America's Baghdad?

This story detailing the spiraling crime in New Orleans is a great example of democracy guaranteeing the people the government they deserve. This line struck me particularly:

Before Katrina struck on August 29, 2005, there was little public pressure to do something about the number of murders, which peaked in 1994 with 425 killings.

Considering they re-elected the incompetent Ray Nagin as Mayor, who thought race-baiting and Bush bashing would be just as effective as filling busses with refugees before the storm, not to mention sending the coldly dishonest William Jefferson back to Congress, one wonders just how much pressure there was after the storm, either.

But taking a cue from the Congressional Democrats, I have a solution to this mess. We should set a date six months from now to withdraw all federal monetary, logistics, and personnel support from Louisiana. This will send a signal to the corrupt state and local officials that the American People's patience with incompetent government, rampant corruption, and out-of-control violence is not limitless. If we set a date to withdrawal, they will know they have to get on the ball themselves.

Any takers? Didn't think so. So why does this sound logical when people are talking about retreating from Iraq? And as far as I know, no Cajuns have threatened to blow up landmarks in New York, if only they were left alone by the feds long enough to hatch an appropriate plot.

Yes, yes, I know New Orleans is in our country, and Baghdad isn't. But isn't it a liberal argument that international borders are outmoded, and that humanitarian efforts should not be determined by geopolitical considerations?

The idea that withdrawing from Iraq will motivate the Iraqi democratically elected government as opposed to destroying it is a pipe dream, a preemptive salve to the consciences of the Democrats who can't bring themselves to face the fact that their policy proposals will result in wholesale slaughter for years to come. If they're OK with that, fine - but let's be honest about the results of our actions: Freedom lost, democracy stillborn, millions dead, thousands more dead in vain, and a victory which will embolden the Islamofascists for generations to come.

Great FedSoc Events Next Week

One on the death penalty, another on race - should be extremely interesting if you can make it! Note: I wasn't clear before - the two events advertized below are at Seattle University. Also, don't forget about the lawyer's chapter discussion this Wednesday on money in judicial elections with none other than Justice Sanders.

Journalist Shield Laws and Community Responsibility

The Minnesota Daily, the independent campus newspaper of my alma mater, the University of Minnesota, recently wrote an editorial griping that the campus police weren't doing more to prevent bike theft or catch bike thieves. The response by the Chief of UMPD is classic:

Lastly, we definitely rely on student collaboration. An example would be last year when a Daily photographer captured a bicycle thief in the act behind Coffman Union, voluntarily offered to turn the photos over to officers only to be overruled by Daily editors under their mistaken impression the event was protected by the "“shield law."” It is disingenuous in the extreme that the Daily editorial staff would pontificate about a lack of UMPD commitment to protecting student property while abdicating your own duty as citizens.

I love it. Full disclosure, though, when I was a student at Minnesota I worked for the UMPD, and often made fun of the Daily for sucking.

This is a great illustration of why such "shield laws" are so dumb. And as I've written before, because the First Amendment makes us all journalists by birthright, it takes a hard core elitist to think that just because you have press pass that you're somehow above the duties and responsibilities that come with being a citizen.