by School of Rational Thought (Truthism Watch)
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To: T.L.Sink
I did a little quick research on Mr. Street. It turns out he has quite a collection of corruption charges levied against him, not the least of which is his financial connections with his older brother, Milton Street:

One company paid Milton Street, who is a hot dog vendor, $30,000 a month consulting fee. Mayor Street continues to defend his brother's right to pursue city contracts...

The real question is: How does someone like this continue to get reelected? Oh...wait...it's probably the same way that Nagin continues to get reelected in New Orleans. Still, it continues to amaze me. The corrupt politicians continue to get richer, but the people they promised to help continue to get poorer. You'd think they'd learn after a while. But, that assumes they are informed about what's going on in their city...probably not the case.

14 posted on 06/22/2008 8:36:19 AM PDT by econjack (Some people are as dumb as soup.)
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To: RC2

So, what is the answer?


15 posted on 06/22/2008 8:38:46 AM PDT by Doohickey (SSN: One ship, one crew, one screw.)
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To: ishabibble

The new exhibits were all black-centric displays.

It is the usual leftist rewrite of history.


16 posted on 06/22/2008 8:38:49 AM PDT by School of Rational Thought (Truthism Watch)
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To: School of Rational Thought

All that money, and two hundred people showed up to watch.
Yeah, Philly really deserves to be the keeper of our founding history.


17 posted on 06/22/2008 8:41:08 AM PDT by ishabibble (ALL-AMERICAN INFIDEL)
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To: T.L.Sink

Chocolate Cityitis.


18 posted on 06/22/2008 8:41:38 AM PDT by DogBarkTree (The correct word isn't "immigrant" when what they are doing is "invading".)
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To: T.L.Sink

Sadly, you can’t name one big city run by a liberal African American that ISN’T CORRUPT and CRIME RIDDEN. It is so damn sad.


19 posted on 06/22/2008 8:45:24 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion.....The Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: T.L.Sink

The Third World is apparently coming to all of America January 20, 2009.


20 posted on 06/22/2008 8:47:54 AM PDT by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
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