Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis today spoke out against a request for the Illinois National Guard to be to deployed on Chicago’s streets to help tackle gun violence.
Stopping just short of outright rejecting the request from state lawmakers Rep. John Fritchey and Rep. LaShawn Ford, Weis said “I don't think the National Guard is the solution.”
At a press conference earlier Sunday, Fritchey and Ford had called on Gov. Quinn and Mayor Daley to deploy troops. The action, in coordination with Weis, should be taken as soon as possible to help get guns and criminals off the street, they said.
The two Chicago Democrats noted National Guard members are now working side-by-side with U.S. troops to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while another deadly war is taking place in Chicago neighborhoods.
“Is calling for National Guard deployment a drastic action? Of course it is,” said Fritchey. “Is it warranted under these circumstances? Without question. If we can bring (the National Guard) in to help fill sandbags for flooding... to deal with tornado debris, we can bring them in to save lives.”
This is how it starts. First they core out the country so jobs are scarce. Then, when the indigenous population resorts to a bloody & violent black market economy for survival, they declare "WAR" on the indigenous population. One could replace Chicago with Columbia & you'd have pretty much the same scenario.
Neo-liberal globalization & free market fantasies have made us little more than another banana republic. With their NAFTAs & their WTOs & their Transnational Corporations, they've consolidated much for the few, while the rest of us are left to fend for ourselves in this Social Darwinist nightmare. They've privatized the profits while socializing the costs. I've watched them do this since Reagan stuck his serpentine pate out of his little serpent hole.
Doubly ironic that Reagan was recently named the 2nd most loved president right behind ol' Honest Abe. I can't help but think that either Lincoln had some hefty fucking skeletons in his closet or Americans are completely butt ignorant about Reagan's legacy. To me, that's like electing Jesus & Satan as your favorite dieties.
Triply ironic, I suppose, is this pointless babbling about "Socialism," given corporate America's long love affair with it. Although, I suppose the term "Corporatism" does describe it better since the cash flows upward to an elite minority rather than down towards the mass of society. I would ultimately call that hair splitting.
So far this year, 113 people have been killed across Chicago — precisely the same number as the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined during the same time period, the legislators noted.
"U.S. troops have been winning the hearts and minds (of people) in Iraq," Ford said. “They’ve stabilized those communities. They made those communities much better. Now those communities are safe. That’s what we want right here in Illinois, for the National Guard to come in and stabilize these communities.”
And they've killed a hell of a lot of people, haven't they? I believe they have a word for that, don't they? The ever lovely and multi-faceted "COLLATERAL DAMAGE."
In Chicago we have 113 dead in 5 months, while in Iraq, in the last 2 months of last year and the first two months of this year, we have, at least, 908 war related deaths.
People who wouldn't be dead if we didn't invade. While the military may be "winning some hearts & minds" they were directly responsible for stopping a lot of hearts and splattering a lot of brains in the process.
Fritchey and Ford noted the National Guard has been deployed in other states to prevent violence related to specific events and protests, but added that they were unaware of guardsmen and women being deployed to assist with general urban unrest.
They stressed a call for National Guard help here should not be equated with marshal law.
“We’re not talking about rolling tanks down the street,” Fritchey said. “We’re not talking about armed presence on every corner. We’re talking about individuals, men and woman that have been specifically trained to assist law enforcement and, assist with civil unrest. This is what the National Guard in part is trained to do.”
"We're talking about individuals?" What the fuck does that mean? "Individuals" also drive tanks. I'm not aware of sentient tanks. At least, not yet.
But Weis cautioned against “comparing apples and oranges.”
Referring to the Kent State shootings in 1970, when National Guardsmen fatally shot four student protesters at a campus demonstration, Weis said that “when you mix military functions with law enforcement functions, there is sometimes a disconnect.”
Noting that the military does not operate under the same constitutional constraints as the police, he questioned how Chicago residents would react to soldiers raiding homes without warrants, and said that in his 25 years of law enforcement experience, he had never seen an example of military personnel working under local civilian command.
“The National Guard is very useful if we had a big earthquake or huge flood or a catastrophe like that, where we simply had to control folks,” he said, “But the problems we’re facing are illegal weapons, narcotics and gangs. And while I will always look out for as much help as we can, I don't think the National Guard is the solution.”
The lawmakers could better help by passing tougher gun control laws, he said, also calling on communities affected by violence to “break the code of silence” against identifying criminals.
Strangely, the cop seems the sanest one here. What's the catch?
Quinn spokesman Bob Reed declined comment.
Fritchey and Ford noted that 80 percent of city homicide victims are black. Ford represents constituents in the West side communities of Austin, Lawndale and West Garfield, that have been hard hit by homicides and other crime. Fritchey represents constituents in the lower-crime North side communities of Bucktown, DePaul, Lincoln Park, Roscoe Village and Ravenswood.
The legislators said while they believe more should be done to deal with the violence, their views shouldn’t be seen as criticism of local law enforcement, whose resources are stretched thin.
They added Weis recently pointed out most violent crime in Chicago happens on just 9 percent of the city's blocks. To target these “hot spots,” Weis has said he was seeking 100 officers to volunteer for a summer-long “strategic response team.”
Deploying the Guard is a better option, Fritchey and Ford contend.
While Weis came out against the suggestion Sunday, he did add that he had yet to discuss it with the mayor and that is something he was willing to “explore.”
“I’d have to see what the mayor’s position on this is,” he said. “If he’s open to it, you know, of course, I’d be open to it. I have certain concerns, based on my time in law enforcement and the United States military.”
There it is. A company man to the end. A low level flunky willing to follow orders. I'd bet Nazi Germany had boatloads full of "good soldiers" just as eager to please.
I'm not much on predictions, but I've a feeling the collapse of 2008 was just a bile filled hiccup of a prelude before the real vomiting begins. For decades, Americans were dumb enough to provide the cannon fodder & cash to protect the globalists from the Red Menace. They funded our mutation from a creditor nation to a debtor nation knowing they needed our muscle. But the Red Menace is a fading memory while Communist China continues to grow into a Capitalist's wet dream of a society.
Hell, we could always fall back on a canard that seems to be a staple of this dipshit cuntry's propaganda: "If you just work hard you too can be a success."
What a hoot!
Recently heard Glenn Beck bemoan the fact that American's "just don't want success anymore."
This from a man who gets paid oodles of money to sit on his pudgy pasty posterior and give pre-formed opinions to people too stupid or too lazy to form their own.
Christ, this yahoo is just a 19th century Scientologist, with his belief in Joe Smith & his Moroni hustle.
I'd love a little success.
I just made some bad choices.
I became painfully aware of these as I emptied out my mother's bedroom here, watching all the remaining bits of her disappear as finally as she did.
I've come to the conclusion that my career choice is equivalent to, on society's little success scale, spending 18 years pissing out a window.
For all my babbling about the stupidity of your average talking monkey, who is the real idiot here?
I'll give you one hint:
One colorful euphemism for him is "stiffy."
Or maybe "wanker."
Or "John Thomas"
Or "crawling king snake."
Or "flaccid member."
You're bright.
I'm sure you get the picture.
